Trump Meets Zelensky: Progress Achieved in Russia-Ukraine Conflict, War Not the End, Possible Further Strikes on Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that both Russia and Ukraine currently aim to reach a reconciliation, adding that the Ukraine war is "not the end." Trump noted he has built a good relationship with Zelenskyy, saying "It's my honor to be with Zelenskyy." He added that "significant progress has been made" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but called both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy "tough characters." Zelenskyy said he hopes Trump will make every effort to end the war, and thanked the U.S. for its support to Ukraine. The two sides also plan to discuss details of a drone deal and additional assistance the U.S. can provide to Ukraine. When addressing the Iran situation, Trump said the U.S. strikes on Iran are not aimed at regime change, but over nuclear issues. He claimed the U.S. "launched severe strikes on Iran last night," adding that it may take further military action against Iran tonight. Trump also said the recent NATO summit was "very successful," noting that NATO leaders unanimously emphasized the need to increase defense spending. This meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy is viewed as a key milestone in their communication on the Russia-Ukraine situation, peace plans, and subsequent support measures. (Jin10)
7 minutes ago
IMF cuts global economic growth forecast, raises China's growth forecast.
On the 8th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an update to its World Economic Outlook report, cutting the 2026 global economic growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3%, while raising China’s economic growth projection by 0.2 percentage points to 4.6%. The report also lowered the growth outlook for advanced economies by 0.1 percentage points to 1.7%, and trimmed the growth forecast for emerging market and developing economies by 0.1 percentage points to 3.8%. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital withdrew $15.96 million worth of XAUT from four exchanges in eight minutes.
According to monitoring by OnchainLens, a wallet linked to Abraxas Capital has withdrawn a total of approximately 3,931 XAUT worth around $15.96 million from four exchanges over the past eight minutes. The withdrawals are broken down as follows: 760.244 XAUT (valued at ~$3.09 million) from Bitfinex, 940.207 XAUT (~$3.82 million) from OKX, 230 XAUT (~$934,000) from Bybit, and 2,001 XAUT (~$8.12 million) from Binance. The total amount withdrawn to date stands at roughly 3,931 XAUT, worth approximately $15.96 million.
7 minutes ago
AscendEX announces it is ceasing operations, with public hot wallet assets still insufficient to cover user withdrawals.
According to official announcements, crypto exchange AscendEX has released a notice stating it will cease operations, citing the current market environment and the impact of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation as reasons. In response, on-chain investigator ZachXBT pointed out that AscendEX’s public hot wallet still lacks sufficient liquid assets to cover verified user withdrawal demands totaling millions of dollars. He advised users whose assets are affected to file reports with law enforcement and regulatory authorities in their respective countries or regions to hold AscendEX co-founder George (Jing) Cao accountable.
7 minutes ago
German Foreign Minister: The time has come for Iran and the United States to hold genuine negotiations.
German Foreign Minister stated that the time is ripe for Iran and the U.S. to hold genuine negotiations, calling on both sides to halt escalation. Germany and other countries led by France and the UK are ready to participate in mine clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Global oil inventories are not in a critical phase; a suitable environment must be established to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and an agreement with Iran and Oman is needed. (Jin10)
7 minutes ago
Wall Street's leading short seller is bearish on SpaceX IPO: Its prospectus could become the biggest joke in history
GMO co-founder and Wall Street’s famed bear Jeremy Grantham has called SpaceX “the craziest IPO in history”, noting that its grand vision outlined in the prospectus could become a laughingstock for the market in hindsight. Grantham expressed confusion over Wall Street’s widespread recommendation to buy SpaceX, arguing that even if the company meets expectations eventually, it will need a disruptive breakthrough in AI; otherwise, a valuation collapse is more likely. However, Grantham pointed out that SpaceX’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index will attract massive passive allocations from index funds, and the resulting supply-demand imbalance may continue to drive up its stock price, leaving upside potential in the short term.
BNB Chain just announced it’s building an entirely new Layer 1 blockchain designed to process transactions in under 50 milliseconds with throughput exceeding 100,000 transactions per second. The testnet is slated for late 2026, with a mainnet launch expected in early 2027.
To put those numbers in context, the current BNB Smart Chain recently got its block time down to 0.45 seconds after the Fermi hard fork. Sub-50ms would be roughly nine times faster than that. The new chain isn’t meant to replace BSC. It’s meant to sit alongside it as a purpose-built arena for one specific use case: agentic trading.
A chain built for AI traders The term “agentic trading” refers to AI-powered autonomous trading systems, the kind of bots that execute thousands of trades per second without human intervention.
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The new L1 will complement BNB Chain’s existing stack, which currently includes BNB Smart Chain for general-purpose smart contracts, opBNB as a Layer 2 scaling solution, and Greenfield for decentralized storage. Adding a high-performance trading chain creates a four-pillar architecture, each piece optimized for a different job.
Sub-50ms transaction pre-confirmation is the headline number, but it’s worth noting that’s pre-confirmation, not full finality. Your trade gets acknowledged almost instantly, but the final settlement takes a bit longer.
The roadmap gets even more ambitious The new L1 is actually just one piece of a broader 2026 Tech Roadmap that BNB Chain has laid out. The near-term goals focus on upgrading BSC itself to handle 20,000 TPS with sub-second finality through parallel execution and other technical optimizations.
Then there’s the longer-term vision. BNB Chain is projecting a next-generation trading chain that could support approximately 1 million TPS by employing what it calls a “hybrid compute architecture.” That timeline stretches from 2026 through 2028.
The Fermi hard fork, which already shipped, cut BSC block times to 0.45 seconds and reduced finality to approximately 1.1 seconds. BNB Chain has also reported zero downtime in 2025 and peak transaction volumes hitting 31 million daily.
How this stacks up against the competition The Layer 1 performance wars have been heating up for a while. Solana regularly touts throughput in the thousands of TPS range in real-world conditions. Sui and Aptos have been making similar claims about sub-second finality. Monad, which hasn’t launched yet, is targeting 10,000 TPS with parallel execution on an EVM-compatible chain.
BNB Chain’s 100K TPS target would leapfrog all of them, at least on paper. The challenge is the gap between testnet benchmarks and mainnet reality. The late 2026 testnet launch will be the first real test of whether this vision is engineering reality or marketing aspiration.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
TLDR: BNB Chain targets 100K TPS with a new Layer 1 built for agentic trading and AI-driven applications. BNB price holds near $560 support while daily structure continues to show lower highs and lower lows. New architecture removes the public mempool to reduce front-running and sandwich attack risks on-chain. On-chain activity keeps expanding as DeFi, stablecoins, and active wallets continue to grow across BNB Chain. BNB Chain has revealed plans to build a new Layer 1 blockchain focused on agentic trading, with a testnet expected in late 2026 and a mainnet launch targeted for early 2027. The announcement comes as BNB trades near a major technical support zone following weeks of sustained selling pressure.
The proposed network aims to improve execution speed while reducing front-running risks through a redesigned transaction architecture. Meanwhile, BNB price remains under pressure despite signs that selling momentum has eased.
BNB Chain Targets Faster Trading Infrastructure With New Layer 1 BNB Chain said the new Layer 1 will operate alongside its existing ecosystem instead of replacing the current network. The design focuses on high-frequency trading, institutional participation, and AI-driven applications.
BNB Chain Plans New Layer 1 for Agentic Trading, Targets 2027 Mainnet
According to official information, BNB Chain is building a new Layer 1 blockchain designed for agentic trading, with a testnet planned for late 2026 and mainnet deployment in early 2027. The chain will run… pic.twitter.com/7EoW3iBNkL
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 8, 2026
According to BNB Chain, the network targets more than 100,000 transactions per second with sub-50 millisecond preconfirmation. It also aims for block finality below one second while removing the public mempool.
The project introduces direct transaction streaming to block leaders instead of broadcasting transactions publicly. BNB Chain said this approach reduces front-running and sandwich attacks during execution.
The roadmap also includes protocol-level privacy, account abstraction, reserved transaction lanes, and gas sponsorship features. According to the official announcement, developers plan to launch the testnet before the end of 2026, followed by a mainnet release in early 2027.
The announcement follows several upgrades completed during the first half of 2026.
According to BNB Chain, block intervals dropped to 450 milliseconds while benchmark throughput increased to roughly 5,200 transactions per second after multiple protocol optimizations.
BNB Price Holds Key Support as Technical Indicators Remain Cautious BNB traded around $564 during the latest session, extending its broader corrective trend after failing to sustain June’s recovery. Daily price action continues to produce lower highs and lower lows, keeping the broader structure under pressure.
The immediate support zone sits between $560 and $565. A failure to defend that range could expose the recent swing low near $550, followed by the $535 to $540 area.
Resistance remains clustered between $575 and $585. That area aligns closely with the Ichimoku Kijun-sen, which continues to cap upside attempts on the daily chart.
BNB daily price chart. Source: TradingView The Ichimoku Cloud still favors sellers.
Price remains below the Kijun-sen, while the future cloud retains a bearish configuration. The lagging span also remains below historical price action, confirming limited upside momentum.
The daily relative strength index has recovered to about 43 after recent weakness. Although selling pressure has eased, the indicator still remains below the neutral 50 level, showing buyers have yet to regain control.
Trading volume has also declined following the early June selloff. Lower participation during the recent rebound suggests buying conviction remains limited.
$BNB Chain continues to show strong real world growth as DeFi and stablecoin activity keeps expanding across the network.
Steady transactions active wallets and growing value secured reflect healthy on chain demand instead of short term market hype.
Separate on-chain observations shared by Iko Web3 point to continued growth in decentralized finance, stablecoin usage, active wallets, and secured value across BNB Chain. Those network metrics indicate ecosystem activity continues to expand even as BNB price trades below major resistance.
Tokenization becomes much more interesting when it stops sounding like a crypto slogan and starts appearing inside the rails traditional finance already trusts. That is what makes the Swift and Chainlink trial work worth paying attention to.
The story here is not that tokenization suddenly arrived. It is that established financial messaging infrastructure is continuing to test how it can connect with on-chain settlement systems.
For more details, visit the official Chainlink platform.
TL;DR Swift and Chainlink reported joint trials around tokenized asset settlement.The work centres on using Chainlink CCIP to connect traditional finance systems with blockchain environments.It is another sign that tokenization is increasingly being tested inside existing financial plumbing. Why CCIP Keeps Showing Up Chainlink’s CCIP has been pitched as a bridge between blockchains and between on-chain and off-chain systems. Trials like this are where that pitch either starts to look credible or falls apart.
The fact that Swift is involved gives the exercise more weight than an ordinary integration headline. Swift sits at the centre of how institutions think about cross-border messaging and settlement workflows.
The Bigger Institutional Story For crypto, the importance is reputational as much as technical. Institutional players care about interoperability, standards, and risk controls far more than they care about community slogans.
Every time a major financial network tests tokenized settlement with live infrastructure partners, it pushes the sector a little further from theory and a little closer to implementation.
This article is based on information from Chainlink.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Stablecoins keep inching closer to the part of crypto that matters most in the long run: actual usage. Stripe’s move to support merchant settlement using USDC on Solana is another reminder that the payments story is starting to carry more weight than the pure trading story.
That is important because payments have always been one of crypto’s most promising ideas, but for years the real-world user experience lagged behind the pitch.
For more details, visit the official Stripe platform.
TL;DR Stripe introduced stablecoin payment settlement for US merchants using Solana.The rollout centres on USDC and aims to make on-chain settlement practical inside merchant flows.It is another sign that stablecoins are moving from trading tools to real payment infrastructure. Why Solana Fits This Use Case Solana’s low-cost and relatively fast settlement profile makes it an obvious network for this kind of rollout. For merchants, cost and speed matter more than crypto ideology. If a network can help settle transactions cleanly and cheaply, that is what counts.
Stripe’s presence also changes the conversation. This is not a niche wallet project trying to prove a concept. It is a major payments company plugging stablecoins into a merchant-facing workflow.
The Bigger Stablecoin Shift For the wider market, the story is not just about Solana or Stripe. It is about the continued normalization of stablecoins as a payment rail. That can support demand for infrastructure, liquidity, and settlement tools far beyond trading desks.
If these integrations continue, stablecoins will look less like a crypto side product and more like one of the sector’s clearest practical wins.
