Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Ethereum traded near $1,764.43 on July 5, according to crypto.news market data. The token was up 0.2% over 24 hours and 11.58% over seven days. Its market cap stood near $212.91 billion, while 24-hour volume was about $11.16 billion.

Summary

Ethereum remains trapped between $1,700 support and $1,800 resistance as liquidation clusters frame price action. Vitalik Buterin’s Lean Ethereum roadmap focuses on STARKs, quantum resistance, privacy and future scalability. ETH’s MACD shows improving momentum, but weak volume keeps a confirmed bullish reversal out of reach. The latest daily range showed ETH moving between $1,751.18 and $1,801.59. That placed the token close to the $1,800 resistance area after a recovery from the June low near $1,500.

ETH/USDT remains in a broader downtrend from the May highs. Still, the short-term chart has improved after buyers defended the $1,500 region and pushed price back above $1,700.

Liquidation clusters keep ETH boxed in Traders are watching two large liquidity zones around Ethereum. One sits above price near $1,800 to $1,830, while another sits below around $1,700. This keeps ETH inside a narrow range where quick moves can reverse fast.

One trader said, “As long as Ethereum stays in this range, I’d expect chop and fakeouts.” The same view points to a bigger move only after one side of the liquidity zone gets cleared.

Crypto.news previously reported that Ethereum liquidation heatmap data showed large leverage clusters near $1,700 to $1,760 and another major zone near $1,800. Those levels remain close to the current price range.

Professor Crypto also said ETH has started to build momentum after defending the $1,500 area. He said bulls need to reclaim and hold $1,800 before the market can target $1,900 to $2,000.

$ETH is slowly starting to build some momentum after defending the $1.5K region.

The recent move back above $1.7K is encouraging, but the real test is whether bulls can reclaim and hold the $1.8K resistance.

A clean break above that level could open the door for a move toward… pic.twitter.com/xUwNKs5pCU

— Professor Crypto (@profcryptotalks) July 5, 2026 Momentum improves, but confirmation is limited The daily chart shows ETH struggling to extend above $1,780 to $1,800. The latest candle opened near $1,780.64, reached $1,780.75, and dipped to $1,748.79 before stabilizing.

Nearby support sits around $1,700. A loss of that level could return focus to $1,600 and then $1,550. A clean break above $1,800 may bring $1,830 to $1,850 into focus.

The MACD continues to improve. The histogram is positive near 30.20, while the MACD line stays above the signal line. That shows short-term bullish momentum.

Still, the MACD line remains below zero. This means ETH is in a recovery phase, not a confirmed trend reversal. Volume near 315,730 ETH also remains moderate, so buyers still need stronger activity to confirm continuation.

Source: TradingView

Crypto.news reported that Ethereum recently targeted $1,800 after a rare TD buy signal. The report also said failure to hold $1,700 could return focus to $1,650 and the lower support area near $1,500.

Vitalik’s Lean Ethereum roadmap adds long-term focus Ethereum’s price action also came as Vitalik Buterin shared a new long-term roadmap called Lean Ethereum. The plan focuses on faster verification, stronger security and better scalability over the next several years.

The roadmap includes native recursive STARKs, post-quantum cryptography, new virtual machine designs and a larger state architecture. Reports also said the upcoming Glasterdam upgrade may raise Ethereum’s gas limit.

The plan does not guarantee short-term price gains. It does, however, shift part of the discussion away from daily ETH moves and toward Ethereum’s technical future.

For now, ETH traders remain focused on the same near-term levels. Ethereum needs to hold $1,700, break $1,800, and attract stronger volume before the recovery can target the $1,900 to $2,000 zone.

ETH just flashed a major signal that has historically led to massive gains (especially against BTC).

Ethereum could be on the verge of a massive price increase after its painful declines in late 2025 and early 2026 that brought it down toward $1,500.

July has already started on the right foot, with a double-digit increase in days. However, it follows two consecutive double-digit monthly declines.

Worst Is Over? Popular analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted on X in a post from this weekend that “the worst period for ETH is over.” He believes that the altcoin is breaking out upwards and building a higher low against the market leader, which means “that we’re back in an uptrend.”

This comes after ETH closed June in the red, marking its third consecutive quarter with major losses for the first time ever. Moreover, each of those was by more than 20% – 28.28% in Q4 2025, another 29.26% in Q1 2026, and 25.28% in Q2 this year. Given the significance and rarity of this moment, van de Poppe said: “The chances of having four in a row are statistically very low.”

He also outlined the highly anticipated but not certain Clarity Act, which is expected to be signed into law by the end of the year and to benefit Ethereum a lot more than other assets, including BTC. He believes the potential approval will “unlock more liquidity flowing into the ETH ecosystem.”

Triple-Digit Surge Against BTC Next? Merlijn The Trader shared a similar bullish opinion on ETH, especially against BTC. This is because ETH dipped to 0.026 against the market leader, which is a historically important level that has launched a major rally in the past.

He noted that the last time this signal appeared, the largest altcoin outperformed BTC by over 230%. ETH peaked at over 0.043 against bitcoin in August last year when it charted its ATH against the greenback, but it has been mostly downhill since then.

You may also like: Bitcoin (BTC) Dips Below $62K, Ethereum (ETH) Plunges 6% Daily: Market Watch 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Crashed Below $63K as Liquidations Top $500M Bitmine Buys 52K ETH as Tom Lee Believes the Best Years for Crypto Are Still Ahead It indeed dipped to and below 0.026 in the past few weeks, but has managed to bounce and now sits at over 0.028. If it’s to mimic its past 230% surge, it could rocket past 0.08, a level not seen in four years.

The last time this signal fired, Ethereum crushed Bitcoin by 233%.

It fired at 0.026.

ETH/BTC today: 0.026.
Same level.
New golden cross forming.

Five years of pain, just to return to the launchpad.

The market forgot. The chart didn’t. pic.twitter.com/nNAG1HJ4r6

— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) July 4, 2026

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CZ’s like on the donation tweet for meme coin TCC pushes the token’s market cap to briefly top $72 million.

Crypto community user ddotaek posted that he has shifted from the Solana-based MEME coin market, which he described as "constantly being rugged", to BNB Chain, noting that the BNB ecosystem "truly supports builders and long-term projects". He cited advantages including no rug pulls, no bot-driven wash trading, and clean launches (he personally verified front-running cases). He also mentioned that project team @TCryptochicks donated 10 million TCC tokens to GiggleAcademy, an educational charity founded by CZ. CZ later liked the tweet, lifting market sentiment, and TCC’s market cap briefly surged past $72 million before retreating to around $54 million. Previously, the "Giggle" token gained CZ’s public like and retweet in September 2025 via a donation to GiggleAcademy, with its market cap once soaring to over $100 million. CZ once stated "this completely changed my view on MEME coins", but later clarified multiple times that the related tokens were not officially issued by GiggleAcademy, and reminded holders to watch for subsequent selling pressure. BlockBeats reminds users: Most MEME coins have no practical use cases and are highly volatile. Please protect your assets and do not FOMO.

2 hours ago

AI capital expenditure is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027, potentially surpassing U.S. defense spending for the first time.

The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that the AI spending boom is reshaping the U.S. economy. AI capital expenditures by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle are projected to rise to roughly 3.2% of U.S. GDP by 2027. If the forecast holds, annual AI capital spending will for the first time exceed U.S. defense outlays, which are expected to account for around 2.7% of GDP next year. For this year alone, the group’s AI capital spending is forecast to jump from 1.5% of GDP in 2025 to roughly 2.5%, nearly matching the 2.7% share of GDP allocated to defense spending. The five firms’ combined AI capital expenditures are projected to top $800 billion in 2026, then climb to a record $1.1 trillion in 2027. These figures are "staggering".

2 hours ago

US and South Korean stocks Monday price preview: Micron Technology is forecast to rise more than 6% in pre-market trading, while Samsung Electronics is expected to open 4% higher.

Due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday (July 3), U.S. stock markets were closed last Friday, paired with the regular weekend closure. "On-chain Nasdaq" Trade.xyz enables continuous trading and real-time price discovery unavailable in traditional finance via perpetual contracts, pricing in advance for Monday’s U.S. and South Korean stock sessions. Top U.S. stock tickers on Trade.xyz showed mixed moves compared to Thursday’s after-hours trading, and are expected to consolidate with minor fluctuations ahead of Monday’s pre-market. Weekend performance details: Micron (MU) is currently at $1038.71, versus $976.63 in U.S. Thursday after-hours trading; SanDisk (SNDK) at $1856.65, versus $1762.011 Thursday after-hours; NVIDIA at $197.83, versus $194.44 Thursday after-hours; Intel at $124.2, versus $121 Thursday after-hours; Google at $360.06, versus $359.91 Thursday after-hours; AMD at $537.34, versus $519.5 Thursday after-hours; SpaceX at $161.27, versus $160.95 Thursday after-hours. For top South Korean stock tickers on Trade.xyz, their weekend performance is as follows: Samsung Electronics is currently at $210.49, versus $202.35 at Friday’s close; SK Hynix is at $1623.16, versus $1585 at Friday’s close.

