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The broader crypto ETF market has continued to bleed for several weeks, but XRP remains moving in the opposite direction, outpacing other major ETF products in both daily and weekly performance.

According to the latest data showcased by SosoValue, XRP has posted its strongest weekly ETF inflow for the month as of June 26, 2026, as investors show rising interest.

XRP hits 8-week steady inflow streakThe data provided by the source shows that XRP has attracted a total of $22.99 million in inflows, marking the highest weekly influx of new capital for June.

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While the funds have been posting consistent inflows for the past eight weeks, this is the highest inflow the XRP ETFs have posted in the past six weeks.

Considering the sharp rise in ETF inflows amid the prolonged streak of positive performances, it appears that institutional investors are beginning to show heightened confidence in XRP despite the intensifying market uncertainties.

Institutions choose XRP over Bitcoin again Apart from the surge in inflows attracted by the XRP ETFs, their consistent dominance over other crypto ETF products, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, has continued to draw attention from market participants.

It appears that institutional investors are beginning to look beyond the largest crypto assets and are more willing to venture their funds into XRP-based investment products instead.

Although it is important to note that one strong week does not automatically signal a long-term trend, XRP's dominance over Bitcoin and Ethereum has remained for seven consecutive weeks, positioning it as a major player in the ETF market.

While XRP just saw its highest weekly inflow in about six weeks, Bitcoin has just posted its biggest outflow ever of $1.79 billion.

Brad Garlinghouse has criticized Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy, arguing that Strategy’s reliance on preferred stock financing has failed to create lasting value as its securities continue to weaken.

Summary

Brad Garlinghouse criticized Strategy’s Bitcoin funding model, arguing long-term value should come from utility rather than financial engineering. Growing scrutiny of Strategy includes a shareholder investigation, insider share sales, and CryptoQuant’s call to preserve cash. Anchorage Digital said investors remain defensive, but options markets are not signaling expectations of a company-specific crisis. According to comments made during a CNBC interview on Friday, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized Michael Saylor’s approach to financing Bitcoin purchases through Strategy’s capital markets program, saying long-term value in crypto should come from real-world utility rather than financial engineering.

Questioning whether the model can continue rewarding shareholders over time, Garlinghouse argued that issuing securities to fund additional Bitcoin purchases does not create sustainable value. He added that Strategy’s focus on financial structuring has had negative consequences for the digital asset market.

“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value … long-term value of any digital asset is going to be driven by utility.”

Although he challenged Strategy’s funding model, Garlinghouse maintained that he remains bullish on Bitcoin itself. His comments came as Bitcoin briefly traded below $60,000 on Friday, extending pressure across companies closely tied to the cryptocurrency.

Strategy’s preferred stock has come under pressure Garlinghouse pointed to Strategy’s STRC preferred shares as evidence that investors are becoming more cautious about the company’s financing structure. He noted that the preferred stock has fallen roughly 25% below its $100 face value, describing the decline as a sign that investors are questioning the sustainability of the approach.

Strategy has spent roughly the past year raising capital through preferred securities, including STRC, to finance additional Bitcoin purchases. The instrument also carries an 11.5% cumulative annual dividend obligation, leaving the company with continuing dividend commitments alongside its expanding Bitcoin treasury.

At the same time, scrutiny has widened beyond Garlinghouse’s criticism. Earlier this week, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant recommended that Strategy pause further Bitcoin purchases and instead strengthen its cash reserves as market conditions remain difficult.

Additional pressure has emerged from legal developments. As crypto.news reported previously, Rosen Law Firm has opened an investigation into whether Strategy made materially inaccurate business disclosures to investors. According to the firm, it is evaluating potential securities claims and considering a possible class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders who suffered losses.

Investor scrutiny has continued despite mixed market signals Selling by company insiders has added another layer to investor concerns. SEC filings show Strategy director Jarrod Patten exercised options to acquire 1,500 Class A shares on June 23 before selling the entire position the same day at $106.08 per share, generating an estimated pre-tax gain of about $131,766.

The latest transaction extends a months-long selling streak. Regulatory filings indicate Patten has sold 55,750 Strategy shares over the past three months for roughly $9 million in proceeds, with the sales taking place as investors continue debating the company’s reliance on repeated share issuance and leveraged Bitcoin accumulation.

Even so, derivatives markets are not signaling expectations of an immediate company-specific crisis. According to new research from Anchorage Digital, traders continue paying elevated premiums for downside protection across Bitcoin, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Strategy shares, but options pricing remains well below levels seen during previous periods of severe stress.

Anchorage Digital’s head of research, David Lawant, wrote that while defensive positioning has risen into the upper range of historical readings, Strategy’s options market has not reached the conditions normally associated with forced deleveraging or fears of a breakdown in the company’s business model.

Institutional demand for cryptocurrency ETFs weakened sharply this week as investors pulled billions of dollars from products tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The latest wave of redemptions coincided with Bitcoin falling below $60,000, marking one of the most challenging periods for crypto investment products since the launch of spot ETFs in the United States.

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest daily net outflow in June on Thursday, while Solana ETFs are headed toward their first monthly net outflows on record. Across the broader market, crypto ETFs have collectively lost approximately $5 billion over the past 30 days, highlighting a widespread shift in investor sentiment.

Bitcoin ETFs post June's biggest outflow According to SoSoValue data, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $696.29 million on Thursday, surpassing the previous monthly high of $519.2 million recorded on June 2. The latest withdrawals extended Bitcoin ETF outflows to 6 consecutive trading days.

June has now recorded total net Bitcoin ETF outflows of $3.61 billion, while year-to-date net outflows have reached $4.56 billion. Since the beginning of May, investors have withdrawn approximately $6.04 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The selling pressure also appeared concentrated among the industry's largest funds. Fidelity's FBTC recorded $274 million in net outflows on Thursday, while BlackRock's IBIT lost another $265 million. The previous trading session on June 24 had already seen another $469.08 million leave US spot Bitcoin ETFs. The outflows have significantly reduced the size of the US Bitcoin ETF market.

SoSoValue data shows that total net assets across US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have fallen below $73 billion for the first time since late 2024. Combined assets now stand at approximately $72.57 billion. The decline represents a substantial drop from the sector's peak of $169.5 billion reached in October 2025, leaving total assets approximately 57% below their record highs.

More recently, total Bitcoin ETF assets have fallen from $104.29 billion on May 15 to $72.57 billion, extending a 7-week decline. Bitcoin ETF assets now represent 6.09% of Bitcoin's circulating market capitalization, down from more than 7% during the May peak.

Solana ETFs Record Their Worst-Performing Month Solana investment products also experienced notable weakness. June is on track to become the worst month on record for US spot Solana ETFs, with the category posting its first monthly net outflows. Net redemptions currently total $5.80 million for the month. On Thursday alone, Solana ETFs lost $3.94 million, with all of the outflows coming from Bitwise's $BSOL fund.

Ethereum products also joined the broader selling trend. Spot Ether ETFs recorded combined net outflows of $81.87 million, with BlackRock's $ETHA accounting for $62.99 million of the withdrawals. XRP ETFs remained flat during Thursday's session, recording neither net inflows nor net outflows.

While other Hyperliquid-related investment products experienced withdrawals, Grayscale's $HYPG fund stood out as the sole major crypto ETF to record net inflows, drawing in $112.73 million. This positive momentum was primarily the result of Hyper Holdings providing the fund with seed capital in the form of 2 million $HYPE tokens.

Bitcoin falls below $60,000 The ETF selling coincided with another sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices. Yesterday, Bitcoin briefly fell to $58,050, its lowest level since October 2024, before recovering to around $60,000. The recent market weakness has been linked to concerns surrounding Strategy and its $STRC preferred shares, which declined further to a new all-time low of $72 earlier today.

Solana also came under heavy pressure during the broader market sell-off, briefly dropping to $64 before leading the recovery among majors with an over 10 % rise in the last 24 hours.

Will The Sentiment Remained Subdued? Market observers continue to view ETF flows as an important measure of institutional demand. Citi has previously described Bitcoin ETF flows as one of the best indicators of investor adoption and expects sentiment to remain subdued while ETF flows stay negative.

In a recent report, CoinShares noted that Bitcoin's recovery from approximately $58,000 indicates continued buying interest during market declines, although resistance around $60,000 remains significant. The firm also observed that whale selling, which contributed heavily to the October market decline, has slowed considerably. However, the firm cautioned that whales historically do not return as consistent buyers until the next Bitcoin halving cycle, which is expected in 2028.