This article is based on information from Stripe.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Circle has reclaimed its top spot in the weekly decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes for tokenized stocks, reaching an impressive $32 million in transactions over the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap Research. This marks a narrow victory over rival Micron, which finished the week with $30 million, putting the spotlight back on the competitive landscape of tokenized equities.
Circle leads the weekly rankingsFresh data shows Circle posting the highest weekly DEX volume among tokenized stock markets. While Circle secured the lead, Micron trailed close behind, and other major players such as Tesla, SpaceX, NVIDIA, and Strategy followed with volumes of $14 million, $13 million, $12 million, and $11 million respectively, signaling a vibrant yet compact market ecosystem.
CoinMarketCap Research points out that with $32 million in weekly DEX volume, Circle once again leads the tokenized stock space, narrowly edging past Micron’s $30 million in the same period.
A closer look at the data reveals that a significant portion of Micron’s tokenized trading activity is processed via the Ondo Finance infrastructure. This highlights the growing importance of tokenization platforms in facilitating the trade of digital securities and shaping market liquidity.
Glossary: A tokenized stock represents the digital version of a traditional share on the blockchain. DEX refers to decentralized exchanges where users can trade digital assets without the need for an intermediary broker.
Rising interest moves past initial hypeRecent figures suggest investor demand is extending beyond short-term enthusiasm following new product launches. SpaceX, for example, saw its weekly volume retreat from $35 million down to $13 million, while Circle’s steadier performance implies more sustained interest and possible maturation of the market.
Growth in tokenized financial products accelerates as blockchain market structures mature. This evolution offers quicker settlement, 24/7 trading access, and broader participation compared to traditional asset markets.
Institutional momentum and regulatory debates intensifyWith companies like Ondo Finance and Backed Finance ramping up their efforts to merge traditional finance with decentralized infrastructure, the landscape is increasingly shifting toward regulated digital asset platforms. This trend underscores a likely expansion in compliant tokenization solutions moving forward.
Weekly DEX volume spotlights where liquidity is concentrating within the tokenized equities ecosystem; strong trading activity helps boost market efficiency and drive down transactional costs, according to research notes.
Circle, in addition to its central role in tokenized stocks, is well known as the issuer of USDC, one of the world’s largest regulated stablecoins. The firm’s expanding involvement in decentralized finance, payment solutions, and the tokenization of real-world assets is rapidly reinforcing its industry influence.
Analysts now view stablecoin issuers not merely as payment facilitators, but as crucial components of financial infrastructure. As regulatory discussions continue in both the US and Europe, expectations are building that the next few months will see intensified competition between issuers, tokenization platforms, and blockchain networks.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
PANews July 8 news, according to The Block, entertainment-focused KOR Protocol has completed a $7.5 million Series A funding round with participation from 1kx and Blockchain Capital, among others, at a valuation of $100 million. The funding will be used for platform development, ecosystem growth, and partner integration, with a token launch also planned.
KOR Protocol is an on-chain creative asset clearing platform built on Coinbase Layer 2, providing verification, routing, and settlement infrastructure for creative works such as music and film. By registering assets on-chain, KOR helps creators match with the right brands, platforms, and distributors, and enables programmable split payments via stablecoins like USDC. KOR stated it has accumulated over $2 million in revenue, more than 1,000 partners, over 1 million registered users, and over 400,000 connected wallets. The announcement noted that KOR has also received backing from investors including Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Alumni Ventures, and SevenX.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
According to Visa’s Allium-powered analytics dashboard, adjusted stablecoin transaction volume soared to an all-time high of $1.79 trillion in June 2026. This figure firmly establishes a new monthly record for the stablecoin sector.
Monthly volume sees unprecedented jumpThe new data marks a striking 63 percent increase compared to May’s volume of $1.1 trillion. June’s results also overtook the previous peak of $1.78 trillion set in February. Even as the broader cryptocurrency market faces ongoing uncertainty and weakness, the continued growth of blockchain-enabled payments has remained a standout development.
Visa included only organic activity in its calculation, filtering out artificial actions such as bot-driven trading, exchange treasury transfers, and recursive smart contract transactions. The company implemented this method to reflect genuine usage patterns in the evolving stablecoin ecosystem.
Visa’s figures indicate that stablecoins are evolving beyond simple trading tools, emerging as a new layer of infrastructure for payments and value transfer.
USDC and USDT maintain dominanceUSDC held the lion’s share of adjusted volume, accounting for approximately 67 percent, while USDT followed with around 32 percent. On the settlement network front, Base processed a colossal $565 billion in volume, with Ethereum and Tron closely trailing as leading networks enabling stablecoin activity.
Mini glossary: Allium is a data infrastructure provider that processes blockchain data for institutional use. Base is a layer two network built on Ethereum and developed by Coinbase.
IndicatorDataAdjusted volume for June 2026$1.79 trillionVolume in May 2026$1.1 trillionPrevious recordFebruary 2026, $1.78 trillionUSDC shareApproximately 67%USDT shareApproximately 32%Base network volume$565 billionUse cases rapidly expandingThe data reveal that stablecoins are breaking out of traditional trading roles, becoming increasingly visible in payments, cross-border money transfers, decentralized finance applications, and intercompany settlement processes. Their stable, value-pegged nature positions them as a reliable medium for predictable transfers.
Nick Ruck of LVRG Research emphasized that the surge in activity during tough economic conditions highlights stablecoins’ resilience and their expanding role in global value transfer systems.
Nick Ruck stresses that the latest surge spotlights stablecoins’ stability during challenging market periods, securing their status as a central vehicle for digital value movement.
Regulation and institutional momentum may shape the futureA stronger regulatory framework is seen as key for institutional investors and companies seeking compliant digital asset exposure. USDC, in particular, is gaining prominence due to its regulatory approach in both Europe and the United States.
Over the past 30 days, a remarkable $6.8 billion in payments has flowed across nearly 136 million transactions. Fast international settlements and reduced transaction costs make stablecoins especially appealing to businesses, while individuals in regions with unstable local currencies or limited banking access increasingly rely on digital dollars for everyday needs.
Networks such as Ethereum, Base, and Solana are also gaining significance due to their ability to provide faster and more cost-effective settlements. Going forward, stablecoin adoption will depend on regulatory clarity, institutional uptake, and the level of integration with traditional finance. The competitive race between stablecoin issuers and blockchain network providers is expected to heat up even further in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
AngelList will stop supporting crypto payments for investment funding at the end of July.
Summary
AngelList will pause crypto investment funding, pushing users toward ACH and wire transfer options. The change affects USDC, USDT, DAI, and ETH payments, but not existing investments. Ripple bought Rail for $200 million to expand enterprise stablecoin payments and global settlements. The venture platform said crypto funding will become unavailable from July 31, 2026, according to an AngelList help-center notice. The change affects payments made in USDC, USDT, DAI, and ETH.
AngelList said its third-party crypto payments provider is discontinuing the service. Users will need to use traditional payment routes for upcoming investments until the company restores or replaces crypto funding support.
The company said ACH and wire transfers will remain available. Domestic wires usually arrive within one to two business days, while international wires can take longer, according to AngelList’s payment guidance.
Rail partnership winds down The notice follows reports that AngelList is ending its relationship with Rail, the stablecoin payment company now operated by Ripple. AngelList said the change will not affect existing investments, account access, or portfolio data.
The platform also told users to switch to fiat payment methods before the July 31 deadline to avoid processing delays. That gives investors and fund managers a short window to move planned investment payments away from digital assets.
The move matters because AngelList serves a large base of startup investors, funds, and syndicates. Its decision shows that even high-profile tech and venture platforms may still rely on fiat rails when crypto support becomes harder to maintain.
Ripple bought Rail for payments push Ripple agreed to acquire Toronto-based Rail for $200 million in August 2025. Ripple said the deal would strengthen its stablecoin payments business and support enterprise-grade settlement.
Rail was built to help businesses move money using stablecoins without forcing them to manage crypto wallets or exchanges directly. The platform supported global payments across fiat currencies and stablecoins such as USDC and USDT.
Ripple later folded Rail into a broader payments strategy. Ripple has been building a larger institutional stack through acquisitions, including Rail for payments, Hidden Road for prime brokerage, and GTreasury for treasury management.
Fiat rails remain hard to replace The AngelList change does not mean enterprise stablecoin payments are failing. It does show that adoption depends on product fit, compliance needs, servicing, and user demand.
As previously reported by crypto.news, stablecoin payments have been gaining use in business banking, treasury, payroll, and cross-border settlement. These use cases often target back-office flows rather than public-facing investment checkout pages.
Ripple has also continued to expand around stablecoins. Ripple joined Open USD while keeping its own RLUSD stablecoin, giving it exposure to more than one payment network.
The Bitcoin price keeps stalling, and one overlooked force helps explain it. The stablecoins that fund crypto buying are both shrinking and moving less, the same setup that preceded Bitcoin’s 2022 crash.
Data from DeFiLlama and Dune shows the market’s cash pile draining just when buyers are needed most. On its own, that is a headwind. Pushed far enough, it has been a trigger.
How a Thinner Cash Pile Slows BitcoinStablecoins are the cash of crypto. Traders park dollars in USDT and USDC, then use them to buy Bitcoin and other coins. When that pool grows, more money stands ready to buy. When it shrinks, buying power drains away.
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The record shows the drag. Since 2020, when the stablecoin supply was expanding, the Bitcoin price averaged a +5.2% gain over the next 30 days and +18.9% over 90 days. When supply was contracting, those gains shrank to +1.1% and +8.4%.
Bitcoin Returns by Stablecoin Regime: BeInCryptoBoth figures are still positive, so a shrinking pool does not spark an instant crash. It acts as a slow drag that takes weeks to bite, muting Bitcoin’s gains rather than erasing them. In short, Bitcoin still climbs when stablecoins shrink, just far weaker.
Those are averages, though, and averages hide the worst cases. When the drain runs deep and long, the drag turns into something far more dangerous.
When the Drain Ran Deep, BTC CrashedThat is what happened in one of the previous bear markets. Stablecoin supply fell 34% between April 2022 and August 2023, a slow, grinding drain, and the Bitcoin price collapsed 43% over the same stretch.
STABLECOIN MARKET POSTS BIGGEST DROP SINCE TERRA COLLAPSE
The stablecoin market shrank 2.4% ($7.7 billion) to $312 billion in June, marking its biggest monthly decline since the 2022 TerraUSD collapse.
The drop came alongside an 18% fall in Bitcoin and several stablecoin…
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) July 7, 2026 A mild squeeze had become a full liquidity drought.
Stablecoin Supply vs Bitcoin Price: BeInCryptoToday the same pattern is forming, so far in milder form. Total stablecoin supply has slipped about 4.4% from its $321 billion peak in May, and Bitcoin has fallen roughly 19% alongside it. The scale is smaller than 2022, but the direction is identical.
Stablecoin Market Cap: DeFiLlamaThe real question is whether this drain deepens. To judge that, it helps to look past how many stablecoins exist and watch how fast they are actually moving.
Stablecoins Are Also Moving LessUsage is cooling too. On-chain data shows monthly USDT and USDC transfer volume on Ethereum peaked near $2.84 trillion in March, then fell about 47% to $1.5 trillion by May before a partial rebound in June.
The two do not track tick for tick. Bitcoin actually firmed in April and May before its June slide, so this is a backdrop, not a trigger. Still, fewer dollars changing hands means thinner demand, and the Bitcoin price now sits near $63,000, well below its January highs above $90,000.
On-Chain Stablecoin Volume vs Bitcoin Price: BeInCryptoFor now, the squeeze looks more like 2022’s opening act than its full drought. The supply dip is shallow, and volume is trying to recover.
