Gate.io's prolonged outflows highlight a critical trust deficit, underscoring the need for transparent security measures and user assurance in crypto.

The post Gate sees $207M net outflows in 7 days after user theft incident appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Fifth Third's dual focus on AI and crypto signals a strategic shift, highlighting the growing importance of digital innovation in banking.

The post Fifth Third launches AI-powered mobile app interface, quietly builds crypto working group appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The rise of AI model distillation by foreign labs could lead to stricter regulations, impacting global AI innovation and open-source projects.

The post OpenAI and Anthropic warn Chinese labs are using tens of thousands of fake accounts to copy their AI models appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

A ruling favoring the plaintiffs could destabilize Bitcoin's property rights, discouraging long-term holding and self-custody practices.

The post Bitcoin Policy Institute files to block lawsuit targeting dormant Bitcoin including Satoshi’s appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Esports teams increasingly optimize rosters amid evolving revenue models, highlighting the growing influence of crypto in gaming economics.

The post T1 parts ways with carpe as esports roster moves highlight growing intersection with crypto-backed gaming appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

U.S. Representatives Urge Senate to Vote on CLARITY Act in July, Address Ethics Concerns

Rep. French Hill wants a deadline. 

One year after the House passed the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the House Financial Services Committee used a Fox Business interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo to press Senate leaders for a floor vote before the August recess.

“I’ve encouraged Senate leadership to put it on the floor,” Hill said. “I think if you schedule a floor date here in the month of July, that will cause these final meetings, these final discussions to take place. You’ve got to have a deadline in Congress to get people to move and find consensus.” 

Hill thanked Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman and Tim Scott for working toward a deal, and pointed to the 78 Democrats who backed the House measure a year ago.

Hill’s central argument is that the CLARITY Act would resolve the ethics concerns now used to block it, rather than deepen them. 

Critics point to President Trump’s crypto ventures, including $TRUMP meme coin licensing and World Liberty Financial token sales, which a July 1 financial disclosure tied to about $1.4 billion in 2025 income. 

Hill contends a market framework offers the transparency those critics want. 

“If we passed the CLARITY Act last summer, many of the things that people are expressing concern about — meme coin issuance, co-investment, use of exchange, investing in exchanges — all that would be under a market framework of regulation with clarity, no pun intended, and that would provide a lot of transparency to people that are concerned about the Trump family’s investments,” he said.

Clarity Act pairs with the GENIUS Act

Hill framed the bill as the missing half of a system that pairs it with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law enacted last year. 

“Stablecoin is like a cell phone not connected to a cell phone network,” he said, “and the market framework is in fact that network that we need.” To keep the pressure on, Hill plans a field hearing in New York next week, led by digital assets subcommittee chair Rep. Bryan Steil, to make the case for a market structure.

His push drew support from two other voices in the same Bartiromo appearance. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig warned of “mission creep beyond what’s really critical here” and cautioned that a stalled bill leaves the rules to regulators. 

Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack, a former SEC official, described the measure as “on the one-yard line,” with senators from both parties “working around the clock to get this across the finish line.”

The Senate returns July 13 with about three weeks before recess. Prediction market Polymarket prices Clarity Act 2026 passage near 39%, a fall from the prior month’s 74%.

This post U.S. Representatives Urge Senate to Vote on CLARITY Act in July, Address Ethics Concerns first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Circle (CRCL) Wins Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank

Circle Internet Group secured final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today, to establish a national trust bank, a milestone that sent the stablecoin issuer’s shares higher and deepened its ties to the federal banking system.

The regulator cleared Circle to charter First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate under the name Circle National Trust. 

The company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL, said the charter places the new entity under direct federal oversight by the OCC, the primary supervisor for national banks and national trust banks.

Circle National Trust will provide fiduciary custody services for digital assets held by Circle and its affiliates. Under the business plan the OCC approved, the bank could extend custody services to a limited set of institutional customers, with a focus on banks and regulated derivatives organizations. 

The charter opens a path for the bank to manage the reserve backing USDC, the largest regulated stablecoin, which would bring that multibillion-dollar pool under federal supervision.

National trust banks differ from traditional lenders. They safeguard client assets and provide fiduciary services, and they do not take deposits or issue loans. The structure aligns its digital-asset infrastructure with a long-standing model for holding client assets under strict fiduciary standards.

“OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of Circle. He said federal oversight of the trust bank “sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale” and unlocks a phase of adoption in which large financial institutions can build on public blockchains with confidence.

Investors welcomed the decision. CRCL shares climbed as much as 14% on the day of the announcement, a rebound from a three-month low. Other crypto-linked names, including Coinbase and Strategy, posted gains near 5% this morning as bitcoin bounced.

CRCL shares have since settled to 5% gains.

Circle’s federal framework

The approval caps a process that began when Circle filed its application on June 30, 2025. The OCC granted conditional approval in December 2025, alongside peers such as Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. 

The final decision arrives as the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin law enacted in July 2025, moves toward full implementation in early 2027. 

That statute requires OCC supervision of large stablecoin issuers, and the trust charter positions Circle to meet the mandate while bringing USDC reserves into a federal framework.

Circle has built a record of regulatory engagement across markets. It received a BitLicense from New York in 2015, became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in 2024, and holds licenses in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bermuda, and Abu Dhabi.

The charter strengthens USDC’s role as regulated digital-dollar infrastructure for payments, settlement, and capital markets, Circle said.

This post Circle (CRCL) Wins Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Metaplanet Announces Joint Study to Bring Bitcoin-Backed Digital Credit to Japan

Metaplanet wants to turn its bitcoin pile into a credit market. On Friday, Japan’s largest corporate bitcoin holder said it has opened a joint study with three partners to build tokenized credit products backed by bitcoin, a step that pushes the company past simple treasury accumulation and toward the role of a financial platform.

The study group brings together Metaplanet, the yen stablecoin issuer JPYC, the regulated security token platform Progmat, and Siiibo Securities, the licensed brokerage Metaplanet bought last month for 2.1 billion yen, or about $13 million. Siiibo becomes Metaplanet Securities on July 13.

The four firms will examine whether bitcoin can serve as collateral for credit instruments that pay interest each day. Metaplanet frames this as a product that exists in the United States but not in Japan. 

Digitization, the company said, would allow trading and settlement of these instruments around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with rights management at the holder level, pro-rata interest math handled in software, and redemptions recorded on a public ledger.

Bitcoin-backed credit is a young product class. Public companies that hold bitcoin use the asset as core collateral for debt offerings, and those offerings pay dividends or interest. The design takes a static coin balance and turns it into an instrument that throws off cash.

Metaplanet was blunt about how early this is. “The four companies will examine issues in product design, the need for proof-of-concept initiatives, and the possibility of future issuance,” the company said. “At this time, nothing has been determined regarding issuance timing, terms, yield, product details, distribution methods, or the form of collaboration.” 

Why Japan?

The pitch rests on a gap in Japan’s debt market. That market favors large corporations that can float public bonds. Mid-sized and growth companies face steep costs and heavy operational load around issuance, sales, investor management, interest payments, and redemptions. Many of them stay shut out.

Digital credit, in Metaplanet’s telling, could open the door to those smaller firms. Onchain infrastructure would bridge traditional capital markets and blockchain rails, cut the manual work, and give issuers a path to raise money that a public bond sale did not offer them. If it works, a growth company in Tokyo could raise debt on a system that settles at any hour and tracks every holder in code.

Each partner brings one piece. Metaplanet and its securities arm will design the products that fuse bitcoin with credit, sell them to investors, field customer questions, and manage the instruments after issuance. 

JPYC will test whether its yen-pegged stablecoin can move payments and redemptions through the system. Progmat will supply the regulated tokenization layer, which tracks ownership, processes transfers, and wires the whole thing to the stablecoin payment system.

The division of labor maps onto a full stack: an issuer and distributor with a license, a settlement asset, and a token platform.

Metaplanet’s bigger plan

The study fits a strategy the company calls Project Nova, its plan to build a bitcoin-centric financial platform in Japan. The Siiibo purchase gave Metaplanet a Type I Financial Instruments Business Operator registration, the license Japan requires to structure and sell financial products to retail investors. 

Siiibo, founded in 2019, runs an online platform for private-placement corporate bonds and has backed more than 40 issuers across 100-plus offerings. Metaplanet gains that track record, plus a shareholder base of about 250,000 investors to sell into.

Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet’s president and CEO, has cast the shift in stark terms. “We view Bitcoin not as a treasury reserve asset, but as the foundation of the next generation of financial ecosystems,” he said when the Siiibo deal was announced.

Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC, worth about $2.47 billion. Strategy and Twenty One Capital are the two public holders ranked above it.

For the moment, the digital credit plan is a set of questions and four companies willing to study them. Whether it becomes a product depends on the proof-of-concept work that remains. But the direction is clear: Metaplanet wants its bitcoin to do more than sit on a balance sheet. It wants the coin to underwrite a market.

This post Metaplanet Announces Joint Study to Bring Bitcoin-Backed Digital Credit to Japan first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin is “A Screaming Buy”: Standard Chartered Backs $100,000 Target, Shrugs Off Strategy (MSTR) Sell-Off

Standard Chartered maintained its end-2026 Bitcoin price forecast of $100,000 in a note to investors on Friday, arguing that the recent weakness reflects a failure by Strategy to explain a strategic shift rather than any deterioration in the company’s balance sheet.

Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, wrote that Strategy — the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 843,775 coins, more than 4% of the 21 million that will ever exist — “appears to be pivoting from its ‘never sell Bitcoin’ mantra to a more complex approach.” 

Clear communication of that pivot, he wrote, will determine how fast the pressure on BTC lifts.

Between 2020 and mid-2025, Strategy’s mNAV — enterprise value divided by the value of its Bitcoin — traded above 1.0. That premium lets the company issue shares, buy Bitcoin, and grow its value by more than the value of the new stock. Convincing the market it would never sell was the load-bearing part of the model.

With mNAV near 1.0, that arithmetic no longer works. Kendrick said Strategy is pivoting toward holding Bitcoin as backing for STRC, its perpetual preferred stock, which functions as a credit product.

The STRC feedback loop

STRC pays a 12% annual dividend, settled twice a month in cash, with the rate reset each month to keep the security near its $100 par value. It has about $10 billion notional outstanding, the largest of the instruments Strategy has deployed.

A negative feedback loop took hold once STRC broke from par, hitting an intraday low of $71.25 on June 26. The divergence began after the June 1 disclosure that Strategy had sold 32 BTC the prior week. STRC still trades near $90, according to Standard Chartered. The USD reserve for STRC dividends stands at $2.55 billion, or 17.4 months of coverage.

Bitcoin is a ‘screaming buy’

The problem with “never sell,” Kendrick argued, is that it constrains how Bitcoin gets perceived. Strategy has announced a monetization program that lets it sell BTC from time to time, including up to $1.25 billion in proceeds for the reserve.

