Japan’s major brokerages are preparing to bring crypto investment trusts to retail investors, with SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities already developing products in-house, while others like Nomura plan to enter the space once regulations are finalized.

SBI Securities plans to sell funds developed by group company SBI Global Asset Management, with products spanning both ETFs and investment trusts focused on liquid assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a Sunday report by Nikkei. The group intends to handle everything from product development to distribution in-house.

Rakuten Securities is taking a similar approach, working with Rakuten Investment Management to build products tradeable directly through smartphone apps, the report revealed.

The move would mark a significant shift in how ordinary Japanese investors access crypto. Currently, buying digital assets requires opening a dedicated exchange account or setting up a wallet. Investment trusts would allow crypto exposure through existing securities accounts, removing a key barrier for retail participation.

Related: Japan tells real estate and crypto sectors to tighten AML checks on property deals

Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC moving toward crypto funds

Among the larger names, Nomura and Daiwa have both announced plans to develop crypto investment trusts within their respective groups, Nikkei reported. SMBC Group, including SMBC Nikko, has set up a cross-group task force to evaluate its options, while Asset Management One, under Mizuho Financial Group, has begun preliminary exploration.

The move comes as Japan’s Financial Services Agency is moving to revise the enforcement order of the Investment Trust Act by 2028, which would formally add cryptocurrencies to the list of specified assets investment trusts can hold.

Last month, Japan formally reclassified crypto assets as financial instruments under an amended Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing them under the same regulatory umbrella as stocks and bonds. The bill, if passed in the current parliamentary session, is expected to take effect in fiscal 2027.

Related: SBI eyes Bitbank deal as Japan’s crypto exchange market consolidates

Japan to allow spot crypto ETFs

Japan is also reportedly considering rule changes that could allow crypto ETFs as early as 2028, with major financial groups including Nomura Holdings and SBI Holdings among the first expected to develop such products.

SBI Holdings has already outlined plans for a Bitcoin-XRP dual ETF and a gold-crypto ETF, pending regulatory approval.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026

Nearly 70 Trump administration officials and nominees disclosed cryptocurrency holdings or investments in blockchain and digital asset companies, according to a Washington Post analysis. 

The review covered financial disclosure forms for nearly 300 senior appointees and used minimum reported values because filings list assets in ranges.

The Post said the disclosed crypto-related holdings were worth at least $193 million. President Donald Trump reported at least $51 million tied to digital assets, while Vice President JD Vance and seven Cabinet members or nominees disclosed at least another $2 million in crypto wallets or investments.

Cabinet and policy roles draw attention

The report said more than one-third of Trump’s Cabinet disclosed crypto holdings or related investments. Vance reported Bitcoin holdings valued between $250,001 and $500,000, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported up to $500,000 in digital assets before divesting, according to a Treasury spokesperson cited by the Post.

The review also identified crypto holdings among officials with roles in financial regulation, economic policy, and law enforcement. The Post said Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, reported between $1 million and $2 million in digital currencies.

Moreover, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the Post that “conflicts of interest are never tolerated” in the administration. He also said Trump is taking action to establish regulatory clarity for digital financial technology and strengthen U.S. leadership in the digital asset economy.

The administration has also moved policy toward crypto. A White House fact sheet said Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025, to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.

Recent filings keep crypto ties in focus

The Washington Post analysis was updated in July 2025, but recent filings have kept Trump-linked crypto exposure in the news. Crypto.news reported that Trump-family disclosures showed multiple Q1 2026 purchases of crypto-linked stocks, including Coinbase, MARA Holdings, Strategy, Block, Robinhood, and SoFi.

The same report said Strategy appeared in eight separate transactions, including both purchases and sales. It also noted that the filing combines reportable accounts tied to Trump, Melania Trump, and dependent children, meaning the document does not identify who ordered each trade.

Jump Crypto’s Firedancer has entered production on Solana mainnet and is now producing blocks, according to a CoinDesk report. 

The validator client has been one of Solana’s most watched infrastructure projects because it aims to add another independent software path for validators.

Founding engineer Ritchie Patel said the client has processed tens of millions of transactions in production. 

However, the team does not want validators to switch at scale yet. Patel said the rollout will remain gradual until full security audits are complete.

Solana gains another validator path

Firedancer is a new validator client for Solana built by Jump Crypto. Its public GitHub page describes it as fast, secure, and independent. The project says the client was written from scratch to support client diversity and reduce supply-chain risk.

The same repository says Frankendancer, a hybrid version that uses parts of Firedancer and Agave, is available on Solana testnet and mainnet-beta. The full Firedancer client remains separate from that hybrid version.

