U.S. prosecutors have become increasingly aggressive in freezing digital assets believed to be traceable to illicit activities such as money laundering, “pig butchering” schemes, sanctions violations, and other financial crimes. Digital asset freezes take on a new dimension, however, when the freeze is voluntarily initiated by the issuer at the government’s request, bypassing the legal protections of a traditional asset seizure. In such instances, digital asset holders are often caught off guard, unaware that their funds are allegedly tainted and suddenly deprived of access to assets or income acquired through legitimate means.

Traditional asset seizures

In traditional financial crime investigations, the federal government’s authority to restrain or seize assets is governed by established legal and constitutional safeguards. Law enforcement typically must demonstrate a connection between the property and alleged criminal activity and obtain judicial authorization, such as a seizure warrant, before restricting access to those assets.

Seized assets are then subject to the federal forfeiture regime, which operates through overlapping authorities, including civil forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. §§ 981 and 983, and criminal forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 982.

Digital asset blacklisting

Voluntary digital asset freezes represent a departure from traditional seizure processes. Rather than obtaining judicial authorization, law enforcement may request that an issuer freeze or blacklist specific wallet addresses. This practice has been reinforced by the GENIUS Act, which requires stablecoin issuers to maintain the technical capability to freeze, burn, or otherwise restrict tokens to comply with law enforcement directives.

For affected digital asset holders, recourse through the stablecoin or other digital asset issuer is often limited because those issuers generally defer to the requesting government agency and do not know the underlying basis for the freeze. As a result, individuals and entities whose assets have been frozen typically must engage directly with the relevant governmental authority to seek relief.

These challenges are compounded by two defining features of blockchain systems: pseudonymity and traceability. While wallet addresses do not inherently reveal the identity of their owners, blockchain transactions are publicly visible and can be traced across multiple transfers absent the use of mixers or other privacy-enhancing services. Law enforcement agencies thus routinely use blockchain forensic tools to follow the movement of funds originating from wallets suspected of involvement in illicit activity.

At the same time, tracing funds across a decentralized network introduces significant uncertainty due to wallet pseudonymity. Although investigators may identify an initial source of illicit activity, they are often unable or choose not to expend the resources required to differentiate between downstream wallets controlled by individuals who are involved in the criminal scheme and those controlled by innocent bystanders who have unwittingly received the allegedly tainted funds.

In our experience – including the successful unlocking of tens of millions of dollars in wrongfully frozen funds – it is not enough to point to the number of transactions, or “hops,” between the upstream illicit activity and the downstream frozen wallet. Government agencies will instead seek to understand how and why the funds were acquired and demand contemporaneous documentary evidence of the legitimacy of the transactions – unfairly but unmistakably shifting the burden of proof from the investigating agency to the digital asset holder whose funds have been frozen.

Simply put, U.S. law enforcement’s approach is to freeze first, and ask questions later – and then to require owners of the frozen digital assets to prove their innocence to get their funds back. This tactic, combined with U.S. law enforcement’s expansive view of U.S. jurisdiction, puts all holders of stablecoins or other digital assets anywhere in the world at risk, whether they unwittingly acquired the assets five, 10, or even 20 hops downstream from illicit activity.

Practical tips for stablecoin issuers and those affected by stablecoin freezes

Notwithstanding the challenges involved, participants on both sides of governmental digital asset freeze requests – both issuers and holders – retain a variety of ways to protect themselves:

Individuals and entities affected by digital asset freezes

When a wallet is frozen, the window to respond effectively can be narrow, and early missteps can be difficult to unwind. To minimize these risks, we recommend digital asset holders:

• Engage counsel with experience not only in criminal defense and engaging with governmental agencies, but also specifically in digital asset matters, digital asset transactions and tracing.
• Assemble a clear factual record: how the funds were acquired, the purpose of the transactions, and any due diligence performed on counterparties. For entities, this should also include relevant internal policies governing digital asset use. The objective is to present a coherent and well-supported account demonstrating that the funds were obtained and used for legitimate purposes, without knowledge of any underlying upstream illicit activity.
• Consider a proactive approach. In some cases, it may be advantageous to engage proactively with the government agency responsible for the freeze, rather than waiting for further action. Early engagement, if carefully handled, can help shape the narrative before the government’s speculative assumptions solidify into hardened narratives.
• And of course, exercise caution. Communications with issuers or investigators may carry legal consequences, and statements made without a full understanding of the facts or legal posture can complicate efforts to secure the release of funds.

