Broader Market Slump
The cryptocurrency market faced another down day as Bitcoin lost the critical $90,000 support level. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $89,900, down 2% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum followed suit, dropping 3% to $3,100, while Solana fell 3% to $134. XRP suffered the steepest decline among majors, falling 7% to $2.08.
Despite the overall bearish sentiment, a few assets managed to post gains. Litecoin (LIT) rose 3%, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) climbed 3%, and Monero (XMR) also gained 3%, leading the top movers of the day.
ZCash Plunges After Developer Team Resigns
The biggest story of the day centered on ZCash (ZEC), which cratered 19% following the resignation of its core developer team. The team stepped down after a dispute with the ZCash Foundation board, citing fundamental disagreements over the project's direction and governance.
The departing developers have announced plans to form a new company and continue working on the ZCash protocol independently. They emphasized that the original mission—providing privacy-focused digital cash—remains intact, but the split raises questions about future development and community trust.
Institutional Developments: JPMorgan, Barclays, and Wyoming
JPMorgan to Launch JPM Coin on Canton Network
Banking giant JPMorgan revealed plans to deploy its JPM Coin on the Canton Network, a blockchain designed for institutional interoperability. This move aims to enable faster, more secure settlement of wholesale payments, further integrating blockchain technology into traditional finance.
Barclays Invests in Stablecoin Startup Ubyx
British bank Barclays has invested in Ubyx, a U.S.-based stablecoin settlement infrastructure startup. The investment will support the development of a platform that allows regulated financial institutions to transfer digital money seamlessly across different issuers and wallets, potentially reducing friction in the stablecoin ecosystem.
Wyoming Launches First State-Issued Stablecoin
The state of Wyoming took a pioneering step by introducing its own stablecoin, the Frontier Stable Token. Now available to the public, this token is issued by the state government and aims to provide a stable, transparent digital asset for everyday transactions, backed by U.S. dollar reserves held in state custody.
Regulatory Pressure and Network Incidents
Senate Banking Committee Faces Key Vote on Crypto Legislation
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is under mounting pressure ahead of a critical vote on proposed crypto market structure legislation. The bill, expected to be voted on next week, seeks to establish clearer rules for digital asset classification, custody, and exchange operations. Industry stakeholders are closely watching the outcome.
World Liberty Financial Seeks National Trust Bank Charter
A subsidiary of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has applied for a national trust bank charter, aiming to issue and custody its USD1 stablecoin under a federally regulated framework. If approved, this would allow WLFI to offer a compliant, stablecoin-based financial product within the U.S. banking system.
Starknet Experiences Multi-Hour Outage
Starknet, a leading Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, suffered a multi-hour outage due to a block production bug. The network was temporarily paused and then rolled back to a previous state before resuming normal operations. Developers are investigating the root cause to prevent future disruptions.