Looking ahead, CoinShares expects market conditions to remain challenging as inflation concerns, elevated oil prices, and a hawkish Federal Reserve continue to weigh on risk assets. The firm also believes delays in passing the CLARITY Act could extend uncertainty about the US regulatory environment, with the legislation now more likely to advance toward the August congressional recess than in early July.

For now, persistent ETF outflows across nearly every major cryptocurrency suggest institutional investors remain cautious as falling prices, macroeconomic uncertainty, and concerns surrounding Strategy continue to pressure digital asset markets.

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ToplineBillionaire Michael Saylor on Friday defended his Strategy’s approach to bitcoin even as shares of the cryptocurrency’s largest institutional holder fell to multi-year lows, and as analysts warned against the company buying more amid a broader decline in the crypto market.

Shares of bitcoin’s largest institutional holder have plummeted 80% from their all-time high.

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Key FactsSaylor, in a post on X, wrote that “volatility tests capital structure” and reaffirmed that Strategy “remains focused on bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality and long-term value creation.”

Shares of Strategy plunged by more than 9% on Thursday to their lowest level since February 2024, and shares are down more than 8% from their record intraday high ($543) in November 2024, while its preferred stock has dropped nearly 25% since Jan. 13 to a new record low.

The price of bitcoin briefly stumbled to a 21-month low on Thursday, hitting an intraday low of $58,131, and the world’s leading cryptocurrency has shed more than half of its value since peaking above $126,000 in October 2025.

Crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant wrote in a report Thursday that Strategy should halt its bitcoin purchases and instead rebuild its cash reserves, arguing the company’s strategy of buying during bitcoin price dips has resulted in “rapid unrealized loss growth.”

JPMorgan analysts issued a similar warning in a note earlier this month, concluding Strategy’s dollar reserves should be rebuilt to “restore confidence and reduce investor concerns that the company would sell more bitcoins to cover dividend payments.”

forbes valuationSaylor founded Strategy, then known as MicroStrategy, in 1989, and his net worth has swelled to $3 billion as of market close on Thursday. He emerged as a top executive during the dot-com bubble, after which Saylor’s fortune plummeted, but Strategy’s bitcoin investments made him a billionaire once again, as Saylor has directed the firm to shift its corporate coffers into bitcoin.

big number845,256. That’s Strategy’s total bitcoin holdings, which the company priced at an aggregated market value of $63.9 billion, or roughly $75,680 per token, according to a regulatory disclosure earlier this month. Strategy most recently purchased 1,550 bitcoin for $101.3 million on June 8 at an average price of $65,332 per coin.

key backgroundStrategy’s cash reserves totaled $1.4 billion as of Friday, representing just a fraction of its bitcoin holdings. The company’s bitcoin transactions have shifted broader views of the crypto market, including its first bitcoin sale in years late last month, sparking a selloff that erased the cryptocurrency’s record-setting surge. Billionaire hedge fund executive Philippe Laffont said earlier this week he was a “little bit more worried” about bitcoin, arguing there were more attractive investment opportunities, like SpaceX, that he would “rather bet” on. Bitcoin’s latest slide also comes as $10 billion in options is set to expire Friday on Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options venue.

further readingForbesBillionaire Saylor’s Strategy Buys Bitcoin Worth $101 Million—After Earlier Sale Sparked Sell-OffBy Ty Roush

Michael Saylor broke his public silence on June 26 with a post on X reaffirming Strategy’s commitment to Bitcoin, as the company faces a securities investigation and widening pressure across its capital structure.

Rosen Law Firm launched the probe, examining whether Strategy executives made materially misleading statements across five linked securities. The company has issued no formal response.

Saylor Doubles Down on Bitcoin FocusOn X, Saylor offered no direct comment on the probe. Instead, he framed volatility as a structural test. He signaled continued commitment to credit quality and long-term value creation.

Volatility tests every capital structure. Strategy remains focused on Bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality, and long-term value creation. We appreciate our investors and will continue to execute with transparency and resolve. $MSTR

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) June 26, 2026 Michael Saylor. Source: XThe statement is notable for what it omits. It makes no mention of the class action interest gathering around the firm or the sharp declines across Strategy’s preferred securities. Saylor focuses on capital discipline, a message directed at both equity holders and creditors.

Strategy holds 847,363 Bitcoin (BTC), more than 4% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist. Its average acquisition cost sits near $75,500 per coin, well above current prices. That gap compressed the MSTR premium investors once paid for leveraged Bitcoin exposure. It also sharpened scrutiny on how the company continues to fund new purchases.

Strategy built much of that position through multiple classes of publicly traded preferred stock. Those instruments now sit under pressure as Bitcoin prices weaken and investor confidence in the dividend model erodes.

Market Pressure Tests That ConvictionThe day before Saylor posted, critic Peter Schiff escalated his criticism of Strategy’s declining market performance.

He argued MSTR has fallen 84% from its all-time high. Schiff also noted that STRC dropped 25% from par, now carrying an implied yield of 15.3%. Saylor’s post served as an indirect rebuttal to those attacks without addressing them directly.

Questions about STRC’s long-term sustainability have grown sharper. The preferred stock’s dividend structure costs an estimated $1.2 billion annually. Strategy disclosed a $1.4 billion cash reserve on June 22, barely a year of cover at current rates.

Whether Saylor’s reaffirmation steadies investor confidence or the probe escalates into a formal complaint may define Strategy’s near-term trajectory.

The company says it has mined the first known Bitcoin block using Stratum V2’s Job Declaration feature, as it also rolls out new marketplace tools for digital mining assets.

GoMining says it has mined what it believes is the first known Bitcoin block produced using the Stratum V2 protocol’s Job Declaration functionality, marking an early real-world deployment of technology designed to give miners greater control over how Bitcoin blocks are constructed.

The block was mined through the DMND bitcoin mining pool, with GoMining creating and declaring its own block template rather than relying on the mining pool to determine which transactions were included. The approach represents one of the core features of Stratum V2, an open-source mining protocol that aims to improve security, efficiency and decentralization within Bitcoin mining.

According to the company, the block included transactions associated with GoBTC Pay, GoMining’s open-source Bitcoin instant payments protocol, demonstrating that miners can include transactions tied to their own applications while continuing to participate in pooled mining.

“For years, mining pools have largely determined which transactions are included in Bitcoin blocks,” said Mark Zalan, CEO of GoMining. “By creating our own block template and including GoBTC Pay transactions, we’re demonstrating one of the practical capabilities that Stratum V2 makes possible.”

Mining pools have traditionally been responsible for constructing block templates, leaving individual miners with little influence over transaction selection despite providing the computing power. Stratum V2 introduces Job Declaration, allowing miners to build their own templates while still benefiting from pooled mining rewards.

The protocol has been under development for several years with contributions from members of the Bitcoin community. Supporters argue that broader adoption could reduce centralization among mining pools by distributing block construction decisions across participating miners.

“A miner just mined the first Stratum V2 block to power their own product end to end,” said Alejandro De La Torre, CEO and co-founder of DMND. “GoMining declared the template and included their GoBTC Pay payments with no pool in the way. We built DMND for exactly this.”

The milestone comes as Bitcoin mining companies continue exploring new infrastructure and protocol upgrades aimed at improving network resilience and operational flexibility.

Separately, GoMining has also expanded its digital mining ecosystem with the launch of a new “Step Down Auction” feature for its secondary marketplace. The automated sales mechanism allows sellers to list Digital Miners at a starting price that gradually decreases until a buyer purchases the asset, eliminating the need for competitive bidding.

The marketplace update also broadens public access to listings, introduces additional price history and ROI metrics, and adds new sorting and filtering tools designed to improve liquidity and price discovery for digital mining assets.

Together, the announcements highlight GoMining’s dual focus on advancing Bitcoin’s underlying mining infrastructure while expanding the user experience around tokenized mining products. While the Stratum V2 milestone targets improvements at the protocol level, the marketplace enhancements are aimed at making digital mining assets easier to trade and evaluate within the company’s ecosystem.

Whether the Stratum V2 implementation accelerates adoption across the wider mining industry remains to be seen. However, successfully mining a production Bitcoin block using miner-controlled template creation provides one of the first practical demonstrations of the protocol’s capabilities outside of testing environments.

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BlackRock remains affected by the consistent outflows witnessed across both the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF markets, and has continued to offload large amounts of its holdings.

In a familiar move showcased by blockchain monitoring platform Lookonchain, BlackRock has deposited another 3,410 BTC and 5,132 ETH to Coinbase Prime in multiple transfers spotted on Thursday, June 25.

