There is one hurdle if Coinbase wants to run a trading venue directly under the exemption. Its exchanges use central limit order books, while the SEC framework is built around automated market makers (AMM).

That means, the Goldman report noted, Coinbase would need new infrastructure or could route activity through AMM-based decentralized exchanges, for example to protocols on Base.

Robinhood expected to adjust for U.S. market

Robinhood could also benefit, even though its current offshore stock tokens do not fit the SEC framework.

Those products provide price exposure to U.S. shares through a derivative without conveying the full ownership rights required under the exemption. Goldman analysts said Robinhood would need additional product development to offer a compliant version in the U.S.

It became a flashpoint earlier this month when movie theater operator AMC Entertainment’s CEO criticized Robinhood for offering AMC-linked stock tokens without the company’s approval. The SEC’s new framework gives issuers the right to object before third-party tokenized versions of their shares can begin trading.

Still, Citizens analysts expect Robinhood to move quickly given the traction of its tokenized-equity offering outside the U.S. and its broader push around its Arbitrum-based Robinhood Chain.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev already signaled this week that more shareholder features, including share redemptions and voting rights, will be added to the stock tokens.

For Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, the U.S. still has two and a half more years of a pro-crypto regulatory regime, during which the industry can continue to move forward.

Hougan remains bullish on crypto. “I don’t think it will stop investors from considering smaller-cap assets with strong tokenomics and links to real-world assets.”

However, he added, “had the Clarity Act passed the Senate vote, I think crypto would have been the consensus ‘smart money trade’ in Q4, and prices would have ramped back toward all-time highs.”

But because it failed, “I think the road ahead is bumpier,” Hougan said. “I don’t think it’s changed too much from where it was Monday before the vote.”

Hougan said the Clarity Act was and remains irrelevant to bitcoin, so if bitcoin’s price continues to drop, it has more to do with sentiment than fundamentals. “If bitcoin sells off in the short-term due to Clarity Act vibes, I’d consider that an opportunity,” he said.

No bottom yet?

Vineet Budki, managing partner and CEO of Sigma Capital, said bitcoin’s recovery and the long-liquidation flush do not yet establish that the bottom is in.

“I’m not ready to make that call,” Budki said. “I’d rather give it a quarter and let the price action speak before taking a firm directional view.”

Grayscale’s Zcash ETF has scheduled a 3-for-1 forward share split for Sept. 30, with each shareholder receiving three post-split ZCSH shares for every share held before the adjustment.

The Sept. 18 filing says investors recorded as shareholders at the close of trading on Sept. 28 will qualify for the split. Two additional shares for each existing share will be distributed after the market closes on Sept. 29, with split-adjusted trading due to begin before NYSE Arca opens on Sept. 30.

Zcash ETF split triples shares without changing investment value

The SEC filing states that the split does not change the total economic value represented by an investor’s holding at the moment of adjustment. The number of shares will triple while the net asset value represented by each share will fall proportionately.

Grayscale said the post-split NAV per share is “expected to be approximately one-third” of its level immediately before the split, according to the fund’s release.

Under that structure, an investor holding 10 ZCSH shares would hold 30 after the split, assuming the position remains unchanged through the relevant dates. Shareholders receive two new shares for each existing share, not three extra shares on top of their original holding.

Neither the ticker nor the security identifier is scheduled to change. The filing says the fund will continue trading on NYSE Arca as ZCSH and retain the same CUSIP number after the split.

Grayscale has not described the forward split as a distribution of new investment returns. Its disclosure presents the event as a change in share structure, with more shares outstanding and a correspondingly lower price and NAV per share.

ZCSH assets grew rapidly after its August listing

Grayscale said ZCSH began trading on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25 after the former Grayscale Zcash Trust was converted into the exchange-traded product. An earlier SEC filing announced the planned listing and name change four days before trading began.

As crypto.news previously reported on the Zcash ETF launch, the conversion gave U.S. brokerage investors exchange-traded exposure to ZEC without requiring them to acquire and custody the cryptocurrency directly.

