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Ripple says it has more than 300 institutional partners. The XRP community hears that as 300 banks buying XRP. The reality is that most of them use Ripple’s software without ever touching the token, and even the ones that do rarely hold it. This is the structural gap at the heart of why XRP’s price stays stuck while Ripple keeps winning.

Summary

Ripple has more than 300 institutional partners, but roughly 60 percent use its messaging and software rails without ever touching XRP, while only about 40 percent use the On-Demand Liquidity product that involves the token. Even the partners that use On-Demand Liquidity generally do not hold XRP, because licensed exchanges and market makers handle the buying and selling, and the banks see only fiat in and fiat out. This split is the mechanical explanation for the long-standing gap between Ripple’s corporate success and XRP’s stuck price, since network adoption does not automatically translate into sustained token demand. The bullish rebuttal is that On-Demand Liquidity volume is real where it runs, that even momentary XRP demand creates buy pressure, and that token demand can come from ETF flows and regulation independent of settlement. For holders, the honest read is that partner counts measure Ripple’s business, not XRP demand, and the token’s fate depends on whether the On-Demand Liquidity share grows and its volume scales, plus channels like ETFs and regulatory clarity. Ripple likes to say it has more than three hundred institutional partners, and the number sounds like exactly the validation XRP holders have waited years to see: hundreds of banks and payment companies, all signed up to Ripple, all presumably driving demand for the token. That is how the figure is usually heard in the community, as three hundred institutions buying and using XRP. The reality is very different, and confronting it honestly is essential for anyone who holds the token. 

The large majority of Ripple’s partners use the company’s messaging and payment software without ever touching XRP, and even among the minority that use the product built around the token, almost none actually hold XRP. The partner count measures the size of Ripple’s business, not the demand for its associated asset, and the gap between those two things is the single best explanation for one of the most frustrating puzzles in crypto: why XRP’s price has stayed pinned near a dollar through 2026 even as Ripple racks up settlement deals, bank partnerships, and institutional wins.

This is not an argument that Ripple is failing or that XRP is worthless. It is an argument that the popular story, in which corporate adoption mechanically pulls the token price up with it, rests on a misunderstanding of how Ripple’s products actually work. There are really two Ripples: one that sells messaging and payment software to banks, which does not require XRP, and one that offers a liquidity service that uses XRP as a bridge, which does. Most partners signed up for the first. Understanding that split, and what it means for whether Ripple’s success ever reaches the token, is the purpose of this piece. 

It covers the two different products Ripple sells, why even the token-using product rarely puts XRP on a bank’s balance sheet, the value-accrual problem this creates, the genuine bull-case rebuttal, the geographic concentration of the volume that does exist, and what would actually have to change for Ripple’s growth to start pulling XRP demand with it. The goal is to give holders an accurate map of where the token stands in Ripple’s empire, rather than the flattering version the partner count implies.

There are two different Ripples The root of the confusion is that Ripple sells more than one thing, and only some of what it sells involves XRP. For most of its history, Ripple’s core enterprise offering has had two distinct components. The first is messaging and payment-connectivity software, historically associated with products that let banks send payment instructions and connect to one another more efficiently than the old correspondent system allows. 

This software improves how banks communicate and process cross-border payments, but it does not require XRP at all; a bank can adopt it, become a Ripple partner, and never go near the token. The second component is On-Demand Liquidity, or ODL, the service that actually uses XRP as a bridge asset to move value between currencies without pre-funded accounts. ODL is the part of Ripple’s business that creates real XRP usage.

The crucial fact is how Ripple’s partners split between these two. By most accounts, only around forty percent of Ripple’s roughly three hundred partners use On-Demand Liquidity, the XRP-based product, while the other sixty percent or so use the messaging and software rails that do not touch XRP at all. So when the community hears three hundred partners and pictures three hundred sources of XRP demand, the accurate picture is closer to a bit more than a hundred partners using the token-based product, and a larger group using Ripple software that bypasses XRP entirely. 

This is not hidden or scandalous; it simply reflects that many institutions wanted Ripple’s payments technology without taking on a volatile crypto asset. But it has enormous implications for the token, because it means the headline partner count overstates XRP demand by a wide margin. A bank can be a proud, public Ripple partner and contribute precisely nothing to XRP usage, and many are exactly that. The first step to understanding XRP’s stuck price is to stop counting all of Ripple’s partners as XRP customers, because most of them are not.

Even ODL partners do not hold XRP It would be natural to assume that the forty percent of partners using On-Demand Liquidity are therefore buying and holding XRP, generating steady demand, but even that is largely not the case, and the reason cuts to the core of the value-accrual problem. The way ODL works, banks do not generally buy or hold XRP themselves. Instead, licensed exchanges and liquidity providers sit in the middle of the transaction. 

When a bank uses ODL to send value across a corridor, the source currency is converted into XRP, the XRP moves across the ledger in seconds, and it is converted into the destination currency on the other side, but this buying and selling is handled by market makers and exchanges, not by the bank. From the bank’s perspective, it puts fiat in on one side and receives fiat out on the other, never holding the token in between. The XRP is touched only momentarily, by the liquidity providers facilitating the swap, before it is converted back.

This structure is deliberate and is actually part of ODL’s appeal to institutions: it lets banks access the speed and capital efficiency of XRP-based settlement while staying in their regulatory comfort zone, seeing only fiat on their books and never holding a volatile crypto asset. For the banks, that is a feature. 

For XRP holders hoping that institutional adoption means institutions accumulating XRP, it is a disappointment, because it means even the token-using corner of Ripple’s business does not create the kind of sustained, buy-and-hold demand that would steadily lift the price. The demand ODL creates is real but fleeting: XRP is bought and sold in the same moment to bridge a payment, generating transactional throughput rather than lasting accumulation. 

The momentary buying does create some genuine buy pressure, which the bull case rightly emphasizes, but it is a different and weaker force than the image of banks adding XRP to their reserves. So the picture sharpens: most partners do not touch XRP, and most of those that do touch it only in passing, through intermediaries, without ever holding it.

The value-accrual problem this creates Put these facts together and you arrive at the deepest issue in the entire XRP story, the one that explains the stuck price more convincingly than any other: the problem of how value accrues to the token. A blockchain network, or in this case a payments business built around a token, can grow impressively while the token itself fails to capture that growth, if the activity does not translate into sustained demand for the asset. 

That is precisely the situation the two-Ripples split creates. Ripple the company can keep signing partners, opening corridors, and processing more payments, and most of that growth flows through software that bypasses XRP or through an ODL process that touches XRP only momentarily via intermediaries. The corporate success is real, but the channel connecting it to token demand is far narrower than the partner count suggests.

This is the mechanical explanation for the puzzle that has frustrated XRP holders all year: Ripple keeps winning, and XRP keeps trading near a dollar beneath its major moving averages. The wins are concentrated in parts of the business that do not require holding the token, so they do not generate the buy-and-hold demand that would lift the price.

Layered on top is XRP’s large supply, including the enormous quantity Ripple holds in escrow and periodically releases, which means that even meaningful transactional demand must contend with substantial available supply. For demand to overwhelm that supply and move the price durably, the token would need usage on a scale that the current adoption pattern, heavy on XRP-free software and light on XRP accumulation, does not produce. 

None of this means XRP cannot rise; it means the path from Ripple’s business growth to XRP’s price is not the automatic, mechanical link the bullish narrative assumes. The token does not appreciate simply because Ripple succeeds. It would appreciate if usage of the specific XRP-based product grew large enough that the momentary demand it generates, compounded across enormous volume, finally outweighed the supply. That is a much higher bar than signing the three-hundredth partner.

The escrow overhang that makes it worse There is a supply-side dimension to the value-accrual problem that deserves its own attention, because it raises the bar that token demand must clear. A very large quantity of XRP sits in escrow controlled by Ripple, released into the market on a schedule over time, and this steady stream of new available supply is a structural feature of the token that has no equivalent in a fixed-supply asset. Whatever demand the network generates, whether the momentary buying of On-Demand Liquidity or the buy-and-hold demand of ETFs, must contend not only with the XRP already circulating but with the additional supply that periodically enters from escrow. This is part of why even real demand has struggled to move the price durably: it is pushing against a supply that keeps replenishing.

The interaction between the demand pattern and the supply schedule is the crux. If the token-using share of Ripple’s business were large and growing fast, the transactional demand it generates might comfortably absorb the escrow releases and then some, letting the price rise. But because most of Ripple’s activity bypasses the token, and the part that uses it does so only momentarily through intermediaries, the demand side has been too thin to overwhelm the supply side decisively. The result is a token that can trade sideways even during periods of corporate success, because the modest, fleeting demand from settlement is roughly matched by available and incoming supply. 

Critics of Ripple have long pointed to the escrow releases as a persistent headwind, while the company argues the releases are managed responsibly and that it has an incentive not to suppress its own largest holding. Either way, the practical point for holders is that the value-accrual gap is not only about weak demand capture; it is about weak demand capture meeting a large and replenishing supply, which together explain why the price has been so resistant to the steady drumbeat of adoption headlines. For the token to break higher durably, demand would need to grow enough to clear both the circulating float and the escrow overhang at once, which is a higher bar than demand alone.

The bull case deserves a fair hearing The picture so far is sobering, but the bullish rebuttal is substantive and deserves a fair hearing, because the situation is not as one-sided as the skeptical read alone implies. The first point in XRP’s favor is that the momentary demand ODL creates is still real demand. Every time the XRP-based product bridges a payment, XRP is genuinely bought, even if it is sold moments later, and at sufficient volume that continuous buying and selling represents real, ongoing market activity rather than nothing. 

If the corridors using ODL grow and the volume flowing through them scales up, the cumulative buy pressure from all that bridging could become a meaningful force, particularly because it recurs constantly instead of being a one-time event. The bull case holds that the token-touching share of Ripple’s business is the part that matters, and that as it grows, so does the demand that flows through XRP.

The second point is that the forty percent is not fixed. Partners that adopted Ripple’s messaging software first can later convert to On-Demand Liquidity, and Ripple has every incentive to push that conversion, since it is the largest holder of XRP and benefits directly when XRP usage rises. If a meaningful share of the messaging-only majority converts to the XRP-based product over time, the demand base expands substantially. 

