Crypto tried to solve this with its own version of yield. We tried staking rewards, liquidity mining, and levered DeFi strategies. At first glance, they looked productive. But too much of that yield was circular. It depended on token emissions and fresh inflows, not real economic activity. That story is a much harder sell now. What investors want is yield that is durable, transparent, and tied to something real.

The next step is not more crypto-native yield. It is putting onchain dollars into real assets. The opportunity is not to build better wrappers for cash, but to connect onchain dollars to assets investors already know how to price: money market funds, U.S. treasuries, corporate bonds, and credit. This is not about chasing the hottest yield on the screen this week, but about making dollars onchain work harder without making them less useful.

This shift has already started. Tokenized real-world assets are now a meaningful onchain category beyond stablecoins, and tokenized treasuries alone are already worth billions. But treasury tokens by themselves do not fully solve the problem. In most cases, they remain separate investment products. The bigger opportunity is a dollar you can still use across crypto, while it quietly earns from real assets underneath.

Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox says an AI-powered security audit of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency found no serious vulnerabilities in its core protocol. The review was conducted using Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model, at the request of Shielded Labs, a Swiss non-profit that supports Zcash development.

Wilcox made the claim in an X post on Saturday, adding that the audit did not uncover “any more serious bugs” in the Zcash protocol. The announcement arrives after a separate, well-documented emergency response earlier this month involving Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool.

Key takeaways

• Wilcox said Anthropic’s Claude Mythos audit did not find serious vulnerabilities in Zcash’s protocol, requested by Shielded Labs.
• Developers temporarily suspended Orchard transactions on June 3 after a vulnerability was found in the shielded pool, then restored functionality via an emergency upgrade.
• The Orchard issue traced back to a four-year-old forgery bug discovered with help from Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 model.
• The Zcash Foundation said there was no evidence of exploitation, no unauthorized value creation, and privacy was unaffected.
• Beyond Zcash, Anthropic’s new AI security tooling has also raised broader crypto security and governance concerns, including changes to public access.

AI audit finds no “serious” issues in Zcash protocol

In his Saturday statement, Zooko Wilcox tied the latest protocol-level review to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos. According to Wilcox, the audit—requested by Shielded Labs—did not reveal “any more serious bugs” in the Zcash protocol.

This matters for Zcash participants because the protocol is designed to preserve user privacy via shielded mechanisms, where security failures can create both technical and trust risks. While no audit can guarantee absolute safety, an explicit “no serious vulnerabilities” finding is still significant for a system that handles sensitive transaction data through cryptographic constructions.

June Orchard incident: what was found and how it was contained

Just before the latest audit claim, Zcash developers took urgent action around the Orchard shielded pool. On June 3, they temporarily suspended Orchard transactions after discovering a vulnerability affecting that privacy layer.

Functionality was restored later that day through an emergency upgrade, limiting the duration during which users could not transact through Orchard. The vulnerability was ultimately described as stemming from a four-year-old forgery bug in the Orchard shielded pool, discovered by security researcher Taylor Hornby with the help of Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 model.

In a statement, the Zcash Foundation said there was no evidence the vulnerability was exploited and that it detected no unauthorized value creation. It also said user privacy was unaffected—an outcome that matters in a privacy-preserving system, where even some non-exploit failures could potentially leak information or weaken confidentiality.

Why AI security tools are reshaping crypto defense—and the risks

The Zcash sequence also highlights a broader industry shift: AI models are increasingly being used to locate vulnerabilities in complex systems. At the same time, the same capabilities can concern security professionals and regulators because they may also be leveraged by adversaries.

Anthropic recently released the first public version of its Claude Mythos model, named Fable 5, according to coverage on Cointelegraph earlier this week. Anthropic previously said the Mythos model uncovered more than 10,000 high or critical-severity vulnerabilities in “systemically important software,” a claim that helped fuel debate about whether such models should be broadly accessible.

Anthropic also told users that Fable 5 was “made safe for general use,” including safeguards that reroute some cybersecurity-related topics to a different model, Claude Opus 4.8. However, just days later, Anthropic said it suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, citing a US government export control directive tied to national security concerns.

