Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission warned exchanges about manipulation risks in prediction market “mention” contracts, Europe welcomed its first Zcash exchange-traded product, and the ECB proposed changes to MiCA’s stablecoin reserve rules to reduce risks to the banking system.

CFTC issues warning over risky prediction market ‘mention’ contracts

The top US derivatives regulator has warned that prediction market contracts tied to what a person says or does carry a heightened risk of manipulation, putting exchanges on notice as the industry faces increasing scrutiny over market integrity. 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight on Tuesday said it issued an advisory to some of its regulated entities, advising that there are only “limited circumstances” in which “mention markets” — event contracts based on whether an individual will say certain words, attend or appear at an event or interact with another person — can be listed consistently with the Commodity Exchange Act. 

“These contract types present a heightened risk of manipulation because their settlement turns on the discrete conduct of a person that may be neither independently generated nor externally verifiable,” the regulator said. 

The warning follows several cases involving traders accused of exploiting privileged information on prediction markets, including a former White House teleprompter operator who was ordered last month to return $107,539 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty for trading contracts tied to US President Donald Trump’s speeches. 

Zcash investment products expand into Europe

Zcash is gaining a bigger foothold in regulated investment markets, with 21shares launching Europe’s first ETP for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency following the recent debut of a US-listed fund.

The new product began trading Tuesday in Paris and Amsterdam and is backed by ZEC held by the issuer. It gives investors another way to track the cryptocurrency’s price without buying or storing the tokens themselves.

21shares also rolled out a physically backed product for ETHFI, the token associated with decentralized finance protocol Ether.fi. Both ETPs charge annual management fees of 2.5%.

Zcash’s expansion into Europe follows the launch of Grayscale’s ZCSH on NYSE Arca and comes after a dramatic run for the cryptocurrency. ZEC has risen nearly 1,100% over the past year and recently traded above $1,500.

The rally has renewed debate over Zcash’s place alongside Bitcoin. Grayscale research head Zach Pandl has pointed to potential advantages from Zcash arriving later, while mining companies have also increased their exposure. Fortitude Digital Mining said it accounted for roughly 28% of ZEC mined during the first half of 2026.

ECB, EU cenbanks seek changes in MiCA’s minimum bank deposit for stablecoins

The European Central Bank (ECB) and central banks in the European Union want to replace mandatory bank-deposit thresholds for stablecoin reserves with new liquidity requirements, arguing that large stablecoin deposits could create liquidity risks for banks.

The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) called for removing rules requiring at least 30% of reserves, or 60% for significant stablecoins, to be held as bank deposits. The proposal came in the ESCB’s response, published Tuesday, to the European Commission’s review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

Instead of the existing bank-deposit rules, the ESCB backed minimum liquidity thresholds for reserve assets maturing within one and five working days. It separately pointed to overnight reverse repurchase agreements (repos) and short-term sovereign bonds as alternative instruments issuers could use to achieve liquidity.

The ESCB said the existing requirement “creates a direct link between issuers and credit institutions” and could expose banks to liquidity problems if a stablecoin run forces an issuer to rapidly withdraw deposits.

The central banks cited draft rules published by the European Banking Authority in 2024, requiring significant stablecoins to hold at least 40% of reserves in assets maturing within one working day and 60% within five working days. For non-significant tokens, the thresholds are 20% and 30%, respectively.