Ethereum, the largest altcoin, surpassed its previous all-time high (ATH) in August 2025, reaching a new all-time high of over $4,900. However, this rise from its previous ATH of $4,891 to its new ATH pales in comparison to Bitcoin’s break above its previous ATH of $69,000 and its new ATH of $126,000.
Although Ethereum hit a new price record at this point, its rise was very limited, and it failed to break through the psychological barrier of $5,000.
This situation has made investors more cautious about ETH, with a former Ethereum Foundation researcher stating that ETH lacks a clear value narrative.
Ansgar Dietrichs, a former Ethereum Foundation researcher and current director of Ethlabs, who appeared on journalist Laura Shin’s Unchained podcast, stated that Ethereum has been unable to surpass the $5,000 mark for five years.
He stated that the main reason it couldn’t surpass $5,000 was the lack of a clear value narrative for ETH.
Dietrichs also noted that he found it difficult to clearly articulate the true role ETH plays as an entity today.
He also added that one of the core goals of Ethlabs, which he founded along with five other former researchers at the Ethereum Foundation, is to provide clear direction on what ETH’s purpose is and what it should be.
Podcast host Laura Shin noted that the most surprising part of her conversation with Dietrichs was his statement that ETH, despite failing to surpass $5,000 in five years, still lacks a clear value narrative.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
While Ethereum’s overall market structure is still dominated by the sellers, recent price action suggests sellers may be losing momentum after the market was held by the $1.5K support region twice. The emergence of a potential double bottom and improving short-term momentum could pave the way for a relief rally if buyers reclaim the next resistance cluster.
Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart On the daily timeframe, ETH is still trading within the same long-term descending channel that has remained intact for months, with both the long-term moving averages sloping lower just above the channel’s higher boundary. The price remains well below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which are currently positioned around the $2K to $2.2K region, confirming that the macro trend is still bearish.
After the sharp sell-off a few weeks ago, the cryptocurrency found strong demand inside the $1.5K support zone. The price has now tested this area twice, raising the possibility of a double-bottom formation. Although the pattern is not confirmed yet, the repeated defense of this support suggests that bearish momentum is fading.
The RSI has also recovered from near-oversold conditions and is gradually pushing higher toward the midline, indicating improving momentum without reaching overbought territory.
For the bullish scenario to gain credibility, ETH needs to reclaim the $1.8K resistance zone to validate the double bottom setup. A successful move above that level would also expose the next major supply area around $2K to $2.2K, where the 100-day and 200-day moving averages converge.
Conversely, losing the $1.5K support zone could likely prove catastrophic, as it would invalidate the potential reversal structure and likely trigger a deeper leg lower within the broader downtrend.
Source: TradingView ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart The 4-hour chart presents a clearer short-term picture. The price has built liquidity beneath the $1.5K lows, as buyers stepped back into the market, preventing a lower low. This demand is gradually pushing ETH toward the first area of overhead supply.
The price is currently approaching a key fair value gap at approximately $1.7k. This imbalance coincides with the latest bearish impulse and is likely to attract selling interest. A decisive breakout above this zone would signal improving short-term strength and could open the path toward the $1.85K resistance.
Momentum has also noticeably improved on the lower timeframe, with the RSI climbing toward bullish territory while printing higher lows alongside price. This suggests buyers have regained some control after the recent rebound.
However, unless ETH successfully clears the fair value gap and establishes higher highs, the current advance could still develop into nothing more than a corrective rally within the larger bearish trend.
Source: TradingView Sentiment Analysis The distribution of open interest in options contracts shows that the largest concentration is positioned around the late December 2026 expiry, where call open interest significantly outweighs put open interest. Several other major expiries, including late September and late July, also display a clear dominance of call positioning.
This skew toward call options suggests that derivatives participants continue positioning for higher prices over the medium to long term despite Ethereum’s recent weakness. At the same time, the substantial notional value concentrated around the larger expiries indicates that these dates could become important volatility catalysts as expiration approaches.
While options positioning alone does not guarantee a bullish outcome, the current distribution reflects a market that still maintains longer-term upside expectations even as spot price remains trapped below major technical resistance. If ETH confirms the developing double-bottom structure and breaks above the nearby resistance cluster, the optimistic options positioning could provide additional tailwinds through improved market sentiment.
A Regulated First for On-Chain U.S. Equities@OndoFinance and @Broadridge (NYSE: BR) have taken a significant step in bringing U.S. equity markets on-chain, launching what they describe as the first regulated solution for third-party tokenized U.S. securities. The collaboration places shares of Micron ($MU) and BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF on the @Ethereum blockchain, while keeping the underlying assets firmly within the existing domestic regulated custody chain.
The key distinction here is compliance. Previous tokenized equity products have largely sidestepped U.S. regulation by targeting offshore investors. This structure is different. For the first time, holders of third-party tokenized stocks and ETFs are able to participate in proxy voting , with token holders receiving the same legal protections and governance rights as conventional brokerage clients.
Proxy Voting, Oasis Pro, and the Regulatory Architecture The feature, built with Broadridge Financial Solutions, allows holders of more than 250 tokenized securities on Ondo's platform to review company filings and submit voting preferences through Broadridge's ProxyVote system. Token holders can log in with their crypto wallets to access voting materials, receive prospectuses and regulatory filings when a company calls a shareholder meeting, and submit votes directly through wallet signatures.
The regulatory backbone for the U.S. issuance side comes from Oasis Pro. Oasis Pro operates as a FINRA-member broker-dealer and SEC-registered transfer agent, and was among the first firms authorized to support digital securities settlement in both fiat and stablecoins such as USDC and DAI. The deal gives Ondo Finance SEC-registered broker-dealer, ATS, and transfer agent licenses to operate regulated tokenized securities markets. By routing token issuance through Oasis Pro as the registered transfer agent, the system achieves 1:1-backed token issuance that operates entirely within the existing U.S. regulatory perimeter.
Ondo Finance now operates the largest tokenized stocks platform in the market, holding roughly 70% of total market share in the tokenized equities sector, with over $700 million in total value locked across 250+ tokenized stocks and ETFs. The Broadridge integration extends that lead by adding institutional-grade governance infrastructure. As Doug DeSchutter, President of Investor Communication Solutions at Broadridge, said in the official announcement: "Broadridge is proud to expand its voting infrastructure to connect our new Web3-enabled platform with the governance, disclosure, and investor participation standards that underpin modern capital markets."
Together, the two partnerships, Broadridge for governance and Oasis Pro for regulated issuance, give Ondo a full-stack compliance architecture that could serve as a template for how tokenized U.S. equities are structured going forward.
Sources
Broadridge Official Press Release: Ondo Finance Brings Shareholder Voting Capabilities to Tokenized Securities
CoinDesk: Ondo Finance Adds Proxy Voting for Holders of Its $700 Million Tokenized Equities
Blockworks: Ondo Finance Finalizes Oasis Pro Acquisition
Ethereum (ETH) has rebounded from its recent lows, but the recovery may not be enough to reverse a prolonged exodus from spot Ethereum ETFs, highlighting a growing disconnect between the cryptocurrency’s price action and institutional investor sentiment.
ETH has climbed back above the psychologically important $1,500 level and was recently trading in the $1,600-$1,620 range after briefly dipping to around $1,500. However, Simon-Peter Massabni, Head of Business Development at global multi-asset broker XS.com, cautioned that the move appears to be more of a technical rebound than the beginning of a sustained rally.
“The current rebound is still not enough to confirm a clear reversal,” Massabni said. “Instead, it mainly appears to be a corrective move after selling pressure had persisted for several sessions.”
ETF Flows Remain the Biggest HeadwindWhile Ethereum’s price has stabilized, spot Ethereum ETFs continue to paint a less encouraging picture.
According to Massabni, the funds have logged seven consecutive weeks of net outflows totaling roughly $1.18 billion, underscoring continued institutional caution toward the second-largest cryptocurrency. If withdrawals continue this week, Ethereum ETFs would extend their losing streak to eight straight weeks.
“Spot Ethereum ETFs have faced seven consecutive weeks of net outflows, with the total value reaching around $1.18 billion, clearly reflecting institutional investors’ cautious stance toward ETH,” he said.
The persistent outflows stand in sharp contrast to the optimism surrounding the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, which many market participants expected would unlock a fresh wave of institutional demand, similar to the record inflows seen in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Instead, Ethereum funds have struggled to establish sustained momentum as investors remain selective amid elevated interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainty and mixed sentiment across digital assets.
Macro Environment Still Weighs on CryptoMassabni believes the broader macro backdrop continues to limit risk appetite.
“The macro backdrop is still not truly supportive of risk assets,” he said, pointing to uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path. “In an environment where interest rates may stay higher for longer, capital tends to be more cautious toward highly volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies.”
He added that weak ETF demand has become a key signal of institutional positioning.
“The lack of positive ETF flows reflects cautious sentiment among large investors and reduces ETH’s short-term appeal compared with initial expectations,” Massabni said.
Ethereum also remains closely tied to broader crypto market sentiment, with Bitcoin yet to establish a decisive upward trend. As a result, ETH could struggle to outperform independently unless market conditions improve.
What Could Turn the Tide?Massabni said ETF flows may ultimately determine whether Ethereum’s rebound develops into a sustained recovery.
“If ETH manages to stay above the $1,500 area and ETF flows show signs of stabilizing, price could continue to recover toward higher zones around $1,700-$1,800,” he said.
However, he warned that renewed macro pressure or continued investor withdrawals from spot Ethereum ETFs could send the cryptocurrency back toward the $1,500 support level. A decisive break below that threshold, he added, could extend the broader downtrend before the market finds a new equilibrium.
Image: Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Ethereum Layer 2 network Taiko has resumed its bridge service following a recent security breach. The project team announced that asset transfers between the Ethereum and Taiko networks are once again operational, marking the completion of their post-attack recovery process.
Bridge operations back onlineTaiko reported that all users impacted by the attack have been fully compensated. The team emphasized that the bridge is now functioning with a complete 1:1 asset backing, ensuring every token on the Taiko network is matched by an equivalent locked asset on Ethereum.
The Taiko team stated that all affected users have been made whole and that the bridge is once again operating with full 1:1 asset backing on the Ethereum side.
As a Layer 2 scaling network on Ethereum, Taiko aims to provide faster and cheaper transactions. With the reopening of the bridge, the project confirmed that the network is fully operational once again.
Mini Glossary: 1:1 asset backing means that every token on a network is supported by an equivalent asset locked on another chain. This balance is fundamental for the security of cross-chain bridges, allowing users to transfer assets safely.
Details of the June attackThe security incident took place on June 21, when the attacker compromised the mechanism that verifies the chain’s state, managing to inject fraudulent proofs into the system. As the protocol accepted these false proofs as valid, unauthorized withdrawals were made from Ethereum’s bridge vault.
Blockchain security firms estimated that up to $1.7 million worth of crypto assets were stolen in the attack. Following the breach, the Taiko team halted bridge operations and redirected efforts toward restoring network security.
The project team highlighted that the finalized chain state was thoroughly reviewed, ensuring that no fake checkpoints or unprocessed malicious claims remained in the system.
Recovery plan executed in four phasesEarlier, Taiko had published a four-phase recovery strategy to bring the network back online safely. The team confirmed that every stage of the plan has now been completed. Security patches have been implemented, the chain’s final state has been examined, and the upgrades have been reviewed first by the Security Council, then by independent security experts.
Although the bridge has been reopened, temporary withdrawal limits will remain in place as an additional precaution. Taiko stated these limits have been set conservatively and are not expected to disrupt normal usage. However, specific thresholds have not yet been disclosed.
EventDetailsAttack dateJune 21Time to reopen11 daysEstimated loss$1.7 millionCollateral status1:1 asset backing restoredMarket reaction and industry impactFollowing the announcement that the bridge was operational again, Taiko’s native token TAIKO briefly surged to $0.35 before retreating to around $0.14. The project team also revealed plans to publish a detailed technical review in the coming days, covering the attack, the recovery process, and additional safeguards introduced to prevent future incidents.
Separately, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported that crypto projects collectively lost $75.87 million to major security breaches in June, with 40 significant incidents identified over the month.
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.
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.
TLDROndo Finance Uses SEC Custodial FrameworkBlackRock IVV ETF Enters Ondo Tokenized OfferingMicron Stock Gets Tokenized Under Same ModelOndo Finance Expands Tokenized Securities MarketGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks Ondo Finance launched tokenized versions of BlackRock’s IVV ETF and Micron stock in the U.S. The products use a third-party custodial model outlined by the SEC in January. Oasis Pro TA mints the tokens with 1:1 backing from the underlying securities. The tokenized IVV and Micron products are issued on Ethereum and held by regulated custodians. Token holders receive shareholder rights, issuer communications, and onchain proxy voting access. Ondo Finance launched tokenized versions of BlackRock’s IVV ETF and Micron stock in the U.S. on Thursday. The products use a custodial model outlined by the SEC in January. The launch expands Ondo Finance’s regulated tokenized securities push.
Ondo Finance Uses SEC Custodial Framework Ondo Finance said the products mark a new step for tokenized U.S.-listed securities. The firm tokenized BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and Micron shares. Both products trade as blockchain-based representations of traditional securities.
The SEC described this structure in January guidance on tokenized securities. Under that model, a third party holds the underlying securities. It then issues crypto assets that represent investor entitlement to those holdings.
Ondo Finance said its IVV and MU tokens follow that structure. The underlying shares remain inside the normal U.S. custody chain. Oasis Pro TA mints tokens backed 1:1 by those securities.
BlackRock IVV ETF Enters Ondo Tokenized Offering Ondo Finance issued the tokenized IVV product on Ethereum. Regulated custodians hold the related tokens for eligible users. The company said this structure keeps the product inside existing market systems.
The IVV ETF tracks the S&P 500 and remains a major U.S. equity fund. Ondo Finance now offers blockchain access to that exposure through tokenized ownership. However, the product still depends on traditional custody links.
Ondo Finance CEO Ian De Bode called the launch a regulatory and market milestone. “Today’s milestone shows we can tokenize securities in ways that meet both market and regulatory requirements,” he said.
He added that it supports broader onchain investment access.
Micron Stock Gets Tokenized Under Same Model Ondo Finance also tokenized Micron shares under the same U.S. custodial setup. The MU-backed token gives eligible holders exposure to the chipmaker’s stock. The token uses the same 1:1 backing process.
Token holders receive shareholder rights linked to traditional brokerage accounts. These rights include issuer communications and proxy voting. Ondo Finance said Broadridge’s ProxyVote.com supports onchain proxy voting for the products.
Transfer limits also apply through broker-dealers, transfer agents, and custodians. These controls align the tokens with current regulatory requirements. Ondo Finance said the framework supports U.S. and global access.
