Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

ZCash up 11% amid $12M short liquidations – Can ZEC reach $626？

ZCash [$ZEC] has long led the privacy sector in social trends and capital inflows. Over the past 24 hours, $ZEC rallied over 11%, outpacing Bitcoin [BTC] and the broader crypto market.　　Moreover, the daily trading volume was up 43%, surpassing $647 million. This indicated a spike in speculative trading, but it was not the volume that led to the technical breakout on the charts. But short liquidations did.　　Impact of massive short liquidations on $ZEC　　The daily surge has mainly come from short liquidations, which totaled $12.75 million. On the other hand, long liquidations reached almost $500K. This meant that short liquidations were 26 times bigger than longs.　　The volumes showed the derivative market mainly drove the price rather than the spot market. Zcash futures trading exceeded $2.437 billion, dwarfing the volume of Spot traders at $255 million.　　The largest Spot volume was on Binance and Coinbase, respectively.　　Source: CoinGlass　　Spot sellers were not spared either. As per Onchain Lens, a whale on Hyperliquid was fully liquidated for more than $1.81 million in a $ZEC short order, losing about $130.5K.　　Source: Onchain Lens　　Looking at the bigger picture, the OI-Weighted Funding Rate turned green from being red two days ago, as per CoinGlass. The indicator reading was 0.0086%, showing

07-16Exchange

Which Crypto Companies and Protocols Make The Most Money？

Tether makes the most money in crypto, and it is not close. Over the last 30 days it retained $481.74 million in revenue, against $193.08 million for Circle in second place. Canton (@CantonNetwork) is third with $56.1 million, less than an eighth of what Tether keeps.　　They do charge fees, but the fees barely matter. Circle books $653 million of its $694 million in Q1 2026 revenue as reserve income, the interest on the T-bills and cash backing $USDC. Everything else it charges for, cross-chain transfers included, came to $42 million. The float is the business. Usage is a rounding error on it.　　Why Fees, Revenue and Profit Are Three Different Numbers　　DefiLlama splits its data across two pages, and the gap between them is the story.　　Fees are what users pay. Revenue is what the protocol keeps after paying out liquidity providers, stakers, rebates, and referral cuts. For most businesses on the board, that gap is wide. For the two at the top, it barely exists. Tethers fees and revenue over 30 days are identical, and Circle keeps $193.08 million of the $193.97 million it collects.　　Retained is still not profit. A company has staff, servers, lawyers, and compliance costs. A protocol may distribute

07-16Exchange

Stanford study exposes Polymarket flaw that rewards Bitcoin manipulation

A new academic study has found that Polymarkets five-minute Bitcoin prediction contracts have created incentives for sophisticated traders to manipulate spot prices and profit at the expense of ordinary participants.　　According to researchers from Stanford University and Singapore Management University, the structure of Polymarket‘s short-duration Bitcoin markets encourages traders to influence the cryptocurrency’s spot price shortly before contracts settle. Their paper concluded that the issue stems from the way settlement prices are calculated rather than from prediction markets themselves.　　The researchers examined contracts that ask users to predict whether Bitcoin will finish above or below a fixed price within five minutes. Because settlements rely on Chainlink price feeds based on Bitcoins market price at the end of each trading window, traders who hold large positions may have an incentive to push the spot price in a favorable direction just before settlement.　　Settlement design creates opportunities for manipulation　　After comparing market activity before and after Polymarket introduced these contracts in July 2024, the researchers identified a clear pattern in Bitcoin trading. According to the study, spot-market order flow increased sharply near settlement, and prices frequently reversed soon afterward, behavior the researchers said is consistent with settlement-price manipulation.　　The paper estimated that the trading pattern shifted roughly

