Mika Mrmol's long-term signing strengthens Feyenoord's defense, potentially enhancing their competitive edge in the Eredivisie.

The post Feyenoord signs Mika Marmol on deal until June 2030 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Saibari's transfer highlights Bayern's strategic investment in peak talent, impacting both team dynamics and the sports crypto market's growth.

The post FC Bayern Munich sign Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven in deal worth up to €55 million appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Cerebras' growth highlights the increasing demand for AI infrastructure, emphasizing the need for robust execution to maintain investor confidence.

The post Cerebras Systems reports strong growth after OpenAI partnership appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Vitality's rise signals a shift in CS2's competitive landscape, challenging historical dominance and setting new benchmarks for future teams.

The post Team Vitality aims to surpass Astralis in new era of CS2 dominance appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ashley Cole's brief managerial stint highlights the challenges of transitioning from player to coach, emphasizing the need for patience and adaptability.

The post Ashley Cole leaves Cesena after less than 4 months as manager appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Preferred Stock Is Becoming Bitcoin Treasury Firms’ Financing Tool of Choice: Report

A new class of Wall Street securities has grown from an experiment into a multibillion-dollar market in under two years, and a June 2026 research report from BitcoinTreasuries.net argues the expansion has just begun.

The report, produced in partnership with the DeFi protocol Apyx, tracks the rise of preferred shares issued by public companies and backed by their bitcoin holdings. Such shares now carry a combined market value of about $13 billion. That figure represents close to 1% of the $1.3 trillion global preferred market, a share the report’s authors expect to reach 3 to 5% by 2030 and as much as 10%, or $130 billion, beyond that horizon.

The instrument sits at the center of a financing puzzle facing companies that hold bitcoin as a treasury asset. Firms such as Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, want long-duration capital to buy more bitcoin without diluting common shareholders or taking on debt that must be repaid at a fixed date. Bitcoin’s price swings make that balance difficult. 

Bitcoin traded near $124,720 in October 2025, then fell to below $60,000s by mid-June 2026, a drawdown of about 47% in eight months.

Preferred shares offer a path around the problem. When a company issues them, its common share count does not rise, so existing owners avoid dilution. The shares are classified as equity rather than debt, which means no maturity date and no forced repayment. In exchange, holders receive a dividend that ranks ahead of common stock.

 For income investors shut out of bitcoin’s upside, the structure converts the token’s volatility into a yield product.

Preferred shares are pushing Bitcoin expansion

Those yields dwarf what fixed-income markets pay. The five main bitcoin-backed preferred securities in the U.S. carry effective yields between 10.8% and 15.2%, against the 3 to 4%offered on high-yield savings accounts. 

Strategy’s lineup accounts for most of the market: STRF, STRC, STRK and STRD together hold a market value near $12.5 billion. Strive, an asset manager turned bitcoin treasury company, issued a fifth security, SATA, with a market value around $330 million.

The report’s central claim is that demand outstrips supply. Fixed-income institutions such as mutual funds, banks, pensions and insurers hold $10.9 trillion in U.S. treasuries. A shift of 10 to 20 basis points from that pool would generate $10.9 billion to $21.8 billion in demand, enough to validate the near-term market projection on its own. 

Supply, though, is capped by the amount of bitcoin available as collateral. Of the 20 million bitcoins in circulation, holdings in exchanges, spot ETFs and mining firms are excluded as customer assets or operating reserves. 

That leaves the 1.26 million bitcoins held in corporate treasuries, worth about $83 billion. Strategy alone controls some 845,000 of them, or 67%.

Collateral coverage is the feature the report leans on to make the case for safety. Bitcoin-backed preferreds maintain coverage ratios of 3.8 to 4.5 times, meaning issuers hold $3.80 to $4.50 in bitcoin for every $1 of preferred equity.

 By comparison, the median large-bank mortgage in the third quarter of 2025 advanced 76 cents against every dollar of home value. “The security of these instruments is significantly higher than 95% of the bonds in the market,” Jeff Walton, chief risk officer at Strive, said in the report, “because they’re actually backed by capital, not future cash flows.”

Not every firm qualifies to issue. Walton set out requirements: a clean balance sheet free of senior secured debt, scale to support an issuance of $100 million or more, and a team versed in tax treatment, covenant design and dividend policy. 

Encumbered bitcoin, he said, ranks ahead of preferred equity and would block most deals. Strive itself used a $225 million SATA offering in January to retire debt inherited from its acquisition of Semler Scientific, a move that left all of its bitcoin unencumbered.

The risks are structural rather than hidden. Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, acts as a volatility amplifier, and it has fallen more than bitcoin over the past year. “When bitcoin’s price declines, Strategy’s will dip more,” said Tony Lau, an investment partner at Primitive Ventures, who described a possible cascade in the stock. 

Three of the four Strategy preferreds trade at discounts to their $100 par value. The dividends themselves depend on a company’s ability to keep raising capital against a rising bitcoin price, though both Strategy and Strive have disclosed cash reserves sufficient to cover at least twelve months of payments.

Strategy CEO Phong Le told investors in February that the firm’s balance sheet holds unless bitcoin falls to $8,000 and stays there for five or six years.

For now, the report frames preferred equity as an instrument in its “0 to 1 moment” — a market where appetite exceeds what issuers can produce, and where the gap favors the companies willing to build the product.

This post Preferred Stock Is Becoming Bitcoin Treasury Firms’ Financing Tool of Choice: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Standard Chartered and LMAX Group Execute First Live Digital Asset Prime Brokerage Trades

Standard Chartered has executed its first digital asset prime brokerage trades with LMAX Group, a milestone in the build-out of institutional market infrastructure for crypto. 

With this move, the bank became one of the first Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) to test a prime brokerage model for digital assets inside established risk, compliance and market frameworks.

The pilot covered spot Bitcoin (XBT/USD) with T+1 settlement through Standard Chartered’s UK branch. These were the bank’s first digital asset credit intermediation trades under a prime brokerage structure. 

The transactions ran on LMAX Digital, LMAX Group’s regulated institutional venue, with Standard Chartered Prime Brokerage acting as the credit intermediary between counterparties. Settlement completed through the bank’s digital asset custody platform in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Prime brokerage has underpinned equities and foreign exchange for decades, giving institutions a single counterparty for credit, execution and settlement. Crypto has lacked that layer. As capital shifts away from direct exchange access, the gap has widened: in 2025, flows through prime brokers and OTC desks grew at more than 10 times the rate of flows into exchanges.

A digital asset prime brokerage at scale needs a counterparty with the governance, risk discipline and credit capacity to stand behind institutional trades. Most global banks have partnered with crypto-native firms or stayed on the sidelines. 

Standard Chartered said their approach differs: the bank is stepping in as credit intermediary on its own balance sheet, with LMAX Group supplying the regulated execution infrastructure beneath it. 

In short, a bank is bringing its own balance sheet to digital assets rather than renting someone else’s.

What the Standard Chartered pilot validated

The transactions confirmed core controls across credit, margin, risk management, trade booking, settlement and reporting, and showed the model operating inside existing regulatory frameworks. 

The test brought together LMAX Group’s execution and matching technology with the bank’s client connectivity, electronic messaging, trade matching and an early validation of netting approaches. It offered a view into how traditional and digital asset infrastructure can operate as one workflow.

The two firms describe the pilot as a step toward a roadmap for scalable, institutional-grade market infrastructure. 

It builds on the digital asset trading capability Standard Chartered launched in 2025.

“This pilot is part of our broader strategy to build a comprehensive institutional-grade digital asset platform, spanning custody, trading and prime brokerage,” said Alison Higgins, Head of Prime Services at Standard Chartered. “As demand accelerates, we are helping our Prime Brokerage clients capture new opportunities backed by the risk management, controls and balance sheet strength they expect from a G-SIB.”

David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, framed the trade as a fix for a structural gap. “The lack of credit counterparties with robust balance sheets on the scale that we see in traditional finance has been a critical missing mechanism in the digital asset market to date,” he said. “This is a great example of the impending convergence of TradFi and digital assets to a cross-asset capital markets future.”

This post Standard Chartered and LMAX Group Execute First Live Digital Asset Prime Brokerage Trades first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Citi Slashes Bitcoin Target to $82,000 as ETF Money Heads for the Exits

Citigroup took a red pen to its crypto forecasts on Tuesday, cutting its 12-month price targets for bitcoin after the ETF flows that carried the market higher went into reverse.

The bank now sees bitcoin at $82,000 a year out, down from $112,000. It’s the second time Citi has trimmed those numbers in 2026. An earlier round of cuts had already pulled bitcoin down from $143,000. 

What changed most is how Citi thinks about Bitcoin ETFs. The bank had been penciling in $10 billion of net inflows over the coming year. It now expects zero. 

That is a big swing, and it reflects what has happened in the funds themselves: BTC ETFs have shed roughly $3.3 billion in 2026, and June alone saw $4 billion walk out the door — the worst month on record for the products.

Citi’s analysts tied the downgrade to a mix of softer investor demand, those negative ETF flows, and a Washington that has yet to move on digital asset legislation. 

They also raised a more specific worry: that digital asset treasury companies, which have loaded up on bitcoin, might start selling. Add in a broader shift of money toward anything with an AI label, and the setup for crypto has turned defensive.

If things get worse, they could get a lot worse. Citi’s bear case — built on a recession and a steady drip of ETF withdrawals — puts BTC at $53,000 over the next 12 months.

Bitcoin price jumps above $60,000

Bitcoin currently trades at $60,041, up $1,698 (2.91%) on the day, per the live chart dated July 1, 2026. 

Over the past 24 hours it swung between a low of $57,717.55 and a high of $60,473.99, with the biggest push coming after 9:00 a.m., when price broke from around $58,500 up past $60,400. 

Volume ran to 446,377 BTC, or $26.85 billion. Market cap sits at $1.20 trillion, according to Bitcoin Magazine data.

Back in April, Citi said adding bitcoin alongside gold could improve portfolio performance, arguing that splitting a traditional 5% gold allocation between the two assets enhanced returns while providing better resilience during inflationary and bond market stress. 

The report also noted BTC was increasingly behaving as both a geopolitical hedge and a neutral settlement asset, with analysts pointing to strong price momentum, bearish derivatives positioning that could fuel further gains, and BTC outperforming gold during recent market volatility.

This post Citi Slashes Bitcoin Target to $82,000 as ETF Money Heads for the Exits first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Trump-Backed American Bitcoin (ABTC) Sets Reverse Split for July 2

American Bitcoin Corp. (Nasdaq: ABTC), a Bitcoin accumulation platform focused on the buildout of America’s Bitcoin infrastructure backbone, has set the effective time of its 1-for-15 reverse stock split for 5:00 p.m. on July 2, 2026. 

The board fixed the ratio after shareholders granted their approval at the company’s 2026 annual meeting on June 22.

The common stock will begin trade on a reverse split-adjusted basis on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the same symbol, ABTC, at the market open on July 6.

What this means is that every 15 issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock will reclassify into one share of Class A common stock, and every 15 issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock will reclassify into one share of Class B common stock, each subject to adjustment for fractional shares.

The company has no Class C common stock outstanding. The step reduces the share count from 1,092,295,800 shares — 360,070,897 of Class A, 732,224,903 of Class B, and no Class C — to close to 73 million shares, a figure that comprises some 24 million shares of Class A, some 49 million shares of Class B, and no Class C. 

The reverse split leaves the number of authorized shares and the par value of each class unchanged, according to the company.

Participation at the June 22 meeting reached a high level, with close to 93.56% of voting shares represented, the company said.

Two other measures passed at the same session: Asher Genoot joined the board as a Class I director, and KPMG LLP gained ratification as the company’s auditor for the fiscal year that ends December 31, 2026.

American Bitcoin’s background

American Bitcoin traces its roots to American Data Centers, the venture rebranded in March 2025 when Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. joined mining infrastructure firm Hut 8 to launch the company. 

Hut 8 contributed mining assets for an eighty percent stake, while the Trump family and American Data Centers shareholders held the rest. Eric Trump serves as co-founder and chief strategy officer.

Rather than pursue a traditional IPO, the company merged with Gryphon Digital Mining and used its Nasdaq listing as a vehicle. 

American Bitcoin began trading in September 2025 as a pure-play miner and Bitcoin treasury platform. The reserve has since climbed past 6,000 BTC, though the shares have seen sharp swings amid crypto volatility.

This post Trump-Backed American Bitcoin (ABTC) Sets Reverse Split for July 2 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

SEC’s Peirce Sees Clarity Act Passing This Summer as Crypto Rules Take Shape

America’s top securities regulators marked the nation’s 250th anniversary with a common theme: open markets, broader investor access, and a clear legal framework for digital assets.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, in an interview on the Searching for Mana podcast, said she expects the Clarity Act to pass this summer. The bill has cleared the House and awaits Senate action. Peirce, a veteran of the Senate Banking Committee during the financial crisis, called it a large piece of legislation with many moving parts, and she praised the work of members in both chambers.

