Key takeaways

• ZEC is still struggling under the $477-$500 zone. 
• Although momentum indicators show signs of stabilization, Zcash remains vulnerable to further downside as investors react to persistent macroeconomic uncertainty and rising rate-hike expectations. 

Zcash (ZEC) remains under pressure on Thursday as bearish sentiment continued to dominate the cryptocurrency market. ZEC is facing mounting resistance beneath the $500 mark as investors reduce exposure to risk assets.

Fed’s policy stance causes a negative market reaction

The broader crypto market weakened following remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh during his first post-meeting press conference on Wednesday.

Although the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept interest rates unchanged, in line with expectations, investors reacted negatively to the central bank’s firm commitment to bringing inflation back to its long-term 2% target. The Fed’s emphasis on price stability signaled that policymakers are not yet prepared to pivot toward monetary easing.

Warsh’s comments reinforced expectations that higher interest rates could remain in place for longer. Market participants are even assigning a roughly 30% probability to a future rate hike, reviving concerns about tighter financial conditions and reduced liquidity for risk assets.

Investor confidence weakened further as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 15 on Thursday from 22 a day earlier, remaining firmly within the “Extreme Fear” zone. The reading highlights growing caution among traders and suggests subdued market participation in the near term.

ZEC price forecast: Zcash faces growing downside risks

Zcash has also remained on the defensive, recording three straight days of losses while trading below its 50-day EMA near $477. 

The continued inability to reclaim this level has reinforced bearish sentiment and increased the likelihood of further downside.

A sustained move lower could encourage additional de-risking among traders, placing the spotlight on key support zones near $434 and $376.

While the MACD histogram remains marginally positive, suggesting some recovery attempts may be forming, the Money Flow Index remains in the mid-40s, indicating relatively weak buying momentum compared with Monero.

The immediate resistance level remains the 50-day EMA at approximately $477. If buyers manage to regain control, attention could shift toward the upper boundary of the descending channel near $549.

On the downside, support is located near the 100-day EMA around $434, followed by the 200-day EMA near $376. 

Should bearish pressure intensify, the lower boundary of the descending channel near $279 could emerge as a critical medium-term support zone.

If approved, the ETFs could begin trading as early as September. While regulatory approval is not guaranteed, the filing signals growing institutional comfort with marrying traditional equities and cryptocurrency in regulated wrappers.

These filings follow the recent debut of BlackRock’s Income ETF, which allows institutions to monetize cryptocurrency’s volatility. The 11 spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have pulled in more than $53 billion in investor capital since their inception in 2024, according to SoSoValue data.

Taken together, these developments point to continued institutional appetite for bitcoin despite the bear market. The BTC price peaked at $126,000 in October last year and was recently trading below $62,500.

The price has dropped by over 2% in the past 24 hours.

“The bulls still have some hope, as a formal break of the trend would require the price to settle below previous lows near $61.5K. Even in this scenario, the price decline could stall in the $59–60K range, which represents this year’s most critical support level,” Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at the FxPPro said in an email.

A market holiday in the U.S. on Friday for Juneteenth may lead to thin liquidity and erratic price moves. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

• Real Finance launches REAL Competition for the $ASSET ecosystem.
• Users can earn points by trading, staking and holding $ASSET.
• A $3400 raffle pool gives more community members a chance to win.

Real Finance has launched the REAL Competition, a community rewards campaign aimed at increasing participation across the $ASSET ecosystem.

The Sofia-based company said the campaign will allow users to earn points through trading, staking and holding $ASSET, with top participants eligible for up to $20,000 in USDC rewards.

The competition also includes an additional raffle prize pool, broadening the reward structure beyond the highest-ranked users.

Real Finance said the campaign is designed to recognise sustained on-chain engagement rather than simply rewarding short-term trading volume.

Points system targets wider ecosystem activity

The REAL Competition introduces a points-based model that tracks qualifying activity involving $ASSET.

Participants can earn points by trading, staking and holding the token, with all activity monitored on-chain through the competition dashboard.

The structure is designed to give users multiple ways to participate.

Active traders can build points through qualifying transactions, while long-term holders and stakers can also improve their standing through sustained participation.

Real Finance said participants will move through a 13-level rewards structure during the campaign.

This approach marks a shift from conventional trading competitions, which often focus mainly on volume.

By including staking and holding activity, the REAL Competition is intended to reward broader involvement across the $ASSET ecosystem.

Leaderboard rewards backed by raffle prizes

The campaign’s main prize structure includes fixed rewards for the top-ranked participants, with total rewards of up to $20,000 in USDC available through the competition.

Real Finance will also distribute rewards through a broader pool based on final point totals.

This means participants outside the highest leaderboard positions may still be eligible for rewards, depending on their accumulated score.