The practical tension for the crypto sector is straightforward: faster vulnerability discovery can strengthen defenses, but accelerating the “find and exploit” cycle can also raise the odds of real-world compromises. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Mitchell Amador, CEO of bug bounty platform Immunefi, warned that rapid advancements are shifting the cybersecurity landscape toward threat actors—describing a “vulnerability apocalypse” that has contributed to renewed DeFi hacking pressure.

Cointelegraph also cited DefiLlama data showing that crypto hacks totaled $634 million in April, the highest monthly figure since the Bybit hack led to roughly $1.4 billion in losses in February 2025.

What to watch next for Zcash and the privacy-tech roadmap

For Zcash users, the key question is whether the emergency Orchard fixes fully address the class of problems implied by the forgery bug discovery—and whether ongoing protocol reviews can prevent similar issues from resurfacing. In the near term, observers will likely watch for follow-up documentation around the June upgrade and any additional security processes, especially as AI models continue to be used in both discovery and verification.

TLDR:

• US bond yields hit historic highs, creating Bitcoin’s toughest macro backdrop yet
• 60% probability of a rate hike before year-end pressures crypto risk appetite
• BTC tests $63,900 range high, with $65K and $66.8K eyed for shorts
• Pullback to $61-62K region could offer long opportunities for traders

Bond yields have climbed to historic highs, creating one of the most challenging environments Bitcoin has faced since its creation.

With U.S. long-term rates oscillating between 4.5% and 5%, market analysts are closely watching how this pressure affects BTC price action and broader risk appetite across crypto markets.

Rising Yields Pressure Bitcoin’s Risk Premium

The current bond market conditions represent unfavorable territory for Bitcoin and other risk assets. According to analyst Darkfost, policy rates and the DXY have been higher in the past. However, there is now a 60% probability of a rate hike before year-end, according to market expectations.

SourcE: Cryptoquant 

This elevated cost of money severely constrains liquidity across financial markets. Investors cannot maintain absolute confidence needed to take on additional risk under these conditions. This hesitancy directly weighs on crypto markets, including Bitcoin specifically.

Historical chart data shows a clear pattern worth noting here. Rises in long-term yields have often coincided with deteriorating market conditions. This typically results in a slowdown for Bitcoin price momentum.

The risk premium for holding Bitcoin becomes less attractive under current circumstances. When long-term and short-term rates offer comparable returns, risk assets lose their appeal. Investors may prefer the safety of bonds over Bitcoin exposure.

Path Forward Depends on Economic Visibility

Better visibility into economic conditions remains necessary before sentiment shifts. Investors need confidence to hold debt again, which would mechanically push rates lower. This process would restore the risk premium to more favorable levels for assets like Bitcoin.

Darkfost notes this mechanism operates on a long timeframe. The shift will take months to materialize fully. Much depends on policy decisions from the Trump administration and resulting economic outlook.

Meanwhile, on-chart analysis from trader Lennaert Snyder offers near-term technical perspective. Bitcoin continues testing the range high near $63,909, having swept this level and rejected previously.

Short liquidations were triggered during this rejection, but follow-through to the downside did not materialize. Snyder suggests a push higher toward the $65,000 area remains possible before further downside.

The next point of interest for potential short positions sits near $66,800. Snyder plans to apply the same strategy when that level is tested, watching for rejection signals.

For long positions, a pullback toward the $61,000 to $62,000 region could present opportunities. This zone may offer continuation setups for traders watching for bounces.

Range lows remain the next key level to monitor. These lows could provide potential bounce opportunities if Bitcoin extends its current consolidation pattern downward.

Snyder’s overall bias remains bearish for now, citing the need for lower prices. This view aligns with the broader macro pressure described by Darkfost, as elevated bond yields continue limiting upside momentum for Bitcoin in the near term.

Bitcoin climbed above $64,000 on Saturday, reaching an intraday high of more than $64,200. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is up more than 1% over the past 24 hours and is now up over 8% from its June low of just above $59,000.

