Kazakhstan's crypto integration could redefine retail payments, but its success hinges on regulatory stability and potential fee advantages.

The post Binance Pay goes live at 5,000 POS terminals in Kazakhstan through Alatau City Bank partnership appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ambiguous terms in the US-Iran deal risk destabilizing oil markets, as Iran could exploit control over a key shipping lane, impacting global supply.

The post Trump’s Iran deal faces strain over poorly worded paragraph that could reshape oil markets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Micron's US manufacturing expansion reduces supply chain risks, boosts domestic job creation, and strengthens the American tech ecosystem.

The post Micron Technology’s stock surges on multibillion-dollar US manufacturing push appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Micron's valuation surge highlights potential shifts in crypto's hardware dependencies, signaling evolving market dynamics and investment strategies.

The post Micron’s trillion-dollar valuation puzzle: why the cheapest-looking chip stock might matter for crypto appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The integration of blockchain in anti-counterfeiting could revolutionize supply chain transparency, enhancing trust and reducing global trade fraud.

The post Made in USA Inc. taps XRP Ledger to build blockchain-based anti-counterfeiting platform appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

New Hampshire Council Rejects $100 Million Bitcoin-Backed Bond

The New Hampshire Executive Council rejected a plan on Wednesday to authorize a $100 million bond backed by Bitcoin, killing a proposal that state officials had cast as a first-in-the-nation bid to draw digital finance to the Granite State.

The New Hampshire councilors voted 3-2 against it, according to reporting from The Boston Globe.

The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority and Governor Kelly Ayotte had promoted the bond as “groundbreaking” and “historic.” The deal would have stood as the world’s first Bitcoin-backed municipal bond. The plan had cleared Moody’s ratings and reached the Executive Council for its final vote before issuance.

The council did not share that enthusiasm. Karen Liot Hill, the lone Democrat, framed her opposition as caution rather than hostility. 

“I’m not opposed to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general,” she told The Boston Globe. “But I do think that we are being asked as a state to lend a kind of legitimacy to a financial transaction, which is from … an emerging asset class that has been shown to be very volatile.”

Bitcoin is ‘emerged’

James Key-Wallace, executive director of the Business Finance Authority, disputed the framing. “The only quibble I would have is … I wouldn’t call them ’emerging,'” he said. “They’ve ’emerged.’ They’re here.”

Key-Wallace stressed that the bond carried zero risk for New Hampshire taxpayers. The loan agreement would create a conduit between private investors and a private borrower, with cryptocurrency as collateral. 

The state would owe nothing, even in a Bitcoin crash. Should Bitcoin climb across the three-year term, the authority could collect millions in fees for small business, child care, housing, and economic development programs. He said the deal could lead to “several more.”

Ayotte, who last year signed a law giving the state treasurer discretion to invest in Bitcoin and made New Hampshire the first state to pass a strategic Bitcoin reserve into law, defended the value of moving first. 

“I think it’s something that we really need to think about,” she said, “because our state continues to thrive when we are continuing to be innovative — and especially if we can do so in a way that protects the taxpayers.”

Liot Hill moved to table the proposal, but no colleague seconded the motion, a silence that sent the plan to its final vote. Janet Stevens and David Wheeler joined her in opposition. Joseph Kenney and John Stephen voted in favor.

Key-Wallace said his team remains excited about the state’s role in the digital asset economy, and he offered to present the idea to the council in the future.

This post New Hampshire Council Rejects $100 Million Bitcoin-Backed Bond first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

BitGo Adds Quantum-Risk Controls to Bitcoin Custody

BitGo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BTGO) introduced a set of tools to help institutions measure and reduce the quantum-computing risk tied to their Bitcoin holdings. The digital asset infrastructure company said the features apply to UTXO-based wallets and its multi-signature custody service.

The release builds on BitGo’s multi-signature architecture, which the firm pioneered for Bitcoin to reduce single points of failure. The new controls give clients more visibility into wallet-key exposure, better handling of unspent transaction outputs, and workflows for institutional wallet operations.

At the center of the launch is a Quantum Risk Score, an in-platform system that rates potential quantum exposure across supported Bitcoin wallets. A Fix Exposed Addresses Workflow guides clients through moving funds from addresses with elevated exposure into new addresses with stronger key hygiene. 

A new UTXO Selection Method groups and prioritizes coins by address to limit the exposure that partial spends create. Updated default address-type controls steer wallets away from transaction patterns that raise quantum concerns.

Bitcoin could face quantum attacks

The risk stems from how Bitcoin addresses work. An address whose public key has appeared on-chain could, in a future with capable quantum machines, face attack. 

Estimates place 6.9 million Bitcoin in addresses with exposed public keys. Funds in address types that reveal a public key from creation, such as Taproot or Pay-to-Public-Key, fall outside the scope of the application and need separate remediation.

“We believe the safest key is one whose public key has never been revealed on-chain,” said Mike Belshe, CEO and co-founder of BitGo. “These capabilities give institutions a practical way to understand and reduce quantum exposure while continuing to rely on the proven security of multi-signature.”

BitGo said no quantum computer can break Bitcoin at present. Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and BSTR, framed the timing as a reason to act. “Nobody has a quantum computer that can touch Bitcoin today, but that’s exactly why the work should start now, while it’s calm and optional rather than urgent and forced,” he said.

The company described the tools as a complement to future protocol-level post-quantum signature upgrades to Bitcoin, rather than a replacement. 

The features cover supported UTXO-based assets and multi-signature configurations.

This post BitGo Adds Quantum-Risk Controls to Bitcoin Custody first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Russia’s Largest Private Bank Alfa-Bank To Test Bitcoin and Crypto Trading

Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest private lender, is preparing to launch its own digital depository and a full slate of crypto services once national regulation takes effect, joining a widening race among Russian banks to capture a market that does not yet legally exist.

Dmitry Vitman, chief operating officer of Alfa-Bank’s corporate and investment business, told RBC Investments that the bank intends to offer “all possible services related to digital currencies” once the relevant legislation comes into force. 

“First and foremost, we plan to create our own digital depository and offer its services to other companies,” he said.

Under the framework expected to govern the market, a digital depository would record and store cryptocurrency and digital financial assets, monitor client transactions, and block transfers to addresses not sanctioned by authorities.

Firms that already hold a depository license would not need a separate license from the Central Bank to operate one.

Vitman said the market will develop gradually. Retail brokerage will come first, leaning on Russian and international infrastructure, with a possible launch in late 2026 or early 2027 if digital currency legislation enters into force in September 2026. 

Even so, he cautioned that meaningful liquidity and volume in Russia’s crypto market are unlikely to materialize before late 2027, a timeline that reflects both the untested regulatory machinery and the caution of institutions wary of moving before the rules are final.

The bank also wants to build Russian investment instruments on open blockchains capable of attracting foreign investors. 

“It’s important for Russia to develop its own instruments, otherwise we’ll have nothing to offer,” Vitman said. “We need to attract investors to our infrastructure, so we need to create products that can compete globally.”

A crowded field in Russia

Alfa-Bank is far from alone. T-Technologies Group, which controls T-Bank, has announced plans to launch a digital depository built on the Atomize digital financial asset platform and to sell crypto through its broker, T-Investments. 

VTB Bank likewise plans to create its own domestic digital depository for storing, recording, and circulating digital assets, including Bitcoin.

State-owned giant Sberbank is moving the fastest. The bank will launch a digital depository for storing and accounting crypto by December 1. Sberbank also plans to enable authorized crypto transactions inside its Sber app and SberInvestments, integrating custody directly into services that reach tens of millions of Russians.

When bitcoin and crypto trading could begin

The draft law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” has passed its first reading in the State Duma, advancing a sweeping regime that defines crypto circulation rules and introduces new professional participants, including crypto exchanges and digital depositories.

Originally slated to take effect July 1, 2026, the law’s timeline has slipped, with the new expected in-force date set for September 1. 

Vladimir Chistyukhin, first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, said the regulator expects all rules needed to launch legal crypto operations to be adopted and published by November, clearing the way for the first transactions. 

The Moscow Exchange expects to conduct its first crypto trades by the end of 2026.

This post Russia’s Largest Private Bank Alfa-Bank To Test Bitcoin and Crypto Trading first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Slips to $62,000, Paring Rebound as CryptoQuant Sees Room Higher

Bitcoin traded near $62,000 today, surrendering part of a rebound that had carried it to $64,000 from last week’s bear-market low of $57,700. The pullback holds the price above the $60,000 level that CryptoQuant treats as support, though it trims a recovery of some 11% off the bottom.

The dip came as CryptoQuant’s Weekly Crypto Report, published today and shared with Bitcoin Magazine, argued the backdrop skews toward further gains. Head of Research Julio Moreno framed the bounce as a bear-market recovery rather than a trend reversal, with one central caution: the firm’s Bull Score Index, an aggregate of on-chain, market, and valuation conditions on a 0-to-100 scale, sits at 20, inside the bearish zone at or below 40 and short of the 60 reading tied to a sustainable bull market.

The report’s bullish case rests on seasonality. Across the past decade, July has ranked among Bitcoin’s stronger months, closing higher in most years shown. 

The pattern held in the down-cycles of 2018 and 2022, when Bitcoin gained some 20% and 17% during the month as the broader trend stayed weak. Entering July 2026 off a bear-market low, the report said, that pattern skews near-term risk toward gains.

Bitcoin demand is turning

Demand has turned. The 30-day change in total demand — spot plus perpetual futures — collapsed to some -650,000 BTC in early June, the deepest negative reading since 2022, as Bitcoin fell toward $58,000. 

It has since recovered toward neutral, with speculative futures demand crossing into positive territory and spot selling easing to its slowest pace since mid-May. A return to positive territory, the report said, would confirm a re-igniting demand engine.

U.S. buyers show signs of stabilizing. The Coinbase Premium Index, a proxy for U.S. spot demand, sank below zero in early June as Bitcoin bottomed near $57,000, one of its weakest readings of the year.

The premium remains under zero, though its path has tracked Bitcoin’s climb off the low and points to steadier institutional appetite.

Valuation added a floor. The on-chain trader unrealized profit/loss margin, for coins held one to three months, dropped below -24% in early June, under the -12% threshold the firm treats as undervalued. Readings at such extremes tend to mark local bottoms as short-term holders capitulate, the report said, and the margin has recovered as price bounced off $57,700.

Today’s slip to $62,000 underscores the report’s own hedge. CryptoQuant reads the market as off its lows, with improving internals but a bearish regime intact. 

A durable rally, it concluded, would require the Bull Score Index to climb above 60. Until then, the firm treats the move as a recovery within a bear market, not a reversal — a framing this week’s give-back does little to challenge.

