Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer of Maelstromfund and co-founder of BitMEX, announced he liquidated his entire Zcash (ZEC) position following a critical vulnerability disclosure in the Orchard Pool. The vulnerability, disclosed by Shielded Labs, had been present since 2022 and was discovered on May 29 and fixed on June 1. It could have allowed an attacker to mint unlimited counterfeit ZEC tokens, undermining trust in the asset's supply and value. Hayes stated that while he believed minting was extremely unlikely, it could not be cryptographically proven impossible. He added that the 30% price drop made him rethink his position, leading him to take profits. Hayes said he would reconsider buying ZEC if his assumptions about the exploit are proven incorrect. Following the disclosure, ZEC slumped 42% in a day. Arkham Intelligence noted that one large investor lost over half the value of their $174 million ZEC stash.

Key facts

• Arthur Hayes fully liquidated ZEC after a critical Orchard Pool vulnerability disclosure.
• The vulnerability could have allowed unlimited counterfeit token minting.