Binance News

OpenAI has released a preview of its next-generation GPT-5.6 model series, including the flagship model Sol, the balanced model Terra, and the fast, low-cost model Luna.
According to Odaily, GPT-5.6 introduces a new maximum reasoning effort setting and includes a “super mode” that can speed up complex tasks through sub-agents.
The company said the model offers stronger agent capabilities in areas including coding, biology, and cybersecurity.
OpenAI listed pricing per 1 million tokens as follows: Sol at $5 for input and $30 for output; Terra at $2.5 for input and $15 for output; and Luna at $1 for input and $6 for output.
The preview is currently available in limited access to a small group of trusted partners, with a plan to open broader access in the coming weeks. The model is also scheduled to go live on Cerebras in July.

Polymarket has acquired the productivity app Craft Agents, and some members of the Craft Agents team will join Polymarket. According to Foresight News, the update was shared in a social media post by Balint Orosz, Polymarket’s vice president of product engineering and a former co-founder of Craft.
Orosz did not disclose financial terms or a timeline for the integration in the post.

Reuters reported that SpaceX will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7, exchange operator Nasdaq confirmed Friday, paving the way for a surge of passive investment into Elon Musk's rocket and AI company less than a month after its June 12 market debut.
Inclusion in the tech-heavy index typically drives share-price appreciation as ETFs tracking the benchmark — including Invesco's QQQ and QQQM — are forced to buy shares of the newly added constituent. JPMorgan estimated that SpaceX's addition could draw approximately $4.3 billion in passive inflows.
Nasdaq, alongside index providers FTSE Russell and MSCI, relaxed entry requirements covering profitability, days since IPO, and free-float share count to make index inclusion more accessible for newly listed companies. SpaceX has swung between sharp losses and small profits over the past three years, reporting a net loss of $4.9 billion last year, though revenue continues to climb.
Morningstar chief equity market strategist Michael Field noted that the fast-tracked integration reflects strong demand, but cautioned that Morningstar considers the stock overvalued. The development also signals what's ahead for AI companies: large language model makers OpenAI and Anthropic, both expected to file for IPOs this year or next, are likely to target valuations exceeding $1 trillion. S&P Global, however, said it will not adjust its index requirements for SpaceX and will wait at least 12 months before considering the company for inclusion in the S&P 500.

France demolished Norway 4-1 to seal top spot in Group I, with Ousmane Dembele netting a stunning 32-minute hat-trick. Senegal thrashed 10-man Iraq 5-0 to keep their knockout hopes alive. Cape Verde held Saudi Arabia 0-0 to reach the last 32 as historic underdogs. Spain edged Uruguay 1-0, knocking the two-time winners out. Egypt and Iran drew 1-1, sending Egypt through as Group G runners-up. Belgium crushed New Zealand 5-1 to qualify from Group G.

Ousmane Dembele delivered the second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, scoring three times inside 32 minutes as France cruised past a rotated Norway side to finish top of Group I with a perfect nine points. Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute, curled in a second in the 20th, and completed his treble nine minutes before the break with a stunning team goal involving 17 passes. Thelo Aasgaard briefly pulled one back for Norway, but Desire Doue added a fourth in stoppage time. Norway, who rested Erling Haaland, finish second and advance to the knockout stage.

Senegal kept their knockout hopes flickering with a 5-0 demolition of 10-man Iraq in Toronto. Abdoulaye Seck's deflected header opened the scoring inside four minutes before defender Rebin Sulaka was sent off for denying Sadio Mane a goalscoring opportunity. Ismaila Sarr made it 2-0 after the break, and substitute Pape Gueye struck twice with thunderous efforts in the 59th and 71st minutes. Iliman Ndiaye sealed the rout late on. Senegal finish third in Group I and must wait on other results to see if they progress.

Cape Verde made history as the first African debutants since Ghana in 2006 to reach the World Cup knockout stage after a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia. The Blue Sharks, ranked 67th in the world, had already drawn with Spain and Uruguay in a remarkable group campaign. They celebrated at full-time when news of Uruguay's defeat confirmed their passage. A nation of just 525,000 people, Cape Verde will face Argentina in the last 32. Saudi Arabia's tournament ends with a single point.

Uruguay crashed out of the World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Spain, with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's third error-leading-to-goal of the tournament gifting Alex Baena the decisive strike on the cusp of halftime. The 40-year-old, making his 137th international appearance, let Baena's low shot slip through his hands and was substituted at the break by a ruthless Marcelo Bielsa. Spain topped Group H and progress, while Uruguay finish with two points from three games and exit at the group stage for the second straight tournament. Agustin Canobbio's stoppage-time red card for a high challenge compounded a miserable night.

Egypt reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time after a 1-1 draw with Iran in Seattle. Mahmoud Saber gave Egypt a first-half lead before Milad Rezaeian levelled after the break. Iran thought they had won it in the dying seconds through Shoja Khalilzadeh, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. Mohamed Salah was substituted in the second half with progression already likely secured. Egypt finish as Group G runners-up and will face Australia in the last 32. Iran finish third and face an anxious wait for other results.

Belgium surged into the knockout stages with a 5-1 thrashing of New Zealand in Vancouver. Leandro Trossard struck twice in the first half, and Kevin De Bruyne added a third with a trademark low finish after the break. Elijah Just pulled one back for New Zealand, but Romelu Lukaku, on the pitch barely a minute, headed a fourth before Alexis Saelemaekers added a fifth in stoppage time. Belgium finish level on points with Egypt at the top of Group G but must wait to confirm whether they finish first or second.

Upcoming Matches for June 27 (all times ET):
5PM Panama vs England (MetLife Stadium, New Jersey)
5PM Croatia vs Ghana (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)
7:30PM Colombia vs Portugal (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami)
7:30PM DR Congo vs Uzbekistan (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)
10PM Jordan vs Argentina (AT&T Stadium, Dallas)
10PM Algeria vs Austria (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City)

China’s central bank and the General Administration of Customs said they will extend the validity period of “single-batch, single-permit” gold import and export permits to three months.
According to Jin10, the People’s Bank of China and the General Administration of Customs issued a notice seeking public comments on the draft Measures for the Administration of the Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products.
The notice said the draft aims to codify measures that have proven effective in practice, promote trade facilitation, and stimulate market vitality. It also said authorities plan to optimize how “non-single-batch, single-permit” licenses are used.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a CNBC interview on Friday that Strategy’s approach to financing Bitcoin purchases relies on financial engineering that he believes cannot create long-term value.
According to Odaily, Garlinghouse said the long-term value of digital assets should ultimately be driven by real-world utility. He added that Michael Saylor’s team is not focused on what he considers the right direction and said the approach has harmed the broader crypto market.
Garlinghouse said he remains optimistic about Bitcoin but opposes Strategy’s strategy of continuing to increase its BTC holdings through complex financing structures.
His comments focused on Strategy’s use of preferred stock issuance to fund Bitcoin purchases. He cited STRC, one of Strategy’s preferred shares, which carries an annualized dividend obligation of 11.5%. Garlinghouse noted that STRC recently traded at a discount of about 25% to 26% to its $100 par value, calling that performance a strongly negative assessment of Strategy’s strategy.

