ETF Slow Down, Whales Offload : Is Bitcoin Losing Steam ?

The post Privacy Coins Rally Driven by Technicals, Narrative appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Privacy tokens are taking center stage this week, bucking the slump that has affected the broader cryptocurrency market. Notable commentators in the cryptocurrency space have been predicting a spike in privacy coin prices for months. Their projections now appear to be coming true. Some have wondered whether there hasn’t been a coordinated effort to pump privacy coin prices. Zcash Foundation’s executive director, Alex Bornstein, has told Cointelegraph that Zcash’s recent success is due to broader concerns about governments infringing on users’ right to privacy. A combination of hype and technicals has put privacy coins back in the spotlight as other coins struggle. Zcash Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) has made impressive gains, with its market capitalization up more than 10% over the last week. Zcash’s price is up over 76% over the last seven days to $632. It flipped Monero (XMR) to become the largest privacy coin by market capitalization. Zcash price saw gains of over 75% on the week. Source: CoinMarketCap The price increase follows significant upgrades made by the network’s developer, the Electric Coin Company. At the beginning of the month, the company introduced cross-chain swaps and private payments by integrating with the transaction layer Near Intents. The integration resulted in a spike in Zcash volume on Near Intents and an expansion of the “shielded pool” — i.e., the collection of encrypted addresses where ZEC is stored. Bornstein told Cointelegraph on Chain Reaction that “there’s just a powerful narrative, and I think people are just waking up to what Zcash can really accomplish.” Related: Why Zcash and privacy tokens are back in the conversation Monero Monero (XMR), which until recently was the largest privacy coin on the market, saw a near 10% price gain over the past week. Its market capitalization increased 2.7% to $6.62 billion. Monero price closed…

Bitcoin’s mining industry is feeling growing strain as the key profitability gauge, hash price, slides toward levels that could push smaller operators offline and put pressure on mining equipment providers and service partners. Related Reading: Australia Faces Make-Or-Break Moment As Tokenization Sweeps Global Markets: ASIC Chair Hash Price Nears Danger Level According to industry reports, […]

The post Fed forecasts only one rate cut in 2026, a more conservative outlook than expected appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell talks to reporters following the regular Federal Open Market Committee meetings at the Fed on July 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is projecting only one rate cut in 2026, fewer than expected, according to its median projection. The central bank’s so-called dot plot, which shows 19 individual members’ expectations anonymously, indicated a median estimate of 3.4% for the federal funds rate at the end of 2026. That compares to a median estimate of 3.6% for the end of this year following two expected cuts on top of Wednesday’s reduction. A single quarter-point reduction next year is significantly more conservative than current market pricing. Traders are currently pricing in at two to three more rate cuts next year, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, updated shortly after the decision. The gauge uses prices on 30-day fed funds futures contracts to determine market-implied odds for rate moves. Here are the Fed’s latest targets from 19 FOMC members, both voters and nonvoters: Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards The forecasts, however, showed a large difference of opinion with two voting members seeing as many as four cuts. Three officials penciled in three rate reductions next year. “Next year’s dot plot is a mosaic of different perspectives and is an accurate reflection of a confusing economic outlook, muddied by labor supply shifts, data measurement concerns, and government policy upheaval and uncertainty,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. The central bank has two policy meetings left for the year, one in October and one in December. Economic projections from the Fed saw slightly faster economic growth in 2026 than was projected in June, while the outlook for inflation was updated modestly higher for next year. There’s a lot of uncertainty…