This post Bitcoin Slips to $62,000, Paring Rebound as CryptoQuant Sees Room Higher first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

CFTC Chair Says Clarity Act Is ‘So Close’ As August Deadline Nears

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said the Clarity Act remains within reach, days after Congress missed its July 4 target to pass the crypto market-structure bill. “We’re so close. We have to get this done,” Selig told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. 

Some analysts give the measure even odds of passage before the August 7 recess.

The bill would divide oversight of digital assets between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, a split the industry has sought for years. The House passed the legislation last summer. The Senate has yet to hold a floor vote.

Selig, a Trump appointee confirmed in December, backed the Clarity Act effort as a matter of national competitiveness. He backed the effort as a matter of national competitiveness. 

“It’s critical that we have a federal standard for crypto assets,” he said, pointing to a patchwork of state laws that, in his account, has hurt U.S. business. He described the goal as certainty, clarity, and consumer protection, and called the measure bipartisan. “We have to get it across the line,” he said.

Asked about the holdup, Selig pointed to scope. Democrats have pressed for ethics language addressing President Trump, his family, and their crypto ventures, a demand he characterized as a distraction. 

“There’s a little bit of creep into ethics and other issues, and they’re just derailing the real opportunity to have a bipartisan bill,” he said. 

Democrats have framed the Clarity Act provisions as consumer protection. The bill has also drawn disputes over illicit-finance rules and over a reopened piece of the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law, that concerns whether exchanges may pay yield on stablecoin balances.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, who leads the Senate Banking Committee’s digital assets subcommittee, has said negotiators aim to release bill text and hold a vote this month.

The committee advanced the measure in a 15-9 vote, with two Democrats joining Republicans. Lawmakers have warned that a failure to act before the recess could delay the next opening for years.

Selig on prediction markets, Iran beyond Clarity Act

Bartiromo also asked Selig about prediction markets, where Kalshi and Polymarket processed a combined $24 billion in volume over the past year.

Selig said the CFTC has proposed rules for the sector and has sued nine states in a fight over jurisdiction. On markets during the U.S. strikes on Iran near the Strait of Hormuz, he said crypto held its ground and served as a hedge, while the agency worked to keep oil and derivatives markets orderly.

For now, the Clarity Act’s fate rests on released text, a Senate vote, and a calendar that leaves a few weeks before the August recess.

This post CFTC Chair Says Clarity Act Is ‘So Close’ As August Deadline Nears first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain this month, describing it as a permissionless Layer 2 built on Arbitrum for tokenized stocks, real-world assets, DeFi lending, and AI-native finance.

One week in, the chain's loudest retail activity is driven by CASHCAT, a memecoin built on Robinhood's own discarded “CashCat” name. The token reached nearly $150 million in market cap and over $159 million in 24-hour volume.

CASHCAT gained liquidity, price charts, and social attention through Uniswap V3 pools and third-party launch and routing infrastructure, including Noxa.fun and Pump.fun, rather than through Robinhood's own app-listing process.

Behind an unapproved listing

Robinhood built Robinhood Chain with Uniswap and other partners live on day one, connected to Robinhood's own on-chain wallet users.

That same open architecture, designed to support tokenized equities and RWA collateral, also lets any token deployed on the chain reach external DEX liquidity, charting pages and aggregator surfaces that can resemble parts of a formal listing without passing through Robinhood's app-level approval process.

Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt called the company CashCat before settling on Robinhood, a name tied in company lore to Bhatt's fondness for cats. That history gave an anonymous memecoin a reference drawn directly from Robinhood's own origin story.

A Dune dashboard built by user Adam_tehc showed CASHCAT accounting for roughly 79% of the aggregate market cap and 74% of the volume among the top 25 Robinhood Chain memecoins. The next-largest token, Dog In Hood, sat about 16 times smaller.

The same Dune dashboard shows the chain's trading activity accelerated, with daily transactions moving from about 1.2 million on July 7 to nearly 2.8 million on July 8, a 133% jump in a single day.

Deployments through the Noxa.fun launchpad climbed from 1,858 to 6,675 tokens over the same period, a 259% increase.

By July 8, new-token creation was accelerating faster than overall transaction growth, with Noxa.fun deployments accounting for 0.155% of daily transactions on July 7 and 0.238% the next day.

That pace raises the possibility that new tickers are fragmenting attention across the chain rather than deepening liquidity in the few tokens already proving durable.

DefiLlama data show the chain's total value locked at around $107.8 million, with the stablecoin market cap near $246.8 million and the active RWA market cap around $12.5 million.

CASHCAT's volume-to-market-cap ratio points to same-day turnover, a pattern more consistent with high-velocity trading than long-horizon holding.

The risk sitting underneath the rally

Vlad Tenev told CNBC on July 2 that crypto's future runs through real-world assets, and days later, he posted that Robinhood Chain is being built to be the best chain for RWAs, adding that it “works great for memes too.”

That turn reveals something about permissionless infrastructure, as once Robinhood opened the chain to any builder, the market picked its own breakout asset, and CASHCAT's Robinhood-coded name pulled the chain's founder into the meme narrative around a token built outside the company.

Copycat tokens and impersonator accounts are already circulating, and liquidity sits concentrated in a single new-chain DEX pair prone to slippage and sharp wicks.

A 2026 academic study covering 34,988 memecoins across Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Base found that 1,801 tokens, or 5.15%, stopped trading entirely within 24 hours of launch.

CASHCAT's size puts it well outside that failure group today, and the same permissionless rails that lifted it also host thousands of tokens built to fail fast.

What the next 60 days could show

In the bull scenario, CASHCAT or the broader meme category holds above $100 million, weekly average transactions are still above 2 million, the stablecoin market cap holds above $200 million, and the active RWA market cap climbs toward the $50 million to $100 million range.

Under that path, meme liquidity becomes the bootloader for Robinhood Chain's user base, and the RWA thesis Robinhood pitched on July 1 finally gets wallets and stablecoins to build on.

In the bear scenario, CASHCAT falls between $30 million and $50 million, daily transactions drop below 600,000, Noxa.fun deployments fall below 700 per day, and the active RWA market cap sits flat near its current level.

Under that path, CASHCAT reads as an attention spike the chain absorbed and moved past, leaving Robinhood Chain's RWA ambitions to build their own user base separately.

Citi's 2026 tokenization research puts today's global tokenized-asset market near $17 billion and projects $5.5 trillion by 2030 in its base case, with public equities and Treasuries expected to lead early adoption.

The report estimates that just 10% of US retail investors moving to on-chain solutions by 2030 could create $2.6 trillion in demand for tokenized public equities alone.

Robinhood's crypto revenue fell 47% year over year to $134 million in the first quarter of 2026. Total net revenue for the same quarter climbed 15% to $1.07 billion, with platform assets reaching $307 billion.

A chain that captures activity outside app-listed tokens gives Robinhood a second crypto engagement surface, one that grows independently from individual memecoin survival.

Robinhood Chain's RWA ambitions still depend on years of institutional adoption that Citi's own forecast treats as a decade-long build.

CASHCAT already delivered proof that the moment permissionless infrastructure goes live, the market builds its own hundred-million-dollar listing, with or without Robinhood's approval.

The post Robinhood launched a Wall Street layer 2 chain and the market crowned a $150M cat coin first appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Crypto scams start online with a fake bank alert, a cloned voice, a romance message, or a tech-support pop-up. Then, the last instruction is usually much more physical: withdraw cash, find a crypto kiosk, scan a QR code, and keep the scammer on the phone until the money is gone.

However, that last step is turning Bitcoin ATMs and other crypto kiosks into a pressure point in America's fraud problem.

The FBI's Internet Crime Report said that Americans submitted 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency, with reported losses exceeding $11 billion. A later IC3 cryptocurrency-kiosk PSA put a smaller but more concrete mechanism under the spotlight: 13,460 complaints involving crypto kiosks in 2025 and $388,981,267 in adjusted losses.

Online fraud creates the belief that money must move immediately. The kiosk creates the payment rail a frightened victim can operate in a convenience store, gas station, or supermarket while a criminal gives instructions in real time.

Once cash becomes crypto and moves into a wallet controlled by the scammer, the window to interrupt the transfer usually closes.

The kiosk becomes the point where families, banks, operators, and state regulators still have a chance to step in.

The $11B problem has a street-level endpoint

The FBI's 2025 numbers show the scale of the broader fraud pipeline. IC3 received 1,008,597 total complaints in 2025, and the FBI said cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion.

Cryptocurrency complaints were the highest-loss descriptor in the report, while AI-related complaints added nearly $893 million in losses.

The rise of generative AI has helped scammers get victims to reach the kiosk already primed to act. The FBI said scammers now use fake social profiles, voice clones, identification documents, and believable videos depicting public figures or loved ones.

Those tools do not need to touch a blockchain to push someone toward the machine. They create the pressure, authority, or panic that sends a victim out the door with cash.

The kiosk PSA shows what happens next. IC3 said cryptocurrency kiosks are ATM-like devices or terminals that allow users to exchange cash for cryptocurrency.

It said criminals may direct victims to send funds through them, and that complaints involving the devices rose 23% in 2025 while losses rose 58% from 2024.

IC3 also warned that its kiosk data covers scams involving cryptocurrency kiosks and may include other transaction types. Still, kiosks are becoming a recurring part of the payment path in scams that have already moved from online persuasion to real-world cash movement.

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May 30, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

The scammer does not need to touch the machine

The mechanics are simple enough to make the device dangerous. IC3 said typical kiosk complaints involve criminals providing detailed instructions on how to withdraw cash from a bank, locate a kiosk, and deposit and send funds using it.

Its warning signs include people holding QR-code documentation they cannot explain, making large first-time cash withdrawals, speaking on the phone while appearing confused at a bank or kiosk, or lingering around the machine.

California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation describes the same pattern in its consumer warning.

A scammer contacts the victim, creates a sense of urgency, directs them to a crypto ATM, stays on the phone during the transaction, and may send a QR code that routes the purchased assets directly to the scammer's wallet. The DFPI also highlights the danger in that the transactions are quick and immediate and cannot be reversed.

FinCEN's 2025 notice on convertible virtual currency kiosks explains why that workflow is attractive to criminals.

A CVC kiosk purchase looks like a standard ATM transaction to a user, but the wallet address that receives the crypto may belong to someone else and is often embedded in a QR code. FinCEN said scammers often keep victims in constant phone or online contact until payment is completed.

It also said scammers may instruct victims to split deposits across amounts or machines to avoid safeguards.

