Trump's assertion of initiating the US-Iran war underscores heightened military tensions, reducing prospects for diplomatic resolutions.

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The collaboration could significantly enhance digital payment systems, potentially reshaping global financial transactions and infrastructure.

The post Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are close to launching a joint stablecoin platform: Report appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Binance is transitioning its NFT service to Binance Wallet, allowing users to manage NFTs through a more integrated web3 environment.

The post Binance to shutter NFT service and accelerate migration to decentralized wallet appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Iranian drones hit Kuwait airport as US-Iran clashes escalate. Crude oil all-time high by December at 28% YES, September at 23.5% YES.

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Rubio told Congress sanctions relief requires nuclear concessions only, rejecting Hormuz linkage. Iran oil sanction relief by June 30 drops to 33.5% YES.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Democrats Sanders and Warren Push Labor Department to Abandon Bitcoin 401(k) Rule

Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are calling on the Trump administration’s Labor Department to scrap a rule that would open America’s retirement savings accounts to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — a move the lawmakers say puts workers’ financial futures at risk while lining the pockets of President Trump and his family.

In a 14-page letter sent Monday to Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Sanders (I-VT) and Warren (D-MA) joined House Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) to condemn a proposed Department of Labor rule floated in March.

The rule would give 401(k) plan fiduciaries cover to offer volatile assets — including cryptocurrency, private equity, and private credit — so long as fiduciaries can demonstrate they weighed relevant factors before offering access.

“The proposed rule is harmful to American workers and counter to statute, Congressional intent, existing regulations, and case law,” the letter reads.

What the rule would do

The proposal stems from an executive order President Trump signed last August, directing the Labor Department to revisit its approach to alternative assets in retirement plans. Under current law, fiduciaries managing 401(k) plans are held to a strict “prudence” standard — a requirement rooted in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 and reinforced by Supreme Court precedent.

The Democrats argue the new rule would flip that standard on its head. Rather than requiring fiduciaries to demonstrate due diligence, the rule would presume it — so long as a fiduciary follows the process the rule outlines.

That shift, the lawmakers say, conflicts with decades of legal precedent and exposes the estimated $14.2 trillion sitting in American 401(k) accounts to assets with extreme price swings and limited regulatory oversight.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has warned that crypto investments “have experienced higher levels of volatility relative to more traditional investment assets” and that “the risk of losing all of your investment is significant.” The FBI reported over $11 billion in cryptocurrency fraud losses in 2025 — among the highest losses from any category of cyber-enabled crime.

The Trump conflict-of-interest argument

The Democratic lawmakers went beyond retirement policy, raising pointed conflict-of-interest concerns. Trump’s adult sons manage the family’s crypto business, and the ventures have raised an estimated $5 billion for the Trump family following the September launch of their digital currency, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The family’s crypto portfolio includes World Liberty Financial’s WLFI and USD1 tokens, as well as the official Trump meme coin — which surged past $75 per token at Trump’s January 2025 inauguration before collapsing to around $2.

“The change to the prudence standard described above expands opportunities for President Trump and his family to profit at the expense of taxpayers, workers, and retirees,” the letter reads.

Consumer advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform echoed those concerns.

“Opening 401(k)s to these products risks turning workers’ retirement savings into a Ponzi-like scheme that throws a lifeline to an industry scrambling for fresh cash,” said Oscar Valdés Viera, a senior policy analyst at the organization.

The letter also cited senior poverty statistics: more than 22.8% of seniors in the United States live in poverty, compared with 5.1% in Denmark, 5.8% in France, and 12.6% in Germany — underscoring the stakes for retirees who can’t absorb major losses.

The administration’s defense

The Trump administration has framed the rule as an expansion of worker choice.

“The department’s days of picking winners and losers are over,” Acting Labor Secretary Sonderling said in a statement. “Our rule clearly spells out that managers must evaluate any and all potential product offerings by following a prudent process.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added his support, calling the rule “another step in ushering in President Trump’s ‘Golden Age.'”

This post Democrats Sanders and Warren Push Labor Department to Abandon Bitcoin 401(k) Rule first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Stocks, Led By Strategy (MSTR), Take a Beating as BTC Price Sells Off 

Bitcoin fell into the mid-$67,000s on Tuesday, dragging the entire ecosystem of crypto-linked equities with it.

Bitcoin shed more than 11% over the past week, crashing below $67,000 for the first time since early April, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data. 

The drop hit crypto treasury stocks with full force. Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) tumbled 9.15% on Tuesday, trading at $136.08 at close, with a session low of $134.11 — dangerously close to its 52-week floor of $104.16. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) fell 4.23%, to $173.74. 

And Strive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASST), the Vivek Ramaswamy-founded bitcoin treasury company, dropped 6.23% to $16.10 — despite announcing one of the boldest Bitcoin purchases of the year.

Strategy (MSTR) breaks from buying and sells 32 BTC

One of the sparks this year was a four-page SEC filing. Between May 26 and May 31, Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million at an average of $77,135 per coin — the company’s first net reduction in bitcoin holdings through a standalone regulatory disclosure since December 2022. 

The proceeds went toward funding distributions on STRC, Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock carrying an 11.5% annual variable dividend.

The numbers are small. Thirty-two coins represent 0.004% of Strategy’s 843,706 BTC treasury, assembled at an average purchase price of $75,699 per coin. The psychological damage, however, was severe. Strategy built its entire equity story on an absolute “never sell” posture championed by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. That posture is now gone. MSTR stock has fallen nearly 15% from Friday’s close.

Bitcoin price’s discouraging week

Strategy’s sale did not land in a vacuum. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $3.45 billion in net withdrawals across 11 straight trading sessions through late May — the largest monthly ETF exodus of 2026, with a single session logging $484 million in redemptions. 

Then Mt. Gox, the long-dormant estate of the collapsed Tokyo exchange, moved 10,422 BTC — worth approximately $739 million — in a single transfer at 04:47 UTC on June 2, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence. 

Of the total, 10,306 BTC went to a new address with no prior transaction history. The transfer marks the estate’s largest on-chain movement in months, arriving as its creditor repayment deadline approaches in October 2026. On-chain data showed no immediate exchange inflows tied to the movement, but automated trading systems reacted to the headline, triggering liquidations that amplified the price decline.

Geopolitics added another weight. Iran suspended nuclear negotiations with the U.S. after Israel escalated operations in Lebanon, pushing a risk-off tone into global markets. 

President Trump claimed talks are still moving “at a rapid pace” while brokering a ceasefire understanding with Hezbollah, but the uncertainty was enough to suppress any bid.

Strive buys — and still gets crushed

Against this backdrop, Strive made a calculated move. The company disclosed in an SEC Form 8-K on June 2 that it acquired 2,500 BTC for roughly $185.2 million at an average price of $74,092 per coin — a purchase made into bitcoin’s weakness. 

The buy lifts Strive’s total holdings to 19,000 BTC, placing the Dallas-based company among the top ten publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holders in the world.

CEO Matt Cole, a former $70 billion portfolio manager at CalPERS, has grown Strive’s Bitcoin stack from zero to 19,000 BTC in under a year through a mix of equity offerings and its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (SATA). 

The company also announced last week plans to expand its at-the-market fundraising programs by $4.2 billion — $2.1 billion in common stock and $2.1 billion in additional SATA preferred shares — to fund continued accumulation. In the same filing, Strive reported cash reserves of $137.3 million, up $44 million, with an 18-month dividend reserve in place.

None of it mattered to sellers on Monday. ASST shares along with everything else. Both MSTR and ASST are now absorbing the structural cost of the treasury model: when Bitcoin drops, the equities drop harder.

Bitcoin’s price sat in the mid-$67,000s at the time of writing, down more than 46% from its October peak above $126,000. 

This post Bitcoin Stocks, Led By Strategy (MSTR), Take a Beating as BTC Price Sells Off  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange in Sweeping Economic Warfare Push

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, and three other Iranian crypto platforms on Tuesday, marking the Trump administration’s sharpest blow yet to Tehran’s digital financial infrastructure.

Nobitex processed more than 50% of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025, according to OFAC, and has served as a conduit for payments tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ransomware operations, and attempts to shield regime wealth during internet blackouts that followed U.S. combat operations in Iran, according to the Treasury release.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in announcing the action, pointed to Iran’s economic deterioration as confirmation that the administration’s maximum pressure strategy is working.

“While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda,” Bessent said, “including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country.”

The designation extends beyond a single platform. Wallex, Iran’s second-largest crypto exchange by volume, received 12% of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025 and facilitated IRGC-linked transactions. 

Bitpin, which captured 10% of those inflows, counts investors with reported ties to Iranian sanctions evasion efforts among its backers.

Ramzinex, a Tehran-based exchange founded in 2018, processed more than $2.45 billion in total transactions, including payments for a government-backed Iranian financial institution.

Iran vs. U.S. rocky economic and crypto relations

The action comes at a moment when the scale of Iran’s crypto shadow economy has become a central concern for U.S. national security officials. Iran’s broader crypto infrastructure has been estimated at roughly $7.8 billion, and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has linked Nobitex to a network of wallets and behaviors consistent with IRGC financial activity. 

In April 2026, Tether froze $344.2 million held across two wallets attributed to the Central Bank of Iran — wallets with documented ties to the IRGC-Qods Force and Hizballah — in what TRM Labs described as the largest on-chain freeze of Iranian sovereign crypto reserves on record. 

Bessent told Fox Business last month that the U.S. has now seized approximately $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency.

What separates Tuesday’s action from prior sanctions rounds is the designation of Nobitex’s leadership. OFAC named Amir Hossein Rad — the exchange’s chairman, co-founder, and former CEO — for helping reconstitute Nobitex’s operations after a $90 million hack in June 2025. 

Also designated were two co-founders identified as members of the Kharrazi family, which sits inside former Supreme Leader Khamenei’s inner circle, as well as the exchange’s current CEO, Seyed Ali Khoee. 

The designations signal a pivot toward holding individuals accountable rather than targeting platforms alone — a strategy that analysts say carries more deterrent weight because it threatens executives with personal asset freezes and secondary sanctions exposure.

The U.S. treasuries two executive orders

Treasury invoked two executive orders: E.O. 13224, a counterterrorism authority, and E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial sector. Both designations carry identical consequences — all U.S. property interests of the named entities and individuals are blocked, and any foreign company or financial institution that continues to do business with them risks exposure to secondary sanctions.

The question that compliance professionals across the industry are watching is whether the SDN listings will compel stablecoin issuers and foreign exchanges to cut off Iranian users at scale. 

OFAC clarified earlier this year that Iranian digital asset exchanges are considered blocked financial institutions regardless of whether they appear on the SDN list — but an explicit SDN designation triggers secondary sanctions against any global counterparty and gives stablecoin issuers direct legal justification for bulk freezes. 

