Solana has returned to the spotlight after the SuperTrend indicator on its three-day chart flashed a buy signal, accompanied by positive RSI divergence in higher timeframes. Analysts say that if SOL can hold above its recent lows and attract new buyers, the price could open up space to target the $100 level.
Shift in trend appears on the three-day chartFor the first time since October 10, the SuperTrend indicator on Solana’s three-day chart has issued a buy signal. This technical shift comes after a period of sharp correction, suggesting that selling pressure in the market structure may be fading and buyers could be regaining strength.
In a chart shared by Ali Charts, Solana’s attempt at recovery after a prolonged downtrend has gained attention. The signal line of the SuperTrend moving below the current price is typically interpreted by technical analysts as the initial sign of buyers reclaiming momentum in the asset.
Mini glossary: The SuperTrend indicator is used to track the direction of price movements and potential support-resistance areas. ATR, or Average True Range, measures price volatility, and SuperTrend uses this data to dynamically determine stop levels.
Ali Charts has emphasized that this is the first SuperTrend buy signal for SOL since October 10, highlighting the need for closer monitoring compared to prior months.
Following the previous sell signal, Solana’s price dropped 74%. For this reason, the indicator’s switch back to a bullish signal carries particular technical significance. Yet, analysts caution that this alone isn’t sufficient; for an upward move to be sustained, SOL must remain above its new support zone.
The key threshold in the short term stands at $100. If SOL can hold this structure and strengthen its upward momentum, the market could retest this region. On the other hand, slipping below the new support would weaken the positive outlook.
Weekly chart reveals bullish RSI divergenceZooming out to higher timeframes, TraderJB suggests that Solana may be entering the final stages of its corrective phase. According to the Elliott Wave structure on the weekly chart, after the primary rally that began in 2023, a classic peak formation developed, followed by an A-B-C correction.
TraderJB points out that during previous waves 3 and 5 tops, negative RSI divergence was observed—a technical pattern typically indicating rising risk of a top as price increases while momentum weakens. Now, toward the end of the current C wave, the pattern appears to be reversing.
The chart highlights positive RSI divergence around the minor waves 3 and 5 within the C wave. According to analysts, this suggests that selling pressure may be easing, potentially turning the current zone into an accumulation area, especially for longer-term investors.
TraderJB notes that if the wave count remains valid, the current region offers a compelling risk-reward profile for spot accumulation, provided that SOL manages to defend its recent lows.
Nevertheless, further confirmation is required before a broader trend reversal can be declared. Should Solana protect its recent lows while decisively building upward momentum, the scenario for a more substantial recovery may strengthen.
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.
If you wanted to build a toll booth on Solana, Jito already beat you to it. The protocol, which operates at the intersection of liquid staking and maximal extractable value infrastructure, has cemented itself as the closest thing Solana has to a monopoly on validator-level revenue capture.
As of early July 2026, Jito’s governance token JTO sits at a market cap of roughly $351 million, backed by a circulating supply of approximately 491 million tokens. Its MEV-optimized validator client is now running on more than 95% of Solana’s active stake, up from figures that sat between 60% and 94% in prior periods.
What Jito actually does, and why it prints money Think of Jito as a two-sided business. On one side, it runs JitoSOL, a liquid staking token that lets holders earn staking yields without locking up their SOL permanently. On the other side, it operates MEV infrastructure that allows validators to capture tips from traders who want their transactions prioritized.
JitoSOL currently holds around $2.92 billion in total value locked, with more than 14.5 million SOL staked through the protocol.
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October 2024 alone saw $78.9 million in MEV fees flow through the protocol. MEV fees have risen 42% as on-chain activity on Solana has accelerated through 2025 and into 2026.
Jito operates through two distinct entities: Jito Labs, the engineering and product arm, and the Jito Foundation and DAO, which governs the protocol and controls token-level decisions.
JTX: the new piece of the puzzle On June 26, 2026, Jito Labs launched early access to JTX, a self-custodial trading terminal built on top of Solana’s decentralized exchange ecosystem. The product is designed to improve liquidity routing across both spot DEX venues and perpetuals markets.
Approximately 80% of JTX protocol revenue is directed back to JTO holders through buybacks. Rather than accruing value to a foundation treasury or a VC cap table, the majority of trading fee revenue would actively reduce circulating supply, creating mechanical buy pressure on the token.
Jito already sits at the base layer of Solana’s validator infrastructure. Adding a trading terminal means it can now capture value at the application layer too.
What this means for investors and the broader Solana ecosystem Jito has outpaced competitors like Marinade in both the staking and MEV markets. The 95%-plus validator adoption figure means that when block producers on Solana choose how to order transactions, the overwhelming majority are using Jito’s tooling to do it.
For JTO holders, the current setup offers a few distinct value drivers. Staking yields flow through JitoSOL and benefit from MEV tip capture on top of base staking rewards. The JTX buyback mechanism creates a direct connection between trading volume growth and token supply reduction.
Jito’s revenue is deeply tied to Solana network activity and MEV opportunity. A sustained drop in on-chain trading volume would compress fee flows quickly. Regulatory scrutiny on MEV practices, which has already begun in Ethereum circles, could eventually extend to Solana as well.
A $351 million market cap against a protocol that handles $2.92 billion in staked assets and captured nearly $79 million in MEV fees in a single month is a ratio worth examining.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Kylian Mbappé just became the highest-scoring player against South American teams in World Cup history. Naturally, degens on Solana are treating this like a buy signal.
The French forward netted a penalty against Paraguay on July 4, bringing his career tally against South American opponents to seven World Cup goals. That breaks a record that spans nearly a century of tournament play, and it’s driving a predictable, if slightly absurd, spike in trading activity around unofficial meme tokens that reference his name.
The record in context Mbappé’s seven goals against South American sides didn’t happen overnight. Five of them came against Argentina across the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, including that legendary hat trick in the 2022 final that nearly rewrote history. The remaining two came against Peru and Paraguay in the current 2026 cycle.
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The man has 19 goals in 19 World Cup appearances. He also holds the record for most knockout-stage goals, with at least 10 to his name. For a player competing in only his third World Cup, that’s a stat line most strikers wouldn’t achieve across five tournaments.
Mbappé currently sits tied with Lionel Messi at seven goals in the 2026 tournament alone. The two are locked in a parallel duel for individual supremacy even as their teams navigate the knockout bracket on separate sides.
Meme tokens ride the momentum In the crypto corner of this story, unofficial Solana-based meme tokens associated with Mbappé’s name have seen renewed trading interest. This mirrors what happened during the 2022 World Cup, when Mbappé’s hat trick against Argentina in the final sent trading volumes on various athlete-themed tokens into overdrive.
Let’s be clear about what these tokens actually are. They’re unofficial. They have no endorsement from Mbappé, no connection to Real Madrid, and no underlying utility beyond speculation. Their value is entirely a function of attention, which is the most volatile commodity in crypto.
Volumes tend to spike immediately after a high-profile goal or record-breaking moment, then decay rapidly as the news cycle moves on. Anyone buying the peak of a post-goal pump is essentially betting that someone else will pay even more for the same hype. When the tournament ends, or when Mbappé has a quiet game, the attention evaporates and so does the liquidity.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Ethereum’s net supply increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days.
According to data from Ultrasound.money, Ethereum's net supply has increased by 83,550 ETH over the past 30 days, bringing its total supply to 121,838,278 ETH, with the current annual supply growth rate standing at 0.835%.
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AI capital expenditure is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027, potentially surpassing U.S. defense spending for the first time.
The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that the AI spending boom is reshaping the U.S. economy. AI capital expenditures by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle are projected to rise to roughly 3.2% of U.S. GDP by 2027. If the forecast holds, annual AI capital spending will for the first time exceed U.S. defense outlays, which are expected to account for around 2.7% of GDP next year. For this year alone, the group’s AI capital spending is forecast to jump from 1.5% of GDP in 2025 to roughly 2.5%, nearly matching the 2.7% share of GDP allocated to defense spending. The five firms’ combined AI capital expenditures are projected to top $800 billion in 2026, then climb to a record $1.1 trillion in 2027. These figures are "staggering".
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US and South Korean stocks Monday price preview: Micron Technology is forecast to rise more than 6% in pre-market trading, while Samsung Electronics is expected to open 4% higher.
Due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday (July 3), U.S. stock markets were closed last Friday, paired with the regular weekend closure. "On-chain Nasdaq" Trade.xyz enables continuous trading and real-time price discovery unavailable in traditional finance via perpetual contracts, pricing in advance for Monday’s U.S. and South Korean stock sessions. Top U.S. stock tickers on Trade.xyz showed mixed moves compared to Thursday’s after-hours trading, and are expected to consolidate with minor fluctuations ahead of Monday’s pre-market. Weekend performance details: Micron (MU) is currently at $1038.71, versus $976.63 in U.S. Thursday after-hours trading; SanDisk (SNDK) at $1856.65, versus $1762.011 Thursday after-hours; NVIDIA at $197.83, versus $194.44 Thursday after-hours; Intel at $124.2, versus $121 Thursday after-hours; Google at $360.06, versus $359.91 Thursday after-hours; AMD at $537.34, versus $519.5 Thursday after-hours; SpaceX at $161.27, versus $160.95 Thursday after-hours. For top South Korean stock tickers on Trade.xyz, their weekend performance is as follows: Samsung Electronics is currently at $210.49, versus $202.35 at Friday’s close; SK Hynix is at $1623.16, versus $1585 at Friday’s close.
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SK Hynix seeks to attract more AI investors via its US listing.
SK Hynix’s upcoming $29 billion U.S. stock market listing could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a foreign company in history, but the move is not just about raising capital. More importantly, the firm aims to compete in the hottest segment of global stock markets right now: memory chips for AI computing. Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust (which holds Micron stock), said the market is in a period of extreme hype for chip stocks, and now is a good time to bring U.S. investors on board for its shares. Zhou Di, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management (which holds SK Hynix stock), noted that the offering targets investors who currently cannot access South Korea’s stock market. SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing gives investors direct, frictionless access to one of the most attractive pure-play assets in the AI memory cycle. (Jin Shi)
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Ming-Chi Kuo: Foldable iPhone may repeat the iPhone X playbook, launching later and facing supply constraints through the end of the year.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated in a note that the foldable iPhone could repeat the iPhone X playbook: it will be unveiled alongside other models, but pre-orders and official launch will be delayed, and supply shortages may persist through the end of 2026. Based on third-quarter 2026 production volumes, the foldable iPhone is likely to mirror the 2017 iPhone X. That year, the iPhone X was unveiled alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on September 12, but due to insufficient stock, pre-orders were pushed back to October 27 and official sales to November 3. Given the foldable iPhone’s limited third-quarter shipments, it may also open pre-orders and official sales only in the fourth quarter of 2026. After discussions with telecom operators, sales channels, and resellers/parallel import agents, Kuo concluded that even if the foldable iPhone is priced at roughly $2,300 to $2,500, demand will remain strong at least through the end of 2026. This means the device could sell out rapidly once pre-orders open, with shipment wait times potentially jumping to 4 to 6 weeks or longer, extending into December. He added that the foldable iPhone’s initial limited supply, distinct design, and innovative user experience could drive up short-term resale prices, with resale prices 50% to 100% higher than the official retail price not being out of the question.
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Analysis: Powell’s tight-lipped approach makes the Fed’s June meeting minutes even more important.
George Goncalves, Head of US Macro Strategy at MUFG Securities Americas, noted that Waller’s concise communication style makes the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes carry more weight than usual, offering valuable insight into the differing stances among Fed officials. “The meeting minutes will become even more important because, up to now, we don’t know what the Fed is thinking,” Goncalves said. “It will be very instructive to see how they debate and what they prioritize.” He added that some investors have questioned Waller’s “hands-off” approach, with many calling for a return to greater transparency. Many market participants are unaccustomed to reduced information flow, and there remains considerable skepticism over how long the Fed can maintain this stance. For now, we can only read between the lines. (Source: Jinshi)
Imagine telling your AI assistant to deploy a smart contract the same way you’d ask it to book a dinner reservation. That’s essentially what Injective just built.
The blockchain network’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enables AI coding agents to build, deploy, and verify smart contracts on Injective using natural language prompts. No manual transaction construction required.
What the MCP server actually does The MCP server acts as a bridge between AI models and Injective’s onchain modules, converting what an AI agent wants to do into the precise blockchain operations needed to make it happen.
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It ships with 22 tools covering market data, trading, transfers, and bridging. The server uses AES-256 encryption for key security.
Injective CEO Eric Chen framed the philosophy behind the launch pretty clearly.
“Agents shouldn’t need to understand transaction construction to trade onchain. With the MCP Server, any AI agent can go from intent to signed trade in seconds.”
The bigger picture: an AI-native blockchain stack The MCP server isn’t a one-off product launch. It’s part of a growing ecosystem of AI-focused developer resources that Injective has been assembling.
An Injective Documentation MCP server provides example prompts for users, including prompts for deploying EVM smart contracts. Meanwhile, an agent-skills repository includes the injective-evm-developer package, which facilitates EVM smart contract development on the network.
Stitch these pieces together and you get an end-to-end workflow. A coding agent can reference documentation, write a contract, deploy it to the blockchain, and verify it, all through the MCP server tools.
What this means for investors and developers For traders, the MCP server’s trading tools mean AI agents can execute perpetual futures trades, access market data, and manage transfers autonomously.
The open-source nature of the MCP server is worth noting. By making the tools publicly available, Injective is inviting the broader developer community to build on top of the protocol, audit the code, and extend its capabilities.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
PANews news, July 5 — Token Unlocks data shows that tokens including PUMP, HYPE, APT and others will see large unlocks next week, specifically:
Pump.fun (PUMP) will unlock approximately 82.5 billion tokens on July 12 at 10:00 PM Beijing time, representing approximately 29.23% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $125 million;
Hyperliquid (HYPE) will unlock approximately 452,000 tokens on July 6 at 8:00 AM Beijing time, representing approximately 0.2% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $30.9 million;
Aptos (APT) will unlock approximately 11.31 million tokens on July 12 at 10:00 PM Beijing time, representing approximately 0.66% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $6.9 million;
RedStone (RED) will unlock approximately 40.85 million tokens on July 7 at midnight Beijing time, representing approximately 9.8% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $4.1 million;
Movement (MOVE) will unlock approximately 165 million tokens on July 9 at 8:00 PM Beijing time, representing approximately 4.29% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $2 million;
Linea (LINEA) will unlock approximately 1.08 billion tokens on July 10 at 7:00 PM Beijing time, representing approximately 3.63% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $2.7 million;
io.net (IO) will unlock approximately 13.29 million tokens on July 11 at 8:00 PM Beijing time, representing approximately 3.61% of the circulating supply and worth approximately $2.3 million.
Kaspa ($KAS) has activated the Toccata hard fork, an upgrade that marks a fundamental shift for what has long been marketed as the fastest pure proof-of-work blockchain. The fork moves Kaspa well beyond its payments-layer origins, introducing programmability directly at the base layer without abandoning the BlockDAG architecture or proof-of-work consensus that define the network.
Covenants, native tokens, and ZK proofs land on Layer 1 The centrepiece of the upgrade is the addition of covenants, programmable rules attached directly to transactions. Previously, Kaspa's UTXO model only controlled who could spend coins. After Toccata, developers can create conditions that determine how and when coins are spent, opening the door for smart wallets, escrow services, time-locked vaults, and decentralised finance applications.