BlackRock dumps crypto non-stopThe data further revealed that the Bitcoin and Ethereum transfers were worth $209.64 million and $8.43 million, respectively, per the assets' prices at the time of the transactions.

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The total deposits happened in a series of about seven separate transfers, with nearly all of them carrying 300 BTC each, while only one separate transfer moved Ethereum to the Coinbase wallet.

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While this transfer happened at a time when the broader crypto market is facing downside pressure, market watchers fear that the move from BlackRock could further fuel the ongoing volatility.

Did BlackRock actually sell?Although BlackRock did not clarify the reason it has continued to offload large stashes of its Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings on Coinbase, the transfers have triggered speculation across the market, with traders interpreting them as potential attempts to sell.

It is important to note that deposits to Coinbase Prime or other crypto exchanges do not necessarily confirm an immediate sale. However, investors have become suspicious of BlackRock's frequent deposits, as the timing of the transfers has intensified concerns and signals that BlackRock might actually be selling.

This is more apparent, as the company has been found to sell only when its ETF products record withdrawals during their daily trading sessions.

A multi-million-dollar Polymarket contract on whether Strategy sold any bitcoin by May 31 has been disputed twice and is now in front of UMA tokenholders, reigniting an analyst argument that prediction-market oracles built on token voting are structurally unfit for high-stakes settlement.

A Polymarket contract that drew more than $60 million in trading volume is sitting in UMA's optimistic-oracle queue after two proposed "No" resolutions on the question "MicroStrategy sells any Bitcoin by May 31, 2026?" were challenged, sending the dispute to a token-weighted vote.

The trigger is a Strategy 8-K filed Monday that disclosed 32 BTC sold between May 26 and May 31 at an average net price of $77,135, the first disposal since 2022. The sale closed before the contract's 11:59 PM ET cutoff. The 8-K hit the wire on June 1. The contract is now reading 12c Yes / 89c No.

The dispute is being framed across Crypto Twitter not as an edge case but as a structural verdict on Polymarket's resolution stack. "UMA's token-voting model is structurally broken," analyst Eric Conner (@econoar) posted Monday. "Whales weaponize ambiguous rules to resolve Polymarket markets incorrectly and save their own positions. Zero legitimacy remains until deterministic settlement replaces it. This is exactly what Hyperliquid fixes with HIP-4."

UMA's VotePolymarket outsources contested settlements to UMA's optimistic oracle, where a proposed resolution can be challenged twice before the question escalates to a token-holder vote. The native token's voting power, not a court of facts, decides the payout.

A Wall Street Journal investigation in May found that in most disputed Polymarket markets more than half the UMA votes came from the ten largest wallets, at least 60% of active UMA voters could be linked to live Polymarket accounts, and roughly one in five disputes had at least one voter with a financial stake in the contract they were ruling on. Polymarket has logged more than 1,150 disputed markets in 2026, already past its full-year 2025 total.

The Strategy market is the highest-dollar live test since the $237 million Zelenskyy-suit market last year. Polymarket itself can't override the vote; it posted a bulletin telling voters that "no information from MSTR, on-chain data, or consensus of credible reporting confirmed that MicroStrategy sold Bitcoin within the market's timeframe. Confirmation achieved outside of the market's timeframe does not qualify."

Yes-side traders, including a holder pseudonymous as "Surprised-Legacy" whose $19,610 wager at roughly 11c would pay about $200,000 if Yes resolves, argue the 8-K's stated sale window, not the filing's date, is what the rules ask about.

Deterministic-Settlement Hyperliquid's HIP-4 outcome markets, live on mainnet since May 2, replace the optimistic-oracle layer entirely. Settlement is determined by the chain's own validator set running automated newsfeed software; there is no token-vote backstop, no two-round dispute window, and no path for a holder of the settlement-layer token to also be a participant in the market being settled. Each binary contract resolves to 1 or 0 against a pre-specified data source.

Kalshi reaches the same end-state through opposite infrastructure: an exchange-cleared central-counterparty book run through Kalshi Klear LLC, CFTC-registered as a derivatives clearing organization in August 2024. Disputes are handled by the exchange under rules filed with a federal regulator, not by anonymous tokenholders.

Polymarket's U.S. arm is itself now a CFTC-registered designated contract market, but the international book where the Strategy market sits still settles in USDC on Polygon under UMA.

Where the $60M Sits NowUMA's voting window runs roughly two days. The June 30 and December 31 children of the same market have already resolved Yes without dispute, meaning the $60 million in question turns entirely on whether "selling in May" requires public disclosure inside the month or only on-chain execution inside the month.

Strive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASST) has acquired an additional 382 bitcoin for approximately $30.3 million, paying an average cost of roughly $79,348 per coin, according to an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The purchase, executed between May 13 and May 18, lifts the Dallas-based Bitcoin treasury and asset management firm’s total holdings to 15,391 BTC — cementing its status as one of the largest public corporate holders of the digital asset.

The latest accumulation adds to a relentless buying streak that has seen Strive grow its treasury by more than 2,200 BTC since January 2026, when the company held 12,798 BTC following its acquisition of Semler Scientific. 

The pace has accelerated markedly: in late April, Strive purchased 789 BTC for roughly $61.4 million at an average price of $77,890 per coin, and just weeks later added 444 BTC for $33.9 million at $76,307 per coin, crossing the 15,000 BTC threshold for the first time.

Strive’s bitcoin strategy Alongside the latest purchase, Strive disclosed updated performance figures that underscore its unique approach to capital allocation. The company reported a quarter-to-date BTC Yield of 6.6% and a year-to-date BTC Yield of 18.4% — a proprietary metric that measures the percentage growth of Bitcoin exposure per common share over time, rather than simply the appreciation of BTC’s price. 

The firm’s amplification ratio, a measure of how leveraged its Bitcoin exposure is relative to market value of holdings, stands at 44.3%.

That amplification ratio has grown steadily. When Strive held 13,132 BTC in January, its amplification ratio stood at 37.2%, predominantly driven by preferred equity rather than traditional debt. The expansion to 44.3% reflects continued SATA preferred stock issuances, which the company has used to fund Bitcoin purchases without diluting common shareholders in the conventional sense.

Strive also disclosed approximately $87.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, alongside a $49.8 million position in Strategy Inc.’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC). The company, led by Chairman and CEO Matt Cole, describes Bitcoin as its “hurdle rate” for all capital deployment decisions — framing every acquisition not merely as a treasury move but as a benchmark for long-term shareholder value.

At current market prices, Strive’s 15,391 BTC treasury carries a value approaching $1.2 billion, ranking the firm among the top corporate holders of Bitcoin globally. 

Earlier this week, Strive Inc. announced that its SATA preferred stock will become the first U.S.-listed security to pay cash dividends every business day starting June 16, with daily compounding lifting its effective yield to about 13.88%.

The firm also reported a $265.9 million Q1 net loss driven largely by Bitcoin valuation declines, while expanding its holdings to 15,009 BTC and maintaining a debt-free balance sheet, as CEO Matthew Cole positioned the move as a “zero-to-one innovation.”

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.

Fireblocks, the institutional crypto infrastructure platform that processes more than $5 trillion in digital asset transfers annually, has integrated the Stacks Bitcoin Layer 2 network. The move opens Bitcoin DeFi services to more than 2,400 institutional clients who previously had no streamlined way to access them.

The Fireblocks-Stacks integration covers several key capabilities. Institutional clients get custody support for STX tokens, plus the ability to mint and bridge sBTC, the synthetic Bitcoin asset that operates on the Stacks network.

From there, clients can access DeFi protocols built on Stacks, including Hermetica, Zest/Granite, and Bitflow. These protocols span lending, token swaps, and yield generation.

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One of Stacks’ selling points for institutional users is speed. The network processes transactions with roughly 5-second block times, compared to Bitcoin’s average of about 10 minutes. For institutions executing complex DeFi strategies, that difference matters.

The integration was announced in early February 2026, with full functionality expected by the end of Q1 2026.

Why institutions care about Bitcoin DeFi now Bitcoin’s base layer wasn’t designed for smart contracts. Layer 2 solutions like Stacks exist specifically to bridge that gap, adding programmability on top of Bitcoin’s security model. But even with Layer 2 solutions available, institutions faced a second barrier: custody and compliance. A hedge fund or asset manager can’t just connect a MetaMask wallet to a DeFi protocol and start yield farming. They need enterprise-grade custody, audit trails, regulatory compliance frameworks, and counterparty risk management. That’s exactly what Fireblocks provides.