Treasury has also warned that any person or company facilitating passage payments through the Strait of Hormuz — whether in fiat, digital assets, or informal swaps — risks sanctions. On May 27, 2026, OFAC designated Iran’s so-called “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” an IRGC-linked scheme to extort international shipping.

This post U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange in Sweeping Economic Warfare Push first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

A Little Story About Inflation – An Excerpt from Bitcoin: The Honest Money

When I was a teenager, I delivered newspapers. I earned 10 German marks (DM) per hour. That was enough money to buy 33 scoops of ice cream, since a single scoop only cost 30 cents, or pfennig, as they were back then.

Fast forward to 2025: today, a teenager delivering newspapers earns at most €12 per hour. However, a scoop of ice cream now costs a hefty €1.50, and sometimes more than €2 in the big cities. This means that for every hour of newspaper delivery, you can afford at best a mere eight scoops of ice cream, but it’s often less than that.

The working time of a newspaper boy or girl has been significantly devalued in Germany over the last forty years. An hour’s work now yields only six to eight scoops of ice cream, compared with the 33 scoops it originally earned in the 1980s. That’s a loss of around 80%.

If I had put my 10 DM in a drawer, found them forty years later, and exchanged them for €5, I’d only get about two to three scoops of ice cream—a loss of over 90%.

This concerns inflation and its redistributive effects. It’s not only saved money that’s devalued; it’s also the time that’s spent earning that money—or to be more precise, earning a fixed basket of goods. As money loses value, so does the actual time we spent earning it. On average, we receive far less in real goods for the work we do.

Inflation, the continual devaluation of money, is a huge problem. The global money supply (M2) is estimated at around $120 trillion (see Figure 4). Even at an inflation rate of 4% (and the global rate is likely higher), the M2of approximately $120 trillion implies that $4.8 trillion in purchasing power is destroyed each year. That’s more than the entire gross national product of Germany. Inflation affects billions of people. Almost everyone, in fact. And the less you earn, the more you are dispossessed by inflation. The vast majority of people, which I estimate at around 90% of all citizens, have no way to avoid the devaluation of money. They lose out as their savings are devalued, and their wages fail to keep pace with rising inflation.

Major historical upheavals and revolutions have very often been preceded by inflation, for example, the French Revolution. Currency devaluation also played a significant role in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in AD476, some one thousand years before the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire. Therefore, inflation also represents a serious threat to democratic societies today.

The amount of bitcoin will not increase in the long term. There will never be more than 21 million bitcoin, and no one will ever be able to change that. At this point in early 2026, there are already 19.9 million bitcoin, a good 95% of the set amount. This means that any remaining expansion (or new issuance) of bitcoin will amount to just under 5%; not in the next year, but over approximately one hundred fifteen years. Around the year 2140, 100% of all bitcoin will have been mined, and there will simply not be any more. This means that the share of money you hold in bitcoin will not be devalued against a basket of goods over a decade or even a century. Your share won’t be diluted. Bitcoin does not inflate; when measured in bitcoin, goods actually become cheaper over time. So the money you exchange for bitcoin today will buy you at least as many scoops of ice cream in ten years as it does now—and probably more. A lot more. This is the fundamental essence of bitcoin.

Discover more in Bitcoin: The Honest Money!
This excerpt is just the beginning. Dive deeper into how inflation devalues your money, your savings, and your time in Bitcoin: The Honest Money by Alex von Frankenberg, Ph.D. The paperback is available now.

Order your copy here!

This post A Little Story About Inflation – An Excerpt from Bitcoin: The Honest Money first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Alex v. Frankenberg.

Bitcoin Magazine

Charles Schwab Sets Mid-2027 Target for Advisor Bitcoin and Crypto Spot Trading 

Charles Schwab, the country’s largest custodian for registered investment advisors, is on track to roll out spot cryptocurrency trading, transfers, and custody services for its advisor channel by mid-2027 — a move that could reshape how trillions of dollars flow into digital assets through professional wealth management.

The disclosure came at Schwab’s Advisor Services Midyear Media Roundtable on May 28, where Jalina Kerr, Managing Director and Head of Advisor Experience, confirmed the timeline. 

The advisor product is distinct from what Schwab rolled out to retail clients this spring. In April 2026, the bank announced Schwab Crypto, a spot Bitcoin trading service for individual brokerage account holders, built through Charles Schwab Premier Bank and executed via sub-custodian Paxos. 

That product launched at 75 basis points per trade, triggered debate about whether advisors would find it cost-efficient relative to crypto ETFs, and was restricted from New York and Louisiana residents.

The 2027 advisor build is a different animal. Registered investment advisors require custody infrastructure — the ability to hold client assets in segregated accounts with full record-keeping, reporting, and compliance integration. 

That means Schwab is not just adding a trading button. The firm needs to wire spot crypto into the same custody rails its 16,000+ advisory firms already use for equities, fixed income, and alternatives. 

Kerr noted that advisors currently route client crypto exposure through exchange-traded products on the platform, but demand for direct spot access has risen sharply.

Why the Schwab advisor channel changes everything

The retail crypto story has been told for years — apps, wallets, exchanges, ETFs. The advisor channel is where the next phase of institutional adoption plays out. RIAs collectively manage assets that dwarf most retail platforms, and their clients tend to be higher-net-worth, longer-term holders who want crypto held inside the same account view as their stock and bond portfolios. 

Schwab’s platform custodies roughly $10 trillion in assets across its advisory network, making even a modest allocation shift toward spot crypto a flow event of significant scale.

The competitive dynamic is also shifting fast. Fidelity Digital Assets already offers crypto custody and trading solutions for wealth managers, giving it a meaningful head start. Anchorage Digital has pushed into the RIA market through its acquisition of Securitize For Advisors. Coinbase Prime has built institutional infrastructure that Schwab’s entry would challenge. 

Kerr herself pointed to a core friction: digital assets are not regulated the same way as traditional brokerage and securities products. Every step of the custody chain — from deposit to withdrawal — requires careful legal and compliance review. 

The bank has to define which digital assets qualify, establish safekeeping standards, and satisfy bank-level and broker-dealer-level rules simultaneously, given that Charles Schwab Premier Bank serves as the custodial entity for the retail product.

The mid-2027 target reflects this reality. It is a committed internal roadmap, not exploratory language — a meaningful distinction from the “monitoring the space” posture large banks held for years. 

CEO Rick Wurster has previously discussed Schwab’s appetite for crypto acquisitions if valuations align with strategic goals, and floated the possibility of a stablecoin, suggesting the 2027 advisor launch sits within a larger digital asset build-out rather than a standalone initiative.

This post Charles Schwab Sets Mid-2027 Target for Advisor Bitcoin and Crypto Spot Trading  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

A House of Lords committee has told the Bank of England to rethink stablecoin caps before the UK's regime is finalized.

The Financial Services Regulation Committee published its report, Stablecoins: waiting for regulation, on June 3, turning a technical debate over reserve design into a test of whether the UK can build a pound-denominated stablecoin market without making it uneconomic from the start.

The pressure point is the design of the safeguards. The committee supports 1:1 backing and accepts that stablecoins can create risks around financial stability, consumer protection, and illicit finance.

Its challenge is more specific: the Bank's proposed safeguards may be calibrated for a market that does not yet exist in the UK.

Two measures sit at the center of that critique. The Bank has proposed temporary per-coin holding limits of £20,000 for individuals and £10 million for businesses.

It has also proposed requiring systemic sterling stablecoin issuers to keep at least 40% of backing assets as deposits at the Bank of England that do not earn interest.

The Lords report says those choices could shape whether a GBP stablecoin market develops at all. If a pound stablecoin cannot be held in useful amounts or generate enough reserve income to support the issuer's business, the UK could end up with clear rules, but few firms willing to build the products those rules are meant to govern.

Related Reading

Revolut’s digital pound trial shifts the UK payments debate from crypto hype to consumer protections and clarity

Revolut is about to test a pound stablecoin in the UK's regulatory sandbox, and the scale of the trial matters less than where it sits.

Mar 2, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

The Rules Under Pressure

The Bank of England's November 2025 consultation proposed a split backing model for systemic sterling stablecoins.

At least 40% of backing assets would sit as deposits at the Bank, while up to 60% could be held in short-term sterling-denominated UK government debt.

The Bank's case is that central-bank deposits provide immediate liquidity if holders seek large redemptions in a short period. In its consultation, it said the threshold aligned with estimates of possible short-term redemption requests drawn from stress events in traditional and crypto markets.

The 60% government-debt allowance was meant to improve issuer viability compared with an earlier model that would have placed all backing assets in unremunerated central-bank deposits.

That compromise is now under pressure. The Lords committee concluded that remuneration and liquidity requirements for backing assets could have a significant effect on issuer viability and UK competitiveness.

It urged the Bank to consider the impact of requiring a proportion of unremunerated assets and to reconsider whether deposits held at the Bank should be remunerated at Bank Rate.

The committee also pushed the Bank toward a more flexible approach to backing-asset composition. It said the Bank should be open to a principles-based and less prescriptive model, with requirements adjusted as market behavior and risks become clearer.

The same logic applies to holding limits. The Bank's proposal would cap each individual's holdings of a systemic stablecoin at £20,000 per coin and each business's holdings at £10 million, with possible exemptions for businesses that need higher balances in normal operations.

In a November news release, the Bank framed those limits as temporary tools to protect access to credit while the financial system adapts to new forms of money.

The committee's recommendation was sharper. Given the early stage of the GBP stablecoin market, it said the Bank should monitor growth and impose holding limits only if financial stability risks clearly warrant them.

If limits become necessary, the committee said the Bank should consult to ensure they can be implemented in a practical way that still meets the Bank's objectives.

Why The Bank Is Cautious

The Bank's concern goes beyond competition with banks. In the UK, bank deposits do more work inside the credit system than they do in some other major markets.

In oral evidence to the committee in March, Sarah Breeden, the Bank's deputy governor for financial stability, said banks provide about 85% of household credit in the UK, compared with roughly 30% to 40% in the US.

Her argument was that if deposits moved rapidly into payment stablecoins and that funding was not replaced, the result could be a drop in credit for households and businesses.

That is the financial-stability case for a circuit breaker. The Bank is designing for a future in which stablecoins are widely used as money for everyday payments, beyond their current use in crypto trading.

If adoption moved quickly through social media platforms, e-commerce networks, wallets, or automated payment tools, the Bank worries that money could leave deposits faster than banks and funding markets could adjust.

Related Reading

The world’s central banks finally see crypto as a real monetary threat to TradFi

The stablecoin debate has left crypto regulation behind and entered the territory of monetary sovereignty.

Apr 25, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

The committee accepts that risk. Its report says stablecoins can pose challenges around financial stability, illicit finance, and consumer protection.

It also welcomes 1:1 backing, audited reserves, disclosure, statutory trust protections, and the proposed Bank backstop lending facility for systemic issuers.

The disagreement is about timing and prescription. Lawmakers are asking whether the Bank should impose caps and reserve economics before there is enough evidence about how a pound stablecoin market would behave.