By Sept. 8, Grayscale reported that the fund’s assets under management had crossed $500 million, less than three weeks after its NYSE Arca debut. The sponsor said cumulative inflows since the exchange listing had surpassed $70 million at that point, excluding a separate affiliated transaction involving Digital Currency Group.

A Sept. 8 SEC disclosure shows DCG International Investments acquired approximately $100 million of ZCSH shares through an authorized participant in exchange for 85,705.32563297 ZEC.

Grayscale disclosed that DCG International is indirectly owned by Digital Currency Group, which is the indirect parent of the fund’s sponsor.

More recent figures reported by The Block put cumulative net inflows above $233 million since the Aug. 25 debut and net assets at roughly $890 million as of Sept. 17.

The same report placed cumulative ZCSH trading volume above $11 billion, citing fund-flow data available before Grayscale announced the split. The figures came from third-party reporting and were not included in Grayscale’s Sept. 18 SEC filing.

ZCSH price rose sharply before the split announcement

Market data from Stock Analysis shows ZCSH closed at $117.72 on Sept. 18, down 1.97% for the session. The fund had gained 16.01% on Sept. 17 after advancing 14.11% one day earlier.

ZCSH traded between $114.33 and $120.73 on Sept. 18, with just over one million shares changing hands. The price performance should not be treated as a direct reaction to the forward split because ZCSH tracks an underlying crypto asset that had already been moving sharply.

ZEC climbed above $1,500 during Sept. 18 trading before giving back part of the move. As crypto.news reported on ZEC’s recent rally, the token had risen sharply from August levels as institutional interest, positioning and network developments drew attention.

Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed the investment firm’s exposure to ZEC on Sept. 16, according to the same report. Huang described Zcash as a “private complement to Bitcoin,” while supporting continued developer funding.

The disclosure arrived during an existing ZEC rally, so the token’s full price move cannot be attributed to Paradigm’s purchase.

Grayscale’s fund carries its own regulatory distinction. The company states that ZCSH is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and therefore does not receive the same regulatory protections that apply to registered ETFs and mutual funds.

Zcash NU7 timetable adds another dated event for ZEC

Zcash development teams have set an Oct. 6 testnet activation target for the NU7 network upgrade, according to the ecosystem timeline.

Developers currently target Nov. 5 for mainnet activation, subject to testing and a final mainnet decision scheduled for Oct. 20.

As crypto.news reported in its NU7 update, the planned upgrade would reduce Zcash’s target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.

The current package includes version 4 transaction deactivation and a Network Sustainability Mechanism configuration following recent governance polling.

Crypto.news reported on the Zcash holder vote, where nearly 2.4 million ZEC participated. Approximately 99.9% of participating ZEC supported reducing the block target to 25 seconds, while around 98.9% backed retaining the existing halving schedule.

The timetable still contains several conditions. Developers list Sept. 30 as the code-completion target, Oct. 6 for testnet activation and Oct. 20 for the final mainnet activation decision after reviewing testnet behavior. The Nov. 5 date therefore remains conditional on the technical review.

ZCSH shareholders face three split dates

For ZCSH holders, the SEC filing sets three separate dates. Sept. 28 is the record date, meaning shareholders recorded at the close of market qualify for the extra shares.

Sept. 29 is the payment date when the two additional shares per existing share are scheduled for distribution. Before trading begins on Sept. 30, the split becomes effective and ZCSH is scheduled to start trading on its adjusted share basis.

The SEC filing says NAV per share should be approximately one-third of its pre-split level, with the number of shares increasing proportionately and the ZCSH ticker remaining unchanged.

Anthropic has selected Accenture as its first “embedded evaluator” partner, moving from a broad commitment to independent oversight toward a concrete safety program designed to keep pace with fast-moving AI model development. The move follows an earlier call from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for industry-wide measures to slow the “frontier” of AI progress and create room for safeguards.