Ondo Finance Expands Tokenized Securities Market Ondo Finance focuses on tokenized real-world assets and institutional financial products. Its Global Markets platform outside the U.S. supports more than $1 billion in tokenized securities. The platform covers more than 430 stocks and ETFs.
The firm also expanded through a June partnership with Exodus. That deal launched Exodus Markets for eligible users through the Exodus app. The platform offers more than 200 tokenized stocks, ETFs, and real-world assets.
The tokenized equities sector reached a $5.5 billion market cap on June 8. That marked a 147% rise from $2.23 billion at year-start. Ondo Finance now adds U.S.-structured IVV and MU products to that market.
Market corrections often change the way investors evaluate opportunities. Instead of chasing assets after strong rallies, many begin looking for projects that either appear undervalued or are still developing before reaching wider adoption.
That has become especially relevant in 2026, as several established cryptocurrencies continue trading below important resistance levels while AI-powered presales attract fresh attention.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe recently observed that bearish sentiment across major cryptocurrencies has reached levels commonly associated with long-term accumulation phases before broader market recoveries.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Cardano remain among the industry’s most recognized digital assets. At the same time, MemeToro ($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
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
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.
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
Most crypto investors still obsess over price charts. But in 2026, a growing share of attention is shifting back to improving the fundamentals of the protocols.
Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche are preparing some of their largest protocol upgrades in years, while Coinbase’s Base network rolled out its Beryl hard fork last Friday in a bid to streamline the network, with a native token standard and shorter withdrawal windows.
Bitcoin development however, remains frozen, with developers still arguing over controversial covenant proposals and post-quantum computing upgrades.
Tim Sun, a senior researcher at Hong Kong-based asset manager HashKey Group, told Cointelegraph that protocol upgrades have historically focused on adding features, speed and throughput.
However, in 2026, he said the emphasis is shifting toward reliability, predictable governance, and institutional-grade infrastructure that can support large-scale financial use cases.
Here are the top five major blockchain upgrades to watch in the second half of 2026.
Ethereum: GlamsterdamGlamsterdam is arguably the most consequential upgrade this year, and its already being tested on devnets. According to Ethereum’s public roadmap, Glamsterdam is designed to improve scalability, harden the layer-1, and make the network easier to use, with a mainnet launch expected sometime in the second half of 2026.
Sun said the upgrade should improve processing speeds by allowing more transactions to be processed simultaneously, expand capacity so Ethereum can handle more data at higher throughput, and reduce database bloat. Those changes should make the chain better suited for stablecoin settlement and real-world asset use cases, he said.
Holly Atkinson, chief product and technology officer at 1inch, told Cointelegraph that Glamsterdam is viewed by many as Ethereum’s most significant upgrade since The Merge in September 2022, which transitioned the blockchain from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.
Glamsterdam. Source: Ethereum.org
She said enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) is a key change because most validators still depend on a small set of specialized builders and relays, which concentrates control over transaction ordering.
That setup amplifies maximal extractable value (MEV), censorship and centralization risks, she said. ePBS is designed to pull block building and proposing back into the protocol and make the process more transparent and accountable.
Pavan Kaur is a Solana Foundation judge and founder of RuleSpark, a compliance engine for digital asset marketing. She told Cointelegraph that ePBS is better understood as one step in Ethereum’s broader roadmap and does not eliminate MEV or fully solve builder centralization. “Practices like sandwich attacks may therefore migrate rather than disappear,” she said.
Solana: AlpenglowSolana’s biggest change this year is Alpenglow, a consensus upgrade that reworks the network’s core protocol. Alpenglow has been billed by many, including Solana ecosystem lead David Liang, as the chain’s “most significant consensus upgrade yet.”
After being overwhelmingly approved through a governance process in September 2025, Alpenglow remains under development but is expected to ship alongside the Agave 4.1 validator client release later in 2026.
Arun Krishnakumar, vice president of institutional capital at R3 enterprise software firm, told Cointelegraph that Alpenglow will be a major tailwind that will reinforce the ‘internet capital markets’ thesis even more strongly.
Solana Network Updrades. Source: Solana
At its core, Alpenglow is designed to dramatically speed up how quickly the network reaches finality. Instead of relying on Solana’s existing TowerBFT-based consensus mechanism, it introduces a redesigned system built around a new voting component called Votor.
The practical impact is a major reduction in confirmation times, with finality targeted at roughly 100-150 milliseconds in optimal conditions, compared to around 12.8 seconds today.
Beyond speed, the upgrade also removes onchain vote transactions, which currently account for a significant portion of network activity. By streamlining how validators communicate and agree on the state of the chain, Alpenglow is intended to make Solana both lighter and more efficient under load.
Hadley Stern, board director, DeFi Development Corp, told Cointelegraph that removing onchain vote transactions is the “real story” for institutional allocators because it “cleans up validator economics and gives you honest telemetry, which matters when you're underwriting SOL as a treasury asset.”
He said that a network that can migrate its consensus layer as cleanly as is planned, would show the kind of “governed adaptability legacy financial infrastructure can't match.”
Base: BerylBase’s Beryl hard fork went live on Friday, following a short sequencer-related outage, when block production stalled for around two hours following an invalid block that triggered a temporary consensus failure.
Base co-founder Jesse Pollak said user funds were unaffected during the incident. While he stressed that “all funds are safe,” he added that “a halt is not okay” and said that lessons learned from the episode will be used to further strengthen Base as a platform for “global, 24/7 finance.”
Jesse Pollak speaks about the chain halt. Source: Jesse Pollak
According to Base’s documentation, Beryl introduces a set of changes aimed at tightening the network’s performance and reducing friction at the edges. These include the B20 native token standard, a shortening of withdrawal finality from seven days to five, and integration with Reth V2, which is expected to reduce node storage requirements while improving execution efficiency.
Sun said Base has been moving toward a more unified “stack” approach, giving it greater control over how the network is built and upgraded, and allowing changes to ship more quickly than under the earlier Optimism Superchain model.
The trade-off, he said, is that liquidity, which once moved more freely across the broader Superchain ecosystem, may become more fragmented, even as Base deepens its integration with Coinbase’s wider user base.
Avalanche: OctaneAvalanche’s next chapter is less about a single branded hard fork than a broader push to improve performance while courting institutions and tokenized asset issuers.
Sun told Cointelegraph that Avalanche’s recent Etna hard fork replaced the old subnet model with sovereign Avalanche L1s, cutting the cost of launching a dedicated blockchain by more than 99% and making the network more attractive to institutional players.
It's already seen success in this regard. Sun pointed to Progmat, which he said accounts for roughly 63% of Japan’s national security token market, which migrated more than $2 billion in tokenized assets to a dedicated Avalanche L1, as well as the Avalanche Payments Collective backed by firms including Franklin Templeton, VanEck and WisdomTree.
Progmat Migrates $2B+ of its Tokenized Securities to Avalanche. Source: Avalanche
Atkinson said Avalanche is also pushing two upgrades aimed at making its C-Chain one of the fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environments.
She described Streaming Asynchronous Execution as a way to separate transaction execution from consensus so the chain can run more continuously and size capacity closer to normal demand. For users, she said, the practical effect should be higher throughput and lower, steadier fees during periods of heavy activity.
Bitcoin: OP_CATBitcoin is the outlier here because its biggest developments in 2026 are not scheduled upgrades but a continuation of passionate debates over whether the protocol should become more programmable and how urgently it should be hardened against quantum threats.
Bitcoin has not activated a major soft fork since Taproot in 2020, which upgraded Bitcoin’s scripting to make transactions more flexible and improve privacy.
Since then, discussion around covenant-related proposals such as OP_CAT, CheckTemplateVerify (CTV) and Lightning-focused ideas like LNHANCE has intensified. None of these changes has an agreed path to activation.
Researchers have also been debating BIP-360 and related proposals as ways to make it easier to migrate coins into quantum-resistant spending paths, if and when the quantum computing threat becomes real.
Atkinson described Bitcoin as the wildcard of the group. She said covenant proposals could unlock safer storage and richer scripting, but the subject remains divisive and subject to much debate.
Sun said those proposals could improve self-custody security, fee management and protocols such as Lightning and Ark, while giving institutions more programmable custody logic directly on the L1.
Bitcoin development is infamously slow, and any change to the protocol is pored over from every angle. There is general agreement that no covenant opcode is on track for activation this year, and reaching consensus on proposals like OP_CAT or CTV is still some distance away.
On the post-quantum side, BIP-360’s authors estimate that a full migration to quantum-resistant addresses and signatures would take years even under optimistic assumptions. It seems unlikely at this point that a quantum-resistance upgrade will be implemented before the end of 2026.
Magazine: How AI just dramatically sped up the quantum risk for Bitcoin
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.
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.
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.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
While Ethereum adoption keeps growing, Layer-2 networks are becoming more important for reducing costs and scaling transaction capacity. These networks are efficient in processing transactions while still gaining from Ethereum’s security.
However, gas costs and execution overhead can still affect Layer-2 performance. One aspect of optimization involves improving how the network accesses and processes state data during block execution.
Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) offer a way to organize and predefine state access patterns for a whole block instead of individual transactions. This can improve execution efficiency, reduce unnecessary operations, and lower overall gas consumption.
In this article, we will explain how Block-Level Access Lists work, why it is vital, and the steps involved in incorporating them on Ethereum Layer-2 networks.
Key Takeaways Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) help optimize how state data is accessed during block execution. BAL differs from transaction-level access lists by operating at the block level rather than the individual transaction level. Improved state access can reduce execution overhead and contribute to better gas efficiency. Layer-2 networks can benefit from lower transaction costs, higher throughput, and improved scalability. Successful BAL implementation requires proper planning, testing, and performance monitoring. Understanding Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) These are structures that identify the accounts, state data, or storage slots likely to be accessed during the execution of a block.
Instead of preparing access information for each transaction separately, BAL applies these optimizations at the block level.
This approach can help execution environments prepare state data in advance. It also reduces the number of expensive state lookups needed during processing. Hence, transactions may execute more efficiently and consume fewer resources.
For Layer-2 networks, where massive numbers of transactions are processed together, BAL can enhance performance by streamlining state access and reducing execution overhead. This can contribute to better throughput, lower costs, and improved scalability.
Why Gas Efficiency Matters on Layer-2 Networks Here’s how it plays an important role in scaling.
1. Lower transaction costs Reducing gas consumption lowers the cost of executing transactions on Layer-2 networks. This makes decentralized applications affordable and encourages greater user participation.
2. Improved network throughput Efficient transaction execution enables more transactions to be processed within the same resources. This enhances network throughput and helps support growing levels of activity.
3. Better user experience Faster processing times and lower fees create a smoother experience for users. This can boost adoption and encourage more frequent use of blockchain applications.
4. Increased scalability Gas-efficient systems can manage larger transaction volumes without significantly increasing operational demands. This enables Layer-2 networks to scale more effectively as usage grows.
5. More efficient resource usage Optimizing execution processes reduces unnecessary computations and storage operations. This helps networks use available resources more efficiently and enhance overall performance.
6. Stronger ecosystem growth Affordable transactions and enhanced performance can attract businesses, developers, and users. This supports ecosystem growth and encourages the development of new applications.
Prerequisites for Implementing Block-Level Access Lists Here are some essential features to note, which can simplify the implementation process:
1. Understanding of Ethereum state access Developers should understand how Ethereum stores contract and account data. It also stores how state information is retrieved during transaction execution across Layer-2 environments.
2. Familiarity with Layer-2 architecture A solid understanding of Layer-2 network design helps developers identify where Block-Level Access Lists can boost performance and reduce execution overhead.
3. Access to development tools The required testing frameworks, software tools, and development environments should be available to support debugging, implementation, and performance evaluation activities.
4. Knowledge of smart contract execution Developers should learn how smart contracts consume gas, access storage, and interact with blockchain state during execution and validation processes.
5. Testing environment setup A dependable testing environment is important for measuring BAL performance, identifying issues, and validating improvements before deployment to production systems.
6. Monitoring and analytics tools These solutions help monitor execution metrics, resource usage, and gas consumption. This makes it seamless to evaluate the effectiveness of BAL implementations.
Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) Follow these steps to incorporate BAL effectively:
1. Analyze current state access patterns Review transaction execution data to know how contracts and accounts access state information. This helps identify opportunities for reducing repeated storage lookups.
2. Identify frequently accessed storage slots Determine which storage locations are accessed most often during block execution. These locations are likely to gain the most from BAL optimization.
3. Design the BAL structure Create a structured access list that includes frequently used accounts and storage slots expected to be accessed during block processing activities.
4. Integrate BAL into the execution pipeline Modify the execution workflow so that predefined access lists can be utilized and referenced throughout the block processing lifecycle.
5. Configure state prefetching mechanisms Design systems that load commonly accessed state data before execution commences. This reduces delays associated with repeated state retrieval requests.
6. Test access list performance Run simulations and benchmarks to evaluate the impact of BAL on execution speed, gas consumption, and overall network efficiency.
7. Measure gas savings and throughput improvements Compare performance metrics before and after implementation to determine if BAL delivers meaningful improvements in efficiency and scalability.
8. Optimize and refine the implementation Review test results and adjust access list configurations as needed to maximize performance while maintaining system reliability and stability.
9. Deploy to production After successful optimization and testing, deploy the BAL solution to the production environment and keep monitoring performance over time.
Conclusion: Improving Layer-2 Efficiency with Block-Level Access Lists Block-Level Access Lists offer a practical way to improve gas efficiency on Ethereum Layer-2 networks. By optimizing how state data is accessed during block execution, developers can reduce unnecessary overhead and improve overall network performance.
When implemented correctly, BAL can contribute to lower transaction costs, faster execution, and better scalability. As Layer-2 ecosystems continue to grow, techniques such as Block-Level Access Lists may play an increasingly important role in building more efficient and cost-effective blockchain infrastructure.
By combining careful planning, thorough testing, and continuous monitoring, developers can maximize the benefits of BAL and support the long-term growth of their Layer-2 solutions.
Ethereum (ETH) recent price performance has tested investor confidence, but Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine Chairman Tom Lee believes the market is focusing too much on short-term price action.
Speaking about what could make him bearish on Ethereum, Lee said BitMine has deliberately built its business to withstand a prolonged downturn. At the same time, the company continues to invest heavily in Ethereum’s long-term growth.
If Crypto Winter Comes, We Can Make It to SpringLee explained that BitMine isn’t relying on rising ETH prices to survive. Instead, the company maintains a strong financial position with roughly $600 million in cash on its balance sheet.
“We’ve operated with a very conservative capital structure. If crypto winter comes, we can make it to spring.” He said.
