Zcash Pioneer Zooko Wilcox Joins Cypherpunk as Advisor, Fueling Firm’s $100M Privacy Push

Cypherpunk Technologies Inc. has added one of the most influential figures in privacy-focused crypto to its ranks. The company announced Tuesday that Zooko Wilcox—creator of Zcash and a longtime champion of user-controlled privacy—has joined the firm as a strategic advisor, marking a major endorsement of Cypherpunk’s growing Zcash-centric treasury strategy.

The announcement sparked a sharp rally in Cypherpunk’s stock, which closed the day up nearly 40% at roughly $1.62. The move comes as Zcash itself rebounds from a steep early-December dip, climbing about 30% over the past week to trade near $430.

Cypherpunk began building its Zcash reserves in November, following the trend set by large crypto treasury players like Strategy and BitMine Immersion Technologies. After raising $58.88 million in a private placement backed by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the company now holds 233,644 ZEC—worth about $100 million—and is positioning itself as a leading institutional backer of privacy-centric digital assets.

Wilcox’s arrival is intended to accelerate that mission. Cypherpunk says he will help steer its development of self-sovereign digital systems that prioritize privacy, autonomy, and economic freedom—principles central to Zcash since its launch.

“Cypherpunk’s commitment to ZEC signals that user-driven privacy isn’t niche—it’s foundational to a stable digital society,” Wilcox said in the announcement, emphasizing that the firm is investing not only in an asset but in a core human right.

Zcash has experienced a volatile but dramatic rise in recent months, jumping from around $50 in September to more than $700 in November before retreating to the $300 range and then recovering again. Even after its comeback, the asset sits far below its 2016 all-time high of $3,191—but momentum appears to be returning.

Cypherpunk’s leadership says Wilcox’s expertise will be central to shaping both its growing ZEC treasury and its broader privacy technology initiatives. The company hinted that more high-profile additions to its advisory roster are coming as it builds what it calls a “world-class bench of privacy innovators.”

With a reinforced team and a nine-figure Zcash position, Cypherpunk is betting big that the next wave of crypto adoption will be built on privacy, sovereignty, and user-controlled digital freedom.