Both Shiba Inu (SHIB 1.02%) and Zcash (ZEC +21.74%) have plenty of room to run based on their current sizes. So, at least in terms of the math involved, there's a chance that either could be a millionaire-maker crypto investment.
The question is which has the clearer path to durable demand from here, so let's figure it out.
Image source: Getty Images.
The case for Shiba Inu
As it's a meme coin, being bullish on Shiba Inu means believing that it will leverage its brand to gain in value over time, as it's simply not tenable to have an investment thesis that calls for it to continuously ride higher and higher waves of hype. In practice, the coin's growth would need the help of a large and loyal holder community, plus ongoing development efforts to improve the usefulness of its Layer-2 (L2) chain, the Shibarium, such that new capital is attracted.
Even though Shibarium's current decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked -- or how much is tied up on a blockchain -- sits at about $1.8 million today. This number is so small that it's inconsequential -- that low base value of its ecosystem means any real traction from new decentralized apps (dApps) or incentives can translate into large percentage growth if developers and capital arrive. In case you aren't familiar, the Shibarium is also supposed to be a platform for coin burning, which reduces the supply outstanding of an asset and thus forces prices up.
CRYPTO: SHIB
Key Data Points
Today, Shiba Inu has a market cap of $5.9 billion and broad crypto exchange availability, both of which lower friction for new investors discovering it and the Shibarium. So the coin's distribution does not have a bottleneck, even if execution on its Shibarium ambitions is one. If the team and community can ship compelling on-chain experiences and push real partnerships onto Shibarium, the coin's large holder base will become an amplifier for adoption.
But so far that hasn't really happened. The Shibarium is barely used, and the hype train about Shiba Inu seems to mostly be a thing of the past.
The case for Zcash
Zcash is a privacy coin that offers optional privacy features for payments and transfers using built-in cryptographic proofs called zk-SNARKs. That solves a real problem for users and financial institutions that need confidentiality in transfers.
Scarcity is also on Zcash's side. Its supply policies mirror Bitcoin's exactly, with a 21 million cap on the total number of coins that can ever exist and halvings every four years, which steadily constrict new issuance as adoption grows. Bitcoin's own history makes clear how powerful that design can be when even modest new demand arrives.
CRYPTO: ZEC
Key Data Points
Importantly, 2025 has already reminded the market that privacy has a constituency. In early November, Zcash reentered crypto's top 20 coins by market cap and traded above $600 for the first time since 2018, with its 12-month returns exceeding 1,200%. But, with explosive upward price action like what's going on with the coin right now, the odds are high that investors who buy it will get burned when the music stops, at least in the short term.
Looking ahead, there is a chance that ongoing wallet and tooling improvements to Zcash will expand its total addressable market (TAM) for private transactions and make private-by-default usage simpler, which would also support stickier demand. Add the Bitcoin-like supply curve to its growing utility, and a multibagger trajectory is possible.
Nonetheless, privacy assets like Zcash periodically encounter regulatory problems that can affect listings and access. It will be hard for the coin to gain in value if exchanges refuse to list it, or if regulators ban it altogether.
The verdict
Zcash is by far the more plausible millionaire-maker crypto from here.
It pairs real utility with Bitcoin-like scarcity and has fresh evidence of product-market fit, not to mention more features on the way. Even if it doesn't make investors into millionaires, over the long term this asset could grow by quite a bit, and that growth could still be substantial if regulators end up constraining it. Just be aware that buying it at the moment, with its price juiced by exuberant sentiment, is the same as agreeing to pay a hefty hype tax.
In contrast, Shiba Inu's future hinges on either a burst of speculative gambling in its favor or the Shibarium evolving from something vestigial to a functioning magnet for capital and builders at scale. And neither of those outcomes is likely.