07-16Industry

BlackRock CEO Weighs In on Bitcoin Price Action

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he is no longer concerned about excessive leverage in the Bitcoin market.　　Earlier this Wednesday, he told CNBC that the cryptocurrency has become considerably more stable after speculative positions ended up being washed out.　　Fink stated that he “was always worried about the leverage in Bitcoin and crypto.”　　According to the BlackRock chief, that dynamic has largely changed. “Thats why we had to wash out,” he added. “And I think theres more stability at these levels here.”　　AI driving profitability　　Much of the interview focused on artificial intelligence rather than cryptocurrencies. Fink argued that demand for computing infrastructure continues to outpace supply and that the United States risks falling behind.　　Digital Currencies　　Fink expressed strong optimism about financial markets over the coming year. He has argued that advances in artificial intelligence will continue driving corporate profitability. “Im very bullish on the markets over the next 12 months,” he said.　　Fink attributed that optimism to rapid technological innovation. “I think the technological revolution is going to power better margins for more companies.”　　He pointed to BlackRock itself as an example of how AI is already improving efficiency. “Weve raised our margins... by 260 basis points over the last 12 months. A lot of it is

07-16Industry

Circle wins legal fight over Hekas USDC minting and redemption account

Circle has secured a court-backed arbitration win after records made public in a Boston federal court detailed why the stablecoin issuer suspended Heka Funds $USDC minting and redemption services over suspected market manipulation involving Tether.　　Court filings submitted by Circle on Tuesday as part of its petition to confirm a February arbitration award said the company concluded the Malta-based arbitrage fund had failed to disclose Tethers role as its principal investor and reasonably suspected trading activity that could have manipulated the $USDC market.　　Retired judge Robert L. Dondero, who served as arbitrator, ruled in Circles favor on the remaining contract claims, finding the company acted within the rights granted under its agreements with Heka.　　Hidden Tether ties became central to the dispute　　At the center of the case was Heka Funds, managed by London-based Abraxas Capital Management, which opened a Circle account in January 2022 for its Elysium Global Arbitrage Fund.　　According to the arbitration record, Heka disclosed only investor Simon Grima during onboarding, while Tether had become the fund‘s dominant capital provider. Testimony from Heka founder Fabio Frontini showed Tether’s investment reached about $800 million by the time of arbitration, accounting for roughly 75% of Elysiums assets.　　Dondero concluded the omission was intentional and wrote

07-16Exchange

How Morgan Stanley plans to bring crypto custody, staking and lending support in-house

In June, Morgan Stanley received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank for digital assets.　　The OCC decision opened a path for Morgan Stanley Digital Trust to bring custody, transaction administration, fiduciary staking, and collateral support inside the firm.　　The proposed subsidiary would serve Morgan Stanley Wealth Management clients. Its public application presents it as a wholly owned national trust bank, giving the firm a regulated vehicle for functions that separate specialist providers have often handled.　　The OCCs application record classifies the filing as a new bank charter under a holding company with trust powers requested.　　The proposed services cover everything from safeguarding assets to running the day-to-day operations behind an institutional account. It covers custody, purchases, sales, swaps and transfers, fiduciary staking, and collateral administration supporting affiliate digital-asset lending.　　With final approval and implementation, Morgan Stanley could retain customer assets, transaction administration, staking administration, and lending-collateral work within its group.　　That shift puts crypto-native intermediaries under fresh pressure. Third-party custodians, staking administrators, and collateral-service providers face the clearest exposure where their products overlap with the trust banks approved functions.　　Bringing those controls in-house at Morgan Stanley could make outside firms less central to client relationships

07-16Industry

Needham defies AI crash fears with bold SpaceX $250 target

SpaceX stock has steadied above its IPO price after Needham raised its price target to $250 despite growing warnings that an AI stock bubble could threaten financial markets.　　SummaryNeedham raised its SpaceX price target to $250 and maintained a buy rating despite growing AI bubble concerns.Bank of England Governor David Bailey warned an AI stock crash could spill into the economy and affect monetary policy.SpaceX stock is holding above $135 support, with technical indicators showing fading bearish momentum inside a descending channel.　　According to Needham, the investment bank lifted its target on SpaceX shares from $200 to $250 while maintaining a buy rating, arguing that recent AI developments and upcoming launch milestones could support the companys valuation.　　The upgrade comes even as SpaceX stock remains under pressure after a sharp pullback from its post-listing highs.　　Shares traded around $136 at the time of writing on July 15, down 0.18% on the day after briefly falling to the IPO price of $135 earlier this week. The stock had slipped below its Nasdaq debut price of $150 on July 7 as investors continued taking profits following its strong listing rally.　　Source: Yahoo Finance　　You might also like:　　BlackRock joins DTCCs $114T tokenization push for stocks and Treasurys　　Needham sees AI