Broader context and competitive positioning Stacks has also established partnerships with BitGo and Circle, two other heavyweight names in institutional crypto infrastructure. BitGo provides custody and liquidity services to institutional investors. Circle is the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap. Together with Fireblocks, these partnerships form a triangle of institutional credibility that few Bitcoin Layer 2 competitors can match.

For investors watching this space, the key metric to track isn’t the integration announcement itself but what happens to total value locked on Stacks-based DeFi protocols over the coming quarters. If institutional capital actually flows through Fireblocks into protocols like Hermetica, Zest/Granite, and Bitflow, it would validate the thesis that Bitcoin DeFi can attract serious money, not just crypto-native capital.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

THORChain, a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, has paused trading after blockchain security researchers flagged an exploit worth over $10 million. The protocol has reportedly suffered an exploit across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BSC and Base. As a result, RUNE price crashed 12% in a few hours.

THORChain Hit By $10M Crypto Losses in Exploit On-chain investigator ZachXBT on May 15 flagged an exploit on THORChain, claiming losses exceeding $10 million. The funds are stolen across multiple major blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain (BSC), and Base.

In response, THORChain has halted all trading and swaps via its emergency protocol to contain the damage. The exploit involved large unauthorized outflows from THORChain’s router contracts across the affected chains.

Many security researchers and analytics platforms such as PeckShieldAlert revealed the attacker’s wallets. Notably, the wallets hold 36.85 BTC, 3,443 ETH, and 96.6 BNB, along with other tokens like USDT, USDC, and WBTC, according to Arkham data.

THORChain Exploiter Wallet’s Crypto Assets. Source: Arkham The incident triggered THORChain’s built-in halt mechanism, where nodes pause operations upon detecting the exploit to protect liquidity providers (LPs). This is reportedly the second notable security event for THORChain this year, amplifying concerns about DeFi interoperability risks.

Recently, KelpDAO suffered a hack worth $290 million. The attacker drained rsETH through KelpDAO’s LayerZero-powered cross-chain bridge, risking contagion to other DeFi protocols such as Aave.

RUNE Price Crashes 12% amid Market Reaction RUNE price fell 12% in just a few hours, with the price currently trading at $0.520. The 24-hour low and high are $0.502 and $0.597, respectively. Furthermore, trading volume has increased by almost 140% over the last 24 hours as investors book profits amid a decline in prices.

In contrast, CoinGlass data showed massive buying in the derivatives market. At the time of writing, the total THORChain futures open interest jumped more than 6% to $24.80 million in just an hour. RUNE futures open interest spiked 19% in the past 4 hours, with an almost 17% and 19% jump on Binance and Bybit, respectively.

THORChain Futures Open Interest. Source: Coinglass If you’re looking for more cross-chain swap protocols, here are our reviews for the top 9 among the best cross-chain swap platforms in 2026.

Updated Apr 27, 2026, 7:06 a.m. Published Apr 27, 2026, 6:45 a.m.

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Long-time Bitcoin developer proposes a Bitcoin hard fork. (geraldfriedrich2/Pixabay)Summary

Paul Sztorc proposes a 2026 hard fork of Bitcoin called eCash, giving BTC holders equivalent tokens and adding Drivechains. A hard fork splits a blockchain into a new network with shared history but different rules, like Bitcoin Cash in 2017. The plan is controversial for reallocating coins tied to Satoshi Nakamoto, which critics call unethical and risky.Long-time Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has been trying to overhaul Bitcoin's architecture since 2015, but the broader community hasn’t budged.

So now he has proposed a dramatic step, called eCash hardfork, that involves copying Bitcoin's code to launch a separate version in August, while giving existing bitcoin holders equivalent tokens in the new network for free.

The community, however, is criticizing the funding part, which involves reassigning coins linked to Bitcoin’s missing founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Think of a hard fork like a railway line splitting into two. Trains start from the same station, but at some point the line splits, helping trains reach completely different destinations.

When a group of developers cannot reach consensus on a proposed change to Bitcoin’s code, they copy the existing blockchain and launch it as a separate chain, which shares Bitcoin’s entire history up to the point of the split, but diverges after the split, moving forward with its own rules, features, token and direction.

That's precisely what happened in 2017 when the debate over Bitcoin's block size reached a tipping point, culminating in a chain split and the creation of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain with its native token, BCH.

The technical dispute centered on Bitcoin's 1MB block size limit, which caps the number of transactions that can be processed every 10 minutes when new blocks are added to the blockchain. Hence, some favoured increasing the block size, but the community remained divided, eventually leading to a chain split.

Sztorc's eCash hard forkThe proposed hard fork will create a new chain called eCash with native eCash tokens. “Hold 4.19 BTC at the time of the fork, get 4.19 eCash. You can sell it, keep it, or ignore it entirely,” he said on X.

The fork is scheduled for Bitcoin block height 964,000 in August 2026. A coin-splitter tool will be released to help holders cleanly separate their BTC from their new eCash.

The new chain will be a near-copy of Bitcoin's existing blockchain, with one critical addition called Drivechains, a scaling architecture Sztorc first proposed in 2015 and formally submitted to Bitcoin developers as BIP300 and BIP301 in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Drivechains are sidechains tethered to the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing seamless movement of BTC between the main chain and sidechains without changing Bitcoin's base layer. Each sidechain can operate under its own rules and features, essentially allowing developers to build new capabilities on top of Bitcoin without requiring the entire network to adopt those changes.

Think of Drivechains as service roads attached to the main highway. When the highway is congested, drivers can exit the highway and travel on the service road at different speed limits, then re-enter the highway when it's clear. This way, the highway never changes, yet more traffic is handled more efficiently, and the journey becomes more flexible for everyone.

Seven Drivechains are already in development, Sztorc said on X, including a privacy chain modelled on Zcash, a prediction market called Truthcoin, a decentralised exchange called CoinShift, and a quantum-resistant chain called Photon.

The controversial part linked to Satoshi coinsSztorc wants to use coins that would have gone to Satoshi Nakamoto's equivalent addresses on the new eCash chain to bring investors on board before the fork goes live, a decision he calls necessary but which has riled the community, with some calling it outright theft.

A potential hard fork would bring Bitcoin’s entire transaction history to the new chain. So every bitcoin balance, including Satoshi’s 1.1 million bitcoin, sitting untouched in wallets that have noved moved these coins, would show up as an equivalent eCash balance on the new chain.

As per the plan, fewer than half of the Satoshi-equivalent eCash coins will be assigned to investors today. The precise mechanism of how it's being done remains unclear. But since eCash doesn't yet exist, the pre-hard fork assign seems to be a promised credit following a successful hard fork.

The plan, he argues, will ensure collaborators have a tangible incentive to get involved early, building momentum and completing work ahead of launch. Without this mechanism, the project can turn into a "zombie project" that ships unfinished. Worse, it could become a centralized project, where a small group of developers gains outsized control over the chain's direction.

The industry response, however, has been negative.

“Taking Satoshi coins is theft and disrespectful, and eCash is already used for Lightning payments with Cashu and Fedi. Those are poor choices,” Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack said.

Josh Ellithorpe, chief technology officer at Pixelated Ink, expressed concerns about the precedent it sets and how it could eventually be a risk to everyone’s BTC holdings.

“eCash, setting the precedent that they can and will steal coins. Now it's Satoshi, but it could be anyone later. Also misrepresenting the BCH fork, stealing another project's name, and not having replay protection,” Ellithorpe said.

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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XYO surged over 65% to an intraday high of $0.025 on Jan. 29, as the crypto rebounded from a downtrend that had persisted since December.

According to data from crypto.news, XYO Network (XYO) rose by 40% over the past day after it announced XYO Layer One, with its price moving from $0.0157 to $0.0224 at the time of writing. During the same period, the asset’s market cap shot up 42% to $312 million while its trading volume spiked by a massive 1100%, hovering around $86.7 million.

On Jan. 28, XYO launched its own Layer-1 blockchain, XYO Layer One, which is set to serve as the backbone of its ecosystem. The blockchain, featuring multichain support, will reportedly facilitate applications across various sectors, including AI models, blockchain tools, real-world asset management, and DePIN.

Market commentators also observed that the altcoin has recently broken out of a falling wedge pattern, a bullish pattern, which positions the token for more gains ahead.

Further rumors around a potential collaboration with electric car manufacturer Tesla have also gained prominence within the community.

