Bitcoin recently closed at $58,500, its lowest point of the quarter, and the explanation most analysts reached for was macro pressure, ETF outflows and institutional fear. Gareth Soloway, Chief Market Strategist at Verified Investing, has a different read that most people have not considered. A significant portion of last week’s selling had nothing to do with Bitcoin’s fundamentals and everything to do with fund managers cleaning up their quarterly statements.
The Window Undressing Nobody Talked About
At the end of every quarter, institutional money managers make their portfolios look presentable before sending statements to clients. They buy what worked and quietly dump what did not. Bitcoin ETFs, sitting on painful quarterly losses, became an obvious candidate for removal from those statements before clients got to see them.
Bitcoin fell while AI-related stocks like SanDisk surged nearly 11% in a single day. The first day of Q3 told the same story in reverse. SanDisk began selling off immediately as the new quarter opened, while Bitcoin held flat despite a stock market pointing lower. The institutional selling pressure that weighed on Bitcoin through the final days of June may already be clearing.
Bitcoin is currently up by more than 5%.
A Technical Milestone Most Are Missing
Beyond the quarter-end mechanics, Soloway identified something more structurally significant on the chart that has gone largely unnoticed in mainstream coverage.
Bitcoin has officially moved into what he calls Stage Two of the bear market, and that is actually a more positive development than it sounds.
Stage One of a bear market is the period spent below the primary downtrend line connecting lower highs from the all-time high. Bitcoin spent months trapped in that phase. Stage Two begins when the price breaks above that trend line, even if it subsequently continues lower. That transition signals the bear market is no longer in its early phase. The market is in the back half, closer to the end than the beginning.
The Head and Shoulders Question
Many technical analysts looking at Bitcoin’s current chart are flagging a head and shoulders pattern, a formation typically associated with further downside. Soloway offered a nuance worth understanding before drawing conclusions from that setup.
The most reliable head and shoulders patterns have horizontal or slightly upward-sloping necklines. Bitcoin’s current formation has a downward-sloping neckline, which historically reduces the probability of the pattern completing successfully to roughly 50/50 at best, compared to the 65% to 70% probability that horizontal or upward-sloping versions carry. It may still work out. It is simply not the high-conviction bearish signal it is being treated as.
Where Does Bitcoin Go From Here
A relief rally is possible and the clearing of quarter-end selling pressure gives that scenario more room to develop. However, if Bitcoin breaks decisively below current support, the next meaningful flush could target the low $50,000 range, a level that aligns with broader technical support on higher timeframes.
The more important takeaway for anyone tracking this market is that the relentless institutional selling that characterised the final weeks of Q2 may now be behind us. Whether that is enough to generate a genuine July rally, as seasonal patterns suggest is likely, or whether one more leg lower arrives first, is the question Q3 will answer.
Story Ends Here
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US spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded another $296 million in net outflows over the past 24 hours, equal to roughly 5,050 BTC. BlackRock led the redemptions, with Grayscale, Fidelity, and ARK Invest also posting losses.
Glassnode data shows the sell-off has now reached $8.95 billion since May 7. Bitcoin trades near $61,600, up 2.4% in 24 hours, but flow data suggests the bounce rests on fragile ground.
ETF Outflows Total $8.95 Billion Across 34 Negative DaysGlassnode’s US spot ETF net flow data shows demand weakening since late September 2025. Daily inflows peaked above $1.2 billion back then. Since then, positive days have grown smaller and less frequent.
The decisive shift arrived on May 7. Since that date, the funds have posted only five positive sessions. The remaining 34 trading days were negative, draining $8.95 billion in total.
BTC US Spot ETF Net Flows / Source: GlassnodeJune alone accounted for $4.5 billion, the worst monthly outflow since the products launched in January 2024. Meanwhile, bitcoin fell 20.48% over the month, its steepest drop since June 2022.
In an X post, analyst That Martini Guy argued that the latest rebound changes little.
“Everyone got excited by yesterday’s bounce. But ETF selling hasn’t stopped. Funding is starting to shift, sentiment still looks fragile, and I don’t think the market structure has changed just yet.”
For the pressure to ease, the ETFs would need a sustained run of net inflows rather than isolated green days. So far, no such streak has appeared.
Bitcoin ETFs just recorded another -$296 million day.
That's around 5,050 BTC leaving the ETFs in the last 24 hours.
BlackRock led the outflows once again, with Grayscale, Fidelity and ARK Invest also seeing redemptions.
Everyone got excited by yesterday's bounce.
But ETF… pic.twitter.com/KyKqNfuDit
— That Martini Guy ₿ (@MartiniGuyYT) July 2, 2026 Coins Leave Exchanges, Yet Bitcoin Keeps FallingExchange balance data complicates the bearish picture. Glassnode’s net position change metric shows coins flowing out of exchanges since late May. Traders usually read such withdrawals as accumulation, because coins move into long-term storage.
However, history offers a warning. The current move is the third deep negative stretch since bitcoin’s all-time high in late 2025. The first ran from late October through December 2025. The second lasted from late January to early March 2026, when the metric dipped near minus $100 billion.
BTC Exchange Net Position Change / Source: GlassnodeEach episode coincided with a continuation of the downtrend rather than a reversal (blue boxes). In contrast to the usual bullish reading, apparent accumulation has repeatedly failed to stop the decline. Deepening capitulation signals elsewhere on-chain tell a similar story.
Moreover, part of the withdrawal may reflect mechanics rather than fresh buying. Coins redeemed from ETFs can move between custody wallets and cold storage without touching order books. Weak US demand readings support that interpretation.
BTC Price Outlook Hinges on Slowing ETF RedemptionsThe two datasets point to one conclusion. ETF flows, not exchange balances, currently set the marginal price of Bitcoin. Until redemptions slow, on-chain accumulation looks unable to absorb the selling.
BTC trades near $61,600 after a 2.4% daily gain. Nevertheless, the price has hovered just above $60,000 since mid-June. A decisive close below that area would confirm that redemption pressure still dominates the market.
Conversely, a sustained flip to net inflows could mark the first structural change since early May. Historically, flow reversals of that kind have preceded durable bottoms rather than followed them.
Until either signal appears, caution remains the sober reading of the data. The next leg depends on whether ETF holders stop selling before spot buyers give up.
Strategy’s era as the dominant Bitcoin buyer may have come to an end following last week’s STRC turmoil, which cast doubt on the company’s Bitcoin-buying strategy and sent the cryptocurrency to a nearly two-year low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.
“For years, Strategy has been the most dominant Bitcoin buyer in the world and a one-way source of Bitcoin demand. Those days are likely over,” Hougan said Thursday.
“I just expect it to be a less important figure in Bitcoin in the next cycle than it was in the last,” Hougan said, adding that investment banks, asset managers, pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds will likely replace Strategy as Bitcoin’s primary demand driver.
Confidence in Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying model weakened late last month when its main perpetual preferred stock offering — Stretch (STRC) — broke sharply from its $100 par value to below $75, raising fears that its dividend model was unsustainable.
The STRC incident coincided with Bitcoin (BTC) falling to a 21-month low of $58,190 on June 25, further rattling confidence across the crypto market.
Strategy responded by committing to sell Bitcoin where necessary to fund dividends and by expanding its US dollar reserve to $2.55 billion — easing immediate concerns but weakening its position as the industry’s most aggressive Bitcoin buyer, Hougan said.
Hougan said he still expects Strategy to be a “net buyer” in the next bull run, however.
Bitwise portfolio manager Gordon Grant (left) speaks with Hougan (right) about Strategy’s future outlook with STRC. Source: Bitwise
STRC example of “financial engineering” gone wrongHougan described the STRC incident as “classic end-of-cycle dynamics” and likened its collapse to a similar case of “financial engineering” in 2021, when Grayscale’s GBTC premium imploded.
“Money searching for high yields and low volatility was used to buy Bitcoin, which offers neither,” Hougan said. “This money never really fit Bitcoin. And so, it needs to be cleared out before we can find a bottom. That's what's happening today.”
Strategy’s issue with STRC overblown: Strive CEOStrive CEO Matt Cole, however, said Strategy’s incident with STRC has drawn too much media attention and pushed down Bitcoin’s price more than it should have.
Speaking with NovaDius Wealth Management president Nate Geraci on Thursday, Cole noted that Strategy's 847,363 Bitcoin represents just 4% of the total supply, and while Bitcoin isn’t a public company, by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s standards, a 4% stake wouldn't be considered material.
“If one person owned 4%, you don't even have to report that publicly to the SEC because the SEC deems 4% to be immaterial. They start to view a position to be material at 5%.”Strategy isn’t facing liquidity risk: HouganDespite concern over STRC, Hougan said Strategy has $52 billion worth of liquid assets marked against $7 billion of debt, and that Bitcoin would need to drop another 70% (about $18,500) for the company to be put at risk.
Hougan also noted that if Strategy were to start selling its Bitcoin today, it could cover dividends from STRC and its other perpetual preferred stock offerings for the next 28 years.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Strategy’s era as the dominant Bitcoin buyer may have come to an end following last week’s STRC turmoil, which cast doubt on the company’s Bitcoin-buying strategy and sent the cryptocurrency to a nearly two-year low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.
“For years, Strategy has been the most dominant Bitcoin buyer in the world and a one-way source of Bitcoin demand. Those days are likely over,” Hougan said Thursday.
“I just expect it to be a less important figure in Bitcoin in the next cycle than it was in the last,” Hougan said, adding that investment banks, asset managers, pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds will likely replace Strategy as Bitcoin’s primary demand driver.
Confidence in Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying model weakened late last month when its main perpetual preferred stock offering — Stretch (STRC) — broke sharply from its $100 par value to below $75, raising fears that its dividend model was unsustainable.
The STRC incident coincided with Bitcoin (BTC) falling to a 21-month low of $58,190 on June 25, further rattling confidence across the crypto market.
Strategy responded by committing to sell Bitcoin where necessary to fund dividends and by expanding its US dollar reserve to $2.55 billion — easing immediate concerns but weakening its position as the industry’s most aggressive Bitcoin buyer, Hougan said.
Hougan said he still expects Strategy to be a “net buyer” in the next bull run, however.
Bitwise portfolio manager Gordon Grant (left) speaks with Hougan (right) about Strategy’s future outlook with STRC. Source: Bitwise
STRC example of “financial engineering” gone wrongHougan described the STRC incident as “classic end-of-cycle dynamics” and likened its collapse to a similar case of “financial engineering” in 2021, when Grayscale’s GBTC premium imploded.
“Money searching for high yields and low volatility was used to buy Bitcoin, which offers neither,” Hougan said. “This money never really fit Bitcoin. And so, it needs to be cleared out before we can find a bottom. That's what's happening today.”
Strategy’s issue with STRC overblown: Strive CEOStrive CEO Matt Cole, however, said Strategy’s incident with STRC has drawn too much media attention and pushed down Bitcoin’s price more than it should have.
Speaking with NovaDius Wealth Management president Nate Geraci on Thursday, Cole noted that Strategy's 847,363 Bitcoin represents just 4% of the total supply, and while Bitcoin isn’t a public company, by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s standards, a 4% stake wouldn't be considered material.
“If one person owned 4%, you don't even have to report that publicly to the SEC because the SEC deems 4% to be immaterial. They start to view a position to be material at 5%.”Strategy isn’t facing liquidity risk: HouganDespite concern over STRC, Hougan said Strategy has $52 billion worth of liquid assets marked against $7 billion of debt, and that Bitcoin would need to drop another 70% (about $18,500) for the company to be put at risk.
Hougan also noted that if Strategy were to start selling its Bitcoin today, it could cover dividends from STRC and its other perpetual preferred stock offerings for the next 28 years.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Bitcoin (BTC) price holds above $61,000 on Friday, maintaining a steady stand during early Asian hours after a two-day recovery of nearly 5%. The risk-off market sentiment eases with the Fear and Greed Index rising to 23 on Friday, indicating a gradual increase in buying pressure. Worldcoin (WLD) and Uniswap (UNI) emerge as preferred tokens over the last 24 hours, outperforming other assets by a significant margin.
Bitcoin’s recovery lacks firm momentumBitcoin keeps steady above $61,000 at press time on Friday. BTC maintains a mild near-term recovery tone amid a broader bearish bias, with prices well below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $66,015 and the 200-day EMA near $77,159.
The two-day rebound in BTC reflects renewed bullish support near the $60,000 support level, with investors likely buying the dip. Although institutional outflows continue, corporate demand holds with Metaplanet acquiring 2,823 Bitcoins for $225 million in the second quarter of 2026, expanding its holding to 43,000 BTC.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers just below the neutral 50 line, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) holds above its signal line, suggesting that any rebounds could still face strong overhead supply.
On the topside, initial resistance emerges at the 50-day EMA around $66,015, with a subsequent barrier at the 200-day EMA near $77,159; a break would be needed to ease broader bearish pressure.
BTC/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, the main support sits around the $60,000 zone, reinforced by both the prior horizontal floor and an upward-sloping trendline, and a clear drop below this area would expose the pair to deeper declines in the coming sessions.
Worldcoin and Uniswap rebound to the upsideWorldcoin is up 7% at press time on Friday, extending the 12% gains from the previous day. WLD tests the 50-day EMA at $0.4428, close to the 200-day EMA at $0.4755.
A decisive close above the moving averages could extend the recovery to the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.5640, measured over the upswing from $0.2267 to $0.7299.
The MACD and signal line ease the downward trend as the negative histogram contracts, while the RSI reaches 45 with an uptick, suggesting downside momentum is losing its aggression.
WLD/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, immediate support is seen at the 50% retracement at $0.4048, with deeper demand zones emerging near the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at $0.2980.
Uniswap rises above $3.00 at press time on Friday, following a 14% jump the previous day. The DeFi token maintains a near-term bullish bias, with price above the 50-day EMA at $3.02 but below the 200-day EMA at $4.09, which serves as the overhead target.
The MACD rises above its signal line into positive territory, and the RSI around 62 reinforces constructive momentum, suggesting buyers retain control in the short term despite a broader downtrend.
UNI/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, the 50-day EMA at $3.02 provides immediate support, and a break back below this level would signal fading bullish pressure and expose the recent lows for a deeper correction.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
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Bitcoin held above the $61,000 level on Thursday as investor sentiment improved following a more dovish tone from the Federal Reserve that eased pressure on risk assets.
Notable Statistics:
Coinglass data shows 131,062 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $598.92 million. SoSoValue data shows net outflows of $294.6 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $14.9 million. In the past 24 hours, top gainers include MemeCore, Uniswap and Lighter. Notable Developments:
Trader Notes:
Bitcoin OG Lucky noted Bitcoin is staging a strong recovery toward a key breakout level, with elevated leverage adding to market risk. Analysts say the next move could be decisive if BTC sustains its current momentum.
Trader Jelle highlighted Bitcoin bulls are defending key support, with a three-day bullish divergence helping price rebound toward the previous trading range.
Analysts say a move back above $65,000 would strengthen the near-term outlook, while gradual accumulation remains the preferred strategy.
CryptosBatman pointed out Bitcoin flashing a bullish divergence, with price making lower lows while the RSI posting higher lows. Analysts say BTC is now testing its 100-day EMA, a key technical level that could determine whether the next major move is a breakout or another rejection.
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Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Capital is turning its back on crypto faster than it arrived earlier this year. The Santiment update on June market dynamics paints a sobering picture: Bitcoin slumped, money poured out of ETFs, AI equities grabbed speculative attention, a brief Iran scare added weekend whiplash, and Solana’s memecoin mania created chaos rather than sustainable traction. As the second half of 2026 begins, the market is left confronting a liquidity drain that few predicted at the cycle’s start.