The economics add another clue. Kiosk fees can range from 7% to 20%, but scammers tolerate the cost because crypto can move quickly upon receipt, and recovery can be difficult.

Related Reading

The US Bitcoin ATM industry is breaking under fraud, bans, and fees

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May 19, 2026 · Gino Matos

For a legitimate buyer, a high fee is a bad deal. For a criminal trying to convert a victim's cash into fast-moving crypto, it can be part of the business model.

That is why the device sits at the center of the question of responsibility. The victim may be the one pressing buttons, but the transaction often includes visible warning signs before the funds move.

The warning signs include a large cash withdrawal, a nervous customer, a phone call that does not end, a QR code supplied by someone else, repeated deposits, or a destination wallet the customer cannot explain.

Operators and banks are now part of the control surface

FinCEN has urged financial institutions to identify and report suspicious activity involving CVC kiosks. It also warned that the risk of illicit activity is higher when operators fail to meet Bank Secrecy Act obligations.

That puts pressure on both sides of the kiosk business. Operators have to monitor the customer and the transaction. Banks and credit unions that serve the operators have to understand whether a kiosk business has real anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering controls.

FinCEN said non-compliant operators are especially vulnerable to abuse by scammers and other criminals. It said some scammers direct victims to specific kiosks, sometimes across state lines, likely to avoid stronger controls.

California's DFPI says the state's Digital Financial Assets Law prohibits kiosk operators from accepting more than $1,000 per person per day.

CryptoSlate's recent coverage of Florida's new crypto ATM law described another model with warnings, receipts, transaction caps, registration, and conditional refunds that can shift some of the scam risk onto operators.

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Florida’s new crypto ATM law makes scam refunds the cost of doing business

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Jul 1, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Those examples form a state-level menu rather than a national standard: lower daily limits, clearer warnings, live customer support, refund rights, operator registration, bank monitoring, and direct calls from operators when a transaction appears to be fraudulent.

Each approach aims at the same small window of time between cash withdrawal and blockchain settlement.

The FTC's earlier Bitcoin ATM data spotlight helps explain the urgency. It said reported fraud losses involving Bitcoin ATMs increased nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023 and topped $65 million in the first half of 2024, with a median reported loss of $10,000 in that six-month period.

It also said older adults were hit disproportionately.

IC3's 2025 kiosk figures framed that concern within a larger official context. More than half of the kiosk complaints involved people over 50, resulting in losses of over $302 million.

That is a household-finance risk, often arriving through the same places where people already buy gas, groceries, and convenience-store goods.

The next test is whether those everyday touchpoints can become interruption points. A bank teller who questions a rushed cash withdrawal, an operator who blocks a suspicious transaction, a state cap that prevents a full account drain, or a family member who recognizes the script can all change the outcome before the money moves.

After the transaction, the tools are weaker. The fraud may still be traceable on-chain, but the funds can move through wallets and exchanges faster than a victim can understand what happened.

That asymmetry is drawing scrutiny because the kiosk may be the last practical place to stop the transfer.

If operators, banks, and lawmakers cannot make that moment safer, the official numbers point toward a harsher conclusion. The weakest link in the crypto scam pipeline may be the ATM-like machine that turns fear into a crypto transfer before anyone else can intervene.

The post Why Bitcoin ATMs are becoming the last stop in America’s $11B crypto scam pipeline appeared first on CryptoSlate.

EMURGO said it is stepping down from its role in Pentad, the five-member group coordinating Cardano's infrastructure funding, to focus resources on recovering funds lost in the SecondFi exploit.

The attack exploited a flaw in SecondFi's wallet address-generation system, draining roughly $2.4 million in ADA from 374 wallets.

A wallet-layer product failed, and EMURGO, one of Cardano's founding entities, stepped back from an infrastructure coordination role as recovery work began. Cardano's governance system, which grew during its Voltaire era, adds a second layer to the story because the product failure sits inside the same wallet environment where ordinary ADA holders delegate and vote.

Yoroi's help documentation says users can delegate voting power to Yoroi's own DRep, delegate to a different DRep, abstain, or select no confidence, all from inside the wallet. The same documentation ties reward withdrawal to completing one of those governance actions and routes direct voting through a GovTool connection.

Where Cardano's governance starts

Cardano Docs describes CIP-1694 governance as a structure that combines ADA owners, delegated representatives, stake pool operators, and a constitutional committee, with participation beginning the moment a holder picks a governance-compatible wallet. That starting point makes wallet security a governance dependency for ADA holders using wallet-based delegation and voting flows.

CardanoCube's live governance hub recorded 28 active governance actions, 379 active DReps, and 3,217 votes cast over 30 days, with 87.52 billion ADA in voting power exercised during the same window.

A compromised wallet inside that system matters because it sits in the same user flow that now carries live treasury votes and DRep delegation.

Pentad brought together Input Output, the Cardano Foundation, EMURGO, Intersect, and the Midnight Foundation to coordinate infrastructure spending across the network.

Intersect said the Cardano community approved a 70 million ADA Critical Integrations Budget in late 2025 to close gaps in stablecoins, institutional custody, cross-chain bridges, pricing oracles, and analytics.

The Cardano Foundation's May 2026 update requested 23 million ADA in Critical Integrations V2 funding for Year 2 support covering Circle USDCx, LayerZero, Pyth, Dune, and native Fireblocks integration, routing the request through Pentad with the Foundation, Input Output, EMURGO, and Midnight as co-sponsors and Intersect as administrator.

EMURGO's exit lands inside that active funding cycle, pulling one of the entities steering treasury-backed infrastructure away from the table just as a second funding round moves through the process.

Bitquery's on-chain investigation traced the failure to weak randomness in SecondFi's key-generation code, with the Cardano chain processing every transaction as designed.

The firm also reconstructed a broader swept-funds picture above 129 million ADA. That figure should be treated separately from the confirmed loss of roughly 16 million ADA, as it reflects Bitquery's broader forensic accounting rather than the amount publicly tied to affected users.

The confirmed loss amounts to about 42,800 ADA per affected wallet, a meaningful sum for the people who held it. Compared with CardanoCube's 87.52 billion ADA in cumulative voting power recorded across 30-day governance activity, the loss is small by voting-scale comparison, at roughly 0.018%, though that denominator reflects voting activity across governance actions rather than total ADA supply.

Measured against Cardano's own infrastructure budgets, 16 million ADA equals about 23% of the original 70 million ADA Critical Integrations fund and about 70% of the 23 million ADA requested for Year 2.

What comes next

A bull path could drive better wallet audits, clearer recovery flows, and broader hardware wallet adoption across Cardano's user base, with GovTool integration improving as a direct result.

Under that path, DRep participation holds or grows, no-confidence and abstain delegations stay level, and Pentad's remaining members keep the Critical Integrations work moving at its current pace, with the remaining four members absorbing EMURGO's share of the coordination.

A bear path has led users to move their ADA to safety and stop there, leaving governance participation behind.

Under that path, active DReps decline, inactive DReps grow, 30-day vote counts fall below recent levels, and major treasury votes draw thinner participation, concentrating governance weight further toward large holders and professional DReps.

Bitquery's own account keeps the failure at the wallet layer, and the public record so far ties the exploit entirely to compromised custody, with governance votes untouched by the incident.

EMURGO has said its focus now sits on recovery, migration, and an on-chain restitution process, leaving the permanence of its Pentad step-back unconfirmed.

SecondFi's failure tested whether Cardano governance holds up when the wallet itself becomes the point of failure, and the answer lies in whether DReps, votes, and voting power continue to move at the pace Cardano's governance has already reached.

The post Cardano’s wallet hack exposed the user layer holding its on-chain government together appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The CLARITY Act missed its July 4 target, so the focus has now shifted to whether Senate leaders can find time to bring it to the floor before the August work period begins.

Stand With Crypto urged supporters to press senators for a vote before August 7, calling that date a hard deadline for passage before the next recess. The Senate returns from its July break on July 13.

The official Senate schedule lists June 29 through July 10 as a state work period and August 10 through September 11 as another, making Friday, August 7 the final scheduled weekday before the August work period.

August 7 works as a practical floor-time deadline. For CLARITY supporters, the missed July 4 marker now becomes a question of whether Senate leaders can reserve floor time, whether bill managers can keep a workable package together, and whether the bill can clear the chamber before the fall calendar takes over.

Related Reading

Cynthia Lummis gave CLARITY Act a July promise, but it still needs a Senate path

Lummis is pushing CLARITY toward a July Senate sprint, but the bill still needs floor time, final text and Democratic votes before the recess clock closes.

Jun 25, 2026 · Gino Matos

Senate floor time is becoming a bottleneck

The Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, in a bipartisan 15-9 vote and moved the bill to the Senate floor, shifting pressure to Senate leadership and the bill's managers, including Banking Chair Tim Scott and crypto-policy senators such as Cynthia Lummis.

Related Reading

Bitcoin rips as CLARITY Act clears major Senate Committee hurdle, advances to the full Senate floor

Proponents of the CLARITY Act are now targeting a July 4 desk signing by President Trump for the monumental legislation.

May 14, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Lummis framed CLARITY as more than a crypto bill, saying it was a decision about whether the US leads the next financial system or watches from the sidelines. The line captures the political case proponents are making, while the procedural problem is simpler: floor time is the condition for a vote in the Senate.

The bill has already cleared the House. Congress.gov identifies H.R. 3633 as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and shows the House passed it 294-134 in July 2025. A House Financial Services Committee summary describes the measure as a digital asset market-structure framework covering exchanges, customer assets, disclosures, and the division of responsibilities between the CFTC and SEC.

A slip into the fall would matter beyond Capitol Hill timing. Exchanges and token issuers would remain without the final federal map CLARITY is designed to provide. Market-structure planners would still be left working around unresolved questions over registration pathways, issuer disclosures, customer-asset safeguards, and agency boundaries.

Related Reading

CLARITY Act will give crypto a new regulator before the CFTC has the staff to run it

The CLARITY Act would push crypto spot markets under the CFTC. The unresolved test is whether an agency down 21.5% in payroll FTEs can turn that mandate into rules, registrations, surveillance, and enforcement.

May 20, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Crypto firms and advocacy groups were already pressing for action before the August recess. The missed July 4 target shifts the story from momentum to compression. Between July 13 and August 7, the test is whether Senate leaders turn that pressure into floor action, or leave the market-structure fight waiting for the fall.

The post CLARITY Act misses July target making August 7 a critical date for the bill appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Hyperliquid Strategies has built its treasury around HYPE, but its first SEC filings show the strategy already faces a fundamental challenge.

