Crypto World
Hyperliquid Taps Lawyer Jake Chervinsky to Lead Policy Shop
Crypto platform Hyperliquid has launched a new advocacy organization aimed at pushing through policy changes involving decentralized finance in Congress.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center said on Wednesday that it had launched in Washington, DC, and named Jake Chervinsky as founder and CEO, a veteran crypto lawyer who was the legal head at crypto venture fund Variant and former policy chief at crypto lobbyist Blockchain Association.
The organization said it will look to advance “a clear, regulated path for decentralized finance to thrive in the United States” and will push policy “with a specialty in perpetual derivatives and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.”
Hyperliquid is a layer-1 blockchain and perpetual futures exchange that has recently exploded in popularity as traders turned to commodities trading amid a broad market downturn, and the platform has looked to expand into prediction markets.
The Hyper Foundation, an independent body that backs Hyperliquid, will contribute 1 million Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens to fund the policy center’s launch.
“Critical time” for policy, says Hyperliquid CEO
Chervinsky said more traditional finance companies are launching blockchain-based products or services because the technology offers “efficiency, transparency, and resilience that legacy systems cannot match.”
“This technology is poised to become the base layer of the global financial system,” he added. “Now the United States must choose: we can either adopt new rules that allow this innovation to thrive here at home, or we can wait and watch as other nations seize the opportunity.”
Hyperliquid co-founder and CEO Jeff Yan said on X that it was a “critical time in policy discussions” in the US and that the platform had “lacked a unified voice in important policy discussions until now.”
Related: Coin Center urges Senate not to axe crypto developer protection bill
“There is a tangible and urgent possibility of upgrading the tech stack of the existing financial system,” he said. “Global financial regulation will be shaped in the United States, and we must work to ensure that these new policies thoughtfully embrace the potential of the new financial system.”
Congress is working to pass a bill defining how market regulators are to police crypto, but the legislation is stalled in the Senate as lawmakers, along with the crypto and bank lobbies, disagree on provisions pertaining to stablecoins.
The Hyperliquid Policy Center said its founding team also included the newly-appointed policy director, Salah Ghazzal, Variant’s former policy lead, and policy counsel, Brad Bourque, a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, a law firm famously tied to the fraudulent crypto exchange FTX.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
BTC holds near support as Kiyosaki flags imminent stock crash, boosting demand for scarce assets.
Summary
- Kiyosaki warns of the “biggest stock market crash” approaching, citing his 2013 book and framing it as a wealth transfer for prepared investors.
- He is accumulating BTC, ETH, gold, and silver on dips, highlighting BTC’s fixed 21m cap and viewing panic selloffs as long-term entry opportunities.
- BTC recently traded near $68.4k after a drop from the $90k–$95k zone, with key support around $64k and $60k–$62k as markets stay fragile.
Financial author Robert Kiyosaki has issued a renewed warning of a major market crash, stating that the “biggest stock market crash in history” is imminent, according to his recent public statements.
Kiyosaki referenced his 2013 book “Rich Dad’s Prophecy,” in which he predicted a massive financial downturn. The author stated that the moment he warned about is now approaching and characterized the potential event as an opportunity for prepared investors.
The “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author described the anticipated downturn as a wealth transfer event. Those who prepared could become “richer beyond your wildest dreams,” while those who did not may face severe losses, according to his statements.
“In Rich Dad’s Prophecy published 2013 I warned of the biggest stock market crash in history still coming. That giant crash is now imminent,” Kiyosaki stated, adding that those who followed his warning and prepared would benefit from the coming crash.
Kiyosaki stated he is holding gold, silver, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, which he described as “real” assets, while avoiding what he characterized as “fake” versions of those instruments. The author said he is actively purchasing additional Bitcoin (BTC) as prices decline.
The financial educator emphasized Bitcoin’s fixed supply, noting that only 21 million Bitcoin will ever exist and that nearly the full supply is already in circulation. Kiyosaki argued that panic-driven selloffs create accumulation opportunities for long-term investors, stating he plans to purchase more Bitcoin if markets decline further.
Kiyosaki’s message aligns with his long-standing investment philosophy that economic crises present buying opportunities for hard assets. The author views falling markets as a chance to accumulate Bitcoin and other scarce assets at lower prices, according to his statements.