When these rumors first surfaced, XYO responded with a 125% surge in less than 24 hours in early December 2024.

Another factor that could help support XYO’s current rally is the narrative around it being a U.S.-based project. Recent reports claim Eric Trump has floated the idea of a 0% capital gains tax on U.S.-based cryptocurrency projects as a way to boost blockchain innovation. 

While Eric Trump isn’t a policymaker himself, his comments have been interpreted as a reflection of the Trump administration’s broader stance. The mere possibility of such a tax incentive has stirred speculation, particularly around projects like XYO, which could see increased interest from investors looking to capitalize on potential tax advantages.

XYO is currently 327% up over the past year, with a circulating supply of around $13.93 billion tokens.

What is XYO crypto? XYO is the governance and utility token of the decentralized physical infrastructure network project with the same name. It powers the XYO ecosystem by supporting consumer software, developer tools, and digital assets.

The network is designed to promote data sovereignty, rewarding users for contributing and maintaining accurate location-based information, with the XYO token serving as the foundation of this system.

pSTAKE Finance, backed by Binance Labs and a prominent figure in the liquid staking sector, is set to introduce a novel liquid staking solution for Bitcoin, constructed on Babylon's framework. This development marks a significant extension of pSTAKE's offerings beyond its initial focus area within the Cosmos network, where it first introduced liquid staking in 2021.

In a strategic partnership with Babylon, pSTAKE Finance aims to streamline the staking process, thus enabling Bitcoin holders to engage in yield-generation activities without sacrificing the liquidity of their assets. This approach is anticipated to optimize yield opportunities for users and expand the utility of Bitcoin within the broader digital asset ecosystem.

Persistence Labs co-founder and CSO Mikhil Pandey noted that the initiative is poised to enhance Bitcoin's role within today's DeFi landscape by offering simple, efficient financial products. “Bitcoin's future has never been so exciting, with simple BTC-first financial products anticipated to bring much-needed liquidity and utility to today's DeFi landscape,” Pandey noted.

Fisher Yu, Co-founder of Babylon, highlighted the synergistic nature of the collaboration, aiming to propel Bitcoin into the future of finance. “By integrating our BTC staking protocol, we're enabling pSTAKE to simplify and amplify the yield generation process for Bitcoin holders,” Yu explained. He emphasized that the collaboration illustrates their commitment to enhancing Bitcoin's utility and liquidity, paving the way for a Bitcoin-powered DeFi ecosystem.

Historically, liquid staking was predominantly associated with Ethereum. However, Babylon's infrastructure is set to democratize access to similar yield generation and staking rewards opportunities for Bitcoin users.

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Technological innovations within the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Bitcoin Layer-2 solutions, are gradually shaping Bitcoin into a yield-bearing asset. These advancements, alongside Babylon's native Bitcoin staking capabilities, are expected to foster a diverse range of yield-generation avenues for Bitcoin in the near future.

BTC deposits on the pSTAKE platform are slated to commence in the coming weeks, marking a significant milestone in the availability of staking solutions for Bitcoin holders. David Tse, founder of Babylon, appeared on a recent episode of the SlateCast, where he outlined the power of Bitcoin staking as a tool to secure other blockchains.

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Binance, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, announced that it will support the planned technical upgrade of the Moonbeam (GLMR) network.

13.10.2025 - 05:59

Update: 13.10.2025 - 05:59

Binance, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, announced that it will support the planned technical upgrade of the Moonbeam (GLMR) network.

Binance to Support Moonbeam (GLMR) Network Upgrade According to the official statement, in preparation for the upgrade, deposits and withdrawals of all tokens on the Moonbeam network will be temporarily suspended as of 3:00 PM on October 13, 2025.

The network upgrade is expected to occur at block height 12,993,016, approximately 4:00 PM. Binance will be handling all necessary technical work within its own team to ensure the security of user funds and ensure a seamless transition during this time.

Binance specifically emphasized that the maintenance period will only affect deposits and withdrawals, and that trading of GLMR and other related tokens will continue uninterrupted. Users will be able to continue trading in spot and futures markets.

Once the upgrade is complete and the network is confirmed to be stable, deposits and withdrawals of tokens on the Moonbeam network will automatically reopen. Binance also stated that no further announcements will be made after this period.

This network upgrade aims to improve Moonbeam's performance, transaction security, and cross-chain compatibility.

*This is not investment advice.

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(June 18 17:05 UTC) This article has been updated to reflect that Tether Gold-backed loans will be available on Ledn later this year.

Bitcoin lending platform Ledn is expanding its services to include Tether Gold (XAUt), giving investors the ability to hold the tokenized asset and eventually use it as collateral for loans, just as they can with Bitcoin.

Ledn announced Thursday that later this year, clients will be able to use XAUt as collateral for loans instead of selling their holdings for cash. Under the company's existing lending model, client collateral is held one-to-one and is not rehypothecated, lent out or used to generate yield.

Loans are issued and repaid in Tether’s USDT or USAt stablecoins and can be repaid at any time without scheduled monthly payments. Tether launched USAt in the United States in January as a stablecoin designed to comply with the GENIUS Act.

The launch will expand the range of digital assets that can be used as loan collateral, giving investors another way to access liquidity without triggering a taxable sale. While Bitcoin-backed lending has become a common feature of the crypto market, the addition of tokenized gold reflects growing efforts to bring real-world assets into digital asset financial services as gold prices hover near record highs.

The new products are rolling out across most jurisdictions where Ledn operates but are not currently available in Canada or the European Union.

The market capitalization of Tether Gold peaked at around $2.89 billion. Source: CoinMarketCap

Tokenized commodities gain traction in RWA marketThe announcement comes as commodities play an increasingly prominent role in the tokenization market. According to a recent Token Terminal report, tokenized financial assets have surpassed $43 billion, with commodities accounting for nearly 17% of the market.

Unlike commodity derivatives and futures, tokenized assets such as gold are backed by the underlying asset, giving holders direct ownership while enabling faster transfers and trading on blockchain networks.

Commodities account for a bigger share of the tokenization market.
Source: Token Terminal

Tether Gold benefited from this year’s rally in bullion prices, with the token’s market capitalization expanding as gold climbed to record highs above $5,600 per troy ounce. The precious metal has since pulled back to around $4,300 an ounce but remains up on the year.

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.

Post the fourth Bitcoin halving event last week, the mining rewards have reduced considerably by 50% putting a dent in miner revenues. However, payments giant PayPal has proposed a new incentive scheme for Bitcoin miners who are using low-carbon energy sources.

The goal is to make sustainable Bitcoin mining more economically attractive through this new rewards mechanism. In collaboration with Energy Web and DMG Blockchain Solutions, PayPal’s Blockchain Research Group proposed these “cryptoeconomic incentives” encouraging Bitcoin miners to use low-carbon energy sources.

PayPal believes that these experimental incentives would contribute to further discussion and innovation around Bitcoin. The proposal suggests granting “green keys” to the “green miners”, all linked to their public keys. All the Bitcoin transactions would later prioritize these miners providing lower fees and an extra locked BTC reward sent to a multisig payout address that will only be accessible to green miners.

“Green miners will be incentivized to mine these transactions since they will be the only ones eligible for the additional “locked” BTC reward,” it explained. As a result, profit-driven miners who operate with low-carbon sources will receive incentives in the form of extra BTC rewards.

Leveraging Energy Web’s “Green Proofs for Bitcoin” Platform As per PayPal’s proposed paper, the solution will leverage Energy Web’s “Green Proofs for Bitcoin” platform certifying miners based on their grid impact and clean energy source. The green miners can register to this platform by sharing their green keys, and thus participate in the incentives program.

Interestingly, PayPal BRG has successfully tested this proposed solution in partnership with Bitcoin miner, DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. Throughout the test, it sent out numerous low-fee transactions to assess their performance across various levels of on-chain transaction activity. It noted that depending on the volume, these transactions could either face prolonged confirmation times or ultimately be discarded by the network. This scenario would heighten the likelihood of green miners processing these transactions.

Another approach here would be to involve private channels such as smart contracts or Lightning Network. However, the trade-off in this case is a more complex implementation. PayPal BRG concluded by stating:

“The solution outlined here aims to achieve a good degree of decentralization, ease of implementation and trust independence while distributing incentives.”

PayPal has been recently undertaking key initiatives in the crypto space such as releasing its PYUSD stablecoin as well as updating its NFT policy.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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Several states in the U.S. are already considering the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve as proponents await a push from Donald Trump on the federal level.