Solana (SOL) rose to $72 on Friday after hitting $64 the prior day. According to NS3.AI, DefiLlama data showed Solana’s total value locked (TVL) fell 11% over the past month.

Six months ago, Bitcoin was coming off a $126,000 all-time high with spot ETFs attracting billions in institutional inflows and the narrative of mainstream adoption appearing unstoppable. The first half of 2026 delivered a different verdict entirely. Bitcoin ended June down 32%. Ether lost 47%. Strategy — the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder — fell 43%. The total crypto market capitalization declined roughly 30% to approximately $2 trillion, erasing gains built since Trump's November 2024 election victory. Against a Nasdaq that gained 16% and oil that jumped 20%, crypto was one of the worst-performing asset classes of the half.
What the Numbers Actually Say
The H1 2026 performance table makes uncomfortable reading for crypto bulls. Bitcoin down 32%. Ether down 47%. Strategy down 43% — making Bitcoin's decline look almost restrained by comparison, offering holders the modest consolation that they outperformed the vehicle most explicitly designed to provide leveraged Bitcoin exposure. The total crypto market cap at $2 trillion sits at a level not seen since before Trump's election, effectively wiping out the entire post-election institutional adoption premium that IBIT inflows and corporate treasury narratives had built.
On the other side of the ledger: Nasdaq 100 up 16%. S&P 500 up 7.4%. US Dollar Index up 3%. WTI crude oil futures up 20%. Bloomberg Commodity Index up 13%. The assets that won in H1 2026 were the ones tied directly to economic activity, corporate earnings, geopolitical commodity supply dynamics, and yield — exactly the categories crypto cannot access.
The One Crypto That Won: HYPE Up 140%
The exception that proves the rule is Hyperliquid's HYPE token — up over 140% in H1 2026 while Bitcoin fell 32% and Ether lost nearly half its value. HYPE's outperformance is not accidental or narrative-driven: it reflects the growing volume of perpetual futures on Hyperliquid tied to traditional finance assets including SpaceX, equity indices, and commodities. The token that won in crypto's worst half was the one most directly connected to real-world economic activity and TradFi asset exposure — the same categories that dominated performance across all asset classes in the period.
Stablecoins also held up relative to volatile crypto. USDT's supply remained largely steady at approximately $186 billion, with its market dominance rate increasing 43% to 9.17% — capital staying within the crypto ecosystem in stable form rather than exiting entirely, even as speculative appetite for Bitcoin and altcoins evaporated.
Crypto Is Not the Only Loser — But the Reason Is the Same
Precious metals shared crypto's pain in H1 2026, though less severely. Gold dropped over 6%, silver fell 18%, and palladium declined 24%. The common thread is precise: gold, silver, and Bitcoin are all narrative-driven stores of value with limited direct ties to economic activity, corporate earnings, or geopolitical trends. In a first half defined by a Federal Reserve hawkish pivot — Warsh's June dot plot showing 9 of 18 officials projecting 2026 rate hikes — non-yielding assets that depend on debasement and inflation narratives were structurally disadvantaged against assets generating real cash flows or benefiting from actual supply-demand dynamics.
WTI oil's 20% gain was driven by a genuine physical supply shock from the US-Iran conflict — a real geopolitical event with measurable commodity market consequences. The Nasdaq's 16% gain reflected corporate earnings concentrated in AI infrastructure companies generating actual revenues. The commodity index's 13% advance reflected industrial material supply-demand. Each of these outperformers had a direct economic mechanism behind their performance. Bitcoin's bull case — scarce, decentralized, a hedge against debasement — did not compete with 4.5% Treasury yields and an actively tightening Fed.
What Needs to Change in H2 2026
The H1 2026 underperformance creates a specific and testable H2 thesis. Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick argued that inflation peaked in Q2 following the Iran deal's oil price impact — Brent at $76 versus $120 at the war's peak. If that thesis is correct, and if the Fed acknowledges it in July or September communications, the narrative-to-reality gap that punished Bitcoin in H1 begins to narrow. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank both cut gold targets on the assumption of no 2026 Fed cuts — but each also characterized their view as "structurally constructive, tactically cautious," with medium-term upside once rate cuts become viable.
The structural foundation for a reversal exists: 79% of Bitcoin's supply in long-term holder hands is a record. Glassnode's Accumulation Trend Score has been at its maximum reading for weeks. CryptoQuant's cycle momentum indicator has touched -30 — the historical bottom zone. And 259,000 BTC have been net accumulated between $59,000 and $67,000 since June 5. What remains absent is the macro permission slip — a Fed communication shift or sustained inflation deceleration — that translates structural accumulation into institutional ETF inflow return and ultimately into price recovery.
The first half of 2026 was crypto's report card against a world where yield, economic activity, and real commodity supply dynamics drove returns. The second half's question is whether the oil-driven disinflationary channel from the Iran deal is real enough, and fast enough, to change that equation before summer liquidity dries up entirely and $59,000 is tested again.

Precious metals have continued to receive structural support from official-sector buying and tight mine supply through late June, according to analyst commentary.
According to Jin10, FxEmpire analyst Arslan Ali said two forces have underpinned the sector: ongoing purchases by official institutions and constrained supply from new mine output. He said central banks have been increasing gold reserves as part of diversification efforts to hedge against high global debt levels and shifting monetary policy conditions, making this demand source relatively independent and a persistent source of buying.
Ali also said new mine supply for both gold and silver has remained tight. He noted that gold output has not shown significant growth since a prior peak, citing aging mines and rising extraction costs. He added that silver faces similar constraints, though supply pressures are partly eased because silver is often produced as a byproduct of other metals.
On the demand side, Ali said industrial demand for silver has remained strong in processing and manufacturing, particularly in sectors such as solar photovoltaics, electronics, and electric vehicles. He said this trend has been reinforced by the global energy transition, providing relatively stable structural support for silver prices, alongside silver’s role as a monetary asset.
Ali added that investors in the precious metals market, including ETFs and physical metal holders, have also contributed to relatively steady demand for gold and silver.

