As fear and macro uncertainty weigh on markets, researchers report a spike in Google searches for “Bitcoin going to zero,” marking the highest level since the FTX era panic in late 2022. Bitcoin has retreated from its Oct. 6, 2025 all-time high near $126,000 to roughly $66,500 at the time of writing, according to data tracked by Coingecko. The retreat comes as the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index plunged into extreme fear, a mood reminiscent of past crises, while macro indicators register heightened anxiety that could influence risk appetite across asset classes. In this environment, institutional participants have continued to accumulate BTC even as retail chatter centers on worst-case scenarios, complicating the narrative around downside risk.

Key takeaways

• Google Trends shows searches for “Bitcoin going to zero” reach levels last seen during the November 2022 FTX crisis, signaling amplified fear rather than a narrowing probability of success.
• Bitcoin’s price dropped from its Oct. 6, 2025 all-time high near $126,000 to about $66,500, marking roughly a 50% retracement from the peak.
• The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index sank into extreme fear, with readings around 9, echoing the Terra collapse and the FTX fallout era.
• Macro uncertainty, as captured by global indices like the World Uncertainty Index (WUIGLOBALSMPAVG), sits near record levels, suggesting a cautious backdrop for risk assets.
• Even as headlines skew bearish, institutional buyers — including sovereign wealth funds and large corporates — are quietly increasing BTC exposures, often via ETFs and treasury strategies.

Tickers mentioned: $BTC

Sentiment: Neutral

Price impact: Negative. The asset traded down from its peak, signaling a retreat rather than a renewed uptrend.

Trading idea (Not Financial Advice): Hold. In a setting where macro headwinds and sentiment fluctuate, patience may be prudent given ongoing institutional demand and mixed narrative signals.

Market context: The current mix of macro uncertainty, risk-off sentiment, and evolving ETF flows continues to shape crypto liquidity and price action.

Why it matters

The contradiction at the heart of the current moment is stark: sentiment data — the Google Trends spike for catastrophic outcomes — points to heightened fear, while on the ground, large buyers appear to be amassing BTC. A crypto intelligence study analyzing 650+ crypto media sources found that the fear cycle in 2022 was driven largely by internally cascading failures in centralized lenders and a high-profile exchange crisis, whereas today’s fear is framed more by macro concerns and is amplified by a single bearish voice. The result is a narrative split between public perception and professional activity, a dynamic that can create abrupt shifts in risk appetite.

Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone has emerged as a dominant figure in the current bearish framing, repeatedly warning that Bitcoin could go to zero or near-zero. His stance has been described as a relentless, media-saturated forecast that crypto outlets have repeatedly echoed. The effect is a tightened feedback loop: more coverage feeds more searches, which in turn can influence retail behavior even as professional buyers continue to accumulate. The tension between fear-driven narratives and evidence of continued institutional interest is a key feature of the present market environment.

Nikolic notes that this time around the fear narrative benefits from macro dread, rather than the idiosyncratic shock seen in 2022. “This is not a single event; it’s a composite of price volatility, macro doom, and a prominent bearish voice all converging in a single window,” he said. The discussion around Bitcoin’s prospects is increasingly nuanced: while some voices warn of existential risk, others emphasize resilience and long-term demand, underscoring a market that can remain volatile even as core holders accumulate.

On the price front, Bitcoin’s swing from its October peak to the mid-$60,000s signals a significant retracement rather than a capitulation phase. The price action occurs in a broader risk-off backcloth, where macro indicators such as the World Uncertainty Index show elevated references to global risk and policy uncertainty. While fear in search trends runs hot, official data from on-chain analytics and ETF activity suggest a more complex dynamic than a straight-line decline. The tension between fear-based narratives and steady accumulation by institutions is likely to dominate the near-term discourse as traders weigh tactical entries against longer-horizon exposure.

The narrative around quantum risk has also hung over the market in fits and starts. While the topic has persisted as a backdrop since late 2025, searches for “Bitcoin quantum” surged earlier in the year but have since moderated. In Nikolic’s framing, quantum risk is an amplifier rather than a primary driver of price; it tends to intensify existing bearish sentiment when price action is weak, but it is not by itself a sufficient trigger for a sustained move lower. In this sense, the current spike in “Bitcoin going to zero” queries appears to be a confluence of price backdrop, macro anxiety, and the echo chamber effect of bearish voices in financial media.