On the campaign trail for the November 2024 elections, now President-elect Donald Trump made several big promises to the crypto industry. Still, none has been as talked about following the election as his intention to launch a strategic U.S. Bitcoin reserve.

However, while pundits continue to debate the feasibility of such a move at the Federal level and its possible market impacts, some states may be looking to get in on the action.

U.S. States Consider the Orange Pill Following Donald Trump’s election victory, at least three U.S. states are considering building their own Bitcoin stockpile employing unique frameworks, as recently highlighted in a CNBC Crypto World report on Tuesday, December 24. Speaking with CNBC, Centrifuge General Counsel Eli Cohen asserted that the development was significantly positive for the crypto markets.

Pennsylvania  On November 12, barely a week after Trump’s announcement as the next U.S. president, Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Cabell proposed a bill to allow the state treasurer to invest state funds in Bitcoin.

House Bill 2664, or the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, seeks to allow the treasurer to invest up to 10% of the State General Fund, the Rainy Day Fund, and the State Investment Fund in Bitcoin.

Cabell argues that implementing the bill would help protect state assets against inflation. He asserted that the state’s purchasing power had reduced by a staggering 20% in the past four years alone while Bitcoin continues to gain strength against the dollar.

So far, Pennsylvania’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act has received only one co-sponsor, Representative Aaron Kaufer.

Texas On December 12, Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione proposed House Bill 1598, or the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, to allow the state to establish a Bitcoin reserve within its treasury.

Unlike Pennsylvania’s proposed bill allowing the treasurer to purchase Bitcoin with established state funds, the proposed Texas bill will establish the reserve by enabling residents to pay charges and taxes with Bitcoin. The stockpile will also be open to voluntary donations.

The Texas bill also details the establishment of cold storage and a holding period, noting that the state must not sell the reserve for at least five years.

Like Pennsylvania’s Cabell, Capriglione also argues that Bitcoin could act as an inflationary hedge preserving value for Texans.

On Tuesday, Centrifuge’s Eli Cohen told CNBC that Texas’ bill may face significant infrastructure hurdles and problems getting the crypto community to submit their wallet for taxes.

Ohio Ohio is the most recent to join the Bitcoin rush. On December 17, state Representative Derek Merrin submitted a proposal to allow the state to establish a Bitcoin stockpile.

House Bill 703, or Ohio’s Bitcoin Reserve Act, seeks to give the state treasurer the flexibility to invest in Bitcoin if they desire and build a reserve from seized assets.

Merrin hopes the bill will pave the way for quick legislation in 2025.

The recent state bills, like the proposed national effort, are all in their early stages, and it remains unclear if they can garner the needed support to become law. But till then, the ensuing speculation continues to drive excitement about Bitcoin and crypto.

DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

03.12.2025 - 07:17

Update: 03.12.2025 - 07:17

South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced that it will list KRW trading pairs for two new crypto assets, BOB and OriginTrail (TRAC).

Bithumb Announces Listing of KRW Trading Pairs for BOB and OriginTrail (TRAC) The exchange aims to increase user interest by announcing that trading fees for both assets will be free for a certain period of time.

According to the exchange's statement, the KRW parity for BOB (Build on Bitcoin) will open at 15:00 on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, and the KRW parity for TRAC will open at 17:00 on the same day.

Deposits and withdrawals for both assets will be available within three hours of the announcement. The starting price for BOB is 16.90 KRW, while for TRAC, it is 738 KRW.

Bithumb will zero transaction fees for both assets from the trading opening on December 3, 2025, until 5:00 PM on December 5. However, it was stated that transactions made during the free trading period will not earn trading points or maker rewards, and unrewarded or suspicious transaction volumes will not be included in the Black Premium benefit calculations.

BOB stands out as a hybrid Layer-2 solution that combines the security of Bitcoin with the scalability of Ethereum. Its OP Stack-based EVM compatibility allows developers to leverage Bitcoin security while using Ethereum tools. The BOB token is used for staking, governance, and network incentives.

OriginTrail, a project that aims to create reliable data connections between blockchain and AI using distributed knowledge graph (DKG) technology. The TRAC token is the underlying asset used for intra-network transactions, fees, and staking.

*This is not investment advice.

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On June 3, 2025, Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy) introduced a new perpetual called Stride (STRD). The stock will allow investors to get a 10% yield from Bitcoin without buying it directly, while Strategy will get cash to buy more Bitcoin. The new stock received a mixed reception from the crypto community.

What is Stride? Following the release of Strife and Strike, Strategy introduced a new preferred stock offering, Series A Preferred Stock Stride (STRD). Stride is a 10% noncallable non-cumulative perpetual. Its fixed dividend of 10% is above Strike’s 8% dividend, but has a lower seniority if compared to Strife, which has a 10% dividend too. 

Stride is a significant addition to Strategy’s so-called three-piston Bitcoin engine, conceived of common stock MSTR and two other preferred stocks, Strike (STRK) and Strife (STRF). This engine was supposed to ensure maximizing Strategy’s profits by playing with Bitcoin’s scarcity and volatility. Seemingly, Strategy found a way to improve this engine by supplementing it with a fourth element.

Stride is fee-free and has a higher yield than most ETFs. This makes it attractive for long-term investors. Stride may be repurchased if the fundamental change takes place or for taxes-related purposes. STRD dividends are discretionary and are paid when the Strategy board makes a declaration.

What are the concerns? The new stock offering was perceived as proof of Strategy’s troubled state by some on the Crypto Twitter. Critics believe that the company is running out of cash and trying to find a way to make quick money.

More than that, CEO and co-founder of CoinBureau, Nic Puckrin, took to X to ask questions regarding the Stride offering. He is interested in the origin of the funds needed to pay dividends, assumes that the new perpetual may dilute common stock if the latter is used to fund STRD, and asks if there is a risk that Strategy will have to sell Bitcoin if the equity is not sold. On top of that, while not saying “Ponzi Scheme,” Puckrin questioned whether it is a good idea to pay current investors with funds taken from future investors. A Bitcoin enthusiast, Shanaka Anslem Perera, responding to these questions via an X post, claimed the offering has clear Ponzi vibes.

The $4.22 billion net loss admitted by Strategy in the first quarter of 2025 only fuels skepticism. If Strategy dumps MSTR stock to fund dividends for STRD investors, it creates tension within the Bitcoin engine and potentially hurts MSTR stock investors. 

Why do some say Stride is a genius move? At a current Bitcoin price of over $100,000, Strategy’s $8+ billion debt is not considered a problem. According to Goldman Sachs, investors will stop investing in Strategy only if, by 2027, the BTC price declines by half. That’s why there are many optimistic comments from people who don’t see Stride stock offering as a sign of the inability of Strategy to gain cash for purchasing more Bitcoin or pay off its debt. 

Adam Livingston, MSTR investor and author of The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest, posted a series of tweets explaining the genius behind the new stock. However, it’s notable how he emphasizes how good the move is for Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman of Strategy. Livingston puts it that way:

“Saylor gets cheap capital, no dilution, optional payments, and can nuke it whenever he wants.”

Livingston claims that yield serves as a disguise for Bitcoin accumulation. He points out that Strategy will not be obliged to pay dividends if things are getting out of hand and argues that STRD doesn’t dilute the float.

According to him, the new stock is not for bitcoiners, but rather for people who feel reluctant to own Bitcoin but want to yield on BTC. Institutional allocators and pension funds may find STRD interesting, too.

https://twitter.com/AdamBLiv/status/1929647801597644863?t=wILEwuw11s7cm77vRFwq5g&s=35

Livingston outlines that STRD offering is a 10% yield for the more TradFi people, while the Bitcoin veterans will rather see it as cheap capital to reduce the market supply. Earlier, Livingstone claimed that Strategy is rewriting Bitcoin’s scarcity, creating a synthetic halving. Although these financial equilibristics raise questions about Bitcoin’s decentralization and the original anti-Wallet Street ethos, it seems that from Michael Saylor’s standpoint, Strategy just cemented its status even better.

Strategy announced on Monday that it entered a $4.2 billion at-the-market (ATM) offering for its Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock (STRD) after breaking its three-month Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation streak last week. This comes at a time when spot BTC demand has dropped despite increasing treasury allocations and continued BTC exchange-traded funds (ETF) inflows.

Strategy paused its nearly three-month Bitcoin buying streak, which began on April 14, as the firm did not announce any new acquisition last week, according to a Monday filing with the SEC. During this period, Strategy purchased over 69,000 BTC for nearly $7 billion, boosting its holdings to 597,325 BTC, valued at over $65 billion. This accounts for more than 2.8% of Bitcoin's total supply of 21 million BTC.

