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The Nasdaq-listed company Leap Therapeutics has taken a dramatic turn: the former biotech firm is rebranding as Cypherpunk Technologies, a Digital Asset Treasury focused squarely on the privacy coin Zcash (ZEC).
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The initiative is financed by Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose fund Winklevoss Capital has already committed more than $50 million to the project.
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Cypherpunk plans to accumulate up to 5% of the entire Zcash supply. At the moment, the company holds about 203,000 ZEC at an average of $245—roughly 1.25% of the circulating supply.
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Tyler Winklevoss framed the move in ideological terms: “Privacy is a prerequisite for freedom. Zcash is encrypted Bitcoin — digital cash.”
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His vision: Bitcoin remains the global store of value, while Zcash becomes the tool for private, censorship-resistant payments—especially in the era of AI and expanding surveillance.
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The investment had an immediate effect: ZEC doubled in price, climbing to $537 before pulling back. The coin is now about 5% down on the week, far below its recent peak at $723.
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Shares of Cypherpunk Technologies (formerly LPTX) surged nearly 370%, signaling a renewed appetite for Digital Asset Treasury models—the strategy popularized by Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy.
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Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes further stoked demand, urging users to withdraw ZEC from centralized exchanges and move it into self-custody wallets. Hayes’ fund Maelstrom has made Zcash its second-largest position—another strong endorsement of the privacy-coin thesis.
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The Winklevoss involvement could give Zcash powerful momentum—both as “digital cash” and as a strategic hedge against intensifying regulation and data surveillance.
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Meanwhile, risk-tolerant investors are watching other privacy coins closely. Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) have also posted solid gains in recent weeks, emerging as potential beta plays on the ZEC hype.