Given its Bitcoin backing, STRC is over-collateralized and should trade back toward $100, the note said. Kendrick compared the mechanism to a central bank promising to do “whatever it takes” and, through credibility, never having to act. 

Effective signaling, he wrote, should remove the need for Strategy to sell any Bitcoin. Kendrick treats the episode as noise rather than a signal about BTC’s medium-term direction. At $64,000, he calls the coin “a screaming buy.”

Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for about $216 million last week, its largest disposal to date, using the proceeds to fund preferred stock distributions and refill the reserve. JPMorgan analysts said the formal sale policy introduces “avoidable two-way risk” by making Strategy both buyer and seller. 

Strategy’s stock trades near $98 on Thursday. BTC traded above $64,400 on Friday.

This post Bitcoin is “A Screaming Buy”: Standard Chartered Backs $100,000 Target, Shrugs Off Strategy (MSTR) Sell-Off first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

JPMorgan Says the Real Threat to Bitcoin Isn’t Strategy (MSTR) — It’s Private Blockchains

Strategy’s recent bitcoin sales and its formal monetization program have rattled investors, but JPMorgan analysts see a bigger danger to bitcoin: blockchain adoption that routes around public networks and the tokens that ride on them.

In a report led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and reported by The Block, the bank argued that Strategy is not the main structural threat to the asset. 

The company sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million in early July to cover preferred dividends, its largest disposal on record, and such sales can add bursts of selling pressure. The deeper concern, the analysts said, is where tokenization, payments and settlement end up.

Should that activity settle on permissioned rails rather than public chains, the crypto ecosystem could face a structural de-rating — thinner liquidity, weaker capital flows and slower on-chain volume — a drag that would reach bitcoin in time.

Institutions have leaned toward permissioned blockchains, which offer privacy, know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering controls, governance, throughput, legal accountability and regulatory certainty. 

That preference, per JPMorgan, creates a competitive problem for public networks like Ethereum.

The analysts cited the Bank for International Settlements, which has warned against public permissionless chains for systemic financial infrastructure and has pushed instead for “unified ledgers” that hold tokenized central bank money, bank deposits and assets inside regulated walls.

Tokenization as a real-world use case

Banks are building to that spec. Tokenized deposits — digital claims on bank balances, backed by banking regulation and deposit insurance — stand out as the clearest case. Should such deposits spread in the non-transferable forms regulators favor, they could crowd out stablecoins in institutional payments. 

SWIFT’s blockchain project and central bank digital currency efforts such as the digital euro and digital yuan would reinforce that regulated lane.

Real-world asset tokenization tells a similar story. The market sits near $50 billion, much of it on Ethereum for now, though the analysts read that as early experimentation rather than a settled structure. 

As adoption matures, issuance, custody and settlement could migrate to private infrastructure, leaving public chains for distribution and interoperability. DTCC and Securitize show the pattern in motion, and the analysts questioned whether public settlement is even the most efficient model for regulated firms, given the capital savings of deferred, netted settlement.

What could prove JPMorgan wrong

The Clarity Act, even should it pass this year, might not lift the threat; it could embolden bank-issued deposit tokens at the expense of public stablecoins. 

The analysts flagged three ways their thesis breaks: a hybrid model where both chain types matter, stronger stablecoin adoption under friendly rules, or bitcoin holding its role as “digital gold” and a debasement hedge whatever happens across the rest of crypto.

This post JPMorgan Says the Real Threat to Bitcoin Isn’t Strategy (MSTR) — It’s Private Blockchains first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Stablecoins won over users by making money easier to move, long before the financial world agreed on what they meant. That helps explain the scale of USDT and USDC: they never had to replace the global reserve system to become powerful.

They simply made dollars easier to move online, and crypto markets made the network effect impossible to ignore.

On July 7, 2026, Beijing and Hong Kong unveiled a group of measures designed to strengthen Hong Kong’s role in offshore yuan finance.

Hong Kong began trial operations of a central gold clearing and settlement system, revived US dollar-denominated gold futures, and said it was exploring yuan-denominated gold futures.

Authorities also expanded the HKMA’s yuan business facility to 500 billion yuan and raised the annual Southbound Bond Connect investment quota to 800 billion yuan.

Taken item by item, that looks like a niche update for bond traders and central-bank watchers. But read together, it points to a much larger change in the city's financial ecosystem.

Hong Kong is being positioned as the place where yuan funding, gold settlement, and access to Chinese capital markets become easier for institutions to use.

The stablecoin market still runs overwhelmingly on digital dollars, but Hong Kong’s package could make yuan funding and gold settlement more usable for institutions seeking non-dollar routes.

Hong Kong is trying to become a more efficient hub for non-dollar activity, especially activity tied to the yuan and to reserve assets global investors already understand. Once the subject is framed that way, the package looks much more consequential than another update on yuan internationalization.

Hong Kong is becoming China’s offshore laboratory

To fully explain the package and its importance, we first need to separate it into the different functions it serves.

Gold is the easiest place to begin. Hong Kong began trial operations of a central gold clearing and settlement system and aims to expand the city’s total storage capacity to more than 2,000 metric tons within three years. Those steps could give the city a larger role in trading, settling, and storing gold at scale.

Gold is one of the most important pillars of global finance because it offers a reserve asset with broad recognition and deep historical legitimacy. While governments, banks, and large investors may disagree on currencies, they have no problem understanding gold.

The HKMA increased its RMB Business Facility for Hong Kong banks from 200 billion yuan to 500 billion yuan (approximately $73.6 billion), with the expansion taking effect on July 10.

That expansion will give banks in Hong Kong access to deeper offshore yuan funding. In practical terms, it will make yuan-based activity outside mainland China easier to fund and easier to scale. A currency extends its reach when financial institutions can consistently access it, price it confidently, and use it in larger transactions without encountering funding bottlenecks.

Bond Connect serves the capital-markets side of the same strategy. The larger southbound quota allows mainland investors to buy more offshore bonds through Hong Kong, widening the city’s role as a bridge between Chinese capital and global markets.

A larger bridge means more use, more intermediaries, and more reasons for institutions to treat Hong Kong as a serious offshore yuan center.

These moves give institutions more ways to operate outside the dollar system, from clearing and storing gold to funding yuan transactions and accessing offshore bonds at scale. That’s the kind of practical advantage that helped dollar stablecoins dominate crypto in the first place, as users followed the route that felt easiest and most liquid.

The market often treats stablecoins as a race among issuers such as Tether and Circle, but that captures only one layer of competition and misses all of the others.

The deeper contest is about which monetary route will become easiest for people and institutions to use. Stablecoins offered a powerful alternative to the dollar, and Beijing is now trying to establish easier access to assets that sit outside the dollar system.

China wants the yuan used more widely abroad, yet its capital controls keep sending traders and savers toward Bitcoin and dollar stablecoins when they need money that can move freely.

Hong Kong offers a partial solution because it gives China an offshore venue where it can deepen yuan use, expand market access, and attract global participation while preserving firmer control over the mainland system.

Gold gives the yuan a broader appeal

Gold gives Hong Kong’s plan an extra source of appeal. By building a larger gold market alongside wider yuan use, the city could draw institutions seeking both access to China’s currency and a reserve asset beyond it.

If Hong Kong succeeds in becoming a larger gold hub, the city could gain credibility as a platform for non-dollar reserve activity beyond its role as a channel for Chinese financial policy.

That helps explain why this development affects stablecoins. Stablecoins made the dollar programmable and portable. Now Hong Kong is trying to make yuan funding, access to Chinese bonds, and gold settlement more usable for institutions seeking alternatives within the traditional financial system.

Both aim to make cross-border finance easier, though they use different tools and serve different goals. Dollar stablecoins move dollars across digital networks, while Hong Kong’s package builds traditional market infrastructure for yuan funding, bonds, and gold settlement.

However, China won't have an easy road to yuan adoption.

The yuan remains a managed currency, which gives Beijing a high degree of domestic control it clearly values but limits how naturally the yuan can spread through global markets.

Dollar stablecoins benefit from the scale, liquidity, and broad confidence in dollar pricing. While Hong Kong can certainly make offshore yuan activity more attractive, it can’t erase the structural cost of capital controls simply by expanding a clearing system or raising a quota.

Hong Kong allows China to invite more global participation around the edges of its system while keeping the mainland core under tighter supervision.

In that sense, Hong Kong functions as China’s offshore laboratory for financial openness. It offers enough flexibility to attract capital and enough oversight to keep the experiment within limits Beijing can accept.

The next stage of the crypto race will be about which monetary routes become easiest to use across borders.

Right now, crypto still primarily meets that need with digital dollars. Hong Kong’s latest package shows China building a different route, one centered on offshore yuan liquidity, bond market access, and gold’s enduring role as a reserve asset.

That route still faces obvious limits. The world’s financial system is being rebuilt through a mix of software, market access, reserve assets, and political control.

Dollar stablecoins remain the clearest expression of that shift inside crypto, but Hong Kong’s yuan-and-gold package shows that China intends to shape the same transition from another angle, one institutional upgrade at a time.

The post Hong Kong builds a gold and yuan network that sidesteps dollar stablecoins appeared first on CryptoSlate.

AI cloud infrastructure provider, CoreWeave, has secured more than $20 billion in debt and equity financing this year, including a recently closed $3.1 billion loan backed by graphics processing units.

The oversubscribed facility shows the scale of institutional demand for companies and infrastructure tied to the AI buildout. Investors have aggressively poured money into the sector throughout 2026, with CryptoRank data ranking AI as the year’s most popular funding category.

In stark contrast, Bitcoin has moved in the opposite direction. The largest digital asset has fallen more than 50% from its previous peak near $126,000, even as the global money supply has expanded to record levels.

Historically, growth in global liquidity has supported risk assets, with Bitcoin often benefiting as capital moved further along the risk curve. For much of the previous cycle, the relationship appeared reliable enough that traders treated it almost as a rule.

However, that relationship has broken down this year as liquidity has continued to expand. One possible explanation is that AI has captured a larger share of the risk capital that might otherwise have supported Bitcoin’s recovery.

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Bitcoin breaks from M2 money supply as dollar strength overrides global cash growth

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Apr 1, 2026 · Gino Matos

Why are investors funding AI infrastructure over Bitcoin?

Investors are routing tens of billions of dollars toward artificial intelligence infrastructure rather than Bitcoin because the AI sector can offer predictable revenue, income and physical collateral that Bitcoin lacks.

While Bitcoin remains a volatile, non-yielding monetary asset, AI infrastructure can provide multiyear, dollar-denominated contracts anchored by top-tier technology companies.

For context, CoreWeave’s recent $3.1 billion delayed-draw term loan facility exemplifies the structural benefits helping AI compete with crypto markets for capital.