Around 80% of BitMine’s Ethereum holdings are staked, generating more than $250 million annually in staking rewards. Combined with several hundred million dollars in free cash flow, Lee believes the company has enough financial strength. Therefore, he thinks BitMine can navigate even a prolonged bear market.
Investing Beyond Ethereum’s PriceRather than simply accumulating ETH, Lee said BitMine is actively investing across the Ethereum ecosystem.
The company has already disclosed investments in MrBeast and 8Co. It is also working closely with organizations that have spun out of the Ethereum Foundation, including ETH Labs. He added that several additional funding announcements are expected soon.
BitMine is also partnering with SharpLink, Joe Lubin, and several Ethereum core developers to strengthen public infrastructure, improve enterprise adoption, and expand Ethereum’s role in artificial intelligence applications.
According to Lee, these investments are designed to strengthen Ethereum’s ecosystem long before the next bull market begins.
Money is becoming software. That’s really where Ethereum is going to shine.Lee remains convinced Ethereum will become one of the foundations of the future financial system.
He argued that financial services are increasingly evolving into programmable technology platforms where assets become digital, composable, and available around the clock. In addition, as tokenized assets grow and traditional finance moves on-chain, Lee expects Ethereum to play a central role in powering that transition.
While acknowledging that Ethereum’s recent price action has been “disappointing” and “very frustrating,” Lee said those short-term moves do not change his long-term thesis.
For him, BitMine’s large cash reserves, recurring staking income, and continued investment across the Ethereum ecosystem leave the company well positioned to survive any crypto winter. Moreover, he believes BitMine will benefit when the next bull cycle eventually returns.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
It's getting harder for bulls to defend XRP's chart. The asset continues to print lower highs and lower lows following months of continuous selling pressure, maintaining the overall downtrend. Is a significant reversal even feasible at this point? The most recent move below the crucial support zone around $1.30 has only strengthened pessimism.
XRP just finished breaking down from a descending triangle formation that had been forming since March, according to the daily chart. These patterns usually indicate that the market will continue to decline, and it has done so nearly flawlessly. XRP lost another significant support cluster after the breakdown, and it is currently trading close to $1.05, one of its lowest points of the year. The moving averages show a similar pessimistic outlook.
XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewXRP is still below the downward-sloping 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages. This alignment indicates that sellers maintain control over both near-term and long-term periods. The 200-day moving average, which is currently close to $1.51, is particularly significant because it indicates the level that XRP must recover before any meaningful conversation about a trend reversal can start.
HOT Stories
Not much encouragement has come from volume either. Buying activity has been comparatively muted, despite sporadic spikes during selloffs. This implies that market participants are still reluctant to make aggressive purchases, despite the significant drop from earlier highs.
The Relative Strength Index is the only positive indicator for bulls. The RSI is getting close to oversold territory at 35. Such readings have historically preceded short-term relief rallies, especially if sentiment in the cryptocurrency market as a whole improves. However, oversold conditions alone rarely reverse a significant trend.
Bitcoin makes a moveThe recent price movement of Bitcoin indicates that the market is still having difficulty finding a stable bottom. Following its inability to sustain momentum above important moving averages in May, Bitcoin started a new downward trend that has moved it closer to the lower end of its current trading range. A move toward $52,000 cannot be ruled out based on the technical structure seen on the daily chart.
BTC/USDT Chart by TradingViewFor bulls, the total loss of trend support is the most alarming development. The 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages of Bitcoin are currently below $63,000, $68,000, and $76,000, respectively. This alignment supports a very pessimistic market structure. Over the past few months, every attempt at recovery has failed to reach the longer-term trend indicators.
Upon closer examination, it can be seen that BTC recently broke down from a rising channel that had formed between April and May. What at first appeared to be a recovery phase turned out to be a typical bear-market rally. Sellers swiftly regained control and accelerated the decline after the channel's support failed.
You Might Also Like
The bearish narrative is further supported by volume behavior. The biggest spikes in recent weeks have coincided with selloffs rather than recoveries, suggesting that sellers are more confident than buyers. After Bitcoin briefly touched the low $60,000 region, there was some dip-buying activity, but demand was insufficient to buck the trend. The next significant support zone is located between $57,000 and $58,000.
At the moment, Bitcoin is testing that level. If it breaks decisively, the market may start aiming for the $52,000 area, which is the next significant historical support level and a place where buyers have previously intervened forcefully. One factor prevents a scenario of complete collapse.
With a reading of about 35, the Relative Strength Index is still close to oversold territory. Such conditions frequently result in temporary relief rallies. However, oversold readings during established downtrends usually lead to brief bounces rather than long-lasting reversals.
Ethereum stays relevantEthereum is far from being forgotten by the market, even after months of disappointing price movement and increasing competition from other networks. Although ETH has substantially underperformed relative to its historical benchmarks, the chart indicates that investors are still closely monitoring the asset, even as it remains caught in a broader bearish trend.
ETH/USDT Chart by TradingViewAfter yet another unsuccessful attempt at recovery, Ethereum is currently trading close to $1,600. According to the daily chart, the asset recently broke down from a descending wedge-like formation that developed between April and May. The pattern resolved to the downside rather than initiating a sustained breakout, pushing ETH back toward local lows and bolstering sellers' dominance.
The technical picture remains challenging. Ethereum is currently trading below the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day major moving averages. While the 100-day and 200-day averages at $1,850 and $2,280, respectively, continue to be significantly above current price levels, the 50-day moving average at $1,690 has served as immediate resistance. The overall trend remains negative until ETH begins reclaiming these levels.
You Might Also Like
However, market behavior refutes the notion that Ethereum has completely lost relevance. Every significant drop attracts buyers who are prepared to step in near support areas, and volume remains relatively steady. The market isn't actively accumulating ETH, but it isn't abandoning it either. The Relative Strength Index is another factor that supports that view.
The RSI is close to 38, which indicates weakness but not total capitulation. Major bottoms in the past frequently occurred when traders became far more pessimistic than current conditions suggest. Put another way, despite the prolonged correction, there is still active participation in the asset.
Reclaiming the $1,690 area is Ethereum's primary goal from a technical standpoint. The 100-day moving average around $1,850 would come back into focus if that level were breached. If buyers are able to overcome both obstacles, sentiment may improve significantly. Ethereum remains under pressure, but it is still a major player in the market.
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.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Over the past several months, selling pressure on XRP has intensified, with the chart showing a series of lower highs and lower lows. After failing to hold the crucial $1.30 support level, XRP slid to around $1.05, approaching some of the lowest levels seen this year. Technical signals indicate that sellers remain firmly in control in both the short and long term.
XRP’s downward trend remains unbrokenOn the daily chart, the breakdown of a descending triangle pattern that has formed since March has further weighed on XRP. Typically, such patterns signal a continuation of the prevailing downtrend, and the breakout resulted in yet another support cluster being lost. The fact that the price remains below the 50, 100, and 200 day moving averages only strengthens the bearish outlook for XRP.
In particular, the 200 day moving average stands at about $1.51. For any meaningful technical recovery, XRP would first need to reclaim levels above this point. Trading volume analysis shows buyer activity remains weak; selling waves have brought volume spikes, but rebound attempts have been very limited.
Losing the $1.30 support in XRP and falling back to the $1.05 range highlight that the overall downward trend is still intact.
One of the few promising technical signals for XRP has come from the Relative Strength Index (RSI). With the RSI approaching 35, XRP is nearing oversold conditions. While these levels can sometimes trigger short lived price bounces, a single indicator is not considered sufficient for calling a lasting trend reversal.
Glossary: RSI is a technical indicator that measures the speed and strength of price movements. Values approaching 30 generally indicate oversold conditions, while values nearing 70 suggest overbought territory.
Bitcoin tests a vital support zoneBitcoin also failed to hold above key moving averages in May, resulting in a fresh wave of declines. Daily charts reveal that the rising channel seen from April to May has broken downward. Though this downturn initially resembled a temporary correction, sellers quickly regained control, leaving the rebound short lived.
Currently, Bitcoin’s 50, 100, and 200 day moving averages remain below $63,000, $68,000, and $76,000 respectively—a structure that underlines persistent market weakness. Notably, stronger volume spikes have occurred on selling days compared to rallies, suggesting sellers are now acting with greater conviction.
AssetCurrent Price RangeKey ResistanceKey SupportXRP$1.05$1.51Below $1.30Bitcoin$57,000 to $58,000$63,000 and higher averages$52,000Ethereum$1,600$1,690 and $1,850local bottom regionRight now, the $57,000 to $58,000 range is drawing attention in the market. Should Bitcoin break clearly below this zone, the next historically significant support could come into play at $52,000. While the RSI near 35 keeps the door open for a potential short term bounce, these types of signals tend to have limited impact in an established downtrend.
If Bitcoin fails to hold the $57,000 to $58,000 region, technical analysis signals a renewed pullback toward $52,000 could be on the horizon.
Ethereum remains under pressure but investor interest persistsDespite its recent weak price performance, Ethereum continues to attract close scrutiny from the market. After a failed rebound attempt, ETH has settled near $1,600, breaking below a descending wedge pattern formed between April and May. This move has reinforced bearish momentum and pushed ETH back toward its local lows.
ETH trading below its 50, 100, and 200 day moving averages leaves its technical prospects clouded. The 50 day moving average at around $1,690 now marks the first key resistance, with longer term averages at $1,850 and $2,280 providing additional upside hurdles. That said, buyers have shown some engagement near support zones during sharp declines, and volume has not completely dried up.
The RSI for Ethereum is hovering near 38, indicating ongoing weakness but not yet signaling total market capitulation. Technically, recapturing the $1,690 level stands as the initial target for ETH; surpassing this could bring $1,850 back into focus as the next milestone.
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 crypto market bounced today after Bitcoin reclaimed the $60,000 level, lifting the total crypto market by nearly $50 billion in about 90 minutes. The move came after improving macro sentiment, strong technical support, and renewed buying across major cryptocurrencies, even as institutional demand remains weak.
What Triggered Today’s Rally?The biggest boost came after comments from former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh at the ECB Forum in Sintra.
Warsh said inflation is still above target, but it showed the four straight quarters of AI-driven productivity gains. If productivity continues improving, it could eventually give the Federal Reserve more room to cut interest rates.
Although Warsh is no longer a Fed policymaker, markets viewed his comments as a positive signal for future monetary easing. Lower interest rates generally increase demand for risk assets, helping fuel buying across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the broader crypto market.
Bitcoin Led the RecoveryBitcoin climbed around 3%, moving back above $60,000 and adding roughly $36 billion to its market value.
Ethereum followed with gains of more than 3%, while most major altcoins also traded higher as confidence returned across the market.
The total crypto market capitalization climbed back above $2.1 trillion, marking one of its strongest intraday recoveries in recent weeks.
Also Read: Bitcoin Q3 2026 Roadmap: July Bounce, Brutal August, Then the Final Low Near $39,000
Altcoins Join the Party Altcoins joined Bitcoin’s recovery with several tokens posting strong gains over the past 24 hours. Solana (SOL) climbed 6.05%, XRP climbed 1.38%, while Cardano saw a 2.61% jump.
Technically, what is the scenario? From a technical perspective, the recovery has improved the short-term outlook.
Analysts are closely watching the $2.08 trillion level on the total crypto market cap chart. A breakout above that resistance could open the door toward $2.16 trillion, signalling stronger bullish momentum.
For Bitcoin, holding above $60,000 remains the key. If buyers maintain control, traders will likely target the next resistance zone around $62,000-$64,000. However, losing the $60,000 level could bring another test of support near $58,000.
Also Read : Exclusive Bitcoin Prediction: Bear Market in Final Phase, But Altcoins Won’t Move Until 2027
What For Bitcoin Price?While today’s rally has improved sentiment, investors remain cautious.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to record net outflows this week, showing that institutional investors have yet to return aggressively. The latest outflows included $212.4 million from the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and $10.2 million from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). Citigroup also recently lowered its one-year Bitcoin price target, reflecting softer institutional expectations.
For now, traders will be watching upcoming U.S. economic data and any fresh signals from Federal Reserve officials. If expectations for rate cuts continue to strengthen and Bitcoin holds above key technical levels, the current rebound could extend further.
But if macro conditions worsen or institutional selling continues, volatility is likely to remain high.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Robinhood has gone chain-native. The brokerage firm launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain on Wednesday, an Arbitrum-powered Ethereum layer-2 network that the company described as permissionless, AI-native, and purpose-built for real-world assets.
Robinhood Presents: The World is Flat https://t.co/klNh8iHFPd
— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) July 1, 2026 The announcement was made at an event held at the Old Royal Naval College in London, where CEO Vlad Tenev outlined a vision that bridges Robinhood's traditional brokerage offerings with an expanding suite of onchain financial products.
What the chain does
Robinhood Chain is designed to host tokenized real-world assets, beginning with Stock Tokens — on-chain representations of shares in companies including Nvidia and Apple. Eligible users in more than 120 countries can trade these tokens 24/7 directly within the Robinhood Wallet. The tokens can be deployed into lending pools or used as collateral across DeFi protocols, unlocking yield opportunities that traditional brokerage accounts do not permit.
Day-one ecosystem partners include Uniswap (dedicated AMM for public liquidity) and Pleiades (proprietary AMM for prop trading). Infrastructure integrations cover Alchemy, BitGo, and Chainlink.
The Lighter integration
Perpetual futures are now available within the Robinhood Wallet via Lighter, a decentralized exchange. Eligible users in select jurisdictions can access perps through the integration, with Lighter committing $11 million worth of $LIT to the Robinhood community. Users earn 2x points when trading perpetuals through Robinhood Wallet versus Lighter's own app.
Robinhood Earn is also rolling out to eligible US users — lending USDG stablecoin at ~7% APY, insured through Lloyd's of London and RELM. Infrastructure is powered by Morpho.
AI-native positioning
The "AI-native" label is central to the pitch. Agentic Accounts for crypto trading are being prepared for eligible US traders, with Robinhood's Trading MCP allowing AI models to connect to Robinhood data and execute strategies within user-set parameters. At the London event, Robinhood set a Guinness World Record for the most items purchased by an AI agent in three minutes using a single credit card.
Geographic expansion
The launch is paired with Robinhood's broadest geographic push to date. Canadian residents gained access on Canada Day, following the WonderFi acquisition, with zero trading fees until end of September. Singapore's MAS has awarded Robinhood Singapore a CMS licence. The firm is also planning a UK crypto launch.
Robinhood serves nearly 28 million customers across 38 countries. HOOD closed up more than 8% on Wednesday at $108.65 — nearly 20% gains over the past month, though still more than 29% off its 52-week high.