Digital asset issuers

To reduce exposure to civil litigation by users who believe their assets have been improperly frozen, digital asset issuers can:

• Adopt clear, consistent procedures when responding to governmental freeze requests, including how and whether issuers respond to user requests for information.
• Maintain an internal policy governing when and how such requests are honored, particularly where the request is not supported by a court order or other compulsory process.
• Make clear in the user terms of service or other documentation that the issuer complies with governmental freeze requests, including those that are not accompanied by a court order or other compulsory process if applicable.
• Maintain a record of all communications with governmental agencies or users in connection with specific freeze requests, and the basis for effecting the freeze.

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand signaled that any floor vote on a proposed digital asset market structure bill would hinge on three key conditions: robust consumer protections, strong illicit-finance controls, and a rigorous ethics framework. Speaking at the Consensus conference in Miami, she argued that lawmakers should harmonize the draft with the version approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee and attach formal ethics language before moving forward. If those elements are in place, Gillibrand said a vote could occur before the August recess, which begins on Aug. 10.

“There will be no one voting for this bill if we don’t have an ethics provision,” Gillibrand told attendees, underscoring the concern that insider advantages and pay-for-play dynamics must be barred as the industry continues to evolve rapidly. The senator emphasized that a combined package—integrating consumer protections, anti-illicit-finance measures, and ethics language—could unlock a path to consideration in a relatively tight legislative window.

While Gillibrand did not name President Donald Trump, the remarks come amid broader scrutiny of political ties to the crypto sector as lawmakers weigh the CLARITY Act. The debate has grown more acute as elected officials assess potential conflicts of interest and the governance of digital-asset markets in a U.S. regulatory framework.

On the policy front, last week senators on the Senate Banking Committee announced a deal on a stablecoin yield compromise that could help advance the market-structure legislation. However, they did not address language related to conflicts of interest by public officials, a gap that critics say remains essential to close before any vote.

Crypto industry figures weighed in on the timing and content of the bill as Consensus unfolded. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse warned that lawmakers should act in the near term to avoid the issue getting buried by midterm dynamics, while Summer Mersinger, a former CFTC commissioner and CEO of the Blockchain Association, framed the moment as a window of opportunity that could reopen after the August recess if momentum returns.

Key takeaways

• The CLARITY Act’s path to a floor vote now hinges on three conditions: consumer protections, illicit-finance safeguards, and ethics language.
• A merged bill—combining elements from the package approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee with the current draft—could allow a vote before the August recess if ethics provisions are included.
• Industry voices warn that timing matters: a narrow window exists to push the bill before political dynamics pull focus toward midterm campaigns.
• Senate Banking Committee activity remains in flux, with a markup not yet rescheduled after January’s postponement and industry observers split on how the draft treats DeFi, stablecoins, and tokenized equities.
• Market expectations reflect divergent odds: Polymarket prices a roughly 65% chance of CLARITY Act passage by year-end 2026, while Kalshi assigns about a 49% chance of passage before August.

Gillibrand’s conditions sharpen the debate on a path forward

Gillibrand’s framing of the three prerequisites reframes what a prospective vote would need to address beyond technicalities. The first pillar—consumer protection—signals a push for clearer disclosures, robust product-safety standards, and safeguards against misleading marketing in a sector that blends traditional financial activity with high-velocity innovation. The second pillar—illicit-finance controls—highlights the administration’s interest in anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing measures that can stand up to fast-moving on-chain activity and cross-border transactions. The third pillar—ethics—goes straight to governance and credibility: lawmakers argued that any framework should prevent senior officials or insiders from profiting from regulatory ambiguity or preferential access to information.