In addition, Jump Crypto’s Firedancer page describes the project as a Solana validator client written in C and built for high performance. It also describes Frankendancer as an intermediate milestone that enables testing and deployment before the full Firedancer system is complete.

The cautious launch follows a public audit contest with a $1 million bug bounty pool. The message from the team is clear: production use has started, but broad validator migration needs more security work before it becomes safe at network scale.

Wider Solana infrastructure work continues

The Firedancer rollout comes as Solana developers and infrastructure teams continue to work on speed, security, and validator systems. Crypto.news recently reported that Anza and Firedancer added early Falcon versions to prepare Solana clients for possible future quantum risks.

Separate coverage also reported that DoubleZero launched Edge beta, giving Solana validators and data users a faster block data route through a private fiber network. That service launched with 379 validators publishing shreds, covering about 43% of Solana’s stake at the time.

Bitcoin (BTC) declined sharply on Friday after failing to sustain a push above $82,000 the day prior, with price action echoing the behavior of US small-cap equities and signaling macro forces as the dominant driver of BTC’s moves toward sub-$79,000 levels. The retreat comes amid a broader risk-off mood in markets, where concerns about liquidity, growth, and geopolitical risk have weighed on assets across risk spectrums. As noted in market coverage, BTC has recently traded in a pattern that resembles and reacts to the same macro cues seen in the small-cap universe. nosedive below $79,000 has been highlighted as a reference point for the latest pullback.

Analysts have suggested that the anxiety translating into fixed-income selling could paradoxically lay groundwork for liquidity-driven upside in Bitcoin over the medium term. While the near-term price action appears fragile, some market participants view the current environment as a potential setup for a bounce should risk appetite stabilize and liquidity conditions improve.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin’s short-term moves remain tightly linked to US small-cap equities, signaling macro risk sentiment rather than a traditional hedging narrative driving BTC’s price action.
• Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rates flipped deeply negative on Thursday and stayed near 0% on Friday, indicating tepid demand for bullish leverage rather than broad-based accumulation.
• Fixed-income outflows, paired with rising global yields and higher oil prices, contribute to a fragile macro backdrop that could influence BTC’s trajectory in the weeks ahead.
• Market mood cooled after the latest US-China summit in Beijing, with Nasdaq 100 reaching an all-time high only to retreat amid mixed signals on tariff talks and policy direction.
• Oil prices climbing toward $106 a barrel and the sharp move in long-dated yields underscore inflation concerns and the potential for continued macro-driven volatility in crypto markets.

Macro signals and BTC’s risk-on alignment

The broader market narrative remains dominated by macro drivers, a theme BTC has echoed in recent sessions. The Russell 2000, a US small-cap index known for higher earnings risk and thinner balance sheets, has shown a tendency to move in tandem with BTC during this stretch. By design, small caps are more sensitive to shifts in the cost of capital and interest-rate expectations, which in turn shapes risk appetite across asset classes. In this environment, Bitcoin is less a hedge and more a correlated risk-on instrument, reacting to the same liquidity and growth signals that move equities higher or lower.

Crucially, crude oil has surged, with Brent crude trading around the mid-$100s per barrel, lifting inflation expectations and pressuring fixed-income valuations. Long-dated government bonds, including the 10-year yields in several regions, have advanced to multi‑year highs, amplifying concerns about the interplay between inflation, growth, and monetary policy. The ensuing macro volatility feeds through to crypto markets, where traders weigh the odds of further drawdowns versus the potential for a liquidity-driven rebound.

On the equity side, tech-led strength helped the Nasdaq 100 notch fresh highs on a prior session, but sentiment cooled as markets parsed the outcome of the latest US-China discussions. While officials signaled intentions to accelerate farm goods exports in the near term, no concrete tariffs-related deals were announced, leaving investors wary of longer-term policy signals. This dynamic underscores the challenge of reading crypto through a single lens: even as equities showed resilience, the underlying macro uncertainty persists and often correlates with BTC’s intraday swings. The Guardian’s summary of the Beijing talks captures the cautious tone surrounding policy progress as markets digest the potential longer-term implications.

Leverage, liquidity, and the funding backdrop

One of the more telling signals for BTC’s near-term path has been the state of the crypto futures funding landscape. Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rates flipped deeply negative on Thursday and hovered near zero on Friday, a pattern that implies traders have been relatively reluctant to shoulder meaningful long exposure. By convention, a neutral or positive funding rate (above a 6% annualized baseline) tends to indicate healthier bullish leverage demand, whereas persistent negative readings reflect skittish sentiment and a scarcity of sustainable upside bets. This environment aligns with the broader sense of caution as BTC attempts to navigate the macro crosscurrents without a strong, corroborating liquidity impulse from leveraged buyers. Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rate has trended away from aggressive upside leverage in recent weeks, even as prices flirt with key resistance near $82,000.