Sentiment has also been supported by further positive developments on the geopolitical front in the Middle East.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister stated on X: “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely within the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the agreement immediately afterwards, followed by technical-level talks next week.”

Meanwhile, Friday recorded the largest daily inflow into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs since May, with net inflows totaling $85.9 million. The last time inflows exceeded this level was on May 14.

On Friday, a Standard Chartered analyst said that ETF holders have anecdotally been liquidating their positions to free up cash to participate in the SpaceX initial public offering. After SpaceX’s IPO launch on Friday, it may finally ease that selling pressure, the analyst added.

Yet the growing institutional interest has not translated neatly into ETH’s market performance, a disconnect that has frustrated many investors. Raman attributes that gap largely to timing.

“The sales cycles for institutions are especially long,” he said. “The piping is all in place. We just haven’t seen all the assets come onchain yet.”

He said his view is that Ethereum is currently in a transitional phase where the infrastructure has largely been built, but the scale of adoption has yet to be fully reflected in the asset itself. As more tokenized assets migrate onchain, he believes the market will eventually reevaluate ETH’s role as the asset securing the network.

“When you look at the headlines in retrospect, it’ll be: the global financial system’s internet moment happened on Ethereum,” he said.

Raman also pushed back on criticism surrounding the Ethereum Foundation, which has faced scrutiny over leadership changes and its evolving role in the ecosystem. He argues that the foundation’s willingness to step back is a feature, not a flaw.

“The substrate for the financial system can’t have a party controlling it,” he said. “The network is universal. The pieces are all there now. Let’s hand it off.”

Rather than acting as a central coordinator, Raman believes the foundation should focus on maintaining Ethereum’s core values — security, censorship resistance, privacy and open standards — while continuing work on long-term priorities such as zero-knowledge technology and quantum resistance.

Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox says a security review of the privacy-focused protocol conducted using Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI model did not uncover serious issues. The assessment was requested by Shielded Labs, a Swiss non-profit that supports Zcash development.

Wilcox shared the result in an X post on Saturday, adding that the audit found “no more serious bugs” in the Zcash protocol. The announcement follows earlier emergency steps taken by Zcash developers in early June after a vulnerability in the network’s shielded pool was identified and addressed.

Key takeaways

• Zooko Wilcox says Anthropic’s Claude Mythos security audit found no serious vulnerabilities in Zcash’s protocol after a Shielded Labs request.
• In early June, Zcash developers temporarily suspended Orchard shielded pool transactions, then restored functionality the same day via an emergency upgrade.
• The Orchard issue was linked to a four-year-old forgery bug, discovered with assistance from Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 model and researcher Taylor Hornby.
• The Zcash Foundation stated there was no evidence of exploitation, no detected unauthorized value creation, and no impact on user privacy.
• Across crypto, the rapid rise of advanced AI security tooling is increasing both defensive capability and concern about who benefits from vulnerability-finding at scale.

Claude Mythos audit reports no serious Zcash protocol flaws

Wilcox’s update centers on an AI-assisted security audit carried out by Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model. According to his post, Shielded Labs—described as a Swiss-based non-profit supporting Zcash development—requested the review, which then concluded that there were no serious vulnerabilities in the Zcash protocol.

The timing of the claim matters for Zcash users watching for follow-up risk after an Orchard-related emergency earlier this month. While AI tooling can accelerate the discovery of potential issues, a “no serious vulnerabilities” outcome also signals that at least this specific protocol check did not reveal additional high-impact defects.

June Orchard disruption and the emergency upgrade

Before the Claude Mythos audit result, Zcash developers took more direct operational action on June 3. They temporarily suspended Orchard transactions after discovering a vulnerability inside the shielded pool that processes privacy-preserving transfers.

Functionality was restored later that same day through an emergency upgrade, indicating a rapid response once the risk was identified. The Zcash Foundation later characterized the situation as one without confirmed exploitation.

In its account of the incident, the Zcash Foundation said there was no evidence the vulnerability was exploited, that no unauthorized value creation was detected, and that user privacy remained unaffected. Those statements were made in connection with an emergency soft fork and related network activation details described by the foundation in its technical update.

