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A new nonprofit organization aimed at accelerating institutional adoption within the Ethereum ecosystem officially launched on Wednesday. The group, dubbed Ethereum Institutional, seeks to support banks, asset management firms, and other financial institutions in getting involved with tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain financial infrastructure.

New entity targets institutional engagementAccording to its mission statement, Ethereum Institutional will serve as an independent point of contact for Wall Street actors engaging with Ethereum. The initiative builds on previous outreach conducted by the Ethereum Foundation, but is independently funded by BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.

Both BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink have emerged as prominent publicly listed treasury holders in Ethereum. Joe Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum and a key figure through his involvement with Consensys, remains influential in the broader ecosystem.

Representatives involved in both new ventures emphasized that Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional form two complementary pillars for Ethereum’s next phase, with one focused on protocol layer innovation and infrastructure, and the other serving as a trusted counterpart for institutions from assessment to large-scale adoption.

The launch of Ethereum Institutional closely follows the recent unveiling of Ethlabs last week. Founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers, Ethlabs is positioned as a separate not-for-profit organization focused on research and development. Both initiatives, largely backed by similar supporters, signal the emergence of a new wave of institutional frameworks within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Pressure mounts on the Ethereum FoundationThese new endeavors have surfaced at a time when the Ethereum Foundation faces mounting criticism. Long responsible for driving the network’s technical development, the Foundation has recently been accused of failing to take more active measures to support ETH’s price and strengthen public perception of the network.

As part of an organizational overhaul, the Foundation parted ways with 54 employees, equivalent to roughly 20% of its workforce. This downsizing was positioned as a component of a broader transformation following the publication of a 38-page Mandate document and updated treasury policy in March.

Glossary: Tokenization refers to representing real-world assets or financial instruments as digital tokens on a blockchain. A stablecoin is a digital asset that typically aims to be pegged to a stable value, such as the US dollar.

Over the past few months, several senior leaders and influential figures within the Foundation have stepped down. Subsequent staff reductions and major organizational changes have brought ongoing debates over Ethereum’s governance and priorities into sharper focus.

Debates intensify on price and governanceDiscussion concerning the Ethereum Foundation has extended beyond organizational structures. Some former leading contributors have proposed allocating substantial resources to address Ethereum’s prolonged lackluster price performance, which has been interpreted by some as an indirect critique of co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s more idealistic philosophy.

The Foundation stated that, following restructuring, it aims to proceed with a leaner and more focused organizational model.

The rapid launch of Ethlabs and Ethereum Institutional indicates that technical development and institutional outreach are now being separated into distinct entities. This development suggests ongoing debate about the role of the Foundation in Ethereum’s future, which is likely to continue in the months ahead.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

"Could we go below $1,200? Maybe," one analyst stated.

The second-largest cryptocurrency has been severely damaged by the prolonged bear market, closing Q2 firmly in the red. Even more striking is that this marks the third consecutive quarter of losses for ETH – something unseen in the asset’s history and a clear signal of how persistent the current downturn has become.

Analysts speculate that bulls might have to endure more pain in the near future, with some projecting a price crash to as low as $1,000.

The Bears Take Total Control It was last August that ETH climbed to a new all-time high of almost $5,000. Since then, it has headed south and currently trades at around $1,560 (per CoinGecko), representing a whopping 70% decline from the historic peak.

Weak market conditions and seasonal factors suggest the asset may experience a further short-term plunge. One should keep in mind that July has rarely been a favorable month for Ethereum, as it has finished the period in the red six out of the last ten times.

ETH Monthly Returns, Source: CoinGlass The analyst who uses the X moniker Ted noted that ETH has been holding up better than BTC lately, but warned that the former isn’t out of the woods yet. He paid special attention to the $1,700 level, arguing that if the asset fails to reclaim it, the probability of setting a new low will rise significantly.

Crypto with Haris ₿ addressed the increasingly popular predictions that ETH could plunge to $1,000 during this cycle, adding that such an extreme downside scenario is far less plausible than many fear.

“Ethereum has already been one of the hardest-hit major coins this cycle and is now building a strong base around the $1,500-$1,600 zone. Even with another Bitcoin flush, I think the realistic downside is around $1,200-$1,300. Could we go below $1,200? Maybe. But I think the risk of trying to catch that exact level is much higher than people realize,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the recent whale behavior strengthens the bearish outlook. Ali Martinez revealed that large investors sold around $900 million in ETH over a single week, while the analytics platform Lookonchain reported that an anonymous market participant cashed out almost 2,500 coins, incurring a major $4.33 million loss.

You may also like: Bitcoin (BTC) Dips Below $62K, Ethereum (ETH) Plunges 6% Daily: Market Watch 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Crashed Below $63K as Liquidations Top $500M Bitmine Buys 52K ETH as Tom Lee Believes the Best Years for Crypto Are Still Ahead Some Bullish Signals Still, it is not all doom and gloom for Ethereum. The number of coins stored on crypto exchanges remains quite close to the ten-year low recorded in June: a development that reduces selling pressure.

ETH Exchange Reserve, Source: CryptoQuant Moreover, ETH’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) continues to hover around 30, indicating that the asset has entered oversold territory and could be due for a rebound. The technical analysis indicator ranges from 0 to 100; anything above 70 is considered a warning of an impending pullback.

ETH RSI, Source: CryptoWaves Tags:

In brief Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an "AI-native" Ethereum layer-2 network. The chain further bridges the firm's traditional financial offerings with its crypto products, beginning with Stock Tokens. Shares finished the day up more than 8% on the news, though are still well off their 52-week high. Publicly traded brokerage and financial app Robinhood launched the public mainnet Wednesday for its Ethereum layer-2 network, Robinhood Chain. 

The Arbitrum-powered network aims to “bridge the gap” between crypto and the traditional finance world, opening with integrations from BitGo, Chainlink, and partnerships with Uniswap and Pleiades to offer dedicated automated market making for public liquidity and prop trading, respectively. The network, described by Robinhood as “AI-native,” also supports trading by AI agents.

“Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but  historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate,” said Robinhood SVP and General Manager of Crypto and International Johann Kerbrat, in a statement. 

“We’re bringing the best of traditional finance and DeFi together, and in doing so, expanding financial ownership to every corner of the globe,” he said. 

The firm’s network will also unlock additional productivity for what it calls “Stock Tokens,” or tokenized, on-chain representations of shares in the world’s biggest companies like Nvidia and Apple, allowing users in eligible jurisdictions—which doesn’t include the U.S.—to place them in lending pools and use them as collateral in DeFi. 

The firm is also expanding the feature set within its Robinhood Wallet, opening up perps trading directly in-wallet via decentralized perpetuals exchange, Lighter and enabling eligible U.S. users to use Robinhood Earn, a feature that allows individuals to lend dollar-backed stablecoin USDG for around 7% APY.

Beyond its new features, a core focus of the brokerage’s latest announcement is a major geographic expansion, including welcoming users from Canada and soon Singapore, which will add to its nearly 28 million existing customers. Additionally, Robinhood expects to offer crypto services to users in the U.K. in the near future.

Shares in Robinhood (HOOD) finished the day up more than 8% on Wednesday and now nearly 20% in the last month, changing hands at $108.65. Even at that mark, though, it remains more than 29% off its 52-week high of $153.86. 

Last month, the firm cut about 10% of its staff amid a severe downturn in revenue from its crypto offerings, which dropped 34% quarter-over-quarter to $134 million from $221 million.

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Jul 1, 2026, 9:13 p.m.

3 min read

Summary

Ethereum Institutional's launch has drawn widespread backing from across the Ethereum ecosystem, with some commentary from Standard Chartered Bank, Etherealize, Aztec Labs, Spark and Bitwise describing it as an important step toward accelerating institutional adoption and strengthening Ethereum's position as the leading blockchain for tokenized assets and financial infrastructure.Supporters say the initiative reflects Ethereum's increasingly decentralized ecosystem, arguing that multiple independent organizations, not a single entity, are now driving adoption efforts as the network matures and expands its institutional reach.The launch of Ethereum Institutional on Wednesday was met with widespread support across the Ethereum ecosystem, with industry leaders arguing the initiative will strengthen Ethereum's position as institutional adoption accelerates.

One of the endorsements came from Standard Chartered Bank, which said Ethereum Institutional addresses a longstanding communications gap between Ethereum and the world's largest financial institutions.

"These announcements will drive the type of communication the Ethereum ecosystem has been lacking. The aim is to ensure Ethereum is well represented in institutional conversations, and to make sure the broader ecosystem captures the maximum benefit from those engagements, so that more institutions are brought onchain and ultimately have more of the world's tokenized assets, stablecoins, and market infrastructure on Ethereum and its ecosystem,” a representative for the Bank told CoinDesk in an email.

The initiative is designed to improve Ethereum's engagement with institutions through education, advocacy and strategic communications, complementing the work of other independent organizations across the ecosystem.

Its launch comes as Ethereum's support ecosystem undergoes a broader evolution, following the debut of EthLabs and amid ongoing efforts by the Ethereum Foundation to respond to community criticism over transparency, communication and its role within the ecosystem by encouraging more independent organizations to take the lead on adoption and ecosystem growth.

