Bitcoin hardliner Samson Mow (샘슨 모우) questioned the sharp rise in privacy coin Zcash (ZEC).

Blockchain media outlet U.Today reported on Oct. 5 that Mow cited Zcash’s retreat to around $1,300 after rising to near $1,600. He argued that its current market capitalisation, up more than 1,000 percent since the start of the year, is excessive.

Mow said Zcash’s market capitalisation was artificially inflated and would inevitably return to the average. He said there was not enough speculative money in the market to keep Zcash propped up as a top-10 cryptocurrency with a market cap of more than $22 billion.

The remarks again highlighted the long-held stance of the Bitcoin-focused camp toward privacy coins. Bitcoin supporters, including Mow, have argued that Bitcoin layer-2 networks such as the Lightning Network already provide the level of privacy needed.

As grounds for criticism, the article cited Zcash’s past developer tax, high fund fees, centralised governance and Electric Coin Co. (ECC)’s past staffing difficulties. JAN3, led by Mow, forecasts that Bitcoin could reach $1 million between 2028 and 2033 based on its OMEGA60 model and Power Law. In this view, liquidity spreading into altcoins reduces the concentration of investment in Bitcoin and is strategically inefficient. There is also an expectation that broader adoption of Bitcoin at the national level could make price gains outpace the model’s forecasts.

Zcash supporters, by contrast, see the recent rise not as simple overheating but as the result of infrastructure changes. Developers activated the NU7 upgrade on the Zcash testnet, and they expect it to make block production three times faster. The market sees this as key material pushing back against pessimism.

Liquidity conditions also changed. A pool launched on THORChain, and $306 million flowed into the Grayscale Zcash spot exchange-traded fund. The fund also recorded outflows of $93 million for the first time this week. With inflows and outflows appearing at the same time, expectations and caution surrounding Zcash have both increased.

Against this backdrop, technology-driven expectations are colliding head-on with regulatory pressure. The market is watching whether Zcash can hold the $1,280 to $1,330 range. If that level breaks, concerns about the “mean reversion” Mow mentioned could materialise and deepen the pullback. If upgrade effects and liquidity support continue, Zcash is expected to keep having to test the legitimacy of its recent surge.

What I said was: there are not enough retards in the world to sustain a multi billion dollar Zcash market cap. Mean reversion is coming.