SpaceX issued five tranches of senior notes totaling $25 billion, according to an SEC filing.
According to Jin10, the filing showed SpaceX issued $7 billion of senior notes due 2031 with a 5.35% coupon, $6 billion due 2033 with a 5.65% coupon, $6 billion due 2036 with a 5.88% coupon, $2.5 billion due 2046 with a 6.60% coupon, and $3.5 billion due 2056 with a 6.65% coupon.

Securitize said it expects to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange next week after raising about $400 million through its merger with Cantor Equity Partners II.
According to NS3.AI, the company said fewer than 30% of Cantor Equity Partners II shareholders elected to redeem their shares, allowing Securitize to keep more than 71% of the SPAC trust.
Securitize added that the merger is expected to close on Wednesday, with the combined company’s shares scheduled to begin trading the following day under the ticker SECZ.

Shares of several Solana-focused digital asset treasury (DAT) companies rose on Friday as SOL climbed about 9%.
According to Odaily, Sol Strategies (STKE) led the group, rising as much as 22% intraday to a high of $1.20.
Other Solana DAT stocks also posted gains. Forward Industries (FWDI) rose as much as 12% intraday to $4.03, SkyAI (SKYA) gained 11% to $1.07, and DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) advanced 10% to $2.73. Solana Company (HSDT) rose more than 10%, reaching an intraday high of $1.65.
The moves were also supported by expectations of index inclusion. Several digital asset treasury companies, including Forward Industries, are set to be added to Russell indexes after Friday’s market close.
Two Ethereum treasury companies, Bitmine (BMNR) and SharpLink (SBET), are also slated for inclusion in related Russell indexes, while smaller Solana treasury company Upexi (UPXI) is expected to join the Russell Microcap index.

Spot gold rose $15 in a short-term move, breaking above $4,060 per ounce.
According to Jin10, spot gold was up 0.83% on the day.

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said Iran-related conflict has not led to a further surge in oil prices.
According to Jin10, he attributed the limited price reaction to countries releasing strategic reserves and refineries adjusting production.

Bitcoin fell below $60,000 on Friday, touching a 24-hour low of $58,188 before recovering toward $59,800 as Asian equity markets extended their week-long rout — South Korea's KOSPI falling 8% and Japan's Nikkei losing 3% — and more than $1 billion in crypto leveraged positions were wiped out in 24 hours. Tether briefly overtook Ether as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Major tokens are on track for their third consecutive quarterly decline. And Michael Saylor took to X with a brief message as Strategy's shares trade more than 85% below their November 2024 all-time high.
Bitcoin's Session: $58,188 Low, $59,800 Recovery, Down 20% for the Month
Bitcoin touched $58,188 — its lowest print since September 2024 — before recovering to approximately $59,800, up 2.7% from the overnight low but still down more than 5% on the week and nearly 20% for the month. The asset has churned through the $58,000-$62,000 range all week without finding the directional catalyst needed to break decisively in either direction.
CF Benchmarks head of research Gabe Selby maintained his constructive framing. "Bitcoin has pulled back into the $50-60K zone, and if history is any guide, this is where buyers step in," he said — noting the zone was first established as support in mid-2024 following the spot ETF launch rally and has held through the yen carry unwind, the election cycle, and every high-timeframe retest since. Selby placed $55,000 as the level to watch below and $61,000-$62,000 as the resistance bulls need to reclaim.
Asian Markets: KOSPI Down 8%, Nikkei Down 3% — Apple's Price Hikes Extend the AI Trade Unwind
Asian stocks extended Wall Street's losses as Apple's 6.1% Thursday crash — triggered by price hike announcements on Macs, iPads, and home devices citing rising component costs — spread to chip-exposed Asian markets. South Korea's KOSPI fell 8%, its third severe single-session decline in a week after prior crashes of 10% and 6%. Japan's Nikkei lost 3%. The losses follow risk aversion on Wall Street where Magnificent Seven stocks cratered on fears that higher component costs will slow the memory chip demand cycle underpinning the AI trade.
In Friday's pre-market, Micron and Sandisk — which had surged 15% and 20% respectively in Thursday's session on strong Micron earnings — are both giving back approximately 5% of those gains. The Nasdaq 100 ETF is down 1%. The US Dollar Index trades above 101. Gold holds above $4,000, and silver above $58 — both posting modest gains as the classic risk-off rotation into safe-haven assets continues.
$1 Billion in Liquidations: 148,500 Traders Wiped Out
More than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours according to CoinGlass, with longs accounting for $842 million of the damage. Approximately 148,500 traders were wiped out. The largest single position was a $38 million Bitcoin-dollar bet on Hyperliquid. Bitcoin led liquidations at $489 million, followed by Ether at $295 million.
Bitcoin's 24-hour low of $58,188 sits uncomfortably close to the levels where another $1.6 billion in leveraged long positions remain clustered — a potential cascade if those levels are tested again without sufficient buying to absorb them. Today's quarter-end options expiry is the live amplification catalyst: large volumes of contracts expire simultaneously, which can magnify moves in either direction as traders close or roll positions. How Bitcoin exits the session today is likely to set the tone for July.
Tether Overtakes Ether as Second-Largest Cryptocurrenc
USDT briefly reached $191.5 billion in fully diluted market value on Friday, overtaking Ether's $187.5 billion as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to CoinGecko. The milestone is less about Tether gaining ground than about Ether losing it — ETH is down more than 7% on the week and has fallen so far that the world's leading stablecoin has crossed above it in total value terms, leaving Bitcoin the only asset ahead of the dollar-pegged stablecoin.
The symbolic significance of USDT overtaking ETH as the second-largest crypto asset cannot be overstated: it reflects three straight quarters of Ether underperformance, $8.3 billion in total Ether ETF assets — down from $10 billion at the start of the month — and six consecutive days of Ether ETF outflows totaling $81.9 million on Thursday alone.
ETF Flows: Six Straight Days of Outflows, No Fund Posting Meaningful Inflows
US spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $696 million on Thursday — extending the streak to six consecutive days of net redemptions. BlackRock's IBIT accounted for $63 million of the outflows. Fidelity's FBTC shed $3.5 million. Grayscale's funds lost a combined $23 million. No fund posted meaningful inflows.
US spot Ether ETFs lost $81.9 million on Thursday — also their sixth straight day of outflows. BlackRock's ETHA led with $63 million in redemptions. Only Bitwise's ETHW posted any inflow, a negligible $557,000. The absence of any fund posting meaningful inflows across both Bitcoin and Ether ETF complexes simultaneously is the starkest possible confirmation that institutional demand has not returned — and that the $6 billion in 30-day outflows Galaxy Research cited as a record is continuing rather than stabilizing.
Third Consecutive Quarterly Loss: A Feat Last Seen in 2022
Major cryptocurrencies are on track for their third consecutive quarterly loss — a sequence last seen in 2022, the year marked by the collapse of Terra, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX. Bitcoin is down approximately 12% for the June quarter after declining 23% and 22% in the two preceding quarters. Ether is down 25% for the quarter. XRP and Solana are down 22% and 16% respectively.
The exceptions underscore the H1 2026 theme. HYPE and ZEC are both up over 60% in the quarter. NEAR is up more than 50%. The assets that generated positive returns were those with specific catalysts — Hyperliquid's TradFi perpetuals growth, ZEC's privacy narrative resurgence, NEAR's AI-adjacent positioning — rather than the broad narrative-driven beta that Bitcoin and Ether provide.
Bitmine Joins the Russell 1000 — 5.67 Million ETH, $233 Million Staking Yield
Bitmine Immersion Technologies joins the Russell 1000 Index on June 26 — a milestone that will force ETFs and funds tracking the index to add BMNR to their portfolios, mechanically increasing institutional ownership. The company holds 5.673 million ETH, $601 million in cash and marketable securities, $350 million in preferred equity through BMNP, no debt, and an annualized staking yield of $233 million. Bitmine shares are down 93% from their July 2025 high — illustrating that even Ethereum's most committed corporate accumulator has not been immune to the bear market's damage.
Saylor Speaks: "Volatility Tests Every Capital Structure"
Michael Saylor posted on X Friday as Strategy's shares extend Thursday's 9% decline to trade around $85 — more than 85% below the November 2024 all-time high — and STRC trades near $75, approximately 25% below par. "Volatility tests every capital structure. Strategy remains focused on Bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality, and long-term value creation. We appreciate our investors and will continue to execute with transparency and resolve," Saylor wrote. The statement was brief and measured — the second time in as many weeks that Saylor has addressed market stress with a short public post rather than a detailed defense of the capital structure.

