Bitcoin traded at $62,495 as of Friday morning after falling below its 200-week moving average, while Zcash disclosed a 4-year double-spend exploit during the same week. The crypto market suffered what one analyst described as a severe crisis of faith, triggered by the Zcash bug announcement and news of Michael Saylor selling Bitcoin. This decline occurred as the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all hit new record levels, with the S&P 500 on track for its longest weekly winning streak since 1985 according to market data.
Bitcoin Falls Below 200-Week Moving Average
Bitcoin capitulated below its 200-week moving average with a large red candle, trading at $62,495 as of Friday morning. Ethereum experienced similar declines, and the altcoin sector collapsed further, including tokens that had performed well in previous weeks. Cycle-top buyers who held through the drawdown finally capitulated, with Glassnode reporting that aggregated realized losses spiked to $1.3B/day.
Zcash Discloses 4-Year Double-Spend Exploit
Zcash announced a 4-year double-spend exploit, which one market participant called a "faceplant" compared to Bitcoin's price action. Zooko Wilcox disclosed the bug via Twitter/X. Taiki Maeda announced he had rotated heavily into Zcash (ZEC) because Saylor fumbled his thesis, creating what the newsletter described as a "bitter twist of fate." The bug triggered ongoing price declines in ZEC.
Stock Market Hits Records as Crypto Declines
The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all hit new record levels during the week. The S&P 500 is on track for its longest weekly winning streak since 1985. Jim Bianco noted that the concentration of money in AI is at historic highs. The Nasdaq 100 hit fresh records fueled by AI while Bitcoin and crypto declined, creating what observers called a divergence between traditional and crypto markets.
On-Chain Data Shows $1.3B Daily Realized Losses
Glassnode reported that aggregated realized losses spiked to $1.3B/day. Long-term bulls stated they are not sure Bitcoin recovers this time, or lamented the opportunity cost of holding Bitcoin while the AI trade minted millionaires. One viral thread detailed Bitcoin's current structural issues. Brent Johnson contemplated scenarios where MicroStrategy (MSTR) drops to single-digit support levels.
Bernie Sanders Introduces AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act
Bernie Sanders introduced the "American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act," proposing to confiscate 50% of the equity in leading AI companies. Small businesses were entirely left out of the recent uptick in hiring, marking the worst job outlook since May 2020 according to one market analysis. Pimco's chief investment officer warned that the first sustained credit default cycle in years has begun.
Hyperliquid Perpetual Volume Reaches 7% Market Share
HYPE broke all-time highs, proving that tokens can perform if they don't have horrendous tokenomics according to one analyst. Hyperliquid's perpetual volume market share versus centralized exchanges hit 7%. ICE's Jeff Sprecher noted that it's bigger than NASDAQ with only 11 people. Kyle Samani declared that Hyperliquid is "just 'Binance 2.0' and will fail" due to its centralized technical decisions.
Arthur Hayes Proposes $100k HYPE Wager, Then Dumps Position
Arthur Hayes challenged Kyle Samani to a $100k charity wager that HYPE outperforms any top-ten crypto. Hayes proclaimed "$HYPE to $150," only to completely dump his HYPE position four days later. The sequence of events occurred within the same week covered by the newsletter.
UK FCA Designates Hyperliquid as Unauthorized Firm
The UK's FCA published a warning designating Hyperliquid as an unauthorized firm. The warning appeared on the FCA website at www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/hyperliquid-wwwhyperfoundationorg.
Binance Announces Stock Trading Feature
Binance announced stock trading on its platform, prompting jokes of being a little late to the party according to social media reactions. The announcement was made via Binance's official Twitter/X account.
Coinbase Backs Ethena with Open Market ENA Purchases
Coinbase made waves by backing Ethena with open market purchases of ENA. Ethena confirmed the backing via its official Twitter/X account.
Prediction Markets Used for Business Hedging
Rob Hadick noted the volume of teams building sophisticated institutional tooling to place hedging contracts on prediction markets. An NYC bar used Kalshi to hedge giving away free drinks if the Knicks win, demonstrating a real-world application of prediction market technology.
Delphi Digital Declares Airdrops Don't Work
Delphi Digital declared that airdrops don't work and only create sellers. Algod voiced frustration with the Bittensor ecosystem, citing unclear conviction and iteration fatigue, while noting that he still holds nearly an ATH amount of TAO but feels his conviction is being seriously tested by a lack of builder incentives.
Ethereum and Cardano Developments
Ryan Sean Adams argued that Ethereum's value capture mechanism is its use as money—a store of value, medium of exchange, or unit of account. Justin Drake released a long post on the Google quantum computing breakthrough. Charles Hoskinson clarified that he is not leaving Cardano after ADA dropped 94% back to 2020 levels, prompting critics to ask him to stop talking.
FAQ
What price did Bitcoin trade at on Friday morning?
Bitcoin traded at $62,495 as of Friday morning after falling below its 200-week moving average.
What exploit did Zcash disclose?
Zcash announced a 4-year double-spend exploit, which was disclosed by Zooko Wilcox and triggered ongoing price declines in ZEC.
What market share did Hyperliquid's perpetual volume reach versus centralized exchanges?
Hyperliquid's perpetual volume market share versus centralized exchanges hit 7%, while HYPE token broke all-time highs during the same period.