2 hours ago

SK Hynix seeks to attract more AI investors via its US listing.

SK Hynix’s upcoming $29 billion U.S. stock market listing could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a foreign company in history, but the move is not just about raising capital. More importantly, the firm aims to compete in the hottest segment of global stock markets right now: memory chips for AI computing. Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust (which holds Micron stock), said the market is in a period of extreme hype for chip stocks, and now is a good time to bring U.S. investors on board for its shares. Zhou Di, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management (which holds SK Hynix stock), noted that the offering targets investors who currently cannot access South Korea’s stock market. SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing gives investors direct, frictionless access to one of the most attractive pure-play assets in the AI memory cycle. (Jin Shi)

2 hours ago

Ming-Chi Kuo: Foldable iPhone may repeat the iPhone X playbook, launching later and facing supply constraints through the end of the year.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated in a note that the foldable iPhone could repeat the iPhone X playbook: it will be unveiled alongside other models, but pre-orders and official launch will be delayed, and supply shortages may persist through the end of 2026. Based on third-quarter 2026 production volumes, the foldable iPhone is likely to mirror the 2017 iPhone X. That year, the iPhone X was unveiled alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on September 12, but due to insufficient stock, pre-orders were pushed back to October 27 and official sales to November 3. Given the foldable iPhone’s limited third-quarter shipments, it may also open pre-orders and official sales only in the fourth quarter of 2026. After discussions with telecom operators, sales channels, and resellers/parallel import agents, Kuo concluded that even if the foldable iPhone is priced at roughly $2,300 to $2,500, demand will remain strong at least through the end of 2026. This means the device could sell out rapidly once pre-orders open, with shipment wait times potentially jumping to 4 to 6 weeks or longer, extending into December. He added that the foldable iPhone’s initial limited supply, distinct design, and innovative user experience could drive up short-term resale prices, with resale prices 50% to 100% higher than the official retail price not being out of the question.

2 hours ago

Analysis: Powell’s tight-lipped approach makes the Fed’s June meeting minutes even more important.

George Goncalves, Head of US Macro Strategy at MUFG Securities Americas, noted that Waller’s concise communication style makes the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes carry more weight than usual, offering valuable insight into the differing stances among Fed officials. “The meeting minutes will become even more important because, up to now, we don’t know what the Fed is thinking,” Goncalves said. “It will be very instructive to see how they debate and what they prioritize.” He added that some investors have questioned Waller’s “hands-off” approach, with many calling for a return to greater transparency. Many market participants are unaccustomed to reduced information flow, and there remains considerable skepticism over how long the Fed can maintain this stance. For now, we can only read between the lines. (Source: Jinshi)

2 hours ago

Bitcoin’s rebound has not removed the risk of another volatile move. CryptoQuant is warning that exchange deposit activity has picked up across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins, a pattern that often appears when traders are preparing to move risk around quickly.

That does not automatically mean a crash is coming. It does mean the market is becoming more sensitive.

For more details, visit the official Cryptoquant platform.

TL;DR CryptoQuant’s latest market read points to a jump in exchange deposits, including elevated Bitcoin inflows. Rising deposits can be a volatility signal because coins moving to exchanges are more likely to be sold, hedged, rotated, or used as collateral.

The important word is “can.” On-chain deposits are not a perfect sell signal. Sometimes coins move to exchanges for liquidity management, derivative margin, or market-making activity. But when deposits spike while price is already under pressure, traders tend to pay attention.

That is the situation Bitcoin is in now. BTC has stabilised, but the wider market still feels jumpy. ETF flows have been uneven, altcoins are fragile, and macro risk appetite is not giving crypto a clean tailwind.

Why Deposits Matter Here Exchange inflows matter because they change the available supply profile. Coins sitting in cold storage are usually less likely to hit the market quickly. Coins arriving on exchanges are more flexible. They can be sold, used to open positions, or shifted into other assets.

When a large number of coins arrives at once, the market starts asking why.

If the inflow is driven by whales preparing to sell, spot pressure can build. If it is linked to derivatives positioning, volatility can rise even if the coins are not immediately dumped. If it reflects market makers preparing for higher activity, price can swing both ways.

That is why the signal is more about volatility than direction. The market is being primed for movement.

Bitcoin Needs More Than A Bounce Bitcoin’s short-term recovery gives bulls room to argue that sellers are losing control. But on-chain deposit pressure complicates that argument.

A healthy rebound usually wants to see coins moving away from exchanges, not toward them. It wants accumulation, calmer leverage, and improving flows. If deposits keep rising, traders may stay defensive even while price holds above recent lows.

The next phase will depend on whether those deposited coins become sell pressure. If Bitcoin absorbs the inflows and holds its recovery, that would be a constructive sign. It would show that the market can handle supply without breaking.

If price rolls over while deposits remain elevated, the CryptoQuant warning will look more serious.

For now, this is not a panic signal. It is a caution flag. Bitcoin has bounced, but the market is still loaded with enough exchange-side activity to make the next move sharp.

This report is based on information from CryptoQuant.

The practical takeaway is that traders should avoid reading the current rebound in isolation. A market can look stable on the surface while exchange-side liquidity is preparing for a larger move. That is why deposit data belongs next to ETF flows, funding conditions, and spot support levels when assessing Bitcoin risk this week.

This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

Ethereum’s price has staged a notable recovery, buoyed by persistent demand between the $1,400 and $1,600 levels. After forming a double-bottom pattern near $1,500, ETH climbed as high as $1,767, suggesting that sellers are losing ground and buyers are regaining influence in the short term.

Critical technical barrier around $1,800The market’s focus has now shifted to the resistance at the neckline, located between $1,780 and $1,800. A daily close above this range could confirm a bullish reversal, potentially setting the stage for further gains. If buyers manage to propel ETH above this threshold, price targets at $1,900 and $2,000 become viable, with the formation’s measured objective pointing up to $2,160.

However, a rejection below $1,800 remains a real possibility and may trigger another pullback. In this alternative scenario, Ethereum could retrace first to $1,700 and possibly revisit the strong demand area at $1,600. Shoring up above this zone is considered crucial for maintaining the current constructive outlook.

Crypto analyst DON highlights that while momentum is building in Ethereum, further confirmation is needed before declaring a lasting uptrend.

Indicators favor the bullsTechnical indicators are reinforcing the recovery outlook. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has risen to 55.53, with its moving average at 40.53. Surpassing the neutral 50 mark after bouncing from oversold territory signals intensifying buying pressure. Importantly, the RSI is not yet overbought, suggesting there’s still room for Ethereum to climb.

The MACD picture also remains upbeat. The MACD line is at minus 22.84, comfortably above the signal line at minus 53.27. A histogram expansion to 30.43 reveals strengthening positive momentum. The widening gap between the lines signals that buyers are consolidating their control.

IndicatorLevelCommentRSI55.53Above the neutral 50 markRSI average40.53Supports the recovery trendMACD-22.84Above the signal lineSignal line-53.27Strengthens the bullish outlookHistogram30.43Positive momentum is buildingEthereum’s roadmap targets quantum resistanceBeyond the short-term price action, Ethereum has also unveiled a roadmap to futureproof its network against attacks from quantum computers. As one of the largest blockchains powering smart contracts and decentralized applications, Ethereum’s focus on quantum resistance signals a forward-thinking approach to network security.

Mini glossary: Quantum resistance refers to safeguarding cryptographic systems against the potential threat posed by powerful quantum computers. Such measures ensure the long-term security of digital wallets and blockchain infrastructure.

Progress in this area over the next three to four years could prove decisive for Ethereum’s security, scalability, and efficiency. Experts suggest that if the plan succeeds, it could slash application costs by over ten times and pave the way for broader adoption of the Ethereum network.

Ethereum’s quantum resistance strategy aims to boost network security, improve scalability, and cut application expenses by more than a factor of ten.

In the near term, sustaining the bullish momentum will require a breakout above resistance, underpinned by strong buying volume. Otherwise, Ethereum may continue to consolidate below this region before attempting another move upward.

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.

Bitcoin Options Turn Call-Heavy Before July 8 FOMC Minutes: Will BTC Break $63,000?

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published his takeaways from an updated version of the network's draft long-term roadmap, describing the multi-year "Lean Ethereum" effort as a near-total rebuild of how the network operates.

In an X post Saturday, Buterin wrote that Lean Ethereum "is not a single one-shot upgrade" but a series of improvements arriving over three or four years. Still, he called it "the third major iteration" of Ethereum, on par with the Merge, adding that "almost every major piece of the protocol will be replaced."

The post follows a meeting of Ethereum researchers in Berlin in late June, Buterin said. The revised plan is published at strawmap.org, the draft roadmap that Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake introduced in February, which outlines seven network upgrades through 2029.

The changes Buterin listed touch nearly everything: how the network confirms transactions are valid, the cryptography protecting it from future quantum computers, how quickly transactions become final, and how the chain stores its data. He said the transition can happen without breaking existing apps, writing, "We've done this before (the Merge), we can do it again."

