BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes addressed Zcash investors with a call to withdraw tokens from centralized exchanges (CEX) and transfer them to ‘shielded’ mode, which provides anonymous transactions within the network. His statement sparked a wave of discussion and brought renewed attention to the privacy coin segment, which has experienced strong volatility in recent weeks.
Call for privacy
On Wednesday, Hayes published a message on X, where he wrote:
‘If you have $ZEC on a CEX, withdraw it to self-custody and shield.’
By ‘shielding,’ he meant transferring Zcash tokens into shielded transaction format, which hides user data and transaction amounts. With this message, Hayes effectively reminded of an old privacy coin problem: centralized exchanges only support open (transparent) Zcash addresses, making operations fully traceable.
To use full protection, owners need to store assets in personal wallets that support zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge proofs) technology.
Why this matters for Zcash
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Zcash uses a two-tier privacy model. There are t-addresses (transparent, like regular cryptocurrencies) and z-addresses (shielded, using zk-SNARK).
It is the z-addresses that make the coin a true tool for anonymous payments, but CEX platforms do not support them.
Because of this, users who store tokens on exchanges lose Zcash’s main advantage — privacy. Moreover, such assets remain at risk of being blocked, KYC checks, and possible delistings, as has already happened with Monero.
Hayes emphasized that self-custody gives users real control over their assets, protecting them from regulators’ decisions and potential liquidity problems on exchanges. However, he reminded that this also requires greater responsibility: safe key storage, backups, and wallet checks.
Volatility and market reaction
After Hayes’s statement, the Zcash (ZEC) rate again came under pressure. Over several days, the token made a series of sharp moves: from $723 on Saturday to a fall to $504 on Sunday, a new rise to $677 on Monday, and another pullback to $450 by midweek.
According to CoinMarketCap, the coin lost 37% from its recent high, although it still remains up 5% for the week.
Analysts note that before the correction, the token’s RSI reached an extremely overbought level, indicating a possible pullback.
Revival of interest in privacy coins
Despite the decline, Zcash remains a key representative of the confidential asset sector with a market capitalization of about $7.4 billion. Its closest competitor Monero (XMR) remains stable, showing a weekly growth of 7% and a total market valuation of $7 billion.
Meanwhile, other representatives of the sector are showing mixed results. Coins like Canton (CC), Dash (DASH), Decred (DCR), and ZKsync (ZK) have lost between 13% and 42% over the past seven days.
Context and consequences
Hayes’s call coincided with a rise in interest in privacy technologies amid increased regulation in the crypto industry. Users are once again discussing the balance between the convenience of centralized services and the financial sovereignty offered by decentralized solutions.
For Zcash, this moment could be pivotal. If users begin to massively transfer assets into shielded mode, the coin will strengthen its status as a truly private tool, not just a trading asset.
Read more: Startale launched a super app for Sony Soneium blockchain
