BlockchainReporter

Bitcoin just fell to its lowest level in 20 months, sliding toward $60,000 in a selloff that dragged the entire market down with it. The immediate trigger was a brutal cascade of liquidations, but the deeper causes run from a seventh straight week of ETF outflows to a hawkish Fed and a tech-stock selloff. Yet beneath the fear, one corner of the market is quietly tightening. Here is the full picture of where crypto stands today.
The crypto market is in a steep selloff on June 25, 2026, with Bitcoin trading near a 20-month low around $60,000 (live crypto prices on CoinGecko). Ethereum has fallen well below $1,700, and altcoins are bleeding across the board. The Fear and Greed Index sits at 24, in Extreme Fear, with a 30-day average of 19 that confirms this fear has been persistent rather than a one-day shock.
Here is what is driving the drop and the few bright spots underneath it.
The immediate trigger: a liquidation cascade
The spark for today’s drop was a concentrated wave of forced selling. Bitcoin liquidations surged 192% in 24 hours to about $397 million, with long positions accounting for over 80% of the total.
The mechanism is a feedback loop. As prices fell, over-leveraged long positions got liquidated, and those forced sales pushed prices lower still, triggering more liquidations. Bitcoin broke through critical support levels in the process, and Ethereum and altcoins followed it down, amplifying the selloff. Traders went into this week heavily long, and the market punished that crowded positioning hard.
The structural driver: ETF outflows hit week seven
Underneath the liquidation spike sits a more persistent problem. Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on pace for a seventh straight week of net redemptions, a sustained institutional withdrawal that has drained steady demand from the market.
This is the structural story behind the crash. While liquidations cause sharp single-day drops, the ETF outflows are the slow, grinding pressure that has kept Bitcoin from recovering. Until that trend reverses, rebounds tend to get sold. A modest inflow on June 23 was not enough to change the picture, which tells you sellers are still absorbing demand.
The macro backdrop: a hawkish Fed and the AI selloff
Two macro forces are compounding the pain. The Federal Reserve’s June meeting removed its easing language and turned decisively hawkish under new Chair Kevin Warsh, with nine of nineteen policymakers now projecting at least one rate hike in 2026. Bank of America now expects three Fed hikes this year. That has strengthened the dollar and lifted Treasury yields, both headwinds for non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.
At the same time, crypto is selling off alongside AI and tech stocks. NVIDIA recently slipped below a $5 trillion market cap as institutions trimmed AI exposure, and Bitcoin fell almost in lockstep. The two are not fundamentally linked, but they have become part of the same institutional risk trade, so when funds cut AI exposure on rate fears, crypto gets sold with it.
The bright spot: Ethereum’s supply is tightening
Here is the part the price hides. Even as ETH trades below $1,700, its underlying supply picture is tightening in a notable way. Ethereum exchange reserves just hit an all-time low of 14.5 million ETH, meaning less ETH is available to sell. The staking ratio hit an all-time high of 32.7%, with a 49-day validator queue locking up even more supply.
This is a bullish divergence: falling price against tightening supply. Less ETH on exchanges and more locked in staking means selling pressure could ease structurally over time. The Glamsterdam upgrade’s devnets are also already benchmarking 1.96 Ggas/s with parallel execution live, showing development progress continues. The market is currently pricing in almost zero probability of these positives mattering near-term, which is exactly the kind of setup that can surprise if sentiment turns.
What the experts are watching
Forecasts are cautious. Jiang Zhuoer, one of China’s best-known Bitcoin miners, predicted the current bear market may bottom between October and December 2026, with a price target of $42,000 to $44,000. He noted that Strategy’s mNAV has fallen to 0.72, close to the 0.7 low seen during the 2022 bull-to-bear transition, and argued that a genuine BTC bottom historically forms about six months after that signal, suggesting the worst may not be over.
Still, corporate accumulation continues. Strategy bought another 520 BTC and Strive added 759 BTC at around $65,850 average, signaling that some institutional conviction remains even at these levels.
Key Levels and What’s Next
For Bitcoin, the 200-week moving average near $62,457 is critical support, with $59,000 the next downside target if it fails. Reclaiming $65,000 is the first step toward stabilization. For Ethereum, holding above recent lows and reclaiming $1,700 then $1,800 is what it needs to stabilize.
A genuine recovery likely requires two things: a reversal of the ETF outflow trend, and clarity on the CLARITY Act, with a July 17 hearing shaping up as the next major catalyst. Until then, the combination of liquidation pressure, ETF redemptions, and macro headwinds keeps the path of least resistance lower.
Bottom Line
Bitcoin’s fall to a 20-month low near $60,000 was triggered by a $397 million liquidation cascade, driven structurally by a seventh week of ETF outflows, and compounded by a hawkish Fed and the AI-stock selloff. Fear is deep and persistent, with the Fear and Greed Index at 24.
But beneath the gloom, Ethereum’s supply is tightening to record levels, corporate buyers keep accumulating, and the July 17 CLARITY Act hearing offers a potential catalyst. The near-term trend is clearly down, and some analysts see a deeper bottom by late 2026. For now, watch Bitcoin’s $62,457 and $59,000 supports, and the ETF flows that will signal when the structural selling finally eases.
FAQ
Why is Bitcoin crashing today?
Bitcoin fell to a 20-month low near $60,000 on June 25, 2026, triggered by a liquidation cascade that saw $397 million in liquidations, over 80% from longs. The deeper drivers are a seventh straight week of ETF outflows, a hawkish Fed, and a selloff in AI and tech stocks.
How low can Bitcoin go?
The critical support is the 200-week moving average near $62,457, with $59,000 the next target if it breaks. Some analysts, including miner Jiang Zhuoer, see a potential bottom of $42,000 to $44,000 by late 2026, though corporate buyers continue accumulating at current levels.
Why is the crypto market down?
The selloff combines a liquidation cascade, persistent Bitcoin ETF outflows now in their seventh week, a hawkish Fed that removed easing language and strengthened the dollar, and crypto trading down alongside AI stocks like NVIDIA as institutions cut risk exposure.
Is Ethereum a buy at these levels?
Ethereum’s price is weak below $1,700, but its supply is tightening notably: exchange reserves hit an all-time low of 14.5 million ETH and the staking ratio hit a record 32.7%. This bullish divergence could ease selling pressure over time, though near-term the market remains weak. This is not investment advice.
When will crypto recover?
A recovery likely requires a reversal of Bitcoin ETF outflows and clarity on the CLARITY Act, with a July 17 hearing as the next major catalyst. Based on historical patterns and current headwinds, some analysts believe a genuine bottom may not form until late 2026.
What is driving the Bitcoin ETF outflows?
The outflows reflect institutions reducing risk exposure amid a hawkish Fed, a strengthening dollar, and higher Treasury yields that make non-yielding assets like Bitcoin less attractive. The redemptions are the structural pressure keeping Bitcoin from recovering despite occasional inflow days.
This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Glimpse, a next-gen Bitcoin ($BTC) prediction market, is introducing a new initiative for consumers to trade on price outcomes of Bitcoin in the future. For the launch of an exclusive Bitcoin forecasting market, Glimpse is getting significant support from key Bitcoin-focused investors.
As per Glimpse’s official press release, the notable Bitcoin investors supporting the project include Stillmark, World, Entrepreneurs First, and Timechain. The development is set to provide a market-led view of the likely trajectory of Bitcoin ($BTC), aggregating collective sentiment to forecast the potential direction of the Bitcoin market.
Glimpse Introduces $BTC Forecasting Market with Unique Earning Opportunities
Glimpse’s launch of the new Bitcoin forecasting market promises notable earning opportunities for consumers. The platform is supported by $BTC-focused investors, such as Stillmark, Entrepreneurs First, Timechain, and Wolf. Additionally, the initiative is poised to establish a market-led view of the future trajectory of Bitcoin based on the aggregation of the collective sentiment.
Currently, while $BTC stands among the most examined assets across the globe, most forecasts are still disconnected from incentives. Keeping this in view, Glimpse’s new forecasting market delivers a notable opportunity for analysts and traders.
While reflecting on this launch, the CEO and founder of Glimpse, James Pierog, asserted that the platform introduces a mechanism where participants get rewards based on the accuracy of their conviction regarding Bitcoin. He added, “We built Glimpse because we wanted a platform that rewards accuracy rather than confidence. If someone genuinely understands Bitcoin better than the crowd, they should be able to prove it and earn Bitcoin for doing so.”
Redefining Bitcoin Forecasts through Real-Time Probability and Collective Sentiment
Apart from that, unlike conventional prediction markets, which often deal mainly with elections, headline-led events, or politics, Glimpse focuses on just one challenge: predicting Bitcoin ($BTC). Consumers can seamlessly trade across future price outcomes of $BTC. This generates a probability distribution, reflecting overall market sentiment. The respective approach guarantees the continuous updating of the forecasts as exclusive information emerges.
According to Glimpse, while the new forecasting market is dedicated to $BTC at present, it intends to enter other financial markets and assets, expanding scope beyond cryptocurrencies. Additionally, only eligible consumers who accomplish KYC requirements can participate in the market, reaffirming the platform’s commitment to accountability and transparency. Overall, Glimpse attempts to revolutionize forecasting and elevate trust in the world of digital assets.