The hard fork also introduces native KRC-20 tokens and covenant programming via the SilverScript compiler, transforming Kaspa from a fast payments layer into a programmable proof-of-work Layer 1 that can support DeFi and NFTs directly on its base layer. Previously, KRC-20 tokens operated through inscription-style mechanisms, relying on off-chain indexing and external infrastructure, which introduced inefficiencies and limitations. Under the new regime, token creation, transfers, and atomic operations become part of consensus rules, giving users lower fees, trustless atomic swaps, and seamless integration without bridges or wrapped assets.
The third pillar is zero-knowledge infrastructure. The Toccata upgrade adds zero-knowledge proof verification opcodes at the protocol level, enabling native ZK proof verification on Layer 1. With ZK verification primitives, Kaspa can serve as a settlement layer for ZK rollups: Layer 2 solutions can perform heavy computation off-chain and submit only compact validity proofs to Layer 1.
Core developer Michael Sutton has described Toccata as the point where Kaspa's high-frequency monetary base layer meets programmability in two layered forms: native L1 covenant systems, and based ZK systems built on top of the same foundations.
Two EVM-compatible Layer 2s already building on top The Toccata upgrade is complemented by two distinct Layer 2 solutions, Kasplex and Igra, with independent testing showing that both achieve full EVM compatibility and significant cost advantages, positioning them as viable alternatives to Ethereum for developers. Kasplex operates as a traditional rollup offering immediate EVM compatibility and faster finality, while Igra operates as a decentralised rollup built directly on Kaspa's BlockDAG, offering L1-backed security and community-node processing from day one.
On the Layer 1 covenant path, developers can write covenant-based applications directly on Kaspa using the SilverScript compiler, implementing advanced UTXO-based workflows and programmable transaction constraints within Kaspa's scripting environment. For more complex applications, the ZK infrastructure introduced in Toccata enables developers to build ZK applications that inherit transaction ordering from Layer 1 while performing computation externally and submitting cryptographic proofs back to the chain, supporting rollups, canonical bridges, and other proof-based applications anchored to Kaspa's DAG.
The upgrade represents a decisive architectural bet: that bounded, UTXO-native programmability can attract serious developer activity without the global-state overhead that comes with a full virtual machine. Whether that gamble pays off will depend on how quickly the ecosystem around Toccata's new primitives matures.
Sources
Kaspa Covenants++ Toccata Hard Fork Outlook, Michael Sutton (Medium)
Kaspa Toccata Hard Fork Deep Dive, Gate Blog
Kaspa Official Developer Docs
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.
A short message from Satoshi Nakamoto, sent exactly 16 years ago, unexpectedly exposed Wall Street's main dead end with Bitcoin today. On July 5, 2010, the creator of the original cryptocurrency, while discussing the technical release of beta version 0.3 on the BitcoinTalk forum and debating pricing, left a phrase that became prophetic for the entire financial world:
"Sorry to be a wet blanket. Writing a description for this thing for general audiences is bloody hard. There's nothing to relate it to."
Sixteen years later, this long-forgotten remark resonated with reality, as big business acknowledged that Bitcoin had finally outgrown familiar economic frameworks. Attempts to measure it through old categories — such as volatile "tech stocks" or classic defensive "digital gold" — repeatedly leads to a dead end.
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Satoshi Nakamoto's message on 5 July 2010 regarding the nature of Bitcoin, Source: BitcoinTalkIn particular, Michael Saylor, in his latest manifesto, refused to measure the asset by old templates and offered a new, concise definition — "digital capital".
In his original message, Nakamoto separately emphasized that Bitcoin's value could not be rigidly tied to the cost of electricity, as "It's not stable with respect to energy. It's not tied to the cost of energy."
Even then, the creator of the network indicated that the asset's final form would be shaped solely by market forces.
Why Bitcoin Should Be Measured Only by Its Own RulesToday, as Bitcoin holds near $63,000, Satoshi's 16-year-old definitional challenge has become a basic property of the market. The same uniqueness that made it difficult for Nakamoto to describe the code in simple words has become a practical reality for funds.
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Instead of comparisons with Apple shares or gold bars, the market has moved to the pure mathematics of the protocol. Capital inflows are now calculated directly against the hard limit of 21 million coins, network stability is measured by record hashrate levels, and long-term value is judged by the issuance schedule embedded in the code — one that cannot be changed for the benefit of regulators.
In this context, Satoshi was right, and Bitcoin remains relevant because it has to play only by its own rules.
Worldcoin's $WLD token has emerged as one of the worst performers in the current crypto cycle, slipping roughly 8% on the week and nearly 23% on the month even as many major altcoins stage a recovery.
A Planned Supply Cut Has Not Steadied the Price The losses have come despite a significant supply-side development from @worldnetwork. On July 24, 2026, the WLD token unlock rate will decrease by 43% under the existing unlock schedules. In practice, this will reduce the unlock rate across all token allocations from about 5.1 million WLD per day to about 2.9 million WLD per day. The cuts are split between two groups: the aggregate daily unlock rate drop includes a 50% cut in daily community token unlocks and a 32% reduction in daily team and investor unlocks.
The July 24, 2026, unlock rate decrease will happen automatically, coded into the on-chain contracts from the start. The team has framed the event as a tokenomics milestone, arguing that the most aggressive phase of emissions is now behind the project. Markets, however, have not yet responded with enthusiasm.
Supply Overhang and Regulatory Pressure Weigh on $WLD WLD has lost over 45% of its value since the start of 2026 and trades roughly 97% below its March 2024 peak near $11. The persistent underperformance reflects two structural headwinds. First, the token's circulating supply is already large: a total of 4.9 billion WLD, representing 49% of the token's 10 billion maximum supply, has been unlocked so far, with approximately 3.3 billion WLD in actual circulation. Even after the July 24 reduction, the market will still absorb nearly 2.9 million new WLD tokens daily, meaning demand must keep pace to prevent further price erosion.
Second, regulatory risk remains a persistent overhang. Worldcoin faces significant regulatory headwinds concerning its biometric data collection, with operations suspended or investigated in countries including Kenya, Spain, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Market reaction will ultimately depend on whether demand for WLD, from governance, staking, ecosystem incentives, or speculative flows, grows faster than the slowed unlock curve. Until that demand materialises, WLD's ongoing downtrend and weak sentiment may continue to weigh on price action, limiting the near-term impact of the reduced token unlocks.
Sources:
World Network: Tokenomics Milestone, WLD Unlock Rate to Decrease by 43% in July
BeInCrypto: Worldcoin Cuts Token Unlock By Half, Will WLD Price Rally?
Crypto.news: Worldcoin Eases Off the Gas as WLD Unlock Rate Drops 43%
An analyst from Wedbush, Dan Ives, predicts that the price of the SpaceX stock will rally to $190, saying that the company’s three segments: Space, Starlink and xAI will grow significantly to support these gains.
Ives’ bullish outlook on SpaceX comes after SPCX stock gained by 7% in five trading days to close trading at $162 on July 2.
Analyst Assigns SPCX Outperform Rating, Eyes 17% Upside Analyst Ives says that the price of SPCX will gain by 17% to $190, adding that these gains will come from SpaceX’s unique structure, where the company gets its revenues from its three segments: rockets, Starlink and AI.
Ives added that Starlink is the main segment that will drive the profits for this company as it continues to increase its share in the global telecom market.
When SpaceX filed its IPO with the SEC, it revealed that Starlink generated revenue of $11.4 billion in 2025, and this was 61% of the total revenue of $18.7 billion that SpaceX generated in 2025.
A recent CoinGape SpaceX price analysis also observed that the SPCX stock price could gain by 20% to reach $195 if it can clear the obstacle at $165.
These bullish views around this stock come ahead of the anticipated addition of the SpaceX stock to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7.
SpaceX Stock Outlook as Bullish Trends Return The price of SpaceX stock moved above the support of $155 on July 2, after buying pressure returned.
The RSI reading of 53 suggests that bulls are getting a good grip, and this could push the price to the July 1 high of $171.
The AO bars that have turned green also suggest that the bearish momentum is weakening, and this could create room for buyers to return and push the stock to $171.
SPCX Stock Price However, the recent warning by the Bank of America that investors are rotating out of US equities could weigh on the price of SpaceX.
If sell-side pressure on SpaceX increases as investors flee US equities, the price of SpaceX stock could move below the support of $155.
SpaceX Bond Sale Faces Scrutiny, Sparking Bearish Concerns The one-hour chart for SPCX stock price might suggest that bulls are getting a good grip, but underneath that technical outlook are emerging concerns that the recent bond sale by SpaceX performed poorly.
Invesco, which manages $2.5 trillion in assets under management, noted that the SpaceX bond issuance that raised $90 billion was either poorly underwritten or had weak demand because these bonds weakened shortly after launch.
These bonds have recorded a paper loss of $305 million because there is no demand in the secondary market, and Invesco now says that investors will continue to reduce their exposure to these bonds, causing the unrealized losses to increase.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
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Celestia’s v9.0.4 network upgrade sparked fresh market interest as investors returned following the successful rollout on the 1st of July.
The blockchain completed the upgrade at block height 11,771,698, while exchanges briefly paused deposits and withdrawals without disrupting trading activity.
As a result, Celestia [TIA] gained 10.12% over the past 24 hours and traded around $0.4060 during the move.
Trading activity also strengthened considerably, with daily volume climbing 102.19% to $59.5 million. This increase reflected renewed participation instead of fading speculation.
Although excitement surrounded the upgrade, derivatives positioning still painted a more cautious picture, creating an interesting contrast between spot participation and futures activity.
Why are futures sellers still active on TIA? Despite the sharp increase in Spot activity, Futures traders continued favoring aggressive sell orders throughout the recovery.
The 90-day Futures Taker CVD remained firmly seller-dominant, indicating market participants repeatedly executed sell orders instead of lifting offers.
That behavior suggested derivatives traders had not fully embraced the rally even as buyers returned to the spot market.
However, TIA still maintained its gains, implying spot demand absorbed much of the selling pressure instead of allowing futures activity to dictate price direction. That divergence suggested improving market structure, as stronger Spot participation often provides healthier support than leveraged buying alone.
Even so, persistent seller dominance in futures indicated bearish conviction had not disappeared completely.
Source: CryptoQuant Why are bulls still holding on? Even though futures traders continued submitting aggressive sell orders, leveraged bulls retained confidence through the funding market.
The OI-Weighted Funding Rate remained positive and reached approximately 0.0057%, showing long-position holders still paid funding to maintain exposure.
The reading reflected sustained bullish positioning rather than widespread liquidation among leveraged traders.
Unlike the Futures Taker CVD, which measured executed market orders, the OI-Weighted Funding Rate reflected traders’ willingness to maintain directional exposure.
Together, the indicators painted mixed sentiment rather than a single market narrative.
Buyers continued defending long exposure while sellers dominated execution flow, creating a tug-of-war between conviction and immediate order flow.
Source: CoinGlass Neckline test takes center stage Celestia [TIA] approached a decisive technical level after completing a developing cup-and-handle formation beneath the $0.4045 neckline.
Buyers had already pushed price back toward this resistance after recovering from the June lows near $0.30, strengthening the broader recovery structure.
Meanwhile, the handle developed within a falling channel before the price broke above its upper boundary, reinforcing the improving chart structure.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) climbed to 56.90, while its moving average remained near 51.16, indicating strengthening buying momentum without reaching overbought conditions.
Price also held comfortably above the $0.3551 support, preserving the bullish structure established during the rebound.
Even so, the neckline remained the defining barrier because repeated rejection had previously interrupted upward advances.
A confirmed daily close above $0.4045 would likely validate the pattern and expose $0.5000 as the next major resistance.
Source: TradingView Final Summary Celestia’s upgrade boosted spot demand, while futures traders continued selling into the rally. Positive funding and improving chart structure kept breakout hopes alive above key neckline resistance.
Glassnode published a report disclosing that its on-chain metric, the Hyperliquid Entry Price Heatmap, displays traders’ specific position entry prices. Currently, a large volume of long positions in the $72,000–$76,000 range and short positions established around $60,000 are in unrealized losses, leaving the Bitcoin market highly vulnerable to both upward and downward price swings. Price fluctuations could further trigger cascading liquidations.
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Solana’s active addresses over the past seven days rose 38% year-on-year to 31.38 million, ranking first among all public blockchains.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), meme coins continue to be a key factor driving growth in public blockchain metrics. Solana’s active address count jumped 38% year-over-year to 31.38 million over the past seven days, ranking first among major public chains by a large margin; its transaction volume rose 9.8% in the same period, while transaction fees climbed 38%. The analyst added that today, fueled by CZ’s response, trading activity for BSC meme coins has picked up noticeably, and BSC’s on-chain data is expected to post strong performance tomorrow.
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Meme coin CZ on the BSC chain briefly surged past $80 million in market capitalization, hitting an all-time high.
According to GMGN monitoring, the BSC-based meme coin CZ (The Final Form Bull) briefly exceeded $80 million in market capitalization, hitting an all-time high, and is currently at $76 million, with a 24-hour surge of 380 times and trading volume of approximately $43.7 million over the same period. Earlier reports noted that crypto blogger @TCryptochicks released a series of "riddle" images, after which Binance founder CZ retweeted the post and replied: "Water (drop) your BNB wallet", reigniting market hype around celebrity-linked meme coins. BlockBeats Note: Meme coin trading is highly volatile, mostly dependent on market sentiment and conceptual hype, with no actual value or practical use cases. Investors should exercise caution and be mindful of the associated risks.
13 minutes ago
Current funding rates on major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges show that bearish momentum for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) is easing, with market sentiment remaining neutral to slightly bearish.
According to Coinglass data, current funding rates on major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) crypto exchanges show that the bearish sentiment for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has weakened compared to earlier, but most platforms have not yet formed sustained bullish signals. Specifically, BTC funding rates on multiple platforms hover around the 0.0100% benchmark line, reflecting an overall neutral-to-weak pattern. For ETH, funding rates on multiple platforms have risen above the 0.005% threshold, with ETH’s long sentiment recovering slightly stronger than BTC’s, though no broad bullish signal has emerged yet. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto trading platforms to maintain the balance between perpetual contract prices and their underlying asset prices, typically applied to perpetual swaps. They function as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect this fee, instead using it to adjust the cost or return of holding contracts to keep contract prices aligned with underlying asset prices. A 0.01% funding rate is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates widespread bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
13 minutes ago
The probability that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2026 has risen to 52%.
According to Polymarket data, the probability that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2026 has climbed to 52%, a 12-percentage-point increase from July 3. On the news front, the U.S. Major County Sheriffs' Association (MCSA) announced that after initially raising concerns about how the bill would affect illicit financial investigations, it no longer opposes the CLARITY Act. Analysts note that the MCSA’s shift in stance has eliminated a key barrier to the bill’s advancement, improving its feasibility of moving to a Senate vote. Still, opposition from the banking sector to stablecoin yield products and DeFi regulation remains a major source of uncertainty.
13 minutes ago
South Korean chip stocks have extremely high leverage concentration, with the asset size of SK Hynix’s leveraged ETF exceeding four times its average daily trading volume.
