Grayscale released a research report on Zcash on August 21, saying the cryptocurrency’s privacy features may become necessary in the AI era as AI development brings new tools for financial surveillance. According to PANews, Grayscale said Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable shielded transactions that hide the sender, receiver, and amount, giving it cash-like privacy.

Grayscale said shielded transactions account for about 90% of Zcash transaction volume, while shielded supply stands at about 4.2 million ZEC, or 25% of circulating supply. The firm also said Zcash has a market value of about $8 billion, equal to 0.6% of the $1.4 trillion market value of the “currency-like crypto assets” segment it classified. Grayscale added that if that segment’s share rose to 5%, ZEC would be worth nine times its current level.