The company wants to accumulate more tokens for shareholders while warning investors it may need to sell HYPE into future capital raises, placing long-term accumulation goals alongside the practical limits of market liquidity.

Hyperliquid Strategies says the primary objective to accumulate HYPE tokens on behalf of stockholders will be funded by proceeds from its Closing PIPE and future capital raises.

The company established a committed equity facility with Chardan that allows it to direct up to $1 billion in common stock sales, with the company controlling the timing of those sales.

The PIPE package that seeded the strategy included about $299.9 million in cash and 12,517,592 HYPE tokens valued at $580.5 million at signing, for an aggregate fair value of $880.4 million before costs.

By closing, those same HYPE tokens were worth $411.3 million, a $169.2 million loss on the contribution before the company bought a single additional token.

As of May 14, Hyperliquid Strategies held about 20.8 million HYPE, which it said was the largest HYPE position of any US public company.

The filing carries a warning that, during periods of market instability, the company might sell HYPE at unfavorable prices.

A second wrapper waiting on approval

Grayscale filed a preliminary prospectus for a proposed Hyperliquid Staking ETF, formerly known as “Grayscale HYPE ETF,” on May 26.

The document itself states that the trust may not sell its securities until the registration statement takes effect, meaning the product currently exists only on paper.

The trust would hold HYPE directly and aim to reflect HYPE's per-share value, including staking rewards if the fund implements staking. The filing says staking takes about 24 hours and unstaking about 7 days, depending on demand.

That window would sit between the trust and its staked HYPE liquidity during the kind of market stress when share creation, redemption, and hedging mechanics matter most.

Hyperliquid's validator count is 33 as of June 9, and Grayscale's filing warns that a set that small could coordinate to influence transaction ordering, market parameters, listing and delisting decisions, and governance itself.

The filing backs that warning with two incidents already on the record. In March 2025, an attacker inflated the JellyJelly token's price by 429%, HLP losses reached $12 million, and validators delisted the token and settled positions in about two minutes.

In November 2025, a POPCAT manipulation incident produced an estimated $4.9 million in losses, and Hyperliquid halted withdrawals during the response.

The filing presents both incidents as examples of how quickly validators and protocol operators can coordinate during market stress, while warning that the same speed can deepen centralization concerns.

The supply overhang behind the buying

The protocol caps HYPE's total supply at 1 billion tokens, with 310 million already distributed and unlocked through Genesis, 238 million held by core contributors, vesting monthly from November 2025 through 2027 and 2028, and a further 388 million reserved for future emissions and community rewards.

That 238 million core contributor allocation is worth about $15.9 billion at a HYPE price near $67, roughly 15.9 times the size of the $1 billion facility Hyperliquid Strategies can draw on to buy HYPE.

A fully used facility would add about 14.9 million tokens to the company's holdings, just under 1.5% of the total supply and about 72% of its current position.

Spreading the core contributor unlock across 36 months puts monthly vesting near 6.6 million HYPE, worth roughly $443 million at today's price, a monthly figure equal to about 44% of the entire $1 billion facility's total buying power.

At the time of writing, DefiLlama tracked Hyperliquid with nearly $10.4 billion in open interest against a $14.9 billion HYPE market cap, putting open interest at about 70% of the token's market cap.

The 30-day perpetual volume runs $210.1 billion, over 20 times open interest, and 30-day liquidation volume totals $2.6 billion, about 25% of open interest on its own.

Those numbers describe a venue that runs on constant margin and constant liquidation, the environment that both the treasury filing and the ETF prospectus flag as the place HYPE's saleability gets tested.

What the next few months could decide

A bull path has Hyperliquid Strategies raising stock at favorable levels relative to its net asset value, staking yield making HYPE exposure stickier for holders, and HYPE's market cap expanding fast as liquidation volume shrinks as a share of open interest.

If Grayscale's proposed fund launches, its premiums and discounts stay tight, and HYPE starts trading like a credible public-market treasury asset with a value story beyond its perp venue.

A bear path has HYPE's price falling as open interest and liquidations climb, pushing Hyperliquid Strategies' shares below their net asset value and making further stock issuance more dilutive.

Spot liquidity would be thin enough to strain authorized-participant hedging, spreads would widen around any proposed fund, and HYPE spot volume would fall short of the scale needed to absorb monthly vesting without moving the price.

Public market access would then amplify the token's volatility, the risk these wrappers promise to reduce.

Hyperliquid's validator interventions in JellyJelly and POPCAT read as protective just as easily as they read as centralized, and the record so far supports both readings.

A treasury company and a proposed staking ETF are both offering public market access to a token whose own paperwork admits it might not be sellable at the moment access counts most.

The post A $1 billion HYPE treasury trade is hitting public markets before liquidity has been tested appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Elon Musk's SpaceX pulled off the largest IPO in history on 12 June 2026, and the debut lived up to the hype: shares priced at $135, opened around $150 and closed near $161 on day one, briefly valuing the company above $2 trillion. Less than a month later, the picture looks very different. $SPCX has drifted back down toward the $145–$150 zone, giving back almost every point of that first-day pop and sitting well below its 16 June intraday high of roughly $225.

That round trip — from a record blockbuster launch to a stock hovering just above its offer price — is why "will SpaceX stock crash?" has become one of the most searched questions in the market right now. Below we break down what is happening, why, and the realistic scenarios from here.

Why is the SpaceX stock price falling?

The slide is less a single catastrophe than a classic post-IPO cool-off colliding with an eye-watering valuation. A few forces are stacked on top of each other:

The debut pop was built on retail euphoria. SpaceX reserved an unusually large share of the offering — reportedly around 30% — for individual investors, and demand ran several times oversubscribed. That kind of frenzy tends to front-load buying, and once the initial rush fades, the price often gravitates back toward where the deal was actually priced. That is roughly what has happened here.

The valuation leaves little room for error. Even after the pullback, $SPCX carries a market capitalisation north of $2 trillion against negative trailing earnings. Bulls are underwriting Starlink's cash flow, a dominant launch franchise and the xAI/Grok AI angle years into the future. When a stock is priced for near-flawless execution, even neutral news can trigger selling.

Sector sentiment turned. Space and satellite peers have sold off in sympathy, and a broader risk-off tone across high-multiple tech has weighed on the newest, most speculative name in the group. Not being eligible for S&P 500 inclusion for at least a year also removes a source of forced index buying that some traders had been counting on.

What are analysts saying about SPCX?

Wall Street is, on paper, still constructive — but the range of opinion is extreme, which is itself a warning sign. Consensus sits at a "Buy," with average 12-month targets clustering somewhere in the low $200s depending on the data provider. Individual targets, however, span from around $115 on the low end to as high as $800 on the most aggressive bull notes, with at least one street-high call implying enormous upside.

That spread — a low-triple-digit bear case against a high-triple-digit moonshot — tells you the honest truth: nobody really knows how to value SpaceX yet. When targets disagree by a factor of five or more, the "average" price target is close to meaningless, and the stock is likely to stay extremely volatile. Notably, at least one prominent value investor has publicly called the listing one of the most overvalued in history and predicted an eventual collapse, while momentum-focused analysts see the next leg higher toward and beyond $250.

Will SpaceX stock crash? Three scenarios

Rather than pretend to know the outcome, it helps to frame the possibilities. None of these is a prediction — they are the paths the market is currently pricing between.

• Bear case — a genuine unwind. If the retail bid keeps fading, a lock-up or anti-flipping window expires and allows more supply onto the market, or a Starship setback or macro risk-off event hits, $SPCX could break below its $135 IPO price and keep going. Given the beta and daily swings the stock has already shown, a fast 30–50% drawdown from current levels is well within the realm of what a name this speculative can do. This is the scenario the "crash" question is really about.
• Base case — a long, choppy consolidation. The stock spends months digesting its valuation, ranging roughly between the IPO price and its debut highs while the business grows into expectations. Volatile, frustrating, but not a crash — the typical fate of a hyped mega-IPO once the dust settles.
• Bull case — the story reasserts itself. Strong Starlink numbers, Starship progress, momentum behind the xAI/Grok integration and eventual index inclusion pull buyers back in, and the stock retests and clears its former highs toward the upper end of analyst targets.

The uncomfortable reality: all three are plausible right now, and the stock can travel a long way in either direction before the fundamental picture is any clearer.

How to trade SpaceX stock price — in either direction?

Here is where many investors get stuck. If you think $SPCX is heading lower, simply owning shares does you no good — and if you think it is heading higher, you may want leverage or the flexibility to move fast. This is exactly the situation CFDs are built for, because they let you take a position in both directions: go long if you back the bull case, or go short if you think a crash is coming.

With XTB you can trade SpaceX ($SPCX) as a CFD — meaning you can open a long position to profit from a rebound, or a short position to profit if the stock falls, all from one account. XTB is a well-established, regulated broker with a fast, intuitive platform, transparent pricing and no minimum deposit, which makes it a practical choice whether you are positioning for the next leg up or hedging against the downside.

👉 Open your XTB account here and trade SpaceX long or short

Whatever your view on the crash question, the key advantage is optionality: you are not forced to pick "buy and hope." You can express a bearish or a bullish thesis — and manage your risk with defined position sizing — through a single regulated platform. Start trading $SPCX with XTB.

The MiCA transition period ended on July 1, 2026, and the damage is now measurable. This wasn't a soft compliance nudge — it was a mass extinction event that redrew the entire European crypto map in a single day. While the market obsessed over price charts, the more consequential story is who's still legally allowed to operate on the continent, and who just quietly disappeared.

How many crypto firms actually survived MiCA?

The numbers are brutal. Public mirrors of the bloc's register counted 244 licensed CASPs across 25 jurisdictions once the deadline passed. Before MiCA, roughly 3,167 firms held national crypto registrations across Europe. Measured against that base, close to 92% of the market did not make the cut.

Framed against the pre-MiCA legacy pool, only 210 of 1,200+ EU crypto firms converted to MiCA authorization. The other 83% are now in breach of EU law. Either way you count it, the vast majority of the old market is gone — and there are no do-overs. The European Securities and Markets Authority has confirmed that there are no extensions and no grace periods.

Who are the biggest casualties?

Two names dominate the losers' column, and both are giants. The two biggest casualties are private. Binance, the largest exchange in the world, withdrew its license application in Greece days before the deadline and restricted services in several EU countries. Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, chose to stay out rather than restructure its reserves to MiCA's standard.

Tether's exit was a deliberate strategic call, not a failure to qualify. CEO Paolo Ardoino called MiCA's stablecoin reserve requirements "very dangerous" — specifically the rule requiring issuers to hold 60% of reserves in EU bank deposits, which Tether argued creates systemic bank exposure. The practical result is stark: $USDT, the most-traded stablecoin on earth, has been pulled from every EU-licensed venue. 

