Bitcoin turns 17
On January 3, 2009, 17 years ago, Bitcoin's genesis block—the first ever transactional block—was mined. It was created on a server in Helsinki, and the reward was 50 BTC. The first transaction on the network didn't take place until January 12: Satoshi Nakamoto transferred 10 BTC to developer Hal Finney in block 170.
Today, Bitcoin is a global financial asset, recognized by companies and governments. Its current price is around $90,650.
Zcash split: core development team leaves
The entire team of Electric Coin Company (ECC), the core developer of Zcash, has left the organization due to conflicts with management, according to former CEO Josh Swihart. He claims that the majority of the board members of the Bootstrap Foundation, the structure that oversaw Zcash's development, began acting contrary to the project's mission.
The developers intend to create a new company, maintaining their focus on the idea of "unstoppable privacy money." ECC's departure will not affect the protocol's operation; Zcash will continue to function as usual. Following this news, the ZEC price fell more than 10%, to ~$380.
Monero tops privacy cryptocurrency rankings again
Monero (XMR) has once again become the leader among privacy cryptocurrencies, rapidly approaching its all-time high. This rise in price is occurring amid instability in the Zcash (ZEC) ecosystem. At press time, XMR is trading above $462, just 14.7% below its all-time high of $542 set in January 2015. The asset has been demonstrating a strong upward trend for several weeks, outperforming most of its peers in the sector.
This is in stark contrast to the situation in the second half of 2025, when, amid technical issues and criticism of Monero, investor attention was focused on Zcash. However, following the news of the entire Electric Coin Company team leaving, the ZEC price plummeted 15% in 24 hours, and XMR regained its lead.
USDC overtakes USDT in DeFi usage
Over the past year, Circle's USDC stablecoin has surpassed Tether's USDT in terms of value transferred: $17.3 trillion versus $12.9 trillion, according to data from analytics platform Artemis. However, USDT remains the leader in terms of market capitalization, with a market capitalization of over $186 billion. For comparison, USDC's market capitalization is $74.9 billion.
Ethereum vs. BitTorrent and Linux comparison
Vitalik Buterin compared Ethereum to BitTorrent in scale and Linux in ideology. Like BitTorrent, the network aims for global distribution without losing decentralization, but also has built-in consensus—critical for financial and social interactions.
Like Linux, Ethereum is based on open-source principles and a clear separation of roles: the first layer of the blockchain serves as the core, ensuring sovereignty, while applications and layer-two solutions provide user convenience.
Buterin calls for leniency for Tornado Cash developer
Vitalik Buterin spoke out in defense of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who faces up to five years in prison. The Ethereum co-founder published an open letter, stating that he has supported privacy-enhancing projects from the outset. He called Tornado Cash a necessary tool for protecting personal data from government and corporate interference.
Buterin admitted to using the mixer for anonymous software purchases, charitable donations, and other transactions. In August, a US jury found Storm guilty of operating an unlicensed business but could not reach a unanimous verdict on more serious charges.