Bitcoin trading remained volatile on Thursday, rising to around $67,000 after briefly dipping near $65,900, as traders weighed a new message from U.S. President Donald Trump claiming the nation’s trade deficit has been cut by 78% thanks to tariffs and could turn positive later this year.
“The United States trade deficit has been reduced by 78% because of the tariffs being charged to other companies and countries,” Trump said in a Truth Social post late Wednesday. “Ot will go into positive territory during this year, for the first time in many decades.”
The claim matters for crypto less because of the math in any single post and more because it pulls the market back to a familiar pressure point.
Tariffs can act like a tax on imports, which can lift prices in the real economy and complicate the path for interest rates. When markets start pricing “rates higher for longer,” the dollar tends to firm and risk assets tend to lose oxygen.
Bitcoin has spent the past two weeks trading like a macro proxy again, reacting to shifts in liquidity and rate expectations rather than any crypto specific catalyst.
There is also a real data backdrop that makes trade a live topic. In early January, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply to about $29.4 billion, the lowest since 2009, with analysts pointing to a drop in imports, a jump in exports and the knock on effects of tariff threats.
But economists also noted that a big part of the swing came from non monetary gold flows, which can make month to month numbers look cleaner than the underlying trend.
If the tariffs story hardens into a stronger dollar and tighter financial conditions, rallies can struggle to stick. If it fades into political noise, crypto goes back to watching flows, leverage and whether buyers can reclaim lost levels.
Arthur Hayes believes Bitcoin is signaling that markets are underestimating a coming credit shock.
Summary
- Arthur Hayes argues Bitcoin is signaling a looming credit shock, citing its sharp drop from $126,000 to $60,000 while the Nasdaq remained relatively stable.
- He estimates AI-driven job losses among knowledge workers could trigger over $500 billion in consumer and mortgage defaults, potentially hitting U.S. bank equity by 13%.
- Hayes expects a deflationary phase first, followed by aggressive Federal Reserve money printing, which he believes would ultimately push Bitcoin higher.
In his latest Substack essay, “This Is Fine,” the BitMEX co-founder argues that Bitcoin (BTC) acts as a “global fiat liquidity fire alarm.” Its sharp drop from $126,000 to around $60,000, while the Nasdaq 100 remained relatively stable, reflects tightening dollar liquidity and rising deflation risk.
AI job losses may trigger $500B bank losses, Arthur Hayes says
Hayes links that risk to artificial intelligence. He estimates there are 72.1 million knowledge workers in the U.S., many of whom carry significant consumer debt and mortgages. If AI tools rapidly replace even 20% of those workers, he projects major stress for the banking system.
Using Federal Reserve data, Hayes calculates roughly $3.76 trillion in bank-held consumer credit, excluding student loans. He also estimates knowledge workers carry an average mortgage balance of about $250,000.
If widespread layoffs occur, he projects $330 billion in consumer credit losses and $227 billion in mortgage losses. After accounting for reserves, that would translate to roughly a 13% hit to U.S. commercial bank equity.
Hayes argues that while the largest “too big to fail” banks may withstand the shock, smaller regional lenders could face severe stress. Lending would tighten, credit would contract, and economic demand would weaken. Markets would first price in deflation before policymakers intervene.
He points to several early warning signs. Software and SaaS stocks have underperformed broader tech indices. Consumer staples are outperforming discretionary stocks, suggesting households are cutting back. Credit card delinquencies are rising. Meanwhile, gold has strengthened relative to Bitcoin, another sign of defensive positioning.
Despite the near-term risk, Hayes remains structurally bullish on Bitcoin. He argues that deflationary shocks eventually force the Federal Reserve to restart aggressive liquidity programs. Political tensions may delay action, but once banking stress intensifies, he expects policymakers to “print” on a large scale.
Hayes outlines two scenarios. Either Bitcoin’s drop to $60,000 marked the bottom and equities will follow lower before liquidity returns, or Bitcoin could fall further if credit conditions worsen. In both cases, he believes renewed monetary expansion would ultimately push Bitcoin to new highs.
For now, Hayes advises caution and limited leverage. The alarm may be ringing, but he argues the real opportunity comes when the money printer starts again.
TLDR
- American Bitcoin Corp has reached 6,039 BTC in its corporate treasury.
- The company is now the 17th largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally.
- ABTC uses a “mining-to-treasury” strategy to retain the Bitcoin it mines.
