ZCash Developer Team Resignation Triggers 19% ZEC Crash as Crypto Majors Slip Below Key Levels

The ZCash ecosystem faced a severe shock after its core developer team announced their resignation following a dispute with the foundation board, sending ZEC tumbling 19% in a single session. The team has pledged to establish a new independent company to continue the project's mission, though the transition raises immediate questions about development continuity and community confidence in one of the longest-running privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.

The broader crypto market provided no counterbalance. Bitcoin slipped below the $90,000 threshold, settling at $89,900 with a 2% decline, while Ether fell 3% to $3,100 and Solana dropped 3% to $134. XRP bore the heaviest losses among majors, shedding 7% to reach $2.08. A handful of assets bucked the trend: Lit, WLFI, and XMR each posted 3% gains, but could not offset the dominant red across the board.

Institutional activity continued unabated despite the market turbulence. JPMorgan confirmed plans to deploy its JPM Coin on the Canton Network, a blockchain purpose-built for institutional finance. Barclays moved to back Ubyx, a U.S. stablecoin settlement startup focused on infrastructure enabling regulated institutions to move digital money across issuers and wallets. On the regulatory front, the Senate Banking Committee faces mounting pressure ahead of a pivotal vote on crypto market structure legislation next week. Wyoming launched its first state-issued stablecoin, the Frontier Stable Token, now available to the public. Separately, World Liberty Financial's subsidiary applied for a national trust bank charter to issue and custody its USD1 stablecoin under a federally supervised framework.