Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, said financial privacy is becoming his firm’s next major asymmetric bet in crypto. While he remains strongly bullish on Bitcoin as a core portfolio asset, he argued that Bitcoin is unlikely to deliver 500x returns unless the U.S. dollar collapses.

Instead, Silbert sees significantly higher upside potential in privacy-focused and emerging networks such as Zcash (ZEC) and Bittensor (TAO), which he believes could achieve 500x growth. He suggested that 5%–10% of Bitcoin’s capital could rotate into privacy-centric cryptocurrencies over the next few years.

Silbert acknowledged that Bitcoin’s early narrative as “anonymous cash” no longer holds in the era of blockchain analytics firms. He is skeptical Bitcoin will meaningfully improve its privacy features, despite clear demand for private digital money.

Grayscale, DCG’s subsidiary, already offers a Zcash investment trust and is seeking to convert it into an ETF. Silbert also described Zcash as a potential hedge against long-term risks such as quantum computing.

“Privacy is my jam right now,” he said, signaling a strategic shift toward financial privacy as a major investment theme.