Last Updated: June 25, 2026
XRP fell to an intraday low of $1.0462 on June 25, extending a 10% weekly decline as the CLARITY Act hit new political friction and the broader crypto market sold off sharply. The token is currently trading at $1.0837, down 1.42% over 24 hours, with price sitting below all three key moving averages on the 4-hour chart. Despite the sell-off, XRP spot ETFs have now recorded seven consecutive weeks of net inflows, and Ripple secured a preliminary MiCA CASP license in Luxembourg on June 23.
Key Takeaways
XRP touched $1.0462 intraday on June 25 — the lowest level in the current correction cycle
Price is at $1.0837, down 1.42% on the day; 24H high was $1.1026
MA(7) at $1.0754 | MA(25) at $1.1109 | MA(99) at $1.1467 — XRP trading below all three
Four U.S. law enforcement groups challenged the CLARITY Act’s Section 604; the DOJ pushed back the same day, calling the letter factually inaccurate
Ripple received preliminary CASP approval from Luxembourg’s CSSF under the EU’s MiCA framework on June 23
XRP spot ETFs extended a seven-week streak of net inflows despite the price decline
XRP Price Metrics — June 25, 2026
Metric Value XRP Price (current) $1.0837 24h Change –1.42% 24h High $1.1026 24h Low $1.0462 MA(7) $1.0754 MA(25) $1.1109 MA(99) $1.1467 Key Support $1.0462 / $1.00 Key Resistance $1.1109 (MA(25)) / $1.1467 (MA(99)) XRP ATH $3.65
XRP Tests $1.0462 as Selling Pressure Deepens
XRP broke below the $1.05 support zone on June 25, printing a $1.0462 intraday low before recovering toward $1.08. The 4H chart structure is fully bearish: price is below MA(7) at $1.0754, MA(25) at $1.1109, and MA(99) at $1.1467, with each moving average acting as overhead resistance in descending order.
XRP has shed roughly 10% over the past week and approximately 20% month-to-date, mirroring Bitcoin’s broader decline. Key support is now at $1.0462, with a confirmed daily close below that level opening a potential test of the $1.00 psychological floor.
A recovery above MA(7) at $1.0754 is the first condition for near-term stabilization. Reclaiming MA(25) at $1.1109 would shift the short-term structure back to neutral.
CLARITY Act: Law Enforcement Pushback — and DOJ Fires Back
Ahead of a July House hearing, four major U.S. law enforcement associations and an anti-trafficking coalition criticized Section 604 of the proposed CLARITY Act, arguing the provision — which would exempt certain non-custodial DeFi actors from money transmitter rules — could create regulatory gaps and weaken tools needed to investigate crypto-related crimes.
The Department of Justice responded the same day, pushing back on the groups’ claims and stating the letter “contains factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizes Administration policy.” Senate negotiators are preparing to release a final review period text before seeking floor consideration in July.
The dispute adds political friction to a bill already under pressure: CLARITY Act Senate passage odds have fallen to 48% on Polymarket, with Senator Lummis warning that missing the August recess deadline pushes the timeline to 2030. The CLARITY Act is the most consequential pending legislation for XRP, as it would classify XRP as a commodity under CFTC oversight, removing SEC jurisdiction uncertainty that has weighed on the token since 2020.
Ripple Secures MiCA CASP License in Luxembourg
Ripple received preliminary approval for a Crypto Asset Service Provider license from Luxembourg’s CSSF under the EU’s MiCA framework on June 23, paving the way for expanded European services.
The CASP authorization enables regulated crypto-asset services across all 30 EEA countries. Ripple now holds over 75 regulatory licenses worldwide, and the Luxembourg approval places it among approximately 210 MiCA-compliant firms — a group that does not include Binance, whose application is facing potential rejection.
The license is structurally positive for Ripple’s payments business and RLUSD adoption across Europe, though it does not create a direct spot buying mechanism for XRP itself.
MiCA July 1 Deadline: XRP Positioned to Benefit
The EU’s MiCA regulation transition period ends July 1, 2026. Over 3,000 crypto firms were registered across Europe in 2024; as of May 2026, only 194 had secured MiCA licenses. Around 75% of pre-MiCA providers are expected to lose their registration status when the deadline hits.
Ripple’s early compliance positions XRP and RLUSD to capture payment volume migrating away from non-compliant platforms after July 1.
XRP Spot ETF Inflows: Seven Consecutive Weeks
Despite the price decline, XRP spot ETFs recorded another $5.31 million in net inflows on June 22, extending a seven-week streak of institutional accumulation. Cumulative XRP ETF inflows have now exceeded $1 billion since launch in November 2025, reflecting sustained institutional demand even as spot prices remain under pressure.
XRP Price Comparison
Asset Price (June 25) 7-Day Change Bitcoin (BTC) ~$61,733 –5.8% Ethereum (ETH) ~$1,654 –5.8% XRP $1.0837 –10.0% Solana (SOL) ~$69 –6.4% BNB ~$578 –6.1% Polkadot (DOT) ~$0.90 –10.5%
Where to Buy XRP
Binance — deepest XRP/USDT liquidity globally. Bybit — spot and perpetual XRP pairs. Coinbase — regulated U.S. platform. Kraken — strong compliance record. KuCoin — broad XRP pair selection. Gate.io — wide token range. OKX — spot and futures XRP trading.
FAQ
What is XRP’s price today, June 25, 2026? XRP is trading at $1.0837 on June 25, 2026, after touching an intraday low of $1.0462. The token is down 1.42% over 24 hours and roughly 10% over the past week. Price is below MA(7) at $1.0754, MA(25) at $1.1109, and MA(99) at $1.1467, reflecting a bearish short-term structure. The $1.00 psychological level is the next major support if $1.0462 fails on a closing basis.
Why is XRP falling in June 2026? XRP’s June 2026 decline reflects several factors: the Fed’s hawkish June 17 FOMC stance, falling CLARITY Act Senate passage odds from 74% to 48% on Polymarket, law enforcement pushback against Section 604 of the bill, and broad crypto market selling triggered by Bitcoin’s retest of its $59,102 cycle low. XRP is one of the most exposed assets to CLARITY Act news given that bill passage is the primary catalyst for its regulatory re-rating.
What is the CLARITY Act and why does it matter for XRP? The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would classify XRP as a commodity under CFTC jurisdiction, removing SEC oversight uncertainty that has weighed on the asset since 2020. Passage odds currently stand at 48% on Polymarket. Four law enforcement groups challenged Section 604 of the bill on June 23; the DOJ responded on June 24, calling their claims factually inaccurate. Senate negotiators are targeting a July floor vote window.
What did Ripple’s Luxembourg MiCA license mean for XRP? Ripple received a preliminary Crypto Asset Service Provider license from Luxembourg’s CSSF on June 23, enabling regulated operations across all 30 EEA countries under the MiCA framework. The license strengthens Ripple’s payments business and RLUSD adoption in Europe but does not directly increase spot demand for XRP. It positions Ripple among a small group of fully compliant firms ahead of MiCA’s July 1, 2026 deadline.
What is XRP’s all-time high? XRP’s all-time high is $3.65, reached during the 2025 bull cycle. As of June 25, 2026, XRP trades approximately 70% below that record. The current cycle low is $1.0462, printed intraday on June 25.

