Eli Ben-Sasson, the co-founder of Zcash, has voiced his support for Shielded Bitcoin, a concept that introduces private transactions directly to the Bitcoin base layer. Furthermore, he maintains that Zcash (ZEC) remains on course to achieve his projected $5,000 price target by the end of the year.
Having also co-founded StarkWare, Ben-Sasson was a co-author of the Zerocash whitepaper that laid the groundwork for Zcash. He notes that his initial objective was simply to introduce that privacy framework to Bitcoin.
Shielded Bitcoin Brings Zcash-Style Privacy to Layer 1
The proposal was released on September 24 by research firm Alloc Init, penned by authors Misha Komarov, Aleksei Moskvin, and Clara Shikhelma.
The whitepaper explains that the architecture integrates zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, encrypted notes, and public nullifiers. These public nullifiers prevent the double-spending of hidden coins. The design requires no consensus changes, BitVM, or soft forks; instead, it utilizes Bitcoin PIPEs, which function via witness encryption. Consequently, the team states that all protocol data remains directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.
This capability is significant because traditional Bitcoin transactions remain transparent on-chain, potentially exposing confidential business payment information to the public.
While Ben-Sasson notes he has not yet read the paper, he expressed enthusiasm for the initiative, stating he looks forward to seeing ZK scaling and privacy come to Bitcoin’s layer 1.
Ben-Sasson Predicts $5,000 ZEC After Earlier Call Held
Back on September 9, Ben-Sasson forecasted that ZEC would surpass $1,200 by September 25, a prediction that materialized successfully. ZEC is currently valued at $1,545.89, marking a 24-hour increase of 1.44% and a surge of nearly 291% over the past 90 days. The digital asset currently holds the ninth position by market cap.
Reaching the $5,000 threshold would necessitate an additional rally of roughly 223%. Meanwhile, Ben-Sasson points out that an increasing number of crypto whales are inquiring about the driving forces behind the surge, though he acknowledges he does not have a definitive answer and has turned to his followers for their insights.
Nevertheless, a number of catalysts emerged throughout September. Zcash spot funds recorded $98.2 million in weekly inflows through September 18, leading all 14 evaluated cryptocurrency products. Additionally, Ledger integrated private Zcash balances into its desktop software. At the same time, the sharp upward movement has inflicted heavy losses on bearish traders, highlighted by a single short position liquidating with a $10.68 million loss.
Ben-Sasson emphasizes that his price target is a personal wager rather than financial advice. Whether ZEC approaches that milestone will likely depend on whether ETF demand is sustained through December.