Ether, XRP, and Dogecoin led a broad crypto selloff into the weekend as a renewed technology stock rout — triggered by Apple's 6.1% single-session plunge — pulled risk assets lower worldwide for the third time in four days. Bitcoin dipped near $58,000 before recovering toward $60,000, testing but not breaking the floor that has defined June, while CF Benchmarks identified the $50,000-$60,000 zone as the level where buyers have historically stepped in during every prior Bitcoin bear market.
The Selloff: Ether Leading, Bitcoin Holding Relatively Better
Ether dropped 5.6% over 24 hours to approximately $1,555, down 7.9% on the week — the steepest decline among large-cap cryptocurrencies and a continuation of ETH's underperformance relative to Bitcoin throughout the June correction. XRP fell 4.9% to $1.03, down 8.5% on the week. Dogecoin slid 3.8% to $0.074, down 9.8% over seven days. Solana held up better at $68, off just 1.2% on the week. HYPE fell 5.4%. Tron was the lone gainer, up 0.4%.
Bitcoin dipped near $58,000 — briefly breaching the $59,375 cycle low that Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick had declared the confirmed bottom on June 13 — before recovering toward $60,000 to trade around $59,888, down 2.7% on the day and 4.5% on the week. Bitcoin's relative resilience compared to Ether, XRP, and Dogecoin reflects the structural difference between the asset with the deepest accumulation base and the altcoins that lack comparable long-term holder support — but resilience near cycle lows is not the same as confirmation of a floor.
The Trigger: Apple's 6.1% Plunge Reignites AI Trade Fears
The catalyst for Friday's selloff came from outside crypto once again. Global stocks slumped to a two-week low after Apple shares fell 6.1% on news the company was raising prices on Macs, iPads, and home devices — stoking fears that higher component costs will eventually slow the memory chip rally underpinning the AI trade. The connection is direct: if Apple is raising device prices to offset component cost inflation, the AI infrastructure buildout that has been driving record demand for high-bandwidth memory chips faces a consumer absorption problem that downstream chips stocks cannot escape.
South Korea's KOSPI tumbled as much as 9% — its second trading halt of the week — as chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung each fell more than 8%. The index has now suffered two separate 9-10% single-day crashes within a week, a sequence with no precedent in recent Korean market history and reflecting the fragility of a market that had run to record highs on AI chip demand expectations that are now being aggressively questioned.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5%. Brent crude slipped below $74 per barrel — continuing its post-Iran-deal decline toward pre-war levels — though a projectile strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz briefly revived supply concerns before being absorbed by markets as an isolated incident rather than a deal-breaking escalation.
The Crypto-Specific Selling: Large Holders Offloading Into Thin Liquidity
Part of Bitcoin's pullback came from a source that goes beyond the tech equity correlation. Large holders sold sizable amounts into a market that has been slow to absorb the extra supply, said Gabe Selby, head of research at CF Benchmarks, in an email to CoinDesk. The timing and scale of those sales — occurring into a thin summer liquidity environment with institutional ETF buying absent for six consecutive weeks — amplified the price impact of what might otherwise have been manageable selling pressure.
Selby described the broader context as one where much of the new money and investor attention has flowed into AI plays recently, leaving crypto fighting for a smaller share of overall risk appetite. The move represents a broad market cooldown rather than anything structurally broken in crypto itself, he said — a characterization consistent with CF Benchmarks' institutional view that the current zone is a historical buying opportunity rather than a breakdown signal.
CF Benchmarks: The $50,000-$60,000 Zone Is Where Buyers Have Always Stepped In
The most actionable framing in Friday's session came from Selby's historical context. "Bitcoin has pulled back into the $50,000 to $60,000 zone today, and if history is any guide, this is where buyers step in," he said. The $50,000 to $60,000 range encompasses the realized price — the average on-chain acquisition cost of all circulating Bitcoin, currently near $54,000 — and the 200-week SMA at approximately $62,457, two of the most historically significant long-term support metrics in Bitcoin's analytical framework.
Every prior Bitcoin bear market has found its floor within or near this structural zone before the next bull cycle began. The 2018-19 bottom occurred in this range. The March 2020 COVID crash low was in this zone. The 2022-23 bear market bottom at $15,500 was anomalous — driven by the extraordinary FTX contagion — but even that recovery passed through this zone on its way back up.
Selby identified $55,000 as the specific support level to watch below current prices — the midpoint of the historical buying zone and the approximate realized price level where the average Bitcoin holder transitions from profit to loss. He placed $61,000 to $62,000 as the resistance bulls need to reclaim above, and advised keeping position sizes sensible given the ongoing volatility.
The Broader Picture: Crypto Is Falling on a Tech Selloff It Did Not Start
The broader read from Friday's session is unchanged from the past several days. Crypto is falling on a technology equity selloff it did not start, with little of its own to lift it while institutional money keeps rotating toward AI. The H1 2026 scorecard — Bitcoin down 32%, Ether down 47%, with the Nasdaq up 16% and WTI oil up 20% — captures the macro reality that has defined the first six months: narrative-driven stores of value underperformed economically-linked assets in a higher-for-longer rate environment where AI infrastructure generated real revenues and crypto narratives could not compete with yields.
Whether H2 begins differently depends on the same catalysts that have framed every week of June. Thursday's core PCE reading, Warsh's Fed communication trajectory, the durability of the US-Iran peace deal, and the question of whether the AI trade's wobble represents a healthy consolidation or the beginning of a deeper unwind will collectively determine whether the $50,000-$60,000 zone Selby identifies as the historical buying zone becomes the foundation of the next cycle or is eventually breached in a manner that forces a more fundamental reassessment of where this bear market ends.