The Clarity Act would divide oversight of crypto between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and build a federal structure for spot markets, a structure that does not exist at present. 

Peirce said the framework would clarify the application of the Howey Test — the standard for when a token counts as part of an investment contract — and would shield developers from liability when others misuse their tools.

Peirce argued that past enforcement pushed the industry onto a poor path. The old approach, she said, rewarded builders of throwaway projects and made honest actors hard to tell apart from fraudsters. Her hope for the current window is a shift toward products that meet real human needs.

“This is a rare window where you have a lot of regulatory goodwill,” Pierce said. “Use that to build things that last, things that matter.”

She tied the technology’s promise to the transfer of value across networks, the removal of costly intermediaries, and the use of smart contracts to automate back-office work. 

Tokenized securities, she said, could improve collateral mobility, ease securities lending, and let issuers reach shareholders through their wallets. She also linked crypto to artificial intelligence, and predicted that AI agents will transact with crypto assets.

On AI regulation, Peirce favored a hands-off stance: allow experimentation, and address harms as they surface rather than shape the technology from the start. She noted that a firm’s use of AI does not excuse the firm from responsibility for the outcome.

Peirce, whose term nears its end, will leave the agency for a law school teaching post. She flagged a rise in scams and a gap in financial education as her chief concerns, and urged investors toward skepticism.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins chimes in

The SEC’s chairman, Paul Atkins, struck similar notes in a Fox News interview with Larry Kudlow after an address to the Economic Club of New York. 

Atkins cast himself as an advocate of free-market capitalism and pointed to a series of reforms aimed at drawing more Americans into public markets and easing the path to an IPO.

“America was an investment before it was a nation,” Atkins said.

Atkins highlighted the Trump Accounts, set to launch on July 4th, as an expression of American capitalism and long-term saving. He said about 6 million children have enrolled, and that children born in the next two years will receive a $1,000 deposit, with room for matches from employers, parents, and friends. 

The accounts, he said, function as a version of a traditional IRA and give a stake in the market to children who might lack exposure to it at home.

“America was an investment before it was a nation,” Atkins told Kudlow, citing the European companies that financed voyages across the Atlantic, including the settlement that became New York.

On crypto, Atkins said the president had challenged the agency to make the United States the crypto capital of the world. He faulted the prior administration for treating digital assets as suspect by nature, and pledged a reversal that would bring innovators who left the country back to build under American law, for American investors, who could judge the products for themselves.

Both officials framed their agenda against the backdrop of the July 4th holiday and the anniversary of the founding. Peirce called the market system a powerful force for social good and a check on capital allocation by the government. 

Atkins offered a shorter version of the same creed: free-market capitalism, in his words, will win.

This post SEC’s Peirce Sees Clarity Act Passing This Summer as Crypto Rules Take Shape first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Florida has turned crypto ATM scam prevention into a business-liability test for kiosk operators.

The state’s newly chaptered HB 505, now Chapter 2026-178, creates a virtual currency kiosk framework that will require fraud warnings, receipts, daily transaction caps, registration filings, and a conditional refund right for fraud victims.

The timing matters. Most of the act takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, while the section requiring virtual currency kiosk businesses to register before operating starts March 1, 2027.

That staged rollout gives operators time to prepare while setting a clear enforcement path for regulators. Florida is assigning kiosk businesses specific duties before, during, and after a transaction.

The most consequential piece is the refund provision. Once the relevant provisions take effect, a kiosk business must issue a full refund within 72 hours for a customer’s first virtual currency kiosk transaction if the customer reports the alleged fraud to the business and to law enforcement or a governmental agency within 60 days and provides proof, such as a police report or notarized affidavit.

The result is a state-level test of whether crypto ATM fraud controls can be built into the economics of the kiosk business itself.

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May 30, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

Fraud controls become operating rules

Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation had already described the gap that HB 505 now addresses. In a December 2024 statute review, OFR said Florida had 26 known virtual currency kiosk providers, only nine of which were licensed as money transmitters.

It also said peer-to-peer, two-party kiosk operators were not required to hold a Florida money-transmitter license unless they acted as intermediaries.

That distinction created a practical regulatory problem. Some kiosk operators could sit outside ordinary money-transmitter licensing while still offering machines that turn cash into irreversible crypto transfers.

OFR pointed to consumer notifications as one prevention tool, including US Secret Service warning signs posted around hundreds of Central Florida kiosks. It then raised the possibility that kiosk operators themselves could be required by law to post disclosures even when their activity did not require a money-transmitter license.

HB 505 takes that logic further. It links the warning to transaction caps, receipts, registration information, compliance records, and refund documentation, all of which can be checked later.

The law’s structure turns several consumer-protection ideas into operating requirements. Operators will need to manage the customer experience before the transaction begins, keep records after it ends, and document compliance for renewal or inactive-registration scenarios.

The registration timeline is staged. A virtual currency kiosk business already operating in Florida on or before Jan. 1, 2027, must submit a registration application to OFR within 30 days after that date.

The actual statutory section requiring registration before operation takes effect March 1, 2027.

The consumer harm data explains why lawmakers moved in that direction. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said Florida recorded 1,213 complaints involving cryptocurrency kiosks in 2025 and $32.8 million in adjusted losses.

Nationally, IC3 listed 13,460 complaints and nearly $389 million in adjusted losses, while cautioning that these complaints may involve other transaction types used in scams involving kiosks.

AARP Florida separately said in February that the state had more than 3,100 crypto ATMs and more than $33 million in reported crypto ATM-facilitated fraud and scam losses over five years.

The refund right has strict limits

The refund provision is the most significant policy shift because it changes who bears the immediate cost of a fraudulent kiosk transaction.

A public warning leaves the victim with the loss if the warning fails. A refund duty forces the operator to price, prevent, or manage at least some of that risk.

The right has defined boundaries. It applies to the customer’s first virtual currency kiosk transaction. The customer must notify both the kiosk business and a law enforcement or governmental agency within 60 days.

The customer must also provide proof of the alleged fraud, such as a police report or notarized affidavit. The business then has 72 hours to issue the full refund.

That structure is likely to affect operations. Operators may need clearer onboarding records to determine whether a customer is new or existing.

They may need systems that track same-day activity across their own machines. They may need customer-service processes for fraud reports and refund requests.

They may also need to maintain records showing refunds were provided in required circumstances, because the law allows OFR to request evidence of compliance during renewal or inactive-registration processes.

The caps create a second pressure point. A $2,000 daily cap for new customers directly targets the first days of a customer relationship, when a scam victim may be most vulnerable and when an operator has the least history with that person.

The $10,000 cap for existing customers leaves more room for legitimate use, but it still places an outer limit on a customer’s daily kiosk volume.

For operators, that is a revenue constraint on high-dollar transactions and a compliance cost around tracking, disclosures, receipts, and refunds.

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Florida’s framework lands as federal lawmakers are also looking at crypto ATM scams. On June 11, Reps. Sean Casten and Maria Elvira Salazar introduced the Stop Crypto ATM Scams Act, a federal proposal that includes daily transaction limits, warnings, receipts, anti-fraud measures, and refunds of charges collected on fraudulent transactions.

The proposal also says states should retain authority to impose stronger consumer protections, including full refunds for defrauded customers.

That federal proposal is not law. Still, it shows why Florida’s model could matter beyond Florida.

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The debate is moving away from whether crypto ATM users should be warned and toward how much responsibility operators should carry when the machines become part of fraud workflows.

Florida’s law answers with a hybrid model. It keeps kiosks legal while making access conditional on documented fraud controls.

Licensed money transmitters are exempt from separate kiosk registration, yet they remain subject to the same key operating rules around disclosures, transaction limits, receipts, and refunds.

That makes the law more than a local consumer warning. It is a blueprint for making kiosk access conditional on documented fraud controls.

The practical test will come in 2027. If operators absorb the requirements without pulling back from Florida, the model could look exportable to other states seeking a middle path between outright bans and public education campaigns.

If operators reduce kiosk availability, raise costs, or tighten customer screening, the law may still travel, but as a clearer trade-off: less frictionless access in exchange for less unchecked exposure to fraud.

Either way, Florida has changed the policy question. The issue is whether kiosk businesses should be required to slow, document, cap, and in some cases refund the transaction when the warning fails.

The post Florida’s new crypto ATM law makes scam refunds the cost of doing business appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Taiwan has moved stablecoin issuance into a licensing test for supervised financial infrastructure.

The Legislative Yuan passed the Virtual Asset Service Act on its third reading on June 30, establishing a dedicated framework for crypto trading platforms, stablecoin issuers, and other virtual asset service providers.

The practical consequence is a stablecoin market where approval, reserves, domestic custody, audits, and no-yield limits determine who can scale before open-market crypto issuers have much room to compete.

Under the new framework, stablecoin issuers must maintain full reserve backing, hold segregated reserve assets in trust through domestic financial institutions, undergo regular audits and avoid paying interest or other returns to holders.

Those requirements shift the competitive question from who can launch a token fastest to who can satisfy approval, reserve, custody and disclosure obligations at institutional scale.

That makes Taiwan’s stablecoin market a race with a supervised starting line. The early advantage appears to sit with banks, trust providers, auditors, custody platforms and compliance-heavy virtual asset firms that can connect crypto rails to supervised domestic finance.

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From AML registration to stablecoin supervision

Taiwan already had an in-force anti-money laundering registration regime for virtual asset service providers. CryptoSlate’s prior profile of the Taiwan VASP AML Registration Regime treated that system as an AML and counter-terrorist financing framework.

The new act moves beyond that baseline. The Executive Yuan’s April draft context described the bill as a comprehensive framework for VASPs and stablecoin issuers, aimed at financial soundness, segregated custody, unfair trading controls, and market stability.

The passage report says VASPs will need approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission before operating, along with internal controls, cybersecurity, and business continuity requirements.

AML registration asks whether a firm has met baseline controls to operate in a monitored sector. A licensing and supervisory framework asks whether the business model, capital structure, customer protection setup, and operating systems are sufficient to be permitted in the market.

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For stablecoins, the difference is sharper. A crypto issuer can normally present a stablecoin as a product. Taiwan’s law treats domestic issuance as a supervised activity linked to reserve quality, custody location, audits and financial stability.

That pulls the product away from pure crypto distribution and closer to the regulated plumbing of payments.

Existing VASPs that completed AML registration before the law takes effect will have 12 months to apply for licenses and 21 months to obtain approval, according to the passage report.

The timing should be tied to the law’s effective date and the next layer of rules, which still need to be set by the government.

The stablecoin provisions decide who can plausibly compete. Focus Taiwan reported that issuers will need full reserve backing, with segregated assets held in trust by domestic financial institutions.

It also reported that those reserve assets are protected from other creditor claims if an issuer enters bankruptcy, and that issuers must undergo regular audits while being barred from paying interest or other returns to holders.

Those mechanics do two things at once. They make stablecoins safer for users by tying issuance to identifiable reserves and domestic trust arrangements. They also raise the operational bar.

An issuer must be able to manage reserve assets, prove segregation, satisfy audit expectations, handle redemption obligations, and work with domestic financial institutions before it can scale.

That is where the bank-supervised race begins. The current public record leaves room for nonbank issuers, while making domestic financial institutions central to how reserves are held and protected.

That gives banks, trust companies and regulated custody partners a structural role before any nonbank crypto issuer can reach meaningful domestic adoption.

Legal-market analysis from Lee and Li, published by Chambers and Partners before passage, also pointed to FSC approval with central bank consultation, local financial-institution reserves, reserve separation, regular audits, possible additional reserves above a certain issuance scale and central bank foreign-exchange rules.

That context supports the same practical conclusion: the market will likely be shaped by financial institutions and compliance infrastructure even if secondary rules leave room for nonbank applicants.

The no-yield rule is equally important. If holders cannot receive interest or other returns from the stablecoin, the issuer’s pitch must be built around access, redemption, trust, settlement, and compliance.

That favors payment infrastructure, custody relationships and regulated settlement over the growth tactics that helped many crypto products attract users during high-yield cycles.

Why Taiwan’s rulebook travels

Taiwan is not trying to become the largest stablecoin market overnight. The significance is that stablecoins have become one of crypto’s main liquidity rails, and domestic regulators are deciding who can issue, custody, and redeem them within their borders.

CryptoSlate market pages showed the stablecoin sector at about $292.38 billion, with USDT and USDC accounting for most of the category by dominance.

That scale gives Taiwan’s rulebook weight without turning the story into a sweeping global comparison. Stablecoins are already large enough that local rules decide whether domestic payment rails connect to offshore liquidity, bank custody, licensed platforms or some combination of all three.

Taiwan’s earlier policy direction also points toward a financial-infrastructure model. CryptoSlate previously covered Taiwan’s path for bank-issued stablecoins and its digital asset custody pilot for banks.