The next Bitcoin bear market bottom won’t arrive until the final quarter of 2026, and it could push prices down to the $42,000 to $44,000 range, according to one of China’s most recognized Bitcoin miners. Jiang Zhuoer laid out the forecast in a note that draws on Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) declining market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) ratio, which he sees as a forward-looking gauge for the broader BTC cycle.
The projection, first covered in the original report from WuBlockchain, comes as Strategy’s mNAV has slipped to about 0.72, approaching the 0.7 level that marked the top of the previous bull-to-bear transition in May 2022. Jiang argues that while the mNAV itself may be carving a bottom, Bitcoin’s final low historically trails by roughly six months. If the pattern repeats, BTC could be grinding sideways into late 2026 before the recovery begins.
Strategy’s mNAV and the Six-Month Lag
mNAV measures the premium or discount a public company’s shares trade at relative to the net value of the Bitcoin it holds. For Strategy, a sub-1.0 mNAV means the market is pricing the firm below the spot value of its coin stack. That’s happened before. In May 2022, during the unwind from the 2021 highs, the mNAV touched 0.7 and stayed around that level for weeks. Bitcoin’s own cycle bottom, however, didn’t materialize until November 2022, around $15,500.
Jiang’s takeaway is straightforward: the current mNAV compression is signalling the next trough, but it’s a leading indicator, not a coincident one. October to December 2026 now becomes the window where selling pressure could culminate, assuming the lag holds. That places the projected bottom roughly nine to eleven months from now, given the article was published in June 2026.
The $42,000–$44,000 range is notable because it sits well above the 2022 floor but far below the 2025 peak. For miners operating with thin margins, a drop to that level would squeeze profitability unless hashprice holds up through difficulty adjustments and transaction fee spikes.
Why Miners Are Watching This Cycle Closely
Chinese miners like Jiang have unusual insight into the cost side of the network. China’s mining industry, while officially shadowed by the 2021 ban, still accounts for a significant share of global hashrate through overseas hosting operations. A drawn-out bear market would pressure less efficient rigs offline, especially if electricity costs remain elevated. Jiang’s call isn’t just a market prediction; it shapes how large-scale operators manage treasury, expansion, and ASIC procurement through the end of the year.
The mining sector has already shown signs of preparation. Several public miners sold into strength earlier in 2026, raising cash and upgrading fleets. If the $42,000 level becomes a magnet into Q4, those with older-generation machines and high all-in sustaining costs could face a survival test. It’s the kind of scenario where consolidation picks up speed, and well-capitalized players gain hashrate share.
The lag between mNAV and Bitcoin’s bottom also gives miners a planning runway. Instead of panic, the metrics provide a timeline: the next six months may be about preserving capital and positioning for the next halving cycle, which by late 2026 will be well into its second year. Jiang’s note implicitly warns against expecting a quick V-shaped bounce.
Broader Market Forces at Play
While miners brace for a potential retreat, other corners of the crypto market are showing divergent signals. Real-world asset tokenization, for example, continues to expand rapidly, crossing the $20 billion on-chain milestone earlier this month, as highlighted in BlockchainReporter’s recent Weekly Tokenization Roundup. That institutional push suggests deep capital is still flowing into digital assets infrastructure, even if spot prices face headwinds.
On-chain developer activity also tells a story that doesn’t align neatly with a bearish Bitcoin price chart. Metrics tracking commits and core protocol contributions across Layer-1 networks remain elevated, as observed in the latest Top 10 Blockchains by Developer Activity ranking. This disconnect reinforces the view that while Bitcoin’s four-year cycle dynamics still exert a gravitational pull, the broader ecosystem has matured beyond single-asset price swings.
Still, Bitcoin miners sit at the intersection of macro energy costs, ASIC technology cycles, and pure coin economics. Their outlook often filters through to hashprice expectations and, eventually, the security budget of the network. If Jiang’s timing is correct, the second half of 2026 will demand patience from miners and traders alike. The question now is whether Strategy’s mNAV stabilizes at these levels or dips further. A move below 0.6 would almost certainly darken the outlook, while a swift recovery could shorten the projected timeline.
The miner’s projection leaves little room for a sudden reversal. By zeroing in on a narrow price window and a specific end-of-year date, Jiang bets that the crypto winter’s final act will follow a script written by cycles past.

Polarise Protocol, a social finance platform, today made a significant move by launching a strategic integration with XBIT DEX, a decentralized aggregated trading platform, to offer users cross-chain trading experiences with rewarding DeFi applications. With the partnership, Polarise Protocol integrated XBIT’s decentralized exchange (DEX), multi-chain, and swap functionalities to improve user experience in its socialFI ecosystem.
Polarise Protocol is a recognised AI-driven social finance ecosystem that brings together AI agents, predictive tools, and NFT financial applications to serve DeFi users, crypto traders, and content creators, transforming their day-to-day social interactions into seamless and automated on-chain utilities.
XBITDEX × @Polariseorg Excited to partner with Polarise — a full-stack AI-driven SocialFi protocol combining prediction markets, AI trading agents, and NFTFi into a next-generation social finance infrastructure. Polarise is building a new model where social interaction becomes… pic.twitter.com/aLby0chfVb
— XBIT (@XBITDEX) June 24, 2026
Polarise Protocol Solves Blockchain Complexity via XBIT DEX
With the collaboration above, Polarise Protocol addresses the blockchain liquidity fragmentation problem, combining its socialFi ecosystem with XBIT’s multi-chain DEX capabilities and rapid, cost-efficient swap efficiencies, making more DeFi offerings accessible, efficient, and affordable for its users. By adding its SocialFi platform to XBIT’s DEX, Polarise Protocol is providing huge liquidity for its social finance market, with the end goal of allowing its users to participate in XBIT’s expansive DEX cross-chain trading ecosystem.
Using the integration of XBIT’s DEX multi-chain bridging and liquidity aggregation capabilities, Polarise Protocol fixes gaps, including usability, multi-chain limitations, and liquidity fragmentation, making its socialFi platform accessible to a wider DeFi audience. The integrated XBIT DEX’s cross-chain bridging allows efficient asset transfers within Polarise Protocol and across various chains, improving swap efficiency and decreasing transaction costs for Polarise Protocol users in both EVM and non-EVM environments. Also, by tapping into XBIT DEX’s liquidity aggregation ecosystem, Polarise Protocol allows its users to access a unified, wide range of liquidity sources, including best pricing with minimal slippage, enhancing trade executions across multiple DeFi markets.
Expanding User-Friendly Experience with Cross-Chain Functions
This alliance shows that Polarise Protocol capitalizes on XBIT DEX, which is a comprehensive decentralized exchange ecosystem that supports multi-chain DeFi integrations, crypto platforms, and cross-chain bridging with offerings like spot trading, perpetual futures, and many others. With the integration, the socialFi platform addresses gas fee costs and makes more DeFi applications more accessible for end-users.
This collaboration with XBIT DEX marks a new growth catalyst for Polarise Protocol as it takes a major step towards broadening the accessibility and usability of DeFi offerings for its audience.

Bitcoin’s inability to hold the $60,000 floor is no longer just a technical wobble. On-chain data now shows that a specific cohort of large holders has been actively distributing coins, applying downward pressure that finally pushed the price below that psychological level for the first time in over eight months.
According to the on-chain update from Santiment, wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC collectively offloaded 45,074 coins in the past eight days. That selling aligned with Bitcoin’s drop beneath $60,000, a level the asset had held since October 10, 2024.
The sheer volume of coins dumped over such a short window points to conviction-driven selling rather than casual profit-taking. This bracket of stakeholders includes mid-sized whales and smaller institutional addresses that can move markets when they act in concert. The fact that they reduced exposure while Bitcoin was flirting with a multi-month support suggests they viewed $60,000 as a liability rather than an opportunity.
The move also coincides with broader macro uncertainty. Regulatory horse-trading in Washington has kept crypto markets on edge, with a landmark crypto bill facing a last-minute bank assault. Such legislative friction can shift risk appetite for large holders who need clarity before maintaining outsized positions.
The sell-off also arrives as liquidity conditions tighten. Spot volume on major exchanges has been declining, and the derivatives market has seen repeated long squeezes. Should the 10-10K cohort continue offloading, the path of least resistance could lead toward the $55,000 area, which coincides with the 200-day moving average and represents the next major support cluster.
What the Distribution Tells Us About Market Structure
Whale distribution of this size usually leaves traces on exchange balance sheets. If the 45,074 BTC moved to trading platforms, it would represent a direct increase in liquid supply. If instead the coins shifted into custodial services or OTC desks, the market impact might be more muted in the short term. Santiment’s post did not specify the destination, so exchange flow data in the coming days will be critical for gauging near-term selling pressure.
Historically, prolonged distribution from the 10-10K BTC cohort has marked local tops or at least extended consolidation periods. In the 2024 cycle, similar behavior from these wallets preceded the multi-week pullback that ended in the October low. Traders will be watching whether spot CVD turns negative again and whether perpetual funding rates stay negative, signaling a persistent shift in sentiment rather than a one-off flush.
What remains uncertain is whether this selling wave has run its course. The dataset covers only eight days, and the break below $60,000 could trigger stop-loss cascading and fresh short entries that magnify the move. On the other hand, should exchange reserves stay flat or decline, it would suggest the coins have simply changed hands within the whale cohort rather than flooding the market. That scenario would leave Bitcoin in a rangebound battle rather than confirming a full-scale breakdown.
For now, the on-chain signal is unambiguous: important stakeholders lightened positions ahead of the support breach. Whether that proves to be a prudent de-risking or a missed opportunity will depend on how the broader market digests the return to sub-$60,000 territory.