Binance isn't necessarily gone forever, though. Binance is pursuing a French MiCA licence. If granted, passporting rules allow it to re-enter the EU. The July 1 deadline suspended services; it did not permanently revoke the ability to apply. 

Why does this matter for the survivors?

Because every euro of displaced volume has to go somewhere legal. That matters for the public names because it removes their toughest competition from the regulated arena. Every euro of EU volume that can no longer legally touch Binance or USDT has to find a licensed home.

The market has already tilted decisively toward the compliant perimeter. Approximately 70 percent of EU crypto transactions now occur on MiCA-compliant exchanges, and that share can only grow as unlicensed platforms wind down.

Which exchanges are the winners?

The survivor list is short and increasingly powerful. Major exchanges have secured licenses. The strategic weapon here is passporting: Coinbase spent the run-up securing a MiCA license and opening a Luxembourg hub to passport regulated services across all 27 EU member states. One license now covers a 450-million-person market, a barrier that smaller, unlicensed rivals cannot cross.

On the stablecoin side, the winner is even clearer. Circle is the only issuer among the ten largest stablecoins to secure MiCA authorization for both its dollar token, $USDC, and its euro token, EURC. With $USDT locked out, regulated euro rails now run largely through Circle.

Is the European market healthier or just smaller?

That's the open question. The market that emerges in late 2026 will be smaller, more concentrated, and governed by a single rulebook. Whether that is a feature or a flaw depends on who is still standing. For traders, the upside is real: fewer, better-regulated venues with clearer legal protection. The downside is reduced competition and the friction of migrating away from familiar USDT pairs.

What should EU traders do now?

If your funds are still sitting on an unlicensed platform, the clock has already run out — move them to a MiCA-authorized exchange. You can compare the fully regulated survivors side by side in our broker comparison.

Crypto woke up in the red today, July 8, 2026. Just a day after Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP had pushed past key levels and the mood was turning optimistic, the market flipped within hours. The trigger wasn't anything on-chain — it came from the Middle East.

The US conducted airstrikes against Iranian targets in retaliation for Iran firing on non-military ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Risk assets sold off almost immediately, and crypto — as it so often does when geopolitics turns ugly — was first to bleed. 

What actually happened between the US and Iran?

The escalation landed at an especially fragile moment. Talks between the two countries were already on pause as Iran observes a weeklong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and now the airstrikes and the president's recent comments put long-term peace into serious jeopardy. 

Then came the words that spooked traders most. Addressing NATO leaders, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire "over" and said negotiating with Iran is a "waste of time," though talks reportedly continue. He went further later in the day: Trump said the US will "very probably" hit Iran again tonight, warning that Washington could strike hard.

Iran, for its part, isn't backing down. Tehran's foreign ministry framed the US action as a "clear and material breach of Article 10 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Cessation of War," and reports indicate Iran has begun retaliatory strikes, firing anti-ship cruise missiles and drones at US Navy warships in the Sea of Oman. In other words, the MoU that had underpinned the fragile truce now looks effectively dead.

How far did crypto prices fall?

The damage was broad rather than catastrophic — a risk-off flinch, not a full capitulation. Most cryptos dropped on average 2.9% since midnight UTC, with all but one token declining. Bitcoin and ether fell more than 2% after Trump declared the ceasefire "over."

Looking at the majors: Bitcoin slipped back toward the $61,000–$62,000 zone, Ethereum lost the momentum that had briefly carried it above $1,800 and dropped toward $1,720, and XRP was among the hardest hit of the large caps, sliding around 5% on the day to about $1.07. Solana took the worst of it among the majors — Solana has now completely retraced a rally that began on July 2, trading back near $77 after challenging $84 on Monday.

Why did altcoins get hit hardest?

This is the pattern almost every time fear spikes: the further out on the risk curve, the harder the fall. Altcoins bore the brunt, with $350 million of the $450 million in total liquidations coming from altcoin pairs, and tokens like JUP, ETHFI and PUMP losing between 5.5% and 9.3%.

When traders de-risk, they rotate out of speculative small caps first and hold the majors longer, which is exactly why an index like the CMC20 and coins further down the list show steeper 24-hour losses than Bitcoin itself.

Why does a Middle East conflict move Bitcoin at all?

It comes down to how the market treats crypto right now — as a risk asset, not a safe haven. Demand for risk-based assets like crypto tends to decline during uncertain geopolitical situations such as this.

There's also a direct macro channel through oil. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints, so strikes in the area push energy prices up fast. Following the escalation, Brent crude rose 2.05% to $75.68 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate gained 2.07% to $71.90. Higher oil feeds inflation fears, which pressures rate expectations, which drains liquidity from speculative assets — crypto included. When oil spikes and yields rise, crypto is historically the first to bleed.

Was the market already vulnerable before the strikes?

Yes — and that context matters for anyone trying to gauge what comes next. The sell-off didn't hit a healthy market; it hit one that was still recovering. As Yahoo Finance noted, crypto is already trying to recover from one of its worst monthly performances in years. You can see that strain in the year-to-date numbers on today's board: even blue-chips like Ethereum sit deep in the red for 2026, so sentiment was thin to begin with.

At the same time, it's worth keeping perspective. This isn't 2022 — institutional infrastructure is stronger, and corporate balance sheets are actively participating. On-chain accumulation hasn't stopped either: Tom Lee's Bitmine bought another 40,000 ETH worth $71.6 million, following a 42,000 ETH purchase the previous week as it pushes toward 5% of total supply.

Where does crypto go from here?

The uncomfortable truth for holders is that crypto's next move probably won't be decided on-chain at all. While it trades like a risk asset, direction is being set by headlines out of the Middle East and by the oil market. Watch three things: whether Iran's retaliation escalates or cools, whether the ceasefire gets stitched back together despite the "over" rhetoric, and whether oil keeps climbing.

Most leveraged stock products in Europe are CFDs — synthetic contracts where you never actually own the underlying asset, capped by regulators at 5x for retail traders. As of today, July 8, 2026, Bitpanda is doing something the European market hasn't seen before: leverage on real stocks and ETFs.

The Vienna-based fintech is expanding its offering with margin trading for stocks and ETFs, letting users trade more than 875 securities with leverage of up to 20x. The key difference from every CFD provider out there — you're buying into the actual underlying assets, not betting on a price feed.

What is Bitpanda Margin Trading on Real Securities?

At its core, margin trading means borrowing capital to open a position larger than your own funds allow. 20x means that someone putting in €500 controls a €10,000 position — and gains and losses multiply accordingly.

What sets this launch apart is what you're actually trading. You aren't trading CFDs or synthetic contracts. You get direct exposure to the real security — with everything that comes with genuine ownership. Bitpanda is building this on top of its Real Securities brokerage, which has been running since January 29, 2026. What's new now is the leverage layered on top.

With real securities, that ownership is meaningful: you hold actual shares in your securities account rather than derivatives, and as a shareholder you're entitled to dividends, stock splits, mergers, and other corporate actions handled according to issuer and exchange rules.

How does Bitpanda offer 20x when EU rules cap leverage at 5x?

This is the clever part, and it's worth understanding. In the EU, leveraged stock products face a strict limit: the regulator ESMA caps stock CFDs — bets on price movements without real share ownership — at 5:1 for retail clients.

But that ceiling only applies to CFDs. Because this is classic securities margin rather than a CFD, ESMA's CFD leverage limits don't apply here — and 20x becomes possible. The mechanics behind it: clients put up their own capital and borrow the rest in the form of Bitpanda's euro stablecoin EURCV to fund the position.

What are the fees?

This is where the launch gets aggressive on pricing. Buying is order-fee-free, a flat €1 fee applies on selling, and for clients in Austria and Germany the platform also handles the tax settlement on capital gains. On top of that sits a daily funding fee of 0.03% on the borrowed amount, per Bitpanda's launch materials.

The zero-fee headline comes with one caveat worth flagging for readers: the advertised "zero order fee" applies only to the order fee on buying. The borrowed capital still carries a daily funding cost, which compounds the longer a position stays open. 

Who is this actually for?

Here's the part the marketing tends to skip, and it matters. Leverage this high on individual stocks is a fundamentally different risk profile than leverage on crypto or broad ETFs. Unlike crypto, stocks don't trade around the clock — trading happens on a regulated exchange with fixed hours, not 24/7. Real Securities trade Monday to Friday, 07:30–23:00, not 24/7.

That creates gap risk. If a price gaps overnight or over the weekend — say, after a bad earnings report — your position can open at a loss before you can even react. And with 20x, it doesn't take much: if a stock moves just 5% against you, your entire stake is wiped out. A 5% gap after a profit warning is completely normal for single stocks.

For context on how leverage plays out for retail traders, Bitpanda's own CFD product "Leverage" discloses that 53.24% of retail client accounts lose money trading CFDs with the provider — and that's at a maximum of 2x. This new product goes to ten times that ratio. Margin trading here is squarely aimed at experienced traders who understand liquidation, funding costs, and risk management — not beginners looking for a shortcut. 

Why this launch matters for the European market

Zooming out, this fits a clear strategic arc. The move suits Bitpanda's shift from crypto broker to multi-asset platform — in a year when the market is speculating about a possible Bitpanda IPO. And it slots into a broader European trend: more and more retail platforms are bringing leveraged products to a wide audience. The upside is real — so is the downside risk.

By sidestepping the CFD structure entirely, Bitpanda has found a route to high leverage that its CFD-bound competitors structurally can't match. Whether that's an advantage or simply a higher-stakes version of the same game depends entirely on how it's used.

Ready to explore Bitpanda Margin Trading on real stocks and ETFs?

➡️ Trade over 875 real stocks and ETFs with up to 20x leverage — direct ownership, 0% buy fees, and automatic tax handling in Germany and Austria. Unlike CFDs, you get real exposure to the underlying assets, not synthetic contracts.

Get started with Bitpanda Margin Trading →

There was no code exploit. No compromised private key. No phishing link. And yet BonkDAO says attackers stole about $20 million in BONK through a malicious governance proposal targeting its Solana treasury. 

The attacker didn't break the rules — they bought them.

What happened to BONK DAO?

$BONK is a Solana-based memecoin, and BONK DAO is the community body that governs it. Token holders vote on proposals, and if a vote passes, it executes automatically on-chain. That design is exactly what got weaponized.

The sequence began on June 30, when an anonymous wallet submitted a proposal to transfer the treasury's holdings to a wallet it controlled. That proposal was titled "BIP #76 – Sowellian BonkDAO," and it read more like a pitch than a heist: it sought to "implement Sowellian governance, install new members and council, rebuild from the ashes, monetize holdings, and stop the bleeding," and dangled a reward promising all "yes" voters would be eligible to receive BONK tokens. 

