Bitcoin clears $81,000 and Zcash hits $1,000 as record ETF inflows fuel a broad crypto rally

The day's main engine was institutional money flowing back into Bitcoin ETFs at a scale not seen since January. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $731 million in net inflows on September 4 — a single-day figure that signals a meaningful return of fund-level demand, not just retail enthusiasm. That inflow pushed BTC above $81,000 and set the tone for everything else. Layered on top of that was a shift in expectations around Federal Reserve policy. Fading odds of another rate hike made risk assets broadly more attractive, and crypto — which tends to move sharply when macro headwinds ease — responded across the board. Ethereum gained 5.4%, XRP climbed 6.2%, Dogecoin rose 5.8%, and Hyperliquid added nearly 7%. The sharpest move belonged to Zcash, which surged 20% to breach $1,000 for the first time. The immediate trigger was a short squeeze: traders who had bet against ZEC were forced to buy back their positions as the price rose, accelerating the move. Roughly $34 million in short positions were liquidated in the process. Monero gained 7.4% on the same session, suggesting broader momentum behind privacy-focused coins rather than a Zcash-specific story. The Fear & Greed Index sits at 74 — firmly in Greed territory — reflecting the day's risk-on tone.

• –OpenReserve, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, received preliminary approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a national bank — a significant step toward blockchain-native firms holding full banking licenses in the US.
• –South Korea announced a phased plan to launch a fully tokenized securities market by February 2027, covering all asset classes and reinforcing the global push toward regulated on-chain capital markets.
• –Monero (XMR) gained 7.4% alongside Zcash's 20% surge, suggesting the session's privacy-coin rally was broad rather than isolated to a single asset.