Noos, a next-gen verifiable and intuitive AI infrastructure platform, has partnered with M3 DAO, a community-governed DAO for digital asset management. The collaboration aims to develop a resilient AI agent infrastructure to advance digital asset applications and improve real-world connectivity.
As Noos mentioned in its official social media announcement, the move attempts to accelerate the expansion of the latest decentralized technologies. Hence, the joint effort underscores the rising significance of AI-led solutions across the Web3 landscape at the intersection of community governance and innovation.
🤝 Noos × M3 DAO Ecosystem Partnership Announcement Noos will establish an ecosystem partnership with M3 DAO @M3DAO_global. The two parties will explore collaboration across AI Agent infrastructure, the Web3 ecosystem, digital asset applications, and real-world connectivity. M3… pic.twitter.com/IcR6u7jGSn
— Noos (@NoosProtocol) June 24, 2026
Noos and M3 DAO Revolutionize AI-Web3 Infrastructure and Unlock Unique Possibilities for AI Agents
The partnership between Noos and M3 DAO is poised to redefine the AI-Web3 convergence with the development of an exclusive AI agent architecture. In this respect, Noos provides a decentralized capital settlement platform specifically focused on AI agents. The main purpose of the project is to bring settleability, verifiability, and measurability to the agent’s work. Thus, it is turning AI Skills into tradable and callable on-chain assets.
Additionally, the latest development guarantees the seamless integration of AI contributions into diverse decentralized applications. Apart from that, M3 DAO connects Web3 technology with the wider real-world applications.
The infrastructure that it provides supports modular blockchain products, scalable digital networks, and decentralized governance. Additionally, M3 DAO stresses community-led participation, guaranteeing the alignment between technological progress, collective decision-making, and consumer needs.
Accelerating AI-Driven Web3 Economies Through Decentralized Innovation
Noos and M3 DAO partnership is anticipated to unlock cutting-edge opportunities related to Web3 applications with AI-driven infrastructure. By merging the settlement layer of Noos with the governance network of M3 DAO, the initiative will let AI agents participate in different decentralized economies, along with ensuring scalability and accountability.
At the same time, the inclusion of robust digital asset applications is poised to permit user interaction with AI-powered services in transformative and practical ways. As a result, M3 DAO and Noos are driving a wider market shift toward AI-focused economies in the blockchain sector.
As decentralized intelligence is gaining broader traction, this collaboration will contribute significantly to innovation across digital commerce, governance, and finance. Overall, by combining their strengths, both companies are leading toward a relatively user-centric and sustainable digital ecosystem.

The crypto industry’s Washington narrative is shifting. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told POLITICO on June 5, 2026, that cryptocurrency is now a bipartisan issue, driven by a deep well of public dissatisfaction with the legacy banking system. According to the interview summary, Armstrong estimated that up to 80% of Americans feel the current financial system is not working for them—citing high fees, delays, and unequal access.
Armstrong positioned crypto as a democratizing force for financial inclusion, arguing that both Democrats and Republicans are now finding reasons to support the industry. Concerns range from equal access for underbanked communities to national security and maintaining the U.S. dollar’s global competitiveness. The remarks add a new data point to the growing political acceptance of digital assets, even as regulatory architecture remains incomplete.
A Bipartisan Opening, Not a Done Deal
Armstrong’s comments land at a moment when Washington’s relationship with crypto is being renegotiated. On one hand, landmark legislation is moving through Congress. On the other, entrenched financial interests are fighting to maintain control over the rulebook. Banks are attempting to kill a major crypto bill just days before a Senate vote, demanding revisions to a compromise they only recently accepted. The friction highlights a persistent divide between incumbents and a digital-native financial system that Armstrong says has broad public support.
The public frustration figure of 80%—while unverified by an external poll—mirrors a steady drumbeat of surveys showing Americans’ eroding trust in traditional institutions. What’s different now is that lawmakers are beginning to translate that sentiment into actionable policy. Crypto-friendly campaign platforms, once a niche stance, are showing up in mainstream races. Armstrong’s framing of crypto as a tool for dollar competitiveness is especially notable. It aligns with a geopolitical argument that a well-regulated domestic crypto market helps the U.S. project financial power globally.
Institutional Momentum and Market Signals
Beyond Washington, capital flows are reinforcing the narrative. Institutional players are moving deeper into crypto infrastructure. Just weeks before Armstrong’s interview, Bullish acquired transfer agent Equiniti for $4.2 billion, signaling a convergence between legacy financial plumbing and digital assets. Real-world asset tokenization crossed the $20 billion mark on-chain, a threshold that would have seemed distant only a year ago. Meanwhile, institutional staking activity has pushed tokens like Sui higher—SUI rallied 18% in a single day in May after a Nasdaq-listed firm began staking the token, a sign of growing institutional confidence in layer-1 assets. These developments provide a tangible backdrop to Armstrong’s political argument: if 80% of Americans are fed up with the existing system, institutional money is already betting on the alternative.
That doesn’t mean the shift is frictionless. Regulatory clarity remains patchwork. The SEC, CFTC and banking agencies continue to operate with overlapping mandates. While crypto may be bipartisan in the sense that both parties see reasons to engage, the precise contours of that engagement—how stablecoins are treated, whether exchanges can custody assets, and who gets to write the rules—are still being fought over. Armstrong’s optimistic framing sidesteps the reality that industry lobbying must sustain pressure through multiple election cycles before anything resembling a stable framework locks in.
What the 80% Figure Actually Means
The 80% statistic is powerful but deserves scrutiny. Armstrong did not release detailed methodology, and it’s unclear which population was sampled. Even so, the number captures a sentiment that crypto executives have been amplifying for years: the existing financial system is too slow, too expensive, and too exclusive. This narrative has fueled the rise of stablecoins as payment rails, DeFi protocols as credit alternatives, and self-custody wallets as tools of economic sovereignty.
For market participants, the takeaway is not that regulation is imminent, but that the Overton window has shifted. Politicians who once dismissed crypto as a scam are now discussing it in committee hearings with serious policy language. The presence of bipartisan support, however fragile, reduces the risk of a draconian crackdown. Exchanges like Coinbase directly benefit from this shift, as their core business hinges on the legality and legitimacy of digital asset trading in the U.S.
Uncertainty Remains
Still, translating public frustration into durable law is messy. The banking lobby is well-funded and skilled at legislative delay. The crypto industry faces internal fragmentation—Bitcoin maximalists want one thing, DeFi protocols want another, and centralized exchanges like Coinbase have their own priorities. Armstrong’s claim that 80% of Americans are frustrated is a powerful rallying cry, but it doesn’t replace the need for technical rulemaking that balances innovation with consumer protection.
What’s clear is that the conversation around crypto has evolved from speculative mania to a question of systemic fairness. Whether that translates into legislative victories before the next market cycle remains an open question. For now, the signals from Washington and Wall Street both point in the same direction: the old financial system’s critics are no longer shouting from the fringes. They’re shaping the policy debate from inside the room.