Buterin also gave the effort a timeline marker, saying Hegota, currently slated as Ethereum's second upgrade of 2026, is probably the network's last thematically "pre-Lean" fork. In other words, nearly every upgrade after this year will be part of the rebuild.

A cheaper way to store data Buterin identified the storage changes as "probably the single most disruptive part of the plan." Today, Ethereum keeps all of its state data, from token balances to exchange contracts, in a single, expensive-to-maintain format; the plan would keep that system for the most complex applications while adding a new, cheaper tier for simpler ones.

As an illustration, he described a possible Ethereum in 2030 where the new storage tier holds 50 times more data than the old one. The emphasis extends the case Buterin made in March for restructuring how Ethereum stores state.

Most tokens, NFTs, and DeFi apps could use the cheaper tier, Buterin said, while complex systems like Uniswap's exchange contracts would stay on the existing one. No app would be forced to move, but he said migrating would be "very cost-effective": a token redesigned for the new system could see transaction fees fall by more than 10x.

Quantum safety and privacy move up in priority Buterin said quantum safety has "shifted up a LOT in priority." The concern is that future quantum computers could break the cryptography securing today's blockchains, and the roadmap calls for replacing every vulnerable component before that becomes possible.

The most pressing piece, he said, is finding a quantum-safe design for blobs, the temporary data storage that Layer 2 networks rely on to keep their fees low. Buterin said that work has become urgent and has already been underway for months.

Privacy received similar billing. "Privacy is no longer an afterthought, it is a first class goal," Buterin wrote, saying new features are now designed from the start around the question of how private transactions would work through them. The stance extends a push he has led through efforts like the foundation's Kohaku wallet framework.

Both themes sit among the strawmap's five "north star" goals, which include a quantum-proof network secured for the long term and private ETH transfers built directly into the base layer, rather than left to third-party apps.

Replacing Ethereum's engine Buterin also revisited the long-term push to move past the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the software environment that runs every application on the network. He named RISC-V and leanISA, two alternative computing formats, as the most likely replacements, though he acknowledged that outcome is "still far away."

His stated ideal is a network that runs entirely on the new engine, with the current EVM kept around as a translation layer so that existing apps continue to work untouched. A more efficient engine would make it far cheaper to mathematically prove that transactions are valid, a core requirement of the Lean Ethereum design, and easier to build privacy features directly into apps, he said.

In March, Buterin sketched a gradual path to get there: introduce the new format for limited internal use first, then let developers write apps in it, and only retire the EVM at the end.

The idea has been contested since Buterin first proposed a RISC-V swap in April 2025. Researchers at Offchain Labs, the core developer behind Arbitrum, argued last November that WebAssembly is the better choice; it did not appear among the contenders Buterin listed Saturday.

Timeline pressure Buterin said Ethereum's capacity will keep rising steadily over roughly the next five years, with a large gas limit increase, meaning more room for transactions in each block, expected in the Glamsterdam upgrade. Glamsterdam, originally expected in the first half of 2026, has yet to activate, with Hegota scheduled to follow.

The post arrives about a week and a half after the Ethereum Foundation concluded a restructuring that cut 54 staff, roughly 20% of its workforce. Buterin closed by writing "Ethereum is CROPS," a reference to the censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security properties he has said should define the foundation's narrowed focus.

Ether (ETH) was trading at roughly $1,780 as of Sunday afternoon Eastern Time, down about 1% over the past day, according to The Block's Ethereum Price page.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Vitalik Buterin is mapping out Ethereum’s most ambitious multi-year overhaul yet, and quantum computing is the reason it’s moving faster than anyone expected. The Ethereum co-founder revealed that quantum safety has “shifted up a LOT in priority,” reshaping the network’s upgrade roadmap in ways that will define the next half-decade of development.

At the center of this plan sits the Hegota hard fork, targeted for the second half of 2026. Buterin indicated it will likely be the last upgrade before Ethereum enters what he calls its “Lean” phase, a streamlined era focused on simplification and resilience against threats that don’t fully exist yet but are getting uncomfortably close.

The Strawmap: seven forks in four years The broader transformation Buterin is describing goes by the name “Strawmap.” It’s essentially a sketch of approximately seven anticipated hard forks spanning from 2026 through 2030.

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The three pillars of this plan are quantum resistance, statelessness through Verkle Trees, and operational simplification.

The Hegota fork, sometimes referred to as H-star, follows the earlier Glamsterdam upgrade and is expected to land around late Q3 or Q4 of 2026. Two key proposals are driving the conversation around what Hegota will include.

First is EIP-8141, which introduces “frame transactions” designed to support native post-quantum signatures. Second is EIP-7805, known as FOCIL (Forced Inclusion Lists). This one targets censorship resistance by creating enforced inclusion lists that make it harder for block builders to selectively exclude transactions.

The quantum clock is ticking, sort of Buterin places a 20% probability on a significant quantum breakthrough occurring before 2030. Most estimates for “Q-Day,” the hypothetical moment when quantum computers can break current cryptographic standards, land somewhere in the 2030s.

The Strawmap spreads the work across seven forks rather than attempting one massive overhaul, with Hegota laying the foundational groundwork through native post-quantum signature support.

What this means for investors The market has not shown any immediate reaction to the Strawmap or Hegota proposals. The Verkle Trees component of the Strawmap also deserves attention. Statelessness, the ability for nodes to validate blocks without storing the entire state history, would dramatically lower the hardware requirements for running a node.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

The crypto market has moved from panic to stabilisation over the past week, with Bitcoin successfully defending a critical support level and recovering ground as selling pressure eased, according to Avinash Shekhar, Co-founder and CEO of Pi42.

Bitcoin’s Recovery Reveals Structural Strength

Shekhar told Coinpedia that Bitcoin’s defence of the $58,000 zone and subsequent recovery above $62,000 was not coincidental. It reflected the depth of long-term demand that continues to emerge during periods of weakness.

“The speed of Bitcoin’s recovery once again highlighted the depth of long-term demand emerging during periods of weakness,” Shekhar said. “While volatility remains part of the market, institutional participation showed signs of stabilising.”

He explained that Bitcoin continued to demonstrate relative strength within the broader market, while Ethereum maintained its position as the leading institutional smart contract platform despite comparatively softer price action. 

XRP was among the week’s stronger performers, supported by continued optimism around institutional adoption and ETF participation. Dogecoin also participated in the broader recovery, illustrating that improving confidence tends to extend beyond Bitcoin into established alternative assets as conditions stabilize.

The Fed Is Now Driving Crypto As Much As Crypto-Native Events

A central theme in Shekhar’s analysis is how deeply macroeconomic forces are now shaping digital asset prices. The Federal Reserve dominated investor attention throughout the week, with markets focused on the prospect of rates staying higher for longer and watching labour market data and upcoming inflation readings for signals on the timing of future monetary policy decisions.

“Rather than reacting to crypto-specific events alone, digital assets are increasingly moving alongside broader global liquidity expectations,” Shekhar said, describing this as a reflection of the asset class’s growing integration with traditional financial markets.

Institutional Adoption Building Quietly Beneath the Surface

Beyond price action, Shekhar pointed to a structural story that he believes the market is underpricing. Tokenization initiatives, stablecoin expansion, and growing interest in on-chain financial infrastructure are quietly transforming blockchain from a speculative asset class into the foundation of next-generation financial markets.

“Capital continues to build around long-term utility even as short-term price movements remain driven by macroeconomic conditions,” he said.

What to Watch Next

Looking ahead, Shekhar said the market’s focus will remain on upcoming inflation data, Federal Reserve commentary, ETF flow trends, and broader liquidity conditions.

“If macroeconomic uncertainty continues to ease while institutional participation strengthens, digital assets could be well positioned to extend their recovery,” he said, adding that adoption, tokenisation, and real-world blockchain applications will continue to shape the next phase of market growth.

Story Ends Here

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@Cardano's RealFi Phase 1 testnet goes live on July 6, opening the first public testing window for what founder @IOHK_Charles has called the largest upgrade in the network's history. The project aims to bridge decentralized finance with the real-world economy by putting idle on-chain liquidity to work in lending and credit markets. Hoskinson says RealFi is moving from the concept stage to actual implementation, with mainnet deployment expected to follow the testnet shortly after.

What RealFi Is Trying to Solve The core argument behind the initiative is direct: stablecoins have scaled as money but not as capital, leaving hundreds of billions of dollars sitting idle with no utility and no impact on the real economy. RealFi is @realfi_co's answer to that problem, with the testnet designed to let users stress-test the protocol's core features before a mainnet rollout. During Phase 1, participants can explore the platform, use its core features, and share feedback that will directly shape the protocol, framing the process as collaborative infrastructure-building in public.

Founder Charles Hoskinson called it "the largest upgrade" in the project's history, with the ambition of transforming hundreds of billions in idle stablecoins into productive capital for real-world economic impact. The broader RealFi vision extends beyond DeFi-native users. The milestone represents a significant step toward Cardano's long-standing mission of bringing financial services to unbanked populations while connecting blockchain liquidity with real-world economic activity.

