BSC News

BlackRock executed another large on-chain movement on July 1, depositing 3,625 $BTC (approximately $212.43M) and 20,598 $ETH (approximately $32.39M) into @Coinbase Prime. According to on-chain data provider Onchain Lens, the latest transfer brings the firm's three-day cumulative total to 15,442 $BTC, valued at roughly $918.5M.
ETF Mechanics Drive the Movement
The scale of the transfer drew immediate attention, but analysts broadly view it as operational rather than directional. Coinbase Prime serves as BlackRock's custody, trading, and operational partner for its crypto ETF products, and transfers of this kind are the plumbing behind ETF share creation, redemption, and portfolio rebalancing. Asset managers like BlackRock use custodial platforms such as Coinbase Prime to facilitate the creation and redemption of ETF shares, with these moves typically corresponding to inflows or outflows of fund capital.
The simultaneous deposit of both Bitcoin and Ethereum suggests a coordinated rebalancing or settlement process across both funds. BlackRock operates the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), both of which use Coinbase as their custodian.
Context: A Recurring Pattern Ahead of Quarter-End
On-chain data indicates the timing may not be coincidental. The deposits were flagged ahead of the July 1 fiscal reset, with Onchain Lens suggesting BlackRock is optimizing its market-ready reserves. Individual transactions of this type regularly fall between $250M and $650M, and a notable recent example on June 8, 2026 saw approximately 3,580 BTC worth around $227M and 15,095 ETH valued at roughly $25M transferred to Coinbase Prime in a single cluster.
The pattern is now well-established: large deposits to Coinbase Prime from BlackRock wallets are overwhelmingly associated with ETF mechanics, not market positioning. That said, the backdrop is worth noting. BlackRock's IBIT accounted for 73% of the $1.79B in outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs during the week of June 22 to 26, 2026, with June 26 alone seeing a $444.5M net outflow matching the total negative flow from the entire ETF complex.
Despite the recent outflow pressure, the longer-term picture remains significant. The overall trend of institutional adoption remains strong, evidenced by $53.94B in cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. For now, market participants are treating this latest batch of deposits as standard quarter-end housekeeping rather than a signal of impending market action.
Sources:
Crypto Briefing: BlackRock deposits Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
KuCoin: BlackRock IBIT accounts for 73% of Bitcoin ETF outflows in June 2026
Investing.com: BlackRock IBIT redemption streak and ETF flow analysis

Binance Closes In on 90 Billion LUNC Burned
Binance burned over 600 million $LUNC tokens on July 1, according to data from LUNC Metrics. The latest burn brings the exchange's cumulative total to 87.37 billion Terra Classic tokens permanently removed from circulation, putting the 90 billion milestone firmly within reach.
The burn forms part of Binance's long-running monthly program, which allocates 50% of LUNC trading fees collected on the platform to be permanently removed from circulation. Binance has burned LUNC every single month since late 2022, using trading fees collected from LUNC spot and margin pairs, converting them into LUNC and permanently sending them to the burn address.
The program has made Binance the dominant force in Terra Classic's deflationary effort. Binance remains the largest single contributor to this effort, having permanently removed over 84.94 billion LUNC tokens through its ongoing burn program as of early May 2026, a figure that has continued to climb with each subsequent monthly burn.
Supply Pressure Builds, But Price Under Pressure
The July 1 burn arrives amid mixed market conditions for Terra Classic. LUNC trading volume is up 5% over the past 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap data, though the token has shed nearly 30% of its value over the past month.
LUNC's burn mechanism, combining a 0.5% on-chain transaction tax with exchange-led burns, remains the cornerstone of the community's deflationary strategy. Despite the steady pace of supply reduction, the token's structural challenges remain significant. With 5.52 trillion LUNC still in circulation out of 6.46 trillion total, the daily burn rate is marginal against the float.