The pattern cuts both ways, though. If stablecoin supply and volume keep sliding, Bitcoin’s headwind could harden into the kind of drain that turned 2022 ugly. A clear turn back up would be the first sign the cash, and the buyers, are coming back.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
This is a general announcement and marketing communication. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Binance is thrilled to launch a Spot Trading Tournament where eligible users will have a chance to share a total prize pool of 500,000 USDC in token vouchers! In addition, Binance is introducing an “Sprint Reward” for a limited period – the more you trade, the higher your extra rewards! Promotion Period: 2026-07-08 10:00 (UTC) to 2026-07-22 10:00 (UTC) Join Now Eligibility: All verified new, regular users and all Binance VIP users can participate.Liquidity providers in the Binance Spot Liquidity Provider Program and Binance Brokers are not eligible to participate. Eligible Trading Pair(s) Trading pair(s): BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, SOL/USDT, XRP/USDT How to Participate: Click the [Join Now] button on the landing page to register.Total Trading Volume reaches at least 500 USD equivalent in any of the aforementioned eligible pair(s) on Binance Spot during the Promotion Period. Users who do not meet this threshold will not qualify for any reward under this Trading Volume Tournament. Main Reward Structure: Statistical Period: 2026-07-08 10:00 (UTC) to 2026-07-22 10:00 (UTC)Rankings Based on the Cumulative Trading VolumeReward per Eligible Participant (in USDC Token Vouchers)1st Place15,000 USDC2nd Place12,500 USDC3rd Place10,000 USDC4th Place7,500 USDC5th Place5,000 USDC6th - 20th PlacesAn equal split of 50,000 USDC21st - 50th PlacesAn equal split of 50,000 USDC51st - 200th PlacesAn equal split of 80,000 USDC201st - 1,000th PlacesAn equal split of 70,000 USDCAll Remaining Eligible ParticipantsAn equal split of 100,000 USDC, capped at 5 USDC per user Sprint Reward Structure: Binance is introducing a “Sprint Reward”. For a limited period, users will receive extra rewards based on their ranking by cumulative trading volume. The more one trades during the respective Statistical Periods, the higher the extra rewards can be. Please note that users can earn from both the "Sprint Reward" and the "Main Reward" pools at the same time. Rankings Based on the Cumulative Trading VolumeRound 1 Statistical Period: 2026-07-08 10:00 (UTC) to 2026-07-12 10:00 (UTC)Round 2 Statistical Period: 2026-07-12 10:01 (UTC) to 2026-07-16 10:00 (UTC)Reward per Eligible Participant (in USDC Token Vouchers)1st Place15,000 USDC15,000 USDC2nd Place12,500 USDC12,500 USDC3rd Place10,000 USDC10,000 USDC4th Place7,500 USDC7,500 USDC5th Place5,000 USDC5,000 USDC Promotion Rules: Trading volume of any zero-fee trading pairs is excluded from the final trading volume calculation.Transaction or gas fees will be excluded from the final trading volume calculation for the tournament.All eligible buy and sell orders will be counted towards the cumulative total trading volume.Token vouchers will be distributed to winners by 2026-08-05, and will expire within 21 days after distribution. Users will be able to login and redeem their token voucher rewards via Profile > Rewards Hub.The Spot Trading Volume leaderboard is updated at least once every 24 hours. The Main Reward leaderboard and Sprint Reward leaderboard will be displayed on the separate Sub-Spot landing page respectively. Data sync times vary daily but will always be completed by the end of the day.Only users who have met the minimum qualifying trading volume threshold will be displayed on the leaderboard along with their trading volume. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and share in the rewards now! To view more promotions for new listings on Binance, stay tuned to this page for the latest updates and exclusive opportunities. Guides & Related Materials: How to Spot Trade (App / Web) Terms & Conditions: These terms and conditions (“Activity Terms”) govern users’ participation in the activity above (“Activity”). By participating in this Activity, users agree to these Activity Terms, and the following additional terms: (a) Binance Terms and Conditions for Prize Promotions; (b) Binance Terms of Use; and (c) Binance Privacy Notice; all of which are incorporated by reference into these terms and conditions. In the case of any inconsistency or conflict between these Activity Terms, and any other incorporated terms, the provisions of these Activity Terms shall prevail, followed by the following in this order of precedence, and to the extent of such conflict: (a) Binance Terms and Conditions for Prize Promotions; (b) Binance Terms of Use; and (c) Binance Privacy Notice.Only verified users who complete the aforementioned criteria for the tournament by the end of the Promotion Period may receive rewards.This Trading Volume Tournament is available to verified new, regular and VIP users enabled for Binance Spot Trading, subject to product (and where relevant, deposit methods’) availability in users’ regions, and may be restricted in certain jurisdictions or regions, or to certain users, due to legal and regulatory requirements.Reward Distribution:All token voucher rewards will be distributed to eligible, winning users by 2026-08-05.Users will be able to login and redeem their token voucher rewards via Profile > Rewards Hub. All token voucher rewards will expire within 21 days after distribution. Winning users should claim their vouchers before the expiration date, and no replacement reward will be provided. Learn how to redeem a Binance voucher.Please note that the actual value of rewards received by a user is subject to change due to market fluctuation.Token voucher rewards are subject to additional terms and conditions.Rewards are not negotiable nor transferable.Once the available rewards have been allocated to users, no further rewards will be provided notwithstanding that an eligible user may have completed the missions.A user’s trading volume in this Trading Volume Tournament will be calculated after the user has opted-in and will be based on the trading volume (i) in their master and sub-accounts, and (ii) on all Spot products, including Spot Trading, Spot Copy Trading and Trading Bots. API trades are allowed. 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StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has revived debate over Bitcoin’s fixed supply after suggesting annual issuance.
Summary
Ben-Sasson argued lost private keys reduce usable Bitcoin supply, making fixed issuance worth reconsidering. Bitcoin supporters rejected the idea, saying the 21M cap remains central to BTC’s value. Zcash’s proposed burn-and-reissue model emerged as an alternative that keeps a fixed supply cap intact. In a Tuesday post on X, Ben-Sasson said Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap “doesn’t make sense” because users lose private keys over time. He argued that lost keys reduce the amount of usable Bitcoin and that, over a long enough period, more coins will become unreachable.
Ben-Sasson proposed replacing the fixed cap with a hard issuance rule of up to 4% per year. He said the figure roughly matches global population growth, while still keeping Bitcoin scarce under a known monetary rule.
Capping the supply of Bitcoin at 21M doesn't make sense. Beacuse over time, keys will be lost. In fact, as time goes to infinity, all keys will be lost.
I strongly support a clear monetary policy with an absolute upper bound on the # of Bitcoins in the future. Say, fix a max…
— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) July 7, 2026 Lost keys drive the argument Bitcoin does not have a password reset system. When a holder loses a private key, the coins remain on-chain but cannot be spent. That is why lost Bitcoin can reduce the supply available to buyers and sellers.
Ledger estimated that 2.3 million to 3.7 million BTC are permanently lost, while some reports place the figure near 4 million BTC. Ben-Sasson used this trend to argue that a fixed cap could make Bitcoin less useful over very long periods.
His view runs against a core Bitcoin belief. Many Bitcoin supporters see lost coins as part of the asset’s scarcity, not a problem to fix. The old Bitcoin view is that lost coins act like a “donation” to other holders because the remaining supply becomes harder to buy.
Bitcoiners reject 4% inflation The proposal drew fast pushback from Bitcoin users on X. Critics said Bitcoin’s 21 million limit is one of its main features and that changing it would make BTC look more like other crypto assets.
Some users also pointed to Bitcoin’s divisibility. Bitcoin can be split into 2.1 quadrillion satoshis, giving users small enough units for payments even if whole BTC becomes harder to access.
Ben-Sasson pushed back, saying those satoshis would also trend toward zero over time if private keys keep getting lost. He said Bitcoin could still remain scarce if the inflation rate stayed fixed and predictable.
The debate links back to comments from Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor. Saylor spoke about burning Bitcoin private keys as a “pro rata contribution” to other holders, though the report said he did not directly promise to do so himself.
Zcash model enters the debate Zcash founder Bryce “Zooko” Wilcox suggested another path. He pointed to Zcash’s proposed Network Sustainability Mechanism, which would let users burn ZEC and gradually reissue those coins as future rewards without raising the 21 million cap.
You may be interested in Shielded Labs “Network Sustainability Mechanism”, which attempts solve these problems while reinforcing the sustainability of the 21M cap. https://t.co/WrYITGq5jy
— zooko🛡🦓🦓🦓 ⓩ (@zooko) July 7, 2026 That model tries to help miner incentives while keeping the fixed supply rule. It differs from Ben-Sasson’s proposal because it does not create a higher lifetime limit.
Any change to Bitcoin’s cap would face a high bar. Developers can propose code changes, but node operators, miners, exchanges, wallets, and users would need broad agreement before the network accepts them.
As previously reported by crypto.news, StarkWare has already worked on ways to bring scaling tools to Bitcoin without forking Starknet or launching a new Bitcoin token. This new debate moves from scaling into monetary policy, where Bitcoin users have shown little interest in changing the current supply rule.
Zcash ($ZEC) surged as much as 16% on July 8 after Project Tachyon reported significant progress toward formally verifying the security of the network's upcoming Ironwood upgrade, pushing the token back above $500 for the first time since early June.
What Tachyon Is Trying to Prove The rally centres on a specific technical milestone. Tachyon and Valar Group are engaging in formal verification efforts to confirm that the Orchard protocol's zk-SNARK circuit is correct, maximally reducing security to the correctness of specifications and cryptographic assumptions. Modern tools such as Lean can automatically check these proofs once written, providing certainty about their mathematical correctness, and LLMs guided by humans can shorten the process of generating these machine-assisted proofs to just weeks, even for complex cryptosystems.
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox said the initiative is close to producing a mathematical proof that the upcoming Ironwood shielded pool contains no undetectable counterfeiting vulnerabilities, addressing the same class of issue that triggered last month's Orchard disclosure. The recently discovered undetectable counterfeiting bug in Orchard was not the first of its kind in Zcash. Thanks to formal verification of Ironwood, the team says it will be the last.
The Orchard Flaw That Started It All The backdrop matters. The Orchard flaw resided in two lines of code within the Orchard circuit, the cryptographic component governing Zcash's shielded transactions, and allowed a malicious actor to create counterfeit ZEC inside the shielded pool with no on-chain signature. Had the bug been exploited before discovery, there would have been no way to prove it. The vulnerability, present since Orchard's activation in May 2022, was discovered on May 29 by security engineer Taylor Hornby using Anthropic's Opus 4.8 AI model and patched in an emergency fix by June 1.
The disclosure sent $ZEC tumbling more than 38%. The Zcash Foundation confirmed auditors had identified the vulnerability in Orchard, though developers noted there is no evidence that user funds were affected or that ZEC's total supply changed.
Ironwood is the community's answer to that uncertainty. The current Orchard pool will be closed to new deposits and internal transactions so that funds can only move forward through the turnstile before entering Ironwood. Because the turnstile rejects any attempt to move out more ZEC than entered, users gain an immediate, trustless guarantee that no more than the correct amount of ZEC can be circulating. Activation of Ironwood is targeted for late July 2026, pending thorough testing, review, and coordination across the Zcash ecosystem.
Traders are now watching confirmation of Ironwood's activation date as the next fundamental catalyst.
Sources:
Project Tachyon: Detecting Counterfeiting after Zcash's Ironwood
ZODL: Ironwood, A New Shielded Pool for Zcash
Decrypt: ZEC Crashes 38% as Zcash Discloses Critical Counterfeiting Vulnerability
Following Orchard's hidden bug, Zcash said Ironwood's formal verification is close to proving it has no undetectable counterfeiting bugs.
Zcash (ZEC) briefly climbed above $500 after founder Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn said the project’s Tachyon Formal Verification initiative is close to delivering a mathematical proof that the latest Zcash shielded pools contain no undetectable counterfeiting bugs.
Wilcox said the project is “on the verge of producing a mathematical proof” that would eliminate the long-standing tradeoff between privacy and the ability to verify a cryptocurrency’s money supply.
Hidden Bug Scare Project Tachyon has shared new details about its verification work for Zcash’s upcoming Ironwood shielded pool, following the recent discovery of a vulnerability in Orchard.
In May, Shielded Labs security researcher Taylor Hornby identified a counterfeiting flaw in Orchard, Zcash’s flagship shielded pool. While the issue was patched through a network upgrade and the team believes it was never exploited, its undetectable nature led the community to develop Ironwood as a new shielded pool with the vulnerability removed.
Ironwood is based on Orchard but starts with the patched design. The protocol also includes a turnstile mechanism that allows users to move funds from Orchard to Ironwood, and helps demonstrate that no counterfeiting occurred. As part of the transition, payments within the older Orchard pool will be disabled, providing an upper limit on the circulating ZEC supply.
According to the project, fixing the bug alone was not enough to ensure future security. Instead, the community launched a “multi-pronged” verification effort that combines extensive security audits, analysis using frontier AI tools, and formal verification to confirm the correctness of Ironwood.
