Zcash whale turns $15.8M into $150M

A Zcash investor turned a $15.85 million position into more than $150 million after accumulating 265,018 ZEC in December 2024 and holding through a volatile market cycle, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham.

The whale purchased the tokens when Zcash traded near $60 and remained largely overlooked by investors, before the position briefly lost more than half its value during a sharp drawdown in 2025.

“He made over $150M in a year. How? ZEC,”

Arkham said while highlighting the trade on social media.

The investor began taking profits in January 2025 and completed eight separate sales through November, generating roughly $22.61 million while retaining the majority of the position.

The wallet still holds around 230,100 ZEC valued at approximately $126 million, bringing the combined realised and unrealised gains to more than $148 million at current market prices.

The trade coincided with a resurgence in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies during 2026, helped by growing interest in shielded transactions and optimism surrounding a proposed spot Zcash exchange-traded fund from Grayscale.

Speculation has emerged that the wallet may belong to Mert Mumtaz, a long-time Zcash supporter, though neither Arkham nor Mumtaz has confirmed the attribution and the wallet’s ownership remains unverified.

At the time of reporting, Zcash price was $545.22.