In a three-step proposal published Sept. 12, Amodei argued that AI systems can accelerate progress through recursive self-improvement—an effect that, if left unchecked, may outgrow humans’ ability to understand and control the technology. He added that safeguards should be implemented alongside development rather than as an afterthought.

Key takeaways

• Anthropic says it will work with Accenture Faculty to evaluate models, conduct red-teaming, and test safeguards as part of its embedded evaluation plan.
• Accenture is expected to provide employee-like access to evaluators, reflecting Amodei’s first step toward stronger, independent oversight.
• Anthropic and Accenture each expect to invest at least $1 billion over the next five years, according to Anthropic’s announcement.
• The project’s mechanics are still being finalized because embedded evaluation is described as a new area.
• Anthropic says it will directly fund Accenture’s work in the near term, citing the lack of an existing system for financing independent evaluation.

From Amodei’s slowdown proposal to a concrete evaluator

Amodei’s Sept. 12 proposal was framed around safety concerns that have intensified alongside rapid model iteration. He highlighted a dynamic where AI capabilities can speed up the creation of subsequent generations of AI, calling it recursive self-improvement. In his view, that process could produce outcomes that develop faster than governance and control mechanisms.

While the proposal generated attention across the AI industry, reactions were mixed. Coincidentally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk voiced positive responses to Amodei’s approach, according to social posts cited in the original reporting. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, however, reportedly argued that regulation of this kind was unnecessary, as noted by a CNBC profile referenced in the source material.

Against that backdrop, Anthropic’s announcement of Accenture as a first embedded evaluator is best understood as an attempt to operationalize part of Amodei’s plan. The key idea is that independent evaluation should have access patterns closer to those of internal teams—so evaluators can test systems under realistic conditions, rather than relying on limited or purely external reviews.

What “embedded evaluation” will cover

Anthropic said Accenture and its AI business unit Faculty will help “evaluate and red-team models, conduct alignment assessments and testing model safeguards.” The company also stated that the program’s implementation details are still being worked out, emphasizing that embedded evaluation is an emerging practice.

That emphasis on development matters for investors and builders because it signals that the framework is not yet standardized. For companies attempting to meet safety expectations, the lack of mature procedures can create uncertainty about what “good” evaluation looks like in practice—especially when evaluation includes alignment checks and safeguard testing.

It also highlights a practical shift: instead of treating safety testing as an isolated stage, the partnership aims to build evaluation capacity that can run alongside model development. The source material also notes that embedded evaluation was already on Anthropic’s internal roadmap, but the Accenture partnership is intended to accelerate execution.

Funding, access, and what comes next

Anthropic’s announcement places financial backing at the center of the plan. Both Anthropic and Accenture expect to invest at least $1 billion each over the next five years, according to the company’s statement. The partnership is also described as non-exclusive, with Anthropic expecting to name additional evaluators in the coming weeks.

The company further said there is currently no established funding mechanism for independent evaluation, and that long-term support may need to come from pooled resources or government sources. Still, given what Anthropic characterized as urgency, it plans to fund Accenture’s work directly in the near term.

For market participants, this structure raises an important question: will independent evaluation become a scalable, ongoing “industry function,” or will it remain dependent on a handful of well-resourced labs and contractors? Anthropic’s plan suggests it intends to push toward the former, but the acknowledgment that an existing funding system is absent indicates the field still has institutional gaps.

Accenture, via statements attributed to its leadership, positioned the work as part of building the next generation of evaluation capability. The announcement cited Accenture’s Faculty as having experience testing and evaluating models for major AI laboratories and developing complex AI systems designed to be safer by construction.

Why this matters beyond AI headlines

Even though the story is focused on AI, the underlying issue—how to build credible oversight faster than capabilities evolve—is broadly relevant to crypto markets as well. Many blockchain and decentralized systems increasingly rely on AI-assisted automation, monitoring, and tooling. When safety and evaluation frameworks are in flux, teams that integrate AI into financial or infrastructure workflows may face additional compliance and risk questions.