Zug, Switzerland, June 25th, 2026, Chainwire
Anyone can now execute mass payouts across EVM chains and Tron from a single platform and can choose between multiple wallet screening providers.
Just three weeks after releasing major upgrades for crypto payment collection, the Request Network Foundation today announced another expansion of its stablecoin payment platform. The release introduces one-click mass payouts on both EVM and Tron, alongside built-in bridging and token swapping across EVM chains. The update also expands compliance capabilities through the integration of Merkle Science as an additional wallet screening provider.
Together, these capabilities reinforce Request Network’s vision of providing businesses with a simpler, more scalable, and more resilient way to operate stablecoin payments globally.
Users Can Now Disburse at Scale in One Click From a Single Wallet Without Bridging or Swapping
Stablecoins are already widely used to disburse salaries, commissions, affiliate rewards, bug bounties, supplier payments, and customer refunds or withdrawals across the world. While settlements are now faster and cheaper in stablecoins compared to fiat, the operational processes needed to send funds remain complex as recipients usually require payments on multiple chains and in multiple currencies. This has forced finance teams to initiate multiple transactions in separate currencies and from multiple wallets.
Request Network now abstracts away this fragmentation, allowing anyone to initiate mass payouts from a single wallet in a single currency to pay recipients across the top 6 EVM chains (Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and BNB Chain) in USDC and USDT.
Through a single signature, a mass payout can now be initiated even if the individual transactions need to be bridged and swapped to reach their recipient. Request Network protocol automatically retrieves and batches bridge and swap quotes in order to funnel every payment of a batch to its correct destination in just one approval.
To simplify the process further, Request Network also allows any recipient to set and update their payment preferences so payments are always routed to where they should go.
This represents one of the biggest breakthroughs in cross-chain and swapping abstraction, bringing payers and recipients closer than ever before, regardless of the blockchain or currency they trust.
Mass Payouts Now Available on Tron
Alongside EVM mass payouts, Request Network also announced the support of mass payouts on Tron, becoming the first protocol to combine both capabilities.
Thanks to this release, anyone can now send USDT to multiple recipients on Tron in a single transaction, unlocking large-scale payouts on one of the most used chains in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
With this release, anyone can now manage all stablecoin payouts globally from the Request Network protocol.
More Choice for Wallet Screening
Alongside mass payouts, Request Network also announced a partnership with Merkle Science to offer additional wallet screening providers on the protocol.
As a reminder, Request Network offers built-in wallet screening to protect its users from high-risk wallet interactions. When enabled, this feature allows payments to be executed only if the payer or recipient satisfies the preset screening policies, helping businesses to avoid exposure to high-risk wallets which may lead to asset freezing or difficulties off-ramping to fiat.
By expanding its integration of Merkle Science, Request Network just became one of the safest ways to receive crypto onchain, while accommodating for recipients’ preferences.
Tristan Wallaert, CEO of the Request Network Foundation, said: “Stablecoins allowed money to move globally without the usual fiat constraints, but executing payments at scale remains a bottleneck and is forcing users to rely on payment service providers. Anyone should be able to pay by himself hundreds of payments across chains in just a single operation.High risk wallets exposure has tarnished the crypto reputation recently, if we want to provide the best protection to blockchain users they need to be able to use the best screening providers. Sending and receiving payments must become intuitive and safe if we want stablecoins to be a real alternative to fiat.”
Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of Merkle Science, said: “As stablecoin payments become more global and cross-chain, compliance needs to become just as seamless as the payment experience itself. Our integration with Request Network helps businesses screen wallets with greater confidence, reduce exposure to high-risk activity, and scale onchain payments without compromising trust or operational efficiency”.
About Request Network
Since 2017, Request Network has developed, educated about, and promoted the use of open-source, decentralized and permissionless protocols that provide infrastructure for on-chain payments and related financial flows.
Request Network allows anyone to send and receive crypto at scale, across chains, without custodial intermediaries. The protocol is developed by a community-funded foundation whose mission is to make crypto payments accessible while protecting its participants.
To date, more than $2 billion has moved thanks to Request Network technology.
Press kit
About Merkle Science
Merkle Science provides blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions that help businesses detect, investigate, and prevent financial crime across digital assets. Its platform supports wallet screening, transaction monitoring, risk intelligence, and investigations, enabling crypto platforms, financial institutions, and payment providers to manage onchain risk and meet compliance requirements at scale.
Contacts
CEOTristan WallaertRequest Network Foundationpress@request.networkDirector of Business OperationsÁlvaro Garcíaalvaro.garcia@merklescience.com
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Kalshi is reportedly in talks to raise fresh funding at a roughly $40 billion valuation, just one month after closing a $1 billion round at $22 billion. The details, shared in a WuBlockchain post citing the Financial Times, underscore how quickly institutional money is rerating prediction market platforms as trading volumes explode.
The CFTC-regulated platform handled more than $17 billion in volume last month, up from less than $5 billion a year earlier. Sports-related contracts accounted for roughly 65% of that total. That shift means Kalshi’s revenue engine is increasingly tied to outcomes on the field rather than elections or economic events—a fact that reshapes how investors and regulators alike will view the business.
Volume Is Coming From the Bleachers
The sports contract dominance changes the company’s risk profile. Political event contracts drew headlines during the last US election cycle, but they proved lumpy and seasonal. Sports betting markets produce steady, year-round transaction flow. For a platform monetizing through fees, the predictability of sports volume is a far cleaner narrative to take to later-stage backers.
Yet that same strength introduces tension. Operating a federally regulated derivatives market that looks increasingly like a sportsbook exposes Kalshi to scrutiny from both the CFTC and state gambling regulators. The line between event contract and gambling product is legally thin, and the rapid pivot to sports makes the company a live test case for the next chapter of US market regulation. That dynamic is playing out against a backdrop of intense lobbying around crypto and digital asset legislation, as seen in the recent attempt by banks to derail a landmark Senate vote on crypto market structure (Banks Are Trying to Kill the Biggest Crypto Bill in US History Four Days Before the Senate Vote).
Institutional Money Piles In
The investor consortium behind Kalshi’s previous $1 billion round includes Coatue, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Morgan Stanley—names that signal a crossover between Silicon Valley growth equity and Wall Street infrastructure bets. A new raise at nearly double the valuation from a few weeks ago suggests the existing group is willing to mark up aggressively, or that new entrants are competing for allocation.
The push into prediction markets isn’t happening in isolation. Institutional capital has been pouring into crypto-adjacent verticals, from tokenized real-world assets to protocol-level staking. Sui’s recent 18% surge, driven partly by institutional staking demand, offers another example of how traditional firms are allocating to Web3-adjacent yield and volume stories (SUI Price Today: Sui Surges 18% to $1.24 as Institutional Staking and Paga Partnership Drive Demand). Kalshi’s regulatory wrapper—CFTC oversight—makes it an easier vehicle for allocators who can’t hold unregistered crypto tokens directly.
The $40 Billion Question
A $40 billion valuation for a platform that booked $17 billion in gross monthly trading volume raises immediate questions about the multiple. If the deal prices in sustained volume growth and a path to taking significant market share from offshore sportsbooks and crypto-native rivals like Polymarket, it might pencil out. But the churn risk is real: prediction market users tend to follow liquidity and spreads, not loyalty programs. If Polymarket or another competitor offers tighter pricing on marquee sports contracts, volume could migrate quickly.
There is also uncertainty around how the CFTC will respond to a platform where the primary economic activity has shifted to sports. The agency has shown a willingness to engage with prediction markets, but a $17 billion-a-month sports book operating under a derivatives license may attract a different level of attention. Meanwhile, state-level gambling regulators have historically been aggressive in asserting jurisdiction over anything that resembles online sports betting.
While Kalshi’s infrastructure is not blockchain-based, the prediction market vertical itself has become a bridge between crypto-native trading culture and regulated financial plumbing. Developer interest in the broader Web3 prediction market stack remains robust, with chains like Ethereum and Solana continuing to dominate weekly activity metrics (Top 10 Blockchains by Developer Activity This Week). The question now is whether Kalshi can convert a volume surge driven by sports fandom into a durable, institutionally owned franchise—or whether it will remain a high-velocity but regulation-sensitive trade.

Alchemy Pay, a well-known payment gateway connecting crypto and fiat currencies, has recently achieved another regulatory milestone. In this respect, Alchemy Pay has officially received a Money Transmitter License from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation of the U.S. state of Illinois. As Alchemy Pay revealed in its official press release, the development grows its coverage, letting it process crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto transfers for the consumers in the respective state. Hence, this regulatory approval increases Alchemy Pay’s cumulative MTL coverage to 18 U.S. states.
🔥#AlchemyPay has secured a Money Transmitter License (MTL) in the State of Illinois, enhancing Alchemy Pay’s ability to facilitate compliant fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions, expand its payment services, and strengthen its market presence across the United States.… pic.twitter.com/3hbqhSl4pw
— Alchemy Pay|$ACH: Fiat-Crypto Payment Gateway (@AlchemyPay) June 24, 2026
Alchemy Pay Gets Money Transmitter License Authorization for Regulated Virtual Currency Services
Getting the Illinois Money Transmitter License (MTL) authorization enables money transmission, virtual currency-related services, and electronic funds transactions for Alchemy Pay. Additionally, the partners and users can verify the platform’s new license through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System Consumer Access portal. The development minimizes barriers that the traders, fintech apps, and merchants face. At the same time, the move also aligns the firm with stringent compliance benchmarks in the U.S. for stablecoins and digital assets.
Keeping this in view, Alchemy Pay is paying significant attention to regulatory clarity while expanding its services across notable markets. So, this license approval backs the platform’s wider strategy beyond simple payments. Additionally, the firm referred to the plans of issuing regulated stablecoin products in the future. It is also advancing its cutting-edge Alchemy Chain for this purpose.
Particularly, Alchemy Chain aims to connect conventional payment rails, financial institutions, and stablecoin in an inclusive compliant ecosystem. The integration of compliance into the infrastructure allows the project to establish a scalable settlement framework for merchants and enterprises. The target is to use stablecoins as worldwide settlement rails while also complying with oversight and licensing requirements.
Expanding Compliance Wins to Strengthen Regulated Services Worldwide
While reflecting on the development, Alchemy Pay’s CMO, Ailona Tsik, mentioned that this regulatory landmark is crucial for the company and financial innovation. Previously, Alchemy Pay has obtained Electronic Financial Business registration and Digital Currency Exchange Provider registration in South Africa and Australia. The current achievement further expands the platform’s compliance wins. Ultimately, the development underscores Alchemy Pay’s commitment to broadening regulated footprint with a state-by-state approach.

