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Polymarket says it will reimburse users after a front-end phishing attack drained an estimated $2.94 million. What happened Polymarket disclosed on X that attackers compromised a third‑party vendor and used that access to inject a malicious script into the platform’s frontend for some users. The injected code enabled a phishing flow that stole funds from connected wallets after users interacted with the compromised interface. Polymarket says it has removed the affected dependency, contained the incident, is contacting impacted users, and will fully reimburse those who lost funds. Technical details and impact Blockchain analyst Specter estimated the attack hit at least 11 victim wallets. The attackers reportedly stole PUSD, swapped the stolen assets to ETH and consolidated proceeds into a single address. Specter and other observers characterized this as a phishing campaign (supply‑chain/frontend compromise) rather than a protocol exploit of Polymarket’s contracts. Wider context: Q2 security environment DeFiLlama logged this event as the 89th reported crypto security breach in Q2 — the highest quarterly incident count on record for the platform. For June alone, DeFiLlama recorded $74.9 million in losses across 29 crypto exploits, higher than May’s $60.5 million but far below April’s spike of $644 million. June’s largest incidents included a $36 million exploit at Humanity Protocol, a $4.7 million Secret Network bridge exploit, two separate $2.1 million incidents affecting Aztec, and a $1.7 million bridge exploit on Taiko. Attack vectors trending DeFiLlama’s breakdown of recent exploit causes shows private key compromises remain a major risk, accounting for 43% of exploit losses over the past 30 days. Fake‑proof exploits made up 10% and reverse‑MEV honeypots about 8%, underscoring a mix of social‑engineering, key‑management and on‑chain deception threats. Polymarket’s prior incident Polymarket also disclosed a separate security incident roughly a month earlier: attackers exploited a six‑year‑old private key used for internal top‑up operations and stole about $600,000. Researchers — including ZachXBT, PeckShield and Bubblemaps — flagged suspicious activity around Polymarket’s UMA CTF Adapter on Polygon, with Bubblemaps reporting repeated POL withdrawals. Polymarket later said the issue stemmed from a compromised internal wallet rather than a vulnerability in its smart contracts, and said user funds and contracts remained secure after revoking the compromised key’s permissions. Bottom line Polymarket’s prompt containment and promise of full refunds will be welcome to affected users, but the episode highlights ongoing dangers from third‑party dependencies and key compromises — and the importance of vigilance for users interacting with connected wallets. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Base has pushed its Beryl mainnet upgrade back by one day to ensure a critical component—the B20 Activation Registry—is fully initialized before the hard fork goes live. The network now plans to activate Beryl on June 26 at 18:00 UTC, instead of the originally scheduled June 25, according to Base’s documentation. Why the delay - Base says the B20 Activation Registry must complete initialization before developers can deploy native B20 tokens. The registry controls whether B20 feature flags are available after the hard fork and can take up to an hour to come online after activation. The one-day slip gives the team confidence the registry and dependent systems will be ready when the hard fork executes. What Beryl delivers Beryl is Base’s second independent upgrade after Azul (which reached mainnet in May). Key changes in this release include: - B20 token standard: A protocol-level token standard that enables issuers to create stablecoins and real-world-asset tokens directly in Base’s node software instead of deploying ERC-20 smart contracts. B20 remains compatible with the ERC-20 spec and supports ERC-2612 permit functionality so existing wallets, exchanges, and indexers should work without modification. - Issuer Toolkit: Role-based permissions, mint/burn controls, transfer restrictions, optional supply caps, and freeze/seizure features designed for regulated issuers. - Faster withdrawals: The standard withdrawal period from Base to Ethereum (for the route used by most bridging providers) is shortened from seven days to five days. Base attributes this reduction to Azul’s Multiproofs framework, which reduces reliance on the original fault-proof challenge window. - Reth V2 integration: Node storage requirements are reduced by up to 50% and higher block gas targets are supported. Recent network outage and safety Base experienced a nearly two-hour block production outage on June 25 after an invalid block entered the sequencing pipeline; engineers identified a consensus issue and temporarily halted block production. Production was restored later that day. The team confirmed the incident was unrelated to the planned Beryl upgrade, that user funds remained safe, and that any stuck nodes will recover after restart and syncing. Base said it has found the halt’s root cause and will publish a full post‑mortem. What’s next Base has scheduled its next upgrade, Cobalt, for September. The team expects Cobalt to introduce native account abstraction (protocol-level smart accounts), gas sponsorship, transaction batching, additional B20 capabilities, and a unified node binary combining consensus and execution clients. Source: Base documentation. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Framework Ventures has closed its fourth fund — a $400 million vehicle that signals the firm’s broader pivot into what it calls “frontier technology”: blockchain, artificial intelligence, robotics, and energy. Key facts - Fund size: $400 million (fourth fund). - Commitments: roughly half of the capital has already been allocated, according to co-founders Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson. - Limited partners: unnamed, but described as sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds, an Ivy League endowment and nonprofit organizations. - Assets under management: Framework reported $1.28 billion in AUM in an SEC filing as of December 2025. Why this matters Framework — founded in 2019 and an early backer of DeFi staples like Aave and Chainlink — has steadily broadened its remit beyond pure crypto. The firm raised a $100 million fund in 2021 and another $400 million crypto-focused fund in 2022; the new vehicle officially extends its scope to encompass AI, robotics and energy bets alongside blockchain projects. According to Anderson, the decision to widen the strategy was driven by entrepreneurs in Framework’s network increasingly building companies that straddle crypto and AI, rather than simply chasing the recent AI funding boom. Portfolio signals The new fund’s ambitions are already reflected in Framework’s holdings. Recent investments include robotics data startup Mecka AI and a stake in mortgage company Better.com, showing the firm’s appetite for tech beyond decentralized finance and infrastructure. Broader VC trend Framework’s move tracks a wider shift among crypto-focused VCs that are expanding into AI and adjacent areas: - Haun Ventures unveiled a $1 billion fund in May to support crypto infrastructure, tokenization and AI agents. - Paradigm is reportedly targeting as much as $1.5 billion for a fund to back crypto, AI and robotics startups. - Traditional AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic continue to attract strong VC interest, intensifying competition for talent and deals that sit at the intersection of AI and blockchain. Industry context: crypto firms evolving Several crypto companies and projects are reshaping priorities to capture AI-tailored opportunity while maintaining blockchain activity. Examples: - Custodian and infrastructure player BitGo announced about a 15% workforce reduction as it reallocates resources to security, trading, stablecoins, settlement and AI-powered infrastructure. - Story Protocol rebranded as the DATA Foundation and shifted from IP licensing to building blockchain-based systems to source, verify, license and compensate contributors for AI training data. Bottom line Framework’s $400 million fund underscores growing convergence between crypto and AI investing. The capital move highlights an industry pivot: venture players that once focused narrowly on digital assets are now positioning to back cross-disciplinary startups that blend blockchain, artificial intelligence and robotics — a development that could accelerate new infrastructure and product innovation at the intersection of those technologies. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

A coalition of U.S. law enforcement agencies has raised alarms about language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — commonly shortened to the CLARITY Act — warning that certain developer protections could make it harder to investigate and prosecute illicit finance tied to crypto infrastructure. At the center of the dispute is whether shielding non‑custodial wallet developers and infrastructure providers from liability could create enforcement blind spots. Proponents of developer protections say writing code or building non‑custodial tools shouldn’t automatically make someone responsible for how third parties use them. Law enforcement groups counter that broadly worded immunity could impede investigations into sanctioned entities, scammers, ransomware operators and launderers who exploit those same tools. This tension has been a policy fault line for years. Non‑custodial wallets, open‑source code and decentralized tooling are fundamental to crypto’s architecture — enabling privacy, self‑custody and innovation. But those same properties can be abused by bad actors. The core policy challenge is clear: how do you target illicit use without criminalizing neutral technology or chilling legitimate development? The stakes for the industry are high. If the CLARITY Act moves forward with robust protections for developers, DeFi builders and wallet teams could gain regulatory certainty and confidence to keep innovating. If protections are narrowed, however, non‑custodial infrastructure projects that don’t hold customer assets could face heavier compliance burdens — and potentially new legal risks. A likely workable compromise, critics and supporters alike suggest, would draw sharper lines between: - passive publication of software (open‑source code made available to the public), - active facilitation (tools or services built to enable, market or coordinate illicit activity), - custodial control (entities that hold or manage user funds), - deliberate evasion (actions taken to help users avoid sanctions or reporting). Without that nuance, the law risks two bad outcomes: chilling legitimate builders or leaving too much room for abuse. Market effects probably won’t show up overnight. But the policy direction could influence where developers choose to build, how DeFi front ends are designed, and how U.S. regulators treat non‑custodial tools in the coming regulatory cycle. The crypto industry is expected to push back on any framework that treats non‑custodial developers like traditional financial intermediaries — developers often can’t reverse transactions, don’t control user funds, and sometimes don’t even run the interfaces users access. Law enforcement, for its part, insists that bad actors already leverage those gaps. Lawmakers face the practical legislative challenge of equipping investigators with effective tools without forcing neutral software creators to act as gatekeepers for decentralized systems. The real test will be whether any final language changes user access, liquidity, regulatory confidence or trader positioning in the weeks and months after passage — not just whether it generates headlines on the day it’s released. This report is based on a law enforcement coalition letter and subsequent reporting. Written by the News Desk; edited by Samuel Rae. Sources: coalition letter and FinanceFeeds. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Ethereum slid sharply in a broad crypto market rout on Friday, trading around $1,552 at press time as investors dumped risky assets. CoinGecko shows ETH is down roughly 9% over the past week and more than 25% over the last month, and sentiment has turned firmly bearish. Could ETH revisit the sub-$1,000 territory it hit in June 2022? That summer was one of crypto’s darkest moments — the collapse of FTX sent shockwaves through the market and Bitcoin briefly traded near $15,000, dragging Ethereum to about $995. Today’s drivers look different but remain potent: geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz that pushed oil prices higher, and stickier U.S. inflation (CPI rose to 4.2% in May 2026) have all weighed on risk assets. The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged to combat inflation also dented crypto appetite. Adding to the pressure, prominent Chinese miner Jiang Zhuoer has warned Bitcoin could fall into the $42,000–$44,000 range — a move that would likely reverberate through the altcoin market and put further downside pressure on ETH. That said, many market participants argue today’s environment is not as extreme as 2022’s systemic shock; absent a major counterparty collapse, a repeat of the sub-$1,000 plunge is considered unlikely in the near term. Bottom line: Ethereum remains vulnerable to continued downside while macro and geopolitical risks persist, but a repeat of the 2022 nadir would likely require a fresh systemic shock. Traders should watch Bitcoin’s trajectory, macro prints, and any further escalation in geopolitical flashpoints for clues on ETH’s next move. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

SBI Holdings said Thursday it will buy Tokyo-based crypto exchange Bitbank in a roughly 46.7 billion yen (about $289 million) deal that it expects will create Japan’s largest crypto exchange by assets under custody. The board-approved transaction will turn Bitbank into a wholly owned SBI subsidiary once completed. Under the agreed structure, an SBI subsidiary will first purchase shares directly from Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and other individual shareholders, then subscribe to a new share issuance by Bitbank. Bitbank will use those proceeds to buy back and retire the stakes held by its two largest corporate investors, MIXI Inc. and Ceres Inc., which together control nearly half the exchange. The deal is expected to close around October, subject to clearance by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. SBI said it will fold Bitbank’s security and compliance systems into its existing crypto arm, centered on SBI VC Trade. Combined, the two exchanges would manage an estimated 1.1 trillion yen (about $6.8 billion) in assets under custody and serve roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts—figures SBI says would make it the largest exchange in Japan by assets under custody and among the biggest by user count. The acquisition is part of a broader consolidation trend in Japan’s crypto market and fits SBI’s strategy to expand across trading, stablecoins and on-chain finance. SBI said the deal will strengthen its competitive position but expects only a minor effect on consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2027. Bitbank’s most recent disclosures show the exchange returned to a net loss for the fiscal year ended December 2025 after two consecutive profitable years. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