FTSE Russell's semi-annual index reshuffle takes effect after the US market closes this Friday, June 26 — and this year it coincides with the US quarter-end pension fund rebalancing window, creating what Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are flagging as a double-impact capital flow event that could make Friday's closing session one of the most concentrated and volatile trading periods of the year.
The Biggest Change: Nvidia Replaces Apple at the Top of the Russell 1000
The most significant single change in the reshuffle is Nvidia's ascent to the largest weighted position in the Russell 1000, replacing Apple, which drops to third place. The swap reflects the market capitalization reality of 2026: Nvidia has surpassed $5 trillion in valuation on AI chip demand, while Apple's 6.1% single-session crash Thursday on Mac and iPad price hike announcements has added fresh downward pressure to its weighting. Walmart will enter the Russell 1000's top ten weighted stocks for the first time — a notable development for a traditional consumer staples retailer achieving mega-cap status alongside AI infrastructure companies.
AI Additions: SpaceX, CoreWeave, and the Continued AI Weight Expansion
SpaceX and CoreWeave have been added to the Russell index system — further increasing the index weight of AI-related companies in what was already the most AI-concentrated US equity market in history. Bianco Research had noted earlier this year that 41 AI stocks accounted for nearly half of S&P 500 market capitalization — the most concentrated single-theme market in 150 years. The Russell reshuffle formalizes that concentration structurally within the index system, ensuring that passive funds tracking Russell indices automatically increase their AI exposure as the new weightings take effect.
A total of 62 companies have been newly included in the Russell 1000. 237 companies have entered the Russell 2000. Alphabet and AMD have been removed from the Russell 1000 Value Index and completely reclassified as growth stocks — a reclassification that will force value-oriented passive funds to sell both positions and growth-oriented funds to add them.
The Crypto Entry: BitMine Joins the Russell 1000
BitMine Immersion Technologies — the largest Ethereum treasury company in the crypto space, holding 5.673 million ETH alongside $233 million in annualized staking yield and $601 million in cash — joins the Russell 1000 with Friday's reshuffle taking effect. BitMine's inclusion means that ETFs and institutional funds tracking the Russell 1000 will be required to add BMNR to their portfolios, mechanically increasing institutional ownership of the largest dedicated Ethereum treasury vehicle regardless of those funds' views on crypto.
The timing is notable: BitMine joins the index on the same day Bitcoin falls below $60,000 and Ether trades near $1,550 — the most challenging market conditions the company has faced since beginning its accumulation strategy. BitMine shares are down 93% from their July 2025 high. Russell 1000 inclusion provides a structural institutional ownership floor that does not depend on market sentiment.
The Double Impact: $30 Billion in Pension Selling on the Same Day
What makes this year's reshuffle particularly consequential is the simultaneous convergence with the US quarter-end pension rebalancing window. Goldman Sachs forecasts that US pension funds will net sell approximately $30 billion worth of equities by the end of the quarter — driven by the standard mean-reversion rebalancing mechanism where outperforming equity allocations are trimmed and underperforming bond allocations are topped up.
With passive index rebalancing and pension fund rebalancing both concentrated at Friday's close, the resulting capital flow collision could produce extreme volatility in the final minutes of trading. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, described the annual reshuffle as "Wall Street's list-cutting day" — thousands of companies re-ranked across indices based on latest market capitalization, with winners promoted and losers demoted. The addition of $30 billion in pension selling to the already mechanically complex index rebalancing flows compounds the directional uncertainty significantly.
JPMorgan's Structural Read: What the Russell 2000 Loses When Growth Companies Graduate
JPMorgan flagged a structural consequence of the Russell 2000-to-Russell 1000 promotions that has implications beyond Friday's trading. Companies moving from the Russell 2000 to the Russell 1000 typically exhibit stronger growth characteristics, higher volatility, and lower dividend payouts. As these companies exit the Russell 2000, the overall dividend yield of the remaining Russell 2000 constituents is expected to increase by approximately 16.5%.
This structural shift will directly impact investors using income or value strategies benchmarked against the Russell 2000 — those funds will find their benchmark automatically yielding more as the highest-growth, lowest-dividend companies are promoted out. The change creates a mechanical tailwind for dividend-focused small-cap investing and a headwind for pure growth small-cap strategies benchmarked against the Russell 2000 going forward.
What It Means for Crypto Into the Weekend
Friday's Russell reshuffle — combined with the $10.6 billion Deribit options expiry and $30 billion in pension selling — creates the conditions for maximum end-of-quarter volatility across all asset classes simultaneously. Bitcoin, trading near $59,800 after touching $58,188, faces the same amplified closing session dynamics as equities. The $1.6 billion in leveraged long Bitcoin positions clustered near the $58,000 level that CoinGlass identified earlier Friday remain the specific crypto risk: if the Russell/pension/options closing volatility pushes equities sharply lower in the final minutes, Bitcoin's correlation with the Nasdaq at 0.6 means that cascade risk is live rather than theoretical.
How Bitcoin closes Friday will set the tone for July and determine whether June 30's STRC ex-dividend date and dividend rate reset are the most important catalysts of the coming week, or whether the conversation has shifted to defending the $55,000 support level Gabe Selby of CF Benchmarks identified as the next major floor below the historical $50,000-$60,000 buying zone.