The financing provides investors with interest income, identifiable collateral, and a fixed maturity date, while the underlying customer agreements provide visibility into CoreWeave’s projected cash flows.

Moody’s and Fitch rated the facility Ba2 and BB+, respectively, giving institutional investors a conventional credit instrument tied to demand for AI compute.

This structure allows institutional investors to assess GPU value, customer contract strength, projected cash flows and refinancing risk while gaining access to a secondary-market vehicle that offers yield.

On the other hand, Bitcoin provides no comparable revenue stream, interest payment or claim on operating assets. Its returns depend primarily on scarcity and future price appreciation.

Moreover, the scale of AI spending has broadened those opportunities for investors. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) estimates that the five largest hyperscalers will spend more than $1 trillion on AI-related capital expenditure across 2025 and 2026.

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Jun 17, 2026 · Gino Matos

In view of this, Pierre Rochard, CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, said the capital rotation is fundamentally a race to secure critical supply bottlenecks. According to him, the AI boom requires an unprecedented physical buildout across power generation, specialized chips and cooling systems.

So, investors are financing tangible assets tied to massive, immediate corporate demand for computing power. And unlike the “software eats the world” era, which multiplied low-marginal-cost companies, the AI era absorbs excess savings directly into physical bottlenecks such as expensive GPUs, data centers, and power grids.

“This is why the AI boom has crowded out Bitcoin,” Rochard argued, adding that capital has rushed toward companies controlling these physical constraints. He said the market is prepaying for an industrial-scale buildout that acts as a major draw on global liquidity.

Ultimately, Rochard noted that this AI capital expenditure supercycle has absorbed the excess fiat liquidity that might otherwise flow into scarce bearer assets, making AI infrastructure a formidable competitor for institutional risk budgets.

How an AI funding reversal could benefit Bitcoin over time

However, the more difficult question facing markets is what happens if the artificial intelligence investment cycle begins to turn. While an AI downturn could trigger short-term market disruptions, the eventual capital rotation could benefit Bitcoin over the long term.

Rochard argues that the current concentration of capital in AI infrastructure will eventually create conditions for liquidity to rotate back toward digital assets. He said:

“When the AI capex cycle turns from boom to overcapacity, the capital now trapped in crowded AI tickers and infrastructure financing will search for an exit.”

According to him, that reversal could begin if earnings estimates fall, depreciation costs overwhelm margins, electricity prices rise, or debt-funded data centers encounter refinancing problems.

In that environment, investors may begin to separate the long-term usefulness of AI from the aggressive prices paid for exposure to it, recognizing that a productive technology can still produce weak investment returns.

Notably, BIS has already warned that the $1 trillion in AI commitments is outpacing free cash flow, forcing companies to rely increasingly on debt.

The BIS warned that disappointing returns could cause AI financing to retreat, turning the capital expenditure boom into an investment downturn with broader consequences for credit and financial markets.

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Why a collapse in $1 trillion AI spending boom could hit Bitcoin traders first

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Jun 29, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

For Bitcoin, such an AI exit could introduce short-term risks while creating potential long-term structural benefits. If an AI downturn damages highly leveraged data-center vehicles and private credit funds, the initial market response would likely be a broad retreat from risk. Investors might sell equities, credit, and crypto simultaneously to raise cash, pushing Bitcoin lower in the immediate aftermath of a credit freeze.

However, the long-term resolution could favor Bitcoin. Once the initial deleveraging concludes, capital will actively seek assets with distinct return drivers, such as government bonds, gold, and defensive equities.

Rochard argues that Bitcoin could attract part of that capital because:

“[it] is the opposite kind of asset. It has no board promising AI monetization. It has no capex budget. It has no debt maturity wall. Its issuance schedule does not accelerate because Nvidia ships a better chip or because a hyperscaler signs a power contract. It is not a claim on future corporate cash flows; it is a scarce monetary asset competing to be savings technology.”

Ultimately, Bitcoin cannot rely on an AI collapse as an automatic catalyst, but the eventual unwinding of the infrastructure trade could create an opening for capital to reconsider scarce monetary assets that carry no corporate debt, depreciation, or earnings risk.

The post CoreWeave’s $20 billion funding haul shows why Bitcoin is losing the competition for liquidity appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Circle received approval from the OCC on July 10 to establish a bank called Circle National Trust. That does not give the USDC issuer the powers most people associate with a commercial bank.

The national trust bank cannot accept ordinary deposits, make loans, offer checking or savings accounts, or provide FDIC-insured retail banking services. The decision is final, unlike the OCC’s preliminary conditional approval from December 2025, but its approved business remains centered on fiduciary custody.

Related Reading

Circle targets federally regulated trust status to manage stablecoin reserves, offer custody services

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Jun 30, 2025 · Gino Matos

What Circle can do at opening

Circle said the bank’s legal name will be First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., operating as Circle National Trust. Upon opening, it will provide fiduciary digital-asset custody for Circle and its affiliates under direct OCC supervision.

That is the only service Circle has confirmed for the bank’s opening. Circle said the bank may eventually provide custody directly to a limited number of institutions, focusing on banks and other regulated financial organizations, if demand warrants expansion.

Managing the USDC reserve is also a future capability rather than a service that arrives with the charter. Circle has not disclosed when the bank will open or what additional operational steps must occur before reserve management moves inside it.

The charter’s strategic value lies in greater control over the infrastructure supporting a stablecoin with a market capitalization of about $73.3 billion.

A federal charter would let Circle bring custody, and possibly reserve management, under one roof instead of relying as heavily on outside firms. The company has not said what that might save or whether it plans to change its current partners.

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Apr 28, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

The charter gives Circle a federal fiduciary framework that competing stablecoin issuers may find difficult to match quickly. That could help when banks and other regulated firms decide which digital-dollar infrastructure they are willing to use.

It does not automatically deepen USDC liquidity or place the token in more wallets, exchanges and payment products. Those distribution advantages remain contested as Open USD recruits major partners and challenges Circle’s issuer-led economics.

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Coinbase helped build USDC – Why is it now backing the stablecoin trying to replace it, Open USD?

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Jul 2, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

The charter also carries political friction. The Independent Community Bankers of America argued during the application process that national trust charters can provide nonbank fintechs with bank-like benefits without the full capital and consumer-protection framework that applies to insured commercial banks. The OCC nevertheless granted final approval.

The next tests are operational: when Circle National Trust opens, whether outside institutions demand its custody service, and whether USDC reserve management is later brought under the trust bank. Until then, Circle has gained federal supervision for custody—not the deposit-taking and lending powers implied by saying it simply “became a bank.”

The post Circle can now open a US trust bank but cannot take ordinary deposits or make loans appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin traded near $64,100 on Saturday as the clock ticked toward a key test for its rebound. June's US consumer price index is due at 8:30 a.m. ET on July 14, leaving the market with about three days before the next major macro catalyst.

The largest crypto asset had gained about 2.6% over seven days, according to CryptoSlate market data, but 24-hour volume was running 21% below its recent average. Bitcoin has rebounded, but buyers have yet to fully commit.

The scheduled inflation report will hit a rates market that makes that gap harder to ignore.

Futures-derived probabilities using CME FedWatch methodology put a 64.6% chance on the Federal Reserve holding its 3.50%-3.75% target range on July 29 and a 35.4% chance on a quarter-point hike.

By September, markets see a 50.9% chance of rates reaching 3.75%-4.00% and an 18.8% chance of 4.00%-4.25%. July appears too soon for the next Fed move. CPI will show whether rate-cut hopes have room to return or if fears of a hike take over.

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ETF demand has offered only tentative support. US spot Bitcoin funds took in a net $90.4 million on July 10 after losing a combined $180.2 million over the prior two sessions, fund flow data showed.

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Bitcoin futures open interest was near $47.3 billion, with modest positive funding and short liquidations dominating the previous 24 hours. That combination points to active positioning and only modest long exposure.

Three CPI paths for Bitcoin

An upside inflation surprise would be the hardest test. The two-year Treasury yield ended July 10 at 4.21% and the 10-year at 4.56%, both higher on the day, according to Treasury data.

A hotter print could lift yields and the dollar from around the 101 area, raise hike probabilities and put fresh Bitcoin longs at risk if ETF buyers retreat.

An inline result would leave the rebound dependent on flows. With leverage orderly and ETF demand positive for only one session, holding $64,000 would require buyers to keep absorbing supply after the macro event passes.

A downside surprise would give later easing expectations room to recover. Falling yields and a weaker dollar could help ETF demand extend the rebound, though current probabilities leave that as the lower-confidence branch before the report.

A split between headline and core inflation could produce the sharpest two-way trade. The first durable signal will be whether Fed probabilities, Treasury yields and the dollar move together.

The second will be whether the next ETF flow confirms the move or exposes the $64,000 rebound as another short-covering pause.

The post Bitcoin’s $64K rebound has 3 days before its next big challenge threatens to derail momentum appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin’s more than $10 billion corporate credit market is still attracting new entrants after a June selloff triggered margin calls and drove its leading preferred shares far below par.

A new report from BitcoinTreasuries.net described the downturn as the sector’s first meaningful stress test, offering an early measure of whether companies can reliably build financing structures around their cryptocurrency reserves.

The selloff showed how quickly supposedly stable products can buckle when too much leverage piles in. Yet the market emerged bruised but operational. Dividend payments continued, secondary-market volumes reached record levels, and corporate treasuries kept adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.

That resilience has drawn praise from industry proponents and sustained interest from prospective issuers, which are advancing plans for new yield-paying products across the US, Europe and Asia.

Investors are now betting that corporate Bitcoin holdings can support a wider market for preferred shares and similar debt-like products.

How leverage turned a stable trade into a cascade

Leverage piled into preferred shares that looked stable, then unwound in a rush of liquidations.

Strategy, the largest Bitcoin holding company with over 800,000 BTC, and Strive have used preferred shares to raise capital without relying entirely on common-stock sales or conventional debt. The securities typically carry a $100 stated value, pay fixed or variable dividends, and have no maturity date.

For issuers, the structure provides long-term capital that can be directed toward Bitcoin purchases or other corporate needs. Investors receive income above the yield available from many traditional fixed-income products without having to hold Bitcoin directly.

Strategy’s STRC and Strive’s SATA emerged as two of the largest instruments in the market. Strategy can adjust STRC’s dividend to keep the shares trading near $100, while SATA offers a variable payout and distributes dividends daily.

For months, both securities traded within relatively narrow ranges around par. That stability encouraged some investors to borrow money to increase their positions and amplify dividend income, BitcoinTreasuries.net said in its June corporate adoption report.

The strategy worked as long as the shares remained stable and the dividends exceeded the cost of financing the trade.

That calculation began to break down as Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in June and selling pressure spread across companies and securities tied to the cryptocurrency.

Beginning June 18, STRC and SATA moved sharply below par. Falling prices triggered margin calls for leveraged STRC holders, forcing them to sell into an already weakening market and driving further liquidations.

