Arthur Hayes Sees 20x Upside For NEAR, 5x For Zcash Within One Year
Arthur Hayes said NEAR and Zcash form the core of his privacy trade, arguing that crypto markets are beginning to reprice assets tied to private value transfer, AI-era sovereignty and real protocol economics. In an interview with The Rollup, the Maelstrom CIO said NEAR could offer “20x potential,” while Zcash may have “5x potential” over the next year, framing both assets as part of a broader reaction to “big tech, big government” and AI-driven surveillance. Hayes’ thesis starts with a macro shift. Earlier this year, he said he had been cautious because Bitcoin appeared to be pricing in an “AI deflationary credit event,” with monetary authorities unlikely to print aggressively until a crisis forced their hand. That changed, he argued, after the Iran conflict crystallized a liquidity-positive setup for markets. “Governments print money to win war. AI is part of war. The AI capex will be underwritten, both in the United States and China, by the governments,” Hayes said. He added that gov