The third and perhaps strongest point is that settlement throughput is not the only channel to XRP demand. The forces most capable of moving XRP, the institutional flows into spot ETFs and the regulatory clarity that the CLARITY Act would provide, operate largely independent of whether banks hold XRP in their settlement flows. ETF demand is buy-and-hold demand of exactly the kind ODL does not generate, and it has already drawn over a billion dollars into XRP funds. 

Tokenized real-world assets settling on the XRP Ledger represent another growing source of activity. So the bull case is that the partner-count critique, while accurate about settlement mechanics, misses the channels, ETFs and regulation, that could drive XRP regardless of how banks handle their payment corridors. These are genuine counterpoints, and an honest holder should weigh them against the structural concern instead of dismissing either.

The geographic reality nobody mentions A further dimension that rarely makes it into the bull-or-bear debate is where Ripple’s XRP-based volume actually flows, and it complicates the global-rail narrative in an important way. On-Demand Liquidity has been live in production for years, but its real usage has been concentrated in specific cross-border corridors instead of spread evenly across global finance. 

The meaningful volume has historically clustered in particular regions, such as certain Middle East and Southeast Asia corridors, and more recently in Latin American routes involving institutions like Braza Bank and Mexican corridors involving Bitso. These are real flows with real value, and the busiest names on the XRP Ledger include identifiable financial institutions instead of anonymous wallets, which is a genuine point in the network’s favor. But the volume is geographically concentrated, not the worldwide banking rail the headline narrative implies.

This concentration matters for two reasons. First, it means XRP’s settlement demand depends heavily on a relatively small set of corridors, so the token’s utility-driven demand is less diversified and more exposed to the fortunes of those specific routes than a global-rail framing would suggest. Second, in the corridors where institutional settlement does happen on-chain, XRP increasingly competes for share against alternatives, including dollar stablecoins like USDC and Ripple’s own RLUSD, as well as emerging central-bank digital-currency projects, according to blockchain-analytics observations.

So even within the settlement niche where XRP is used, it is not unchallenged; it is one option competing for institutional flow against instruments that offer dollar stability. The honest synthesis is that XRP’s real settlement footprint is meaningful but concentrated and contested, which is a more accurate and more modest picture than the image of a token quietly powering the world’s bank transfers. For holders, this is another reason to track the actual volume in the actual corridors instead of the partner count or the global ambition.

What would actually change the picture If the partner count is the wrong thing to watch, the natural question is what the right things are, and identifying them gives holders a far better framework than counting Ripple’s deals. The first and most direct change would be conversion: the messaging-only majority of partners moving onto On-Demand Liquidity, which would expand the share of Ripple’s business that actually uses XRP. 

Watching whether the roughly forty percent figure grows over time is more informative than watching the total partner number rise, because growth in the token-using share is what expands XRP demand. The second is volume: even within the existing ODL base, the total value flowing through XRP-bridged corridors is what generates the cumulative buy pressure, so rising corridor volume matters more than new logos. A handful of high-volume corridors can move more XRP than dozens of low-volume partnerships.

Beyond settlement, the channels most likely to drive durable XRP demand are the ones that operate independent of how banks handle payments. Spot ETF flows are the clearest, because they represent genuine buy-and-hold demand, and their trajectory, whether they compound or stall, will say more about XRP’s institutional demand than any partner announcement. Regulatory clarity from the CLARITY Act is the second, because codifying XRP’s status could unlock institutional capital that settlement adoption alone never reaches. The growth of tokenized real-world assets on the XRP Ledger is a third, since it brings a different kind of activity and demand to the network.

The honest framework for a holder is therefore to stop treating Ripple’s partner count and corporate wins as proxies for XRP demand, because most of that activity bypasses or only momentarily touches the token, and to focus instead on the metrics that actually connect to demand: the ODL share and its volume, ETF flows, regulatory progress, and on-chain asset growth. The partner count tells you Ripple is a successful company. It tells you very little about whether XRP, the token, is capturing that success, which is the only question that matters for the price.

Frequently Asked Questions Do banks that partner with Ripple actually use XRP? Mostly not. Ripple has more than three hundred institutional partners, but only around forty percent use On-Demand Liquidity, the product that involves XRP as a bridge asset. The other sixty percent or so use Ripple’s messaging and payment software, which does not touch XRP at all. So a large majority of Ripple’s partners can be active customers without ever using the token. This is the key reason the partner count overstates XRP demand: many partners signed up for Ripple’s payments technology specifically without taking on a volatile crypto asset, and they contribute nothing to XRP usage despite being counted as partners.

If a bank uses On-Demand Liquidity, does it hold XRP? Generally no, and this surprises many people. In On-Demand Liquidity, banks do not buy or hold XRP themselves. Licensed exchanges and liquidity providers handle the conversion: the source currency becomes XRP, the XRP moves across the ledger in seconds, and it is converted to the destination currency, all managed by market makers. The bank sees only fiat in and fiat out, never holding the token. This is deliberate, letting banks access XRP-based settlement speed while staying in their regulatory comfort zone. The result is that even the token-using part of Ripple’s business creates only momentary, transactional XRP demand instead of the buy-and-hold accumulation that would steadily lift the price.

Why does XRP’s price stay stuck if Ripple is so successful? Because most of Ripple’s success flows through channels that bypass the token or touch it only momentarily. The majority of partners use XRP-free software, and even On-Demand Liquidity touches XRP only in passing through intermediaries, so Ripple’s corporate growth does not mechanically translate into sustained XRP demand. Add XRP’s large supply, including the escrow Ripple periodically releases, and transactional demand has to be very large to move the price durably. This value-accrual gap, between a thriving business and a token that does not capture its success, is the clearest explanation for why XRP has stayed near a dollar through 2026 even as Ripple keeps winning deals.

Is this a reason to be bearish on XRP? Not necessarily, but it is a reason to be realistic about what drives the token. The structural critique shows that partner counts and corporate wins are poor proxies for XRP demand. But the bull case has real merit: On-Demand Liquidity volume is genuine demand where it runs, the token-using share of partners can grow as banks convert from messaging to liquidity, and the strongest demand channels, spot ETF inflows and regulatory clarity from the CLARITY Act, operate independent of bank settlement entirely. So the picture is not simply bearish; it is that XRP’s demand depends on specific things, the growth of On-Demand Liquidity volume and the independent channels of ETFs and regulation, instead of on Ripple’s overall business success.

Where is XRP actually used for settlement? On-Demand Liquidity volume has historically been concentrated in specific cross-border corridors instead of spread across global banking. Meaningful usage has clustered in certain Middle East and Southeast Asia routes and, more recently, Latin American corridors involving institutions such as Braza Bank and Mexican routes involving Bitso. These are real flows, and the busiest names on the XRP Ledger are identifiable financial institutions. But the volume is geographically concentrated, not the worldwide rail the narrative implies, and within those corridors XRP competes for share against dollar stablecoins like USDC and Ripple’s own RLUSD. So XRP’s settlement footprint is meaningful but concentrated and contested instead of dominant.

What should XRP holders watch instead of the partner count? Focus on the metrics that actually connect to token demand. The most direct is the share of partners using On-Demand Liquidity, currently around forty percent; whether that grows matters more than the total partner number. The second is the volume flowing through XRP-bridged corridors, since cumulative throughput is what generates buy pressure. Beyond settlement, watch spot ETF flows, which represent true buy-and-hold demand, regulatory progress on the CLARITY Act, which could unlock institutional capital, and the growth of tokenized assets on the XRP Ledger. These tell you whether XRP the token is capturing demand, which the partner count does not, because most partners never touch XRP.

This article is information, not investment advice. Figures on Ripple’s partners, On-Demand Liquidity usage, and corridor volumes reflect reporting and estimates available as of June 27, 2026, and can change. The relationship between Ripple’s business and XRP demand is a debated topic. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell XRP or any asset. Verify current details from primary sources and consider your own circumstances before making any decision.

In a CNBC interview on June 27, Garlinghouse said Strategy’s first Bitcoin sale in a while "definitely started something."

Its leveraged structure amplified excitement on the way up and is now compounding weakness on the way down, Garlinghouse concluded.

He pointed to Strategy’s preferred stock STRC (NASDAQ:STRC) trading roughly 25% below par as a "damning indictment," saying the situation has not helped market sentiment.

"Financial engineering does not drive long-term value," Garlinghouse noted, adding that digital assets must solve real problems at scale for customers to build liquidity, demand and trust.

Garlinghouse added that he remains bullish on Bitcoin but argued that Strategy’s approach was "not focused on the right stuff."

Critics have argued that Strategy’s ability to continuously fund Bitcoin purchases through equity issuance is effectively paused until the stock regains a premium valuation.

BTC – Store-Of-Value AssetWhile Bitcoin remains the dominant store-of-value asset, Ripple is positioning XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), stablecoins and institutional payments infrastructure as part of a broader shift toward tokenized finance.  

Despite that, he said he is bullish on Bitcoin, calling the current pullback a time to "be greedy when others are fearful," while reiterating that Bitcoin’s long-term value lies in its role as digital gold and XRP’s utility remains focused in bringing traditional finance onto blockchain.

The interview also highlighted on the convergence of artificial intelligence, stablecoins and tokenization, explaining how blockchain rails could become financial infrastructure for machines, autonomous agents and tokenized assets.

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TL;DR 

XRP ETF inflows jumped 115% to $23M in the week of June 22–26, pushing total U.S. XRP ETF AUM to $934M — just as Q3 begins, the historically strongest quarter for XRP with a median return of +27.1% over 13 yearsA dormant SHIB wallet from 2024's bull run moved 598 billion tokens (~$2.7M) through a ForwarderV4 smart contract — the same method used by other reactivated whale wallets last week, pointing to a single centralized institution liquidating old reservesMichael Saylor officially approved a Bitcoin sell program at Strategy, raising STRC preferred share yield to 12% and setting a $1.25B BTC sales cap — the company says it has 25.9 months of runway secured between fiat reserves and the new sell limitBitcoin is trading at ~$59,860, below its 200-day EMA of $68,960, with no significant ETF inflows for 55 days — but July historically averages +8.2% for BTC, and seasonal patterns could trigger a Q3 reversalBinance exited the EU on July 1 under MiCA rules, sending a wave of European users to Coinbase and OKX — the latter reported an all-time registration record from EuropeXRP ETFs soar 115% ahead of a historically strong quarter for the coinWhile Bitcoin and Ethereum are recording billion-dollar outflows, during the week from June 22 to June 26, net inflows into XRP funds jumped by 115.7% to $22.99 million, compared with $10.66 million a week earlier, according to SoSoValue.