Key Takeaways On-chain monitoring platform Arkham Intelligence detected that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss moved approximately $60M in Bitcoin and $7M in Ethereum to Gemini exchange hot wallets on July 1, 2026. Similar transfer activity occurred in March ($130M) and June ($67.5M), with Arkham suggesting these movements preceded previous sales. Banking giant Citigroup slashed its one-year price projection for Bitcoin from $112,000 down to $82,000, while reducing its Ethereum forecast from $3,175 to $2,240. Bitcoin touched a 24-hour low of $57,747, with market watchers cautioning that a break below critical support could trigger a decline toward $50,000; Ethereum recorded its weakest monthly closure since 2023. Blockchain analyst Darkfost highlighted that Bitcoin’s net supply ratio reached -0.075, a metric that historically signals potential accumulation zones near market cycle lows. Blockchain surveillance platform Arkham Intelligence disclosed on July 1, 2026, that the Winklevoss twins—Cameron and Tyler—relocated approximately $60 million in Bitcoin alongside $7 million in Ethereum from cold storage wallets to hot wallets associated with Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange they founded. According to Arkham, this transfer pattern mirrors previous movements that preceded liquidation events.
THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS ARE SELLING BITCOIN
The Winklevoss Twins just moved $60M of BTC to Gemini, and $7M of ETH. This activity pattern matches usual selling patterns (custody > hot wallet).
The Winklevosses still hold over $300M of BTC. They made ~$1.7 Billion from Bitcoin since… pic.twitter.com/OXtxB2QBqO
— Arkham (@arkham) July 1, 2026
This isn’t the first time the brothers have executed such transactions. Earlier in June, they moved $67.5 million worth of Bitcoin to Gemini hot wallets. Prior to that, in March, the transfer totaled $130 million. Arkham’s analysis indicates that despite these substantial movements, the Winklevoss brothers maintain a Bitcoin portfolio exceeding $300 million in value, with cumulative Bitcoin gains estimated at approximately $1.7 billion since they began accumulating in 2015.
However, it’s important to recognize that transferring cryptocurrency from cold storage to exchange hot wallets doesn’t automatically signal an impending sale. Institutional holders and high-net-worth individuals frequently move digital assets for various operational purposes, including portfolio rebalancing, security protocol updates, exchange infrastructure management, or enhanced liquidity positioning. As of now, no actual sale has been verified.
Bitcoin Struggles Under Market Pressure The wallet movements occurred while Bitcoin was experiencing notable downward momentum. The leading cryptocurrency declined to an intraday bottom of $57,747 over the preceding 24-hour period and hovered around $58,600 during reporting time. Although trading volume increased by 9%, the cryptocurrency market continued to face headwinds following $4.5 billion in cumulative net withdrawals from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds throughout June, leaving many institutional participants hesitant.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Market analyst Ted Pillows observed that sellers maintain market control, highlighting that the Coinbase Bitcoin premium indicator has reached its lowest level during the current market cycle. Pillows cautioned that should Bitcoin fail to defend the critical support range between $57,000 and $58,000, downside risk could extend toward the $50,000 threshold.
Meanwhile, global financial institution Citigroup revised its cryptocurrency price projections downward. The bank adjusted its 12-month Bitcoin price target from $112,000 to $82,000, while simultaneously reducing its Ethereum outlook from $3,175 to $2,240.
Ethereum Weakness and Blockchain Data Analysis Ethereum traded approximately 1% lower at $1,572, fluctuating within a daily range bounded by $1,549 and $1,600. Technical analyst Cheds Trading emphasized that Ethereum closed the previous month at its lowest level since 2023. The monthly candlestick formation displayed a Red Marubozu pattern, which technical traders generally interpret as a bearish continuation indicator.
Despite prevailing negative price momentum, certain blockchain metrics presented a more nuanced perspective. Cryptocurrency analyst Darkfost highlighted that Bitcoin’s net supply ratio—calculated using unspent transaction output data—declined to -0.075. According to Darkfost, this threshold has historically coincided with strategic accumulation opportunities, with the most recent occurrence observed near the conclusion of the 2022 bear market cycle.
Darkfost acknowledged that Bitcoin might experience additional downside movement before accumulation-phase buyers become active participants. Nevertheless, the current reading indicates that selling pressure may be approaching exhaustion.
Market observer Cryptollica presented a comparable analysis regarding Ethereum, emphasizing that the critical question centers on whether existing market structure can maintain support levels. Should these levels hold, the current environment of diminished investor confidence could ultimately establish conditions favorable for a price recovery.
Key Highlights New non-profit organization Ethereum Institutional debuts to accelerate institutional ETH adoption BitMine, Sharplink, and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin provide funding for the initiative Beacon Chain staking deposits surge to unprecedented levels, reducing available liquid supply ETH price action confined to $1,500–$1,610 range, struggling below critical moving average resistance Technical analyst Ali Charts identifies $1,100 as crucial historical support with potential targets at $3,000 and $5,000 Ethereum is experiencing renewed institutional interest even as its price continues to face downward pressure. The digital asset is currently confined within a $1,500 to $1,610 trading range, struggling to break through multiple moving average resistance zones.
Ethereum (ETH) Price This week marked the debut of Ethereum Institutional, a newly established non-profit organization. The initiative originated from the Enterprise team within the Ethereum Foundation and received financial backing from BitMine and Sharplink—both Bitcoin treasury firms—alongside Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
The mission of this organization centers on bridging the gap between Ethereum’s ecosystem builders—including developers and infrastructure providers—and traditional financial institutions such as banks and asset management firms. The non-profit operates across five strategic pillars: education initiatives, institutional intelligence gathering, marketing campaigns, industry discovery programs, and event coordination.
This development follows closely behind the recent introduction of Ethlabs, another non-profit entity dedicated to advancing research and development efforts aimed at expanding Ethereum’s institutional capabilities. Both organizations share the same funding sources.
These launches arrive amid a period of significant personnel changes at the Ethereum Foundation. Notable departures include former executive directors Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, along with Tim Beiko and several other key figures. The Foundation has also implemented substantial restructuring, reducing its workforce by 20% and slashing its budget by 40%.
Beacon Chain Staking Reaches Unprecedented Heights While price performance remains subdued, on-chain metrics paint a more optimistic picture. ETH staking deposits flowing into the Beacon Chain continue their upward trajectory, approaching all-time high levels. Increased staking activity directly translates to reduced liquid supply circulating on exchanges.
The Ethereum staking rate just broke above 32.8%, a fresh all-time high! 📈
Zoom out to 90 days and the trend is impossible to miss.
Straight up and to the right
🔹 Staking rate: 31.5% (early April) → 32.8% today
🔹 Climbing relentlessly through every dip and shakeout
🔹 Now… pic.twitter.com/xw5uxl0nuV
— Leon Waidmann (@LeonWaidmann) July 1, 2026
This dynamic carries significant implications, as liquid supply represents the most accessible pool for sellers during periods of market volatility. Should demand strengthen while liquid supply remains constrained, any subsequent price recovery could demonstrate greater intensity than typical market movements.
Recent liquidation data reveals ETH generated $100.3 million in total liquidations during a 24-hour trading window. Short position liquidations accounted for $67.2 million of this figure following a 3.5% price increase.
Technical Analysis and Critical Price Zones Examining the daily timeframe, Ethereum managed to break above a descending trendline in the vicinity of $1,601. Despite this technical achievement, the asset remains trapped beneath its 20-, 50-, and 100-day exponential moving averages, which form a resistance cluster spanning from $1,665 to $1,994.
The Relative Strength Index currently registers approximately 42. Near-term resistance barriers are positioned at $1,665, $1,741, and $1,806. Conversely, support zones beneath the current price level can be found at $1,524 and $1,405.
Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Charts drew attention to the $1,100 price zone as a historically robust support area. In a recent analysis, Ali Charts observed that each test of this level dating back to 2021 has triggered substantial buying pressure. The analyst outlined potential upside objectives, identifying $3,000 as an intermediate target and $5,000 as the upper boundary of Ethereum’s long-term price channel, contingent upon the $1,100 support level maintaining its strength.
ETHEREUM: WHEN TO BUY?
Ethereum is approaching a historically support level that has defined its macro price action for years.
Since 2021, the $1,100 level has served as the ultimate bottom boundary of Ethereum's long-term price channel. Historically, every single test of this… https://t.co/LNkygeXO5n pic.twitter.com/1NQMcvoXYL
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 2, 2026
ETH was last quoted near $1,610, with the $1,741 resistance level representing the critical short-term milestone for traders to monitor.
Ethereum Institutional has launched as an independent non-profit focused on accelerating institutional adoption of Ethereum, its Layer 2 networks, applications, and wider ecosystem.
Summary
Ethereum Institutional launched as an independent non-profit focused on finance firms adopting Ethereum and Layer 2s. BitMine, SharpLink, Joe Lubin, and other contributors are anchoring funding for the new organization. The group will focus on education, intelligence, marketing, standards, requirements, and events for institutions. The group says it will act as a neutral entry point for banks, asset managers, custodians, market infrastructure firms, fintechs, and sovereign institutions.
The organization is backed by BitMine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink, Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, and other individual and institutional contributors. It was formed after a year of institutional engagement work led by the Ethereum Foundation’s go-to-market team.
1/ Announcing Ethereum Institutional
An independent non-profit dedicated to accelerating the institutional adoption of Ethereum, its L2s, applications and overall ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/XUeViH6rrq
— Ethereum Institutional (@ethereuminsti) July 1, 2026 Ethereum Institutional said its launch comes as large financial firms study long-term platform choices for stablecoins, tokenization, and onchain market infrastructure. The group said Ethereum currently hosts about $180 billion in stablecoins on mainnet, about 60% of total stablecoin supply, and about two-thirds of tokenized real-world assets.
Ethereum Institutional sets five focus areas The Ethereum Institutional launch announcement said the group will work across five areas. These are institutional education and engagement, institutional intelligence, ETH and ecosystem marketing, industry discovery and requirements, and institutional events.
The organization said it has built more than 500 institutional relationships across banks, asset managers, sovereign institutions, custodians, and market infrastructure providers. It also pointed to its Institutional Ethereum Forum, which brought together more than 150 senior executives and digital asset leaders from institutions representing about $250 trillion in combined assets under management.
Ethereum Institutional plans to cover New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore from launch. It also plans to expand into Zurich, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi, with dedicated institutional leads in those markets.
BitMine, SharpLink and Lubin back the group Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, said, “Financial institutions are making infrastructure decisions today that will shape capital markets for decades, and Ethereum is increasingly at the center of those conversations.” He said Ethereum Institutional gives firms a trusted place to engage with the ecosystem.
Joe Lubin said Ethereum has become infrastructure for “decentralized, verifiable, programmable trust.” He added that traditional finance is already moving onto Ethereum’s rails and that Ethereum Institutional will help institutions engage at scale.
“Ethereum’s credible neutrality is one of its greatest strengths, but neutrality without representation can often be seen as silence,” said David Walsh, executive director of Ethereum Institutional.
He said the group will give financial leaders a direct counterpart that can provide clear answers.
Launch follows Ethlabs formation The launch follows another Ethereum-focused non-profit announced last week. As previously reported, Ethereum recruited former Foundation researchers through Ethlabs, a research group backed by Joe Lubin, BitMine, SharpLink, and other ecosystem contributors. Ethlabs focuses on scaling, settlement, interoperability, and infrastructure for institutional use.
The two groups have different roles. Ethlabs focuses on research and protocol work, while Ethereum Institutional focuses on market engagement and institutional needs. Both groups arrive as Ethereum’s ecosystem shifts more work outside the Ethereum Foundation.
As crypto.news reported, the Ethereum Foundation laid off 20% of its workforce in June as part of a wider reorganization. The foundation said the changes were tied to its long-term roadmap and internal structure.
Institutional Ethereum activity keeps growing The new group arrives as Ethereum treasury firms continue to buy ETH despite weak market conditions. Previously,BitMine bought another $90 million in ETH, lifting its holdings close to 4.7% of Ethereum’s supply. BitMine has said it aims to reach 5% of total ETH supply.
SharpLink has also kept adding ETH. SharpLink bought another $62.4 million worth of Ether after ending an eight-month buying pause, as reported. The company has also backed Ethlabs alongside BitMine and Lubin.
Tokenized asset growth adds another reason institutions are watching Ethereum. Crypto.news reported thattokenized real-world assets reached about $34 billion, with Ethereum carrying about 60% of that value. Ethereum Institutional will now try to turn that market position into a clearer path for large financial firms building onchain.
Robinhood has launched its Ethereum Layer 2 mainnet alongside tokenized stock trading and perpetual futures, expanding its blockchain based financial services beyond the testnet stage.
Summary
Robinhood has launched its Ethereum Layer 2 mainnet with tokenized stocks and decentralized finance features. Eligible users in more than 120 countries can trade tokenized stocks through Robinhood Wallet on supported decentralized exchanges. Robinhood Wallet now offers perpetual futures through Lighter, with eligible users earning LIT token rewards based on trading activity. According to an announcement during the company’s “The World is Flat” event in London, Robinhood has unveiled the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built with Arbitrum technology, while introducing tokenized stocks and decentralized perpetual futures trading as part of its latest international product rollout.
Speaking during the launch, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and other executives described the announcement as the company’s most ambitious global expansion and product strategy so far, with a focus on combining traditional financial products with decentralized finance infrastructure.
Robinhood Chain moves from testnet to mainnet Robinhood Chain has been launched as a permissionless, AI native Ethereum Layer 2 network designed for real world assets. Built using Arbitrum’s technology stack to institutional standards, the network includes integrations with Alchemy, BitGo, and Chainlink, while also supporting built in DeFi features such as lending and borrowing.
The company said Uniswap will deploy a dedicated automated market maker as the chain’s primary public liquidity protocol, while Pleiades will launch its own automated market maker to serve as the primary proprietary trading venue.
The mainnet launch follows Robinhood Chain’s public testnet debut in February. At the time, Tenev said the network processed more than four million transactions during its first week, with developers already experimenting with tokenized stock assets and decentralized financial applications. The testnet was built to let developers evaluate tools and infrastructure before the production rollout.
Tokenized stocks and perpetual futures expand offering Alongside the blockchain launch, Robinhood introduced a new version of Stock Tokens that allows eligible users to trade tokenized equities around the clock directly on Robinhood Chain. According to the company’s disclosures, the tokens can also be used as collateral across decentralized finance applications and deployed into lending pools.
Robinhood said the new Stock Tokens are tokenized debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited. While they provide economic exposure to the underlying shares, holders do not receive legal ownership or beneficial rights in the underlying stocks.
Eligible users in more than 120 countries can access the assets through Robinhood Wallet, with spot trading available on decentralized exchanges including Uniswap, Rialto, Lighter, 1inch and Arcus, which was developed by the team behind dYdX. The company said the product is unavailable to users in the United States and remains restricted in several other jurisdictions, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and sanctioned regions.
