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Aleph Zero Launches Subsecond Shielding on Testnet, Delivering Client-Side ZK Privacy for DeFi

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[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, October 17th, 2024]

Most zero-knowledge proofs are generated server-side for scaling, but Aleph Zero’s zkOS does that directly on users’ devices, offering privacy in a fraction of second.

Aleph Zero, the leading blockchain platform recognized for its focus on privacy and scalability, announces the launch of the first feature of zkOS (zero-knowledge operating system)—Shielding, on its EVM Testnet. This release marks the first opportunity for users to experience the shielding feature of zkOS in action, demonstrating the speed and privacy capabilities of Aleph Zero’s zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology optimizations.

Privacy at Lightning Speed

The Shielding Demo release is a significant milestone for Aleph Zero, representing its commitment to developing practical privacy solutions for the blockchain industry. Aleph Zero’s zkOS enables zero-knowledge proofs to be generated client-side—meaning data is encrypted locally on the user’s device and never leaves unencrypted—providing high levels of privacy without compromising transaction speed. The Shielding Demo serves as the first practical interface for users to experience this privacy functionality, with zero-knowledge proofs generated within 0.5-3 seconds, ensuring that privacy has minimal impact on transaction performance.

“Privacy has long been a challenge in blockchain, often due to poor user experience,” said Adam Gagol, Co-Founder & CTO of Aleph Zero. “With today’s release, we’re delivering one of the fastest client-side ZK directly to users, combining privacy and performance. The release of the Shielding Demo offers a glimpse into how zkOS can bring privacy to DeFi without sacrificing speed or usability.”

How the Shielding Demo Works

The Shielding Demo provides an intuitive interface for users to test Aleph Zero’s zkOS privacy layer. Here’s how it works:

  • Data Privacy: zkOS generates zero-knowledge proofs locally on the user’s device, ensuring that data remains private and secure.
  • Transaction Flow: Users generate ZK proofs, send transactions to a relayer, and then they are executed on-chain—all while maintaining privacy.
  • Fast Proving Times: The system delivers ZK proofs in 0.5-3 seconds on most devices, demonstrating zkOS’s speed and its minimal impact on transaction times.

The Testnet version of zkOS allows users to interact with the system and witness its capabilities, though Aleph Zero notes that the privacy features will be built directly into the upcoming Common app.

Why zkOS Matters: A Glimpse Into the Future

The launch of the Shielding Demo on Testnet is only the beginning. Aleph Zero’s roadmap for zkOS extends far beyond this initial release, with ongoing work on simplifying the user experience and the introduction of additional privacy features, such as ZK-ID and anonymity revokers, to ensure both privacy and protection against fraudulent use of the platform.

The system is designed to be easily integrated by developers, providing a privacy framework that requires minimal cryptographic knowledge. This simplicity, combined with Aleph Zero’s rapid client-side ZK proof generation, makes zkOS a critical tool for developers building privacy-centric applications across DeFi and other web3 sectors.

Unlocking Privacy for New Use Case

The privacy space in blockchain has been facing increased challenges, such as regulatory scrutiny and delistings, often due to concerns over non-compliance. Aleph Zero’s zkOS offers a fresh approach by delivering privacy solutions that balance user confidentiality with regulatory requirements. Instead of focusing solely on anonymity, zkOS is designed to meet both the needs of users and the evolving demands of compliance.

zkOS enables users to manage their assets securely across multiple blockchains, ensuring their transactions remain private. Unlike traditional privacy methods that rely on centralized or hardware-based systems, zkOS operates directly on the client-side, safeguarding privacy without external dependencies.

Next Steps for Aleph Zero

As the Testnet release progresses, Aleph Zero is focusing on refining Shielding and zkOS for its Mainnet deployment. Users who engage with the Shielding Demo will have the opportunity to be whitelisted for upcoming zkOS Beta testing on Aleph Zero’s EVM Mainnet.

About Aleph Zero

Aleph Zero is an ecosystem of blockchain solutions that are engineered for speed, data confidentiality, and ease of development. It achieves efficiencies akin to conventional web2 systems, upholds rigorous standards for data protection via zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP), and offers a comprehensive toolset for development across web3, ranging from WASM-based Rust to EVM-based Solidity environments. Aleph Zero’s versatility is highlighted by over 40 use cases being actively developed, showcasing its adaptability across various sectors and applications. These use cases are part of an engaged community and growing ecosystem of web3 applications supported by Aleph Zero programs.

For more information, visit https://alephzero.org/.

For any inquiries about this release, please contact josh@serotonin.co or ana@serotonin.co.

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Cryptocurrency

Why Is XRP Pumping? Whale Moves $90M as Ripple Price Nears $3

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TL;DR

  • XRP jumps 80% from April lows as whales move over $200 million in large transactions.
  • ETF volume surges 5x above normal as traders await ProShares’ XRP futures fund launch.
  • XRP nears $3 as traders speculate on $4 breakout amid revived momentum and whale activity.

XRP Hits Five-Month High After 80% Climb

XRP has surged nearly 80% from its April lows and shot up to almost $3 for the first time in several months. The token has increased by 8% in the last 24 hours and 25% weekly, making it one of the strongest assets in the market this week.

Interestingly, the rally also marks a Bitcoin (BTC) breakout to a new record of $118,800, assisting in pushing up wider crypto prices. XRP has gained renewed momentum after months of muted movement, drawing fresh interest from both retail and institutional traders.

Whale Transfers Fuel Speculation

On-chain data shows several large XRP movements over the past 24 hours. Whale Alert flagged a 33 million XRP transfer (worth about $90 million) from Upbit to an unknown wallet. Another 40 million XRP, valued at over $100 million, moved between unidentified addresses, as CryptoPotato reported.