With a total supply still at 6.46 trillion, the current burn rate is mathematically insufficient for fundamental revaluation alone, and price gains from burns are vulnerable to reversal if staked supply is unlocked or if broader market sentiment sours. Still, the community views consistent exchange-led burns as a key pillar of the project's long-term recovery thesis, with sentiment remaining largely positive around the burns as a steady contribution toward rebuilding confidence in LUNC, though meaningful price appreciation will likely depend on a combination of sustained burns, successful network upgrades, increased utility, and broader market conditions.
Sources
LUNC Metrics: Binance LUNC Burn Tracker
CoinReporter: Binance Burns 2.19 Billion LUNC in June 2026
Crypto Times: Terra Luna Classic Surges 150% in a Month Amid Binance Burn

A $67 Million Move From Cold Storage to Hot Wallet
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have transferred approximately $67 million in digital assets to Gemini, reigniting speculation that the billionaire co-founders may be preparing to offload a portion of their long-held cryptocurrency positions. The transfer consists of roughly $60 million in $BTC and $7 million in $ETH, moving from long-term cold custody into active hot wallet environments.
A custody wallet sits offline for long-term storage, while a hot wallet stays online for fast trading and withdrawals. That distinction matters to on-chain analysts. Analysts often read large hot-wallet inflows as possible sell preparation. Yet a hot wallet move does not confirm a sale. Exchanges also shift coins for liquidity, OTC settlement, internal accounting, or customer withdrawals.
This is not the first time the Winklevoss twins have drawn scrutiny for similar moves. In March 2026, about 1,750 BTC, or roughly $130 million, moved to Gemini hot wallets. On-chain data alone does not confirm that a sale has taken place, and neither twin has publicly explained the purpose of the transfers.
A Significant Treasury, and a Long Track Record of Gains
Despite the latest transfer, the twins retain a substantial Bitcoin position. According to the original copy, their remaining $BTC treasury exceeds $300 million, following an estimated $1.7 billion in total gains realised since 2015. This tracks broadly with data from earlier in the year. Arkham placed the pair's aggregate profit-and-loss at around $1.8 billion from their long-term BTC position.
The transfers mark the latest step in a years-long reduction of their BTC position, from 108,000 BTC in 2014 to an estimated 8,700 BTC today. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss co-founded Gemini after purchasing $BTC early using proceeds from their $65 million Facebook settlement.
The move arrives against a turbulent backdrop for Gemini itself. In February 2026, the company announced a major restructuring that included cutting about 25% of its workforce and exiting the UK, European Union, and Australian markets. In May 2026, the twins announced a $100 million Bitcoin-funded investment into Gemini shares. That deal showed Bitcoin flowing back into the business, adding further complexity to any straightforward sell narrative.
Until confirmed follow-up activity on-chain, or a public statement from the founders, the latest transfer remains ambiguous. Investors will likely watch for follow-up wallet activity, public comment from Gemini or the twins, and any broader signs that the transfer was tied to liquidity management, OTC activity, or actual spot sales.
Sources:
The Block: Winklevoss twins move $130 million in Bitcoin to Gemini, Arkham
BeInCrypto: Gemini's Winklevoss Twins Could Be Selling Millions in Bitcoin
The Crypto Times: Winklevoss Twins Invest $100M in Gemini Using Bitcoin

Internet Computer Crosses 294 Billion Transactions
@Dfinity's Internet Computer Protocol ($ICP) has officially crossed 294 billion total transactions, reinforcing its position as one of the highest-throughput layer-1 blockchains in the crypto space. The network is recording real-time activity of 910.6 transactions per second, with a 480ms block time and near-instant finality.
The milestone builds on a rapid trajectory. According to Coinpedia, Internet Computer had already processed nearly 288 billion transactions in mid-June 2026, making it the most-used blockchain network globally by total activity at that point. The network has since pushed past 294 billion.
Low Fees, Growing Infrastructure
One of the protocol's most cited selling points is its fee structure. Average transaction costs on the network sit at roughly $0.00008845, a level that makes it practical for high-frequency on-chain applications, enterprise systems, and decentralized websites. BanklessTimes reported in May 2026 that Internet Computer averaged 2,554 transactions per second over a prior week period, more than double Solana's 1,153 over the same window.