Amid the fear narrative, there are tangible signs of demand on the other side of the ledger. Reports tracing ETF flows and corporate treasury strategies show ongoing BTC accumulation by both sovereign wealth funds and major corporations, even as retail chatter fixates on doom scenarios. This dichotomy reinforces the view that the crypto market remains a battleground of narratives, with price action often lagging behind shifts in sentiment and on-chain behavior. The interplay between media cycles, macro risk indicators, and institutional positioning will likely set the tone for the next phase of this cycle.

The broader macro backdrop remains a critical factor. The fear spike around “Bitcoin going to zero” is nested within a climate of record-level uncertainty, underscored by research indicating that spikes in global uncertainty can precede weaker growth and delayed investment. As the market absorbs both the fear-driven headlines and the evidence of ongoing demand, participants should remain attentive to policy signals, ETF development, and any fresh macro data that could recalibrate risk appetite. The rise and fall of emotion in crypto markets continues to be closely tied to global economic cues and the narratives built around them.

For readers seeking anchor points, several sources referenced in this narrative offer context: Google Trends provides the search data illustrating consumer fear; CoinGecko tracks Bitcoin’s price trajectory from its peak to the current level; and macro indicators such as the World Uncertainty Index contextualize the mood against a backdrop of global risk. The discourse around Bitcoin’s future is evolving, and while fear remains a potent force in the short term, it coexists with a persistent undercurrent of institutional support that could help stabilize the market over the longer horizon.

What to watch next

• Price action around the current mid-$60k range and any decisive move toward or away from the $70k level that could alter near-term momentum.
• Updates to the World Uncertainty Index and other macro indicators that might influence risk sentiment and capital allocation in crypto.
• ETF and institutional flow data, including potential shifts in sovereign wealth fund positioning and corporate treasury strategies.
• Regulatory developments or macro-policy signals that could sway the risk environment for digital assets.

Sources & verification

• Google Trends: the query “Bitcoin going to zero” worldwide over the last five years.
• CoinGecko data for Bitcoin price movements, including the Oct. 6, 2025 high and current levels around 66,500.
• Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index and related social discussions.
• World Uncertainty Index (WUIGLOBALSMPAVG) as a macro-risk gauge.
• IMF research on uncertainty spikes and growth implications (Bloom.pdf).

Dash, a layer-1 blockchain protocol with privacy-preserving features, announced on Thursday the integration of Zcash’s “Orchard” shielded pool into the Dash Evolution chain, a secondary layer on the L1 network that supports smart contract functionality. The rollout will proceed after cybersecurity audits are completed and is expected to launch in March, according to the project’s announcement. In the initial phase, Evolution will facilitate basic transfers of Zcash (ZEC) from one party to another, with subsequent upgrades planned to bring Orchard’s privacy features to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) on the platform. The news adds a new privacy-centric rails dimension to Evolution and signals a broader push to blend shielded transactions with smart-contract enabled networks.

Key takeaways

• Dash (DASH) will integrate Zcash (ZEC)’s Orchard shielded pool into the Evolution layer, enabling private transfers on a smart-contract-capable L1.
• The launch is slated for March, pending cybersecurity audits, with initial support limited to basic ZEC transfers before privacy features for tokenized RWAs are rolled out.
• Privacy-focused tokens and on-chain privacy tooling gained renewed momentum in 2025–2026, as practitioners argue privacy is essential for practical crypto payments and for protecting sensitive business information.
• Dubai’s DFSA moved to ban privacy tokens like ZEC and XMR in January 2026, highlighting tensions between regulatory regimes and privacy tech development.
• Dash’s price action has reflected renewed interest in privacy narratives, with January 2026 seeing a surge of more than 125% and a local high near $96 on Binance before pulling back.

Tickers mentioned: $DASH, $ZEC, $XMR, $BTC

Market context: The integration arrives as the crypto market weighs the balance between privacy protections and regulatory compliance. Privacy-preserving tools are increasingly viewed as necessary for large-scale institutional use cases and for safeguarding payrolls, supplier payments, and partner disclosures from exposure, even as policy makers scrutinize anonymity features for potential misuse.

Why it matters

The Dash–Zcash collaboration underscores a broader industry push to weave shielded, privacy-forward capabilities into programmable networks. By incorporating Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool into Evolution’s smart-contract framework, Dash aims to deliver private on-chain transactions alongside the ability to deploy decentralized applications and tokenized assets. That combination could address one of the long-standing friction points in crypto payments: the need to protect transaction data while still enabling verifiable, auditable activity on a public chain. The approach also raises questions about how privacy protections interact with anti-money-laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, particularly as institutions contemplate using private rails for payroll, vendor payments, and cross-border settlements.

