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Cypherpunk Owns $500M of Zcash and 18% of Its Hashrate | CIO Will McEvoy

56 min

Will McEvoy, CIO of Cypherpunk Technologies, discusses his company's $500 million Zcash treasury and 18% hashrate dominance, arguing that AI-driven surveillance is driving Bitcoin whales toward Zcash for privacy. He highlights the extreme profitability of Zcash mining (~$1,000/MWh vs. ~$130 for Bitcoin) and outlines a three-pillar strategy: holding Zec, mining Zec, and investing in Zcash ecosystem projects like Zodl. McEvoy sees a path to $10,000 per ZEC (10% of Bitcoin's market cap) and emphasizes that Zcash's strong development team makes it a compelling long-term bet.

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Cypherpunk Technologies holds approximately $500 million in Zcash (~330,000 ZEC) and controls ~18% of Zcash's mining hashrate, making it the largest Zcash miner.
2

Zcash mining is extremely profitable at ~$1,000 per megawatt-hour, over 6x more profitable than Bitcoin mining (~$130/MWh) due to constrained ASIC supply from Bitmain.
3

McEvoy argues AI-driven de-anonymization of Bitcoin wallets is pushing large Bitcoin holders toward Zcash as a private store of value, potentially targeting $10,000 per ZEC (10% of Bitcoin's market cap).
4

Cypherpunk's three-pillar strategy: hold Zec (long-term accumulation), mine Zec (profitable mining operations), and invest in Zcash ecosystem (e.g., Zodl wallet) to drive adoption.
5

McEvoy is optimistic about Zcash's regulatory future in the U.S., describing privacy as foundational to the Bill of Rights.

💬 Notable Quotes

"Zcash mining is earning about $1,000 per megawatt hour... Bitcoin mining is earning less than $150 per megawatt hour. — Will McEvoy"
"Zcash is really the money for your private digital life... it's the base layer that will be integrated into all privacy applications. — Will McEvoy"
"The biggest part of the story no one's talking about is the team... world-class cryptographers, security researchers, engineers shipping at breakneck pace. — Will McEvoy"