News linked to both this project and an event.
According to a Grayscale research report, as AI-driven financial monitoring capabilities continue to expand, the demand for financial privacy is experiencing a third wave of renewed interest, potentially benefiting Zcash (ZEC). The report notes that Zcash’s zero-knowledge proof-based shielded transaction technology conceals the sender, recipient, and transaction amount, establishing a differentiated positioning compared to Bitcoin’s transparent on-chain records. Current on-chain data shows that shielded transactions now account for approximately 90% of Zcash’s total network transaction volume, while shielded supply has reached around 4.2 million ZEC, representing 25% of the circulating supply, with both figures hitting all-time highs. In terms of valuation, ZEC holds a market capitalization of approximately $8 billion, accounting for only 0.6% of the total market cap within Grayscale's "Cryptocurrency Monetary Sector". If its market share increases to 5%, the theoretical valuation space would be roughly nine times the current level. The report also cautions that Zcash faces multiple risks, including regulatory compliance, legacy issues from historical trusted setups, quantum computing threats, and protocol upgrade execution challenges, requiring investors to conduct prudent assessments.
According to STAR Market Daily, humanoid robotics company Current Robotics (Yuanliu) has publicly disclosed its financing progress for the first time, having completed seed, angel, and Pre-A funding rounds with a cumulative total of several hundred million RMB. Financial investors include Baidu Ventures, Hillhouse Capital, Oasis VC, Monolith Capital, Qianhai Ark, FSG Investment Management, and Junshan Capital; strategic partners include Agibot, StarSea, and JiKe Technology. The proceeds will primarily be used to advance large-scale acquisition of human full-body data, with a key focus on the research and development of core technologies such as whole-body dexterous manipulation foundation models and interactive world models.
Odaily News: U.S. Senate Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis stated that the Senate will hold a vote on the CLARITY Act before lawmakers begin their August recess. The bill aims to divide federal crypto regulatory responsibilities and covers ethics, enforcement, consumer protection, and market certainty. Lummis said negotiations around the bill have been ongoing for 11 months, with Democrats proposing more than 300 pages of amendments. Current negotiations still involve sections related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), enforcement provisions, and ethics rules for senior federal officials. On August 5, Democratic staff on the Senate Banking Committee listed five unresolved areas, including securities protection, illicit finance, national security, and presidential conflicts of interest. Donald Trump has received a bipartisan counter-proposal that would allow state attorneys general to enforce federal crypto ethics rules. Under the CLARITY Act, the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would share regulatory oversight, establishing distinct pathways for qualifying digital commodities and securities. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins both support advancing clearer digital asset regulatory legislation.
Odaily News, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated on platform X that currently, active Bitcoin investors are floating at a loss of about 20% on average, and market sentiment is in a "devaluation" phase, but has not yet reached the deep pressure levels typical of historical bear markets.Darkfost pointed out that the True Market Mean (TMM) is currently around $76,700. This indicator reflects the average cost basis of active circulating BTC supply (excluding coins that have been dormant for a long time, potentially lost, or illiquid). Historically, this level acted as a significant resistance zone in May, where some investors chose to exit the market without incurring losses or with minor losses. Meanwhile, the AVIV Ratio (Active Value to Investor Value) is currently around 0.8, meaning active investors are down approximately 20% from their cost basis. In contrast, during historical bear markets, this indicator typically drops to 0.5–0.6, corresponding to a deeper drawdown of about 40%–50%.Analysis suggests that in this cycle, the entry of institutional funds and ETFs has not changed Bitcoin's cyclical nature; the market continues to operate within its own structural framework. Although significant devaluation pressure is already evident, it may not necessarily need to fall to historical bear market extreme levels to trigger a rebound. Overall, cautious judgment regarding cyclical fluctuations remains necessary.
GreyScale Research’s report states that as the valuation framework for crypto assets gradually aligns with traditional financial analysis, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols with clear cash flows and robust token value-capture mechanisms are attracting increased attention. Using Aave as an example, the report notes that Aave—the leading on-chain lending protocol—generates revenue primarily from lending spreads, treasury yields, and GHO-related activities (GHO being its native stablecoin). Following continuous improvements to its governance mechanism, the linkage between the protocol’s economics and the value accruing to AAVE token holders has strengthened.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that privacy is becoming a core infrastructure direction for the next phase of the crypto industry. Recently, three institutional-grade blockchains focused on stablecoins and asset tokenization—Arc, Canton, and Tempo—have accumulated over $1 billion in total funding, indicating a rapidly growing demand from institutions for "privacy-friendly on-chain financial systems."Among them, stablecoin issuer Circle contributed $222 million in funding for Arc, giving it a valuation of approximately $3 billion; Digital Asset’s Canton blockchain is reportedly seeking $300 million in funding at a $2 billion valuation; and Tempo, backed by Stripe and Paradigm, has previously completed $500 million in funding at a valuation of $5 billion.Hougan noted that this funding wave reflects three major trends: the gradual clarification of the U.S. regulatory framework, increased institutional demand for on-chain privacy, and intensified competition among new blockchain networks supported by large enterprises. Current public blockchains still face structural trade-offs between speed, cost, security, and privacy. However, scenarios involving stablecoins and RWA tokenization require systems that simultaneously offer high performance, compliance, and privacy, making “verifiable privacy” a critical prerequisite for institutional adoption of on-chain finance.Hougan further stated that, for enterprises, “all transactions being publicly broadcast” is not an advantage but a potential flaw. In the future, users and institutions may find it increasingly difficult to accept a fully transparent on-chain financial environment. He believes that privacy capabilities could become the “killer app” driving the crypto industry into its next phase of mainstream adoption. Additionally, following the passage of the U.S. Genius Act in 2025, regulatory certainty has significantly increased, providing a clearer policy foundation for institutional funds to enter the crypto infrastructure space. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News Anthropic has recently received investment intentions from multiple venture capital institutions, with some offers valuing the company as high as $800 billion, significantly above its current valuation level.Previously, Anthropic completed a funding round in February of this year with a valuation of approximately $380 billion; meanwhile, secondary market data from Caplight indicates its valuation has risen to around $688 billion. Data shows the company's annualized revenue has grown to approximately $30 billion, a substantial increase from the end of last year.Market participants stated that with the rapid development of AI models and related products, investor attention on Anthropic continues to rise, and the company is also seen as a potential IPO candidate. (Business Insider)
Odaily News Bitcoin treasury company Strategy's perpetual preferred shares, STRC, recorded approximately $1.1 billion in trading volume on April 13, representing a nearly 47% increase from the previous record. This has become a core financing tool for the company to accelerate its Bitcoin accumulation. Strategy raises capital by selling preferred shares like STRC and uses the funds for high-frequency Bitcoin purchases.Data shows that Strategy recently purchased 13,927 BTC for approximately $1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 780,897 BTC. The related funds primarily came from the issuance of over 10 million STRC shares. Within the overall capital plan, STRC, along with STRK, STRF, STRD, and common stock financing, constitutes its "42/42" financing framework. The goal is to raise $84 billion by 2027 for continuous Bitcoin purchases. Current market views suggest that STRC is gradually becoming the dominant instrument within this financing system. (The Block)