A protective rulebook could reduce the chance of a disorderly shift out of bank deposits. It could also make the regulated version of the product less attractive than offshore, dollar-denominated, or non-systemic alternatives.

The stakes are higher because the report describes the UK stablecoin market as nascent while the global market is already large and dollar-led.

It says the global stablecoin market was estimated at more than $310 billion in 2026, overwhelmingly dominated by US dollar stablecoins and two issuers, Tether and Circle.

For the UK, that creates a strategic problem. A sterling stablecoin market could support cross-border payments, tokenized settlement, programmable payments, and competition in payments.

It could also reduce the risk that UK users and businesses default to dollar stablecoins because pound alternatives never get enough regulatory clarity or commercial scale.

The committee says the UK is already lagging the US and EU in developing a stablecoin regime, though it says the country is now moving in the right direction.

The FCA's stablecoin issuance and crypto custody consultation covers the non-systemic side of the regime, while the Bank's rules apply once a sterling stablecoin becomes systemic.

The transition between those regimes remains one of the areas issuers need to understand before they can build durable business plans.

Related Reading

Bank of England’s 24/7 settlement plan shows where tokenized finance can enter core markets

The Bank of England is laying the groundwork for tokenized finance by fixing the old settlement clock that still governs trillions in payments.

May 23, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

The Next Signal Is The Draft Rulebook

The timing makes the Lords report more than a retrospective critique. Breeden told the committee in March that the Bank expected draft rules in the middle of 2026, final rules by year-end, and applications from stablecoin issuers by the end of the year.

That means the next policy document will show whether the Bank treats the report as a reason to change the design or as a challenge to explain the existing model more clearly.

The signals to watch are specific: whether per-holder caps remain, whether the Bank shifts toward aggregate issuance guardrails or monitoring triggers, whether the 40% deposit share is adjusted, and whether any Bank deposits receive remuneration.

Rewards will count, too. The committee noted relatively little demand for issuers to pay interest on stablecoins, but said the treatment of rewards, rebates, or other incentives could affect the creation of a GBP stablecoin market and the UK's international competitiveness.

That question connects stablecoin rules to the broader payments market, where card networks and financial apps already compete through reward structures.

The report also asks for more clarity from HM Treasury on when a stablecoin becomes systemic. That threshold is central for issuers because it determines when a firm moves from the FCA-only track into dual regulation by the Bank and FCA.

If the transition is too uncertain, scaling may become a risk in itself.

CryptoSlate has already covered adjacent UK payment infrastructure moves, including Revolut's pound stablecoin sandbox trial and the Bank's 24/7 settlement plans.

The Lords report moves the debate to a different point: whether the UK's stablecoin rulebook will let a sterling market become commercially meaningful once tokenized payments enter the system.

The Bank is still finalizing the regime, and the committee is still asking for financial-stability protections. The new pressure is for the Bank to show that its safeguards will not stop a pound stablecoin market before it has a chance to form.

That is the live test for the UK's crypto-hub promise. The next draft rules will show whether the Bank's stablecoin firewall is a temporary guardrail, a redesign in progress, or a cost issuers decide the pound market cannot absorb.

The post Bank of England stablecoin caps may choke the UK’s pound-token market before launch appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin’s aggressive break below $70,000 has shifted the market from a debate over dip-buying to a more defensive question of how far traders now need to insure against the next leg lower.

Data from CryptoSlate showed that the largest cryptocurrency fell to as low as $65,404 over the past day, triggering $1.8 billion in liquidations and wiping out bullish leverage that had built around hopes of a quick recovery.

This failed rebound has pushed traders toward protection at levels that only recently looked distant.

Options positioning now shows demand building around the $60,000 and $50,000 strikes, a sign that investors are preparing for a deeper reset as Strategy’s first Bitcoin sale in years, ETF outflows, AI-driven capital rotation and unresolved macro pressure weaken the sources of support that carried the market earlier in the year.

How BTC's failed bounce turned $70,000 into resistance

Analysts at BIT Official noted that Bitcoin was already trading defensively after sliding towards $72,000 last week, when geopolitical tensions tied to the Strait of Hormuz prompted a broad retreat from risk assets.

The firm noted that a brief reprieve materialized after President Donald Trump suggested the US would lift a naval blockade, while April core PCE inflation aligned with expectations at 3.3% year-over-year.

This data and political development eased immediate macroeconomic anxieties and forced over-leveraged bears to cover their shorts.

As a result, Bitcoin briefly spiked toward $73,400 over the weekend, giving bulls leverage to argue the selloff was exhausted.

However, that narrative collapsed when the recovery failed to attract meaningful spot volume.

When Iran’s foreign ministry explicitly denied nuclear talks, disputed Trump’s uranium claims, and insisted the strait would reopen strictly on its own timeline, the geopolitical relief trade vanished. Without a formal de-escalation, Bitcoin was left entirely exposed.

Consequently, the market was quickly dragged back to $70,000, which is a critical juncture where options positioning, market psychology, and short-term holder cost bases converged.

Indeed, that level had served as both a psychological floor for bulls and a prime target for bears hunting for forced liquidations.

Once Bitcoin sliced through that support, automated liquidation engines began aggressively unwinding undercollateralized long positions.

The decline further accelerated rapidly into a vacuum, as spot buyers proved unwilling to absorb the selling pressure.

Strategy’s sale gives bears a cleaner script

BTC's decline under $70,000 also came at a highly vulnerable moment when the corporate treasury narrative fractured.

This week, Strategy confirmed that it sold 32 BTC for $2.5 million to fund cash distributions and dividend payments on its high-yield perpetual preferred stock.

The sale came as a shock to the market because Strategy had positioned itself as the definitive corporate proxy for the Bitcoin accumulation trade.

Over the past years, the Michael Saylor-led company business model relied heavily on equity issuance, preferred stock, and uninhibited access to capital markets to construct the largest public-company Bitcoin treasury in existence.

To the broader market, the company was not just a major holder but also a symbol of permanent, price-agnostic demand.

However, that perception is now under enormous strain as the firm most synonymous with the “never sell” philosophy liquidated coins to meet a routine cash obligation.

Jeff Dorman, the CIO of Arca, noted:

“From a sentiment standpoint, how do you think the average Bitcoin investor is going to react when every major news outlet and social media influencer starts writing that “MicroStrategy is now a seller of BTC”? This company has bought over $50 bn of Bitcoin, and currently owns roughly 4% of the total 21 million outstanding.”

That pivot armed bears with a clean, simple argument right as Bitcoin slipped below major support.

Market observers argued that the sale complicates the market’s base-case assumption that Strategy will act as an uninterrupted buyer in all macroeconomic environments.

In fact, some have postulated that the firm could make more sales in the future in order to actively manage its balance sheet.

AI’s liquidity pull leaves Bitcoin without its ETF cushion

This structural shift in sentiment coincides with the evaporation of Bitcoin’s most reliable safety net: the institutional ETF bid that anchored the earlier stages of the bull run.

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin ETFs have bled more than $4 billion over the trailing four weeks. This marks the most aggressive redemption cycle since the spot products debuted, starving the market of the steady inflows required to absorb routine selloffs.

Market analysts attribute this severe capital flight to a generational rotation into artificial intelligence.

Institutional allocators are actively liquidating crypto positions to free up dry powder for a looming wave of tech mega-IPOs, primarily targeting high-growth ventures like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

Pierre Rochard, CEO of the Bitcoin Bond Company, pointed out that this AI boom has added $19 trillion in market capitalization to the top 50 public equities over the past 12 months, roughly 13 times Bitcoin’s total market value.

He said that capital expenditure cycle is drawing liquidity and attention away from Bitcoin, making the asset’s resilience notable despite the pressure.

Independent Bitcoin analyst Matthew Case described the move as an “AI IPO liquidity vacuum,” arguing that institutions that rode Bitcoin and crypto exposure higher now have a rare chance to position for major private-market and pre-IPO opportunities tied to SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI.

This capital rotation aggressively starves Bitcoin of its marginal buyer. During periods of robust ETF inflows, institutional demand acts as a shock absorber, cushioning the blow from macroeconomic friction, geopolitical headlines, and derivatives volatility.

With that bid suddenly sidelined, the market is dangerously exposed; a standard technical decline can cascade much further before encountering strong spot support.

$60,000 becomes the market’s next insurance level

Consequently, traders have fundamentally repriced their risk models. The market is no longer structured around highly leveraged bets anticipating a swift return to $70,000.

Instead, capital is aggressively repositioning for the reality that Bitcoin’s next durable line of defense may reside significantly lower.

Deribit data shows traders have built roughly $1.2 billion in open interest around the $60,000 strike, while the $50,000 strike has attracted about half that amount. Cumulatively, $1.8 billion worth of open interest are situated at these strike prices.

The positioning marks a change from the structure that dominated earlier in the rally. When ETF inflows were strong and Strategy remained an unquestioned buyer, pullbacks were treated as opportunities to add exposure.

After the liquidation wave, ETF redemptions and Strategy’s sale, the same pullbacks are being treated as events that need to be insured.

As a result, traders with material Bitcoin exposure are moving toward puts and collar structures designed to preserve some upside while limiting losses if the drawdown accelerates.

The post Bitcoin’s plunge to $65,000 has traders paying to protect against a fall to $50,000 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Ripple is pushing its dollar-backed stablecoin into Turkey, betting that one of the world’s most active digital-asset markets is ready for a more regulated version of the digital dollars already used to navigate currency weakness and limited access to traditional dollar savings.

On June 2, the Brad Garlinghouse-led company announced that its US dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, is now available to institutional clients in Turkey through integration agreements with local cryptocurrency platforms BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo.

The stakes for capturing market share are exceptionally high. Turkey handled nearly $200 billion in annual crypto transactions, almost four times the United Arab Emirates’ $53 billion, making it the dominant crypto economy in the Middle East and North Africa, according to blockchain data firm Chainalysis.

Ripple targets Turkey’s dollar demand

The rollout places RLUSD inside the domestic order books of three established Turkish gateways.

Ripple executives are aggressively targeting corporate and institutional liquidity, positioning the token as a compliance-first alternative to incumbent stablecoins that currently dominate the offshore market.

Since its global launch in late 2024, RLUSD has scaled to a $1.7 billion market capitalization. Ripple’s strategy in Turkey focuses not on retail day traders, but on capturing high-value corporate flows that require strict regulatory certainty.

Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, noted that the asset is designed to serve as a bridge for enterprise operations. He noted:

“RLUSD has rapidly gained traction in financial use cases, serving as a vital bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management.”

By integrating directly with domestic service providers such as BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo, Ripple provides a regulated entry point for domestic institutions that require stringent audit standards to hold digital dollars on their corporate balance sheets or to use them for cross-border supplier payments.