Large players are clearly buying at the local bottom, right before the start of Q3 2026, which has historically been the most stable period of the year for XRP. Taking the latest inflows into account, U.S. XRP ETFs now have $934.26 million under management, which equals 1.44% of the coin's total market capitalization.

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The token's price, meanwhile, is trapped around $1.05. In this context, June turned out to be brutal, with a 21% decline, but for XRP this is a classic scenario: a strong early-summer sell-off has often become a springboard for a powerful Q3.

Total XRP Spot ETF Net Inflow in Q2 2026, Source: SoSoValueStatistics from the past 13 years show that Q3 is a unique period for XRP: 

Median Q3 returns stand at +27.1%, while the average return is +18.2%. Since 2020, XRP has closed this quarter exclusively in the green — a streak that has already lasted six years.In addition, Q3 has a history of breaking bear markets. In 2018, after a prolonged decline, it delivered a +24.4% gain, and in 2022, after a disastrous second quarter, XRP rebounded by +44.5%. Growth inside the quarter usually starts in July, with a median gain of +10.8%, takes a pause for consolidation in August, and ends with a final push in September, where the average result stands at +13.7%.

If the seasonal pattern repeats this time, the historical median of +27.1% would put XRP on course for a confident exit from its prolonged decline and a test of new local highs by the end of September.

A sleeping Shiba Inu coin pool activates 598 billion tokensLarge players in the Shiba Inu ecosystem are returning to the game, and blockchain data from Arkham has recorded the sudden awakening of a wallet that had been inactive since 2024 — the period of the token's last major price surge. In just one day, two giant transactions passed through the address: 178.16 billion SHIB worth $795,000 and 419.97 billion SHIB worth $1.87 million.

The main intrigue, however, lies in the technical trail. These 598 billion tokens were withdrawn through the ForwarderV4 smart contract — the same method previously used to move funds by other awakened giants from that period last week.

2024 Shiba Inu (SHIB) whale '0x624C09' transfers, Source: ArkhamThis repeating pattern leads to a clear conclusion: these are not individual retail investors, but a single centralized pool. The use of a single ForwarderV4 gateway proves that behind the chain of different addresses stands a large organization — a custodian, market maker, or OTC desk that has been managing institutional liquidity since the year before last.

For the market, such maneuvers are always a cause for concern. The activation of old billion-token reserves often signals preparation for profit-taking, which could locally pressure the SHIB price.

Strategy raises STRC rate to 12% and prepares Bitcoin for saleStrategy Inc. chairman Michael Saylor has presented a plan to shore up the company's securities, called the Digital Credit Capital Framework. In recent weeks, investors and Wall Street analysts have harshly criticized Saylor and demanded that he sell at least $3 billion worth of BTC to cover debts and secure liquid cash.

The situation was also extremely tense because at the end of May, the company had already quietly carried out a test sale of 32 BTC, which seriously rattled the market. 

To calm the panic and restore trust, Saylor is raising the annual yield on Strife preferred shares, or STRC, to 12% starting in July. The company will now revise this rate every month, while Saylor's main goal is to lift the fallen market price of these securities back to their $100 par value.

Strategy announces a Digital Credit Capital Framework designed to strengthen Digital Credit, enhance liquidity, preserve long-term Bitcoin exposure, and support long-term value creation. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/AUoUCtem53

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) June 29, 2026 But the biggest shock for the crypto market was that Saylor officially approved a full-scale BTC Monetization Program. The company has officially set the rules under which it will systematically sell Bitcoin, and Saylor plans to do this in three specific cases:

To replenish the fiat reserve, with a strict sales limit of up to $1.25 billion.To pay dividends and interest if doing so is more beneficial than issuing new shares.To buy back the company's own securities during significant market drawdowns.Right now, the company has $2.55 billion in net fiat on its accounts, which will be used strictly to pay interest and dividends — enough cash for 17.4 months. If the $1.25 billion Bitcoin sales limit is added to this, the company's total safety cushion reaches $3.80 billion. This guarantees Strategy 25.9 months of stable operations without raising any new debt at all, says Saylor.

Additionally, Saylor allocated $1 billion each for buyback programs of MSTR shares and STRC securities in order to contain panic during market drawdowns. 

Crypto market outlook: Regulatory storm in the EU and on-chain capitulation pressure BitcoinThe cryptocurrency market is going through a harsh phase of local cleansing due to a complete standstill in U.S. ETF inflows, a large-scale migration of European capital ahead of the strict MiCA deadline, and the sudden awakening of institutional whales from previous cycles, although Bitcoin's historically bullish July still leaves hope for an imminent seasonal reversal.

Key checkpoints:

BTC Price Review: Bitcoin is hovering at $59,859.95 (+0.63%), trading under heavy resistance at the 200-day EMA ($68,960) and risking a slide toward the strong $56,850 support zone if the current local bottom is lost.July's historical trigger: June is closing for BTC with a deep -18.7% decline, but historical statistics point to strong July seasonality, with an average gain of +8.24% and a median gain of +8.09%, which often turns the start of Q3 into a launch point for a powerful rebound.55-day drought in spot ETFs: U.S. regulated funds have completely deprived Bitcoin of fresh capital, recording no significant direct inflows since May 4, leaving the market without its main liquidity driver for almost two months.Regulatory exodus from the EU on July 1: Binance's official exit from the European market due to the entry into force of MiCA rules triggered a fierce battle for users between Coinbase and OKX, with the latter already reporting an all-time record in new registrations from Europe.RWA expansion and Ondo's dominance: The real-world asset tokenization sector is surging to new highs, with Ondo capturing 74.5% of the on-chain ETF market, while the Base network has overtaken Ethereum in USDC Morpho liquidity. You Might Also Like

New Capital Plan Raises STRC’s Payout to 12%Strategy unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework Monday, raising the annual dividend rate on its STRC preferred stock to 12%, effective for dividend periods starting July 1. 

The company’s USD reserve now stands at roughly $2.55 billion, enough to cover about 17.4 months of preferred dividend and interest obligations.

The board authorized, but didn’t commit to, up to $1 billion in buybacks of Digital Credit Securities and another $1 billion in Class A common stock repurchases. 

Both programs carry no fixed expiration date and depend entirely on market conditions and management’s read on whether buying back shares actually adds value.

Strategy also approved a Bitcoin Monetization Program, giving the company the option to sell BTC whenever management decides it makes sense. 

Proceeds could rebuild the USD reserve, fund preferred dividends, or pay for share buybacks, though Strategy stressed the program creates no obligation to actually sell any Bitcoin.

Michael Saylor said the framework strengthens Strategy’s credit profile while keeping Bitcoin as the company’s primary treasury asset. 

CEO Phong Le framed it as a shift from simply issuing capital to actively managing the balance sheet through both issuance and buybacks depending on conditions.

Saylor’s 113 Buys Since Inception, Mapped on One ChartSaylor shared a chart Sunday showing Strategy’s full purchase history: 847,363 Bitcoin worth $50.88 billion as of June 28, spread across 113 separate buy events at an average cost basis of $75,653 per coin. 

The chart’s orange bubbles highlight aggressive accumulation through 2024 and 2025, with the average purchase price trending steadily upward.

“We’re gonna need more charts,” Saylor wrote, signaling he expects to keep adding Bitcoin going forward despite skipping purchases entirely last week. 

MSTR Breaks a Support Level That Held Since Early 2025MSTR trades 53.5% below its 200-day moving average, with the October 2025 death cross still firmly in place. 

The stock crashed through the $100 to $105 demand zone that had held since early 2025, a major structural breakdown, and is now testing a deeper zone between $65 and $80.

RSI sits at 27.85, putting MSTR firmly in oversold territory. Reclaiming the broken $100 zone targets $114.50 then $133.93. Losing $80 opens a path toward $65 to $70.

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Ripple (XRP) pares losses and trades around $1.05 at the time of writing on Monday. The cross-border remittance token is attempting a recovery after last week’s sell-off, which intensified as the United States (US) and Iran exchanged fire.

Steady gains above $1.05 would affirm a bullish turnaround, given that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are also edging higher.

XRP attracts modest capital inflowsXRP spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) posted inflows on several days last week. According to SoSoValue data, US-listed spot ETF inflows more than doubled totalling to $23 million, up from nearly $11 million the previous week.

Cumulative inflows currently stand at $1.47 billion, up from the $1.45 billion recorded the week before, while assets under management dropped to $934 million from $995 million.

XRP ETF flows | Source: SoSoValueSteady institutional interest is required to offset a significantly suppressed retail market. CoinGlass data show that perpetual futures Open Interest (OI) has remained relatively stable at $2.36 billion, down from $2.69 billion on June 1. Compared to the record $10.94 billion in July, the current OI indicates that risk-averse sentiment dominates in the retail market. The return of retailers would be key for the resumption of the uptrend.

XRP Futures OI | Source: CoinGlassPrice analysis: XRP holds key support amid a broader bearish trendXRP trades at $1.05, keeping a clear bearish near-term tone as price holds well beneath the key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), with the 50-day EMA at $1.21, the 100-day EMA at $1.31 and the 200-day EMA at $1.53 all acting as overhead resistance.

The pair is also capped below the Bollinger Bands' middle boundary at $1.12, while the lower band near $1.01 offers the nearest technical floor.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram remains marginally negative and flat on the daily chart, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) which sits at 33 sits, suggests subdued downside momentum.