Robinhood also renamed its earlier tokenized equity product as Classic Stock Tokens. Those assets, first introduced during the company’s Cannes event in June 2025, will continue to operate inside the Robinhood Europe app after the launch of the new on chain version.
Attention also turned to Robinhood Wallet, which now offers eligible users in selected jurisdictions access to perpetual futures through Ethereum-based decentralized exchange Lighter. According to the company’s disclosures, the product is not available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and other restricted markets.
Robinhood said Lighter has allocated $11 million worth of its native LIT tokens to the Robinhood community. Eligible users will earn trading points on perpetual futures transactions that convert into LIT tokens, with trades executed through Robinhood Wallet receiving double the points compared with trades placed directly through Lighter’s web application.
Ethereum Institutional has launched publicly as an independent non-profit — the dedicated institutional front door for the Ethereum ecosystem. The organization consolidates a year of institutional engagement work previously run by the Ethereum Foundation's go-to-market team, now housed in an independent entity with a sharper commercial mission and long-term funding.
Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR), Sharplink (NASDAQ: SBET), and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin are anchoring the funding. The board comprises Thomas Lee (Chairman, Bitmine), Joseph Chalom (CEO, Sharplink), and David Walsh (Executive Director, Ethereum Institutional).
The institutional moment
The launch is explicitly timed to the window in which financial institutions are making foundational platform decisions about tokenization, stablecoins, and onchain market infrastructure — decisions that participants argue will shape capital markets for decades.
"Ethereum's credible neutrality is one of its greatest strengths, but neutrality without representation can often be seen as silence," said David Walsh. "The Ethereum ecosystem needs a credible, independent counterpart institutions can engage with directly."
Ethereum currently hosts approximately $180 billion in stablecoins on mainnet — roughly 60% of total stablecoin supply — and around two-thirds of all tokenized real-world assets. Competing ecosystems have made institutional adoption their explicit commercial priority.
What the organization does
Five focus areas from day one: Institutional Education and Engagement, Institutional Intelligence, ETH and Ecosystem Marketing, Standards and Best Practices, and Institutional Events.
Geographic coverage expands from New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore into Zurich, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi, with dedicated institutional leads embedded in each region.
The organization is launching with claimed momentum: 500+ institutional relationships covering Tier-1 banks, top-tier asset managers, sovereign institutions, custodians, and market infrastructure providers. The Institutional Ethereum Forum has convened 150+ senior executives and Heads of Digital Assets from institutions representing roughly $250 trillion in combined AUM.
Relationship to Ethlabs
This is the second major independent Ethereum steward organization unveiled in a week, alongside Ethlabs — the R&D lab also founded by former Ethereum Foundation leaders. The two are positioned as complementary: Ethlabs advancing protocol-layer innovation, Ethereum Institutional serving as the institutional-facing counterpart from evaluation through deployment at scale.
Key Takeaways Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins positions it as a scarce digital asset with strong institutional support and ETF availability Ethereum functions as the foundation for decentralized finance, stablecoin infrastructure, and real-world asset tokenization via smart contracts The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs simplified crypto access for mainstream investors seeking exposure without custody concerns Ethereum’s proof-of-stake transition dramatically reduced environmental impact while introducing staking yield opportunities Growing numbers of investors diversify across both assets, leveraging Bitcoin’s stability alongside Ethereum’s technological upside Heading into 2026, Bitcoin and Ethereum continue their reign as cryptocurrency’s leading assets — yet each presents distinctly different investment propositions.
Why Bitcoin Functions as Digital Gold Bitcoin operates under a rigidly enforced supply ceiling of 21 million coins. This programmatic scarcity has established it as one of the most limited assets across global financial markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Institutional adoption has accelerated significantly. Corporate treasuries, retirement funds, and major investment firms now allocate capital to Bitcoin. The introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs removed technical barriers, enabling conventional investors to participate without direct blockchain interaction.
Financial experts routinely draw comparisons between Bitcoin and precious metals. Should this analogy prove accurate, sustained institutional demand may provide ongoing price support.
Bitcoin encounters minimal competition within its niche. No alternative cryptocurrency has mounted a credible challenge to its status as the preeminent digital store of value.
For risk-averse portfolios, this unambiguous positioning and institutional validation establish Bitcoin as the more conservative option between the two.
Why Ethereum Represents Infrastructure Investment Ethereum derives value from network utilization. The platform underpins decentralized financial protocols, stablecoin issuance, tokenized securities, and countless developer-built applications spanning the globe.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Each transaction processed across these applications generates network fees. Increased usage directly correlates with heightened demand for Ethereum.
The transition to proof-of-stake slashed Ethereum’s environmental footprint. This upgrade simultaneously enabled staking mechanisms, permitting holders to generate yield by committing coins to network security operations.
Traditional financial institutions now pilot blockchain-based instruments including digital bonds and tokenized investment vehicles. Ethereum consistently ranks among the preferred platforms for these institutional experiments.
Advocates contend Ethereum should be evaluated as foundational technology rather than merely a speculative token. This perspective positions it in an entirely separate category from Bitcoin’s value proposition.
Ethereum confronts stiffer competition than Bitcoin does. Rival platforms such as Solana actively court developers and users seeking alternatives.
Bitcoin experiences no comparable competitive pressure. Its digital gold narrative remains essentially unchallenged across the cryptocurrency landscape.
Nevertheless, both assets have attracted substantial institutional investment. Both now feature prominently in corporate strategy discussions and regulatory policy debates.
Many sophisticated investors have abandoned the either-or framework. They maintain positions in both, deploying Bitcoin for capital preservation and Ethereum for exposure to blockchain infrastructure growth.
As of mid-2026, Bitcoin maintains superior standing regarding institutional legitimacy. Ethereum commands the largest total value locked across decentralized finance protocols compared to all competing blockchain platforms, based on current available metrics.
Key Highlights Ethereum Institutional debuted Wednesday with backing from Joe Lubin, BitMine, and SharpLink to strengthen ties with traditional financial institutions Standard Chartered views the initiative as solving a critical communication barrier between Ethereum and Wall Street Ethereum commands nearly 58% of tokenized real-world assets and approximately half of the $311 billion stablecoin sector The Ethereum Foundation reduced its staff by 20% this year following leadership changes and governance scrutiny Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick reaffirmed his $4,000 ETH forecast for late 2026 A freshly established nonprofit organization named Ethereum Institutional made its debut Wednesday, receiving support from Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin alongside ETH treasury entities BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.
LATEST: ⚡️ Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, BitMine and SharpLink have launched Ethereum Institutional, a nonprofit aimed at accelerating the blockchain's adoption among banks and asset managers. pic.twitter.com/89blgTc2LI
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) July 1, 2026
The entity aims to function as a bridge connecting the Ethereum network with global financial powerhouses including banks, asset management firms, and portfolio managers.
According to its official announcement, the organization identified that Ethereum has been missing “a credible, independent front door” for meaningful institutional engagement. Operations will span major financial centers including New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
LATEST: ⚡️ The Ethereum Foundation published a policy guide arguing Ethereum's decentralized design makes it fit for government use cases like digital identity, public records, and asset tokenization. pic.twitter.com/Q8Ujl7HNPG
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) July 2, 2026
Standard Chartered expressed strong support for the initiative, characterizing it as a solution to the longstanding communication disconnect between Ethereum and prominent financial institutions.
“The aim is to ensure Ethereum is well represented in institutional conversations,” a bank representative told CoinDesk.
Geoff Kendrick, an analyst at Standard Chartered, noted that this launch, combined with the previous introduction of Ethlabs, carries “direct positive implications” for Ethereum’s infrastructure, including layer 1, layer 2 solutions, and DeFi protocols.
Kendrick maintained his forecast of $4,000 for ETH by the conclusion of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030.
The Strategic Timing Behind This Move Ethereum presently commands nearly 58% of the tokenized real-world asset marketplace, based on Token Terminal data. The network also represents approximately half of the $311 billion stablecoin ecosystem, according to DeFiLlama figures.
Even with this market leadership, competing blockchain platforms are intensifying their campaigns to secure institutional participants. Ethereum Institutional emerges as a strategic counter to this competitive landscape.
ETH was changing hands near $1,620 on Wednesday, representing a significant decline from levels above $4,000 observed as recently as October 27. Both BitMine and SharpLink are currently experiencing unrealized losses on their ETH positions.
Ethereum Foundation Changes Provide Broader Picture This development arrives amid a transitional phase for the Ethereum Foundation. The organization eliminated approximately 20% of its staff this year while experiencing around 19 departures, including co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang.
The foundation has encountered scrutiny regarding transparency practices, governance structures, and Ether’s market trajectory.
In reaction, independent entities have emerged to fill gaps. Ethlabs, a nonprofit dedicated to Ethereum scalability research, debuted in June with backing from the same supporters behind Ethereum Institutional.
Aztec Labs CEO Joe Andrews noted the ecosystem now benefits from three nonprofit organizations championing Ethereum adoption. He characterized the institutional emphasis as a logical progression for what he termed “the only credible option” for worldwide settlement.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan praised the development on X, writing: “It’s kind of awesome to watch a decentralized system heal itself.”
Vivek Raman from Etherealize interpreted it as validation of Ethereum’s decentralized framework, emphasizing the network is “built by independent nodes” rather than dependent on any singular organization.
According to 21shares analysis, present ETH valuations have not yet incorporated the expanding institutional interest.
Ethereum traded near $1,615 on July 2 as buyers tried to stabilize the market after weeks of pressure.
Summary
Ethereum trades near $1,615 as buyers defend support while ETF flows turn positive again. Analysts watch $1,700 to $1,800 as the recovery zone needed for stronger confirmation next move. Staking rate above 33% suggests more ETH is locked despite weak short-term price action. ETH remains close to the lower end of its recent range, but new ETF inflows and stronger staking activity have added fresh data points for traders watching a recovery attempt.
The token was up 2.49% over 24 hours, with a daily range between $1,564.82 and $1,637.22, according to crypto.news price data. Ethereum’s market cap stood near $194.87 billion, while 24-hour trading volume was about $10.81 billion.
Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $14.895 million in net inflows on July 1, while BlackRock’s ETHA posted the largest single-day inflow at $36.639 million, according to SoSoValue. The shift came after a period in which ETF outflows weighed on ETH demand and kept traders focused on the $1,500 support region.
Ethereum spot ETF net inflow, source: SoSoValue Ethereum price holds near lower range Ethereum’s short-term setup remains cautious. The recent price trend has been mostly sideways near the lower range, with ETH holding around $1,580 to $1,650. The market still needs a move above the $1,700 to $1,800 area to show stronger recovery momentum.
Recently, Ethereum had remained pinned near the $1,500 support zone after quarter-end selling, whale distribution, and weak institutional flows. That report said analysts were watching $1,700 as a key recovery level, while a loss of $1,500 could open another move lower.
The technical picture shows early improvement, but not a full trend reversal. The MACD histogram is positive near 7.60, while the MACD line is around minus 66.92 and above the signal line near minus 74.52. That points to a bullish crossover and weaker bearish momentum, but both lines remain below zero.
Ethereum (ETH) price chart, source: crypto.news The RSI is near 40.46 and above its moving average around 36.50. This shows some recovery in momentum, but the reading remains below 50. Buyers need a stronger RSI move and a price reclaim of $1,700 to $1,800 before the setup turns more constructive.
ETF inflows return after weeks of pressure ETF flows remain central to ETH’s short-term outlook. Earlier pressure came from repeated outflows across U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs. Crypto.news previously reported that funds saw $273 million in net outflows during the week ending June 26, with BlackRock’s ETHA accounting for $236 million of withdrawals.
The latest positive daily flow gives bulls some relief, but one day of inflows does not erase the wider weakness. ETF demand matters because these products can create spot buying pressure when flows are positive. When flows reverse, fund managers may need to redeem underlying ETH, adding supply to the market.
Ethereum has underperformed during this period because its ETF market is smaller than Bitcoin’s. Ethereum ETF outflows have been more painful in relative terms because the ETH ETF complex is much smaller than the Bitcoin ETF market.
That makes the July 1 inflow important for sentiment. A steady run of inflows would support the case for ETH to retest $1,700. If inflows fade again, traders may keep treating rallies as weak rebounds inside a broader downtrend.
Staking rate reaches record level On-chain data adds a different signal. CryptoQuant analyst EgyHash said Ethereum’s staking rate has crossed 33% for the first time, reaching about 33.06%. The analyst described the trend as a sign that long-term holders continue locking ETH despite price weakness.
EgyHash noted that the staking rate has climbed steadily since the Merge, while ETH price has moved through several bull and bear phases. The analyst said this shows many holders prefer to keep ETH staked rather than sell during weak market periods.
Ethereum (ETH) staking rate, source: CryptoQuant analyst EgyHash A higher staking rate can reduce liquid supply available on exchanges. That may support price if demand returns, because fewer coins are immediately available for sale. Still, the analyst warned that “staking growth alone does not guarantee an immediate price recovery.”
This makes staking a medium-term support factor rather than a short-term trigger. It can help tighten supply, but ETH still needs demand from ETFs, spot buyers, treasury firms, and onchain users to produce a stronger recovery.
Corporate buyers keep accumulating ETH Corporate treasury demand remains active despite weak price action. As previously reported, SharpLink bought another 10,000 ETH for $16.1 million, lifting its holdings to 886,725 ETH. The purchase came as Ethereum headed toward a rare third straight quarterly loss.
BitMine has also expanded its Ethereum treasury. Moreover, BitMine added 27,084 ETH in one week, raising its holdings to more than 5.7 million ETH, or about 4.7% of circulating supply.
The institutional push is also expanding beyond treasury buys. Earlier today, crypto.news reported that Ethereum Institutional launched with backing from BitMine, SharpLink and Joe Lubin to support adoption by banks, asset managers, custodians, and other financial firms.
The corporate buying has not yet changed the short-term trend. Whale selling, ETF weakness, and broader risk-off trading have kept ETH below the $1,700 to $1,800 recovery band. Still, these purchases show some institutions continue to add ETH at lower prices.
Ali Charts said ETH is approaching a long-term support area near $1,100, a level he described as the lower boundary of a multi-year channel. He pointed to $3,000 as a mid-range target and $5,000 as a macro ceiling if the lower channel holds.
ETHEREUM: WHEN TO BUY?
Ethereum is approaching a historically support level that has defined its macro price action for years.
Since 2021, the $1,100 level has served as the ultimate bottom boundary of Ethereum's long-term price channel. Historically, every single test of this… https://t.co/LNkygeXO5n pic.twitter.com/1NQMcvoXYL
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 2, 2026 Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Solana has quietly become one of the more serious institutional blockchain platforms on the market, and the numbers are starting to reflect that. The total value of real-world assets tokenized on Solana reached approximately $3.3 billion by early July 2026, up from around $2.5 billion in April and $2.8 billion in May. That kind of consistent monthly climb does not happen by accident.
