Digital Currency Group CEO and creator Barry Silbert acquired more ZCash to add to his company’s holdings. Following Silbert’s announcement, the price of ZEC surged to $243.84 which approximately was more than a 7% increase in price.
Silbert disclosed the acquisition of $85 million in Zcash (ZEC) in a Wednesday tweet to his more than 678,000 followers, or around 376,106 tokens assuming an average price of $226.
The purchase is the latest for Silbert, who appears to be portraying himself as a crypto market contrarian by buying millions more ZEC in response to negative comments.
Alright, you asked for it. We bought $85 million more Zcash $ZEC
Pray for us… https://t.co/Pv6i0LO789
— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) December 1, 2021
Following Silbert’s announcement, the price of ZEC increased by more than 7%, from $226.08 to $243.84. However, since hitting a six-month high of more over $300 on Nov. 25, shortly after its basic protocol switched from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake, it has dropped more than 20%.
Crypto tycoons like Silbert may be buying ZEC in preparation for the project’s tokens being locked up for longer periods of time.
Electric Coin Company, Zcash’s main developer, stated on Nov. 19 that users will be able to stake a percentage of their holdings into a dedicated ZEC smart contract in order to become validators on the blockchain.
Grayscale, a $53.5 billion AUM digital asset manager run by Digital Currency Group, provides clients with exposure to cryptocurrencies through trusts.
The Grayscale Zcash Trust was first listed on the OTCQX Best Market in October. Silbert also intimated that the Bitcoin Trust will be converted into a spot-settled Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