The firm also revealed it entered a sales agreement to issue up to $4.2 billion of its STRD stock, which it intends to use to resume its Bitcoin purchases.

Strategy's newly disclosed acquisition plan comes as Bitcoin ETFs continued their inflow run last week, netting $790 million, according to a report from CoinShares on Monday. However, the figure declined from the prior three weeks' average of $1.5 billion, potentially signaling a slowdown in demand as BTC edged closer to its all-time high price, the report states.

Despite steady Bitcoin ETF inflows and strong buying from treasury companies, spot demand for Bitcoin has slowed in recent weeks. The decline can be traced to a slowdown in market sentiment, keeping BTC caught between bullish speculation and short-term uncertainty, according to Shawn Young, Chief Analyst at crypto exchange MEXC.

"This market dynamics is weighing heavily on market sentiment," Young said in a note, highlighting macroeconomic instability as a major cause for the volatility. He predicts that the upcoming Crypto Week could serve as a catalyst for renewed demand in Bitcoin and potentially trigger a push toward new highs. "Market participants would seek a favorable market vantage position in anticipation of the new policy direction for digital assets," he added.

QCP analysts highlighted that strategic weekend accumulation by firms such as Metaplanet has helped sustain Bitcoin's price despite fears triggered by the sudden activity of eight previously dormant wallets that transferred roughly $8.5 billion worth of BTC on Saturday. However, they anticipate a bullish Q3 based on dynamics from the BTC options market.

"Volumes remain pinned near historical lows, but a decisive breach of the $110k resistance could spark a renewed volatility bid. Some larger players appear to be positioning for just that," wrote QCP analysts. "They are continuing to add exposure to September $130k calls, while steadfastly holding September $115/$140k call spreads, underscoring a structurally bullish Q3 outlook."

Bitcoin is changing hands just above $108,000, down nearly 1% over the past 24 hours at the time of publication.

14.05.2026 - 13:12

Update: 14.05.2026 - 13:12

Upbit, one of South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has officially announced that it will remove the NKN token from its platform as of June 15th. According to the information released by the exchange, trading support for NKN will end at 09:00 on June 15th. Following this decision, users are advised to close their open positions and withdraw their assets by that date.

Upbit stated that the delisting decision was made after a comprehensive review process. The company explained that the evaluations identified various shortcomings in the project and that the current situation posed potential risks to users. Exchange officials emphasized that protecting investors was the primary goal.

The statement noted that the decision was made after a detailed examination of the project’s business model, sustainability, ecosystem development, and level of technical progress. In addition, on-chain token ownership trends, trading volume in local and international markets, liquidity levels, and listing status on other major cryptocurrency exchanges were also considered as evaluation criteria.

NKN stood out as a blockchain-based project aiming to develop a decentralized network infrastructure. However, recent developments related to the project falling short of expectations and a decline in market activity have negatively impacted investor confidence.

Market analysts note that a delisting decision by a major exchange like Upbit could create short-term selling pressure on NKN. They point out that similar decisions have led to sharp price fluctuations in related tokens in the past.

Experts emphasize that investors should carefully monitor exchange announcements during delisting processes and that it is important for them to complete necessary transactions in advance to avoid delays, especially regarding withdrawal times.

*This is not investment advice.

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Build on Bitcoin’s native token, BOB, went live on November 20, 2025, following its highly anticipated Token Generation Event (TGE) at 12:00 UTC. This event followed a community sale that raised $4.2 million and distributed tokens to early participants. 

Before the TGE, the hybrid Layer 2 blockchain network has recorded over $300 million in total value locked, 1 million wallets, and 545,000 unique users since its mainnet launch 18 months prior. Backed by investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Castle Island VC, and Ledger, the project has raised $23.7 million across seed, strategic, and public rounds.

Build on Bitcoin at a GlanceBuild on Bitcoin is a hybrid zero-knowledge rollup built on the OP Stack, offering Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility for smart contracts. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to achieve security comparable to Ethereum while integrating Bitcoin finality via staked BTC. A key component is the native BTC bridge powered by BitVM, which enables trustless, non-custodial BTC transfers without wrappers. This bridge is currently on testnet, with partnerships including Anchorage and RockawayX, and a full production launch planned for early 2026.

The BOB Gateway supports one-click BTC deposits and withdrawals across more than 11 chains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Unichain. It provides SDK integration for over 15,000 decentralized applications and facilitates cross-chain swaps. The network has established integrations with entities like Uniswap, Chainlink, Fireblocks, Lombard, Euler, Solv, and Babylon. Grants from Optimism and Uniswap have supported development. The roadmap includes expanding to additional chains and enhancing BTC-native earning products.

BOB At a Glance | SourceBitcoin holds a market capitalization of $2.2 trillion, but only 0.3 percent of it participates in decentralized finance, compared to 30 percent for Ethereum. Build on Bitcoin seeks to address this disparity by enabling Bitcoin's use in DeFi, potentially increasing Bitcoin DeFi's total value locked to $700 billion if adoption patterns follow those of Ethereum.

BOB Token Details and TokenomicsThe BOB token serves as the utility, governance, and staking token for the Build on Bitcoin hybrid chain. It is an ERC-20 token minted on the BOB network with a fixed total supply of 10,000,000,000 tokens. No further tokens will be minted after this cap. The full supply unlocks 48 months after launch.

BOB Token DistributionToken Distribution BreakdownTotal Community and Ecosystem Allocation
Token distribution allocates 50.91 percent to community and ecosystem purposes.

Division of Community and Ecosystem Allocation
This is divided into initial claims at 4.15 percent, community sale at 2.00 percent, and ongoing ecosystem and community initiatives at 44.76 percent.

Initial Circulating Supply at Launch
At launch, the initial circulating supply stands at 22.20 percent.

Components of Initial Circulating Supply
This includes 0.51 billion tokens, or 5.1 percent, in community hands via initial claims and the community sale; 1.46 billion tokens, or 14.6 percent, for ecosystem and community; and 0.25 billion tokens, or 2.5 percent, for the BOB Foundation.

Locked Tokens and Vesting SchedulesTokens for core contributors and early backers remain locked at launch, with vesting schedules over two to three years. In total, 77.8 percent of the supply is locked on day one. Foundation and ecosystem allocations vest over 48 months. Locked tokens cannot be staked to prevent initial reward concentration among team members and backers.Ecosystem and Community Allocation DetailsThe ecosystem and community allocation of 44.76 percent reserves about one-third, or 14.6 percent of the total supply, unlocked at the token generation event, with the rest unlocking linearly over 48 months. 

This supports growth initiatives managed by the BOB Foundation and DAO through onchain governance. Uses include community, builder, and DeFi initiatives, as well as staking rewards. Five percent is pre-allocated for early DeFi, liquidity, and ecosystem growth.

Initial Claims and Staking BonusesInitial claims and staking bonuses total 4.15 percent, or 415 million tokens. Of this, 2.15 percent goes to initial claims for Fusion users, content creators, and campaign participants. Strategic liquidity providers are excluded from the Spice system to avoid dilution and face a 12-month lockup. Some campaign allocations have pre-agreed lockups. The remaining 2.00 percent funds staking bonuses, available upon staking and timelocking for set periods.Community Sale DetailsThe community sale of 2 percent, or 200 million tokens, occurred from November 10 to 16, 2025, raising $4.2 million. Proven community members, including top Spice holders in Fusion and the top 2,000 Cookie snappers, participated at a discounted valuation. Tokens are 50 percent unlocked at the token generation event, with the remaining 50 percent vesting linearly over three months.

Allocations to BOB Foundation, Core Contributors, and Early BackersThe BOB Foundation receives 10.00 percent to fund research, development, and initiatives. Of this, 2.5 percent unlocks at launch, with the remaining 7.5 percent unlocking linearly over 4 years. 

Core contributors get 19.00 percent, vesting linearly over 36 months with a 12-month cliff. 

Early backers receive 20.09 percent, with terms varying: strategic and seed at 18.71 percent over 36 months with a 12-month cliff; angels at 0.62 percent over 36 months from launch; and strategic partners at 0.77 percent with a 12-month lockup followed by 12 months linear vesting.

Token Generation Event and Exchange ListingsThe TGE took place on November 20, 2025, after a community sale from November 10 to 13, with fully diluted valuations ranging from $165 million for community tranches to $230 million for the public. 

