Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

Zcash activates Ironwood upgrade, launching new shielded pool after Orchard vulnerability

Quick TakeZcash activated its Ironwood network upgrade, introducing a new formally verified shielded pool that reuses a patch zero-knowledge circuit while restricting the old Orchard pool to withdrawals only.Ironwood represents something of a unified effort across Zcash‘s developer ecosystem after Shielded Labs found a bug in Orchard, which tanked ZEC’s price by over 50% after it was disclosed.　　Zcashs Ironwood upgrade went live on Tuesday, introducing a new shielded pool for the privacy blockchain following concerns about the soundness of its earlier Orchard pool.　　Ironwood, which is also the name of the new pool, activated on schedule at block height 3,428,143 as part of the NU6.3 network upgrade.　　Orchard, meanwhile, will now be restricted to only support withdrawals, though removing funds will remain discretionary. Orchard was previously Zcash‘s primary privacy pool, accounting for nearly 88% of the blockchain’s shielded token supply at its height, with older shield pools Sapling and Sprout making up the rest, according to The Blocks data.　　According to a migration tracker, some 40,207 ZEC have migrated into Ironwood, while about 3.6 million tokens remain in Orchard.　　ZEC, which tanked over 50% after the Orchard bug was disclosed, dropped about 9% on Tuesday to $460 before recovering to about $475, according to

07-29Industry

Inside the brutal 2-minute flash crash sending a $400M South Korean market plunging on Hyperliquid

A two-minute price shock in a Hyperliquid market tied to South Koreas SK Hynix has put the mechanics and oversight of equity-linked perpetuals under scrutiny.　　SKHX, a TradeXYZ-operated perpetual on Hyperliquid that tracks the US dollar value of one Korean SK Hynix share, briefly sank to $927 during South Koreas pre-market window before recovering within roughly two minutes, according to local media.　　A later DefiLlama snapshot put open interest at $407 million, down 20% over 24 hours, while 24-hour trading volume reached $959 million. Open interest measures the rolling value of outstanding positions, incorporating changes in both position size and price.　　The underlying market was already under severe pressure. South Korea‘s KOSPI closed 10.84% lower after a 20-minute marketwide circuit breaker, while SK Hynix’s Korean shares finished down 14.65% at 1.55 million won, Yonhap reported.　　TradeXYZ‘s contract specification defines SKHX as the dollar value of one SK Hynix common share, calculated by converting the Korean share price at the prevailing USD/KRW rate. TradeXYZ documents an external-pricing window from 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. Korean time. SKHX is separate from the company’s US-listed depositary receipt and from tokenized shares.　　From price input to liquidation　　Hyperliquid‘s HIP-3 specification gives a market deployer control over its oracle definition, oracle

07-29Industry

Clear Creek reveals $15M Bitcoin, crypto ETF portfolio

Clear Creek Financial Management disclosed about $15.1 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana exchange-traded funds in its latest US regulatory filing.　　SummaryBitcoin ETFs accounted for about $10.4 million, led by Bitwises BITB fund.Clear Creek reported nearly $4.3 million across three Ethereum ETFs.XRP and Solana products expanded the firms disclosed crypto allocation beyond BTC and ETH.The filing provides a quarter-end snapshot, meaning Clear Creek may have changed its positions since then.　　Clear Creeks Bitcoin ETF holdings top $10 million　　Clear Creeks largest disclosed crypto position was the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB). The investment adviser reported owning 304,155 shares valued at about $9.69 million at the end of the reporting period.　　The firm also held approximately $477,412 in BlackRocks iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and $248,539 in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF. Together, its three Bitcoin ETF positions were worth roughly $10.4 million.　　BITB accounted for close to 93% of the firms disclosed Bitcoin ETF allocation. Clear Creek manages more than $1.5 billion in assets, placing the crypto positions at a relatively small share of its wider portfolio.　　Form 13F requires institutional investment managers overseeing at least $100 million in qualifying US securities to disclose certain long positions every quarter. However, the reports are backward-looking and do not