In addition, the company said it will offer a separate raffle reward pool worth $3,400.

The raffle is designed to give more community members a chance to win prizes, even if they do not finish among the top-ranked participants.

“The REAL Competition is designed to reward meaningful participation across our ecosystem,” said Ivo Georgiev, CEO of Real Finance.

Whether users are actively trading, staking for the long term, or steadily building their position in $ASSET, we want to recognize the community members helping drive the growth of the network. By combining leaderboard rewards with raffle prizes, we’re creating opportunities for a broader range of participants to benefit from the campaign.

Campaign to run over coming months

Participants can join the REAL Competition by connecting a supported wallet and completing qualifying $ASSET transactions or staking activities.

Real Finance said users will be able to track their points, leaderboard ranking and unlocked multipliers through the campaign dashboard.

The company said the competition is now live and will run through the coming months, with rewards to be distributed after the campaign concludes.

The REAL Competition is scheduled to go live at 11 AM UTC.

Bitcoin (BTC) could reach its new “macro bottom” by September, as price action continues to surprise traders.

Key points:

• Bitcoin may “front run” exchange order-book liquidity to produce a bear-market low between $50,000 and $60,000.
• A trader sees “complete disbelief” if price reverses with only a partial liquidity grab.
• “Aggressive” shorting from Binance traders returns on low time frames.

BTC price bottom could spark “complete disbelief”

New analysis from pseudonymous trader Killa on Friday focuses on a sub-$60,000 liquidity grab next quarter.

Crypto exchange order-book liquidity is key to short-term price moves, as large-volume traders coerce the market into wiping nearby positions, causing volatility.

Killa, however, is looking at the longer-term picture — many expect BTC/USD to drop as low as $50,000 to take liquidity before bouncing, data shows.

“At some point, $BTC is going to front run major HTF liquidity,” he told followers in a post on X. 

“Just like the market front ran the 140K liquidity above, it can do the exact same thing on the downside, leaving many in complete disbelief.”

Bitcoin order-book liquidity data. Source: Killa/X

An accompanying chart from CoinGlass shows the main area of interest between $50,000 and $60,000. If it gets taken, Killa argues, it would lay the foundation for the end of the bear market.

“I’m not saying we won’t sweep below 60K, but it’s something worth considering. Markets have a habit of front running the levels everyone is focused on,” they continued. 

“Because if this particular liquidity below 60K gets grabbed, there’s a very good chance the next major pool that forms between July and September never gets filled, marking the macro bottom.”

Binance BTC shorts become “aggressive”

As Cointelegraph reported, others have questioned the staying power of current support around the $60,000 mark.

Related: Bitcoin market cap rebound to take ‘5-10 years’ after dropping 10 places since mid-2025

Traders are poised for a snap collapse, with Daan Crypto Trades warning that the situation could “get ugly” if nearby trend lines fail to hold.

“Bulls need to hold that $61K-$62K region otherwise things get ugly real quick I think. But for now, still at support,” he summarized on X.

BTC/USD perpetual swap contract four-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

On Thursday, commentator Exitpump flagged “aggressive” short positioning by traders on Binance, saying that the short-term price outlooks “looks bearish” as a result.

BTC/USD 10-minute chart with order-book data (Binance). Source: Exitpump/X

The largest cryptocurrencies remained under pressure for a fourth straight day, with bitcoin falling 2.5% in 24 hours to just below $62,400.

It’s not alone. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has dropped 3.3%, with ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) all weaker. The CoinDesk Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index fell 4%, and the CoinDesk 80 and CoinDesk DeFi Select Index are following close behind.

Concerns about Strategy (MSTR), the Michael Saylor-led bitcoin treasury company, continue to dominate market sentiment, with particular focus on its dividend-paying preferred stock, STRC.

“Strategy, the largest listed BTC holder, has watched its STRC preferred collapse below par, and the market is now openly pricing the tail that it has to sell coins to defend the structure,” analysts at Marex said.

“Add five straight months of BTC trading under its estimated $78k production cost, quietly forcing the weakest miners to capitulate, and you have two real sellers that were not in the frame a week ago,” they added.

Derivatives Positioning

• Bulls continue to bleed as the market wilts in the wake of Wednesday’s hawkish Fed meeting. In the past 24 hours, more than $450 million in leveraged bets has been liquidated. As has been the case since the meeting, most are longs.
• Open interest (OI) in bitcoin and ether futures is largely unchanged over the past 24 hours. SOL futures OI increased to over 70 million tokens, just shy of the June 5 record 71.57 million. In other words, demand for leverage remains near all-time highs, pointing to potential for outsized volatility.
• The same is true of XRP, where futures OI is hovering at its highest since October last year.
• As for cumulative volume delta, most of the biggest 25 tokens, except TRX and LAB, show negative OI-adjusted CVD for the past 24 hours. That’s a sign sellers are trading at market orders, leading the price action, as opposed to passive limit orders. It’s been the same playbook since at least Wednesday.
• Funding rates for most tokens remain flat to negative, pointing to bearish sentiment. ADA, XLM, and BCH funding rates are down to between minus 20% and minus 30%.
• In the bitcoin options market, traders are lifting put options in size, prepping for a potential slide down to $52,000 or lower in the coming weeks.
• The bearish sentiment is also evident from 25-delta skews, which show one-week puts trading at a volatility premium of 10% or more.

