--- title: "Investors Flocking to Super-Anonymous Cryptocurrency Used for the Sketchiest Stuff Imaginable" description: "Extremely rich cryptocurrency investors are increasingly pumping anonymous \"privacy tokens\" as Bitcoin falls out of favor." date: "2026-05-17" modified: "2026-05-17" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/investors-zcash-crypto-anonymous-untraceable" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" --- # Investors Flocking to Super-Anonymous Cryptocurrency Used for the Sketchiest Stuff Imaginable ![A large group of people standing closely together, viewed from above, all extending one arm forward with a clenched fist. The image has a high-contrast effect with the people in black and white and the floor in bright green. The individuals appear engaged in a collective or unified gesture.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* When Bitcoin first launched in 2009, it promised its users a decentralized digital currency that would be free from the prying eyes of financial authorities. That was possible thanks to the blockchain, a digital stone slab where every transaction could be etched into the collective public record. Of course, Bitcoin and its look-alikes quickly descended into a haven for grifters, drug sales, and money-laundering, enabling anonymous criminals the world over. Then a few confusing things happened. First, it quickly turned out that Bitcoin wasn't [quite as anonymous as initially advertised](), meaning crooks had to take extra steps to launder their ill-gotten gains. And worse, at least for crypto's most dedicated libertarian acolytes: it also became a legitimate financial vehicle, tracked on the [Bloomberg terminal](), trafficked by [publicly-traded corporations](), and [increasingly scrutinized]() by government watchdogs. Bitcoin going legitimate was evidently a bridge too far. According to new reporting [by the *Wall Street Journal*](), cryptobros are now ditching the old currencies in favor of an even more anonymous vehicle: Zcash. Zcash isn't new, but the fervor around it is. Launched in October of 2016, the Zcash blockchain protocol was designed by researchers at institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Tel Aviv University to basically add another layer of privacy to the Bitcoin protocol, theoretically making transactions "untraceable." It's one of numerous [privacy tokens]() in use these days, meaning cryptocurrencies with relatively small market caps that use advanced cryptography to almost completely obscure their users from sight. Zcash's closest rival, Monero, launched in 2014 and has become the preferred privacy token among both privacy-obsessed cryptobros and, increasingly, criminals seeking to conceal everything from ransomware payments and international transactions to drug deals on darknet markets. That's not stopping some household name fintech guys from getting in on the fun. According to the *WSJ*, two of Bitcoin's biggest original backers, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, are investing $50 million into a crypto startup called Cypherpunk Technologies, which will hold gobs of Zcash as part of its portfolio. So far, the Winklevii — who just injected [$100 million]() of their own Bitcoin holdings to prop up their [beleaguered]() legacy crypto company, Gemini — have stockpiled more than 300,000 Zcash tokens that we know of, with a value of over $157 million at the time of writing. Accordingly, the [price of Zcash]() soared over the past month, while trading volume is consistently the highest it's been in three years after a massive spike in transactions late in 2025 — from around 2,000 a day prior to October to over 70,000 in mid-November. As cofounder of venture capital firm Multicoin Capital Tushar Jain told the *WSJ*, "Zcash is what Bitcoin should be. It's what Bitcoin was originally meant to be." Zcash comes with plenty of downsides. There's the crime thing, naturally; some cybercriminals are already [accepting Zcash]() as payment options, while rival privacy token Monero has become the [new bullion]() in those circles. This is probably why at least [10 nations]() have heavily restricted privacy tokens on regulated exchanges, with countries like Japan, South Korea, and India deploying outright bans. Beyond cybercrime, the influx of institutional capital into privacy tokens also points to a telling shift among certain players in the finance industry. The more legitimate money that flows through firms like Cypherpunk into privacy tokens, the more capital overall [can hide]() from tax authorities and regulators, at a time when the ultra-rich are racing to [secure]() [their]() [fortunes]() before the proverbial music stops. Similar to the blockchain currencies that came before, tokens like Monero and Zcash represent a [far-right political project]() which asserts that freedom from democratic financial scrutiny is somehow a human right — a step backward from the already [de facto unregulated system]() of corporate banking. By design, these same currencies have become indispensable tools for organized crime — revealing that the libertarian fantasy of "financial freedom" amounts to freedom for the wealthy to [hide their assets](), and freedom for criminals to operate without accountability. Indeed, it's becoming nearly impossible to tell them apart. **More on crypto:** *[Bitcoin Developers Are Debating a Move That Could Send Crypto Markets Into a Tailspin]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()