- Since going public in September 2025, ABTC has achieved a 116% Bitcoin yield.
- Despite the Bitcoin reserve growth, ABTC’s stock has fallen by 86%.
American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), a company backed by the Trump family, has reached a major milestone in the cryptocurrency market. After just six months of going public, the company now holds 6,039 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $409 million. This achievement positions ABTC as the 17th largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally.
ABTC’s Bitcoin Reserves and Mining-to-Treasury Strategy
American Bitcoin Corp’s Bitcoin reserves have quickly grown due to its “mining-to-treasury” approach. Instead of selling the Bitcoin it mines, ABTC retains the coins, which has contributed to the company’s swift growth. In January alone, it added 217 BTC to its holdings, showing continued success in this strategy.
The company has combined both mining operations and market purchases to fuel its treasury growth. This hybrid strategy has led to a 116% yield in Bitcoin since ABTC’s debut on the Nasdaq in September 2025. By keeping its mined Bitcoin instead of selling, ABTC has steadily built its reserve, distinguishing itself from traditional miners.
Stock Performance and Market Volatility
Despite growing its Bitcoin treasury, ABTC’s stock has faced significant challenges in the market. Since going public, the company’s shares have dropped by 86%, affected by Bitcoin’s volatility and the expiration of the lock-up period for early investors. This sharp decline in stock price is a reflection of the broader market trends impacting both ABTC and the cryptocurrency space.
Despite the stock downturn, analysts remain confident about ABTC’s prospects. Both Roth Capital and H.C. Wainwright & Co. have maintained Buy ratings with a $4 price target. These ratings reflect optimism about the company’s long-term potential, even with short-term market volatility.
Bitcoin’s Influence on ABTC’s Growth
American Bitcoin Corp’s treasury growth highlights its effective use of Bitcoin mining and market participation. The company’s strategy has enabled it to quickly accumulate a significant amount of Bitcoin, surpassing other firms like GameStop and Gemini Space Station in corporate holdings. However, the broader market conditions continue to affect the company’s stock performance.
ABTC’s current position in the global ranking of Bitcoin corporate treasuries signals its ambition in the cryptocurrency space. Despite the challenges, the company’s approach of retaining its mined Bitcoin continues to prove effective in growing its reserve. As Bitcoin prices remain volatile, ABTC’s future strategy will be crucial in maintaining its position in the market.
The Aptos Foundation is looking to propose a significant shakeup to the dynamics of the Aptos token, announcing a host of potential policy changes designed to spur greater APT deflation.
In an X post on Wednesday, the Aptos Foundation said it would submit several governance proposals to help transition the ecosystem away from its current subsidy-based emission format to something focused more on “performance-driven mechanisms” and decreasing APT supply.
“The Aptos network is transitioning to performance-driven tokenomics designed to align supply mechanics with network utilization,” the Aptos Foundation said, adding:
“This update replaces bootstrap-era subsidy with mechanisms tied to transaction activity, establishing a framework where burns can exceed emissions as high-throughput applications scale.”
One of the foundation’s proposals is to set a hard cap at 2.1 billion tokens, as APT currently does not have a maximum cap on the total supply. The team said there are currently 1.196 billion APT in circulation.
Under the current emission structure, new tokens are continuously minted to support the ecosystem by funding things like development, grants, and staking rewards.
Meanwhile, significant token unlocks have been hanging over the ecosystem.
However, the Aptos Foundation said that this specific pressure has been easing and will continue to decline after the next major four-year token unlock cycle ends in October, stating that it will result in a 60% reduction in annualized supply unlocks.
The team said that as the ecosystem has matured to the point where big institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Apollo are now deploying “hundreds of millions onchain,” APT tokenomics need to become more sustainable.
“Without reform, emissions continue indefinitely with no hard ceiling, no performance requirements, and no connection between issuance and network activity,” the team said.
Key proposals and policy changes afoot
Alongside the hard 2.1 billion supply cap, the proposed policy changes include a reduction of the annual staking rewards rate from 5.19% to 2.6%, alongside increasing rewards for “longer staking commitments.”
The Aptos Foundation said this would result in reduced overall staking emissions while also rewarding long-term participants.
Elsewhere, the team is pushing for a 10-fold increase in gas fees, arguing that there is room to do this given how cheap it is to use the network. As gas fees paid in APT are burned, this would also help reduce emissions.