BTC’s decline in June wasn’t just about price. The flow of capital out of spot ETFs signals that institutions and retail traders are hitting the brakes. While Bitcoin has historically rallied in the months following halvings, the current environment is different. The competing pull of AI stocks has become a real drain on risk capital that might otherwise rotate into crypto narratives. When Nvidia and other AI names offer visible earnings narratives, digital gold struggles to hold speculative attention, especially when ETF products make leaving as easy as clicking “sell.”
Liquidity Diverted, Not Destroyed The key observation from the Santiment note is that the capital isn’t evaporating entirely—it’s being redirected. Equities linked to artificial intelligence have acted as a giant sponge, absorbing flows that previously chased crypto volatility. This dynamic has been building for months, but June confirmed that crypto is no longer the only high-beta game in town for growth-focused portfolios. For traders, this means BTC and Ether rallies now need a clearer catalyst to compete with AI-driven momentum.
Meanwhile, the regulatory backdrop remains messy. Even as ETF outflows accelerate, Washington’s legislative path is far from settled. Just days before a crucial Senate vote, major banks are pushing to kill one of the most significant crypto bills in US history. That uncertainty may be discouraging new institutional allocations. If the rules stay murky, ETF flows could remain under pressure regardless of spot price action.
Solana’s Memecoin Hangover Solana’s network saw wild memecoin activity in June, but the aftermath has been more disarray than adoption. The Santiment report frames the episode as “memecoin chaos,” not a healthy ecosystem expansion. While fee generation spiked, so did congestion and user losses, which tends to push serious builders away. Tellingly, developer activity on Solana remains among the top blockchains, as recent data on developer activity this week indicates, but the path from speculative frenzy to durable infrastructure is never linear. The next few weeks will show whether the network can absorb the damage or whether the memecoin washout leaves a lasting dent in user trust.
What remains uncertain is whether July can repair the damage. ETF outflows may slow if BTC stabilizes above key support, but a genuine turnaround likely requires a macro catalyst or an AI rotation. Iran-related weekend volatility also reminded traders that geopolitical surprises haven’t gone away. For now, the H2 reset feels less like a healthy consolidation and more like a market waiting for a reason to believe again.
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The third quarter of 2026 is shaping up to be one of the busiest periods for crypto presales in recent years. Instead of chasing short-lived hype, investors are increasingly comparing projects based on utility, development progress, and the problems they aim to solve after launch.
AI, Layer-2 scaling, payments, and blockchain infrastructure have become the dominant themes as capital continues rotating into early-stage opportunities.
Among the projects attracting the most attention are MemeToro ($MT), Bitcoin Hyper, Little Pepe, Remittix, and Maxi Doge. Although all five remain in their presale phases, each targets a completely different segment of the crypto market.
1. MemeToro ($MT) MemeToro earns the top position because its ecosystem extends well beyond a traditional memecoin launch.
The platform combines artificial intelligence with several blockchain products, including automated memecoin creation, decentralized prediction markets, SocialFi participation, behavioral finance, and staking. Rather than relying on a single feature, the ecosystem is designed around continuous user engagement.
Its AI Agent remains the project’s biggest differentiator.
Instead of requiring manual developer launches, the system continuously analyzes online discussions, market narratives, cultural trends, and community activity before autonomously supporting fair no-code token launches.
That automation is paired with decentralized prediction markets covering cryptocurrencies, politics, sports, entertainment, and global events, allowing users to participate using both $MT and BNB.
For investors looking beyond launch-day speculation, the combination of AI utility and multiple ecosystem products has helped keep MemeToro near the top of many Q3 watchlists.
2. Bitcoin Hyper Bitcoin Hyper approaches the market from an infrastructure perspective.
The Layer-2 project has already raised more than $32.9 million, making it one of the largest crypto presales currently underway. Its token is priced at $0.01368, while development focuses on improving Bitcoin scalability without abandoning the network’s security model.
Rather than competing with AI-focused ecosystems, Bitcoin Hyper appeals to investors who believe Bitcoin’s long-term growth depends on faster and more efficient Layer-2 infrastructure.
Its strong fundraising reflects continued demand for Bitcoin-focused blockchain expansion.
3. Little Pepe Little Pepe combines meme culture with Ethereum Layer-2 technology.
The project has attracted more than $28.29 million during its presale, with tokens currently priced at $0.0022 as fundraising enters its final stages.
Instead of focusing exclusively on branding, the project aims to provide a dedicated Layer-2 environment for meme-related blockchain activity.
That combination of infrastructure and community engagement has helped Little Pepe remain one of the strongest-performing meme-focused presales this year.
4. Remittix Remittix targets an entirely different market.
Rather than AI or Layer-2 development, the project focuses on cross-border payments, allowing users to move between fiat currencies and cryptocurrency through a decentralized framework.
The presale has already entered its distribution phase, with early participants now able to register for the upcoming RTX token airdrop. Investors are also watching closely as the project prepares to announce its official launch price within the coming days.
For investors interested in payment infrastructure instead of AI applications, Remittix offers a very different investment thesis.
5. Maxi Doge Maxi Doge rounds out the list with a community-driven approach.
The project has raised more than $4.8 million, combining meme branding with staking incentives that currently advertise rewards of up to 65% APY through its smart contract system.
Rather than emphasizing infrastructure or artificial intelligence, Maxi Doge focuses on community participation and passive reward mechanisms.
Its simpler strategy has continued attracting investors looking for high-yield opportunities within the meme sector.
Why MemeToro Still Offers an Earlier Entry Unlike several projects on this list that are approaching their final fundraising milestones, MemeToro remains earlier in its development cycle.
The project is currently progressing through Stage 3, where $44,914.54 has already been raised toward its $80,644.11 target. The current presale price is $0.00154 per $MT, with pricing scheduled to increase as future milestones are completed.
The token has a fixed supply of 1.2 billion, with 71% allocated directly to public participants. Investors can join the presale through the official MemeToro portal using BNB, ETH, USDT, USDC, or a bank card.
More Information on MemeToro ($MT) Presale Here:
Website: https://memetoro.com/
X: https://x.com/memetoro_mt
Telegram: https://t.me/memetoro_mt
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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) are showing multiple long-term bottom, according to technical analysis by a prominent analyst.
Bitcoin’s Macro Bottom ZoneIn an X post on July 2, crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez pointed to historically reliable technical and on-chain indicators that suggest accumulation may be underway.
For Bitcoin, Martinez identified $48,300 as the most important long-term accumulation level.
The price corresponds to Bitcoin’s Investor Price, an on-chain metric that estimates the average acquisition cost of economically active coins by excluding permanently lost Bitcoin.
Historically, Bitcoin has found major bear-market bottoms around this level, making it one of the market’s most closely watched long-term support metrics.
Over the past month, retail investors holding less than one Bitcoin and mid-sized holders with 10 to 100 BTC have led the buying activity.
Meanwhile, the largest entities controlling between 1,000 and 100,000 BTC have also turned into net buyers, albeit at a slower pace.
Martinez said synchronized buying by both retail investors and whales has historically coincided with durable market bottoms and laid the foundation for longer-term recoveries.
ETH Monthly Buy Signal ReturnsIn another X post on July 3, Martinez said Ethereum has entered a historically significant support zone, with $1,100 representing the lower boundary of its long-term price channel dating back to 2021.
Every previous test of the channel floor has attracted aggressive buying, making the level one of Ethereum’s highest-conviction long-term accumulation areas.
If Ethereum successfully defends the support, Martinez projects an initial recovery toward the channel midpoint near $3,000, followed by a potential move toward the upper boundary around $5,000, which aligns with prior cycle highs.
Adding to the bullish outlook, Martinez highlighted that the TD Sequential indicator has printed a fresh monthly buy signal for Ethereum.
Previous monthly sell and buy signals preceded a 78% correction from the 2021 highs, a 235% rally following the 2022 bottom and a 182% advance after the March 2025 buy signal.
The latest signal, Martinez said, points to macro-level seller exhaustion and raises the possibility that Ethereum is carving out another major bottom.
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Renowned investor Ross Gerber on Wednesday attributed Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) ongoing slump to President Donald Trump’s profits from cryptocurrency businesses
Gerber Comments On ‘Grift’Gerber reacted to Trump’s disclosure that he earned over $1 billion in his first year as president through cryptocurrency ventures, which include World Liberty Financial and the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) memecoin.
The CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management said that the “grift is real,” and the main reason why “Bitcoin went down and isn’t going anywhere.”
‘The Most Corrupt President’Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, one of the loudest critics of Trump’s business activities and his family deals, called him the “most corrupt president in American history.”
The Big Uproar Over Trump’s Crypto GainsTrump’s disclosures have created a stir, sparking allegations of conflicts of interest and misuse of his position.
The windfall included over $635 million in royalties collected from the TRUMP memecoin. Meanwhile, people who bought it have lost 97% of their money from the highest price.
A White House spokesperson told Benzinga that all actions by the Trump administration are taken in the “best interest of the American people,” while rejecting any suggestions of “conflict of interest.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pushed for stronger cryptocurrency legislation to prevent Trump and his family from profiting off cryptocurrency.
When asked to comment on his cryptocurrency riches, Trump said that the investments are handled by institutions with which he has no direct communication. He added that he has "a lot" of money, which he gives to institutions that then determine how it is allocated.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $60,090.98, up 2.43% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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Bitwise said STRC’s collapse is a classic late-cycle deleveraging event, not a sign of impending liquidation at Strategy.Strategy’s new framework shifts MSTR from a one-way bitcoin buyer to a more flexible capital allocator.The asset manager expects institutional investors, not Strategy, to become bitcoin’s dominant source of demand in the next cycle.Asset manager Bitwise said the sharp decline in Strategy’s (MSTR) perpetual preferred stock, STRC, is a hallmark of a maturing crypto cycle rather than evidence of a looming crisis at the company.
Bitcoin’s recent pullback below $60,000 coincided with STRC breaking from its intended $100 par value, as investors questioned Strategy’s willingness to maintain preferred dividend payments.
While the selloff rattled markets, Bitwise argued Strategy remains fundamentally well-capitalized, with roughly $52 billion in liquid assets against about $7 billion of debt.
"The volatility in STRC is a natural and important part of the crypto cycle. I think we’re nearing the bottom," Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said in a Wednesday blog post.
Bitcoin was trading around $61,400 at publication time, STRC at $88.
According to Hougan, Strategy’s decision to stop defending STRC’s $100 price through automatic rate hikes, and instead allow the security to trade freely while retaining the option to sell bitcoin or repurchase STRC, was a pragmatic response to deteriorating market conditions.
Earlier this week, Strategy unveiled a capital framework allowing selective bitcoin sales to fund preferred dividends, while authorizing preferred share repurchases and stock buybacks. It also set a minimum cash reserve covering 12 months of preferred dividend and interest payments. Its $2.55 billion cash balance currently covers about 17 months.
Hougan said the episode marks a broader shift in Strategy’s role within bitcoin markets. Rather than serving as crypto’s dominant, one-way buyer, the firm is likely to become a more flexible participant whose bitcoin purchases or sales depend on market conditions.
Looking ahead, Bitwise believes institutional investors, including asset managers, banks, pensions, endowments and sovereign funds, are positioned to replace Strategy as bitcoin’s primary source of demand.
More broadly, STRC volatility is seen as part of the leverage unwind that typically marks the late stages of every crypto cycle. As speculative excess is flushed from the system, the market moves closer to establishing a durable bottom, though the exact timing remains impossible to predict, the report added.
Wall Street bank JPMorgan said Strategy's new policy allowing selective bitcoin sales to fund preferred dividends creates avoidable two-way risk, increasing uncertainty and market volatility.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Jun 30, 2026
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Somewhere in Nairobi, someone just paid for a cab ride with Bitcoin. Not in the “sold BTC on an exchange, withdrew to a bank account, then transferred funds” kind of way. The actual, tap-your-phone-and-go kind of way. And the driver received Kenyan shillings instantly without ever touching a crypto wallet.
That’s the promise of Tando, a Kenyan payments app founded by Jason and Sabina Waithira that has quietly built a bridge between Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and M-Pesa, Kenya’s dominant mobile money system.
How Tando actually works A customer pays in Bitcoin over the Lightning Network. Tando converts it to Kenyan shillings instantly. The merchant receives KES directly into their M-Pesa account. No crypto wallet required on the merchant’s end, no volatility risk, no waiting around for block confirmations.
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The app launched in July 2024 and was already processing over 100 transactions daily by mid-2025. Users pay no additional transaction fees, which removes one of the biggest friction points that has historically plagued crypto payments.
In May 2026, Tando hit a milestone that explains why this story matters beyond Kenya’s borders. The app enabled approximately 40 million Kenyans to receive Bitcoin payments by converting their M-Pesa phone numbers directly into Lightning addresses. Forty million people, roughly the entire adult population of Kenya, can now be on the receiving end of a Lightning payment without downloading anything new or understanding what a satoshi is.
Why Kenya is the perfect testing ground To understand why this works in Kenya specifically, you need to understand M-Pesa. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, M-Pesa essentially turned every phone number into a bank account long before the rest of the world started talking about “financial inclusion.”
Real-world use cases have already been demonstrated publicly. During the 2024 African Bitcoin Conference, attendees used Tando to pay for transportation fares and restaurant bills. By the time the Bitcoin Nairobi Conference rolled around in June 2026, the app’s new capability of converting M-Pesa numbers into Lightning addresses was a major talking point.
The founders champion a “spend, not sell” approach to Bitcoin. Rather than treating BTC as a speculative asset you eventually cash out, the idea is to use it as actual money.
What this means for investors and the broader market Tando has demonstrated that you can plug Bitcoin into an existing, trusted, widely adopted financial system without asking merchants to change anything about how they operate. The merchant doesn’t need a wallet. They don’t need to understand Lightning channels. They just get shillings.
The risk, of course, is regulatory. Kenya’s approach to crypto regulation has been evolving, and any sudden policy shift could disrupt Tando’s operations. There’s also the question of sustainability: processing payments with zero fees is a great user acquisition strategy, but it’s not an obvious business model.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The headline number is useful, but the real story is what it says about positioning. Bitcoin Reclaims $61,000 as Dovish Inflation Outlook Softens Market Fear gives NewsBTC readers a clean angle on Bitcoin Price at a point where the market is trying to separate durable signals from short-lived noise.
According to the source material reviewed for this report, the story turns on a few concrete details rather than vague sentiment. That matters because crypto headlines can move quickly, but the pieces that tend to last are the ones backed by filings, official releases, data dashboards, or protocol-level records.
TL;DR
Bitcoin reclaimed the $61,000 level after a sharp recovery from support at $58,000. The move was triggered by public comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh suggesting that inflation risks have eased. Traditional equity chip selloffs did not halt the digital asset recovery. For more details, visit the official Federalreserve platform.
A Fresh Signal For The Market The immediate relevance is that this development fits into one of the market’s main themes for the day: institutional positioning, network usage, regulatory pressure, protocol development, or asset-specific rotation. In this case, the key topic is Bitcoin Price, which is why it deserves a dedicated read rather than being buried inside a broader market recap.
For traders, the useful part is not simply that the headline exists. It is the way the facts line up with the current market backdrop. When official sources, market data, or protocol records show a fresh shift, readers get a better sense of whether the move is just a one-day reaction or part of something more structural.
The Numbers That Matter The core source for this story is federalreserve.gov with supporting data from federalreserve.gov. That source trail is important because the final article should not rely on discovery-only media links or second-hand summaries.