Alongside that RWA growth, the stablecoin supply on Solana crossed $16 billion, driven primarily by Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT.
Big names are choosing Solana for real financial infrastructure The first half of 2026 brought a wave of institutional partnerships that would have seemed ambitious to predict even twelve months earlier. B2C2, one of the larger crypto market makers operating in institutional circles, designated Solana as its primary network for stablecoin settlements.
Advertisement
SoFi, the US-based financial services company, launched enterprise banking services built on the Solana blockchain during the same period.
Shinhan Card, one of South Korea’s largest card issuers, also signed a memorandum of understanding focused on developing stablecoin payment solutions on Solana.
Solana captured 97% of tokenized equity trading volume Perhaps the single most striking data point from this period: Solana captured 97% of cumulative on-chain tokenized equities spot trading volume by May 2026.
The Solana Foundation also rolled out new security infrastructure during this period, including the STRIDE initiative, which focuses on strengthening the network’s defenses against systemic risks. STRIDE, alongside improved cross-network DeFi recovery tools, signals that Solana is building the compliance and risk management layer that regulated financial entities require before committing serious capital.
What this means for investors watching the RWA space Solana’s $3.3 billion in RWA value by July 2026 positions it as a top-tier venue in that market, competing directly with Ethereum and BNB Chain for institutional flows.
For investors, the stablecoin supply figure is arguably the more actionable signal. A $16 billion stablecoin supply on Solana means there is substantial liquidity available for DeFi protocols, institutional desks, and payment rails operating on the chain.
Market analysts urge caution, suggesting that current metrics should be understood as peaks rather than a stable status quo. Ethereum remains the default institutional blockchain for many legacy finance entrants, and BNB Chain is aggressively courting similar RWA and payment partnerships in Asian markets.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and other major crypto surged over the past 24 hours. This comes as investors responded to Wall Street’s forecasts on slowing nonfarm payrolls, indicating a cooling labor market and Fed rate cut odds.
Bitcoin climbed more than 4% to hit a 24-hour high of $61,223 after weaker-than-expected ADP private payroll data and lower oil prices eased inflation concerns. The moves came amid broader market optimism, the US-Iran peace talks, and a sharp fall in ISM Manufacturing PMI prices.
Wall Street Giants Estimate Slowing US Nonfarm Payrolls The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release June’s US nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate on July 2. This jobs data release could significantly impact Bitcoin price and the crypto market direction.
Wall Street economists estimated that Nonfarm payrolls would come in at 110K in May, reinforcing signs of slowing labor market conditions. Notably, US jobs data has dropped from 172K last month, which could boost hopes of a Fed rate cut this year.
Citigroup estimated nonfarm payrolls at more than 25K while Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered projected 130K. Meanwhile, JPMorgan estimated jobs data to come in at 125K, while BofA, HSBC and Capital Economics’ forecasts are in line with economists.
Wall Street’s Nonfarm Payrolls Estimate. Source: LiveSquawk Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is projected to hold steady at 4.3%. Average hourly earnings are also expected to rise 0.3% for the month, causing the annual rate to slip from 3.6% to 3.4%.
Bitcoin, ETH, and XRP Rise amid Fed Rate Cut Hopes Bitcoin, ETH, and XRP rebounded after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments. He said inflation expectations had eased over the past month, signaling there was no urgency to hike rates.
Meanwhile, CME FedWatch Tool data showed nearly 50% probability of a Fed rate hike in September. Signs of progress in indirect US-Iran talks pushed oil prices lower and eased inflation concerns, causing Bitcoin to climb above $61K.
The US dollar index (DXY) fell to 101.12 on Thursday, with investors closely watching the US nonfarm payrolls report. Also, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.49%, maintaining recent gains.
Bitcoin price has pared some gains over the past few hours, with the price currently trading at $60,095. The 24-hour low and high are $58,263 and $61,223, respectively. Top altcoins ETH and XRP are trading at $1,615 and $1.05, respectively.
Leading cryptocurrencies ticked higher on Wednesday, while stocks retreated, as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh called inflation “too high.”
Crypto Market LiftsBitcoin broke past $61,000 in the evening, only to get rejected and drop back to $59,000. With trading volume spiking 11% over the past day, the struggle between bulls and bears continued.
Ethereum progressed to the mid-$1,600s before a pullback, while XRP and Dogecoin were also among the gainers.
Over $450 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with $279 million in short positions wiped out, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin’s open interest spiked 1.80% over the last 24 hours. BTC’s taker buy volume exceeded the sell volume over the last 24 hours, indicating a bullish sentiment in the market.
Retail and whale derivatives traders on Binance also remained bullish on the apex cryptocurrency.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.07 trillion, following an increase of 2.78% over the last 24 hours.
Stock Market Cools DownStocks eased on Wednesday after a recent surge in gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 13.96 points, or 0.03%, to close at 52,305.24. The S&P 500 fell 0.22% to end at 7,483.23, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.66% to close at 26,040.03.
Fed Chair Warsh said at an international conference that "prices are too high," but declined to comment on the central bank’s likely move in the July meeting.
The CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed markets pricing a 71% likelihood of the Fed keeping the rates unchanged in July, but nearly a 50% chance of a rate hike in September.
Seller Fatigue Setting In?Ali Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, declared that the cryptocurrency market has reached its bottom, citing “buy” signals on the TD Sequential indicator for Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
The monthly chart suggests a coordinated macro reversal setup,” the analyst added. “Historically, when multiple assets lock in concurrent monthly buy signals, it indicates seller fatigue and a high probability of a long-term market bottom.”
Rekt Capital, another popular chartist, noted that Bitcoin’s monthly close below the 50-month exponential moving average, currently around $63,000, aligns with patterns observed in prior cycles,
“Generally, prices tends to lose the 50-Month EMA and then turn it into new resistance before additional downside over time,” the analyst said.
Photo Courtesy: KateStock on Shutterstock.com
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Robinhood Taps Chainlink for Official Oracle InfrastructureRobinhood has formally adopted Chainlink as the official data and cross-chain oracle infrastructure for Robinhood Chain, its newly launched Ethereum Layer 2 network. The integration covers Robinhood Chain and all Robinhood-issued assets, including Stock Tokens like NVDA, GOOG, and AAPL. The announcement came alongside the public mainnet launch of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built using Arbitrum's technology stack.
Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum technology, designed to support tokenized real-world assets and onchain financial services. The company described Robinhood Chain as permissionless, AI-native, and purpose-built for real-world assets, with day-one partners including Uniswap, Pleiades, Alchemy, BitGo, and Chainlink.
What Chainlink Brings to the NetworkChainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), Data Streams, and Data Feeds are now live on Robinhood Chain mainnet from day one, delivering verifiable data for tokenized real-world assets and unlocking secure interoperability across the multi-chain ecosystem. Chainlink provides data feeds, interoperability tools, and compliance standards needed for advanced tokenization use cases. Oracles connect smart contracts to external data sources, which is essential for applications like tokenized stocks that require real-time pricing data from traditional markets.
Robinhood also launched new Stock Tokens, enabling eligible users to trade 24/7 directly on Robinhood Chain, as well as deploy those assets into lending pools and use them as trading collateral across the broader DeFi ecosystem. With the mainnet now live, Robinhood Wallet users in more than 120 countries can trade Stock Tokens, though availability varies depending on local regulations.
Gaetan Thabot, Director of Product at Robinhood Crypto, said the company chose Chainlink because its institutional-grade security and reliability are already trusted by the world's largest financial institutions to scale onchain ecosystems.
Sources:
PR Newswire: Robinhood Chain Launches and Adopts Chainlink
The Block: Robinhood Chain Goes Live on Mainnet
FinanceFeeds: Robinhood Opens 24/7 Stock Token Trading on Its New Layer 2 Chain
Key Takeaways Bitcoin leads the pack as the most reliable long-term hold thanks to its limited supply and institutional backing Ethereum dominates smart contract platforms, DeFi applications, and stablecoin infrastructure Solana delivers exceptional speed and affordability while capturing growing DEX market share Chainlink serves as critical infrastructure by bridging smart contracts with off-chain data sources Sui presents a mid-cap opportunity with elevated risk but potentially significant returns Market observers have identified five digital currencies as the most compelling long-term investment opportunities as we move deeper into 2026. These selections prioritize network fundamentals, real-world utility, and adoption metrics over speculative price movements.
Bitcoin Bitcoin continues to hold its position as the premier long-term cryptocurrency investment. With a hard-coded maximum supply of 21 million coins, it represents the most scarce major digital asset available.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price The introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has simplified institutional access to the asset. Meanwhile, an increasing number of corporations are adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets, further integrating it into traditional financial systems.
Market analysts highlight Bitcoin as presenting the most favorable risk-to-reward profile across the entire cryptocurrency landscape. It serves as the cornerstone for any diversified digital asset strategy.
Experts recommend allocating 35 percent of a crypto portfolio to Bitcoin, representing the highest weighting among these five selections.
Ethereum Ethereum functions as the infrastructure layer for much of the cryptocurrency sector. The network powers thousands of decentralized applications and maintains the industry’s most robust DeFi ecosystem.
The Ethereum blockchain processes billions of dollars in stablecoin transactions. Its role in tokenizing traditional assets such as securities and property continues to expand.
While facing competition from emerging blockchains, Ethereum maintains unmatched developer engagement. This sustained developer interest represents a critical competitive advantage for its long-term prospects.
A 25 percent portfolio allocation to Ethereum is recommended for long-term holders.
Solana Solana stands out for its high-performance capabilities and minimal transaction costs. These characteristics have positioned it as a preferred platform for DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, payment systems, and mainstream applications.
Both stablecoin transaction volume and decentralized exchange activity on Solana have shown consistent upward trends. The network has also attracted growing institutional participation.
Analysts suggest a 20 percent allocation to Solana, positioning it as a high-growth blockchain with an increasingly mature ecosystem.
Chainlink Chainlink occupies a unique position among these recommendations. Instead of competing for transaction throughput, it provides critical infrastructure enabling smart contracts to interact with external data sources.
Its oracle technology is considered fundamental to the DeFi sector’s functionality. The platform’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol has gained traction among institutions exploring asset tokenization.
Building a Balanced Portfolio The recommended allocation distributes capital as follows: 35 percent Bitcoin, 25 percent Ethereum, 20 percent Solana, 10 percent Chainlink, and 10 percent Sui.
This distribution aims to balance the stability offered by established networks with growth opportunities from emerging platforms.
Sui completes the portfolio as the highest-risk component. Built using the Move programming language, it prioritizes performance and scalability for gaming, DeFi, and consumer-facing applications.
While Sui’s ecosystem remains in earlier development stages, analysts acknowledge both its elevated risk profile and potential for outsized returns if user adoption accelerates.
No cryptocurrency represents a certain investment. The analysis emphasizes that diversifying across assets with proven fundamentals and practical applications may enhance long-term portfolio performance.
Cryptocurrency investments involve substantial risk and volatility remains inherent to the market. Each of these five digital assets fulfills a specific function within the broader crypto ecosystem as of July 2026.
PANews, July 2 – According to a report by The Block, Robinhood has announced a series of global expansion and product updates, including the mainnet launch of Robinhood Chain, 24/7 tokenized stock trading, perpetual contracts, and planned crypto agentic trading. Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on the Arbitrum technology stack, with launch partners including Uniswap, Pleiades, Alchemy, BitGo, and Chainlink. Robinhood describes it as a permissionless, AI-native network purpose-built for RWAs.
Robinhood launched Stock Tokens, tokenized stocks that allow eligible users to trade 24/7 on Robinhood Chain and deploy assets into lending pools or use them as collateral for trading in the DeFi ecosystem, covering over 120 countries but not available to U.S. users. Robinhood Wallet has integrated Lighter perpetual contract trading in select regions. Lighter has committed to distributing 11 million LIT tokens to the Robinhood community, and for the first 90 days, Robinhood will cover on-chain Gas fees for Robinhood Wallet users with zero fees on perpetual contracts. Robinhood Earn is now available to U.S. users, enabling lending of the USDG stablecoin through self-custody wallets with an estimated annualized yield of around 7%, underpinned by Morpho, with other supporting partners including Steakhouse, Ethena, Spark, and Maple.
Additionally, Robinhood announced its official launch in Canada, that its Singapore subsidiary has obtained a Capital Markets Services license from the MAS, plans to launch commodities, ETFs, and forex perpetual contracts in Europe, and that crypto trading in the UK is coming soon. For the U.S. market, Robinhood plans to introduce Agentic Accounts, an agentic trading account that allows users to connect AI models to execute trading strategies.
Ethereum Institutional has arrived as a nonprofit liaison for institutional adoption.
Listen
0
0:00 0:00
Subscribe to Bankless or sign in
A new nonprofit called Ethereum Institutional debuted today, positioning itself as the Ethereum community's unified point of contact for banks, asset managers, and other TradFi players weighing onchain deployments.
Notably, the group has been funded by Ethereum treasury companies Bitmine and Sharplink alongside Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin.
1/ Announcing Ethereum Institutional
An independent non-profit dedicated to accelerating the institutional adoption of Ethereum, its L2s, applications and overall ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/XUeViH6rrq
— Ethereum Institutional (@ethereuminsti) July 1, 2026 What's the Scoop?The team: Ethereum Institutional grew out of work started inside the Ethereum Foundation's enterprise unit, and its leadership, like David Walsh and Matthew Dawson, all cut their teeth there before spinning their efforts into an independently funded organization.The mission: Rather than pitch a specific product, the new nonprofit positions itself as a neutral go-between that will field questions from institutions, translate their requirements into deployable strategies, and represent Ethereum broadly.The numbers: The team says it's already cultivated 100s of relationships with major institutions, and they hosted a forum earlier this year drawing senior digital-asset executives who are collectively responsible for many trillions of dollars' worth of assets.The timing: The launch lands roughly a week after EthLabs, another EF-spinout nonprofit focused on protocol R&D, arrived.The Case for a Second Ethereum R&D Lab on Bankless
Making ETH inevitable and scaling Ethereum to the world. Ethlabs’s co-founders sat down with Bankless to unpack the new org’s mission.
BanklessWilliam M. Peaster
0
Written by Bankless
784 Articles • View all
It’s time to break up with your bank, and join the movement for a better world.
Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager, Crypto and International Robinhood (CoinDesk)Summary
Robinhood launched the public mainnet for its Layer 2 blockchain, Robinhood Chain, bringing tokenized stock trading live in more than 120 countries and introducing Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product offering an estimated 7% yield on USDG.The launch comes as Robinhood expands beyond its brokerage roots into crypto, tokenized assets and AI-powered trading, underscoring how the line between traditional finance and blockchain-based finance continues to blur.Robinhood (HOOD) officially launched the public mainnet for Robinhood Chain, marking the company's biggest step yet into onchain financial infrastructure as it looks to expand beyond brokerage services and into decentralized finance.
Announced during a Wednesday event in London, Robinhood Chain is a layer-2 blockchain built on Arbitrum (ARB) and designed for tokenized real-world assets and decentralized finance applications. The launch comes about four months after Robinhood began testing the network on testnet.
With the launch of the public mainnet, Robinhood's tokenized stock products are now also fully live. Stock Tokens are available through Robinhood Wallet in more than 120 countries, although availability varies by jurisdiction. The company said the goal is to allow users to trade tokenized equities around the clock and use them across decentralized finance applications, including lending protocols and as trading collateral.
Robinhood also introduced Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product that allows users to lend USDG, the company's dollar-backed stablecoin, through a self-custody wallet. The product offers an estimated annual percentage yield of 7%.
Beyond the Robinhood Chain ecosystem, the company announced several additional product launches and international expansion efforts. Robinhood said it is expanding perpetual futures trading in Europe to include commodities, ETFs and foreign exchange markets alongside crypto. It also plans to launch crypto trading in the U.K. and said its services are now available in Canada following its acquisition of WonderFi.
The company also unveiled Agentic Accounts for crypto, an AI-powered trading tool that will allow eligible U.S. users to connect AI models to Robinhood's trading infrastructure while retaining control over capital allocation and trading parameters.
"Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate," Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood's senior vice president of crypto.
Robinhood's product push shows how the lines between crypto and traditional finance are continuing to blur. The brokerage has steadily expanded beyond stocks and spot crypto trading into tokenized equities, derivatives and event contracts, better known as prediction markets. That strategy fits into the race for the "everything exchange" to host all kinds of trading and financial activity under one roof, increasingly on top of blockchain rails.
At the same time, the company also said last month it would lay off 10% of its workforce, some 290 employees, to streamline its organization and management structure.
12345678910
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.
A new independent non-profit called Ethereum Institutional launched on 01 July with a stated mission to accelerate the adoption of Ethereum, its Layer 2 networks and broader ecosystem by the world’s largest financial institutions.
The organisation is being established to serve as what its founders describe as a credible, neutral front door for institutions navigating the Ethereum ecosystem. Banks, asset managers, custodians and market infrastructure providers making long-term platform decisions today often lack a dedicated, unbiased counterpart who can walk them through the technical and commercial landscape without an agenda tied to any single product or protocol.
Why Now
Institutions are currently making foundational infrastructure choices around tokenisation, stablecoins and digital asset custody that will have enduring network effects. The decisions being made today will shape which blockchain platforms become embedded in global financial infrastructure for decades. Ethereum Institutional argues that Ethereum’s neutrality, often cited as one of its core strengths, can read as silence without active representation in those conversations.
Who Is Behind It
The founding team built the Ethereum Foundation’s enterprise engagement function from the ground up, working with hundreds of institutions across banking, asset management, custody and market infrastructure. Ethereum Institutional is designed to scale that work independently and with long-term funding rather than operating within the constraints of the Foundation itself.
The organisation launched with anchor funding from BitMNR, Sharplink and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, alongside a broader coalition of individual and institutional contributors to be announced.
Five Areas Of Focus From Day One
Institutional engagementInstitutional intelligenceEthereum ecosystem and ETH marketingIndustry discovery and requirementsEvents and conveningsWhat It Is Not
Ethereum Institutional is not a lobbying group and is not affiliated with any single Ethereum project or commercial entity. The independence from the Ethereum Foundation is intentional, giving the organisation the flexibility to represent the full ecosystem rather than any particular subset of it.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
In brief Ethereum Institutional, a new nonprofit, will help Wall Street firms adopt Ethereum-based infrastructure. The group follows last week's launch of Ethlabs, another Ethereum nonprofit backed by many of the same supporters. Both initiatives come as the Ethereum Foundation faces mounting criticism, leadership departures, and a major restructuring. A new nonprofit aimed at onboarding Wall Street to Ethereum launched Wednesday, marking the second major Ethereum-focused initiative backed in recent weeks by network co-founder Joe Lubin alongside top treasury firms BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.
Ethereum Institutional will serve as an independent point of contact for banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions seeking to get more involved with tokenization, stablecoins, and other on-chain financial infrastructure, according to an organization mission statement.
The organization said it will build on institutional engagement efforts previously led by the Ethereum Foundation, but will operate independently with funding from BitMine and SharpLink, Wall Street’s largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury firms.
Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin will also anchor the group’s funding, along with dozens of other individual and institutional contributors. (Disclaimer: Lubin, through his company Consensys, and BitMine Chairman Tom Lee are investors in Dastan, Decrypt’s parent company).
Wednesday’s launch follows the debut last week of Ethlabs, a separate nonprofit research and development organization created by former Ethereum Foundation researchers and backed by many of the same supporters.
“Together, Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional form complementary pillars of Ethereum’s next chapter,” entities involved in both endeavors said, “one advancing protocol-layer innovation and core infrastructure, the other ensuring institutions have a credible, dedicated counterpart to guide them from evaluation through deployment at scale.”
If these organizations see themselves as Ethereum’s future, the implication could be that the Ethereum Foundation is a remnant of the past. The longstanding nonprofit, which has quarterbacked the network’s technical development for years, has come under fire recently for failing to take proactive measures to bolster both ETH’s price and the network’s public image.
In the last few months, numerous Ethereum Foundation leaders have abandoned their posts. The organization then laid off 20% of its workforce last week and instituted a substantial reorganization.
Former linchpins of the Foundation have come out recently with proposals to “save Ethereum” by allocating significant funds towards the goal of increasing ETH’s long-sagging price. The moves were widely seen as digs at Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s idealistically minded co-founder and current steward.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
In brief Ethereum Institutional, a new nonprofit, will help Wall Street firms adopt Ethereum-based infrastructure. The group follows last week's launch of Ethlabs, another Ethereum nonprofit backed by many of the same supporters. Both initiatives come as the Ethereum Foundation faces mounting criticism, leadership departures, and a major restructuring. A new nonprofit aimed at onboarding Wall Street to Ethereum launched Wednesday, marking the second major Ethereum-focused initiative backed in recent weeks by network co-founder Joe Lubin alongside top treasury firms BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.
Ethereum Institutional will serve as an independent point of contact for banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions seeking to get more involved with tokenization, stablecoins, and other on-chain financial infrastructure, according to an organization mission statement.
The organization said it will build on institutional engagement efforts previously led by the Ethereum Foundation, but will operate independently with funding from BitMine and SharpLink, Wall Street’s largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury firms.
Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin will also anchor the group’s funding, along with dozens of other individual and institutional contributors. (Disclaimer: Lubin, through his company Consensys, and BitMine Chairman Tom Lee are investors in Dastan, Decrypt’s parent company).
Wednesday’s launch follows the debut last week of Ethlabs, a separate nonprofit research and development organization created by former Ethereum Foundation researchers and backed by many of the same supporters.
“Together, Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional form complementary pillars of Ethereum’s next chapter,” entities involved in both endeavors said, “one advancing protocol-layer innovation and core infrastructure, the other ensuring institutions have a credible, dedicated counterpart to guide them from evaluation through deployment at scale.”
If these organizations see themselves as Ethereum’s future, the implication could be that the Ethereum Foundation is a remnant of the past. The longstanding nonprofit, which has quarterbacked the network’s technical development for years, has come under fire recently for failing to take proactive measures to bolster both ETH’s price and the network’s public image.
In the last few months, numerous Ethereum Foundation leaders have abandoned their posts. The organization then laid off 20% of its workforce last week and instituted a substantial reorganization.
Former linchpins of the Foundation have come out recently with proposals to “save Ethereum” by allocating significant funds towards the goal of increasing ETH’s long-sagging price. The moves were widely seen as digs at Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s idealistically minded co-founder and current steward.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
The line between traditional finance and Ethereum just got a new, purpose-built entry point. Ethereum Institutional launched this week as an independent non-profit, positioning itself as what the organization calls the dedicated institutional front door for onchain finance. The announcement lands at a moment when tokenized real-world assets have crossed $20 billion onchain, major custodians are building settlement rails, and asset managers are no longer asking whether blockchain fits their stack—they’re working out how quickly they can move.
The details are sparse. The initial disclosure, the original report confirms the entity’s status as a non-profit, but stops short of naming board members, funding sources, or the precise programs it intends to run. That absence of detail is itself a signal: this is a structural play, not a product launch. By incorporating as a non-profit, Ethereum Institutional sidesteps the commercial baggage that comes with being a vendor or service provider. Its mandate, framed loosely as bringing institutional finance onchain at scale, suggests an orchestration role—convening technologists, regulators, asset managers, and protocol teams around standards, education, and shared infrastructure.
The launch comes against a backdrop of accelerating institutional activity across the Ethereum ecosystem. In May, Bullish closed a $4.2 billion acquisition of Equiniti, Ondo Finance and JPMorgan executed the first live tokenized Treasury settlement, and the total value of real-world assets onchain surged past $20 billion, according to a recent roundup. Those moves aren’t experiments; they’re production-grade capital flows. A non-profit gatekeeper could help accelerate that trend by giving allocators a single source of technical and regulatory guidance—something the Ethereum space has historically delivered through a scattered constellation of firms and consortia.
Why a Non-Profit Gateway, and Why Now Institutional entry into decentralized networks isn’t just a technology problem. It’s a coordination problem. The Ethereum landscape today includes multiple layer-2 networks, staking protocols, DeFi venues, and compliance layers, each with its own risk profile and operational nuance. A dedicated non-profit can act as a neutral switchboard without competing with the service providers it aims to onboard. This matters because many of the largest financial institutions remain wary of building on top of for-profit entities that could change terms, deprecate products, or face conflicts of interest. The non-profit structure aligns more naturally with the long-term, public-infrastructure mindset that regulated institutions require before committing balance-sheet capital.
There’s also regulatory timing at play. Just days ago, reports surfaced that major banks were attempting to derail a landmark U.S. crypto bill set for a Senate vote, as BlockchainReporter documented. The legislative fight shows how contested the onramps remain. In that environment, an entity like Ethereum Institutional could serve as an education and advocacy layer, helping policymakers understand the distinction between permissionless speculation and supervised onchain finance—and helping institutions navigate compliance without abandoning the core advantages of Ethereum’s settlement guarantees.
What This Means for Ethereum’s Infrastructure and Market Structure If Ethereum Institutional succeeds in becoming the front door, the downstream effects on Ethereum’s infrastructure could be significant. Institutional flows often demand specific capabilities: segregated custody, onchain identity, verifiable offchain data, and predictable fee environments. Those demands flow directly into layer-2 roadmaps, liquid staking protocols, and zero-knowledge proof deployments that prioritize compliance while preserving auditability. Over the coming quarters, projects that can plug into a unified institutional interface may see faster adoption, while those that can’t may find themselves locked out of the liquidity that regulated capital brings.
There’s already a pattern. Sui’s recent 18% price surge was driven in part by institutional staking from a Nasdaq-listed firm and a fintech integration with Paga, as reported earlier. That episode shows markets reward networks that reduce institutional friction. Ethereum Institutional’s launch, even without granular specifics, signals that the Ethereum ecosystem is deliberately building that friction reduction as a permanent public good.
Uncertainties That Will Shape the Rollout For all the structural logic, a great deal remains unknown. No timeline has been provided for programs, working groups, or deliverables. The organization hasn’t disclosed who is funding it, whether it has the backing of the Ethereum Foundation or any major protocol teams, or how it intends to avoid the fate of earlier enterprise blockchain consortiums that produced more white papers than live capital. The real test will be whether buy-side institutions—pension funds, insurance treasuries, corporate balance sheets—actually walk through the door.
Moreover, the launch does nothing to address the persistent fragmentation across Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem. An institutional gateway that isn’t tightly integrated with the major rollups and their compliance stacks risks becoming merely a directory. The market will be watching for partnerships that show genuine operational integration, not just a branding exercise. Still, the non-profit structure gives Ethereum Institutional a longer runway to get this right. In a market where hype cycles are measured in weeks, a deliberately slow, coordination-first entity may be exactly what institutional capital needs before it commits at scale.
AUTHOR
Max delves deep into the cryptocurrency realm, with a passion for altcoins and NFTs. Convinced of crypto's transformative potential, he envisions a decentralized financial future. Max's background in the financial sector grants him unique insights into global monetary systems. In his leisure, Max embraces the thrill of adventures and is an avid sports enthusiast, finding balance and rejuvenation away from work.
Ethereum Institutional, an independent nonprofit organization, has officially launched with the aim of accelerating large-scale institutional adoption of Ethereum, layer 2 networks, decentralized applications, and the broader ecosystem. The initiative comes as the crypto industry sees growing interest from major companies looking to integrate blockchain technology at the enterprise level.
Key focus areasThe foundation’s creation coincides with a period where more corporations are leveraging ETH for payment settlements, tokenization, and on-chain financial transactions. The maturation of layer 2 scaling solutions, combined with clearer regulatory frameworks in major global markets, made this an opportune time for Ethereum Institutional’s debut.
The organization’s main areas of activity include institutional relations, market intelligence, ecosystem and ETH promotion, sector requirements, and event coordination. Instead of focusing on protocol development, Ethereum Institutional aims to provide education, ensure standards compliance, and act as a bridge between traditional finance and Ethereum developers through advocacy and coordination.
The organization’s mandate is to emphasize education, standards alignment, and acting as a bridge between traditional finance and Ethereum’s development community, rather than engaging directly in protocol development.
Addressing gaps in enterprise adoptionAccording to the new initiative, the primary barriers to institutional participation are less about technical hurdles and more about operational processes, compliance requirements, and a lack of unified narrative. Ethereum Institutional intends to fill these gaps, serving as a coordination layer among businesses, developers, and infrastructure providers.
This approach could deliver a more defined institutional framework, especially benefiting exchanges, custodians, and asset managers. It is expected to help clarify enterprise needs for developers and create a central touchpoint for regulators seeking input from the industry.
Leading supportersMajor backers of the initiative include BitMine, SharpLink, and Joseph Lubin, one of Ethereum’s co-founders. Lubin, also known as the founder of Consensys, is a key figure in Ethereum’s ecosystem and brings significant expertise in protocol development and industry leadership.
Mini glossary: Tokenization refers to creating digital representations of real-world assets or financial instruments on a blockchain. Layer 2 refers to scaling solutions designed to reduce congestion and accelerate transactions on Ethereum at lower costs.
