Zcash is often billed as “encrypted Bitcoin,” yet its market cap is only about $3 Bn—roughly 1/280th of Bitcoin’s $1.3 T.
In an exclusive interview with 99Bitcoins, Arjun Khemani, advisor to the Winklevoss-backed Zcash project Cypherpunk, breaks down the state of privacy crypto.
His position is clear: without digital privacy, there’s no free future.
DISCOVER: Top 20 Crypto to Buy in 2026
1. Is Privacy Alone a Multi‑Billion‑Dollar Narrative for Zcash Price?
ZEC influencers typically argue that mandatory privacy could unlock orders‑of‑magnitude growth, while critics point out that 95% of ZEC remains transparent by default and that regulatory pressure is intensifying.
But according to Khemani, optional shielding for Zcash really means optional transparency: private by default, compliant when needed.
“I don’t think Zcash is a multi‑billion‑dollar narrative. It’s a trillion‑dollar asset. It’s not a trade, it’s not a narrative – I want it to be the global internet account the world transacts in.
You need encrypted money for an open society in the digital age.”
Add Zcash’s clear scaling roadmap and SNARK‑level privacy, and you get a realistic $100B+ thesis.
2. What’s The Realistic Roadmap for Quantum Resistance?
Zcash advocates (like Thor Torrens) claim zk-SNARKs give it a quantum edge by keeping shielded data off-ledger. The Halo 2-based Tachyon upgrade is positioned as the long-term fix. Meanwhile Bitcoin has no answer to the quantum threat.
Khemani argues that Zcash already has a head start: today, if your shielded address isn’t known, your long‑term storage is effectively quantum‑safe on the privacy side.
“This year, Tachyon brings full post‑quantum privacy even if the address is exposed, plus quantum recoverability: freeze the vulnerable pool, migrate coins to a quantum‑secure one. By 2027–2028 we aim for full quantum proofing.”
DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2026
3. Why is Monero Leading in the Short Term, and Can Zcash Catch Up?
Monero looks stronger on the surface: bigger market cap, heavier usage, rabidly decentralized devs. But its privacy is basically a shell game, Khemani says.
AI will eat ring signatures for breakfast. Zcash took the harder path: real encryption, no “ball under the cup” to find.
4. How Will ZEC Development Structure and 2026 Upgrades Restore Confidence?
The entire Electric Coin Company team moved on to wallet development in January 2026, FUDing ZEC hard. The Zcash Foundation’s response has been to replace the zcashd node with Zebra, deploy the Z3 stack, and integrate FROST multi-signature tech.
“I can’t say much about the ECC thing just yet, but I do know that what they’re trying to do is going to be super awesome for Zcash and for coin holders and Sashi wallet users…
They’re wanting to turn into a startup… you need a market based structure for these things to really scale, it’s gonna be super bullish.”
(Source: ZEC Shielded)
ZEC shielded supply is stabilizing around 5,000 ZEC and hasn’t flinched in this bear market, showing users still care about private transactions.
DISCOVER: Next 1000X Crypto: 10+ Crypto Tokens That Can Hit 1000x in 2026
5. What Price Will ZCash reach in 2026?
ZEC collapsed from $720 in November 2025 to $250 now. 99Bitcoins analysts see a double-top pattern pointing to $163. Risk-off rotation, thin liquidity, and the team exodus drove the drop. What fixes this?
“I can’t predict the price and I won’t pretend to. ZEC only recovers if we build through the chaos: scale it, make it quantum-resistant, wire it into the real world, and treat privacy like critical infrastructure,” Khemani said.
If it becomes a true global unit of account, today’s crash will look like background noise.
EXPLORE: Ethereum Is Dying, Or Is This the Biggest Buy Signal of the Decade?
Follow 99Bitcoins on X For the Latest Market Updates and Subscribe on YouTube For Daily Expert Market Analysis
Key Takeaways
Zcash is often billed as “encrypted Bitcoin,” yet its market cap is only about $3 Bn—roughly 1/280th of Bitcoin’s $1.3 T.
ZEC shielded supply is stabilizing around 5,000 ZEC and hasn’t flinched in this bear market, showing users still care about private transactions. .
The post 99Bitcoins Exclusive: ‘Zcash Price Isn’t a Multi-Billion Dollar Narrative—It’s Trillion-Dollar’ appeared first on 99Bitcoins.