Crypto Market Sees Spikes with Bitcoin ETFs and Zcash Surging

The crypto market saw significant developments as spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded USD 159 million in net inflows. According to SoSoValue, the total net inflow for these funds was USD 159.45 million, with BlackRock's IBIT leading the way at USD 183.66 million. The historical cumulative net inflow for these funds has reached USD 54.73 billion.

Zcash price surged above USD 1,500 on September 18, extending a roughly 215% rally from around USD 470 in mid-August. This rise was fueled by institutional demand, short liquidations, and anticipation surrounding Zcash's NU7 network upgrade. Grayscale's spot Zcash ETF has attracted significant inflows, reportedly surpassing USD 500 million in assets under management.

Near Protocol (NEAR) price jumped nearly 28% over the past 24 hours to around USD 3.47 on September 18, extending its seven-day gain to more than 40%. This surge was driven by trading activity following the launch of confidential perpetual futures, which combines Hyperliquid execution and liquidity with NEAR's Confidential Intents infrastructure.

Solana reduced its target slot time from 300 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds, increasing the rate at which the network produces slots by nearly 17%. This change is part of SIMD-0525, designed to gradually reduce slot times from the original 400ms setting to a final target of 200ms.