Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin applauds Polygon for pioneering ZK technology

  • He has praised Polygon and founder Nailwal for their contribution to Ethereum’s scalability.
  • Buterin highlighted Polygon’s early leadership in zero-knowledge technology.
  • Nailwal has participated in various humanitarian acts, including funding Balvi’s pandemic research.

The cryptocurrency market remains weak as Bitcoin’s fundamentals continue to weaken.

Amid the uncertainty, Vitalik Buterin has taken it to X to publicly praise Polygon and its founder, Sandeep Nailwal, for their remarkable contributions to scaling Ethereum.

Buterin commented on Polygon’s technical breakthroughs, especially its early investment in zero-knowledge EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) development.

He further respected Nailwal’s humanitarian efforts that merged health initiatives with blockchain development.

I really appreciate both Sandeep Nailwal’s personal contributions and Polygon’s immensely valuable role in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Polygon’s influence on Ethereum’s growth

Buterin’s post emphasized Polygon as a cornerstone of Ethereum’s scalability, crediting the blockchain for hosting innovative applications.

For instance, Polymarket has seen remarkable traction as a non-monetary blockchain offering real-world value.

Moreover, Polygon has hosted multiple high-throughput.

It has also prioritized ZK-EVM development and research.

Vitalik applauded the project’s early collaboration with Jording Bayliba’s team, who helped the Ethereum ZK ecosystem thrive during its experimental phase.

Polygon put a lot of resources into ZK-EVM proving early on, both by bringing in Jordi Baylina’s team and through other efforts, and greatly helped in moving the space forward.

The Ethereum co-founder also praised Polygon for creating AggLayer, which aids proof aggregation.

Buterin believes these efforts reflect Polygon’s dedication to building innovative tools that strengthen the Ethereum ecosystem.

Nailwal’s humanitarian efforts

Besides Polygon’s technical success, Buterin also spotlighted Sandeep Nailwal’s humanitarian drive and personal integrity.

For instance, his CryptoRelief initiative donated crypto assets to support India’s biomedical infrastructure.

In a gesture that demonstrated Nailwal’s integrity, the Polygon co-founder refunded SHIB tokens worth $190 million that Buterin had sent to the relief fund.

Buterin later channeled these funds to launch Balvi, an anti-pandemic project focused on indoor air safety and refining global health.

He voluntarily returned $190M of the proceeds from the SHIB token that I donated, which made the whole Balvi open-source anti-airborne-disease biotech program possible and possibly accelerated our understanding of important anti-pandemic topics like clean indoor air by years.

ZK technology and what’s next

Besides his appreciation, Buterin reflected on Polygon’s current advancement crossroads.

While the POL ecosystem pioneered ZK tech, the landscape has matured.

For instance, ZK-centric teams like Risc Zero, Brevis, and Succinct Labs now work independently from L2 networks.

Buterin trusts that such separations boost specialization as each team showcases its full capabilities.

Furthermore, Buterin urged Polygon to adopt “off-the-shelf ZK tech for enhanced security within its proof-of-security chain to align with Ethereum’s vision for L2 scalability.

Indeed, ZK has adopted a user-friendly approach, with each transaction costing $0.0001 to prove.

Altcoins Ethereum and Polygon’s POL underperformed today as selling activities dominate the broader cryptocurrency landscape, losing up to 5% of their value in the past day.

The post Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin applauds Polygon for pioneering ZK technology appeared first on CoinJournal.

Cosmos Health expands Ethereum holdings to $1.8M under $300M digital assets facility

  • Cosmos Health boosts Ethereum investment to $1.8M under $300M digital asset plan.
  • CEO Greg Siokas says firm remains committed to accelerating crypto acquisitions.
  • Stock up 200% in six months as Cosmos expands in healthcare and digital finance.

Cosmos Health Inc. (NASDAQ: COSM) has strengthened its position in digital assets with a fresh $300,000 purchase of Ethereum (ETH), bringing the healthcare group’s total investment in the cryptocurrency to $1.8 million.

The move, announced Monday, forms part of the company’s broader $300 million digital assets facility aimed at portfolio diversification and long-term growth.

The Chicago-based company, which operates across pharmaceutical manufacturing, distribution, and telehealth, has been increasingly active in the digital asset space over recent months.

Cosmos Health’s stock has surged nearly 200% over the past six months.

Strategic expansion through digital assets

Cosmos Health’s latest Ethereum acquisition underscores its commitment to integrating digital assets into its broader financial strategy.