07-29Industry

Apple Sued Over Fake Bitcoin Wallet App That Stole $1.8M

Apple is facing fresh legal scrutiny after three cryptocurrency investors accused the company of allowing a fraudulent Bitcoin wallet onto the App Store. The lawsuit claims the fake application tricked users into revealing sensitive wallet recovery phrases, leading to losses totaling $1.8 million.　　The case adds to growing concerns about crypto-related scams targeting trusted digital marketplaces. Moreover, it raises new questions about how technology companies review applications before making them available to millions of users. The complaint argues that users relied on Apples reputation when downloading the application.　　Investors Blame App Store Security　　The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, claims Apple failed to properly screen and monitor applications distributed through its App Store. The disputed app reportedly copied the identity of Sparrow Wallet, although the legitimate Bitcoin wallet does not offer an iOS version.　　Consequently, victims entered their 12-word or 24-word recovery phrases, allowing scammers to access and transfer their Bitcoin holdings. James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis, and Jalen Delgado reportedly lost about $875,000, $840,000, and $120,000 between May and August 2025.　　Lawsuit Raises Consumer Protection Questions　　Besides seeking damages, the plaintiffs argue Apple violated California consumer protection laws by failing to maintain adequate safeguards. Additionally, they contend Apples long-standing emphasis on App Store

07-29Industry

134 Bank Leaders Sound Alarm Over CLARITY Act — They Want a Key Crypto Rule Changed

Key Takeaways134 bank leaders urged Senate lawmakers to strengthen stablecoin interest and yield restrictions in the CLARITY Act.Bankers warned incentives tied to stablecoin holdings could weaken the deposit base supporting local lending.The dispute centers on whether payment stablecoins should function only as transaction tools.　　Bank Leaders Push Senate to Rewrite Stablecoin Provision　　The bank leaders CLARITY Act letter urged U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate, to revise Section 10404 of the CLARITY Act.　　Section 10404 of the crypto legislation establishes restrictions on paying interest or yield on payment stablecoins. The banking executives want lawmakers to strengthen the provision so companies cannot bypass the prohibition through rewards, incentives, or other arrangements that create similar economic benefits for holding stablecoins.　　The bank leaders stated:　　“We therefore urge the Senate to incorporate the targeted Section 10404 changes recommended by our state bankers associations before final passage.”　　“If stablecoin products are permitted to attract and retain balances through interest-like rewards or other holding-based incentives, the local funding base that supports this lending could be weakened by hundreds of billions,” the group warned.　　The letter argues that deposits provide the foundation for lending to families,

07-29Industry

Flare makes XRPFi accessible in a single signature with smart accounts v1.3

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.　　Flare launches Flare Smart Accounts v1.3, enabling XRP holders to access DeFi vaults with a single XRPL wallet signature.　　Flare today announced the release of Flare Smart Accounts (FSA) v1.3, making it possible for XRP holders to mint FXRP and deposit it into yield-generating vaults with a single XRPL signature.　　For XRP holders, accessing DeFi has often meant creating new wallets, bridging assets between chains, and managing gas tokens before earning a single dollar in yield. Flare Smart Accounts v1.3 removes much of that complexity. Users can now choose a vault, sign once using the XRPL wallet they already use, and Flare completes the rest automatically. No separate EVM wallet, gas token, or manual bridging is required.　　The update builds on growing momentum for XRPFi. Since February 2026, the amount of FXRP deployed in DeFi has grown by nearly 75%, increasing from 82 million to 144 million FXRP. More than 40 million XRP is currently earning yield through Flare Smart Accounts, while nearly 24,000 Smart Accounts have already been created.　　“Millions of XRP holders have wanted access to DeFi, but the experience has been

07-29Industry

Thailand SEC Accuses Bitkub Executives of Hiding $50M Hack Losses From Regulators