Bitcoin reclaimed the $61,000 level after a sharp recovery from support at $58,000.
The move was triggered by public comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh suggesting that inflation risks have eased.
Traditional equity chip selloffs did not halt the digital asset recovery.
The numerical claims in the pack were tied back to specific source material before writing. '$61,000' sourced from TradingView BTC/USD spot market exchange feeds; 'July 1, 2026' sourced from ECB annual forum Sintra presentation date
The Important Caveat The caution is just as important as the headline. Do not present Warsh's comments as an official FOMC policy shift; he is commenting on macroeconomic trends at the ECB forum.
That means the cleaner read is to treat this as a confirmed development with a defined scope, not as proof of a guaranteed price move or a sweeping market shift. In crypto, the difference matters. A verified data point can strengthen a thesis, but it does not remove execution risk, liquidity risk, regulatory uncertainty, or the possibility that traders fade the initial reaction.
For now, the story gives the market another piece of evidence to weigh. If follow-up filings, dashboard updates, protocol records, or official statements confirm further momentum, the angle can develop into something larger. If not, it still stands as a useful snapshot of where activity is concentrating today.
This report is based on information from federalreserve.gov and federalreserve.gov.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said Bitcoin may be approaching a market bottom as turmoil surrounding Strategy’s STRC preferred stock forces excess leverage out of the crypto market.
In his latest weekly memo, Hougan described the recent volatility in STRC and the decline in Strategy shares as classic end of cycle dynamics. He said the correction reflects the unwinding of financial engineering that brought yield seeking capital into Bitcoin during the bull market.
“The volatility in STRC is a natural and important part of the crypto cycle,” Hougan wrote. “I think we’re nearing the bottom.”
STRC is a perpetual preferred stock launched by Strategy to provide investors with a high yield while targeting a trading price near its $100 par value. Strategy used proceeds from the instrument to finance additional Bitcoin purchases.
Demand initially remained strong as Strategy gradually increased STRC’s dividend rate to 11.5%. The company raised about $10.5 billion through the product, according to Hougan.
However, STRC recently fell as low as roughly $75 as declining Bitcoin and MSTR prices raised concerns over Strategy’s ability and willingness to continue funding preferred dividends.
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Strategy responded this week by introducing a new capital management framework that allows it to sell Bitcoin to strengthen its dollar reserve, meet dividend and debt obligations, and fund share repurchases.
The company also raised STRC’s annual dividend rate to 12% and authorized as much as $2 billion in common and preferred stock buybacks.
The framework permits Strategy to generate up to $1.25 billion through Bitcoin sales while maintaining a cash reserve intended to cover at least 12 months of dividend and interest payments.
Hougan said the changes suggest Strategy’s role in the Bitcoin market has shifted. After spending years as one of the asset’s most consistent buyers, the company may now buy or sell Bitcoin depending on market conditions.
“For years, Strategy has been the most dominant Bitcoin buyer in the world and a one way source of Bitcoin demand,” Hougan wrote. “Those days are likely over.”
He does not expect Strategy to become a major seller, noting that the company has enough assets to cover its debt and preferred obligations. He also dismissed fears that Strategy faces imminent liquidation, arguing Bitcoin would need to suffer a much deeper and sustained decline before the company faced serious balance sheet pressure.
Instead, Hougan expects institutional investors to become the leading source of Bitcoin demand during the next market cycle, including banks, asset managers, pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and financial advisers.
Hougan compared the STRC unwind with the collapse of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust premium following the 2019 to 2021 bull market. In both cases, financial structures attracted capital that depended on unusually favorable market conditions and later had to be unwound before the market could establish a durable bottom.
He said investors should watch for signs including MSTR trading below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, extreme readings in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, and persistently negative funding rates.
Market bottoms remain impossible to identify in real time, Hougan said, but the unwinding of STRC related leverage suggests the market is progressing through the final stages of the cycle.
“I’m convinced the bottom is closer than ever,” he wrote, adding that he expects a new Bitcoin bull market to begin in the fall.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has issued the country’s first official crypto exchange operating license, granting authorization to Pax Finance. This milestone gives the company the ability to offer services beyond the previously limited Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), marking the start of a broader era for digital assets and crypto regulation in Kazakhstan.
Expanded authority under the new licenseWith the central bank’s approval, Pax Finance is now permitted to facilitate crypto trading, provide digital asset custody solutions, and enable conversions between cryptocurrencies and traditional fiat currencies. The new license also allows the company to open branches nationwide and deploy Bitcoin ATMs across Kazakhstan, extending its reach well beyond the capital.
Founded on May 20, Pax Finance was established by prominent figures in Kazakhstan’s financial and fintech sectors. Among the founders are Arman Batayev, who previously worked at EY and within the AIFC, and Azat Bekmagambetov, recognized as an early leader in Kazakhstan’s crypto industry and a co-founder of one of Central Asia’s first Web3 accelerator programs.
Glossary: The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a regional hub in Kazakhstan’s capital, operating under its own distinctive regulatory framework for financial services. Web3 accelerator programs provide blockchain-focused startups with mentorship, investor connections, and product development support.
The National Bank reminded market participants that the license regime for crypto sector companies officially took effect on May 1, 2026. It emphasized the requirement for all entities wishing to operate legally in the country to register with Kazakhstan’s financial regulator.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan reiterated that, as of May 1, 2026, all crypto industry participants must comply with the newly established licensing framework and fulfill ongoing registration requirements in order to operate legally.
New phase in crypto regulationKazakhstan gained prominence in the crypto mining industry a few years ago, following restrictive measures introduced in China. Initially, authorities limited permitted crypto activities to platforms overseen by residents of the Astana International Financial Centre, aiming to provide legal avenues for miners to convert their earnings.
The Digital Assets Law, introduced in 2023, granted cryptocurrencies official legal recognition; however, their use cases remained restricted for some time. Despite these limitations, the majority of digital asset activity persisted on peer-to-peer networks, unregistered exchanges, or platforms based outside of Kazakhstan.
Crackdown on illegal operations intensifiesEarlier this year, a series of legislative amendments were put in place to expand crypto oversight beyond Astana and establish a more comprehensive regulatory regime. In early May, changes to the Digital Assets Law were enacted, quickly followed by further measures to legalize crypto-related monetary flows.
This new license makes Pax Finance the first platform to be admitted into Kazakhstan’s expanded, regulated digital asset market. It also comes as authorities increase enforcement against unlicensed activity. According to local officials, nearly 130 illegal trading points were shuttered at the start of 2026, with these sites accounting for a combined $127 million in digital asset transactions. Investigations resulted in asset seizures valued at more than $5 million.
New momentum for crypto paymentsKazakhstan’s government has expressed concerns over significant capital outflows facilitated through cross-border crypto transfers. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has publicly urged regulators to curtail these outflows and strengthen oversight.
Meanwhile, authorities are also taking steps to further legitimize crypto payments within Kazakhstan’s borders. While the tenge will remain the exclusive legal tender for direct transactions, crypto holders will be able to use so-called crypto cards, which instantly convert digital assets into fiat currency for goods and services.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Crypto exchange Bitget has launched US stock options, allowing users to trade options on US-listed companies.
The company described itself in a note to Bitcoin Magazine as the world’s largest Universal Exchange and states that it is the only major crypto exchange offering US stock options alongside crypto and contract-for-difference markets in gold, forex, commodities and indices.
The initial release includes long call and long put strategies for eligible users. A call option lets a trader take a bullish position on a stock, while a put option allows a trader to express a bearish view or manage downside exposure.
Risk for buyers is limited to the premium paid, and an option can expire without value if the expected price movement does not occur.
The launch expands Bitget’s stock product line.
The company’s earlier products include tokenized stocks and pre-IPO access to private market opportunities. Stock options join the Stock+ offering, which the company positions as a direct-access venue for US equities built for traders familiar with established stock market products and regulated market infrastructure.
Bitget stated that the addition supports its goal of combining crypto, stocks, commodities and other assets in one trading environment.
Bitget: The U.S. options market is booming Demand for listed options has reached record levels. The US options market processed more than 15.2 billion contracts in 2025, an average of about 60 million contracts per trading day. The figures reflect wider use of options among retail and institutional participants for directional trading, hedging and capital management.
“We have moved first to connect stock opportunities with our users,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “From tokenized stocks to now options, we are executing on convergence. Our products provide advanced trading access to stocks, gold, crypto and worldwide assets.”
The first release focuses on single-leg options buying to provide an entry point for users. The company plans additional functionality, including multi-leg strategies, as the Stock+ options product develops.
For the launch, eligible users who complete a first US stock options trade may receive $15 in NVIDIA stock, subject to campaign terms and regional availability.
Bitget said they have more than 125 million users and access to over two million crypto tokens, along with 500-plus tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, foreign exchange and precious metals such as gold.
The company holds partnerships with MotoGP and UNICEF, the latter to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget states that it leads the tokenized traditional-finance market across 150 regions.
Micah Zimmerman
Micah first discovered Bitcoin in 2018 but remained a skeptic on the sidelines for too long. Since 2021, he has covered crypto and business and now works as a news reporter for Bitcoin Magazine, based in North Carolina.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. warns that Michael Saylor’s financing overhaul at Strategy Inc. has shaken up the dynamics of the Bitcoin market by introducing the risk that one of the cryptocurrency’s biggest buyers could also become a seller, adding a new source of uncertainty for investors.
Strategy’s new policy of selectively selling Bitcoin to fund preferred-stock dividends and manage its balance sheet had created an “avoidable” two-way flow risk for the market, the bank wrote in a report late Wednesday. While maintaining larger cash reserves would reduce the likelihood of future sales, JPMorgan argued the company would need enough liquidity to cover two to three years of dividend payments before investors are confident that it won’t need to monetize its Bitcoin holdings.
Michael Saylor has highlighted that Strategy’s open interest-to-market-cap ratio has climbed to nearly 72%, far exceeding the levels seen across the largest U.S. technology stocks as MSTR rebounds above $100 alongside Bitcoin’s recovery.
Summary
Michael Saylor says MSTR’s open interest-to-market-cap ratio has reached nearly 72%, far ahead of major U.S. tech stocks. MSTR rebounded above $100 as Bitcoin climbed past $62,000, lifting other crypto-related stocks. Bitwise and Wall Street remain positive on Bitcoin despite recent Strategy price target cuts from Canaccord and TD Cowen. According to a July 2 X post by Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, MSTR currently carries an open interest-to-market-cap ratio of almost 72%, making it the highest among the companies he compared.
Tesla ranked a distant second at 16%, followed by Meta at 11%, Microsoft at 6.1%, Nvidia at 5.8%, Amazon at 4.4%, Alphabet at 4.2%, and Apple at 3.2%. The comparison comes as investors increase activity around the Bitcoin-focused stock after its recent rebound.
Heavy derivatives positioning has outpaced Big Tech peers Open interest measures the total number of outstanding derivatives contracts tied to a stock. A high open interest-to-market-cap ratio points to unusually large positioning relative to the company’s size, although the metric alone does not indicate whether traders are betting on gains or losses because it includes both long and short positions.
Recent price action has coincided with the elevated derivatives activity. Yahoo Finance data showed MSTR rising to an intraday high of about $104 after reclaiming the psychologically important $100 level. The stock gained more than 10% during the session and has climbed over 23% from its recent low near $82 over the past five trading days. Even after the rebound, however, MSTR remains down more than 37% over the last six months.
Source: Yahoo Finance The recovery in Strategy shares came as Bitcoin briefly traded above $62,000 after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data improved sentiment across risk assets. Other crypto-linked equities, including Coinbase, Robinhood, Marathon Digital, the iShares Bitcoin Trust, and Hut 8, also recorded notable gains during the session.
Wall Street still sees Bitcoin strength despite lower Strategy targets Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed to Strategy’s valuation as one of the indicators worth monitoring as investors search for signs that Bitcoin may be approaching a market bottom.
In his latest memo, Hougan wrote that MSTR trading at a discount to its net asset value would be one of the few signals to watch while also discussing Strategy’s recently introduced digital credit framework, under which the company could sell up to $1.25 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Hougan argued that institutional investors are likely to overtake Strategy as the largest buyers of Bitcoin over time. At the same time, he maintained that the company is unlikely to become a forced seller because, in his view, no mechanism currently exists that would require it to liquidate large portions of its Bitcoin holdings.
Commenting on the current weakness in Strategy’s securities, Hougan described the decline in MSTR and STRC as part of Bitcoin’s cyclical process rather than an isolated event.
“This is a painful but necessary part of the current crypto market cycle, as it is with all cycles.”
Wall Street analysts have nevertheless become more cautious on Strategy’s stock valuation. As previously reported by crypto.news, Canaccord lowered its price target on the company to $130 from $163, attributing the revision to Strategy’s prolonged share price decline rather than any change in its long-term Bitcoin outlook. The brokerage said its investment thesis for Bitcoin remains intact despite the lower target.
The Canaccord revision followed another recent adjustment by TD Cowen, which cut its Strategy price target to $260 from $400 while maintaining its Buy rating, indicating that although valuation expectations have been reduced, some analysts continue to back the company’s long-term exposure to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) passed $62,000 at Thursday’s Wall Street open as crypto reacted to weak US employment figures.
Key points:
US nonfarm payrolls data delivers a crypto market boost as job additions for June fall short.Investors eye an easing in the inflation outlook as optimism over BTC prices increases.Crypto begins its forecast "green July" by liquidating nearly $500 milllion of short positions.Bitcoin gains amid "volatile situation" for US labor marketData from TradingView showed new July highs of $62,137 on Bitstamp, with BTC/USD up nearly 4% on the day.
The latest nonfarm payrolls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that the US added far fewer jobs than expected in June, at 57,000 versus the anticipated 114,000.
“Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in June,” an official news release stated.
US unemployment data. Source: BLS
The jobs numbers painted a weak picture of the labor market — a potential tailwind for risk assets should the Federal Reserve loosen financial policy as a result.
“May's jobs number was also revised down by -43,000 jobs,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted in a reaction on X.
“The labor market remains in a volatile situation.”As Bitcoin and altcoins headed higher, crypto trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe was among those shifting toward a more optimistic mid-term market view.
“Inflation expectations have come down. Now, unemployment drops too. It's at its lowest level in close to a year. Those are strong, public signals about the direction of the markets,” he told X followers.
“I don't think we'll see another drop on Bitcoin if Bitcoin can clearly break through $65,000 from here.”Bitcoin "buyers are back and strong"Other market participants also drew attention to Bitcoin bulls’ newfound strength.
“Price drilling through large asks on Binance perps orderbook is actually sign of strength. Plus, we have chasing bids supporting aggressive buyers,” commentator Exitpump reported about exchange order-book data.
“Buyers are back and strong.”BTC/USDT chart with order-book liquidity data. Source: Exitpump/X
Data from CoinGlass put 24-hour crypto short liquidations at nearly $450 million at the time of writing.
BTC/USD vs. cryptocurrency liquidations (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass
“Welcome to green July,” trader and analyst Rekt Capital continued.
As Cointelegraph reported, Rekt Capital expects a July relief rally for Bitcoin before bear-market momentum resumes in August.
An accompanying chart, which featured the 21-month and 50-month exponential moving averages (EMAs), drew comparisons to the 2022 bear market, with the implication that the cycle lows were still to come.
“And once Bitcoin turns the 50 EMA into new resistance on this relief rally, it will likely enter additional Bearish Acceleration over time,” Rekt Capital added in a separate X post.