XRP/USDT daily chartInitial resistance is seen at the Bollinger middle band around $1.12, ahead of a tighter cluster in the $1.23-$1.24 region where the Bollinger upper band aligns with the downward trendline’s break price. A daily close above this zone would be needed to ease the broader bearish pressure and target the 50-day EMA at $1.21 and. Further up, the 100-day EMA at $1.31 and the 200-day EMA at $1.53 would keep XRP constrained.

Looking down, immediate support is seen at the Bollinger lower band near $1.01. A decisive move below this level would expose fresh weakness, opening the door to a deeper retracement while keeping the overall structure firmly biased to the downside.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)

Open Interest, funding rate FAQs Higher Open Interest is associated with higher liquidity and new capital inflow to the market. This is considered the equivalent of increase in efficiency and the ongoing trend continues. When Open Interest decreases, it is considered a sign of liquidation in the market, investors are leaving and the overall demand for an asset is on a decline, fueling a bearish sentiment among investors.

Funding fees bridge the difference between spot prices and prices of futures contracts of an asset by increasing liquidation risks faced by traders. A consistently high and positive funding rate implies there is a bullish sentiment among market participants and there is an expectation of a price hike. A consistently negative funding rate for an asset implies a bearish sentiment, indicating that traders expect the cryptocurrency’s price to fall and a bearish trend reversal is likely to occur.

XRPLF and VS1 Finance Team Up on Permissioned LendingThe XRP Ledger Foundation (@XRPLF) has partnered with @vs1_finance to develop a sovereign, open-source reference application for permissioned lending on the $XRP Ledger. The collaboration positions VS1 as one of the first platforms to build directly on the ledger's newest institutional-grade infrastructure, combining compliance tooling with native on-chain credit mechanics.

The protocol leans on two core XRPL primitives: Credentials and Permissioned Domains. Permissioned Domains allow features such as lending protocols to restrict and manage access, so traditional financial institutions can offer services on-chain while complying with various compliance rules. Credentials, linked to Decentralized Identifiers, enable trusted issuers to attest to attributes such as KYC status, accreditation, or regulatory permissions. Their real power comes as a foundational building block within XRPL's broader identity stack, enabling permissioned domains, regulated DEXs, and compliant access to tokenized assets and lending markets.

Together, these primitives ensure that only participants meeting institutional-grade compliance standards can access on-chain liquidity through the VS1 application.

Single Asset Vaults and Bond TokenizationThe framework also integrates two recently introduced XRPL amendments: Single Asset Vaults (XLS-65) and the native XRPL Lending Protocol (XLS-66). Single Asset Vaults aggregate liquidity and issue vault shares that can be transferable or non-transferable depending on configuration. The Lending Protocol then builds on these vaults to enable fixed-term, uncollateralized loans with pre-set amortization schedules, while underwriting and risk management remain off-chain, where institutions already have mature models.

RippleX has confirmed that several institutional participants, including VS1.Finance, are already preparing to build on top of the Single Asset Vault and Lending Protocol. VS1 has noted it is applying Single Asset Vault and Lending Protocol to enable bond tokenization, going beyond simple credit use cases.

VS1 describes itself as the first AI-powered institutional DeFi hub on the XRP Ledger, building a regulated DeFi platform that combines institutional-grade swaps, lending, and AI-powered yield generation with portfolio intelligence tools for financial institutions and investors. VS1's first issuance, a corporate bond under the National Bank of Georgia's regulatory sandbox, is scheduled for Q3 2026.

The partnership reflects a broader shift on XRPL toward production-ready institutional infrastructure. Real-world assets on the XRP Ledger more than doubled last quarter, reaching an all-time high of $2.25 billion, up 124% in three months. With compliance primitives now live and a native lending protocol advancing through validator consensus, the ledger is moving from experimentation to regulated financial infrastructure at scale.

Sources:
Ripple: Institutional DeFi on XRPL
XRPL.org: Permissioned Domains
CryptoNews: XRPL Lending Protocol Security Review

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The XRP Ledger ecosystem continues to roll out large-scale infrastructure for institutional money. The new phase came as the XRP Ledger Foundation (XRPLF) announced a partnership with fintech platform VS1 Finance to create an open-source reference app. 

Its task is to give developers a ready-made legal framework for launching permissioned lending on the XRP Ledger blockchain. The mission is simple enough — to offer a specific technical solution for businesses that need clear compliance in order to access credit on-chain.

Why the app relies on XRPL architecture over smart contractsThe announcement of the new partnership came just days after VS1 Finance joined Ripple's UDAX accelerator on June 25, a program focused on developing on-chain capital markets. 

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The XRP Ledger Foundation is partnering with @vs1_finance to build an open-source reference app for permissioned, compliant lending on the XRP Ledger.

The app leverages the native primitives: Credentials, Permissioned Domains, Single Asset Vaults, and the Lending Protocol. pic.twitter.com/thbXFABtH2

— XRP Ledger Foundation (@XRPLF) June 29, 2026 The main feature of the project is its rejection of external add-ons. Instead of using external smart contracts, which are vulnerable to hacks, the app is built from native primitives embedded directly into the XRP Ledger protocol. 

This approach removes the risk of bugs in third-party developer code, since the entire logic is verified at the network validator level:

Identification and access: Compliance, including KYC/AML, is implemented through the built-in Credentials and Permissioned Domains modules. This makes it possible to isolate liquidity pools and allow access only to verified counterparties. Large funds receive a guarantee that their capital will not be mixed with assets of unknown origin.Liquidity management: Fixed-term lending and asset allocation are automated through Single Asset Vaults and the system-level Lending Protocol. The mechanics work without traditional intermediaries, while preserving the credit risk parameters familiar to banks.The partners, XRPL Foundation and VS1 Finance, are not creating an isolated commercial product. Instead, they are releasing an open-source project, which means any team or financial institution will be able to fork, study, or expand this code for integration into their own services. 

For the market, this means the emergence of a free and legally clean framework that reduces the cost of building on XRPL from scratch.

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VS1 Finance notes that permissioned lending is a necessary tool for attracting large capital into XRP, while the open template will help accelerate its adoption. The software development coincides with VS1 Finance's own preparation to issue tokenized corporate bonds within the regulatory sandbox of the National Bank of Georgia.

In this context, experience working with a real banking regulator is transferred directly into the architecture of the application being created.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has completed 94% of its plan to accumulate 5% of Ethereum’s total supply.

Bitmine on Monday disclosed that it purchased more than 27,000 ETH last week, lifting its total holdings to 5.7 million ETH, representing 4.7% of all Ethereum in circulation. The company also announced its inclusion in the Russell 1000 Large-cap Index, which it expects will attract additional institutional investors.

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In total, Bitmine has about $9.8 billion in assets, including crypto, cash, marketable securities, and strategic investments.

Beyond its leading Ethereum treasury, the firm also owns 206 BTC, maintains $555 million in liquidity, holds a $180 million investment in Beast Industries, and owns $74 million of Eightco, one of the few publicly listed companies offering investors indirect exposure to OpenAI.

Operationally, Bitmine continues to scale its institutional staking platform, MAVAN, with approximately 4.9 million ETH already staked, representing more than 85% of its Ethereum holdings.

Based on current staking yields, management estimates annualized staking revenue of $211 million, with upside to $246 million once all ETH is deployed through MAVAN and partner validators.

On the outlook for the crypto market, Thomas “Tom” Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, said he maintains a positive long-term view despite recent declines. Lee reiterated that the ongoing migration of Wall Street infrastructure onto blockchain networks and the emergence of crypto-based payment rails for agentic AI applications continue to support its investment strategy.

“This past week was a challenging one for crypto investors as ETH fell by 8%, even as Ethereum witnessed notable positive developments such as the creation of Ethlabs, and even the Bank of England softened its stance around stablecoins. We are nearing quarter-end for June, and it is not surprising to see ‘window dressing’ leading to investors reducing their holdings in assets which have fallen in the past 3 months,” he noted.

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

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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Despite the declines that began in October, LD Capital founder Jack Yi, who had consistently expressed optimism about Ethereum until the beginning of February, had now lost hope in ETH.

Yi stated that he was one of those who felt the most pressure during the decline in early February, and admitted that it was a mistake to be overly optimistic about Ethereum.

Following these erroneous actions, Jack Yi, who is now approaching Ethereum and the market more cautiously, shared his new analysis from his X account.

According to JackYi, Bitcoin is currently in its final downtrend phase.

The expert noted that BTC is experiencing its third downturn since October of last year, and according to Elliott Wave and cycle theories, this decline could be the last major drop of the bear market. According to Elliott Wave theory, the third wave is usually the strongest and longest-lasting.

The Chinese founder added that the key variables in determining the bottom are the performance of the US stock market and the price of Strategy (MSTR). Yi believes that a sustained decline in stocks could drag Bitcoin further down, while a rebound in MSTR could signal a broader market bottom.

“We are currently experiencing the third wave of decline since 11:10, and according to ripple theory and cycle rules, this is the last major downward wave for Bitcoin.”

Furthermore, black swan events or sudden spikes often occur at the end of past bear markets, but this one hasn’t happened yet, so we need to watch it closely.”

What Levels Could Bitcoin Reach? Yi, who sets Bitcoin’s potential price targets based on its October all-time high of $126,000, suggested that a 60% drop from BTC’s recent ATH of $126,000 could bring it down to $51,000, and a 66% drop could bring it down to $43,000. According to Yi, these percentages represent significant declines from current prices and signal a deep bear market bottom.

Finally, JackYi predicted that July and August would constitute the final downturn of this cycle, offering the most valuable buying opportunity for the next three years.

“Finally, if we calculate based on BTC’s highest point of $126,000, a 60% drop would be $51,000, and a 66% drop would be $43,000. In any case, July-August should be the final period, the best time for a dip, and even the most valuable trading opportunity for the next three years.”

*This is not investment advice.

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Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: $BMNR), chaired by @fundstrat's Tom Lee, has expanded its sovereign Ethereum reserve to 5,700,040 $ETH, placing the firm in control of 4.7% of the total circulating supply of 120.7 million tokens, according to a filing with the SEC.

