Cypherpunk Technologies Emerges: Leap Therapeutics Bets Big with $50M Zcash Treasury Move

In a bold pivot to crypto, Leap Therapeutics sheds its biotech skin—rebranding as Cypherpunk Technologies and loading its treasury with $50 million in Zcash. Privacy coins just got a Wall Street-sized endorsement.

The Zcash play signals a high-stakes gamble on financial anonymity—or maybe just another corporate attempt to ride crypto's volatility for shareholder thrills. Either way, the market's watching.

Funny how 'blockchain solutions' suddenly appear when traditional revenue dries up. A pivot, a rebrand, and voilà—instant tech credibility. The finance world shrugs: 'At least it’s not another NFT play.'

Winklevoss Capital contributes a majority of the investment

Cypherpunk Technologies’ President and CEO, Douglas E. Onsi, stated that the company’s digital assets will support its biotech business and generate long-term shareholder value through active participation in Zcash.

This MOVE comes as part of the Company’s recently completed $58.88 million private placement led by Winklevoss Capital to initiate a digital asset treasury strategy. Winklevoss Capital was the only institutional investor in the private placement, contributing a majority of the total raised.

Will McEvoy, Chief Investment Officer of Cypherpunk, stated, “The recent weak performance of digital asset treasury companies stems from PIPEs dominated by short-term, mercenary capital. We’ve taken a different path by building a syndicate of value-aligned investors who believe in the long-term importance of Zcash and privacy for the United States and the world.”

The parent company of Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, recently filed to enter the prediction markets business. It reported net losses of up to $159.5 million in its first quarterly results as a public company following a September IPO. 

According to a letter sent by its shareholders, the losses were driven by IPO-related expenses and higher marketing costs.

Cypherpunk Technologies joins a growing list of public companies using crypto as a balance-sheet strategy, following Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook and similar treasury experiments across the corporate world.

In fact, Galaxy Digital analysts endorsed Zcash as an encrypted bitcoin alternative with enhanced privacy features. Privacy coins enable businesses to transact on-chain without disclosing their profit margins or supplier costs to competitors.

ZEC has seen a two-fold surge from under $50 to approximately $700 in just two months. The coin peaked NEAR $735 on Friday and triggered $51 million in short liquidations before tanking below $500. 

Additionally, retail traders are piling in, with Open Interest hitting a record $1.13 billion. Longs are stacking up fast, and the long-to-short ratio just hit 1.06, the highest in a month.

That often signals a cooldown. If momentum breaks, $490 is the level to watch for support. According to Cryptopolitan’s analysts, ZEC is eyeing $639 as its next target. 

Meanwhile, Zcash has declined by  6.7% in the last 24 hours. The token is trading at $468. The coin is still 85% below its 2016 high of $3,191.

A  leadership shake-up accompanies the rebrand 

Cypherpunk has appointed new members to the board. According to reports, the company has appointed Khing Oei and Will McEvoy to its Board of Directors, effective November 11, 2025.

Khing Oei has been appointed Chairman of the Board, while Will McEvoy will also serve as the company’s first-ever Chief Investment Officer.  At the same time, Christopher Mirabelli, PhD, will step down from his role as Chairman but will remain a member of the Board. 

Khing Oei is the founder and CEO of Treasury, a Netherlands-based Bitcoin treasury company. The company previously raised $147 million in September through a private round led by Winklevoss Capital and Nakamoto Holdings.

Douglas E. Onsi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cypherpunk, said,  “Participant control and privacy, enabled by Zcash, are critical as financial transactions move increasingly to blockchain and tokenization. The rebranding and new leadership appointments mark a transformational step in expanding our mission as we enter a new phase of growth.”

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