A Busier Technical Calendar for $ADA The RealFi testnet is not the only upgrade on Cardano's near-term roadmap. Concurrently, the Protocol Version 11 (van Rossem) hard fork, for which major exchanges including Binance and Coinbase are already prepared, promises cheaper smart contracts and ZK-ready cryptography. Hoskinson has reiterated that Cardano's long-term fundamentals remain intact, pointing to continued progress across RealFi, the Midnight privacy chain, and Bitcoin DeFi as evidence that the ecosystem is expanding despite temporary setbacks.

For now, attention is on July 6. The Phase 1 testnet is open to the public, with @realfi_co inviting users to test core features and shape the protocol ahead of a mainnet launch that Hoskinson says is not far behind.

Sources:
The Crypto Basic: Hoskinson Says Largest Upgrade in Cardano History Is Imminent
CryptoPotato: Why Is Cardano (ADA) Up 15% in a Week?
DigitalToday: Cardano Nears Biggest Upgrade, Hoskinson Says ADA Fundamentals Solid

ADA tumbled below $0.14 following the Hoskinson-induced FUD and overall market weakness but it has staged a notable comeback.

Cardano’s founder and arguably the most important person behind the project caused some controversy in June, which led to a surge of fear, uncertainty, and doubt and a price collapse for the underlying token.

However, ADA has decoupled from the rest of the larger-cap alts over the past week or so, posting a massive 40% surge from that multi-year low.

ADA FUD Over? It was a month ago when Charles Hoskinson said he would be taking a break from Cardano and warned that multiple projects operating on the Layer-1 blockchain might face immediate failures. The impact on the native token was immediate and violent, with ADA plummeting from over $0.20 to under $0.19, then $0.16, and ultimately below $0.14 by the end of June, its lowest price since 2020.

The overall bearish market sentiment was also a factor behind ADA’s collapse, and the subsequent revival has helped as well. However, while most larger-cap cryptocurrencies are up by 5-10% in the past week or 10 days, Cardano’s native token has staged a significantly more profound recovery.

The asset soared by over 40% since that low and tapped $0.20 earlier today for the first time in a month. The analyst from Santiment Intelligence commented on the move, suggesting that ADA has decoupled from the other alts after “peak FUD created rifts in [the] community last month.”

They added that the Cardano network is “showing signs of life again,” with nearly 15,000 non-empty ADA wallets added since the recent bottom.

“Retail support has been one of ADA’s strongest traits even through ugly market stretches. After weeks of fear, this renewed holder growth suggests the crowd is gaining trust again after a short stretch of rapid market cap growth,” Santiment concluded.

Or Possible Buy The Rumor Event? Another major reason behind ADA’s impressive revival has been the hype around the upcoming RealFi Phase 1 Testnet upgrade. Hoskinson described it as the “largest” in the project’s history and is scheduled to be completed by July 6.

You may also like: Bitcoin (BTC) Starts July Under $60K, Cardano (ADA) Finally Rebounds: Market Watch ADA Faces Heavy Pressure, But Cardano’s On-Chain Data Tells Another Story Charles Hoskinson Reveals What Happened to 1,096 BTC From Cardano’s Early Days Such moves typically excite the community and are often preceded by major price rallies for the underlying asset. Once they are completed, though, the actual ‘buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news’ event takes place, and the token tanks.

For now, ADA remains one of this week’s top performers, climbing by 30% since last Sunday. Its market cap is back to $7 billion once again after it dipped below $5 billion recently.

Tags:

Cardano is showing renewed holder growth after a sharp June selloff. According to Santiment, the network added 14,783 more non-empty ADA wallets after its June 23 bottom.

Summary

Cardano added 14,783 non-empty ADA wallets after its June low, showing renewed retail activity. ADA rebounded toward $0.20 after falling to levels not seen since 2020 last month. Community fear remains tied to governance tension, Hoskinson comments and wider doubts over ecosystem funding. The on-chain data came as ADA recovered from recent lows. Santiment said the token pushed back toward $0.20 for the first time in about a month and had risen as much as 35% after bottoming on June 29.

✍️ TL;DR: Cardano price decoupling after peak FUD created rifts in community last month
📊 Metrics Used: Total Holders
🔗 Link to chart: https://t.co/Xn7BNZXWpH

📈 Cardano is showing signs of life again, with 14,783 more non-empty ADA wallets added since its June 23rd bottom.… pic.twitter.com/c47cCG6Hgm

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 4, 2026 Market data showed ADA trading near $0.18914 on July 5. The token was down 2.08% over 24 hours but remained up 31.08% over seven days, with a market cap near $7.05 billion.

The rebound does not erase the earlier drop. It does show that some retail users are returning after a period of heavy fear, weak price action and public debate around the Cardano ecosystem.

ADA rebound follows peak FUD Santiment said Cardano’s price decoupling came after “peak FUD” created rifts in the community last month. The firm linked the shift to renewed holder growth and a short burst of market cap recovery.

The market pressure had been building for weeks.Earlier coverage noted that ADA fell below $0.20 on June 4, its lowest level in more than five years.

That drop followed wider market weakness and Cardano-specific concerns. Those included failed funding votes, cancelled ecosystem plans and warnings from founder Charles Hoskinson about possible project failures.

A separate report from crypto.news said Cardano’s social activity rose as ADA crashed. It also noted that active addresses climbed to a four-month high, showing users were still interacting with the network during the selloff.

Holder data supports cautious recovery Santiment’s latest data suggests that Cardano holders did not fully leave the network after the price drop. The rise in non-empty wallets points to new or returning users holding ADA after the June low.

Santiment said “retail support has been one of ADA’s strongest traits” through difficult market periods. That comment reflects Cardano’s history of having an active community even when price action weakens.

Still, wallet growth alone does not confirm a lasting price recovery. A new wallet can hold a small balance, and holder count does not show whether larger buyers are entering the market.

For ADA, the key test remains the $0.20 area. A clean move above that level would support the short-term rebound. Failure to reclaim it may keep the token exposed to another pullback.

Cardano still faces ecosystem doubts Cardano’s recovery comes while the wider ecosystem still faces questions. Earlier reports covered the shutdown of TapTools, funding disputes and the cancellation of the Cardano Summit 2026.

The project also has active technical work.Midnight, a privacy sidechain linked to Cardano, launched its federated mainnet in March with backing from major technology and telecom names.

This creates a mixed setup for ADA. Holder growth and a 30% weekly rebound show that buyers have returned after the June low. At the same time, the token remains far below prior highs and still trades under a key psychological level.

Cardano’s [ADA] treasury has become a central mechanism in developing the ADA ecosystem and funding long-term development. As governance expands in the Voltaire era, there is a need to evaluate if current spending limits are adequate. Therefore, Cardano has proposed to increase the Net Change Limit (NCL).

If the NCL increases from 350 million ADA to 500 million ADA, this represents a 43% increase in the treasury’s ability to fund infrastructure, DeFi, and the ecosystem projects.

Source: X The treasury currently contains approximately 1.47 billion ADA, with only approximately 68 million ADA withdrawn to date. This indicates that funding capability consistently exceeds usage.

While these numbers provide insight into the potential size of the treasury, they also highlight the importance of governance. Currently, DRep voting represents over 5 billion ADA. However, proposal ratification is averaging around 56%.

Looking ahead, stronger oversight and efficient capital deployment will determine whether the higher limit accelerates growth or reduces fiscal discipline.

On-chain activity begins to validate the outlook Whether that additional treasury flexibility translates into long-term growth now depends on how the broader Cardano ecosystem responds. Since the 23rd of June bottom, the network has added 14,783 non-empty wallets, reversing the previous slowdown in holder growth.

This represents a reversal of the earlier slowing rate of addition of new holders. Notably, ADA simultaneously recovered to about $0.20, rebounding 35% from its late‑June low. Such a recovery supports the idea that there is increasing participation and less speculation at this time.

Source: Santiment Notably, the continued increase in the number of wallets indicates users are continuing to enter or rebuild their positions even during the current volatile market conditions. This change occurred while the overall ecosystem was experiencing an unusually high level of uncertainty over several weeks.

Sustained growth in the number of holders, combined with a definitive recapture of $0.20, will further support the notion that recent capitulation has shifted to a larger-scale accumulation phase.

Taken together, Cardano requires efficient treasury execution and growing network participation to sustain its emerging recovery.

Final Summary Cardano could strengthen ecosystem growth if higher treasury funding is matched by disciplined governance and efficient capital allocation. ADA wallet growth and a price recovery toward $0.20 suggest confidence is gradually returning across the network.

Cardano (ADA) has reclaimed lost ground by overtaking Stellar (XLM), climbing to the 13th spot within a short window. 

ADA is now just one position away from overtaking flipping Zcash (ZEC).

Recently, Stellar completely left Cardano behind after skyrocketing 76% in a single week. This was due to Wall Street clearing giant DTCC announcing plans to partner with the Stellar Development Foundation for tokenization purposes. 

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However, the tables have turned overnight, with ADA recording a notable 30% gain over the last seven days.

Retail trust recovers According to data provided by blockchain firm Santiment, the immediate catalyst for Cardano's sudden price breakout is a strong decoupling trend. 

