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Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), gave his opinion about BlackRock potentially launching a Zcash-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). His comments coincided with a recent price breakout in the price of Zcash (ZEC), a leading privacy coin.
Barry Silbert’s take on Zcash ETF
In an X post, Silbert said, personally speaking, he loves the fact that BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, would never launch a Zcash ETF.
This statement is in response to an X user who shared an enthusiastic take on Zcash. The user argued that Zcash is "revenge" against corrupt governments, banks, venture capital and mainstream crypto’s drift from cypherpunk ideals.
In contrast, Silbert thinks it is very unlikely that Zcash would attract a BlackRock ETF. Recall that BlackRock has aggressively entered crypto via ETFs.
However, the firm has focused on assets that align with regulatory ease, massive liquidity and institutional appeal. In 2024, BlackRock launched spot ETFs for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Still, BlackRock has not revealed plans to launch another altcoin ETF focused on Solana, XRP or even Dogecoin. Privacy coins like Zcash are even further off their radar, considering the challenges they pose to regulatory efforts.
Notably, Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to shield transactions. It enables true privacy where senders, receivers and amounts are hidden on the blockchain.
While this action is revolutionary for users seeking financial sovereignty, it is a challenge for U.S. regulators. This is because they prioritize transparency to combat money laundering and illicit finance.
Therefore, launching an ETF may expose BlackRock to scrutiny over untraceable flows. This is something they have avoided with BTC and ETH, which are more auditable.
Despite the statement from Silbert, supporters still think it is only a matter of time before Zcash gets adopted into the ETF space.
Another set, however, claimed Zcash does not need an ETF. They emphasized that the true value of Zcash lies in real cryptographic innovation and privacy-focused technology.
Zcash in bullish rebound mode
Amid the ETF discussions, Zcash has continued in its hyper-bullish rebound mode. As of press time, ZEC trades at $240.25, up more than 10% over the previous day.
On the monthly charts, the value of ZEC surged 378.9%. ZEC is now ranked the 30th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, which is valued at $3.9 billion.
ZEC began this bullish move earlier this month, with the price jumping over 27% in a day to around $94. Shortly after, ZEC added about 350% in just two weeks to over $268.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team