Bids ranged from $50 USDT to $250,000, allocated pro rata in USDC or USDT. The public tranche unlocks 20 percent at the event, with linear vesting over 12 months; the community tranche vests fully linearly over 12 months.

The token is listed on exchanges, including Gate, Kucoin, and Kraken. The token is also expected to go live on Coinbase. 

Spot trading for BOB (BOBBOB) will go live on 20 November 2025. The opening of our BOBBOB-USD trading pair will begin later today if liquidity conditions are met, in regions where trading is supported. pic.twitter.com/CoyUm1Gghj

— Coinbase Markets 🛡️ (@CoinbaseMarkets) November 20, 2025 Airdrop Details and Claiming ProcessThe airdrop distributes 415 million tokens, or 4.15 percent of the supply, to reward early supporters. 

Eligibility covers about 17,000 core supporters and 200,000 wider community members based on Spice harvested in Fusion Seasons 1-3, with Season 1 weighted 50 percent higher; onchain activity like BTCFi participation; social engagement; quests; and NFT mints such as Cookie Snappers. 

Wallets require healthy onchain contributions; inactive ones disqualify. Exclusions include AML flags via TRM Labs, known criminal behavior, and core contributors. Strategic liquidity providers face a 12-month lockup.

Here’s the breakdown: 

The snapshot occurred on November 6, 2025, at 14:00 UTC. Allocation splits into 215 million for initial claims and 200 million for staking bonuses. Claims opened at 12:00 UTC on November 20 via the official BOB claim page. Unclaimed tokens after 45 days return to the ecosystem treasury. KYC is recommended for sale participants but not required for airdrop claims.Claiming requires a small amount of ETH on the BOB network for gas fees. Users check eligibility by pasting their wallet address, connect if eligible, accept terms, and claim. ConclusionThe launch of the BOB token on November 20, 2025, establishes it as the core asset for staking, governance, and utility in the Build on Bitcoin network. With a fixed supply of 10 billion tokens and allocations prioritizing community at over 50 percent, the tokenomics support long-term network security through vesting and lockups.

The airdrop and staking mechanisms distribute tokens to early participants, while exchange listings provide immediate liquidity. Overall, this structure positions the token to facilitate Bitcoin's role in decentralized finance, emphasizing community involvement and technical integration. 

Sources:

What is Build on BOB: https://docs.gobob.xyz/docs/quick-start/what-is-bob Build on BOB X Announcement: https://x.com/build_on_bob/status/1991478732272595223?s=20 Documentation: https://docs.gobob.xyz/ 

Router Protocol, a Coinbase Ventures-backed decentralized blockchain network, has announced the mainnet launch of its Layer-1 solution Router Chain.

The launch, set for Tuesday, aims to bridge Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) security to chains in the Cosmos (ATOM) ecosystem, enabling fully interoperable decentralized applications. 

Router Protocol’s mainnet launch introduces chain abstraction technology, allowing developers to create dApps for cross-chain money markets and omnichain tokens and other use cases.

Router Chain eyes a chain abstracted ecosystem Chain abstraction relates to the defragmentation of the blockchain ecosystem to allow users to interact with dApps from any chain without having to exit their current application. Abstraction also allows for interaction with the applications on disparate chains via any token, with blockchains benefitting from aggregated liquidity.

Router Protool wrote in an update that its mainnet launch is another step towards addressing challenges facing developers and the community in relation to chain abstraction within the Web3 ecosystem. Per details shared in the press release, the protocol offers a product suite that includes Router Chain, Nitro and CCIF for this goal.

Router Chain is a proof of stake layer-1 chain leveraging Tendermint’s BFT consensus mechanism and offers compatibility with EVM and non EVM chains. Meanwhile, the Cross-Chain Intent Framework is a plug-and-play infrastructure for cross-chain dApps and Nitro supports cross-chain swaps.

“By abstracting blockchain complexities, Router Protocol not only advances chain abstraction technology but enables the next generation of decentralized applications to seamlessly interact across multiple chains, boosting efficiency and reducing costs. This is the development Web3 has been waiting for,” Router Protocol founder and CEO Ramani Ramachandran said.

ROUTE as gas token Router Protocol’s mainnet launch also allows developers and users to benefit from features such as optimistic reverse verification and fast finality for fast cross-chain transfers. Meanwhile, middleware interceptors provide for customizable interactions and composability.

According to Router Protocol, the ROUTE token will serve as the platform’s gas token as well as offer staking rewards for holders.

Bridging Bitcoin, Ethereum to Cosmos Features that come with Router Chain’s mainnet launch includes canonical bridges, omnichain tokens and alloyed assets, and cross-chain money markets. Developers can leverage Router Chain for decentralized applications for cross-chain lending, borrowing and trading.

Router Chain’s multi-chain dApps feature means developers can tap into Bitcoin or Ethereum’s security, while at the same time leverage Solana for low transaction costs and speed. Router plans to launch a bridging solution for Cosmos to help mitigate the chain’s security limitations.

Also backed by QCP Capital and Wintermute among other investors, Router Protocol will look to mainnet launch to expand beyond the over 30 EVM and non-EVM chains that it currently supports.

Router Protocol has partnerships with Circle, Osmosis and Electron Labs, while its CCIF integrations include Lido, Benqi, Stakestone and Aerodrome.

Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced fresh stablecoin legislation Wednesday, renewing lawmakers’ years-long attempt at enacting a comprehensive framework for the class of crypto assets in the United States.

The 117-page bill includes a raft of definitions pertaining to the sector, outlining rules on the state and federal levels for firms to issue so-called payment stablecoins. The bill also requires that firms conduct any stablecoin activities through subsidiaries. Stablecoins are crypto assets that are pegged to (and backed by) fiat currencies, and maintain a stable price point.

The new requirement differs from how some companies have handled stablecoins in the past. For example, Binance, which is not a bank, once offered its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin through Paxos Trust, which is not a subsidiary of the crypto exchange. The companies’ support of BUSD, however, drew to a close after Paxos was warned of a potential enforcement action by the SEC last year.

Different regulations would apply to companies depending on the outstanding value of stablecoins issued. Under the bill, dubbed the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, a $10 billion cap is placed on state regulators’ ability to authorize and supervise non-depository trust companies involved in the stablecoin space.

🚨@gillibrandny and I are introducing the most comprehensive stablecoin bill to date.

Crypto assets are revolutionizing the world and as the undisputed leader in financial innovation, the U.S. must embrace crypto assets, but it cannot be done without clear rules for stablecoins. pic.twitter.com/vwRUEBUdsl

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) April 17, 2024

“The legislation maintains the dual banking system that is critical to preserving the parity enjoyed by the state and federal financial institutions,” Lummis said on Twitter (aka X) on Wednesday.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with key legislators from the House Financial Service Committee to discuss stablecoin legislation, per Punchbowl News. During the meeting, lawmakers reportedly discussed folding bipartisan legislation into a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“I think there’s momentum,” Gillibrand said in an interview on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" Wednesday. “As part of the FAA reauthorization, it can be done quite quickly.”

Often referred to as the "Bitcoin Senator," Lummis' advocacy for crypto on Capitol Hill dates back to her election win in 2020. However, Lummis says she bought her first Bitcoin back in 2013, believing in its potential to address issues in today's financial system.

Under the new bill, it would be unlawful for stablecoin issuers in the U.S. to issue algorithmic stablecoins. Instead of using assets to back a stablecoin’s value, algorithmic coins keep their price pegged to the dollar (or other asset) with trading incentives.

Additionally, the bill requires that stablecoin issuers maintain one-to-one reserves for stablecoins. Often, fiat-backed stablecoins are pegged to the dollar through a mix of liquid assets like U.S. Treasuries and cash.

Algorithmic stablecoins caught attention on Capitol Hill following the collapse of TerraUSD in 2022, which shredded more than $40 billion worth of investors’ wealth. In February, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it should still be a priority for Congress to pass legislation regulating the stablecoin market.

The senators’ bill introduced Wednesday follows the introduction of other crypto-related bills, such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act in 2022. 

Outlining boundaries between the regulatory authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the bill was reintroduced in 2023.

So far, efforts to regulate crypto on Capitol Hill have died on the legislative grapevine. But Lummis is hopeful that the senators’ efforts could bear fruit before election season becomes too strong a force.

“We're going to keep pushing for weeks, rather than months,” Lummis said on "Squawk Box" Wednesday, adding that Congress is quickly approaching a period where “politics takes over policy.”

Edited by Stacy Elliott and Andrew Hayward

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