Grayscale predicts Zcash 18x upside if it wins 5% share
Grayscale sees 18x upside for Zcash if it wins 5% of crypto “currencies”; Bitcoin holds ~90%
Grayscale pitches Zcash as the most credible rival to Bitcoin in digital currencies. A small share shift could drive outsized gains.
Grayscale’s March 18 note puts the “Currencies Crypto Sector” at $1.6T across 15 assets, with Bitcoin near 90% share. The firm argues Zcash can take share over time according to its research.
The edge is privacy. Bitcoin’s ledger is fully transparent. Zcash supports shielded transactions that hide senders, receivers, and amounts. “Privacy will be essential, in our view, for certain types of users and transactions, and Bitcoin cannot meet this demand,” Grayscale’s Zach Pandl writes in the note.
If demand for private, censorship‑resistant payments grows, Zcash targets a niche where Bitcoin is structurally limited per Grayscale.
Pandl says Zcash is nearly 10 years old and entering a new chapter. Use of shielding is rising. New capital is funding wallets and mining per the firm.
Valuation is the kicker. Grayscale cites roughly $4B market cap for ZEC and about 0.3% share of the “currencies” segment. A move to 5% would lift ZEC about 18x, even without overall market growth by its math.
Risk remains high. Zcash is smaller and more volatile than Bitcoin, so the profile is higher risk, Pandl says in the note.
Other voices outline similar asymmetry. Cypherpunk Technologies CIO Will McEvoy calls Zcash “crypto’s most mispriced asset” in an interview. Qiao Wang labels ZEC the “last 1000x” in comments. Arthur Hayes sees $1,000 as a “first stop,” and $10,000 later in his forecast.
At press time, ZEC traded at $232.93.