In a groundbreaking move to allow game players advance their user experience in the cryptocurrency landscape, Funton.ai, a decentralized multi-chain gaming network powered by artificial intelligence, today announced a strategic partnership with Echobit Exchange.
Funton.ai is a modular multi-game platform built on the TON blockchain that functions as a gateway where people access various casual mobile games. The collaboration above enabled it to connect its blockchain gaming network with Echobit’s crypto trading exchange, aiming to foster game players’ engagement with cutting-edge crypto offerings.
🤝 https://t.co/UZaXmZlkwy is partnering with @EchobitExchange! Echobit is a global cryptocurrency trading platform offering futures, spot, copy trading, strategy trading, and a wide range of financial services, delivering secure, efficient, and compliant trading experiences for… pic.twitter.com/G4Ix4AaPFz
— Funton.ai (@funton_ai) June 24, 2026
Funton Expands Gaming Network to Echobit
Through this partnership with Echobit, Funton addresses blockchain challenges, including DApps (decentralized applications) and multi-chain accessibility, providing game users with greater utility of their in-game assets across chains. Its strategic fusion with Echobit represents a vital interoperability and cross-chain integration to provide players on its gaming ecosystem with advanced ownership and control over their in-game assets, allowing them to transfer, sell, and trade them on Echobit’s crypto trading exchange.
By enabling game players access to the Echobit exchange, Funton advances their capability of asset ownership and earning real-world value through this important multi-chain integration. With the collaboration, Funton is now integrated on Echobit’s cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem, enabling gamers to easily discover and engage with various digital assets. With the integration, Funton extended its footprint in the crypto world, with millions of game players now able to play and access Echobit’s DApp platform. Gamers on Funton are now able to transfer and trade in-game assets (in the form of NFTs) they accumulate from decentralized games onto the Echobit exchange.
Expanding Gaming Horizons for DApps
This alliance gives Funton’s game players a crossover experience of their gaming applications to the Echobit crypto exchange. This approach allows players to turn their gaming fun into assets and DApps with real value, allowing them to earn while doing what they love. The partnership with Echobit brings Funton a step closer to actualizing that vision.
The collaboration shows that cross-chain integration is gaining momentum in the blockchain gaming sector, giving players new opportunities, enhanced gameplay experience, and turning their gaming into assets with real value.

B.AI, a next-gen AI platform targeting Web3 users, has partnered with imToken, a prominent self-custody crypto wallet. The partnership endeavors to let users leverage B.AI via the native dApp browser of imToken’s app without the need to switch platforms. As B.AI disclosed in its official social media announcement, the update permits one-tap login through existing Web3 identity authorizations. Additionally, the development supports rapid TRON top-ups within the wallet interface.
📢 https://t.co/JerjymcZyf Now Supports imToken! You can now access https://t.co/JerjymcZyf directly through the @imTokenOfficial app's built in DApp browser, enabling seamless login and fast top ups on the TRON network while enjoying access to world leading AI models. As our… pic.twitter.com/lJSQ9Q1P08
— B.AI (@BAI_AGI) June 24, 2026
B.AI-imToken Integration Offers Next-Gen AI Tools, One-Tap Login, and TRON Top-Ups to Web3 Clients
The integration between B.AI and imToken connects decentralized identity and cutting-edge AI tools to facilitate numerous crypto consumers. Additionally, the joint effort eliminates friction between AI utility and wallet management. Formerly, users needed to quit imToken for external connection to fund accounts for the usage of AI services.
Nonetheless, at the moment, the whole workflow takes place within the dApp browser of the wallet. Additionally, the login is straightforward because the identity layer of imToken authenticates consumers automatically. At the same time, the integration enables seamless funding via the built-in TRON support, minimizing extra transfer steps and delays.
Redefining Wallet Networks and Decentralized AI for Creators, Developers, and Traders
B.AI has become a notable AI entity for Web3-native workflows. Additionally, the current integration lets users interact with large language models (LLMs), write code, create content, and deploy diverse AI agents. These functions aim to assist creators, developers, and traders who are already dealing with crypto wallets.
According to B.AI, the collaboration is set to provide a continuous experience for the consumers, including login, AI task completion, and more in an inclusive manner. At the same time, amid the growing wallet ecosystems, the partnership indicates the potential of decentralized infrastructure and AI. Ultimately, the integration provides rapid access to intuitive tools without any compromise on the self-custody framework that the users depend on.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) shares slid under the $100 mark during Wednesday trading, breaking a level that had held since March 2024. The stock touched $99.50, down 4.18% intraday, according to market data. For a company whose identity is now entirely tied to its 847,363 Bitcoin stack, the break below triple digits signals more than a simple price move — it resets the conversation around Bitcoin treasury companies and the premium investors assign to leveraged BTC exposure.
Strategy holds roughly 4% of the total Bitcoin supply, accumulated at an average cost of $75,651 per coin. With BTC trading substantially below that cost basis, the company’s paper losses have widened and the stock now implies a discount to the value of its holdings—a reversal from the premium that characterized much of its 2023–2024 rally. The $100 floor had become a psychological line in the sand. It last gave way in March 2024, just as Bitcoin was gearing up for a move above its previous all-time high. The current breakdown reflects how the leverage embedded in Strategy’s corporate structure works both ways: when Bitcoin rises, the stock surges; when it falls, the drawdown deepens beyond the spot loss.
A leveraged Bitcoin proxy under pressure
Strategy has aggressively financed its Bitcoin purchases through a mix of equity sales and convertible debt. That model boosted returns during the bull market, but the mechanics turn punitive when Bitcoin trends lower. The company’s ability to issue more shares to buy additional Bitcoin becomes more painful as the stock price drops, diluting existing shareholders without immediately lifting the per-share value of its holdings.
At the same time, the convertible notes that come with low or zero coupons rely on the share price trading well above conversion thresholds. A sustained drop below $100 could call some of those issuance assumptions into question. While the company has not signaled any liquidity strain, analysts are increasingly watching whether the stock’s decline constrains its capital-raising playbook. The cross-currents with regulatory uncertainty add to the pressure. A major crypto bill facing last-minute bank pushback in the Senate introduces fresh doubt about the sector’s policy trajectory.
Institutional appetite is shifting
Not all corners of the institutional crypto landscape are suffering. On the same day that the largest Bitcoin treasury company’s shares slumped below $100, Sui rallied 18% on a wave of institutional staking and a fintech partnership. That divergence emphasizes a market that is increasingly fragmenting between legacy Bitcoin-centric bets and newer Layer-1 or real-world asset plays.
Separately, tokenization of traditional assets has hit new milestones. A recent weekly roundup showed that tokenized real-world assets have crossed $20 billion on-chain, driven by JPMorgan, Ondo Finance, and corporate acquisitions. Capital is moving into regulated, yield-bearing digital products that look nothing like a single-stock Bitcoin proxy.
A broader signal for Bitcoin equities
The discomfort at Strategy echoes across the Bitcoin mining sector. Public miners, many of which also hold significant Bitcoin on their balance sheets, have seen their share prices falter as network hashrates rise and block rewards remain capped. The post-halving economics have yet to produce the kind of cash flow that equity investors expected, leaving Bitcoin equities—whether treasury companies or miners—in a vulnerable position.
While no direct contagion links exist between Strategy and the miners, the market’s willingness to assign a premium to shares that derive value from a single on-chain asset is clearly thinning. That’s a structural shift, not just a temporary sentiment swing. If interest rate expectations continue to favor monetary tightening, rate-sensitive growth stories like Bitcoin equity plays could stay under a cloud.
What comes next
For Strategy, the immediate question is whether the sub-$100 price triggers forced selling or margin calls. The company has repeatedly emphasized that its Bitcoin-backed debt is structured without margin calls, but market stress can reveal hidden risks. If Bitcoin stabilizes, the stock could find a floor. If not, the psychological $100 break could morph into a capital markets problem that makes the next funding round more expensive or less feasible.
The stock’s slide also tests the limits of the Bitcoin treasury narrative. Other public companies have followed Strategy’s blueprint, but few have amassed a holdings-to-market-cap ratio as large. If the market no longer rewards a massive Bitcoin balance sheet, the entire corporate Bitcoin playbook loses its shine. For now, traders are watching whether $100 becomes resistance rather than support—a flip that would reflect a deeper shift in the market’s perception of leveraged crypto exposure.

The Ethereum Foundation has let go roughly 20% of its workforce, and the conversation around ETH has fractured into two clear camps. Where some see a long-overdue leaner structure, others point to a worrying signal about the network’s institutional stability. The argument is playing out in on-chain sentiment data, with the Santiment update noting a sharp rise in negative crowd chatter — a shift that traders are now trying to price in.
The bullish case treats the cuts as overdue. The foundation has long been criticized for sprawling into too many non-core areas. A leaner team could mean faster decision-making, a tighter focus on the rollup-centric roadmap, and less spending on peripheral projects. Even with the staff reduction, Ethereum continues to lead global blockchain developer activity, as highlighted in a recent analysis of the top 10 blockchains by developer activity.
The bearish reading is less forgiving. Losing 20% of personnel is not an ordinary rebalancing for a foundation that has been around for over a decade. It raises questions about internal cohesion, talent retention, and whether the organization is struggling to execute on upgrades that have already faced delays. In a market that values developer continuity, any sign of institutional fragility can quickly become a narrative that weighs on ETH even if on-chain fundamentals remain robust.
Sentiment Sinks, But Is FUD a Signal?
According to the Santiment insight, social volume around Ethereum has spiked while the weighted sentiment indicator turned sharply negative. When crowd chatter becomes overwhelmingly bearish, the near-term price action often becomes harder to read. That’s because high FUD can either wash out weak hands and set up a relief bounce, or simply deepen a drift lower if no positive catalyst appears. Traders are watching whether the sentiment dip shows signs of exhaustion or keeps feeding fresh selling pressure.
While the staff reduction raises near-term concerns, Ethereum remains the backbone of the on-chain real-world asset market, which crossed $20 billion this week, as noted in the weekly tokenization roundup. That structural demand could insulate ETH from isolated sentiment shocks, but it won’t eliminate the immediate uncertainty around the foundation’s direction.
What the Market Needs Next
The most immediate question is whether the Ethereum Foundation will clarify the reasoning behind the cuts. Without explicit communication about priorities, the market will keep filling the void with speculation. In past cycles, periods of intense FUD have sometimes marked local bottoms for ETH, but that pattern depends heavily on what follows: a clear roadmap update, a major upgrade shipping, or even a positive regulatory surprise. For now, the signal from on-chain sentiment is unambiguous — the crowd is nervous, and that nervousness is the variable traders are now trading.