SATA also declined under pressure from its own market conditions and spillover from STRC’s selloff.

STRC eventually fell to about $75, roughly 25% below its stated value, while SATA declined to around $88. Bitcoin’s slide weighed on investor sentiment, even though preferred shares continued to pay their scheduled dividends.

Leverage turned products built for steady income into another source of volatility. Higher dividends might draw buyers after a selloff, but they offered little protection once indebted investors had to exit.

Raising the dividend also made the financing more expensive for the issuer. Strategy responded by increasing STRC’s annual payout to 12% and introducing a broader capital framework that included a $2.55 billion cash reserve, authority to repurchase preferred shares, and permission to sell some Bitcoin under specified conditions.

The company said the reserve was sufficient to cover about 17 months of expected preferred dividends and interest payments. It also acknowledged that STRC could remain substantially below its target range, leaving the market to determine whether the higher payout would be enough to restore demand.

Prices rebound as Bitcoin buying continues

Despite the June sell-off, the market stabilized faster than initial liquidations suggested, with prices rebounding, trading volumes hitting record highs, and corporate treasuries continuing to buy Bitcoin.

As of publication, STRC had recovered to about $87 from a low near $75, while SATA had climbed back to roughly $97.

The uneven rebound suggested investors were distinguishing between the two securities rather than abandoning the broader market.

Trading activity also accelerated during the turmoil. Combined June volume for STRC and SATA exceeded $10 billion, even as both products traded below their $100 stated values.

STRC accounted for $8.7 billion of that total, its highest monthly volume on record, and posted two of its five busiest trading weeks. SATA generated nearly $1.5 billion, almost twice its May volume, with three of its four strongest weeks occurring during the month.

Trading held up through the sharp repricing. Buyers absorbed shares from leveraged sellers, keeping the market open and dividend payments uninterrupted.

However, the heavy secondary-market activity did not translate into fresh capital for the issuers. Neither STRC nor SATA was able to raise funds through at-the-market sales in June, as most transactions involved existing shares changing hands between investors.

Still, Strategy and Strive expanded their Bitcoin holdings despite the pause in preferred-share issuance.

Strategy added a net of 3,625 Bitcoin during the month, while Strive acquired 3,364 Bitcoin. Each spent about $200 million, leaving the two companies responsible for most of June’s corporate Bitcoin purchases.

Supporters saw the continued buying as evidence that June’s turmoil stemmed from excessive leverage in the securities, rather than fading confidence in corporate Bitcoin accumulation.

New entrants push the model beyond the US

The recovery in trading and continued corporate Bitcoin buying are now encouraging treasury companies to explore whether the credit model can expand beyond the US.

On July 10, Metaplanet provided the latest sign by announcing a joint study on tokenized credit instruments in Japan.

The Tokyo-listed company will work with Siiibo Securities, the yen stablecoin issuer JPYC, and the regulated security-token platform Progmat to examine products that use Bitcoin as a backing asset or as a source of credit support. Metaplanet recently acquired Siiibo for $13 million.

According to the firm:

“Digital credit backed by Bitcoin could evolve into instruments traded and settled globally on a 24/7/365 basis, with interest and distributions accruing on a daily prorated basis according to the holding period.”

The initiative targets longstanding barriers in Japan’s corporate credit market, where smaller and growing companies can face high costs for product design, distribution, investor administration, interest payments and redemptions.

Metaplanet and its partners said digital infrastructure could reduce some of those costs. Their proposal combines stablecoins for payments and distributions, security tokens for recording ownership and transfer rights, and Bitcoin as an asset supporting the securities.

The structure could calculate interest based on how long an investor holds a product, reducing reliance on conventional record dates. It could also allow trading and settlement outside regular market hours.

The project remains at an early stage, with no issuance date, return, distribution plan, or final structure in place. The companies have yet to decide whether to run a proof of concept.

Metaplanet has also not specified whether investors would have a direct legal claim to the designated Bitcoin. That detail will determine whether the products function as formally secured instruments or rely more broadly on the issuer’s balance sheet and cryptocurrency reserves.

Metaplanet holds 43,000 Bitcoin, ranking third among publicly traded companies by BTC holdings.

Bitcoin digital credit growth forecasts meet a more demanding market

Metaplanet’s planned entry adds weight to expectations that Bitcoin-backed credit will expand, though June’s selloff has given investors a clearer view of the risks behind those forecasts.

A BitcoinTreasuries.net survey found that 78% of respondents expect the digital credit market to grow through the end of 2027. Another 22% projected that outstanding supply could exceed $50 billion, with some expecting it to surpass $100 billion.

The results, however, reflect a group already predisposed to support the products. The report found that 87% of respondents viewed digital credit favorably and 72% had invested in the sector. About 76% also expected similarly sharp price declines to occur again.

That mix of confidence and caution offers a more measured assessment of June. Investors remain optimistic about the market’s long-term potential, even as they acknowledge that leverage and liquidity can drive large departures from par.

Michael Saylor has argued that Bitcoin makes digital credit easier to assess because its primary market risk is tied to a globally traded and continuously observable asset. Investors can track Bitcoin’s price and volatility in real time and incorporate those movements into their valuation models.

June proved Bitcoin-backed credit could survive a liquidation shock. Its next hurdle is persuading investors to fund new issuance after watching leading products trade below par.

The post Bitcoin’s $10 billion credit market keeps growing after its first major selloff appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin is trading around $64,100 today, holding onto a roughly 2.6% weekly gain and pressing toward the top of a well-defined range. The bitcoin price today sits in a tug-of-war between a firm floor at $58,000 and a stubborn ceiling near $65,581 — and with June's US inflation report due July 14, the next few sessions could set the tone for weeks. Here's the full BTC price analysis.

What is the Bitcoin price today?

As of writing, BTC/USD trades near $64,100, up about 1.5% on the day and roughly 2.6% over the past seven days. The move comes after Bitcoin's worst month in four years in June, making this rebound a meaningful recovery of composure rather than a fresh breakout. Notably, 24-hour volume has been running around 20% below its recent average — a sign the grind higher is happening on thin conviction, not a flood of buyers.

What are the key Bitcoin support and resistance levels?

The 2-hour chart lays out a clean range that's easy to trade around:

• Resistance – $65,581: This is the line that matters. $BTC tapped it in mid-June and got rejected, and it's capped every attempt since. A clean 2-hour close above it is the trigger bulls are waiting for.
• Support – $58,000: The lower boundary has been tested twice (late June and early July) and held both times, forming a higher-low structure. As long as this floor holds, the broader recovery stays intact.
• Current price – ~$64,100: BTC is trading in the upper third of the range, closer to resistance than support — a constructive sign, but not yet a breakout.

What is the Bitcoin RSI telling us?

Momentum is quietly bullish. The RSI (14) reads around 60, sitting above its signal line and comfortably in the upper half of the range without being overbought. That leaves room for further upside before buyers get exhausted — but it's not the kind of stretched reading that screams "top." In short: momentum supports another push at resistance, it just hasn't confirmed the break yet.

Why does the July 14 CPI report matter for BTC?

This is the swing factor. June's US Consumer Price Index lands on July 14, and it's the next major macro catalyst for risk assets. Here's why it's pivotal:

• A cooler-than-expected print would revive hopes of Fed easing, likely pressuring Treasury yields and the dollar lower — a tailwind that could give BTC the fuel to clear $65,581.
• A hotter print would do the opposite, reinforcing higher-for-longer rate fears and potentially knocking Bitcoin back toward the middle of its range.

Complicating the picture, renewed Middle East tensions have nudged oil prices higher, which feeds back into inflation expectations — exactly the channel the market is watching. ETF inflows turned positive recently, but only for a single session, so it's still unclear whether institutional buyers will step up after the data.

Bitcoin price prediction: what happens next?

The setup is a classic coiled range heading into a known catalyst. Two scenarios stand out:

• Bullish case: A 2-hour close above $65,581, ideally confirmed by a soft CPI print, opens the path back toward the June high near $67,250. Clearing that zone would flip the medium-term structure decisively bullish and put the $70,000 round number firmly in play — the next major psychological target and a level analysts widely flag as the gateway to a broader recovery.
• Bearish case: Rejection at resistance or a hot CPI print sends BTC back toward the $61,000–$60,000 mid-range, with $58,000 as the line that absolutely must hold. A break below it would expose deeper support and put the recovery in question.

The most likely near-term path is continued consolidation between $58,000 and $65,581 until CPI forces a decision. Traders will want to watch whether volume expands on any breakout attempt — a move through resistance on weak volume is far less trustworthy than one backed by real participation.

Can Bitcoin reach 70K soon?

Bitcoin is holding a constructive structure — higher lows, supportive RSI, and price pressing resistance — but it hasn't yet earned a breakout. The $65,581 ceiling and the $58,000 floor define the battlefield, and the July 14 CPI report is the catalyst most likely to break the deadlock. Clear resistance on real volume and the road to $70,000 opens up; fail, and this stays a range to respect rather than a trend to chase.

Circle has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, marking one of the biggest regulatory milestones a stablecoin issuer has ever reached in the United States. The new entity — formally First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. — will operate as Circle National Trust under direct federal oversight, and it places the world's largest regulated stablecoin, USDC, deeper inside the U.S. banking framework than ever before.

What did Circle get approved for with this OCC approval?

The OCC granted Circle a de novo national trust bank charter, which lets the company create and operate Circle National Trust as a federally regulated institution. Importantly, this is a trust bank, not a commercial bank — it cannot take consumer deposits or make loans. What it can do is safeguard client assets under strict fiduciary standards, the same role national trust banks have played for decades.

At launch, Circle National Trust will offer fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates. Its OCC-approved business plan leaves the door open to eventually serving a limited number of institutional customers — mainly banks, financial institutions, and regulated derivatives organizations — depending on demand.

Why does the Circle OCC trust bank matter for USDC?

Until now, the cash and short-term U.S. Treasurys backing USDC have been held by third-party banking partners. With its own federal trust charter, Circle is positioned to eventually hold those multibillion-dollar reserves under its own federally regulated custody — reducing reliance on outside banks.

Here's why that's significant:

• Reserve management is the endgame. The charter is designed to support future management of the USDC Reserve, which would bring those operations under OCC supervision. That's deferred to a later phase, not day one.
• Custody comes first. When the bank opens, its primary job is fiduciary custody for Circle and its affiliates.
• It lowers the barrier for institutions. Federal oversight makes it easier for banks, asset managers, and other regulated firms to build on Circle's infrastructure with more regulatory clarity.

CEO Jeremy Allaire called the approval a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system, framing federal oversight as a new standard for transparency and governance.

How does this fit into the wider stablecoin regulation race?

