The three major U.S. stock indexes all opened higher, with the Nasdaq rising 1.5% and semiconductor stocks rallying across the board.

According to TradingBeats' monitoring, as ZEC surged sharply to break through $1,400, addresses linked to Garrett Jin—agent of the "BTC OG Insider Whale"—are Hyperliquid's largest ZEC short sellers. Their unrealized loss on short positions has now widened to $28 million, with the short positions valued at $53 million. The average entry price of these shorts is $665.85, and their liquidation price is roughly $2,631. Last night, the entity added 5,000 ZEC short positions at $1,252.5 each, worth approximately $6.26 million.

According to Bubblemaps’ monitoring, Circle has completed the minting of 10 billion ARC tokens, distributed to 11 addresses via empty addresses, and the tokens are now real-time traceable on-chain. Early this morning, the team behind Arc – Circle’s public blockchain – announced that ARC token minting is complete, with a total supply of 10 billion. The team stressed that the ARC tokens are not yet listed for circulation, tradable, available for public use, or activated for staking, governance, fees, or utility functions. Per the project’s prior whitepaper, the ARC token allocation plan is: 60% to the ecosystem (token sales, developer grants, network growth); 25% to Circle (protocol development, staking, governance); and 15% to long-term reserves (strategic flexibility and economic stability).

SEC Chair Paul Atkins spoke at a 24-hour trading roundtable today, noting that U.S. capital markets are moving toward a "new day-night cycle." Key business and economic events are no longer limited to traditional trading hours, and investors want to adjust positions more frequently to respond to breaking news. Extending trading hours would not only meet investor demand but also align U.S. trading platforms with overseas markets, attract more global capital, reduce risks accumulated overnight or on weekends, and improve market efficiency. Atkins stated that if registered trading platforms evolve to meet this need, investor protection, global access, and liquidity will all be enhanced. On specific preparations, he revealed the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has launched a 23/5 trade capture system to support clearing and settlement; the industry has adopted an overnight price range program, and the Securities Information Processor (SIP) initiative is preparing for overnight price dissemination. He also highlighted operational challenges, such as securing borrowable shares to support market making when spreads may widen. Atkins added that tokenization has the potential to help the securities industry achieve real-time inventory management, boost efficiency, reduce settlement failures, and lower the risk of abusive naked short selling—even eliminating it entirely. Atkins specifically called on issuers to join discussions and provide feedback on how 24-hour trading would impact corporate actions, material disclosures, and EDGAR filing timelines. He emphasized these efforts are ultimately driven by industry dynamics, competitive forces, and investor interests, and encouraged the public to submit comments.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued a statement on the commission’s approved "Innovation Exemption". The exemption is a temporary, conditional arrangement that allows "Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs)" to trade National Market System (NMS) stocks on-chain. TSVs offer Automated Market Maker (AMM) liquidity pools and set participant admission standards, and are exempt from the definition of an "exchange" under the Securities Exchange Act. Specific liquidity providers supplying TSVs are exempt from the definition of a "dealer". Issuers whose stocks are traded on TSVs can opt out if they do not wish to have their securities listed there. The exemption is open to U.S. entities, including both existing institutions and new market entrants. Peirce stressed that the commission does not presume that parties relying on the exemption will automatically fall under the definitions of "exchange" or "dealer"; instead, it plans to first observe who is using it and how it is being utilized before making regulatory determinations. She clearly defined the boundaries of the order: this is not about decentralized finance (DeFi). Truly decentralized systems driven by automated software do not raise fundamental securities regulatory concerns—specifically, the risk that intermediaries trusted by investors may act imprudently, negligently, or be compromised. Investors using permissionless smart contracts for peer-to-peer transactions do not need an exemption at all. TSVs are just one model for on-chain securities trading; the commission is open to other models, and on-chain trading models that can meet the requirements of the current Securities Exchange Act may not require an exemption in the first place.

According to HTX market data, ZEC has surged past $1400, hitting $1420, with a more than 13% gain in the past 24 hours.

Aave founder Stani commented on the SEC’s approval of limited trading of tokenized stocks on on-chain platforms, noting: "A special treatment for innovation has emerged, and this is of major significance for the on-chain finance sector."