US oil fell below $70 a barrel after transits through the Strait of Hormuz accelerated, with markets brushing off a Thursday attack on a cargo ship that renewed concerns about safe passage through the vital waterway, according to Bloomberg.

Strategy's perpetual preferred stock STRC is trading below $73 in Friday's pre-market — down 3% on the day and 27% below its $100 par value — as investors focus on June 30, a date that brings two simultaneous events with meaningfully different implications for the stock's near-term direction and for Strategy's broader capital structure under sustained Bitcoin price pressure.
Event One: The Ex-Dividend Date and First Semi-Monthly Payment
June 30 is STRC's ex-dividend date — the cutoff by which investors must own shares to qualify for the next distribution. It also serves as the record date. Eligible holders will receive STRC's first semi-monthly dividend of $0.48 per share on July 15, reflecting the shareholder-approved shift from monthly to semi-monthly payments that Strategy's annual meeting formalized earlier this month.
The mechanics of the ex-dividend date create a predictable but modest price impact. Stocks typically decline by approximately the dividend amount when they begin trading ex-dividend. For STRC, a $0.48 adjustment on a $73 stock represents less than 0.7% — a rounding error against daily moves of 2-3% that have characterized STRC's trading throughout June. The ex-dividend date is not the primary catalyst for concern.
Event Two: The Monthly Dividend Rate Reset — The Market Is Demanding More
The more consequential June 30 event is the monthly dividend rate reset. STRC is a perpetual preferred stock — it has no maturity date — and its dividend rate can be reset periodically. Strategy has maintained the rate at 11.50% for four consecutive months despite STRC trading consistently below par. With a one-month volume-weighted average price of $91.46 and shares now at $73, the stock's effective yield — the annual dividend relative to current market price — has climbed to approximately 15%.
The gap between the stated 11.50% dividend rate and the 15% effective yield that the market is now pricing reflects a fundamental mismatch: investors are demanding significantly higher compensation for holding STRC than the current rate provides, and the market is expressing that demand through price rather than waiting for the rate to be adjusted. A modest increase to at least 12% or 12.50% is broadly expected at the June 30 reset — but the market's pricing of 15% effective yield suggests even that adjustment may not be sufficient to drive STRC back toward par.
Why the Rate Reset Alone Cannot Fix STRC
The structural reality is that STRC's recovery toward par depends on Bitcoin far more than on dividend rate adjustments. Strategy's entire capital structure — STRC preferred stock, MSTR common equity, and convertible debt — derives its value ultimately from the approximately 846,000 BTC on the company's balance sheet. With Bitcoin at $59,888, Strategy's BTC holdings are worth approximately $50.7 billion against an average purchase cost of approximately $64.07 billion — meaning the company is sitting on aggregate unrealized losses of over $13 billion on its Bitcoin treasury at current prices.
That unrealized loss position is what drives STRC's discount to par. Investors holding STRC are structurally junior to Strategy's debt holders in the capital waterfall — and with Bitcoin below Strategy's average cost basis, the margin of safety between the BTC treasury value and the company's total obligations is compressing. Marex's Ilan Solot had described this dynamic weeks ago as "a fight over the capital waterfall — every move protects one stakeholder by torching another." The June 30 rate reset can adjust the income stream, but it cannot address the asset value question that is ultimately driving STRC's discount.
MSTR: 84% Below Its November 2024 All-Time High
MSTR common stock is trading around $85 — more than 84% below its November 2024 all-time high — compounding the pressure on Strategy's Bitcoin-leveraged capital structure. As MSTR common stock falls, the company's ability to raise capital through its at-the-market equity program — the mechanism it has relied upon to fund Bitcoin purchases and maintain its dollar reserve — becomes increasingly constrained. Lower MSTR prices mean more share dilution is required to raise the same dollar amount, which further pressures common shareholders.
The compounding dynamic is precisely what Solot had warned about: preferred dividend obligations require cash, which can be funded through ATM equity sales, but ATM sales dilute common shareholders, which lowers MSTR, which reduces Bitcoin-buying capacity, which removes the primary source of demand that has historically supported the Strategy capital structure thesis. Bitcoin recovering above $64,000 — the company's average cost basis — is the single variable that would most directly stabilize STRC and MSTR simultaneously, making Thursday's core PCE and the broader H2 macro trajectory more consequential for Strategy than any dividend rate adjustment.
What to Watch Through Month-End
Two specific data points will determine whether June 30 brings stabilization or further deterioration. The announced STRC dividend rate at the monthly reset — whether 11.50% is maintained, increased to 12% or 12.50%, or moved higher toward the 15% that the market is currently pricing — will signal how aggressively Strategy is managing its preferred capital structure. And Bitcoin's close on June 30 will determine whether the month ends with the asset above or below the $59,375 cycle low, with a close below that level representing a material deterioration in the thesis that has supported the accumulation signals building throughout June.

U.S. crude oil futures settled at $69.23 a barrel, down $2.69, or 3.74%. According to Jin10, the settlement price reflected a decline of $2.69 per barrel from the previous level.