Vivek Raman, CEO of Etherealize, said on X that Ethereum Institutional is another example of Ethereum's decentralized model in action.

"Ethereum is not built by or run by a single organization," Raman wrote. "Ethereum is a network of independent nodes that collectively make the infrastructure inevitable. Ethereum Institutional will play a key role in amplifying and growing Ethereum. Could not be more excited for this launch."

Joe Andrews, CEO of privacy developer firm Aztec Labs, told CoinDesk that the launch reflects the continued decentralization of Ethereum's support ecosystem rather than the emergence of a single voice.

"Over the last two weeks, the Ethereum community has further added to the decentralisation of the network," he said. "There are now three non-profits all advocating for adoption of Ethereum. It is natural that one of these entities is focusing on institutions, as the world needs a global settlement layer and Ethereum is the only credible option."

Spark CEO and co-founder Sam MacPherson said the significance lies less in the creation of another organization and more in what it signals about Ethereum's evolution.

"The interesting signal isn't the organization itself," he said. "It's that Ethereum is reaching a level of maturity where multiple independent groups are investing in its long-term development. As institutional participation grows, that kind of distributed stewardship will become increasingly important to supporting the next phase of the ecosystem."

Asset management firm Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan echoed the development with praise, describing it as an example of Ethereum's decentralized ecosystem adapting and strengthening over time.

"It's kind of awesome to watch a decentralized system heal itself and find ways to make progress," Hougan wrote on X. "Inspiring stuff."

Taken together, the reactions highlight a common theme: supporters see Ethereum Institutional not as a new center of power, but as another independent organization helping position Ethereum for its next phase of institutional growth.

Read more: Ethereum gets a new nonprofit focused on institutional adoption

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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Jun 30, 2026

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Why it matters:

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

The DOGE price is holding near $0.070. Dogecoin sellers maintain firm control. The dog-themed Dogecoin (DOGE) enters July under pressure as potential bears continue to dictate its direction. It has been attempting to attract the bulls into the charts to escape the downside trading pattern, but it fails. 

Also, the technical structure remains firmly negative, as the meme coin continues to trade within a well-established downtrend. The bearish price alignment confirms that sellers continue to dominate the broader market trend of DOGE.

Only when the buyers enter, the momentum flip and turns green. Moreover, Dogecoin is currently trading near the $0.07098 mark after slipping around 1.37% over the last 24 hours, according to CMC data. The price is holding above the daily low noted at $0.06961, and below the daily high of $0.07249. 

DOGE’s Key Support and Resistance Levels  Significantly, Dogecoin’s short-term price structure depends on a few important ranges. The immediate support might be at $0.07051, followed by a level below $0.070. A deeper zone observed between $0.06021–$0.05810 are the crucial areas that decide whether the meme coin stabilises or continues to retrace. 

On the other hand, the first recovery level of DOGE is likely at $0.07151. The price would need to push through $0.072 to show stronger momentum. A stronger move above $0.08016 confirms that buyers are gaining control. With the next resistance levels sitting near $0.081 and $0.082, the higher targets are aimed to be broken. 

Technical Chart Setup Points To Continued Weakness DOGE’s four-hour chart gives a caution, with the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line slightly above the signal line. It suggests that buying momentum is beginning to improve. However, both lines remain below the zero line, so that the broader trend is bearish. 

This points to an early recovery attempt, but stronger buying pressure is needed to confirm a shift in the broader market trend. 

In addition, the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) is resting at around 36.25, indicating that DOGE is in the bearish territory. But it has moved away from the oversold zone. The selling pressure remains dominant, although it has started to ease. 

A move above the neutral level, 50, would signal that the buyers are gaining stronger control of the asset’s price momentum. 

Crypto Market Highlights

Frog-Themed PEPE Faces Mounting Pressure: Will Bears Break the Key Neckline?

Content Writer | Crypto Enthusiast | Bridging Literature and Blockchain

House Of Doge-Brag House Merger CompletedThe company, now the official corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation, said the listing provides direct access to U.S. capital markets to accelerate its strategy across payments, digital asset treasury management, real-world asset tokenization and professional sports.

Analysts Watch Key LevelsCrypto analyst Ali Martinez identified $0.06 as Dogecoin’s most critical support level in an X post on July 1.

Martinez said the multi-year accumulation zone has historically preceded some of the meme coin’s strongest rallies, making the level crucial for bulls to defend.

In an X post on July 1, Daan Crypto Trades revealed he is closely monitoring DOGE’s long-term support around $0.05.

According to Daan, a prolonged period of consolidation followed by a break in market structure could present an attractive swing trading opportunity. Dogecoin has historically delivered strong rebounds once broader crypto bear markets bottom.

Comeback For Dog-Themed Coins?Despite weak sentiment surrounding meme coins, trader Shelby in an X post on June 30 argued that established dog-themed cryptocurrencies remain well positioned if the sector regains momentum.

Image: Shutterstock

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In recent news waves, the EUs USDT MiCA ban is currently taking effect. July 1, 2026 marks the hard deadline for the blocs Markets in crypto-assets rules, and Tether, with its $186 billion USDT, has officially lost the spot on regulated European exchanges. Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com, which are MiCA licensed, have already pulled USDT out of their EU order books. The world’s largest stablecoin by market cap now has no compliant pathway onto any EU-regulated platform.

Why Tether Chose to Walk Away From Europe Tether, due to some reasons, did not go through the whole MiCA process to get authorization for an e-money token, EMT. CEO Paolo Ardoino argued that the MiCA requirement for 60% of reserves sitting in European bank deposits, poses systemic risk. Tether runs a reserve model built around U.S. Treasuries and global assets. Locking a majority of those funds in EU-supervised banks clashes directly with that structure.

didn't realize this until @paoloardoino said this on his recent OTB interview – EU-based stables under MiCA have to hold 60% of their reserves in uninsured cash deposits at banks (alongside other restrictions). catastrophic regulation

— nic carter (@nic_carter) March 26, 2025

The company also escaped with its euro pegged EURT stablecoin in 2024, an early hint for a quiet European exit. With just 244 MiCA licenses handed out across the bloc before today’s deadline, crypto firms turning to Dubai as an alternative hub shows how fragmented the EU’s compliance race became. Tether chose to step off the track entirely.

The delistings did not happen all at once, they came in waves. Coinbase Europe removed USDT in December 2024, then Crypto.com followed in January 2025. Binance later restricted EU USDT pairs in March 2025. Kraken first moved to a sell-only setup before then fully pausing support.

USDC Steps Into the Gap, and the Stablecoin Market Shifts Circle moved in the other direction. It secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in France, which passports across all 27 EU member states. That makes USDC and Circle’s EURC the only two top-10 stablecoins with full MiCA compliance and the go-to dollar routes for nearly every licensed EU platform.

This shift would tighten liquidity in the short term. The EU’s USDT MiCA ban has already resulted in market makers who had run USDT pairs in Europe having to rebuild their order books around USDC.

Tether, however is not leaving Europe as top companies in the likes of StablR and Oobit are in full commitment by having launched MiCA-compliant tokens (EURR and USDR) built on Tether’s Hadron tokenization platform.

Meanwhile, a consortium of 37 EU banks, including BNP Paribas and ING is developing a unified euro stablecoin, Qivalis with the aim of reducing dependence on dollar-pegged alternatives altogether.

The broader picture of which EU countries are making waves in the MiCA licensing race, shows a market still consolidating fast under a single rulebook. Whether that produces a healthier European crypto economy remains to be seen.

Why Is Oobit Expanding in Latin America? Oobit has launched its crypto card in Guatemala and Paraguay, extending its Latin America expansion as stablecoin-based payments gain more traction across the region.

The non-custodial crypto payments platform, backed by Tether, said users in both countries can now spend and send crypto at merchants that accept Visa, both online and in-store. Payments can be made directly from supported wallets, including Phantom, MetaMask, Binance, and Trust Wallet, while merchants receive settlement in local currency.

Guatemala and Paraguay are the 10th and 11th countries included in Oobit’s Latin America rollout. The company is already active in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, and other regional markets. The expansion follows Oobit’s May launch in Colombia and its integration of native Pix payment functionality in Brazil.

The company said the card is designed to let users keep custody of their assets rather than depositing funds with a third-party custodian before spending. That structure is central to Oobit’s pitch in markets where users may want crypto payment access without giving up direct wallet control.

How Does the Crypto Card Work? Oobit’s card connects user wallets to Visa-accepting merchants, allowing crypto to be used for everyday purchases while the merchant receives local currency. The model reduces the need for merchants to handle crypto directly, while giving users a way to spend digital assets across existing card payment rails.

The launch also gives users in Guatemala and Paraguay access to Oobit’s OOB cashback programme. The company said 74% of swaps over the past 30 days were from USDT to OOB, while 18% were from USDC to OOB. Users who swap into OOB before spending may receive cashback of up to 10%.