Buried underneath the marketing language sat the only line that mattered — an instruction to transfer roughly 4.4 trillion BONK straight to the attacker's wallet.

How did the attacker pass a fake proposal?

This is the part that should keep every DAO up at night. The proposal needed "yes" votes equal to 1% of BONK's supply to hit quorum. So the attacker simply went and bought it. Over July 4 and 5, a separate wallet acquired exactly that much, spending about $4.4 million to buy BONK on the exchanges Bybit and Binance. 

By the time voting closed, the numbers were almost surgically precise. The proposal passed with just seven wallets voting, against more than 18,000 members who did not — a turnout of 2.9%. It cleared quorum by the narrowest margin, 882.38 billion BONK in favor against an 879.95 billion threshold, almost exactly the stake the attacker had spent days assembling.

The result? The 99.9% "yes" result was effectively a single voter agreeing with itself. The DAO then did what it was built to do — it executed the transfer automatically, and about $20 million in BONK moved out of the treasury into the attacker's wallet. 

Bonk DAO Attack: Where did the money go?

The stolen tokens didn't stick around. More than 4.4 trillion BONK — valued at approximately $19.3 million at the time of transfer — moved out of the treasury to an address ending in "JHvQ," identified via Solscan as having been funded through a Bybit account. By 3:30 p.m. ET the same day, the tokens had been moved again, this time to a different Solana address ending in "eh42."

The promised voter rewards never materialized. The tokens were never distributed — instead they were shuffled to a second address hours later, a pattern consistent with an attacker trying to obscure the trail rather than honor any community commitment. Security firm PeckShield later flagged that roughly $148,000 worth of stolen BONK has already moved to OKX.

Was Bonk DAO Hacked?

Technically, no — and that's the uncomfortable part. The attacker didn't exploit a bug in any smart contract. The root issue was governance design, not code. Every single step was a valid, authorized on-chain transaction.

With no timelock, quorum minimum, or multisig check in place to catch an anomalous proposal before it executed, a well-funded attacker was able to turn a $4 million token purchase into control over a $20 million treasury. A timelock would have forced a delay between approval and execution, giving the community a window to spot the drain. A multisig override could have frozen it in an emergency. BONK DAO had neither.

This has reopened an old debate. Because every step was a valid transaction, some on-chain observers argued the attacker simply exploited a weak governance design rather than breaking in. The lesson stands either way: a treasury that can be drained by whoever assembles a temporary voting majority is only as secure as the cost of buying that majority — and here, that cost was a fraction of the prize.

What is BONK DAO doing about it?

BonkDAO has notified law enforcement and is working with the Solana Foundation, centralized exchanges, and network bridges to recover funds. It said it had identified the exchange wallets used to buy tokens ahead of the vote — and the involvement of law enforcement makes clear the DAO is treating this as an attack, not a clever loophole.

Recovery, though, is an uphill battle. Governance attacks are notoriously hard to reverse precisely because they run through the protocol's own legitimate machinery.

How did BONK's price react?

The market response was surprisingly contained given the scale. BONK prices are down about 7% in the past 24 hours in the aftermath of the attack. Exchanges moved fast — South Korean exchange Upbit and American exchange Kraken both paused deposits and withdrawals of the BONK token, with Upbit citing "user protection measures following the circumstances of a security incident."

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Key Takeaways

• PayPal USD arrives on Polygon natively via Paxos for streamlined business transactions.
• The Open Money Stack from Polygon now supports PYUSD alongside wallets and fiat conversion.
• Companies gain access to integrated settlement and cash-out capabilities in one platform.
• Polygon reports handling $2.6 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume.
• Paxos delivers regulated, dollar-backed PYUSD to Polygon’s payment ecosystem.

PayPal’s stablecoin has officially launched on Polygon via a Paxos partnership, marking a significant expansion in its payment capabilities. This development provides companies with native access to PYUSD through Polygon’s comprehensive payment framework. The integration combines regulated dollar-backed settlement with digital wallets, fiat on-ramps, and built-in compliance infrastructure.

Native PYUSD Integration with Polygon’s Payment Infrastructure

Paxos has introduced native PYUSD issuance on Polygon, eliminating the need for bridged token versions. Consequently, companies can now leverage the stablecoin across Polygon’s entire payment ecosystem. This framework enables deposits, transfers, settlements, and fiat conversions within a unified architecture.

The Open Money Stack from Polygon integrates digital wallets, fiat gateway services, regulatory compliance features, and stablecoin settlement capabilities. This unified approach allows companies to minimize the need for multiple payment provider integrations. The infrastructure accommodates various payment methods including card transactions, bank transfers, exchange operations, and stablecoin flows.

This integration specifically addresses the needs of organizations requiring accelerated cross-border transactions and simplified operational workflows. Payroll service providers, digital marketplaces, and money transfer services can leverage PYUSD for global payment processing. These companies can transfer value and convert to fiat without developing proprietary banking infrastructure.

Stablecoin Transaction Volume Highlights Polygon’s Payment Focus

According to Polygon, its blockchain has facilitated over $2.6 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume. This substantial figure demonstrates the network’s established foundation in payment-oriented stablecoin operations. It also illustrates why integrating PYUSD aligns with Polygon’s comprehensive settlement approach.

Major companies including Revolut and Stripe currently utilize Polygon for payment operations. Businesses already operating on Polygon can incorporate PYUSD without overhauling their existing technology stack. This compatibility reduces technical overhead and accelerates implementation timelines.

According to Polygon Labs, the Open Money Stack enables organizations to accept payments and facilitate cross-border fund movement. It also provides currency conversion to local denominations through a single integration point. This architecture creates a more direct connection between conventional financial systems and blockchain-based settlement.

Regulated Stablecoin Settlement Through Paxos

PYUSD is minted by Paxos and maintained through dollar-denominated reserve assets. Paxos states that the stablecoin functions under a national trust charter with OCC oversight. This regulatory framework positions PYUSD among the supervised dollar-backed stablecoins operating in the U.S. market.

The Polygon deployment provides PYUSD with access to another significant blockchain network for payment and settlement operations. This expansion reflects the broader trend of stablecoin integration by payment companies and financial technology providers. Earlier this year in June, Mastercard incorporated PYUSD into its settlement infrastructure across multiple blockchain platforms.

PayPal and MoonPay also unveiled PYUSDx this year for customized stablecoin applications. This platform enables developers to create stablecoins supported by PYUSD reserves without constructing payment infrastructure independently. Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate PYUSD’s strategic expansion into mainstream payment systems.

The post PayPal’s PYUSD Stablecoin Arrives Natively on Polygon via Paxos Partnership appeared first on Blockonomi.

A token presale launch runs on a simple rhythm: fixed price stages, a published schedule, and one go-live moment when the earliest buyers step in.

This week that rhythm plays out for real, because Bullski ($BULLSKI) opens stage one of its 16-stage presale at 5pm UTC on Friday, July 10. This guide explains how a presale is structured, how the timing unfolds from countdown to go-live, and what to have ready.

Keep the countdown on Bullski’s home page open while you read.

How a Token Presale Is Structured

Definition: A token presale is a project’s direct sale of its token at fixed, staged prices before any exchange listing.

The structure is nearly always a ladder. The sale is split into numbered stages, each carrying a fixed price and a set allocation of tokens. Stage one holds the lowest price of the entire sale.

When its allocation sells through, stage two opens a notch higher, and the climb repeats until the final stage sits just under the planned listing level.

That ladder logic serves both sides. The project raises funds in predictable steps and builds a holder base before any exchange is involved. Buyers get a transparent rule in return: the earlier you enter, the less you pay, and nobody has to guess where the price goes next because the whole staircase is published up front.

The Timing: From Countdown to Go-Live

Most presales move through the same four beats. First comes the announcement, when the project publishes its date, terms and stage pricing. Next, a reservation window opens, usually a free priority list that holds your place before anything is on sale.

At the published hour, stage one goes live and the earliest arrivals buy first. From there, later stages open one by one as each allocation fills.

The beat most first-timers miss is the reservation step. By the time a launch is trending, stage one is already crowded, so whether you buy at the opening price or a later one usually comes down to what you did before go-live day.

The Live Case: Bullski’s Friday Go-Live

Now lay that template over a real launch. Bullski’s reservation phase is open today, and go-live lands this Friday, when stage one begins the climb through 16 stages toward the $0.0025 listing reference, with each stage priced a notch above the one before it.

Underneath the ladder, the token itself is built to be checked. $BULLSKI is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, and the protections buyers should look for are already in place:

• A supply fixed at 120 billion tokens, with the contract verified on Etherscan.

• An audit in process, plus liquidity that locks at launch.

• Staking and referral rewards that switch on from stage one, so early tokens work immediately.

Everything on that list holds steady from stage one to listing. The only variable that moves through the sale is the entry price, and by design it only steps up.

Watch out: go-live hours attract cloned sites dressed up as the real presale page. Use only the official links you saved in advance, and never share a seed phrase with anyone, for any reason.

From Theory to Stage One: Your Go-Live Plan

If you read this far to understand the mechanics, you are already ahead of most of the crowd that will discover this presale on Friday night. Turning knowledge into position takes two steps. Set up an Ethereum wallet and fund it with ETH or USDT before the weekend.

Then hold your place on the list while it is still open, because priority members enter stage one first, buy at the lowest rung of the ladder, and can stake immediately. After that, the launch simply does what this article said it would.

$250 USDT Giveaway: Launch week comes with a side prize. Bullski’s Bullish by Default draw pays $250 USDT to one winner, picked at random, with no purchase needed. To enter, join the Bullski $250 draw through the official Telegram and X pages, and bring a friend for extra entries. Winners are announced only on official channels, and the team never asks for wallet keys.

Token Presale FAQ

How does a token presale work?

A project sells its token directly to early buyers at fixed prices before any exchange listing, usually across staged rounds that each cost a little more than the last. Buyers pay with crypto such as ETH or USDT, receive their allocation, and the sale builds toward a public listing.

What are presale stages?

Stages are the fixed price steps a sale is divided into. Each has its own price and allocation, and when one sells out the next opens higher. Bullski runs 16 of them toward a $0.0025 listing reference, which makes the earliest stage the cheapest entry the sale will offer.

When does the Bullski presale go live?

Stage one opens at 5pm UTC on Friday, July 10, 2026. The free priority list is open now and holds your place until then, which matters because stage one carries the lowest price on the whole ladder. Do your own research before taking part.