Last month, the asset suffered from peak FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) fueled by historical price drops to levels not seen since 2020. 

Public concerns voiced by founder Charles Hoskinson added some fuel to the fire. 

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This panic, however, created an accumulation zone for contrarian buyers. 

The Cardano network has now added a notable 14,783 new, non-empty ADA wallets, which has also translated into the aforementioned price recovery. 

Growing interoperability Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson recently stated that the core developer teams are "working 24/7" and refuse to slow down. He acknowledged that the digital asset market isn't yet where it needs to be, but he firmly noted that conditions are "infinitely better than what it was in 2018".

Midnight is designed to achieve deep cross-chain interoperability by initially supporting a "big seven" roster of premier layer-1 ecosystems: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche, Solana, BNB, and XRP. "If you are from that ecosystem, you are welcome in Midnight," Hoskinson stated. 

In a surprising revelation, Hoskinson confirmed that Solana-based memecoins will "100%" be able to be traded directly within the Midnight ecosystem. 

What Zipper Actually ChangesStellar's Protocol 27, named Zipper, is set for a mainnet validator vote on July 8. The upgrade centres on a single but consequential change: making authentication delegation a first-class feature on Stellar, meaning one account can officially authorise another to act on its behalf.

Before Zipper, delegation existed on Stellar only as an accidental side effect. Developers who tried to use it faced a tangle of manual steps, extra simulation passes, and bloated transaction sizes, so most teams avoided it entirely. Zipper turns that workaround into a clean, supported tool.

In practical terms, the upgrade opens the door to features that have been difficult or impossible to build cleanly until now. Cheaper transactions and more flexible account designs, including social recovery, delegated signing keys, and modular multisig, become practical to build. Transactions also become smaller and cheaper because all delegated signers bundle into a single authorisation entry instead of requiring separate ones.

On the security side, CAP-0071-02 adds address-bound Soroban credentials, closing a narrow replay vulnerability where accounts sharing private keys could be exposed to cross-account signature reuse.

Laying the Ground for Protocol 28Zipper's significance extends beyond what it ships on day one. CAP-0071-01 is explicitly foundational to CAP-0072, which adds contract-based authentication to classic Stellar accounts. The delegation mechanism introduced here is the same one that more visible features in future protocols will depend on.

The Stellar Development Foundation has confirmed that Protocol 28 will bring contract-based authentication to classic Stellar accounts, the standard ones most users hold today, and the delegation mechanism in Zipper is a direct prerequisite for that. In effect, what validators are being asked to approve on July 8 is as much an infrastructure decision as a feature release.

The release timeline ran as follows: Stellar Core shipped June 5, RPC and Galexie on June 10, SDKs between June 5 and 11, Horizon on June 12, and the testnet upgrade on June 18, ahead of the mainnet protocol vote on July 8.

Sources:
Stellar Development Foundation: Zipper, Protocol 27 Upgrade Guide
Stellar Docs: Software Versions and Protocol Features
GitHub: Stellar Core v27.0.0 Release Notes

Bitcoin rebounded sharply on Saturday, July 4, climbing above $63,000 and making up for the losses seen at the end of June. The leading cryptocurrency gained 1.4% over the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly increase to 3.6%. Trading volume was relatively muted due to the US Independence Day holiday, but the price action marked Bitcoin’s strongest performance in the past two weeks.

Spotlight on market shiftsAmong major digital assets, XRP delivered the standout performance. The token surged 5.3% in the last 24 hours to reach $1.18, pushing its seven-day gain close to 10%. This rally drove XRP’s market capitalization to approximately $73 billion, allowing it to overtake stablecoin USDC and claim the fifth spot among the world’s largest digital currencies.

Ethereum also posted robust gains, jumping 3.2% during the day to roughly $1,793. Its value increased 11.5% for the week. Meanwhile, Solana traded around $82.50 with a weekly gain of 13.2%, and Dogecoin rose 2.6% over the same timeframe.

Macro drivers of the rallyA combination of macroeconomic catalysts contributed to the recent recovery. US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh indicated that inflation pressures are receding, while weaker-than-expected June employment data further reinforced the view of easing economic strains. The price surge also forced traders with bearish positions to close out, accelerating the upward momentum.

Analyst Ted Pillows noted that Bitcoin is approaching a critical resistance level, and a decisive move above $62,800 could propel the price toward $65,000.

According to analytics firm Santiment, Bitcoin has risen 6.1% since June 30, while gold increased 4.8% and the S&P 500 index remained flat. Santiment highlighted that, after a prolonged period of market uncertainty, ETF outflows, and weak investor sentiment, buyers returned to support key price levels. The company is known for its on-chain analytics and sentiment data focused on the crypto industry.

What on-chain metrics revealData from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin’s realized profit and loss ratio dropped to -0.35, its lowest level in 43 months. The last time this indicator reached similar territory was following the FTX collapse in December 2022, when Bitcoin fell below $16,000.

Glossary: The realized profit and loss ratio measures whether coins being transferred on-chain are being sold for a profit or a loss. Negative values indicate a dominance of loss-making sales, which historically have marked local market bottoms.

CryptoQuant emphasized that this metric has signaled cycle lows for Bitcoin in the past. Comparable readings were observed in 2015 and 2019, each time preceding significant upward movements in the price.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, commented that the recent STRC preferred share liquidation, which was triggered by Strategy, has effectively cleared excessive leverage from the market, bringing it closer to a true bottom.

Adam Livingston, an analyst at Swan, pointed out that Bitcoin is trading just 16% above its realized price. Historically, reaching this threshold corresponded to forward returns averaging 41% over six months and 81% over a year. After dropping to $58,190 on June 25, Bitcoin began its latest rebound. Notably, the asset entered the third quarter about 50% below its record peak of $126,080 reached last October.

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.

CZ’s like on the donation tweet for meme coin TCC pushes the token’s market cap to briefly top $72 million.

Crypto community user ddotaek posted that he has shifted from the Solana-based MEME coin market, which he described as "constantly being rugged", to BNB Chain, noting that the BNB ecosystem "truly supports builders and long-term projects". He cited advantages including no rug pulls, no bot-driven wash trading, and clean launches (he personally verified front-running cases). He also mentioned that project team @TCryptochicks donated 10 million TCC tokens to GiggleAcademy, an educational charity founded by CZ. CZ later liked the tweet, lifting market sentiment, and TCC’s market cap briefly surged past $72 million before retreating to around $54 million. Previously, the "Giggle" token gained CZ’s public like and retweet in September 2025 via a donation to GiggleAcademy, with its market cap once soaring to over $100 million. CZ once stated "this completely changed my view on MEME coins", but later clarified multiple times that the related tokens were not officially issued by GiggleAcademy, and reminded holders to watch for subsequent selling pressure. BlockBeats reminds users: Most MEME coins have no practical use cases and are highly volatile. Please protect your assets and do not FOMO.

2 hours ago

Ethereum’s net supply increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days.

According to data from Ultrasound.money, Ethereum's net supply has increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days, bringing its total supply to 121,838,278 ETH, with the current annual supply growth rate standing at 0.835%.

2 hours ago

AI capital expenditure is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027, potentially surpassing U.S. defense spending for the first time.

The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that the AI spending boom is reshaping the U.S. economy. AI capital expenditures by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle are projected to rise to roughly 3.2% of U.S. GDP by 2027. If the forecast holds, annual AI capital spending will for the first time exceed U.S. defense outlays, which are expected to account for around 2.7% of GDP next year. For this year alone, the group’s AI capital spending is forecast to jump from 1.5% of GDP in 2025 to roughly 2.5%, nearly matching the 2.7% share of GDP allocated to defense spending. The five firms’ combined AI capital expenditures are projected to top $800 billion in 2026, then climb to a record $1.1 trillion in 2027. These figures are "staggering".

2 hours ago

US and South Korean stocks Monday price preview: Micron Technology is forecast to rise more than 6% in pre-market trading, while Samsung Electronics is expected to open 4% higher.

Due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday (July 3), U.S. stock markets were closed last Friday, paired with the regular weekend closure. "On-chain Nasdaq" Trade.xyz enables continuous trading and real-time price discovery unavailable in traditional finance via perpetual contracts, pricing in advance for Monday’s U.S. and South Korean stock sessions. Top U.S. stock tickers on Trade.xyz showed mixed moves compared to Thursday’s after-hours trading, and are expected to consolidate with minor fluctuations ahead of Monday’s pre-market. Weekend performance details: Micron (MU) is currently at $1038.71, versus $976.63 in U.S. Thursday after-hours trading; SanDisk (SNDK) at $1856.65, versus $1762.011 Thursday after-hours; NVIDIA at $197.83, versus $194.44 Thursday after-hours; Intel at $124.2, versus $121 Thursday after-hours; Google at $360.06, versus $359.91 Thursday after-hours; AMD at $537.34, versus $519.5 Thursday after-hours; SpaceX at $161.27, versus $160.95 Thursday after-hours. For top South Korean stock tickers on Trade.xyz, their weekend performance is as follows: Samsung Electronics is currently at $210.49, versus $202.35 at Friday’s close; SK Hynix is at $1623.16, versus $1585 at Friday’s close.