The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that leverage levels in South Korean chip stocks have spiraled out of control. Total assets of single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs tracking SK Hynix currently stand at roughly $19 billion, more than four times the stock’s approximately $4.5 billion average daily trading volume (ADTV) this year. Meanwhile, leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung hold around $12.4 billion in assets, a 176% premium over its roughly $4.5 billion ADTV. The Hong Kong-listed 2x long SK Hynix ETF has about $13 billion in assets, roughly double SK Hynix’s average daily stock trading volume — the largest gap among major stocks tracked by leveraged ETFs. By comparison, leveraged ETFs tied to Micron Technology (MU) hold roughly $9.9 billion in assets, below its approximately $27.5 billion ADTV; leveraged ETFs for Tesla (TSLA) and NVIDIA (NVDA) have around $6 billion and $5.6 billion in assets respectively, also far lower than their respective ADTVs of roughly $23.6 billion and $28.8 billion. Leverage concentration in South Korean chip stocks has reached extremely high levels.
13 minutes ago
Intel is considering adopting a double-sided power supply architecture for its 1.4nm process technology to catch up with TSMC and Samsung.
Intel is considering adopting a dual-side power supply architecture (utilizing both front and back sides) for its 1.4-nanometer ultra-fine process to catch up with competitors. Industry sources said Intel originally planned to use PowerDirect, a dedicated backside power supply technology, for its 1.4-nm base process 14A, but is now considering introducing a dual-side architecture that leverages both front and back sides in its subsequent 14A2 process. Intel previously announced plans to achieve 1.3x higher chip density on its 14A process compared to 18A; the 14A process targets an M0 pitch of around 28nm, while the 14A2 process could push the M0 pitch to 21nm via a half-node improvement. Intel will maintain a backside power network as its primary setup, while reallocating some front-side metal interconnects for auxiliary power and clock signals to compensate for insufficient power headroom caused by scaling and lithography limitations. Intel’s 14A process is scheduled to enter risk production in 2028 and mass production in 2029. The chipmaker needs to release the 0.9 version of its 14A process design kit (PDK) to external customers this October, and secure firm orders from large fabless clients within the following 18 months. By comparison, TSMC plans to ship its true 1.4nm A14 products in 2028, while Samsung Electronics aims to commercialize its SF2Z, a modified 2nm process utilizing backside power supply technology, in 2027.
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.
Gold dropped approximately $100 on Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures contract on July 4, with prices dipping below $4,090 before snapping back. The whole thing played out in roughly a minute. The flash crash occurred on Hyperliquid’s XAU perpetual contract, a synthetic instrument that tracks the price of gold using oracle feeds rather than physical delivery. Arbitrage bots and market makers quickly moved to close the gap between Hyperliquid’s price and the oracle reference, stabilizing the contract.
Hyperliquid’s gold perp was operating in thin liquidity conditions when this crash hit. Market makers and arb bots identified the price deviation from the oracle and bought the dip to restore equilibrium. But “self-corrected” doesn’t help the trader who got liquidated during the 60-second window when prices were in freefall.
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This isn’t Hyperliquid’s first rodeo with sudden price dislocations on non-crypto assets. Back in late May, the SPACEX-USDH pre-IPO perpetual contract crashed 45% after an oracle mishandled data related to a stock split. That incident liquidated $1.51 million across 1,393 positions. The gold crash appears smaller in absolute dollar terms, but the pattern is familiar: thin liquidity plus oracle-dependent pricing plus leverage equals occasional chaos.
Hyperliquid’s commodity ambitions Hyperliquid now supports over 300 perpetual and spot markets, spanning crypto tokens, commodities like gold and silver, and even indices. HIP-3 permissionless markets hit a record daily trading volume of $5.2 billion in early 2026. In January, Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token surged 24% partly driven by soaring silver futures volume on the platform.
What this means for investors For traders using leverage on commodity perps, the lesson is straightforward: position sizing matters more on platforms where a $100 wick can materialize and vanish in under a minute. Stop losses on thin markets can become stop-market orders that execute far from your intended exit. The gap between “the system eventually self-corrects” and “traders don’t get hurt” remains significant, and it widens every time someone adds leverage to a synthetic gold position during off-hours on a holiday weekend when traditional venues are closed and the usual liquidity providers aren’t active.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Hyperliquid, a decentralized platform for perpetual futures, now accounts for 8.7% of the global open interest in the perpetual futures market, combining centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). The platform’s open interest stands at over $4.3 billion, with protocol fees reaching an annualized $1.3 billion, fully distributed to HYPE stakers. This growth has led market participants to consider a potential migration from traditional CEXs to DEX platforms like Hyperliquid. Prominent market-making firms such as Jump, Wintermute, and GSR are actively involved, running dedicated wallets on the platform.
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The shift in market share echoes the previous transition seen in 2020 when DEX spot trading captured and maintained over 8% market share. The presence of major firms as validators further strengthens Hyperliquid’s competitive position in the market. Alongside these developments, HYPE token valuations have been approaching all-time highs, suggesting confidence in the platform’s continued expansion.
Key Takeaways Hyperliquid’s significant share of global perpetual open interest suggests a shift in market dynamics, with decentralized platforms gaining traction. The participation of major firms as validators indicates institutional confidence in Hyperliquid’s market structure. The consistent rise in HYPE token value appears supportive of market sentiment favoring the platform’s growth prospects. What to Watch Observers are closely monitoring whether Hyperliquid’s growth will spur further movement of participants from CEXs to DEXs. Key indicators include any changes in market share metrics or notable shifts in validator participation. Developments such as partnerships with large enterprises or increased regulatory scrutiny could influence market dynamics significantly. Watch for announcements from Hyperliquid or shifts in CEX strategies that might affect the decentralized market landscape.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31 37.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.6% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 65.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 8.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.5% — — View 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.
Michael Saylor stated in a post that Bitcoin's "Hard Consensus" serves as its immune system. Transaction fees determine the price of block space, nodes are responsible for formulating network strategies, miners build blocks, and holders express their choices through capital allocation. Saylor noted that any protocol change must secure overwhelming community consensus to be adopted, meaning flawed ideas are weeded out before they can become harmful modifications to the protocol.
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Solana’s active addresses over the past seven days rose 38% year-on-year to 31.38 million, ranking first among all public blockchains.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), meme coins continue to be a key factor driving growth in public blockchain metrics. Solana’s active address count jumped 38% year-over-year to 31.38 million over the past seven days, ranking first among major public chains by a large margin; its transaction volume rose 9.8% in the same period, while transaction fees climbed 38%. The analyst added that today, fueled by CZ’s response, trading activity for BSC meme coins has picked up noticeably, and BSC’s on-chain data is expected to post strong performance tomorrow.
8 minutes ago
Meme coin CZ on the BSC chain briefly surged past $80 million in market capitalization, hitting an all-time high.
According to GMGN monitoring, the BSC-based meme coin CZ (The Final Form Bull) briefly exceeded $80 million in market capitalization, hitting an all-time high, and is currently at $76 million, with a 24-hour surge of 380 times and trading volume of approximately $43.7 million over the same period. Earlier reports noted that crypto blogger @TCryptochicks released a series of "riddle" images, after which Binance founder CZ retweeted the post and replied: "Water (drop) your BNB wallet", reigniting market hype around celebrity-linked meme coins. BlockBeats Note: Meme coin trading is highly volatile, mostly dependent on market sentiment and conceptual hype, with no actual value or practical use cases. Investors should exercise caution and be mindful of the associated risks.
8 minutes ago
Current funding rates on major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges show that bearish momentum for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) is easing, with market sentiment remaining neutral to slightly bearish.
According to Coinglass data, current funding rates on major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) crypto exchanges show that the bearish sentiment for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has weakened compared to earlier, but most platforms have not yet formed sustained bullish signals. Specifically, BTC funding rates on multiple platforms hover around the 0.0100% benchmark line, reflecting an overall neutral-to-weak pattern. For ETH, funding rates on multiple platforms have risen above the 0.005% threshold, with ETH’s long sentiment recovering slightly stronger than BTC’s, though no broad bullish signal has emerged yet. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto trading platforms to maintain the balance between perpetual contract prices and their underlying asset prices, typically applied to perpetual swaps. They function as a fund exchange mechanism between long and short traders; platforms do not collect this fee, instead using it to adjust the cost or return of holding contracts to keep contract prices aligned with underlying asset prices. A 0.01% funding rate is the benchmark. A rate above 0.01% indicates widespread bullish market sentiment, while a rate below 0.005% signals widespread bearish sentiment.
8 minutes ago
The probability that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2026 has risen to 52%.
According to Polymarket data, the probability that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2026 has climbed to 52%, a 12-percentage-point increase from July 3. On the news front, the U.S. Major County Sheriffs' Association (MCSA) announced that after initially raising concerns about how the bill would affect illicit financial investigations, it no longer opposes the CLARITY Act. Analysts note that the MCSA’s shift in stance has eliminated a key barrier to the bill’s advancement, improving its feasibility of moving to a Senate vote. Still, opposition from the banking sector to stablecoin yield products and DeFi regulation remains a major source of uncertainty.
8 minutes ago
South Korean chip stocks have extremely high leverage concentration, with the asset size of SK Hynix’s leveraged ETF exceeding four times its average daily trading volume.
The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that leverage levels in South Korean chip stocks have spiraled out of control. Total assets of single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs tracking SK Hynix currently stand at roughly $19 billion, more than four times the stock’s approximately $4.5 billion average daily trading volume (ADTV) this year. Meanwhile, leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung hold around $12.4 billion in assets, a 176% premium over its roughly $4.5 billion ADTV. The Hong Kong-listed 2x long SK Hynix ETF has about $13 billion in assets, roughly double SK Hynix’s average daily stock trading volume — the largest gap among major stocks tracked by leveraged ETFs. By comparison, leveraged ETFs tied to Micron Technology (MU) hold roughly $9.9 billion in assets, below its approximately $27.5 billion ADTV; leveraged ETFs for Tesla (TSLA) and NVIDIA (NVDA) have around $6 billion and $5.6 billion in assets respectively, also far lower than their respective ADTVs of roughly $23.6 billion and $28.8 billion. Leverage concentration in South Korean chip stocks has reached extremely high levels.
8 minutes ago
Intel is considering adopting a double-sided power supply architecture for its 1.4nm process technology to catch up with TSMC and Samsung.
Intel is considering adopting a dual-side power supply architecture (utilizing both front and back sides) for its 1.4-nanometer ultra-fine process to catch up with competitors. Industry sources said Intel originally planned to use PowerDirect, a dedicated backside power supply technology, for its 1.4-nm base process 14A, but is now considering introducing a dual-side architecture that leverages both front and back sides in its subsequent 14A2 process. Intel previously announced plans to achieve 1.3x higher chip density on its 14A process compared to 18A; the 14A process targets an M0 pitch of around 28nm, while the 14A2 process could push the M0 pitch to 21nm via a half-node improvement. Intel will maintain a backside power network as its primary setup, while reallocating some front-side metal interconnects for auxiliary power and clock signals to compensate for insufficient power headroom caused by scaling and lithography limitations. Intel’s 14A process is scheduled to enter risk production in 2028 and mass production in 2029. The chipmaker needs to release the 0.9 version of its 14A process design kit (PDK) to external customers this October, and secure firm orders from large fabless clients within the following 18 months. By comparison, TSMC plans to ship its true 1.4nm A14 products in 2028, while Samsung Electronics aims to commercialize its SF2Z, a modified 2nm process utilizing backside power supply technology, in 2027.
TLDR: Bitcoin protocol changes must secure overwhelming network agreement, Michael Saylor said, framing hard consensus as Bitcoin’s core defense layer. Saylor said fees price block space, nodes set policy, miners build blocks, and holders allocate capital across the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin traded near $63,000 after ETF inflows returned, giving BTC fresh support after a difficult stretch of market outflows. Options positioning still points to caution, with traders watching the $66,000 to $68,000 zone as a possible resistance area. Bitcoin protocol changes need overwhelming alignment before gaining traction, Michael Saylor said in a fresh post on X. The Strategy chairman described hard consensus as Bitcoin’s “immune system,” arguing that weak ideas fail before reaching the protocol layer.
His comments came as BTC traded near $63,000, with the market recovering after renewed spot Bitcoin ETF demand. Current market data showed Bitcoin around $62,956, while U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recently added $221.7 million in net inflows.
Bitcoin Protocol Changes Face a High Consensus Bar Bitcoin protocol changes rarely move through the network without wide agreement. Saylor said transaction fees price block space, nodes set policy, miners build blocks, and holders allocate capital. That structure spreads power across several groups instead of one central authority.
Hard consensus is Bitcoin’s immune system. Fees price block space. Nodes set policy. Miners build blocks. Holders allocate capital. Protocol changes must earn overwhelming alignment, so bad ideas fail before becoming iatrogenic protocol changes. $BTC
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 5, 2026
The message focused on Bitcoin consensus rather than short-term price action. Saylor argued that every major change must earn support from participants who protect different parts of the system. In that view, the network rejects risky changes before they damage Bitcoin’s base rules.
This point matters as debates around scaling, fees, custody, and institutional adoption return to the market. Bitcoin protocol changes often attract attention when fees rise or when developers discuss upgrades. Yet Saylor’s view places durability above speed.
The argument also reflects Bitcoin’s long-standing governance model. Developers can propose code, but users and node operators decide what rules they accept. Miners can build blocks, yet they cannot force users to follow unwanted rules.
For holders, the appeal sits in predictability. Bitcoin’s fixed supply, settlement rules, and conservative upgrade culture support its store-of-value narrative. A fast-moving protocol may attract experiments, but Bitcoin relies on slow and broad agreement.
BTC Price Holds Near $63K as Options Cap Upside Meanwhile, BTC price action added another layer to the story. Bitcoin moved back near $63,000 after ETF inflows ended a 10-day withdrawal streak. The inflow figure gave traders a cleaner demand signal after weeks of pressure.
Source: Coingecko The macro backdrop also helped risk assets. Weaker U.S. jobs data reduced pressure around rate expectations, while a softer dollar gave Bitcoin room to rebound. Still, derivatives data showed traders were not fully chasing upside.
Options positioning points to a key zone near $66,000 to $68,000. According to Laevitas data, a large July 17 BTC call-condor trade profits most if Bitcoin sits inside that range.
That setup does not guarantee resistance, but it can shape short-term positioning. Traders often watch large options structures as price moves toward expiration. A clean break above $68,000 would weaken that ceiling.
For now, Bitcoin consensus and market structure are moving through separate lanes. Saylor’s comments focus on the protocol’s defense against harmful changes. Traders are watching ETF flows, options hedges, and whether BTC can hold above $62,000.
The compensation committee at IREN Limited decided to load up on stock payouts just as the company’s last quarterly filing showed red ink across the board. The Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner has granted each of its two co-CEOs—William Roberts and Daniel Roberts—9,099,328 restricted stock units, a combined award worth roughly $700 million on the date it was approved. That single block of equity represents about 5% of the firm’s outstanding shares. The grants come with a six-year vesting and holding schedule and a promise that neither executive will receive another equity award before fiscal 2031, according to the original report.