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The new law turns those setup pieces into a broader market question: whether licensed crypto firms can compete on their own or will need bank and trust relationships to offer stablecoin services that regulators will approve.

The answer is likely mixed. Banks may not need to dominate issuance to dominate the infrastructure around it.

Custody, reserve management, audits, redemption channels, and regulatory reporting can all become gatekeeping functions. Nonbank issuers may still compete, but the competition begins only after they prove they can operate within that financial-control stack.

The next test is in secondary rules. Taiwan still needs an effective date.

The FSC and other authorities still need to define secondary rules covering issuer eligibility, reserve composition, disclosures, redemption procedures and the treatment of stablecoins already used by traders but not authorized for domestic issuance or trading services.

Taiwan has not handed stablecoin issuance to banks. It has created a regime in which scale depends on approval, full reserves, domestic trust or custody, audits and a no-yield design.

In practice, that makes bank-supervised infrastructure the starting line.

Penalties reinforce the shift. Illegal VASP operations or stablecoin issuance can result in up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$100 million, while fraud or market manipulation can result in 3 to 10 years in prison and fines ranging from NT$10 million to NT$200 million.

The law is an enforceable perimeter around who can operate, issue, and market crypto services in Taiwan.

The next signal is the detail of the licensing rules. If the FSC creates a path that allows nonbank issuers to satisfy the same reserve, custody, and audit obligations directly, Taiwan could still have a competitive domestic stablecoin market.

If the practical route runs through banks, trust structures, and supervised custody partners, then the law will have turned stablecoin issuance into a race that crypto-native issuers can enter only after financial institutions have laid the rails.

The post Taiwan’s new crypto law gives banks the first real stablecoin advantage appeared first on CryptoSlate.

On June 29, the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump had the authority to remove the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, rejecting the statutory limits that previously allowed FTC commissioners to be fired only for cause.

This decision overturned Humphrey’s Executor, the 1935 precedent that had protected certain independent agency commissioners from dismissal without cause for more than nine decades.

The ruling stated:

“Despite what Humphrey’s may say, independent agencies are not ‘independent' in the sense that they are free of the President and thus responsive ‘only to the people of the United States.'”

Trump celebrated the court’s decision on his Truth Social platform, framing it as a significant expansion of executive authority.

He wrote:

When questioned by reporters at the White House regarding whether he planned further dismissals across the federal bureaucracy, the president left the door open, remarking that the decision simply restores the rightful power of the Oval Office.

While the ruling centered on the FTC, its reasoning places new pressure on agencies with similar multimember structures and removal protections.

That includes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which have traditionally been designed to operate with staggered terms, bipartisan membership, and some distance from direct White House control.

That structure has been especially important in financial regulation, where markets often prize continuity.

Commissioners can influence enforcement priorities, rulemaking calendars, exemptions, settlement decisions, and interpretations of existing law. Even when statutes remain unchanged, agency leadership can determine how aggressively those statutes are applied.

For crypto companies, that distinction is familiar. The industry spent years arguing that the SEC under former Chair Gary Gensler used enforcement actions to set policy without providing workable rules.

The current administration has moved in the opposite direction, with regulators promising clearer categories for digital assets and greater coordination between the SEC and CFTC.

The Supreme Court’s decision could make that kind of policy swing easier to execute.

SEC and CFTC already sit at the center of crypto policy

The timing makes the ruling more important for digital assets.

The SEC and CFTC are already trying to coordinate more closely on crypto oversight. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig held a joint event in January to discuss harmonization between the agencies and their role in shaping US financial leadership in the crypto era.

The SEC said the event was tied to efforts to deliver on Trump’s promise to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.”

That language marked a clear break from the prior regulatory posture. Instead of competing publicly over jurisdiction or relying primarily on enforcement, the agencies have signaled a preference for clearer asset classifications, coordinated supervision, and rulemaking that provide exchanges, brokers, custodians, and token issuers with a clearer path to compliance.

However, Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO, told CryptoSlate that while the Supreme Court decision does not change the SEC’s or CFTC’s legal authority over crypto, it could give future administrations more influence over how those agencies carry out their mandates.

According to him, a White House that supports digital assets may move faster on market-structure rules, stablecoin policy, and tokenization initiatives, while a less supportive administration could shift the agencies back toward enforcement or delay implementation.

This means that a president who can remove commissioners more easily may be able to align the agencies more closely with the administration’s policy goals.

While that could reduce internal resistance, as it has during crypto-friendly rulemaking under the current administration, it could also give a future administration more room to reverse course.

Levin added:

CLARITY Act raises the stakes

The Supreme Court ruling lands while Congress is debating the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, the most significant market-structure bill now moving through Washington.

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill in May by a 15-9 vote. The legislation is designed to divide digital asset oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, while establishing disclosure, registration, and customer protection rules for parts of the crypto market.

In broad terms, the bill would give the CFTC a larger role over digital commodities and spot-market activity, while preserving the SEC’s authority over investment contracts and securities-linked digital assets.

That framework is intended to resolve years of uncertainty over which regulator oversees token listings, trading platforms and intermediaries.

While the Supreme Court decision does not determine whether CLARITY passes, it changes the institutional setting around the bill.

If Congress gives the SEC and CFTC a clearer mandate over crypto, the people leading those agencies will become even more important.

Commissioners and chairs would be responsible for writing rules, granting exemptions, approving registrations, policing exchanges, and deciding how much flexibility to give firms moving from offshore or state-level structures into a federal regime.

Under the old model, staggered terms and removal protections were meant to slow abrupt changes in agency direction. The court’s ruling weakens that buffer.

A crypto policy framework that depends heavily on SEC and CFTC implementation could therefore become more exposed to presidential politics.

Still, that does not make the ruling a simple win or loss for the industry.

In the near term, crypto firms may benefit if the current White House uses its influence to push regulators toward faster rulemaking, fewer enforcement-driven policy fights, and broader acceptance of tokenized markets. ETF sponsors, exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and institutional trading firms could all gain from a more coordinated federal approach.

The risk is that the same structure works in reverse. A future administration skeptical of digital assets could replace agency leadership, slow pending rules, reopen enforcement theories, or narrow exemptions that the industry had begun to rely on.

That prospect matters for firms making long-term investments in US infrastructure.

This is because exchanges, custodians and asset managers need rules durable enough to support compliance plans, capital commitments and product launches across election cycles.

The post SEC and CFTC crypto plans face new risk from Supreme Court ruling appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Europe's crypto market resets on July 1, when MiCA's transitional period ends and unauthorized exchanges lose the legal right to operate in the EU.

Whether the deadline holds depends on the app stores on European phones.

Under the ESMA's June 23 statement, unauthorized crypto exchanges must immediately stop onboarding new EU clients, opening accounts, and marketing or soliciting business once the transitional period ends.

Activity has to narrow to selling or transferring assets, closing positions, and holding custody only as long as strictly necessary.

Clients who stay with a platform outside that perimeter lose MiCA's protections entirely, including the safeguards covering client assets.

Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, told CryptoSlate that the practical outcome depends on whether offshore platforms can still look available to European users through working apps, localized support, and reverse-solicitation claims.

Ghoos said:

“The most immediate risk is delayed or blocked access to assets. The operational priority shifts from serving clients to managing the firm's own survival. That's when withdrawal queues lengthen, support goes silent, and users can't act quickly enough.”

Ghoos pointed to Zondacrypto's collapse in Poland as a recent example of that sequence playing out. Open positions, staking lockups, fiat off-ramps, and tax records all sit inside that exit window.

ESMA's own statement acknowledges the risk, telling unauthorized firms to communicate clearly and repeatedly with clients and to maintain anti-money-laundering controls through the close-out.

Ghoos says crypto deposits to OKX from non-MiCA-licensed platforms have grown 5.5 times since the week of Apr. 13. Nearly 90% of deposits last week came from unlicensed platforms, up from 69% in April.

Those figures describe inflows to a single licensed venue, but they show users moving weeks before the legal deadline took effect.

A user checks whether the app is still in the store, whether login still works, and whether the deposit clears. Ghoos frames the next phase of enforcement around that disconnect:

“Some unlicensed exchanges are signaling that they aren't going away. Enforcement will be what determines which direction the displaced volume flows.”

MiCA's reverse-solicitation exception protects a transaction only when an EU client approaches a third-country firm on their own exclusive initiative.

Ghoos describes the carve-out's limits:

“What qualifies as reverse solicitation is actually very narrow, applying only when an EU client has, on their own initiative, sought out a third-country firm with no support in the local language or any localization allowed.”

ESMA's guidance treats EU-language apps, push notifications, affiliates, and sponsorships as evidence that a transaction wasn't genuinely client-initiated, regardless of any disclaimer.

If unlicensed apps stay downloadable in European stores, Ghoos says, “certain offshore exchanges will continue to look for ways to circumvent regulatory obligations in Europe.”

MiCA defines an “online interface” broadly enough to cover an application, and Article 94 allows competent authorities to request the removal of, or restricted access to, an online interface when no other effective measure exists and the case requires preventing serious harm. Apple's App Store and Google Play sit inside that reach too.

The European Commission lists both as very large online platforms under the Digital Services Act, with Apple's App Store reaching 123 million EU monthly users and Google Play reaching 284.6 million, according to the Commission's latest figures.

Apple already runs a notice-and-action channel under that law for illegal-content complaints tied to the App Store.

In September, the Commission sent information requests to Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Booking.com about how each platform screens for fraudulent apps that imitate banking and trading services.

Removal requests under Article 94 are handled on a case-by-case basis, often require a proportionality finding, and can be brought before national courts.

The Digital Markets Act has also forced open alternative app distribution and web-based installs on iOS inside the EU, so a clean delisting from Apple's or Google's official stores may cut mainstream reach without closing access for users willing to look elsewhere.

The favorable path has app stores, payment processors, and national regulators moving together at speed: unauthorized apps get pulled or geo-blocked, EU onboarding shuts down cleanly, and reverse-solicitation claims don't survive review.

Under that path, licensed exchanges absorb most of the displaced volume, and the consolidation that MiCA was built to produce shows up in the user numbers.

The opposite path runs through unauthorized platforms stripping explicit EU branding from their marketing, leaning on affiliates and influencers instead of direct ads, and keeping their apps live behind disclaimers about client-initiated contact.

MiCA leaves an unsupervised market that runs outside the asset protections ESMA says no longer apply once a platform falls outside the authorized perimeter.

Ghoos said that “MiCA creates real consolidation,” describing a smaller field of licensed exchanges serving “a larger share of a more confident user base.” But he draws a line around what that consolidation captures: only users who move to a licensed platform.

He added:

“The ones who go offshore are a real loss, and the risk could be higher than expected.”

The clearer difference, in his view, shows up on July 2. A platform genuinely ready for MiCA runs the same product suite that day as it did the day before, backed by the regulatory permissions to keep doing so.

Making access inconvenient enough for users to leave post-MiCA is a separate fight that plays out through 2026 in app-store takedown requests, reverse-solicitation rulings, and withdrawal queues at platforms still operating as though July 1 never arrived.

The post MiCA’s July 1 deadline is Europe’s first crypto user-migration test – OKX interview appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Australia’s July 1 AML/CTF deadline has turned regulated crypto transfers into a data workflow for exchanges and other virtual asset service providers.

Users can still hold and move crypto in self-custody. The friction begins when funds pass through a reporting entity, where a transfer instruction can trigger identity, wallet, counterparty, secure-messaging, and record-keeping checks before assets move or become available.

AUSTRAC’s transitional rules deferred some AML/CTF obligations for new registrable virtual asset services until July 1, 2026, including the rules covering transfers of value involving virtual assets.

The agency’s guidance says those deferred services were not required to comply with Travel Rule obligations for virtual asset transfers until that date.

That runway has now closed. For Australian exchanges and other virtual asset service providers, transfer instructions now carry more than an operational request.

They may require identity collection and verification, wallet classification, counterparty checks, secure message handling, and records linking the payer, payee, wallet, and transfer path.

How the transfer workflow changes

The sharpest user-facing detail is the absence of a small-transfer carve-out.

AUSTRAC’s guidance on when the Travel Rule does not apply states that there is no minimum amount for a value transfer.

The rule applies to international or domestic value transfers of any amount, unless a specific exception applies.

That turns compliance friction into a question of both transfer type and transaction size. Crypto users often associate additional checks with large withdrawals, suspicious flows, or bank-style thresholds.

Australia’s framework points to a different operating rule. The key question is whether a reporting entity is providing a covered value-transfer service.

For users, that can translate into more prompts, more required recipient or wallet information, and more delays when an exchange needs to classify a destination, resolve missing information, or decide whether the next institution in a transfer chain can receive data securely.

For exchanges, even routine transfers may require systems that consistently collect and route information, rather than relying on manual reviews only for higher-value activity.

