Crypto Week in Focus: Quantum-Safe, Regulation-Ready, and Cautiously Bullish

This week, conferences in India took center stage; Indocrypt 2025 at IIIT Bhubaneswar highlighted post-quantum cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs as mainstays for future blockchain security. Closely following, SPACE 2025 at IIT Guwahati stressed security and privacy developments, especially important as authorities step up examination of coins and privacy-preserving technologies. These events showed together a maturing ecology wherein real-world blockchain and Web3 applications and cutting-edge encryption are increasingly related.

On the regulatory front, the SEC's more explicit rules on cryptocurrency custody for broker-dealers brought digital asset procedures nearer to traditional securities standards, thereby reducing some operational ambiguity for businesses. Privacy technology experienced a significant shift in feeling as Zcash (ZEC) climbed 11% amid indications of milder regulatory positions and rising institutional interest through ETF plans. This mix of clarity and wary acceptance implies that regulators are switching from outright doubt to more sophisticated frameworks for digital assets and privacy tools.

Capital and markets stayed dynamic notwithstanding a conservative macro environment. Led by RedotPay's $107 million Series B to expand its crypto payment infrastructure, crypto VC funding totaled $335.1 million across 18 projects, reflecting ongoing belief in actual applications for payments. Uniswap's UNI climbed in DeFi on momentum around plans for token burns and fee changes, therefore sharpening its story as a revenue-linked governance token. Bitcoin, meanwhile, traded between $86,846 and $89,400, falling beneath $90K under year-end warning and BOJ rate increases. Ethereum saw whale accumulation even as it fell 9% on the week, suggesting quiet conviction beneath surface-level volatility.