A whale wallet that made a large investment in Zcash (ZEC) has entered a profit zone exceeding $150 million on a mark-to-market basis in about 18 months.

On May 28 local time, BeInCrypto reported that blockchain analytics firm Arkham disclosed a certain wallet continues to hold 230,100 ZEC even after securing realised gains of $22.61 million.

The wallet bought a total of 265,018 ZEC on Dec. 30, 2024. At the time, Zcash traded at about $60 each. The total investment is estimated at about $15.85 million. ZEC now trades at about $548.78. It is down 0.82 percent over the past 24 hours, but is sharply higher over the longer term.

Arkham disclosed the transaction record on May 28, saying, "He made more than $150 million in a year. The method was ZEC." The remaining 230,100 ZEC is valued at about $126 million. Adding the $22.61 million already realised puts total gains above $150 million.

The position did not move smoothly from the start. In 2025, the wallet at one point entered a loss zone of more than 50 percent on a mark-to-market basis. The loss was reported to have widened to about $8.6 million. The position later recouped the loss as market momentum reversed, and profits swelled sharply in 2026 as privacy coins stayed strong.

Profit-taking continued from January 2025 to late November. During that period, the wallet sold 54,718 ZEC in a total of eight sales, securing about $22.61 million.

Market participants see the trade as tied to the recent privacy coin rally. Zcash surged in 2026 as appetite for related assets revived. One factor that boosted sentiment was Grayscale's spot ETF filing. Grayscale applied for a spot Zcash ETF earlier this month, and ZEC later hit a peak above $700.

Some in the market have raised the possibility that the wallet's owner could be Mert Mumtaz, a co-founder of Helius Labs. He is known as someone who typically supports Zcash. He did not directly acknowledge it himself. Mert Mumtaz commented on the speculation, saying, "He didn't actually sell ZEC, he just held a long position on hl checkmate."

Arkham has also not officially confirmed the wallet's owner. So far, the estimate remains an unverified market view.

The market sees the case not so much as a single individual's success story as an example showing what kind of profit structure can be created when long-term holding and partial selling are combined with a rising privacy coin market.

Assessments say whether the position's eventual confirmed profit can maintain a nine-digit dollar figure depends on ZEC's price moves. The industry is watching whether Grayscale's spot ETF is approved and changes in the growth of shielded supply on the Zcash network as key variables.