Zcash (ZEC) cofounder Eli Ben-Sasson has doubled down on a $2,000 price target for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, describing the level as a “no-brainer” for 2026 in an X post published on Thursday, while restating a longer-term target of $5,000 for the asset.

The post landed with ZEC trading at $1,098, a decline of 10.23% over the past 24 hours, according to the market figures cited in the report. Set against that level, the stated 2026 target sits roughly 82% above where the token changed hands at the time of the post — a gap that frames the scale of the projection rather than a forecast of its outcome.

Zcash, which launched in 2016, is among the best-known privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies. The network uses zk-SNARKs, a form of zero-knowledge cryptography, to enable “shielded” transactions in which the sender, recipient, and transfer amount can be concealed from public view on the blockchain. ZEC is the native token of the network.

Ben-Sasson is a veteran cryptographer who co-authored foundational research on zero-knowledge proof systems and was one of the original founders of the Zcash project. He is also a cofounder and the chief executive officer of StarkWare, the company behind the Starknet Ethereum Layer-2 network. The dual roles place him on both sides of a broader industry pattern in which zero-knowledge cryptography is applied to privacy-preserving payments like Zcash's shielded transfers and, separately, to Ethereum scaling systems such as Starknet.

Price targets expressed by individuals in social media posts reflect the personal views of the poster at the time of publication. Ben-Sasson's 2026 horizon gives the call a defined timeframe, leaving the projection to be measured against market conditions as that date approaches.

This content was first published on COINOTAG.