Mustafa Alpay, CEO at Bitlo, said:

“[Turkey crypto] users are looking for secure, digital-native means to manage their wealth and hedge against volatility. By integrating a regulated, enterprise-grade stablecoin like RLUSD, we’re providing our customers with the highest standard of digital dollars for enterprise needs.”

Market shaped by domestic pressure

Meanwhile, market observers have noted that Turkey’s outsized role in the global crypto ecosystem is not solely the result of typical retail speculation.

Instead, it sits at the intersection of speculative trading, robust dollar demand, and profound macroeconomic pressure.

According to Chainalysis, Turkey completely dominates the MENA region in digital asset value received.

More recently, data from TRM Labs showed that Turkey rose to become the fifth-largest global market for retail crypto activity in the first quarter of 2026.

The report showed that Turkey generated $40 billion in crypto volume during that three-month period while broader global retail participation contracted by 11%.

This made Turkey one of the few major global markets to expand during a quarter contraction driven by macroeconomic tightening and reduced retail participation.

For a nominal $1.64 trillion economy, the velocity of capital moving into stablecoins and digital assets reflects deep structural challenges.

With the Turkish lira facing persistent devaluation and domestic monetary environments remaining constrained, dollar-denominated crypto assets have become a functional rail for capital preservation.

However, labeling the market solely as a vehicle of economic necessity misses the full picture.

The high transaction volumes reflect a dual-track digital economy: while some users and corporations rely on digital dollars to hedge against inflation and manage working capital, a massive segment of the market remains highly engaged in speculative trading across decentralized networks.

Turkey's crypto regulatory effort gives Ripple an opening

Ripple’s entry into Turkey is timed against a backdrop of shifting sovereign oversight. As Turkey tightens supervision of its digital asset sector, global firms offering compliance-heavy products are finding a clearer route into the market.

The regulatory environment shifted fundamentally in July 2024, when amendments to the Capital Markets Law introduced stringent licensing requirements for crypto asset service providers operating within the country.

The Capital Markets Board effectively forced platforms to either formalize their operations, enhance trade surveillance, or exit the jurisdiction.

That oversight is now extending aggressively into taxation. In March 2026, Reuters reported that Turkey’s ruling AK Party proposed comprehensive legislation to levy a 10% withholding tax on crypto gains realized on authorized platforms, along with a 0.03% transaction levy on service providers.

By structuring tax collection at the exchange level and requiring platforms to act as fiduciary withholding agents that calculate and remit taxes quarterly, the Turkish government is cementing the role of licensed domestic exchanges while heavily penalizing the use of offshore alternatives.

Speaking on this, Reece Merrick, a senior executive officer at Ripple, said:

“The foundations are in place for Türkiye to double down on its position as one of the world’s most dynamic digital asset markets.

For a company like Ripple, which builds its product suite around institutional compliance and regulatory rigor, these barriers to entry act as a competitive moat.

It allows RLUSD to pitch itself to local exchanges not just as a trading pair, but as a fully auditable asset that aligns with Ankara’s tightening oversight and operational mandates.

RLUSD gives Ripple a broader institutional wedge

The Turkish rollout is part of a broader effort to embed RLUSD across Ripple’s institutional financial products, creating an ecosystem that extends well beyond spot-market liquidity.

According to first-quarter 2026 data from digital asset research firm Messari, RLUSD closed the quarter with a $340.3 million market capitalization natively issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), representing a 45% quarter-over-quarter increase.

This growth is heavily tied to Ripple's positioning of the stablecoin across its treasury management, prime brokerage, institutional custody, and payment rails.

Simultaneously, institutional demand for on-chain collateral is accelerating. Messari noted that the total market capitalization for real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRPL reached $2.25 billion by the end of Q1 2026, surging 124% from the previous quarter.

As traditional financial instruments like private credit and money market funds are tokenized, they require a reliable, dollar-pegged settlement asset to function properly on-chain.

This ecosystem expansion directly impacts the network's underlying infrastructure. While Ripple aims to limit direct volatility exposure for its institutional stablecoin users, increased enterprise activity on the XRPL inherently drives utility for XRP, the network's native asset.

By offering a compliant digital dollar, Ripple is providing the necessary fiat-pegged liquidity to power higher-level institutional decentralized finance operations without relying on unsustainable business development incentives or fragmented centralized exchange liquidity.

University partnership adds local infrastructure

To anchor its commercial expansion, Ripple is simultaneously building physical and academic infrastructure within the country.

Alongside the exchange integrations, Ripple announced that Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has joined its global University Blockchain Research Initiative. The partnership would be funded directly by RLUSD allocations.

The firm said the partnership will also establish an XRPL validator node on the ITU campus and finance graduate fellowships and advanced blockchain research.

While the academic partnership secures a local footprint beyond exchange listings, the core narrative remains commercial.

For Ripple, Turkey offers a critical test of whether a regulated dollar stablecoin can compete in a market where demand for digital dollars already exists, but regulators are drawing tighter boundaries around how that demand is met.

The post Ripple is bringing its regulated RLUSD stablecoin to MENA’s biggest crypto market appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Today's sudden Bitcoin slide under $68,000 forced a rapid unwind across crypto derivatives markets, erasing nearly $400 million in leveraged positions in one hour as traders who had bet on further gains were caught by the move.

Data from CryptoSlate shows that Bitcoin fell more than 5%, dropping from $71,765 to $67,895, its lowest level since April. The decline pushed the largest digital asset through levels traders had been watching after several sessions of weakening momentum.

The move spread quickly across the broader market. Ethereum fell about 4% to $1,941, while XRP declined more than 3% to $1.24.

Solana, Dogecoin, and BNB also posted losses of more than 3% over the same period, underlining how quickly a Bitcoin-led correction can pressure the rest of the market.

Liquidations accelerate the decline

Coinglass data showed the drop triggered about $394 million in liquidations within one hour.

Long positions accounted for most of the damage, with traders betting on higher prices losing roughly $384 million. Short positions lost about $10.2 million.

Bitcoin traders absorbed the largest losses, with more than $209 million in positions liquidated. Ethereum followed with about $87 million in forced closures, while Solana and XRP traders lost about $27 million and $11 million, respectively.

The figures show how quickly leverage can turn a spot-market decline into a wider market event.

When prices fall through key levels, exchanges automatically close undercollateralized positions, adding sell pressure and forcing traders to exit at unfavorable prices. That process can deepen a move even when the original trigger is less clear.

Over 24 hours, total liquidations reached about $1.02 billion. Long positions accounted for roughly $902 million of that amount, showing that bullish positioning had become crowded before the selloff.

Why did Bitcoin price decline?

Market participants attributed the sudden shift in sentiment to a combination of technical breakdowns and an unexpected disclosure from Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the software firm known as the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

On June 1, the Michael Saylor-led firm revealed it had sold 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million to fund dividend obligations for its preferred stock.

While the nominal volume is statistically irrelevant relative to global daily spot turnover, the symbolic nature of the transaction weighed heavily on trading desks. This is because Strategy essentially wrote the playbook for aggressive, “never-sell” corporate accumulation.

So, its selling action marked a break from its strict holding ethos and introduced a layer of skepticism into the prevailing corporate treasury narrative.

As a result, the news pushed Bitcoin below several critical on-chain support metrics.

According to analytics provider Glassnode, the spot price descent to $68,800 meant Bitcoin had breached the short-term holder cost basis of $76,900, the true market mean of $78,000, and the active investors' mean of $85,100.

Still, BTC's price remains well above its aggregate realized price of $54,000.

Despite the localized panic, some industry executives cautioned against over-indexing on corporate portfolio adjustments.

Pierre Rochard, chief executive officer of the Bitcoin Bond company, dismissed the notion that a minor divestment by Strategy could single-handedly trigger a systemic market drop. Instead, Rochard pointed to broader capital reallocation trends.

According to him:

“The reality is that there is a massive parabolic spike in AI-related equities that is vacuuming up all excess liquidity.”

Furthermore, he emphasized that a resilient labor market and climbing energy prices have effectively killed near-term expectations for dovish interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Despite this unfavorable macroeconomic landscape, Rochard maintained that Bitcoin's underlying network fundamentals remain fundamentally sound.

The post Bitcoin flash crash below $68,000 triggers around $400 million in liquidation in under an hour appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A nearly $150 million prediction market has devolved into chaos after the platform Polymarket moved to deny payouts to traders who accurately predicted that corporate treasury firm Strategy would sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings.

The dispute centers on a fundamental disconnect between when an event occurs and when it is publicly disclosed, exposing structural flaws in how decentralized prediction markets resolve multibillion-dollar wagers. Bettors are now locked in a bitter dispute over a technicality that could wipe out millions of dollars in payouts traders believed were guaranteed.

On June 1, Strategy, the business intelligence firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, which holds nearly $60 billion of the top crypto asset, filed a regulatory document confirming it sold 32 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $2.5 million, between May 26 and May 31.

Related Reading

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Jun 2, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

For participants in a Polymarket contract asking whether Strategy would sell any of its Bitcoin by May 31, the 8-K filing appeared to be definitive proof of a “Yes” outcome.

However, the market is currently navigating a contested resolution process that heavily favors “No.”

Polymarket administrators issued a post-deadline clarification stating that, because the public confirmation of the sale did not emerge until June 1, the transaction does not qualify under the platform's operational customs.

The situation has sparked widespread allegations of market manipulation, drawing intense scrutiny to the mechanics of decentralized betting at a time when prediction platforms are striving for mainstream financial legitimacy.

The timeline of the contested Polymarket trade

The ongoing controversy stems from the contract's specific wording, which stated that the market would resolve to “Yes” if Strategy sold any of its Bitcoin by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 31.

The rules explicitly designated the company's public disclosures and on-chain data as the primary sources of resolution.

When Strategy filed its mandatory 8-K disclosure on June 1, the market remained open for active trading. Observing that the firm had executed a sale objectively before the May 31 deadline, several traders rushed to capitalize on what they perceived as a pricing inefficiency.

One market participant, operating under the pseudonym willo2, staked $527,000 on “Yes” after reading the regulatory filing. Because the market was pricing the odds of a sale at around 80 cents on the dollar even after the disclosure, the trader anticipated a 20% arbitrage opportunity.

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May 16, 2026 · Gino Matos

Instead, the trader lost the entire half-million-dollar principal. Following the influx of capital, Polymarket added a clarification to the market description, stating that confirmations outside the specified timeframe would not be honored.

Speaking on these events, Willo wrote on X:

“This was straight-up NOT part of the rules. It was not written down on the market, it did not make sense – and most of all, Polymarket didn't even believe it themselves. Why? Because if it was true, the market would have closed on May 31st. The market didn't close.”

Market analysts have widely condemned the sequence of events. Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at the digital asset management firm Arca, pointed out a critical logical inconsistency in the platform's handling of the timeline.

Dorman noted that if the contract's strict parameters dictated an end precisely at midnight on May 31, the platform should have halted all trading at that exact moment.