Bullish Setup? ZEC gained steadily over the past week. The privacy coin rose from around $410 to briefly cross the $500 mark before giving back some of its gains to settle near $480. Even after pulling back, ZEC is up by almost 20% during this period.
You may also like: Why ZEC’s Latest Rally May Depend Entirely on One Support Level ZEC Rallies Above $470 as Zcash Announces Ironwood Upgrade for Late July Ending Altcoin Massacre Triggers $1.2B in Liquidations as ETH Tanks Below $1.7K and ZEC Gets Smashed Trader ‘Ardi’ said ZEC is facing a key resistance around $480, where a descending trendline and a horizontal resistance level meet. This has created a “compound resistance.” The trader believes the recent rejection at that level actually strengthened the setup by bringing the price back to retest the trendline.
According to Ardi, if the token breaks above $480 and holds that level as support, it could regain momentum and climb back above $500.
Zcash (ZEC), kurucusunun yaptığı önemli teknik açıklamanın ardından yatırımcıların yeniden radarına girdi. Gizlilik odaklı kripto para projesi, kısa süreliğine 500 dolar seviyesini aşarken, yükselişin temelinde Ironwood güncellemesine yönelik kritik bir güvenlik gelişmesi yer aldı. Zcash ekibi, yeni doğrulama sistemi sayesinde ağdaki arzın matematiksel olarak doğrulanabileceğini ve tespit edilemeyen sahte üretim riskinin ortadan kaldırılmasına çok yaklaştıklarını açıkladı. Bu gelişme, hem kripto para piyasası hem de ZEC yatırımcıları tarafından dikkatle takip ediliyor.
Ironwood Güncellemesi Zcash İçin Neden Önemli? Zcash kurucusu Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, Tachyon Formal Verification adlı girişimin son aşamaya ulaştığını duyurdu. Projeye göre geliştirilen matematiksel doğrulama sistemi, Ironwood isimli yeni korumalı havuzda tespit edilemeyen sahte ZEC üretiminin mümkün olmadığını kanıtlamayı hedefliyor.
Bu çalışma, gizlilik ile arz doğrulanabilirliği arasında yıllardır süren teknik tartışmaya çözüm sunmayı amaçlıyor. Eğer doğrulama başarıyla tamamlanırsa, Zcash ağının güvenlik seviyesi önemli ölçüde güçlenecek.
Orchard Güvenlik Açığı Nasıl Çözüldü? Sürecin arkasındaki en önemli neden, Orchard isimli mevcut korumalı havuzda tespit edilen güvenlik açığı oldu. Mayıs ayında Shielded Labs araştırmacısı Taylor Hornby, teorik olarak tespit edilmesi mümkün olmayan sahte ZEC üretimine izin verebilecek bir zafiyet keşfetti.
Geliştiriciler sorunu ağ güncellemesiyle kapattı ve güvenlik açığının kötüye kullanıldığına dair herhangi bir bulguya rastlanmadığını açıkladı. Buna rağmen ekip, daha güvenli bir yapı oluşturmak amacıyla Ironwood’u geliştirme kararı aldı.
Yeni sistem, Orchard’ın güncellenmiş sürümünü temel alırken kullanıcıların varlıklarını Orchard’dan Ironwood’a taşımasını sağlayan özel bir “turnstile” mekanizması da içeriyor. Böylece dolaşımdaki token miktarı daha sağlıklı şekilde doğrulanabilecek ve eski havuz zamanla devre dışı bırakılacak.
Zcash Güvenliği Nasıl Artırılıyor? Zcash ekibi yalnızca güvenlik açığını kapatmanın yeterli olmayacağını düşünüyor. Bu nedenle Ironwood için çok katmanlı bir doğrulama süreci başlatıldı.
Bu süreç kapsamında kapsamlı güvenlik denetimleri gerçekleştiriliyor, gelişmiş yapay zeka araçlarıyla analizler yapılıyor ve resmi matematiksel doğrulama yöntemleri uygulanıyor. Amaç, yeni altyapının yalnızca mevcut hataları gidermesi değil, gelecekte ortaya çıkabilecek benzer riskleri de önceden engellemesi.
Bu yaklaşım, özellikle güvenlik odaklı blok zinciri projeleri için önemli bir örnek olarak değerlendiriliyor.
ZEC Fiyatında 500 Dolar Hedefi Yeniden Gündemde Mi? Teknik gelişmelerin ardından ZEC fiyatı son bir haftada yaklaşık 410 dolardan yükselerek kısa süreliğine 500 doların üzerine çıktı. Daha sonra bir miktar geri çekilen fiyat, yaklaşık 480 dolar seviyesinde dengelendi. Buna rağmen haftalık kazanç yaklaşık %20 seviyesinde kaldı.
Piyasa analizi yapan Ardi isimli analiste göre 480 dolar seviyesi kritik bir direnç noktası oluşturuyor. Bu bölgede hem düşen trend çizgisi hem de yatay direnç seviyesinin kesişmesi nedeniyle güçlü bir teknik bariyer bulunuyor.
Analiste göre ZEC fiyatı 480 doların üzerine yerleşip bu seviyeyi destek olarak koruyabilirse yükseliş ivmesi yeniden güçlenebilir ve altcoin 500 doların üzerindeki seviyeleri tekrar test edebilir.
Teknik gelişmeler ve ağ güncellemeleri, Zcash’ın fiyat performansı üzerinde belirleyici olmaya devam ediyor.
Bu içerik kesinlikle yatırım tavsiyesi niteliği taşımamaktadır. Piyasalar yüksek risk içermektedir ve yatırım kararlarınızı almadan önce kendi araştırmanızı yapmanız önemlidir.
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Zcash has had a rough few months. The discovery of a critical vulnerability in its Orchard shielded pool sent ZEC tumbling more than 50%, hitting lows around $300, and left a community built on privacy promises wondering whether its supply figures could even be trusted. Now, founder Zooko Wilcox says the project is close to completing the mathematical proof that would put those fears to rest.
The proof in question is tied to the Ironwood upgrade, and its completion would formally verify that the shielded pool’s zk-SNARK circuits are free from the class of bugs that made undetectable counterfeiting theoretically possible.
What the Orchard vulnerability actually meant The Orchard vulnerability, discovered and patched between May and June 2026, created a scenario where an attacker could, in theory, mint unlimited ZEC inside the shielded pool without anyone being able to detect it.
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The damage was immediate. ZEC shed more than half its value following the disclosure. What made things worse is that Zcash’s privacy model was also the thing that made the vulnerability so dangerous. Shielded pools are private by design, which creates a situation where a supply-inflation bug is uniquely hard to detect or rule out retroactively.
Ironwood and the road to formal verification Zooko Wilcox introduced the Ironwood upgrade proposal on June 6, 2026, framing it as a ground-up response to the trust problem the Orchard vulnerability created. The upgrade includes activated turnstile mechanisms and pool isolation, features that allow users to validate the total supply without needing to see individual transaction details.
The formal verification work itself is being carried out by Project Tachyon, a team working under the Shielded Labs umbrella. Their task is to mathematically prove that the zk-SNARK circuits underpinning Ironwood’s shielded pool cannot produce the class of counterfeiting bug that plagued Orchard. Formal verification produces a machine-checkable proof, the cryptographic equivalent of a mathematical theorem rather than a second opinion.
Wilcox’s announcement signals that work is nearly done. Testnet activation is described as imminent, with mainnet deployment targeted for late July 2026, pending ecosystem readiness.
What investors are actually watching If Project Tachyon completes the proof and it holds up to scrutiny, Zcash emerges from this episode with a cryptographically verified supply guarantee. Ironwood’s design, with its turnstile mechanisms and formally verified circuits, attempts to offer both: privacy for individual transactions and a provable ceiling on total supply.
Testnet trials will be the first real-world stress test of whether the Ironwood circuits behave as the formal proof describes. The mainnet late-July target means the window for something to go wrong before deployment is short.
The ZEC price chart from May through July 2026 tells a clean story: vulnerability disclosure crushed confidence, and each positive Ironwood update has clawed some of that confidence back. Traders who positioned on the Ironwood announcement are essentially making a bet on whether the proof holds, the testnet runs clean, and the late-July mainnet window does not slip.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
On July 8, 2026, every asset in the crypto top 8 declined over 24 hours. Zcash, ranked 14th, rose 4.7%. Over seven days it gained 19.5%, the strongest performance of any large-cap asset on the board. This analysis covers the structure of that move and the two conditions that determine whether it extends: volume persistence and the $440 level.
ZEC trades at $469.57 as of July 8, 2026, per CoinGecko. Market cap: $7.88 billion. 24-hour volume: $518.4 million. Weekly change: +19.5%.
The Unique Angle: strength against the tape Correlation is the default state of crypto. On red days, nearly everything is red; dispersion is the exception and therefore the information. Today’s tape: Bitcoin minus 0.3%, Ethereum minus 0.9%, XRP minus 3.0%, Solana minus 4.0%, BNB minus 1.8%. ZEC: plus 4.7%.
A sub-$500 million token rising against that tape would carry no signal; thin books produce random prints. ZEC is a $7.88 billion asset with $518 million of daily turnover, approximately 6.6% of its capitalization changing hands per day. Moves of this size at this liquidity require sustained directional flow. The buyer is large, price-insensitive within the range, and willing to accumulate against market direction. The data does not identify the buyer. It only establishes that one exists.
The counterpoint is equally structural. Buying against the tape is only vindicated if the tape turns or the asset’s specific thesis strengthens. If the broader market extends its decline, uncorrelated strength typically resolves through catch-down, not continued divergence. A 19.5% weekly gain also raises the cost basis of recent entrants, and recent entrants sell drawdowns first.
The One Number That Matters 21 million. Zcash’s maximum supply, identical to Bitcoin’s.
The relevance is comparative valuation. Bitcoin trades at $62,183 with a 21 million cap. Zcash trades at $469.57 with the same terminal supply, a ratio of roughly 132 to 1. The bull argument compresses to a single claim: a privacy-preserving asset with Bitcoin’s emission discipline should not trade at less than 1% of Bitcoin’s price. The bear argument is the rebuttal: supply schedules do not create demand, Bitcoin’s premium is its network effect and regulatory acceptance, and Zcash’s privacy feature is precisely what limits its institutional demand. Both arguments are stated here because both are priced in daily. The ratio is the scoreboard. This month it moved in the bulls’ direction.
Price Prediction Scenarios No invented targets. Conditions.
Base case: consolidation above the breakout. ZEC digests the 19.5% week between $440 and $500. Volume normalizes toward $300 to $400 million daily without price surrendering $440. This outcome preserves the structure and defers the directional question by a month. On current data it is the highest-probability path.
Bull case: continuation through $500. The condition is volume persistence: daily turnover holding near or above the current $518 million while price closes above the round $500 level. Round numbers of this magnitude typically require more than one attempt. A clean weekly close above $500 opens a range with limited recent trading history. Classification: this is a conditional scenario, not a forecast, and it fails immediately if the volume condition fails.
Bear case: reversion to correlation. The market’s 24-hour decline extends into a multi-week correction and ZEC’s divergence closes downward. Loss of $440 negates the breakout structure; below it, the level set before the current advance is the reference zone. Historical precedent is relevant: ZEC has produced multiple rallies exceeding 100% that fully retraced. A 19.5% week is well within the profile of moves this asset has previously surrendered.
Regulatory risk requires separate statement because it is discontinuous rather than gradual. Privacy-focused assets face delisting and compliance pressure in multiple jurisdictions. Such events do not respect technical levels. Any position model for ZEC should include a gap-risk assumption that chart analysis cannot price. Current regulatory status should be verified at each monthly update of this page; no assumption from a prior month carries forward automatically.
Turnover Context Across the Board Placing ZEC’s 6.6% daily turnover ratio in context clarifies the character of the move. Uniswap, the week’s other counter-tape gainer, trades at 11.3% turnover: higher participation, faster money, a rally more exposed to crowd behavior. Bitcoin Cash, up a comparable 17.5% on the week, trades at 2.1%: a thin, low-conviction drift. Zcash occupies the middle band, and the middle band is historically where durable large-cap trends form. Enough volume to establish that a real market has set the price; not so much that the position is crowded.