Oobit also said users in both countries will be able to join the waitlist for its AI Agent Cards. The company did not provide further launch details in the announcement, but the feature adds another product layer to its regional payments strategy.

The company’s Latin America expansion has been supported by Tether, a strategic investor in Oobit. Oobit said the partnership has helped its regional growth, particularly around stablecoin-based payments.

Investor Takeaway Oobit’s launch in Guatemala and Paraguay shows how crypto payment firms are targeting markets where stablecoins already serve practical use cases. The key commercial test is whether wallet-based spending can move beyond crypto-native users and become part of routine retail payments.

What Do Oobit’s Spending Figures Show? Oobit cited internal platform data showing higher use of crypto for everyday spending across Latin America. Average monthly spend per user reached $1,168 in June, while daily average spend per user rose from about $80 in March to about $200 in June. On peak days, daily average spend exceeded $480.

The company said spending activity was concentrated in categories including groceries, restaurants, taxis and ride-hailing, fast food, and convenience stores. Those categories are important because they point to recurring consumer payments rather than occasional crypto transactions.

Stablecoins accounted for a large share of payment activity. USDT represented 47% of payments on Oobit’s platform and about 60% of deposits, according to company figures. Brazil remains Oobit’s largest Latin American market by users, accounting for 61% of the regional total.

The data supports a broader industry trend in which stablecoins are being used less as trading instruments and more as payment and settlement tools in markets with remittance flows, currency volatility, or limited access to low-cost cross-border financial services.

Why Do Guatemala and Paraguay Matter? Guatemala and Paraguay give Oobit access to 2 markets where crypto usage is growing from different starting points. In Guatemala, remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP, making payment cost, dollar access, and cross-border transfer efficiency important parts of the financial landscape.

Oobit cited figures showing crypto adoption in Guatemala grew 88% in one quarter in 2025. The country also introduced proposed cryptocurrency legislation, Bill 6538, in May 2025, pointing to a market where digital asset activity is expanding while the policy framework continues to develop.

In Paraguay, Oobit said crypto activity grew 52% in the second quarter of 2025. The company also pointed to a tax reporting framework introduced in January 2025 as a sign of a more formalized digital asset market.

Across Latin America, crypto transaction volume reached nearly $1.5 trillion between July 2022 and June 2025, according to figures cited by Oobit. Stablecoins remain central to that activity, especially where users need dollar-linked instruments for payments, transfers, or spending.

For Oobit, the next stage is execution. The company is entering markets where crypto adoption is rising, but card-based crypto spending still needs merchant coverage, wallet integration, user trust, and clear compliance treatment. Guatemala and Paraguay add scale to its Latin America footprint, but the broader opportunity depends on whether stablecoin payments can become a regular consumer habit rather than a niche crypto feature.

Dubai, UAE, 1st July 2026, Chainwire

[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, UAE, July 1st, 2026]

BNB Chain, one of the largest blockchain ecosystems worldwide, today announced the launch of BNB Agent Studio, a new platform that creates a category of AI agents that survive infrastructure failure, accept payments, and can be provably owned and transferred: deployed from a simple prompt in ~15 minutes.

BNB Agent Studio is a developer platform that enables engineers to define what they want inside Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible development tool. By abstracting away the complexities of building onchain applications, the launch addresses three fundamental challenges that have prevented AI agents from operating truly autonomously: deployment, discoverability, and continuity.

Co-engineered with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, the solution includes an Infrastructure-as-Code generator that automatically provisions an agent’s cloud environment in accordance with current security and least-privilege best practices. It simply generates the code needed and deploys the agent to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, Amazon’s managed agent runtime.

“Building an autonomous AI agent has typically meant assembling a fragile stack of four or more separate vendor integrations: a wallet, an identity layer, payments, an AI model, and hosting. We’re talking days and weeks of integration work. BNB Agent Studio replaces all of that with a single install, designed as one product from the ground up.” said Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain.

Key capabilities:

BNB Agent Studio agents natively integrate LLM aggregators, allowing them to charge for their services and accept crypto payments for the work they perform. Those earnings allow the agent to fund its own operating costs, creating a self-sustaining cycle that keeps the agent running as long as it has work to do. BNB Agent Studio combines AWS AgentCore as the runtime with BNB Chain’s onchain infrastructure, so an agent’s core intelligence is simultaneously hosted on AWS and persisted onchain. The agent can be paused, resumed, migrated, and passed to a new owner without losing any of its accumulated intelligence. Its existence is no longer contingent on any single environment. Each agent is issued a verifiable digital identity (ERC 8004) controlled by cryptographic keys that stay on the owner’s own machine: not held by BNB Chain, not stored with any third party. ‘’With Amazon Bedrock AgentCore as the runtime, BNB Chain will unlock an entirely new category: AI agents as owned, tradeable, persistent digital entities. This vision will enable agents to be paused, resumed, migrated, recovered, and transferred, including through tokenisation.” Nina continued.

Today’s launch builds on BNB Chain’s recently announced BNB Agent SDK, which established a modular standard for identity (ERC8004), commerce (ERC8183), payment, and memory in AI agents. BNB Agent Studio is designed to be the fastest path from concept to a fully operational agent.

This is the initial release of BNB Agent Studio. Financial decisions have always demanded human time and attention to find the right yield, compare options, and act before an opportunity closes. When agents can do all of this autonomously, and when those agents are owned assets that persist, earn, and compound, the way people interact with their money changes fundamentally. BNB Chain intends to ship new capabilities on a fortnightly basis, with each update expanding the platform’s tooling for developers building in the agentic economy.

About BNB Chain

BNB Chain is the leading community-driven decentralized blockchain ecosystem powering Web3 applications across DeFi, AI, gaming, and consumer use cases. Its multi-chain architecture spans BNB Smart Chain (BSC), opBNB, and BNB Greenfield, providing the infrastructure for builders deploying onchain applications at scale. For more information, visit the official website.

About the author

Chainwire is a specialized crypto newswire service providing high-impact distribution for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.

From crypto markets to the World Cup@chainlink is building a quiet but significant lead as the infrastructure layer beneath one of crypto's fastest-growing product categories. A string of integrations announced in recent months points to a single direction: automated, tamper-resistant settlement is replacing manual resolution across prediction markets, and Chainlink is the common thread.

@Polymarket's 5-minute and 15-minute $BTC markets both run on Chainlink Data Streams. Both markets use Chainlink Data Streams to provide price updates from major trading venues. The combined volume across those short-duration markets has already cleared over $3 billion. The broader picture for Polymarket is equally striking: the platform has cleared $4.9 billion in cumulative volume so far in 2026, after receiving full CFTC approval in the US.

@JupiterExchange, Solana's largest DEX aggregator, has plugged in the same infrastructure for its own 5-minute and 15-minute markets on $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL. Then there is @world_xyz, a Solana project that spent months as little more than a glowing globe with no public details. It revealed itself this week inside Phantom, reaching 20 million users and relying on Chainlink for automated market resolutions.

The FIFA deal cements the patternThe clearest signal yet came on June 9, 2026. ADI Predictstreet, the official prediction market partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026, announced it has adopted Chainlink as its exclusive oracle infrastructure to power accurate market resolutions and unlock instant payouts. To meet the scale of the tournament, ADI Predictstreet adopted the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) to automate market creation, resolution, and settlement using high-quality FIFA data.

The deal placed Chainlink at the center of the official prediction markets for the biggest sporting event in history, a tournament spanning 48 teams, 104 matches, 16 host cities across three countries, and an estimated six billion fans.

While legacy prediction markets suffer from slow manual resolution and market outcome disputes, Chainlink's oracle infrastructure provides a robust source of truth for prediction markets on the world's largest sporting event. That structural shift, away from social-consensus or committee-based resolution and toward cryptographically verified, automated settlement, is what ties all of these integrations together.

The throughline across @Polymarket, @JupiterExchange, @world_xyz, and the official @FIFAWorldCup prediction market is the same: when platforms need fast, reliable, and dispute-free resolution at scale, they are reaching for the same oracle layer.

Sources
ADI Predictstreet official press release via PR Newswire
Chainlink Powers Faster Crypto Prediction Markets on Polymarket, Bitget News
Chainlink Data Streams, chain.link

New York Life Investment Management is tokenizing a high-yield corporate bond strategy for the first time, partnering with Centrifuge on the NYLIM Anemoy fund settled in USDC.

New York Life Investment Management, a $807 billion asset manager, is putting a high-yield corporate bond strategy onchain for the first time. The firm partnered with tokenization platform Centrifuge to launch the NYLIM Anemoy U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Segregated Portfolio, ticker HYB.

The partnership, announced Tuesday, marks NYLIM's first tokenized product and one of the first high-yield corporate bond strategies available onchain. Subscriptions and redemptions settle in Circle's USDC, and the underlying portfolio, investment process and risk management stay under NYLIM's control. Centrifuge, whose protocol carries $1.64 billion in TVL per DefiLlama, provides the tokenization rails.

Junk Bonds Go Onchain"Tokenization represents a compelling evolution in how investment solutions can be accessed, managed and distributed across both public and private markets," said Thomas Sy, head of multi-asset solutions at NYLIM, in the companies' joint release.