The macro mix—tightening financial conditions, elevated oil, and rising yields—helps explain why traders have yet to exhibit a strong appetite for new BTC long exposure. At the same time, some observers argue that the liquidity squeeze in fixed income could ultimately push capital into other assets, including Bitcoin, if and when risk appetite improves or if trading dynamics shift in a way that resolves some of the near-term uncertainty.

To contextualize the bigger picture, a measure of historical market risk shows stock valuations approaching levels last seen near the dot-com era. The 10-year inflation-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500, often cited as a gauge of valuation pressure, has risen toward the upper end of the long-run range, suggesting that the market’s appetite for risk could be sensitive to any further macro shocks or policy pivots. The data point is commonly cited using Shiller’s framework and, as of the latest readings, sits near the peak territory observed during the late 1990s bubble era, according to Multpl’s series. This backdrop underscores why BTC, while still a volatile asset, is vulnerable to outsized moves when macro risk intensifies and liquidity conditions tighten. Shiller P/E ratio (inflation-adjusted, 10-year) remains a useful backdrop for evaluating the risk tenor of equity markets in relation to crypto markets.

What to watch next

Looking ahead, BTC’s fate will likely hinge on the evolving balance between macro risk sentiment and liquidity dynamics. If fixed-income outflows reverse and liquidity returns to risk assets, Bitcoin could benefit from renewed appetite for leveraged bets and from a broader reallocation into crypto as a high-beta asset. Conversely, persistent macro fragility, elevated yields, or a renewed escalation in geopolitical tensions could keep BTC tethered to its risk-on correlations and limit upside in the near term.

Key developments to monitor include any shifts in oil prices and inflation expectations, central bank signals on liquidity support, and policy progress from ongoing US-China and regional discussions. For traders watching BTC levels, the near-term focus remains on whether the price can reclaim the $82,000 resistance and how it behaves near the $79,000 support zone as macro headlines unfold.

In sum, BTC’s recent moves reflect a market in which macro forces have taken center stage. The immediate path forward will be shaped by liquidity flows, credit conditions, and geopolitical developments, with BTC potentially benefiting if sentiment improves and liquidity re-enters the market, while remaining vulnerable to renewed risk-off pressure if those conditions deteriorate.

TLDR:

• The 30-year Treasury bond surpassed 5%, raising borrowing costs and pressuring stretched equity valuations across U.S. markets.
  
• The S&P 500 trades at 21.3x forward earnings, well above its 16x long-term average, leaving stocks exposed to a yield-driven selloff.
  
• First-quarter corporate profits rose nearly 28% year-over-year, with AI infrastructure spending emerging as a key growth driver.
  
• A prolonged Strait of Hormuz closure could unleash a new inflation regime that equity markets have not yet priced in fully.

Bond yield spike concerns are growing among investors as U.S. stock markets appear unprepared for rising inflation risks.

Despite strong first-quarter earnings and AI-driven productivity gains, geopolitical tensions tied to the Iran conflict are pushing energy prices higher.

The 30-year Treasury bond crossed 5%, while the 10-year benchmark topped 4.5% last week. Analysts warn that equity valuations remain stretched, leaving markets exposed to a potential sharp correction.

Elevated Valuations Meet Rising Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 has climbed more than 17% from its late-March low, posting a year-to-date gain above 8%. However, the index trades at 21.3 times forward earnings estimates, well above its long-term average of 16.

Rising bond yields tend to pressure these valuations by increasing borrowing costs for companies and consumers alike.

Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel, captured the mood plainly. “I do think there is a real fear that inflation is kind of embedded in the economy going forward,” he said.

“You don’t see any signs of it going down right now, and that is a real fear, and it will drive the market down if it continues.”

Paul Karger of TwinFocus described a divided outlook among his ultra-high-net-worth clients. “Breakfast, lunch and dinner: the question is always about how to make sense of the fact that this is such a divided outlook,” he said.

He has adopted a “barbell” strategy — holding heavy positions in cash, gold, and commodities while keeping exposure to mega-cap growth stocks.

Jack Ablin at Cresset Capital pointed to the Strait of Hormuz closure as a critical variable. Even a few months of disruption to oil and LNG shipments, he warned, could trigger “a brand new inflation regime for which investors just aren’t prepared.”