The result is as much a privacy-and-friction story as a compliance story. A blockchain withdrawal may still settle on-chain as usual, but the regulated transfer process around it now includes a data layer that must be handled before or alongside the movement of assets.

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AUSTRAC’s Travel Rule overview describes a value transfer chain that begins whenever an institution accepts a payer's instruction to transfer value.

That chain can include an ordering institution, intermediary institutions, and a beneficiary institution.

In plain terms, the exchange that accepts a customer’s instruction may have to collect and verify payer information, collect the payee’s full name, and pass relevant transfer-message information to other businesses involved in the transfer.

A receiving institution may have to check whether information is missing or inaccurate before making the transferred value available.

This is why the July 1 date changes the experience of exchange-linked transfers. The crypto transaction itself is only one piece of the regulated workflow.

The business handling the transfer also needs to understand who is sending, who is receiving, what wallet or account is involved, and whether the information can move safely through the transfer chain.

The framework also makes repeat movements relevant. AUSTRAC says a new value transfer chain begins every time a payer instruction is accepted.

If a customer receives value into an account or custodial wallet and then instructs a separate transfer, that second movement can carry its own Travel Rule obligations.

That structure is likely to push exchanges toward more standardized withdrawal and deposit flows. Platforms need workflows that gather transfer data at the point of instruction and maintain enough information to satisfy both sending and receiving obligations.

What self-custody changes at the exchange boundary

The most important boundary is self-custody.

AUSTRAC’s virtual-asset guidance includes a specific rule for transfers involving self-hosted wallets. A transfer to a self-hosted wallet is exempt from sending Travel Rule information to another business in the transfer chain.

But that still leaves compliance work for the regulated entity handling the transfer.

For an ordering institution sending virtual assets to a self-hosted wallet, AUSTRAC says the business must collect and verify payer information, collect payee information, and collect tracing information.

For a beneficiary institution receiving virtual assets from a self-hosted wallet, the business must obtain payer information and tracing information, and if it does not already hold it, the payee’s full name before making the assets available.

The same guidance also says businesses need policies for determining whether a transfer is to or from a custodial or self-hosted wallet, assessing whether a custodial wallet controller is licensed or registered under laws that give effect to FATF recommendations, and managing risk where a wallet is controlled by a person not required to be licensed or registered.

That is the distinction users will feel. Holding assets in a private wallet remains possible.

Moving assets between private wallets differs from sending through a reporting entity. But when funds enter or leave an exchange, the platform may need to ask more questions about the wallet and the person controlling it.

In practice, self-custody becomes less invisible at the exchange boundary. The wallet may sit outside another regulated institution, but the exchange still has to decide what kind of wallet it is dealing with, what information it needs, and whether the transfer can proceed under its AML/CTF program.

The July 1 date also falls within a regulatory perimeter broader than Australia’s older digital-currency exchange model.

AUSTRAC’s virtual asset designated services guidance covers exchanging virtual assets for money, exchanging one virtual asset for another, virtual-asset safekeeping services, and some financial services connected with the offer or sale of a virtual asset.

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Its VASP overview also outlines the ordering and beneficiary institution roles for businesses that accept instructions to transfer virtual assets or make transferred virtual assets available to customers.

That framing is important because the user experience now extends beyond fiat-to-crypto onboarding. Custody, crypto-to-crypto exchange, transfer services, and issuer-linked financial services can bring businesses into the AML/CTF framework where the service has the required connection to Australia.

CryptoSlate’s Australia AML/CTF virtual-asset profile already tracks the broader reform timeline, including the March 31 commencement, the July 1 deferred-obligation date, and the July 29 registration deadline for providers beginning new registrable virtual asset services before July 1.

The live news now is the operational effect of that timeline: the obligation has moved from future compliance to being built into the transfer flow.

Why compliance tooling becomes part of the exchange product

The market consequence is straightforward: Travel Rule compliance is now product infrastructure.

AUSTRAC’s virtual-asset guidance requires businesses to determine wallet type, assess counterparty licensing or registration status, manage risks associated with self-hosted wallets, and consider whether transfer-message information can be transmitted securely and confidentially.

These legal obligations have product consequences. They require data collection, wallet intelligence, transaction monitoring, message routing, and record-keeping systems that fit inside a live exchange workflow.

Compliance firms have been positioning around that shift. Chainalysis described July 1 as a major milestone in Australia’s compressed compliance calendar, while 21 Analytics summarized the Australian threshold as applying to all transactions unless an exemption applies.

Those are vendor perspectives, but they point to the same operational reality created by the primary AUSTRAC rules.

Exchange-facing guidance is already translating the rule into user language. CoinSpot’s public support page on the Travel Rule says Australian exchanges and VASPs need to update how cryptocurrency is sent and received from July 1.

That is where the story meets users. A rule designed around information flows between institutions becomes a product-design problem: what does the platform ask for, when does it ask, how does it explain the request, and what happens when the other side of the transfer is a private wallet or a service that cannot securely receive Travel Rule data?

For users who value privacy, the change makes the trade-off more explicit. Self-custody remains available, but the regulated bridge between self-custody and exchanges is more likely to ask for information.

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For exchanges, the competitive question becomes whether compliance can be handled without turning every transfer into a confusing support ticket.

The immediate answer for Australian crypto users is that regulated transfers can now carry more data obligations regardless of size. The immediate answer for exchanges is that July 1 turns Travel Rule readiness from a project plan into a live operating requirement.

The next signals are practical rather than philosophical. Watch whether Australian platforms add wallet-ownership checks, recipient-detail fields, longer review times, or clearer explanations around self-hosted wallet transfers.

Watch whether compliance vendors become more embedded in exchange withdrawal flows. Watch whether users respond by keeping more assets in self-custody, or by accepting more data sharing as the price of using regulated venues.

The rule preserves private crypto use in Australia while reshaping the regulated edge around it. From July 1, the simple question of where a user wants to send crypto can require an exchange to first answer a second set of questions: who is involved, what kind of wallet it is, what information must travel, and whether the transfer can proceed under AUSTRAC’s AML/CTF framework.

The post Australia’s new crypto transfer rules to make exchange withdrawals pass through identity checks appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The MiCA enforcement deadline has finally landed, pushing the world's biggest exchange out of the EU. A 140-company alliance just detonated a bomb under the leading regulated stablecoin issuer. And Bitcoin is grinding near its lowest levels in over a year as institutional demand stays soft. Here's what's actually moving the market today.

Why is Bitcoin falling today?

Sentiment is firmly risk-off. The global crypto market cap sits around $2.11 trillion, down roughly 1.8% over 24 hours, with total trading volume near $76.9 billion. $BTC is trading around $58,500, off about 2.2% on the day, while $ETH is near $1,573, down roughly 1.4%.

The mood gauge tells the story. The Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 11 — deeper into "extreme fear" — down from 15 a day earlier, as total market cap slipped from $2.16T to $2.11T. The backdrop is a persistent bear phase: ETF outflows, worries over a delayed CLARITY Act, and money rotating out of crypto and into AI stocks have all extended the downturn that dragged $BTC to its lowest levels since 2024 last week. Not everything is red, though — Polkadot and the XRP Ledger ecosystem were among the day's biggest gainers, and Stellar's $XLM climbed close to 12%. 

What does the Binance EU exit mean for the market?

Today is the day MiCA gets real. As of 1 July 2026, any crypto firm serving EU residents must hold a MiCA licence — and Binance doesn't. It withdrew its Greek licence application on 24 June, leaving it without authorisation in any EU country, and from today it halts new sign-ups, spot trading, deposits and Earn products for EU users, though withdrawals stay open.

The scale of the regulatory cull is the real headline. Of more than 3,000 firms that were operating across Europe, only around 210 have secured full CASP authorisation — a pass rate near 7%. Rivals like Coinbase, Kraken and OKX cleared the bar; the world's largest exchange did not. For traders, that means hundreds of thousands of users across Spain, France, Italy and Poland are now weighing where to move their funds — a live migration that favours already-licensed venues.

Why did Circle stock crash?

This is arguably the biggest structural story of the week. Circle ($CRCL) shares fell about 16.5% on 30 June after a consortium of more than 140 companies unveiled Open USD (OUSD), a stablecoin built to compete head-on with USDC. The stock traded as low as $63.10 after opening near $72.46, one of its sharpest single-day drops since listing, and is now down more than 40% over the past month. 

What makes OUSD dangerous to incumbents is its economics. Launch partners include Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa and BlackRock, and the new stablecoin lets partners keep the reserve earnings — striking directly at one of the core economics of today's issuers. Where issuers like Circle earn revenue by investing reserves in short-term Treasuries and keeping most of the interest, OUSD instead distributes that yield to participating businesses, with free, uncapped minting and shared governance. The Coinbase angle stings most: Circle paid Coinbase roughly $908 million in a single recent year in USDC distribution fees — and that partner is now backing a rival. OUSD is expected to go live later this year, initially on chains including Base and Solana.

Other regulatory news to watch

Several fronts are heating up at once. Jefferies has warned of crypto market volatility as the CLARITY Act faces a key Senate test, noting passage would boost institutional adoption while delays would prolong regulatory uncertainty. Meanwhile, the stablecoin rulebook is diverging across borders: the UK's Financial Conduct Authority has proposed lowering stablecoin capital buffers, undercutting the EU's stricter MiCA requirements. And in Asia, Taiwan has passed a sweeping crypto law introducing licensing, reserve mandates and tough penalties, now awaiting final presidential approval.

Binance is shutting the door on EU customers. From 1 July 2026, the world's largest crypto exchange can no longer offer services to residents of the bloc, after failing to secure a licence under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) before the transition period closed. If your funds are sitting on Binance, you don't need to panic — but you do need a plan. This guide explains what happened and walks you through moving your crypto to a regulated platform, step by step.

What actually happened with Binance and MiCA?

MiCA is the EU's single rulebook for crypto. To legally serve customers anywhere in the bloc, an exchange must hold a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence from one member state — that licence then "passports" across all 27 EU countries and the wider European Economic Area. The transition period that let legacy operators keep working while awaiting authorisation closed on 1 July 2026, the hard enforcement date.

Binance bet on Greece as its entry point. On 24 June 2026, it formally withdrew the application it had filed with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, citing prolonged review timelines and the absence of any formal decision — just days before the deadline. The exchange says it remains confident it will secure an EU licence in the coming months and intends to approach France next. But any approval will land after 1 July, leaving a gap where Binance is locked out.

The scale of the cull is striking. Of more than 3,000 crypto firms operating across Europe, only around 210 received full MiCA authorisation by the deadline — a clearance rate of roughly 7%. Rivals including Coinbase, Kraken, OKX and Crypto.com cleared the bar; the largest exchange in the world did not.

Are my funds on Binance safe?

Yes. This is a suspension and orderly wind-down, not a shutdown or a seizure. From 1 July, Binance halts new spot orders, deposits, sign-ups and Earn, staking and launchpool products for EU residents — but funds remain accessible and withdrawals stay active. The Convert feature stays usable for selling only, so you can wind down positions in an orderly way.

Think of it as closing the register while leaving the warehouse open so you can collect your goods. That said, staying on an unlicensed platform means giving up the consumer protections MiCA was built to guarantee. ESMA has called on unlicensed firms to halt new registrations, restrict activity to asset transfers and account closures, and give customers clear timelines. The sensible move is to migrate to a licensed platform or a self-custody wallet.

Why is Bitpanda a strong alternative?

Bitpanda is a European-headquartered exchange that is already fully regulated, holding licences with Germany's BaFin, Austria's FMA and Malta's MFSA. It secured MiCA authorisation through Austria, meaning it can legally serve users right across the EU, with a strong focus on capital security and consumer protection. For anyone leaving an unregulated venue, that is exactly the kind of safe harbour the new rules were designed to reward.

One key tip before you move: under MiCA, USDT (Tether) cannot be traded on regulated EU platforms. If you hold USDT on Binance, convert it to a MiCA-compliant asset such as USDC, or to EUR, before transferring — so your funds arrive ready to use.

How do I move my funds from Binance safely?

1. Open and verify your Bitpanda account

Sign up here, complete identity verification (KYC) and enable two-factor authentication (2FA). Have your ID ready — verification usually takes only a few minutes.

2. Tidy up your Binance holdings first

Convert any USDT to USDC or EUR and consolidate small balances. This avoids assets being unusable on a MiCA-regulated platform and keeps network fees lower.

3. Get your Bitpanda deposit address

Choose the asset you want to receive (e.g. $BTC, $ETH or a stablecoin), select Deposit, and copy the wallet address. Make sure you pick the same network you'll use on Binance (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum/ERC-20).

4. Withdraw from Binance to Bitpanda

On Binance, go to Wallet → Spot → Withdraw. Select the asset and the matching network, paste your Bitpanda address, and double-check it character by character. For transfers above €1,000 you may be asked for Travel Rule details — your own name must match your KYC on both platforms.

5. Send a small test first

Withdraw a small test amount before moving everything. Wait for it to arrive (usually 2–15 minutes depending on the network), confirm it landed correctly, then send the rest.

