Leap Therapeutics Surges 300% on $50M Winklevoss-Backed Zcash Bet

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Leap Therapeutics Surges 300% on $50M Winklevoss-Backed Zcash Bet The company is also rebranding as Cypherpunk Technologies with ticker change to CYPH, effective Thursday. By Krisztian Sandor , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher Nov 12, 2025, 10:07 p.m. Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss at White House (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk) What to know : Leap Therapeutics (LPTX), which previously raised nearly $60 million in funding led by Winklevoss Capital, announced the purchase of $50 million of hot-handed Zcash. Those tokens were purchased at an average price of $245.37 each and have more than doubled in value since. The company is also rebranding at Cypherpunk Technologies and will begin trading with CYPH ticker on Thursday. Former oncology biotech firm Leap Therapeutics (LPTX), which earlier this month raised $58.9 million in funding led by Winklevoss Capital to pivot to a digital treasury firm, announced the purchase of $50 million of Zcash ZEC $ 454.92 . Alongside, the company is rebranding as Cypherpunk Technologies and will begin trading Thursday with new ticker CYPH, read a Wednesday press release . STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . About the only crypto that has risen in value in the past weeks, ZEC has more than doubled since the Leap buys, up another 12.2% over the past 24 hours to $523. LPTX shares rose 369% on Wednesday after news of the profitable investment. Digital asset treasuries pursue a strategy to raise funds by selling equity and debt to accumulate cryptocurrencies, a playbook pioneered by Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) with bitcoin. They became ubiquitous this year with dozens of public firms announcing a pivot, but the frenzy has considerably cooled off over the past months as their share prices tumbled in many cases below the net asset value of their digital asset holdings. "The recent weak performance of digital asset treasury companies stems from PIPEs dominated by short-term, mercenary capital," Will McEvoy, chief investment officer of Cypherpunk said in a statement. "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." Zcash is designed to offer users greater privacy than mainstream cryptocurrencies like bitcoin BTC $ 101,757.86 . Cypherpunk’s executives viewed ZEC as a hedge against surveillance-driven financial systems. Digital Asset Treasury Zcash Winklevoss Capital AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You OwlTing: Stablecoin Infrastructure for the Future By CoinDesk Research Oct 16, 2025 Commissioned by OwlTing Stablecoin payment volumes have grown to $19.4B year-to-date in 2025. OwlTing aims to capture this market by developing payment infrastructure that processes transactions in seconds for fractions of a cent. View Full Report More For You Sui Launches Native Stablecoin USDsui Using Bridge’s Open Issuance Platform By Ian Allison , AI Boost | Edited by Nikhilesh De 5 hours ago The new U.S.-compliant USDsui aims to link the blockchain’s $200bn monthly stablecoin volume to Bridge’s interoperable platform. What to know : Sui introduces USDsui, a U.S.-compliant, reward-bearing digital dollar built on Bridge’s Open Issuance platform The stablecoin will integrate across DeFi, wallets, and apps, and interoperate with stablecoins from Phantom, Hyperliquid, and MetaMask USDsui aims to serve as the backbone for Sui’s growing onchain economy, which handles over $200 billion in monthly stablecoin transfers Read full story Latest Crypto News Polymarket's Shayne Coplan: Blockchain Let Him Build a Global Force From His Bedroom 1 hour ago Crypto Long & Short: The Rise of Digital Asset Treasury Companies 2 hours ago Bitcoin Slips 1.2% as Volume Thins Near $100K Support 2 hours ago Crypto Investor Dan Tapiero Sees AI-Blockchain Crossover Fueling Next Big Wave 2 hours ago LINK Drops 4% as Chainlink ETF News Fails to Push Break of Technical Resistance 2 hours ago Dubai Court Freezes $456M Linked to Justin Sun’s Bailout of TrueUSD Issuer Techteryx 2 hours ago Top Stories Polymarket's Shayne Coplan: Blockchain Let Him Build a Global Force From His Bedroom 1 hour ago Dubai Court Freezes $456M Linked to Justin Sun’s Bailout of TrueUSD Issuer Techteryx 2 hours ago Bitcoin Plunges Below $102K Amid Weak U.S. Demand, Fed Divided on December Cut 4 hours ago Crypto Investor Dan Tapiero Sees AI-Blockchain Crossover Fueling Next Big Wave 2 hours ago U.S. SEC Chief Atkins Says Clarity Coming on Crypto Tied to Investment Contracts 6 hours ago New Strike Force Set to Target Overseas 'Pig Butchering' as U.S. Hits Burma Operation 5 hours ago In this article ZEC ZEC $ 454.92 ◢ 4.07 % BTC BTC $ 101,757.86 ◢ 1.25 %