2 hours ago

SK Hynix seeks to attract more AI investors via its US listing.

SK Hynix’s upcoming $29 billion U.S. stock market listing could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a foreign company in history, but the move is not just about raising capital. More importantly, the firm aims to compete in the hottest segment of global stock markets right now: memory chips for AI computing. Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust (which holds Micron stock), said the market is in a period of extreme hype for chip stocks, and now is a good time to bring U.S. investors on board for its shares. Zhou Di, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management (which holds SK Hynix stock), noted that the offering targets investors who currently cannot access South Korea’s stock market. SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing gives investors direct, frictionless access to one of the most attractive pure-play assets in the AI memory cycle. (Jin Shi)

2 hours ago

Ming-Chi Kuo: Foldable iPhone may repeat the iPhone X playbook, launching later and facing supply constraints through the end of the year.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated in a note that the foldable iPhone could repeat the iPhone X playbook: it will be unveiled alongside other models, but pre-orders and official launch will be delayed, and supply shortages may persist through the end of 2026. Based on third-quarter 2026 production volumes, the foldable iPhone is likely to mirror the 2017 iPhone X. That year, the iPhone X was unveiled alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on September 12, but due to insufficient stock, pre-orders were pushed back to October 27 and official sales to November 3. Given the foldable iPhone’s limited third-quarter shipments, it may also open pre-orders and official sales only in the fourth quarter of 2026. After discussions with telecom operators, sales channels, and resellers/parallel import agents, Kuo concluded that even if the foldable iPhone is priced at roughly $2,300 to $2,500, demand will remain strong at least through the end of 2026. This means the device could sell out rapidly once pre-orders open, with shipment wait times potentially jumping to 4 to 6 weeks or longer, extending into December. He added that the foldable iPhone’s initial limited supply, distinct design, and innovative user experience could drive up short-term resale prices, with resale prices 50% to 100% higher than the official retail price not being out of the question.

2 hours ago

IMF Warns Tokenization Will Shift Financial Power From Banks to Code

Altcoins

5 July 2026 | 14:33 Nine of the ten largest privacy-focused cryptocurrencies closed the week green, with gains reaching 27%, extending one of 2026's most persistent sector narratives.

Key Takeaways Humanity led the category with 27.61% weekly gain. Tezos rose 19.86%, Zcash added 18.38%. Zcash’s Ironwood upgrade targets July activation. Canton was the only top-10 decliner. What Counts as a Privacy Coin The category is broader than the classic image of anonymous digital cash. At the basic level, privacy coins are cryptocurrencies designed to conceal some or all transaction details, the sender, the recipient, the amount, or all three, using cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs, ring signatures, and stealth addresses. On a transparent blockchain like Bitcoin’s, every transaction is permanently visible and traceable by anyone; privacy coins exist to close that gap, serving users who treat financial confidentiality the way traditional banking treats it: as a default, not a luxury.

The practical use cases run wider than the reputation suggests. Individuals use them to shield savings and salaries from public view, businesses use them to keep supplier payments and payroll confidential from competitors, and users in surveillance-heavy or capital-controlled jurisdictions rely on them where visible crypto holdings carry personal risk. The same technology also has a compliance-friendly face: selective disclosure lets a user prove a payment happened to an auditor or tax authority without exposing their entire financial history to the world.

CoinMarketCap’s privacy coins data reflects that range, spanning three distinct types of projects. The first is true privacy coins, Zcash, Monero, Dash, where hiding transaction details is the core product. The second is major chains that added optional confidential features, such as Litecoin and Tezos. The third is zero-knowledge infrastructure, where the same cryptography serves scaling, identity, or institutional data protection rather than anonymity, and this is where traditional finance has quietly entered the category.

Canton, built by Digital Asset, is the clearest example: its privacy-enabled network is used by major financial institutions, with participants across banking and market infrastructure, because banks cannot legally broadcast client positions on a transparent ledger, confidentiality is a regulatory requirement for them, not a preference. The distinction matters when reading the week’s numbers: regulators treat anonymity-by-default coins and permissioned confidentiality very differently, and the buying was not concentrated in one type. It spread across all three.

The Week’s Numbers Humanity Protocol led the category with a 27.61% gain. Tezos rose 19.86%, followed by Zcash at 18.38%. Midnight gained 9.16%, Chainlink added 8.77%, and Dash climbed 7.43%. Starknet, Monero, and Litecoin advanced 5.08%, 4.33%, and 4.03%, respectively. Canton was the only top-10 decliner, falling 7.96%. The overall crypto market gained roughly 5%, meaning most assets in the category outperformed the broader market. The Core Privacy Coins Zcash (ZEC, $455) pioneered zk-SNARK encryption, letting users choose between transparent and shielded transactions that hide sender, recipient, and amount. Its rally has an on-chain anchor: over 30% of the circulating supply now sits in the shielded pool, an all-time high per CoinGecko, indicating the privacy features are actually being used rather than merely traded.

The asset also carries the sector’s most prominent institutional storyline. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes made ZEC his fund Maelstrom’s largest holding outside Bitcoin, calling it “Bitcoin with complete privacy,” before liquidating the entire position in June when the Orchard pool vulnerability was disclosed, noting he may buy back in if his supply-integrity concerns prove unfounded. That is precisely what the next catalyst addresses: the network finalized its Ironwood upgrade plan targeting July activation, designed to restore verifiable supply integrity, making this month a direct test of whether the sector’s most-watched exit reverses.

Monero (XMR, $322) is the maximalist version: privacy is mandatory, not optional. Ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions obscure every transfer by default, which makes XMR fully fungible and also explains why it faces the heaviest exchange delistings. A recent analyst outlook via CryptoRank frames the trade-off: models project a $400–$600 test if a privacy-driven cycle materializes, against structural headwinds from FATF Travel Rule enforcement, with a mid-2026 network upgrade reducing transaction sizes as the next milestone.

Dash (DASH, $34.8) is the lightest touch of the three, offering opt-in mixing through PrivateSend built on CoinJoin, while functioning primarily as a payments network.

The Privacy-Enabled Majors Litecoin (LTC, $44.6) earns its category spot through MWEB, the MimbleWimble Extension Blocks upgrade that added opt-in confidential transactions to one of crypto’s oldest payment chains. Tezos (XTZ, $0.25), this week’s second-best performer, supports Sapling shielded transactions, the same cryptographic family Zcash developed, at the protocol level. Chainlink (LINK, $7.8) is the least intuitive entry: it appears via DECO, its zero-knowledge oracle technology that lets users prove facts about private data without revealing the data itself, privacy as infrastructure rather than anonymous money.

The Zero-Knowledge Infrastructure Wing Starknet (STRK, $0.03) uses STARK proofs to scale Ethereum, with the privacy potential of the underlying math still largely unexploited. Midnight (NIGHT, $0.033) is a data-protection chain from the Cardano ecosystem, built for selective disclosure so businesses can use blockchains without exposing sensitive records. Humanity Protocol (H, $0.07), the week’s top gainer, applies zero-knowledge proofs to identity, verifying personhood through palm biometrics without exposing the biometric data. Canton (CC, $0.14), the week’s lone decliner, is the institutional outlier: a privacy-enabled network built by Digital Asset and used by major financial firms, where confidentiality serves compliance rather than anonymity.

Why the Sector Is Moving The rotation has a coherent logic. Financial surveillance is expanding, tax authorities increasingly parse transparent blockchains directly, and transparent-chain holdings are trivially traceable, which converts privacy from an ideological preference into a practical hedge.

The thesis has prominent backers: Hayes declared privacy the dominant crypto narrative of 2026 in his essay “Suavemente,” arguing AI-driven chain analysis is eroding pseudonymity, and Naval Ravikant, CEO of AngelList, has publicly backed Zcash with similar framing, per Yahoo Finance.

The shielded-supply growth in Zcash is the cleanest evidence that demand is functional, not just speculative. At the same time, the category carries a permanent discount: MiCA-era compliance rules restrict how European exchanges handle shielded transfers, and privacy-by-default assets like Monero remain delisted from several major venues, which caps liquidity precisely when demand rises.

The week’s pattern, with identity and ZK-infrastructure projects outperforming the classic privacy coins, suggests the market could be buying the broader confidential-computing thesis rather than just anonymous payments. That is the more durable version of the trade: infrastructure privacy faces far less regulatory friction than transaction anonymity while riding the same surveillance narrative. The catalysts ahead are specific and dated, Zcash’s Ironwood activation this month and Monero’s mid-2026 upgrade, which gives the sector something most crypto narratives lack: a calendar. The regulatory ceiling has not moved, but within it, this remains one of the few categories in the market where usage data, upgrade schedules, and price are currently pointing the same direction.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.

Author

Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.

15h05 ▪ 3 min read ▪ by Eddy S.

Summarize this article with:

Dogecoin, star of memecoins, is approaching a weekly “Death Cross” for the first time since 2023. This rare signal, synonymous with a bearish trend, raises a question: sell or bet on a comeback? Technical analysis and crypto outlooks.