According to him, allowing participants to continue buying shares on June 1 while retroactively enforcing a May 31 confirmation deadline created a trap for traders relying on traditional legal interpretations of the contract text.

Jonatan Pallesen, a data scientist who monitors decentralized platforms, characterized the platform's behavior as a form of fraud by omission.

Pallesen argued that while requiring news confirmation to align with the event deadline is a reasonable safeguard against indefinite market delays, failing to explicitly codify that custom in the contract rules exploits retail bettors.

Institutional traders familiar with the platform's unspoken conventions were able to extract significant capital from users who reasonably assumed that a completed sale meant a winning ticket.

The UMA oracle vulnerability

The Strategy dispute has escalated from a single contract into a referendum on Polymarket’s underlying settlement architecture.

Unlike traditional financial exchanges that rely on centralized clearinghouses and legal compliance departments to settle derivatives, Polymarket outsources its truth-finding to Universal Market Access (UMA).

UMA operates as an “optimistic oracle,” a decentralized network where token holders vote to resolve disputed outcomes.

Under this framework, any user can challenge a proposed market settlement by staking a $750 bond. If the outcome is contested multiple times, the decision defaults to a vote by UMA cryptocurrency holders.

The ultimate payout is determined by the weight of tokens cast, rather than an objective judicial review of the facts.

Critics argue that this system is highly vulnerable to manipulation. Eric Conner, a prominent cryptocurrency analyst, noted that the token-voting model is structurally compromised.

Conner argued that large token holders, often referred to as whales, can weaponize ambiguous contract rules to protect their own financial positions and override objective reality to prevent massive losses.

Recent data support these concerns. A WSJ investigation into the platform’s voting mechanics revealed that the ten largest wallets account for more than half of the votes in most Polymarket disputes.

Furthermore, roughly 60% of active UMA voters were directly linked to live Polymarket accounts, and one in five contested markets featured voters who held a direct financial stake in the outcome they were adjudicating.

Polymarket has already recorded over 1,150 disputed markets in the first five months of 2026, eclipsing its entire total for the previous year.

The platform itself has limited recourse, as its decentralized structure technically prevents internal management from overriding a finalized UMA token vote.

Mainstream growth meets decentralized friction

The timing of the $150 million dispute is precarious for the prediction market sector, which has aggressively expanded its footprint into traditional finance and media over the past few years.

During this period, the platforms Polymarket and Kalshi have actively distanced themselves from being labeled as unregulated crypto casinos.

However, they have seen their trading volume increase rapidly to exceed $10 billion in May 2026. This marks a tenfold increase from the same period last year, per DeFiLlama data.

At the same time, they have established content and data integration agreements with major institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, Dow Jones, The Associated Press, and Fox News.

This rapid institutionalization follows years of intense regulatory friction. In 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) forced Polymarket to shut down its US operations and relocate abroad.

Kalshi subsequently engaged in a prolonged legal battle with the CFTC over the right to host political event contracts, ultimately winning a landmark federal court case in late 2024.

However, the regulatory environment shifted after the 2024 presidential election, which the platforms correctly predicted would be a Donald Trump victory.

Since then, the platforms have enjoyed significant regulatory backing, with Polymarket acquiring a federally licensed derivatives exchange, and the CFTC also asserting its exclusive right to regulate these markets.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said:

“Event contracts allow businesses and individuals to hedge event-driven risks, enable investors to manage portfolio exposure, and provide the public with information about the outcome of future events. These products are commodity derivatives and squarely within the CFTC’s regulatory remit.

Despite securing regulatory footholds, the fundamental mechanics of decentralized prediction markets remain highly experimental.

In traditional equity markets, deep liquidity and strict regulatory oversight generally ensure that asset prices reflect material reality.

On platforms governed by tokenized voting systems, the definition of reality is still up for debate.

Until these structural dispute mechanisms mature, traders navigating the booming prediction market economy remain at the mercy of unwritten rules and decentralized juries.

The post Why a $150M Polymarket bet could pay the side that appeared to lose appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The digital asset market is experiencing heavy selling pressure today. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has fallen to $2.29 trillion, marking a significant 8.7% decline over the past week.

As liquidations mount across major exchanges, traders are assessing whether this downward trajectory is a temporary correction or the start of a prolonged bearish phase.

Why is the Crypto Market Crashing Today?

The current market downturn stems from a combination of macroeconomic data releases, shifting monetary policy expectations, and heavy derivatives liquidations.

1. Macroeconomic Pressures and Interest Rate Outlook

Risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, are reacting to recent economic data indicating sticky inflation. This has led market participants to price in a "higher-for-longer" interest rate environment by global central banks. When interest rates remain elevated, capital typically rotates out of speculative assets like cryptocurrencies and into yields guaranteed by government bonds.

2. Cascading Derivatives Liquidations

The breach of key technical support levels for Bitcoin triggered an automated wave of long liquidations. According to data tracking platforms like Coinglass, hundreds of millions of dollars in leveraged bullish positions were wiped out within a 24-hour window. This forced selling accelerated the downward momentum across all major altcoins.

3. Institutional Capital Outflows

Data from institutional fund managers reveals a slowdown in net inflows into spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. A multi-day streak of net outflows indicates that institutional appetite has cooled off temporarily, reducing the baseline buying pressure required to sustain higher price levels.

Top Cryptocurrencies Price Analysis

Large-cap digital assets are flashing red, with layer-1 protocols suffering the sharpest intraday losses.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Update

$Bitcoin is currently trading at $66,600, reflecting a 3% drop over the last 24 hours. BTC failed to sustain its position above the $68,000 psychological threshold. The immediate horizontal support now sits at $65,000. If buyers fail to defend this zone, a deeper retest of the $62,000 macro level is likely.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Update

$Ethereum has underperformed Bitcoin today, dropping 5% in the last 24 hours to trade at $1,880. The asset has broken below its short-term moving averages. Analysts monitor the $1,800 support level closely, as breaking below it could invalidate the current medium-term bullish structure.

Solana (SOL) Price Update

$Solana has matched Ethereum's downside, falling 5% over the past 24 hours to sit at $75.00. Despite strong network activity, SOL remains highly sensitive to broader market liquidity drains. Resistance is now firmly established at $82.00, while structural support rests near $70.00.

Ripple (XRP) Price Update

$XRP has shown relative resilience compared to its peers, down just 1.5% in the last 24 hours to trade at $1.23. Ongoing regulatory developments and liquidity patterns unique to the asset have decoupled its short-term price action slightly from the broader market dump, though it remains capped by overhead resistance at $1.30.

Market Outlook

The crypto market structure is currently undergoing a leverage flush. While the immediate intraday trend remains bearish, historical data shows that corrections of 10% to 15% are common structural occurrences during broader market cycles. Market participants are advised to monitor institutional fund flows and upcoming regulatory announcements, which can be tracked on major financial networks like Bloomberg.

Institutional Capital Rotates Out of Crypto Into Artificial Intelligence

$Bitcoin experienced a sharp 5.6% decline, dropping to the $67,400 mark following major corporate developments in the tech and traditional finance sectors. The market sell-off aligns with a massive capital allocation shift after Google launched an $80 billion artificial intelligence (AI) capital raise.

The initiative is notably backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. This collaboration marks one of the largest institutional capital rotations from digital assets into AI infrastructure in recent financial history. Asset managers and corporate treasuries are rebalancing portfolios to fund these high-conviction AI initiatives, pulling liquidity directly out of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Crypto Treasury Inflows Collapse by 95% in May

The pressure on digital asset prices follows a broader liquidity drought that intensified over the last month. Data reveals that crypto treasury inflows collapsed by 95% throughout May, recording their lowest operational levels since 2024.

This drastic slowdown in capital entering crypto funds signaled an early warning of the institutional pivot. The sudden emergence of the mega-cap Google-Berkshire fund has accelerated this trend, leaving Bitcoin to test key support levels as buy-side pressure from corporate treasuries temporarily dries up.

Latest Cryptocurrency Prices

• Bitcoin ($BTC): $67,400 (-5.6%)
• Ethereum ($ETH): $1,920 (-3.2%)
• Solana ($SOL): $76.50 (-4.8%)
• $XRP: $1.23 (-4.7%) 

Ethereum Fails to Hold $2,000 as Bitcoin Plummets

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a severe intraday correction on June 2, 2026. Ethereum ($ETH) has officially breached its critical $2,000 psychological support zone, hitting an intraday low near $1,963. This macro markdown follows a systemic bleed-out led by Bitcoin ($BTC), which cascaded below the definitive $70,000 threshold for the first time in nearly two months.

The downside momentum accelerated during early European trading hours, triggering automated stop-losses and derivative liquidations across major digital asset exchanges like Bitstamp and Binance.

Why is the Crypto Market Crashing Today?

The driving force behind Ethereum’s sudden decline is entirely tied to the negative structural shift in Bitcoin’s price action. The leading cryptocurrency faced dual headwinds that crushed buyer sentiment over the last 24 hours:

• Strategy’s Surprise Token Sale: MicroStrategy (disclosed on markets simply as Strategy) revealed its first $Bitcoin liquidation since late 2022. The corporate treasury sold $2.5 million worth of BTC to satisfy preferred shareholder dividends. While the nominal amount is small, the break in Michael Saylor's strict "HODL" playbook heavily spooked market participants.
• Massive ETF Outflows: According to institutional data compiled by Bloomberg, US spot Bitcoin ETFs are currently on a record-breaking 11-day streak of net capital outflows, with investors yanking nearly $3.5 billion from fund vehicles amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.

As capital aggressively rotated out of Bitcoin, the wider altcoin landscape collapsed. Since $Ethereum remains tightly correlated with BTC's market dominance, the drop under $70,000 forced an immediate technical breakdown in Ethereum.

Ethereum Technical Analysis: $1,800 is the Next Defensive Line

Looking at the 4-hour ETH/USD chart, the price action paints an intensely bearish picture for short-term holders.

Key Technical Indicators to Watch:

• The $2,000 Pivot: The horizontal orange line represents the critical psychological barrier. By failing to sustain liquidity above $2,000, this zone has officially flipped from an active support floor into a major overhead resistance level.
• Relative Strength Index (RSI): The 14-period RSI has slid down to 39.89, signaling that while the market is approaching oversold conditions, there is still clear room for momentum-driven downside before a technical bounce can be sustained.
• The $1,800 Baseline: If the selling pressure intensifies, the primary macro support targeted by bears sits at the green horizontal line of $1,800.0. Traders should monitor daily and weekly closes closely; a structural failure to defend $1,800 could risk a deeper retest toward late 2024 macro lows.

Bitcoin Price Slips Below Psychological $70,000 Support

The cryptocurrency market faced severe downward pressure on Tuesday morning as the Bitcoin price officially broke below the critical $70,000 psychological baseline. $BTC dropped by nearly 4% over a 24-hour window, hitting intraday lows near $69,371.

