Dial 'P' for 'Poor': Hayes Has Warning for Zcash Bears

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has delivered a dire warning to traders betting against the ongoing Zcash (ZEC) rally.

Hayes took to X to mock short-sellers, stating: "Bulls dial 'P' for privacy, Bears dial 'P' for poor. Choose wisely degen."

The privacy coin has surged past the $670 mark, and it is rapidly approaching the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization.

Outperforming other coins

The strength of the Zcash rally has been particularly notable given the current macroeconomic backdrop.

Major large-cap assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana are posting significant losses amid a sea of red across the broader market heatmap, but ZEC has remained an isolated pocket of deep green momentum.

Trading up nearly 17% on the day and bringing its monthly gains well over 120%, the privacy coin is aggressively bucking the industry-wide downtrend to secure a position as the 13th largest cryptocurrency.

That said, there are some concerns about whether or not this dizzying upside is actually organic.

Thin liquidity, and overly aggressive perpetual futures positioning looks increasingly like a coordinated short squeeze rather than sustainable price discovery.

Multiple catalysts

ZEC has rallied over 1,200% following its fourth network halving in November 2024.

The bullish momentum was then boosted in January 2026 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wrapped up its nearly two-year investigation into the Zcash Foundation without taking enforcement action.

This, of course, immediately paved the way for massive institutional accumulation from entities like Multicoin Capital and Cypherpunk Technologies. Furthermore, Grayscale Investments filed to convert its existing Zcash Trust into the first U.S.-listed privacy-coin spot ETF.

A high-profile feature in the Wall Street Journal has validated this turnaround. The legacy financial publication recently framed Zcash as a purer successor to Bitcoin's original cypherpunk vision.