HYB is structured as a BVI segregated portfolio, the same wrapper Centrifuge uses across its fund lineup, giving tokenholders direct shareholder recourse to the underlying assets. The offering documents state the product is not being offered or sold to U.S. persons. Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati told The Block the fund is aimed at stablecoin issuers, DeFi users and DAO treasuries seeking yield beyond Treasury-backed products, with a liquidity arrangement through Grove, part of the Sky ecosystem, meant to support near-instant redemptions.

High-yield corporate bonds, commonly called junk bonds, carry higher credit risk in exchange for higher yields than investment-grade debt. Tokenized real-world assets to date have leaned on Treasuries and private credit; HYB extends that onto sub-investment-grade corporate debt.

Wall Street's Widening ListNYLIM joins Apollo Global Management and Janus Henderson on Centrifuge's roster of traditional asset managers, whose Anemoy-branded funds already span Treasury bills and a AAA-rated CLO portfolio exceeding $700 million in assets. Coinbase separately named Centrifuge its preferred tokenization infrastructure partner and took a stake in the firm.

The deal follows asset managers extending tokenized fixed income beyond government debt, including Baillie Gifford's UK-regulated tokenized bond fund built on Solana and Ethereum with BNY. Centrifuge co-founder Anil Sood said the NYLIM deal "is about moving funds onto infrastructure that is more transparent, more efficient, and more composable."

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) on Tuesday crashed 17% after a 140-company coalition launched Open USD, a rival stablecoin designed to split reserve yield with distribution partners instead of keeping it.

Why OUSD Is A Direct Threat To Circle’s Business ModelCircle makes roughly 99% of its revenue from interest earned on USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) reserves. 

Coinbase is one of USDC’s biggest distributors and now backs a direct rival that pays them a cut of the revenue Circle currently keeps, giving those partners a financial incentive to push OUSD over USDC going forward.

Circle’s CEO Fired Back, Pointing To USDC’s Dominant Network EffectsCircle CEO Jeremy Allaire responded on X, arguing USDC already controls 80% of all dollar stablecoin transactions on blockchains in Q1 2026, processing nearly $30 trillion, while all other stablecoins combined handled less than 0.5%.

Allaire called the consortium model structurally flawed, saying large groups of companies coordinate poorly and starve the infrastructure they’re supposed to support.

He also argued that giving away all reserve income leaves no capital to reinvest in the network, adding that the Coinbase partnership “remains as strong as ever.”

ARK Invest Bought The Dip, Adding $12.9 Million In Circle Shares MondayARK Invest purchased 169,777 shares of Circle worth roughly $12.9 million Monday, the day before the crash, as part of a broader $43.5 million crypto equity buying spree across ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF. 

Bernstein Sees 203% Upside Despite The OUSD ThreatBernstein reaffirmed its outperform rating on Circle Wednesday with a $190 price target, implying 203% upside, arguing OUSD validates stablecoins as a category rather than threatening Circle’s position.

They also pushed back on the Coinbase concern, noting the exchange earns roughly 50% of USDC’s reserve income under its distribution deal with Circle, making a full pivot to OUSD financially self-defeating.

William Blair separately called OUSD “a solution searching for a problem.”

CRCL’s Chart Shows A Pattern Fully Invalidated In One SessionCircle’s 17% drop erased its entire recovery from early 2026, sending the stock back into the $50 to $65 demand zone that launched early 2026 rally.

Tuesday’s 2% bounce comes off deeply oversold levels with the Supertrend at $82.99 and the full bearish EMA stack overhead confirming the structural damage.

Holding the $50 to $65 zone and reclaiming the 20 EMA at $79.21 targets $82.99 then $89.70. Losing $61 opens a path toward $50 with no support in between.

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Circle Internet Group shares dropped sharply by 17.55% over the past 24 hours, falling to $62 apiece. The USDC issuer now faces a 30-day loss of 40.34%, marking a significant downturn for the company. This decline has come even as Circle continues to make regulatory advances in the European Union, underscoring rising pressure on the firm’s stock.

Index changes heighten selling pressureAs part of the annual Russell index rebalancing that took place on June 26, 2026, Circle was removed from five major growth indexes, including the Russell 1000 Growth, Russell 3000 Growth, and Russell Midcap Growth. This was a routine adjustment, where the index provider updates the portfolio composition based on pre-established rules.

The market impact of this decision is considerable because many funds track these indexes. Index funds and ETFs tend to mirror the compositions and weightings of their target indexes. When a company is delisted from an index, these funds must adjust their holdings in line with the new structure, often prompting immediate selling. As a result, a company’s shares can experience additional supply pressures, independent of its core operations or performance.

Independent analyst Shanaka Anslem Perera attributes Circle’s recent losses not only to new competition but also to the prominent names driving the rival initiative.

This reshuffle may lead to a shrinking base of passive investors. As fewer index-linked funds retain Circle’s shares, the pool of long-term institutional holders is likely to narrow. A decrease in institutional ownership can in turn widen trading spreads and heighten price volatility.

Competitive pressures intensify in core marketsTechnical selling because of index changes has coincided with intensifying competition. The launch of a new stablecoin, Open USD, developed under the Open Standard initiative, has directly targeted Circle’s main area of business. The entry of Open USD signals a tougher competitive environment within the stablecoin space.

Notably, some of Circle’s closest business partners are backing this new project. BlackRock, Coinbase, and custodian bank BNY Mellon have all joined the initiative. BlackRock oversees around 80% of USDC reserves through the Circle Reserve Fund, while Coinbase, a founding partner of USDC, earns roughly $908 million per year from distribution revenue.

Mini glossary: A custodian bank is a financial institution authorized to securely hold and manage assets. In the context of stablecoin reserves, these institutions play a critical role by safeguarding cash and short-term government securities.

The heart of the debate centers on Circle’s revenue model. The company primarily earns income from interest on its $74 billion in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury reserves. In contrast, Open USD’s structure will share a larger portion of interest revenue with distribution partners, rather than retaining most of it with the issuer.

Focus shifts to upcoming Coinbase negotiationsThis new economic arrangement could alter incentives for distribution partners. While Circle’s current model entails revenue sharing or fees, the Open USD structure allows partners to access returns more directly. This shift has the potential to strain Circle’s existing partnership network.

Open USD is set to launch on the Base blockchain, which is owned by Coinbase. With Circle and Coinbase due to renegotiate their agreement in August, Circle now faces the prospect of sitting at the table with a partner that’s backing a direct competitor in the stablecoin market.

Valuation signals are also mixed. CRCL is trading nearly 47% below the consensus target price set by analysts, but review platform Simply Wall St still deems the shares overvalued. Moreover, recent insider selling over the past three months is watched cautiously by investors as a risk indicator.

Despite these challenges, USDC remains liquid, compliant, and in demand as a stablecoin. Circle’s management argues the market is large enough to accommodate several major players. With Open USD expected to debut later this year, investors are closely monitoring both the intensifying competition and the evolution of Circle’s partnership relations.

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.

Jul 1, 2026, 4:11 p.m.

3 min read

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)Summary

Circle shares were higher on Wednesday after Tuesday's plunge, but Jefferies warned that rising competition from bank- and fintech-issued stablecoins, including the new Open USD consortium, could pressure USDC’s growth and market share.The Open USD network, backed by more than 140 firms such as Stripe, Coinbase, Visa, Mastercard and BlackRock, aims to share reserve income with participants, potentially making it an attractive alternative for payment providers.Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire and ARK Invest’s Lorenzo Valente questioned whether a large consortium can coordinate effectively and withstand regulatory pressure, arguing that USDC’s existing network effects and regulatory footprint give it an edge over new rivals.Circle (CRCL) shares bounced 5% Wednesday after a 17% plunge, as investors are weighing whether the new Open USD stablecoin consortium backed by Stripe, Mastercard, Coinbase and BlackRock poses a lasting threat to the USDC issuer.

Global brokerage Jefferies isn't convinced the selloff has fully priced in the risks, arguing that Circle faces mounting competitive pressure as banks, payment firms and fintechs increasingly launch their own stablecoins.

"Buy the dip? We wouldn't," the firm's analyst team wrote in a note to clients.

"CRCL headwinds are unlikely to ease," analysts wrote, warning that competition could pressure USDC's supply growth and market share.

The authors argued that Circle, which holds roughly 25% of the $300 billion stablecoin market, is moving into a more competitive phase. While USDC benefited from an early lead after launching in 2018, Jefferies said new entrants now have something Circle lacked in its early years: large built-in distribution networks.

The launch of Open USD, backed by more than 140 companies including Stripe, Coinbase, Visa, Mastercard and BlackRock, points that shift. The consortium plans to share reserve income with participating companies, potentially making the platform more attractive to payment providers and fintechs.

Jefferies analysts also flagged Coinbase's participation as a new risk. Circle derives about 95% of its revenue from interest earned on USDC reserves and relies heavily on Coinbase as its largest distribution partner. The companies' commercial agreement is reportedly up for renewal in August.