With support from BitMine, SharpLink, and Joseph Lubin, the initiative gains direct links to mining, treasury management, and protocol leadership within the Ethereum community.
Launch coincides with surging institutional interestThe announcement comes at a time when spot Ether ETF demand is climbing and stablecoin-based payment settlements are expanding across the sector. This context underlines the prospect of a strengthened institutional framework being built around Ethereum.
From a corporate perspective, clearer standards and consistent dialogue with the Ethereum community could streamline the path to broader adoption. For investors, the development signals a more visible and organized institutional ecosystem forming around $ETH.
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 analyst Aaron Dishner noted that Bitcoin recorded its lowest daily close since September 2024. According to Dishner, this move caused BTC to fall below its short-term support level, briefly forming a new local low around $57,800.
The analyst stated that the current outlook presents a contradictory picture to Bitcoin’s historically positive July performance. Dishner noted that July has historically been a green month for Bitcoin, with previous “bottom year” Julys of 2018 and 2022 seeing BTC recover an average of around 19 percent.
According to Dishner, this scenario could be consistent with a rebound in Bitcoin driven by overselling, continuing towards the weekly TBO Fast line. However, the analyst added that BTC is still strongly trending downwards on both the daily and weekly TBO indicators.
Dishner noted that Ethereum shows a similar picture to Bitcoin, stating that ETH maintains a strong bearish outlook on its daily and weekly TBO indicators. However, he added that the On-Balance Volume moving average lines for both Bitcoin and Ethereum have begun to flatten. According to the analyst, while this doesn’t confirm a new bull trend, it suggests that the current downtrend may be preparing to change character in the short term.
Excluding stablecoins, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization is still in a strong bearish zone according to the daily TBO Cloud. However, Dishner noted that the OBV moving average is starting to flatten in this area as well. According to the analyst, similar market structures in past July lows were able to recover towards the weekly TBO Fast line before falling again.
Dishner also stated that a potential July recovery could put pressure on stablecoin dominance. According to the analyst, combined stablecoin dominance was hovering near its accumulation zone target of 13%. However, if Bitcoin experiences a rebound, this rate could fall to the lower band of the daily Cloud, i.e., to 11% or lower.
However, Dishner added that the bigger risks haven’t disappeared. According to the analyst, a similar early warning reversal signal was seen before the June decline. Furthermore, August and September remain historically weak months for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market. Therefore, Dishner stated that a potential rally in July should not be considered a confirmation that the long-term bottom has definitively formed, but rather a reaction rally stemming from oversold conditions.
On the altcoin side, according to the analyst, tactical opportunities are emerging in some assets. Dishner stated that Solana is working on a second TBO Close Short signal, which could be a bullish reversal signal in the short term. He noted that there is room for HYPE up to around $79,372, the 1,272 Fibonacci extension level, that a TBT bullish divergence structure is developing in BCH, that XMR could target the TBO resistance at $418.60 in an upward move, and that a second weekly TBT bullish divergence cluster is forming in KAS.
Dishner also noted that altcoins such as ICP, WLD, FET, SEI, WIF, and FARTCOIN are showing signs of rebound or reversal. Conversely, he said that some of the best-performing assets of late, like LAB, are starting to lose momentum.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
A new nonprofit organization aimed at accelerating institutional adoption within the Ethereum ecosystem officially launched on Wednesday. The group, dubbed Ethereum Institutional, seeks to support banks, asset management firms, and other financial institutions in getting involved with tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain financial infrastructure.
New entity targets institutional engagementAccording to its mission statement, Ethereum Institutional will serve as an independent point of contact for Wall Street actors engaging with Ethereum. The initiative builds on previous outreach conducted by the Ethereum Foundation, but is independently funded by BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.
Both BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink have emerged as prominent publicly listed treasury holders in Ethereum. Joe Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum and a key figure through his involvement with Consensys, remains influential in the broader ecosystem.
Representatives involved in both new ventures emphasized that Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional form two complementary pillars for Ethereum’s next phase, with one focused on protocol layer innovation and infrastructure, and the other serving as a trusted counterpart for institutions from assessment to large-scale adoption.
The launch of Ethereum Institutional closely follows the recent unveiling of Ethlabs last week. Founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers, Ethlabs is positioned as a separate not-for-profit organization focused on research and development. Both initiatives, largely backed by similar supporters, signal the emergence of a new wave of institutional frameworks within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Pressure mounts on the Ethereum FoundationThese new endeavors have surfaced at a time when the Ethereum Foundation faces mounting criticism. Long responsible for driving the network’s technical development, the Foundation has recently been accused of failing to take more active measures to support ETH’s price and strengthen public perception of the network.
As part of an organizational overhaul, the Foundation parted ways with 54 employees, equivalent to roughly 20% of its workforce. This downsizing was positioned as a component of a broader transformation following the publication of a 38-page Mandate document and updated treasury policy in March.
Glossary: Tokenization refers to representing real-world assets or financial instruments as digital tokens on a blockchain. A stablecoin is a digital asset that typically aims to be pegged to a stable value, such as the US dollar.
Over the past few months, several senior leaders and influential figures within the Foundation have stepped down. Subsequent staff reductions and major organizational changes have brought ongoing debates over Ethereum’s governance and priorities into sharper focus.
Debates intensify on price and governanceDiscussion concerning the Ethereum Foundation has extended beyond organizational structures. Some former leading contributors have proposed allocating substantial resources to address Ethereum’s prolonged lackluster price performance, which has been interpreted by some as an indirect critique of co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s more idealistic philosophy.
The Foundation stated that, following restructuring, it aims to proceed with a leaner and more focused organizational model.
The rapid launch of Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional indicates that technical development and institutional outreach are now being separated into distinct entities. This development suggests ongoing debate about the role of the Foundation in Ethereum’s future, which is likely to continue in the months ahead.
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 Ethereum Foundation wants governments to stop thinking of Ethereum as “crypto stuff” and start seeing it as public infrastructure. On July 1, the foundation’s Global Policy Strategy team published a non-technical guide titled “Ethereum Basics for Governments and Institutions,” designed to walk policymakers, central bankers, and institutional leaders through how the network actually works.
What the guide actually says The primer’s core argument is straightforward: Ethereum is an ownerless, always-on piece of digital infrastructure that no single entity controls. Ethereum has experienced zero network outages since its launch in 2015. The guide contrasts this with other blockchains like Solana and TRON, which have seen between one and seven outages.
Citing an OpenZeppelin Technical Risk Assessment from March 2026, the primer notes that roughly $76 billion in ETH is currently staked on the network. The estimated cost to finalize fraudulent transactions sits at approximately $50.7 billion, plus penalties on top of that.
Advertisement
The guide highlights that Ethereum supports over five independent client implementations. The ecosystem also claims around 11,000 EVM developers actively building on it. As of March 2026, Ethereum holds approximately $159 billion in stablecoin value and roughly $15.2 billion in tokenized real-world assets.
Real-world deployments, not just whitepapers Bhutan and Buenos Aires both get mentions for decentralized identity initiatives built on Ethereum infrastructure. India appears in the context of land registry efforts. The European Investment Bank and UNICEF are both cited as entities that have used Ethereum-based tools.
The primer frames these examples under broader categories: digital identity, asset tokenization, and public records management.
Why the foundation is doing this now Two technical priorities underpin the foundation’s current roadmap: scaling solutions and post-quantum security. The first is about handling more transactions without sacrificing decentralization. The second is about future-proofing the network against quantum computing threats that could theoretically break current cryptographic standards.
What this means for investors The initial reaction to the primer’s release showed no immediate price impact on ETH. The stablecoin and tokenized asset figures are worth watching closely. At $159 billion and $15.2 billion respectively, Ethereum already dominates the categories that traditional finance is most actively exploring.
By explicitly comparing Ethereum’s uptime and decentralization to Solana and TRON, the foundation is drawing a line in the sand about which networks are suitable for sovereign-grade applications. Investors should watch for whether the primer’s framing — that Ethereum is credible public infrastructure — gets adopted in regulatory language or rejected in favor of more restrictive frameworks.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
"Could we go below $1,200? Maybe," one analyst stated.
The second-largest cryptocurrency has been severely damaged by the prolonged bear market, closing Q2 firmly in the red. Even more striking is that this marks the third consecutive quarter of losses for ETH – something unseen in the asset’s history and a clear signal of how persistent the current downturn has become.
Analysts speculate that bulls might have to endure more pain in the near future, with some projecting a price crash to as low as $1,000.
The Bears Take Total Control It was last August that ETH climbed to a new all-time high of almost $5,000. Since then, it has headed south and currently trades at around $1,560 (per CoinGecko), representing a whopping 70% decline from the historic peak.
Weak market conditions and seasonal factors suggest the asset may experience a further short-term plunge. One should keep in mind that July has rarely been a favorable month for Ethereum, as it has finished the period in the red six out of the last ten times.
ETH Monthly Returns, Source: CoinGlass The analyst who uses the X moniker Ted noted that ETH has been holding up better than BTC lately, but warned that the former isn’t out of the woods yet. He paid special attention to the $1,700 level, arguing that if the asset fails to reclaim it, the probability of setting a new low will rise significantly.
Crypto with Haris ₿ addressed the increasingly popular predictions that ETH could plunge to $1,000 during this cycle, adding that such an extreme downside scenario is far less plausible than many fear.
“Ethereum has already been one of the hardest-hit major coins this cycle and is now building a strong base around the $1,500-$1,600 zone. Even with another Bitcoin flush, I think the realistic downside is around $1,200-$1,300. Could we go below $1,200? Maybe. But I think the risk of trying to catch that exact level is much higher than people realize,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the recent whale behavior strengthens the bearish outlook. Ali Martinez revealed that large investors sold around $900 million in ETH over a single week, while the analytics platform Lookonchain reported that an anonymous market participant cashed out almost 2,500 coins, incurring a major $4.33 million loss.
You may also like: Bitcoin (BTC) Dips Below $62K, Ethereum (ETH) Plunges 6% Daily: Market Watch 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Crashed Below $63K as Liquidations Top $500M Bitmine Buys 52K ETH as Tom Lee Believes the Best Years for Crypto Are Still Ahead Some Bullish Signals Still, it is not all doom and gloom for Ethereum. The number of coins stored on crypto exchanges remains quite close to the ten-year low recorded in June: a development that reduces selling pressure.
ETH Exchange Reserve, Source: CryptoQuant Moreover, ETH’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) continues to hover around 30, indicating that the asset has entered oversold territory and could be due for a rebound. The technical analysis indicator ranges from 0 to 100; anything above 70 is considered a warning of an impending pullback.
In brief Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an "AI-native" Ethereum layer-2 network. The chain further bridges the firm's traditional financial offerings with its crypto products, beginning with Stock Tokens. Shares finished the day up more than 8% on the news, though are still well off their 52-week high. Publicly traded brokerage and financial app Robinhood launched the public mainnet Wednesday for its Ethereum layer-2 network, Robinhood Chain.
The Arbitrum-powered network aims to “bridge the gap” between crypto and the traditional finance world, opening with integrations from BitGo, Chainlink, and partnerships with Uniswap and Pleiades to offer dedicated automated market making for public liquidity and prop trading, respectively. The network, described by Robinhood as “AI-native,” also supports trading by AI agents.
“Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate,” said Robinhood SVP and General Manager of Crypto and International Johann Kerbrat, in a statement.
“We’re bringing the best of traditional finance and DeFi together, and in doing so, expanding financial ownership to every corner of the globe,” he said.
The firm’s network will also unlock additional productivity for what it calls “Stock Tokens,” or tokenized, on-chain representations of shares in the world’s biggest companies like Nvidia and Apple, allowing users in eligible jurisdictions—which doesn’t include the U.S.—to place them in lending pools and use them as collateral in DeFi.
The firm is also expanding the feature set within its Robinhood Wallet, opening up perps trading directly in-wallet via decentralized perpetuals exchange, Lighter and enabling eligible U.S. users to use Robinhood Earn, a feature that allows individuals to lend dollar-backed stablecoin USDG for around 7% APY.
Beyond its new features, a core focus of the brokerage’s latest announcement is a major geographic expansion, including welcoming users from Canada and soon Singapore, which will add to its nearly 28 million existing customers. Additionally, Robinhood expects to offer crypto services to users in the U.K. in the near future.
Shares in Robinhood (HOOD) finished the day up more than 8% on Wednesday and now nearly 20% in the last month, changing hands at $108.65. Even at that mark, though, it remains more than 29% off its 52-week high of $153.86.
Last month, the firm cut about 10% of its staff amid a severe downturn in revenue from its crypto offerings, which dropped 34% quarter-over-quarter to $134 million from $221 million.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
In brief Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an "AI-native" Ethereum layer-2 network. The chain further bridges the firm's traditional financial offerings with its crypto products, beginning with Stock Tokens. Shares finished the day up more than 8% on the news, though are still well off their 52-week high. Publicly traded brokerage and financial app Robinhood launched the public mainnet Wednesday for its Ethereum layer-2 network, Robinhood Chain.
The Arbitrum-powered network aims to “bridge the gap” between crypto and the traditional finance world, opening with integrations from BitGo, Chainlink, and partnerships with Uniswap and Pleiades to offer dedicated automated market making for public liquidity and prop trading, respectively. The network, described by Robinhood as “AI-native,” also supports trading by AI agents.
“Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate,” said Robinhood SVP and General Manager of Crypto and International Johann Kerbrat, in a statement.
“We’re bringing the best of traditional finance and DeFi together, and in doing so, expanding financial ownership to every corner of the globe,” he said.
The firm’s network will also unlock additional productivity for what it calls “Stock Tokens,” or tokenized, on-chain representations of shares in the world’s biggest companies like Nvidia and Apple, allowing users in eligible jurisdictions—which doesn’t include the U.S.—to place them in lending pools and use them as collateral in DeFi.
The firm is also expanding the feature set within its Robinhood Wallet, opening up perps trading directly in-wallet via decentralized perpetuals exchange, Lighter and enabling eligible U.S. users to use Robinhood Earn, a feature that allows individuals to lend dollar-backed stablecoin USDG for around 7% APY.
Beyond its new features, a core focus of the brokerage’s latest announcement is a major geographic expansion, including welcoming users from Canada and soon Singapore, which will add to its nearly 28 million existing customers. Additionally, Robinhood expects to offer crypto services to users in the U.K. in the near future.
Shares in Robinhood (HOOD) finished the day up more than 8% on Wednesday and now nearly 20% in the last month, changing hands at $108.65. Even at that mark, though, it remains more than 29% off its 52-week high of $153.86.
Last month, the firm cut about 10% of its staff amid a severe downturn in revenue from its crypto offerings, which dropped 34% quarter-over-quarter to $134 million from $221 million.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