On the surface, the large award reads as a long-term lock-in designed to align management with strategic targets. But the numbers sit awkwardly against the most recent disclosed results. For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, IREN collected $184.7 million in revenue and booked a net loss of $155.4 million. That operating gap puts the equity grant into uncomfortable relief for shareholders who are being asked to absorb significant dilution while the business bleeds cash.
Behind the Grant Architecture The RSU package does carry strict conditions. With a six-year vesting and holding framework, the co-CEOs cannot simply sell into any near-term price spike. No additional equity grants before FY2031 also means the board is effectively prepaying leadership incentives for the next half-decade, capping further stock-based leak at the top. Still, the sheer size—equivalent to 5% of the company—shifts the ownership structure noticeably. Existing investors will see their proportional claims compressed overnight once the units vest, even if the paper value of the award fluctuates with IREN’s share price.
For a public miner navigating a post-halving environment, capital allocation decisions are under constant scrutiny. The Bitcoin network’s periodic halving cuts the block reward in half, which squeezes revenue per unit of hashrate unless offset by higher BTC prices or lower energy costs. Many listed miners have turned to equity markets repeatedly, and IREN’s move is the latest example where stock becomes the currency for holding onto executive talent rather than a pure growth instrument.
Public Miners and the Dilution Question The timing of IREN’s grant also lands when equity dilution is a sensitive topic across the sector. Several publicly traded mining firms have issued shares to fund expansions and cover operating shortfalls, slowly chipping away at per-share metrics. A 5% block granted to two individuals magnifies the conversation about whether the industry is over-rewarding management before proving sustainable profitability. While the restriction that prohibits further awards until FY2031 offers a ceiling, the immediate impact on diluted share count is real.
The broader digital asset market has been scattered in its performance, with selective rallies in altcoins and tokenized real-world assets grabbing attention, as detailed in recent weekly gainer rankings. Public mining equities, however, often trade as leveraged proxies for Bitcoin, and their shareholder bases have grown tired of uncorrelated corporate decisions that fail to translate into share price recovery. Against that backdrop, a $700 million RSU grant at IREN will be parsed not just as a compensation event but as a governance test.
What Remains Unclear Investors still lack visibility into whether the company can close the gap between revenue and operating costs. The $155.4 million quarterly loss, alongside $184.7 million in revenue, suggests that profitability depends heavily on either a sustained Bitcoin price rally or a transformative drop in energy expenses. Neither is guaranteed. Meanwhile, regulatory noise continues to hang over the industry. A major stablecoin-related bill faced intense lobbying pushback from banks just days before a Senate vote, a reminder that the political environment for crypto infrastructure firms remains fragile, as covered in this legislative update.
There is also the matter of how the market absorbs the eventual vesting. Six years is a long horizon in crypto, but the presence of such a large overhang may already be priced into analyst models. If Bitcoin’s price trajectory doesn’t cooperate, those RSUs could become a heavy burden on the stock long before they convert. What the board is banking on is that locking in the two chief executives will deliver operational turnarounds that reward everyone—something that current financials do not yet show.
The grant also raises a structural question beyond IREN. As institutional adoption of digital assets deepens—exemplified by moves like Bullish acquiring Equiniti for $4.2 billion and the real-world asset market surpassing $20 billion on-chain—mining companies must demonstrate that their corporate governance keeps pace with the sophistication of the capital markets they tap. Massive insider stock awards at a loss-making firm don’t easily fit that narrative.
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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.
The pain for Bitcoin [BTC] bulls may be nearing its end.
Notably, Bitcoin’s latest on-chain data suggests the market is entering the final stage of its bearish phase. During this period, investors typically realize heavy losses as they sell below their cost basis. As this selling pressure fades, Bitcoin has historically found a bottom before rebounding.
Supporting this view, Bitcoin’s Realized P/L Ratio has fallen to -0.35, its lowest level in 43 months. The indicator measures realized profits against realized losses. A deeply negative reading shows that losses are dominating, signaling widespread capitulation. In previous market cycles, similar levels have often coincided with major Bitcoin bottoms, making the metric a closely watched signal for long-term investors.
Source: CryptoQuant The shift in ETF flows also supports this view, suggesting that selling pressure may be easing.
In the latest trading session, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $223 million in net inflows, marking a return of institutional demand after recent outflows. Most of the capital flowed into FBTC, which attracted $166 million, followed by ARKB with $91.8 million, indicating that investors are once again allocating capital to BTC through regulated investment vehicles.
This supports the view that Bitcoin may be entering the final stage of its bear cycle. While on-chain data still shows elevated unrealized losses, the return of ETF inflows indicates demand is starting to match supply. If this trend holds, Bitcoin’s $60k support could strengthen, improving the chances of a recovery in Q3.
However, one key metric highlights that the recovery is not yet fully supported.
Bitcoin’s recovery hinges on whether liquidity can catch up The market continues to face a liquidity constraint.
In a typical bull market, stablecoin supply expands as new capital enters the crypto ecosystem. That additional liquidity increases buying power, helping absorb selling pressure and sustain higher prices.
This time, however, the pattern is different. Despite the return of ETF inflows, liquidity continues to contract, with $1 billion+ leaving the market this week alone. Over the past thirty days, the market cap of USDC and USDT have fallen by 3.6% and 2%, respectively, extending a trend that has persisted since November 2025. The divergence suggests that while demand is improving, the market liquidity is not.
Source: CryptoQuant This makes Bitcoin’s leverage profile increasingly important.
Following the recent deleveraging event, Bitcoin has re-entered the “slight leverage” zone, indicating that traders are rebuilding leveraged positions as confidence in a market bottom grows. However, leverage is increasing while market liquidity continues to contract.
If stablecoin liquidity continues to decline, there may not be enough spot demand to support the rally. Therefore, Bitcoin could become more vulnerable to a liquidation-driven correction as leveraged positions build.
As a result, Bitcoin’s Q3 rally could struggle to sustain its momentum, leaving it exposed to sharp pullbacks.
Final Summary Bitcoin’s bottom signals are improving as ETF inflows return and on-chain metrics point to easing selling pressure. Weak liquidity remains the biggest risk. If stablecoin flows don’t recover, Bitcoin’s Q3 rally could struggle to hold its momentum.
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2 hours ago
JPMorgan has flagged a structural risk most Bitcoin price prediction bulls haven’t priced in: the same entity driving the most aggressive institutional accumulation on record could, under the wrong conditions, become a forced seller.
That tension is now a live market variable. Bitcoin is consolidating near critical technical support while analysts debate whether Saylor’s $150,000 year-end target or JPMorgan’s more measured models better reflect actual market mechanics, and the answer matters for anyone holding BTC into the second half of the year.
JPMorgan’s warning centers on the Strategy’s financing structure. By layering convertible notes, preferred equity, and at-the-money offerings to fund Bitcoin purchases, Strategy has introduced a scenario where credit stress or equity dilution pressure could flip the company from net buyer to net seller. That’s a non-trivial tail risk given Strategy’s scale.
Saylor’s public posture remains unchanged: $150,000 by year-end, $1 million within four to eight years, $20 million over two decades, but the bank’s concern isn’t about Saylor’s conviction. It’s about what the market structure looks like if that conviction ever gets tested by margin mechanics.
This divergence between corporate accumulation narrative and institutional risk modeling is exactly the kind of signal that tends to matter at inflection points.
Bitcoin’s next directional move may hinge less on Saylor’s next purchase announcement and more on how the market digests that structural overhang. Macro liquidity conditions add another layer of complexity to an already crowded decision tree.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
Bitcoin Price Prediction: Can Bitcoin Price Reach $150K or Is a Drop to $55K the Real Risk?$60,000 is the line to watch. That level is being treated as primary support by analysts tracking Bitcoin’s current consolidation phase. A hold keeps the recovery thesis intact. A breach does not.
The immediate reclaim zone sits between $62,000 and $64,000. Clearing that range with conviction puts $65,000 back in play, followed by $70,000, which has functioned as both resistance and magnet across multiple recent trading cycles.
Volume confirmation matters. Consolidation without volume expansion is noise, not signal.
Source: BTCUSD / TradingviewBitcoin holding $60,000 and reclaiming $64,000 on volume reasserts the Saylor accumulation narrative as the dominant market frame. JPMorgan’s $170,000 short-term target and eventual $266,000 gold-parity estimate became the base case for institutional positioning.
If neither side takes control, a sideways grind between $60,000 and $65,000 continues as the market digests JPMorgan’s risk framing alongside continued Strategy purchases.
Choppy but not broken. A confirmed close below $60,000 opens a slide toward $55,000, where more bearish analyst models begin to look credible, and amplifies concerns about Strategy’s balance sheet resilience.
The setup is cautious consolidation, not a confirmed breakout. Patience over conviction is the disciplined read right now.
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Bitcoin Hyper Could be The Next 1000x in Crypto And Here is WhyHere’s the uncomfortable reality for spot BTC holders watching JPMorgan’s risk warning land: the upside scenarios above assume Bitcoin’s infrastructure can actually scale to support mass institutional and retail use.
At current throughput, it can’t. That gap between Bitcoin’s store-of-value narrative and its transactional limitations is where the next generation of infrastructure plays is being built, and priced at still-early valuations.
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioning directly in that gap. It’s the first Bitcoin Layer 2 integrating the Solana Virtual Machine, bringing sub-second finality and low-cost smart contract execution to the Bitcoin ecosystem without abandoning BTC’s security model.
The architecture includes a Decentralized Canonical Bridge for native BTC transfers and SVM-powered programmability that the team claims outperforms Solana itself on latency benchmarks. (Whether that holds at scale is the question every serious infrastructure investor should be asking before committing.)
The presale has raised $32,921,487.36 at a current price of $0.0136825, with staking active for early participants. As with any early-stage infrastructure presale, execution risk is real and timelines rarely hold.
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.
The crypto market is holding its breath. CryptoQuant has just identified one of the largest capital transfers to centralized exchange platforms since the beginning of the year. Behind these on-chain movements lies a signal that investors watch closely: when tokens massively flow to exchanges, volatility often intensifies. As the market goes through a phase of hesitation, these flows revive the specter of a period of high volatility and raise questions about the next direction of prices.
In Brief CryptoQuant detects an exceptional influx of Bitcoin to exchange platforms, a signal historically associated with increased volatility. Whales and institutional investors are increasing their deposits, which heightens fears of short-term selling pressure. The phenomenon now extends to Ether and altcoins, revealing a broader deterioration of sentiment in the crypto market. Between risk of correction below $60,000 and return of capital to Bitcoin ETFs, the market is evolving at a decisive moment. The awakening of whales and the record influx of bitcoin on platforms While Tim Draper denies any transfer, the bitcoin market faces a sudden and spectacular increase in deposits on exchange platforms. Thus, these movements redraw the structure of short-term flows:
Volumes at their highest : BTC volumes transferred to crypto exchanges surged to nearly 49,000 BTC in just the single day of June 30 ; A rare phenomenon : Julio Moreno, head of research at the analytics firm, described this event as “extremely rare”, such intensity having been observed only four other times since the start of the year ; A volatile signal : daily rises approaching the critical threshold of 50,000 BTC have consistently led to volatility and significant directional moves ; CryptoQuant’s confirmation : in his report, Moreno emphasizes “that at these inflow levels, the market absorbs a significant volume of bitcoins repositioned on exchanges, a pattern that has historically preceded significant directional movements”. A detailed examination of these flows reveals a profound change in the type of investors behind these movements. It is not retail investors dictating this trend, but rather whales and institutional structures. The average size of deposit transactions to exchanges has indeed doubled, increasing from about 1 BTC to 2 BTC per transfer.
This metric is particularly feared by specialists, as an increase in average deposit size is considered a much more bearish indicator than a simple rise in overall volumes. It reflects a deliberate repositioning by entities with the greatest financial capacity, which usually constitutes a very reliable leading signal of imminent downward pressure on prices.
The contagion of the on-chain alert to Ether and altcoins This dynamic of repatriating assets to exchange platforms is not limited to bitcoin and now encompasses the entire market. Ether deposits have also crossed an important psychological threshold at the end of June, rising above 1.25 million ETH.
At the same time, the altcoin sector is undergoing a similar phase, with the number of deposit transactions for these secondary assets nearing 45,000 units, marking a near two-month high. Julio Moreno associates these simultaneous movements on BTC and ETH with a global risk aversion, noting that the peak on altcoins represents a “historical price inflection point signal”.
A similar pattern occurred when bitcoin fell from around $82,000 in early May to less than $58,000 at the end of June. The researcher warns that “with the threshold being crossed again while bitcoin tests the $60,000 support, the current setup closely mirrors the pattern that preceded the previous bear phase, warranting increased caution from investors”. These on-chain data translate a global deterioration of operator sentiment, who choose to expose their portfolios to the immediate liquidity of platforms at the expense of long-term storage solutions.
The risk of technical capitulation and institutional arbitrage This accumulation of tokens ready to be liquidated occurs at a pivotal technical moment, as bitcoin oscillates around $62,180. The major support at $60,000 is currently under severe pressure and its definitive break could, according to CryptoQuant, push the price toward its realized price, modeled around $53,000.
Faced with this threat of correction, institutional investment vehicles are trying to counterbalance in the regulated market. SoSoValue data shows that US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $221.7 million, putting a healthy end to a continuous series of ten days of capital outflows.
Interpreting these contradictory signals requires a nuanced analysis of the forces at play for the coming months. On one side, the strong return of buyers via US ETFs reflects a persistent interest of traditional capital to absorb selling pressure below $62,000. On the other, the significant deposits of altcoins and Ether demonstrate that the short-term capitulation risk remains real if the psychological $60,000 barrier were to break. Investors will therefore need to closely watch whether institutional inflows into ETFs will be enough to stabilize the market, or if the tactical repositioning of large whales will ultimately trigger a new global purge of valuations.
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Luc Jose A.
Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019. Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.
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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
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.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $527 million in net outflows over the four trading days ending July 2. The loss marked the eighth straight negative week for the funds and set their longest weekly outflow run since launch.
Summary
Bitcoin ETFs posted their eighth weekly outflow, even after July 2 brought renewed daily inflows. IBIT extended its redemption run, while Fidelity and ARK funds led the rebound day overall. Ether ETFs also stayed negative for the week, but Hyperliquid products still attracted new capital. The weekly decline came even after the products returned to daily inflows on July 2. The data showed that one strong session was not enough to erase heavy redemptions from earlier in the week.
The latest run also followed a weak June for the sector. According to crypto.news, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw more than $4 billion leave the products during June, making it their worst month since approval.
July 2 inflows break daily losing run The daily picture improved on July 2, when Bitcoin ETFs recorded $221.7 million in net inflows. That ended a 10-day withdrawal streak that had pulled nearly $2.7 billion from the funds.
Fidelity’s FBTC led the rebound with about $166 million in inflows. ARK 21Shares’ ARKB added about $91.8 million, while VanEck’s HODL drew about $4.4 million.
BlackRock’s IBIT still moved in the opposite direction. The fund posted about $40.4 million in net outflows, extending its redemption run to 11 straight trading days.
That split kept doubts around the recovery. Crypto.news noted that “One $221 million day against a month of $4 billion proves nothing,” as traders looked for more green sessions across several funds.
IBIT remains the main source of selling IBIT remained the key drag on weekly flows. Farside data showed that the BlackRock fund lost money on each trading day from June 29 through July 2, while some rival funds showed mixed demand.