The composition of that volume matters as much as its size. $518 million per day sustained across a rising week is inconsistent with a single accumulation program and points instead to broadening participation. The alternative explanation, short covering, typically produces one or two violent sessions followed by volume collapse. ZEC’s profile, steady volume across consecutive sessions with today’s gain printed against a falling market, fits the accumulation pattern better. This is an inference from public data, not a verified flow analysis, and should be treated as such. Exchange-level flow data, where available, would either confirm or retire it, and that check belongs in next month’s update of this page.
Key Levels Support: $440, the structural line of the current advance. Below it, the pre-rally consolidation zone. Resistance: $500, a round-number level of the type that has historically required multiple tests. The $440 to $500 band defines the current decision range.
Assessment of Both Sides The bull case rests on three observable facts: the strongest weekly performance among large caps, accumulation against a declining tape, and a fixed 21 million supply trading at a small fraction of the asset sharing that schedule. The bear case rests on three equally observable facts: privacy assets carry non-chartable regulatory gap risk, ZEC’s rally history is a history of full retracements, and divergence from a falling market more often resolves down than up. Neither set of facts cancels the other. The levels arbitrate.
Bottom Line ZEC at $469.57 is the board’s clearest case of deliberate large-scale buying against market direction. The structure remains constructive above $440 and unproven below $500. One condition governs the bullish continuation: volume persistence through the round number. One condition governs the bearish reversal: loss of $440. Everything else is commentary.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are extremely volatile and you can lose your entire stake. Always do your own research.
Frequently Asked Questions What is the Zcash price today? ZEC trades at $469.57 as of July 8, 2026, up 4.7% in 24 hours and 19.5% over the week, with a $7.88 billion market cap.
Why is Zcash going up while the market is down? The data shows sustained buying: $518 million of daily volume, about 6.6% of market cap, lifting ZEC 4.7% on a day when the entire top 8 declined. That pattern indicates deliberate accumulation rather than a thin squeeze.
Does Zcash have a supply cap like Bitcoin? Yes. Zcash has a maximum supply of 21 million coins, the same terminal figure as Bitcoin. That comparison is central to the bull thesis at current prices.
Can Zcash reach $1,000? $1,000 would roughly double the current price and imply a market cap near $16 billion. It is a bull-cycle scenario requiring both sustained volume above $500 and no adverse regulatory events; it is not a base-case expectation.
Is Zcash at risk of being delisted? Privacy coins face ongoing compliance pressure in several jurisdictions, and delisting risk is the primary non-market risk for ZEC. Verify the current regulatory status before taking a position.
Is Zcash a good investment in 2026? ZEC currently shows the strongest large-cap momentum on the board, backed by real volume, offset by regulatory gap risk and a history of full retracements. It is a high-risk position sized accordingly, not a core holding.
Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply has always been one of the biggest reasons investors call it digital gold. But now, Zcash co-founder and StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson suggests Bitcoin should remove its supply cap and allow the supply to grow by up to 4% every year.
Here’s why he is proposing such a major change.
Why Eli Wants to Change Bitcoin’s Supply?In a post on X, Eli Ben-Sasson questioned whether Bitcoin’s fixed supply still makes sense in the long run.
“Capping the supply of Bitcoin at 21M doesn’t make sense. Because over time, keys will be lost. In fact, as time goes to infinity, all keys will be lost.”
As of now, an estimated 2.3 million to 4 million Bitcoin are believed to be permanently lost (including Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million Bitcoin stash).
With around 20 million BTC already mined, this means nearly 11% to 19% of Bitcoin’s total supply has disappeared from circulation forever.
According to him, if this continues for decades, a large part of Bitcoin’s supply could disappear forever.
Therefore, instead of keeping a fixed supply cap, he suggested allowing Bitcoin to issue new coins every year at a maximum rate of around 4%, helping replace lost coins and keeping enough Bitcoin available in circulation.
He say, “fix a max issuance rate and you get that (a good choice is 4% a year, this is a reasonable upper bound on human population expansion).”
What’s Behind 4% Annual Supply Growth?When one X user questioned why Bitcoin should only grow by 4% every year, Ben-Sasson replied that 4% represents a reasonable upper limit for long-term human population growth.
He also added that 1% to 2% annual issuance could also work, saying the goal is simply to make sure there is “enough to go around.”
Ben-Sasson noted that he was not only talking about replacing lost coins but also about Bitcoin’s future security budget, which many believe could become a challenge as block rewards continue to decline.
The proposal quickly faced criticism from Bitcoin supporters. One X user called the idea “terrible,” arguing that Bitcoin’s scarcity is the foundation of its value. The user warned that changing one core rule could eventually lead to more changes, weakening Bitcoin’s original purpose.
Another user pointed out that even if developers attempted to remove Bitcoin’s supply cap, the result would likely be another Bitcoin fork, similar to what happened with Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV.
Many people in the Bitcoin community believe removing the 21 million BTC limit would destroy Bitcoin’s biggest strength, its fixed supply. And this will destroy investor trust and weaken Bitcoin’s value as digital gold.
Story Ends Here
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Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, known as Kripos, announced the arrest of 28 men across seven countries following an operation conducted in early June 2026. The suspects allegedly used Monero to pay for access to child sexual abuse material on multiple dark web forums. Three children were safeguarded, and over 460 items were seized, including electronic devices, crypto wallets, and illegal drugs.
The arrests spanned Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany. Europol supported the operation, underscoring the kind of multi-jurisdictional coordination that has become increasingly common in dark web takedowns.
How Monero became the payment method of choice, and how that’s changing Monero sits in a specific corner of the crypto market: privacy coins, designed to obscure sender, receiver, and transaction amount by default. Bitcoin leaves a public trail. Monero, in theory, does not. That’s why it became the preferred currency for illicit dark web transactions.
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Kripos developed new methods for tracing Monero transactions in 2025. The agency has not disclosed exactly how those methods work, which is deliberate. But the operational result speaks for itself: 28 arrests across seven countries tied to payments made in a coin that many assumed was beyond reach.
More arrests are expected as the investigation continues, according to Kripos.
One suspect was also reported to have used artificial intelligence extensively to generate illegal material. Some victims were identified as family members of the suspects.
What this means for privacy coins and the investors who hold them Major exchanges, including Kraken and Binance, delisted Monero in various markets between 2021 and 2023 under regulatory pressure. The Financial Action Task Force has repeatedly flagged privacy coins as high-risk assets for money laundering and illicit finance.
This operation fits into a broader pattern. The Kidflix takedown and Operation Grayskull in 2025 collectively led to hundreds of arrests globally and relied heavily on forensic crypto analysis.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced it will support the planned network upgrade and hard fork process on the Metal DAO (MTL) network.
According to a statement from the exchange, token deposits and withdrawals on the MTL network will be temporarily suspended to protect user experience and smoothly manage the technical transition process.
According to Binance’s official announcement, deposits and withdrawals for Metal DAO (MTL) network tokens will be suspended on July 8, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The exchange stated that this step was taken to prevent technical disruptions that might occur during the network upgrade and hard fork, and to ensure the security of user assets.
The announcement stated that the Metal DAO network upgrade and hard fork is expected to take place around 7:00 PM on July 8, 2026. Binance emphasized that all necessary technical requirements will be handled by the company on behalf of users throughout the process, and that users do not need to take any additional action for this transition.
On the other hand, the exchange specifically stated that the technical update would not affect trading of tokens on the Metal DAO network. Accordingly, users will be able to continue trading on existing MTL trading pairs on the Binance platform. The temporary restriction will only cover deposit and withdrawal services.
Binance announced that deposit and withdrawal operations will resume once the upgrade is complete and the updated network is verified to be stable. The company also stated that no further announcements will be issued after this process; services will be reactivated directly.
*This is not investment advice.
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When DeFi gets noisy, the conversation usually drifts back to token performance. Aave’s latest V4 proposal is a useful reminder that the more meaningful story often sits under the hood. The protocol is still trying to improve how liquidity moves, how markets connect, and how cross-chain activity is handled.
That is the kind of work that rarely creates instant excitement but often decides which protocols still matter a cycle later.
For more details, visit the official Governance platform.
TL;DR Aave Labs outlined a technical proposal for Aave V4.The design centres on a unified liquidity layer and broader cross-chain functionality.It is an important signal that mature DeFi protocols are still investing in architecture, not just token narratives. What Aave Is Trying To Fix The proposal points toward a more unified liquidity layer, which speaks directly to one of DeFi’s persistent problems: fragmented capital across chains and products. If liquidity can be coordinated more efficiently, the user experience and the economic design both improve.
Aave’s scale means these decisions are not theoretical. When a major lending protocol changes its architecture, the ripple effects can be felt across borrowing, collateral use, and liquidity routing.
Why It Matters Beyond Aave This also feeds a wider point about the current market. The DeFi projects that survive are not always the loudest ones. They are often the ones still doing protocol-level work while attention rotates elsewhere.
Aave V4 is not a finished product yet, but the proposal shows that one of DeFi’s largest names still wants to compete on design, not just brand recognition.
This report is based on information from Aave governance materials.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Uniswap is not just defending itself. It is defending a version of what DeFi is supposed to be. That is the real significance of its Wells Notice response, which takes aim at the SEC’s attempt to fit decentralized protocols into old regulatory boxes.
For markets, legal documents like this can look dry. For the industry, they often carry much bigger implications than a flashy token announcement.
For more details, visit the official Uniswap platform.
TL;DR Uniswap Labs published its response to the SEC Wells Notice.The company argues automated protocols do not fit the regulator’s broker or exchange theories.The filing is part of a broader pushback from major crypto firms against SEC enforcement logic. The Core Of Uniswap’s Argument Uniswap’s central position is that automated software should not be treated as though it were a traditional exchange intermediary. That is not merely a technical claim. It goes to the heart of how DeFi wants to distinguish itself from centralized platforms.
If regulators succeed in treating protocol development as equivalent to running a conventional venue, the consequences would reach far beyond Uniswap itself.
Why It Matters For The Sector The Wells response lands in a broader period of legal pushback from crypto firms that increasingly seem willing to challenge the SEC directly rather than settle the narrative by default.
That does not guarantee victory, but it does show the next regulatory phase may be more contested, more nuanced, and less one-sided than it looked at times last year.
This report is based on information from Uniswap Labs.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Look at the top of the board on July 8, 2026, and you see red: Bitcoin minus 0.3%, Ethereum minus 0.9%, XRP minus 3%, Solana minus 4%. Now scroll down. Zcash up 4.7% on the day. Uniswap up 4%. On the week, three coins that most traders wrote off years ago, Zcash, Uniswap and Bitcoin Cash, are all outrunning Ethereum. The rally did not stop. It rotated.
The frame first, as always. There is no single best altcoin, and anyone selling you one name is selling you their bags. What the data shows is a specific pattern: the majors ran first (BTC +7.1%, ETH +11.3% on the week), paused today, and capital slid into large, liquid, older alts. This list ranks the beneficiaries and the base-layer names, each with its case and its risk.
The One Number That Matters 19.5%. Zcash’s weekly gain, at a $7.88 billion market cap, while every coin in the crypto top 8 printed red over the last 24 hours. A small token pumping on a red day is noise. A seven-billion-dollar asset doing it is a statement: someone with size is buying against the market’s direction. Whether that someone is early or wrong is the question this whole list turns on.
1. Zcash (ZEC): the only green thing on a red screen Price: $469.57. Market cap: $7.88 billion. 24h: +4.7%. 7d: +19.5%. Volume: $518.4 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: ZEC is the strongest large-cap in crypto this week, and today it did something rare, rising while all eight coins above it fell. Privacy is the narrative, but the structure matters more: Zcash shares Bitcoin’s hard 21 million supply cap, and at $469 the market is repricing that scarcity. Volume of $518 million on the day says this is not a thin squeeze.
The risk: privacy coins live under permanent regulatory threat, including exchange delistings, and ZEC has a long history of monster rallies that round-trip completely. A 19.5% week invites a violent give-back, and the coin sits far below its old cycle highs for a reason.
2. Uniswap (UNI): the fee machine waking up Price: $3.22. Market cap: $2.0 billion. 24h: +4.0%. 7d: +18.3%. Volume: $226 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: UNI was the other green coin on a red day, and its turnover ratio (about 11% of its cap traded in 24 hours) shows genuine participation, not a ghost rally. Uniswap remains the largest decentralized exchange, meaning UNI is the closest thing to an index bet on DeFi activity itself. When alt volume rises, Uniswap’s volume rises, by definition.