In Brief Dogecoin might validate a Death Cross on its weekly chart, a rare bearish signal since 2023. Previous Death Crosses led to stagnation, but the context this time is different. Crypto investors must keep their eyes open between the risk of a drop and the possibility of a rebound. Dogecoin (DOGE) is close to forming a weekly Death Cross for the first time since February 2023, a technical crossover where the 50-week moving average (50 WMA) crosses below the 200-week moving average (200 WMA). This signal, often synonymous with a long-term bearish trend, is all the more rare as DOGE has experienced only three of them since 2021, two of which were Golden Crosses or bullish crossovers. In 2023, the last Death Cross trapped Dogecoin’s price between 0.07 and 0.10 dollars, without a sharp crash.

But this time, the situation is different. Indeed, at $0.074 DOGE is already below both moving averages, which could amplify the impact of the signal. This crossover is therefore closely watched by crypto traders because, if confirmed by high volume, it could trigger a wave of sales. However, Dogecoin has often defied predictions. Its history shows that Golden Crosses have always preceded explosive rallies. So, will this Death Cross be different?

DOGE: What If the Death Cross Turned into a Golden Cross? Some crypto investors are betting on a spectacular rebound for Dogecoin, despite the Death Cross causing concerns. After all, DOGE has already proven itself defying technical logic:

In 2021, a Golden Cross pushed its price from $0.02 to $0.74 in three months, a 3,600% increase;  In 2024, a similar scenario occurred, with a 100% increase after a bullish crossover. Today, although the signal is bearish, external catalysts could reverse the trend. A tweet from Elon Musk, a major integration, or even a rise in Bitcoin could rekindle enthusiasm. Some analysts even bet on a new all-time high if Dogecoin manages to break the $0.12 resistance. However, caution is advised. The crypto market is volatile and unpredictable, and a Death Cross, even if it had little impact in the past, could this time mark the start of a deeper correction.

Dogecoin stands at a technical crossroads. Between the Death Cross and a potential rebound, crypto investors are hesitant. What is certain is that with DOGE, history is never the same twice. And you, do you bet on the drop or the rebound?

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Eddy S.

The world is evolving and adaptation is the best weapon to survive in this undulating universe. Originally a crypto community manager, I am interested in anything that is directly or indirectly related to blockchain and its derivatives. To share my experience and promote a field that I am passionate about, nothing is better than writing informative and relaxed articles.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

The Canary HBAR ETF, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker HBR, pulled in $989,000 in net inflows on July 2. The figure marked its largest single-day inflow since May 15, according to market posts tracking spot crypto ETF flow data.

Summary

Canary’s HBR ETF drew $989K, showing Hedera still appears in institutional flow data despite weak price. HBAR trades near $0.075, with market cap above $3.29b and weekly gains holding firm. ETF demand remains small, but steady appearances may keep Hedera visible to regulated investors. The amount remains small compared with spot Bitcoin ETF and spot Ethereum ETF flows. Still, the move showed that Hedera continues to appear in institutional product data even during a quiet period for HBAR price action.

One market post said the fund’s consistency matters more than “any one-day figure.” That view reflects the current debate around HBR. The fund has not produced large daily flows in recent weeks, but it continues to provide regulated exposure to HBAR.

The ETF gives investors access to Hedera without holding tokens directly.Canary’s fund page says HBR holds HBAR and offers simplified exposure through brokerage and retirement accounts.

HBAR price remains below $0.08 HBAR traded at $0.075212 on July 5, based on crypto market data. The token was up 0.75% over 24 hours and 5.67% over seven days.

The token’s market cap stood at about $3.29 billion, while 24-hour trading volume was near $68.95 million. HBAR traded between $0.07433 and $0.077207 during the latest 24-hour period.

The price remains far below Hedera’s all-time high of $0.569229, reached on Sept. 15, 2021. It also remains under the $0.10 area that has capped several recovery attempts in 2026.

That gap shows the difference between institutional product access and token price strength. HBR may improve access for regulated investors, but HBAR still needs broader demand to build a stronger market structure.

ETF data keeps Hedera visible Earlier Hedera price coverage showed that the HBR ETF had accumulated $93.21 million in cumulative inflows by early 2026. The same report said HBAR became one of the few cryptocurrencies to secure U.S. spot ETF access.

Canary’s HBR fund page lists the ETF’s net assets at about $49.14 million as of July 2. It also shows a market price of $9.92 and net asset value of $9.89 on the same date.

The fund charges a 0.95% sponsor fee. Its listed custodians include BitGo Trust Company and Coinbase Custody Trust Company, according to Canary’s published fund details.

These details matter for institutional users because custody, pricing and access remain key parts of crypto ETF demand. HBR gives Hedera a channel into traditional brokerage accounts, even if current flows remain modest.

Hedera adoption story meets weak price action Hedera remains focused on enterprise use cases, payments, tokenization and decentralized applications. The project’s governing council includes several major companies, while HBAR powers fees and network activity.

Past coverage noted that Hedera has processed real-world asset activity and has drawn attention from firms looking at enterprise blockchain use. Even so, token price action has stayed weak for much of 2026.

This creates a split market picture. On one side, HBR’s inflow shows that some regulated investor demand still exists. On the other side, HBAR continues to trade below key resistance levels and remains down sharply from past highs.

At press time, the July 2 inflow gives Hedera a fresh institutional flow signal. It does not confirm a price recovery by itself. Traders will likely watch whether HBR can attract repeat inflows and whether HBAR can reclaim the $0.08 to $0.10 zone.

The Solana memecoin market has roared back to life, with @BlackBullSol's $ANSEM token — officially called The Black Bull — posting extraordinary gains over the past week. According to CoinMarketCap data cited by @BSCNews, the token has surged more than 822,600% over the past month, and is up nearly 5x in the past week alone.

The $ANSEM Story: Influencer Name, Anonymous Creator $ANSEM is a Solana memecoin launched on Pump.fun in mid-June 2026, tied to influencer Ansem (Zion Thomas, @blknoiz06), who has nearly 1 million followers. It is not officially created or endorsed by Ansem as a personal token. An anonymous developer launched it and sent a large share to his wallet, and several rival $ANSEM tokens appeared at once.

A deployer wallet launched the dominant "Black Bull" token on Pump.fun around June 17, 2026, spending about $6,300 to create it, then transferred 650 million tokens to Ansem's wallet. The real catalyst came on June 28, 2026, when Ansem criticized Pump.fun's reward structure and pledged to airdrop his creator fees to traders. Ansem airdropped roughly $7 million worth of the $ANSEM memecoin to Solana users in a distribution campaign that unfolded between June 27 and June 29, representing one of the largest influencer-driven token giveaways in recent memory. The goal: grow the $ANSEM holder base from approximately 25,000 wallets to 1 million.

The Black Bull is currently priced at $0.2918, with a 24-hour trading volume of over $67.5 million. Despite a 17% pullback in the past 24 hours, it remains up more than 2,575% over seven days, with a circulating market cap above $121 million. Traders should note that according to Rugcheck.xyz, there is a risk of market manipulation due to a large concentration of tokens held in one or more unidentified wallets.

For most of the first half of 2026, the prevailing narrative around Solana memecoins was that the party was over. Volumes had cratered from their manic peaks and launchpads were consolidating. Then, in roughly ten days in late June, $ANSEM went vertical, Solana's daily token launches hit an 80-day high, and SOL itself caught a bid on the back of renewed ecosystem activity.

Beyond $ANSEM: $SNEK and $M Also See Positive Action The current wave of memecoin activity is not limited to Solana. @snek's $SNEK on @Cardano $ADA has also been posting gains. Snek is a community-oriented meme coin and cultural movement established as a leading digital asset within the Cardano ecosystem, designed to foster community engagement through a brand-centric approach, with a fair launch model where no tokens were reserved for the development team or private venture capital. SNEK is the most traded token on Cardano, and like $ANSEM, its price action is tightly linked to broader memecoin sentiment and ecosystem momentum.

@MemeCore_M's $M token is also among the assets seeing positive price action in the current environment, adding to the sense that speculative interest is returning across multiple chains simultaneously.

As with all memecoins, the risks are considerable. $ANSEM has no product, team, or revenue, and its value depends entirely on attention and one influencer's involvement, with heavy supply concentration flagged by on-chain analysts. Participants should size positions accordingly.

Sources:
Crypto Briefing: Ansem airdrops $7M worth of $ANSEM memecoin to Solana users
CoinGecko: The Black Bull ($ANSEM) Live Price and Market Data
Brave New Coin: Ansem's $ANSEM Gamble

TLRD: Solana price prediction now centers on the $75 to $77 support band as $120 million in SOL reportedly moved away from exchanges. SOL price action needs a clean break above $82 and $84.40 to reopen the $85 to $90 target zone watched by short-term traders. Securitize SECZ listing and tokenized share issuance on Solana add fresh institutional context to the real-world asset narrative. Solana technical analysis stays mixed as oversold signals meet weak moving-average structure and resistance below the $85 level. Solana traded near $78 to $80 on Sunday as traders weighed fresh exchange outflows against short-term selling pressure. The latest Solana price prediction now turns on whether buyers can defend the $75 to $77 support band and reclaim the $82 to $84.40 resistance 

According to onchain data, $120 million in SOL left exchanges over the past week, equal to about 1.50 million tokens. That movement can reduce immediate sell supply, yet the market still needs stronger spot demand to confirm a lasting rebound. 