What should I do before a go-live?

Handle everything that takes time in advance. Install and back up an Ethereum wallet, load it with ETH or USDT plus a little spare ETH for gas, save the official links, and join the early list if one exists. At the published hour you want to be confirming a purchase, not reading instructions.

For More Information

Website: Visit the official Bullski website at bullski.io

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

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

The post How a Token Presale Launch Works: Stages, Timing and Bullski’s Friday Go-Live appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Meta Platforms is launching a neocloud initiative to commercialize computing capacity and generate revenue from its extensive data center infrastructure.
• Shares have climbed approximately $50 following the neocloud strategy reveal.
• Wolfe Research maintains an Outperform rating with an $800 price objective; META shares currently sit at roughly $605.72.
• Wolfe Research has increased its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure projection for Meta to $220 billion, significantly exceeding Street estimates of $160 billion and above.
• The company anticipates 2026 capex ranging from $125 billion to $145 billion; Meta has also commenced construction on an AI-focused data center facility in Canada.

Meta Platforms (META) shares are hovering around $605.72, gaining $2.60 in Thursday’s session, as two positive developments spotlight the tech giant’s aggressive artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion.

Meta Platforms, Inc., META

Jim Cramer highlighted Meta during this week’s Mad Money broadcast, praising the company’s strategic entry into the neocloud sector as a calculated decision. The social media behemoth, historically among the largest purchasers of computational resources, is now positioning itself as a seller.

This strategic shift initially rattled certain competitors. Neocloud sector equities experienced a selloff last week following Meta’s announcement of its intention to compete directly in this space.

Cramer dismissed the pessimistic interpretation. He contended that the ability to lease computing resources at premium rates indicates a scarcity rather than surplus of data center infrastructure. META shares have appreciated roughly $50 since the strategic announcement.

Wolfe Research Increases Capital Expenditure Projections

Wolfe Research reaffirmed its Outperform stance on META this Thursday, maintaining its $800 valuation objective. The equity currently trades substantially below that threshold at approximately $605.72 — retreating from its 52-week peak of $796.25.

The firm’s most significant adjustment involved its capital spending outlook. Wolfe currently anticipates Meta will allocate $220 billion toward infrastructure during fiscal 2027, representing a substantial increase from its previous capacity projection of $15 billion. This figure considerably surpasses the consensus Street forecast of $160 billion or higher.

Wolfe additionally revised its capacity projection upward, now estimating Meta will possess approximately 17 gigawatts of operational capacity in the coming year, elevated from a previous 15-gigawatt estimate.

The research organization had previously indicated that Meta would likely increase capital expenditures and might pursue a capital infusion through debt instruments or equity offerings to support it.

For calendar year 2026, Meta’s capital spending is forecast at $125–$145 billion, representing a dramatic escalation from earlier predictions. Wolfe emphasized that Meta must demonstrate to shareholders tangible, sustainable revenue streams beyond advertising to warrant such investment magnitudes.

Meta currently maintains a return on invested capital of 25% alongside a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Canadian Data Center Initiative and Advertising Tool Enhancement

Regarding infrastructure development, Meta recently initiated construction on a new data center campus in Sturgeon County, Alberta — marking its inaugural Canadian facility and 33rd worldwide. The installation is engineered for artificial intelligence computing loads, represents an investment exceeding CAD $13 billion, and is projected to generate approximately 3,000 construction positions plus more than 300 permanent employment opportunities.

Meta is simultaneously incorporating its Muse Image model into its Advantage+ creative advertising platform, introducing visual reasoning and self-refinement capabilities to its advertisement generation infrastructure.

Erste Group elevated META from Hold to Buy this week, referencing the company’s AI investment trajectory. Truist Securities likewise preserved its Buy recommendation, emphasizing Meta’s AI distribution advantages through the Muse Spark ecosystem.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has conceded that AI agent development has progressed more gradually than initially anticipated. Separately, investor Michael Burry has established short positions spanning AI infrastructure equities.

Meta stock currently trades at $605.72, with Wolfe Research’s $800 valuation target suggesting approximately 32% appreciation potential from present levels.

The post Meta (META) Stock Surges $50 Following Neocloud Strategy Announcement appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Lam Research (LRCX) shares jumped 7.5%, starting the session at $365.13 following Mizuho’s decision to increase its price target from $380 to $400 while maintaining an Outperform stance.
• Several Wall Street firms have recently upgraded their targets, with Stifel Nicolaus most optimistic at $500 and Susquehanna projecting $475.
• The stock currently carries 28 Buy recommendations and 6 Hold ratings, earning a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• In its latest quarterly report, LRCX exceeded earnings expectations ($1.47 actual vs $1.36 forecast) while revenue reached $5.84 billion, representing a 23.8% year-over-year increase.
• Mizuho boosted its 2027 worldwide wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) forecast to $192 billion, representing a 25% annual increase driven by artificial intelligence expansion.

Shares of Lam Research (LRCX) began Thursday’s trading session at $365.13, marking a significant 7.5% increase from Wednesday’s closing price of $333.15. The surge followed Mizuho’s announcement that it was elevating its price objective to $400 from the previous $380 while reaffirming its Outperform designation. By midday, the stock was changing hands near $364.95.

Lam Research Corporation, LRCX

The upgrade reflects Mizuho’s increasingly optimistic outlook on artificial intelligence-related demand spurring semiconductor manufacturing equipment purchases throughout the coming years. The investment firm anticipates worldwide WFE spending will hit $192 billion by 2027, reflecting a robust 25% year-over-year expansion, building on an anticipated 23% increase in 2026.

Mizuho has also unveiled forecasts extending through 2028 and 2029, predicting WFE markets of $221 billion and $214 billion respectively. According to the firm, sustained investment in AI infrastructure, memory production, and foundry operations will drive equipment demand across multiple years.

Memory spending represents a critical component of this growth narrative. Mizuho highlighted accelerating HBM capital expenditure extending into 2027-28 as chip makers expand capacity in preparation for 2028 production launches. An expanding mismatch between worldwide memory supply and demand is expected to provide additional momentum.

Wall Street Firms Continue Elevating Price Objectives

Mizuho’s upgrade wasn’t an isolated event. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased its price objective from $305 to $420 with a Buy recommendation in mid-June. Citigroup similarly maintained its Buy stance while boosting its target from $315 to $450 during the same timeframe.

Susquehanna established a $475 price objective at June’s conclusion, maintaining its Positive outlook. Stifel Nicolaus adopted an even more aggressive stance, setting a $500 target on June 29th. HSBC took a relatively conservative approach, adjusting its Hold-rated objective from $221 to $247 back in April.

Cantor Fitzgerald has positioned itself among the most optimistic voices, elevating its target to $500 while highlighting LRCX’s expanding market share within the semiconductor capital equipment sector. The firm emphasized AI-driven expansion and advanced packaging technologies as significant growth catalysts.

Currently, LRCX holds 28 Buy recommendations alongside 6 Hold ratings, resulting in a MarketBeat consensus classification of Moderate Buy. The mean price objective among Wall Street analysts stands at $348.39.

Strong Quarterly Performance Supports Bullish Outlook

LRCX’s latest quarterly earnings provided substantial validation for analyst optimism. The semiconductor equipment manufacturer delivered earnings per share of $1.47, surpassing the Street consensus of $1.36 by $0.11. Revenue totaled $5.84 billion, exceeding analyst projections of $5.70 billion.

This revenue performance represented a 23.8% increase compared to the equivalent quarter in the previous year, when earnings per share stood at $1.04. The company achieved a return on equity of 66.21% alongside a net margin of 30.94%.

Looking ahead to Q4 2026, LRCX has issued guidance calling for earnings per share between $1.50 and $1.80. Wall Street analysts are currently modeling full-year EPS of $5.68.

Regarding shareholder distributions, LRCX distributed a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share on July 8th. The annualized dividend totals $1.04, translating to an approximate yield of 0.3%.

The company maintains a market capitalization of $447.92 billion, trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.55, and has a 200-day moving average of $261.73.

The post Lam Research (LRCX) Stock Jumps 7.5% as Analyst Upgrades Continue Rolling In appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Gold surged more than 1%, recovering above the $4,100 threshold following a three-session decline
• Fresh military confrontations between the United States and Iran sparked renewed safe-haven buying
• Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed division among officials regarding future interest rate decisions
• Rising energy costs are intensifying inflation concerns, potentially prolonging elevated interest rates
• The resilient U.S. dollar and hawkish Federal Reserve tone continue to limit gold’s upward momentum

Precious metal prices staged an impressive recovery on Thursday, advancing more than 1% following three consecutive sessions of declines. Spot gold increased 1.14% to reach $4,123.91 per ounce, while futures contracts for gold rose 1.25% to settle at $4,132.95 per ounce.

The resurgence occurred as market participants returned to gold’s traditional safe-haven properties amid renewed military confrontations between Washington and Tehran.

Middle East Military Tensions Boost Precious Metal Appeal

The United States initiated additional military operations against Iran on Thursday, coming just hours after President Donald Trump announced the breakdown of ceasefire negotiations with Iranian leadership. The regional conflict has been intensifying since hostilities erupted in late February.

Tehran’s armed forces retaliated with strikes targeting what they identified as U.S. military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps issued warnings of additional attacks on American military assets throughout the Gulf region should Washington persist with its military operations.

This recent escalation has created turbulence across energy markets. Iranian assaults on vessels attempting to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz have driven crude oil prices upward, subsequently heightening concerns about energy-related inflationary pressures.

Higher oil prices complicate the Federal Reserve’s ability to implement interest rate reductions. This creates a challenging environment for gold, as declining rates typically support the non-interest-bearing asset while elevated rates diminish its attractiveness.

“Any surge in energy prices will strengthen market expectations that the Federal Reserve may maintain interest rates at elevated levels for an extended period to address persistent inflation,” noted analysts at ANZ in their research commentary.

Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes Reveal Policy Uncertainty

The release of Federal Reserve minutes from June’s policy meeting provided markets with additional considerations. Central bank officials demonstrated disagreement regarding the necessity of additional interest rate increases, offering some encouragement to gold investors.

The prospect that rate increases might be suspended later this year contributed to improved sentiment surrounding bullion. Reduced borrowing costs decrease the opportunity cost associated with holding gold, which generates no yield.

However, the same meeting minutes also indicated that Fed policymakers are becoming increasingly worried about entrenched inflation. U.S. inflationary pressures have consistently exceeded the central bank’s 2% objective since the onset of the Iran conflict.

“The minutes confirm that the possibility of a September interest rate increase remains firmly on the table,” stated Thomas Ryan from Capital Economics.