The risk: at $3.22, UNI trades at a small fraction of its 2021 highs, and years of debate about whether the token captures protocol value have never fully resolved. Buying UNI is buying governance plus hope of fee flows; verify the current status of that story before sizing up.
3. Bitcoin Cash (BCH): the quiet 17.5% nobody is tweeting about Price: $235.93. Market cap: $4.73 billion. 24h: minus 0.1%. 7d: +17.5%. Volume: $100.7 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: BCH climbed 17.5% in a week on barely 2% daily turnover, the signature of a tight holder base and steady, unhurried accumulation. No influencer campaign, no headline, just bid after bid. Rallies that nobody notices tend to last longer than rallies everybody is trading.
The risk: the same silence. Low turnover means low commitment, and a $4.7 billion coin trading only $100 million a day can retrace on modest selling. BCH also lacks a fresh narrative; it is momentum without a story, which works until it does not.
4. Ethereum (ETH): still the base-layer pick Price: $1,735.43. Market cap: $209.6 billion. 24h: minus 0.9%. 7d: +11.3%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: ETH led the majors all week and remains the settlement layer for most of what appears on this list, Uniswap included. If the alt rotation is real, Ethereum collects rent on it. Today’s 0.9% dip after an 11.3% week is digestion, not damage.
The risk: at a $209 billion cap, the explosive percentage upside lives elsewhere. ETH is the risk-adjusted pick, not the lottery ticket.
5. Solana (SOL): the sharpest pullback among majors Price: $77.36. Market cap: $45.0 billion. 24h: minus 4.0%. 7d: +4.6%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: SOL remains the high-throughput consumer chain, and a 4% red day after a green week is normal volatility for it. For believers in the ecosystem, dips like today are the entry mechanism.
The risk: today’s 4% drop was the worst in the top 8, and SOL’s weekly gain has faded to 4.6% from 10% a day earlier. Momentum is leaking. The ecosystem thesis needs price to stabilize here or the chart starts arguing with it.
6. XRP: the level broke, respect it Price: $1.08. Market cap: $67.67 billion. 24h: minus 3.0%. 7d: +5.1%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: XRP is still up 5.1% on the week and holds a massive liquid base at the sixth spot. The long-term arguments have not changed in a day.
The risk: yesterday our coverage said the pullback stays healthy above $1.11. That level broke; XRP closed the day at $1.08. In our framework, this is no longer a dip inside an uptrend, it is a failed first pullback, and the next real line is the round $1.00. Until XRP reclaims $1.11, it earns the bottom of this list, not the top.
Honorable mentions, and the warning that ran DeXe (DEXE) at $28.45 climbed 28.3% for the week, and Lighter (LIT) gained 24.2% despite a 9.4% red day, both mid-caps riding the same rotation with mid-cap risk attached. HTX DAO (HTX) added 13.2%, an exchange token with exchange-token concentration risk. And then there is MemeCore (M): last update we flagged its 90% weekly run as the warning label of the market. It ignored us and ran to +114.4% on the week, at a $1.91 billion cap. Honesty requires saying both things: the warning was early, and it was still right. Tokens that double in a week at billion-dollar caps are where fortunes are made by the fast and lost by everyone who arrives after reading about it. This paragraph is that arrival. Act accordingly.
Key Levels to Watch ZEC: holding above $440 keeps the breakout structure alive; $500 is the round wall ahead. UNI: $3.00 is now the line that separates rotation from noise. BCH: the quiet climb stays valid above $220. ETH: $1,700 is the digestion floor. XRP: $1.00 below, $1.11 above; the coin is between verdicts.
Bottom Line The week’s message is rotation: majors first, old-guard alts second, and today the second group kept rising while the first rested. Zcash is the strongest large cap on the board, Uniswap has the volume to back its move, and Bitcoin Cash is climbing in silence. None of it is a guarantee, and one of this list’s own picks, XRP, just showed how fast a healthy pullback becomes a broken level. Diversify, size small, and let the levels arbitrate.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are extremely volatile and you can lose your entire stake. Always do your own research.
Williams Challenges the Node Count NarrativeDfinity (@dfinity) founder Dominic Williams (@dominic_w) has pushed back against criticism from Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons, who claimed that Internet Computer ($ICP) is insecure and highly centralized. Williams rejected that framing, arguing that simply counting nodes is not a meaningful measure of a network's security or decentralization.
His core argument centres on the quality of participation rather than its quantity. Williams contends that true security depends on the number of genuinely independent participants involved in consensus. In his view, a network with fewer, verified, non-anonymous operators can be more secure than one with a large but loosely accountable node set.
The broader charge he levels at many proof-of-stake networks is pointed. Williams suggested that some of those chains give the appearance of decentralization while in practice being controlled by a small, coordinated group. ICP, he argues, avoids that trap through its requirement for verified node operators.
How ICP Handles Node GovernanceThe design of ICP's node structure supports Williams' position in part. Node providers on ICP must be voted on by the network's governance system, which ensures that hardware meets ICP's standards and that the identity of each node provider is known to the community. Each node provider must sign a declaration of good intent and may be liable if the node misbehaves.
Nodes are also assigned to subnets in a way designed to maximise decentralization across operators, geography, and jurisdiction, a process the protocol calls deterministic decentralization.
Rather than using traditional proof-of-work or proof-of-stake models, ICP employs a consensus mechanism that combines threshold cryptography, randomized leader selection, and on-chain governance via the Network Nervous System (NNS).
Critics, including Bons, argue that the relatively small and permissioned nature of ICP's node set remains a vulnerability. Node requirements involve enterprise-grade hardware, which has raised concerns about access and decentralization among smaller operators. The debate reflects a wider, unresolved tension in the blockchain industry over how decentralization should be measured and what tradeoffs are acceptable in pursuit of performance and security.
Sources:
Internet Computer Official Docs: Network Architecture
99Bitcoins: What Is Internet Computer (ICP)?
Internet Computer Wiki: Decentralization in ICP
OpenAI has announced that its GPT-5.6 Sol model, along with Terra and Luna variants, will be launching publicly this Thursday. This development follows a period of limited preview that began in late June, restricted to select U.S. government-approved organizations. The public release is set to broaden the availability of these models globally, expanding beyond the initial limited access. Market observers have noted that this announcement aligns with prior expectations that the official release would occur in early July, particularly on July 9, when Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 is set to exit subscription tiers.
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Key Takeaways The announcement of GPT-5.6’s public launch appears consistent with expectations of an early July release, as suggested by market pricing. Market pricing for the July 9, 2026 release date has increased to 86% YES, reflecting confidence in the imminent launch. Broader availability of GPT-5.6 is expected to drive significant activity in associated markets, as indicated by the sharp increase in odds for a near-term release. What to Watch Markets will be closely monitoring any official communications from OpenAI confirming the release of GPT-5.6 on Thursday. Additionally, any updates from OpenAI leadership or related media coverage could further influence market expectations. Observers should also watch for potential impacts on competitor products, such as Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5, which may adjust its strategy in response to GPT-5.6’s entry into the market.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h July 31, 2026 98.8% — — View market → July 17 2026 97.4% — — View market → July 13 2026 97.5% — — View market → July 24 2026 98.9% — — View market → July 10 2026 94% — — View market → July 8 2026 7% — — View market → July 15 2026 97.4% — — View market → July 7 2026 0.1% — — View market → July 9 2026 93% — — View market →
The announcement follows last week’s launch of a limited preview of the GPT-5.6 family, making its latest AI models available to a small group of trusted organizations ahead of a wider release.
The preview includes GPT-5.6 Sol, the company’s flagship model, as well as GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-5.6 Luna, which are designed to offer lower-cost and faster performance, respectively. The models can currently be accessed only via the OpenAI API and Codex, with ChatGPT excluded from the preview.
According to OpenAI, the staged rollout supports further safety testing and coordination before expanding access. The company also introduced new pricing tiers and enhanced prompt caching capabilities for the GPT-5.6 models.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Elon Musk said SpaceXAI will release Grok 4.5 to the public tomorrow. He called it an Opus-class model that runs faster and costs less.
The launch would land around the same time OpenAI moves its GPT-5.6 models toward broad availability.
Grok 4.5 Meets a GPT-5.6 DeadlineGrok 4.5 runs on xAI’s 1.5 trillion-parameter V9 foundation, with Cursor coding data added in supplemental training. It entered private beta at SpaceX and Tesla on June 28.
Musk said at the time that it performs close to or beyond Opus, a claim that rested on early evaluations. Today, he announced that positive feedback from beta customers drove the decision to open Grok 4.5 to the public.
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Based on strong positive feedback from customers in our beta test program, @SpaceXAI will make Grok 4.5 available to the public tomorrow.
It is an Opus-class model, but faster, more token-efficient and lower cost.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 8, 2026 OpenAI also previewed its GPT-5.6 family in late June, but limited access to a small group of vetted partners. On Wednesday, the company said GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna will launch publicly on Thursday.
“We’re expanding preview access globally now,” the post read.
The timing revives a long rivalry between Musk and the company he helped start. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and left the board in 2018.
He then sued OpenAI and Sam Altman in 2024, arguing they had broken an early pledge to run the AI venture as a nonprofit. However, a jury dismissed that lawsuit in May as untimely.
The upcoming launches put the two head-to-head once more. With both companies opening access to their latest flagship models, the focus now shifts from early previews to real-world performance as developers and enterprises begin evaluating the competing systems.
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Key Takeaways OpenAI received federal authorization to deploy GPT-5.6 publicly this Thursday, featuring Sol, Terra, and Luna model variants Security concerns regarding AI’s capacity to detect software weaknesses caused the initial postponement Federal officials under the Trump administration authorized widespread deployment after evaluations and consultations with OpenAI leadership Competitor Anthropic experienced temporary suspension of its Mythos 5 and Fable 5 systems following June 12 export restrictions, with limited restoration occurring recently OpenAI and Anthropic have both submitted private IPO filings seeking approximately $1 trillion valuations OpenAI has announced it will deploy its most advanced artificial intelligence model collection, GPT-5.6, this Thursday after receiving federal authorization following comprehensive national security evaluations.
The GPT-5.6 collection consists of three distinct tiers. Sol represents the premium flagship offering. Terra serves as the intermediate option designed for routine applications. Luna provides a rapid, economical alternative.
The company announced the deployment through a Tuesday post on X, noting it was simultaneously broadening preview availability across international markets before the complete rollout.
The deployment experienced postponement after federal authorities requested OpenAI restrict availability to a limited group of authorized domestic partners. This directive emerged from apprehensions that sophisticated AI systems might enable malicious actors to discover code vulnerabilities.
According to Axios, the Trump administration authorized the expanded deployment following supplementary technical evaluations and discussions between OpenAI representatives and government authorities.
Security Considerations Influenced Deployment Timeline Washington has intensified monitoring of advanced AI systems due to concerns about potential exploitation by foreign adversaries, particularly China and Russia.
The United States and China are engaged in competitive development of next-generation AI capabilities, with analysts warning these systems could enable more sophisticated cyber operations targeting complex, outdated infrastructure networks.
OpenAI competitor Anthropic encountered comparable limitations. Its Mythos 5 and Fable 5 systems were deactivated for all users following a federal export control directive issued June 12. Limited access was reestablished recently after Anthropic implemented protective measures.
Mythos, designed specifically for cybersecurity specialists, continues to be accessible exclusively to approved US-based organizations. Chinese officials have expressed concerns the system could be weaponized to exploit software weaknesses against their strategic interests.
Anthropic has stated it is “probably impossible” to create any AI system completely immune to circumvention attempts.
Cost Structure and Market Dynamics OpenAI announced Terra will carry pricing at fifty percent of its predecessor, GPT-5.5, as rivalry with Anthropic and Google escalates.
GPT-5.6 Sol was characterized by OpenAI as comparable to Anthropic’s Mythos Preview on the ExploitBench cybersecurity evaluation metric during late June previews.
Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI also took action this week, releasing its Grok 4.5 system to general users.
The Trump administration has enacted an executive directive establishing a voluntary arrangement allowing AI developers to provide frontier systems to federal authorities for up to 30 days prior to public deployment.
OpenAI has expressed opposition to making this type of government review process the permanent standard, contending it delays access to powerful capabilities for enterprises and consumers who require them.