World's Largest Corporate ETH TreasuryThe company's combined crypto, cash, and marketable securities holdings stand at $9.8 billion, cementing its position as the world's largest corporate Ethereum treasury. Bitmine's crypto holdings rank as the number one Ethereum treasury and number two global crypto treasury, behind Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR). The firm has set an explicit target it calls the "alchemy of 5%," aiming to hold 5% of all circulating $ETH sometime in 2026. As of its latest disclosure, Bitmine is 94% of the way to that goal in just 11 months.

A significant portion of those holdings is already put to work. The company has 4,879,157 ETH staked, representing $7.7 billion at $1,569 per ETH, through its MAVAN (Made in America VAlidator Network) platform. Annualized staking revenues are projected at around $230 million.

Russell 1000 Inclusion and $BMNP Preferred Stock Bitmine was added to the Russell 1000 Index, with the inclusion becoming effective following the 2026 Russell U.S. Index reconstitution. The Russell 1000 is one of the main U.S. large-cap equity benchmarks, and inclusion typically brings fresh demand from funds that track it, increasing liquidity in the stock.

The company has also bolstered its balance sheet through the capital markets. On June 10, Bitmine closed an offering of 3,500,000 shares of its 9.50% Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock at $80.00 per share, receiving net proceeds of approximately $273.8 million after underwriting discounts and expenses. The Series A Preferred Stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol $BMNP, with dividends scheduled to be paid weekly. The company intends to use the proceeds to buy more Ethereum and other digital assets and scale its MAVAN staking and validator infrastructure.

On the broader strategic outlook, Lee has pointed to tokenization and artificial intelligence as key demand drivers for Ethereum. "The best years for crypto remain ahead, in our view. Tokenization and the rapid progress in AI are expected to drive exponential demand growth for blockchain and decentralized crypto," Lee stated.

Sources:
Bitmine SEC Form 8-K Filing, June 2026
Bitmine Press Release via PR Newswire, June 22, 2026
BitMine, Upexi Secure Russell Index Inclusion, The Crypto Times

BitMine Immersion Technologies just added another 27,084 ETH to its balance sheet, paying roughly $43 million for the haul. The purchase brings the company’s total Ethereum holdings north of 5.7 million tokens, representing approximately 4.7% of the circulating supply.

From Bitcoin miner to Ethereum whale BitMine, trading under the ticker BMNR, has undergone a dramatic identity shift. The company pivoted from its origins as a Bitcoin mining operation into what is now essentially an Ethereum treasury vehicle, guided by chairman Tom Lee, the Fundstrat founder who has spent years as one of Wall Street’s most vocal crypto bulls.

BMNR’s total crypto and cash holdings are now estimated at around $9.8 billion. This latest $43 million purchase is just the most recent in a string of acquisitions throughout 2026. The firm has executed multiple large ETH buys this year, including a single tranche of 126,971 ETH for approximately $214 million.

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Lee has indicated that the accumulation will continue through the rest of 2026. The strategic target is clear: reach 5% of Ethereum’s total supply by year-end. At 4.7%, that finish line is getting close.

The playbook behind the buying BMNR has been timing its purchases around market dips, essentially buying weakness rather than chasing momentum. Lee has attributed recent ETH price softness to quarter-end portfolio adjustments, the kind of seasonal rebalancing that temporarily pushes prices lower without reflecting any fundamental change.

The funding mechanism is worth understanding. BMNR isn’t just selling equity to buy tokens. The strategy is partially bankrolled by staking rewards, meaning the Ethereum the company already holds generates yield that helps fund additional purchases. On top of that, the company has filed for preferred stock yielding 9.5%, creating another capital channel specifically designed to fuel further accumulation.

Lee has acknowledged that the strategy involves riding through unrealized losses during price corrections.

Why Ethereum, and why now Lee has been vocal about his belief that Ethereum is entering a supercycle, one driven by real-world asset tokenization migrating onto the network and the growing intersection between blockchain infrastructure and AI demand.

What this means for investors There’s also the question of what BMNR’s preferred stock offering means for retail investors in the company itself. A 9.5% yield is attractive, but it’s attractive precisely because it carries risk. That yield is ultimately backed by a volatile asset, and the company’s ability to sustain it depends on Ethereum maintaining or growing in value.

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

Table of contents

A single corporate entity now controls 4.7% of the entire Ethereum supply. It is not an exchange, a protocol treasury, or a decentralized autonomous organization. It is a private company that just added another 27,084 ETH to its balance sheet in one week.

According to the original report, Bitmine now holds 5.70 million ETH. The firm also carries $555 million in cash and marketable securities, with 4.88 million of that ETH actively staked. At a projected annualized staking revenue of $211 million, the position generates a reliable nine-figure income stream without selling a single coin.

That scale puts Bitmine in a category that even some of Ethereum’s largest ICO-era whales would struggle to match. The accumulation pattern does not look like a short-term trade. It looks like a multi-year treasury strategy built around staking yield and a conviction that the asset itself will appreciate.

The mechanics behind a massive staking position Running a validator operation with 4.88 million ETH staked requires meaningful infrastructure. The 27,084 ETH added this week would itself be enough to run over 800 validators. The fact that Bitmine can absorb that kind of inflow without visible market disruption says something about the liquidity structure around ETH today. Most of the buying likely happened off-exchange or through OTC desks, limiting price impact.

The staking yield alone—$211 million a year—is not trivial. At current Ethereum staking rates, it is consistent with a blended annual return somewhere in the range institutional investors track closely. With $555 million in cash and marketable securities on top, Bitmine is running a capital-heavy operation that looks more like a traditional treasury desk than a crypto startup.

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s developer ecosystem continues to dominate activity rankings. Top 10 Blockchains by Developer Activity This Week at BlockchainReporter shows Ethereum still out front, with layer-2 networks and alternative layer-1s trailing behind. Heavy staking participation like Bitmine’s anchors the security of a chain that still attracts the most builders.

Supply concentration and what it means for the market Owning 4.7% of a $300 billion asset is not just a financial statistic. It is a market structure question. Large stakers do not only influence supply dynamics; they also affect validator queue mechanics if they ever decide to rotate out of the position. A partial unstake of that magnitude would create an exit event that fills the withdrawal queue for weeks and jolts the staking derivative market.

Yet the market seems to price concentration risk unevenly. The same week Bitmine expanded its holdings, SUI Price Today showed how institutional staking demand can drive a rally on other chains too. Across the sector, staking-as-a-service and corporate treasury allocations are starting to merge. When a firm can earn solid yield and still vote on network proposals, staking ETH looks more like an operational asset than a trading position.

Regulatory shadows over staking treasuries What remains uncertain is whether a corporate entity staking nearly 5 million ETH draws the attention of policymakers in the United States and Europe. Enforcement actions against staking services have mostly targeted exchange-based offerings, but a single private company holding such a large share of the supply could eventually trigger questions about concentration, governance influence, and market integrity.

The fight in Washington over crypto market structure legislation is not settled. As Banks Are Trying to Kill the Biggest Crypto Bill in US History detailed, banking interests are pushing hard to reshape the rules, and the outcome could directly affect whether large staking operations face additional compliance burdens in the years ahead.

For now, Bitmine’s accumulation play works on the assumption that the rules will not choke the model. The firm keeps buying and keeps staking. If the regulatory environment stays permissive, the 4.7% figure may just be a waypoint.

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Bitmine has increased its Ethereum holdings to more than 5.7 million ETH, bringing the company within reach of its stated goal of controlling 5% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply.

Summary

Bitmine added 27,084 ETH last week, increasing its treasury to more than 5.7 million ETH, or about 4.7% of Ethereum’s supply. Chairman Tom Lee said the company remains on track to reach its goal of controlling 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply in 2026. Ethereum continues to hold above key support near $1,510, while Bitmine and other treasury firms keep accumulating despite recent market weakness. According to a June 29 company announcement, the Ethereum treasury firm purchased another 27,084 ETH over the past week, lifting its total holdings to just over 5.7 million ETH.

Based on Bitmine’s figures, the treasury now represents about 4.7% of Ethereum’s estimated circulating supply of 120.7 million ETH, while Chairman Tom Lee reiterated his expectation that the company could reach the “alchemy of 5%” sometime in 2026.

Bitmine expands Ethereum treasury through steady buying The latest purchase continues Bitmine’s accumulation strategy despite a difficult week for the crypto market. Ethereum fell around 8% during the period, yet the company maintained its buying pace while keeping most of its holdings in staking.

Per the announcement, Bitmine has staked nearly 4.9 million ETH, or about 85% of its treasury, with those holdings valued at roughly $7.7 billion at current market prices.

Tom Lee said the company projects annualized staking revenue of about $211 million, while its staking operations have recently generated an annualized seven-day yield of 2.75%.

Bitmine’s scale has made it the largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury company. Its Arkham wallet page has become a closely watched reference for investors tracking the firm’s purchases and staking activity, drawing attention to both the rapid expansion of its treasury and its exposure to Ethereum price swings.

Earlier this month, crypto.news examined what could happen if treasury companies continue accumulating large portions of Ethereum’s supply. The report noted that while sustained buying can reduce liquid supply available on the market, concentrated ownership may also increase risks if companies later finance operations through debt, equity issuance, or asset sales during weaker market conditions.

Institutional positioning continues despite weak price action Separately, Bitmine said it has joined the Russell 1000 index following the annual reconstitution of the benchmark. Tom Lee stated that the inclusion could introduce hundreds or even thousands of additional institutional investors to the company’s shareholder base.

Although Ethereum has struggled in recent weeks, Lee pointed to several industry developments that he believes remain supportive. He cited the launch of Ethlabs and the Bank of England’s softer position on stablecoins as positive developments for the Ethereum ecosystem.

Commenting on the recent weakness across crypto markets, Lee said the selling pressure was consistent with quarter-end portfolio repositioning rather than a change in Ethereum’s long-term outlook.

“We are nearing quarter-end for June, and it is not surprising to see ‘window dressing’ leading to investors reducing their holdings in assets which have fallen in the past 3 months.”

The latest treasury purchase also comes as other publicly traded Ethereum holders continue adding to their positions. According to blockchain data highlighted by crypto analyst Rain, SharpLink acquired 39,196 ETH worth about $62.4 million over three days, even as spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded a seventh straight week of net outflows.