By tying these elements together, Gillibrand signaled a potential redesign of the bill’s final form rather than a narrow tweak to existing language. The question for investors and builders is how aggressively the administration would codify ethics rules, what form consumer-protection requirements take for wallet providers and exchanges, and how strictly the bill would police on-chain entities operating in gray areas of DeFi and tokenized assets. She also hinted that achieving this alignment quickly would require close coordination between the House and Senate, and a willingness to compromise on contentious points that have sparked opposition from various industry stakeholders.

Industry voices outline the timing and the stakes

Supporters and critics alike have eyed the clock as Consensus highlighted how fast-moving policy signals can reshape funding, product launches, and exchange participation. Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse argued that lawmakers need to address the bill in the next couple of weeks to preserve momentum before election-season distractions intensify. He framed timely action as essential to avoid a muddier political atmosphere that can stall progress on comprehensive digital-asset regulation.

Meanwhile, Summer Mersinger, who previously served as a CFTC commissioner and now leads the Blockchain Association, stressed that there is a limited “window of opportunity” to act. “That doesn’t mean the window’s not going to open again,” she noted, acknowledging the unpredictable arc of legislative momentum. Her point: even if a gap closes in August, the topic could resurface after the recess if market activity and constituent interest demand renewed attention.

The politics of timing are intertwined with the policy content. Industry participants have long argued that any final framework must provide clarity for innovation ecosystems—ranging from DeFi protocols to tokenized equities—without stifling consumer confidence or exposing U.S. markets to regulatory arbitrage. The current discourse reflects a tension between advancing a clear national standard and accommodating a rapidly evolving landscape where firms operate across borders and across product types.

Legislative pace, market bets, and what comes next

As of midweek, the Senate Banking Committee had not re-scheduled a markup on the market-structure bill after a January postponement. The delay comes at a delicate moment for the ecosystem: while some lawmakers press for swift action, others have expressed concerns about the bill’s stance on DeFi, stablecoins, and tokenized equities. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly voiced opposition to the bill as drafted, arguing it did not adequately address several core concerns, a stance echoed by other stakeholders who fear overreach on innovative financial instruments.

The industry’s sentiment is reinforced by market-oriented bets on policy outcomes. Polymarket currently assigns about a 65% probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law by the end of 2026, reflecting a belief that compromise could emerge in the second half of this decade. Kalshi’s pricing, meanwhile, sits closer to 49% for passage before August, underscoring the sense that the policy timeline remains highly uncertain and deeply contingent on partisan dynamics and committee actions.

Looking ahead, observers will watch for whether the Banking Committee resumes its markup, how ethics and conflict-of-interest language is negotiated, and whether a stablecoin-yield framework can be reconciled with broader market-structure protections. The unfolding debate will influence not only regulatory clarity but also how market participants design products, allocate capital, and manage risk in a regime that seeks to balance innovation with consumer safeguards.

Related coverage continues to explore public sentiment toward crypto and AI in a political funding environment, underscoring how consumer trust and political finance dynamics intersect with policy design. Readers can follow ongoing developments around the CLARITY Act and related regulatory initiatives as Congress weighs the next steps in this evolving space.

As discussions proceed, investors and builders should monitor not only the textual changes in the bill but also the procedural signals from the Senate Banking Committee and the broader political calendar. The outcome will shape the rules of the road for a fast-moving industry over the coming quarters—and could set the pace for global regulatory alignment in digital assets.

Miami Beach — The stablecoin universe, dominated by Tether and Circle, hampers competition that could lead to better product-market fit for some important use cases, according to Ben O’Neill, Bridge’s head of money movement.

“I think it’s a net bad for the growth of stablecoins as a whole, because you have two counterparties that have pros and cons to what they’ve built, and the design choices they’ve made. But they don’t work for every use case,” O’Neill said on a panel about stablecoin growth at Consensus Miami.

