LayerZero has introduced Zero, a Layer 1 blockchain for institutional finance, claiming up to 2 million TPS and support from Citadel Securities, ARK Invest, ICE, Google Cloud, DTCC and Tether. Launch is targeted for fall 2026.
The crypto market cap fell to $2.34 trillion on June 17 as BTC and ETH posted modest losses, while RDNT, UNI, and WLD led altcoin gains. The Fear and Greed Index stayed in Extreme Fear at 22.
Kelp DAO’s rsETH bridge exploit drained 116,500 rsETH worth about $292 million, pushing lending platforms to freeze exposure and prompting more than 10 DeFi protocols to pause LayerZero OFT connections.
Crypto total market cap rebounds to $2.43T; Bitcoin gains 4.27% to $68,983; Ethereum rises 5.76% to $2,054. Fear and Greed Index remains at 9 (extreme fear). Humanity Protocol, Bittensor, and Zcash lead gains.
Global crypto market cap hits $2.35T, up 1.5%. EVAA leads gainers with 58% spike; Audiera drops 25%. Nigeria passes bill second reading, Spain CNMV sets June 30 deadline, U.S. introduces crypto theft task force bill.
Crypto.com said it has secured a $400 million strategic investment from Citadel Securities at a $20 billion valuation, with the capital earmarked for tokenized securities, derivatives, and other asset classes. The deal adds to a broader push by Citadel into crypto market structure over the past year, including exposure to Ripple, Kraken, LayerZero’s Zero blockchain, and support for EDX Markets. Taken together, those moves show a consistent pattern: Citadel is not spreading capital across the crypto sector at random. Its focus has been on exchanges, settlement rails, institutional liquidity venues, and the infrastructure tied to trading and market plumbing. Public hiring for crypto quant and research roles in New York and Miami also suggests it is building internal market-making capability rather than remaining a passive investor. At the same time, Citadel has argued to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that tokenized U.S. equities should be treated as securities and that DeFi protocols trading those assets should not escape exchange or broker-style oversight simply because they operate onchain. That position has drawn pushback from DeFi groups, which say the firm is trying to stretch legacy intermediary rules over non-custodial software and open infrastructure. The split leaves a clear message: Citadel appears willing to back crypto, but chiefly the version that keeps tokenized finance inside familiar regulatory boundaries.
Crypto market cap dips 0.8% to $3.11T; BTC and ETH decline. LayerZero leads gainers with +15.35%, PUMP falls 6.55%. 21Shares launches Dogecoin ETF; JPMorgan analyzes Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade.
Robinhood unveils L2 testnet Robinhood Chain; Citadel Securities makes strategic ZRO investment; MegaETH mainnet launches; ENS drops Namechain rollup plans; Kraken fires CFO; Jump Trading enters prediction markets.