BTC/USD one-month chart with 21, 50EMA. Source: Rekt Capital/X
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
For years, Michael Saylor’s company was the one thing Bitcoin bulls could always count on. No matter how ugly the price action got, Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy) would be there, hoovering up Bitcoin like a vacuum cleaner with a corporate credit card. That reputation just took a serious hit.
JPMorgan analysts are now warning that Strategy’s recent financing restructuring could flip the company’s role in the market from relentless accumulator to net seller. The company has authorized potential Bitcoin sales of up to $1.25 billion to shore up liquidity and fund share repurchase programs.
The numbers behind the pivot Strategy faces approximately $1.7 billion in annual preferred dividend obligations, a figure that dwarfs the cash cushion it’s been sitting on.
As of June 28, Strategy’s dollar reserves stood at roughly $2.55 billion. That covers about 6.3 months of those dividend responsibilities, according to JPMorgan’s June 2026 report.
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The company first established a $1.44 billion dollar reserve back in December 2025 specifically to service preferred stock dividends and debt.
Between May 26 and May 31, 2026, Strategy offloaded 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million at an average price of roughly $77,135 per coin. It marked Strategy’s first Bitcoin sale since 2022.
From MicroStrategy to macro uncertainty The company rebranded from MicroStrategy to Strategy Inc. in August 2025, a name change intended to reflect its evolved focus on Bitcoin treasury management. The playbook was straightforward: issue equity, issue convertible notes, buy Bitcoin, repeat.
Strategy’s new framework tries to address liquidity concerns by creating flexibility. The company authorized up to $1 billion in share repurchases for both common and preferred stock, alongside the $1.25 billion Bitcoin sale authorization.
What this means for investors JPMorgan’s concern isn’t just about Strategy. If the most prominent corporate buyer starts becoming a seller, that creates structural implications for the institutional demand floor that retail investors and traders have leaned on.
The $1.25 billion authorization doesn’t mean Strategy will sell that much Bitcoin. Authorizations are ceilings, not commitments. But the mere existence of that ceiling changes how the market has to price risk.
The 6.3-month coverage window flagged by JPMorgan is particularly worth watching. If Bitcoin prices decline or if Strategy fails to raise additional capital through other channels, that window shrinks.
The $2.55 billion in current reserves does provide some breathing room. The restructuring looks more like a company trying to get ahead of potential problems rather than one scrambling to survive.
For Bitcoin investors specifically, the key metric to track is whether that 32 BTC sale in May was a one-time event or the beginning of a pattern. One small sale is noise. A series of sales totaling hundreds of millions would fundamentally alter the supply-demand dynamics that the market has been pricing in since Strategy began its accumulation campaign.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
US-based artificial intelligence data center company Hyperscale Data has announced the addition of 67 more Bitcoin to its reserves. With this latest purchase—which took place between June 30 and July 1—the company’s total Bitcoin holdings have now increased to 849 BTC. That makes Hyperscale Data the second most prominent public company acquiring Bitcoin in July, coming just behind Metaplanet.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Hyperscale Data has moved up to 49th place among publicly traded companies holding Bitcoin, following its most recent acquisition. With this latest purchase, the company has surpassed Ming Shing Group, Yueda Digital Holdings, and SOS Limited in listed Bitcoin reserves.
The company’s management has positioned Bitcoin as a core asset on its balance sheet. Milton Todd Ault III, Executive Chairman of the Board, stated that Hyperscale Data plans to continue steadily accumulating Bitcoin via a disciplined dollar-cost averaging approach in order to maximize long-term returns for the company.
Milton Todd Ault III emphasized that the company aims to maintain its disciplined dollar-cost averaging strategy for Bitcoin acquisitions, as this approach is expected to strengthen Hyperscale Data’s long-term potential.
As an enterprise investing in AI-focused data center infrastructure, Hyperscale Data’s latest Bitcoin purchase comes right after a separate, recently announced addition of 53.54 BTC made just two days earlier. At the time of that statement, the company’s total reserves had climbed to 780.48 BTC.
Stock performance and asset valuation debateIn its announcement dated June 30, the company revealed that the combined value of its Bitcoin, cash, restricted cash, and silver assets was approximately $106.7 million. On that date, this figure amounted to roughly 117% of Hyperscale Data’s common stock market capitalization.
Milton Todd Ault III pointed to these figures as evidence that investors currently undervalue Hyperscale Data. He argued that the market cap of the company’s common shares does not fully reflect the value of its declared assets, operations, or the significant opportunity created by a major service contract at its Michigan-based AI data center.
Milton Todd Ault III stated that the company’s market capitalization does not accurately represent its reported assets, operations, or the scale of opportunities arising from the Michigan AI data center agreement.
According to Yahoo Finance, GPUS shares are trading at $0.1529, giving Hyperscale Data a market capitalization of $53.212 million. The company recently signed a computing power agreement with a California-based neocloud provider. Management projects this contract could generate up to $1.2 billion in revenue.
On the same day, Metaplanet also announced it had acquired 2,823 BTC as of July 1. This brought Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin holdings to 43,000 BTC, propelling the company to third place among public firms with the largest Bitcoin reserves—surpassing MARA Holdings.
Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows that total Bitcoin held by public companies now stands at 1.268 million BTC, representing a 0.6% increase over the last 30 days. Despite this rise in holdings, the price of Bitcoin fell more than 10% in the same period. At a price of $61,809, the total value of public companies’ Bitcoin reserves stands at approximately $78.4 billion.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has said Bitcoin may be moving closer to a market bottom as Strategy’s STRC stress drains excess leverage from the market.
Summary
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the STRC unwind could signal Bitcoin is nearing a market bottom. Hougan expects institutional investors to replace Strategy as the primary driver of Bitcoin demand. He believes the current deleveraging phase could pave the way for a new Bitcoin bull market this fall. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan wrote in his latest weekly memo that the recent volatility in Strategy’s STRC preferred stock looks like a late-cycle unwind rather than a sign of more serious structural damage.
“The volatility in STRC is a natural and important part of the crypto cycle. I think we’re nearing the bottom.”
STRC stress has forced leverage out of Bitcoin STRC is a perpetual preferred stock created by Strategy to offer investors a high yield while keeping the instrument close to its $100 par value. Hougan said Strategy used the product to raise about $10.5 billion, with proceeds helping finance more Bitcoin purchases.
The trade weakened last week after Bitcoin and MSTR declined, sending STRC to roughly $75 and raising concerns over Strategy’s ability to keep funding preferred dividends. The company responded this week by increasing STRC’s annual dividend to 12%, authorizing up to $2 billion in common and preferred stock buybacks, and introducing a capital management framework that allows Bitcoin sales to strengthen reserves, meet dividend and debt obligations, and fund share repurchases.
According to Barron’s, STRC recently fell to a record low of $73.62 before Strategy increased the dividend and moved toward what it called active capital management. The report also said Strategy authorized up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin sales to help strengthen reserves.
Hougan said the move means Strategy may no longer act as a one-way source of Bitcoin demand. “For years, Strategy has been the most dominant Bitcoin buyer in the world and a one way source of Bitcoin demand,” he wrote. “Those days are likely over.”
Institutions could lead the next Bitcoin rally Hougan does not expect Strategy to become a forced seller, saying the company still has enough assets to cover debt and preferred obligations. He argued Bitcoin would need to fall much further and stay depressed before Strategy faced serious balance sheet pressure.
Instead, Hougan expects the next cycle to depend more on institutions, including banks, asset managers, pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and financial advisers.
The Bitwise CIO compared the STRC unwind with the collapse of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust premium after the 2019 to 2021 bull market. In his view, both structures pulled capital into Bitcoin during strong markets before losing support and forcing a painful reset.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin briefly climbed above $62,000 after softer U.S. jobs data improved risk appetite. Reuters reported that the U.S. added 57,000 jobs in June, below expectations, while stocks rose and the dollar weakened as traders reduced expectations for Fed tightening.
Hougan said investors should watch for MSTR trading below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, extreme Crypto Fear and Greed Index readings, and negative funding rates. While he warned that bottoms are impossible to call in real time, he wrote that the STRC unwind suggests the market is entering the final stage of the cycle.
“I’m convinced the bottom is closer than ever,” Hougan wrote, adding that he expects a new Bitcoin bull market to begin in the fall.
Circle just published the official USDC method specification for the Machine Payments Protocol, and Stacks’ USDCx is the first stablecoin built under that framework. The move positions Bitcoin’s leading layer 2 as a hub for standardized machine-to-machine payments, the kind of infrastructure that makes AI agents capable of settling transactions on their own.
What USDCx actually is and how it works USDCx is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USDC, fully backed by reserves held in Circle’s xReserve infrastructure. It launched on Stacks mainnet on December 17-18, 2025, with a specific contract ID (SP120SBRBQJ00MCWS7TM5R8WJNTTKD5K0HFRC2CNE.usdcx) that anyone can verify on-chain.
USDCx doesn’t rely on third-party bridges to function. It connects directly with Circle Gateway and CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol), which means moving value between chains doesn’t require trusting some random bridge operator with your funds.
The stablecoin maintains its peg near $1 and is actively traded on platforms tracked by CoinGecko. Ethereum bridging was already supported at launch, with plans to expand CCTP network support that kicked off in Q1 2026.
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The machine payments angle The MPP spec is where things get genuinely interesting. The Machine Payments Protocol establishes a standardized way for machines, think AI agents, automated services, and IoT devices, to send and receive payments without human intervention. The MPP spec was published by Circle on June 23, 2026.
USDCx being the first USDC-backed stablecoin under this spec means Stacks is effectively positioning itself as the settlement layer for AI commerce on Bitcoin. Cross-chain machine-to-machine payments on Bitcoin through Stacks are now technically possible.
Ecosystem adoption and DeFi implications Major wallets including Asigna, Fordefi, Leather, and Xverse all adopted USDCx shortly after launch. On the DeFi side, protocols like Zest and Granite integrated the stablecoin, enabling lending, borrowing, and trading with dollar liquidity on Stacks.
For Bitcoin holders specifically, USDCx creates an option that didn’t cleanly exist before: accessing stablecoin functionality without leaving the Bitcoin economy entirely. You can collateralize Bitcoin-backed assets, borrow against them in a dollar-denominated stablecoin, and do it all within an ecosystem that settles on Bitcoin through Stacks’ Proof of Transfer consensus mechanism.
Stacks uses PoX to anchor its security to Bitcoin’s blockchain, and runs Clarity smart contracts, a language designed to be decidable, meaning you can mathematically verify what a contract will do before executing it.
What this means for investors Institutional players care about two things above all else: compliance and security in cross-chain interactions. Circle’s direct involvement through xReserve and CCTP addresses both concerns in ways that third-party wrapped tokens simply cannot. The 1:1 USDC backing, verified through Circle’s own infrastructure rather than an independent bridge, reduces counterparty risk substantially.
Trading volumes and user growth across Stacks DeFi protocols will be the metrics to watch. If USDCx drives meaningful increases in total value locked and daily active users on platforms like Zest and Granite, it validates the thesis that Bitcoin users want native stablecoin liquidity.
The risk worth monitoring is concentration. USDCx’s entire value proposition depends on Circle’s continued support and the stability of the xReserve infrastructure. Any disruption to Circle’s operations, whether regulatory or technical, would cascade directly into USDCx’s functionality.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Binance has announced that the number of blocks remaining until the next Bitcoin halving has dropped below 100,000, signaling a new milestone in the currency’s supply schedule. According to data from OKLink, there are currently 93,638 blocks left until the upcoming event on the Bitcoin network.
Halving timeline becomes clearerA Bitcoin halving takes place every 210,000 blocks, each time cutting the block reward miners receive by 50 percent. Current projections point to the next halving occurring around April 12, 2028. This marks an important transition in the network’s ongoing supply management, as the pace of new BTC creation continues to slow with each halving event.
The network’s latest milestone shows significant progress in Bitcoin’s cycle since the last halving. With issuance rates gradually decreasing as part of Bitcoin’s supply program, the amount of new BTC to be generated continues to shrink.
In a statement posted on its official X account, Binance confirmed that the number of blocks remaining until the next Bitcoin halving has now fallen below 100,000.
Majority of total supply in circulationCurrently, there are approximately 20.05 million Bitcoins in circulation, making up 95.47% of the maximum capped supply of 21 million BTC. As a result, only about 950,000 Bitcoin are expected to be mined over the next century as issuance slows further due to the protocol’s limitations.
Analysts estimate that the very last Bitcoin will not be mined until around the year 2140. Due to its code-driven fixed supply model, the Bitcoin network stands out as a unique system for predictable and deflationary currency issuance.
Price performance lags previous cyclesSince the last halving in April 2024, Bitcoin has lost roughly 3.1% in value, slipping from around $64,000 to below $62,000. After reaching an all-time high of approximately $126,000 in October 2025, the cryptocurrency has plunged more than 51% amid persistent selling pressure over the past several months.
Market observers note that, compared to earlier cycles, Bitcoin’s post-halving performance has been notably weak. Institutional outflows and waning risk appetite have pushed the price down as low as $57,717 on July 1.
Analysts highlight that Bitcoin has displayed a lower return trend after the halving compared to previous cycles.
Bounce follows macro data releaseIn the latest 24-hour period, Bitcoin rebounded by 5.22% to reach $61,715, with renewed buying momentum evident across the broader cryptocurrency market.
The rally was sparked by below-expectation labor data released from the United States. June’s nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted, rose by 57,000 — far short of May’s 129,000 increase and well below the Dow Jones estimate of 115,000. These figures have fueled expectations that the US Federal Reserve may remain cautious about further interest rate hikes in the near term.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
XRP continues to consolidate in a narrow range on both USDT and Bitcoin-paired charts, with the broader trend still favoring the sellers.
However, the latest technical signals suggest downside momentum may be fading as the market defends key support while early signs of bullish divergence begin to emerge.
Ripple Price Analysis: The USDT Pair Against USDT, XRP remains confined within a well-defined descending channel, with the price trading below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages. This keeps the higher time frame structure bearish despite the recent stabilization.
The asset is currently holding around the $1.08 support area, which also coincides with a major horizontal demand zone. After the sharp sell-off in June, sellers have so far failed to extend the decline, allowing XRP to build a short-term base above support.
The RSI has formed a clear bullish divergence, printing higher lows while the price registered lower lows. This typically signals weakening bearish momentum and raises the probability of a relief rally if buyers manage to reclaim higher levels.
The first resistance lies around the $1.15 supply zone, while stronger resistance remains near the 100-day moving average around the $1.25 region. A recovery above these levels would improve the broader outlook, whereas losing the $1 support could expose the lower boundary of the channel near $0.80.
Source: TradingView The BTC Pair Against Bitcoin, XRP is also trading inside a long-term descending channel, reflecting persistent relative weakness. The pair remains below the major moving averages, indicating that the broader trend has yet to shift in favor of XRP.
Recently, XRP briefly broke below the key 1,700 sats low before quickly reclaiming it, creating what appears to be a fake breakdown. This rejection below support suggests sellers failed to maintain control and may have triggered a liquidity sweep before the price recovered back into the previous range.
Despite the recovery, the pair still faces immediate resistance around 1,850 sats, with a stronger supply zone located near 2,000 sats, where horizontal resistance converges with the declining 200-day moving average. A decisive move above these levels would strengthen the case for a broader recovery toward the upper boundary of the channel.
As long as XRP holds above 1,700 sats, the fake breakout scenario remains valid and could support additional upside. However, a confirmed daily close below this level would invalidate the bullish setup and likely open the door for another leg lower toward the critical 1,500 sats support area.