Tether’s USDT, with its gargantuan market capitalization of approximately $189.5 billion, and Circle’s USDC, which has grown to around $71 billion, each emerged at different generational eras in the crypto evolution.

Tether, launched in 2014 as Realcoin, won the Chinese export trade, O’Neill said, and built this shadow economy of dollars that people can use without the U.S. financial system. Circle, launched in association with Coinbase in 2018, sought to do the exact opposite: a U.S.-regulated stablecoin, which later leaned hard into decentralized finance (DeFi).

For O’Neill, the perspective of a large payments firm, such as Bridge-owner Stripe, illustrates the shortcomings of the two dollar-pegged token giants.

“As a payments company, I need certainty on how things are going to work,” he said. “So with Tether, they say we’ll burn for 10 bips, which is crazy expensive for a payments company, or you can trade on the open market, which means I have no certainty.”

“For Circle, their whole business is AUM, and they keep kind of notching up those burn fees. So again, if I’m someone like Visa, and I want to do trillions of dollars of card settlement and stablecoins, I’m burning a bunch of USDC, and that’s gonna be a net bad,” O’Neill said.

The solution, “which needs to come pretty quickly over the next couple of years,” is more stablecoins built for specific use cases, so they can be optimized for those use cases. The other part is the rise of the clearing house, “a sexy topic for founders and VCs” to make it “as efficient as possible swapping between stablecoins,” he added.

Closing out his argument, O’Neill said, “You need more competition, otherwise [Tether and Circle] are going to just keep upping the fees. They’re not gonna share the yield. They’re gonna disincentivize you from burning it. They’re gonna make it harder and harder to make it feel like money at each turn.”

The White House is aiming for July 4 for Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference on Wednesday.

“We’re targeting July 4th. I think that would be a tremendous birthday present for America, celebrating our 250th,” Witt said. The mechanics, according to Witt, are: Senate Banking Committee markup this month, four working Senate weeks in June for floor passage and enough runway for a U.S. House of Representatives vote before the Independence Day deadline.

That timeline runs ahead of the prediction Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand shared on the same stage earlier in the day, when the New York Democrat predicted Clarity would reach the president’s desk by the first week of August.

“There’s not a lot of slack left in the rope right now,” Witt said. “But it is an achievable timeline.”

The path to markup opened when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) released a compromise on the bill’s stablecoin-yield provisions in early May, banning bank-deposit-equivalent yield on stablecoins while leaving room for rewards tied to spending. Witt said the White House convened banks and crypto firms to fashion the language, then handed it to the senators, who ran their own process and arrived at a text both sides found equally unsatisfying.

“Crypto is unhappy, banks are unhappy, but they’re both about equally unhappy,” Witt said. “And so we know that we got the right compromise.” Witt considered that the stablecoin-yield issue “is closed.”

The White House is also closing in on a deal on the conflict-of-interest provision that has divided Democrats and the administration. Witt said the negotiating posture is to accept rules that apply “across the board, from the president all the way down to the brand new intern on Capitol Hill,” but reject anything that singles out a particular office or officeholder. “We’re not going to allow targeting of anyone’s family, any one particular politician,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we’re going to be able to close that out.”

Speaking on what happens if Clarity slips past 2026, Witt said “If we’re not setting the standard, if we’re not writing the rules, then we are going to be a rule follower, and we’re going to be following somebody else’s rulebook on this. And God forbid it’s China that’s ultimately writing those rules.”

U.S. leadership in global capital markets, he added, is one of the things that “underwrite American hegemony.”

Witt also discussed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, the stablecoin-issuer law passed last year, where rulemaking by the Treasury Department, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other agencies is closing in on a one-year July deadline.

“These are complicated issues. They require following the Administrative Procedures Act, soliciting comments. And we received a flood of comments,” Witt said. The law, he added, exemplifies “the efficient frontier of regulation: just enough to allow an industry to flourish… but not so much that you overly burden an innovation into irrelevance.”