6. Confirm and you're done

Once the full balance appears in Bitpanda, you're fully migrated to a regulated EU platform — consumer protections intact and your crypto ready to trade.

What's the catch with switching now?

The main thing to watch is the USDT conversion — don't transfer Tether and expect to use it on a regulated platform. Beyond that, the usual rules apply: always send a test transaction, match networks exactly, and verify addresses character by character. The market context also matters: with millions of users facing restricted access, capital is expected to shift fast toward compliant platforms, so acting sooner rather than later avoids any last-minute congestion.

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The crypto market is bleeding again, but the biggest story may not be the Bitcoin crash itself.

Bitcoin has slipped below the $59,000 level, Ethereum is trading near $1,560, and most major altcoins are flashing red. Dogecoin, TRON, XRP, BNB and Litecoin are all under pressure, while only a few names such as Zcash, Stellar and Hyperliquid are showing relative strength.

At first glance, this looks like another risk-off day for crypto. But behind the sell-off, a much bigger shift is taking place: some of the world’s largest financial and payment companies are moving deeper into stablecoins.

A new initiative called Open Standard has launched a global dollar-backed stablecoin named Open USD, with major names including Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase involved. Reports also point to backing or participation from companies such as BlackRock, Google and Stripe, making this one of the most important stablecoin stories of the year.

The result is a strange but important contradiction: crypto prices are falling, but crypto infrastructure is becoming more institutional than ever.

What Is Open USD?

Open USD is a new U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin designed to make digital dollar payments cheaper, easier and more scalable for businesses.

According to Reuters, the project is being launched by a consortium of more than 140 participating businesses under the Open Standard initiative. The stablecoin is designed to be freely minted and redeemed by businesses, with no volume restrictions. The model also includes shared reserve earnings for participating consortium members after a management fee.

That detail is important.

Stablecoins are already one of the most useful parts of crypto. They allow users and businesses to move dollars onchain without relying on traditional banking rails for every transfer. But the market is still dominated by a small number of players, mainly Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.

Open USD appears to be targeting that dominance by offering a more open, business-friendly model. Instead of just creating another dollar token, the project seems designed as a shared infrastructure layer for companies that want access to stablecoin payments without building everything from scratch.

Why Visa and Mastercard Entering Stablecoins Matters

For years, stablecoins were seen as a crypto-native product. Traders used USDT and USDC to move between exchanges, avoid volatility and park liquidity during market swings.

Now, the biggest payment networks in the world are no longer watching from the sidelines.

Visa and Mastercard entering deeper into stablecoin infrastructure suggests that the payment industry sees digital dollars as a long-term part of global settlement. This does not mean stablecoins will replace credit cards tomorrow. But it does mean the biggest players in payments are preparing for a world where money moves faster, cheaper and across borders with fewer intermediaries.

Mastercard has already been expanding settlement capabilities to include stablecoins, intraday transfers, weekend settlement and holiday settlement options. That shows the company is not treating stablecoins as a temporary trend, but as part of the next payment infrastructure cycle.

This is why the Open USD launch matters more than a normal token launch. It is not a meme coin. It is not another speculative altcoin. It is a sign that traditional finance and crypto payment rails are moving closer together.

Could Open USD Challenge USDT and USDC?

The real question is whether Open USD can compete with USDT and USDC.

USDT remains the largest stablecoin in crypto and is deeply integrated across global exchanges. USDC, meanwhile, has stronger regulatory and institutional positioning, especially in the United States. Together, they dominate the digital dollar market.

But Open USD has one major advantage: distribution.

If Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, Stripe, BlackRock and other major companies support the same stablecoin infrastructure, Open USD could gain faster access to businesses, wallets, exchanges, payment platforms and fintech apps.

That does not guarantee success. Stablecoins need trust, liquidity, regulatory clarity and deep integrations. Traders and businesses do not switch stablecoins just because a new one launches. They switch when the new option is cheaper, safer, faster or more useful.

Still, the launch could pressure both USDT and USDC. If Open USD succeeds, the stablecoin market could become less about crypto exchanges alone and more about payments, business settlement and mainstream financial infrastructure.

Why This Is Happening While Bitcoin Is Crashing

The timing is what makes this story powerful.

Bitcoin is showing weakness below $59,000, and technical sentiment across the market looks fragile. Many major coins are trading with “sell” or “strong sell” signals, while altcoins remain under pressure.

Normally, a Bitcoin crash dominates the crypto news cycle. But this time, the market is split between short-term price fear and long-term infrastructure adoption.

That is the key point: prices can crash while adoption continues.

In previous cycles, crypto infrastructure often slowed down during bear markets. This time, payment giants, banks and asset managers are still building. JPMorgan has also been talking about digital assets moving closer to the core of the financial system, especially through tokenization and programmable money.

This creates a very different market narrative.

Retail traders may be asking whether Bitcoin is heading to $55,000 or lower. Institutions, meanwhile, appear to be asking how stablecoins, tokenized assets and digital settlement systems can become part of the financial system.

Is This Bullish for Crypto?

Open USD is not automatically bullish for Bitcoin in the short term.

A new stablecoin does not mean BTC will reverse today. It also does not mean Ethereum, Solana, XRP or BNB will immediately recover. The market is still dealing with weak momentum, low confidence and heavy selling pressure.

But from a structural perspective, this is bullish for the crypto industry.

Stablecoins are one of the clearest real-world use cases in crypto. They are used for payments, trading, settlements, remittances, cross-border transfers and onchain liquidity. If major global companies are now competing to build stablecoin infrastructure, that supports the argument that crypto is not disappearing — it is becoming more embedded in traditional finance.

The market may be crashing, but the infrastructure layer is expanding.

That is why this story matters.

The Bigger Picture: Stablecoins Are Becoming the Mainstream Crypto Use Case

For years, Bitcoin was the face of crypto. Then came Ethereum, DeFi, NFTs, meme coins and ETFs. But stablecoins may now be the sector’s most important bridge to the real world.

They do not need users to believe in price appreciation. They do not need people to speculate. They simply need to be useful.

Businesses want faster settlement. Payment companies want cheaper rails. Fintech apps want global dollar access. Crypto exchanges need deep liquidity. Institutions want tokenized cash equivalents that can move across blockchain networks.

Stablecoins sit at the centre of all of that.

That is why Open USD could become one of the most important launches of the year. Not because it will pump like a meme coin, but because it shows that the stablecoin race is entering a new phase.

Final Thoughts

The crypto market looks weak today. Bitcoin is below $59,000, Ethereum is struggling, and most large-cap altcoins are trading in the red.

But the launch of Open USD tells a different story.

While traders focus on the crash, Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock and other major players are moving deeper into stablecoins. That means the next crypto battle may not only be about Bitcoin price predictions or altcoin pumps. It may be about who controls the future of digital dollars.

If Open USD gains adoption, the stablecoin war could become one of the biggest crypto narratives of the year.

For now, Bitcoin may be falling. But the financial giants are still building.

It's been a brutal week across the crypto market, but some tokens got hit far harder than others. While $Bitcoin and $Ethereum bled on macro pressure, a handful of altcoins suffered eye-watering collapses — led by a meme-coin platform that lost three-quarters of its value in a matter of days.

Here are the 5 cryptos that crashed hardest over the past 7 days, ranked by their losses, along with the reason behind each drop.

5 Cryptos That Crashed Hardest This Week 

1. MemeCore ($M): down 75.75%

The week's undisputed worst performer is MemeCore, which cratered a staggering 75.75% over 7 days, now trading around $0.6894 with a market cap of roughly $909M. Notably, it's actually up 16% on the day — a small dead-cat bounce after the carnage.

This was a textbook thin-liquidity implosion. MemeCore's token price fell from $3 to $0.50 in less than 30 minutes on Wednesday evening, with low trading volume and concentrated insider ownership making it vulnerable to a sudden crash. The structural red flags were there all along. Most of the supply is held by a handful of insiders, and the token carried allegations of insider-driven market price manipulation, limited trading volume, and listings on just a handful of exchanges.

The trigger remains murky, but the mechanics are clear. It's unclear what started the drop, but with minimal active bidding, it didn't take much to consume MemeCore's available market liquidity. The one silver lining: the crash cleared out most of the excess leverage, with nearly $8 million in long positions liquidated, and price has since shown early signs of stabilization around the $0.65 level.

2. Ethena ($ENA): down 63.58%

Ethena's ENA token was the second-worst performer, down a brutal 63.58% YTD and bleeding 8.20% on the day, now trading near $0.07270 with a $675.7M market cap.

ENA's problem is structural and well-flagged: token unlocks. ENA remains exposed to token unlock pressure, where a large portion of supply has already been unlocked while the remaining supply continues to vest — and these unlocks can limit price recovery by creating steady selling pressure even when the underlying project has strong adoption. The core challenge is one of demand. ENA still has to prove that protocol growth actually translates into token demand, and until that becomes clearer, it remains a token with weak near-term momentum.

It's not all bleak, though — there are genuine catalysts brewing. Ethena-backed StablecoinX completed its merger with TLGY Acquisition Corp and is set to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker USDE, expanding its stablecoin infrastructure business. 

3. Mantle ($MNT): down 56.08%

Mantle is next, down 56.08% over the period and trading around $0.4224 with a $1.39B market cap. It was also among the day's biggest losers. Mantle (MNT) fell 13.19% in 24 hours to around $0.43, with trading activity near $62.62 million, ranking it among the top losers of the day. -

Mantle's decline has been less about a single scandal and more about the broader risk-off rotation hammering mid-cap altcoins. As capital flees to safety and Bitcoin dominance climbs, ecosystem and Layer-2 tokens like MNT tend to suffer outsized drawdowns with little token-specific news to cushion the fall.

4. Worldcoin ($WLD): down 25.75% (7d)

Worldcoin, now trading around $0.4179 with a $1.46B market cap, fell 25.75% over 7 days. But unlike MemeCore's panic implosion, WLD's drop looks far healthier. Worldcoin's decline looks more like a cooldown after a strong multi-week run — it had rallied for five straight weeks, putting plenty of short-term holders into profit, so profit-taking was always on the cards.

That distinction matters: a pullback driven by profit-taking after a sustained rally is a very different animal from a liquidity-driven collapse. WLD is still up 1.03% on the hour, hinting at some stabilization.

5. Cosmos ($ATOM): down 21.30% (YTD)

Rounding out the list is Cosmos, trading around $1.51 with a $782.5M market cap, down 21.30% YTD and 13.70% over 7 days. Like Mantle, ATOM's weakness is largely a victim of the broader environment rather than any single headline.

As an established Layer-0 ecosystem token without a fresh catalyst, ATOM has been swept up in the same risk-off tide pulling capital out of altcoins and into Bitcoin. With sentiment firmly in "Bitcoin Season," even fundamentally solid projects like Cosmos struggle to attract buyers, leaving them to drift lower alongside the broader altcoin market.

Why are Altcoins Down?

None of these drops happened in a vacuum. The entire market has been under heavy pressure, and the macro backdrop explains why speculative altcoins fell hardest. Capital has been running toward safety rather than risk, with Bitcoin dominance climbing above 58% and the Altcoin Season Index deep in "Bitcoin Season" territory.

The drivers are familiar: a hawkish Fed, ETF outflows, and broad risk aversion. Markets are now pricing in a rate hike in 2026 after previously expecting cuts, sustained Bitcoin ETF outflows have added pressure, and capital is rotating toward AI narratives and institutional partnerships rather than memecoins and speculative tokens.

The biggest fear hanging over markets right now isn't a crypto problem at all — it's artificial intelligence. A growing chorus of analysts is warning that the AI boom has inflated into a bubble, and that an AI bubble crash could send shockwaves straight into Bitcoin ($BTC) and the broader crypto market.

Here's the uncomfortable part: the early warning signs analysts flagged have already played out. Crypto has been bleeding for months as capital rotated out of digital assets and into AI stocks — Bitcoin has already fallen from above $100K to around $60K. So the real question now isn't "what if there's a small AI wobble." It's: what happens if the AI bubble actually crashes from here, on top of an already-weakened market?

What is the AI bubble — and why are analysts warning about it?

The "AI bubble" refers to the fear that valuations across AI stocks and infrastructure have inflated far beyond what the underlying economics justify. The warning signs are flashing in institutional surveys. In a Bank of America survey, 45% of fund managers flagged an "AI bubble" as the market's biggest tail risk, up from just 11% two months earlier, and more than half said they believe AI stocks are already trading in bubble territory due to huge spending and poor return on investment.

The core problem is a massive mismatch between spending and revenue. Financial analyst HedgieMarkets warned the AI boom risks a far harsher crash than the 2000s dot-com bubble, arguing the sector spent roughly $400 billion to generate just $60 billion in revenue in 2025, with most firms seeing no returns. Worse, the way it's been financed makes it fragile. Unlike the equity-funded dot-com era, today's AI expansion is debt-driven, raising the risk of cascading failures across private equity, banks, insurers and already-stressed consumers if growth expectations collapse.