This unexpected correction has disrupted weeks of sideways momentum and triggered a cascade of automated sell orders. Total crypto market liquidations surged past $766 million within a matter of hours, with over $600 million consisting of overleveraged long positions being wiped out.

Why Is Bitcoin Crashing? Two Major Catalysts

The sudden breakdown below $70,000 is primarily attributed to a combination of institutional sell pressure and the sudden awakening of long-dormant wallets.

1. MicroStrategy Breaks Its "Never Sell" Stance

Market anxiety intensified following a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 8-K filing revealing that MicroStrategy sold 32 Bitcoins between May 26 and May 31 to fund shareholder dividends. While the dollar amount of the sale was minor—valued at approximately $2.5 million—the psychological impact on retail and institutional investors was massive. MicroStrategy’s departure from its strict buy-and-hold narrative ignited widespread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), accelerating a $483 million capital flight from U.S. spot $Bitcoin ETFs.

2. Mt. Gox Awakens with $739 Million On-Chain Transfer

Adding fuel to the fire, blockchain tracking firm Arkham Intelligence flagged a massive movement of 10,306 BTC (worth roughly $739 million) out of Mt. Gox cold storage into new active wallets. This represents the largest estate movement in over two months, raising investor concerns that imminent creditor distributions are about to hit the open market.

Bitcoin Prediction: What Is the Next BTC Support Level?

With the $70,000 floor officially invalidated, Bitcoin's short-term technical structure looks increasingly bearish. If the daily candle fails to close back above $70,000, market analysts warn of an extended correction. Weakening spot ETF inflows coupled with escalating macroeconomic uncertainties could pave the way for a deeper retest of the $65,000 macro support zone over the coming weeks.

XRP has broken below the key psychological and technical support level of $1.30. Following a period of distribution throughout May, the token faces heightened selling pressure at the beginning of June.

The technical breakdown coincides with scheduled network updates and localized supply expansions, forcing traders to re-evaluate near-term downside risks and potential reversal areas.

XRP Price Prediction: Downside Acceleration and Key Targets

The 4-hour XRP/USD chart shows a definitive breakdown from a descending triangle structure. The descending yellow trendline has consistently suppressed attempted relief rallies since mid-May, capping higher bounds and compressing price action into horizontal support.

Downside Targets (Support Levels)

• $1.20 Zone: This is the immediate and most critical macro support level on the chart. If selling pressure continues to accelerate, the $1.20 mark serves as the primary defensive floor where historical demand has previously emerged.
• Below $1.20: A failure to hold the $1.20 horizontal boundary could open the door for a deeper correction toward the psychological $1.00 handle, though options market pricing currently assigns a low probability to an immediate sub-dollar drop.

Upside Targets (Resistance Levels)

• $1.30 (The Broken Pivot): The former support level at $1.30 now flips into immediate overhead resistance. XRP must reclaim this level on decisive volume to invalidate the current bearish bias.
• $1.45 Boundary: Marked by the solid horizontal line and the origination point of the current descending trendline, the $1.45 price point remains the definitive barrier holding back structural macro bullish momentum.

Macro Drag: Bitcoin Slides to $70K and Rattles Market Risk

Exacerbating XRP's structural weakness is a sharp decline in Bitcoin ($BTC), which has fallen below the critical $70,000 threshold for the first time since April. The market bellwether faced a sudden wave of liquidations following an SEC filing by its largest corporate holder, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), disclosing a rare sale of tokens to fulfill dividend obligations. Though the sale amount was nominal, it shattered the "never selling" narrative and induced widespread FUD across institutional channels.

This corporate selling pressure has coupled with persistent macroeconomic headwinds reported on Forbes, including massive capital outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs as investors rotate capital into safer equity sectors like artificial intelligence. Furthermore, escalating geopolitical friction in the Middle East has quashed general risk appetite. Because $Bitcoin dictates systemic crypto market correlation, its ongoing battle to maintain the $70,000 floor introduces a severe risk outlook for altcoins. If BTC breaks decisively lower toward $60,000, it will likely drag XRP and the wider market down into a prolonged capitulation phase.

Fundamental Drivers: Why is XRP Price Down?

The immediate trigger for the increased liquid supply comes alongside Ripple’s standard monthly operations. According to on-chain tracking data compiled, Ripple executed its scheduled escrow unlock on June 1, releasing 1 billion $XRP across three separate transactions.

While the majority of these monthly distributions are historically returned to locked escrow accounts to manage long-term supply inflation, the structural introduction of liquidity often creates short-term headwind pressures when broader market sentiment remains risk-off.

Despite the localized price correction, structural indicators show underlying capital rotation into the XRP ecosystem. Following the definitive settlement of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit in late 2025, systemic regulatory risks have largely abated. This institutional shift has fostered continuous inflows into regulated spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and expansion protocols like the RLUSD stablecoin framework, establishing a fundamental divergence between short-term technical volatility and long-term network utility.

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Microsoft said AI helped speed Majorana 2 development, adding to growing concerns about when quantum computers could threaten Bitcoin's cryptography.

Barry Silbert brings back his viral 1% Bitcoin market cap prediction for Zcash (ZEC) as institutional inflows into Grayscale spike.

Despite initial reports, Zcash is fine and didn't go through shutdown and had no issues with block production.

Yoshitaka Kitao links the crypto drop to tech IPO liquidity drains, revealing why the US CLARITY Act vote is the ultimate catalyst for Ripple and XRP.

$1.6 billion in longs crushed as crypto selloff deepens.

Ripple has launched on Mastercard’s global stablecoin settlement platform to allow users explore more options to settle card transactions.

Key Highlights

• BB shares climbed more than 22% over two sessions, ending Tuesday at $10.32 USD (+6.17%), with Wednesday premarket trading at $11.33 USD
• At the Baird 2026 conference, CFO Tim Foote announced the company’s turnaround is “complete,” positioning BlackBerry as a growth-oriented enterprise
• The QNX division, powering 275 million vehicles worldwide, generated Q1 revenue of $78.7 million — marking a 20% annual increase
• A royalty backlog of approximately $950 million provides forward visibility for anticipated software revenues
• June 25 earnings release will test whether momentum translates to sustained revenue expansion beyond recent gains

BlackBerry shares experienced significant momentum over consecutive trading sessions. Following Monday’s 8% advance, Tuesday brought an additional 6.17% gain to $10.32 USD with volume reaching 48.5 million shares. On Canada’s TSX, the stock settled at C$14.23 after touching C$14.28 intraday — equaling its 52-week peak. Wednesday’s premarket session showed quotes at $11.33 USD.

BlackBerry Limited, BB

The driving force? Growing investor recognition of QNX’s performance.

At the Baird 2026 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, CFO Tim Foote declared the restructuring phase “complete,” asserting BlackBerry has transformed into “a growth company.” This represents a significant departure from the cost-cutting narrative that dominated previous years.

Foote emphasized the strategic pivot from expense reduction to expanding operating leverage — extracting greater profitability from incremental revenue. QNX President John Wall joined the presentation, highlighting advancements with Alloy Kore, a comprehensive vehicle software platform designed for next-generation software-defined automobiles.

QNX Performance Drives Investor Confidence

While the QNX metrics fueling this rally aren’t brand new, they’re attracting renewed attention. BlackBerry’s April report revealed first-quarter QNX revenue of $78.7 million, representing a 20% year-over-year expansion. Company-wide results exceeded analyst expectations of $129.9 million, with forward guidance projected between $132 million and $140 million.

The royalty backlog — representing committed future royalties from active vehicle programs — stands near $950 million. This metric offers investors unusual revenue predictability compared to typical software enterprises.

QNX technology currently operates in more than 275 million vehicles globally. CEO John Giamatteo characterized the company’s offerings as embedded within “highly regulated, complex, mission-critical solutions” — the type of infrastructure that resists easy replacement.

In April, BlackBerry and Nvidia expanded their collaboration, concentrating on QNX OS for Safety 8.0 alongside Nvidia’s IGX Thor platform. This partnership targets robotics, medical devices, and industrial applications — sectors where QNX seeks to diversify beyond automotive markets.

ABI Research positioned QNX alongside Wind River, SYSGO, and Green Hills Software as leading providers of safety-certified real-time operating systems in research published that month.

Challenges Remain Despite Rally

The recent surge has incorporated substantial optimism. One analytical model calculates fair value at CA$5.68, representing a considerable discount to current trading levels. Ten community projections on Simply Wall St span from CA$4.01 to CA$16.22 — a broad range reflecting genuine ambiguity about BlackBerry’s trajectory.

BlackBerry has disclosed multiple risk factors: unpredictable government contracts, extended sales cycles, and potential delays in software-defined vehicle deployment that could postpone QNX revenue realization. The company also contends with competition from open-source platforms and automakers developing proprietary embedded systems.

Management has authorized a share buyback program covering up to 26,785,714 shares through May 2027, signaling corporate confidence — though this occurs as the stock has already moved aggressively.

The June 25 earnings announcement will provide critical validation. Investors will scrutinize whether QNX revenue maintains its upward trajectory and whether secure communications remains stable — beyond favorable management commentary.

The post BlackBerry (BB) Stock Soars 22% as QNX Division Shows Strong Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating George Santos over trades tied to a February event market.
• Kalshi detected suspicious activity linked to his State of the Union attendance and froze his account.
• Santos allegedly bet he would not attend after publicly stating he planned to appear at the address.
• Kalshi referred the matter to regulators and requested an interview with Santos.
• Kalshi and Polymarket have introduced new monitoring and enforcement measures in response to recent cases.

Federal investigators have opened a probe into former U.S. Rep. George Santos over prediction market trades, according to NPR. The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began reviewing activity tied to his February attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Kalshi detected suspicious trading linked to the event, froze his account, and referred the matter to regulators.

Kalshi Flags Trades Tied to State of the Union Event

NPR reported that Santos allegedly placed trades predicting he would not attend the February address. Earlier, he had posted a video on X stating he would appear in the gallery during the speech. Later, he posted from an airport while President Trump spoke, and the odds on his attendance fell.

Kalshi identified the trading pattern and suspended his account after an internal review. The company then referred the activity to federal authorities for further investigation. A person familiar with the matter said Kalshi requested to interview Santos, yet he avoided those requests.

Prediction Markets Face Insider Trading Scrutiny

The Santos inquiry arrives as prediction markets face increasing regulatory attention. In April, federal prosecutors charged a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier over Polymarket bets tied to Nicolás Maduro. Prosecutors alleged he made about $409,881 from those trades.

In another case, authorities accused a Google employee of earning over $1 million from Polymarket trades linked to search data. Lawmakers have also taken action in response to these allegations. In May, House Oversight Chairman James Comer launched a congressional inquiry into insider trading safeguards at Kalshi and Polymarket.

Comer requested documents related to enforcement practices and monitoring systems at both companies. In response, Kalshi introduced screening tools designed to prevent participants from trading on events in which they are directly involved. Polymarket updated its rules, expanded surveillance standards, and engaged blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to detect insider trading and market manipulation.