Sharplink bought $62.4M of $ETH in three days after sitting out for eight months.

39,196 ETH total. 5,000 Thursday. 5,000 Friday. 29,196 across three OTC deals Saturday.

ETH is down 22.8% month-on-month, near 50% since January.

Spot ETH ETFs hit seven straight weeks of… pic.twitter.com/wdLPbd2PO4

— Rain (@raintures) June 29, 2026 Rain argued that the buying suggests some corporate treasury managers are positioning for long-term institutional adoption rather than responding to short-term market momentum.

Bitmine’s Ethereum strategy has also become increasingly linked to its public-market structure. In an earlier report, crypto.news noted that the company’s BMNP preferred-share dividend plan ties shareholder payments to the size of its Ethereum treasury and the income generated from staking, making staking returns a core part of the firm’s capital strategy rather than simply an additional revenue source.

Ethereum remains pinned near major support From a technical perspective, Ethereum appears to be forming a descending triangle on the daily chart, with a series of lower highs pressing against horizontal support near $1,510. The pattern suggests sellers continue to gain control while buyers defend the same price zone.

Ethereum daily price chart — June 29 | Source: crypto.news Momentum indicators remain cautious. The daily RSI is holding near 31, close to oversold territory, suggesting selling pressure has eased but buyers have yet to regain control. Meanwhile, the MACD remains below the zero line despite flattening out, indicating bearish momentum is weakening without confirming a reversal.

A breakout above the descending trendline and the $1,700 resistance could invalidate the bearish setup and open the way toward the $1,860 Fibonacci resistance. Conversely, a decisive break below the $1,510 support would confirm the descending triangle and could accelerate losses toward the psychological $1,400 level.

Ethereum [ETH] has faced renewed selling pressure after large holders reduced their positions by roughly 550,000 ETH, valued at nearly $880 million, over the past week. The scale of the distribution reflected growing caution among major market participants and increased the available supply entering the market. 

As a result, Ethereum lost ground and slipped toward the $1,560 support area highlighted on the daily chart. The decline also aligned with weakening market structure after Ethereum failed to reclaim higher resistance levels earlier this month. 

Instead of attracting aggressive follow-through buying, each recovery attempt encountered renewed selling pressure. 

Buyers returned despite aggressive whale selling Spot Taker CVD presented a different picture from the whale activity. 

At the time of writing,  Taker Buy Dominant indicated that market buyers had regained control of executed spot orders despite the sizeable distribution from large holders. This shift suggested that retail participants and smaller investors absorbed part of the additional supply entering the market. 

Buying interest strengthened near support instead of disappearing after the decline. Even so, the renewed demand had not yet translated into a decisive breakout because whale selling remained substantial throughout the week. 

Buyers therefore faced the difficult task of overcoming persistent overhead supply before Ethereum could establish a stronger recovery.

Source: CryptoQuant Ethereum fights to protect a major support Ethereum revisited the $1,560 demand zone after completing a sharp decline from the $2,000 resistance region. 

The daily chart showed buyers responding every time price approached this area, preventing another immediate breakdown. That repeated defense suggested the level continued attracting demand despite broader market weakness.

At press time, the RSI remained below the neutral 50 level and printed around 33, showing that bullish strength had not fully recovered. Despite that, the indicator stayed above its recent low, suggesting selling pressure had eased compared with the earlier collapse. 

Price also continued forming higher rebounds from support, although it still traded beneath the major resistance levels at $1,800 and $2,000. If buyers continued defending the current zone, Ethereum could attempt another recovery toward those resistance levels. 

However, losing $1,560 would likely expose the market to another leg lower before stronger demand emerged.

Source: TradingView Liquidity barrier could shape Ethereum’s next move The Binance ETH/USDT Liquidation Heatmap showed the largest concentration of liquidity sitting around the $1,590-$1,600 region. 

Those dense liquidation clusters represented the closest obstacle above the current market price and highlighted where volatility could increase if Ethereum continued recovering.

Price had already approached this area several times without producing a sustained breakout. That behavior indicated sellers remained active around the liquidity pocket even as buyers defended lower levels. 

Clearing the $1,590-$1,600 cluster could trigger additional short liquidations and encourage price to challenge the next resistance near $1,800. Otherwise, repeated rejection inside that zone would strengthen the case for another retest of $1,560, where buyers would once again need to absorb renewed selling pressure.

Source: CoinGlass Can ETH regain control? Ethereum showed signs of stabilization after buyers defended the $1,560 support despite heavy whale selling. Spot demand also strengthened, offering an encouraging signal beneath the surface. 

However, the market would likely need to clear the $1,590-$1,600 liquidity barrier before any broader recovery could develop. Failing to overcome that zone could keep Ethereum trapped near support and increase the risk of another downside test.

Final Summary Ethereum whales distributed 550,000 ETH as buyers continued absorbing supply near the $1,560 support. Spot buying strengthened despite whale selling, while heavy liquidity remained concentrated around $1,590–$1,600.

In brief BitMine added another $43 million in Ethereum to its balance sheet last week, despite falling prices. The firm now holds more than 5.7 million ETH valued around $9 billion. As BitMine continued its consistent purchases, top Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy did not add to its holdings last week. Leading Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies stayed consistent in the face of declining crypto prices last week, adding nearly $43 million in ETH to its stash even while top Bitcoin treasury company Strategy opted against accumulating BTC. 

The firm now holds more than 5.7 million ETH, valued around $9 billion. It also holds around 206 Bitcoin, worth $12.3 million. 

“This past week was a challenging one for crypto investors as ETH fell by 8%, even as Ethereum witnessed notable positive developments such as the creation of Ethlabs, and even the Bank of England softened its stance around stablecoins,” said BitMine Chairman Tom Lee in a statement. (Disclaimer: Lee is an investor in Decrypt parent company, Dastan).

Ethlabs, a new nonprofit research and development lab dedicated to championing the future of the Ethereum network and its native asset, is financially backed by BitMine and competing treasury firm Sharplink. 

Lee maintained that crypto's future looks bright, and said the firm “remains focused on the longer-term horizon,” highlighting tailwinds like agentic payments and institutional adoption of crypto rails. 

“We are nearing quarter-end for June, and it is not surprising to see 'window dressing' leading to investors reducing their holdings in assets which have fallen in the past three months,” he said. 

The firm’s primary treasury asset, ETH, has now fallen 22% in the last month of trading, recently trading hands at $1,567. At that mark, ETH is now 68% off its all-time high of $4,946. 

Bitcoin has performed marginally better, dipping 19% in the last month of trading and more than 52% from its all-time high of $126,080, changing hands on Monday at $59,324.

As its primary treasury vehicle slides, so too have shares in BitMine (BMNR). The firm’s stock has fallen nearly 17% in the last five trading days and more than 31% in the last month of trading, recently trading at $13.21—down about 2.6% so far Monday.

Shares are now down more than 91% from a 52-week high of $161 established shortly after the firm adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy last June. 

That crypto-amassing model was pioneered by Bitcoin giant Strategy and its co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who started aggressively accumulating BTC in 2020. While the firm had aggressively and consistently added BTC on a nearly weekly basis in recent years, it did not add to its holdings last week amid scrutiny of its preferred equity offering, STRC, which fell to new lows on Friday.

Instead, the firm approved plans to sell up to $1.25 billion worth of Bitcoin to build up its cash reserves to fuel dividend payments.

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

As the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) attempts to hold onto support around the $60,000 level, it continues to face a number of adverse factors, including large capital outflows from US spot ETFs, concerns about a potential Fed interest rate hike, a strong dollar, rising Treasury bond yields, and military conflicts in the Middle East.

Amid these negative developments, further declines for Bitcoin continue to be predicted, with $50,000 being the most frequently mentioned option.

At this point, the analytics firm QCP Capital predicts that Bitcoin could reach $55,000.

QCP Capital analysts noted increased demand in the options market for BTC put options with a price range of $55,000 to $58,000 for the end of July.

Analysts also added that risk reversal indicators largely favored put options.

Finally, QCP Capital identified $58,000 and $1,500 as key support levels for Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively.

The First Bottom Signal for Bitcoin Has Arrived! Furthermore, CryptoQuant analyst MorenoDV argues that the first bottoming signals are emerging in Bitcoin’s on-chain indicators.

According to the analyst, the first on-chain signal of a potential Bitcoin bottom has been observed. At this point, the analyst noted that the Bitcoin UTXO block profit/loss ratio has fallen to a level that historically coincides with market lows.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean a bottom has been reached. According to the analyst, a stronger signal for a bottom in Bitcoin needs to emerge, and the 365-day moving average needs to show a much steeper decline. In other words, the current bear market may face further declines and market shocks before it completely ends.

“…The rate has fallen into a region that historically appears during bottom-forming phases. However, this doesn’t mean the bottom has been reached. Bitcoin may need to endure more pain before completely ending its bear market phase…”

*This is not investment advice.

Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!

Key Takeaways Dogecoin is consolidating within a narrow $0.073 to $0.076 corridor, facing crucial resistance around $0.078 An upward-sloping trendline indicates continued buyer presence, though no decisive breakout has materialized Open interest has surged while price action remains stagnant, creating vulnerability for overleveraged long traders Technical analyst Ali Charts identified a TD Sequential buy indication, emphasizing $0.073 as a critical support threshold The meme coin has declined 2.3% in the last 17 hours and 11.7% across the weekly timeframe, mirroring broader market weakness Dogecoin continues to trade within a confined range between $0.073 and $0.076 as market participants await a definitive directional move. The popular meme cryptocurrency has underperformed relative to other major altcoins throughout the past seven days.

[[IMG_4]]Dogecoin (DOGE) Price The token experienced approximately 2.3% depreciation during a 17-hour period and has surrendered roughly 11.7% of its value over the weekly span. This positions it among the more significant decliners within the large-capitalization cryptocurrency segment.

The wider digital asset market has faced sustained selling pressure. Bitcoin continues hovering beneath the $60,000 threshold, United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have recorded net capital outflows, and Federal Reserve policy stance remains restrictive. A strengthening US dollar has compounded these challenges.