Circle isn't moving alone. The approval lands as a wave of crypto firms chase federal banking status. The OCC granted conditional approvals to Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets back in December 2025, and BitGo has already been upgraded to full approval. Crypto.com secured an OCC custodian license earlier in 2026, and names ranging from Coinbase to traditional finance giants have entered the queue.

The backdrop is the GENIUS Act, the federal framework that set reserve, reporting, and compliance rules for approved stablecoin issuers. Circle's charter is widely read as cementing USDC's position as the incumbent in a newly regulated stablecoin world.

Is there any pushback on the OCC granting these charters?

Yes. Not everyone views the expansion as clean. Some banking groups have questioned the OCC's decision to grant national charters to crypto companies, arguing that crypto trust banks could offer bank-like services without facing the same rules as full-service lenders. Senator Elizabeth Warren has separately challenged whether these firms qualify under the National Bank Act.

So far, that tension hasn't slowed the pace of approvals — but it signals the framework enabling these charters could still face legal or legislative scrutiny down the line.

What happened to Circle stock (CRCL) after the news?

Circle shares (NYSE: CRCL) jumped sharply on the announcement, trading up double digits in premarket before settling to close the session up around 5%. USDC itself, as a stablecoin, held its dollar peg — the market reaction played out in Circle's equity, not the token.

Privacy coins are back in the spotlight. $ZEC is up more than 8% over the past 24 hours, trading near $503 and holding above the closely watched $500 level. The move caps a strong week for Zcash and has traders asking whether this is the start of a bigger breakout or just another burst of volatility in a notoriously high-beta asset. Here is what is actually driving the zcash price and where analysts think it goes from here.

What Is the Zcash Price Today?

The zec price today sits at roughly $503, up about 8% on the day, with an intraday high near $505. That keeps $ZEC comfortably above the $500 psychological level and well clear of the $464 mid-range pivot on the chart. On the 2-hour timeframe, the token is pressing toward overhead resistance near $546, with $385 marking the base of the recent range.

The context matters: this is not an isolated one-day pop. $ZEC has been climbing for over a week, having reclaimed $500 for the first time since early June after a brutal stretch. The privacy coin lost more than 40% of its value in early June, crashing from around $624 toward the $300s in under 48 hours after a critical bug was disclosed in its Orchard shielded pool. Today's strength is best understood as a continued recovery from that shock rather than a reaction to a single fresh headline.

Why Is Zcash Pumping Today?

There is no single news catalyst behind today's specific 8% move — it is a mix of a strengthening fundamental narrative and classic trading-day dynamics.

The dominant driver is the upcoming Ironwood upgrade, expected to activate in late July. Ironwood replaces the vulnerable Orchard shielded pool with a formally verified version, mathematically designed to prevent the kind of undetectable counterfeiting flaw that spooked the market in June. It also introduces a "turnstile" migration mechanism to enforce Zcash's fixed supply and harden its shielded pool. For a privacy coin whose entire value proposition rests on verifiable, private money, that directly addresses the trust damage from the bug — which is why the market is treating it as a genuine catalyst, not just hype.

Layered on top is momentum from social sentiment and derivatives. Zcash's social activity has spiked sharply, with its AltRank climbing into the top tier of coins and the large majority of tracked sentiment reading bullish. That has fed a feedback loop: the fundamental upgrade story sparked a technical breakout, which drew in momentum traders and triggered short liquidations — with over $7.6 million in short positions wiped out during one recent leg higher. In other words, today's 8% is part fundamental conviction, part leveraged short squeeze, and part broad altcoin-rotation beta.

Is This a Real Breakout or Just a Trading-Day Effect?

Honestly, it is both — and that is the key thing to understand before chasing it. The Ironwood narrative gives the rally a real fundamental anchor, which separates it from a purely speculative spike. But the mechanics of the move are heavily leverage-driven. Futures volume has dwarfed spot volume during this rally (recent readings showed ZEC futures turnover well above $1 billion against roughly $115 million in spot), and elevated open interest means the price can reverse just as sharply as it rose. High-beta privacy coins are famous for explosive moves on good fundamental news, followed by volatile pullbacks as speculative capital rotates out.

What Are the ZEC Price Predictions From Here?

On the technical side, the immediate battle is at resistance. As long as $ZEC holds above $500, the bullish case points toward the $546 zone next, with a decisive break potentially opening a run toward the $620–$650 liquidity area that several analysts have flagged. A clean breakout above that region is what bulls would need to talk about higher targets. On the downside, losing $500 would likely shift momentum back to sellers, with support around $464, then $450, and the $385 range floor below that.

Longer-term zec price prediction models are cautiously constructive but wide-ranging, reflecting how much hinges on Ironwood landing cleanly. Third-party forecasting sites put the 2026 average trading price somewhere in the $460–$505 band, with monthly peaks stretching toward the $570–$580 area in a bullish scenario, and some multi-year models projecting a return toward four-digit territory only in later years if privacy-coin demand sustains. These are algorithmic projections, not guarantees, and privacy coins carry outsized regulatory and technical risk — so they are best treated as rough scenarios rather than price targets.

The realistic near-term picture: a successful, verified Ironwood activation in late July could provide the next leg higher, while any delay or technical hiccup would likely trigger a deeper consolidation. Bitcoin's stability and broader altcoin sentiment will also heavily influence where $ZEC trades, given how tightly it moves with overall market risk appetite.

When the EU's MiCA transition deadline reshaped the European crypto market on July 1, the big question was simple: where would displaced users go? Binance has now offered an answer — and it is not the one Brussels was hoping for. Here is what the numbers show and why licensed regulated crypto exchanges are throwing serious money at anyone willing to move.

What Did Binance's CEO Reveal About EU Users?

Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore on July 9, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng dropped a striking statistic. Of the EU users who withdrew funds from the platform after the MiCA transition, roughly 70% moved their crypto into self-hosted wallets, while only about 30% flowed to MiCA-regulated entities.

Teng, a former regulator himself, framed it as a warning shot at the EU. His argument: pushing users toward self-hosted wallets actually undercuts the consumer protection MiCA was designed to deliver, because non-custodial wallets fall outside the AML and KYC controls that licensed exchanges must run. In his words, once crypto goes into a self-hosted wallet, the risks amplify rather than shrink.

The claim has been widely reported by Cointelegraph, Reuters, Yahoo Finance and others, so the 70/30 figure is Binance's own data — and it comes with obvious self-interest, given the exchange's exclusion from the bloc. Supporters of self-custody read the same numbers very differently: holding your own keys removes counterparty risk, and many see direct control as the whole point of crypto, not a loophole.

Why Did So Many Binance Users Leave?

The exodus was triggered by Binance's own regulatory setback. The exchange withdrew its MiCA regulation license application in Greece on June 24, after reports that the Greek regulator was preparing to reject it. With no license in place by the July 1 deadline, Binance stopped serving new EU customers and began restricting services, forcing existing users to decide where to move their balances.

The result was Binance's heaviest weekly outflows in more than three years. Net outflows hit roughly $1.23 billion in the week beginning June 29 — up about 207% from the prior week, according to DefiLlama data reviewed by Cointelegraph. That is a lot of capital suddenly looking for a new home.

Are EU Exchanges Welcoming Ex-Binance Traders?

Absolutely — and aggressively. The MiCA deadline handed licensed platforms a rare opening: a wave of experienced traders, already holding funds, being forced to move whether they like it or not. What followed is best described as a land grab, with regulated crypto exchanges competing hard for every migrating account.

The offers have been substantial. OKX Europe rolled out its "Time to Switch" campaign with deposit bonuses of up to 8% (paid out over 52 weeks) plus 400 euros in BTC welcome rewards for new users, and reported record EU sign-ups in the run-up to the deadline. Coinbase countered with a transfer bonus of up to 5% for users moving funds before mid-July.

These campaigns are structurally different from typical crypto marketing. Instead of chasing newcomers, they target established capital from users who already know how to move funds — and are being pushed to do so anyway. Every migrated account becomes a durable source of trading volume, staking balances and fees, which is exactly why the incentives are so generous.

Which MiCA Exchanges Offer the Biggest Rewards?

This is the key question for anyone with funds still sitting on Binance or another platform that did not make the MiCA cut. The bonuses are real, but they are time-limited, capped, and vary a lot by exchange, region and deposit method — so it pays to compare before you move rather than jumping at the first offer you see.

We have put together a full, up-to-date breakdown of every MiCA-regulated exchange currently paying users to switch, including the exact bonus structures, caps and deadlines: see our complete comparison of the best regulated MiCA exchanges here.

What Does This Mean for Europe's Crypto Market?

Teng's 70/30 split points to a deeper shift: many Europeans are not simply swapping one exchange for another — they are choosing to hold assets directly. That leaves the EU with a narrower, more heavily supervised market on the licensed side, and a growing pool of self-custodied capital that sits beyond any regulator's reach. MiCA has settled who is allowed to operate. The open question now is where users actually want to keep their crypto — on a regulated platform, or in their own wallet.

The crypto market is closing out the week on firmer footing. $BTC is climbing back toward a closely watched level as regulatory optimism in the US and a major traditional-finance move offset lingering worries over ETF flows and macro pressure. Here is a breakdown of the crypto news today and what is moving the bitcoin price.

What Is the Bitcoin Price Today?

The btc price today sits at roughly $63,950, up around 1.2% over the past 24 hours and about 4% across the week, extending a rebound from late-June lows near $58,000. That run brings $BTC within reach of $64,000, a level it briefly cleared earlier in the week before easing back.

The recovery has firmed even as its footing stays thin. Institutional futures activity has thinned and downside options protection has turned unusually expensive, leading some derivatives traders to read the setup as a late-stage washout rather than the start of a fresh leg down. After a first half that closed down roughly 20%, this looks more like a bounce off the lows than a confirmed trend change.

The majors have joined the move. $ETH is trading near $1,770 and has outperformed on the week, while $XRP and $SOL have held most of their weekly gains around $1.13 and $80 respectively.

Why Is the Bitcoin Price Rising?

Two catalysts are doing most of the work behind today's bitcoin price strength. The first is regulatory: a fresh draft of the US crypto Clarity Act could land as soon as next week, with insiders pointing to a possible Senate vote later this month. The bill still lacks full bipartisan buy-in, so hurdles remain, but the prospect of movement on clarity act market-structure rules has supported prices. On top of that, the SEC is reportedly preparing to propose a rule this month aimed at easing conditions for crypto startups and fundraising.

The second is institutional infrastructure. Swift is rolling out a new swift blockchain ledger designed to bring 24/7 settlement to 17 global banks, with names like HSBC, UBS, Wells Fargo and Citi preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenized digital assets. The move underscores how mainstream finance keeps migrating onto blockchain rails.

What is Happening With Bitcoin ETF Flows?