The scale of the liquidity involved is staggering. Arthur Hayes estimates roughly $1.5 trillion in debt was issued by hyperscalers and AI infrastructure companies between November 2022 and mid-2026 — almost exactly matching the $1.5 trillion rise in M2 money supply over the same period — leading him to argue "AI sucked up all created dollars."

The correction analysts warned about has already started

This is the key context most coverage misses. Back in late 2025, when analysts first sounded the alarm, $Bitcoin was trading above $100K, and the warning was that an AI-driven risk-off move could drag it down toward $60K–$75K.

At the time, that was the bear case. Analysts warned Bitcoin could fall to the $60,000–$75,000 range if the AI bubble pops, with institutional support helping limit losses compared to past crashes. There was even a fundamental floor argument. Analyst Nomad Bullstreet suggested Bitcoin's price may not decline below its average production cost, estimated around $71,000–$75,000.

But here's the thing: the market has already fallen into that zone. Bitcoin slid from above $100K all the way to around $60K — and the driver was exactly the dynamic analysts described. The warning was never about AI directly attacking crypto code — it's about capital, the vast rivers of speculative money that have flowed into both sectors. A loss of faith in AI valuations would trigger a broad risk-off panic, and digital assets, sitting on the speculative end of the spectrum, often get sold first.

In other words, the mild correction the analysts forecast isn't a future risk — it's already happened. Capital has been rotating out of crypto and into AI infrastructure all year, and Bitcoin pre-emptively priced in a lot of that pain. The old $60K–$75K "production cost floor" has already broken.

That reframes everything. The relevant question is no longer "what if AI corrects" — it's "what if the bubble actually crashes now, from a starting point that's already deep in the red?"

How would a full AI bubble crash hit crypto from here?

If the warned-about rotation was phase one, an outright crash would be phase two — and it would land on a market with far less cushion than it had at $100K.

Crypto's behavior makes it especially vulnerable. The crypto market in 2026 continues to act as a high-beta risk asset, meaning it tends to amplify broader market sentiment, particularly in response to tech and AI-linked equity volatility — and a crash could trigger an outsized initial drop even if crypto fundamentals haven't changed.

There's also a forced-selling dimension that accelerates everything. Institutional funds and quantitative traders that allocate across both tech stocks and crypto may cut both simultaneously in times of stress, while leveraged positions in crypto futures and perpetuals can trigger cascading liquidations that accelerate the downward move. And the liquidity logic is brutal: if AI stocks collapse, no excess capital remains to flow into Bitcoin, and banks that lent against AI valuations would pull back credit, tightening conditions broadly.

It's not unanimously bearish, though. Some see a crash as ultimately bullish for Bitcoin further out. Arthur Hayes believes an AI bubble crash could create short-term pressure on Bitcoin, but his long-term outlook remains bullish because a major market shock could push governments and central banks back toward liquidity support, stimulus, and money printing — a "dump then pump" thesis.

The extreme bear case: Bitcoin at $20K, ETH at $800?

Here's the scenario circulating among the most aggressive bears — and a clear caveat upfront: these are worst-case, low-probability targets that would require a full systemic financial crisis, not just a sector correction.

But with Bitcoin already at ~$60K — having broken the old "floor" — a true AI bubble crash from current levels is what makes these deeper targets even thinkable. In a systemic unwind, where the AI bubble crashes violently, debt-driven contagion spreads to banks and credit markets, and crypto's high-beta nature plays out fully, the speculative cascade from here looks like:

• Bitcoin ($BTC) toward $20,000 — roughly another 65% down from current levels, requiring the institutional bid to evaporate entirely amid forced selling.
• Ethereum ($ETH) toward $800 — consistent with ETH's tendency to fall harder than BTC, amplified by relentless ETF outflows.
• XRP ($XRP) toward $0.30 — reflecting how altcoins typically lose multiples of Bitcoin's percentage in a deep flush.
• Solana ($SOL) toward $20 — among the most exposed, given its high-beta profile and reliance on speculative capital.

Be clear-eyed about what this requires: not just an AI correction (which has arguably already begun), but a full-blown global financial crisis with cascading credit failures. As one expert warned, economic historian Carlota Perez cautioned that an AI and crypto bust could lead to a global economic collapse of "unimaginable proportions." That's the tail risk these numbers reflect — a doomsday cascade, not the probable path.

Will the AI Bubble Affect Crypto Prices?

The framing that matters most: the correction analysts warned about has largely already happened — that's a big part of why Bitcoin fell from $100K to $60K as capital rotated into AI. What hasn't happened yet is a full AI bubble crash, and if it comes, it would hit a market that's already weakened and has far less cushion than it did six months ago.

That's what makes the extreme targets — BTC $20K, ETH $800, XRP $0.30, SOL $20 — worth knowing as a worst-case stress test. They're not a base-case forecast; they'd require systemic financial contagion, not just an AI sector wobble. But starting from $60K rather than $100K, the downside math is no longer as far-fetched as it once sounded.

The smart takeaway: respect the AI-correlation risk, keep your leverage in check, and watch the Nasdaq and AI-stock sentiment as closely as the crypto charts — because right now, that's where Bitcoin's next big move is being decided.

Analysts don't think the threat of a new stablecoin launch was enough to warrant a major Circle (CRCL) sell-off on Tuesday.

BTC recovered from local lows to $60,000 after softer U.S. jobs and factory data revived hopes the Fed's hawkish turn could be easing.

Securitize President Brett Redfearn argues that tokenization will bring crypto's core benefit of disintermediation to retail investors.

The Trump administration reversed its shutdown order after weeks of talks, with Anthropic tying Fable 5's return to a new safety classifier and other moves.

Shares in top Solana treasury firm Forward Industries are jumping Wedesday after announcing that it added over 500,000 SOL to its stash.

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) developer community is buzzing following the successful return of the highly anticipated "Batch" amendment.

Ripple locked 700 million XRP back in escrow, capping its July release at $319 million to match tight market capacity.

The Winklevoss twins have made huge Bitcoin deposits into a major crypto exchange in a suspected attempt to sell and take profit while Bitcoin struggles to recover.

Tom Lee links his Ethereum treasury firm, Bitmine, to the new non-profit alliance.

Wall Street giant Citi has slashed its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $82,000 and its Ethereum target to $2,200.

Key Takeaways

• Walmart shares plummeted more than 5% Wednesday, reaching their lowest point in eight months following a six-session losing streak
• Cleveland Research identified a deceleration in U.S. comparable store sales that may threaten analyst consensus figures, especially in July
• Shares began trading at $113.26, significantly beneath the 50-day moving average of $123.25
• Company insiders offloaded more than $1.06 billion worth of shares during the previous three months without any reported purchases
• Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy rating with a consensus price target of $138.85, though valuation concerns have emerged

Shares of Walmart began Wednesday’s session at $113.26, representing a decline exceeding 5% and positioning the stock for its weakest closing price in eight months. This marked the sixth straight trading day of declines for WMT.

Walmart Inc., WMT

The catalyst behind the selloff was research from Cleveland Research, which identified signs of decelerating U.S. comparable store sales. The research firm cautioned that this trajectory may negatively impact consensus forecasts, with July’s performance being particularly critical.

In response to inventory challenges, Walmart has implemented price reductions and leveraged tariff refunds to cushion margin pressure. While this represents a strategic response, it underscores the genuine cost and demand challenges confronting the retailer.

The share price deterioration persists even after a robust first-quarter performance. The company delivered earnings of $0.66 per share in May, aligning with analyst projections, while revenue of $177.75 billion surpassed the anticipated $174.84 billion — representing a 7.4% year-over-year gain. Management also maintained its fiscal 2027 guidance of $2.75–$2.85 in earnings per share.

However, investors appear focused on future challenges rather than recent accomplishments.

Significant Insider Transactions Draw Attention

Insider trading patterns have been notably lopsided. Throughout the past quarter, company insiders divested more than $1.06 billion in WMT shares. No insider purchases were documented during this timeframe.

Executive Vice President Christopher Nicholas disposed of 2,900 shares at $123.92 on May 21st. Fellow EVP Latriece Watkins subsequently sold 11,000 shares at $118.97 on May 28th. Both transactions occurred through pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements.

Although scheduled sales are standard practice, the substantial magnitude of insider selling has attracted investor scrutiny.

The stock currently trades at a P/E ratio of 39.74 — representing a premium valuation that several analysts question in light of potential growth deceleration. While its GF Score of 86/100 indicates strong long-term fundamentals, near-term momentum has turned decidedly negative.

Analyst Community Maintains Optimistic Stance

Notwithstanding the downturn, Wall Street analysts haven’t abandoned Walmart. The stock maintains a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price objective of $138.85 — substantially above present trading levels.

Recent analyst ratings feature a $145 Buy target from BTIG, $140 from Truist, and $137 Outperform ratings from both Wolfe Research and Royal Bank of Canada. Among 36 tracked analysts, 31 maintain Buy ratings and four recommend Hold. A single analyst assigns a Strong Buy rating.

Several institutional investors expanded positions during the first quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services established a fresh $2.81 million position, while Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its holdings by 253.3%.

Walmart’s 52-week high stands at $135.15. The stock’s 200-day moving average rests at $122.22, a threshold now breached to the downside.

With a 1-year low of $94.23, there’s context for evaluating potential downside if selling momentum persists.

The post Walmart (WMT) Stock Plunges Over 5% Amid Sales Growth Concerns appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• OPEN shares climbed more than 9% Wednesday, reaching approximately $5.05
• Russell 3000 Index welcomed Opendoor, with inclusion taking effect June 26
• Leadership compensation structure emphasizes performance metrics, attracting investor focus
• Eric Jackson from EMJ Capital projects $82 per share by 2028 and $500 by 2033
• Options traders showed strong conviction: 99,802 call contracts at double normal volume, Put/Call Ratio at 0.14

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) shares surged over 9% during Wednesday’s session, reaching the $5.05 level, fueled by a combination of benchmark index entry, optimistic Wall Street commentary, and aggressive derivatives positioning in the proptech name.

Opendoor Technologies Inc., OPEN

The rally followed confirmation that Opendoor secured a spot in the Russell 3000 Index, officially taking effect at market close on June 26. Such benchmark additions typically trigger institutional buying from passive funds replicating the index composition.

Market participants have also taken note of CEO Kaz Nejatian’s compensation framework, which emphasizes performance-driven incentives. This structure demonstrates executive alignment with shareholder value creation over the long haul rather than guaranteed base compensation.

The most vocal optimist remains Eric Jackson from EMJ Capital, who has characterized Opendoor as experiencing “real estate’s Tesla moment.” Jackson projects the stock could reach $82 per share by 2028, with an ambitious long-range forecast of $500 by 2033.

Jackson’s investment case centers on Opendoor’s vertical integration strategy, asset class ownership, and possibilities around real estate tokenization. While extremely aggressive, the thesis has captured market attention.

Chart Analysis and Key Price Levels

Examining the technical picture, OPEN currently trades 12.7% above its 20-day simple moving average of $4.51 and 5.8% above its 50-day average at $4.81. This positioning indicates near-term momentum favors buyers.

The extended timeframe presents a more complicated scenario. Shares remain 14.6% beneath the 200-day moving average of $5.96, indicating the long-term trend hasn’t completely reversed course.

The MACD indicator sits above its signal line with positive histogram readings, suggesting strengthening momentum. However, the death cross formation from March — when the 50-day average dropped below the 200-day — remains a technical headwind signaling unresolved long-term weakness.

Critical resistance appears at $5.50, a psychological level where previous rallies have encountered selling pressure. Downside support emerges at $4.50, coinciding with the 20-day moving average zone.

Derivatives Activity Signals Bullish Positioning

The options arena delivered perhaps the most compelling signal Wednesday. Total call volume reached 99,802 contracts in OPEN, approximately double normal activity levels.

The most heavily traded positions included the July 2nd weekly $5 calls and $5.50 calls, combining for nearly 32,200 contracts. Implied volatility expanded more than 3 points to 85.43%.

The Put/Call Ratio registered just 0.14 — an extremely low reading indicating traders are predominantly positioned for continued upside movement in coming sessions.

Opendoor is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on August 6.

The post Opendoor (OPEN) Stock Surges 9% Following Russell 3000 Addition and Options Activity appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Meta is preparing to enter the AI cloud infrastructure space, positioning itself against established enterprise providers
• Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh indicated that inflationary pressures are subsiding while maintaining commitment to the 2% objective
• Major indexes including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones advanced as the second half of 2026 began
• Nike stock declined following cautious guidance on China market performance, overshadowing positive earnings results
• Crude oil values retreated as diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran reduced supply concern

Meta Prepares to Challenge Cloud Giants With AI Infrastructure Offering

Meta emerged as a standout performer following news that the technology giant is developing a standalone AI cloud infrastructure platform.