While the brokerage doesn't view Coinbase joining Open USD as a sign it's abandoning USDC, it said the exchange could eventually promote competing stablecoins, weighing on USDC's growth.

Network effects vs. new challengersCircle CEO Jeremy Allaire pushed back against the competitive narrative in a lengthy post on X Wednesday, arguing that stablecoins are ultimately network businesses built over years rather than products that can be replicated overnight.

He pointed to USDC's ecosystem of thousands of integrations, deep liquidity across exchanges and decentralized finance protocols and regulatory approvals in markets including Europe and Japan as advantages that would be difficult for newcomers to match.

He also disputed one of Open USD's central selling points: sharing reserve income with partners. Circle already shares the majority of its income with distribution partners, he said, while retaining enough revenue to keep investing in infrastructure.

"Giving away all the income is a recipe for starving an infrastructure," Allaire wrote.

He was also skeptical of the consortium model itself.

"Large groups of large companies coordinate poorly, have misaligned incentives, slow things down and rarely create the space for real durable innovation," he wrote.

Test for the consortium modelThat skepticism is shared by Lorenzo Valente, director of digital asset research at ARK Invest, who noted that crypto has seen several consortium-backed stablecoin initiatives over the years, including Meta's Diem project and Paxos-led Global Dollar Network.

"Every year we get our consortium-style initiative around a stablecoin," Valente wrote in an X post. "While the set of players here is obviously potent, I remain highly skeptical any of these initiatives can hit scale."

He said Open Standard's biggest challenge may be coordinating more than 140 participants with competing interests.

"A consortium of hundreds of rivals has no precedent for working," he said. "The pace of decision-making across competitors is going to be glacial."

Valente likened the model to decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, whose governance structures often struggled to make timely decisions.

"'Owned by everyone' almost always means accountable to no one," he said. "I'd bet on the two operators who can ship unilaterally over a committee that has to ask hundreds of rivals for permission."

He also questioned whether large banks, payment networks and technology companies would remain committed if the project encounters regulatory pressure. Circle and Tether, he noted, have spent years building global regulatory infrastructure and licensing, while a consortium could find it harder to stay aligned if conditions become more challenging.

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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Jun 30, 2026

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Why it matters:

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

ZAMA: Steakhouse Confidential Prime USDC vault on Morpho is live, Developer Program Mainnet Season 3 closes July 7, and more

Bitcoin Rallied To $82,000 In April Then Reversed HardCrypto entered Q2 with momentum, with Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) both climbing roughly 20% from early April as geopolitical anxiety briefly eased and institutional demand improved. 

That recovery didn’t hold. Three forces hit at once: oil prices spiked with Brent crude hitting $126.41, the Fed turned more hawkish, and capital started rotating into AI stocks where earnings momentum stayed intact.

The divergence became clear toward the end of May. 

Bitcoin now sits near $60,000, roughly 52% below its all-time high of $126,000 set in late 2025.

All Three Major Demand Channels Weakened At The Same TimeCoin Metrics identified three pillars that normally support Bitcoin’s price, which all cracked in Q2.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs started strong with a single-day inflow peak of $474 million on April 20, then flipped. 

Outflows dominated the rest of the quarter with 53 outflow days against just 30 inflow days. June alone accounted for $3.84 billion of the quarter’s total $4.08 billion in net outflows.

MSTR buying pace slowed materially as STRC fell to a record low near $74 and its mNAV compressed toward 1.0, weakening the funding mechanism behind its accumulation. 

The stablecoin market contracted by $4.2 billion across Q2, removing a layer of dry powder that supports on-chain activity. 

The Market Enters Q3 Deleveraged But ThinnerCombined Bitcoin and Ethereum long liquidations totaled $8.35 billion across Q2, with more than half occurring between May 25 and June 7 as overleveraged longs were flushed out.

Bitcoin open interest fell 32% from its peak to $33.5 billion, while Ethereum open interest dropped 40% to $16.2 billion.

Bitcoin’s orderbook depth declined from nearly $70 million in early May to roughly $35 to $40 million by late June, leaving the market thinner and more sensitive to selling pressure heading into Q3. 

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Altcoins

2 July 2026 | 00:45 The launch of Open USD, the 140-plus company stablecoin consortium backed by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock, drew a direct response from the person with a lot to lose.

Key Takeaways Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire publicly argued Open USD won’t dethrone USDC. He cites Artemis data putting USDC at 80% of on-chain dollar stablecoin volume. His sharpest point: consortium products have a “dismal” track record at scale. It’s the incumbent’s rebuttal, not neutral proof, and he has a clear stake. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire, whose company issues USDC, laid out a methodical argument via post on X for why he isn’t worried, which is itself a signal that the launch registered as a genuine competitive event worth answering.

The Market Is Already Asking the Question The timing tracks with the data. Per Santiment’s trending dashboard, the Open USD launch was one of crypto’s top trending stories, sitting alongside whale activity and MiCA licensing, with social volume spiking sharply and sentiment leaning mixed-to-bearish. The dashboard framed the open question plainly: whether another major stablecoin can truly compete with USDC and USDT. Allaire’s post is the incumbent’s direct answer to exactly that question, and the accurate read is that the market hasn’t resolved it, it has simply heard the market leader’s strongest case for why the answer is no.

His Core Argument: Stablecoins Are Winner-Take-Most Allaire’s foundational claim is that stablecoin networks behave like internet platform utilities, tending toward winner-take-most market structures built over long periods. The strength, in his framing, isn’t the token but the number and range of applications integrated to it. Every developer integration compounds network effects, which drives currency demand, which reinforces liquidity, a loop he argues a new entrant can’t simply buy its way into with a big logo list. As he put it, stablecoin networks “tend towards winner-take-most market structures.”

The Market-Share Numbers His hardest weapon is usage data. Citing third-party info from Artemis , Allaire states that in Q1 2026, USDC handled nearly $30 trillion in on-chain transactions, which he frames as “80% of all dollar stablecoin transactions on blockchains,” with USDT handling the remaining 20% and all other dollar stablecoins combined accounting for effectively zero, under half a percent. On the other hand Circle’s report declares USDC onchain transaction volume in Q1’26 of $21.5 trillion grew 263%. His point is that other stablecoins may have circulation, but real usage is minimal because they lack liquidity and network utility. These are his cited figures via Artemis, not independently verified here, and they are the incumbent’s strongest data point precisely because they measure usage rather than announcements.

The Liquidity Moat Allaire extends that into a liquidity argument. He contends USDC is a top-three most liquid digital asset alongside Bitcoin and USDT, with liquidity falling off sharply after those three. The closest competing dollar stablecoins, in his telling, are roughly 10 times smaller, with liquidity concentrated in promotional order books on single exchanges rather than dispersed across dozens of venues the way USDC’s is. It’s a direct counter to Open USD’s implicit pitch that a coalition of large companies can manufacture liquidity: his claim is that liquidity is earned over a decade, not assembled by consortium.

We’ve had lots of questions from our investor community looking for thoughts on OUSD, and so I thought I’d share my direct views here for anyone.

Stablecoin networks are platform and network effect businesses that are established over a long period of time, tend towards…

— Jeremy Allaire – jerallaire.arc (@jerallaire) July 1, 2026

The Consortium Critique This is his sharpest and most pointed argument, and it targets Open USD’s core differentiator directly. Allaire’s claim is that the track record of consortium products achieving scale, product-market fit, or basic agility is, in his words, “absolutely dismal.” Large groups of large companies, he argues, coordinate poorly, carry misaligned incentives, move slowly, and starve the venture out of self-interest. He notes Circle tried a consortium model in USDC’s early days, even with a small group, and hit endless complexity.

From there he makes a prediction: smaller, tighter commercial partnerships with a market leader will outcompete large consortiums, and the same firms lending their logos to Open USD will, in practice, direct their operating units to partner with USDC because that serves their customers best. It’s worth being precise that this is a forecast of how Open USD will struggle, not evidence that it has, but as a structural argument it’s his most persuasive, because it reframes Open USD’s main selling point, broad shared governance, as its main weakness.

His Rebuttals to Open USD’s Selling Points Allaire also pre-empts Open USD’s three headline pitches:

On “free mint and burn”: he argues the payments industry runs on small basis-point fees, and that a stablecoin with strong redemption facilities and no fees simply becomes the off-ramp for its competitors. Circle, he says, handles this through contractual mechanisms instead of blanket fee exemption. On “everybody shares the reserve income”: he counters that giving away all reserve income starves infrastructure investment, and that Circle already shares the majority of its income with distribution partners while retaining enough to keep investing. On shared governance: the consortium critique above. The Diplomatic Close Notably, Allaire doesn’t dismiss Open USD outright. He says Circle’s partnership with Coinbase “remains as strong as ever,” that Circle works closely with many Open USD founding members he expects will stay large USDC partners, and he welcomes Open USD “as a new member of the community.” Welcoming a competitor rather than attacking it is a posture only the market leader can afford, and it’s part of the message: confidence, not alarm.