Bitcoin’s market dominance has expanded to approximately 58.2%, signaling a capital rotation from elevated-risk altcoins such as DOGE toward the flagship cryptocurrency.

Technical analyst Carlos Garcia Tapia published a chart on X platform illustrating DOGE maintaining position above a significant wick formation near $0.07408. The price action continues respecting a near-term ascending trendline, indicating that buyers remain engaged in protecting lower price zones.

The initial resistance barrier stands near $0.0759. A successful breach of this level could establish a pathway toward $0.0783 to $0.0784. Following that zone, the $0.0803 area represents the subsequent target, with additional resistance positioned at $0.0850 and $0.0876.

Open Interest Surge Amid Stagnant Price Action An additional chart from analyst CW on X platform demonstrates open interest climbing substantially while price movement remained confined. This configuration typically signals market uncertainty and potential volatility ahead.

$DOGE has remained flat since the last large-scale long position buying. pic.twitter.com/liwHuBp6Jk

— CW (@CW8900) June 28, 2026

Concentrated long positions can fuel upward momentum if buyers successfully breach resistance levels. However, if price action remains sideways or deteriorates, these crowded long positions face liquidation risk during a potential flush-out event.

Market analyst Ali Charts shared on X that the TD Sequential indicator has generated a buy signal for DOGE. “My focus is squarely on $0.073,” Ali Charts stated. “Maintaining this level opens the door to $0.081. A breakdown invalidates the technical setup.”

The TD Sequential has flashed a buy signal on Dogecoin $DOGE.

I’m watching $0.073 closely. Hold it, and $0.081 is in play. Lose it, and the setup is no longer valid. pic.twitter.com/lihmmw0Rg5

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) June 26, 2026

The $0.073 price point has emerged as a widely-monitored support benchmark among traders and technical analysts.

Development Team Addresses Community Concerns From a fundamental perspective, the official Dogecoin account responded to assertions that the project lacks active development resources. The team emphasized a dedicated core contributor base and ongoing ecosystem initiatives.

This statement was interpreted as neutral to marginally constructive for DOGE’s long-term narrative and did not generate observable selling activity.

No DOGE-specific adverse developments are responsible for the recent price deterioration. The decline corresponds with comprehensive macroeconomic headwinds affecting the cryptocurrency marketplace.

Downside support resides near $0.072. A violation of this threshold would intensify pressure on current long position holders.

Dogecoin is currently trading within a critical price band, with a clear divergence between short and long-term market trends. At present, the cryptocurrency’s value fluctuates between $0.073 and $0.075. Analysts note that, while longer-term charts highlight an accumulation zone historically defended by buyers in past cycles, short-term price action continues to face significant selling pressure.

Accumulation zone stands out in long-term outlookIn an assessment of Dogecoin’s quarterly chart, one analyst highlights that the asset remains within a broad support zone that previously functioned as a base during weak market periods. This area, characterized by substantial buying interest, is recognized as both a strong demand region and a bear market accumulation zone.

This broader perspective emphasizes market structure over short-term price movements. After a notable pullback from its 2024 and 2025 highs, Dogecoin has returned to the same accumulation band that historically prompted buyers to re-enter, signaling the importance of this level going forward.

The quarterly chart shows that Dogecoin is still within a broad support area where it found backing in previous cycles, suggesting the potential for a stronger recovery over time if this region is preserved.

Maintaining this support zone could keep prospects for a large-scale rebound alive. Conversely, should the price fall decisively below this area, the overall structure would weaken and current seller dominance would be reinforced.

Seller pressure dominates in the short termOn the four-hour chart, a more fragile picture emerges. According to analysts, Dogecoin has slipped below the $0.079 to $0.081 range—previously a support area in June—and has been unable to sustain any rebound when revisiting this zone. As a result, the former support has now turned into resistance in the short term.

The primary negative signal on the chart stems from this failed retest. As long as the price remains below the broken support, analysts believe sellers will maintain short-term control. Additionally, Dogecoin now trades below the moving average at approximately $0.087, further indicating muted upward momentum.

IndicatorLevelSignificanceCurrent trading range$0.073 through $0.075Reflects present market consolidationShort-term resistance$0.079 – $0.081Breaking above could ease downward pressureMoving average$0.087Serves as the threshold for a momentum increaseDownside target$0.065Key level if resistance cannot be brokenFailure to reclaim the $0.079 to $0.081 range in the short-term indicates sellers remain in control, with $0.065 emerging as the next downside target.

The market’s attention remains focused on these technical levels. Should Dogecoin’s price climb back above the $0.079 to $0.081 range, the short-term bearish scenario may weaken. However, another rejection at this resistance could open the door to a further decline toward $0.065.

Analysts highlight that current levels will likely serve as critical markers for market participants, setting the tone for upcoming price action. Investors and traders are expected to monitor both the short-term resistance and long-term accumulation band for clues on potential trend reversals or deeper corrections.

Until significant developments occur, Dogecoin is likely to remain range-bound, fluctuating between the consolidation zone and the immediate resistance defined above. The market’s reaction to any breakouts or breakdowns will shape expectations for the coming weeks.

Market observers continue to watch for early signals that could indicate a shift in control from sellers to buyers, particularly signs of sustained momentum above the moving average or a decisive retest and reclamation of prior support zones.

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

The Midnight Foundation has temporarily suspended redemptions for its Glacier Drop token distribution program. 

The decision follows reports of a security breach involving EMURGO’s neo-financial platform, SecondFi. According to the Midnight Foundation, the suspension serves as a precautionary measure designed to protect users while investigations continue and additional safeguards are introduced.

Rationale Behind the Suspension In the latest update, the Midnight team clarified that the reported security issue does not involve its own infrastructure, products, or services. However, the incident impacts certain wallets connected to SecondFi, a wallet used by some Glacier Drop participants.

Consequently, the Midnight Foundation decided to pause all Glacier Drop redemptions to minimize potential risks to users. While acknowledging that the temporary halt also affects users who were not impacted by the breach, the foundation emphasized that suspending redemptions remains the safest course of action for the broader community.

Meanwhile, the team stated that it intends to resume redemptions once it determines that conditions are safe enough to proceed.

SecondFi Hack Drained More Than 16 Million ADA The development comes roughly a week after SecondFi, formerly known as Yoroi Wallet, suffered a sophisticated attack that drained more than 16 million Cardano coins (ADA) from 374 addresses.

Following an internal investigation, SecondFi traced the root cause of the exploit to an address-level vulnerability. According to the company, the affected software signer contained a deterministic nonce derivation flaw. Each time an address signed a transaction, the flaw leaked enough information for attackers to mathematically reconstruct the address’s private key using publicly available blockchain data.

As a result, SecondFi advised affected users not to transfer assets to other platforms or import their recovery phrases into alternative Cardano wallets until the recovery process is completed.

Glacier Drop Redemption Schedule Faces Temporary Interruption Against this backdrop, Midnight has taken precautionary steps to halt Glacier Drop redemptions.

Although the Glacier Drop officially launched on August 5, 2025, Midnight adopted a phased redemption structure in which distributed tokens gradually thaw and become redeemable in four equal quarterly installments of 25% each.

The first redemption window ran from December 10, 2025, to March 9, 2026. The second redemption phase followed from March 10, 2026, to June 7, 2026.

The program is currently in its third thaw period, which began on June 8, 2026, and is scheduled to continue until September 5, 2026. The final redemption phase will commence on September 6, 2026, and conclude on December 4, 2026.

For now, Midnight confirmed that the suspension will remain in place until the SecondFi security incident is fully resolved and sufficient safeguards have been implemented.

Midnight Redemption SecondFi Launches Recovery Process In the meantime, the SecondFi team has initiated a recovery plan with an estimated two-week timeline. 

As part of the process, the engineering team plans to release a mechanism early next week that will allow users to determine whether their wallets were affected by the exploit. The company also intends to introduce a secure migration procedure that will enable users to safely move their assets out of the platform.

Until these recovery tools become available, SecondFi continues to urge users not to take any action with their wallets or funds. 

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

The Cardano ecosystem recorded several major developments over the past week. Most notably, the launch of the Leios public testnet led activity. There were also upcoming decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives, renewed ecosystem funding, and an application-level security incident involving the SecondFi wallet.

Here’s what happened in the Cardano ecosystem in the last week:

Leios Public Testnet Goes LiveCardano officially launched the public testnet for Leios, its next-generation scaling protocol, on June 23. Named Musashi Dojo after the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, the testnet marks one of the network’s most known technical milestones in years. Moreover, the upgrade is seen as a major boost to Cardano’s transaction throughput by up to 65X. A mainnet hard fork is targeted for November 2026.

The rollout is structured into five phases: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. These will progressively test the protocol from initial design validation to adversarial testing before mainnet deployment. As a result, the testnet allows stake pool operators (SPOs) to deploy Leios-enabled block producers. Developers can also begin testing decentralized applications (DApps), wallets, and infrastructure ahead of the upgrade.

RealFi Testnet Set for July LaunchInput Output Global (IOG) also announced that Phase 1 of its RealFi testnet will launch on July 6.

The project aims to improve capital efficiency by enabling stablecoins to generate yield instead of remaining idle. The initiative represents IOG’s latest effort to expand decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases within the Cardano ecosystem.

Big news: the RealFi Phase 1 Testnet goes live on 6 July. 🚀

This is our first public step toward next-generation stablecoin infrastructure on Cardano – and a direct response to a problem we've been vocal about:

Crypto's clearest success story has scaled as money. But not as… pic.twitter.com/uQe68ds6iM

— RealFi (@realfi_co) June 24, 2026 Project Catalyst Returns with 2 Million ADACardano’s community funding program, Project Catalyst, will return in August with a 2 million ADA grant pool.

A new Catalyst pilot fund will start in August 2026, with a total grant pool of 2M $ADA.

We look forward to working with the community and supporting the Cardano builders. More details soon.

Read the announcement on the Forum and share your thoughts.https://t.co/MbM7xZ7IKc

— Project Catalyst (@Catalyst_onX) June 26, 2026 The upcoming funding round will prioritize projects building around technologies such as Pyth, Brale, stablecoins, programmable tokens, and on-chain identity. This will provide fresh capital for developers and ecosystem builders.

