Traders bank weekly gains as Bitcoin slips below $79K and Zcash tumbles 7.6% after ETF-driven surge

The day's dominant story was profit-taking after a strong weekly run. Bitcoin slipped 1.95% to $78,884, Solana fell nearly 4%, and XRP dropped 4.22% — all consistent with traders locking in gains rather than reacting to fresh bad news. Dogecoin led the large-cap losers with a 5.62% decline, also consistent with a risk-off rotation out of more speculative assets. The macro backdrop for the selloff is worth noting. The Fear & Greed Index — a composite measure of market sentiment — hit its highest reading since just before last October's $19 billion market correction. Elevated sentiment readings like this don't predict a crash, but they do indicate the market has been running hot, and profit-taking sessions tend to be sharper when leverage has built up. XRP's 4.22% drop fits that pattern precisely. The asset had rallied 44% in recent weeks, and futures data showed elevated leverage — meaning a lot of borrowed money was riding the move. When sentiment cools, those leveraged positions get unwound quickly, amplifying the decline. Zcash's 7.62% drop has a cleaner story: Grayscale launched the first-ever Zcash ETF earlier this week, which sent ZEC surging. Today's decline is the typical post-launch hangover — traders who bought the rumor or the initial ETF excitement sold into the news. One counterpoint to the broad selloff: BlackRock reportedly cut the minimum swap size for its Bitcoin ETF from a higher threshold down to $1 million, a move that could bring more institutional buyers into the product. That structural tailwind did not prevent today's dip, but it points to continued institutional infrastructure building around Bitcoin.

• –Grayscale launched the first-ever Zcash ETF this week, making ZEC the latest privacy-focused cryptocurrency to gain a regulated US investment wrapper.
• –BlackRock cut the minimum swap threshold for its Bitcoin ETF to $1 million, a change that could allow a broader range of institutional investors to access the fund.
• –XRP's 44% rally over the past week left futures markets with elevated leverage, raising the risk of sharper moves in either direction if sentiment shifts further.
• –The Fear & Greed Index reached its highest reading since just before last October's $19 billion market correction — a signal that sentiment has been running well above neutral.