The move by Blockchain.com to build a dedicated institutional payments corridor into Brazil is not simply a new office opening. It arrives at a moment when LatAm’s largest economy is drawing serious infrastructure investment from crypto-native firms tired of competing for retail-only volumes. According to the original report, the company is rolling out a cross-border liquidity solution tailored for institutions, though specific settlement rails and banking partners were not disclosed.
Brazil already sits among the top ten countries for crypto adoption. A large unbanked population, persistent inflation hedging behavior, and the success of the Pix instant payment system have created a market where digital assets are widely understood. What has been missing is a layer of institutional-grade plumbing that allows fintechs, neobanks, and traditional financial players to move funds across borders without relying on slow and expensive correspondent banking.
Blockchain.com’s push is partly a response to that gap. The company has long run a retail trading and custody business. Expanding its institutional arm into Brazil signals that it sees enough demand from local enterprises—perhaps asset managers, payment processors, or import-export firms—to justify building a permanent on-ramp. This is not a speculative bet on retail app downloads; it is a capital-commitment play on underlying liquidity flows.
Where Brazil Fits in the Institutional Crypto Map
The Latin American corridor has become a testing ground for institutional-grade integrations. Stablecoin usage in the region is already high, and Brazil’s central bank has been advancing its own digital currency pilot, DREX, which could eventually interact with private crypto settlement layers. Any firm planting a flag there today is positioning for a future where regulated digital money and crypto rails overlap.
There is also a less obvious driver: remittance and trade finance. Brazil is a top recipient of remittances from the US, Japan, and Europe, and its export sector depends on currencies that carry high exchange costs. A blockchain-based liquidity solution that can settle in reais with near-instant finality would be attractive to treasury departments at Brazilian corporates. The same infrastructure could serve inbound investment flows into Brazilian real-denominated assets, making the country more accessible to global crypto capital.
This fits a pattern seen across other emerging markets. Institutional crypto products that once struggled to find product-market fit are now gaining traction where banking is fragmented. The difference in Brazil is the sheer scale of the domestic financial system and the existence of a central bank that has shown itself to be both cautious and competent—a combination that can give institutional buyers enough regulatory clarity to act.
Infrastructure, Not Just Exchange Value
The press release frames the expansion as a payments play, not an exchange-launch story. That matters. Exchanges have become commoditized; what differentiates a platform in 2026 is its ability to move money seamlessly at scale. Blockchain.com’s decision to highlight cross-border liquidity rather than spot trading volume suggests it is building for the next phase of institutional behavior—one where payments, stablecoin settlement, and treasury management merge into a single stack.
Recent institutional moves show similar thinking. As noted in a weekly tokenization roundup, the convergence of traditional settlement and on-chain execution is accelerating, with real-world asset tokenization now exceeding $20 billion. In that context, a Brazil-focused liquidity solution is a down-payment on a future where cross-border corporate payments run on blockchain rails, not just crypto-to-crypto trading.
There is also a link to the kind of institutional staking activity that drives network demand. Sui, for instance, saw an 18% price surge after a Nasdaq-listed firm began staking, as covered in a recent market update. When institutions enter a market for infrastructure reasons, the effects ripple beyond a single platform. A similar dynamic could play out in Brazil if payment flows begin to settle through native crypto assets or stablecoins tied to the local unit.
What Remains Uncertain
Blockchain.com has not disclosed which Brazilian financial partners it will work with, nor whether it has secured local licensing beyond what is already required for its existing custody operations. Brazil’s regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers, enacted in late 2025, gave the central bank broad oversight powers. Any institutional product will need to comply with those rules, and the timeline for full operational launch is not public.
Another open question is whether the product will use public blockchains or a permissioned ledger. Many institutional liquidity products in emerging markets still default to private rails for compliance reasons, which limits composability but satisfies bank risk committees. The trade-off will determine how easily local fintechs can plug into the system and whether Blockchain.com can attract the kind of network effects that make payments infrastructure sticky.
Despite the missing details, the timing is not accidental. Brazil’s digital payments landscape is evolving faster than in most G20 countries, and delays have high opportunity costs. By moving now, Blockchain.com is betting that the institutional market will reward early infrastructure builders over late entrants who try to rent liquidity through third-party providers. For a wider market accustomed to seeing crypto companies chase the next hot retail trend, this expansion stands out as a quieter but structurally more consequential bet.

The stablecoin landscape in Japan just shifted dramatically. SBI Group, working with blockchain partner Startale Group, has issued JPYSC, the country’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. It is also the first to be formally recognized as an electronic payment instrument under Japan’s Payment Services Act. The launch, detailed in the original report, gives institutional and retail traders a regulated digital yen without the transaction and balance caps that have constrained earlier stablecoin experiments.
What immediately stands out is the removal of the 1 million yen upper limit. Existing yen-pegged tokens in Japan, including the early mover JPYC, have been forced to operate under strict balance and transfer restrictions because they were not classified as electronic payment instruments. JPYSC sidesteps those boundaries because its reserve assets sit with a trust bank. That structural choice places it in a different regulatory category altogether. For now, access is confined to SBI VC Trade accounts, SBI’s own crypto exchange, which suggests the group will leverage its existing financial network before opening the coin to external platforms.
Why the trust bank structure matters
Japan’s revised Payment Services Act, effective June 2022, was designed specifically to enable trust-type stablecoins. The law distinguishes between tokens managed via trust arrangements and those that are mere representations of fiat currency held by non-bank entities. A trust bank adds a layer of bankruptcy remoteness and fiduciary obligation that Japanese regulators consider essential for consumer protection and systemic stability. By adopting this framework, SBI has not only complied with the letter of the law but has also set a template that other banks and conglomerates can follow.
The immediate beneficiary is the onshore institutional market. Japanese corporates, payment providers, and trading desks often require large-value stablecoin transfers that the 1 million yen cap rendered impractical. JPYSC can now serve as settlement infrastructure for tokenized securities, supply chain payments, or even as a margin asset on regulated exchanges. In that sense, the launch sits squarely within the broader tokenization of real-world assets, where fiat-pegged instruments are often the final leg of on-chain settlement.
How this reshapes Japan’s stablecoin race
Before JPYSC, the Japanese yen stablecoin segment was dominated by non-trust, permissioned models that traders used mostly as a fiat on/off-ramp proxy rather than as a genuine cash leg. The new design puts SBI directly into competition with any future digital yen project from the Bank of Japan. While a central bank digital currency remains years away and faces political headwinds, JPYSC is live and operational today. That first-mover advantage could create a sticky user base, especially if SBI starts settling trade finance or NFT transactions in JPYSC inside its own ecosystem.
But the launch also raises practical questions. The stablecoin is currently siloed within SBI VC Trade. Exchanges that want to list it will need to navigate their own regulatory approvals. Cross-border usage will likely require additional legal work, and international stablecoin issuers such as Circle have already shown interest in Japan. Whether JPYSC can scale beyond SBI’s captive audience depends on how quickly the group opens access and how banks view the trust bank standard as an operational blueprint. There is also the unspoken issue of revenue. Trust banks charge fees, and whether those costs get passed on to stablecoin users could shape adoption.
Stablecoin regulation is becoming a competitive weapon
The Japanese launch mirrors a global trend where jurisdictions are using stablecoin regulation to attract or repel certain types of issuance. Europe’s MiCA framework, the pending stablecoin legislation in the U.S., and Singapore’s framework all differ in how they treat reserve management and redemption. Japan has now put a concrete product into the market that shows what a permissive but tightly supervised model looks like. At the same time, regulatory battles elsewhere remind market participants that the rules are still being written in real time.
The presence of a trust bank also hints at how traditional finance is starting to see stablecoins not as threats but as infrastructure. SBI is a listed financial group with insurance, securities, and banking arms. Using its VC trade subsidiary as the initial distribution channel is a low-risk way to test demand. If volumes pick up, other Japanese institutions with trust banking licenses—Mitsubishi UFJ Trust, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust, Nomura Trust—will take note. Institutional demand for digital assets is not confined to speculative tokens; payment and settlement stablecoins fit directly into how banks already serve business clients.
What the market will watch next is whether SBI can convince licensed exchanges, corporate treasuries, and even public-sector entities to adopt JPYSC as a standard unit of on-chain value. The absence of the 1 million yen leash removes the largest practical barrier. The trust bank backing supplies the legal comfort. Now it becomes a distribution and liquidity game. Japan just showed that a regulated stablecoin does not need to be a central bank project to carry institutional credibility—and that lesson matters far beyond Tokyo.