Anthropic’s choice to fund and operationalize embedded evaluation also signals a shift in competitive dynamics within the broader tech stack: safety is being treated less like a policy promise and more like an engineering program with measurable activities such as red-teaming, alignment assessments, and safeguard testing. Whether that becomes an industry norm will likely depend on how clearly embedded evaluation methodologies can be standardized and verified over time.

Readers should watch whether Anthropic expands the program beyond Accenture with additional evaluators, and whether the partnership publishes enough detail for outsiders to assess how “employee-like access” is implemented in practice. The largest open uncertainty is methodological: embedded evaluation is new, and the effectiveness of safeguards will depend on how the program is structured as it scales.

In 1996, these were the S&P 500‘s (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) largest holdings by market cap:

1. Coca-Cola: $130.6 billion

2. ExxonMobil: $121.7 billion

3. Intel: $107.6 billion

4. Microsoft: $99.4 billion

5. General Electric: $97.4 billion

6. Merck: $86.4 billion

7. International Business Machines: $73.5 billion

8. Procter & Gamble: $72.5 billion

9. Johnson & Johnson: $66.3 billion

10. Walmart: $52.2 billion

30 years later, all of these companies remain well-known names in the current economy. But it’s fair to say that they don’t at all resemble what the index looks like today. Microsoft is the only “Magnificent 7” stock still in the Top 10. Apple was in the midst of a corporate crisis until Steve Jobs eventually returned to the company. Nvidia, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Tesla weren’t even publicly traded companies (or didn’t exist) back then.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

Economies evolve over time, sometimes significantly. When investing for the long term, you can try to pick stocks that will survive and thrive. Or you can buy an ETF that tracks the economy and provides broad exposure. That’s why the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEMKT: VTI) is my choice for a core holding for a multidecade portfolio.

VTI doesn’t need to pick the next big winners

Since 1958, the S&P 500 has returned an average of 11% per year. But as demonstrated just now, it’s a rapidly changing group of stocks that is driving those returns over the year.

That’s what makes the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF so compelling. It doesn’t need to try to identify and pick individual winners. It will increase its exposure to them naturally over time as the market caps of these companies grow.

If you had owned the S&P 500’s top 10 holdings in 1996 and held them for the next 30 years, you probably would have still done fairly well. But you would have missed out on the emerging tech names that grew to dominate the market and economy over that time.

Plus, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF owns the smaller companies that often turn into bigger companies down the road. By investing in the S&P 500, you limit yourself to just the large companies that have already established themselves. Adding small-cap and mid-caps to the mix potentially gets you in earlier on the next decade’s leaders.

That’s why I’d own this ETF and have it act as the core of my portfolio over the next several decades. Its diversification, low cost, and ability to change over time make it an ideal long-term holding.

Should you buy stock in Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF right now?

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The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $406,141!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,347,745!*

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David Dierking has positions in Apple and Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, GE Aerospace, Intel, International Business Machines, Merck, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The S&P 500 Has Returned About 11% Annually Since 1958. Here’s the ETF I’d Trust for the Next 30 Years. was originally published by The Motley Fool

Grayscale’s Zcash ETF is set to undergo a 3-for-1 forward share split, according to a filing submitted with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The change is scheduled to take effect after the market close on Sept. 28, with shareholders set to receive two additional shares for every share they hold.

In a press release cited in the ETF filing, Grayscale said the forward split is designed to reduce the price per share while increasing the total number of shares outstanding in equal proportion—leaving the value of an investment unchanged in theory.

Key takeaways

• Grayscale’s Zcash ETF (ZCSH) plans a 3-for-1 forward split effective after the Sept. 28 market close.
• Shareholders receive two extra shares per held share; the filing describes the change as proportionate, not value-accretive.
• Grayscale expects the lower per-share price to improve accessibility, referencing that the unit price had become “too high.”
• The move comes as Zcash’s broader market momentum has been strong over the past year, with the token up about 2,800% in that period, according to the ETF materials.