07-16Industry

XRP Ledger enters final countdown for key fixCleanup3_2_0 upgrade

XRP Ledger has entered the final two-week activation countdown for its fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment after validator support exceeded the networks required 80% approval threshold.　　SummaryXRP Ledgers fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment has entered its two-week activation countdown.The upgrade bundles protocol fixes for lending, permissioned domains, and the Permissioned DEX.Activation is scheduled for July 29 if validator support stays above the 80% threshold.　　According to XRP Ledger governance data, the bundled maintenance amendment currently has 85.71% validator support, with 30 validators voting in favor and five against.　　Under the networks governance rules, an amendment must maintain at least 80% support for two consecutive weeks before it can be activated on the mainnet. If support drops below that level during the countdown, the activation timer resets.　　Validator approval has moved the amendment into its final activation stage　　With the voting threshold now secured, the amendment has entered its activation phase and is currently scheduled to go live on July 29, 2026, at 09:57 UTC, provided validator backing remains above the required level throughout the waiting period.　　XRPL validator Vet shared the update on X, noting that fixCleanup3_2_0 is now in its two-week activation window. Vet also said node operators will need to update their software before the amendment becomes active to ensure

07-16Industry

Sonys stablecoin plan sends PlayStation crypto rumors racing ahead of the facts

According to online chatter, youd be mistaken to think that Sony will soon let PlayStation users buy games using a Sony-issued cryptocurrency. However, the crypto community may be getting ahead of itself.　　On July 2, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for a proposed Sony Bank-owned trust bank called Connectia Trust. Neither that decision nor Sony Banks announcement names PlayStation, the PlayStation Store, or game purchases.　　The approval simply outlines a financial-services structure that could support payments on Sony properties in the future, but a PlayStation product is not part of the public record.　　What Sony has proposed　　Connectia Trust would be wholly owned by Sony Bank. The OCC decision says the proposed trust would issue a dollar-backed stablecoin, maintain reserves, provide custody and support transfers in a restricted, permissioned closed-loop network.　　Its customers would include U.S. retail customers who already have relationships with Sony Group or its subsidiaries, as well as Sony Group companies.　　That framework could be useful for a consumer platform. It describes a payment system confined to approved Sony properties and defined customers, not an open cryptocurrency that can be spent broadly across the internet.　　Still, the filing uses general terms. It does not identify which consumer

07-15Industry

How EU and UK crypto platforms are already building your 2027 tax report

If you use a crypto platform in the European Union or the United Kingdom, some of your 2026 activity may already be being recorded and will be used to feed tax-information reports in 2027.　　The EUs DAC8 rules and the UKs Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, known as CARF, both began applying on Jan. 1, 2026. The reporting chain now has three distinct stages: a provider collects information during 2026, sends an annual report to the authority to which it must report, and, in some cases, that authority routes the information to the users country of tax residence.　　Coverage depends on the provider, the user, the activity and the relevant reporting regime.　　What providers collect and where it goes　　Under DAC8, crypto-asset service providers collect data on reportable transactions involving EU residents, including users living in the providers own Member State.　　UK providers collect identifying details from every user, but only include some overseas customers in their annual reports.　　HMRCs collection guidance says covered UK providers collect identifying details for all users and reportable transaction data for users in the UK and other CARF countries. The information may include tax residence and tax identification numbers, as well as reportable transaction data.　　The reports received by authorities are more standardized

07-15Industry

...

226228

...

1000