Monero Soars as Zcash Hits New High, Vitalik Buterin Takes On AI Critics

Monero (XMR) has emerged as a leading player in the cryptocurrency market due to its focus on financial privacy. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Monero's blockchain is opaque, concealing transaction details such as amounts, sender, and receiver. This makes it an attractive choice for those seeking secure and untraceable transactions.

The Zcash (ZEC) price has surged above $1,200, driven by ETF inflows, record mining power, and macro demand for AI-resistant privacy primitives. Garrett Jin's largest short position of 32,760 ZEC is now underwater, valued at a loss of $25.7 million.

Vitalik Buterin has taken the opposite side of Liron Shapira's call that AI will cut Bitcoin's price by 50% in two years. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to crack down on cryptocurrency-related crimes, with a recent case involving a broker who pleaded guilty to laundering $4 million for drug trafficking.

FBI agents have also successfully tracked and seized over $560,000 in cryptocurrency intended for Hamas using a combination of blockchain analytics, human intelligence, and court orders.