In a separate transfer, 25.49 million XRP were sent from a private wallet to Coinbase. The cause behind such transactions is not clear, but these movements are likely to precede or follow price action. The timing has added to ongoing market speculation around the asset’s next move.

XRP ETF Volume Spikes Ahead of Key Deadlines

Trading activity has also picked up in XRP-linked exchange-traded products. Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas noted a sharp increase in volume. 

“The XRP ETFs seeing surge in volume today, like 4-5x the norm,” he posted. 

The 2x leveraged XRP fund ($XXRP) rose 27% on the day and 55% this week, with volume hitting $120 million.

As reported, ProShares plans to launch three futures XRP ETFs on July 14. These include Ultra XRP, UltraShort XRP, and Short XRP funds. The launches depend on whether the SEC allows them to proceed without objection before deadlines later this month.

Traders continue to watch the charts closely. Edoardo Farina, a crypto educator, said,  

“It wouldn’t be surprising if market participants woke up to see XRP trading above $4.”

XRP has remained below its all-time high for over seven years, but current momentum has revived market expectations for a breakout.

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Bitcoin Price Analysis: Is a Correction Coming or Will BTC Break $120K Next?

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Bitcoin has decisively broken above its previous all-time high of $111K, triggering a powerful bullish rally toward the key $120K psychological resistance.

However, as BTC approaches the $120K zone, profit-taking and distribution pressure may rise, increasing the likelihood of a short-term corrective pullback.

Technical Analysis

By ShayanMarkets

The Daily Chart

After a prolonged consolidation phase, Bitcoin has decisively broken above its previous all-time high of $111K. This breakout was backed by a notable surge in buying activity, triggering a short-squeeze that accelerated the bullish momentum. As a result, Bitcoin rapidly climbed toward the psychologically significant $120K resistance level.

While this move signals strong market confidence, the $120K region is a probable zone for profit-taking and distribution, which could temporarily slow down the rally. A short-term corrective phase is therefore expected, likely pulling the price back toward the $111K region to retest the breakout level. Based on the Fibonacci retracement tool, key resistance levels ahead are located at $120K and $131K.

The 4-Hour Chart

On the lower timeframe, Bitcoin printed a powerful bullish candle, decisively breaking above both the descending wedge pattern and the previous ATH at $111K. Following a minor pullback to retest the breakout zone, the price resumed its upward surge, reaching the $120K mark.

Such impulsive rallies are often followed by short-term corrections, as traders begin to realize profits. A healthy retracement would likely target the 0.5 ($113K) to 0.618 ($111K) Fibonacci levels, a key zone where the market may stabilize and build momentum for the next leg up.

On-chain Analysis

By ShayanMarkets

As Bitcoin trades at all-time highs near $120K, an intriguing insight emerges from the Short-Term Holder SOPR metric. This indicator, which measures realized profits from investors who’ve held BTC for less than 155 days, remains notably muted, especially when compared to November 2024, when Bitcoin first reached $111K.

Despite the recent surge, short-term holders aren’t cashing out aggressively, indicating that profit-taking is still relatively limited. Historically, the end of a bullish cycle is often accompanied by elevated SOPR values due to massive profit realization. But for now, the data suggests the market isn’t overheated, and the current rally could still have room to grow if new demand enters.

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Binance Crushes Rivals: Grabs 37% of Global BTC Spot Volume in H1 2025

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Binance led global BTC spot volume in the first half of 2025. CryptoQuant’s latest analysis revealed that the crypto exchange commanded more than 37% market share, which is equivalent to over $3.44 trillion in traded volume.

This significant lead evidenced Binance’s position as the primary hub for Bitcoin liquidity and major flow activity, as volume spikes and large trades often appear there first.

Competitors Lag Behind

Other prominent platforms such as Bybit, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and OKX collectively accounted for around 29% of total spot volume during the same period. Together, they formed the next tier of liquidity centers despite the wide gap with Binance.

Meanwhile, crypto exchanges such as Upbit, Bitget, and HuobiPro each hovered around the 5% mark. While they did maintain relevance in the global market, but had comparatively lower influence, as noted by CryptoQuant.

On the other hand, Kraken, KuCoin, and Gate.io, among other long-tail exchanges, each contributed less than 3% of total BTC spot volume and largely served niche or regional markets.

“Bottom line: If you’re looking for deep liquidity or want to track major BTC flow activity, Binance is still the primary exchange (by far).”

Beyond its spot volume share, Binance also dominates in whale activity.

Bitcoin Whales Won’t Leave Binance

In fact, CryptoQuant found that Binance has been leading in cumulative whale transaction flows across centralized exchanges. The exchange recorded a whopping 31.36 million BTC in whale inflows and 30.82 million BTC in outflows. This reflected not the total BTC supply but the sheer velocity and frequency of whale-sized movements (≥1000 BTC/day) over its operational lifespan.

Spread across 2,869 active days of whale inflows, Binance has facilitated over 53.2 million whale transactions. It has dwarfed competitors with 10 times Kraken’s activity and five times that of HTX. This massive two-way flow indicates Binance’s role not merely as a custody hub but as a trusted venue for large-scale, active trading, market-making, and arbitrage operations, confirming its depth and infrastructure as reliable for whales.

For context, HTX Global follows with 24.1 million BTC in inflows across 6.8 million whale transactions, while Kraken recorded 23.7 million BTC in inflows with 765,000 whale transactions. Other notable platforms include Bitstamp, Bitfinex, Gemini, OKX, and Poloniex, but none match Binance’s scale.

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