The fund’s outflows stood out because IBIT has been the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets and trading activity. When the largest product keeps bleeding, it can weigh on the full sector even when smaller funds attract fresh capital.
The pattern also showed that ETF demand had not fully recovered. A stronger trend would require more than one inflow day and broader buying across the largest funds.
Bitcoin recovered during the same period. Crypto.news reported that weak U.S. jobs data and softer Federal Reserve comments helped Bitcoin move back above $61,000 after falling below $58,000 earlier in the week.
Ether and Hyperliquid funds show mixed flows U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs also ended the four-day period in negative territory. The products saw net outflows for the week, even though they posted positive daily flows on July 1 and July 2.
BlackRock’s ETHA recorded about $29.7 million in inflows on July 2. That helped the Ethereum ETF group post a positive daily result, but it did not fully offset earlier losses.
Hyperliquid ETFs stayed positive for the week, but demand slowed. Farside data showed about $4.3 million in net inflows across June 29 to July 2.
The figure was far below the previous week’s strong total. This showed that demand for smaller crypto ETF products remained active, but investors moved with more caution.
Market focus shifts to ETF breadth The next focus for traders is whether ETF inflows can spread across more products. A single strong day can ease pressure, but it does not confirm a wider recovery.
The market will also watch IBIT closely. If BlackRock’s fund continues to record outflows, the ETF sector may stay under pressure despite inflows into rival products.At the same time, whale activity has sent a different signal. Crypto.news reported that large Bitcoin wallets accumulated about 270,000 BTC while ETFs saw record outflows in June.
As of then, the data shows a split market. ETF investors have reduced exposure for eight weeks, while some large on-chain holders have added Bitcoin during the selloff.
Cover image via depositphotos.com 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.
Bitcoin's four-year cycle, tied to the halving and retail demand, is no longer the dominant market model, said Strategy chairman Michael Saylor as he published an analytical breakdown that broke down how the cryptocurrency is moving into the status of "digital capital", now dependent on large institutional inflows.
According to the head of the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency, the reduction of coin issuance by miners has lost its former importance. The well-known investor now names new sources of demand as the main market driver. Bitcoin's trajectory is now shaped by large capital flows:
Spot Bitcoin ETFs and equity-market derivativesCorporate treasuries of public companiesSovereign funds and state reservesInterbank credit and collateral instrumentsSaylor emphasizes that the market has become too liquid for the old retail-driven cycles. "This is the next phase of Bitcoin adoption: not just more buyers, but more balance sheets," the top executive stated.
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He also notes that, unlike IT companies that operate on the principle of rapid development, Bitcoin's role is to ensure the stability of the base layer. According to the author's forecast, over the next ten years the protocol will become even more conservative, serving as a platform for large final settlements.
Code changes will become rare because of strict consensus among participants, while technological solutions such as the Lightning Network or sidechains, in the speaker's view, will ultimately move to the periphery of the system.
Threat of "paper Bitcoin"At the same time, the billionaire draws an analogy with gold and real estate, which unlocked their financial potential only after the emergence of credit markets. According to the MicroStrategy founder, a similar digital credit industry is now forming around Bitcoin, connecting it with the traditional economy.
However, Saylor also sees this as the main risk of the decade: the emergence of "paper Bitcoin," where intermediaries create more debt claims than are backed by real coins. Under these conditions, the Strategy chief names custodian transparency and proof of reserves as the key factors for investor security.
Bitcoin’s oldest unsolved vulnerability has collided with its most sacred principle, and one of the loudest voices in the room wants a drastic fix. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao argued over the July 4 weekend that Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million bitcoin stash should be frozen before sufficiently advanced quantum computers can move it—or steal it. The proposal landed like a sledgehammer in a debate that had simmered for years.
The argument, detailed in a CoinDesk report, is not merely technical. It directly pits Bitcoin’s immutability—the guarantee that on-chain ownership cannot be altered retroactively—against a future security crisis that some researchers believe could materialize within a decade. For CZ, freezing the coins now, before a quantum attacker could derive the private keys from public keys exposed in early pay-to-public-key transactions, is a pragmatic choice. For many core developers and maximalists, it is heresy.
The Immutability Debate Reignites The Satoshi coins are a special case. They sit behind cryptographic keys that pre-date modern address formats, making them especially vulnerable to quantum attacks that can solve the discrete logarithm problem. If a quantum adversary moved even a fraction of that hoard, it would flood the market and shatter confidence. Yet the fix—a network-wide soft fork to render those coins unspendable—would require overwhelming consensus and set a precedent for freezing anyone’s bitcoin under the right set of justifications.
This is not the first time the community has debated altering the ledger. The 2016 Ethereum DAO fork led to a chain split and remains the defining cautionary tale. Bitcoin avoided that path, at great cost to the minority chain, precisely to uphold the principle that code and ownership history are final. CZ’s suggestion revisits that boundary, but with a novel urgency: the quantum clock.
Quantum Computing: A Real but Distant Threat A quantum computer capable of breaking Bitcoin’s secp256k1 elliptic curve does not exist today. Estimates vary wildly on when it might. IBM’s roadmaps and Google’s milestones show progress but remain orders of magnitude short of the millions of logical qubits needed. Still, the timeline is narrowing. Advances in error correction and qubit scaling have pushed some forecasts to the late 2030s, which for a settlement layer that aspires to multigenerational permanence is uncomfortably close.
Freezing the Satoshi supply would be a brute-force stopgap. More elegant solutions exist: a network upgrade to post-quantum signature schemes, which researchers and standards bodies are actively shaping. But a protocol-level migration would require every holder to move funds to new addresses—an operation that, if delayed too long, could itself be beaten by quantum speed. The Satoshi coins complicate that migration because nobody can sign for them.
That is the crux of CZ’s argument. If Satoshi is deceased or has lost the keys, those coins will never move voluntarily. Their public keys are exposed, making them a honeypot. A quantum thief would not need to negotiate a soft fork; they would simply take the coins, instantly creating the most chaotic supply event in Bitcoin’s history.
Market and Governance Fallout Even the mere discussion of freezing coins reverberates through market structure. Traders and institutional custodians watch governance debates closely, because any consensus-based alteration of the UTXO set erodes the analog to a sovereign monetary policy. A precedent that coins can be frozen to preempt theft might, in the wrong hands, become a wedge for state-level intervention. The line between protecting the network and breaking its neutrality is thin.
That same tension is playing out in Washington, as the ongoing legislative battle over crypto market structure pits traditional banks against industry-backed compromises. When the largest exchange founder publicly advocates altering the ledger, it blurs the boundary between voluntary consensus and external pressure. Regulators will almost certainly note the conversation.
Miners and nodes would have the final say. A soft fork to freeze specific UTXOs would require an overwhelming majority to activate. If it fails, Bitcoin retains its immutability but carries the quantum risk. If it succeeds, it broadcasts a signal that the network can be engineered to solve specific, high-stakes edge cases—a message that both excites and terrifies different corners of the market.
What remains wholly uncertain is whether the debate will accelerate adoption of quantum-resistant cryptography rather than stopgap measures. Developer resources and attention are finite. The community’s ability to coordinate under a known, ticking threat has never been tested. CZ’s statement may not decide the outcome, but it has already forced the conversation out of niche developer circles and onto the main stage.
No software proposal has been formally drafted, and no immediate protocol change is expected. Still, the split among experts underscores a deeper question that Bitcoin will have to answer this decade: whether the ledger is an immutable record, or a system that can be adapted to survive existential threats. The Satoshi hoard, sitting silently on the chain, now represents the most expensive philosophical stress test in crypto.
AUTHOR
Brenda is a writer with three years of experience specializing in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. She graduated from the University of Mombasa with a degree in Psychology. She has worked at Cryptopolitan and Blockchain Reporter.
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.
Ledger co-founder Eric Larchevêque said a future where Bitcoin trades at $1 million, or even $10 million, may not be a healthy one. Wu Blockchain reported that he made the comments in a June 25 interview with When Shift Happens.
Summary
Larchevêque framed $1m Bitcoin as a stress signal, not just another bullish market price target. He said Bitcoin matters more when banks, currencies and governments fail to protect personal wealth. Crypto.news reports show debt fears, ETF flows and macro pressure still shape Bitcoin demand Larchevêque linked a high Bitcoin price to stress in the global money system. He said such a world may include wars, fiat currency failures, debt problems and social unrest. His message was not a simple bullish Bitcoin price call.
He said “a world where Bitcoin reaches $1 million or even $10 million may not be a good one.” The comment placed the Bitcoin $1 million debate in a wider macro setting, where price gains may reflect fear as much as demand.
Bitcoin as a final settlement asset Larchevêque said Bitcoin has little use in a perfect world because people would not need it. In his view, Bitcoin becomes more important when trust in banks, currencies and governments weakens.
He described Bitcoin as a final settlement asset and a tool for wealth protection. That view matches a common Bitcoin argument: users value direct ownership most when access to money becomes uncertain.
He also said Bitcoin does not mean the same thing to everyone. For people in Iran and France, he said, the asset carries different meanings because local risks are different.
Ledger’s background gives the comments added weight in the crypto custody debate. Larchevêque co-founded Ledger in 2014, while Pascal Gauthier later became CEO.
Crypto.news links debate to debt pressure The comments came as crypto.news reported on similar Bitcoin and macro themes. In a recent report, Bitwise linked Bitcoin demand to rising debt pressure and bond market stress.
That report said Bitwise sees sovereign debt concerns as part of the case for Bitcoin. It also noted that global borrowers face a heavy refinancing calendar in 2026, which could keep attention on fiat liquidity and central bank policy.
Crypto.news also reported that CZ still sees Bitcoin reaching $1 million over the next decade. His view came even as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows and Bitcoin tested key price levels.
This creates two different readings of the same target. Some market figures treat $1 million Bitcoin as a long-term adoption case. Larchevêque presented it as a warning about the state of fiat money.
ETF flows keep market cautious Bitcoin has also faced near-term pressure from exchange-traded fund flows. Crypto.news reported that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw heavy outflows in June, even while large wallets accumulated around 270,000 BTC.
That split shows a market moving in different directions. ETF investors reduced exposure, while large on-chain holders added Bitcoin during weakness. The gap has kept attention on whether institutional demand can return.
Crypto.news also reported that Bitcoin rebounded near $61,700 after ETF inflows ended a 10-day negative streak. Analysts in that report said BTC needed to reclaim $62,800 and $65,000 to confirm a stronger recovery.
At press time, Larchevêque’s comments add a cautious angle to the Bitcoin $1 million discussion. The price target remains popular, but his view suggests that a fast move to that level may say more about fiat risk than crypto strength.
TLDR BTC surged past $63,000 for the first time in a fortnight, posting a 1.4% gain over 24 hours XRP emerged as the top performer, jumping 5.3% to reach $1.18 and surpassing USDC by market capitalization The realized profit and loss ratio for Bitcoin plummeted to -0.35, its lowest reading in 43 months—a metric historically tied to cyclical lows Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer, suggested the market floor is “closer than ever” with a potential new uptrend emerging this autumn Supportive macroeconomic conditions, including Federal Reserve Chair remarks on cooling inflation and weaker employment data, contributed to the upward momentum Bitcoin breached the $63,000 threshold on Saturday, July 4th, erasing the declines witnessed during the final days of June. This advance marks the cryptocurrency’s strongest price point in fourteen days.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Throughout a 24-hour period, Bitcoin appreciated by 1.4%, while notching a 3.6% increase across the week, per CoinDesk market data. The upward movement occurred amid reduced trading volumes due to the Independence Day holiday closure of U.S. financial markets.
XRP distinguished itself as the leading gainer among major digital assets. The token surged 5.3% to $1.18 and registered nearly 10% growth over the seven-day timeframe. This performance elevated XRP beyond USDC stablecoin to claim the fifth position in overall market capitalization, reaching approximately $73 billion.
Ethereum advanced 3.2% during the day to approximately $1,793, accumulating an 11.5% gain over the week. Solana maintained levels near $82.50 with a 13.2% weekly increase, while Dogecoin appreciated 2.6%.
What Drove the Move The week’s positive trajectory was underpinned by improving macroeconomic conditions. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh indicated that inflationary pressures have moderated. A disappointing June employment report reinforced this narrative, and bearish traders were forced to cover positions as values climbed.
This convergence of factors propelled Bitcoin from beneath $60,000 to above $63,000 within five consecutive trading days.
Market analyst Ted Pillows highlighted on X that Bitcoin had approached a critical resistance threshold. He observed that a sustained move above $62,800 could propel pricing toward $65,000.
Santiment Intelligence also provided commentary, observing that Bitcoin has advanced 6.1% since June 30, while gold appreciated 4.8% and the S&P 500 remained unchanged. Santiment noted that purchasers re-entered the market near crucial support zones following prolonged periods of market anxiety, exchange-traded fund redemptions, and pessimistic investor sentiment.
✍️ TL;DR: Bitcoin & crypto markets have spent the week slowly catching up to flat stocks
📊 Metrics Used: Price Comparison
🔗 Link to chart: https://t.co/zYCktJUqT7
📈 Crypto is finally showing some real catch-up energy heading into the July 4th weekend. Since June 30th, Bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/nXLT1HDARz
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 3, 2026
What the On-Chain Data Shows Blockchain data provider CryptoQuant documented that Bitcoin’s realized profit and loss ratio descended to -0.35, representing a 43-month nadir. This measurement hasn’t registered at such depths since December 2022, immediately following the FTX exchange implosion that drove Bitcoin beneath $16,000.
Source: CryptoQuant CryptoQuant emphasized that this metric has traditionally identified BTC pricing floors. Comparable measurements materialized in 2015 and 2019, both preceding significant upward movements.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that the recent STRC preferred share liquidation from Strategy eliminated excessive leverage and probably positioned the market nearer to a foundational bottom.
Swan Bitcoin analyst Adam Livingston highlighted that Bitcoin is presently trading merely 16% above its realized price. Historical patterns suggest this level has consistently preceded forward performance of 41% over six-month periods and 81% across twelve-month horizons.
Bitcoin commenced the third quarter at 21-month lows following a 50% retreat from its October peak of $126,080. The cryptocurrency touched a nearly two-year low of $58,190 on June 25 before initiating the current rebound phase.
June 2026 was the worst trading month for BTC since... June 2022.
2026 hasn’t been bitcoin’s year so far, with the asset posting four (out of six) months in the red. June stands out as the most painful, setting a four-year anti-record.
However, history is on BTC’s side for July, and its start has been quite promising. The question is whether the asset will be able to follow through in the following weeks.
June Bad, July Good? Before we explore what happened in June, we must go back to the breaking point in May. In the middle of that month, BTC’s price surpassed $82,000, prompting many analysts to speculate that the asset had erased much of its yearly losses and had kickstarted the next bull run.
However, the reality was different as the rejection at that level poured more fuel into the ‘sell in May and go away’ narrative. The culmination took place in June as the cryptocurrency plummeted below $70,000 and even beneath $60,000 on a few occasions for the first time since before the US presidential elections in late 2024.
After losing roughly $25,000 in weeks, BTC finally showed some early signs of revival and regained some traction by the end of the month. However, it still finished it with a 20.5% drop, making it the worst since June four years ago.