Linea Consortium has joined Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT) as a premier member and contributed the open-source zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup stack powering Linea as a new code project called Lineth.

The contribution places Linea’s core layer-2 technology under LFDT’s open-source governance framework, rather than the control of any single company, Linea Consortium said in a release on Tuesday, positioning the move as a step toward decentralization. However, the contribution concerns governance of Linea’s open-source technology stack, not necessarily the decentralization of the Linea network itself.

Linea Consortium board director Declan Fox will join the LFDT governing board alongside representatives from companies like Consensys, Hedera, Kaleido, OpenAssets and Shielded Technologies.

Linea Consortium is a nonprofit that guides Linea’s ecosystem growth, protocol strategy and decentralization, while LFDT is the Linux Foundation’s open-source organization for blockchain, ledger, identity and related decentralized technologies.

Lineth includes Linea’s core ZK rollup components, including its execution, consensus and proof systems, as well as L1 and L2 smart contracts. Linea said the project aims to expand its maintainer base, attract enterprise and institutional users, and support long-term sustainability beyond any single company.

Cointelegraph reached out to Linea Consortium for additional information, but did not receive a response by publication.

Open-source move does not decentralize Linea network

The move gives Linea’s ZK rollup stack a foundation-governed home for maintainers, contributors and potential enterprise adopters. However, key parts of the network remain centralized, including its sequencer, prover, upgrade controls and validator participation.

In the announcement, Fox highlighted one of Ethereum’s core value propositions: credible neutrality. He said that joining LFDT and contributing Lineth are “deliberate steps in Linea’s progressive decentralization.” He added that the move gives the technology powering the L2 ecosystem a “neutral home that no single company controls.”

Related: DeFi can freeze stolen funds, but not everyone agrees it should

According to Linea’s risk disclosures, its Mainnet Beta still includes centralized components such as the sequencer, prover and Security Council, which are maintained by the team. The sequencer can also postpone transaction inclusion and reorder transactions.

Linea’s information page at L2Beat. Source: L2Beat

L2 analytics tracker L2Beat classifies Linea as a Stage 0 rollup, a category used for networks that still rely heavily on operators or other trusted actors. 

The distinction comes amid a broader Ethereum debate over the role of L2 networks. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in February that L2 progress toward Stage 2, where networks are mostly controlled by smart contracts and permissionless mechanisms rather than by the core team, had been slower and harder than expected.

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Spot bitcoin ETFs cleared crypto’s long-standing access hurdle by placing bitcoin inside brokerage and advisor accounts already used for stocks and bonds. Two and a half years in, panelists at CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference agreed that part had worked. However, they said custody concentration, modest advisor uptake and back-office plumbing all remain unresolved.

Christopher Russell, head of strategic planning and analysis at Calamos Investments, framed the access win in numbers. “The ETF solved one big problem, which was access,” he said. The roughly dozen US spot bitcoin ETFs now hold around $107 billion in combined assets, with about $20 billion in institutional hedge funds, $12.5 billion allocated by registered investment advisors, and 60% sitting in direct retail accounts.

Out of $146 trillion in advisor-managed AUM, that $12.5 billion advisor allocation “seems like a big number, but it’s a really small number,” Russell said. He pointed to what he called the 1% problem: “They can take a 1% position in a 50-60 vol asset, but they don’t want to spend 50% of their client meetings explaining why a 1% position went down 50%.”

Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO and co-founder of CoinShares, pressed on the structural side. “Right now they are all using one custodian, which is Coinbase, creating a massive concentration risk in the market,” he said. “From a protection and diversification point of view, it’s a zero. If you were in any hedge fund, you would want to get a number of prime brokers to diversify your risk.”

Mognetti’s warning lands in a market that is no longer uniformly single-custodian, but where Coinbase remains a central piece of ETF infrastructure. Fidelity’s FBTC uses Fidelity Digital Assets, VanEck’s HODL launched with Gemini and later added Coinbase, BlackRock’s IBIT added Anchorage Digital Bank alongside Coinbase, and Morgan Stanley’s proposed bitcoin ETF names Coinbase Custody and BNY as bitcoin custodians.

