The exit of Electric Coin Co.’s development team to launch the for‑profit 
startup CashZ has shaken the Zcash ecosystem. Analysts remain divided: some 
warn the departure exposes single‑point‑of‑failure risks and undermines 
cypherpunk ideals, while others argue fragmentation strengthens resilience by 
distributing development across multiple teams. Market Volatility and 
Governance Friction The wholesale exit of the […]

Fragmentation or Evolution? Experts Say the Zcash Multi-Entity Split Strengthens the Network

Regulated investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds expanded in 2025, 
and corporations added crypto to their balance sheets, opening up more 
pathways for user access.

Crypto plumbing, policy improved in 2025, but prices ‘did not cooperate’: Binance

Solana failed to stay above $146 and corrected gains. SOL price is now trading 
below $145 and might find bids near the $140 zone. SOL price started a 
downside correction below $145 against the US Dollar. The price is now trading 
below $145 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. There is a bullish trend 
line forming with support at $141 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair 
(data source from Kraken). The pair could extend losses if it dips below the 
$140 zone. Solana Price Starts Downside Correction Solana price failed to 
surpass $150 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. SOL 
dipped below $146 and $145 to enter a short-term bearish zone. There was a 
move below the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $138 
swing low to the $149 high. However, the bulls are active above $140. Besides, 
there is a bullish trend line forming with support at $141 on the hourly chart 
of the SOL/USD pair. Solana is now trading below $145 and the 100-hourly 
simple moving average. On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the 
$144 level. The next major resistance is near the $146 level. The main 
resistance could be $148. A successful close above the $148 resistance zone 
could set the pace for another steady increase. The next key resistance is 
$155. Any more gains might send the price toward the $162 level. More Losses 
In SOL? If SOL fails to rise above the $146 resistance, it could start another 
decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $141 zone and the trend 
line. The first major support is near the $140 level and the 76.4% Fib 
retracement level of the upward wave from the $138 swing low to the $149 high. 
A break below the $140 level might send the price toward the $132 support 
zone. If there is a close below the $132 support, the price could decline 
toward the $124 support in the near term. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – 
The MACD for SOL/USD is gaining pace in the bearish zone. Hourly Hours RSI 
(Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for SOL/USD is below the 50 level. Major 
Support Levels – $141 and $140. Major Resistance Levels – $146 and $148.

Solana (SOL) Slips Back to Support, Setting Up a High-Tension Test

According to ValidatorQueue data, staked Ethereum has climbed to close to 36 
million, equal to nearly 30% of the circulating supply. That figure now 
represents more than $119 billion at current prices. Staking rose from 35.5 
million to almost 36 million since early January, even though ETH has fallen 
more than 30% since August. Related Reading: Futures Frenzy Pushed Crypto 
Exchange Volume To Nearly $80 Trillion In 2025 The unstaking queue is zero, 
while the staking queue topped 2.5 million ETH — its highest level since 
August 2023. Based on reports, those moves point to strong long-term bets on 
the network. Ethereum Staking Shows Strong Conviction Institutional interest 
helped push the numbers higher. Publicly listed Digital Asset Treasuries and 
big staking services are said to be among the active participants. Some of the 
latest increases came during a stretch that had been mostly flat since last 
August. Market watchers say that rising stakes add to the protocol’s security 
profile, and the large queue suggests demand for on-chain commitments remains 
high even with price weakness. Buterin Says Infrastructure Is Ready Meanwhile, 
reports have disclosed that Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, has urged 
builders to stop experimenting only in theory and start shipping real 
products. He has argued that the technical pieces are finally functional: the 
chain runs on proof of stake, transaction costs are lower, and scaling through 
ZK-EVMs and Layer 2s is working. Messaging that began with Whisper has been 
adapted into Waku, and apps such as Status and Railway were cited as examples 
that already use these systems. In 2014, there was a vision: you can have 
permissionless, decentralized applications that could support finance, social 
media, ride sharing, governing organizations, crowdfunding, potentially create 
an entire alternative web, all on the backs of a suite of technologies.… 
pic.twitter.com/ihU9qOrXfG — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 14, 2026 He 
used the term “walkaway test” to describe a simple check: if a decentralized 
app’s operator disappears, can the data and functionality remain available to 
users? Fileverse, a decentralized document editor, was pointed to as a case 
where documents would survive even if the team behind it vanished. Builders 
Urged To Ship Practical Apps Buterin also criticized the trend toward overly 
centralized consumer devices and services that lock users into accounts and 
subscriptions. He warned against appliances that require registration and that 
may collect data on routine tasks. He contrasted those products with tools 
that a person truly owns and controls. The message was clear: now that 
infrastructure is in place, developers should focus on practical software 
people will actually use, not just experiments that live on testnets. What 
This Means Going Forward The split between the technical optimism and the 
market reality is visible. On one side, nearly 36 million ETH staked and a 
swollen staking queue show investor conviction in the protocol’s future. 
Related Reading: Bitcoin’s New Power Buyers: Companies Bought 3 Times What 
Miners Produced On the other, price pressure since August has been real and is 
still being felt. Reports emphasize that the climb in staked ETH strengthens 
the network’s security, but the call to build usable, user-friendly apps 
remains loud. If developers respond by shipping useful products that meet 
everyday needs, the combination of a secure chain and working applications 
could push broader adoption. For now, the numbers and the rhetoric are both 
sending a clear signal: the ingredients exist, and attention is shifting 
toward turning them into tools people rely on. Featured image from Unsplash, 
chart from TradingView

Ethereum Staking Hits Record Levels As Buterin Urges Builders To Deliver Real Apps

Ethereum saw activity retention nearly double to 8 million addresses in a 
month while daily transactions hit an all-time high of 2.8 million amid 
soaring stablecoin use.

Cryptocurrency price in NOK