Despite the investigations, both platforms continue to lead the sector in trading activity. Kalshi recorded about $16.8 billion in monthly volume in May. Polymarket posted roughly $7 billion in volume during the same period.

The post DOJ, CFTC Investigate Santos Over Kalshi Event Trades appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Intel shares climbed almost 6% during pre-market hours following CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s presentation at Computex 2026 in Taipei
• The chipmaker introduced the Xeon 6 Plus chip, designed on its 18A manufacturing process with as many as 288 E-cores for AI-focused data center applications
• Multiple financial institutions including Mizuho, Wells Fargo, and Barclays elevated their stock price projections after the Computex reveals
• Tan characterized Taiwan Semiconductor as a “very trusted partnership” while referring to Nvidia as “a good friend,” positioning competitors as allies
• The company’s upcoming quarterly results are scheduled for July 23, 2026, with analysts forecasting earnings per share of $0.19 versus last year’s $0.10 loss

Shares of Intel experienced a substantial pre-market rally on Wednesday, climbing nearly 6% to reach $114.27, following CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s keynote presentation at Computex 2026 in Taipei, where he outlined the semiconductor giant’s artificial intelligence processor strategy.

Intel Corporation, INTC

The upward momentum emerged just 24 hours after Intel’s shares tumbled when Nvidia introduced its competitive Vera central processing unit and RTX Spark notebook chip at the identical conference, creating downward pressure on both Intel and AMD.

Wednesday’s rebound represented a dramatic turnaround from the previous session’s selling pressure.

During his Computex presentation, Intel formally introduced the Xeon 6 Plus chip. Manufactured using the company’s cutting-edge 18A process technology, the processor incorporates up to 288 efficiency cores and directly targets high-performance AI inference operations and agentic computing workloads within data center environments.

Intel is positioning this fresh CPU generation, fueled by agentic AI requirements, as a significant revenue driver. Tan stated emphatically: “In the last four weeks, I have had all CEOs calling me, saying: ‘I need more CPU.'”

Wall Street Boosts Price Projections

The product unveiling prompted favorable reactions from financial analysts. Mizuho increased its stock valuation to $128 from the previous $124 level. Wells Fargo elevated its projection to $110 from $85. Barclays made the most dramatic adjustment, jumping from $65 straight to $100.

Each firm kept their existing recommendations unchanged — Neutral, Equal-Weight, and Equal-Weight respectively — though the revised targets signal growing optimism regarding Intel’s AI infrastructure opportunity.

Notwithstanding these upgrades, the overall analyst sentiment stays at Hold, with a mean price objective of $80.31, significantly beneath the current trading level.

Intel additionally disclosed partnerships for rackscale AI infrastructure with SambaNova and Foxconn. A new commercial inference platform named Vector Core Compute, supported by Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital, unveiled a system operating on Intel Xeon processors alongside SambaNova RDUs and Nvidia GPUs, with Together.ai serving as its inaugural client.

Tan leveraged his Computex platform to reframe the competitive landscape surrounding Intel. He characterized Taiwan Semiconductor as a “very trusted partnership,” indicating Intel’s ongoing dependence on the foundry for cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing.

He further described Nvidia as “a good friend,” presenting Intel not as an adversary but rather as a partner in expanding AI infrastructure.

Chart Analysis and Financial Projections

The equity has skyrocketed approximately 432% throughout the trailing 12-month period. Intel’s 50-day moving average continues trading above its 200-day moving average, with the bullish golden cross pattern established in August 2025 remaining active.

Critical overhead resistance hovers around $133, adjacent to the 52-week peak of $132.75. Downside support is being monitored near $102.50.

The broader equity markets offered minimal assistance on Wednesday — the S&P 500 advanced 0.1%, the Dow Jones gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq traded virtually unchanged — indicating Intel’s advance was distinctly company-driven.

The next significant milestone on investors’ calendars is Intel’s quarterly earnings announcement scheduled for July 23, 2026. Financial analysts anticipate earnings per share of $0.19, contrasting with the $0.10 per share loss recorded in the comparable period. Revenue projections stand at $14.4 billion, representing growth from the prior year’s $12.86 billion.

The post Intel (INTC) Stock Rallies 6% After CEO Reframes TSMC Relationship at Computex appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Grayscale launched the HYPG Hyperliquid Staking ETF on Nasdaq with a 0.29% sponsor fee.
• The HYPG fee undercuts competing products from Bitwise and 21Shares.
• The ETF provides exchange-traded exposure to Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE.
• HYPE ranks as the tenth-largest cryptocurrency with a $15.8 billion market cap.
• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the first US-listed perpetual futures contract last week.

Grayscale launched its Hyperliquid Staking ETF on Wednesday under the ticker HYPG on Nasdaq. The fund carries a 0.29% sponsor fee, which undercuts similar offerings. The listing comes as firms compete to provide exchange-traded access to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token.

Grayscale Introduces Lower-cost Hyperliquid Exposure

Grayscale confirmed that HYPG tracks exposure to Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE and includes staking features. The firm set the sponsor fee at 0.29%, which stands below that of competing products. Bitwise offers BHYP with a 0% fee for the first month and 0.34% thereafter. Meanwhile, 21Shares lists THYP with a 0.30% fee structure.

Grayscale stated that HYPG offers the “most cost-efficient way for investors to access exposure to HYPE through an exchange-traded product.” The firm released the statement alongside the Nasdaq debut. The product expands Grayscale’s lineup of single-asset crypto exchange-traded funds.

Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, described Hyperliquid as the “breakout success story of this cycle in crypto.” He linked that view to the platform’s technology, user growth, and revenue model. He said the project delivers transparency and supports a self-custody structure for users.

Pandl said, “This is the type of project that many investors in crypto have been looking for.” He added that the model accrues revenue and returns it to token holders. He gave the remarks during an interview with The Block.

Hyperliquid and Perpetual Futures Gain Traction

Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized derivatives exchange that supports onchain perpetual futures trading. The platform enables users to trade contracts without holding the underlying assets. Its native token HYPE ranks as the tenth largest cryptocurrency with a $15.8 billion market cap.

Perpetual contracts, or perps, allow traders to speculate on price movements without expiration dates. These instruments have grown in popularity within crypto derivatives markets. Hyperliquid currently restricts access for users based in the United States.

Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission allowed the first US-listed perpetual futures contract. The approval went to Kalshi, which operates in crypto and prediction markets. Pandl called the move a “first step” toward regulatory clarity for perpetual products.

He said, “The CFTC granted the first US-listed perpetual futures contract to Kalshi on Friday.” He added that regulators have begun defining rules around these instruments. Hyperliquid remains unavailable to US participants at this time.

Pandl also pointed to stablecoins and tokenized assets as earlier examples of crypto innovation entering traditional finance. He said the industry now exports perpetual futures as the next development. Grayscale listed HYPG on the Nasdaq as competition in crypto-linked ETFs intensifies.

The post Grayscale Launches HYPG Hyperliquid ETF on Nasdaq appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Board member Nora Denzel offloaded 10,447 AMD shares in two separate trades worth a combined $5,453,334.
• Following these transactions, Denzel maintains ownership of 95,799 AMD shares valued at approximately $50 million.
• The chipmaker’s latest quarterly results exceeded Wall Street estimates, delivering EPS of $1.37 compared to the anticipated $1.29, while revenue reached $10.25 billion versus expectations of $9.90 billion.
• Year-over-year revenue climbed 37.8%, with AMD shares touching a near 52-week peak of $521.54.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” rating on AMD, with consensus price targets around $419.86, though several firms have issued targets reaching as high as $530.

A board member at Advanced Micro Devices recently liquidated over $5.4 million in company stock through two separate transactions, catching the attention of market watchers who closely monitor executive trading patterns at the semiconductor giant.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

The initial transaction occurred on May 29, with Denzel divesting 1,821 shares at an average execution price of $522.00, generating proceeds of $950,562. Three days later, on June 2, she completed a substantially larger sale of 8,626 shares at the same $522.00 price point, bringing in $4,502,772.

AMD stock was changing hands near $521.54 during Tuesday’s midday session, marking an $11.41 gain for the day. The current trading level positions shares close to the 52-week peak of $527.20, representing a dramatic recovery from the yearly low of $113.28.

These divestments reduced Denzel’s stake by roughly 10%, yet she continues to maintain a significant position of 95,799 AMD shares with an estimated market value hovering around $50 million.

Impressive Financial Performance

The semiconductor company delivered compelling results in its May 5 earnings announcement, providing investors with multiple reasons for optimism. AMD reported earnings per share of $1.37, surpassing analyst projections of $1.29 by eight cents. Top-line revenue reached $10.25 billion, comfortably exceeding the Street’s $9.90 billion forecast.

The company achieved impressive year-over-year revenue expansion of 37.8% compared to the prior-year period when it generated $0.96 per share. Looking ahead, the analyst community projects full-year earnings per share of $6.20 for the ongoing fiscal period.

These robust financial metrics arrived alongside announcements that AMD has begun scaling up manufacturing of its upcoming Venice EPYC server processors utilizing TSMC’s cutting-edge 2nm manufacturing technology — an encouraging development for the company’s data center product pipeline.

Street Sentiment and Price Targets

The investment community continues to view AMD favorably, with the stock garnering 2 Strong Buy recommendations, 30 Buy ratings, and 12 Hold ratings from analysts.

The consensus price objective stands at $419.86, though this figure now trails the current market price following AMD’s substantial appreciation throughout the year.

Wells Fargo elevated its price objective to $505 while maintaining an overweight stance after reviewing the quarterly results. KeyCorp demonstrated even greater conviction, boosting its target to $530 alongside an overweight rating. Wedbush established a $400 objective while assigning an outperform rating.

However, not all analysts share the same enthusiasm. Northland Securities maintained a “market perform” designation with a $260 target, pointing to valuation challenges. Trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 171, certain analysts have expressed concerns about stretched valuations after the stock’s year-to-date surge exceeding 138%.

Beyond its core business, AMD joined a $410 million investment round in DriveNets, a networking infrastructure provider, demonstrating the company’s strategic expansion beyond traditional GPU and CPU markets. A prominent Cowen analyst reaffirmed a bullish outlook following discussions with CEO Lisa Su, highlighting persistent strength in AI-related demand as a central investment thesis.

The post AMD (AMD) Stock: Board Member Offloads $5.4M Stake as Shares Surge — Red Flag or Routine? appeared first on Blockonomi.

The Cardano Foundation partnered with the Brazilian Olympic Committee to boost innovation in local sport with emerging technologies.

Despite the news, Cardano’s native token, ADA, remains deep in the red, mirroring the recent collapse of the broader cryptocurrency market.