“We have continued to increase our Ethereum holdings following last week’s purchase, bringing our total investment in ETH to $1.8 million,” said Chief Executive Officer Greg Siokas.

“We remain committed to accelerating our acquisition program under our $300 million financing facility,” he added, highlighting the company’s intention to expand its exposure to blockchain-based assets.

The purchase follows a series of previous cryptocurrency investments made under the same program, which was first announced earlier this year.

The initiative reflects Cosmos Health’s diversification approach — balancing its core healthcare operations with emerging opportunities in digital finance and technology.

Founded in 2009 and incorporated in Nevada, Cosmos Health operates across several key healthcare sectors, including nutraceuticals, branded pharmaceuticals, and healthcare distribution.

Its operations span Greece and the UK, with major distribution centers located in Thessaloniki, Athens, and Harlow.

Broader strategic developments

Beyond digital assets, Cosmos Health has been actively pursuing corporate and operational initiatives to expand its global footprint.

The company recently announced the appointment of Theodoros C. Karkantzos to its board of directors.

Karkantzos brings over 15 years of experience in investment and business development and will serve on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Additionally, Cosmos Health expanded its Sky Premium Life brand into Kuwait through an exclusive distribution agreement with Diyar United.

Under the deal, Diyar United will market and distribute the company’s nutraceutical products across the Kuwaiti market, further strengthening Cosmos Health’s international presence.

At its most recent annual shareholder meeting, the company also secured approval to increase its authorized shares to 1.5 billion common shares and 300 million preferred shares, a move intended to provide greater financial flexibility.

A diversified path forward

Cosmos Health’s growing engagement with digital assets — particularly Ethereum — highlights a trend of traditional companies exploring blockchain integration and crypto investments as part of their financial diversification strategies.

While the company’s core focus remains in healthcare and wellness, its foray into digital assets and partnerships suggests a forward-looking approach toward technology-driven financial management.

With its Ethereum investment now totaling $1.8 million and a $300 million facility available for further expansion, Cosmos Health appears positioned to continue balancing innovation in both healthcare and financial markets as it seeks sustainable long-term growth.

The post Cosmos Health expands Ethereum holdings to $1.8M under $300M digital assets facility appeared first on CoinJournal.

Crypto Black Friday explained: How $19.5 billion vanished in hours

  • Bitcoin plunged 8.4% as liquidity collapsed across exchanges.
  • Oracle glitches triggered cross-liquidations and temporary de-pegs.
  • The crash exposed major vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure.

On 10–11 October 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced one of its sharpest collapses in years — an event the community has dubbed Crypto Black Friday.

In just a few hours, more than $19.5 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out, sending Bitcoin down by 8.4% and shaking investor confidence worldwide.

What began as a reaction to the US’s 100% tariff announcement on Chinese goods quickly revealed much deeper cracks in the system — showing how automated trading, thin liquidity, and structural weaknesses combined to trigger a chain reaction across exchanges.

What triggered the sell-off?

The first signs of the crash appeared after President Trump confirmed steep new tariffs on Chinese imports, fuelling fears of higher inflation and tighter Federal Reserve policy.

Traders rushed to unwind risky positions, leading to rapid liquidations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH), and Binance-Smart-based Solana (BNSOL).

But geopolitical panic alone doesn’t explain how billions disappeared so quickly. Analysts say technical and structural factors amplified the event.

Liquidity across exchanges was unusually low, and some Binance users reported frozen accounts during the sell-off.

High-leverage looped loans and a temporary de-pegging of the USDE stablecoin made matters worse, creating a cascade of forced sales. Binance later confirmed system issues and offered compensation to affected users.

How technical flaws magnified the collapse

According to a BeinCrypto report, during the sell-off, CoinGlass — a popular analytics site — faced a sophisticated proxy attack that briefly disabled access to its data and services.

This interruption added to market confusion just as traders were scrambling for real-time information.

At the same time, a series of unusually large transactions occurred moments before several oracle updates.

These oracles — the systems that feed real-world prices into blockchain smart contracts — briefly mispriced certain assets, triggering automatic liquidations across multiple trading pairs.

The mispricing also caused some stablecoins to lose their peg temporarily, creating brief windows where arbitrage bots and high-frequency traders could profit.

Within minutes, millions of dollars moved between exchanges as automated systems responded to the volatility, deepening the market crash.

Was it a coordinated attack?

Not everyone believes this was an organic crash. Some analysts argue that the patterns of trades and timing of oracle updates suggest deliberate manipulation.

