Our news digest is here again, and we are ready to discuss the latest news of the past week. This week in crypto brought a mix of structural changes, project shutdowns, and deeper conversations about risk, incentives, and the future direction of the industry.
It’s time to review them together with the Evercode Lab team! Before diving into the news break, take a moment to explore how Evercode Lab can support your Web3 ambitions.
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Zcash Developers Introduce a New Structure and Rebrand the Wallet
The Zcash development team announced a major organizational update, introducing a new structure aimed at improving coordination between ecosystem contributors.
In more detail, the developers who left the Electric Coin Company (ECC) have announced the creation of a new structure, the Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL).
As part of this shift, the official Zcash wallet has been rebranded, signaling a broader attempt to refresh how the project presents itself to users. As a result, Zashi’s wallet is now called Zodl.
According to the team, the rebranding will not affect the user experience and will not require any action on the part of the service’s customers. They don’t need to download a new app, change the seed phrase, or transfer funds.
In the coming days, the Zashi name will gradually be replaced by Zodl across official channels, including Discord support.
Overall, the update is positioned as an evolution rather than a disruption. Functionality remains intact, while the new structure aims to improve governance clarity and long-term sustainability within the Zcash ecosystem.
“The engineers and product specialists who have been developing Zcash for years remain in service and continue to create new solutions,” ZODL emphasized.
DeFi Protocol ZeroLend Announces Shutdown
Not the good news. The DeFi protocol ZeroLend announced it is shutting down operations, citing ongoing challenges with sustainability and market conditions.
The team stated that maintaining long-term viability became increasingly difficult amid declining user activity and tightening liquidity across DeFi markets.
The situation was aggravated by constant attacks by hackers, scammers, and low business margins.
The team strongly recommended that the clients withdraw assets. Some of the users’ funds are blocked in illiquid networks. To return them, the developers will update the smart contracts and redistribute the frozen coins.
This closure highlights a broader trend within decentralized finance: projects that launched during periods of high risk appetite are now facing pressure to prove real product-market fit. As incentives shrink and users become more selective, only protocols with strong fundamentals and clear value propositions are likely to survive.
Vitalik Buterin Warns About Prediction Markets Turning Into Casinos
Another news about the ETH network. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted a warning about the evolution of prediction markets, suggesting that some platforms risk becoming indistinguishable from online casinos.
According to Buterin, the problem arises when financial incentives outweigh the original goal of aggregating useful information.
“There is nothing fundamentally immoral about taking money from people with stupid opinions. But there is something fundamentally “damned” about relying on it too much,” he noted.
His comments reflect a growing concern that speculation-heavy designs may undermine the credibility and societal value of on-chain prediction markets.
As these platforms grow, questions around ethical design, regulation, and long-term impact are becoming increasingly relevant for both developers and users.
CoinShares Estimates the Real Scale of the Quantum Threat to Bitcoin
Digital asset manager CoinShares released an analysis estimating that the realistic quantum computing threat to Bitcoin currently affects only 10-200 BTC. This is stated in the latest report.
This report argues that fears around an imminent quantum attack on Bitcoin are largely overstated given current technological limitations.
Christopher Bendiksen, head of research at CoinShares, criticized popular estimates of the vulnerability of the network. Earlier, Chaincode Labs researchers suggested that from 20% to 50% of all coins are at risk of hacking.
CoinShares believes that these figures combine different threat categories and distort the real picture.
As a result, according to CoinShares analysis, while quantum computing remains a long-term consideration for cryptography, it does not pose an immediate risk to the majority of Bitcoin holdings.
This assessment provides a more measured perspective in contrast to sensational narratives often circulating in the market.
Polymarket and Kaito AI Announce “Attention Markets”
We’ve already talked about the prediction market today, and they’re really developing fast. Polymarket and Kaito AI announced a collaboration to launch so-called “attention markets” – a new format designed to measure and monetize user attention around specific topics or events.
These markets aim to combine prediction mechanics with real-time data analysis powered by AI.
The new tool relies on data from X, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Kaito AI algorithms track two key metrics:
- mindshare – “attention share” or frequency of mentions;
- sentiment – the tone of the statements (positive or negative).
The full launch is scheduled for early March. Dozens of markets related to artificial intelligence will be the first to appear. The entertainment and world events categories will be added later. The partners plan to open thousands of such contracts by the end of the year.
Counclusion
As always, understanding these shifts is key to navigating the next phase of the crypto industry. Stay tuned with Evercode Lab for more weekly insights into blockchain trends, and explore how our white-label solutions can help your business innovate and thrive in the fast-moving Web3 ecosystem.