SpaceX’s aggressive fundraising push — now capped at roughly $25 billion in new bonds — has reignited warnings that parts of the market may be overheating, coming just weeks after the company’s high-profile IPO. Why it matters - Allianz’s chief investment officer Ludovic Subran told the Financial Times that SpaceX’s quick return to the debt market is a red flag: companies are tapping strong equity prices and cheap borrowing conditions to raise fresh capital, which can be a hallmark of frothy markets. Subran contrasted equity investors’ long-term growth focus with debt investors’ preference for predictable income, implying the scale and speed of this deal are unusual. - The bond expansion reportedly drew strong investor demand, but it also fuels the debate over whether SpaceX’s current valuation already bakes in much of its future growth. Market moves and analyst takes - SpaceX’s public shares (SPCX) have cooled sharply since the IPO-runup. At the time of reporting SPCX traded near $151 — down about 2% on the day, roughly 21% over the past five sessions and more than 30% beneath the post-IPO high. - Broker notes have been cautious: Susquehanna started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $170 target, saying SpaceX’s valuation relies on aggressive growth assumptions and premium multiples. KeyBanc opened with a Sector Weight view, noting SpaceX’s leading position in commercial launches but warning much long-term potential may already be priced in. Shorts, selling pressure and macro backdrop - Short interest has jumped quickly. Data from Ortex Technologies — highlighted by crypto.news earlier — shows bearish bets rising to a significant share of the public float. Ortex co-founder Peter Hillerberg called the pace of new short positions “unusual” for such a freshly listed stock, suggesting traders are positioning for further downside after early gains. - Traders point to profit-taking in newly listed names and a broader pullback in risk-sensitive assets as investors reassess valuations. That same window of caution was amplified by fresh U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data, which underscored persistent inflationary pressures and weighed on risk appetite. Deal chatter: could SpaceX buy T-Mobile? - Unconfirmed reports — citing TD Cowen — floated a speculative scenario in which SpaceX might pursue T-Mobile ($TMUS) if it can’t strike a network-sharing agreement. Analysts noted T-Mobile’s existing relationship with Starlink as a strategic fit, but stressed the acquisition talk is hypothetical and not corroborated by either company. Bottom line SpaceX’s large, rapidly expanded bond offering and the subsequent market reaction have raised fresh questions about whether investors are racing to put capital to work while conditions are favorable — a pattern that has investors and analysts watching both equity and debt markets more closely. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Kraken and Maple have teamed up to bring a familiar Wall Street lending structure to crypto markets, launching an institutional warehouse financing facility for crypto-backed loans that uses a bankruptcy-remote SPV and USDC funding. What they announced - On June 24 Kraken and on-chain asset manager Maple unveiled a financing vehicle designed to support Kraken’s over-the-counter lending business. - The facility is built around a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) funded in USDC. Maple provides senior financing to the SPV, while Kraken keeps an economic interest in the transactions. - Kraken affiliates will originate, sell and service the loans and hold a position in each deal. Bitcoin and Ether collateral will be custody-held by Kraken Financial, Kraken’s Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI). Independent SPV administrator Zaria will oversee the facility’s administration. - Neither firm disclosed the size or commercial terms of the financing. Why it matters - The SPV structure — common in traditional structured credit (e.g., commercial mortgage-backed securities) — separates the financing vehicle from the borrower’s balance sheet. That separation can let Kraken scale lending capacity without committing additional balance-sheet capital. - Maple says the arrangement offers institutional lenders a senior, overcollateralized exposure backed by BTC and ETH, with collateral and loan performance monitorable on-chain. - The launch signals growing institutional appetite for tokenized credit infrastructure that combines traditional credit techniques (bankruptcy remoteness, senior tranches) with blockchain transparency. Market context - Tokenized credit has been expanding rapidly: RWA.xyz shows distributed value in tokenized credit jumped to more than $6.2 billion from roughly $1.87 billion a year earlier. Maple is currently the largest platform in the segment, managing about $1.4 billion in tokenized credit assets. - The new Kraken-Maple facility comes as institutional crypto lending continues to recover from the 2022 market shocks and failures (Celsius, BlockFi), which pushed the industry to prioritize collateral management and bankruptcy protections. - Other recent institutional credit moves in crypto include Ripple’s $200 million credit facility from Neuberger Berman, Stablecore’s early-access stablecoin and digital-asset program for U.S. credit unions, Capital B’s planned Bitcoin-backed credit product for European investors, and Morpho’s Midnight white paper for fixed-rate, fixed-term on-chain lending. - Not all projects have succeeded: Radiant Capital recently announced it would wind down after failing to recover from a $50 million exploit in 2024 — a reminder of operational and security risks in the space. Big-picture opportunity - Analysts at Bernstein estimate tokenized credit could represent a roughly $4 trillion addressable market as blockchain-based lending expands beyond institutional prime brokerage into areas such as mortgages, auto loans and small-business financing. Bottom line: By combining a bankruptcy-remote SPV, on-chain monitoring and institutional-grade custody, Kraken and Maple are packaging traditional structured-credit mechanics into a crypto-native lending product — a move that reflects both the sector’s push toward institutionalization and the broader growth of tokenized credit. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Headline: Ripple rolls CLARITY truck around Capitol as Senate recess tightens window for crypto bill Ripple launched a high-profile mobile ad push around the U.S. Capitol this week to keep momentum behind the CLARITY Act as lawmakers face a compressed legislative calendar. The company says the initiative aims to press for “clear rules of the road” for digital assets while Congress continues to debate broader crypto policy. The branded truck — featuring large digital displays with Ripple logos and the slogan “On the road to Clarity” — circulated near lawmakers’ offices and committee rooms, carrying copy that frames the CLARITY Act as a framework to protect consumers, spur responsible innovation and preserve U.S. competitiveness in digital assets. Ripple amplified the effort in a July 25 post on X, and Lauren Belive, Ripple’s co-head of public policy and government affairs, shared the campaign as the company taking its message “directly to Washington.” The push comes amid scheduling pressure on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune adjourned the Senate until July 13 under a unanimous consent agreement, trimming the number of legislative days available before members leave again for the August recess. That pause drew criticism from some House Republicans; Representative Anna Paulina Luna said she wouldn’t support reopening the House floor until senators returned, arguing the Senate left without advancing pending measures. Lawmakers’ attention is also being pulled toward other priorities. President Donald Trump delayed signing the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — saying he would wait for Congress to advance the SAVE AMERICA Act — a development that, while not directly related to CLARITY, further crowds the legislative agenda. Despite the calendar constraints, the CLARITY Act has already advanced through committee and was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar earlier this month. The House Financial Services Committee is expected to continue its consideration before any final votes. Debate continues over the bill’s effect on law enforcement. Several agencies warned that portions of the proposal could complicate financial-crime investigations involving digital assets. The Department of Justice responded by saying the legislation would not curtail prosecutors’ or investigators’ authority, asserting that law enforcement access to relevant information would remain unchanged and that the bill wouldn’t limit federal investigations or prosecutions into crimes such as drug trafficking, human smuggling or terrorism financing when digital assets are involved. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also urged Congress to act on crypto rules, reiterating that a U.S. central bank digital currency is “off the table” under the current administration while encouraging lawmakers to move forward with measures like the CLARITY Act. With a tighter legislative window ahead, Ripple’s mobile campaign appears aimed at keeping the CLARITY Act visible to policymakers and the public as supporters push to preserve momentum before mid‑July return sessions. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

CoinShares survey uncovers “invisible” crypto holdings for many UK advisers More than half of UK financial advisers can’t see the bulk of their clients’ cryptocurrency investments because of firm-level rules, a new CoinShares survey reveals — highlighting a growing blind spot as digital assets become a mainstream part of portfolios. Key findings - Survey size: 261 wealth management professionals across Europe. - UK blind spot: 52% of UK advisers said most of their clients’ crypto exposure is effectively “invisible” to them. - Europe average: the figure drops to 25% across other surveyed markets (France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland). - Firm constraints: 61% of respondents work at firms that either restrict digital assets or lack a clear internal policy for handling them. CoinShares co-founder and CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti warned the problem is driven by internal firm rules — not investor demand or adviser knowledge. He said clients have already allocated capital to crypto, but advisers are often prevented from discussing or overseeing those holdings by company policy. That creates what Mognetti calls a “wrong-way risk,” where advisers must manage client wealth without access to a complete picture of assets: “The capital has already been allocated. The people entrusted with managing it simply cannot see it, and in most cases not because clients are unwilling to engage, but because firm policy prevents them from doing so. This is not a knowledge problem. It is not a demand problem. It is a firm-policy problem becoming a wrong-way risk.” Why it matters Without visibility into clients’ crypto positions, advisers can’t fully allocate investments, assess risk, or build trust — potentially exposing clients and firms to unmanaged exposures and regulatory or fiduciary issues. The finding arrives as crypto ownership and regulatory engagement in the UK increase: the Financial Conduct Authority reported about 8% of UK adults owned crypto as of its December report, and it has floated proposals allowing authorized investment funds to allocate up to 10% of assets to crypto exchange-traded notes. Broader industry context Industry leaders say the next phase of crypto adoption will be driven more by payments infrastructure than speculation. Ripple executives have likened the evolution of crypto payments to the early days of e-commerce, arguing that scalable blockchains, stablecoins, regulated fiat on-ramps and simple wallets can make crypto payments everyday tools. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has also said stablecoins are drawing growing interest from corporate finance and treasury teams exploring blockchain-based payments and treasury management. Regulatory scrutiny beyond Europe Regulators are also sharpening focus on how crypto moves through markets. In India, the Financial Intelligence Unit has asked at least three major exchanges to hand over records of over-the-counter (OTC) crypto transactions exceeding $10,000. The request covers data exchanges must preserve from January 2026 onward, and targets private OTC trades that can obscure beneficial ownership when intermediaries or closely held entities stand between exchanges and the original source of funds. Bottom line CoinShares’ survey flags an important operational and governance gap in wealth management: as crypto exposure grows among retail and institutional clients, firms that limit adviser visibility risk mismanaging portfolios and increasing compliance and fiduciary risk. The solution, Mognetti and others suggest, lies in clearer firm policies, better integration of crypto reporting, and regulatory frameworks that enable advisers to see — and therefore manage — the full picture of client assets. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Anchorage Digital says MicroStrategy’s options market is signaling caution, not panic — even as investors load up on downside protection. In a June 25 research note, Anchorage’s head of research David Lawant found that options traders across Bitcoin (via Deribit), BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) were paying a premium for protection against losses. But crucially, MicroStrategy’s options activity hasn’t hit the extremes that historically accompany company-specific crises or forced deleveraging. Key takeaways from the report - Put skew — a measure of how much traders pay for downside protection — is elevated across Deribit and IBIT options, reflecting a preference for hedging over chasing upside. Defensive positioning sits in the 82nd percentile for IBIT and the 84th percentile for Deribit over their respective histories. - Bitcoin options spent nearly half of 2026 with one-week implied volatility trading above one-month implied volatility, an unusual short-term volatility structure Anchorage links to a stream of macro events, geopolitical developments, and crypto-specific shocks that have kept traders focused on near-term risk. - Anchorage argues that a reversion to one-month implied volatility trading higher than one-week would signal growing investor comfort looking past immediate uncertainty. Why that matters for MicroStrategy Anchorage’s read: traders are bracing for volatility — not pricing in a severe, company-specific breakdown for MicroStrategy. Put skew has climbed because investors want protection, but it hasn’t reached the extreme levels Anchorage associates with expectations of forced liquidations or a broader corporate crisis. That analysis arrives as MicroStrategy’s capital structure and stock have come under fresh pressure. Its perpetual preferred security, STRC, fell to $82.53 on June 22 — roughly 17% below $100 par — before rebounding after the company said it had boosted fiat reserves to $1.3 billion. By Thursday STRC was trading near $75, about 25% below par. MicroStrategy’s common shares also remain under strain: Yahoo Finance showed MSTR trading near $85 on Thursday after roughly a 78% drop over the past year and a new 52-week low. Legal and governance friction Outside of the options market, MicroStrategy has attracted increased legal and investor scrutiny. Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into whether the company made materially inaccurate disclosures and is evaluating potential securities claims and a possible class action on behalf of shareholders. Those developments followed comments from Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff suggesting that holders of STRC could have legal grounds to pursue claims related to Michael Saylor’s promotion of the company’s Bitcoin strategy. Separately, MicroStrategy director Jarrod Patten sold another 1,500 MSTR shares as the stock declined. Still, Anchorage’s bottom line is that options traders appear to be buying protection for near-term volatility rather than pricing in an imminent collapse. MicroStrategy remains the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 847,363 BTC on its balance sheet after popularizing the corporate Bitcoin treasury model in 2020. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

BitGo trims nearly 15% of workforce as it pivots to stablecoins, security and AI BitGo Holdings announced on June 25 that it is cutting nearly 15% of its staff as the crypto custody and infrastructure provider narrows its focus on areas the company sees as core to future growth: security, trading, stablecoins, settlement and AI-powered infrastructure. CEO and co-founder Mike Belshe disclosed the move in a post on X and in a Form 8‑K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Today I’m sharing a hard decision: we are reducing our workforce by nearly 15%,” Belshe wrote, saying the digital-asset ecosystem has “changed” and that BitGo needs to “be sharper” in how it builds financial services. He said affected employees had already been notified by managers and HR, urged remaining staff to support one another, and characterized the layoffs as “a one‑time action” with no anticipated further reductions. How many roles were cut BitGo has not published an exact headcount for the cuts. Its 2025 annual report listed 603 full‑time employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, which would suggest roughly 90 positions were impacted by a near‑15% reduction. Despite the layoffs, BitGo’s careers page still showed 51 open roles after the announcement across engineering, compliance, customer success, finance, marketing, sales, security and internal audit, spanning the U.S., Canada, India, Singapore, Dubai, Brazil and the U.K. A strategic refocus, not a hiring freeze The mix of cuts and active job listings indicates BitGo isn’t halting hiring outright but is reallocating talent to areas it deems higher priority — notably stablecoins, custody and settlement services, institutional trading, security, and new AI systems. That message mirrors previous moves: BitGo has been expanding into institutional DeFi and adding settlement services used by partners such as OKX for U.S. institutional clients. Financial and market context The layoffs come months after BitGo’s IPO. In January the company priced its public offering at $18 per share, raising roughly $212.8 million and implying a fully diluted valuation north of $2 billion. BitGo reported a 112.6% year‑over‑year jump in first‑quarter revenue to $3.77 billion, while its net loss widened to $60.7 million; management said digital asset sales and growth in its Stablecoin‑as‑a‑Service business were primary revenue drivers. Market reaction has been mixed: BTGO shares closed at $4.80 on June 25, down about 4.8% for the day and well below the IPO price, adding pressure on the company to prove its public-market strategy can deliver growth while controlling costs. Wider industry backdrop BitGo’s cuts arrive amid a broad wave of tech downsizing in 2026. Layoffs.fyi reported more than 119,000 tech jobs eliminated across 196 companies this year, with many employers citing restructuring, market pressures and AI-driven shifts as they realign workforces. What to watch - Whether BitGo can translate its refocused investments in stablecoins, settlement and AI into stronger margins and growth that calm investor concerns. - How remaining hiring and product pushes — particularly around custody, settlement and institutional trading — progress while the company integrates the reorganization. - Any further commentary from management about cost targets and performance goals as the firm navigates public-market scrutiny. Overall, BitGo’s move appears aimed at reallocating resources to areas where it sees the greatest long‑term opportunity in crypto infrastructure, even as it navigates the short‑term impacts of layoffs and a challenging public valuation. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

StablecoinX debuts on Nasdaq as demand for Ethena’s USDe cools StablecoinX — the first pure-play treasury firm centered on the Ethena ecosystem — has gone public after closing its merger with TLGY Acquisition Corp., listing on Nasdaq under the ticker USDE. Its public warrants will begin trading as USDEW on Friday, June 26, after the deal closed a day earlier. The listing gives retail and institutional investors a direct, equity-market way to gain exposure to Ethena. “We believe Ethena has emerged as one of the most important platforms powering the next generation of digital dollars,” said CEO and chairman Edward Chen. Big ENA bet on the balance sheet As part of the transaction, StablecoinX reported holding roughly 3.029 billion ENA governance tokens — about 20% of ENA’s total supply — valued at roughly $275 million using the 30-day ENA average applied before closing. The company emerged from the deal with about 24 million publicly traded Class A shares outstanding. The ENA position traces back to a previously announced $360 million ENA treasury strategy first outlined in 2025, a plan that was later expanded via private financing. That strategy also included a roughly $60 million ENA contribution from the Ethena Foundation, making ENA exposure central to StablecoinX’s investment thesis and tying its market value closely to Ethena adoption and ENA pricing. USDe supply is shrinking StablecoinX’s Nasdaq debut arrives as demand for Ethena’s synthetic dollar, USDe, has pulled back sharply. USDe’s circulating supply has plunged roughly 70% from its October peak above $14 billion to about $4.5 billion today. Earlier reporting showed USDe experienced around $1.1 billion in net outflows even as the broader stablecoin market expanded. USDe is designed to target a $1 peg using crypto collateral plus hedged futures positions rather than relying solely on cash reserves. That design can generate yield, but returns depend heavily on futures funding rates — and when those rates weaken or go negative, the yield engine can struggle, pressuring demand for USDe. What StablecoinX actually does StablecoinX describes its business in