Data showed that the most extreme de-pegs affected pairs with known update schedules, while large-scale short positions were placed just before liquidation cascades began.

This has led to speculation that certain market actors may have exploited the structure of the crypto market itself — using automated systems and leverage mechanisms to engineer volatility.

The idea is that, rather than hacking wallets or stealing funds, attackers could manipulate the market by exploiting predictable behaviours in oracles, exchanges, and algorithms.

Still, other experts maintain that this was simply an overleveraged market reacting to stress.

When traders take on too much debt and sentiment shifts suddenly, cascading liquidations can happen without any external interference.

The synchronised nature of the event across multiple exchanges, however, continues to fuel debate.

What the crash revealed about crypto markets

Crypto Black Friday has exposed how fragile the digital asset ecosystem remains despite its growing size.

With $19.5 billion wiped out in hours, the event showed how quickly risk can spread when systems rely heavily on leverage, automated trading, and opaque liquidity pools.

Exchanges such as Binance have since launched internal audits and pledged to improve transparency, but experts warn that these are short-term fixes.

The real challenge lies in redesigning core systems — including how leverage is managed, how oracles feed data, and how liquidity is distributed across markets.

The incident has renewed calls for better on-chain oversight and global standards for crypto risk management.

For a trillion-dollar market to mature, analysts say it must balance innovation with stronger safeguards against both systemic shocks and sophisticated manipulation.

The post Crypto Black Friday explained: How $19.5 billion vanished in hours appeared first on CoinJournal.

Bitcoin, Ethereum rebound following ‘largest single-day wipeout in crypto history’

  • The crypto market suffered its “largest single-day wipeout in crypto history.”
  • Nearly $20 billion in liquidations were triggered on Friday alone.
  • The crash was sparked by President Trump’s new tariff threats against China.

It was a brutal and historic bloodbath, a sudden and violent purge that resulted in what one analyst has called “the largest single-day wipeout in crypto history.”

A promising “Uptober” rally was brought to a catastrophic halt on Friday as a geopolitical bombshell from the White House sent a shockwave of fear through the global markets, triggering a cascade of liquidations that erased nearly $20 billion from the digital asset space in a single day.

The carnage was swift and merciless. Over a harrowing seven-hour period, Bitcoin plunged from the relative safety of $121,000 to a grim low of $109,000.

The pain was felt across the market, with Ethereum dipping to $3,686 and Solana touching just above $173.

But the real story was in the leveraged positions that were being systematically annihilated.

The volatile session triggered a “flash crash of liquidations,” wiping out almost 7 billion across all markets within a single hour, with a staggering 5.5 billion of that coming from bullish long positions, Sean Dawson, head of research at Dervie, told Decrypt.

By the time the dust settled, the majority of the day’s nearly 20 billion in liquidations—a colossal 16.7 billion—had come from longs, according to CoinGlass data.

The presidential spark: A tariff threat ignites a firestorm

This was not a crypto-specific crisis; it was a contagion of fear sparked by the highest office in the United States.

The sell-off across both crypto and traditional markets followed President Trump’s stunning announcement that he was canceling a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and had ordered a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports.

The threat, which Trump himself acknowledged could be “potentially painful” for Americans, immediately sent risk assets into a tailspin.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 3.6 percent, the S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent, and the Dow dropped 1.9 percent, a clear sign that the market was taking the president’s words as a declaration of a new and more aggressive phase in the trade war.

The aftermath: A textbook relief rally

But just as quickly as the storm descended, a fragile calm began to return.

By the weekend, China appeared to soften its stance, and a market that had been gripped by panic began to recalibrate, with analysts suggesting the brutal rout may have been a brief, if violent, geopolitical overreaction.

Now, a powerful rebound is underway. “What we’re seeing is a textbook relief rally,” Dean Serroni, CEO of crypto investment manager Merkle Tree Capital, told Decrypt.

The recovery has been as swift as the crash was brutal. Bitcoin has surged 5% on the day to retake the $115,100 level.

Ethereum is leading the charge with an impressive 10.5% jump to $4,138, while major altcoins like Solana, BNB, and Dogecoin are soaring with double-digit gains.

Serroni explained the powerful bounce as “pure short-covering and mean reversion after the market overreacted to Trump’s tariff bombshell.”

He pointed to the “thin” selling pressure and the dramatic reset in open interest across derivatives markets, a sign that the carnage was primarily a technical event, a violent purge of “overleveraged derivatives traders” rather than a fundamental shift in the market’s long-term outlook.

