HYPE, ZEC Edge Higher — Hyperliquid And Zcash Are Challenging Crypto’s ‘Mount Rushmore,’ Says Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan

Zcash (ZEC) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) edged higher on Wednesday, after Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan said Hyperliquid and Zcash were increasingly challenging that lineup against what he called crypto’s “Mount Rushmore.”In an interview with analyst Michaël van de Poppe on Tuesday, Hougan explained that while his crypto "Mount Rushmore" remained the four cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK), Hyperliquid and Zcash were increasingly challenging that lineup."You certainly have Hyperliquid making its case to be chiseled into the Mount Rushmore," Hougan said. "Zcash is arguing that privacy should be on the Mount Rushmore," he added. He also pointed to Venice (VVV) as a contender tied to artificial intelligence (AI) and said he remained bullish on several decentralized finance (DeFi) assets.However, Hougan said that his original basket had not changed. While the other assets offered exposure to themes like tokenization and on-chain finance, Hougan explained that “If you want a broad play on sort of monetary debasement, Bitcoin is still the leader.” was up over 1%, was up by 0.7%, was up by 1.7%, while Chainlink’s price went down over 2% over the past 24 hours.On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around BTC and ETH remained in the ‘bearish’ zone, while the retail sentiment around SOL and LINK remained in the ‘bullish’ zone over the past day.Hyperliquid, Zcash Emerge As Contenders Hougan highlighted Hyperliquid for bringing together several existing crypto-market features with a strong user experience. "A lot of what Hyperliquid is doing is not new," he said, pointing to perpetual futures and centralized order books. He added that Hyperliquid combined "six or seven different advances at once" with a strong user experience and launched them at the right time.The Bitwise CIO said Zcash’s case for joining the group centered on privacy, which he described as deserving a larger role in crypto. He said ZEC was challenging the established group specifically by arguing that privacy deserved a larger role in the market.Both tokens have had strong rallies recently. Earlier this month, Zcash overtook Hyperliquid to become the ninth-largest cryptocurrency. The move followed a strong August for both assets, when ZEC gained about 70% while HYPE rose roughly 50%.HYPE’s price and ZEC’s price were both up over 5% over the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around HYPE dipped to the ‘bearish’ from the ‘extremely bearish’ zone, while the retail sentiment around ZEC remained in the ‘neutral’ zone over the past day.HYPE, ZEC Gain Broader Market UtilityThe broader utility has expanded beyond trading venues. Coinbase (COIN) announced that users could now borrow up to $100,000 against HYPE and ZEC instead of selling the tokens.The loans will be offered through Coinbase's crypto-backed lending product, which would allow holders to access liquidity without giving up exposure to either asset.