The U.S. dollar remained relatively unchanged at 100.98 on Thursday but continues hovering near 13-month peak levels achieved in June. A robust dollar typically increases gold’s cost for international buyers using alternative currencies, which generally constrains demand.

Gold had experienced downward pressure earlier in the week as the dollar gained strength on inflation anxieties connected to the regional conflict. Thursday’s rally lifted gold back above the $4,100 threshold after Wednesday’s downturn pushed it beneath that psychological level.

The post Gold Surges Past $4,100 as Middle East Tensions and Fed Policy Uncertainty Fuel Rally appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin’s market appears to be in the later stages of a bear market, but the signals confirming a broader turnaround have not yet emerged. On-chain data shared by Glassnode shows the asset has recovered from $57,800 to nearly $63,000 over the past week, but it remains below both the True Market Mean of $76,600 and the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis of $72,200.

This leaves the asset in a “deep value” zone.

BTC Bottoming

Bitcoin has now spent about five months trading below both of these levels – one of the longest discount periods in its history. According to Glassnode, such long periods have historically provided the foundation for cyclical bottoms as investors accumulate at prices below the average cost of recent buyers and the broader active market. However, a further decline toward the Realized Price of roughly $53,000 remains possible.

The report identified long-term holders as the primary source of current selling pressure. Since early February, the share of realized value attributed to long-term holder losses has increased from 15% to 43%, which makes this cohort’s capitulation the largest contributor to downside pressure. These investors largely bought near the cycle peak and, after holding through months of losses, are increasingly selling as the downturn tests their conviction.

Glassnode said that this steady wave of distribution has prevented Bitcoin from reclaiming the upper end of its current trading range. The report added that long-term holders’ realized losses, measured on a 30-day moving average basis, recently climbed to around $280 million per day, which is the highest level since December 2022. This was the second major spike recorded during the current bear market.

Unlike the previous spike, however, this wave of capitulation has not yet begun to cool. Glassnode believes that a decline in this metric will be necessary before a credible transition back to bullish conditions can be considered.

Off-chain indicators also continue to point to weak institutional demand despite exhibiting modest improvement. The 30-day average of US spot Bitcoin ETF net flows has remained negative since mid-May. The average daily outflows declined from a peak of $193 million in early June to approximately $88.9 million.

While the slower pace of withdrawals is viewed as a “tentative positive,” institutions are still reducing exposure overall, which means demand has yet to stabilize. ETF trading activity also remains low, as daily volume ranges between $650 million and $950 million, roughly 80% below the $4.4 billion daily peak recorded in October 2025.

According to the report, both stronger trading activity and a return to neutral or positive ETF flows would be needed to confirm renewed institutional participation.

Defensive Positioning

Derivatives markets present a mixed picture. The options put/call ratio has fallen to 0.56, its lowest level this year, while perpetual futures funding rates indicate traders have cautiously rebuilt long positions after earlier de-risking. Despite this, the options market remained defensive.

“The 25-delta skew, the premium of downside protection over upside, is bid across every tenor. Every selloff since the winter has re-bid it, and late June’s spike to 24% was the most defensive the front end has been since the February selloff. Traders are still paying up to hedge each dip, even as the book leans long.”

Bitcoin also trades about 6% below the options market’s aggregated max pain level of $66,000, the price at which the greatest number of outstanding options would expire worthless and around which spot price has often gravitated as expiry approaches.

The post Bitcoin Is in Deep Value Zone, Yet $53K Drop Cannot Be Ruled Out appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple announced several deals and key partnerships over the past few days, further boosting the buzz surrounding the company.

However, the positive news has failed to trigger a major resurgence for XRP, yet certain analysts believe a big breakout could be on the horizon.

The Recent Developments

On July 4, the USA celebrated its 250th Independence Day, a historic milestone filled with nationwide special events. Ripple joined the festivities by partnering with a nonprofit that helps unemployed veterans find high-quality jobs after service. The ultimate goal is to secure jobs for 200,000 affected people by 2030, with Ripple matching donations up to $10,000.

Two days later, the company disclosed breaking news from the other side of the globe. It received full authorization as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), allowing the firm to offer its regulated payments platform throughout the European Economic Area (EEA).

Shortly after, Ripple shook hands with the Kansas Jayhawks, also known as KU (the athletic teams representing the University of Kansas). Per the partnership’s conditions, XRP’s logo will appear on all of their uniforms. Speaking on the matter was Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, who said:

“Rare moment where my professional and personal worlds collide: XRP is now the first crypto on the jersey of a major college athletics program, at my alma mater.”

Just recently, the X account BSCN revealed that the US supply chain firm Made in USA has selected the XRP Ledger to power its verification and product certification system. According to the entity, blockchain will provide immutable records that help verify the origin and authenticity of local products.

The ETF Front

Spot XRP ETFs saw significant capital inflows over the past few months, highlighting growing institutional appetite for the asset. The first company to issue such a fund (with 100% exposure to the token) is Canary Capital, followed by Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and Grayscale. Since day 1, these investment vehicles have generated a cumulative total net inflow of almost $1.5 billion.

Spot XRP ETFs have had only four red days since April, with July 8 being one of them. This stands in sharp contrast to spot BTC ETFs, which have been bleeding heavily over the past few months.

XRP Price Outlook

As of press time, Ripple’s cross-border token trades at around $1.09, a minor 1.3% increase on a weekly scale. According to X user MikybullCrypto, the current price level represents a “lifetime opportunity entry,” as the analyst set a target of $5 and potentially even higher.

For their part, Crypto Coral spotted that XRP is compressing inside a triangle, with the valuation currently reacting from a key support zone. “Structures this large often lead to significant moves once resistance gives way,” they added.

The post Ripple (XRP) News Today: July 9 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Shiba Inu saw its largest burn in the last six months, which is typically interpreted as a bullish signal.

However, SHIB’s price remains heavily suppressed in the bear market, and multiple factors point to further downside in the short term.

The Burn and More

On July 8, the SHIB team and community scorched almost 110 million coins. However, the USD equivalent of the coins sent to a dead wallet is negligible, and with roughly 585 trillion coins still in circulation, much bigger burns will be required to trigger a major upswing.

The burning mechanism was introduced in 2022, and its ultimate goal is to make the token scarcer and potentially more valuable (should demand remain stable or head north). It is also important to note that Vitaliк Buterin contributed a significant portion of the approximately 410.8 trillion tokens that have already been burned.

As of this writing, SHIB trades at around $0.00000429, an 8% decline for the past month and a whopping 95% collapse since the all-time high witnessed in 2021. Its market capitalization has dropped to around $2.5 billion, making the meme coin (once among the 20 biggest cryptocurrencies) the 37th-largest digital asset.

Back in the day, Shiba Inu was the subject of numerous optimistic price predictions, but lately the interest in it has faded, and the forecasts are rather grim. Not long ago, the popular trader James Wynn labeled the meme coin “old, dead, and boring,” predicting a potential revival in 5-10 years, when “a bit of nostalgia” could bring it back.

The Bearish Signals

SHIB’s downfall coincides with its falling daily trading volume. X account BSCN revealed that the figure has seen a steady decrease over the last 12 months, plummeting from $637 million in July 2025 to around $50-$100 million nowadays.

The stalled activity on Shibarium is another worrying sign. The layer-2 scaling solution, launched in the summer of 2023 to boost speed, enhance scalability, and lower fees, initially processed millions of transactions. However, following an exploit that disrupted operations last year, daily activity has fallen dramatically to mere thousands.

Weak interest in the broader meme coin sector is another factor that could limit SHIB’s ability to stage a decisive comeback. Dogecoin (DOGE) and many of its rivals were among the best-performing tokens during the last bull cycle, but they are now a pale shadow of their former glory. The market capitalization of the meme coin sector, which once crossed $120 billion, now stands at less than $23 billion.

The post Shiba Inu Burn Rate Goes Parabolic, Yet SHIB Keeps Bleeding: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

XRP’s price has approached $1 in recent weeks, and now the key question is whether that level can halt the decline.

Ripple (XRP) Price Predictions: Analysis

Key support levels: $1

Key resistance levels: $1.3, $1.6, $2

 Sellers are Returning

After a short relief rally towards $1.18, sellers have returned and seem to have full control over XRP. In the last four days, the price has been falling without any bounce and appears ready to test the key support at $1 again.

In late June, the price hovered just above $1 for several days before buyers managed to push XRP higher. However, this could turn out to be a dead cat bounce before new lows. That’s because the overall trend remains bearish.

Buyers Vanished

Since last Sunday, buyers have vanished from the order book. As soon as the price touched $1.18, buy pressure collapsed, paving the way for sellers to take control.

The only positive thing about XRP right now is the falling volume. Even if sellers appear in control, the volume continues to decline. This indicates a lack of conviction, which could mean that buyers are waiting for an opportunity to return.

Daily RSI Remains Bearish

This summer, the RSI on the daily timeframe made two attempts to move beyond 50. However, each time, the price did a full reversal, erasing any hopes of a sustained rally. This can be interpreted as bearish.

On the other hand, the RSI is making higher lows and higher highs. This is encouraging, but unless the price does the same, it will remain a bullish divergence that is not confirmed.

The post Ripple (XRP) Price Predictions for This Week (July 9) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

PI is down 12% this week and is quickly approaching $0.10. Will buyers return there?

PI Network (PI) Price Predictions: Analysis

Key support levels: $0.10, $0.085

Key resistance levels: $0.13, $0.16

PI Arrives at $0.10

As expected, the price of PI has reached the 10-cent support, a key psychological level. So far, sellers appear to have total control, considering that the price has crashed 12% since last week.

If buyers plan to return, then this is a key moment for them to take back control. Ideally, they defend the $0.10 level and send PI into a bounce. The current resistance is found at $0.13, and only if this level breaks can we hope for a sustained rally.

Decisive Moment Ahead

With the $0.10 key support under pressure, PI is found at a crossroads. Bounce here, and buyers have a chance to recover some of the most recent losses. Fail to defend this level, and PI may crash even more and into single digits.

A look at the momentum indicators does not give much confidence that buyers stand a chance. The daily RSI is below 30, and the MACD has been making lower lows since a bearish cross in late June.

Sell Volume Explodes

Since mid-June, the sell volume has been making higher highs. That’s a clear bearish signal, and there is little hope this can reverse any time soon. Best to wait for a reaction at the 10 cents support, if it comes.

If the current momentum doesn’t change, expect sellers to continue to have the upper hand as they push PI to new record lows, with $0.085 as the next key target.

The post Why Is the Pi Network (PI) Price Down This Week? appeared first on CryptoPotato.