2025 Marks the Rise of Digital Asset Treasury Firms

The year 2025 is shaping up to be the breakout moment for digital asset treasury (DAT) companies. Michael Saylor’s Strategy and Tom Lee’s Bitmine have pushed forward with Bitcoin- and Ethereum-focused strategies, while several alternative DATs have captured headlines. Among the strongest performers is Zcash, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency born in 2016 from a fork of Bitcoin’s codebase. With privacy narratives gaining momentum and industry advocates highlighting the need for encrypted financial rails, Zcash has led the market in percentage gains this year.

The Winklevoss Twins Launch Cypherpunk to Accumulate ZEC

As attention on privacy coins surged, the Winklevoss twins moved quickly to launch the first Zcash-focused DAT. Their firm, Cypherpunk, has raised $100 million to acquire ZEC, with a target of holding up to 5% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply. The company currently owns 233,644 ZEC. Speaking at Bitcoin Amsterdam, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss said their renewed focus on privacy was shaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence over the past two years.

Privacy as the Next Catalyst After the 2008 Financial Crisis

Tyler Winklevoss described Zcash as “encrypted Bitcoin,” arguing that Bitcoin remains the ultimate place to store value, while Zcash serves as the transactional privacy layer. He framed the rise of privacy coins as the natural next step after the 2008 financial crisis drove Bitcoin’s creation: if Bitcoin was born from the collapse of trust in financial institutions, privacy will be the defining issue of the AI era.

Bitcoin and Zcash as Complementary Technologies

The twins believe Bitcoin and Zcash will coexist and reinforce one another over the long term. While Bitcoin may eventually integrate stronger privacy features, Zcash already fills that role natively. Tyler Winklevoss noted that Bitcoin has proven the value of decentralized, non-government money, but there is still more work to be done in the realm of on-chain confidentiality.

Cypherpunk Momentum and Skepticism

Zcash’s resurgence has sparked both enthusiasm and skepticism online. Some critics question why a protocol that has existed since 2016 is suddenly in the spotlight. Cameron Winklevoss responded by saying the protocol has reached a new “inflection point” in 2025—similar to Bitcoin during earlier pivotal moments such as the 2013 Cyprus bailout. With the explosive acceleration of artificial intelligence, the demand for privacy has intensified, and Zcash is now benefiting from that shift.

A Movement Rooted in the Original Cypherpunk Ethos

The twins emphasized that the developers and advocates energizing the Zcash ecosystem today come from the same cypherpunk roots that nurtured early Bitcoin. With figures like Zooko Wilcox among its founders, Zcash has long had deep ideological backing; 2025 is simply the moment when global conditions caught up to its relevance.

Crypto’s Growth Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

Unlike some early Bitcoin maximalists, the Winklevoss twins argue that innovation across different blockchains expands the entire digital asset ecosystem. They see Bitcoin as “gold 2.0,” Ethereum as a breakthrough in programmability, and Zcash as the next major innovation in privacy. Each solves a different problem, and each brings new users, developers, and capital into the industry. In their view, every significant leap on other networks ultimately strengthens Bitcoin as well.

A Year That Expands the Pie

For the twins, the rise of DATs, the growth of privacy-focused technologies, and the diversification of blockchain innovation are part of a broader trend: crypto is not a winner-takes-all contest. Whether through proof-of-work, smart contracts, or privacy, each major advancement reinforces the sector’s evolution. In that sense, 2025 stands not only as the year of digital asset treasury firms but also as a year that grows the entire crypto pie.