Both OpenAI and Anthropic have submitted confidential IPO documentation with federal regulators, with each company pursuing valuations approaching $1 trillion.
Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, has reportedly sold an additional 122,498 SOL tokens, equivalent to approximately $10.08 million. This sale adds to Pump.fun’s cumulative sales, which now total 4.656 million SOL, worth around $794.8 million at an average selling price of $170.7 per token. The transaction occurred as SOL trades near $80.30, considerably below the historical average sale price, indicating ongoing structural selling pressure. This activity is part of Pump.fun’s strategy to convert fee revenue into stablecoins, impacting market sentiment for Solana.
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The consistent selling from Pump.fun, the largest single recurring seller of SOL, may exert downward pressure on Solana’s price. This development coincides with various prediction markets that are assessing Solana’s potential price movements in July, including whether it will reach $90. Current market pricing suggests a decrease in the likelihood of Solana hitting this target, as indicated by the adjusted probabilities in related prediction markets.
Key Takeaways The recent sale by Pump.fun suggests ongoing structural selling pressure on Solana. Market pricing implies a lower probability of Solana reaching $90 in July, consistent with the latest sales data. Pump.fun’s activities appear to reflect a strategy of treasury rebalancing, impacting market sentiment. What to Watch Observers should monitor any further sales by Pump.fun, as additional large transactions could continue to influence Solana’s market sentiment. Key developments in Solana’s ecosystem, such as technological upgrades or regulatory changes, could also impact price predictions. Additionally, market participants will be watching for any broader crypto market shifts that could affect Solana’s price trajectory in July.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 38.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.8% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 4.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 2.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.8% — — View market → August 1 2026 11.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 1.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 15% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 3.6% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market →
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Binance Research releases stablecoin industry report: Platform stablecoin reserves hit $53 billion, market share rises to 57%
Binance Research has released an industry report titled "Stablecoins: Reshaping the Financial Landscape". The report shows that as of now, Binance’s stablecoin reserve on its platform has reached $53 billion, with its market share rising from 54% to 57%—about $420 billion higher than that of the second-largest crypto exchange. Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2026, cumulative trading volume of TradFi-related perpetual contracts exceeded $1.1 trillion, with Binance’s volume topping $500 billion and accounting for roughly 47% of the market share. Additionally, since 2022, Binance Earn has distributed a total of $1.2 billion in yields to over 14 million stablecoin users. BNB Chain sees 10 million daily stablecoin transactions and 15 million monthly active addresses, holding a roughly 24% market share by transaction volume. The report notes that stablecoins are evolving from a crypto asset trading tool to a critical settlement infrastructure for global finance, while Binance has built a one-stop stablecoin financial ecosystem covering trading, payments, yields, investments and on-chain ecosystems.
10 minutes ago
Blue Origin completes $10 billion financing, valuation reaches $130 billion.
According to a report by The New York Times, Blue Origin, the commercial space company founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has secured $10 billion in financing, bringing its valuation to $130 billion.
10 minutes ago
BNB Chain is developing a new-generation Layer 1 (L1) network.
BNB Chain is developing a brand-new Layer 1 network, targeting to cut transaction latency to under 50 milliseconds and achieve a throughput of 100,000 transactions per second (TPS). The network is scheduled to officially launch its testnet in 2026 to further improve on-chain performance and scalability.
10 minutes ago
Strategy CEO: The company's BTC holdings have increased by 10% over the past three months, and its year-to-date BTC return rate has risen from 3.7% to 7.8%
Strategy CEO Phong Le stated in a post that between April 6 and July 6, 2026, the firm’s Bitcoin holdings increased by 10% to 843,775 BTC. Over the same three-month period, Strategy’s U.S. dollar reserves rose 13% to $2.55 billion. Year-to-date, its BTC return has climbed from 3.7% to 7.8%, marking more than double growth.
10 minutes ago
Zhipu issues 19.8 million H shares via private placement.
According to Bloomberg, Zhipu issued 19.8 million H shares via a private placement, with the offering price ranging from HK$1,588 to HK$1,698 per share.
Michael Coates has joined the Solana Foundation as its Chief Information Security Officer after a career spanning leadership roles at Mozilla, Twitter and enterprise security startup Altitude Networks.
Summary
Michael Coates has joined the Solana Foundation as Chief Information Security Officer after previously leading security at Mozilla, Twitter and Altitude Networks. Coates said Solana’s transaction scale and multi billion dollar daily stablecoin activity influenced his decision to join the foundation. His work will focus on strengthening crypto security, improving application security practices and working with policymakers on cybersecurity standards. According to a post shared by Michael Coates on X, he has taken over as CISO of the Solana Foundation, where he will lead security efforts across the network as blockchain adoption and institutional activity continue to grow.
Coates cites Solana’s scale as a key factor Explaining his decision, Coates said Solana now handles tens of billions of dollars in daily stablecoin volume while processing more transactions each day than most of the cryptocurrency industry combined. He also pointed to recent tokenization activity on the network, including the launch of SpaceX tokenized shares on the same day the asset debuted on Nasdaq.
Big Update for me – a new chapter and I'm now CISO of @SolanaFndn .
I've always been drawn to fast moving new frontiers. Head of Security of Mozilla during the height of the browser wars, the first CISO of Twitter as they burst onto the world's stage, and even as a startup… pic.twitter.com/nrxtpxIKqZ
— Michael Coates (@_mwc) July 7, 2026 Coates enters the role after serving as Head of Security at Mozilla during the browser competition era and becoming Twitter’s first Chief Information Security Officer as the social media platform expanded globally. He later founded enterprise SaaS security company Altitude Networks, which entered the crypto sector after its acquisition by CoinList.
Within the Solana Foundation, Coates said his work will include strengthening operational security, improving application security practices and addressing risks unique to digital assets. He added that he also plans to work with policymakers and standards bodies on cybersecurity regulation affecting the crypto industry.
Describing the current threat environment, Coates said attackers remain heavily motivated to steal digital assets and noted that malicious uses of artificial intelligence are becoming an increasing security concern. He added that AI can also strengthen defensive capabilities when used effectively and referenced his congressional testimony on the subject earlier this year.
The appointment comes as digital asset firms continue bringing experienced leaders from technology, cybersecurity and regulatory backgrounds into senior positions while institutional participation expands across the sector.
A similar trend emerged last year when former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Christopher Giancarlo joined Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum as a senior policy advisor. Sygnum said at the time that Giancarlo would advise on global regulation, strategic partnerships and international growth, underscoring the industry’s continued recruitment of experienced executives as crypto infrastructure develops.
G2 Esports just beat T1 in a 45-minute slugfest at the Mid-Season Invitational 2026, taking a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five series.
Game 1 of the bracket stage series took place on July 8, 2026, and it was anything but a blowout. The 45-minute runtime tells you this was a chess match, not a steamroll. T1, historically one of the most dominant organizations in competitive League of Legends through their LCK pedigree, didn’t go down quietly.
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Prediction markets on platforms including Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase were actively trading throughout the match. Real-time odds shifted as the game progressed, with trading volumes reportedly reaching into the millions.
The organization holds treasury investments in Solana, a position that has been far from trivial for their bottom line. In 2024, G2 realized approximately 16 million euros from Solana sales, a figure that materially bolstered their financial results for the year.
Beyond the treasury play, G2 maintains an active sponsorship with Betpanda, a crypto-focused betting platform.
When you combine the Solana treasury, the Betpanda partnership, and the fact that prediction markets are now trading G2’s live match results on platforms like Coinbase, you start to see an organization that has woven itself deeply into the crypto ecosystem.
The risk runs in both directions. A Solana downturn would hit G2’s balance sheet just as hard as the 2024 gains helped it.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Clearstream has expanded its institutional crypto custody service by adding six more digital assets.
Summary
Clearstream now supports eight crypto assets, widening institutional access beyond Bitcoin and Ether custody. The service uses Crypto Finance as sub-custodian, keeping the offering inside Deutsche Börse’s regulated structure. MiCA is pushing European institutions toward licensed custody, settlement, trading, and stablecoin infrastructure providers. Clearstream, the post-trade services provider owned by Deutsche Börse Group, said it now accepts Ripple-linked XRP, Cardano, Solana, Litecoin, Stellar, and Avalanche in its crypto custody offering. These assets join Bitcoin and Ether, which were already supported.
The move gives institutional clients a wider list of crypto assets inside Clearstream’s custody system. The firm said the expansion responds to growing demand for MiCA-compliant crypto assets in institutional finance.
Clearstream is one of Europe’s largest settlement and custody firms. Its parent, Deutsche Börse Group, operates across trading, clearing, settlement, and market infrastructure.
Crypto Finance remains sub-custodian Clearstream said the service continues to use Crypto Finance, another Deutsche Börse Group company, as sub-custodian. Crypto Finance holds a MiCAR license, which lets it provide regulated crypto services across Europe.
The structure allows Clearstream clients to access crypto custody through existing accounts with Clearstream Banking S.A. in Luxembourg. It also lets institutions use familiar market infrastructure instead of setting up direct relationships with separate crypto service providers.
When the service was first announced, Clearstream said it would support Bitcoin and Ether before considering more assets based on client demand. As previously reported by crypto.news, the original plan gave about 2,500 institutional clients access to crypto custody and settlement from April 2025.
MiCA shapes institutional demand The timing comes as Europe’s crypto market adjusts to the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. MiCA created a single rulebook for crypto-asset service providers, including custody, exchange, transfer, and stablecoin services.
Meanwhile, ESMA’s register expanded after the July 1 deadline, with more firms gaining authorization to serve clients across the European Union. That shift has made licensing a key part of institutional crypto access.
Clearstream’s expansion fits that market. Banks, brokers, asset managers, and trading firms need custody providers that can meet regulatory, settlement, reporting, and operational needs.
The new token list also shows that institutional access is moving beyond only Bitcoin and Ether. XRP, Solana, Cardano, Litecoin, Stellar, and Avalanche each have large public markets and established user bases.
Deutsche Börse widens digital asset rails Deutsche Börse Group has been building several digital asset services across its market infrastructure. Clearstream’s custody expansion adds another piece to that broader strategy.
Moreover,Deutsche Börse partnered with Circle to bring USDC and EURC into its trading and custody network under MiCA. The plan includes trading through 3DX and custody through Clearstream.
The group’s approach centers on regulated access rather than direct retail crypto services. Clearstream serves institutional clients that often need asset safety, settlement support, and clear legal structures before handling digital assets.
Key Takeaways Bitcoin commands 40% allocation due to institutional adoption and proven market stability Ethereum captures 25% for its leadership in decentralized finance and smart contract platforms Solana secures 15% thanks to superior transaction speed and expanding ecosystem Chainlink holds 10% as critical oracle infrastructure supporting real-world data integration Near Protocol takes 5% for its emerging AI integration and Layer 1 innovation Distributing $1,000 strategically across five digital assets plus a stable reserve creates a framework that manages volatility while capturing growth potential.
Building the Foundation With Market Leaders Bitcoin anchors this allocation strategy with a 40% position worth $400. As the pioneering cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization, it benefits from unmatched liquidity and growing institutional acceptance through exchange-traded funds and corporate balance sheet adoption. Its established position makes it the most dependable choice among digital currencies.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Ethereum claims the second-largest portion at 25%, representing $250. This network underpins the majority of decentralized financial applications and stablecoin infrastructure while serving as the primary platform for asset tokenization. Traditional financial players exploring blockchain solutions consistently choose Ethereum’s established ecosystem.
Combined, these two assets account for 65% of the total allocation. This concentration acknowledges their relatively lower volatility compared to emerging alternatives.
Adding High-Growth Exposure Solana receives a 15% allocation worth $150. This blockchain challenges Ethereum with superior transaction throughput and minimal fees, establishing significant presence in decentralized finance, payment systems, and mainstream crypto applications. While introducing additional risk, it offers substantial upside potential through continued network adoption.
Chainlink captures 10%, translating to $100. Its decentralized oracle infrastructure bridges blockchains with external data sources, creating essential functionality for DeFi protocols and enterprise applications. Growing tokenization of traditional assets should drive increased demand for reliable data feeds.
Near Protocol completes the portfolio with 5%, or $50. This platform emphasizes artificial intelligence infrastructure alongside its Layer 1 capabilities. Though representing the smallest and most speculative position, it provides meaningful exposure to the convergence of AI and blockchain technology.