Token Talk

• Need evidence of how frenzied sentiment about AI is? Check out the LAB token, the cryptocurrency native to the LAB Terminal, which is a browser-based and extension-accessible platform for high-performance trade execution. Its key feature: AI-powered research and trade routing to minimize slippage.
• LAB has gained 57% in seven days, a staggering rise compared with the malaise in the broader market.
• The outperformance doesn’t end there: The token has surged 92% this month, following gains of 900% in May, 250% in April and 78% in March. Talk about a bull market.
• Over the same period, bitcoin has ricocheted from $68,000 to $82,000 and back to $63,000.
• While LAB’s performance is impressive, their’s not apparent reason for it. And it’s not without controversy.
• Blockchain investigation expert ZachXBT recently highlighted that insiders supposedly own 95% of the token’s supply. He said they have used four methods concurrently to attract retailer investors. These include high-interest over-the-counter loans with promotional conditions, unilateral vesting period extensions, delayed or withheld market rewards and undisclosed market-making deals.
• As the old saying goes: All that glitters is not gold.

Key Highlights

• Bernstein SocGen launched coverage of GEV with an Outperform rating and set a $1,206 price objective
• Analyst Sunaina Ocalan highlighted three major tailwinds: decarbonization efforts, energy security needs, and surging AI power requirements
• First quarter orders surged to $18.3 billion, representing a 71% year-over-year increase, while backlog climbed to $163 billion
• Q1 free cash flow reached $4.8 billion — exceeding the entire fiscal 2025 total
• Shares have climbed 62.3% year-to-date, currently trading at $1,103, approaching the 52-week peak of $1,150

GE Vernova (GEV) saw its shares climb 5.2% Wednesday following Bernstein SocGen analyst Sunaina Ocalan’s initiation of coverage with an Outperform rating alongside a $1,206 price objective. At the time of the upgrade, shares were changing hands at $1,103, hovering near the 52-week high of $1,150 reached in April 2026.

GE Vernova Inc., GEV

Ocalan characterized GEV as the “right time, right business” — positioning the company at the convergence point of three significant structural trends currently fueling electricity demand.

These three catalysts include the push toward decarbonization, heightened energy security concerns, and the explosive growth in AI infrastructure. Each trend is amplifying demand for gas turbines and grid infrastructure. GEV’s order pipeline is experiencing unprecedented growth.

First quarter bookings totaled $18.3 billion, reflecting 71% organic growth compared to the prior year period. The total backlog now stands at $163 billion. Gas turbine capacity reservations reached 100 gigawatts during the quarter, with company leadership aiming for 110 GW by the close of the year.

First quarter free cash flow hit $4.8 billion. This figure surpasses what GEV produced throughout the entirety of fiscal 2025. The magnitude of this performance is noteworthy.

Small Modular Reactor Initiative Strengthens Growth Thesis

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy revealed plans for a partnership focused on constructing a new production facility designed to support small modular reactor (SMR) rollouts throughout Europe. Additionally, the company continues advancing its SMR initiative in Ontario, Canada.

The recent Iran peace agreement contributed favorably to market sentiment. Reduced oil prices lower operational expenses for data centers and industrial operations that represent GEV’s primary customer base, supporting the financial viability of the AI expansion fueling its order growth.

GEV shares have appreciated 62.3% from the beginning of the year. Early investors who allocated $1,000 to GEV at its March 2024 initial public offering now hold positions valued at $8,401.

Market Context: Price Swings Are Common

GEV has experienced 19 single-day movements exceeding 5% throughout the past year, indicating today’s advance aligns with the stock’s established volatility pattern.

Just eight trading sessions ago, shares declined 6.6% following CPI data revealing 4.2% annualized inflation — the steepest level in three years — prompting markets to anticipate a December Federal Reserve rate increase. Elevated interest rates create challenges for capital-intensive industrial companies like GEV.

Previously, the Iran conflict weighed on investor sentiment, as Tehran directed attacks toward Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, introducing supply chain disruptions and complications to international logistics operations.

Gas turbine capacity reservations totaled 100 gigawatts at first quarter end, with leadership establishing a 110 GW target for year-end.