Related: Coinbase’s Base transitions to its own architecture with eye on streamlining
“Even with a 10X increase, stablecoin transfers would still be the lowest in the world at around $0.00014, making it the ideal blockchain for stablecoins, payments, and any other similar high-volume transactions,” the team said.
The Aptos Foundation also proposed permanently locking 210 million APT tokens for staking on the network. The team said this would be “functionally equivalent to a token burn” and will use the rewards to fund foundation operations.
The team also said it will change its grants policy and enact stricter KPIs to ensure greater performance before issuing tokens. Finally, the foundation will also explore a token buyback program or APT reserve to help balance supply.
The Aptos Foundation is not alone in seeking major shakeups to native token dynamics. In January, the Optimism governance community approved a proposal from its foundation to initiate a buyback program using 50% of Superchain revenue.
Meanwhile, decentralized exchange Uniswap saw a significant token burn approved in December, and PancakeSwap’s community also approved a supply-reducing proposal last month.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘biggest bull catalyst’ would be Saylor’s liquidation: Santiment founder
LatAm splits: El Salvador tokenizes SMEs, Brazil eyes BTC reserves, Argentina curbs wallet wages.
Summary
- El Salvador targets $100m in tokenized SME funding via COIN–Stakiny, using EVM tech, biometric wallets, and CNAD oversight for equity tokens.
- Brazil’s RESBit bill would let the state buy BTC up to 5% of FX reserves, store in cold wallets, and accept BTC for taxes with income-tax breaks on digital assets.
- Argentina’s Senate dropped digital wallet salary deposits after banking lobbying, keeping wages in bank accounts despite strong wallet usage amid inflation and past freezes.
Three Latin American countries have adopted contrasting approaches to cryptocurrency regulation and adoption in recent months, according to legislative and government actions across the region.
Latin American countries pivoting towards crypto
El Salvador announced plans to launch a $100 million investment project using digital tokens to support local small and medium-sized businesses. The initiative represents a strategic alliance between Corporación Infinito and Stakiny, designed to connect domestic enterprises with international financial markets through tokenized equity instruments.
Stakiny, a platform seeking approval from the National Commission on Digital Assets, will provide the technical infrastructure to tokenize shares of private companies. The system combines traditional shareholder agreements with blockchain-recorded digital tokens, enabling real-time management of capitalization tables, dividend distribution, governance events, and secondary trading. The platform operates on an EVM-compatible network and is accessible through a biometric mobile wallet.
In Brazil, lawmakers are considering legislation that would establish a Sovereign Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, known as RESBit, and eliminate taxes on Bitcoin earnings. Congressman Luiz Gastão presented the proposal, Bill 4,501/2024, to the Economic Development Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
The legislation would allow the government to gradually acquire Bitcoin up to five percent of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. Management of the assets would be shared between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, with storage in cold wallets. The bill would permit the use of Bitcoin to settle federal taxes and remove current requirements for brokers and investors to document all Bitcoin transactions. The proposal includes a 100% income-tax exemption on revenues from Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Argentina took a different path when lawmakers removed provisions that would have allowed workers to receive wages through direct deposit into digital wallets. The clause was eliminated from a labor reform proposal after President Javier Milei’s party agreed to drop the section to secure broader support for the legislation.
The decision followed opposition from Argentina’s traditional financial institutions, which contacted senators to voice concerns about the digital wallet payment option. A survey conducted by the central bank several years ago showed that 47% of the population holds a bank account.
Digital wallet platforms including Mercado Pago, Modo, Ualá, and Lemon have gained users in Argentina amid currency instability and dollar shortages. The country has experienced recurring inflation and periodic restrictions on accessing funds from bank accounts, including the 2001 “corralito” banking freeze.
The three nations‘ varying approaches reflect broader experimentation across Latin America with cryptocurrency regulation, reserve management, and financial inclusion policies.
Crypto World
Altcoin Sell Pressure Reaches 5-Year Extreme After 13 Months of Continuous Distribution
TLDR:
-
- Altcoin sell pressure on CEX spot markets has reached its highest extreme in over five years of data.
- Cumulative buy and sell volume for altcoins has trended negative for 13 consecutive months without relief.
- No institutional accumulation patterns are visible in current altcoin spot flow data across exchanges.
