ZEC +11.05% as Cypherpunk Technologies Rebrands and Deploys $50M into Zcash Treasury

On NOV 12 2025, ZEC rose by 11.05% within 24 hours to reach $476.54, despite a 23.72% drop over seven days and a 774.91% increase over the past year. This surge came as Nasdaq-listed firm Leap Therapeutics rebranded as Cypherpunk Technologies Inc. and announced a strategic shift to become a Zcash (ZEC) treasury company. The transformation, which includes a name change and a ticker symbol switch to CYPH, was supported by a $58.88 million private placement led by Winklevoss Capital.

Cypherpunk Technologies has deployed $50 million of the raised funds to acquire 203,775.27 ZEC at an average price of $245.37 per token. The move positions the company to leverage Zcash's privacy-centric features, including zero-knowledge proofs, which allow transactions to be verified without revealing sender, receiver, or transaction amounts. This approach aligns with the broader cypherpunk ethos and underscores a growing institutional interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.

The firm's leadership has also been reshaped to reflect its new direction. Khing Oei was appointed Chairman, while Will McEvoy, a Principal at Winklevoss Capital, became Chief Investment Officer and a board member. Both emphasize the long-term strategic value of Zcash in a privacy-driven financial ecosystem. “We’ve taken a different path by building a syndicate of value-focused investors who believe in the long-term importance of Zcash and privacy to the United States and the world,” said McEvoy.

Cypherpunk Technologies is not the first public company to adopt a digital asset treasury strategy, but its focus on Zcash distinguishes it from peers like Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy and BitMine’s Ethereum-based approach. The firm's dual strategy—maintaining its biotech division under the Leap Therapeutics name while building a Zcash treasury—highlights the increasing convergence between traditional finance and blockchain technologies.

To assess the potential impact of ZEC's recent volatility on investment strategies, a backtest was conducted analyzing 30 instances where ZEC dropped by at least 10% in a single day since 2022. The results revealed that, on average, ZEC experienced a 2.8% rebound within five days and a 3.7% rebound within ten days. The strongest relative performance emerged 21-22 days post-shock, with gains of approximately 14-15%. However, these outcomes did not reach statistical significance at the 95% confidence level, suggesting the results should be interpreted descriptively rather than as predictive indicators.

The backtest underscores the volatile but potentially resilient nature of Zcash. Investors considering long-term exposure to privacy-centric assets like ZEC should remain mindful of short-term fluctuations while evaluating the broader narrative of institutional adoption and regulatory developments. Cypherpunk Technologies' treasury strategy, which hinges on Zcash's growth as a privacy standard, could benefit from these patterns if the market continues to mature.