DeFi’s total value locked has been sliding all year, shedding roughly 39% to land at about $70 billion in June—down from $115 billion at the start of 2026. Even as some altcoins rallied and institutional money moved into spot crypto, the backbone of on-chain lending and trading kept bleeding. According to the original report from WuBlockchain’s CryptoRank data, every single month in 2026 has seen a contraction in DeFi TVL.
Only two networks in the top ten by TVL managed to post gains: TRON added about 5% and Hyperliquid roughly 6.7%. The rest—Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, and others—all saw their locked capital shrink. Hyperliquid’s rise reflects the demand for perp DEXs and specialized derivatives platforms, while TRON’s resilience continues to rely on its high-throughput stablecoin corridors, especially in Asia. But the broad trend is one of withdrawal, not reallocation.
Hack Fatigue and the Confidence Gap
Hacks alone didn’t cause the $45 billion drain. CryptoRank explicitly notes that security breaches were not the primary driver. But the sheer volume is hard to ignore: 121 separate DeFi exploits so far this year, costing protocols and users roughly $942 million. In Q2 alone, 85 incidents led to $775 million in losses. That pace—an attack every day and a half—has almost certainly accelerated the exodus of cautious capital.
The nature of these hacks matters. Bridge exploits, oracle manipulation, flash loan attacks—each one chips away at the assumption that decentralized code is safer than centralized custody. When a retail user sees a major lending protocol drained twice in a quarter, they don’t parse whether it was a novel contract bug or a key compromise; they pull liquidity. Trust, once fractured, takes multiple quarters to rebuild.
A Structural Shift or a Temporary Flush?
One reading of the data is that DeFi is simply repricing risk. In 2021-2023, yield farmers chased double-digit APYs on freshly minted tokens. Many of those incentive schemes have since unwound or been arbitraged away. The TVL that remains might be stickier, more utility-driven. The fact that TRON and Hyperliquid—both networks with clear use cases—could grow while broader DeFi shrank suggests a maturation, not an extinction. Just last month, institutional staking flows into Sui contributed to an 18% price surge, showing how chain-specific catalysts can still attract capital even when overall metrics weaken.
Yet the magnitude of the decline demands scrutiny. A 39% drop in six months, in the absence of a catastrophic global macro event, is a significant reset. If the trend continues through July, DeFi TVL could challenge the lows seen during the bear market of 2022. The question isn’t just about hacks or yields; it’s about whether capital is rotating out of decentralized finance entirely or waiting on the sidelines in stablecoins. Data from stablecoin market caps suggests the latter—total stablecoin supply has remained relatively stable, pointing to parked capital rather than a complete flight.
What the Next Quarter Holds
The divergence among chains will likely sharpen. Networks that offer deep liquidity for real-world asset tokenization may pick up where pure crypto-native DeFi has stumbled. The weekly tokenization roundup from last week showed RWA on-chain crossing $20 billion, and institutional settlement pilots with JPMorgan and Ondo hint at a different growth vector. Meanwhile, developer activity on Ethereum and BNB Chain remains high, suggesting that the buildout continues even as TVL slumps.
For traders and liquidity providers, the message is clear: platform risk is now a first-order concern. Choosing a protocol based on audit history, bug bounty programs, and insurance coverage is no longer optional. The market is pricing in security as a feature. It may also explain why the two chains that grew—TRON and Hyperliquid—have relatively concentrated liquidity control and fewer surface-area attacks compared to sprawling multi-contract ecosystems.
The broader DeFi story isn’t over. But the headline TVL figure is telling a cautionary tale. With over $940 million lost to hacks in half a year, user confidence can’t be taken for granted. If the sector can’t arrest the monthly declines soon, the next phase may not be about innovation but about basic survival. As capital gets more selective, protocols that combine strong security postures with tangible yield sources—not just token emissions—will be the ones that keep doors open.

Coin98 Super Wallet, an AI-driven, secure financial platform on-chain, has integrated ADI Chain, an Ethereum-based L2 chain. The integration permits Coin98 users to access the ADI Chain network via a self-custodial wallet setting. As per Coin98 Super Wallet’s official press release, users can now manage on-chain assets, engage with RWA applications, and delve into digital finance functionalities through an inclusive platform. Keeping this in view, the initiative underscores the growing convergence of the next-gen decentralized wallet architecture and on-chain networks looking for practical financial utilities.
Benefits of ADI Chain – Coin98 Wallet Integration for Users
After integration with Coin98 Super Wallet, ADI Chain gets support across its browser extension and mobile application. The development will let its users generate or restore already existing ADI Chain wallets in testnet and mainnet environments alike, while maintaining complete asset ownership. While operating as a non-custodial entity, Coin98 Super Wallet enables consumers to securely transfer and store $ADI, the native coin of ADI Chain, as well as other compatible assets without moving toward centralized control.
Apart from that, ADI Chain is the earliest institutional L2 chain for RWAs and stablecoins in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Leveraging the Ethereum network and zero-knowledge technology, the platform endeavors to deliver a robust infrastructure for advanced financial applications. This will take into account cross-border payments, institutional-level blockchain solutions, and tokenized assets too. Its architecture attempts to back compliant digital finance, along with bridging conventional financial networks with cutting-edge blockchain-based services.
Accelerating Trusted Wallet Reach with Regulation and Compliance
At the same time, the integration strengthens the expansion strategy of ADI Chain by linking its network with Coin98’s wider community of over 19M consumers across more than 170 jurisdictions. While discussing this development, the Head of DeFi at ADI Foundation, Ivan Branitskiy, stated that each wallet that integrates ADI Chain broadens the reach of the network.
The executive further added that Coin98 brings the respective accessibility to numerous consumers in several regions. As a result, the users are getting these services through the wallet they trust based on compliance, regulation, and robust policy benchmarks.
Echoing the same enthusiasm, Coin98’s Co-Founder & CEO, The Vinh Nguyen, mentioned that amid the evolving blockchain adoption, consumers are increasingly moving beyond conventional crypto utilities toward RWA networks, stablecoins, and payments. Thus, ADI Chain perfectly aligns with the respective direction. The executive also expressed the platform’s commitment to the provision of self-custodial and secure user access to such emerging opportunities via Coin98.
According to Coin98 Super Wallet, ADI Chain’s integration moves it closer to enabling wider access to tokenized RWA applications and stablecoin-powered financial services.

World, a renowned technology initiative to develop a global digital identity, is expanding the accessibility of its AgentKit framework. The AgentKit model aims to create human-verified AI agents as well as link them with validated World ID credentials. As World revealed in its official press release, this expansion attempts to assist individuals in permitting AI agents to carry out online tasks while maintaining identity-focused security and verification measures. Hence, AgentKit intends to connect World ID and AI agents.
World Enhances AgentKit’s Accessibility for Seamless AI Agent Operations via Human Identity Verification
World’s expansion of access to the cutting-edge AgentKit model permits a wide range of entities to validate whether an AI agent is denoting an exclusive individual. The framework permits consumers to effectively delegate digital operations to next-gen AI agents, along with retaining human control via identity validation systems. To leverage AgentKit, consumers require a validated World ID.
As per the official announcement, consumers also need the World App as well as a supported AI agent, taking into account entities like OpenClaw, Hermes, Cursor, Codex, or Claude. In this respect, with the ToolRouter interface of World, users can deliver proof of human validation and generate an API key to link an AI agent within minutes. Following the establishment of the connection, the agent can utilize services that back AgentKit while also retaining a link to a validated consumer identity.
Strengthening Securer AI Agent Network via Identity-Based Validation Model
Apart from that, World indicated AgentKit’s capabilities in a demonstration that included 500 “Human in the Loop” hats specifically available for validated World ID holders. As a part of that event, AI agents autonomously detected the product release, verified consumer eligibility, and reached the online storefront, while also accomplishing buyouts on their owners’ behalf. The framework had a one-item-per-person limitation, restricting buyouts to validated identities instead of depending on conventional account-based controls.
According to World, the expansion of AgentKit’s accessibility reflects the growing integration of AI agents into diverse digital services, as the need for dependable verification models is growing. By merging human validation with independent technology, the platform endeavors to back a future marked by safe delegation of digital tasks to consumers without any loss of control over access or identity. Overall, World is focusing on creating a balance between AI automation and transparency to establish a digital setting for agents to operate relatively securely.