The Honest Read Allaire’s argument is strong precisely because it leans on the two things Open USD can’t replicate overnight: cited market-share dominance, 80% of on-chain dollar volume by his Artemis figures, and a decade of accumulated liquidity and regulatory licensing, including USDC’s availability across all of Europe and Japan. The consortium critique is his most compelling point because it’s structural rather than defensive.

But it should be read as the incumbent’s perspective, not settled fact. Allaire has an obvious interest in dismissing a competitor backed by Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock. The Artemis figures are his citation, and the consortium critique, however well-argued, is a prediction about how Open USD fails, not proof that it will. The Santiment data captures the real market uncertainty his confidence is designed to counter. The honest conclusion is that the question, can a new consortium stablecoin challenge USDC, remains open. What Allaire has provided is the clearest version of the market leader’s case for why it can’t.

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.

Self-custody means holding your own keys instead of trusting an exchange to hold them for you. After FTX, Celsius, and Mt. Gox, the case is obvious. Yet most people still leave their crypto on a platform. Here is why, and how to change it.

Summary

Self-custody means you control the private keys to your crypto, so no exchange, company, or third party can freeze, lose, or spend your funds. The trade is that you carry full responsibility for keeping those keys safe. The alternative is custodial storage, where an exchange holds your keys for you. It is convenient and offers support and recovery, but it exposes you to counterparty risk if the platform is hacked, goes insolvent, or freezes withdrawals. The phrase “not your keys, not your coins” captures the core lesson from collapses like FTX, Celsius, and Mt. Gox, where users who left funds on a platform lost access when it failed. Self-custody wallets come in two forms: hot wallets, which stay connected to the internet for convenience, and cold wallets, which keep keys offline for maximum security, usually on a hardware device. Despite the risks, surveys show most users still keep crypto on exchanges, because self-custody means managing a seed phrase and accepting that a lost phrase or a phishing mistake can mean permanent loss. Table of Contents

What self-custody meansNot your keys, not your coinsHot wallets versus cold walletsThe seed phraseHow to set up self-custodyThe mixed approachNewer options and the responsibility tradeThe main risks to manageFrequently Asked Questions Self-custody is one of the founding ideas of crypto and one of the least practiced. The promise of Bitcoin and the systems that followed was that you could hold value directly, without a bank or a broker standing between you and your money. Self-custody is that promise made real: you hold the keys, and no one else can touch your funds. The catch is that holding the keys means holding all the responsibility, and after years of exchange collapses that wiped out users who trusted platforms to hold their crypto, most people still do exactly that. This guide explains what self-custody is, how it differs from leaving crypto on an exchange, the difference between hot and cold wallets, how to set it up, and the real risks on both sides.

To understand self-custody, you first have to understand what a crypto wallet actually holds. Your crypto does not sit inside your wallet the way cash sits in a leather one. The coins live on the blockchain, a public ledger copied across thousands of computers. What you truly own is the private key, a secret piece of data that authorizes moving those coins. Whoever controls the private key controls the crypto. A wallet is really just a tool for storing and using that key.

Self-custody, also called non-custodial storage, means you hold the private keys yourself. You alone can authorize transactions, and no company sits between you and your funds. Because no third party has your keys, no exchange bankruptcy, no regulatory seizure, and no corporate decision can freeze or take your crypto. You have complete control, and with it complete responsibility, since there is no help desk that can recover your funds if you lose your key.

The opposite arrangement is custodial storage, the default when you buy crypto on an exchange. There, the platform holds the private keys on your behalf. You see a balance in your account, and you can trade and withdraw, but the exchange controls the keys and therefore the crypto. You are trusting the company to safeguard your funds and to let you access them when you want. That trust is convenient, and it is also the entire source of the risk that self-custody is designed to remove.

Not your keys, not your coins The phrase that has circulated in crypto for years is “not your keys, not your coins,” and it is the single most important idea in this whole subject. It means that if you do not control the private keys, you do not truly control the crypto, no matter what balance an app shows you. When your funds sit on an exchange, what you own is a claim against that company, not the coins themselves. As long as the company is solvent and honest, the claim is as good as the coins. When it is not, the difference becomes everything.

History has proven the point repeatedly. When large exchanges and lenders collapsed, users who had left their crypto on those platforms found they could not withdraw, and many never recovered their funds. The failures of Mt. Gox years ago, and of FTX, Celsius, and other platforms more recently, all delivered the same lesson: a balance on a platform is only as safe as the platform, and platforms fail. In each case, users who held their own keys were untouched, while those who trusted a custodian shared in its collapse.

This is the argument for self-custody in one sentence: it removes counterparty risk. There is no company that can go bankrupt with your coins, no platform that can freeze your account, no custodian that can be hacked and drained. The price of removing that risk is taking on the responsibility yourself, which is exactly where the difficulty, and the reason most people still avoid it, begins.

Hot wallets versus cold wallets Within self-custody, wallets divide into two families based on whether they are connected to the internet. A hot wallet is a self-custody wallet that stays online, usually as a phone app or a browser extension. It is convenient: you can send, receive, and interact with on-chain applications quickly, which makes it well suited to small balances and daily use. The trade is exposure, because anything connected to the internet is more reachable by attackers, malware, and phishing.

A cold wallet keeps the private keys offline, most often on a dedicated hardware device that looks like a small USB stick. The keys are generated and stored on the device and never leave it; when you want to send crypto, the transaction is signed on the device itself, so the secret key is never exposed to your internet-connected computer or phone. This offline design makes cold wallets far more resistant to remote attacks, which is why they are the standard for larger amounts and long-term holding. The trade is convenience, since using one takes more steps and the physical device can be lost, damaged, or stolen.

It is worth separating two ideas that are often confused. Hot versus cold describes internet exposure. Custodial versus non-custodial describes who holds the keys. A hardware cold wallet is non-custodial and offline. An exchange account is custodial and online. You can have self-custody that is hot, such as a phone wallet, or self-custody that is cold, such as a hardware device. The safest arrangement for meaningful sums is self-custody that is also cold, because it combines your control of the keys with their isolation from the internet.

The seed phrase At the center of nearly every self-custody wallet sits the seed phrase, and understanding it is non-negotiable. When you set up a wallet, it generates a sequence of 12 to 24 ordinary words, called the seed phrase or recovery phrase. Those words are a human-readable form of your master key. From them, the wallet derives all of its private keys, which means the seed phrase can restore your entire wallet on any compatible device if your phone breaks or your hardware wallet is lost.

That power cuts both ways. Anyone who obtains your seed phrase can recreate your wallet and take everything in it, from anywhere in the world, with no way to reverse the theft. And if you lose your seed phrase and lose access to your device, your funds are gone permanently, because no company holds a copy and no one can regenerate it for you. The seed phrase is the thing you are really protecting in self-custody, and the rules are strict: write it down and store it offline in a secure place, never type it into a website or share it with anyone, and never store it as a photo or in a cloud account where it could be leaked or hacked.

The seed phrase is also the reason self-custody feels intimidating, and it should command respect rather than fear. It replaces the bank’s password-reset and fraud-reversal safety nets with a single artifact that you alone are responsible for. Most catastrophic self-custody losses trace back to a seed phrase that was lost, exposed, or handed to a scammer, so mastering how to store it safely is most of the battle.

How to set up self-custody The path is more approachable than it sounds. Start by deciding how much you are protecting and for how long. Small amounts you actively trade can live in a hot wallet or on a regulated exchange; larger amounts you intend to hold belong in cold storage. That decision drives which wallet you set up.

To set up a hot wallet, download a reputable wallet app or extension, triple-checking that you are on the official site to avoid the fake wallet apps that scammers publish. The wallet will generate your seed phrase; write it down on paper, store it securely offline, and never save a digital copy. To set up a cold wallet, buy a hardware device directly from the manufacturer or an authorized seller, never secondhand, then follow its setup to generate and record the seed phrase on the device. Once the wallet exists, you fund it by sending crypto to its receiving address.

A concrete example shows the flow. Suppose you hold Ether on an exchange and want to move it into self-custody. In your wallet, you find your receiving address for Ether and copy it. On the exchange, you choose to withdraw Ether, paste in your wallet’s address as the destination, confirm the network is correct, and review the fee before sending. After the network confirms the transaction, the Ether now sits in your self-custody wallet, controlled by your keys, and it will stay there untouched until you decide to move it. That single transfer is the moment custody changes hands, from the exchange to you.

The mixed approach In practice, most experienced users do not choose between an exchange and self-custody; they use both, with a deliberate split. The common model is to keep the bulk of holdings in cold self-custody, isolated from the internet and from platform risk, while keeping a smaller working balance on an exchange or in a hot wallet for active trading and quick access. A frequently cited starting ratio is roughly 70% in cold storage and 30% on a platform or hot wallet, adjusted to how actively you trade.

The logic is that different funds have different jobs. Money you may need to move or trade at short notice benefits from the speed and liquidity of an exchange, and keeping only a small operational balance there limits how much is exposed if the platform fails. Money you intend to hold for the long term has no reason to sit exposed to counterparty risk, so it belongs in cold storage where your keys, offline, protect it. Splitting deliberately captures the convenience of a platform for the funds that need it while keeping the majority safe.

