Zcash Could Reach $4000 as Privacy Demand Rises Says Will McEvoy | Markets Outlook

Will McEvoy calls Zcash the most mispriced asset in crypto, arguing that privacy is becoming more valuable as demand rises and AI makes the risks of exposed personal data easier to see. He warns that AI could combine information from data breaches and separate databases to target individuals, although he says it is difficult to predict exactly how such information might be used. In his view, greater awareness of those risks could make privacy a more important consideration for both individuals and investors.

McEvoy describes Zcash as a private financial layer and “encrypted Bitcoin.” It derives from Bitcoin’s code base, uses proof-of-work mining and has a 21 million supply cap, while adding financial privacy. He favors what he calls its “cypherpunk privacy” model, where users control their keys and data rather than depending on developers or database managers. He contrasts this with Bitcoin’s public transactions: wallet identities may not be obvious, but transaction records can expose activity.

He argues that AI combined with linked data could help de-anonymize Bitcoin wallets, and that transparent transaction histories may reveal people’s routines, locations and habits. Zcash, he says, offers stronger privacy through “ZK-Approve.” He also views gold as less private in practical terms because it can be difficult to transport discreetly. These comparisons support his broader case that privacy matters not only for transactions but also for protecting personal behavior and financial choices.

McEvoy sees Zcash approaching $2,000 if its valuation reaches the equivalent of about 2% of Bitcoin’s. He calls $3,000–$4,000 a reasonable medium-term range if Zcash draws value from gold owners and holders of offshore wealth, and says it could go much higher over the long run. These are conditional forecasts, not guaranteed outcomes: the valuation depends on Zcash attracting demand and capital from those sources.

He expects Zcash to function both as a payment method for people and AI agents and as a private store of value similar to Bitcoin. He also predicts that camera-based AI could make people more conscious of near-constant recording and increase demand for privacy within 12 months. More broadly, he argues that privacy supports freedoms such as speech: if governments or corporations can infer people’s thoughts or intentions, they may be able to use that knowledge to restrict them.

CypherPunk invested $5 million in Zoddle alongside Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures, reflecting a strategy to back privacy technology rather than simply accumulate Zcash. McEvoy describes Zoddle as a user-facing wallet for Zcash’s privacy-preserving technology, currently the most popular Zcash wallet, with strong adoption. CypherPunk aims to accumulate at least 5% of the Zcash network; its holding was just below 1.8% at the time of the interview. The company also plans to build a broader privacy-technology portfolio, potentially spanning VPNs, private communications and data management. McEvoy says regulation is more constructive than in recent years and that he is not too concerned about regulatory risk, while acknowledging that government intervention remains a risk for disruptive technologies. The host notes that the SEC ended its investigation into Zcash earlier in the year, while US crypto legislation remains unclear.