Bitcoin touched its lowest level since September 2024 on Thursday, falling to $58,100 before rebounding to approximately $59,700 — a recovery that has so far failed to spread convincingly across the broader crypto market. Ethereum extended its losing streak to three consecutive days, dropping a further 1% to around $1,550. Another $1 billion in futures positions were liquidated in 24 hours. And the derivatives market — from implied volatility to options skew to open interest composition — is flashing signals that suggest the bounce may be technical rather than structural.
The Bounce: $58,100 Low, $59,700 Recovery, Barely Moving Since
Bitcoin recently traded near $59,700 after touching $58,100 — a level that represents a full round-trip below the $59,375 cycle low that Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick declared the confirmed bottom on June 13. The breach of that level, even briefly, complicates the bottom-confirmation framework that had been building throughout June and raises the question of whether the $59,000-$60,000 zone is providing genuine support or is simply the level at which short-term buyers and short-covering temporarily offset the structural selling pressure.
US equity markets opened Friday indicating further weakness. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1% and S&P 500 futures dropped 0.4% since midnight UTC as the three-month tech rally continued to unwind. The correlation between crypto and AI-driven tech equities that has defined June remained fully intact — Bitcoin's bounce from $58,100 was not driven by any crypto-specific catalyst but by the same brief stabilization visible across risk assets more broadly.
The One Bright Spot: AAVE Surges 6.8% on Kraken Acquisition Talks
In an otherwise uniformly bearish session, AAVE added as much as 6.8% since midnight — building on a 17% gain over the past week — after CoinDesk reported that Kraken is in talks to acquire a 15% stake in the DeFi lender at a $385 million valuation. The AAVE move is the clearest example this week of what works in the current environment: specific, fundamental catalysts from real business development rather than macro narrative, exactly the kind of event-driven price action that can outperform in a broadly risk-off market where narrative-led assets are underperforming.
Solana also outperformed modestly, adding 2% to trade around $68.95 after tumbling to $64.05 on Thursday — an honorable mention in a session where most assets extended losses.
Derivatives: $1 Billion in Liquidations, Shorts Being Added, Volatility Spiking
The derivatives picture is the most important element of Friday's session for assessing what comes next. Over the past 24 hours, another $1 billion in futures positions were liquidated — with long positions again accounting for the majority, continuing the pattern that has persisted since Wednesday's FOMC-driven selloff. Notably, Ethereum saw more liquidations than Bitcoin in the past 12 hours — consistent with ETH's larger percentage decline and its failure to participate in Bitcoin's bounce.
Bitcoin futures open interest rose for a second consecutive day to 778,000 BTC — a sharp increase from recent lows near 730,000 BTC — with the surge occurring during Thursday's late selloff. Rising open interest during a price decline signals that traders are adding new short positions into the dip rather than covering existing ones, anticipating further downside. This is structurally different from the short-squeeze dynamics that drove earlier bounces and suggests the current positioning is weighted toward more selling rather than a forced recovery.
The implied volatility picture reinforces the concern. Bitcoin's BVIV index jumped to 53% — its highest since June 7 and a sharp rise from the June 16 low of 39% when the market was calm ahead of the FOMC. ETH's implied volatility index climbed to 66%. The VIX rose to 20% from 15% recently but remains within its range since early April — equities are not in panic mode, which means crypto is expressing more fear than the broader risk environment appears to warrant.
The one-week Bitcoin options skew on Deribit is approaching 30% — reflecting a substantial premium for put options over calls and underscoring strong near-term downside fear. The one-month and three-month skews are conveying the same message. Block flows included a large trade in the $53,000 put expiring July 10 — a bet on Bitcoin falling a further 10% from current levels within two weeks — alongside demand for Ether risk reversals.
Ether and Altcoin Positioning: Mixed Signals
Ethereum's derivatives picture is somewhat more constructive than Bitcoin's, despite the price underperformance. ETH futures open interest has remained stable near 14 million ETH since at least June 15 — suggesting traders are not aggressively adding shorts into Ether's decline, which is a modest positive relative to Bitcoin's surging short interest. A similar pattern holds for XRP.
Solana's open interest has pulled back from record highs but remains elevated — pointing to potential continued volatility in either direction. The OI-adjusted 24-hour cumulative volume delta shows bearish dominance across most of the top 25 cryptocurrencies, with the notable exceptions of BNB, SOL, and TON — bears are more aggressive than bulls across the market, favoring market orders over passive limit orders, a trend that has persisted since Tuesday.
Token Losers: AI Tokens, HYPE, ENA
AI tokens continued their unwind — RENDER, NEAR, FET, and TAO each lost between 1% and 1.5% on Friday, extending a decline that has tracked the AI equity selloff in semiconductor and tech stocks throughout the week. HYPE fell 2.6% and has now lost 18.5% since touching a record high 12 days ago — the most dramatic reversal of H1 2026's biggest winner as the risk-off environment finally caught up with even Hyperliquid's extraordinary year-to-date gains.
Ethena's ENA remains one of the worst-performing altcoins, losing another 5% on Friday and now down 34% from its June 3 monthly high. ENA's specific underperformance reflects a structural issue beyond the broader bear market: a portion of the platform's yield-generation strategy depends on positive funding rates, which have now flipped negative — meaning the product's income mechanism is working against holders rather than for them in the current market environment.
What Comes Next: PCE, Options Expiry, and the $59,000 Floor
Friday's session combines three simultaneous events that will determine whether Bitcoin's $58,100 low holds as a floor or marks the beginning of a deeper breakdown. Core PCE — the Fed's preferred inflation measure — delivers the H1's final major inflation data point, with a soft reading the only scheduled catalyst capable of shifting the macro headwind that has driven $6 billion in 30-day ETF outflows. The $10.6 billion Deribit options expiry at month-end adds mechanical pressure from 80% of positions currently out-of-the-money clustered around the $60,000 put. And the $59,000-$60,000 floor — tested once on June 5, defended through the month, and now retested at $58,100 — is the technical level on which the entire H2 recovery thesis depends.

Bolivia is moving to a flexible exchange-rate system after 15 years, as the government seeks to strengthen macroeconomic stability, according to Bloomberg.
The Finance Ministry announced the change Friday.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold ETF, reported a 1.998-ton decline in its holdings from the previous day to 1,005.077 tons. According to Jin10, the update reflected the fund’s latest reported position.

US natural gas futures settled sharply lower on the final trading day for the July contract after midday forecasts shifted to cooler weather versus overnight outlooks, according to Bloomberg.
With liquidity dropping off near expiry, individual transactions had a bigger impact on price moves.