The network currently operates with 673 validators and $506.4 million in total stake. Its fully diluted market cap stands at $1.16 billion. The architecture splits workloads across independently running subnets, each with its own consensus layer. Crypto News Navigator noted that late-2025 infrastructure upgrades, including the Fission and Stellarator milestones, delivered a 50% increase in compute throughput and doubled subnet storage capacity to 2 TiB per subnet.
On the tokenomics side, Mission 70, a governance proposal that passed with over 53% support in January 2026, targets a reduction in annual $ICP inflation from 9.72% to approximately 2.92% by end of 2026. If achieved, the supply dynamics would shift materially in favor of existing holders.
Despite the on-chain activity figures, $ICP's market price remains well below its 2021 launch highs. The gap between network usage and token valuation continues to be a point of debate among market participants, with some viewing the transaction milestone as a potential narrative catalyst if broader crypto market conditions remain supportive.
Sources:
Coinpedia: ICP Price Eyes Breakout as Internet Computer Becomes Crypto's Most Used Blockchain
BanklessTimes: Internet Computer Tests Key Resistance After 11% Move
Crypto News Navigator: Internet Computer Blockchain Hit 1B Transactions in Q1 2026

REAL, a blockchain infrastructure provider focused on tokenized real-world assets, has rolled out a confidential execution layer aimed at regulated financial firms that want to operate onchain without broadcasting every move.
The new layer runs parallel to REAL's public Layer 1 network and uses ZKsync's Prividium technology, which gives banks, asset managers, and funds privacy controls over positions, allocations, and counterparty data. Settlement still happens on Ethereum, so institutions retain access to public liquidity even while keeping sensitive activity off the open network.
For years, regulated firms have faced a structural tradeoff. Public blockchains offer global reach, near-instant settlement, and composability, but they also expose treasury strategies, portfolio positions, and trading relationships to anyone watching the chain. That visibility has kept many of the largest potential participants out of the tokenized real-world asset market, even as issuance volumes climbed.
REAL is positioning the confidential layer as a direct response to that gap. The architecture lets firms keep privacy and public settlement together, with the confidential chain handling sensitive activity while the public chain provides access to onchain liquidity.
"Institutions shouldn't have to choose between public liquidity and operational privacy. We're building infrastructure that delivers both," said Ivo Georgiev, CEO of Real Finance.
The company's view is that issuance volumes alone will not define the next phase of tokenization. What matters is whether institutions can run their daily operations on these systems.
The new layer is designed around workflows where confidentiality is a baseline requirement: wealth and asset management mandates, balance sheet operations, tokenized deposit structures, and selective disclosure to auditors, compliance officers, and regulators when a review calls for it. Firms still get blockchain-native settlement and distribution, but their portfolio activity does not sit in plain view.
The release extends REAL's broader pitch around the lifecycle of tokenized real-world assets, which spans issuance, risk assessment, insurance, trading, and institutional execution under one compliance-aware architecture. The company has been building toward an environment where regulated capital can move onchain without forcing operators to rebuild reporting and oversight processes from scratch.
"This is about giving institutions a practical path into onchain finance," Georgiev added. "Real-world assets onchain require infrastructure that reflects how regulated finance actually operates. That's what we're building."
Tokenized real-world assets have drawn growing interest from major banks, asset managers, and other regulated firms over the past two years. The pitch is straightforward: blockchains can move money and assets faster and at lower cost than legacy rails. The friction has come from infrastructure that does not match how institutional desks actually operate, especially around confidentiality of positions and counterparties.
REAL is built on Cosmos Tendermint and uses a dual-validator model that includes both technical validators and business validators such as tokenizers, risk scorers, insurers, and credit agencies. Prividium, the underlying privacy infrastructure for the new layer, is ZKsync's product for regulated entities seeking configurable confidentiality and Ethereum settlement.