- Capital appears to be rotating into Bitcoin or cash, leaving altcoin order books thin and highly vulnerable.
- Altcoin sell pressure on CEX spot markets has reached its highest extreme in over five years of data.
Altcoin sell pressure has reached a five-year extreme, according to recent on-chain and exchange flow data.
For over 13 consecutive months, altcoins excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum have recorded net selling on centralized exchange spot markets.
Analysts warn this is not a routine correction. The data points to a structural shift in how capital is moving across the crypto market, raising serious questions about the timeline for any altcoin recovery.
Cumulative Sell Volume Signals No Signs of Absorption
The cumulative buy and sell volume difference for altcoins has collapsed to levels last seen five years ago.
This metric, which tracks net buying versus selling activity on spot markets, has moved in one direction throughout the period.
There has been no meaningful flattening or stabilization in the data. Bounces have been consistently sold into, and breakout attempts have lacked any real follow-through from buyers.
Market analyst account Our Crypto Talk flagged the chart on X noting that even the 2022 bear market did not produce this kind of sustained one-sided pressure. The account wrote that sellers are “overwhelming buyers month after month” with no base forming.
That context makes the current situation historically unusual, not just uncomfortable for bag holders. The absence of any accumulation curve is what separates this period from prior downturns.
Tokens such as LINK, KAS, ONDO, RENDER, TAO, SUI, and SEI have all lost substantial value from their cycle highs.
Holders of these assets are down significantly, with some tokens trading more than 90% below peak prices.
A kind of drawdown, sustained over more than a year, reflects broader structural selling rather than temporary volatility. It also suggests that retail participants have largely stepped back from active buying.
Order books across major altcoins have thinned considerably during this period. Liquidity has dried up, making price movements more volatile in both directions. However, the net effect remains persistently negative. Until measurable buying pressure returns, each rally attempt remains vulnerable to selling.
Capital Rotation Away From Altcoins Raises Questions on Altseason Timing
Capital currently appears to be rotating toward Bitcoin, cash positions, or assets outside the crypto market entirely. No observable data suggests quiet institutional accumulation in altcoin spot markets at this time.
When serious capital enters a market, volume patterns shift, and cumulative flows stabilize. That pattern is absent here.
Our Crypto Talk stated directly that “the idea that alts will randomly explode any day now without flow confirmation is just hope.” That framing reflects what the flow data currently shows.
Watching cumulative delta and waiting for absorption is the approach the data supports. Premature calls for altseason are not grounded in the present market structure.
Risk management during a confirmed distribution phase looks different from positioning during accumulation. Traders anchored to previous cycle highs may be misreading current conditions.
The data, not sentiment, should guide positioning decisions right now. Until flows reverse, the distribution narrative remains the one the market is telling.
WLFI, the token tied to Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial, rose roughly 10% after a $3.5 trillion asset servicer said it would test the firm’s USD1 stablecoin as a settlement rail for tokenized funds.
WLFI’s uptick during the Asia morning hours was higher than bitcoin or ether, which were both down 0.5%, according to CoinDesk market data.
The rally comes as speakers at the World Liberty Financial forum at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday pitched stablecoins as central to U.S. financial leadership.
“The reality is the entire financial system is going to look very different in the next five years than it has looked in the last 50 years,” Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said during the event. “This will happen somewhere. We’re going to see a massive amount of innovation in financial services. The question is, will it happen in America or somewhere else?”
Sen. Moreno emphasized that lawmakers must “get this market structure bill across the finish line in the next 90 days,” arguing that clear rules for digital assets are critical if the U.S. wants to lead the next phase of financial innovation rather than cede it overseas.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also spoke about the importance of the market structure bill at the event and said banking trade groups – not individual banks themselves – are responsible for the stalled progress.
World Liberty Financial co-founder Zak Folkman framed USD1 as more than a retail stablecoin, describing it as “an institutional-grade dollar” designed for real-world settlement and cross-border use.
“This is what we did when we wanted to build an institutional-grade dollar,” Folkman said, adding that the token will feature “real-time proof of reserves, powered by Chainlink,” allowing users to verify backing on-chain.
Earlier in February at Consensus in Hong Kong, Folkman teased an upcoming World Liberty Forex platform.