Key TakeawaysThailand SEC accused Bitkub over 2021 reports tied to a $50M hack and filed a criminal complaint.Bitkub said co-founders replaced $50M in stolen assets, keeping customer funds fully intact in 2021.ECD will investigate before prosecutors decide whether to indict Bitkub and 2 former directors.　　SEC Allegations and Reporting Breaches　　Thailands Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub Online Co. Ltd. and two former directors for allegedly submitting false financial reports following a 2021 cyberattack that resulted in the theft of over $50 million (1.7 billion baht) in digital assets.　　The complaint, lodged with Thailands Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD), names the cryptocurrency exchange alongside former company directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan.　　According to the SEC, Bitkub suffered a cyberattack in May 2021 that breached 16 types of digital assets. Regulator investigations revealed that from May 10 to Oct. 30, 2021, the exchange failed to reflect the loss in its daily net capital reports, known as Form DA 1. The SEC alleges the executives intentionally made false entries in official company documents to mislead regulators into believing customer assets were intact and that the firm had suffered no financial damage.　　The regulator noted that while Bitkub eventually procured replacement assets

07-28Industry

Markets eye Bank of Japan meeting on Friday as yen repeats 40-year US dollar lows

Japans central bank is in focus this week as its next interest-rate meeting comes amid new 40-year yen lows against the US dollar.　　Key points: The Japanese yen is approaching new 40-year lows against the US dollar, nearly beating its latest record from last week.The Bank of Japan will decide on interest-rate changes on July 31, with rates already at 1%, their highest since September 1995.Analysts have been warning that the yen carry trade could unwind again, repeating a major crypto headwind from 2024.　　Dollar-yen seeks to reclaim 40-year record　　Data from TradingView showed USD/JPY approaching 164 on Tuesday, just a fraction below new 40-year highs seen last week.USD/JPY 12-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView　　The yen‘s status as a funding currency is making BoJ monetary policy have an outsized influence on global markets. Japan’s currency markets are characterized by minimal capital controls and unmatched liquidity among non-dollar currencies.　　Japans persistent current account and trade surpluses in earlier decades along with systemically low interest rates have made JPY the most important global funding currency. However, since Japanese inflation picked up in 2022, this has created the risk of carry trade unwinds accompanied by a liquidity crunch.　　On Thursday and Friday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will decide on

07-28Industry

The Euro finally gets cheaper energy, and that is the problem

The Euro trades just under 1.1400 on Tuesday, around 0.15% firmer, after a session that ran from a shade above 1.1350 to a fraction over 1.1400. Behind that half-cent range sits a third consecutive session of falling Crude Oil, with Brent near $84.00 and West Texas Intermediate near $79.00 as the American and Iranian stand-down runs into a fourth day.　　For the developed world‘s largest net energy importer, roughly 16% off last Thursday’s peak is the cleanest fundamental improvement on offer, and it has bought this currency a sixth of a cent. That failure is not a market oversight. It is the correct reading of what falling energy actually does to the rate differential.　　Cheaper energy is a rate cut in disguise　　The European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2.25% last week and framed the hold hawkishly enough to move markets toward a quarter-point hike in September. Every part of that stance is energy-derived. Euro-area inflation ran at 2.8% YoY in June against 3.2% in May, and staff projections put the 2026 average near 3.0% almost entirely on the energy line.　　Strip out the war premium and the projection falls with it, which takes the September hike along for the ride. A

07-28Industry

Why Is Lido Moving $16B in Staked ETH to Pectra-Era Validators？

Operators have to lock up their own ETH as collateral now.　　Liquid staking app Lido has started moving the bulk of its staked ETH onto Ethereums larger post-Pectra validators, and the operators running them are now putting up their own capital for the first time.　　The main idea is that Lidos curated node operators stop running thousands of identical 32 ETH validators and collapse them into far fewer, much larger ones.　　$16B in ETH Moved　　Moreover, Ethereums Pectra hardfork, activated in May 2025, raised the maximum effective balance per validator to 2,048 tokens through what are known as 0x02 credentials. Curated Module v2 is the piece of Lido Core that now supports them natively (Phase 1 went live on Monday).　　The scope is the Curated Module itself, the permissioned operator layer that has handled well over 90% of Lidos staked ETH since the protocol launched in 2020. That covers more than 265,000 existing validators and more than 8 million ETH, worth about $16 billion.　　Its worth knowing Lido is doing this in a tighter market. As CryptoPotato reported, its revenue fell roughly 25% last year, and its share of all staked ETH slid from more than 28% in 2024 to just over 24% in December 2025.　　No

07-28Industry

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