Maintaining Liquid Reserves The remaining 5%, worth $50, remains in stablecoin holdings. This represents a strategic buffer rather than idle capital. Maintaining liquid reserves enables opportunistic purchases during market corrections without liquidating existing positions.
Cryptocurrency markets experience dramatic price movements. A modest reserve provides tactical flexibility when attractive entry points emerge.
The Case for Strategic Allocation No individual asset guarantees superior returns. Distributing capital across five cryptocurrencies with distinct applications and risk characteristics helps minimize portfolio damage when individual assets decline sharply.
Bitcoin and Ethereum establish the baseline stability. Solana, Chainlink, and Near deliver growth potential. The stablecoin reserve maintains optionality for market dislocations.
This framework avoids speculation in favor of methodical market exposure. It represents a rational entry point for allocating $1,000 toward digital assets without concentrating risk excessively.
The allocation mirrors current market dynamics: institutional participation continues expanding, artificial intelligence intersects with blockchain infrastructure, and fundamental protocol layers gain importance in how decentralized networks operate.
Solana has posted a remarkable recovery, climbing 13.67 percent over the past week and solidifying its position in the $79 to $82 range. With daily trading volume topping $1.6 billion, this bullish momentum stands out as a noticeable shift for altcoins, which have been stuck in a prolonged sideways trend. Market participants are watching these developments closely, eager to interpret what might come next for SOL.
Record SOL withdrawals from exchanges grab attentionRoughly $120 million worth of SOL—equivalent to about 1.5 million tokens—were withdrawn from centralized exchanges last week. While the exit of assets from trading platforms signals a cooling in short-term selling pressure, market experts warn this does not guarantee an immediate price rally. For Solana to maintain its bullish structure, the $75 to $77 range must act as a reliable support.
Ali Charts emphasized that approximately $120 million in SOL left exchanges over the last week, translating to 1.5 million tokens, highlighting its potential impact.
Recent technical indicators offer further insights. Solana’s three-day chart has generated a SuperTrend buy signal, which is notable for traders relying on technical strategies. Following the previous SuperTrend sell signal, SOL experienced a sharp pullback, so investors are looking for solid confirmation above $82 to validate the rally’s strength.
Analysts eye the $150 targetCrypto analyst Ansem has been among the most optimistic voices regarding Solana, predicting that SOL could revisit the $150 mark in the coming months. His outlook is based on the fact that on-chain assets have remained trapped below key resistance levels for over a year. Historically, such extended periods of accumulation often precede major moves in either direction.
Ansem points out that timing the absolute bottom is not necessary; instead, the critical point is to take positions as momentum begins to build, identifying the breach of $80 as a key level.
On the technical front, the MACD indicator continues to suggest an uptrend for SOL. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers near 60, indicating that the asset is neither overbought nor oversold. Resistance in the upper $80s and low $90s continues to be an immediate obstacle for further gains.
Prediction market launches on SolanaA new on-chain prediction market called World went live on the Solana network on July 1, offering its services directly through the Phantom wallet. World allows users to trade contracts linked not only to cryptocurrency prices but also to events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Phantom has become widely adopted as a go-to wallet application within the Solana ecosystem.
Mini glossary: An oracle is an infrastructure that transports off-chain data to smart contracts. Chainlink is a widely used oracle network that securely relays data on prices, outcomes, and other events to blockchains.
World relies on Chainlink’s oracle services and settles transactions using the CASH stablecoin. Operating on a non-custodial, order flow-managed architecture, the platform directs trades via designated liquidity providers. Such dApps increase transaction activity and are viewed as factors that enhance Solana’s overall adoption and utility.
According to Ash Crypto, Solana has printed its first green candle on the monthly chart in nine months, having rallied 38 percent from its $60 low and adding $14 billion in market capitalization. While $82 remains the crucial threshold for the short term, a breakout through the $92 to $95 range could set the stage for SOL to make a fresh move toward $100.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Solana (SOL) price is down 3% on Wednesday, extending a bearish reversal after an overhead trendline capped the previous week’s recovery. Institutional inflows eased to $1.67 million on Tuesday, while declining Open Interest and fluctuating funding rates indicate mixed retail demand. The technical outlook for SOL indicates a bearish bias, with a risk of a decline of over 20% if price clears below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $76.67.
Sellers regain strength as institutional buying easesSolana is losing retail demand as broader market risk-off sentiment builds, while inflows into SOL-focused Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) ease. CoinGlass data show SOL futures Open Interest (SOL) is down 4% in the last 24 hours to $5.31 billion, indicating a decline in open SOL contracts as risk-on sentiment eases among traders. At the same time, volume is down 8% to $8.66 billion, while funding rates stand at 0.0029%, up from -0.0042% the previous day, indicating near-term indecisiveness.
On the institutional front, the SOL ETFs recorded inflows of $1.67 million on Tuesday, down from $8.36 million on Monday, signaling easing demand from institutional investors.
SOL ETFs data. Source: Sosovalue
SOL derivatives data. Source: CoinGlassSolana risks a 20% drop below its 50-day EMASolana is down 3% on Wednesday, extending its decline from a long-term overhead trendline, which capped the previous week's recovery around $83.94. SOL remains capped well below the 200-day EMA at $95.51, which keeps the broader tone neutral rather than outright bullish
From a technical perspective, the 50-day EMA at $76.67, reinforced by the 50% retracement at $76.92, measured over the downswing from $98.41 to $60.13, serves as the immediate support zone for Solana. A decisive close below this zone could open the path toward the lower Fibonacci anchor at $60.13, indicating a downside of around 22%.
That said, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is descending toward its signal line, risking a bearish crossover as buying pressure wanes, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) dips to 54 as buyers struggle to maintain momentum.
SOL/USDT daily price chart.On the topside, initial resistance emerges at the downward resistance trendline at $83.94, where a sustained upmove would open the way toward the 200-day EMA at $95.51.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Binance Research releases stablecoin industry report: Platform stablecoin reserves hit $53 billion, market share rises to 57%
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A popular Solana crypto wallet is set to integrate perpetual futures, according to a report by Motley Fool. This development is expected to enhance the wallet’s utility by allowing users to engage in leveraged positions without owning the underlying Solana (SOL) tokens. The integration represents a significant step in expanding Solana’s role as a decentralized finance (DeFi) hub, providing users with easier access to perpetual futures liquidity. Currently, Solana’s price hovers near $77, with market participants closely monitoring the $80 level as a potential breakout point.
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The introduction of perpetual futures could attract both institutional and retail interest, potentially impacting Solana’s market dynamics. As perpetual futures are derivatives without an expiration date, they offer a flexible option for users, which may lead to increased on-chain activity on the Solana network. This move is consistent with scenarios where Solana’s price trajectory might see upward pressure, as suggested by current market pricing.
Key Takeaways The integration of perpetual futures into a popular Solana wallet appears consistent with enhanced DeFi capabilities on the network. Market pricing suggests that participants view this development as supportive of Solana’s price increase, with potential for growth above the $80 mark. The addition of perpetual futures aligns with Solana’s strategy to expand institutional and retail access to its ecosystem. What to Watch Watch for further announcements regarding the specific wallet involved and the timeline for implementation. Key indicators include Solana’s ability to maintain support levels and any shifts in volume or on-chain activity. Developments such as institutional adoption or changes in regulatory stances could also influence market dynamics, affecting Solana’s price movement in July.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 31% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.8% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 4% — — View market → August 1 2026 1.8% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.9% — — View market → August 1 2026 10% — — View market → August 1 2026 1% — — View market → August 1 2026 18.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 3.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market →
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Pump.fun deposited 68,596 SOL valued at approximately $5.65 million into Kraken across several transactions, raising fresh questions about Solana’s near-term supply outlook.
The largest transfer reached 41,746 SOL, while several smaller deposits followed within hours, showing a coordinated movement toward the exchange.
Such transfers often preceded potential selling activity because tokens became readily available for trading.
However, the broader market showed little evidence that participants rushed to offload their holdings.
Exchange withdrawals continued dominating spot activity Spot flow data presented a different picture despite Pump.fun’s latest deposits.
Solana recorded a daily net outflow of $9.62 million, indicating that exchange withdrawals still exceeded deposits across the broader market.
The reading suggested many investors continued moving SOL away from trading platforms instead of preparing immediate sales.
Although the latest Kraken transfers introduced fresh supply, the wider flow data showed demand continued absorbing those additions without producing a sustained influx of exchange balances.
Such divergence highlighted an important distinction between isolated institutional transfers and overall investor behavior.
As long as aggregate outflows remain dominant, buyers appear willing to accumulate available liquidity rather than retreat from the market, reducing the immediate impact of Pump.fun’s exchange activity.
Source: CoinGlass Can Solana defend support after rejection? Solana [SOL] failed to sustain its recent advance after rejecting the $82.56 resistance level and later retreated toward $78.28 on the daily chart.
That decline pushed price closer to the $74.41 support, which remained the next level buyers needed to defend to preserve the recent recovery structure.
A deeper breakdown would likely expose $67.39 as the next significant downside target.
Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index cooled from recent highs and settled around 54.95, while its moving average stood near 56.38.
Although buying strength weakened, the indicator remained above the neutral 50 mark and suggested bulls had not surrendered market control entirely.
If buyers defend the current zone, Solana could attempt another move toward $82.56. Otherwise, losing $74.41 would likely encourage another wave of selling pressure.
Source: TradingView Where could liquidations accelerate the next move? The 24-hour Liquidation Heatmap showed several dense liquidity clusters positioned above the current market price, with notable concentrations around the $79, $82, and $84 regions.
Those areas represented attractive targets because markets frequently moved toward heavily leveraged positions before reversing.
Meanwhile, liquidity below price appeared thinner, although several smaller clusters remained near the upper-$77 range.
That imbalance suggested any sustained recovery could trigger a sequence of short liquidations before facing stronger resistance near $82.
Even so, failure to stabilize above current levels could still expose nearby downside liquidity first.
Source: CoinGlass The heatmap therefore indicated that volatility would likely increase once price approach either concentration, making those zones critical for determining Solana’s next directional move.
Final Summary Pump.fun increased exchange-bound SOL supply, yet broader spot outflows continued supporting buyer interest. Solana held above key support, while overhead liquidity could attract another move toward resistance.
South Korea-based Toss has announced a new initiative to assess whether blockchain technology can support regulated payment and settlement systems without compromising on security or customer data protection. The fintech company is setting out to evaluate the feasibility of integrating public blockchain networks into the financial sector, addressing long-standing concerns over transparency and compliance.
Focus of the Proof of ConceptThe proof of concept (PoC) will center on three primary objectives: enabling financial institutions to retain direct control over payment and settlement processes, ensuring compliance with know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, and safeguarding transaction data on public blockchain networks.
According to Toss, this approach could allow blockchain-powered financial services to operate within the well-established standards that govern the banking space. The company underscores the importance of reconciling regulatory compliance with robust data privacy, which remains a critical concern for financial institutions.
Toss is aiming to test whether blockchain technology can support regulated payment and settlement systems without weakening security or customer data protection.
Seeking Privacy on Public NetworksOne of the main hurdles to widespread blockchain adoption in finance has been the inherent transparency of public blockchain networks. Because transactions are typically visible to all, banks and payment providers have been hesitant to transition sensitive customer operations onto such open infrastructure.
This project will therefore evaluate whether public blockchains can meet stringent privacy standards required for banking applications. Protecting transaction data is seen as a decisive factor for integrating blockchain into regulated financial services.
Memorandum with Solana Foundation for Settlements and RemittancesTo advance its blockchain-enabled settlement and cross-border transfer capabilities, Toss Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with Solana Foundation. This collaboration marks a significant step in bridging traditional banking with next-generation crypto infrastructure.
Solana has earned a reputation as a high-performance blockchain network, while Toss Bank operates as the digital banking arm of the Toss ecosystem—one of South Korea’s leading fintech brands.
Mini glossary: “Settlement” refers to the process of finalizing and reconciling financial transactions between parties. A “proof of concept” is a limited-scale trial to test if a specific technology works in a given use case.
The memorandum between Toss Bank and Solana Foundation focuses on exploring blockchain-driven remittance and settlement services.
This partnership is expected to examine how regulatory obligations in banking can be balanced with the technical possibilities of public blockchain networks. The outcomes of the project could provide vital new insights into the role of public blockchains in the regulated finance sector.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
