Cypherpunk Technologies Inc. swung to a $39.4 million net profit in the second quarter of 2026 after recording a $46.0 million unrealized gain on its ZEC treasury, tying its quarterly result closely to the sharp appreciation of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
The company reported diluted earnings of $0.18 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $16.6 million in the same quarter of 2025. ZEC rose from $243.35 at the start of the quarter to $400.09 on June 30, the valuation date used for the company’s digital-asset holdings.
Cypherpunk’s ZEC holdings, classified as digital assets receivable, were valued at $129.4 million at the end of June. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $7.6 million, bringing total assets to $142.97 million. That asset figure was lower than the $163.18 million reported on Dec. 31, 2025, reflecting movements elsewhere on the balance sheet despite the quarterly ZEC revaluation gain.
The result illustrates the degree to which Cypherpunk’s reported earnings can move with ZEC’s market price. Its operating business remained loss-making during the quarter, although expenses fell substantially from the prior-year period.
zec treasury reaches nearly 2% of circulating supply
Cypherpunk held 323,394.38 ZEC as of Aug. 11, 2026, according to the company, purchased at an average price of $341.83 per token. The position represented approximately 1.92% of Zcash’s circulating supply.
A treasury of that scale gives Cypherpunk an unusually concentrated exposure to one digital asset. Based on the company’s June 30 valuation price of $400.09, its ZEC reserve accounted for the overwhelming majority of reported assets, far exceeding its cash balance.
The average purchase price also places the reported June 30 token price above the company’s aggregate acquisition cost. Because the holdings are measured at fair value, a change in ZEC’s quoted price can produce material unrealized gains or losses in the company’s financial statements without a corresponding sale of tokens.
Cypherpunk also appointed Dev Ojha, founder of Valar Group, as an advisor. The company did not provide further details in the supplied announcement on Ojha’s mandate or compensation.
operating losses narrow as r&d costs fall
Operating expenses dropped to $4.69 million in the second quarter from $16.88 million a year earlier. The company’s operating loss narrowed by the same amount, to $4.69 million from $16.88 million, before the effect of gains on its treasury holdings.
The largest change came from research and development spending, which fell to $0.2 million from $10.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. The reduction transformed the company’s cost structure and offset higher general and administrative expenses.
General and administrative costs rose to $4.5 million from $1.8 million. Cypherpunk attributed the increase primarily to $1.7 million in additional stock-based compensation, $0.8 million in higher payroll and related costs, and $0.2 million in added professional fees.
After including the ZEC fair-value gain and other items, income before taxes reached $41.36 million, compared with a $16.64 million loss a year earlier. The company recorded an income tax provision of $1.97 million, whereas it reported no tax provision in the comparable quarter.
Cypherpunk’s liability position improved during the first half. Total liabilities were $3.65 million as of June 30, down from $9.68 million at year-end 2025. Stockholders’ equity stood at $139.32 million, compared with $153.51 million on Dec. 31.
Shares outstanding increased to 107.76 million at the end of June from 83.85 million at the end of 2025. The larger share count is relevant to per-share results and means the economic exposure of each share to the ZEC treasury is spread across more outstanding stock.
first-half accounts show derivative-related loss
The profitable second quarter did not reverse Cypherpunk’s loss for the first six months of 2026. Net loss attributable to common stockholders totaled $37.78 million, or $0.21 per share on both a basic and diluted basis, compared with a $32.08 million loss, or $0.78 per share, in the first half of 2025.
The company said the six-month result included a $31.56 million loss from the change in fair value of an embedded derivative. There was no comparable loss in the first half of the previous year.
An embedded derivative is a contract feature within another financial instrument whose value changes with specified market variables. In Cypherpunk’s case, the accounting effect was large enough to outweigh the quarter’s ZEC-driven gain over the six-month reporting period.
That contrast between the quarterly profit and first-half loss shows that the company’s accounts are shaped by both cryptocurrency valuation changes and the fair-value treatment of its financing arrangements.
leap advances targeted colorectal cancer plan
Cypherpunk’s Leap Therapeutics subsidiary also reported progress in its oncology program for sirexatamab, formerly known as DKN-01, in advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma.
Results from Leap’s randomized Phase 2 DeFianCe trial were published in Clinical Cancer Research. The publication included efficacy, safety and biomarker analyses, while stating that the prespecified primary endpoint was not met in the intent-to-treat population, which includes all enrolled patients assigned to treatment groups.
Leap said it subsequently held a Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and reached alignment on elements of a proposed registrational Phase 3 study. The trial would focus on patients with DKK1-high, second-line metastatic colorectal cancer, a biomarker-defined population selected because DKK1 levels may help identify patients more likely to benefit from treatment.
The proposed study would enroll about 270 patients in a 1:1 randomization. It would compare sirexatamab combined with investigator’s-choice FOLFIRI or mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy plus bevacizumab, against chemotherapy and bevacizumab alone. Objective response rate would be assessed in an initial group of roughly 160 patients, while overall survival would be evaluated across the full study population.
In May 2026, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for sirexatamab used with fluoropyrimidine plus oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy and bevacizumab in DKK1-high metastatic colorectal cancer after one previous systemic treatment. Leap said it plans to develop a blood-based companion diagnostic alongside the program to identify DKK1-high patients for the proposed trial.
Explore how market cycles shape crypto-treasury valuations in Toobit Academy’s in-depth guide to crypto market sentiment.
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