three parts: - A live decentralized verifier node that validates cross-chain messages for Ethena across supported networks. - Stablecoin Harness, a middleware stack under development for payment routing, bridging, liquidity access, treasury tools, reporting and compliance. - Institutional distribution services that are still being built out. Ecosystem momentum, policy backdrop Despite the drop in USDe supply, Ethena continues to attract distribution activity: Coinbase Ventures has bought ENA on the open market and other projects are adding USDe rails — for example, Jupiter Lend added a USDe lending market with Bitwise. Those moves suggest the protocol is still establishing on-chain finance and savings use cases even as supply contracts. The listing also comes amid an active policy debate in the U.S. over yield-bearing stablecoins. Regulators and lawmakers are scrutinizing how yield-bearing products differ from plain payment stablecoins, because passing returns to holders can trigger different legal and compliance issues. Why this matters StablecoinX’s public listing makes its Ethena bet accessible to public-market investors but also exposes the company to the same headwinds confronting the protocol: lower USDe supply, ENA trading well below its 2024 highs, and a generally weak crypto market. Early trading will indicate whether investors want direct exposure to stablecoin infrastructure and governance tokens as the Ethena ecosystem continues to build distribution and product depth. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Coinbase-backed layer-2 Base returned to normal after a nearly two-hour halt to block production Thursday, after engineers identified and patched a consensus issue that sequenced an invalid block. Base first flagged “unhealthy block production” on its status page at 4:03 p.m. UTC and said sequencing stopped after block 47,806,542. The team later confirmed blocks were being produced normally and that it had verified broad recovery across the ecosystem. Operators with stuck nodes were instructed to restart and resync; Base’s internal nodes had already resumed syncing. Founder Jesse Pollak moved quickly to reassure users, saying in a post on X that “funds are safe” while also acknowledging that “a halt is not okay” for a network aiming to support global, 24/7 finance. The team said it has identified and patched the root cause and will publish a full post‑mortem explaining how the invalid block entered sequencing, why the chain stopped, and what checks will change. Why this matters - A block-production pause freezes on‑chain activity: trades, payments, dApps, wallets, exchanges and bridges that rely on fresh blocks can be delayed or disrupted. For a busy scaling network like Base, outages are rare but high-impact. - The incident comes just ahead of Base’s Beryl upgrade, which went live after the network recovered. Beryl reduces the standard Base‑to‑Ethereum withdrawal delay from seven days to five and introduces a native B20 token standard (targeted at stablecoins and real‑world asset tokens) built into Base’s node software rather than only via smart contracts. - Reliability is especially important as Base expands beyond retail crypto trading into broader Coinbase product plans — and as institutions lean on the network. For example, JPMorgan has piloted JPM Coin on Base for faster, always-on settlement. Context and history Base previously suffered a 33‑minute outage in August 2025 caused by a sequencer handoff problem; that incident led to infrastructure changes and extra testing. The new halt is likely to re‑ignite scrutiny of sequencer design and uptime guarantees, and whether additional safeguards are needed as Base grows. What’s next Base has said it will publish a full post‑mortem. Builders and users will be watching for a clear explanation, concrete fixes, and steps that reduce the risk of future halts — especially given the network’s increasing role in institutional payments and Coinbase’s broader ambitions. For now, block production has resumed, but the incident underscores that even major networks can be tripped up by edge‑case failures. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Curaçao has published its first detailed crypto rulebook for licensed online gambling operators — and it could reshape how casinos accept digital assets. The guidance, issued by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board, mandates wallet-screening and sets a full ban on privacy mixers to take effect by 2027. Why this matters - Curaçao is a major licensing hub for online casinos. Rules coming from the island often set de facto standards for operators around the world, so these requirements will carry outsized weight across the crypto-gambling sector. - Rather than outlawing crypto outright, the regulator is signalling a middle path: crypto payments are acceptable inside licensed platforms only if operators can prove they prevent sanctioned wallets, hacked funds, mixers, and other illicit flows from moving unchecked. Key requirements - Wallet screening: Licensed casinos must screen customer wallets and trace on-chain flows to detect links to sanctions, thefts, or other high-risk activity. - Mixer ban: Privacy-enhancing services commonly known as mixers will be prohibited for platform use by 2027, a stance that places compliance priorities above privacy arguments. - Ongoing monitoring: The rules imply expectations for continuous transaction monitoring, wallet-risk scoring, and clear escalation procedures for suspicious activity. Practical impact for operators - Technical lift: Complying will typically require blockchain analytics tools, automated wallet-risk scoring, transaction-monitoring systems, and dedicated compliance workflows — raising both cost and operational complexity. - Strategic choices: New obligations could change which chains and tokens casinos accept, which payment processors they partner with, and how actively they target crypto-native audiences. Stablecoins and high-throughput networks — already popular in gambling use cases — may see shifting support depending on how easy they are to monitor. - Competitive shakeup: Smaller operators that treated crypto as a lightweight payment rail may struggle to absorb the compliance burden, potentially consolidating volume toward larger, better-capitalized platforms. Broader signals for regulators and service providers - Template for other sectors: Curaçao’s approach reflects a broader global trend — regulators increasingly permit crypto inside regulated industries, but only with robust screening and strict prohibitions on privacy tools. - Downstream effects: Payment processors, affiliate networks, and other vendors serving licensed casinos will likely need to upgrade monitoring, documentation, and reporting to stay viable partners. What to watch next The real test is practical: whether these rules change user access, liquidity on casino platforms, and market positioning for traders and operators in the coming weeks and months — not just generate a one-day headline. Source and credits This coverage is based on guidelines from the Curaçao Gaming Control Board. Article by the News Desk; edited by Samuel Rae. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Chinese mining figure Jiang Zhuoer has warned that Bitcoin’s bear market may not be over yet — and that a final bottom could arrive as late as late 2026 in the $42,000–$44,000 range. What he’s saying - This isn’t a short-term trade call. Jiang frames the view as a cycle forecast based on market valuation, miner-cycle experience and a key measure of a listed company’s Bitcoin exposure: Strategy’s Bitcoin-linked premium and its mNAV falling to 0.72. - In his framework, the premium that investors pay for indirect, corporate exposure to BTC could compress before spot Bitcoin finds its low. Because Strategy has become a prominent public proxy for BTC, some analysts now watch its equity premium as an indicator of speculative appetite. Why it matters - The $42k–$44k zone implies further downside from current levels and would likely require prolonged weakness in risk assets, weak institutional flows or tighter leverage conditions — a scenario uncomfortable for bulls but useful for risk planning. - If the premium for leveraged corporate BTC exposure collapses, it may signal investors no longer want to pay up for indirect Bitcoin exposure — a sign of faded risk appetite that could precede a deeper spot sell-off. How to read the call - Treat it as a scenario, not a certainty. Cycle timing is notoriously difficult, particularly in an era shaped by ETF flows, macro liquidity and corporate treasury demand. - Nevertheless, downside targets from experienced industry participants help traders frame risk and avoid assuming every dip is a bottom. Broader context - Several cycle models are being tested right now. ETF inflows, corporate Bitcoin holdings and macro conditions have shifted market dynamics since previous miner-led cycles, so older frameworks may not map perfectly onto today’s market. - Miner perspectives remain valuable because they emphasize cost structures, stress and capitulation dynamics rather than short-term sentiment. If BTC heads toward Jiang’s range, traders will likely revisit his framework in the bottoming debate. Bottom line - If Bitcoin struggles to reclaim major resistance levels and institutional flows remain weak, the $42k–$44k range could become a debated support zone. If demand returns and BTC recovers, Jiang’s bearish scenario may simply serve as a reminder of one risk path that didn’t play out. Source: Jiang Zhuoer on Weibo. Article by the News Desk; edited by Samuel Rae. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

BitMine, led by Tom Lee, just pushed a huge chunk of its Ethereum treasury into staking—setting the stage for its upcoming Russell 1000 debut and drawing fresh attention to how public companies are managing giant crypto treasuries. What happened - On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported BitMine staked another 160,480 ETH (about $248.7 million), bringing the company’s total staked ETH to roughly 4.88 million tokens—about 86% of its entire Ethereum holdings (approximately $7.56 billion at current prices). - That increase follows BitMine’s June 22 holdings update, which showed the company held 5,672,956 ETH, 205 BTC, $601 million in cash and marketable securities, plus stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings—and reported no debt. Why it matters - BitMine’s timing coincides with BMNR’s scheduled inclusion in the Russell 1000 on June 26, part of FTSE Russell’s 2026 U.S. index reconstitution (the first year back to semi-annual rebalancing). Inclusion can prompt short-term trading from passive funds and managers that track Russell benchmarks, expanding the stock’s visibility—even if it doesn’t guarantee sustained buying. - The company already had staked 4,718,677 ETH as of June 21, and reports annualized staking revenue around $223 million. BitMine says fully staking its ETH could boost yearly rewards through its validator network and partners. CEO view and strategy - Chairman Tom Lee noted recent accumulation: “Over the past week, we acquired 52,203 ETH,” and described the market as still in an early “crypto spring.” BitMine continues to prioritize ETH accumulation for 2026 and has signaled an ambition to reach an “alchemy of 5%” of the Ethereum supply—having previously bought another $90 million in ETH that lifted its holdings to about 4.7% of supply. Market implications and risks - BitMine has become the largest public Ethereum treasury company. Its wallet and staking activity are closely tracked (Arkham’s entity page is a popular reference), which amplifies attention to both its growth and its exposure to ETH volatility. - Large treasury holders can reduce liquid supply—potentially supporting prices—but they also raise concentration risks if firms borrow against holdings, issue stock, or sell during downturns. BitMine’s BMNP dividend plan ties preferred-stock payments to its Ethereum treasury and staking operations, making staking yield a central element of its public-market structure rather than a side business. The near-term test - As of June 25, BMNR traded around $13.32 and ETH near $1,550. The key questions now are whether Russell 1000 inclusion can sustain equity demand amid ETH’s price swings, and whether staking income will adequately compensate for the risks of running one of the world’s largest public Ethereum treasuries. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Baillie Gifford has reportedly moved into the tokenized fund arena, joining a growing roster of traditional asset managers experimenting with regulated funds on public blockchains. According to institutional communications from the firm, the plan involves a regulated tokenized bond fund built on public rails such as Ethereum and Solana, with institutional custody provided by BNY. Why it matters - Tokenized funds are one of the clearest intersections between traditional finance and crypto infrastructure. Unlike speculative token launches, tokenized bonds and money-market products map directly onto existing institutional needs for yield, faster settlement and programmable distribution. - Bonds in particular are a natural first candidate: they already exist inside complex custody and settlement systems. Tokenized fund units can simplify transfers, boost transparency and enable more automated use of collateral—while not eliminating legacy systems, they can streamline specific workflows. - The choice of blockchain matters. Ethereum brings institutional familiarity and mature tooling; Solana offers speed and low fees. Which chain an asset manager selects signals how it balances credibility, resilience and performance. Broader context The real-world asset (RWA) narrative has outlasted many other crypto stories because it’s tied to practical financial infrastructure. Tokenized treasuries, private credit, bonds and fund shares all point toward a slow but steady compatibility between traditional assets and blockchain settlement. Baillie Gifford’s reported move is another data point that strengthens that trend, even as debate continues over which chains will dominate. Why this isn’t just a headline No single announcement will settle the market’s direction. What’s important is that the same themes keep repeating: regulation is becoming more detailed, institutional products are being structured to sit closer to conventional financial rails, and traders react quickly when liquidity tightens. Those dynamics mean a seemingly narrow product launch can have outsized relevance for market structure—affecting liquidity, risk pricing and the pace of institutional adoption. Takeaway for market participants Treat the report as a structural signal rather than a guaranteed price catalyst. The development matters for asset managers, custody providers, builders and investors watching the evolution of crypto-native settlement for regulated products. It shows where capital, regulation and infrastructure are converging, and gives traders and technologists another point of evidence as they navigate policy uncertainty, liquidity pressures and product innovation. Source and credits This coverage is based on information from Baillie Gifford institutional communications. Written by the News Desk; edited by Samuel Rae. Source material available from Baillie Gifford. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Anthropic warns U.S. lawmakers of sweeping “distillation” campaign it says siphoned capabilities from Claude — and urges tougher rules Anthropic has urged Congress to clamp down on large-scale “distillation” attacks after accusing operators tied to Alibaba and its Qwen AI lab of running what the company calls the biggest-known attempt to extract capabilities from its Claude chatbot. In a June 10 letter to Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chair Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, Anthropic says the alleged operation generated more than 28.8 million exchanges with Claude between April 22 and June 5 using nearly 25,000 accounts it considers “fraudulent” — accounts that do not represent real, organic users. According to Anthropic, the campaign focused on extracting high‑value behaviors such as agentic reasoning, software engineering, and long-horizon planning — skills that would let rivals reproduce advanced model behavior without the enormous cost and risk of training a frontier AI system from scratch. “Beyond its scale, this campaign was striking for its brazen nature,” Anthropic wrote in the letter, noting that Alibaba is publicly listed in New York and conducts business in the U.S. The company framed the incident not only as an intellectual property dispute but as a national security concern: large-scale distillation, Anthropic warned, could accelerate Chinese military and cyber AI capabilities and narrow the U.S. technological lead. Policy asks: what Anthropic wants Congress to do Anthropic laid out a set of policy recommendations aimed at closing gaps it says enabled the extraction: - Expand intelligence sharing between frontier AI developers and the U.S. government. - Clarify antitrust rules so AI firms can legally share information about distillation attacks. - Tighten export controls on advanced AI chips and access to compute. - Close loopholes that allow Chinese firms to access overseas data centers. - Impose penalties on companies responsible for large-scale model extraction. A spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the letter but told Decrypt, “We believe combating the threat of illicit distillation requires coordinated action between government and industry, and we will continue working with Congress and the administration to maintain American AI leadership.” Part of a broader Washington push on AI The appeal to Congress comes as Washington steps up efforts to protect U.S. AI leadership. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order expanding AI-focused cybersecurity initiatives after initially delaying the measure amid concerns about weakening America’s competitive position with China. Anthropic argues that when foreign labs “distill” capabilities from U.S. models, they capture the returns on American investments without paying the costs or bearing the risks of training frontier models. “This inverts the economic logic that underwrites American AI leadership,” the company wrote, characterizing unauthorized distillation as effectively subsidizing foreign competitors with U.S. R&D and compute investments. Context and controversy This isn’t Anthropic’s first public allegation of large-scale extraction. In February the company said Chinese developers DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax generated more than 16 million exchanges with Claude using roughly 24,000 fraudulent accounts. Those claims prompted pushback from observers who note that distillation — using one model to teach another — is an established industry technique. Anthropic has drawn a line between legitimate distillation, which it says is appropriate for producing smaller or cheaper models, and unauthorized extraction of frontier capabilities via fraudulent access, which it contends violates terms of service. That line isn’t always clear-cut. In April, Elon Musk testified in federal court that xAI had “partly” used OpenAI models while training Grok, underlining that distillation is a common practice even as companies disagree over where lawful model training ends and illicit extraction begins. Why crypto audiences should care The debate goes beyond AI lab rivalries. Proposed measures — from export controls on high-end chips to restrictions on data‑center access — could ripple across the broader compute ecosystem that also supports crypto mining, decentralized apps, and Web3 infrastructure. Any shift in rules that changes who can access advanced GPUs, cloud compute, or global data centers will affect costs, availability, and geopolitics of compute resources relied upon by both AI and crypto projects. Anthropic’s letter presses lawmakers to treat large-scale model extraction as more than a commercial quarrel — instead as a matter of economic and national security that may require coordinated industry‑government action. As the policy debate continues, the industry will be watching how regulators square routine scientific practices with the risks of offloading frontier capabilities to strategic competitors. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

SBI Holdings to Buy Bitbank for ¥46.7B ($289M), Creating Japan’s Largest Crypto Exchange by Assets SBI Holdings announced Thursday it has agreed to acquire Tokyo-based crypto exchange Bitbank in a transaction valued at about ¥46.7 billion (roughly $289 million). The deal—approved by SBI’s board—would make Bitbank a wholly owned SBI subsidiary and, when combined with SBI’s existing crypto arm, position the group as Japan’s largest exchange by assets under custody. Deal structure and timeline - A wholly owned SBI subsidiary will first purchase shares directly from Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue and other individual shareholders. It will then subscribe to a new share issuance by Bitbank. - Bitbank will use the capital raised to buy back and retire stakes held by its two largest corporate shareholders, MIXI Inc. and Ceres Inc., which together control nearly half the exchange. - The transaction is expected to close around October, subject to clearance from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. Scale and integration SBI said it will fold Bitbank’s security and compliance operations into its existing crypto business centered on SBI VC Trade. The combined group would hold an estimated ¥1.1 trillion (about $6.8 billion) in assets under custody and serve roughly 2.92 million crypto accounts—numbers SBI says would make it the largest Japanese exchange by assets under custody and among the biggest by user count. Strategic context and financial impact The acquisition underscores ongoing consolidation in Japan’s digital-asset industry as established financial players expand crypto offerings. SBI is continuing to build a broad crypto strategy spanning trading, stablecoins and on-chain finance. The company described the expected impact on its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2027 as minor. Bitbank’s recent performance Financial disclosures included in SBI’s announcement show Bitbank returned to a net loss for the fiscal year ended December 2025 after two years of profitability. The deal now awaits regulatory approval; if cleared, the integration will significantly reshape Japan’s crypto exchange landscape by concentrating custody assets and user accounts under the SBI umbrella. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news