His final verdict was a succinct and powerful summary of a wild and historic week: “This rout was a geopolitical knee-jerk, not a structural break.”

The post Bitcoin, Ethereum rebound following ‘largest single-day wipeout in crypto history’ appeared first on CoinJournal.

PENGU turns bullish as Pudgy Penguins teams up with Nasdaq-listed Sharps Technology

  • The collaboration aims to merge NFTs with institutional funds.
  • Sharp’s Solana-based treasury network will enhance cross-chain interactions and capital efficiency.
  • PENGU has gained more than 2% after the announcement.

NFT brand Pudgy Penguins has entered a strategic alliance with publicly listed Sharps Technology to explore how to integrate non-fungible tokens into on-chain treasury strategies.

The development is crucial as it marks a significant move in Pudgy Penguin’s growth beyond Web3.

The project is shifting from its original NFT culture into a recognizable player within the blockchain and digital finance sectors.

Further, collaborating with a Nasdaq-listed firm reflects Pudgy Penguin’s evolution into a structured cryptocurrency project with institutional relevance.

Native coin PENGU decoupled from the prevailing market-wide slump with an over 2% uptick after the announcement.

The collaboration will connect Sharps’ Solana-based treasury platform with Pudgy Penguins’ intellectual property (IP), establishing a model that targets both institutional and retail markets within the Solana ecosystem.

Sharps Technology supercharges PENGU ecosystem

Sharps Technology has gained traction due to its strategic maturity from medical to blockchain, building a notable on-chain treasury platform on Solana.

Sharps’ treasury platform promises capital efficiency, automated treasury management, and real-time visibility.

Indeed, these features are vital in transforming how Web3 projects manage capital.

Through Pudgy Penguins, Sharps Technology gains exposure to a vibrant and fast-expanding NFT marketplace, while PENGU enjoys transparent, scalable financial support.

Notably, the collaboration brings Sharp’s blockchain treasury capabilities to the Pudgy Penguins network.

The move could set the stage for other non-fungible tokens projects looking to revolutionize financial management using decentralized tools.

Pudgy Penguins expands Web3 utility beyond NFTs

Launched in July 2021 as an Ethereum-based NFT collection of 8,888 unique avatars, Pudgy Penguins quickly became a recognizable brand in the non-fungible token space.

After the project’s acquisition by entrepreneur Luca Netz in 2022, Pudgy Penguins shifted its focus from collectible assets to building a Web3-native consumer brand.

This new direction has included multiple retail and digital initiatives.

The team expanded into physical merchandise, distributed through retail outlets, and launched Pudgy World, an interactive virtual experience designed to strengthen community engagement.

In 2024, the project introduced its native PENGU token, built with cross-chain compatibility, governance functionality, and a deflationary staking model aimed at increasing long-term value.

The token initiative aligned with Pudgy Penguins’ broader strategy to merge virtual ownership with tangible consumer products.

Now, the brand’s partnership with Sharps Technology represents a further step in its long-term plan to deepen Web3 integration and enhance institutional connectivity.

By leveraging Sharps’ digital asset tools, Pudgy Penguins aims to expand its brand’s financial and technological infrastructure within the Solana network.

PENGU price outlook

Cryptocurrencies traded in the red on Friday as Bitcoin appears stuck below $122,000.

While bears flexed their muscles, Pudgy Penguin’s native token seemed to lead the recovery.

PENGU gained more than 2% as Sharps Technology’s updates sparked optimism. It is trading at $0.03160.

PPENGU flashes bullish reversal signs after weeks of consolidation.

It has formed a reliable support barrier at $0.027, which has prevented declines several times since September.

Buyers target the nearest resistance between $0.034 and $0.035 – a key zone that served as a support and rejection zone in mid-September.

Breaking past this obstacle could attract increased buying pressure and support rallies to $0.38.
PENGU might push to the $0.044 target, translating to a roughly 40% uptick from the market price.
Nevertheless, broader sentiments will influence PENGU’s price trajectory.
Extended weakness will delay the projected surge, while recoveries will supercharge the meme coin’s rally.
Meanwhile, the $0.03 psychological levels remain crucial.
Losing it could plunge PENGU towards the $0.027 foothold.
Bulls should hold above this support level to avoid sharp dips and extended sideways movement.

The post PENGU turns bullish as Pudgy Penguins teams up with Nasdaq-listed Sharps Technology appeared first on CoinJournal.