Cypherpunk Technologies Inc. announced Tuesday that Zooko Wilcox, founder of prominent privacy coin Zcash and former CEO of Electric Coin Company, has joined the Zcash treasury firm as a strategic advisor.
The move preceded a sizable surge in Cypherpunk’s stock price Tuesday, all while Zcash itself continues to rebound after a recent sell-off. Cypherpunk said in a press release that Wilcox will guide the company’s development of self-sovereign digital systems focused on privacy and freedom.
Cypherpunk kicked off its Zcash embrace in November, following the lead of other crypto treasury firms like Bitcoin giant Strategy (with $61 billion in BTC) and top Ethereum firm BitMine Immersion Technologies (with nearly $13 billion in ETH).
Formerly Leap Technologies, the company raised a $58.88 million private placement led by outspoken Bitcoin advocates and co-founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Cypherpunk has thus far amassed 233,644 ZEC, currently valued at about $100 million.
“Cypherpunk’s commitment to ZEC is a clear signal that user-controlled privacy is not a niche, it’s a fundamental building block of a healthy and stable society,” said Wilcox in a press release. “Cypherpunk is not just buying a digital asset; they are investing in the very principle of economic freedom that Zcash was built for.”
Zcash has seen a massive surge in value in recent months, climbing from a price of about $50 per coin in early September to a recent peak above $700 in November.
The privacy coin then fell to nearly $300 in early December, but has surged again over the past week, rising about 30% and recently trading for $430. Even with the recent run-up, ZEC remains well below its 2016 high mark of $3,191.
Cypherpunk shares, meanwhile, jumped Tuesday following the announcement of Wilcox joining as an advisor, closing the day trading hands for about $1.62—up almost 40%. Although down from a recent high of about $3 per share, CYPH is still up more than 250% on the month.
“As the founder of Zcash, Zooko intimately understands both the technical foundations and the philosophy behind privacy-preserving technology,” said Will McEvoy, Chief Investment Officer of Cypherpunk, in a statement. “His guidance will be invaluable as Cypherpunk grows its Zcash treasury and supports new privacy innovation that strengthens freedom and individual sovereignty.”
“And this is only the beginning,” he added. “We’re assembling a world-class bench of cypherpunks, cryptographers, technologists, and thinkers committed to advancing Zcash and the global privacy ecosystem.”