On Wednesday, Folkman positioned USD1 as a bridge for global payments, saying the project would begin with the U.S.-Mexico corridor before expanding to support up to 40 currencies. “This is USD1 as a settlement bridge,” he said.
Looking ahead, Folkman tied the stablecoin’s use case to artificial intelligence-driven commerce.
“We’re entering a world where AI agents will need to transact autonomously,” he said. “AI agents can’t open bank accounts, they can’t sign checks, but they can hold stablecoins.”
“What we’re building is a complete financial system,” Folkman added.
Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial.
Privacy has been a recurring narrative in crypto for years. Just weeks after Bitcoin (BTC) launched, Hal Finney pointed out the problem in only his second tweet about it, but the concept didn’t gain wider traction until Monero (XMR) arrived in 2014. Since then, privacy has repeatedly re-emerged as a core promise of decentralised money, especially during moments of regulatory pressure or heightened concerns around financial surveillance.
Summary
- Opt-in privacy fractures networks: When users must “turn on” privacy, anonymity sets shrink and private transactions become more conspicuous — not less.
- Design, not demand, is the problem: Zcash’s advanced cryptography exists, yet most transactions remain transparent. Narrative momentum hasn’t translated into usage.
- Privacy must be the default to work: Like security, financial privacy only strengthens when everyone shares it — automatic, universal, and baked into the protocol.
Analysts are positive that crypto’s future will continue to be defined by the privacy narrative. Investor Balaji Srinivasan argued privacy will define the industry’s following eight years; meanwhile, a16z crypto said privacy will be the industry’s most important “moat” in 2026. Indeed, privacy coins have rallied at the end of 2025 and continue to fluctuate into the start of the new year. At their peak, the sector reached a combined market capitalisation surpassing $40 billion, before falling back to roughly $17 billion.
Zcash (ZEC) was a key driver of that resurgence, rising by more than 1,300% from late September 2025 to its all-time high and remaining up over 600% at current prices, briefly overtaking Monero by total market volume. Yet despite renewed interest and price momentum, actual privacy usage remains strikingly low. Zcash’s shielded pool continues to hold just above 30% of the circulating supply, while roughly two-thirds of transactions remain fully visible on-chain.
This disconnect exposes a deeper issue. If interest in privacy is rising, why are users not migrating into the very privacy layers designed for that purpose? The answer could just be structural: opt-in privacy is failing crypto.
Opt-in privacy was a design compromise
In 2013, the pseudonym Nicolas van Saberhagen published the CryptoNote v2 paper, which explicitly framed transaction privacy not as a “nice to have,” but as a core requirement of electronic cash. This paper argued that Bitcoin’s transparency made it pseudo-anonymous at best, and outlined two properties a truly private payment system should satisfy: untraceability and unlinkability. Andrey Sabelnikov, now co-founder of Zano, worked alongside Nicolas to bring this vision to life, implementing the protocol he had designed. From the start, CryptoNote made privacy the default, baked into every transaction rather than offered as an afterthought.
But as the industry evolved, many projects lost sight of this principle. Rather than pushing the boundaries of privacy-preserving technology, they took the path of least resistance, prioritizing compatibility, performance, and mainstream appeal over user protection. Privacy-preserving cryptography was still expensive and unfamiliar, so newer designs retreated to opt-in models.
This compromise had serious consequences. Privacy became a feature to be toggled on rather than a baseline guarantee. Users who chose the private option effectively marked themselves as having something to hide, while the default transparent experience left the majority exposed. This trade-off may have seemed pragmatic at the time, but it fundamentally betrayed the original vision that CryptoNote had established: that true electronic cash must protect user privacy by design and wasn’t something to bolt on later; it had to be designed into the core transaction model itself.
The biggest network carrying the original default-privacy philosophy is Monero. Launched in 2014, it adopted the CryptoNote protocol, preserving the principles that Nicolas and Andrey had already established. Instead of asking users to choose between public and private modes, the design assumes that financial transactions should be private by default, and that privacy improves when everyone shares the same protections.
Through this philosophy, privacy does not just become a feature, but a network effect. A privacy system is only as strong as the crowd it can hide in. When privacy is optional, the network fractures into transparent and private activity. The private pool becomes smaller, the anonymity set shrinks, and the privacy model weakens in practice, regardless of how sophisticated the cryptography may be.