The bitcoin etf picture remains mixed. June saw multi-billion-dollar outflows from US spot funds that raised concern about institutional risk appetite, and July flows have been choppy so far. Even so, the market has absorbed selling that would have rattled it a month ago: Bitcoin shrugged off a disclosure that Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for around $216 million — its largest sale since dropping its never-sell stance — without breaking the rebound.

Is Crypto Still Tied to AI Stocks?

For most of 2026, weakness in AI and chip stocks dragged crypto lower with it. This week that link loosened: the ethereum price and bitcoin price held steady even as some AI equities slid. Whether that independence lasts is one of the key questions for the back half of the year, especially as large allocators keep rotating toward AI exposure.

What Comes Next for the Crypto Market?

The crypto market today reflects cautious optimism rather than conviction. Regulatory clarity, potential SEC rule-easing and institutional adoption are providing tailwinds, and Bitcoin's push toward $64,000 shows buyers defending the recovery. The open questions are whether the Clarity Act draft actually materializes next week and whether $BTC can turn its run at $64,000 into a durable base above $60,000.

If you want a regulated, MiCA-compliant European exchange to trade $BTC and other assets, you can check out our full list of regulated exchanges here.

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Established digital platform pivots to become comprehensive iGaming news source, delivering casino reviews and player resources while developing innovative comparison dashboard

In a significant strategic shift, AlienWP—a digital platform established in 2013—has announced its transformation into a specialized iGaming news and casino information resource. The newly focused site will concentrate on providing comprehensive coverage of online casino developments, detailed platform reviews, regulatory updates, promotional offer analysis, and player safety content for industry stakeholders and players alike.

Main Announcement

This strategic repositioning marks AlienWP’s departure from its previous incarnation as a broad-spectrum digital resources platform. The site now channels its efforts exclusively into iGaming sector coverage, including breaking industry news, regulatory framework changes, promotional terms analysis, and player protection initiatives. The platform’s objective centers on delivering precise, accessible information to its readership.

According to AlienWP, this pivot addresses a notable industry need for casino-related content that prioritizes factual accuracy and editorial independence over brand promotion. The platform commits to ongoing content updates aligned with the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape.

Supporting Details

Accompanying this transformation, AlienWP is actively developing Alien Wise Play, an innovative web-based tool designed to empower players with casino comparison capabilities, bookmark functionality for preferred platforms, promotional tracking features, and comprehensive licensing transparency prior to registration. The dashboard functions strictly as an information resource—it does not operate gambling services, process transactions, or provide wagering recommendations.

While Alien Wise Play receives funding through affiliate collaborations, AlienWP emphasizes its primary commitment to player empowerment rather than conventional affiliate marketing objectives. The dashboard’s architecture prioritizes equipping users with decision-making tools that promote safer, well-informed choices.

The platform’s cornerstone feature is the Wise Play Score, a proprietary evaluation methodology that assesses casinos across multiple dimensions including regulatory compliance, trustworthiness, payment system dependability, operational transparency, customer service quality, and player safeguarding measures. AlienWP has indicated that forthcoming enhancements to the Wise Play Score will incorporate compiled player testimonials and AI-powered analytical tools, while maintaining strict editorial independence throughout the evaluation process.

Additional information regarding the platform is available at Alien Wise Play.

Spokesperson Quote

Oliver Dale, spokesperson for AlienWP, stated: “The iGaming sector’s expansion creates an increasing demand for transparent, reliable information that helps players make sense of their options. Our transformation enables complete dedication to casino journalism, comprehensive reviews, and player education initiatives, while simultaneously developing Alien Wise Play as a truly independent resource for casino comparison and regulatory understanding.”

Future Plans

Moving forward, AlienWP intends to progressively enhance its iGaming news reporting and information services while advancing Alien Wise Play development. Upcoming initiatives encompass player feedback system integration and AI-supported analytical capabilities for the Wise Play Score framework, with unwavering commitment to editorial autonomy throughout all operations.

About AlienWP

Established in 2013, AlienWP operates as an iGaming news and casino information resource delivering coverage of online casino developments, platform reviews, regulatory frameworks, promotional offers, responsible gambling practices, and industry trends. The organization is simultaneously developing Alien Wise Play, a player-centric dashboard enabling casino comparisons, promotional tracking, and accessible licensing and safety data. Additional information can be found at alienwp.com.

Media Contact

Oliver Dale
AlienWP
Website: https://alienwp.com

The post AlienWP Transforms into Comprehensive iGaming News and Casino Review Hub appeared first on Blockonomi.

A crypto presale earns a real review only once it is trading, and Bullski just crossed that line: stage one opened Friday at 5pm UTC and the sale is live and climbing right now. So instead of guessing, this review checks the project one feature at a time, the way analysts do.

the Bullski website lays out the supply, the contract, the stage pricing, and the utility, and each of those is checkable on its own. Here is the feature-by-feature read on what stage one actually offers today.

Definition: A crypto presale is a token sold at fixed, staged prices before it ever reaches an exchange listing, so the review below judges each feature at the price and stage that are open today.

A Feature-by-Feature Read on the Live Presale

A presale review that only weighs hype is not a review. What follows takes each part of Bullski on its own axis, gives it a plain read, and points to where you can confirm it yourself. Nothing here rests on a promise, and every axis is something a careful buyer can look at before spending.

Supply and Tokenomics

The first axis is the one that never changes after launch. Bullski is an ERC-20 on Ethereum with a 120 billion fixed supply that cannot be inflated later, so the whole float is countable today and a stage-one position represents a known slice of a known total. For a presale review, a hard-capped supply is the difference between a number you can trust and a number that can quietly grow.

This one is fixed, and that is the cleanest mark on the sheet.

Contract and Security

Security is where reviews usually get vague, so this axis stays concrete. The contract is verified on Etherscan, which means the deployed code is public and readable rather than a black box. An audit is in process, with the report set to be published, and liquidity locks at launch so the trading pool cannot be pulled once the token goes public.

None of that is a guarantee of price, but as a security read it covers the three things analysts look for first: readable code, an audit trail, and a locked pool.

Entry and Pricing

Pricing is the axis that moves, and it moves in one direction. Stage one is live now, the first and lowest rung of a 16-stage ladder that steps up toward the $0.0025 listing reference. Each stage that fills lifts the price for the next buyer, so the entry open today is the cheapest the presale will show before the next rung opens.

As a review point, that mechanic is plain and public: the earlier the stage, the less you pay for the same token, with the current stage always the floor still available.

Utility

The last axis asks whether a held token does anything, and here it does from the start. Staking and referrals are live from stage one, so a position bought today can earn rather than sit idle, and the referral side pays holders who bring others in. For a meme coin, having working utility this early is unusual, and it is the part of the review that separates a token you only watch from one you can put to work the same session you buy it.

By the numbers: stage one is live right now, the first step of 16 toward a $0.0025 listing reference on a fixed 120 billion supply.

The Review at a Glance

Pulled together, the four axes read as a checklist you can verify rather than take on faith. The table maps each feature to what Bullski offers and where to confirm it.

Passing the Checks: How to Enter Stage One

Once a name clears every check above, the last check is the one people skip: the address bar. Enter through the official domain and nowhere else, then buy Bullski at the current stage from a funded Ethereum wallet, and turn on staking or share your referral link so the tokens work from the first block.

That domain check is the entire security step here, and it is worth slowing down for. What passed your review today sits at the lowest rung the sale offers, and each rung after it prices higher as stages fill. Clearing the checks is the hard part, and you have already done it; the buy itself is quick.

Bullski Presale Review FAQ

Is the bullski presale worth it?

That depends on your own read, but the review points are checkable rather than hyped: a 120 billion fixed supply, a verified contract with an audit in process, stage-one pricing that steps up toward $0.0025, and live staking and referrals. Weigh those against your own plan and do your own research before you buy.

What is bullski’s tokenomics?

Bullski is an ERC-20 on Ethereum with a fixed 120 billion supply that cannot be inflated after launch. The presale runs across 16 stages priced toward a $0.0025 listing reference, and holders can stake or earn through referrals from stage one.

Is the contract verified?

Yes. The contract is verified on Etherscan, so the deployed code is public and readable. An audit is in process with the report set to be published, and liquidity locks at launch, which together cover the main security checks analysts run on an early token.

How do i buy at the current stage?

Open an Ethereum wallet, fund it with some ETH or USDT, and head to the official Bullski site to buy at the current stage. Confirm the domain first, then buy and turn on staking or share a referral link to start earning right away. Do your own research first.

For More Information

Website: Visit the official Bullski website at bullski.io

Telegram: Join the Bullski Telegram channel at t.me/BullskiCoinOfficial

X (Twitter): Follow Bullski on X at x.com/bullskicoin

The post Bullski Presale Review, Live and Climbing: What Analysts Check, From the 120 Billion Fixed Supply to the Audit in Process appeared first on Blockonomi.

Quick Summary

• Shares climbed 1.5% Friday, closing at $187.46, significantly above both the 50-day ($159.41) and 200-day ($145.45) moving averages
• Wall Street consensus stands at “Buy” with an average price target of $187.63
• First quarter 2026 results exceeded expectations: EPS of $0.87 compared to $0.81 forecast, revenue of $2.71B versus $2.62B estimate, representing 35.1% annual growth
• Impressive GF Score of 97/100 featuring flawless 10/10 marks across financial strength, profitability, growth, and momentum categories
• Notable insider transactions — CEO Jayshree Ullal disposed of $75.9M in shares during April; significant shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold $43M worth in June

Shares of Arista Networks (ANET) advanced 1.5% during Friday’s trading session, reaching an intraday peak of $187.62 before closing at $187.46. Trading volume registered at 5.5 million shares, approximately 37% lighter than the typical daily average of 8.77 million.

Arista Networks, Inc., ANET

The equity currently trades substantially above its 50-day moving average of $159.41 and its 200-day moving average of $145.45. This positioning reflects approximately 24% appreciation over the trailing three-month period.

The networking equipment manufacturer delivered robust first quarter 2026 figures in May. Earnings per share reached $0.87, surpassing the Street consensus of $0.81 by $0.06. Revenue totaled $2.71 billion, exceeding projections of $2.62 billion and marking a 35.1% increase compared to the prior-year quarter.

The company maintains a net margin of 38.32% alongside a return on equity of 30.10%. Looking ahead to Q2 2026, Arista has provided guidance for EPS of $0.88. The analyst community anticipates full-year EPS of $3.27 on average.

ANET sports a P/E ratio of 64.20 and commands a market capitalization of $236 billion. With a beta of 1.60, the stock demonstrates higher volatility relative to the overall market.

Wall Street Perspective

The investment community maintains a predominantly optimistic stance on ANET. Among 25 analysts tracking the stock, 21 assign it a Buy rating, two designate it Strong Buy, and two maintain a Hold rating.

The consensus price target stands at $187.63 — essentially aligned with current trading levels.