What the 3-for-1 split means for ZCSH holders

The SEC filing describes the mechanism clearly: at the close of trading on Sept. 28, shareholders will receive two additional shares for each share they own. Grayscale’s included explanation—referenced in the filing—frames the result as a straightforward arithmetic adjustment rather than a change in underlying value.

For example, the materials illustrate that an investor holding 10 shares valued at $300 each—totaling $3,000—would own 30 shares priced at $100 each after the split, with the portfolio’s total value remaining the same.

The practical effect for investors is largely operational. Shares typically trade at a lower nominal price after such events, which can influence how the product is perceived and how easily some investors can size positions. However, the split does not inherently alter the ETF’s exposure to its underlying asset.

Why Grayscale is lowering the per-share price

Grayscale said the forward split is expected to “decrease the price per share” of the fund while increasing the share count proportionately. The ETF’s materials connect this to accessibility concerns, noting that Zcash’s token has risen sharply over the past year and that the per-unit price had become considered too high.

According to the filing-related press release, ZEC has increased by about 2,800% over the last year, and that surge helped push the ETF unit price to a level Grayscale deemed less convenient for potential investors. The split is therefore positioned as a way to make the ETF easier to buy and track in everyday terms.

For traders, these changes often matter most around implementation, including how order sizes and price targets are recalibrated. For longer-term investors, the key question is whether sentiment and liquidity improve as the share price becomes more “consumer-friendly,” even though the economics should remain proportionate.

Broader Zcash market momentum and ETF spotlight

While the share split is a structural adjustment inside the ETF wrapper, the timing also lands amid renewed attention on Zcash itself. Cointelegraph previously reported that Zcash had gained about 20% over a 24-hour period after Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed an unspecified purchase of ZEC.

In that coverage, Huang characterized Zcash as a “private complement to Bitcoin” and discussed the importance of long-term funding for the project, particularly as AI-driven cyber capabilities and quantum computing advance. Earlier coverage also linked Zcash’s performance to the visibility of privacy-focused assets in a market that remains sensitive to both regulation and technological narratives.

The Block reported that ZEC climbed as high as $1,521 early Friday, which would have been viewed as an effective new all-time high for the token before retreating slightly. That context matters for ETF holders and prospective investors: when the underlying asset experiences volatility and headline-driven flows, structural moves like share splits can draw additional attention to the vehicle, even if the split itself is not a market catalyst.

What investors should watch next

The most immediate checkpoint is the Sept. 28 record date tied to the forward split, since the share ratio will take effect after the market close. After that, investors should monitor how ZCSH trades relative to its adjusted share price—especially how liquidity and bid-ask spreads behave around the split window.

More broadly, the sustained relevance of ZCSH will likely track Zcash’s next fundamental and technical developments, alongside market demand for privacy-oriented assets. Even with the per-share price coming down, the underlying question for investors remains unchanged: whether the ETF continues to attract steady inflows as ZEC’s volatility and narrative momentum evolve.

Related references: Grayscale’s SEC filing includes details of the forward split (SEC EDGAR: zcsh-ex99_1.htm), and Cointelegraph previously reported on Zcash’s short-term price action and Matt Huang’s disclosure of a ZEC purchase (Cointelegraph coverage).

Hong Kong has jailed former China Construction Bank (Asia) relationship manager Lam Chun-yin for four years after he admitted accepting more than $470,000 in Tether to authenticate false bank instruments carrying a stated value above $1.6 billion.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Sept. 18 that District Court Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung sentenced the 32-year-old after his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages under Hong Kong’s Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Crimes Ordinance.

The court ordered Lam to repay approximately HK$3.7 million to CCB (Asia), an amount equal to the bribes identified in the case. ICAC said the judge started from a six-year prison term and reduced it by one-third because Lam pleaded guilty, leaving a four-year sentence after finding no exceptional reason for another reduction.