Aaron Dimitri, general counsel for digital assets at Flow Traders, said ETFs have shifted bitcoin from pure buy-and-hold exposure into broader portfolio construction. “You’re not just buying and holding an asset, hoping it appreciates over time,” he said. “You’re able to build in yield products, different structured vehicles.” For institutions, Dimitri said, ETFs do not remove bitcoin’s volatility, but they make the exposure easier to package and manage. “If you’re going to go on a roller coaster, you might as well make sure that the lap belt locks down before the ride takes off,” he said.

Simeon Hyman, global investment strategist at ProShares, pushed back on treating volatility as a problem to be engineered away. “Volatility is a feature, not a bug,” he said, citing bitcoin and ether both up 20% since the start of the war in Iran. If an asset is volatile but not closely correlated with stocks and bonds, “you sprinkle a little in and you’re going to improve Sharpe ratio efficiency,” Hyman said. “But you got to be ready to tell the story.” He also argued that futures-based products retain a role: ProShares’ BITO, launched in October 2021, holds about $2 billion in assets but still trades at 35% of the daily volume of BlackRock’s IBIT, the dominant spot product.

The discussion lands against an unsettled demand backdrop. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 818,334 BTC, reported a roughly $12.5 billion Q1 net loss this week. CoinDesk reported that the company signaled it could sell some bitcoin to help meet dividend obligations. Strategy’s accumulation has been widely viewed as one of the structural demand pillars of the post-ETF era.

Asked for a five-year price target, Russell predicted Bitcoin reaches $1 million within five years, “but it’s not going to be a straight line.”

Zcash (ZEC) has outperformed the broader crypto market over the past month, rising by over 125% compared to an average 15% gain for most coins.

ZEC/USD versus TOTAL crypto market cap 3o-day performance chart. Source: TradingView

The privacy-focused cryptocurrency may rally further in the coming weeks as a mix of bullish technical and fundamental catalysts converges.

Key takeaways:

• US crypto hedge fund Multicoin Capital revealed it has been buying ZEC since February.
• Robinhood will list ZEC as Zcash’s network activity has been booming in the past weeks.
• ZEC technicals are painting a 40% rally setup.

Multicoin disclosure boosts ZEC momentum

On Tuesday, Multicoin Capital, a US-based crypto hedge fund managing $2.687 billion in assets, revealed a “significant position” in ZEC, fueling speculation that institutional investors are warming up to privacy-focused digital assets again.

Its co-founder, Tushar Jain, revealed that the firm had been accumulating ZEC since February.

Jain described Zcash as “the most direct public market vehicle” for exposure to private, censorship-resistant and seizure-resistant money, framing the investment as a bet on rising demand for financial sovereignty and cypherpunk-style privacy tools.

Source: X

ZEC has rallied by over 43% in the past 24 hours, showing that traders have interpreted the Multicoin announcement as institutional validation of the privacy coin narrative.

ZEC’s flag breakout hints at further gains

From a technical perspective, Zcash has entered the breakout phase of a prevailing bull flag pattern on the weekly chart.

A bull flag forms when the price consolidates lower within a descending parallel channel after a strong uptrend. It resolves when the price breaks above the channel’s upper trendline and rises by as much as the previous uptrend’s height.

ZEC/USDT weekly chart. Source: TradingView

Applying that rule to ZEC’s chart puts its breakout target near $800. As of Wednesday, Zcash traded as high as $607, leaving the token on track to test the bull flag’s measured upside target located roughly 40% above.

Zcash’s weekly relative strength index (RSI), a momentum indicator that measures whether an asset is overbought or oversold, also suggests the rally may continue.

The RSI currently remains just below 70, a level traders typically associate with overheated market conditions, indicating ZEC may still have room to climb before buyers show signs of exhaustion.

BitMEX Co-Founder Arthur Hayes said ZEC’s target is 10% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization, a scenario that would imply a multi-trillion-dollar valuation for ZEC and prices potentially ranging between $8,000 and $10,000 per coin based on current supply levels.