Recent analyst actions include Deutsche Bank’s upgrade to Buy in June and JPMorgan increasing its target from $190 to $200 with an Overweight stance in April. Rosenblatt elevated its target from $180 to $210, also in May. Citigroup modestly reduced its target from $176 to $173 while maintaining a Buy recommendation.

GuruFocus awards ANET a GF Score of 97 out of 100, featuring impeccable 10/10 ratings across financial strength, profitability, growth, and momentum metrics. The organization operates with zero long-term debt, boasts an Altman Z-Score of 19.23, and maintains an operating margin of 42.79%.

Revenue has expanded at a 3-year compound rate of 26.8%, outpacing 93% of hardware sector peers. EBITDA has grown at a 3-year rate of 34.9% and a 5-year rate of 41.4%.

Executive Transactions

Not all indicators point upward. Company insiders have been actively reducing positions. CEO Jayshree Ullal divested 428,000 shares on April 22 at an average price of $177.44, generating proceeds of $75.9 million. Her remaining stake totals 5.2 million units valued at approximately $924 million.

Major stakeholder Andreas Bechtolsheim disposed of 260,000 shares in June at $165.57, amounting to $43 million. Both transactions were conducted through predetermined Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements.

Collectively, insiders have sold more than 3.1 million shares worth $513 million during the most recent quarter. Insider ownership currently represents 2.70% of outstanding shares, while institutional investors control 82.47%.

Institutional participants have maintained their accumulation patterns, with entities including Tema ETFs, Canvas Wealth Advisors, and Fiduciary Financial Group all expanding their holdings during Q2 2026.

The post Arista Networks (ANET) Stock Maintains Strong Momentum as Analysts Signal Confidence appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• UBS upgraded its Tesla price target from $364 to $442 while maintaining a neutral stance, contributing to a 3.2% stock gain
• Shares reached an intraday peak of $407.86, with Wall Street’s average target sitting at $406.87
• Q2 2026 saw Tesla deliver a record 480,126 vehicles, surpassing certain analyst forecasts
• AlpenGlobal Capital established a fresh $13.35 million position, representing 8.7% of their total portfolio
• Wall Street analysts are evenly divided with 21 Buy, 21 Hold, and 4 Sell recommendations; Q2 earnings scheduled for July 22

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) surged 3.2% during Thursday’s session following UBS’s decision to lift its price target from $364 to $442, despite maintaining a neutral outlook on the electric vehicle maker. The rally sent TSLA to an intraday high of $407.86 before settling at $406.55, up from its opening price of $394.06.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

UBS’s revision came alongside similar moves from other major institutions. RBC Capital elevated its target to $500 from $475 while reaffirming an Outperform rating, highlighting Tesla’s advancing artificial intelligence and autonomous driving initiatives as primary catalysts.

However, not all analysts share the same enthusiasm. Citizens recently launched coverage with a Market Perform designation, cautioning that investor expectations surrounding Tesla’s autonomy technology may be outpacing realistic commercialization timelines.

Wall Street analysts present a balanced perspective on Tesla, with current ratings split between 21 Buy recommendations, 21 Hold positions, and 4 Sell calls. The average price target among these analysts stands at $406.87.

Tesla’s second quarter 2026 performance provided encouraging data points for investors. The automaker achieved record-breaking deliveries totaling 480,126 vehicles alongside production figures of 451,758 units. Additionally, the Model Y regained its position as China’s best-selling vehicle during June.

Beyond automotive sales, Tesla’s energy storage division continues gaining traction. The company has accumulated over $9 billion in Megapack orders, providing an additional revenue stream that complements its primary vehicle business.

Growing Institutional Ownership

AlpenGlobal Capital LLC revealed a new Tesla stake during the first quarter, acquiring 35,911 shares valued at approximately $13.35 million. This investment now constitutes roughly 8.7% of AlpenGlobal’s entire portfolio, marking it as their most significant holding.

Institutional ownership of Tesla’s shares currently stands at approximately 66.2% of total outstanding stock. Multiple investment firms expanded their positions in recent months, including Brighton Jones, Revolve Wealth Partners, and Bison Wealth.

Meanwhile, insider transactions have trended in the opposite direction. CFO Vaibhav Taneja divested 2,606 TSLA shares at an average price of $402.20 in June, representing a 10.57% reduction in his holdings. This transaction was linked to tax requirements related to vesting equity awards. Board member Kathleen Wilson-Thompson similarly sold 26,409 shares at $378.11 in late April, reducing her position by 35.3%.

Upcoming Earnings Report on July 22

Tesla’s second-quarter earnings announcement is scheduled for July 22. During the previous quarter (Q1), the company delivered earnings per share of $0.41, exceeding the consensus forecast of $0.39. Quarterly revenue reached $22.39 billion, falling marginally short of the anticipated $22.96 billion but representing a 15.8% year-over-year increase.

Analyst projections for Tesla’s fiscal 2026 full-year EPS range from $1.29 to $1.30.

The stock currently trades with a price-to-earnings ratio near 374, a PEG ratio of 14.89, and commands a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have fluctuated between $297.82 and $498.83.

Regulatory challenges persist as ongoing concerns. Proposed legislation in New Jersey could potentially limit Tesla’s self-driving capabilities within the state, while questions surrounding Elon Musk’s SEC settlement agreement continue drawing regulatory attention.

Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating with a $415 price objective on July 2.

The post Tesla (TSLA) Stock Surges Over 3% Following UBS Price Target Upgrade to $442 appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• AMD’s Data Center segment generated $5.8 billion in Q1 2026, representing a 57% year-over-year increase
• Analyst consensus positions AMD as a Moderate Buy with 28 bullish recommendations
• Intel maintains a Hold rating as Wall Street remains cautious about its transformation strategy
• Intel’s foundry division demands substantial capital outlays with unclear profitability timelines
• AMD represents momentum-driven expansion; Intel offers speculative turnaround upside

Advanced Micro Devices has emerged as the more straightforward growth narrative in the chip industry, whereas Intel battles to restore investor confidence amid its ongoing corporate transformation.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

AMD’s trajectory has been propelled by explosive server market performance. During the first quarter of 2026, the chipmaker delivered $5.8 billion in Data Center sales, marking a 57% surge compared to the prior-year period. The company’s EPYC server processor lineup maintained robust demand, while Instinct AI accelerator deployments continued their upward climb.

Hyperscale cloud operators and enterprises expanding AI computing capabilities have driven much of this demand. AMD doesn’t require complete market dominance over competitors like Nvidia or Intel to sustain growth. Capturing even a fraction of the rapidly expanding AI accelerator sector could generate substantial revenue streams, considering the premium pricing and massive scale of these markets.

AMD’s Diversified Revenue Portfolio

The company’s reach extends well beyond data centers into consumer computing, gaming platforms, and embedded applications. This diversification provides multiple revenue channels and reduces dependency on any single market segment.

However, vulnerabilities remain. Softening consumer electronics demand or escalating supply chain expenses could pressure certain business units. While AMD faces challenges, its operational track record has demonstrated consistency and solid execution.

Analyst sentiment confirms this confidence. AMD holds a Moderate Buy rating, supported by 28 Buy recommendations, 13 Hold positions, and only 1 Sell rating. The stock has experienced significant appreciation driven by AI infrastructure and server market momentum, suggesting current valuations incorporate substantial future growth expectations.

Any deceleration in Data Center performance could trigger considerable price corrections.

Intel’s Transformation Journey

Intel retains considerable advantages: massive scale, world-class engineering capabilities, and decades-long relationships throughout PC and server ecosystems. The company is simultaneously working to establish Intel Foundry as a competitive contract manufacturing alternative for external chip designers.

Intel Corp., INTC

First quarter 2026 financials revealed strengthening demand patterns and increased optimism surrounding Intel’s server roadmap and manufacturing strategy. Several analysts have adopted more favorable perspectives regarding the company’s prospects for reclaiming server market position and securing foundry partnerships.

Yet Intel fundamentally remains a restructuring narrative. The foundry initiative demands enormous capital investments. Tangible improvements in profit margins and free cash flow generation must materialize before the investment thesis gains clarity.

Intel’s analyst consensus stands at Hold. The company has garnered 15 Buy ratings but faces 28 Hold recommendations and 4 Sell calls. While sentiment has improved moderately, analysts haven’t fully endorsed the recovery trajectory.

Intel potentially offers greater percentage returns if transformation efforts succeed. However, this scenario carries substantially elevated risk compared to AMD’s established market position.

Current Investment Landscape

AMD presents the more compelling fundamental investment case today. Its server operations are expanding rapidly, AI market exposure continues broadening, and leadership has consistently executed on strategic objectives.

Intel possesses valuable assets and genuine turnaround possibilities. But investors await concrete evidence rather than relying on projected improvements.

Essentially, AMD functions as the established growth vehicle. Intel operates as the high-risk recovery opportunity.

The post AMD (AMD) vs Intel (INTC): Comparing Two Diverging Semiconductor Investment Strategies in 2026 appeared first on Blockonomi.

Ripple’s XRP has shown signs of stabilization after its prolonged downtrend, with buyers successfully defending a key support region and triggering a short-term market structure shift. Although the broader trend remains bearish, the recent price action suggests that selling pressure is weakening, and the market may be preparing for a larger recovery attempt if current support levels continue to hold.

XRP Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, XRP remains inside a broader descending channel and continues to trade below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which are both trending lower and maintaining the long-term bearish structure.

However, the recent decline toward the $1.02-$1.06 support zone appears to have attracted significant demand. This region aligns with a previous liquidity sweep below the April lows, where the market briefly traded beneath support before quickly recovering. Since then, the asset has established a higher low and has begun building a base above this demand area.

The price recently bounced from the support zone and is now attempting to reclaim the horizontal resistance region around $1.22-$1.28. This area is particularly important because it also coincides with the descending 100-day moving average and the upper boundary of the broader bearish structure.

A successful reclaim of the $1.22-$1.28 resistance zone would strengthen the recovery scenario and potentially open the path toward the major supply area near $1.55. Until that breakout occurs, the broader trend remains corrective within a larger downtrend.

XRP/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart presents a more constructive outlook. Following the sweep of liquidity below the $1.02-$1.06 support region, XRP formed a market structure shift (MSS), marking the first indication that sellers were losing control of the short-term trend.

The subsequent rally produced a change of character (ChoCh) as the price broke above a previous lower high and challenged the descending trendline that has capped rallies since mid-June. Although the token initially faced rejection near trendline resistance around $1.16-$1.18, the pullback has remained relatively shallow, and buyers continue defending the former breakout zone.

Importantly, the market has not returned to the lows despite the rejection, suggesting that demand remains active beneath current prices. As long as XRP holds above the $1.03-$1.06 support area, the bullish structure established after the liquidity sweep remains intact.

The key level to monitor now is the descending trendline and the $1.15-$1.18 resistance area. A decisive breakout above this region would confirm a higher-high formation and could accelerate momentum toward the larger daily resistance zone between $1.22 and $1.28.