At the same time, the 3-day SuperTrend indicator has flashed a new buy signal. The signal followed a prior sell setup that preceded a deep correction. SOL has also pulled back after a weekly rally, so traders are reading the latest dip as profit-taking rather than a clear negative catalyst.

Solana Price Prediction Tests Support as Supply Falls The Solana price prediction has turned more constructive as exchange balances fall. Tokens leaving trading platforms often point to custody, staking, or longer holding periods. That does not guarantee higher prices, but it can ease sell-side pressure when demand improves.

Institutional activity also gives the Solana network a stronger fundamental backdrop. Securitize debuted on the NYSE under the ticker SECZ on July 2. The company also tokenized $295 million of its own common shares on Solana and Avalanche, adding another real-world asset use case to the chain. 

Solana also activated a formal on-chain governance system through Solana Governance Proposals. Validators with at least 100,000 SOL staked can now open proposals, while votes require 15% active stake support before moving forward. That change gives validators and delegators a clearer role in protocol direction.

Still, SOL price action shows caution. The token has traded near key short-term moving averages, with resistance around $82 and $84.40. A failure to clear those levels would keep the asset inside a range rather than confirm a breakout.

Solana Price Prediction Hinges on the $84.40 Breakout The next Solana price prediction trigger sits near $84.40. A clean move above that area, followed by a support flip, could bring the $85 to $90 zone back into focus. BitGuru has also pointed to $75 as the support level that keeps the broader breakout setup alive.

$SOL is showing strong bullish momentum after breaking out of its consolidation range. As long as price holds above the $75 support zone, the next move could extend toward the $85-$90 region. pic.twitter.com/BzkHTvbwph

— BitGuru 🔶 (@bitgu_ru) July 4, 2026

Momentum signals stay mixed. The MACD gap is tight, while oversold readings suggest sellers may be losing force. Still, the 200-day EMA near $96 to $97 marks a larger overhead barrier for Solana technical analysis.

A break below $75 would weaken the bullish case and expose the $70 area. That move would show that profit-taking has turned into deeper distribution. It would also delay any near-term SOL price recovery toward $90.

The market setup is therefore balanced. Exchange withdrawals, tokenized equity activity, and governance upgrades support the bullish side. Weak moving-average structure and resistance below $85 keep traders cautious as SOL tests whether the latest rebound has enough volume.

CZ’s like on the donation tweet for meme coin TCC pushes the token’s market cap to briefly top $72 million.

Crypto community user ddotaek posted that he has shifted from the Solana-based MEME coin market, which he described as "constantly being rugged", to BNB Chain, noting that the BNB ecosystem "truly supports builders and long-term projects". He cited advantages including no rug pulls, no bot-driven wash trading, and clean launches (he personally verified front-running cases). He also mentioned that project team @TCryptochicks donated 10 million TCC tokens to GiggleAcademy, an educational charity founded by CZ. CZ later liked the tweet, lifting market sentiment, and TCC’s market cap briefly surged past $72 million before retreating to around $54 million. Previously, the "Giggle" token gained CZ’s public like and retweet in September 2025 via a donation to GiggleAcademy, with its market cap once soaring to over $100 million. CZ once stated "this completely changed my view on MEME coins", but later clarified multiple times that the related tokens were not officially issued by GiggleAcademy, and reminded holders to watch for subsequent selling pressure. BlockBeats reminds users: Most MEME coins have no practical use cases and are highly volatile. Please protect your assets and do not FOMO.

46 minutes ago

Ethereum’s net supply increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days.

According to data from Ultrasound.money, Ethereum's net supply has increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days, bringing its total supply to 121,838,278 ETH, with the current annual supply growth rate standing at 0.835%.

46 minutes ago

AI capital expenditure is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027, potentially surpassing U.S. defense spending for the first time.

The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that the AI spending boom is reshaping the U.S. economy. AI capital expenditures by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle are projected to rise to roughly 3.2% of U.S. GDP by 2027. If the forecast holds, annual AI capital spending will for the first time exceed U.S. defense outlays, which are expected to account for around 2.7% of GDP next year. For this year alone, the group’s AI capital spending is forecast to jump from 1.5% of GDP in 2025 to roughly 2.5%, nearly matching the 2.7% share of GDP allocated to defense spending. The five firms’ combined AI capital expenditures are projected to top $800 billion in 2026, then climb to a record $1.1 trillion in 2027. These figures are "staggering".

46 minutes ago

US and South Korean stocks Monday price preview: Micron Technology is forecast to rise more than 6% in pre-market trading, while Samsung Electronics is expected to open 4% higher.

Due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday (July 3), U.S. stock markets were closed last Friday, paired with the regular weekend closure. "On-chain Nasdaq" Trade.xyz enables continuous trading and real-time price discovery unavailable in traditional finance via perpetual contracts, pricing in advance for Monday’s U.S. and South Korean stock sessions. Top U.S. stock tickers on Trade.xyz showed mixed moves compared to Thursday’s after-hours trading, and are expected to consolidate with minor fluctuations ahead of Monday’s pre-market. Weekend performance details: Micron (MU) is currently at $1038.71, versus $976.63 in U.S. Thursday after-hours trading; SanDisk (SNDK) at $1856.65, versus $1762.011 Thursday after-hours; NVIDIA at $197.83, versus $194.44 Thursday after-hours; Intel at $124.2, versus $121 Thursday after-hours; Google at $360.06, versus $359.91 Thursday after-hours; AMD at $537.34, versus $519.5 Thursday after-hours; SpaceX at $161.27, versus $160.95 Thursday after-hours. For top South Korean stock tickers on Trade.xyz, their weekend performance is as follows: Samsung Electronics is currently at $210.49, versus $202.35 at Friday’s close; SK Hynix is at $1623.16, versus $1585 at Friday’s close.

46 minutes ago

SK Hynix seeks to attract more AI investors via its US listing.

SK Hynix’s upcoming $29 billion U.S. stock market listing could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a foreign company in history, but the move is not just about raising capital. More importantly, the firm aims to compete in the hottest segment of global stock markets right now: memory chips for AI computing. Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust (which holds Micron stock), said the market is in a period of extreme hype for chip stocks, and now is a good time to bring U.S. investors on board for its shares. Zhou Di, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management (which holds SK Hynix stock), noted that the offering targets investors who currently cannot access South Korea’s stock market. SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing gives investors direct, frictionless access to one of the most attractive pure-play assets in the AI memory cycle. (Jin Shi)

46 minutes ago

Ming-Chi Kuo: Foldable iPhone may repeat the iPhone X playbook, launching later and facing supply constraints through the end of the year.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated in a note that the foldable iPhone could repeat the iPhone X playbook: it will be unveiled alongside other models, but pre-orders and official launch will be delayed, and supply shortages may persist through the end of 2026. Based on third-quarter 2026 production volumes, the foldable iPhone is likely to mirror the 2017 iPhone X. That year, the iPhone X was unveiled alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on September 12, but due to insufficient stock, pre-orders were pushed back to October 27 and official sales to November 3. Given the foldable iPhone’s limited third-quarter shipments, it may also open pre-orders and official sales only in the fourth quarter of 2026. After discussions with telecom operators, sales channels, and resellers/parallel import agents, Kuo concluded that even if the foldable iPhone is priced at roughly $2,300 to $2,500, demand will remain strong at least through the end of 2026. This means the device could sell out rapidly once pre-orders open, with shipment wait times potentially jumping to 4 to 6 weeks or longer, extending into December. He added that the foldable iPhone’s initial limited supply, distinct design, and innovative user experience could drive up short-term resale prices, with resale prices 50% to 100% higher than the official retail price not being out of the question.

46 minutes ago

The wallet associated with the Step Finance attack has become active again after approximately five months of inactivity.

According to on-chain data, the attacker sold all of their 261,933 SOL, generating approximately $21.4 million. They then bridged these funds to the Ethereum network, purchased 12,128 ETH, and deposited the assets into the privacy protocol Tornado Cash.

This transaction is considered a classic money laundering tactic aimed at covering up the trail of funds obtained from the attack. On the SOL side, it is stated that the $21.4 million in selling pressure was absorbed by the market and the potential risk of a sell-off for Solana investors has been eliminated.

However, the most noteworthy point was the transfer of funds to the Ethereum network and their conversion to Tornado Cash. This move is expected to make tracking the assets more difficult.

In late January 2026, Step Finance suffered a devastating security breach when hackers gained access to the platform’s treasury and fee wallets by taking over administrative devices. The attackers withdrew approximately 261,854 SOL, initially worth between $27 and $30 million, causing the value of the STEP token to drop by over 80%.

*This is not investment advice.

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