Bitcoin climbs toward $79K as Iran strikes push oil above $100 and Zcash pulls in a $500M ETF haul

The day's main driver was geopolitical: Iran strikes sent Brent crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, triggering a broad equity selloff. Bitcoin, rather than falling with stocks, held its ground and edged up 0.55% to $78,920 — a pattern that has appeared before when macro stress is geopolitical rather than financial in origin. The Fear & Greed index sits at 66 (Greed), suggesting the market absorbed the shock without a panic response. The standout story was Zcash, up 8.2% to $1,243.74 after a newly launched ETF pulled in $500 million in inflows — a significant haul for a privacy-focused asset that has historically sat at the margins of institutional interest. That kind of ETF demand is a concrete, quantifiable catalyst, and the price move reflects it directly. XRP gained 1.83% and was the clearest beneficiary of rotating institutional flows: XRP ETF products attracted net inflows on the day while funds tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana all saw outflows. Traders moved capital toward XRP exposure even as the larger-cap ETF products shed assets. Hyperliquid rose 2.99% to a new all-time high of $86.17, supported by record open interest on its derivatives platform — $14.3 billion — pointing to genuine platform growth rather than speculative noise. NEAR Protocol led all tracked assets with a 10% gain, though no specific news drove it; the move appears to reflect mid-cap altcoin momentum in a risk-on pocket of the market.

• –A staked TRX ETF launched in the U.S. on Wednesday — the first of its kind tied to Tron — potentially broadening institutional access to the network's staking yield.
• –Hyperliquid open interest reached a record $14.3 billion as HYPE hit an all-time high, reflecting accelerating adoption of the on-chain derivatives platform.
• –XRP ETFs drew net inflows while Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETF products all saw outflows on the same day — an unusual divergence in institutional fund flows across major crypto products.