Source: X

Robinhood listing, tightening ZEC supply adds tailwinds

Zcash’s breakout also has fundamental support.

ZEC has rallied alongside the broader crypto market as US–Iran peace-deal hopes improve risk appetite, mirroring patterns in early April.

Its Robinhood listing on April 23 added another tailwind by opening spot access to 25.9 million funded users, including those in stricter jurisdictions like New York.

Meanwhile, more than 30% of circulating ZEC now sits in shielded addresses, according to data resource ZecHub.WIKI. This tightening supply shows a big jump in demand for private on-chain transactions over the past year.

Zcash shielded supply weekly chart. Source: ZecHub.WIKI

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

Key takeaways:

• A sharp fifty percent drop in exchange activity and decentralized application revenue is stalling Ether price growth.
• Institutional investor interest in Ether remains under pressure as major holders like Bitmine face billions in unrealized losses. 

Ether (ETH) has failed to sustain levels above $2,400 for the past three months, consistently lagging behind most of its peers. Ether’s down 21% in 2026, and investors have expressed uncertainty about the altcoin’s inability to mirror the broader market recovery.

Total crypto market capitalization vs. ETH, USD. Source: TradingView

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization is down 11% year-to-date, suggesting specific headwinds for Ether remain in play. A decline in decentralized applications (DApps) activity partially explains this fading interest. Regardless of whether this trend has affected the industry as a whole, the shift negatively affects ETH price formation.

Ethereum DEX monthly volumes vs. DApps revenue, USD. Source: DefiLlama

Decentralized exchanges (DEX) volumes fell by 53% in six months, a sector largely responsible for Ethereum’s DApps activity. Consequently, these DApps experienced a 49% decline in revenue over the same period. While the sharp drop in memecoin prices and token launches contributed to reduced DEX appeal, other factors, including protocol hacks, also played a significant role.

Multiple hacks had a negative impact on DApp activity

The cryptocurrency industry suffered $630 million in hacks in April, with KelpDAO and Drift Protocol accounting for 82% of the losses. Blockchain security company Hacken attributed the attacks to actors linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Aggregate crypto industry DEX activity dropped by 47% in three months.

Blockchain DApps revenue market share. Source: DefiLlama

Some Ethereum competitors have opted for base layer scalability, providing less friction for regular users. While Ethereum remains the absolute leader in the aggregate ecosystem, including its layer-2 solutions, Solana and Hyperliquid account for a combined 42% market share in DApp revenue. Such data is even more impressive given that Ethereum’s total value locked is six times larger.

Source: X/uttam_singhk

Uttam Singh, engineer at Alchemy, noted that part of the market incorrectly judged that Ethereum’s upcoming glamstedam hard fork would put rollups “in danger.” The upcoming network upgrade should result in a threefold increase in base-layer capacity and allow clients to pre-fetch block data, thereby enabling parallel transaction execution.

Fierce blockchain competition, ETH whales underwater

Regardless of how straightforward Ethereum’s scaling plans are, most users and investors struggle to understand the need for layer-2 rollups once base-layer scalability reaches a certain threshold. There is also limited visibility on whether these changes will actually generate higher network fees, which ultimately act as a catalyst for higher staking yields.

Related: Ethereum backers pledge up to 30,000 ETH to rsETH recovery after bridge incident

Institutional investors’ perception of Ether has also been negatively impacted as Bitmine (BMNR US), the largest publicly listed holder of ETH, remains underwater in its corporate reserves. The company, led by chairman Tom Lee, spent $12.2 billion to acquire ETH, but its position is currently valued at $10.8 billion. While this does not pose an immediate sell-off risk, it reduces the asset’s institutional appeal.

None of these factors is an absolute impediment for Ether price to reach $2,800. However, declining onchain activity, fierce competition in the DApps industry, and reduced institutional appeal continue to contribute to its underperformance relative to the broader crypto market.

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.