The company is headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Stellar Signs On as Open USD Launch Partner
Stellar's native token $XLM climbed roughly 10% over 24 hours after the Stellar Development Foundation joined the launch of Open USD as both a launch partner and Open Standard participant. The move ties one of crypto's most established payments-focused blockchains to what is shaping up to be the most broadly backed stablecoin debut in the industry's history.
More than 140 companies, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock and Coinbase, have joined Open Standard to launch Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin that shares most of the earnings from its reserves. The project is led by founding CEO Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure startup acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2024.
The coin is designed to address longstanding complaints about the stablecoin industry: high fees for minting and redeeming tokens at scale, issuers that keep the interest earned on reserves, and a lack of input from the businesses actually using the coins. Open Standard said businesses will be able to mint and redeem Open USD without fees or volume limits, while most of the income generated by its reserves will be distributed to participating businesses after a small management fee.
A Broad Coalition, and What It Means for $XLM
The 140-plus partners span four main categories: payment networks and processors such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, and Western Union; financial institutions including BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, and U.S. Bank; technology and commerce firms such as Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Shopify, and DoorDash; and crypto ecosystem players including Coinbase and Solana.
Open USD will be managed by an independent organization with governance shared among partner companies, rather than a single controlling issuer. The announcement had an immediate ripple effect across markets, with Circle shares falling sharply on the day as traders priced in OUSD as a direct competitor to USDC.
For Stellar, the partnership reinforces the network's positioning as institutional payments infrastructure. Stellar's speed, low fees, compliance tools, and anchor network provide financial institutions the infrastructure needed to tokenize assets while maintaining regulatory compliance. The Open USD partnership adds to a string of recent institutional milestones for the network. In May 2026, the DTCC announced plans to connect its tokenized securities platform to Stellar, with XLM designated as the settlement token and live assets targeted for the first half of 2027, covering Russell 1000 equities and U.S. Treasury bonds.
Open USD is expected to go live later in 2026, with issuance planned across Solana, Stellar, Base, and Polygon.
Sources:
The Block: Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and more join Open USD stablecoin
CoinDesk: DTCC taps Stellar for tokenized securities network
Crypto Briefing: Dozens of major companies join Open USD as launch partners

A Regulatory Line in the Sand
July 1, 2026 is the hard deadline for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, and for Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, it marks an effective exit from Europe's regulated markets. Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto(.)com EU have already restricted $USDT ahead of the deadline, with full removal from regulated platforms expected today.
Tether has not applied for MiCA authorization, a decision that reflects its broader focus on markets outside Europe. Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers must obtain e-money token (EMT) authorization to legally operate within the European Economic Area. Without it, exchanges cannot offer the token to EEA clients.
The key sticking point is MiCA's reserve requirement. As Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in April 2026, the rule mandating that 60% of reserves be held in European bank deposits is fundamentally incompatible with how the company manages its backing. Tether has also discontinued its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURT, walking away from the European market entirely.
It is worth noting that MiCA does not ban individuals from holding USDT. The restriction applies to regulated exchanges and service providers, meaning European retail users can still technically access the token through non-custodial wallets or decentralized platforms, though the loss of regulated on-ramps and off-ramps makes it significantly less practical.
Circle's $USDC Steps Into the Gap
With USDT sidelined on regulated EU venues, Circle's $USDC is the primary beneficiary. Of the top ten stablecoins by market capitalization, $USDC is the only one that is MiCA-compliant. Circle secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license through the French regulator ACPR, making $USDC and its euro-denominated counterpart EURC fully authorized for EU retail distribution.
Institutional players and regulated funds operating within the EEA now have little choice but to route demand through $USDC, as it is the only compliant option in that segment of the market. EU-resident retail traders have been moving balances into USDC and EURC ahead of the deadline.
For the broader stablecoin market, as Phemex Academy notes, this is "the largest forced reshuffle the stablecoin market has faced," splitting the two biggest issuers along a clean regulatory line. Whether other jurisdictions follow Europe's lead with similarly strict reserve frameworks will determine how much further Tether's global position is tested.