From a technical perspective, the Orchard integration pivots on a layered model: the base Dash network remains the settlement layer, while Evolution acts as a second layer capable of complex logic and asset tokenization. The plan to enable ZEC transfers first, followed by privacy enhancements for RWAs, suggests a measured rollout designed to test privacy-preserving mechanics in a controlled environment. For users and developers, this could open doors to more private asset issuance and private, auditable cash flows, while still leveraging the existing interoperability of Dash with other blockchains and services.

Regulatory debates frame the pace and scope of such privacy tools. Dubai’s DFSA ban on privacy tokens illustrates a regulatory hard line: while individuals may continue to hold privacy tokens, exchanges operating under its jurisdiction cannot offer them to new customers. The policy reflects a broader tension between enabling private financial activity and maintaining a measurable, compliant financial system. Advocates, including privacy researchers and industry practitioners, argue that real-world privacy needs to be addressed through a blend of regulation, culture, and code — not by siloing privacy features entirely. Critics contend that on-chain privacy can complicate enforcement and compliance, fueling a broader debate about how best to balance privacy and lawfulness in crypto ecosystems.

Amid these discussions, the narrative around privacy remains dynamic. The discourse includes prominent voices who argue that privacy is a fundamental requirement for practical adoption, especially in the context of enterprise use cases, where sensitive data such as compensation and strategic partnerships could be exposed if not shielded. Critics, meanwhile, push back on the idea that anonymity should be absolute on public networks, warning of misuse and illicit activity. The ongoing exchange of viewpoints—ranging from industry leaders to academics—continues to shape how privacy features are implemented and regulated across networks and jurisdictions.

Historical threads also color the conversation. The broader privacy discourse includes debates about anonymity, traceability, and the potential for forensic analysis to identify ownership of privacy tokens, even when on-chain data is shielded. These discussions inform the way privacy technologies are designed, tested, and deployed, as researchers seek to strike a balance between protecting user privacy and enabling legitimate oversight where needed. In parallel, researchers and practitioners increasingly emphasize that true financial privacy requires more than mere cryptographic obfuscation; it demands thoughtful regulation and governance, aligned with technical safeguards and practical use cases.

In a related vein, the debate around privacy in payments remains a central theme. Industry observers note that the lack of privacy may hinder crypto payments adoption, a concern echoed by industry leaders who argue that privacy-preserving tools are essential to shield sensitive details in business-to-business and enterprise transactions. The integration of Orchard into Evolution can be seen as part of a broader movement to embed privacy options into mainstream blockchains, rather than to keep them confined to niche use cases.

What to watch next

• March 2026: Audits complete and the initial ZEC transfers on Evolution become publicly available.
• Rollout of Orchard’s privacy features for tokenized RWAs, including governance and upgrade milestones for Evolution.
• Regulatory developments in other jurisdictions regarding privacy tokens and on-chain privacy tooling.
• Market reaction to the integration, including any shifts in Dash liquidity and trading activity on major exchanges.

Sources & verification

• Official announcements from Dash and Zcash regarding the Orchard integration and Evolution roadmap.
• Regulatory actions and statements from Dubai’s Financial Services Authority (DFSA) on privacy tokens, including ZEC and XMR.
• Historical price data for Dash (DASH) around January 2026 and associated market commentary on privacy narratives.
• Industry commentary on the role of privacy coins and the debate surrounding privacy versus regulatory compliance.

Key figures and next steps

Dash, positioned at the intersection of privacy and programmable money, is advancing a multi-phase plan to bring Orchard’s shielded capabilities to Evolution. The initial focus on basic ZEC transfers on Evolution lays the groundwork for more sophisticated privacy features tied to RWAs, potentially enabling confidential settlement and private asset issuance. If the March timeline holds post-audits, developers and users could begin testing privacy-first workflows within a familiar Dash ecosystem, while regulators and market participants watch how such integrations comport with compliance regimes around the world. The path forward will likely involve ongoing audits, governance voting on feature upgrades, and a careful articulation of privacy controls within a broader regulatory framework.

Why it matters — concluding thoughts

Privacy continues to be a critical axis for the crypto market’s maturation. The Dash–Zcash integration exemplifies how teams are attempting to reconcile the demand for private, verifiable transactions with the realities of regulatory scrutiny. For builders, it signals a roadmap for embedding privacy-by-design into smart-contract-capable networks, potentially broadening the range of use cases from payment rails to regulated asset tokenization. For users, the development could translate into more flexible privacy options without sacrificing access to a broad ecosystem of DeFi, wallets, and cross-chain services. As the regulatory landscape evolves, the ability to demonstrate privacy safeguards that align with compliance frameworks will be a decisive factor in determining how widely such technologies gain traction. In the near term, investors will be watching not just the march launch, but how the privacy feature set evolves and how this blend of shielded transactions with programmable rails resonates with real-world adoption.