AlphaGrowth Proposes Treasury-Funded DeFi InitiativeMeanwhile, AlphaGrowth unveiled PRIME, a proposal with a vision to accelerate DeFi adoption on Cardano.

1/11

Cardano DeFi is ready for prime time.

Today we’re introducing PRIME:

a 12-month AlphaGrowth-run program to help Cardano attract liquidity, deepen DeFi usage, and become a first-class destination for capital. pic.twitter.com/nJ11h3jQWr

— alphagrowth (@alphagrowth1) June 22, 2026 The firm plans to request 120 million ADA from the Cardano treasury to fund the initiative. It is also showcasing its previous work with major blockchain ecosystems including Compound, Uniswap, and Arbitrum. Notably, it says it helped support more than $1 billion in total value locked (TVL).

SecondFi Exploit Prompts Security ReminderThe week also saw a security incident involving SecondFi, formerly known as the Yoroi wallet. A vulnerability reportedly resulted in the theft of approximately 16 million ADA.

SecondFi stated that affected users will be fully compensated and advised users to follow updates through its official channels.

Addressing concerns, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson emphasized that the blockchain itself was not compromised. He stated that Cardano’s protocol, cryptography, and core infrastructure remain secure. 

He described the exploit as an isolated application-level issue rather than a network-wide vulnerability.

Cardano’s native token ADA traded at $0.1439, declining 0.8% over the past 24 hours despite a series of ecosystem developments. 

Story Ends Here

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The Cardano Foundation is telling Stake Pool Operators they need to actually show up and vote. Not just let the system auto-abstain on their behalf, but deliberately choose Yes, No, or Abstain on governance actions, even if abstaining is what they planned to do anyway.

It might sound like a distinction without a difference. It’s not. An explicit abstain vote signals that an SPO reviewed the proposal and made a conscious decision. Auto-abstain means they didn’t bother looking. In a governance system built on transparency and accountability, the gap between those two is enormous.

Why manual votes matter in Voltaire-era governance Cardano’s governance structure, part of its Voltaire era, splits decision-making power across three groups: Stake Pool Operators, Delegated Representatives (DReps), and the Constitutional Committee (CC). Most governance actions require at least two of these three groups to approve them, with SPO votes often needing a minimum of 51% approval for certain action types.

The Foundation itself has committed to voting on all governance actions and publishing public rationales for each decision. To help SPOs and other participants navigate what can be a confusing process, the Foundation released 14 flowcharts in July 2025. These tools break down the various governance action types and clarify the responsibilities of each voting group.

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The push for active voting also ties into the Foundation’s broader strategy of reducing its own outsized influence. In early 2026, the Foundation adjusted its delegation strategies by cutting back on passive holdings, a move designed to encourage others to step into more active governance roles.

The treasury vote that proved governance is real A treasury withdrawal proposal requesting approximately 7.8 million ADA, roughly $2 million, to fund the Cardano Summit 2026 went to a community vote. It needed 66.67% DRep support to pass. It got 65.21%. The proposal failed by less than 1.5 percentage points, and the Summit, which had been scheduled for early June 2026, was cancelled as a result.

The Foundation’s role in that vote is worth noting. Rather than casting its own vote, it abstained specifically to avoid exerting undue influence on the outcome.

The failed vote also illustrates why the Foundation is now pushing SPOs to participate actively. Every abstention, whether deliberate or by default, affects the math. When governance actions live or die by fractions of a percentage point, passive non-participation isn’t neutral. It’s consequential.

The bigger picture: decentralization gets uncomfortable The three-body governance model, with SPOs, DReps, and the CC each holding distinct roles, is designed to prevent any single faction from dominating. Cardano’s high approval thresholds, requiring a two-thirds supermajority for treasury actions, create a natural check against unrestrained spending.

The Foundation’s insistence on public rationales for every vote adds another layer of accountability. When voters have to explain their reasoning on-chain, it becomes much harder to engage in performative governance or vote trading without scrutiny.

Notably, ADA’s price showed no significant immediate reaction to the failed treasury vote. Governance participation rates and voting patterns are becoming metrics worth tracking for anyone evaluating Cardano’s fundamental health, not just its token price.

The Foundation’s call for SPOs to vote explicitly rather than auto-abstain is, at its core, a recognition that decentralized governance only works if people actually govern.

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

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Local traders in India are now paying more than eight and a half percent extra for Tether’s USDT, a sharp dislocation from the typical 3% to 4% premium. The sudden jump points to a genuine supply shock rather than routine market noise. According to the market update citing The Economic Times, USDT was quoted at INR 102.88 on Saturday, while the dollar-rupee official closing rate sat at 94.65. The gap reveals a market scrambling for stablecoin liquidity at almost any price.

The trigger is not a minor technical adjustment. India’s Enforcement Directorate recently cracked down on INR 250 billion in money transfers conducted through virtual digital assets. That action alone was enough to choke off the normal flow of USDT into domestic exchanges. With fewer fresh inflows arriving, the local order books have thinned, and the price of immediate settlement has shot upward. For traders who use USDT as their primary on-ramp to altcoin markets, the higher premium eats into margins instantly.

A Liquidity Freeze Across India’s Crypto Desks The 8.5% figure is not just an academic spread. It represents a real cost that Indian users must absorb every time they convert rupees into the most liquid dollar-pegged asset. Many exchanges in the country rely on peer-to-peer platforms and OTC desks to move large volumes of stablecoins, and those channels are now severely disrupted. When supply drops, market makers widen their bid-ask spreads, and the entire trading ecosystem slows down. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: high premiums deter new capital, and lower liquidity pushes premiums even higher.

The Enforcement Directorate’s action focused on massive sums flowing through virtual asset rails, an area that has been under increasing scrutiny since India imposed a 30% tax on crypto gains and a 1% tax deducted at source on every transaction above a certain threshold. That tax regime already pushed many high-frequency traders offshore, and now the enforcement sweep is accelerating the exodus of liquidity. Less onshore USDT means less depth, and less depth means more volatility in the premium.

Regulatory Fear Adds a Risk Premium Purushottam Anand, founder of Crypto Legal, noted that the recent rise likely includes a risk premium driven by regulatory uncertainty. His observation points to a market that is not just responding to a supply shortage but also pricing in the probability of further enforcement actions. Every new probe or seizure redefines what market participants think about the safety of keeping assets on domestic platforms. That uncertainty gets baked into the price of the most critical settlement asset—USDT.

India’s relationship with virtual asset regulation has been ambivalent. While there is no outright ban, the government has used taxation and enforcement as indirect tools. The result is a gray zone where rules are enforced selectively, and the cost of compliance is unpredictable. This week’s premium surge is not the first time Indian traders have paid above market rates for stablecoins, but the magnitude suggests a growing discomfort. When the premium stays elevated, it can push users toward riskier unofficial channels, which paradoxically may be what regulators want to avoid.

While Indian authorities tighten the screws on virtual asset transfers, United States lawmakers face their own regulatory inflection point, with banking interests mobilizing to block a landmark crypto bill just days before a Senate vote. The contrast highlights a global regulatory patchwork that makes capital flows uneven and quick to react to local enforcement signals. Markets treat these events as liquidity events, and India’s premium spike is the latest example.

What Traders Are Watching Next The immediate question is whether new USDT inflows can normalize the premium in the coming days, or if the supply crunch will persist. Much depends on how seriously OTC desks and large holders interpret the Enforcement Directorate’s signals. A single large settlement or a clearer policy statement could bring the premium back toward 4% quickly. But if the current environment lingers, the Indian market may see more trading volume shift toward decentralized platforms and foreign exchanges that do not require onshore stablecoin pools.

The squeeze in India stands in stark contrast to the global surge in tokenized real-world assets, which recently crossed $20 billion in on-chain value as institutional adoption accelerates. While one corner of the crypto ecosystem faces a liquidity drain, another is absorbing record capital. This divergence underlines how local regulatory actions can create micro-market dislocations even when the broader industry trends remain upward.

Yet on the technical front, blockchain infrastructure shows no sign of retreat, with developer activity remaining concentrated across the top networks according to recent weekly data. Protocols continue to iterate, but for Indian crypto users, the immediate challenge is not code—it is access to the very asset that greases the rails of trading. Until the regulatory posture clarifies or fresh supply returns, the 8.5% premium will act as a tax on every trade.

AUTHOR

Freelance writer and crypto enthusiast with a focus on Web3, delivering clear and engaging articles. Known for his well-researched articles and insightful analysis, Shayan covers a broad range of topics including market trends, blockchain technology, decentralized finance (DeFi), and emerging crypto projects. His writing aims to educate both beginners and experts, providing clear, engaging content that helps readers stay informed about the fast-evolving crypto space. Shayan's expertise and dedication make him a trusted voice in the blockchain community.

Amid efforts to further boost the adoption of Tether Gold, Paulo Ardoino, the CEO of the largest stablecoin issuing company, Tether, has confirmed the news of a new partnership with a major crypto lending platform.

As adoption continues to grow, Tether has reportedly signed a new partnership deal with Ledn, a renowned crypto lending platform, to allow the use of tokenized gold as collateral for loans.

Tether Gold utility expandsWhile the news had earlier drawn attention from the crypto community, it further triggered excitement after Ardoino issued a simple post that formally confirmed the partnership and the proposed development.

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The development, which has been warmly received as a bullish step, will allow holders of Tether's tokenized gold asset backed by physical gold reserves, also dubbed Tether Gold (XAUT), to borrow against their assets.

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As such, XAUT holders will have the opportunity to access lending services without the need to sell their holdings, positioning Tether Gold for increased adoption and growth among other stablecoins.

XAUT to provide lending solutions While the development has arrived as the DeFi ecosystem is witnessing growing interest in tokenized assets, it aims to increase the real-world use cases for tokenized products like Tether Gold. 

This implies that apart from the traditional trading and investment activities holders utilize, they now have access to extended services like lending solutions.

Apparently, the partnership aims to enable loans backed by tokenized gold, thereby providing XAUT users with greater liquidity and access to capital while they maintain exposure to gold's price movements. This development also points to further expansion of the Tether ecosystem.