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.07T, down by -2.29% over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading between $58,500 and $60,583 over the past 24 hours. As of 09:30 AM (UTC) today, BTC is trading at $60,368, up by 0.39%.
Most major cryptocurrencies by market cap are trading mixed. Market outperformers include AGLD, PIVX, and PUNDIX, up by 54%, 47%, and 26%, respectively.
Top stories of the day:
Crypto News: Economists Now Expect No Fed Rate Cuts Until 2028 — Reuters Poll Marks a Complete Reversal From Early June
Market News: Russell Index Reshuffle Meets $30 Billion Pension Selling — Friday's Close Could Be the Most Volatile of 2026
Crypto News Today: Bitcoin Drops Below $60,000 Before Bouncing — KOSPI Crashes 8%, $1 Billion Liquidated, and Tether Briefly Overtakes Ether
Crypto News Today: STRC Hits $73 and Falls 27% Below Par — June 30 Brings Two Events That Could Define Strategy's Capital Structure Trajectory
Crypto News: Ether, XRP, and Dogecoin Lead the Weekend Selloff — Bitcoin Tests $58,000 Before Recovering as CF Benchmarks Flags the Historical Buying Zone
Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Bounces From $58,100 But the Derivatives Market Is Not Convinced the Worst Is Over
Market movers:
NVDAB: $193.47 (+0.07%)
SPCXB: $154.15 (+2.36%)
MUB: $1136.35 (-1.91%)
TSLAB: $380.38 (+2.64%)
AMDB: $520.08 (+1.44%)
INTCB: $127.86 (-0.62%)
SNDKB: $2097.15 (-4.81%)
ETH: $1580.78 (+1.16%)
BNB: $564.35 (-0.53%)
XRP: $1.0558 (+1.81%)
Top gainers on Binance:
AGLD/USDT (+54%)
PIVX/USDT (+47%)
PUNDIX/USDT (+26%)

Hub International Holdings Inc., an insurance broker backed by Hellman & Friedman, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, according to Bloomberg.
The company may use proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt.

Moderna (MRNA) surged more than 12% on Friday as chip stocks fell and funds rotated into the healthcare sector, according to Ming Pao.
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower. The S&P 500 slipped about 0.05% to 7,354, the Nasdaq fell 0.24% to 25,297 for a fifth straight daily decline, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.09% to 51,876.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell about 2.5%, the Nasdaq slid about 4.6%, and the Dow rose about 0.6%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped about 5.3% to 13,203. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index gained 0.7% to 5,730.

Argus Research initiated coverage of SpaceX (SPCX.O) and assigned the stock a hold rating.
According to Jin10, the research firm said it was starting coverage and did not provide additional details in the report excerpt.

SpaceX shares have started to lose momentum after the company’s blockbuster market debut. But investors betting against Elon Musk’s newest public company may soon face billions of dollars of mechanical buying as the stock enters major indexes, according to Bloomberg.

BlackBerry Ltd. Chief Executive Officer John Giamatteo said artificial intelligence is not ready to displace the company’s safety-certified software products, according to Bloomberg.

Yiren Digital (YRD.N), a U.S.-listed affiliate of CreditEase, reported a total net revenue of RMB 915 million for the first quarter of 2026, down 4.44% quarter-on-quarter and down 41% year-on-year, while net loss narrowed to RMB 494.7 million from RMB 868.2 million in the previous quarter, according to Jiemian News. The company posted net income of RMB 247.5 million a year earlier.
In its credit solution business, total loans facilitated fell to RMB 8.9 billion, down 26% from RMB 12.0 billion in Q4 2025 and down 42% from RMB 15.2 billion a year earlier; segment revenue was RMB 795.7 million, down 4% QoQ and down 39% YoY. Yiren Digital said the decline reflected lower loan facilitation volumes and service fee rates under a new regulatory framework.
In insurance brokerage, Q1 revenue rose 4% QoQ and 22% YoY to RMB 87.2 million, while insurance customers reached 397,900, up 49% from Q4 2025. As of March 31, 2026, cumulative insurance customers totaled 2.358 million.
The company also reiterated a May 25 statement that it operates independently and does not conduct wealth management business, after CreditEase announced a “benign exit” from certain fixed-income-like products in May.

S&P said the U.S. economy is expected to grow by about 2% between 2026 and 2029. According to Jin10, the statement provided no additional details on the basis for the projection or the specific measure of economic growth.

S&P said the U.S. outlook remains stable, citing expectations that the U.S. economy will continue to grow steadily and that monetary policy implementation will remain both credible and effective.
According to Jin10, S&P based its assessment on expectations of sustained solid U.S. economic growth and confidence in the credibility and effectiveness of monetary policy execution.

U.S.-listed memory and storage stocks declined, with Kioxia’s U.S. ADR down more than 14%.
According to Jin10, the U.S. memory storage sector fell broadly in the U.S. stock market, with multiple related names trading lower.

China’s central bank and customs authority issued a notice seeking public feedback on a draft set of rules governing the import and export of gold and gold products.
According to Jin10, the People’s Bank of China and the General Administration of Customs released a notification on the public consultation for the “Measures for the Administration of the Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products (Draft for Comments).”
The draft states that, except as provided under Article 4 of the measures, individuals who carry or mail a reasonable quantity for personal use when entering or leaving the country would be exempt from applying for the “People’s Bank of China Permit for the Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products.”

Saudi Arabia may sharply reduce its official selling prices (OSPs) for crude oil shipped to Asia in August, according to a Reuters survey, as Middle East spot crude prices have fallen on increased supply.
According to Jin10, industry sources cited in the survey said the OSP for the flagship Arab Light grade for August may be set at a premium of $1.50 to $3.00 a barrel over the average of Dubai and Oman quotes. That would be $6.50 to $8.00 a barrel lower than the July OSP.
The sources said OSPs for other Saudi crude grades were also expected to decline by a similar amount.
Ahead of the anticipated price cuts, the Middle East spot crude market has recently deteriorated. The Dubai cash differential turned to a discount of $1.64 a barrel this week, marking its lowest level in six years.

S&P said U.S. general government net debt is expected to approach 100% of GDP, citing structural upward trends in non-discretionary interest spending and aging-related expenditures. According to Jin10, S&P linked the outlook to rising mandatory costs and demographic pressures that it described as structurally increasing.

S&P said that while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could potentially pursue initial public offerings, the U.S. government should not be expected to relinquish its control over their management. According to Jin10, S&P stated that any IPO possibility does not imply a change in the government’s authority over how the two housing finance firms are run.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has begun gradually restoring Iraq’s oil production quota to levels seen before the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.
According to Jin10, the ministry made the statement on June 26 local time.
An Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on June 25 local time that Iraq might consider leaving OPEC if its crude oil quota was not significantly increased.
The Oil Ministry issued a statement the same day denying reports that Iraq might consider withdrawing from OPEC.