Earnings Strength Masks Geopolitical Fault Lines

Corporate earnings have been a key support for equity markets through this period of uncertainty. First-quarter profits are tracking roughly 28% above year-ago levels, the strongest growth since late 2021. AI capital spending on data centers and chip infrastructure has been a major driver of that growth.

Jeremiah Buckley of Janus Henderson noted that the AI spending boom is already showing results. “We’re seeing the impact of the AI spending boom and increase in productivity,” he said, adding that momentum could carry into 2027.

Yet elevated valuations in AI-related sectors are drawing caution from some analysts who see a pullback as possible.

Tim Murray of T. Rowe Price explained why traders remain reluctant to turn bearish. “Traders don’t want to turn bearish if there is a possibility — as many think — that the Strait of Hormuz situation could be cleared up in just a few weeks’ time,” he said. That hesitation is keeping markets supported even as risks build beneath the surface.

John Higgins of Capital Economics warned clients Thursday that equity markets are not pricing in inflation risk the way Treasury markets already are.

Matthew Gertken of BCA added that “the Iran crisis has the potential to reshape the trajectory of the markets” for the rest of the year.

TLDR:

• Monero reached a fresh all-time high near $798 in January 2026, confirming strong privacy sector leadership.
• Zcash uses zk-SNARK cryptography and carries a fixed 21M supply, mirroring Bitcoin’s scarcity model closely.
• XMR enforces mandatory privacy by default, while ZEC’s optional model leaves most transactions fully transparent.
• Zcash recently recorded daily trading volume spikes near $900M, pointing to growing high-beta speculative interest.

The privacy coin sector is seeing renewed debate as analysts compare Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) head to head. Both assets offer distinct privacy approaches, attracting different investor profiles.

Monero trades around $391.37, while Zcash sits at $519.04 as of this writing. With regulatory scrutiny on the rise, the question of which coin offers a stronger long-term position continues to generate discussion across the crypto community.

Monero Builds Case on Mandatory Privacy and Real-World Use

Monero holds a market cap of roughly $7.5 billion with over $115 million in daily trading volume. The coin recently reached a fresh all-time high near $798 in January 2026, demonstrating strong sector leadership.

Its privacy model relies on ring signatures and stealth addresses, making all transactions private by default. There are no optional transparency settings, which strengthens fungibility across the entire network.

Crypto analyst Dami-Defi shared a breakdown on social media, noting that XMR carries “one of the most loyal holder bases in crypto.”

Real-world usage remains a key strength, particularly in peer-to-peer and darknet payment networks. Monero’s tail emission model also keeps miners consistently incentivized, supporting long-term network security. These factors combine to give XMR a reputation as the “Bitcoin of privacy coins” within the sector.

On the downside, Monero faces serious regulatory headwinds. Multiple centralized exchanges have delisted the asset due to compliance concerns.

Its unlimited supply model also creates hesitation among newer investors unfamiliar with the tail emission structure.

Despite these challenges, the community behind XMR remains ideologically committed and largely resistant to external pressure.

The combination of proven resilience and mandatory privacy architecture makes Monero a high-conviction hold for many privacy-focused investors.

It has survived repeated regulatory attacks without losing its core user base. That track record matters, especially in a sector facing increased government attention globally.

Zcash Attracts Attention With Scarcity Model and Volatility Potential

Zcash uses zk-SNARK technology, which is widely regarded as one of the most advanced cryptographic privacy systems available. Its market cap recently reached around $9.5 billion, with daily volume spiking near $900 million.

The coin still trades far below its all-time high of $5,941, leaving significant recovery room if privacy narratives regain momentum. That gap draws traders looking for high-beta exposure in the privacy sector.

Dami-Defi noted that “whale activity and low liquid float dynamics have created violent upside moves recently” for ZEC. Optional privacy makes Zcash more exchange-friendly and easier for regulators to tolerate.

A fixed supply of 21 million coins also mirrors Bitcoin’s scarcity model, appealing to a different investor demographic. These traits position Zcash as the more institutionally accessible option between the two.

However, optional privacy remains a structural weakness. Most Zcash transactions occur on the transparent chain, not the shielded one.

This weakens overall network anonymity and reduces fungibility compared to Monero. Ecosystem adoption also trails Monero by a considerable margin, limiting its organic usage base.

For traders prioritizing explosive upside and institutional compatibility, Zcash presents a compelling speculative case.

For those focused on proven privacy infrastructure and real-world utility, Monero remains the stronger foundational asset in the privacy coin space.