What to watch next

• Audits concluding and March rollout of ZEC transfers on Evolution.
• Public validation of Orchard privacy features for tokenized RWAs on Dash.
• Regulatory updates in other jurisdictions regarding on-chain privacy tools.

• Hanwha invests KRW 18B ($13M) in Kresus to expand digital asset infrastructure.
• Funding supports enterprise wallets, RWA tokenization, and on-chain workflows.
• Deal follows MoU signed at Abu Dhabi Finance Week in December 2025.

Kresus Labs, a US-based digital wallet and blockchain infrastructure company, has raised about KRW 18 billion (roughly$\$13\text{ million}$) in a strategic investment from Hanwha Investment & Securities.

The deal highlights how traditional finance is increasingly looking beyond crypto trading and toward the “plumbing” behind digital assets: secure wallets, enterprise systems, and tokenized products that can fit into existing financial services.

Strategic capital targets the infrastructure layer of digital assets

Kresus said the investment will support product development, enterprise deployments, and global partnerships, areas that typically require long implementation timelines and rigorous security standards.

The company builds digital asset tools for both consumers and institutions, and it operates enterprise-grade platforms for digital wallets and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, along with on-chain financial workflows.

The investment follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Kresus and Hanwha Investment & Securities at Abu Dhabi Finance Week in December 2025, according to the companies.

That sequencing matters: MoUs are often used to formalize intent, outline collaboration areas, and set up technical and commercial work before funding or deeper integration plans are finalized.

Kresus also emphasized its security approach.  It offers seedless wallet recovery technology, designed to reduce reliance on a single recovery phrase that can be lost or stolen.

It also uses MPC-based security systems which broadly refers to splitting sensitive signing or authorization steps across multiple components so there is less dependence on one device or one key.

In practice, these designs aim to make wallets harder to compromise and easier to recover, two pain points that have limited mainstream adoption.

“This investment validates both our technology and the direction Kresus has taken as a company,” Trevor Traina, founder of Kresus, said in a statement.

He added that Kresus has focused on infrastructure that works in real-world conditions, from consumer applications “used at scale” to enterprise solutions built for institutional requirements.

RWA tokenization becomes a practical focus for financial firms

For Hanwha Investment & Securities, the partnership is framed as a way to strengthen client-facing digital asset services and to pursue tokenization initiatives linked to existing financial products.

RWA tokenization generally means creating blockchain-based representations of real-world financial claims or instruments, with the goal of improving how assets are issued, tracked, or transferred inside digital systems.

“Kresus’s unique wallet security technology and RWA infrastructure will play a core role in advancing Hanwha Investment & Securities’ digital asset capabilities,” said Son Jong-min, chief strategy officer at Hanwha Investment & Securities.

He said the firm will continue collaborating with global technology companies as it seeks to evolve into a specialized digital asset securities firm.

The announcement fits a broader industry pattern: established financial institutions are showing more interest in controlled, enterprise-ready blockchain use cases than in retail speculation.

Wallet technology and tokenization platforms are increasingly treated as building blocks, tools that can be integrated into existing product lines, rather than standalone consumer brands.

Binance Junior introduces festive Red Packet gifting, Merchant Pay, and educational tools to foster financial literacy for kids and teens under parental supervision.

Binance has introduced new features to its Binance Junior platform, launched in December 2025. The news features focus on making saving and learning about crypto more accessible for families.

Binance Junior is a program designed for kids and teens aged 6 to 17 that offers a parent-controlled platform that encourages savings habits and financial literacy from an early age.

The newly added features include Red Packet gifting, Merchant Pay options, and seamless integration of the educational “ABCs of Crypto” eBook directly inside the Binance Junior app. These updates aim to create an interactive experience for families to delve into the digital assets world.

Parents can use the Binance Junior platform to guide their children through the world of digital assets while maintaining full control and the ability to enable or disable selected features. Parents can also monitor account activity through the platform’s interactive interface.

With parental approval, children now have permission to receive crypto gifts, make payments, and access education content that present crypto concepts in a fun and interesting way.

Parents can also now enable non-parental transfers from adult Binance accounts to Junior accounts, such as Red Packet gifting and regular peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, allowing relatives and family friends to send crypto gifts to their children’s Binance Junior accounts. 