What the Orchard vulnerability actually was

Based on the earlier reporting referenced in Wilcox’s broader context, the Orchard problem traced back to a forgery bug that had existed for four years. Security researcher Taylor Hornby is credited with discovering the issue with help from Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 model.

This distinction is important for investors and builders because it frames the risk not as a newly introduced flaw, but as something that had been latent and only later surfaced through improved analysis. It also implies that even older vulnerabilities can re-emerge as new tooling and methods become available—particularly where complex cryptographic protocols are concerned.

AI security tools: faster discovery, heightened threat concerns

While Zcash’s development process appears to benefit from advanced AI assistance, the larger debate in crypto is whether the same tools can also be used to accelerate attacks. The industry has increasingly raised alarms that improved vulnerability discovery could shift advantage toward threat actors.

Anthropic released the first public version of Claude Mythos, and the company has previously said Mythos and related models uncovered more than 10,000 high or critical-severity vulnerabilities in “systemically important software.” That statement fueled scrutiny over whether such capabilities should be broadly accessible.

In response to concerns, Anthropic stated that its Fable 5 model was “made safe for general use” with safeguards designed to reroute certain topics—such as cybersecurity—toward a different model (Claude Opus 4.8). However, Anthropic also later said it suspended access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 following a US government export control directive citing national security concerns.

From the perspective of crypto defense, this creates a complicated landscape: AI models may be able to identify vulnerabilities quickly, but access controls and evolving policy can change who can use that capability and for what purpose. The result is a growing asymmetry between attackers and defenders, especially in a market where fast-moving smart-contract ecosystems can become targets.

Bug bounty platform Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador warned in an interview that the proliferation of these new AI tools is changing the cybersecurity playing field toward attackers, calling it a “vulnerability apocalypse.” He tied that dynamic to a resurgence in DeFi hacks. Separately, DefiLlama’s data shows crypto hacks reached $634 million in April—the highest monthly total since the Bybit incident that led to roughly $1.4 billion in losses in February 2025.

Why the Zcash audit matters now

Zcash’s latest update is not just about whether one vulnerability was found—it’s also about whether the privacy protocol has additional serious problems after a high-scrutiny period. The combination of a June Orchard emergency response and a later Claude Mythos audit outcome suggests the team is continuing to stress-test the system with modern security approaches.

Still, Zcash users should treat the audit result as one datapoint among many. The Claude Mythos review reportedly found no serious issues, but the broader crypto environment remains sensitive to rapidly evolving AI-assisted security research—meaning the key question going forward is not whether AI can find problems, but how quickly vulnerabilities (and any exploitation attempts) can be detected, patched, and validated across different platforms.

Readers should watch for whether Zcash developers share additional post-audit assurance steps, and whether the industry’s ongoing AI model access changes—driven by export controls and “safety” restrictions—shift the tempo of both defensive research and attack activity.

“ETFs were referred to as weapons of mass destruction,” Hoffman said, recalling the skepticism that surrounded the structure before it became one of the dominant ways investors access markets.

When he joined the ETF industry in the early 2000s, the market held roughly $200 billion in assets, he said. Today, it’s nearly a $20-trillion global asset class, according to a PwC report.

He said tokenization is following a similar path, but much faster than ETFs.

“Every market that digitizes gets larger,” he said. “And tokenization is really the digitization of capital markets.”

Building for an agent-driven future

For Hoffman, tokenization will become the foundation for what comes next: AI-driven financial services.

He said he envisions a future where autonomous agents continuously monitor markets and allocate capital through professionally managed portfolios that update in real time as conditions change.

“Our end state will be portfolios that are professionally managed, real-time and adjusting to market circumstances and data changes,” he said.

To get there, the industry first needs tokenized assets, onchain prime-brokerage infrastructure and asset-management strategies that can be executed natively on blockchain networks.

Ondo is building toward that vision, he said. The firm already offers tokenized U.S. Treasury products and plans to expand into stocks, ETFs and perpetual futures through its tokenized marketplace.