Zcash Plunges 37% as Arthur Hayes Issues Urgent Warning to Holders: Withdraw or Lose Privacy

The privacy coin market was jolted back into the headlines this week after BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes issued a stark warning to Zcash holders, urging them to withdraw their tokens from centralized exchanges or risk losing the very privacy the asset was designed to protect.On Wednesday, Hayes took to X (formerly Twitter) to caution users that keeping Zcash (ZEC) on centralized platforms undermines the coin’s anonymity. If you hold $ZEC on a CEX, withdraw it to a self-custodial wallet and shield it.— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) November 12, 2025 Through his post, Hayes referred to the network’s privacy-enhancing feature that allows users to obscure transaction details through “shielded” addresses.Privacy at Risk: BitMEX Co-Founder Warns ZEC Users to Self-CustodyThe warning came as Zcash’s price endured wild swings throughout the week. The token surged to $723 on Saturday before tumbling to $504 on Sunday, then briefly rebounded to $677 on Monday before plunging again.ZEC Weekly Price Chart Source: CoinMarketCapBy Wednesday, ZEC was trading around $450, representing a 37% decline from its weekend high. Despite the pullback, the coin remains up roughly 5% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap, with a total market capitalization hovering around $7.4 billion.Analysts had previously cautioned that the token was overheating, noting that its relative strength index (RSI) had reached overbought levels following a dramatic 1,700% rally since September. Zcash shocked the market with a 1,700% rally — a move more typical for meme coins than privacy projects. Now, a viral debate around its developer has sparked new rumors linking Zcash to Bitcoin’s mysterious origins.#Zcash #ZEC #Bitcoinhttps://t.co/kjuw15TWvl— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) November 10, 2025 Zcash had climbed from about $40 to over $700 in less than two months, an explosive run rarely seen in older, privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.Hayes’s comments reignited longstanding debates over privacy, regulation, and self-custody in the crypto industry. Zcash’s unique privacy model supports two types of addresses: transparent “t-addresses,” which operate like Bitcoin wallets and make all transactions visible on the blockchain, and “shielded” or “z-addresses,” which use zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to conceal sender, receiver, and transaction amounts.Source: ZechubHowever, most centralized exchanges support only transparent addresses, meaning that Zcash held or transacted through these platforms loses its privacy. Hayes’s warning shows this fundamental contradiction, as holding ZEC on a CEX effectively turns it into a traceable, pseudonymous asset, contrary to the project’s founding principles.Beyond privacy, the issue exposes users to several custodial and regulatory risks. Centralized exchanges control users’ private keys, making tokens vulnerable to withdrawal freezes, delistings, or even insolvency, as seen in high-profile collapses like FTX. Privacy Tokens in the Spotlight as Exchanges Reassess CompliancePrivacy coins also face mounting regulatory scrutiny worldwide, particularly from jurisdictions that associate such assets with illicit activity. In the European Union, new frameworks such as MiCA have fueled speculation that some exchanges could delist privacy coins altogether to comply with compliance standards.Monero (XMR), another major privacy coin, has faced similar challenges in recent years, with several exchanges removing it due to compliance concerns. Despite these headwinds, Monero has managed to hold steady, trading around $382 with a market capitalization near $7 billion and posting a 7% gain over the past week. In contrast, other privacy-oriented assets such as Dash (DASH), Decred (DCR), and Canton (CC) have recorded weekly losses ranging from 13% to 42%, underscoring the volatility across the sector.Zcash’s latest turbulence also coincides with renewed speculation surrounding its origins and connections to early cryptographic research. In recent days, social media platforms have been abuzz with discussions linking longtime Zcash developer Daira-Emma Hopwood to Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The rumors resurfaced after an old interview with Hopwood circulated online, initially sparking confusion about her identity and drawing a wave of mixed and, at times, transphobic commentary.Crypto enthusiasts pointed to overlapping academic work between Hopwood’s privacy research and Satoshi’s early writings, noting shared technical concepts such as key blinding and group signatures. While there is no concrete evidence linking Hopwood to Bitcoin’s creator, the renewed speculation added a layer of intrigue to Zcash’s extraordinary rally.The post Zcash Plunges 37% as Arthur Hayes Issues Urgent Warning to Holders: Withdraw or Lose Privacy appeared first on Cryptonews.