Commenting on the matter, Yi He, Binance co-CEO, said that Binance Junior is designed to help children manage their allowance with savings and payment features. According to He, the company’s goal is to empower families build a solid foundation for their financial future by helping children develop good money management habits whilst they are still young.

Binance sees Binance Junior as a platform for users to grow in line with its broader goal of nurturing a new generation well-prepared for a financially digital future.

Eric Trump doubled down on his $1 million price prediction for bitcoin BTC$66,451.05 and said he has never been more bullish during the World Financial Forum that took place in Mar-a-Lago.

President Donald Trump’s younger son doubled down on his long-term optimism for bitcoin, calling it “one of the greatest performing asset classes” of the last decade in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

“I’m a huge proponent because I do think it hits $1 million dollars,” Trump said. “Go back two years. Bitcoin was at $16,000. Where is it at right now, $70,000?”

In August of 2025, Eric Trump, who described himself as a “bitcoin maxi, said bitcoin would reach $175,000 before the end of the year and, eventually climb to $1 million.

BTC closed 2025 at about $88,750, having fallen sharply from an all-time high of more than $126,000 in early October, according to CoinDesk data.

Trump also said that over the past 10 years, bitcoin has climbed roughly 70% annually on average, challenging viewers to “name an asset class that has performed better than Bitcoin.”

While acknowledging the asset’s volatility, Trump framed it as a trade-off for upside potential. “You’re going to have volatility with something that has tremendous upside,” he said. “But I’ve never been more bullish on bitcoin in my life. I’ve never been more bullish on cryptocurrency in my life.”

The post comes as bitcoin trades just below $67,000, after failing to reclaim the $70,000, a level it has not visited since Feb. 15.

The World Liberty Financial forum, held Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago, is tied to World Liberty Financial, a crypto-focused venture backed by the Trump family.

Bitcoin (BTC) has four new key support levels to watch as a fresh wave of bearish BTC price action aims to push the market price below $50,000.

Key points:

• Bitcoin’s realized prices remain important milestones as the market forms a long-term floor.

• Binance users’ deposit cost basis is next up as a safety net, says analysis.

• Realized losses reach levels unseen since the end of the 2022 bear market.

BTC price analysis puts focus on Binance traders

New analysis from Burak Kesmeci, a contributor to onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, sees $58,700 as Bitcoin bulls’ next line in the sand.

“Which 4 levels am I watching in Bitcoin? 4 key realized price levels — essential for tracking the long-term trend in my view,” he wrote in one of CryptoQuant’s Quicktake blog posts on Wednesday, titled “Bitcoin’s Roadmap to the Bottom.”

Realized price refers to the aggregate cost basis of the BTC supply or a subset of it. When BTC moves onchain, its realized price becomes that at which it was last involved in a transaction.

Realized prices that involve larger groups of coins can often function as market support or resistance zones.

“Bitcoin has been dropping ever since it lost the New Whales’ cost basis — a classic bear cycle signal,” Kesmeci noted.

Newer Bitcoin whales’ aggregate buy-in price stands at $88,700, but with the price now far below, three others are on the radar. Older whales’ realized price is the lowest of the selection at $41,600, while Bitcoin’s overall cost basis now sits at $54,700.

Between the current spot price and those two levels, however, lies the realized price for deposit addresses (UDA RP) on major global crypto exchange Binance.

“From here, the 2 key supports I’ll be watching in order are Binance UDA RP and Bitcoin RP (58.7K and 54.7K),” Kesmeci added. 

“The reason: once Bitcoin falls below New Whales’ cost basis, it historically tends to at least test the Realized Price. And the only support standing between here and there is 58.7K.”

Bitcoin losses echo 2022 bear market bottom

While panic selling from exchange users has cooled since BTC/USD rebounded from 15-month lows near $59,000 at the start of February, CryptoQuant data underscores the risk of further capitulation.

Related: Bitcoin 2024 buyers steady BTC price as trader sees $52K ‘next week or so’

The proportion of the BTC supply currently held at an unrealized loss has reached 46%, its highest reading since the end of Bitcoin’s 2022 bear market.

“It is worth noting that the correction has been so severe that the increase in supply held at a loss has occurred very rapidly,” CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost commented on X during the $60,000 swing lows.

Last week, meanwhile, Darkfost reported similarly conspicuous levels of realized losses from Bitcoin investors — coins moving at a lower price than in their previous transaction.

“At its peak, on February 5, realized losses exceeded 30,000 BTC,” he confirmed. 

“This remains well below the extreme levels observed during the last bear market, when realized losses reached 92000 BTC and 80000 BTC on separate occasions. Nevertheless, it is still a clear sign that a capitulation phase has taken place.”