Sources:
Crypto Briefing: Tether's USDT faces removal from EU platforms
Circle Press Release: Circle is First Global Stablecoin Issuer to Comply with MiCA
Phemex Academy: Why EU Exchanges Are Delisting Tether Before the July 1 MiCA Deadline

Bull Case Intact Despite Slowing Capital Efficiency
Bitcoin's ($BTC) long-term bull thesis remains intact, according to Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, even as the market grapples with declining capital efficiency and sustained selling pressure from early holders.
Ki argues that the current distribution phase is not a sign of structural failure, but rather a broad transfer of supply from long-term Bitcoin holders and miners to US financial institutions and spot ETFs. Ki Young Ju has described Bitcoin's current distribution phase as a major transfer of supply from old market participants to US financial institutions, ETFs, and new long-term holders, arguing that selling by Bitcoin OGs and long-time miners is part of a broad change of hands rather than evidence that the asset has exhausted its cycle.
The scale of institutional absorption underpins his confidence. Since January 2023, Strategy has bought 711,206 BTC and sold only 32 BTC, while ETFs absorbed a further 509,102 BTC between March 2024 and mid-2025, bringing combined absorption to roughly 1,240,808 BTC, yet price returned to near the same level.
Institutional Depth, Not Retail Demand, Is the Key Trigger
For Ki, the next major rally will not be driven by the same retail-led ETF demand that characterized earlier phases of the current cycle. Instead, he argues that the composition of holders matters more than the raw volume of capital entering the market.
If the new owners are institutions capable of attracting larger pools of liquidity over time, he argues, the transition could ultimately support another upward cycle, noting that "for any asset, what ultimately matters is who holds it."
Ki estimates that Bitcoin could enter another parabolic phase if it absorbs more than $1 trillion in realized capital. That threshold has already been approached. Bitcoin's realized capitalization reached an all-time high of $1.125 trillion as of late 2025, a metric that values each bitcoin at the price it last moved, highlighting actual capital inflows rather than speculative price action.
Ki also pointed to gold's roughly $27 trillion market value as a long-run benchmark, suggesting significant room remains for Bitcoin to grow if institutional adoption deepens. As Bitcoin matures, its price behavior is diverging from previous cycles, with the asset reaching an all-time high market cap of approximately $2.5 trillion as of October 2025, making it significantly larger in scale and more liquid than before.
The picture is not without risk. CryptoQuant data shows overall Bitcoin demand, including speculative and spot demand, contracting at a monthly pace of roughly 232,000 BTC, with analysts arguing the correction is tied directly to demand conditions rather than equities or broader macro indicators. Ki himself has warned that a prolonged sideways market, rather than a sharp crash, could prove the harder test for the current cycle's structural supports.
Sources
Bitcoin's Great Wealth Transfer May Fuel Next Rally, Says CryptoQuant CEO (NewsBTC via TradingView)
Bitcoin's Realized Cap Holds at Record High Over $1 Trillion (CoinDesk)
Is Bitcoin's Four-Year Cycle Over? (Fidelity Digital Assets)

Aptos Labs has joined more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and BlackRock, in backing the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin designed to solve persistent cost and access problems in global payments. The @Aptos network is listed alongside other blockchain infrastructure providers as one of the platforms on which the token will eventually be available.
A New Economic Model for Stablecoins
Open USD charges no fees to mint or redeem, even at scale, eliminating a cost barrier that has slowed institutional stablecoin adoption for treasury and payments teams operating at high volume. That is a deliberate break from existing products. Revenue from reserve economics is shared with companies that grow adoption, with most revenue generated from reserves returned to participants after a small management fee, inverting the standard issuer-capture approach in which the issuing company retains float income on dollar-backed assets as its primary revenue stream.
The token, ticker OUSD, will be operated by Open Standard, an independent company whose board is composed of the stablecoin's partners. Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, leads Open Standard as its founding CEO.