XRP price rebounded near $1.10 on Thursday, rising 5% in 24 hours as crypto markets recovered. Market value across digital assets increased 4.72% to $2.14 trillion. Meanwhile, oil fell below $68 after Qatar reported positive progress in indirect US-Iran talks in Doha. Bitcoin also reclaimed $61,000 after testing $58,000 earlier this week.
XRP Price Recovery Tracks Wider Crypto Rebound The XRP price remained at a point of over $1.10 as buyers came back to the broader crypto market. The relocation came after a challenging week, where traders had been keeping a close eye on macro headlines.
Bitcoin price climbed back above $60,000 a fueling the recovery trend. Ether price also surged past $1,600, further bolstering the broader recovery of significant tokens.
Concurrently, the market sentiment was slightly improved. The CMC Fear and Greed Index was going up to Extreme Fear of 16 to Fear 21.
In the case of XRP price, the momentum indicators also went up with price supported above the $1.06 area. Further gains can be favored by a stronger movement beyond the level of $1.10 provided that buyers are active.
US and Iran Conclude Positive Talks in Doha Indirect talks between the United States and Iran concluded Wednesday in Doha through Qatari mediation. Qatar said both sides made positive progress on issues linked to a memorandum of understanding.
The negotiations were also marked by technical discussions, and both parties were willing to engage further. That update alleviated part of the market anxieties related to tension in the region and risks associated with energy supply.
During the Doha update, oil prices fell to below $68, indicating reduced worry about potential supply disruption. This assisted in backing a wider relief initiative within risk assets, such as cryptocurrencies.
BREAKING: Oil has crashed below $68 after Qatar said Iran and the US made “positive progress” in indirect technical talks in Doha.
Oil is now down -43% from its US-IRAN war peak. pic.twitter.com/ArWurpyVjk
— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) July 2, 2026
Nevertheless, the negotiations failed to provide a conclusive deal and there was still some ambiguity. Iran kept threatening new attacks and Washington remained preoccupied with future nuclear talks.
Can XRP Price Buyers Trigger a Move Toward the $1.30 Target? The latest XRP price surged to $1.105, strengthening its four-hour recovery setup. The chart reveals that the buyers pushed the price higher above $1.10 after the broader $1.00 defense.
This recovery has now positioned XRP price at a significant test with the next major resistance of $1.15.
The MACD line has crossed the signal line, indicating a stronger short-term outlook. Meanwhile, the histogram is now positive, indicating an increased buying pressure. In the meantime, the RSI has already reached 65, which is close to a robust momentum area.
Source: XRP/USDT 4-hour chart: Tradingview XRP price is currently moving within an escalating short-term channel, which demonstrates better buyer control. The structure started around the $1.00 area, where traders were unable to stretch the fall.
Nonetheless, the recovery is yet to have a clean breakout beyond the level of $1.15 to affirm stronger momentum. Any successful move above that might shift the focus to the area of $1.20.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) could be approaching the final phase of its current bear market, with historical cycle analysis suggesting a bottom within the next few months.
Late October Bear Market LowIn a Cantor Fitzgerald report on June 30, analysts led by Gareth Gacetta highlighted that Bitcoin was 252 days past from its late-2025 peak and had declined about 51% as of June 10.
Across the previous three market cycles, Bitcoin bottomed an average of 384 days after reaching its cycle high.
If the historical pattern repeats, Cantor estimates the current bear market could reach its low around late October.
The analysts cautioned that the framework should not be viewed as a precise market-timing tool. Regulatory developments, macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events could alter the trajectory, reported CoinDesk
However, they argued crypto markets often become self-reinforcing as investors anchor expectations around historical cycles.
Bitcoin, Ethereum Lead Preferred NetworksCantor identified Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE) as one of the strongest examples of fee-driven token economics through its buyback-and-burn model.
The bank continues to view Bitcoin as the benchmark monetary asset within digital assets, while Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) remains the dominant collateral layer supporting decentralized finance.
Image: Shutterstock
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The cryptocurrency market broadly rises on Thursday, reflecting improvement in risk sentiment following an extended period of selling pressure. Bitcoin (BTC) is back above $60,000 after testing support at $58,000 earlier in the week. Ethereum (ETH) aligns with BTC’s positive short-term outlook, rising above $1,600. Similarly, Ripple (XRP) has steadied its rebound, trading above $1.06 amid strengthening momentum indicators.
Qatar reports positive progress in indirect US-Iran talksIndirect peace talks between the United States (US) and Iran concluded on Wednesday. According to CNN, the Qatari mediators said that the negotiations made “positive progress” with issues related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and that both sides agreed to continue discussions.
At the same time, low-level technical talks between US and Iran officials are underway indirectly through Qatar and Pakistan mediators. US Vice President J.D. Vance said that discussions on the nuclear issue are expected to start soon, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, Iran has warned of an “immediate powerful response” to attacks by Israeli Forces, calling on the US to restrain its ally. This development comes in the wake of remarks from Israel’s defense minister, who declared that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is now a direct target.
The crypto market has sprung up as risk-off sentiment marginally eases, with Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP logging in the second straight day of gains. The crypto Fear & Greed Index continues to signal Extreme Fear, but a rise from 11 to 19 suggests an incremental shift in market sentiment. While the uptick is modest, it indicates that investors may be regaining a cautious appetite for risk, improving the outlook for a sustained crypto market rebound.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index | Source: Alternative“What we are witnessing is not the end of Bitcoin's long-term bull cycle but rather a necessary repricing phase that mirrors the evolving global macroeconomic landscape, where cryptocurrencies have become far more sensitive to economic fundamentals than they were just a few years ago,” Simon-Peter Massabni, XS.com Head of Business Development, said in a comment.
Price analysis: Bitcoin tests its recovery potentialBitcoin is edging higher above $60,000 after respecting support around $58,000, which prompted bulls to reengage. Although the overall technical structure is bearish, indicators signal a potential positive turnaround. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram has turned positive on the daily chart, hinting at a tentative recovery attempt, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 39 still reflects subdued momentum rather than a decisive bullish shift.
BTC/USDT daily chartOverhead, the latest Parabolic SAR reading at $62,523 reinforces the notion that the rebound is unfolding within a broader downside context. Above this barrier, the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near $66,157, caps the short-term trend. Higher up, the 100-day EMA at roughly $69,963 precedes a more significant hurdle at the downtrend resistance trendline around $75,208, with the 200-day EMA near $75,923 forming a dense structural zone that would need to be reclaimed to neutralize the prevailing bearish bias.
Altcoins technical outlook: Ethereum and XRP gain momentumEthereum trades at $1,623 following a brief rebound from the demand range between $1,500 and $1,600. Despite the upswing, ETH maintains a bearish near-term bias as the price holds well below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs at $1,808, $1,987 and $2,256 respectively.
Meanwhile, the MACD histogram has turned positive on the daily chart, hinting at an attempt to stabilize losses rather than a decisive bullish reversal. The RSI around 41 on the same chart, reflects subdued demand despite recovering from near oversold conditions.
ETH/USDT daily chartInitial resistance emerges at the 50-day EMA near $1,808, ahead of the break level of the descending trendline at about $1,936, where sellers could reassert control. Further up, the 100-day EMA at roughly $1,987 and the 200-day EMA near $2,256 form a broader supply zone that would need to be reclaimed to negate the current bearish setup and open the way for a more sustained recovery.
As for XRP, the price holds above $1.06, marking a mild increase from the immediate psychological support at $1.03. Despite the uptick in the price, the remittance token sustains a bearish near-term bias as it holds well below the key moving averages.
Momentum is mixed, with the MACD just above zero and slightly positive on the daily chart, hinting at modest stabilisation, while the RSI near 38 still reflects subdued buying interest rather than a decisive recovery.
XRP/USDT daily chartOn the topside, immediate resistance lies at the 50-day EMA ($1.19), followed by the 100-day EMA at $1.30, where any advance would likely face renewed selling pressure. A sustained break above these barriers would be needed to challenge the higher structural cap at the 200-day EMA around $1.52 and to ease the prevailing bearish tone.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin's market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.
Major cryptocurrencies are broadly in the green Thursday with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other top coins showing gains as crypto liquidations climb—with short positions making up the majority of the carnage.
Bitcoin topped the $62,000 mark Thursday morning for the first time in more than a week, rebounding to $62,078 after falling to a 21-month low under $58,000 earlier in the week. At a recent price of $61,808, Bitcoin is up about 3% on the day and 4% in the last week.
Other major cryptocurrencies are showing similar gains, with Ethereum and Solana both up nearly 5% on the day, hitting recent prices of $1,701 and $81 respectively. Solana is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the last week, rising more than 22% during that span. XRP is up more than 3% on the day at a recent price of $1.09.
Crypto liquidations have surged to $602 million over the last 24 hours, per data from CoinGlass, with Ethereum flipping Bitcoin to become the biggest contributor with $187 million in liquidations compared to $184 million for BTC. Overall, short liquidations make up $400 million of the pile.
The bullish rebound comes following comments Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who declined to say whether the agency planned rate hikes later this year. As of this writing, interest rate traders foresee roughly even odds of the Fed either holding rates steady or raising them at its September meeting, though they project a 64% chance of some kind of rate hike by the FOMC's October meeting, per CME's FedWatch.
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers reported adding significantly fewer jobs in June than expected—57,000 vs. a target of 115,000, down from a revised figure of 129,000 jobs added in May.
Stocks are mixed following the news, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both down for the day, but the Dow still green, per Yahoo Finance.
Major crypto stocks are showing gains on the day, with Strategy (MSTR) up nearly 7% to $100 per share—after falling to nearly $80 last week—while Coinbase (COIN) is up 3.35% to $165 and USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) has gained almost 5% to $65.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Major cryptocurrencies are broadly in the green Thursday with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other top coins showing gains as crypto liquidations climb—with short positions making up the majority of the carnage.
Bitcoin topped the $62,000 mark Thursday morning for the first time in more than a week, rebounding to $62,078 after falling to a 21-month low under $58,000 earlier in the week. At a recent price of $61,808, Bitcoin is up about 3% on the day and 4% in the last week.
Other major cryptocurrencies are showing similar gains, with Ethereum and Solana both up nearly 5% on the day, hitting recent prices of $1,701 and $81 respectively. Solana is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the last week, rising more than 22% during that span. XRP is up more than 3% on the day at a recent price of $1.09.
Crypto liquidations have surged to $602 million over the last 24 hours, per data from CoinGlass, with Ethereum flipping Bitcoin to become the biggest contributor with $187 million in liquidations compared to $184 million for BTC. Overall, short liquidations make up $400 million of the pile.
The bullish rebound comes following comments Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who declined to say whether the agency planned rate hikes later this year. As of this writing, interest rate traders foresee roughly even odds of the Fed either holding rates steady or raising them at its September meeting, though they project a 64% chance of some kind of rate hike by the FOMC's October meeting, per CME's FedWatch.
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers reported adding significantly fewer jobs in June than expected—57,000 vs. a target of 115,000, down from a revised figure of 129,000 jobs added in May.
Stocks are mixed following the news, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both down for the day, but the Dow still green, per Yahoo Finance.
Major crypto stocks are showing gains on the day, with Strategy (MSTR) up nearly 7% to $100 per share—after falling to nearly $80 last week—while Coinbase (COIN) is up 3.35% to $165 and USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) has gained almost 5% to $65.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Market corrections often change the way investors evaluate opportunities. Instead of chasing assets after strong rallies, many begin looking for projects that either appear undervalued or are still developing before reaching wider adoption.
That has become especially relevant in 2026, as several established cryptocurrencies continue trading below important resistance levels while AI-powered presales attract fresh attention.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe recently observed that bearish sentiment across major cryptocurrencies has reached levels commonly associated with long-term accumulation phases before broader market recoveries.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Cardano remain among the industry’s most recognized digital assets. At the same time, MemeToro ($MT) is taking a different route by expanding its ecosystem during the presale stage rather than after exchange listings.
Comparing these projects highlights how different investment strategies can fit into the current market environment.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Continue Defending Key Levels Bitcoin remains the benchmark cryptocurrency despite recent weakness.
The asset has fallen below $59,000, placing greater attention on the important support range between $56,200 and $58,200. Although short-term momentum remains cautious, Bitcoin continues serving as the reference point for institutional participation across the wider digital asset market.
Ethereum has experienced an even more challenging period.
The network entered July trading near $1,570, completing its first-ever streak of three consecutive negative quarters. Even with this difficult price performance, Ethereum continues supporting the largest decentralized application ecosystem in crypto, giving many investors confidence in its long-term relevance.
Rather than abandoning these assets, many long-term holders continue viewing the current market as a period of accumulation.
XRP and Cardano Are Waiting for Stronger Catalysts XRP and Cardano have also struggled to generate sustained momentum.
XRP remains tightly consolidated around $1.05, relying on strong support between $1.00 and $1.06 while investors continue monitoring regulatory developments. Delays surrounding the CLARITY Act have reduced expectations for immediate policy changes, leaving technical price levels as the primary focus.
Cardano continues facing its own technical challenges.
The token remains below both its 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages, making it difficult for buyers to establish a convincing recovery despite continued ecosystem development.
Both projects retain active communities and established blockchain infrastructure, but neither has fully escaped the broader market slowdown affecting large-cap cryptocurrencies.
MemeToro Offers a Different Entry Point Unlike established cryptocurrencies that already trade on major exchanges, MemeToro ($MT) is still expanding during its public presale.
The platform combines artificial intelligence with several blockchain products instead of relying on one standalone application. Its AI Agent continuously analyzes online discussions, market narratives, social trends, and cultural developments before autonomously supporting fair no-code memecoin launches.
The ecosystem extends far beyond token creation.
Users can participate in decentralized prediction markets covering cryptocurrencies, politics, sports, entertainment, and global events using $MT and BNB. The platform also includes SocialFi participation, behavioral finance tools, and staking rewards of up to 35% APR, encouraging continued activity throughout the ecosystem.
Rather than waiting until after launch to introduce utility, MemeToro is building those products during the presale itself.
Early $MT Token Buyers Still Get the Better Deal Stage 3 of MemeToro’s presale keeps rolling forward, currently sitting at $44,714.54 raised against an $80,644.11 target. The per-token price of $0.00171 won’t hold forever, it’s set to increase as upcoming milestones are reached, rewarding those who act sooner rather than later.
With a hard cap of 1.2 billion $MT, the lion’s share, 71% or 857,936,900 tokens, goes to public participants. The remaining supply is divided between exchange liquidity (10%), marketing and partnership efforts (7.56%), platform operations (5%), ecosystem rewards (4.44%), and core team holdings (2%), all supporting the project beyond launch.
BNB, ETH, USDT, USDC, and bank cards are all accepted through the official presale portal.
Market Conditions Are Changing Investor Behavior Bear markets often encourage investors to look beyond short-term price movements.
Meanwhile, He Yi, co-founder of Binance, has emphasized that projects capable of delivering real infrastructure during difficult conditions are more likely to succeed than those focused primarily on speculative price appreciation.
Those observations help explain why investors continue comparing established cryptocurrencies with earlier-stage AI ecosystems instead of treating them as competing investments.
Many portfolios now include both categories.
More Information on MemeToro ($MT) Presale Here:
Website: https://memetoro.com/
X: https://x.com/memetoro_mt
Telegram: https://t.me/memetoro_mt
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Bitcoin was sold as digital gold, an uncorrelated hedge that would hold up when markets broke. In 2026 it fell roughly 50% alongside the Nasdaq while gold hit record highs. So what is Bitcoin now, and did the hedge thesis ever survive contact with Wall Street?