This strategic expansion would mark a significant departure from Meta’s traditional advertising-focused revenue model, positioning the company against entrenched cloud computing leaders serving artificial intelligence enterprise clients.

Market participants have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for firms expanding AI infrastructure capabilities throughout this year. Meta’s substantial experience operating massive-scale AI systems across its social media ecosystem is viewed as a competitive advantage in penetrating this expanding market segment.

Warsh Signals Declining Inflation Threat at Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh communicated to financial markets that inflationary threats have diminished, while emphasizing the central bank’s continued focus on achieving its 2% inflation benchmark.

His remarks preceded Thursday’s employment data for June, which market observers are scrutinizing for indicators regarding the trajectory of monetary policy adjustments.

For technology-oriented and expansion-focused equities, declining inflation expectations typically represent favorable conditions. Reduced borrowing costs generally enhance the present value of projected earnings, particularly benefiting companies in rapid-growth industries.

Equity Markets Maintain Upward Trajectory as New Half-Year Begins

U.S. stocks continued their positive momentum, with both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average recording advances on July’s opening trading session.

These gains follow what proved to be one of the most robust quarterly performances for equity markets since 2020. Market participants maintained their optimistic stance on long-term profit expansion despite persistent questions surrounding interest rate policy and economic conditions.

Semiconductor equities experienced modest headwinds throughout the trading day, though robust performance across industrial, healthcare, and consumer sectors provided sufficient support to keep broader market indices in positive territory.

Nike Shares Retreat Despite Earnings Success on China Market Concerns

Nike delivered quarterly financial results exceeding analyst projections, yet the stock declined following management’s cautious assessment of persistent challenges in the Chinese market.

Market participants concentrated on the company’s forward-looking statements rather than historical performance metrics. Leadership suggested the recovery timeline may extend beyond previous market expectations.

Nike’s quarterly performance serves as an important barometer for international consumer demand patterns. The market’s reaction to the report exemplifies a consistent theme throughout this earnings cycle — forward guidance carries greater weight than retrospective achievements.

Crude Oil Values Decline Following Diplomatic Progress With Iran

Crude oil prices retreated after diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran alleviated concerns regarding potential interruptions to global supply chains.

Declining energy prices help moderate inflationary forces while reducing operational expenses for sectors including aviation, retail distribution, and manufacturing operations.

Given inflation remains a primary consideration for market participants, developments in energy markets will continue receiving significant attention alongside forthcoming economic indicators.

The post Market Movers: Meta’s Cloud Ambitions, Warsh’s Inflation Update, and Nike’s China Troubles appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Shares of SanDisk tumbled 9.44% during Tuesday’s session even as Bank of America issued an optimistic price target increase
• Bank of America elevated its SNDK price objective from $2,100 to $2,500 while reiterating its Buy recommendation
• BofA’s Wamsi Mohan anticipates average selling prices could surge as much as 35%, while bit growth may increase 13% sequentially
• The memory maker has soared 800% in 2024 and an eye-popping 4,755% over the trailing year, reaching a $323 billion market capitalization
• Valuation concerns include a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 33 — exceeding both Nvidia and Micron — alongside troubling technical indicators

SanDisk shares experienced a steep decline on Tuesday, surrendering 9.44% of their value during the trading session. The selloff occurred paradoxically on the very day that Bank of America Securities announced an upward revision to its price target, moving from $2,100 to $2,500.

Sandisk Corporation, SNDK

Bank of America’s equity analyst Wamsi Mohan maintained his Buy recommendation on the shares. His optimistic thesis centers on the persistent mismatch between NAND flash memory supply and demand, a condition he anticipates will persist through 2027.

Mohan’s research indicates SanDisk’s average selling prices could experience gains of up to 35%. Additionally, he projects bit growth — representing the total volume of memory units delivered — will expand by 13% on a sequential quarter basis.

Using these assumptions as a foundation, Bank of America now forecasts that SanDisk will report $9.1 billion in revenue for the June quarter alongside earnings per share of $37.01. These projections exceed the Street’s current consensus estimates of $8.35 billion in revenue and $34.26 in EPS.

For the subsequent quarter, BofA’s model anticipates revenue reaching $11.5 billion with EPS climbing to $48.55.

Multi-Year NAND Supply Deals Enhance Earnings Predictability

A critical element supporting Mohan’s optimistic outlook involves SanDisk’s strategic emphasis on securing long-term NAND supply agreements, referred to as NBMs. These multi-year commitments guarantee future revenue streams and provide greater clarity for investors modeling future profitability.

Bank of America anticipates widespread adoption of these contractual arrangements among cloud infrastructure providers and enterprise clients. The investment bank also highlighted that these agreements are designed to preserve gross margin levels within SanDisk’s established target parameters.

This strategic pivot has contributed significantly to SanDisk’s extraordinary market performance. The stock has skyrocketed 800% since the beginning of the year and an astonishing 4,755% over the past twelve months. This explosive growth has transformed what began as a Western Digital spinoff into a company valued at $323 billion.

The bullish sentiment extends beyond Bank of America. Mizuho Securities increased its target from $1,825 to $2,200. Cantor Fitzgerald established an even higher objective at $2,900. Susquehanna Financial Group represents the most aggressive bull case with a $3,250 price target.

The analyst community’s consensus rating stands at Strong Buy — featuring 14 Buy ratings, two Hold ratings, and zero Sell recommendations over the most recent three-month period. The mean price target across all analysts sits at $1,979.38, suggesting approximately 3% downside from present trading levels.

Growing Concerns About Valuation and Market Dynamics

Notwithstanding the widespread analyst enthusiasm, multiple risk factors deserve consideration — and Tuesday’s sharp decline serves as a cautionary reminder.

SanDisk’s forward price-to-earnings multiple has expanded to 33 times, surpassing Nvidia at 22 times and Micron Technology at 18 times. This valuation premium has begun attracting scrutiny from market participants.

Supply-side dynamics present another concern. Elevated memory pricing could incentivize rival manufacturers including Micron, Kingston Technology, and Kioxia Holdings to accelerate production capacity, which would ultimately exert downward pressure on pricing.

From a technical analysis perspective, the weekly chart reveals a bearish divergence in the Relative Strength Index. The RSI has been declining even as the stock price has continued advancing — a formation that frequently precedes price corrections.

The equity currently trades at $2,238, substantially above its 50-day moving average of $1,458.

The post SanDisk (SNDK) Stock Drops 9.44% Despite Bank of America’s $2,500 Price Target Upgrade appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Kroger revealed plans to purchase Giant Eagle in a transaction valued at $1.65 billion, consisting of $1.25 billion cash and $400 million in liability assumption.
• The acquisition brings approximately $9 billion in yearly revenue, 197 grocery locations, and 11 independent pharmacy outlets.
• Shares of Kroger declined 2.12% during Wednesday’s session, adding to a year-to-date drop of 12.11%.
• Transaction completion is anticipated in 2027, contingent upon regulatory clearance.
• Analysts at Wolfe Research characterized the acquisition as evidence Kroger is operating “more offensively,” projecting approximately 6% revenue growth.

Shares of Kroger (KR) slipped 2.12% during Wednesday trading following the supermarket operator’s announcement that it would purchase family-run grocery chain Giant Eagle in a $1.65 billion transaction.

The Kroger Co., KR

The transaction structure includes $1.25 billion in cash consideration alongside $400 million in liability assumption. The Cincinnati-based retailer stated the purchase won’t push its net total debt to adjusted EBITDA multiple beyond its designated target corridor of 2.3 to 2.5 times.

Giant Eagle maintains a footprint of 197 grocery stores and 11 independent pharmacy locations throughout northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Indiana—regions where Kroger maintains an established market position.

The regional chain generates approximately $9 billion in yearly sales—a substantial contribution to Kroger’s operations.

Greg Foran, Kroger’s Chief Executive Officer, characterized the transaction as an obvious “strategic fit,” highlighting Giant Eagle’s customer loyalty initiatives, pharmaceutical services, and proprietary brand offerings as valuable assets.

What the Numbers Look Like

Greg Badishkanian, an analyst at Wolfe Research, noted the purchase aligns with Kroger‘s leadership team’s “increased openness to do M&A” and will enable the retailer to strengthen its store concentration while expanding into neighboring territories.

Wolfe’s analysis suggests Giant Eagle’s EBIT margins fall within the 2.0–2.5% range—comparable to Albertsons—and anticipates an additional EBIT contribution between $200 million and $250 million.

With Kroger’s sales forecast to reach $151 billion by 2027, the acquisition would increase total revenue by approximately 6%, bringing it to roughly $160 billion. Badishkanian anticipates modest EPS accretion during the second complete year following transaction closure.

The 197 additional locations would expand Kroger’s total store portfolio by roughly 7% from its existing network of 2,739 stores.

When Does the Deal Close?

Kroger anticipates finalizing the Giant Eagle acquisition in 2027, pending regulatory approval and customary closing requirements.

The grocery retailer indicated the transaction will contribute positively to adjusted EPS during the second complete year post-closure—when excluding one-time transaction expenses and integration-related costs.

To reassure shareholders, the company reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining dividend distributions and continuing its $2 billion stock buyback initiative.

Wednesday’s trading volume registered approximately 1.86 million shares, significantly below Kroger’s three-month average daily volume of roughly 7.77 million.

KR shares have declined 12.11% year-to-date and dropped 20.93% over the trailing twelve-month period.

Analyst sentiment on KR reflects a Moderate Buy consensus, comprising six Buy recommendations and seven Hold ratings issued within the past three months. The mean price target stands at $69.33, suggesting potential upside of approximately 27.4% from present levels.

The post Kroger (KR) Stock Drops 2% Following $1.65 Billion Giant Eagle Acquisition Announcement appeared first on Blockonomi.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to see money leaving the funds on June 30, as investors pulled out $223 million – for the last nine days in a row. In total, the ETFs saw $4.51 billion exit during June, their biggest monthly outflows since launching in January 2024.

Tim Sun, Senior Researcher at HashKey Group, said that while the ETF outflows certainly reflect a weakening of marginal buying pressure for Bitcoin, the core issue isn’t just that ETF funds are flowing out – it’s where those outgoing funds are actually headed.

Bitcoin ETF Exodus

In a statement to CryptoPotato, Sun said that if investors were simply moving their funds into cash or short-term bonds, it would indicate a temporary shift toward safer assets while markets waited for macroeconomic uncertainty to ease. Instead, the researcher said that fund flows since the beginning of the year suggest that institutional investors are reallocating capital to sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and the GPU supply chain.

“The market hasn’t completely lost its risk appetite; rather, it is re-selecting its preferred risk assets.”

Sun explained that Bitcoin and AI-related stocks share several characteristics, such as long duration, high volatility, and high narrative elasticity. However, institutional investors currently favor the AI supply chain because companies in that sector are able to turn revenue and capital spending into business results much faster than Bitcoin can deliver returns through its investment narrative.

As a result, he believes the current ETF outflows should be viewed as a sign that Bitcoin’s short-term appeal has weakened compared with AI and semiconductor investments, rather than evidence that the long-term investment case for crypto has disappeared. Sun described the trend as a “capital reallocation within risk assets: Bitcoin’s marginal attractiveness is temporarily weaker than that of AI and semiconductors.”

At the same time, he noted that Bitcoin could attract institutional capital again if the AI trade becomes overcrowded and experiences a correction or if macro liquidity improves.

The Strategy Crisis

ETF outflows aren’t the only headwind for Bitcoin. Strategy, the largest corporate holder of BTC, also faces growing challenges in maintaining its financing model. Sun acknowledged that downside risks remain significant. He said the market’s main concern is not any single development but the simultaneous weakening of the two major sources of marginal buying demand that previously supported Bitcoin’s rally.

On one side, ETFs have shifted from consistent inflows to outflows, while on the other, the market is re-pricing the financing capacity of Strategy. Even so, Sun stressed that the company’s biggest risk is not necessarily that it will trigger a broader market sell-off, but that its ability to keep purchasing BTC at the same pace could decline.

“What truly needs to be observed is whether it will be forced to alter its financing cadence, replenish cash reserves, slow down its buying pace, or even pause purchases altogether.”

If Strategy pauses its buying, Sun stated that it “might not necessarily be a bad thing, because it means the previous distortion of true supply and demand – caused by Strategy’s financial flywheel model – will be alleviated.” In that case, he added Bitcoin would have the opportunity to establish price support based on genuine market demand instead of relying primarily on ETF inflows and Strategy’s purchases.

The post The Vanishing Bitcoin Bid: Where Are the ETF Billions Going? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, UAE, July 1st, 2026]

BNB Chain, one of the largest blockchain ecosystems worldwide, today announced the launch of BNB Agent Studio, a new platform that creates a category of AI agents that survive infrastructure failure, accept payments, and can be provably owned and transferred: deployed from a simple prompt in ~15 minutes.

