Crypto news

Zcash slid 7.6% to $787 on Wednesday, cooling from a 56% weekly gain that had pushed it to an eight-year high near $880. The pullback follows Grayscale's Zcash Trust converting to a spot ETF, which began trading on NYSE Arca Tuesday under ZCSH, holding up to 393,000 ZEC worth over $260 million. ZEC had surged from below $600 to above $880 on ETF anticipation and 'next bitcoin' narrative tied to its 21 million supply cap and proof-of-work design. The rally was amplified by leverage, with ZEC perpetual futures open interest nearly doubling to $1.8 billion, which can force selling on the way down. Bitcoin slipped 2% to $78,900 and most major cryptocurrencies traded lower as the week-long rally paused.

Grayscale has launched the first US spot Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH, converting its existing Zcash Trust from OTC trading to a primary exchange listing. The fund holds roughly 391,000-393,000 ZEC, over $260 million in assets, with Coinbase Custody safeguarding the underlying tokens and Jane Street and Virtu Americas acting as authorized participants. The ETF carries a 2.5% annual sponsor fee, notably higher than competitors in the Bitcoin space. ZEC surged to near eight-year highs of about $840-$900 per token ahead of the listing, with gains of 6% in 24 hours and 70% over the week. Meanwhile, Digital Currency Group, Grayscale's parent, is in non-binding talks to contribute roughly 200,000 ZEC to the fund, which would boost its liquidity and give DCG a sizeable stake post-IPO. The listing marks a regulatory shift for privacy coins, which have faced delistings on major exchanges. Zcash offers optional shielded transactions, distinguishing it from total-anonymity coins. Grayscale navigated SEC filings for the conversion, repositioning the product to target investors seeking regulated privacy-coin exposure.

Grayscale's Zcash ETF began trading Tuesday on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH. The product, originally launched as a private trust in October 2017, offers investors spot exposure to ZEC through brokerage accounts. Grayscale cited Zcash's maturity, fixed supply, and privacy features as key factors for listing the fund. The listing follows the disclosure and patching of a critical vulnerability in Zcash's shielded transaction system, discovered in May. Developers deployed an emergency patch in June, but privacy features prevented determining if the flaw was exploited. The subsequent Ironwood upgrade in July retired the vulnerable Orchard pool and introduced new accounting rules to prevent counterfeit coins from entering circulation.

Grayscale launched the first Zcash ETF, trading under the ticker ZCSH on NYSE Arca, converting its existing Zcash Trust. The ETF carries a 2.5% fee, with revenue directed to support the Zcash ecosystem. Grayscale's Head of Index linked growing demand for financial privacy to AI-driven monitoring. The launch follows a 45% surge in Zcash's value over recent days. Ahead of the debut, Grayscale filed an amended registration, revealing that a Digital Currency Group subsidiary is considering acquiring about 200,000 ZEC through the trust. As of Monday, the trust held over $313.5 million in assets under management.

Cosmos Labs has confirmed an ongoing security incident affecting users of the Cosmos EVM module, advising affected chains to halt block production. Three networks have disclosed impact: MANTRA, KiiChain, and TAC. MANTRA resumed operations after fixing the vulnerability in version 8.4.0, reporting no user funds were affected. KiiChain said an attacker drained 148.3 million KII tokens using the same technique 18 times before validators halted the chain at block 9355723. The network remains paused, with a coordinated binary upgrade planned to resume. TAC halted at block 24,671,475 after a single account was drained. Both teams stated the defect lies in the shared Cosmos EVM module, not their specific code. Cosmos Labs has yet to release an incident report or describe the root cause.

Cosmos Labs disclosed an active security incident on August 24 targeting chains using its Cosmos EVM module, a plug-and-play layer providing Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility. The advisory urged affected validators to halt their networks, with a full incident report to follow once contained. This marks another blow for the module after earlier exploits this year, including a $7 million SagaEVM drain in January. The warning follows recent breaches at MANTRA Chain (August 20-22) and TAC (August 22), where precompile-layer vulnerabilities were exploited. The current attacks appear linked to a March 2026 flaw (ASA-2026-002) in the ICS20 precompile, involving incorrect state handling during nested EVM execution. A patch was deployed then, but the resurgence raises concerns about incomplete fixes or new attack pathways. Cosmos Labs has not yet disclosed affected chains or value at risk.

MicroBit Capital Management has launched Hong Kong's first combined Bitcoin and gold ETF on the Stock Exchange. The actively managed MicroBit Bitcoin & Gold Value ETF began trading on August 26, with dual listings in HKD (3002.HK) and USD (9002.HK). The fund supports in-kind subscriptions and redemptions in Bitcoin for eligible investors. The launch follows MicroBit's introduction of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in August 2025. CEO Wilson Fung framed the product as a bridge between traditional finance and Web3, offering a single vehicle for two inflation hedges. The active management allows for periodic rebalancing between the assets, simplifying exposure for retail investors and offering a regulated structure for institutional Bitcoin holders.

Bitcoin's price surged 23% last week, its strongest weekly gain since November 2024, driven by a record short squeeze that liquidated $1.37 billion in shorts on August 19. Analysts at K33 and Bitwise suggest this, along with a macro catalyst from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, may signal a bull-market reset after months of weakness. Key indicators, including a negative options skew and a rapid reclaim of major moving averages, point to a potential cyclical shift. Bessent's moves, including a push for larger Treasury buybacks and an 'economic onslaught' against Iran's financial ties, have strengthened Bitcoin's appeal as a scarce, neutral asset. Bitcoin's correlation with gold hit a multi-year high, while its correlation with Nasdaq fell, reinforcing its role as a hedge. However, the cryptocurrency remains 36% below its all-time high.

Sign and BNB Chain have launched the Sovereign Stablecoin Framework, a blueprint for governments to issue regulated stablecoins pegged to their national currencies. Announced on August 26, the system separates BNB Chain's on-chain settlement from local issuance, reserve management, and compliance handled by licensed domestic institutions. Kyrgyzstan is the first live deployment with its Som-pegged KGST token. BNB Chain brings scale, with about $18 billion in stablecoin supply and over 78 million holders. Sign has also engaged with governments in the UAE, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Sierra Leone. The framework could accelerate government stablecoin adoption, challenging rivals like Ripple and Stellar in this emerging market segment.

Hyperliquid has activated AQAv2, a mechanism that channels approximately 90% of its USDC reserve yield into automatic HYPE token buybacks and burns, starting August 26. The first payout is expected on October 3, adding an estimated $135M to $200M in annualized revenue, independent of trading volume. The protocol has already burned 462 million HYPE tokens worth about $1.27B since launch. AQAv2 received validator approval with support from Coinbase and Circle, each staking 500K HYPE. The October 3 payout will provide key data on the sustainability of this new revenue stream.