Arthur Hayes: Privacy will become the dominant narrative in the crypto market by 2026

Arthur Hayes stated that privacy will define the next wave of cryptocurrency trading, with Zcash becoming a privacy beta in this context. His family office, Maelstrom, has established a significant position in Zcash at a low price in the third quarter of 2025, making Zcash the second-largest liquid asset holding in its portfolio, after Bitcoin.

Arthur Hayes believes that as U.S. political motivations lean towards aggressive credit expansion, the increased dollar liquidity will support Bitcoin and privacy assets. Furthermore, Maelstrom is shifting its research and portfolio strategy towards the zero-knowledge proof ecosystem.