This is also the arrangement that shows up at the level of large holders and institutions, who typically hold reserves in cold storage, sometimes behind multiple required approvals, and keep only operational liquidity on exchanges. The broader on-chain trend of crypto leaving exchanges and moving into private wallets, often read as a sign of accumulation, is the same behavior at scale: participants moving coins they intend to keep off platforms and into custody they control.

Newer options and the responsibility trade The seed phrase problem has driven a wave of newer wallet designs aimed at keeping self-custody while removing its sharpest edge. Multi-party computation, or MPC, wallets split the signing key into several encrypted shares held in different places, so there is no single seed phrase to lose or steal, and no one share can move funds alone. Some seedless wallets use this approach with familiar phone-based security like biometrics, letting beginners hold their own keys without memorizing or safeguarding a 24-word phrase. These designs aim to make self-custody accessible to people who found the seed phrase too risky to manage.

Even so, self-custody remains a trade-off instead of a free upgrade, and that is why most people still leave crypto on exchanges despite the risks. Surveys of crypto users capture the gap clearly: a large majority say self-custody is important and many fear a major exchange breach, yet most still keep their assets on centralized platforms and only a minority use a cold wallet. The reasons are convenience and fear of self-inflicted loss. An exchange offers password resets, customer support, and the comfort of not being solely responsible, while self-custody offers control at the cost of accepting that a lost phrase or a single phishing mistake has no undo.

The honest framing is that self-custody removes counterparty risk and replaces it with personal responsibility. Neither approach is strictly correct for everyone. A beginner with a small balance may reasonably start on a reputable exchange while learning, and a long-term holder with meaningful sums has a strong case for cold self-custody. The goal is to match the method to the amount, the time horizon, and your own comfort with responsibility, and to make that choice deliberately rather than by default.

The main risks to manage Self-custody shifts the risks instead of removing them, so it helps to name what you are now guarding against. The first is seed phrase loss: misplace the phrase and lose your device, and the funds are unrecoverable, so secure, redundant, offline backups matter.

The second is exposure: a seed phrase photographed, stored in the cloud, or typed into a website can be stolen, so it must stay offline and private. The third is phishing and scams, the most common way self-custody users actually lose funds, where attackers trick you into entering your seed phrase on a fake site, signing a malicious transaction, or downloading a counterfeit wallet app.

The fourth risk is physical, since a hardware device can be lost, damaged, or stolen, which is why the seed phrase backup, stored separately from the device, is what actually protects you rather than the device itself. Practical defenses follow directly from these risks: store the seed phrase offline in more than one secure location, never share it or enter it anywhere online, verify every website and app through official channels, and treat any unexpected request for your phrase or an urgent prompt to sign something as an attack until proven otherwise.

The reassuring part is that these risks are manageable with discipline, and none of them involve trusting a company that could fail. The custodial user worries about the platform’s security, which they cannot see or control. The self-custody user worries about their own practices, which they can. For many people, trading a risk they cannot control for one they can is the entire appeal, and the reason the phrase “not your keys, not your coins” has outlasted every platform that tested it.

Frequently Asked Questions What does self-custody mean in crypto? Self-custody means you hold the private keys to your crypto yourself, so you alone can authorize transactions and no exchange or company can freeze, lose, or spend your funds. Your coins live on the blockchain, and the private key is what controls them. The trade is that you take on full responsibility for keeping those keys safe, with no help desk to recover them if lost.

What is the difference between a custodial and a non-custodial wallet? A custodial wallet, such as an exchange account, has a third party hold your private keys for you. It is convenient and offers support and recovery, but it exposes you to counterparty risk if the platform fails. A non-custodial wallet, meaning self-custody, has you hold the keys, removing counterparty risk but making you solely responsible for security. The distinction is simply who controls the keys.

What does “not your keys, not your coins” mean? It means that if you do not control the private keys, you do not truly control the crypto, regardless of what balance a platform shows you. Funds on an exchange are a claim against that company, not the coins themselves. If the company is hacked, goes bankrupt, or freezes withdrawals, that claim can fail, as users learned when platforms like FTX, Celsius, and Mt. Gox collapsed.

What is the difference between a hot wallet and a cold wallet? A hot wallet is a self-custody wallet that stays connected to the internet, usually as a phone app or browser extension. It is convenient for small amounts and daily use but more exposed to online attacks. A cold wallet keeps the private keys offline, typically on a hardware device, signing transactions without exposing the key to the internet, which makes it far more secure for larger, long-term holdings.

What is a seed phrase and how should I protect it? A seed phrase is a sequence of 12 to 24 words generated when you set up a wallet, and it is a human-readable master key that can restore your entire wallet on any compatible device. Anyone who obtains it can take your funds, and losing it can mean permanent loss. Write it down, store it offline in secure locations, never share it, and never save it online or as a photo.

Is self-custody safer than keeping crypto on an exchange? It removes counterparty risk, the danger that a platform is hacked, goes insolvent, or freezes withdrawals, which is a real and repeatedly proven threat. But it adds personal responsibility, since a lost seed phrase or a phishing mistake has no undo. Self-custody is safer against platform failure and riskier against your own errors, so the right choice depends on the amount, your horizon, and your discipline.

Can I use both an exchange and self-custody? Yes, and most experienced users do. The common approach keeps the bulk of holdings in cold self-custody, protected from platform risk, while keeping a smaller working balance on an exchange or hot wallet for trading and quick access. A frequently cited split is around 70% in cold storage and 30% on a platform, adjusted to how actively you trade. Different funds get matched to different needs.

What are MPC or seedless wallets? Multi-party computation wallets split the signing key into several encrypted shares held separately, so there is no single seed phrase to lose or steal and no one share can move funds alone. Some seedless wallets use this with phone-based security like biometrics, letting users hold their own keys without safeguarding a 24-word phrase. They aim to keep the control of self-custody while reducing the seed phrase risk.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or security advice. Self-custody carries the risk of permanent loss if keys or seed phrases are lost or stolen. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any specific product or service. Always do your own research and consider consulting a qualified professional before making decisions about storing digital assets. Information is accurate as of July 1, 2026, and may change.

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.

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Interest in AAVE, which experienced billions of dollars in outflows following the KelpDAO attack in April, continues to grow.

At this point, AAVE has recently managed to get on the radar of corporate companies, and has also experienced a huge surge in the number of new wallets.

Cryptocurrency analytics platform Santiment has reported that the DeFi lending protocol Aave (AAVE) has reached its highest daily number of new wallets since 2021. According to Santiment, this signals a recovery in DeFi.

According to data shared by Santiment, the number of wallets opened on Aave on the Ethereum network on June 30th reached 1806. This was the highest daily number of wallets recorded since October 2021.

Santiment stated that it sees this increase in AAVE as a sign of new participants entering the DeFi ecosystem.

The firm stated that, from a price perspective, this is the kind of signal investors want to see as July begins.

“…Last week, AAVE, ranked 46th by market capitalization, experienced a 23% increase.”

Furthermore, the emergence of new wallets at this rate indicates growing interest in AAVE and supports its price momentum. If this new participation translates into deposits, borrowing demand, and protocol revenue, AAVE could be poised for an even stronger recovery in the second half of 2026.”

Despite falling approximately 2.4% in the last 24 hours, AAVE has gained about 13% in value over the past week. Having approached $100 last week, AAVE was negatively impacted by the sharp drop in Bitcoin and fell to around $86.

As expectations for AAVE continue to grow recently, Standard Chartered and Grayscale have also issued bullish forecasts for the company. Accordingly, Standard Chartered predicts that the AAVE price could reach $3,500 by 2030, while Grayscale forecasts it could reach $175 within a year.

*This is not investment advice.

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DECRYPT: Crypto Lending Protocol Aave Sees Spike in New Wallets, Marking 5-Year High

Morpho received two major institutional endorsements in a single day after Standard Chartered initiated coverage of the DeFi lending protocol and Robinhood unveiled a new Crypto Earn product powered by Morpho’s infrastructure.

The back-to-back developments strengthen Morpho’s position as one of the fastest-growing decentralized lending platforms competing alongside Aave. The MORPHO token’s price is up over 12% on the day.

MORPHO Price Performance. Source: BeInCryptoRobinhood Brings Morpho to Mainstream UsersRobinhood has begun rolling out its Crypto Earn product, a decentralized lending service powered by Morpho, to eligible users through the Robinhood app and Robinhood Chain.

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The first lending vault is curated by Steakhouse Financial and incorporates Maple Finance’s newly launched syrupUSDG, an institutional credit product backed by the regulated Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin issued by Paxos on behalf of the Global Dollar Network.

According to Maple, the company has originated more than $22 billion in institutional loans since 2022. Through the new integration, Robinhood users will gain access to on-chain credit strategies built on Morpho’s open lending infrastructure.

“Morpho provides the open credit network that enables specialized credit strategies to reach users at scale,” Morpho CEO and co-founder Paul Frambot said in the announcement.

