The crypto market received a lift this week after the US and Iran agreed on a preliminary framework for oil sanctions relief, easing risk sentiment. Bitcoin reclaimed $65,127 while altcoins, led by Bittensor (TAO) and Zcash (ZEC), posted double-digit recoveries amid an Extreme Fear reading on the Fear and Greed Index.
Bittensor surged 28% over seven days, reaching $228 after being named the top decentralized AI pick by Grayscale. With a $2.2 billion market cap and 128 operational subnets, TAO is now 69% below its $760 all-time high from April 2024. Zcash smashed past $442, trading above its November 2021 cycle high on surging institutional demand for privacy solutions; the coin remains 49% below its $880 peak from 2018. Chainlink (LINK) meanwhile advanced 3% to $7.89, buoyed by its role powering FIFA World Cup prediction markets with $4.8 billion in daily turnover, while Cardano (ADA) dipped slightly to $0.1592 as the Midnight privacy layer and Van Rossem hard fork awaited.
Against this backdrop, a new meme-oriented project called Pepeto has captured attention by raising $10.3 million in its presale at a price of $0.0000001878. The project already operates a live exchange, PepetoSwap, offering zero-cost swaps across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana, along with a cross-chain bridge and a token screening tool that audits for exploits and honeypots. Audits have been completed by SolidProof and Coinsult, and the team includes a former Binance executive alongside the original creator of Pepe—the meme coin that reached an $11 billion valuation with zero utility. Stakers earn a 169% annual percentage yield, compounding daily, while a much-hyped listing event is approaching that supporters claim could yield 100x returns.
On the institutional side, Charles Schwab partnered with Cboe to launch S&P 500 event-based contracts, signaling growing traditional finance engagement with prediction market infrastructure—a development that further underpins the utility of oracle networks like Chainlink and privacy-focused chains like Cardano.
The presale window for Pepeto is narrowing, and the $10.3 million already committed suggests strong conviction among early participants, even as the wider market weighed macro uncertainty.