Bitcoin Monthly Returns. Source: CoinGlass The chart above demonstrates that July tends to be a more favorable month for BTC, as nine out of the last 13 editions have brought gains. Moreover, each July that has followed a red June has been in the green.
The Factors The 2026 edition has started on the right foot, with BTC tapping $63,000 this weekend. However, several factors have to improve in the following weeks for the month to finally provide a well-deserved break. First, the record-setting net outflows from the spot Bitcoin ETFs have to stop, which have been halting BTC’s progress for months now.
You may also like: June 2026 Market Recap: Bitcoin Hits 2-Year Low as ETFs Bleed $8.9B Bitcoin (BTC) Flashes 3 Bullish Signals: $65K Incoming? Bitcoin Reclaims $60K as SOL, BCH Lead Alts Higher (Market Watch) Second, recent on-chain data showed that real demand from US (and even Korean) investors has been missing, proven by the Coinbase Premium metric. On a more macro level, a potential de-escalation (or a permanent peace deal) in the Middle East would definitely help, as would clearing up the uncertainty around the midterms in the US.
Topping this more positive side, bitcoin recently flashed a few bullish signals after it rebounded past the coveted $60,000 level, and analysts are now eyeing the next major breakout.
Rekt Capital also weighed in on BTC’s performance in July, suggesting that the cryptocurrency will look to turn the 50-Month EMA (at around $65,000) into resistance.
#BTC
It’s Green July and history suggests Bitcoin will be looking to turn the 50-Month EMA (purple) into new resistance$BTC #Bitcoin https://t.co/5JhfpTAvtn pic.twitter.com/Zn3KEAeKqI
Nearly one million TRUMP wallets show cumulative losses of 3.81 billion dollars by the end of June, according to Nansen. However, President Trump received 636 million dollars thanks to this same token, reveals his annual financial statement. The distribution of gains nevertheless clearly leans to one side.
In brief Nearly one million wallets, or two out of three buyers, show losses on the TRUMP token by the end of June, totaling 3.81 billion dollars. Donald Trump declared 636 million dollars of income linked to this token in his annual financial declaration, published on June 30 by the Office of Government Ethics. The TRUMP token trades around 1.78 dollars, down 97% since its peak in January 2025. Losses concentrated among the most recent buyers Out of 1.48 million wallets having purchased the TRUMP token, 988,905 show losses by the end of June. This total also includes unrealized losses on tokens still held.
The very first buyers hold most of the gains. They entered below the dollar mark, before the token surged to 75 dollars two days later.
On all wallets combined, gains and losses almost balance out. The net balance reaches about 236 million dollars.
This amount represents barely one third of the 636 million declared by Trump. These figures come from a report by The Block.
Why does Trump’s financial declaration rekindle the controversy? The 927-page asset declaration details the origin of these revenues. Published on June 30 by the Office of Government Ethics, it lists payments passing through CIC Digital LLC.
These amounts add, moreover, to hundreds of millions of dollars linked to World Liberty Financial. This decentralized finance project is partly owned by the Trump family.
Donald Trump has, however, already dismissed criticisms regarding these revenues. He claims that external institutions manage his money, for the benefit of the entire crypto sector.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defends this record. She asserts that the administration acts in the interest of Americans.
The WLFI token, linked to the same project, shows a similar record. Nansen tracks 26,663 wallets that have bought WLFI on secondary markets.
Among them, 85% are at a loss. These losses reach 83 million dollars versus 23 million dollars in gains.
The broader crypto market downturn also amplifies this contrast. Bitcoin has dropped about 50% since its October record above 126,000 dollars, bringing the market capitalization of the TRUMP token to 425 million dollars, compared to nearly 15 billion at its peak in January 2025.
This decline occurs as Congress reviews the CLARITY Act. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing to ban elected officials from issuing tokens, a provision already dropped from the GENIUS Act when it was adopted last year.
This contrast between presidential revenues and losses of small holders continues to fuel criticism of crypto regulation issued by public officials, a topic Congress has yet to decide on.
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Fenelon L.
Passionné par le Bitcoin, j'aime explorer les méandres de la blockchain et des cryptos et je partage mes découvertes avec la communauté. Mon rêve est de vivre dans un monde où la vie privée et la liberté financière sont garanties pour tous, et je crois fermement que Bitcoin est l'outil qui peut rendre cela possible.
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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
TLDR: Ripple XRP donation support is tied to America250s Giving 4th campaign, with the company matching eligible gifts in XRP up to $10,000. Donors can contribute through cash, stock or crypto, while XRP and RLUSD are listed among the accepted digital assets for the campaign. The Call of Duty Endowment says CODE4Vets supports groups that prepare veterans for civilian jobs and raise employer awareness. The campaign connects July 4 charitable giving with veteran employment, as the Endowment targets 200,000 job placements by 2030. The Ripple XRP donation campaign has placed crypto philanthropy in the Independence Day spotlight. Ripple joined America250s Giving 4th effort on July 4 and pledged to match eligible donations in XRP, up to $10,000. The campaign supports the Call of Duty Endowment and its CODE4Vets initiative, which focuses on helping veterans enter civilian careers.
Donors can give cash, stock or crypto, with XRP and RLUSD accepted for eligible contributions. America250 launched Giving 4th in June as a national effort to turn July 4 into a broader day of charitable giving.
Ripple announced its Giving 4th participation as the U.S. marked its 250th Independence Day. The move links a civic campaign with a veteran employment fundraiser rather than a direct market update for XRP.
Ripple is joining #Giving4th — @America250's new movement to make Independence Day a national day of charitable giving.
We're matching donations to @CODE4Vets up to $10K. CODE funds the most effective organizations helping veterans get back to work, preparing them for the job…
— Ripple (@Ripple) July 4, 2026
The Ripple XRP donation match applies to contributions made through the Call of Duty Endowment campaign page. Ripple said it would match donations in XRP until the total match reaches $10,000. The campaign page also lists XRP and RLUSD among accepted crypto options.
CODE4Vets is powered by the Call of Duty Endowment. Its stated work centers on funding effective nonprofits that help veterans return to work. It also raises awareness among employers about the skills veterans bring after service.
The Endowment says it has funded more than 165,000 veteran job placements. It has also set a goal of reaching 200,000 placements by 2030. That target gives the fundraiser a measurable employment angle beyond a one-day giving push.
Ripple XRP Donation Adds Crypto Utility to Giving 4th The Ripple XRP donation pledge also gives XRP and RLUSD another real-world use case through charitable giving. Donors are not limited to crypto, since the campaign also accepts cash and stock. Still, crypto support allows digital asset holders to take part without first converting funds elsewhere.
America250 described Giving 4th as a nationwide initiative designed to support nonprofits around Independence Day. The group said the campaign responds to the summer slowdown many nonprofits face in midyear fundraising.
For Ripple, the campaign arrives as blockchain firms continue pushing digital assets into payments, donations and tokenized finance. The company has already worked with crypto donation platforms and promoted RLUSD for charitable use in past campaigns.
The Ripple XRP donation match remains capped at $10,000, so the final company contribution depends on donor activity. The fundraiser had a stated $10,000 goal, while progress will move through the campaign page as eligible donations come in.
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.
Travel platform Travala announced in a post on X that users can now book over 2.2 million hotels globally using XRP, in what it called a significant stride in crypto's adoption in everyday payments.
In a statement, Travala reiterated the original design intent of XRP as it was "built to move value fast," making its use for hotel bookings in line with that vision. The travel platform said users can now secure hotel bookings with instant confirmation and without the involvement of banks.
This development means XRP holders can pay for accommodation across a global hotel network, expanding XRP's use case into one of the largest consumer industries: travel and hospitality. As a result, users will be able to book over 3 million travel products globally with XRP on Travala.
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This new real-world payment integration highlights XRP's growing use case beyond trading markets.
XRP utility expands with paymentsIn a major milestone reached early this year, the x402 facilitator went live on the XRP Ledger in February, allowing AI agents to pay for services using XRP and RLUSD with no need for API keys or accounts.
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Agents can pay per request via x402, with volume settling on the XRP Ledger. Fast forward to the present, nearly a million agent transactions have settled through the XRPL x402 facilitator, implying more agents, merchants, and volume are entering the XRP Ledger.
Ripple is expanding XRP and RLUSD utility for AI-agent payments, having introduced the XRPL AI Starter Kit in June — a set of developer tools for building AI agents that can send payments on the XRP Ledger.
As AI agents begin transacting on behalf of businesses, Ripple has joined the ecosystem supporting Mastercard's Agent Pay for Machines initiative, helping validate new use cases, establish common rules, and accelerate adoption while continuing to build the infrastructure for trusted agent-driven payments, with the XRP Ledger and RLUSD laying the foundation for the future of commerce.
Ripple has announced its participation in the Giving 4th initiative, held in conjunction with U.S. Independence Day, pledging support for a veteran employment program. The company plans to match qualifying donations, up to $10,000, in XRP.
Donations to aid veterans’ transition to civilian employmentThe campaign is aimed at funding CODE4Vets, a project run under the Call of Duty Endowment. This program supports organizations helping veterans move into civilian job sectors, while also working to increase awareness among employers about the value veterans bring to the workplace.
According to the Call of Duty Endowment, more than 165,000 veterans have already been placed in jobs with the help of the organization. Their goal is to increase this figure to 200,000 by 2030.
Ripple announced its involvement in America250’s Giving 4th initiative and confirmed it will match eligible CODE4Vets donations up to $10,000 in XRP.
The Giving 4th initiative was launched by America250 in June, encouraging supporters to turn July 4th into a day of large-scale charitable action beyond traditional celebrations.
Crypto assets accepted alongside cash and stocksSupporters of the campaign can contribute using cash, stocks, or cryptocurrency. Eligible digital assets include XRP and RLUSD, allowing crypto holders to participate without converting their funds through other channels.
Mini glossary: RLUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin connected to the Ripple ecosystem. Stablecoins are digital assets typically designed to maintain a fixed value to a traditional currency.
Ripple, recognized for its blockchain-driven solutions in payments and digital finance, is highlighting the social utility of cryptocurrencies through this philanthropic effort. The move underscores the expanding role of crypto assets in fundraising and social impact projects.
The Call of Duty Endowment explains that the CODE4Vets initiative supports organizations preparing veterans for jobs and aims to make employers more aware of the unique skills these candidates offer.
Matching funds capped at $10,000 for the campaignRipple’s commitment to matching donations is capped at a total of $10,000. The final amount provided by the company will reflect the level of eligible contributions made through the campaign’s official page.
The campaign itself has also set its donation target at $10,000. Progress toward that goal will be continuously updated on the fundraising page as donations are received.
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 ETFs experienced something that hadn't happened in three months in the past week.
There seems to be a clear winner in terms of investors’ behavior toward crypto-based exchange-traded funds, and it’s not the two market leaders, BTC and ETH.
The financial vehicles tracking the performance of Ripple’s cross-border token continue to defy the overall market weakness with another week in the green. The HYPE ETFs also marked another positive week, but it was a significant decline from the previous one.
Ripple ETF Streak on Track After the impressive end to the previous business week, in which investors poured $15.63 million into the spot XRP ETFs on Friday, hopes for another strong start were high. And the numbers provided by SoSoValue show that reality wasn’t far away, as another $15.34 million entered the ETFs on Monday.
However, the trend changed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Net withdrawals dominated, with investors pulling out $2.83 million and $1.86 million, respectively. This was a rare occasion since the funds have not seen too many red days lately despite the broader ETFs’ trend. The last one was a month ago, on June 3.
Moreover, the last time when there were two consecutive days in the red was nearly three months ago, in early March. However, unlike the events back then, the tides reversed once again, as the funds saw $6.55 million net inflows on Thursday (the last trading day of the week due to the July 4 holiday).
Consequently, the week ended well in the green again, with net inflows of $17.19 million. Thus, the spectacular streak of green-only weeks continues, as the last one (barely) in the red was in late April/early May.
Spot XRP ETF Inflows. Source: SoSoValue Perhaps driven by the positive developments on the ETF scene, the underlying asset’s price has risen by over 8% in the past week and now sits close to $0.15.
You may also like: This XRP Signal Has Never Looked Worse, But is That the Setup? (Analyst) Is XRP Ready for a Reversal? Wallets Surge as FOMO Hits 3-Month Peak Crypto Analyst Challenges Ripple’s CEO Take on Strategy: ‘Two Giants, Same Model’ HYPE ETFs Also in the Green The HYPE ETFs also enjoyed the last full business week of June, seeing a massive net inflow of $111.36 million, which was by far the largest ever. Although the past four-day business week was also in the green, it was a lot more modest, with just $4.32 million entering the funds.
Nevertheless, the cumulative total net inflows sit at an all-time high of almost $300 million, despite the $3.01 million leaving the ETFs on Tuesday.
Travel platform Travala has announced that its users can now book accommodation at more than 2.2 million hotels worldwide using XRP. The company views this move as a significant step forward for the everyday use of cryptocurrencies in payments, positioning XRP as a viable option for travel expenses.
XRP integrated into global hotel bookingsHighlighting XRP’s core purpose as a tool for fast value transfer, Travala emphasized that allowing hotel bookings with XRP is directly in line with the network’s intended design. According to the platform, users will be able to make instant hotel reservations, bypassing banks and relying solely on crypto for confirmation and payment.
Travala pointed out that XRP’s use in hotel bookings aligns with the asset’s original focus on fast value transfer, providing travelers with a seamless and efficient payment experience.
With this integration, XRP holders can now pay for lodging directly across the network’s global roster of hotels. This marks an expansion of XRP’s reach beyond traditional trading platforms into the broader consumer travel and hospitality market. Travala stated that, with the addition of XRP, the total number of travel products available for crypto payment on their platform now exceeds three million worldwide.
Mini glossary: Travala is a platform focused on enabling cryptocurrency-based travel bookings. XRPL stands for XRP Ledger—the blockchain infrastructure that records XRP transactions.
XRPL payment traffic continues to riseAnother milestone for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) was achieved earlier this year with the launch of the x402 facilitator in February. This system allows AI agents to make payments for services in XRP and RLUSD without the need for an API key or account, streamlining access to blockchain-based financial operations.
Transactions made via x402 are settled directly on the XRP Ledger, and agents pay for each service request independently. According to recent data, the number of intermediary transactions processed through the XRPL x402 facilitator is approaching one million, reflecting growing adoption and increased transaction volume from more agents, service providers, and businesses joining the network.
As the number of settlement transactions via the XRPL x402 infrastructure nears one million, it is clear that use of the network extends well beyond basic trading activity.
Ripple expands toolkit for AI-powered transactionsRipple is continuing to broaden the utility of both XRP and RLUSD in AI-based payments. In June, the company introduced its XRPL AI Starter Kit, a suite of developer tools designed to make it easier to create AI agents capable of sending payments over the XRP Ledger. This move supports the integration of crypto payments into next-generation automated systems.
As AI-powered agents that transact on behalf of businesses become increasingly common, Ripple has joined Mastercard’s Agent Pay for Machines ecosystem, which aims to validate new use cases, set shared protocols, and accelerate adoption of automated payments. Ripple also underscored its ongoing efforts to build robust, trust-driven infrastructure for intermediary payments, emphasizing its view that the XRP Ledger and RLUSD will be foundational for the future of digital commerce.
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.
Cover image via depositphotos.com 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.