Summary
Bitcoin has spent 2026 moving with the Nasdaq rather than against it, with rolling correlations to U.S. tech indices reaching as high as 0.80 early in the year while its link to gold fell toward zero. The change traces to the spot ETF era: once institutions could hold Bitcoin inside the same portfolios as tech stocks, the same capital flows began driving both, tying Bitcoin to equity risk appetite. Analysts describe the current setup as the worst of both worlds, with Bitcoin taking the downside when stocks fall but not the full upside when they rally, behaving as a high-beta tail of macro risk instead of a standalone store of value. The counter-case is that Bitcoin is not a clean tech proxy either, since it fell on crypto-specific shocks even when tech rose, and that long-term holders kept accumulating, pointing toward an independent asset class instead of a tech clone. Whether the correlation is structural or a feature of the current tight-liquidity regime is the open question, and it decides whether the digital gold thesis is dead or merely dormant. Bitcoin was supposed to be the asset that zigged when everything else zagged. For years it was sold as digital gold, an uncorrelated hedge that would protect a portfolio when stocks fell and uncertainty rose. In 2026, it has done close to the opposite. Bitcoin is down roughly 50% from its October 2025 record near $126,200, and it fell in near lockstep with technology stocks while gold climbed to record highs above $5,000 an ounce.
The asset marketed as a crisis hedge behaved like a leveraged bet on the same risk appetite that drives the Nasdaq. This piece works through the evidence that Bitcoin now trades like a tech stock, why that happened, and the serious counter-argument that the story is more complicated than a simple correlation chart suggests. The answer matters because it changes how investors should size Bitcoin, how they should compare it with gold, and whether the ETF era strengthened the asset or quietly rewired it into the same macro trade it was supposed to diversify away from.
The evidence: Bitcoin moves with the Nasdaq now The correlation data is the starting point, and it is stark. Rolling 30-day correlations between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 reached about 0.80 early in 2026, the highest level in close to four years, and Bitcoin’s longer-run five-year correlation with the tech-heavy index sits near 0.54. Standard Chartered analysts have pegged the Bitcoin-Nasdaq correlation around 0.5 with peaks near 0.8, while short-term readings against U.S. tech indices have ranged between roughly 0.55 and 0.68 through the year. However you measure it, Bitcoin and the Nasdaq have been moving together.
The relationship with gold has gone the other way. As Bitcoin’s tie to tech strengthened, its correlation with gold fell toward zero, at points reaching just 0.2. And the price paths made the divergence impossible to ignore. While Bitcoin dropped through 2026, gold surged to record highs above $5,000 and briefly toward $5,600 an ounce, outperforming Bitcoin by a wide margin over the same stretch.
The clearest test came under real stress. When conflict in the Middle East pushed oil higher and rattled markets, gold did what a safe haven does and climbed, while Bitcoin fell alongside risk assets. A hedge is supposed to prove itself precisely in those moments, and Bitcoin did not. The pattern that defined 2026 is simple to state: when the tech trade got hit, Bitcoin got hit, and when investors fled to safety, they chose gold.
Why the digital gold thesis mattered To understand what has been lost, it helps to recall what the digital gold pitch actually claimed. Bitcoin’s founding appeal to institutions was not only its potential for gains but its supposed independence from everything else. It had a fixed supply capped at 21 million coins, no central issuer, and no cash flows tied to the economy, which in theory made it a store of value that would not move with stocks, bonds, or the business cycle. In its early years, Bitcoin was not just uncorrelated with equities; it was uncorrelated with nearly every major asset class, which made it look like the ultimate portfolio diversifier.
That property was the entire institutional case. A diversifier that zigs when the rest of a portfolio zags reduces overall risk, and that is worth paying for. Wall Street bought into the idea that Bitcoin could serve as a hedge against monetary debasement, market volatility, and economic uncertainty, a role gold has played for centuries. The digital gold narrative underpinned much of the adoption story, from corporate treasuries to the campaign for spot ETFs, because it promised something distinct from a simple speculative growth bet.
The trouble is that an asset’s identity depends not only on its design but on who owns it and how it is traded. Bitcoin’s code did not change in 2026. What changed is the profile of the people holding it and the machinery through which they buy and sell. That shift, more than anything about the protocol, is what turned the hedge into a high-beta risk asset.
What changed: the ETF made Bitcoin a portfolio asset The pivotal event was the arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, and the irony is sharp. The ETFs were celebrated as the moment Bitcoin was legitimized, folded into the regulated financial system at last. That same integration is what tied it to the equity market. Research published in late 2025 found robust evidence that ETF approval structurally altered Bitcoin’s role, marking a shift from an independent, idiosyncratic asset toward a conventional risk asset whose correlation with the S&P 500 rose sharply after the launch.
The mechanism is straightforward once you follow the money. Before ETFs, much of Bitcoin sat with crypto-native holders who traded it on its own logic. After ETFs, large institutions could hold Bitcoin exposure inside the same portfolios as their technology stocks, managed by the same risk desks using the same tools. When those desks adjust risk, they buy or sell Bitcoin and tech at the same time, for the same reasons, which welds the two together.
The marginal dollar in Bitcoin became, increasingly, the same dollar chasing artificial intelligence and growth equities, so when that dollar turned cautious, it sold both at once. This is the deeper story behind capital rotating into AI stocks that has drained crypto momentum all year. It is not only that money left Bitcoin for semiconductors; it is that the money still in Bitcoin now behaves like the money in tech, responding to the same Federal Reserve signals, the same liquidity conditions, and the same growth expectations. Bitcoin did not choose to become a tech stock. Its new owners made it one.
The worst of both worlds: downside without the upside If Bitcoin simply tracked the Nasdaq one for one, that would be a clean story. The reality analysts have flagged is worse for holders. Trading firm Wintermute has argued that while Bitcoin’s directional correlation with the Nasdaq stayed high, the quality of that correlation deteriorated into what it called a bearish skew. In plain terms, Bitcoin has kept the downside beta, falling hard when equities fall, while losing much of the upside participation, failing to rally proportionally when equities recover.
Wintermute’s Jasper De Maere tied this to a shift in investor attention. As mindshare and risk-on capital crowded into mega-cap tech, Bitcoin remained correlated when global sentiment turned negative but stopped benefiting fully when optimism returned. He described Bitcoin as reacting like a high-beta tail of macro risk rather than a standalone narrative, keeping the downside beta while shedding the upside premium. The Kobeissi Letter put the same idea more bluntly, noting that Bitcoin was increasingly behaving like a leveraged technology stock.
That combination, all of the downside and only part of the upside, is the least attractive profile an asset can have. It means Bitcoin has been amplifying the pain of equity selloffs without delivering the diversification that justified holding it, and without matching the gains of the tech names it now mirrors. For a portfolio manager, an asset that adds volatility without adding either diversification or reliable upside is hard to defend, which is part of why some funds have re-labeled Bitcoin from a long-term hedge to a tactical growth position sized like any other speculative bet.
The counter-case: Bitcoin is decoupling, just not how bulls hoped Here the story turns, because the simple tech-proxy narrative has a serious flaw. If Bitcoin were purely a leveraged Nasdaq, it would have risen when tech rose. Instead, for stretches since the October 2025 peak, Bitcoin fell while the Nasdaq strengthened, a divergence that some analysts said had rarely been so wide. Tech stocks climbed on strong earnings while Bitcoin dropped more than 30% from its high, driven by forces that had nothing to do with corporate profits.
Those forces were crypto-specific. The October 10 flash crash triggered a cascade of leveraged liquidations that hit Bitcoin while barely touching equities. Spot ETF outflows accelerated, pulling out the marginal buyer. The reflexive feedback loop around Bitcoin treasury companies like Strategy, most visibly Strategy, threatened to reverse from a buyer of last resort into a source of supply. And post-halving mining economics added their own pressure through miner selling pressure. None of that is in a Nasdaq chart.
So the honest reading is that Bitcoin is not a clean tech proxy: it takes the downside when tech falls, but it also falls on its own crypto-native shocks when tech rises. That is a worse outcome than pure correlation, but it also means Bitcoin is not simply a technology stock in disguise. The distinction matters for anyone trying to model the asset. A pure tech proxy would at least be predictable, rising and falling with the Nasdaq. What Bitcoin actually did in 2026 was absorb equity-market downside through the ETF-era ownership channel while simultaneously generating its own downside through leverage unwinds, ETF redemptions, treasury-company stress, and miner selling. It behaved less like gold, less like a clean tech stock, and more like a uniquely fragile hybrid during a bad year.
The maturation argument: a third asset class There is a more optimistic frame that some analysts and long-term holders favor, which is that Bitcoin is becoming its own asset class instead of a copy of gold or tech. On this view, the correlation to equities is a phase driven by who happens to hold the marginal coin today, not a permanent identity. Bitcoin still has properties neither gold nor a tech stock shares: a hard-capped supply that cannot be expanded by decision, no cash flows or earnings to miss, and no management team or governance structure that can fail. Those features do not disappear because a correlation chart spikes.
The behavior of long-term holders supports the maturation read. During the same 2026 window when the ETF complex bled, the supply held by long-term holders moved in the opposite direction, with those flows running far larger in magnitude than ETF flows and skewing toward net accumulation. In other words, the traders treating Bitcoin as a high-beta risk asset were selling through ETFs, while conviction holders who treat it as a long-term store of value were buying. Two different populations, two different theses, playing out in the same asset at the same time.
Which group defines Bitcoin’s identity depends on which one is setting the marginal price, and that can change. Standard Chartered, for its part, has kept multiyear price targets well above current levels even while acknowledging the rotation into AI, framing the moment as a question of timing and competition for capital rather than a verdict on what Bitcoin fundamentally is. The maturation argument does not deny that Bitcoin trades like a risk asset right now. It argues that the current correlation is a snapshot of a particular ownership mix and liquidity regime, not the final word on an asset that is still only in its second decade.
Is this structural or cyclical? The whole debate reduces to one question: is Bitcoin’s correlation with tech a permanent feature of the ETF era, or a temporary product of the current environment? The case for structural is that the ownership change is not reversing. ETFs are here to stay, institutions will keep managing Bitcoin alongside equities, and as long as they do, the flows that link the two assets will persist. If that is right, the digital gold thesis is effectively dead for as long as this ownership base dominates, and Bitcoin is a growth allocation that happens to be more volatile than most.
The case for cyclical rests on how correlations behave over time. Cross-asset correlations tend to spike during tight-liquidity, risk-off regimes and to loosen when liquidity returns and assets trade more on their own fundamentals. Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq has swung dramatically before, from deeply negative to strongly positive within weeks, which is not the signature of a fixed relationship. A shift in Federal Reserve policy, a change in the liquidity backdrop, or a rotation of capital away from the crowded AI trade could all loosen the tie and give Bitcoin room to trade on its own narrative again.
Some analysts even argue the correlation has already begun to break, though so far in the unhelpful direction of falling while tech rose. What would restore the digital gold thesis is a period where Bitcoin holds up while equities fall, proving the hedge in the only way that counts. That has not happened in 2026, which is why the thesis is on the ropes. But a single bad year in which a leverage-driven crypto drawdown collided with an AI-fueled equity rally is not a controlled experiment, and reading a permanent identity change off it may be as premature as the original digital gold claim was.
What it means for how to hold Bitcoin For anyone actually holding Bitcoin, the practical takeaway is to match the thesis to the timeframe. Over the horizon that matters in 2026, Bitcoin has behaved as a high-beta risk asset, so treating it as a crisis hedge or a portfolio insulator has not worked and is not supported by the data. An allocation sized as if Bitcoin will hold up when stocks crash is mis-sized, because this year it fell harder than the stocks it was meant to hedge. The more defensible approach in the current regime is to treat Bitcoin as a volatile growth position, size it to risk tolerance, and watch the Nasdaq and AI-stock sentiment as closely as the crypto charts, because that is where much of the near-term direction is being set.
Over a longer horizon, the store-of-value case does not depend on short-term correlation. The fixed supply, the absence of governance and cash-flow risk, and the accumulation behavior of long-term holders are the pillars of that argument, and they survive a year of trading like a tech stock. The honest conclusion is that Bitcoin is currently being priced as a leveraged expression of risk appetite, not as digital gold, and that this reflects who owns it in the ETF era more than any change in what it is. Whether it grows into the independent, hedge-like asset its supporters imagine, or stays a high-beta satellite of the tech trade, will be settled by the next regime, not this one.
For now, the market has given its answer, and it is not gold. The strongest near-term read is not ideological; it is practical. In a world of a hawkish Fed and tight liquidity, Bitcoin behaves like a risk asset, and risk-off market sentiment matters as much as on-chain conviction. The digital gold thesis is not dead by definition, but in 2026 it has not been the trade.
Frequently asked questions Is Bitcoin still considered digital gold? Less and less in practice. Through 2026, Bitcoin behaved like a high-beta risk asset instead of a safe haven, falling alongside technology stocks while gold climbed to record highs. Its correlation with the Nasdaq reached as high as 0.80 while its link to gold fell toward zero. The digital gold label describes Bitcoin’s design and long-term thesis, but its 2026 trading behavior did not match it.
Why does Bitcoin move with tech stocks now? The main driver is the spot ETF era that began in January 2024. Once institutions could hold Bitcoin inside the same portfolios as technology stocks, managed by the same risk desks, the same capital flows started moving both. When those desks adjust risk exposure, they buy or sell Bitcoin and tech together, which ties Bitcoin to equity market sentiment and Federal Reserve policy the same way growth stocks are.
How correlated is Bitcoin with the Nasdaq? Correlation varies with the time window, but it has been high in 2026. Rolling 30-day correlations with the Nasdaq 100 reached about 0.80 early in the year, the highest in nearly four years, and the five-year correlation sits near 0.54. Short-term readings against U.S. tech indices have ranged roughly between 0.55 and 0.68. Correlations shift over time and have swung from negative to strongly positive within weeks.
Did the Bitcoin ETFs cause this? They appear to be the central cause. Research from late 2025 found that spot ETF approval structurally raised Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500, marking a shift from an independent asset to a conventional risk asset. The ETFs legitimized Bitcoin by integrating it into traditional finance, and that same integration tied its price to equity flows and institutional risk management.
What is the bearish skew analysts mention? It refers to Bitcoin keeping the downside of its tech correlation while losing much of the upside. Trading firm Wintermute described Bitcoin as falling hard when equities fall but failing to rally proportionally when they recover, behaving as a high-beta tail of macro risk. That combination, full downside and partial upside, is a poor profile because it adds volatility without reliable gains or diversification.
Is Bitcoin just a leveraged tech stock then? Not cleanly. If Bitcoin were purely a leveraged Nasdaq, it would have risen when tech rose, but for stretches in 2026 it fell while tech strengthened, driven by crypto-specific shocks: the October flash crash, ETF outflows, treasury-company stress, and miner selling. So Bitcoin took equity downside while also generating its own downside, which is a fragile hybrid instead of a simple tech proxy.
Could Bitcoin become a hedge again? It is possible, and it hinges on whether the correlation is structural or cyclical. Cross-asset correlations tend to spike in tight-liquidity, risk-off regimes and loosen when liquidity returns. A shift in Federal Reserve policy or a rotation away from the crowded AI trade could let Bitcoin trade on its own narrative again. Restoring the hedge thesis would require Bitcoin to hold up while equities fall, which has not happened in 2026.
How should investors treat Bitcoin given this? Match the thesis to the timeframe. In the current regime, Bitcoin trades as a volatile growth asset, so sizing it as a crisis hedge is not supported by the data, and investors may watch the Nasdaq and AI sentiment as closely as crypto charts. Over a longer horizon, the store-of-value case rests on fixed supply, no governance risk, and long-term holder accumulation, which do not depend on short-term correlation.
Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile, and correlations between assets change over time and may not persist. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions. Information is accurate as of July 2, 2026, and may change.
Stablecoin issuer Tether froze funds held in all 131 TRON wallets sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 1 as part of its updated ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) designation.
The action adds 134 cryptocurrency addresses as identifiers for the group, 131 on TRON (TRX) and 3 on Monero (XMR), according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
ISIS-K Crypto Wallets Received Over $1.4 Million Since 2023Chainalysis reported that the designated TRON wallets received more than $1.4 million since 2023 and sent over $880,000. Several of the addresses moved funds to Syria-based crypto exchangers, while the broader cluster showed heavy exposure to mainstream services.
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Chainalysis Reactor Graph showing ISIS-K TRON Wallets. Source: ChainalysisISIS-K operates across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Central Asia. OFAC first named the group a Specially Designated Terrorist Group in September 2015. Its media arm, al-Azaim Media Foundation, has solicited crypto donations through websites and messaging platforms.
Historically, individual donations were small, reflecting supporters’ modest means, per Chainalysis.
“Chainalysis has collected historical donation addresses on Tron, Monero, and Bitcoin,” the report read.
The July 1 update follows a June OFAC action against Syrian money service businesses that cashed out funds for ISIS financiers. Earlier, in 2023, it designated Maldives-based operative Ali Shafiu, whose TRON wallet interacted with deposit addresses tied to Iranian exchanges, Chainalysis found.
Tether’s response fits a wider pattern of private firms blocking illicit funds alongside government action. BeInCrypto reported in May that the company’s T3 Financial Crime Unit, operated with TRON and TRM Labs, had frozen more than $450 million in illicit crypto since its September 2024 debut.
Exchanges have joined similar efforts. Coinbase froze over $3 million tied to Southeast Asian scam networks during the US Justice Department’s Disruption Week.
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OFAC sanctioned 134 crypto addresses linked to ISIS-K (131 Tron, 3 Monero) on Wednesday, and Tether subsequently froze the funds in all 131 Tron wallets.ISIS-K used its media wing to solicit donations via Tron, Monero, and Bitcoin, highlighting stablecoin issuers' growing role in sanctions, Chainalysis said.The Treasury also sanctioned a Brazil-linked network tied to the criminal gang PCC, which laundered over $30 million in illicit funds using crypto.The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added 134 crypto wallet addresses to its ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) sanctions entry on Wednesday, including 131 Tron addresses and 3 Monero addresses.
The TRON wallets received more than $1.4 million since 2023 and sent more than $880,000, according to Chainalysis. Tether froze balances on all 131 Tron addresses.
ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate active across Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia, has used its media arm al-Azaim Media Foundation to solicit crypto donations through websites and messaging platforms, Chainalysis said.
Chainalysis said it identified historical donation addresses tied to the group on the Tron, Monero and Bitcoin networks.
The freeze reinforces the role of centralized stablecoin issuers in sanctions enforcement. Tether froze more than $182 million in USDT across five Tron wallets in January under its sanctions compliance policy.
OFAC also sanctioned a Brazil-linked network tied to Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, which Treasury described as Latin America's largest criminal gang.
The network laundered more than $30 million in U.S.-generated illicit proceeds and used crypto to move funds back to Brazil, according to the Treasury.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Jun 30, 2026
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
In recent weeks, Standard Chartered, which has been focusing on the DeFi space beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, has been examining Uniswap, Morpho, and Aave.
At this point, British banking giant Standard Chartered, which previously expected a 40x increase in value for Uniswap, a 50x increase for Aave, and a 33x increase for Morpho, has now announced its target for Bitcoin.
Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, who attended the Digital Asset Investment Analysis Forum 2026 in Yeouido, South Korea, announced his year-end target for Bitcoin.
Kendrick stated that inflows into US spot ETFs and from institutional investors would increase, and predicted that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 by the end of the year and $500,000 in 2030.
Kendrick stated that Bitcoin will rise to $100,000 by the end of this year. However, in the short term, $75,000 and $85,000 could act as significant resistance levels. If Bitcoin breaks above these levels, it could reach $100,000 by the end of the year.
Kendrick noted that some analysts expect Bitcoin to fall to $20,000 to $30,000 in the fourth quarter, but that this probability is close to zero.
Kendrick stated that Bitcoin is nearing its bottom and that now is the time to accumulate through gradual buying rather than panic selling.
The analyst noted that spot Bitcoin ETF holders largely held onto their positions despite the recent price drop, arguing that this increases the likelihood of a different market cycle than in past downturns.
Kendrick concludes by stating that stablecoins, Ethereum, Solana, and decentralized finance (DeFi) will be key growth catalysts, predicting that Ethereum will reach $4,000 and Solana will reach $135 by the end of the year.
*This is not investment advice.
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Bitcoin has pushed decisively above $62,000, trading at $61,924.81 and touching an intraday high of $62,053.00 — extending a sharp two-day rally that began after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh eased inflation concerns earlier this week. The move caps a dramatic turnaround from June 30, when BTC bottomed near $57,800 during the worst monthly stretch of the current correction cycle. Beyond the price action, the CLARITY Act’s path through the Senate remains the story to watch heading into July, alongside continued momentum in Solana’s ecosystem and ongoing questions about whether June’s record spot ETF outflows will reverse.
Today’s Top Stories Bitcoin Breaks Above $62,000, Extending Sharp Two-Day Rally Bitcoin is trading at $61,924.81, up 5.18% over 24 hours after touching a fresh high of $62,053.00 earlier today. The rally builds directly on Wednesday’s reversal above $60,000, which followed comments from Fed Chair Warsh reiterating the central bank’s commitment to its 2% inflation target. BTC has now recovered more than $4,000 from Tuesday’s low near $57,800, marking one of the sharpest multi-day reversals of the current cycle. For the full technical breakdown, see our Bitcoin News Today page.
CLARITY Act Faces Tightening Timeline Ahead of Senate Return The White House had targeted July 4 as a symbolic deadline for signing the CLARITY Act into law, but that window has effectively closed — the Senate adjourned June 25 and won’t return until July 13, leaving less than four weeks of floor time before the August recess. Senator Cynthia Lummis confirmed the bill will reach the Senate floor in July, with compromise text expected around July 4 for public review. The bill still needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, requiring at least seven Democratic crossovers. Polymarket has trimmed 2026 passage odds to 48%, with Galaxy Research putting the odds at roughly a coin flip.
Solana Continues to Lead the Market Recovery Solana remains one of the standout performers of the current rally, boosted by rising tokenized stock trading activity and the launch of World, a new on-chain prediction market built on the network. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko also confirmed at Consensus Miami that the network’s Alpenglow consensus upgrade could ship as early as Q3 2026, aiming to cut transaction finality from roughly 12.8 seconds to 150 milliseconds. For the latest SOL price action, see our Solana Price page.
XRP Network Activity Surges Even as Price Lags XRP’s active addresses jumped 72% over the past two weeks even as price action remained subdued heading into this week’s rally, according to on-chain data. Leverage across the network has also been flushed to its lowest level since July 2025, suggesting a cleaner technical setup beneath the surface. Ripple has also proposed a new tokenized-asset lending standard as the network continues expanding its institutional use cases. (Source: blockchainreporter.net)
Ethereum Foundation Undergoes Major Leadership Transition Ethereum’s support ecosystem is undergoing its biggest leadership transition in years, following the launch of EthLabs and ongoing efforts by the Ethereum Foundation to address community criticism over transparency and its role within the broader ecosystem. Ethereum Institutional also launched this week, drawing support from across the Ethereum community. For the full technical breakdown, see our Ethereum News Today page.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Posted Worst Month Ever in June US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest-ever monthly outflow in June, shedding roughly $4.5 billion over nine consecutive days of redemptions — surpassing the previous worst month by 29%. BlackRock’s IBIT alone shed $239.3 million in a single day, with Fidelity’s FBTC losing $120.8 million on the same session. Whether this week’s sharp price recovery is enough to reverse that outflow trend in July remains an open question.
Citi Cuts Bitcoin and Ether Price Targets on Stalled ETF Flows Citi slashed its 12-month price targets for both Bitcoin and Ether last week, citing stalled US crypto legislation and weakening investor demand after scrapping its prior ETF inflow forecasts. The revision reflects growing caution among traditional finance analysts following June’s steep correction, though this week’s sharp rebound may prompt a reassessment.
Market Snapshot AssetPrice24hBitcoin (BTC)$61,924.81+5.18%Ethereum (ETH)$1,646.01+4.79%XRP$1.0907+5.16%Solana (SOL)$82.23+2.81%BNB$560.74+3.52%TRON (TRX)$0.3167+0.08% For full price data, support/resistance levels, and technical analysis, see Crypto Market Today.
What to Watch This Week Senate CLARITY Act floor debate — compromise text expected around July 4, floor vote likely in July before the August recess July 29 FOMC meeting — Fed Chair Warsh’s second meeting at the helm, following a PCE print that some analysts say supports a case for further rate hikes later in 2026 Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade — targeted for Q3 2026, aiming to dramatically cut transaction finality times July ETF flow data — whether June’s record outflows reverse following this week’s sharp price recovery Compare Crypto Prices Today Bitcoin Price Ethereum Price XRP Price Solana Price BNB Price TRON Price This page is updated regularly with the latest crypto news and market developments. Nothing on this page constitutes financial advice. Always conduct independent research before making investment decisions.
FAQ Why did Bitcoin break above $62,000? Bitcoin extended its sharp rally from Tuesday’s low near $57,800, building on Wednesday’s reversal above $60,000 that followed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments easing inflation concerns. BTC touched an intraday high of $62,053 today.
What is the status of the CLARITY Act? The CLARITY Act is expected to reach the Senate floor in July, with compromise text anticipated around July 4. The bill needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and requires at least seven Democratic crossovers. Current passage odds sit at roughly 48-50% according to prediction markets and analysts.
Is XRP network activity increasing despite price weakness? Yes. XRP’s active addresses rose 72% over the past two weeks even as its price lagged, with on-chain leverage flushed to its lowest level since July 2025 — suggesting improving fundamentals beneath the surface.
Why is Solana outperforming other cryptocurrencies? Solana has benefited from rising tokenized stock trading activity, the launch of a new on-chain prediction market called World, and anticipation around its upcoming Alpenglow upgrade, which aims to significantly speed up transaction finality.
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Bitcoin experienced sharp declines in May and June, falling as low as $57,000.
While these declines have fueled analyses suggesting Bitcoin has hit bottom, some still believe the market could see levels around $50,000 before the bottom is reached.
Bitcoin’s Bottom May Come in October! At this point, the latest analysis comes from Wall Street giant Cantor Fitzgerald. According to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts, Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market are entering the final phase of a bear market.
According to US investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, the cryptocurrency market has entered the final phase of a bear cycle, and Bitcoin could reach its bottom in the next few months.
According to CoinDesk, the bank analyzed in a recent report that as of June 10th, that date was 252 days after BTC’s peak, and the price had fallen by approximately 51%.
Analysts, noting that Bitcoin has historically reached its bottom in an average of 384 days, concluded that it could reach its bottom by the end of October.
Which Altcoins Are Standing Out? Cantor Fitzgerald analysts recently stated that as Bitcoin and the market approach their bottom, investors should focus on projects that create sustainable value rather than speculative investments.
The bank cited Hyperliquid (HYPE) as a prime example of such projects.
The report also recognizes Bitcoin as the fundamental monetary asset of the ecosystem, while Ethereum is identified as the leading collateral infrastructure for on-chain financial systems.
Analysts also added that they believe the buyback and burn mechanism, where protocol fees are used to reduce the token supply, is the type of model that investors should prioritize.
At this point, Cantor Solana acknowledged that altcoins like Sui, XRP, and Zcash each possess unique competitive advantages. However, he stated that these networks need to prove they can translate ecosystem growth into sustainable token value.
*This is not investment advice.
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While price action has long dominated the cryptocurrency market, attention in 2026 is steadily shifting toward the technical foundations of blockchain networks. With Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche preparing for some of their most ambitious protocol upgrades to date, Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base activated its Beryl hard fork just last Friday. In contrast, Bitcoin developers remain deadlocked over several contentious proposals and have yet to reach consensus.
Focus shifts from speed to resilienceTim Sun, a senior researcher at Hong Kong-based asset manager HashKey Group, explained that previous protocol upgrades have typically prioritized adding new features, speeding up transactions and boosting capacity. However, Sun observed that by 2026, the industry’s priorities are tilting towards more predictable governance, greater reliability and the development of robust, enterprise-scale infrastructure to support widespread financial use cases.
Tim Sun stresses that, looking ahead to 2026, simply adding more features is no longer the main concern; instead, reliability and institution-grade infrastructure are taking center stage.
Spotlight on Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgradeAmong Ethereum’s key roadmap milestones, the Glamsterdam upgrade stands out as one of this year’s most pivotal steps. Currently being tested on developer networks, it is expected to roll out to the mainnet in the second half of 2026. Planned changes include improved scalability, reinforcement of the layer-1 base, and a streamlined user experience aimed at simplifying network usage.
Sun noted that the upgrade could enable higher transaction throughput, expand data capacity, and reduce database bloat. The overarching goal is to make Ethereum a more favorable environment for stablecoin settlements and on-chain use of real-world assets.
Holly Atkinson, chief product and technology officer at 1inch, described Glamsterdam as Ethereum’s most significant upgrade since The Merge in September 2022. One highlight is ePBS—short for enshrined proposer builder separation—a structure aimed at making block creation and proposal processes more transparent. However, RuleSpark founder Pavan Kaur cautioned that while this step might help, it will not eradicate maximal extractable value (MEV) issues altogether, as some harmful practices may simply adapt and persist in new forms.
Mini glossary: ePBS stands for enshrined proposer builder separation. It aims to clarify the distinction within the protocol between validators who propose blocks and entities that build their content, with the objective of minimizing concentration in transaction sequencing.
Solana and Base aim for lightning-fast confirmationsOn the Solana front, the Alpenglow upgrade is the year’s most significant development. After receiving strong backing in governance votes in September 2025, Alpenglow is still under development and slated for release in the latter half of 2026 alongside the Agave 4.1 validator client. This system will replace the current TowerBFT mechanism with an innovative voting component named Votor.
One of the most concrete impacts is a dramatic reduction in transaction finality time. The goal is to bring finality down to between 100 and 150 milliseconds under optimal network conditions, compared to the present average of approximately 12.8 seconds. The upgrade also targets reducing network load by removing on-chain voting operations, ultimately improving validator communication efficiency.
NetworkUpgradeKey objectiveEthereumGlamsterdamScalability and stronger layer 1SolanaAlpenglowCut finality time to 100–150 msBaseBerylReduce withdrawal time from 7 to 5 daysAvalanchePost-Etna L1 modelLower custom chain setup cost by over 99%Elsewhere, Base deployed its Beryl hard fork following a brief sequencer outage that paused block production for about two hours due to an invalid block. Jesse Pollak, one of Base’s co-founders, emphasized that users’ assets remained unaffected by the disruption, but acknowledged the downtime was unacceptable and added that lessons learned will help reinforce Base as a round-the-clock global financial platform.
Jesse Pollak underscores that user funds were secure during the incident, but says Base recognizes the network pause was not acceptable and is using this experience to guide technical improvements.
According to Base documentation, the Beryl hard fork introduces the B20 native token standard, shortens withdrawal finality from seven days to five, and implements the Reth V2 integration. These updates are expected to decrease node storage requirements and enhance execution efficiency.