The Zcash paradox
Zcash illustrates the central contradiction facing much of today’s privacy ecosystem. On paper, it offers some of the most advanced privacy technology in crypto, including zero-knowledge proofs that can fully shield transaction details. In practice, however, the majority of network activity remains transparent.
Despite renewed market interest and strong price performance, Zcash’s shielded pool continues to hold just above 30% of the circulating supply, while roughly two-thirds of transactions remain fully visible on-chain. The technology exists. The privacy guarantees are real. Yet most users do not use them.
This gap is not a failure of cryptography, nor a lack of demand for privacy. It is the predictable outcome of opt-in design. When privacy is presented as a separate mode, something users must consciously enable, it introduces friction, uncertainty, and behavioural drop-off. Many users default to transparent transactions simply because they are easier, faster, or more familiar. Others may be unaware of the distinction altogether.
The consequence is a fragmented network. Public and private transactions coexist, but they do not reinforce one another. Instead, the private pool remains small, limiting the size of the anonymity set and weakening privacy guarantees for those who do opt in. Ironically, using privacy in an opt-in system can make a user more conspicuous rather than less.
Privacy can only work when it is the default
Privacy is not a behaviour users reliably opt into. It functions as a collective property. The more participants who share the same privacy guarantees, the stronger those guarantees become. When privacy is optional, networks fracture into public and private activity, shrinking anonymity sets and weakening protection for those who do opt in. In practice, optional privacy often makes users more conspicuous, not less.
The repeated cycles of privacy coin interest show that demand is not the problem; design is. Systems that rely on users to actively choose privacy struggle to translate narrative momentum into real adoption. If privacy is to become crypto’s defining moat, it must be treated as foundational infrastructure, not a feature toggle. Financial privacy works best when it is automatic, universal, and secure by default.
Bitcoin (BTC) trades in a tight $65,000–$70,000 range on Wednesday, a structure that has held for the past two weeks.
The lower time frames show a bullish divergence, signaling fading short-term selling pressure, while futures data indicate fresh long positions opened from $66,000.
Analysts say the compression may precede a breakout attempt, with liquidity clusters below $66,000 and above $71,000 being the zones that may define the next directional move.
Bitcoin’s bullish divergence rests near a support level
On the one-hour chart, Bitcoin is forming a descending channel similar to last week’s structure that preceded a move toward $70,000. Within this channel, a clear bullish divergence has developed in the relative strength index indicator (RSI).
A bullish divergence occurs when the price makes lower lows or equal lows while the RSI prints higher lows. This sequence suggests that selling pressure is losing strength on the shorter time frame.
A sustained break above $68,000 may confirm momentum, leading to a price rally toward the external liquidity and resistance level above $71,500.
The invalidation level sits below $66,000, where internal liquidity is present near the $65,000. A breakdown beneath that region invalidates the divergence setup and shifts focus to the higher-time-frame support range between $62,000 and $60,000.
Derivatives data shows aggregated open interest has climbed 3% to $15.50 billion from $15.10 billion over the past two days, even as the price drifted lower.
The aggregated funding rate has ticked higher to 0.046%, suggesting a growing long exposure from futures traders.
Since Feb. 15, roughly $250 million in aggregated long liquidations have occurred, forcing leveraged positions to close below $67,000. These long-side sell-offs reduce excess leverage, which may stabilize price and create better conditions for an uptrend once traders re-engage in the market.
Related: Bitcoin’s tech stock divergence is a ‘fire alarm’ for fiat: Arthur Hayes
Futures momentum and macro positioning
Crypto analyst Amr Taha noted a sharp drop in Binance Bitcoin futures power 30-day change, which tracks the net change in price, funding, and open interest. The index fell to -0.18, matching levels last seen between April and May 2024.
Taha said that this may mark a turning point for BTC, as similar deep negative readings between April and May 2024 led to a strong rebound that pushed Bitcoin above the $100,000 level, once the index turned positive in the latter half of 2024.
Meanwhile, crypto analyst Dom said that the spot order books show thin liquidity between $66,000 and $69,000, describing the current activity as neutral, with BTC’s price compressing ahead of a breakout attempt.
Liquidity heatmaps shared by BTC trader Daan show dense liquidity clusters below $66,000 and above $71,000, pointing to areas where stop orders and resting positions are likely concentrated.
Related: Bitcoin 2024 buyers steady BTC price as trader sees $52K ‘next week or so’
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
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