One of the year's most dramatic spikes in activity occurred on the XRP Ledger, with payment volume momentarily surging by over 1,000% before collapsing nearly as quickly as it had appeared. The market's response indicates that investors were not persuaded, despite the fact that such spikes frequently spark conjecture about institutional adoption or renewed network demand.
What's the foundation of a recovery?Transactions between accounts increased dramatically at the start of July, reaching levels well above the network's recent average, according to XRPL payment volume data. But within a matter of days, the metric nearly completely returned to baseline, negating the effect of the change and casting doubt on the true cause of the rise.
XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewLarge internal transfers rather than organic network growth could be the cause of the spike, according to one theory. In the past, large-scale fund transfers between recognized entities, treasury operations, and exchange wallet reorganization have all been linked to abrupt spikes in XRP Ledger payment activity. Without resulting in real adoption or new demand for XRP itself, such activity has the potential to significantly inflate payment statistics.
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Breakout isn't fueled by paymentsXRP was unable to produce a significant breakout despite the increase in payment volume. Rather, the asset continues to trade below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages and is stuck below significant resistance levels. A stronger market reaction would typically be anticipated if the payment spike indicated actual demand entering the ecosystem. The overall state of the market is another factor.
Investors seem hesitant to chase isolated on-chain metrics without confirmation from price, volume, and liquidity, and risk appetite across digital assets remains comparatively low. In the present market, traders are requiring more proof before attributing fundamental value to network activity spikes. Additionally, the chart displays XRP's recovery from recent lows in the $1.05-$1.10 range.
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The asset has been pushed back above short-term support by buyers, and the RSI has recovered from oversold territory. However, XRP is currently approaching a significant technical obstacle near the $1.20 50-day EMA. As of right now, the surge in payment volume appears to have been more noise than signal.
Although the metric attracted attention, it did not change the technical structure or market sentiment of XRP. Instead of viewing similar spikes as early indicators of a significant bullish reversal, traders are likely to treat them with increasing skepticism unless future increases in XRPL activity become sustained and coincide with rising transaction demand, liquidity, and price appreciation.
Key Highlights XRP jumped more than 13% during the initial three trading days of July, advancing from approximately $1.03 to nearly $1.18. Legislative advancement of the CLARITY Act through the U.S. Senate enhanced positive sentiment surrounding XRP’s regulatory environment. Investment products tracking XRP attracted $6.55M in single-day inflows, with total cumulative inflows reaching $1.49B. Historical data reveals July as a consistently profitable month for XRP, averaging 10.4% gains since 2013. Technical analysis identifies critical resistance at $1.20, while support at $1.15 provides downside protection. XRP launched into July with impressive momentum, posting gains exceeding 13% within a mere three-day span. The digital asset advanced from lows near $1.03 to approach $1.18, capturing fresh interest from market participants.
XRP Price This upward movement coincided with a wider cryptocurrency market rebound. The aggregate crypto market capitalization increased 0.86% to reach $2.18 trillion. Bitcoin surged beyond $62,000, while Ethereum advanced above $1,700.
Disappointing U.S. employment figures contributed to the bullish market sentiment. The American economy generated merely 57,000 positions in June, significantly undershooting the anticipated 110,000. This development strengthened expectations for more accommodative monetary conditions moving forward.
Market analyst ChartNerd (@ChartNerdTA) highlighted a significant long-term technical formation via X, identifying an 8.5-year cup and handle pattern emerging on XRP’s price chart. He cautioned that overlooking XRP at the $1 level “could prove costly,” suggesting that sustained Fibonacci support within the handle formation could establish a pathway toward upper resistance zones. His analysis referenced Fibonacci extension targets at $8, $13, and $27.
$XRP 8.5 YEAR CUP & HANDLE ☕️
Ignoring $XRP around $1 on the macro could prove costly. Price is approaching FIB support within the handle structure under 8.5 years of resistance
If FIB support and the GC hold, it opens the path to attack resistance. FIB extensions = $8/$13/$27 https://t.co/r8v5HKDfij pic.twitter.com/s8yb16b4Sj
— 🇬🇧 ChartNerd 📊 (@ChartNerdTA) July 4, 2026
Legislative Developments Strengthen XRP Sentiment Advancement of the CLARITY Act through the U.S. Senate emerged as a primary catalyst for XRP’s appreciation. This proposed legislation carries implications for the regulatory classification of digital assets under American law.
Market participants reacted favorably to XRP’s inclusion within the SEC/CFTC Digital Commodities classification framework. This development prompted capital reallocation into XRP positions. Additionally, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen’s financial stake in American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation — an entity associated with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s son — attracted market attention throughout this timeframe.
Investment Fund Activity Supports Bullish Momentum XRP-focused investment vehicles registered $6.55M in daily inflows as of July 2. Total cumulative inflows climbed to $1.49B, while net assets under management stood at $987.91M.
Source: SoSoValue Spot Bitcoin ETFs similarly reversed their outflow trend on July 2, posting $221.72M in daily net inflows. This marked the conclusion of a 10-day withdrawal period, elevating cumulative net inflows to $51.08B. Ethereum spot ETFs contributed $29.08M in net inflows during the identical session.
Historical performance data compiled by CryptoRank demonstrates July’s track record as a consistently profitable period for XRP across seven consecutive years. Average July performance since 2013 registers at 10.4%. Notably, during July 2020, XRP surged more than 48%.
Examining the four-hour timeframe, XRP traded around $1.1714. The Relative Strength Index registered 79.91, positioning the asset within overbought parameters. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator displayed 0.21, signaling continued accumulation pressure.
Immediate resistance is established at $1.20, where a decisive breakthrough could enable progression toward $1.25. Should prices retract beneath $1.15, the subsequent support zone emerges at $1.10.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has named quantum resistance, scalability and privacy as three of Ethereum's top priorities under a new "Lean Ethereum" strawmap, which lays out the network's technical direction for the remainder of the decade.
In a post to X on Saturday, Buterin said the collection of upgrades will roll out over the next three to four years, touching nearly every layer of Ethereum in a transformation he compared in scale to the September 2022 Merge, which shifted the network away from energy-intensive mining.
“Quantum safety has shifted up a LOT in priority,” he said, adding that finalizing a quantum-safe solution for blobs has “become urgent.” Enhancing privacy is another priority, Buterin said, stating that it has become a “first class goal.”
The “Lean Ethereum” strawmap timeline from 2026 through to 2029. Source: Strawmap.org
The change in roadmap comes amid a series of changes at the Ethereum Foundation, which laid off roughly 20% of its staff last month in a bid to become leaner and reduce its budget by 40%.
The leaner structure comes on top of several executive departures in recent months, including Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, while protocol contributors Tim Beiko and Barnabé Monnot also left in May.
Buterin is also pushing for the development of a new virtual machine like leanISA or RISC-V to support programmable privacy and better scalability.
Questions remain over Buterin’s timelineDankrad Feist, a researcher behind the payments-focused layer-1 Tempo blockchain, praised the new plan but argued the 3-4 year timeline is too slow, stating that AI could help developers ship the upgrades within a year.
Crypto analyst Ignas Fiodorovas was also in favor of the plan but cast doubt on the Ethereum Foundation's ability to deliver the upgrades within the stated timeline, citing the organization's history of missing deadlines.
Fiodorovas said the only key feature missing from the roadmap was improved tokenomics for Ether (ETH), which has continued to slide in price amid a broader market downturn.
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.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has named quantum resistance, scalability and privacy as three of Ethereum's top priorities under a new "Lean Ethereum" strawmap, which lays out the network's technical direction for the remainder of the decade.
In a post to X on Saturday, Buterin said the collection of upgrades will roll out over the next three to four years, touching nearly every layer of Ethereum in a transformation he compared in scale to the September 2022 Merge, which shifted the network away from energy-intensive mining.
“Quantum safety has shifted up a LOT in priority,” he said, adding that finalizing a quantum-safe solution for blobs has “become urgent.” Enhancing privacy is another priority, Buterin said, stating that it has become a “first class goal.”
The “Lean Ethereum” strawmap timeline from 2026 through to 2029. Source: Strawmap.org
The change in roadmap comes amid a series of changes at the Ethereum Foundation, which laid off roughly 20% of its staff last month in a bid to become leaner and reduce its budget by 40%.
The leaner structure comes on top of several executive departures in recent months, including Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, while protocol contributors Tim Beiko and Barnabé Monnot also left in May.
Buterin is also pushing for the development of a new virtual machine like leanISA or RISC-V to support programmable privacy and better scalability.
Questions remain over Buterin’s timelineDankrad Feist, a researcher behind the payments-focused layer-1 Tempo blockchain, praised the new plan but argued the 3-4 year timeline is too slow, stating that AI could help developers ship the upgrades within a year.
Crypto analyst Ignas Fiodorovas was also in favor of the plan but cast doubt on the Ethereum Foundation's ability to deliver the upgrades within the stated timeline, citing the organization's history of missing deadlines.
Fiodorovas said the only key feature missing from the roadmap was improved tokenomics for Ether (ETH), which has continued to slide in price amid a broader market downturn.
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.
TL;DR Vitalik Buterin has introduced the Lean Ethereum roadmap, with upgrades planned over the next three to four years. The roadmap prioritizes quantum-resistant cryptography, native STARK verification, and improved network scalability. Ethereum also plans to expand programmable privacy and introduce a scalable state architecture capable of handling up to 100TB by 2030. The upcoming Glasterdam upgrade is expected to raise Ethereum’s gas limit, boosting the network’s transaction capacity. Ethereum’s long-term development roadmap is taking center stage after co-founder Vitalik Buterin unveiled a sweeping vision for the network’s next phase of evolution.
Dubbed “Lean Ethereum,” the roadmap lays out a series of protocol upgrades expected to unfold over the next three to four years. The initiative aims to strengthen Ethereum’s security, improve scalability, expand privacy capabilities, and prepare the blockchain for future technological threats, including quantum computing.
Two weeks ago, Ethereum researchers met in Berlin to continue charting the protocol's long-term trajectory, following along discussions with client teams in Svalbard in April.
The updated strawmap is at https://t.co/HZEerH1xxI, and I attached a picture of it to this post.
My… pic.twitter.com/KPGayHSySf
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 4, 2026
The proposal comes as Ethereum continues refining its post-Merge architecture while developers work toward making the network more efficient and resilient for long-term adoption, a move that has had quite some effects on its price.
Lean Ethereum Prioritizes Quantum Security and Network Efficiency One of the biggest priorities outlined by Buterin is making Ethereum resistant to future quantum computing threats. He proposed replacing the network’s remaining quantum-vulnerable cryptographic components with post-quantum alternatives, reflecting what he described as a growing urgency around quantum security.
Another key objective is integrating recursive STARKs as a native verification component. STARKs are cryptographic proofs designed to verify computations efficiently while improving scalability and security. Making them native to Ethereum could simplify verification processes across the network.
The roadmap also introduces a new “scalable state” architecture capable of expanding to roughly 100 terabytes by 2030. According to Buterin, the approach could reduce transaction costs for certain token types by more than tenfold while allowing Ethereum to handle significantly larger amounts of on-chain data.
Network capacity is also expected to improve through the upcoming Glasterdam upgrade, which Buterin said should substantially increase Ethereum’s gas limit. A higher gas limit would allow more transactions and computational work to fit into each block, improving throughput without fundamentally changing the network’s architecture.
Privacy Becomes a Core Ethereum Goal Beyond scalability and security, the roadmap elevates privacy to one of Ethereum’s central development goals.
Buterin said the project will explore RISC-V or leanISA virtual machine designs to support programmable privacy while maintaining scalability. Rather than treating privacy as an optional feature, the roadmap positions it as a core part of Ethereum’s long-term evolution.
The proposed changes extend across multiple layers of the protocol, making the roadmap comparable in scope to previous landmark upgrades such as The Merge, which transitioned Ethereum from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022.
While the roadmap presents an ambitious technical vision, its implementation will likely depend on Ethereum’s ability to deliver complex upgrades over several years.
The proposal arrives during a period of organizational change at the Ethereum Foundation, which has recently undergone restructuring aimed at streamlining operations. Those changes have prompted broader discussions within the community about how quickly major protocol improvements can be delivered.
Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, has announced the “Lean Ethereum” roadmap, outlining the network’s next three to four years of technical evolution. The comprehensive strategy introduces far-reaching changes aimed at strengthening security, scalability, privacy, and the long-term technical resilience of Ethereum’s protocol.
Quantum-proof security and scaling take center stageAmong the most striking elements of Buterin’s roadmap is a focus on preparing Ethereum for the risks posed by future quantum computing advances. To address this, core cryptographic components that remain vulnerable to quantum attacks are slated to be gradually replaced with post-quantum alternatives.
Vitalik Buterin is prioritizing the elimination of Ethereum’s remaining quantum vulnerabilities and preparing the network for next-generation computing threats.
Another key pillar in the plan is integrating native recursive STARK verification into Ethereum. This innovation will enable more efficient validation of complex transactions, directly supporting the network’s ambitions for greater security and scalability.
Mini glossary: STARK is a cryptographic technology that allows one to prove the correctness of computations or transactions without revealing all underlying data. Recursive STARKs let these proofs validate each other, enabling much larger data volumes to be handled more efficiently.
Buterin is also proposing a new structure labeled “scalable state architecture.” This model is projected to support approximately 100 terabytes of data capacity by 2030. With this approach, transaction costs for specific token types could be reduced more than tenfold, and the network’s on-chain data capacity would see significant expansion.
The roadmap’s vision for boosting Ethereum’s transaction throughput also features the Glasterdam upgrade. Buterin anticipates that this update will markedly raise the network’s gas limit, allowing each block to process more transactions and computational workloads than ever before.
Privacy is elevated to a core directionBut the focus extends beyond speed and security. Buterin has also positioned privacy as one of Ethereum’s fundamental ambitions. In this context, virtual machine designs based on RISC V or leanISA are planned to enable scalable programmable privacy while maintaining performance.
This strategy signals a shift: privacy is set to move from being an optional feature to a core architectural goal of the Ethereum network. The scope of these proposed changes is seen as comparable to The Merge update in 2022, which transitioned Ethereum from proof of work to proof of stake.
Although Buterin’s roadmap sets forth an ambitious technical vision, its realization will rely on implementing a series of complex updates over the coming years. As a result, the Ethereum Foundation, which has recently undergone structural changes, may face even greater pressure to deliver. The Foundation remains a central force in driving Ethereum’s core research and development efforts.
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.
Cover image via www.freepik.com 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.
After months of persistent underperformance that left Ethereum bulls deeply frustrated, the highly watched ETH/BTC cross-asset pair is finally showing signs of life.
According to prominent market trader CarpeNoctom, the daily ETH/BTC chart is approaching a major convergence of technical buy signals.
However, given the pair’s history of head fakes and false starts over the past year, market participants are remaining disciplined, waiting for definitive confirmation before aggressively entering the trade.
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Eyes on the Kumo CloudThe asset has spent the entirety of late 2025 and the first half of 2026 locked within a descending pitchfork channel.
The ETH/BTC spot exchange rate is currently trading at 0.028. It is directly interacting with a thick, red-shaded Ichimoku Kumo cloud and a critical descending red trendline designated as the "mega diagonal resistance."