Avalanche goes institutional, Bitcoin debates persistOn Avalanche, there is less focus on a single named hard fork and more on sweeping changes to attract enterprise users and boost performance. According to Sun, the Etna hard fork replaced the legacy subnet model with a system of sovereign Avalanche L1 chains, slashing the startup cost for launching a private blockchain by over 99%. He also highlighted that Progmat, which he says represents about 63% of Japan’s security token market, recently moved more than $2 billion in tokenized assets to a dedicated Avalanche L1 chain.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, stands apart from rival networks. Its main challenges in 2026 are not scheduled upgrades but debates over whether to make the protocol more programmable or to strengthen it against quantum computing threats. Proposals like OP_CAT, CTV and Lightning-focused LNHANCE—each associated with covenants and programmability—remain under discussion but lack an agreed activation path. Proposals such as BIP 360 and similar efforts to ease the shift to quantum-resistant spending methods are also still on the table without a clear consensus.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
The broader cryptocurrency market is easing downside pressure, with US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's optimism about US growth driving Bitcoin (BTC) above $60,000. Short liquidations outpace long liquidations over the last 24 hours, suggesting renewed near-term buying strength, while Jupiter (JUP) and Morpho (MORPHO) lead gains during the same period.
Kevin Warsh’s optimism provides minor relief to the crypto marketUS Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reaffirmed that returning inflation to 2% remains the Fed's top priority at the ECB Forum in Sintra. In addition, Warsh recognized that inflation risks and short-term inflation expectations had eased in recent weeks, but he reiterated that “prices remain too high”, as previously reported by FXStreet.
Amid stirring optimism over the “prices too high” comment, Gold recovered above $4,000, and Bitcoin reclaimed $60,000 on Wednesday. CoinGlass data reaffirms the mild recovery across the crypto market, with short liquidations of $272 million outpacing long liquidations of $170 million over the last 24 hours, as buyers regain strength.
Crypto liquidation data. Source: CoinGlassBitcoin hovers over thin ice around $60,000Bitcoin hovers above $60,000 on Thursday, following a 2% recovery the previous day. The King Crypto maintains a broadly bearish near-term bias, with spot trading well below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $66,146 and the 200-day EMA near $75,948.
From a technical perspective, BTC price continues to consolidate, with the June 25 low at $58,115 serving as the bottom support floor, while price faces headwinds above $60,000. A decisive follow-through on Thursday could extend recovery toward the $65,000 round figure.
That said, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) rises above its signal line after a brief consolidation, suggesting renewed buying pressure. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 38 still hints at weak, only mildly recovering momentum.
BTC/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, immediate demand is seen at the horizontal support zone clustered around $60,000, followed by the $58,115 support floor, where buyers may attempt to slow the decline.
Jupiter and Morpho ready to extend gainsJupiter extends gains on Thursday, following a 10% surge the previous day. With a bullish near-term bias, price sits above both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, clustered around $0.1991 and $0.2199, respectively.
JUP is testing a reclaimed downward resistance trend line at $0.2377, suggesting a potential transition into a more constructive phase. The resistance trendline coincides near the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.2406, measured over the downswing from $0.2766 to $0.1444.
A decisive close above $0.2406 could test the previous swing high around $0.2766, followed by the 127.2% Fibonacci extension level at $0.3300.
The RSI near 64 and a positive, mildly rising Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line above zero hint that upside momentum remains in play.
JUP/USDT daily price chart.Looking down, initial support is seen at the trendline pivot around $0.2377, followed by the 200-day EMA at $0.2199, and then deeper support at the 50% retracement level at $0.1998, near the 50-day EMA at $0.1991.
On the other hand, Morpho shows a clear recovery trend of over 35% from last week, bouncing off its 200-day EMA at $1.64. At the time of writing, MORPHO is up roughly 4% on Thursday, extending the 9% gains from the previous day.
The recovery run approaches an overhead barrier near $2.24, which previously capped two bullish attempts. If MORPHO clears this resistance, the uptrend could test an ascending resistance trendline near $2.56.
The MACD and signal line show a recovery, with expanding positive histograms suggesting buying pressure is returning, while the RSI is at 65, reaffirming renewed buying strength, though conditions risk approaching overbought levels.
JUP/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, immediate support is seen at the 50-day EMA near $1.89, with additional protection from the prior upward support trendline around $1.6046.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
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BlackRock’s flagship Bitcoin fund just hemorrhaged $219.41 million in a single day, roughly 3,648 BTC walking out the door. The July 1 redemption from the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) marks one of the largest single-day outflows the fund has ever recorded.
June was a bloodbath for Bitcoin ETFs US spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively saw approximately $4.06 billion in net outflows during June 2026. That’s the most substantial monthly redemption since these products launched.
IBIT, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets, was the primary culprit. The fund accounted for roughly 73% of outflows during peak weeks, including a jaw-dropping $1.30 billion in redemptions during one late-June week alone.
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To put that in perspective, the entire month of May saw IBIT post a $528 million outflow that felt significant at the time. June made May look like a rounding error.
Bitcoin prices during this period traded in a range between $58,000 and $60,000 through late June, a compressed band that suggests sellers were meeting just enough buyer demand to prevent a full capitulation, but not enough to spark any meaningful recovery.
Institutional rebalancing, not panic selling These outflows represent BlackRock clients, primarily institutional investors, redeeming their shares. BlackRock itself isn’t dumping Bitcoin on the open market. The redemption process works through authorized participants who transfer the underlying Bitcoin to custodians like Coinbase Prime.
The pattern points to strategic portfolio rebalancing rather than a loss of faith in Bitcoin as an asset class. Higher Treasury yields have made risk-free returns more attractive. Macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed institutions toward more liquid, traditional assets. And shifting sentiment across risk markets has given portfolio managers reason to trim crypto exposure.
What this means for investors When institutional holders redeem ETF shares at this scale, it creates downstream selling pressure on spot Bitcoin markets. Authorized participants who process these redemptions need to offload the underlying Bitcoin, which adds supply to an already cautious market.
The $58,000 to $60,000 trading range during late June suggests the market found a floor, at least temporarily. The $219 million redemption on July 1 is not an encouraging start to July.
IBIT has been the dominant spot Bitcoin ETF since launch, which means its flows carry outsized influence on market sentiment. When IBIT accounts for nearly three-quarters of all outflows during peak weeks, it’s essentially setting the tone for the entire Bitcoin ETF ecosystem.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin rebounded above $60,000 during the July 1, 2026 trading session, recovering after weeks of decline. This move was driven by remarks from US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, who indicated that inflation pressures are easing. Warsh’s comments provided temporary relief to crypto markets following a turbulent quarter for digital assets.
Sharp intraday swings rattled marketsEarly in the day, Bitcoin had fallen as low as $57,803, marking its lowest level in 22 months. The digital asset then reversed direction and traded around $60,807 in the afternoon US hours, reflecting an intraday gain of about 3.7%.
On the technical front, Daan Crypto Trades noted that Bitcoin touched the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level, calculated over the entirety of this bull cycle. The analyst highlighted that this area coincides with consolidation lows of summer 2024, and in previous cycles, advances have often begun from similar technical zones.
Mini glossary: Fibonacci retracement refers to a set of ratios used in technical analysis to measure how much of a prior upward or downward move has been reversed. The 0.618 level is among the most closely watched support and resistance zones for investors.
Kevin Warsh stated, “We will ensure price stability in the US and will not tolerate inflation remaining above the 2% target.”
Ted Pillows expressed that as long as Bitcoin stays below $60,000, sellers maintain the upper hand. Consequently, despite the day’s rebound, caution persists regarding the market’s direction.
Weak quarter and rate hike expectations pressured pricesBitcoin lost 14% in the quarter ending in June. Since the beginning of the year, the digital currency’s value is down 32%. The price now stands more than 50% below its October peak.
The Fed’s hawkish stance at its June meeting strengthened expectations for at least one additional rate hike this year. In a high-interest-rate environment, non-yielding assets like Bitcoin become more costly to hold. At the same time, increased interest in AI-related stocks has accelerated capital outflows from the crypto market.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs see record monthly outflowsUS-based spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows totaling $4.5 billion in June 2026. According to SoSoValue data, this marks the largest monthly outflow since the products began trading in January 2024.
IndicatorDataTotal ETF outflow in June 2026$4.5 billionPrevious monthly record$3.48 billion in February 2025BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust outflow$3.55 billionTotal net assets$70.9 billionThe outflows recorded in June surpassed the previous monthly record of $3.48 billion set in February 2025 by roughly 29%. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust was the main driver, posting $3.55 billion in withdrawals. In total, net assets across all US spot Bitcoin ETFs dropped from over $110 billion earlier in the year to $70.9 billion.
Daan Crypto Trades emphasized that while there were relief rallies at similar technical levels in earlier cycles, this cycle could differ in important ways.
Nevertheless, cumulative net inflows into these funds since their launch have remained above $51 billion. Despite recent heavy withdrawals, the long-term flow remains positive, drawing attention amid market volatility.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Metaplanet just added another 2,823 Bitcoin to its balance sheet, pushing its total stash to 43,000 BTC. For a company that didn’t own a single satoshi before April 2024, that’s a remarkable trajectory.
The Tokyo-listed firm, which trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 3350.T and as an ADR under MPJPY in the US, has been on a relentless accumulation spree. This latest purchase puts Metaplanet in direct competition with Twenty One Capital, which holds roughly 43,514 BTC, for the title of third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder on the planet.
The numbers behind the buying binge To appreciate how fast Metaplanet is moving, look at the timeline. The company ended 2025 with 35,102 BTC. By March 31, 2026, it had reached 40,177 BTC after scooping up 5,075 BTC in Q1 alone, a haul worth approximately $398 million to $405 million at an average price between $78,000 and $80,000 per coin.
Now, with this fresh 2,823 BTC purchase, the total sits at 43,000 BTC. That’s a jump of roughly 22.5% from where the company started the year.
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The average acquisition cost across Metaplanet’s entire portfolio sits somewhere between $97,000 and $104,000 per BTC, depending on the reporting period. With Bitcoin trading well above that range in recent weeks, the company is sitting on meaningful unrealized gains.
Metaplanet has publicly stated its goal of reaching 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. That means CEO Simon Gerovich and his team need to acquire another 57,000 BTC in roughly the next six months.
How Metaplanet keeps funding the machine Metaplanet has been financing its purchases through a combination of equity raises, debt arrangements, and mNAV warrants — a financing mechanism designed to let Metaplanet raise capital while managing dilution for existing shareholders.
The company also opened Level I ADRs for US investors in December 2025, giving American traders a straightforward way to get exposure to Metaplanet’s stock without the friction of buying on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Level I ADRs don’t require full SEC registration, which makes them cheaper to issue, though they also come with trading limitations compared to higher-tier listings.
Gerovich has been tracking what he calls “Bitcoin yield,” a metric that measures how much additional Bitcoin per share the company generates through its treasury operations. That figure hit 2.8% year-to-date in recent reports.
What this means for investors The risk profile here is worth examining carefully. Metaplanet is using equity dilution and debt to buy a volatile asset. In a prolonged downturn, the company’s average cost basis of $97,000 to $104,000 per BTC becomes the line in the sand investors need to watch.
The 100,000 BTC target by year-end also deserves scrutiny. Acquiring 57,000 BTC in six months would require spending somewhere north of $5 billion at current prices, meaning Metaplanet will likely need multiple large equity raises and debt issuances, each of which carries execution risk and potential dilution.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
2 July 2026 | 10:19 Bitcoin retail inflows have hit record lows on Binance, while ETF holders are aggressively redeeming assets. Is this a structural market warning or a classic contrarian bottom signal?
Key Takeaways Retail inflows to Binance hit a record low of 329 BTC per day. That’s roughly 8x below the 2021 average and 11x below 2018. Bitcoin ETFs have seen about $8.48 billion in net outflows since May 6. Both point to the crowd exiting, but neither is a timing signal. Retail Never Showed Up This Cycle Data from CryptoQuant shared by analyst Darkfost, tracking Binance inflows under 1 BTC, a proxy for retail, against price since 2018. According to the analyst, retail inflows now average 329 BTC per day, the lowest in the exchange’s history. The historical contrast is the whole point:
Period Retail Inflows (avg/day) 2018 cycle 3,700 BTC 2021 peak 2,690 BTC Now 329 BTC That’s roughly an 8x collapse from the 2021 average and 11x from 2018, which saw a single-day record of 10,400 BTC. The telling detail: the 30-day average that spiked in every prior cycle (2018, 2021, 2023) flatlined near the bottom of its range through 2025-2026, even as Bitcoin ran above $100K. Every price top this cycle failed to trigger a retail spike. The cohort simply didn’t turn up.
Darkfost’s Explanation Darkfost offers several possible reasons, framed as his analysis. Retail may have chased exposure elsewhere this cycle, in altcoins or other assets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs may have captured investors and pulled them out of on-exchange activity into a wrapped vehicle. And some retail may simply be holding longer-term or waiting for better performance. His broader framing is that this cohort could be “going extinct” on Binance, with the market’s makeup shifting toward institutionalization.
The ETF Outflows Tell a Parallel Story The wrapped-exposure crowd is leaving too. According to Santiment, Bitcoin ETFs have combined for about $8.74 billion in net outflows since May 6, approaching the $10 billion mark. Santiment’s read is explicitly contrarian: it treats sustained outflows as a sentiment signal, where price tends to move opposite the crowd’s expectations over time, rather than a mechanical predictor of further downside. The longer the outflow streak, in their view, the more it reflects fear and capitulation than a fresh reason to sell.
Bitcoin ETF outflows. Their historical anchor is a mirror image. On October 6, 2025, ETFs saw +$1.21 billion in inflows, which Santiment marked as a “sell signal at ATH”, inflows peaking exactly as price topped. Now the inverse: heavy outflows clustering near the lows, which they read as a strong fear signal. Their thesis is that the best buying opportunities have historically come when ETF investors and retail are most eager to exit.
Where Price Sits Bitcoin trades around $60,185 at the time of writing, after reaching $61,050 and attempting to stabilize following the June decline that bottomed near $58,000. All three major moving averages sit well overhead as resistance, and momentum is recovering off the lows rather than reversing, a tentative steadying, not a confirmed turn.
Bitcoin daily price technical chart from TradingView. The Tension Between the Two Reads Both analysis frame the crowd’s exit constructively, but in ways that don’t fully fit together, and that’s worth being honest about. Darkfost reads it as structural institutionalization: retail replaced by institutions and ETFs. Santiment reads it as contrarian capitulation: weak hands leaving strengthens the bottom case. Both are reasonable, and both are interpretations, not confirmed outcomes.
The tension is real. If retail is structurally “extinct,” permanently migrated to ETFs as Darkfost suggests, then Santiment’s “they’ll capitulate and then return to buy” logic weakens, because you can’t get a retail-driven recovery from a cohort that has left for good. The two theses can’t both be fully true. Either retail comes back (supporting the contrarian bottom case) or it has structurally gone (supporting institutionalization), but not both.
What It Doesn’t Tell You The critical limit is that none of this is predictive. Retail being absent doesn’t mean price bottoms; it can equally mean the market has lost a demand source that historically drove rallies. Santiment’s own framing is careful, outflows “can pressure price in the short term” even as they build the longer-term bottom case, so the contrarian signal is a probabilistic historical tendency, not a timing tool.
What both datasets confirm is the phenomenon, not the outcome: the retail and ETF crowd is exiting Bitcoin at historic intensity. Whether that clears the way for a bottom or removes a demand driver the market needs is exactly what the data can’t resolve. It describes who has left, not where price goes next.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a professional before making investment decisions.
Author
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