Conversely, failure to break the trendline could lead to additional consolidation between support and resistance before a larger directional move develops.

Overall, the recent price action favors gradual recovery, but XRP still needs to reclaim the trendline resistance and the $1.22-$1.28 supply zone before a broader bullish reversal can be confirmed.

The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Looks Ready for a Comeback as Sellers Fade appeared first on CryptoPotato.

While buyers have successfully defended the $58K-$60K support region and established a series of higher lows on lower timeframes, Bitcoin is now approaching a confluence of technical resistance where bullish momentum will face its biggest test since the breakdown from the mid-$70K region.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, Bitcoin remains below both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which continue to trend lower and maintain the broader bearish structure. Nevertheless, the recent price action has become increasingly constructive.

Following the sharp sell-off toward the $58K support zone, Bitcoin formed a higher low while the RSI continued to recover and push higher. The momentum indicator has now climbed back above the midline, suggesting that bearish pressure has weakened considerably compared to the aggressive decline seen throughout June.

The price is currently approaching a key bearish order block between $65K and $66.5K. This region also represents the last significant lower-high structure before the most recent leg down, making it a critical area for market structure confirmation. A decisive daily close above this resistance zone could establish a change of character and open the door toward the larger resistance cluster around $72K-$74K.

However, failure to reclaim this area would preserve the broader downtrend and could trigger another rotation back toward the $60K-$61K support zone. Therefore, the reaction around the current resistance region will likely determine whether the recent rally evolves into a trend reversal or remains a corrective bounce.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows a much stronger recovery structure. Since sweeping liquidity beneath the $58K support region, BTC has printed a sequence of higher lows and higher highs while advancing toward the upper boundary of the descending channel that has contained the price since mid-June.

The market is now pressing directly against the channel resistance near $64K-$65K while simultaneously testing the lower boundary of the broader supply zone between $65K and $66K. This creates a pivotal technical area where buyers must prove they can maintain momentum.

A breakout above the descending trendline and subsequent reclaim of the bearish order block would provide the first meaningful confirmation that the corrective structure has ended. Such a move would likely trigger a change of character and increase the probability of a continuation rally toward the $72K-$74K resistance zone.

On the downside, the former intra-range liquidity zone around $61K-$62K has now transitioned into an important support area. As long as Bitcoin remains above this region, the short-term bullish structure remains intact.

Sentiment Analysis

The one-week liquidation heatmap continues to show a substantial concentration of liquidity above the current market price, particularly within the $65K-$67K region. This aligns almost perfectly with the bearish order block and channel resistance highlighted on the technical charts, creating a strong confluence area that could attract price in the near term.

Notably, the liquidity data confirms the technical setup. The resistance zone identified on the charts corresponds directly with one of the largest visible liquidation clusters on the heatmap, reinforcing the idea that Bitcoin may attempt to sweep this overhead liquidity before establishing its next directional trend.

Below the market, liquidity remains comparatively thinner near current levels, while larger concentrations are positioned much higher around the mid-$60K area. This suggests that the path of least resistance may remain upward in the short term as market makers seek to target those leveraged positions.

If Bitcoin successfully sweeps the $65K-$67K liquidity cluster and secures acceptance above the bearish order block, the probability of a broader bullish continuation would increase significantly. Conversely, if the liquidity sweep is followed by a sharp rejection, it could signal that the move was primarily liquidity-driven and increase the risk of another corrective decline toward the $61K support area.

For now, both the technical structure and liquidation positioning continue to favor an upside liquidity grab, with the $65K-$67K region emerging as the most important near-term battleground for Bitcoin.

The post BTC’s Hidden Liquidity Cluster That Will Decide the Next Move: Bitcoin Price Analysis appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple’s cross-border token has stagnated around $1.10 ever since it defended the $1.00 support a few weeks ago during the darkest hours of the overall market’s crash.

Worrisome on-chain data shows that the demand for the XRP Ledger has dwindled lately, but other factors are at play for Ripple and its token. The question now is whether a new rally is brewing.

XRP Network Activity Plummets

CryptoPotato reported that, after the first quarter of the year, network activity on Ripple’s XRP Ledger had rocketed throughout the period despite the painful price performance of the native token. Messari’s report at the time indicated that there were still strong network fundamentals, including stablecoin adoption, real-world tokenization, and transaction activity, which were all showing solid increases.

However, more recent data from Santiment Intelligence shows a major shift. XRP Ledger activity has “gone unusually quiet” in recent weeks, while the token’s price fails to break out of the $1.05-$1.15 range.

The network registered only 25,350 wallets, which became the second-lowest day of the year. New wallet creation dropped to 2,130, the lowest level in almost two years.

“After late-June dip-buying excitement, this looks like traders are waiting for a real catalyst instead of chasing another small bounce,” said Santiment.

Nevertheless, the company remains optimistic about XRP’s future due to other ecosystem factors. It added that XRP still has several “potential sparks beyond” price alone, such as RLUSD’s growth, tokenized-asset activity, and institutional payment use cases. All of these, combined with possible lending tools, could “bring users back on-chain if momentum improves.”

Key Macro Support Zone

Meanwhile, popular crypto analyst and long-term XRP bull, EGRAG CRYPTO, weighed in on the asset’s short-term potential, explaining that it is currently trading inside what has historically been one of its most important accumulation zones. It stretches between $0.85 and $1.20.

EGRAG argued that this range has repeatedly acted as macro support during previous market cycles, but still believes that a dip to $0.85 is in the cards. Nevertheless, even if XRP drops to that level, which would be a new multi-year low, the analyst expects it to bounce and keep the broader bottoming structure intact.

On the other hand, EGRAG added that the first major resistance in XRP’s path forward is at $1.65. If broken, the token can head toward $3.00-$3.50. The ultimate goal, according to this analysis, would be $15, described as “the full cycle expansion target,” but it sounds rather far-fetched at the moment.

#XRP – BENT FORK – $15 (Accumulation Band):

Right now, $XRP is sitting near the historical accumulation band around:

$0.85–$1.20

This zone has acted as macro support in previous cycles.

Can $XRP wick lower toward $0.85? Yes.

But as long as this band holds, the macro… pic.twitter.com/LQ6mMPdcUb

— EGRAG CRYPTO (@egragcrypto) July 10, 2026

The post XRP Stalls at $1.10: Could Quiet On-Chain Activity Be the Calm Before a Bigger Move? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The cryptocurrency space frequently sees the creation of new hype-driven assets that bring immense joy to a handful of early adopters, or, in most cases, insiders.

The latest such sensation was CASHCAT – a highly speculative, community-driven meme coin built on the Robinhood Chain, the Ethereum Layer 2 network. It references an early piece of company lore, and current data from CoinGecko shows that it has exploded by over 3,200% in the past week.

Its market capitalization briefly tapped $200 million earlier after this spectacular rally, which led to the latest interesting stories in the community.

Lookonchain reported both. We will start with the successful one to keep up with the overall positive tone of this article. In it, someone spent only $838 worth of ETH to buy more than 15 million CASHCAT tokens before selling the entire stash for 580 ETH. They managed to lock in a profit of over $1 million.

However, the participant, who might be Brian Jung, according to some of his posts, didn’t make the most of the CASHCAT investment, as a few more days of diamond hands would have yielded an even more impressive profit of $2.9 million.

The second story is also successful, as it didn’t lose money, but the ‘what if’ question is a painful one here. Another user sold 20 million meme tokens for $711. Although that’s still a 10x return from the initial $69 investment, Lookonchain noted that if they had held for just a few more days, they would have been able to retire.

This is because CASHCAT exploded in the following hours and the initial investment of $69 would have rocketed to over $2.7 million. Nevertheless, realized profit is still profit, so let’s not feel too sorry for that investor.

This guy sold 20M $CASHCAT too early for just $711, missing out on a $2.7M+ profit.

He spent 0.04 $ETH ($69) to buy 20M $CASHCAT, then sold it for 0.415 $ETH($711), making a 10x return.

If he had held until today, he could have retired.https://t.co/ujTWQSKCzb pic.twitter.com/DLl2iSpXJ7

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 10, 2026

The post CASHCAT Stories: From Overnight Millionaires to Missed Fortunes appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin raised some eyebrows last Monday when it announced its second BTC sale in the past couple of months. However, this one was significantly larger than the previous, which led to further speculation about another nosedive for the asset.

The opposite side of the coin also stands, as some analysts believe it could actually be beneficial for the company as well as the underlying crypto asset.

A Dangerous Precedent

Those supporting the bearish narrative relied on BTC’s historical performance. Recall that it plunged in the first five days after Strategy announced its previous sale of just 32 units in early June. Bitcoin dumped from over $73,000 to $60,000 in less than a week. Although other factors were at play at the time, Strategy’s move was considered the most impactful. So, if a 32-bitcoin sale can trigger a near-20% correction, what would a 3,588-unit offload do to the already fragile market, right?

The larger issue here can be the precedent. Strategy spent years presenting BTC as its primary treasury reserve asset and consistently raised capital to acquire more and more. Selling bitcoin now to cover preferred dividends shows that its growing financial obligations can compete with or even harm its accumulation strategy.

Its preferred securities and debt require recurring cash payments. On the other hand, bitcoin itself doesn’t generate operating income. Unless Michael Saylor’s brainchild raises fresh capital or receives sufficient cash from its software business, those obligations must eventually be funded through equity issuance, additional borrowing, or, you guessed it, BTC sales.

Perhaps that’s why the firm launched a program that could generate up to another $1.25 billion through bitcoin monetization. Further sales could weaken sentiment, particularly during bearish market conditions when investors are already concerned about forced or systematic selling.

Removing a Bigger Risk

As usual, there’s more than one interpretation on the matter, and the more constructive suggests that Strategy is selling a very small portion of its BTC fortune now to avoid a more disruptive liquidity problem later. The new program mentioned above, called the Digital Credit Capital Framework, allows Strategy to maintain a dedicated dollar reserve for preferred dividends and debt interest.

The current reserve covers approximately 17.4 months of expected payments, compared with roughly six months of coverage when cash reportedly fell below $900 million in late May. If we include the potential $1.25 billion that the company can raise from more BTC sales, it estimates that it will have nearly 26 months of liquidity coverage.

This buffer gives Strategy more time to wait for favorable market conditions rather than having to issue discounted MSTR shares, raise expensive debt, or unload a much larger block of its crypto stash during a crisis.

As such, although the actual sale is not bullish, it confirms that its BTC reserves are available to meet financial commitments, as the current numbers do not suggest immediate distress. However, the move could still appear bearish to those who believed Strategy will never sell, and future disposals could create market pressure if its cash needs a boost or BTC’s price remains depressed.

The post Strategy Is Selling Bitcoin Again: Bearish Warning or Bullish Opportunity? appeared first on CryptoPotato.