ETH/BTC
warming up, nearing a kumo breakout + ML PF breach. mega diag res to watch as well. this one has continued to disappoint for months so i wont be touching until confirmation of breakout. pic.twitter.com/QfytzhF3u8
— CarpeNoctom (@CarpeNoctom) July 4, 2026 A yellow arrow superimposed on the chart outlines the projected path forward. If Ethereum can gather enough bullish momentum to breach the upper boundary of this pitchfork channel and trigger a full "kumo breakout," it opens a clear technical path to push upward toward the 0.036 zone by late summer.
The "Lean Ethereum" roadmapIn the meantime, Ethereum’s core developers are completely reinventing the network’s underlying architecture to spark a long-term fundamental reversal.
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Following a high-level research summit in Berlin two weeks ago, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published the network’s updated development blueprint.
Dubbed "Lean Ethereum," this roadmap outlines the third major iteration of the protocol, representing a multi-year reconstruction phase as significant as the historic transition known as "The Merge."
According to the official project outline published at strawmap.org, the four-year upgrade cycle will touch almost every major core mechanism of the protocol to future-proof the network.
Is the Ethereum [ETH] resurgence underway? The leading altcoin’s bulls have defended the $1,560 support level twice in June. At the time of writing, the price was at $1,767 and inching toward the psychological $2k mark.
AMBCrypto reported that a whale had taken a $9 million loss after closing a short position on ETH worth $54.1 million. The futures market data showed more active participation from retail traders.
Alongside this potential short‑term revival, the monthly chart flashed a buy signal. The last two times this signal appeared, Ethereum rallied 235% and 182%, respectively.
Source: CryptoQuant On the 3rd of July, ETH’s Funding Rate leapt to 0.0136%, matching the highs it reached in the first few days of June. Yet, Ethereum was trading much lower than it had been a month ago.
Funding Rates rising to highs from early June, while prices stabilized above the $1,560 local lows, suggested a long-side bias has built ahead of a structural recovery, pointed out crypto analyst Zizcrypto on CryptoQuant Insights.
Source: ETH/USD on TradingView The structure remained bearish on the 1-day price chart. AMBCrypto reported that a double-bottom just above the $1.5k mark was formed lately. To climb back to the $2,000 level, the $1.8k level must be flipped to support first.
Even if this level is flipped to support, the Fibonacci retracement levels emphasized that a bounce to $2.1k-2.2k would still be one for swing traders to sell.
A clean breakout past $2,466, the recent swing high on this timeframe, is needed to flip the structure from bearish to bullish.
Exploring the Ethereum builder divergence Something has changed about Ethereum. The divergence between speculative capital inflow and network utility was getting more profound. It is possible that this scenario could lead to a price appreciation.
Source: CryptoQuant Notably, crypto analyst Crypto Onchain wrote that new smart contract deployments have surged 303% compared to the 90-day average. Meanwhile, Binance stablecoin netflows were down by 887%, averaging a daily outflow of $170 million.
The analyst believed that this was a “builder’s phase” where, as traders stepped out of the market, developers were moving into the ecosystem. Soon, a utility-driven price momentum move could commence.
It will hinge on recovering macroeconomic conditions, increased demand and liquidity conditions, and a recovery in investor confidence.
Final Summary Ethereum’s funding rate climbed to highs last seen in early June, even as its price structure deteriorated sharply over the past month. The increase in smart contract deployment alongside falling trading activity illustrated a “builder’s phase” divergence.
F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun reportedly transferred a portion of his WBTC and ETH purchases from June to Binance, making a profit of approximately $3.4 million at current prices.
According to on-chain data, Wang Chun purchased approximately 70,600 ETH and 966 WBTC in June. The total value of these purchases is estimated to be around $117 million for ETH and approximately $60.29 million for WBTC.
Following the recovery in the cryptocurrency market in July, Wang Chun reportedly transferred 36,600 ETH and 160 WBTC to Binance in recent days. These transfers are believed to be aimed at profit-taking after the dips seen in June.
On the other hand, another significant transaction that caught attention in the market came from a wallet allegedly linked to Mining Express. Approximately 16 hours ago, this wallet reportedly exchanged 5,004 ETH for around 8.8 million DAI.
Blockchain researcher Specter stated that he first identified this address on June 15th, but recently completed the detailed tracking and analysis process. Specter also shared multiple linked wallets to verify the address.
This large-scale ETH swap has raised questions in the market regarding past fund movements and potential liquidation motivations. According to Specter’s analysis, the address has an on-chain connection to the Mining Express project, launched in Ukraine in 2019 by Brazilian founder Kaze Fuziyama.
Mining Express initially attracted investors with a multi-level marketing model, but was later accused of being a Ponzi scheme. After halting repayments, the project shifted its focus to cloud rendering and similar business models.
Historical on-chain records show that the wallet in question received 4,512 ETH from a linked address on March 19, 2024, and subsequently staked these assets via Lido and Ether.fi. As of April 2026, all of the ETH was staked, and it was completely unstaken on May 4th.
*This is not investment advice.
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5 July 2026 | 10:25 Ethereum is caught in a striking split: its co-founder just unveiled ambitious roadmap, even as the token defends the exact line separating a five-year uptrend from a breakdown. In between sits the quiet proof that matters most, institutions keep building on Ethereum regardless of price.
Key Takeaways Vitalik Buterin unveiled “Lean Ethereum,” a three-to-four-year rebuild of the protocol. It prioritizes quantum resistance, privacy, scalability, and a leaner architecture. ETH sits at $1,763, exactly on the 100-month average that has held since 2022. Crédit Agricole just launched a euro stablecoin on Ethereum, which hosts 52% of the market. There’s a striking split in Ethereum right now. On one side, its co-founder has just laid out the most ambitious technical roadmap since the network abandoned mining, a multi-year plan to rebuild almost everything about how Ethereum works. On the other, the token itself is sitting on the exact line that separates a five-year uptrend from its first structural break. And in between those two extremes sits the quiet evidence that may matter most: institutions keep building on ETH regardless of what the price does. Put together, these three threads tell a coherent story about where Ethereum actually stands in mid-2026, ambitious in vision, fragile in price, and increasingly entrenched as financial infrastructure.
Vitalik’s Blueprint for the Next Ethereum On July 4, Buterin published on X what he calls “Lean Ethereum,” describing it not as a single upgrade but as the network’s third major iteration after the original launch and the 2022 Merge. The framing matters: this isn’t another routine hard fork. It’s a coordinated sequence of work, scoped across the next three to four years, that touches nearly every layer of the protocol, verification, consensus, execution, state storage, privacy, and cryptography.
The headline priorities are clear. Quantum resistance has, in Buterin’s words, “shifted up a LOT in priority,” with quantum-safe designs for ETH’s data “blobs” now treated as urgent. Privacy gets elevated from an optional, application-level feature to something built into the protocol itself; as Buterin put it, “privacy is no longer an afterthought, it is a first-class goal.” And the scalability work is sweeping: continued gas-limit and blob increases, faster slot times, and a new “scalable state” architecture that could expand to roughly 100 terabytes by 2030 while cutting transaction costs for some token types by more than tenfold.
Ethereum’s scaling trajectory alongside its long-term technical roadmap. Perhaps the most far-reaching idea is a possible move beyond the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Buterin floated transitioning the protocol toward a leaner execution environment built on architectures like RISC-V or leanISA, with today’s EVM eventually becoming a compatibility layer rather than the core engine. Alongside that sits a shift away from every node re-executing every transaction, replaced by recursive STARK proofs that verify correctness mathematically, one prover does the heavy lifting, everyone else checks a compact proof.
The unifying theme is exactly what the name suggests: a leaner, simpler, more defensible Ethereum. As Buterin summed it up, “Ethereum is scaling. Ethereum is reinventing itself.”
Two weeks ago, Ethereum researchers met in Berlin to continue charting the protocol’s long-term trajectory, following along discussions with client teams in Svalbard in April.
The updated strawmap is at https://t.co/HZEerH1xxI, and I attached a picture of it to this post.
My… pic.twitter.com/KPGayHSySf
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 4, 2026
There are two things worth holding in view before treating any of this as done. First, the timeline: nothing in Lean Ethereum changes the network in 2026. This is a “strawmap,” Ethereum’s term for a working plan that is explicitly not a locked schedule, with forks spread across the rest of the decade and core post-quantum work targeted around 2029. It’s a direction, not a delivery date.
That priority draws support from outside the core developer world, too. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee has argued that Ethereum may be better positioned than Bitcoin to handle future quantum-computing risks, precisely because it can upgrade both its protocol and its wallets as threats evolve. He’s also pointed out that many smart-contract platforms are increasingly using formal verification to keep code “pristine and basically resistant to exploit.” Lee expressed confidence that “the Bitcoin community is going to figure this out,” but his view is that Ethereum has more flexibility to push protocol-level security upgrades if quantum threats become real, which is exactly the adaptability the Lean Ethereum roadmap is designed to formalize.
Second, the context. The roadmap arrives while the Ethereum Foundation is in the middle of restructuring, having cut roughly 20% of its staff to reduce spending, with several notable contributor departures this year. That’s the tension critics have flagged: an enormously ambitious multi-year plan announced by an organization that just got smaller. Whether the reorganized Foundation and its client teams can convert this vision into time-bound deliverables is the open question the roadmap can’t answer on its own.
The Price Is Fighting for Its Foundation While the roadmap looks years ahead, the ETH chart is fighting a battle happening right now, and it’s happening at a precise level. ETH trades at $1,763, sitting almost exactly on its 100-month simple moving average at $1,762. That line, converging with the long-term ascending trendline drawn from the 2022 lows, is the same confluence zone that marked the 2022 bear-market bottom and the 2025 low near $1,400. It’s the line separating a five-year uptrend from its first genuine structural break.
ETH/USD monthly macro technical chart on Coinbase / Source: TradingView June closed as a large red monthly candle that sliced through that 100-month average intraday. July has clawed it back, up 12.35% month-to-date. A monthly close above $1,762 keeps the multi-year structure intact; a close below it, and below the trendline, would be the first break of that ascending support since 2022.
The rest of the picture demands caution. The real ceiling is the 50-month SMA at $2,387, roughly 35% overhead, the level that capped every bounce through early 2026, and it’s now flattening and beginning to roll over for the first time since 2023. Monthly RSI at 42.18, below its signal line, is the weakest monthly momentum since the 2022 bottom, though it hasn’t yet printed the sub-35 readings that marked that low. Zoom out and the macro structure is a series of lower highs, from above $4,800 in 2021 to roughly $4,900 in 2025, before the 2026 collapse to $1,550 in June. ETH has round-tripped its entire 2024-2025 rally and sits back at levels first crossed in 2021. The +12% July candle, in other words, is a defense of the last long-term support, not yet a reversal.
The Quiet Proof Underneath the Price Here’s where the two extremes, grand roadmap and fragile chart, get reconciled by a third thread that gets far less attention: while the token is fighting, institutions keep choosing Ethereum as their settlement layer. The clearest recent example landed on July 1, when Crédit Agricole, one of Europe’s largest banks, launched its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURXT, issued on the blockchain through its asset-servicing arm CACEIS.
The details underline how serious it is. EURXT is a MiCA-compliant electronic money token, pegged 1:1 to the euro, backed by dedicated cash reserves, and it was used immediately to settle a subscription into a tokenized Amundi money market fund, described as the first such settlement of a tokenized Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund in a euro stablecoin at the European level. This is a systemically important European bank routing real tokenized finance through Ethereum’s rails, not experimenting on a testnet.
And Crédit Agricole isn’t an outlier. ETH remains the dominant blockchain for stablecoins, hosting $162.6 billion, or 52.4% of the entire market, according to data from Artemis. Tron sits second at $89.3 billion (28.8%), while BNB Chain (5.4%) and Solana (5.2%) trail far behind. Together, Ethereum and Tron account for 81.2% of all stablecoin supply.
Breakdown of market share across major blockchain networks / Source: Artemis That concentration matters because stablecoins are the primary source of liquidity across crypto, the chains holding the largest balances see the most trading, DeFi activity, payments, and institutional adoption. Ethereum’s commanding lead is the tangible version of the case the roadmap makes in theory: this is where tokenized dollars, and increasingly tokenized funds, actually live.
Where Ethereum Actually Stands The roadmap is Ethereum’s long-term bet, that it can out-engineer its rivals on scalability, privacy, and quantum security rather than compete on marketing, and it’s a bet that won’t pay off, or fail, for years. The chart is the short-term reality, a token defending its last major support with weak momentum, having given back years of gains. And the stablecoin and bank-adoption data is the present-tense evidence that Ethereum’s institutional foundation is deepening even through the price weakness.
Its price says the market has lost conviction; its infrastructure says the opposite. A bank issuing a regulated euro stablecoin on Ethereum, and half the entire stablecoin market living there, are not the signals of a network in decline, even as the token tests a line it hasn’t broken in five years. The roadmap describes where Ethereum wants to go, the chart describes how much doubt surrounds it right now, and the adoption data describes the foundation that has to hold for the ambition to matter. Which of those wins out is the question the next few years, and the next few monthly closes, probably will answer.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a professional before making investment decisions.
Author
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
After months of underwhelming performance, the ETH/BTC pair—trading between Ethereum and Bitcoin—has returned to the spotlight. Investors who had grown frustrated with Ethereum’s lag are now watching closely as new technical signals appear on the charts, hoping for decisive movement.
Notable consolidation on the chartsMarket analyst CarpeNoctom pointed out that several key buying signals are coming together in the daily ETH/BTC chart. Despite these encouraging signs, most investors remain cautious. Over the past year, a series of false breakouts and short-lived rallies have tempered enthusiasm for early positioning in the pair.
Since late 2025 through the first half of 2026, the ETH/BTC pair has been moving within a descending pitchfork channel, and is currently quoted at 0.028. The price is sitting at a critical juncture—touching both the thick red Ichimoku Kumo cloud and the major downward “mega diagonal resistance” trendline marked on the chart.
Mini glossary: The Ichimoku Kumo, or cloud, is the area of a technical analysis tool that highlights support and resistance zones together. A pitchfork channel describes a channel pattern used to track whether prices are moving within a particular slope or angle.
According to the chart projection, if Ethereum gathers enough strength to break above the upper limit of the channel, and delivers a full breakout from the Kumo cloud, technical analysis suggests that 0.036 could be in play by the end of summer.
Should Ethereum decisively push past the upper boundary of the pitchfork channel and stage a complete Kumo breakout, technical structure indicates clear space for a move toward the 0.036 zone by the end of summer.
Network poised for multi-year transformationAs investors watch for signs of a trend shift, Ethereum developers are quietly working on a comprehensive overhaul of the network’s underlying architecture. This initiative aims for profound, long-term transformation, well beyond any short-term price fluctuations.
Following a research summit in Berlin two weeks ago, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin unveiled the network’s updated development roadmap. As one of the ecosystem’s leading figures, Buterin continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the technical future of Ethereum.
Lean Ethereum roadmap comes to the foreThe new “Lean Ethereum” roadmap represents the protocol’s third major era, outlining plans for a multi-year reconstruction acknowledged to be as significant as the historic Merge. The approach signals an ambitious vision for Ethereum’s ongoing evolution.
According to the official project draft, a four-year cycle of updates will touch nearly every major mechanism of the protocol. The scope of these changes aims to make the network more resilient and better equipped for the demands of the future.
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.
