Zcash's Market Cap Surge: Flipping Hyperliquid and What It Means

Julian Vance Article:

[Generated Title]: Bitcoin's Dead Cat Bounce? Myriad Predictors Bet Against a 2025 High, But Zcash Defies the Doom.

Alright, let's cut through the noise. Myriad Markets, which, full disclosure, is tied to Decrypt's parent company (DASTAN), is showing some interesting shifts in crypto sentiment. Bitcoin, Zcash, and PUMP are all telling different stories. And as usual, the story behind the numbers is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.

Bitcoin's Fading Hope

Bitcoin's been wobbling. After flirting with $100,000—dipping below it recently for the first time in six months—the prediction markets are turning bearish. The question on Myriad was whether Bitcoin would hit a new all-time high before the end of 2025. The "no" camp is gaining ground, sitting at 66%. That’s up over 21% in just a couple of days. Volume on this market is a respectable $28.5K.

Galaxy analysts are also hedging their bets. They revised their year-end target down from $185,000 to $120,000. A substantial haircut (almost 35%), to be exact. This isn’t just retail sentiment; the pros are getting cautious too.

But here's where it gets interesting: the odds of "no" are currently at 66%. That means if you're a bull and wrong, you can hedge and earn around 33% if BTC doesn’t make a new all-time high this year. Is this a smart play, or just throwing good money after bad? Depends on your risk tolerance, I suppose.

What could turn things around? The article mentions the end of the government shutdown or a December rate cut. But those are macro factors, and crypto often dances to its own tune. What if the fundamental narrative of Bitcoin as "digital gold" is losing its luster? What if we're seeing a generational shift in investor preferences, away from Bitcoin and towards... well, we'll get to that.

Zcash: The Privacy Paradox

While Bitcoin's struggling, Zcash is doing the opposite. It's up 358% over the past month. The Myriad market asks if Zcash will be above $469 on Monday at noon. Right now, "yes" is trading at 74%. That’s a near 28% gain in just a few days.

The volume on this Zcash market is even higher than Bitcoin's: $41.8K. That suggests a lot of conviction (or, perhaps, speculation) behind this move. Galaxy analysts are calling it an "alternative to Bitcoin." This is the part of the report that I find genuinely puzzling. Are investors really flocking to Zcash for its privacy features, or is there something else at play? Myriad Moves: Traders Flip Bearish on Bitcoin, But Bullish on Zcash

The other article states that Zcash has surpassed Hype in market capitalization. I've looked at hundreds of these reports, and this surge is unusual given the overall market conditions. It suggests a flight to privacy, or at least, a perception of value independent of the broader crypto market. Is this sustainable, or just a temporary anomaly?

Meme Coin Mania's Hangover

Finally, there's PUMP, the token associated with Pump.fun. The question on Myriad is whether its market cap will "pump" to $3 billion or "dump" to $1 billion. Predictors are leaning towards "dump," giving it a 73% chance. That’s up 21% since October 30.

Pump.fun is still generating millions in revenue, using it to buy back PUMP tokens. But despite this buying pressure, PUMP is down about 33% from its initial market cap. This tells me that meme coin mania is cooling off (a welcome development, in my book).

The platform is trying to make it easier to buy or create meme coins, but daily active trading addresses are still below their summer highs. This suggests that the low-hanging fruit has already been picked, and the market is becoming saturated. Will an airdrop reignite the frenzy? Maybe. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Is This The Great Crypto Rotation?

The data paints a clear picture: Bitcoin is losing momentum, Zcash is surging, and meme coins are fading. Are we seeing a rotation of capital within the crypto space? Is this a sign of a maturing market, where investors are becoming more discerning? Or is it just a series of short-term trends driven by speculation and hype? Time will tell, but for now, the numbers suggest a shift in the crypto landscape.