Crypto markets sank deeper into the red this week as Bitcoin slipped below the closely watched $90,000 mark, while privacy coin Zcash suffered a brutal 19% drop after its entire developer team resigned amid a governance dispute.
Bitcoin Breaks $90K as Selloff Widens
Bitcoin's fall beneath the psychologically important $90,000 level rattled traders and pulled the broader market lower. The leading cryptocurrency traded around $89,900, shedding roughly 2% on the day. Ethereum was not spared either, sliding about 3% to hover near $3,100, while Solana dropped a similar margin to sit at $134.
XRP fared even worse, plunging 7% to $2.08 and landing among the day's steepest decliners. The mood across the market turned defensive as investors pared back their positions and moved to reduce risk exposure.
Still, a small cluster of tokens managed to buck the trend. LIT, WLFI, and Monero each posted gains of roughly 3%, standing out as the few bright spots during an otherwise gloomy trading session.
Even as most of the market bled red, a handful of tokens quietly defied the downturn.
Zcash Reels After Developer Exodus
The most dramatic move belonged to Zcash, which cratered 19% following the sudden resignation of its developer team. The walkout reportedly stemmed from a confrontation with the project's governing board, sending shockwaves through the privacy coin's community.
The outgoing developers signaled that they intend to form a new company and continue pursuing the project's original mission. But the abrupt leadership shakeup unnerved traders, eroding confidence in Zcash's short-term outlook and accelerating the token's slide.
Institutions Stay the Course
Despite the market turbulence, established financial players and regulators pressed ahead with their crypto ambitions, signaling that institutional interest in blockchain infrastructure remains undeterred by short-term price swings.
Several notable moves highlighted the ongoing convergence of traditional finance and digital assets:
- JPMorgan announced plans to deploy its JPM Coin on the Canton network.
- Barclays backed Ubyx, a U.S. stablecoin settlement startup building infrastructure to move regulated digital money between issuers and wallets.
- Wyoming rolled out its first state-issued stablecoin, the Frontier Stable Token