Standard Chartered Strengthens the Bullish NarrativeThe Robinhood announcement follows Standard Chartered’s decision to initiate coverage on MORPHO, calling the protocol one of the strongest long-term plays in decentralized finance.

The bank highlighted Morpho’s Vaults architecture as a key differentiator, arguing that its modular design makes it well suited for institutional asset managers, fintech platforms, and tokenized real-world assets. Analysts also pointed to the protocol’s rapid growth and expanding integrations across the digital asset ecosystem.

Together, the research note and Robinhood integration suggest growing institutional confidence in Morpho’s infrastructure rather than simply its token.

What’s Next for Morpho?Robinhood said access to Crypto Earn will expand gradually over the coming weeks, while Maple plans to extend syrupUSDG to additional blockchain networks beyond Ethereum and Robinhood Chain.

For investors, the latest announcements suggest Morpho is evolving from a leading DeFi lending protocol into critical financial infrastructure for regulated stablecoins, institutional credit, and mainstream fintech platforms, a trend that could further accelerate adoption as tokenized finance continues to grow.

Ondo Finance has expanded its tokenized asset push by integrating more than 430 tokenized stocks and ETFs with Uniswap across Ethereum and BNB Chain. The move gives eligible users a decentralized route to trade tokenized representations of major traditional assets, but the access restrictions are just as important as the headline number.

TL;DR Ondo has integrated over 430 tokenized stocks and ETFs with Uniswap. The assets span Ethereum and BNB Chain through the Uniswap interface and UniswapX API. Examples include tokenized representations of Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, SPY, and QQQ. These products are not available to US persons and rely on KYC/compliance gating. The launch is part of the wider real-world asset trend, where crypto platforms are trying to bring traditional financial exposure on-chain. Tokenized stocks and ETFs are especially attractive because they connect the familiarity of public markets with the settlement speed and composability of DeFi.

What Ondo is putting on-chain The assets include tokenized versions of some of the most recognizable names in traditional markets, including Nvidia, Tesla, SpaceX, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, SPY, and QQQ. By placing them within Uniswap’s trading environment, Ondo is aiming to make these instruments easier to route through decentralized infrastructure.

The integration covers Ethereum and BNB Chain, with access through the Uniswap interface and UniswapX API. That matters because Uniswap is still one of the most important liquidity layers in DeFi. If tokenized assets are going to become useful beyond simple buy-and-hold exposure, they need to plug into venues where users already trade.

The US restriction is not a footnote The caveat here needs to be front and center: these tokenized equities are not available to US persons. Ondo uses compliance whitelists and KYC gating to enforce geographical and eligibility boundaries. That means this is not a universal retail product that anyone can access simply because it appears in DeFi infrastructure.

That restriction reflects the regulatory sensitivity around tokenized equities. Unlike a normal crypto token, a tokenized stock or ETF representation can sit much closer to securities law. Platforms working in this area have to balance innovation with strict controls over who can subscribe, trade, and redeem.

Why the RWA race keeps heating up Real-world assets have become one of DeFi’s strongest institutional narratives because they promise to bring yield, collateral, and familiar financial products onto blockchain rails. For users outside restricted jurisdictions, tokenized equities could eventually create more flexible access to traditional market exposure. For protocols, they offer a way to expand beyond purely crypto-native assets.

Ondo’s Uniswap integration is another sign that tokenization is moving from pitch decks into usable market infrastructure. But the next stage will depend on liquidity, regulation, redemption quality, and whether eligible users actually prefer on-chain versions of assets they can already access through traditional brokerages.

For readers, the broader lesson is that DeFi keeps moving toward more practical market structure. The strongest projects are no longer only selling a narrative; they are trying to plug into liquidity, compliance, payments, or assets that users already understand. That makes execution, access rules, and user distribution just as important as the headline partnership or integration.

This report is based on information from Ondo Finance.

This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

TLDR Table of Contents

TLDRAVAX Holdings Decline and Balance Sheet PressureStock Collapse Follows AVAX Treasury StrategyOther AVAX Treasury Firms Show Similar DeclinesGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks Avalanche Treasury Corp told regulators it may not survive the year due to financial strain. The company cited “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern. AVAX price declines led to major writedowns and over $26 million in quarterly losses. The firm’s AVAX holdings dropped to nearly half of their original purchase value. Shares collapsed over 90% within a month and now trade below $0.73. Avalanche Treasury Corp told regulators it may not survive the year after a steep decline in its finances. The company disclosed material losses and liquidity pressure linked to falling AVAX prices. It also warned that current conditions raise “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operations.

AVAX Holdings Decline and Balance Sheet Pressure The company previously promoted a large AVAX treasury valued near one billion dollars during last year’s expansion phase. However, market conditions changed, and the value of its AVAX holdings dropped sharply over recent months. As a result, its market capitalization fell below thirty million dollars, reflecting severe investor concern.

Its operating unit reported losses exceeding twenty-six million dollars in one quarter due to AVAX writedowns. The firm bought AVAX for about two hundred sixty-five million dollars, yet the holdings fell to nearly one hundred twenty-three million dollars. This gap left the company holding assets worth far less than their original purchase cost.

AVAX prices declined forty-seven percent this year and nearly two-thirds over the past twelve months. Consequently, the treasury strategy weakened as asset values dropped and reduced the firm’s financial flexibility. The company stated that these conditions created ongoing uncertainty regarding its financial stability.

Stock Collapse Follows AVAX Treasury Strategy Avalanche Treasury Corp completed a merger with a blank check company and entered public markets with high expectations. However, investor sentiment turned negative as disclosures revealed risks tied to its AVAX exposure and financial position. The stock fell from above ten dollars to below two dollars within days of additional filings.

Shares continued to decline and traded below seventy-three cents, entering penny stock territory. In total, the stock lost more than ninety percent of its value within one month. This decline reflected market concern over the sustainability of its AVAX treasury model.

The company also pledged a large portion of its AVAX holdings as collateral for a loan agreement. It committed nearly seven point eight million AVAX tokens from a total of thirteen point eight million holdings. This move increased financial risk as falling prices could pressure collateral requirements.

Other AVAX Treasury Firms Show Similar Declines Other firms pursuing AVAX treasury strategies reported similar declines in value after initial expansion plans. AgriFORCE Growing Systems rebranded as AVAX One and announced a large capital raise to acquire more AVAX. The company aimed to build a significant AVAX treasury supported by strategic investors and advisors.

Despite those plans, its market value dropped sharply and now stands near forty-three million dollars. The firm’s shares declined sixty-eight percent this year and over ninety percent in the past year. These figures highlight the broader pressure affecting companies holding large AVAX reserves.

Data across the sector shows a consistent downward trend in treasury company valuations linked to AVAX exposure. Companies that accumulated AVAX during earlier market optimism now face reduced asset values and weaker investor confidence. This trend underscores the risks tied to concentrated digital asset treasury strategies.

Avalanche Treasury Corp told the SEC its ability to continue as a going concern is in doubt after its Nasdaq-listed stock lost 93% of its value in a month, with its AVAX position now worth less than half of what it paid.

Avalanche Treasury Corp, the largest publicly traded company holding AVAX as a corporate treasury asset, told regulators its ability to continue as a going concern is in doubt after its stock collapsed 93% over the past month.

The Nasdaq-listed company, ticker AVAT, disclosed the warning in a 10-Q filing with the SEC, stating that "substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern is not alleviated.” Shares traded above $10 at the start of June, closed at $1.85 on June 11 following its Nasdaq debut, and fell into penny-stock territory below $0.73 by June 29, wiping out 93% of their value in a month.

AVAT Price. Source: YahooAVAX Bet UnderwaterAVAT built its position by merging with blank-check company Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp in a deal that closed with its Nasdaq listing on June 11, part of a plan announced last October to build what the company called a $1 billion pile of AVAX tokens. The company paid roughly $265 million to acquire its AVAX, but the position was worth about $123 million by the end of March, more than half underwater. AVAX has lost 47% of its value year to date and traded near $6.72 on Wednesday, per CoinGecko.

The operating subsidiary lost more than $26 million in the first quarter, almost entirely a fair-value writedown on its AVAX holdings. AVAT has pledged roughly 7.8 million of its 13.8 million AVAX as collateral on a loan, leaving a smaller unencumbered buffer against further price declines. Its market capitalization has fallen to less than $30 million, according to Yahoo Finance.

Treasury Model Under StrainAVAT's collapse adds to a string of digital-asset treasury companies that have cratered since a wave of similar vehicles launched in 2025. AgriFORCE Growing Systems rebranded as AVAX One last September with plans to raise $550 million to buy more than $700 million of AVAX; its market value has since fallen to about $43 million, down 68% year to date.

The Defiant reported in June that even Strategy, the largest and longest-running Bitcoin treasury company, saw its enterprise mNAV drop below 1 for the first time, and covered StablecoinX's Nasdaq debut as the first public ENA treasury vehicle, part of the same corporate-treasury trend now facing pressure across multiple tokens.

Avalanche Foundation and Ava Labs, the core organization behind the Avalanche network, have made no public statement on AVAT's going-concern disclosure or its stock decline as of publication.