Old Bean! Barry Silbert Predicts Bitcoin’s Cash Fleeing to Zcash’s Lair

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Well, I say, old chap, it appears the eggheads in the crypto world are at it again. Barry Silbert, the fellow at the helm of Digital Currency Group, has let slip a rather intriguing notion at the Bitcoin Investor Week shindig in the Big Apple. According to this chap, a not-insignificant chunk of Bitcoin’s dosh-some 5% to 10%, mind you-might just pack its bags and toddle off to the likes of Zcash, those privacy-obsessed cryptocurrencies.

Now, don’t go thinking Silbert’s turned bearish on Bitcoin, what? Far from it. He’s still jolly well bullish on the old boy, considering it a cornerstone of any self-respecting portfolio. But, dash it all, he’s not blind to its limitations. Bitcoin, he says, is a bit of a whopper, and that size rather cramps its style when it comes to explosive returns. Unless, of course, the U.S. dollar goes the way of the dodo, in which case, I suppose, we’ll all be bartering with bread and butter.

Why All the Fuss About Privacy, What?

Silbert’s beef, you see, is with the whole financial privacy rigmarole. He’s quite right to point out that Bitcoin’s old chestnut about being anonymous digital cash is about as reliable as a chocolate teapot. With those blockchain sleuths at Chainalysis and Elliptic poking their noses into every transaction, Bitcoin’s transparency is about as subtle as a brick through a window.

And with all these institutions piling into crypto, the regulators are out in force, waving their rulebooks about like they’re at a cricket match. The more they meddle, the more privacy starts to look like the cat’s whiskers. Silbert’s not holding his breath for Bitcoin to suddenly develop a cloak of invisibility, so he reckons the smart money will head for those networks that were built with secrecy in mind, particularly the ones using zero-knowledge technology to keep prying eyes at bay.

DCG’s Track Record: Not Too Shabby, Eh?

Now, when Silbert speaks, people tend to prick up their ears, and for good reason. His outfit, DCG, has been in the crypto game since it was all still a bit of a lark. Grayscale, one of their subsidiaries, launched the first institutional Bitcoin investment vehicle back in 2013. That little number turned out to be quite the hit, eventually becoming one of the most traded spot Bitcoin ETFs. Not too shabby, what?

Grayscale’s also got its fingers in the Zcash pie, with a trust launched in 2017 that’s now eyeing an ETF conversion. And let’s not forget, DCG’s been backing other privacy-focused projects too. Silbert even floated the idea that Zcash could be a bit of a hedge against the quantum computing bogeyman, though he doesn’t seem to think that’s going to rear its head anytime soon.

Privacy Chain or Privacy Layer? Now That’s the Question

Not everyone’s convinced that privacy coins will have the field to themselves, though. Some bright spark by the name of neural_gin reckons privacy is becoming the bee’s knees as regulations tighten, but he’s not sold on the idea that it needs its own blockchain. Why not just bolt on zero-knowledge proofs to the likes of Ethereum or Solana, he asks, and give users the option to go incognito when they fancy it? No need for a whole separate token, what?

So, if even a smidgen of Bitcoin’s capital decides to take a stroll, the privacy sector could be in for a bit of a renaissance. The real question, old sport, is where all that dosh will end up. Privacy chain or privacy layer? Place your bets now!

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2026-02-12 10:16