The Collaboration’s Goal

The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) announced on its official website that the partnership will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to modernize sports management, increase institutional transparency, and create more opportunities to interact with athletes, coaches, and fans. The entity’s Director General, Emanuel Rego, said the initiative marks a step towards the future of sports in the country.

“Our goal with this partnership goes beyond technical modernization: we want to present, guide, and educate our community about the potential of blockchain technology, adopting the best global market practices. One of the COB’s commitments is to lead by example, using innovation to safeguard institutional integrity and build an even stronger relationship of trust with our athletes, federations, and society as a whole,” he added.

The collaboration includes a three-year roadmap focused on four main action areas: identity and certification, fan engagement, equipment tracking, and governance and transparency. The first pilot projects are set to roll out in the coming months. Rafael Fraga (manager of the Cardano Foundation in Latin America) also touched upon the matter:

“We couldn’t be more pleased to build this journey alongside the COB, Brazilian sport, and Brazil, and we are eager to share the next steps in this transformation.”

Cardano’s deal with the COB seems like a major milestone, given that Brazil is the most successful South American country at the Olympic Games. The nation is also among the global leaders in terms of crypto adoption.

ADA Price Outlook

The news has failed to trigger a price rebound for Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, which recently fell to roughly $0.20, or its lowest point since the beginning of 2021. It later slightly rebounded to the current $0.21, representing a 9% weekly decline.

Not long ago, the popular analyst Ali Martinez identified $0.247 as “major historical support,” arguing that a drop below that level (as it happened) could trigger a major crash to $0.113 and even $0.051.

Despite the concerning state of the crypto market and warnings from certain industry participants, ADA’s exchange netflow should be considered a bullish factor. Over the past weeks, investors have been consistently transferring holdings from centralized platforms toward self-custody methods, thus reducing immediate selling pressure.

The post Cardano Inks a Major Deal in Brazil: But ADA Still Faces Breakdown Fears appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ethereum (ETH) is closing in on its February low near $1,700, after a broader crypto sell-off pushed it just below $1,900.

But while some traders are focusing on the risk of another leg down, one analyst is arguing that growing institutional interest in Ethereum’s infrastructure is a bigger story than the current price weakness.

Ethereum Approaching Key Support as Market Sentiment Weakens

According to crypto trader Bren, ETH is making “an impulsive run” toward its February low at $1,700 following what he described as corrective price action throughout March and April.

In a June 3 post on X, he said the market’s bullish expectations at the time did not match Ethereum’s behavior in the chart, and therefore, he expected another drop.

He added that there are two possibilities for him: the case of a double bottom in which the second-biggest coin in the world trades at the aforementioned $1,700 and then bounces back up, or where the prices fall further below that level. However, he did not give any definite predictions, instead saying that both cases would not affect his long-term outlook on ETH.

In his opinion, the combination of institutional adoption of stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization, layered on top of what he described as a world “obsessed with speculation and collecting,” is enough to keep him bullish on ETH until the end of the year.

And Bren is not alone in his optimism, as Electric Capital’s Avichal Garg also made a similar argument. According to him, Ethereum has a “credible neutrality” that can’t be replicated, and with countries like China, India, and Brazil actively looking for financial infrastructure not controlled by any single nation, a neutral settlement layer has genuine geopolitical value.

“You talk to anybody on Wall Street,” he said, “everybody’s trying to build on ETH.”

Institutional activity is backing the two market observers in real time, with Lookonchain reporting earlier today that Bitmine, chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, had received another 25,000 ETH from BitGo, worth about $48 million, even as the asset’s price was falling.

Supply Trends and Institutional Adoption Support the Longer-Term Case

ETH’s current price reflects a drop of about 9.5% in the last week, and liquidations on June 3 were heavy, with data from CoinGlass showing more than $439 million in long positions were wiped out in 24 hours. Still, the structure of the market tells a more complicated story beyond the short-term price action.

According to CryptoQuant contributor CryptoOnchain, more than 32% of Ethereum’s total supply, approximately 39.5 million ETH, is now locked in staking. At the same time, they noted that exchange balances were reducing, which should cut the amount of ETH available for trading.

Meanwhile, Arab Chain pointed out that ETH funding rates on Binance have also jumped to their highest level since the start of 2026, reflecting a steep rise in leveraged long positions.

Per their assessment, that can be read two ways: that traders are positioning for a bounce or a crowded trade that becomes vulnerable if price keeps falling.

The post ETH Eyes $1,700 Low, But Analyst Says the Real Story Is Long-Term Bullish appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Mexico City, Mexico, June 3rd, 2026]

The international crypto entertainment platform 1win has announced the addition of Ilia Topuria to its VIP community. The signing of the contract with the fighter became publicly known on June 2, 2026.

Topuria becomes a new member of the global 1win VIP Community, the brand’s exclusive project that brings together prominent figures from sports, music, and entertainment industries. One of the most dominant fighters of his generation, Topuria remains undefeated with a professional MMA record of 17 wins and 0 losses. His excellence in sport will become a unique asset and source of inspiration for other 1win members.

The collaboration between a globally recognized brand and one of MMA’s most unstoppable fighters promises exclusive moments for fans, a closer look into the lifestyle of a true 1win VIP member, and a wave of premium entertaining content for international audiences. The expansion of the project highlights the international scale of the initiative and further strengthens 1win’s position as a brand operating at the intersection of sports, digital culture, and entertainment. Previously, famous rapper Tyga had also joined the VIP community.

On June 14, Topuria takes part in one of the year’s most highly anticipated fights – UFC Freedom 250 – a bout against Justin Gaethje that will take place during the UFC tournament at the White House. The upcoming fight has already generated significant attention from the MMA community and sports media worldwide.

1win is also widely known for its collaborations with MMA representatives and professionals in the sports industry. The brand’s ambassadors include legendary UFC fighter Jon Jones, Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson, and Latin American athlete Ignacio Bahamondes.

About 1win

Founded in 2016, 1win is a crypto-focused platform in the global gaming industry. Operating across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, 1win offers a wide range of entertainment products adapted to regional audiences. The brand has active collaborations with international public figures, including actor Johnny Sins, martial artist Jon Jones, and Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson. In 2026, 1win welcomed American rapper Tyga as a new member of the 1win VIP community.

The post Crypto Platform 1win Welcomes Ilia Topuria as the 1win VIP Community Member appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin experienced another leg down yesterday and earlier this morning, dropping to a fresh multi-month low of just over $65,000 before it staged a minor rebound.

Although there are a few altcoins with double-digit losses today, there are more with similar gains that have defied the overall market state.

BTC Rebounds From $65.3K

After it lost the $80,000 support level at the end of May, the primary cryptocurrency went on a down-only trip for several days. It first dipped to $76,000, but the bears were just getting started and drove it south to under $73,000 as the month came to a close.

It managed to rebound slightly to $74,000, where another rejection awaited. The crash that took place at the beginning of June was even more profound. This time, the bears pushed bitcoin to under $70,000 yesterday and kept the pressure on for several more hours. This culminated earlier this morning with a price drop to $65,300, which became BTC’s lowest trading level in approximately two months.

The bulls finally intervened at this point and didn’t allow another nosedive. Bitcoin has recovered roughly $2,000 since the local low and now sits around $67,000, but critics are still convinced that BTC could dump to as low as $20,000 if the $50,000 support is lost.

For now, bitcoin’s market cap has remained at $1.350 trillion, while its dominance over the alts keeps dropping to well below 56% on CG now.

These Alts Rocket

As mentioned above, red continues to dominate most alts’ charts. ETH has dropped below $1,900 after a near 5% decline on a daily scale. SOL is down to $75 following a similar decline. XRP celebrated its 14th birthday with a fresh drop yesterday to $1.20 before it rebounded to $1.24 as of now.

BNB is deep in the red, similar to BCH, DOGE, and mostly H, which has plunged by 11%. In contrast, DEXE and ENA have rocketed by over 20% daily, followed by ONDO, WLD, and VVV, all of which complete the double-digit price gainer club.

The total crypto market cap dipped below $2.350 trillion earlier today but sits at $2.4 trillion on CG now.

The post These Altcoins Defy Market Crash, Bitcoin (BTC) Bounces From 2-Month Low: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is back with another bleak BTC call, warning that the asset could collapse below $20,000 once it breaks through the $50,000 level.

He made the prediction with Bitcoin trading at around $67,000, down more than 4% in 24 hours and over 16% across 30 days.

Why Schiff Thinks the Worst Is Still Ahead for BTC

According to Schiff, the real problem for Bitcoin isn’t the price drop itself but rather the mood surrounding the OG cryptocurrency.

“There’s way too much complacency in Bitcoin for the market to be anywhere near a bottom,” he posted on X. “When Bitcoin breaks $50K, it should be a quick fall below $20K.”

The gold advocate believes that drop will be big enough to shake the conviction of many long-term holders, enough for them to “finally throw in the towel.”

Earlier, he had posted, wondering whether a BTC crash would take broader risk assets down with it or whether it would only be confined to digital assets, suggesting that either outcome could push investors toward “value and safety.” And for those that have been listening to him for a long time, that language tracks closely with his longstanding case for gold.

Schiff also once again weighed in on Strategy, targeting its STRC stock. At the time he was writing, it was trading below $96, pushing its current yield to around 12%, which led the economist to argue that if investors lose confidence in the company’s ability to pay that yield, the price would continue to drop, which would force the firm to raise the official coupon to stabilize STRC at its $100 face value, something he described as a “death spiral.”

That’s a pointed critique, considering Strategy recently sold part of its holdings, 32 BTC to be precise, for the first time since 2022, with the $2.5 million earned from the sale earmarked for preferred stock dividends.

Remember, Michael Saylor’s company holds over 843,000 BTC, so for all intents and purposes, that 32 BTC that was sold was almost like a rounding error against its full position, but Schiff seems to be betting that the STRC structure is more fragile than it looks.

What Others Are Saying

Not everyone thinks an almighty BTC drop would shake the confidence of long-term HODLers as Schiff suggested, with crypto commentator Alex Marzell claiming that the only thing a move to $20K would test is his available cash.

Bitget CEO Gracey Chen shared a similar opinion, saying she was waiting to buy Bitcoin near $50,000. According to her, the asset’s long-term health depends on global money printing pushing up commodities, including BTC and gold.

However, she also pointed out that there were a few short-term risks, including CPI pressure and potential rate hikes, as well as possible selling by whales like Strategy and Mt. Gox creditors. Furthermore, she suggested that heavy AI-sector IPOs could drain a lot of liquidity from the market.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno said that the overall Bitcoin demand is contracting at a monthly pace of 232,000 BTC, and he added that the correction was down to weakening demand and not stock market or macroeconomic developments as other market watchers have previously suggested.

His outlook matches a recent report from Bitfinex, which said that Bitcoin was entering a “slow bleed” phase that’s being driven by distribution and fading investor conviction.

The post Peter Schiff Warns Bitcoin Could Plunge Below $20K as Complacency Sets In appeared first on CryptoPotato.