Today in crypto: Vitalik Buterin has declared Ethereum has finally solved the blockchain trilemma, the CoinMarketCap Crypto Fear and Greed Index flips to “neutral” for the first time since October 2025, and Rep. Torres plans to target insider trading on prediction markets after a bet on Maduro.
Ethereum ready to solve blockchain trilemma: Vitalik Buterin
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claims Ethereum has “solved” one of the biggest challenges in crypto: the blockchain trilemma.
In a X post on Saturday, Buterin emphasized the potential of peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS) and Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (ZK-EVMs), noting that these two upgrades are making Ethereum “a fundamentally new and more powerful kind of decentralized network.”
“Now, Ethereum with PeerDAS (2025) and ZK-EVMs (expect small portions of the network using it in 2026), we get: decentralized, consensus and high bandwidth,” he said, adding:
“The trilemma has been solved — not on paper, but with live running code, of which one half (data availability sampling) is *on mainnet today*, and the other half (ZK-EVMs) is *production-quality on performance today* — safety is what remains.”
Crypto Fear and Greed Index flips from “fear”
The “Crypto Fear and Greed Index,” a gauge of investor sentiment, flipped from “fear” to “neutral” on Sunday, for the first time since October 2025.
The Index is at 40 at the time of this writing, signaling that confidence among crypto investors is improving, following the historic market crash in October that derailed crypto prices.
For context, Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high above $125,000 days before the flash crash before collapsing to a low of about $80,000 in November. Bitcoin’s price has yet to recover to the pre-crash high or form a new all-time high.
Improving crypto investor sentiment is a positive sign for digital asset markets as 2026 kicks off, but the year could see additional macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds that suffocate appetite for risk-on asset markets like crypto.
Rep. Torres to target insider trading on prediction markets after bet on Maduro
US Representative Ritchie Torres is preparing to introduce legislation aimed at curbing insider trading on prediction markets, following scrutiny around a highly profitable wager tied to the reported sudden capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In a Sunday post on X, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said Torres plans to introduce the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. The bill would prohibit federal elected officials, political appointees and executive branch employees from trading prediction market contracts linked to government policy or political outcomes when they have nonpublic information through their official duties.
“The restriction applies to buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes on platforms engaged in interstate commerce,” Sherman said, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The bill mirrors existing insider trading standards in traditional financial markets but would extend them to the prediction market sector.
