The Timeless Relevance of Value Investing in a Volatile Crypto Era

The cryptocurrency market, with its frenetic price swings and speculative fervor, often feels light-years removed from the measured, fundamentals-driven ethos of value investing. Yet, as Zcash (ZEC) approaches its 2028 halving-a pivotal event that will halve its block reward from 1.5625 to 0.78125 ZEC-the parallels between modern crypto dynamics and the foundational principles of 1920s investing become strikingly clear. By examining Zcash's anticipated scarcity-driven price action through the lens of Benjamin Graham's early work, we uncover a compelling case for why value investing's core tenets-temperament, intrinsic value, and disciplined human behavior-remain indispensable in today's volatile markets.

Zcash's Halving: A Modern Scarcity Play

Zcash's upcoming halving, scheduled for late 2028, is already generating speculative momentum. In November 2025 alone, ZEC surged 24% in a single day as investors priced in the reduced supply of newly mined coins. This mirrors Bitcoin's halving model, where reduced issuance is theorized to drive upward price pressure over time. However, the Zcash community forum's 2017 discussions reveal a nuanced reality: while scarcity can act as a tailwind, broader factors like Bitcoin's price, miner profitability, and regulatory shifts often dominate short-term outcomes. For instance, miners have historically grappled with bearish speculation and consolidation phases, even as they cling to long-term accumulation strategies.

This duality-between the promise of scarcity and the chaos of speculation-highlights a critical tension. Zcash's quantum-resistant upgrades and privacy features may enhance its intrinsic value, but the market's overbought conditions and rapid corrections suggest that sentiment, not fundamentals, currently drive much of the action.

1927 Investing Principles: A Counterpoint to Crypto Volatility

Benjamin Graham's early career in the 1920s, shaped by the bond market and the 1929 crash, laid the groundwork for value investing's most enduring ideas. His emphasis on intrinsic value-determined through rigorous analysis of earnings, dividends, and asset strength-stands in stark contrast to crypto's speculative focus on narrative and network effects. For Graham, the goal was to identify securities trading below their calculated intrinsic value, creating a "margin of safety" against errors or market downturns.

Equally relevant is Graham's metaphor of Mr. Market, an irrational partner who offers fluctuating prices for shares. In crypto, this manifests as Zcash's 24% single-day rally or its sharp corrections driven by overbought conditions. Graham's solution? Treat Mr. Market's volatility as an opportunity, not a guide. Defensive investors, he argued, should prioritize safety and simplicity, while enterprising investors could exploit mispricings through active research(https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/07/grahamprinciples.asp). This disciplined approach contrasts sharply with crypto's "hodl" culture, where emotional resilience often replaces analytical rigor.

The Human Element: Temperament as a Competitive Edge

The 1920s also saw the emergence of impact investing principles, with groups like Quakers and Methodists prioritizing ethical or strategic long-term goals over immediate profits. This ethos resonates with Zcash miners who hold through price fluctuations, betting on the protocol's long-term utility. Yet, unlike impact investors, many crypto participants lack a clear framework for balancing risk and reward.

Graham's lessons on temperament are thus critical. He warned against the "emotional and mental errors" that plague investors, advocating for patience and detachment. In crypto, where FOMO (fear of missing out) and hype cycles dominate, this discipline is rare. Zcash's price swings, for example, reflect herd behavior rather than intrinsic value analysis. A value investor, by contrast, would assess Zcash's fundamentals-its privacy features, adoption rates, and upgrade roadmap-before determining whether its price aligns with its true worth.

Conclusion: Bridging the Gap

The Zcash halving of 2028 offers a microcosm of the broader crypto market's challenges and opportunities. While reduced issuance may eventually tighten supply, the path to price discovery will likely be turbulent. Here, 1920s investing principles provide a stabilizing force. By prioritizing intrinsic value over sentiment, margin of safety over leverage, and temperament over FOMO, investors can navigate crypto's volatility with a value-driven mindset.

As Zcash's block reward shrinks and its market cap fluctuates, the question remains: Will investors treat it as a speculative asset or a long-term value proposition? The answer may lie not in the blockchain itself, but in the timeless wisdom of those who understood markets long before digital assets existed.