Crypto's Holy Trinity: Are Zcash, Hyperliquid, and NEAR Protocol Still Worth Buying?

Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, called Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC), Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), and NEAR Protocol (CRYPTO: NEAR) the 'holy trinity' of crypto investments in May. He then sold all three coins by June 5.

Hayes expressed regret about selling at least one of them, as their prices rose significantly after his sale.

One reason Hayes sold Zcash was due to a severe flaw found in its protocol in late May 2026, which could have allowed for the counterfeiting of an infinite quantity of coins. However, the developer team quickly responded with an upgrade called Ironwood, moving private funds into a new, mathematically verified pool without the vulnerability.

As of September 24, 29% of all Zcash on the network was shielded, versus 23.3% a year prior. This growth suggests that the network is getting stronger, and when combined with the developer team's quick response, makes Zcash worth buying in most crypto portfolios.

Hayes argued that NEAR can be used to translate Zcash's privacy features across blockchains, allowing privately held capital to acquire assets outside of Zcash's shielded pools without revealing who is buying. Since February 2026, NEAR has brought in $2.1 million in net protocol revenue from fees, which has been used to buy back the token on the open market.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange that spends most of its income on buying back its own token. Hayes sold it due to rising energy prices and his belief that markets could peak by September 2026.