BNB Agent Studio is a developer platform that enables engineers to define what they want inside Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible development tool. By abstracting away the complexities of building onchain applications, the launch addresses three fundamental challenges that have prevented AI agents from operating truly autonomously: deployment, discoverability, and continuity.

Co-engineered with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, the solution includes an Infrastructure-as-Code generator that automatically provisions an agent’s cloud environment in accordance with current security and least-privilege best practices. It simply generates the code needed and deploys the agent to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, Amazon’s managed agent runtime.

“Building an autonomous AI agent has typically meant assembling a fragile stack of four or more separate vendor integrations: a wallet, an identity layer, payments, an AI model, and hosting. We’re talking days and weeks of integration work. BNB Agent Studio replaces all of that with a single install, designed as one product from the ground up.” said Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain.

Key capabilities:

• BNB Agent Studio agents natively integrate LLM aggregators, allowing them to charge for their services and accept crypto payments for the work they perform. Those earnings allow the agent to fund its own operating costs, creating a self-sustaining cycle that keeps the agent running as long as it has work to do.
• BNB Agent Studio combines AWS AgentCore as the runtime with BNB Chain’s onchain infrastructure, so an agent’s core intelligence is simultaneously hosted on AWS and persisted onchain. The agent can be paused, resumed, migrated, and passed to a new owner without losing any of its accumulated intelligence. Its existence is no longer contingent on any single environment.
• Each agent is issued a verifiable digital identity (ERC 8004) controlled by cryptographic keys that stay on the owner’s own machine: not held by BNB Chain, not stored with any third party.

‘’With Amazon Bedrock AgentCore as the runtime, BNB Chain will unlock an entirely new category: AI agents as owned, tradeable, persistent digital entities. This vision will enable agents to be paused, resumed, migrated, recovered, and transferred, including through tokenisation.” Nina continued.

Today’s launch builds on BNB Chain’s recently announced BNB Agent SDK, which established a modular standard for identity (ERC8004), commerce (ERC8183), payment, and memory in AI agents. BNB Agent Studio is designed to be the fastest path from concept to a fully operational agent.

This is the initial release of BNB Agent Studio. Financial decisions have always demanded human time and attention to find the right yield, compare options, and act before an opportunity closes. When agents can do all of this autonomously, and when those agents are owned assets that persist, earn, and compound, the way people interact with their money changes fundamentally. BNB Chain intends to ship new capabilities on a fortnightly basis, with each update expanding the platform’s tooling for developers building in the agentic economy.

About BNB Chain

BNB Chain is the leading community-driven decentralized blockchain ecosystem powering Web3 applications across DeFi, AI, gaming, and consumer use cases. Its multi-chain architecture spans BNB Smart Chain (BSC), opBNB, and BNB Greenfield, providing the infrastructure for builders deploying onchain applications at scale. For more information, visit the official website.

The post BNB Chain Launches BNB Agent Studio: The AI Agent Infrastructure Behind Smart Money appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple remains one of the most discussed subjects in the crypto space as the company continues to advance its ecosystem and participate in major initiatives.

However, XRP has faced heavy pressure in the extended bear market, struggling to maintain momentum and hold above the $1 psychological barrier.

Joining the Giants

Several hours ago, Ripple announced that it is “proud to join” Open USD as a “day-one integration partner,” reinforcing its commitment to multichain infrastructure supporting institutional adoption across the crypto space.

Open USD (OUSD) is a new stablecoin designed for large-scale global payments. It is built by the independent organization Open Standard and aims to address several issues businesses face when using such financial products. OUSD is expected to go live later in 2026, and prominent backers include BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Coinbase, and others.

Just a few days ago, Ripple received approval from the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) to launch its own stablecoin (called RULSD) in the country. Shortly after, it revealed that last year it had committed $25 million in RLUSD to support underserved US small business owners and career programs for military veterans.

Despite these efforts, the stablecoin has lost some steam lately. Its market capitalization has dropped to roughly $1.4 billion, making it the 49th-biggest cryptocurrency.

The ETFs

The institutional interest in XRP remains solid. Over the past several weeks, ETF inflows have far exceeded outflows, signaling that pension funds, hedge funds, and other conservative market participants continue to increase their exposure to the asset.

Since day one, these products have generated a cumulative total net inflow of almost $1.5 billion. Recall that the first company to launch a spot XRP ETF in the USA was Canary Capital, while shortly after, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and Grayscale followed suit.

It is important to note that such investment vehicles with BTC and ETH as underlying assets have been bleeding heavily in recent months, underscoring a clear decline in institutional appetite.

XRP Price Outlook

Despite the aforementioned developments, XRP continues its fight to stay above $1. As of press time, it trades at around $1.04, representing a 20% plunge on a monthly scale.

Earlier this week, analyst Ali Martinez revealed that the Tom DeMark Sequential Indicator has flashed a buy signal on XRP and outlined the rising network activity. At the same time, though, he noted that whales have reduced their exposure to the asset, which can be interpreted as a bearish factor.

The post Ripple News and XRP Price Update Today: July 1 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin’s battle around the $60K region is entering a decisive phase after sellers are forcing a breakdown below this major support area. With momentum still favoring the sellers, traders are now watching whether demand can prevent a deeper correction toward the mid-$50K region.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, BTC has extended its bearish trend after losing several major support zones. The recent rejection by the 200-day moving average around $80K and the breakdown of the 100-day moving average near $ 74 K have reinforced the longer-term downtrend, with both moving averages now sloping lower and acting as dynamic resistance.

The price is currently trading around $58.7K after breaking slightly below the $60K demand zone. This indicates that buyers have struggled to defend one of the market’s most important psychological levels. The next significant support lies around the $55K region, while a deeper correction could expose the broader demand area near $52K.

On the upside, Bitcoin would first need to reclaim the $60K level quickly before challenging the $66K to $68K resistance zone. Beyond that, the $72K to $74K area remains the primary barrier, as it coincides with the long-term moving averages. The broader bearish structure would only begin to improve if BTC manages to reclaim this region.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The lower timeframe presents a similarly bearish picture. Bitcoin continues to trade inside a descending structure, respecting both the upper and lower boundaries throughout the recent decline. Every recovery attempt has produced another lower high, confirming that sellers remain in control.

The latest rejection from the $66K to $68K supply zone pushed BTC back toward the lower boundary of the channel. Price is now hovering around $58.7K, slightly beneath the $60K support area, increasing the probability of another test of lower liquidity and a breakdown of the channel structure.

Meanwhile, the RSI has formed a modest bullish divergence, with momentum making slightly higher lows while price printed fresh lows. Although this divergence could trigger a short-term relief bounce, it has yet to receive confirmation through a decisive breakout above nearby resistance.

On-Chain Analysis

Bitcoin’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) has fallen sharply to approximately 0.09, placing the metric deep within the low-profit region shown on the chart.

NUPL measures the aggregate unrealized profit or loss held across the Bitcoin network. Higher readings generally reflect widespread investor optimism and elevated profitability, while lower values indicate shrinking profits and deteriorating market sentiment.

The current reading suggests that the majority of holders have seen a significant reduction in unrealized gains compared to previous months. Historically, such depressed NUPL levels have been associated with periods of capitulation or late-stage bear market conditions, when weak hands are gradually flushed out of the market.

While this does not guarantee an immediate reversal, it indicates that much of the speculative excess has already been removed. If selling pressure begins to ease and long-term investors continue accumulating, these historically depressed profitability levels could eventually provide the foundation for a broader recovery. Until price reclaims key resistance zones, however, the technical structure continues to favor the sellers.

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[PRESS RELEASE – St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, July 1st, 2026]

XBTFX has announced the launch of its MCP Server and Skills Hub, expanding its developer ecosystem following the introduction of its REST and WebSocket Trading API. The new infrastructure enables compatible software agents, coding assistants, and automation frameworks to connect with eligible live XBTFX trading accounts through structured, authenticated workflows, allowing supported applications to retrieve account information, access market data, and submit structured trading requests.

Intelligent software agents and automation tools are increasingly being used to analyze markets, process news, write code, and support research workflows. However, most remain separate from the trading account itself. While they can assist with analysis, they typically cannot retrieve live account data, inspect open positions, monitor margin, or submit structured account requests without additional integration.

The newly released infrastructure is designed to connect those two environments. XBTFX is not launching a proprietary decision engine, automated strategy, or black-box execution system. Users define their own logic, instructions, permissions, and risk controls, while XBTFX provides authenticated account access, market-data connectivity, and execution infrastructure.

Built as Infrastructure, Not a Trading Strategy

The stack is designed to make trading accounts programmable through structured, authenticated workflows. When a user interacts with a compatible client or software agent to check exposure, retrieve a market price, calculate position size, or prepare a trade with defined parameters, the client converts that instruction into a structured tool call or API request. The natural-language instruction itself is not sent directly to the trading account.

XBTFX authenticates and processes the corresponding account, market-data, or trading request. Users remain responsible for their strategy logic, configurations, credentials, and risk management.

This distinction is especially important for crypto and active CFD traders, where automation and around-the-clock monitoring can be useful while user-defined risk controls remain essential.

Three Ways to Connect

The MCP Server acts as a structured tool layer between compatible clients and the XBTFX Trading API. Supported clients can access balances, margin, positions, orders, history, instrument data, prices and, depending on permissions, submit structured trading requests such as opening or closing positions and modifying stop-loss or take-profit levels.

The Skills Hub provides reusable instructions, endpoint definitions, implementation examples, and developer guidance for software agents and applications that do not connect through MCP directly, including workflows using LangChain, CrewAI, OpenClaw, Claude Code, and custom agent implementations.

The Trading API provides REST and WebSocket access for developers building dashboards, automated strategies, signal-to-execution systems, reporting tools, and account-management applications.

Together, the three access paths provide traders and developers with different ways to connect automated workflows and software agents with eligible XBTFX accounts, depending on their technical setup and use case.

Built for Crypto, Forex, and Around-the-Clock Market Monitoring

The integration layer supports workflows across forex, cryptocurrency CFDs, metals, indices, energies, and stocks, with access to more than 400 instruments. Available instruments and trading conditions depend on the account linked to the API key.

XBTFX also supports BTC, ETH, and USDT-denominated trading accounts alongside major fiat account currencies, giving traders and developers a crypto-denominated environment for automated monitoring, account management, and structured trading workflows.

For crypto-focused traders, the always-on nature of digital asset markets is a key part of the use case. When a software agent or automated process is configured to run continuously, it can monitor market data, account conditions, margin, and exposure outside conventional trading hours and respond according to predefined instructions, validation rules, and risk controls.

XBTFX does not provide trading recommendations through the MCP Server or Skills Hub, and the integration does not determine when a user should buy or sell any instrument.

Developed With HuracanAI

The MCP Server, Skills Hub, Trading API, and supporting execution architecture were jointly developed by XBTFX and HuracanAI, a financial technology firm specializing in brokerage infrastructure, liquidity connectivity, trading bridges, APIs, and software-agent systems.

The collaboration combines brokerage execution infrastructure with agent connectivity, supporting a more programmable model for traders and developers working with live account environments.

Control Stays With the Account Holder

Each XBTFX API key is associated with an individual eligible trading account. Users can manage API keys through the XBTFX Console and revoke them if they are no longer required or may have been exposed.

Because the integration operates with live trading accounts, XBTFX recommends testing account-information and market-data functions first, using limited exposure, and reviewing agent behavior before enabling broader automated workflows.

“Modern software agents and automation tools have become increasingly capable of supporting research and operational workflows, but they have generally remained separate from the trading account itself,” said – Peter Speros, XBTFX executive. “Our infrastructure is designed to provide structured, authenticated access to account information, market data, and account functions while keeping control with the account holder.”

Getting Started

To connect a compatible software agent or supported application, users can open or select an eligible live XBTFX trading account, generate an account-bound API key through the XBTFX Console, and connect through the MCP Server, Skills Hub, or Trading API.

The MCP Server, Skills Hub, and Trading API are available without a separate API subscription or per-request fee. Normal spreads, commissions, financing charges, and other trading costs continue to apply. Documentation is available through the XBTFX Developer Hub and Developer Documentation.

About XBTFX

XBTFX is a multi-asset online broker providing access to global financial markets through contracts for difference. Its product offering includes forex, cryptocurrency CFDs, metals, indices, energies, and stocks. XBTFX serves retail traders, active traders, strategy developers, and technology-focused market participants with trading platforms, execution infrastructure, automation tools, APIs, and developer resources.

For more information, visit the official website.

Risk Warning

Trading leveraged products, including CFDs, involves substantial risk and may not be suitable for all investors. AI agents and automated applications may misunderstand instructions, use incorrect parameters, encounter software or connectivity failures, or behave unexpectedly. Connecting an AI agent to a trading account does not reduce market risk, guarantee execution quality, or improve trading performance. Nothing here constitutes financial, investment, or trading advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

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