Broad Industry Coalition and Market Context
Payment networks and processors including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, and Adyen are involved, alongside major global banks such as BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Technology companies including Google, Samsung Electronics, IBM, and Shopify have also signed on, as has a broad swath of the crypto industry, including Aptos Labs, Solana, Coinbase, Ripple, Aave, and Fireblocks.
Open USD is planned on four blockchain networks, including Solana, Polygon, Aptos Labs, and Stellar, when it goes live later in 2026. The launch arrives as the broader stablecoin market continues to expand. The total stablecoin market cap has surpassed $300 billion, reflecting growing demand for blockchain-based payment infrastructure from both crypto-native companies and traditional financial institutions.
Circle was the news's clearest casualty, with CRCL stock falling to a four-month low and closing down 17.55% on the day of the announcement. The reaction reflects how directly Open USD's model threatens Circle's core business, which relies on retaining the interest earned on USDC's reserves rather than sharing it with distributors.
Sources:
The Block: Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and more join Open USD stablecoin that shares reserve revenue
Blockhead: Visa, Stripe, BlackRock among 140 firms backing new Open USD stablecoin
CoinLaw: Open Standard Launches Open USD Stablecoin Backed by 140 Companies

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is moving forward with plans for a Thai baht-backed stablecoin, with Governor Vitai Ratanakorn confirming the project at the Capital with Purpose conference in Bangkok. The central bank announced plans to hold a public hearing on a baht-pegged stablecoin before the end of 2026, with Governor Vitai Ratanakorn outlining the measures at the conference on June 26. Secondary reporting indicates formal regulations are targeted for late 2026 or early 2027 following the public consultation.
A Private-Sector Token, Not a CBDC
The proposed stablecoin would not be a central bank digital currency. It would instead be issued by licensed private entities, with each token required to be fully backed 1:1 by baht reserves held in segregated accounts at licensed financial institutions. Token holders would retain the right to redeem holdings at par at any time.
In the first phase, the stablecoin would be restricted to use by financial institutions for settlement purposes only. The central bank said it would evaluate performance during that pilot before considering expansion into wider retail use. The stablecoin is being designed primarily to improve payment and settlement efficiency within Thailand's financial infrastructure, not for speculative investment. Authorities are also exploring the potential use of the stablecoin in Thailand's carbon credit market, where it could facilitate the trading and settlement of greenhouse gas emission credits.
Crackdown on Unauthorized Yuan Transfers
The stablecoin announcement came alongside a broader show of force on foreign currency controls. Personal QR code payments in Thailand must be made only in Thai baht, meaning platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay cannot process personal QR payments in Chinese yuan. Vitai said the central bank had suspended approximately 5,000 accounts used for peer-to-peer yuan transfers via Alipay and WeChat Pay between February 2025 and May 2026.
Regulated payment service providers are required to process transactions only in baht, and breaches could result in corrective measures, fines, suspensions, or even revocation of licences. The central bank does not have a policy to grant licences for forex operations targeting speculative trading. Vitai warned that anyone involved in illegal money transfer services could face penalties under the Exchange Control Act of 1942, carrying statutory penalties of up to three years in prison and 200,000 THB in fines.
Bangkok Post: BoT vows to continue with stablecoin plan
CoinInsider: Bank of Thailand Plans Stablecoin Hearing After Suspending 5,000 Yuan Transfer Accounts
Nation Thailand: Bank of Thailand to unveil Thai Baht stablecoin rules

Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, says clear crypto regulation is already delivering tangible results, and argues the next major piece of legislation could do the same for the broader digital asset market.
Witt pointed to the GENIUS Act as proof that legislative clarity accelerates real-world adoption. "What GENIUS did for stablecoins, the Clarity Act will do for all other digital assets," he said.
From Stablecoins to the Broader Market
The GENIUS Act established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and passed with bipartisan support in the Senate in June 2025 before clearing the House in July 2025. Witt's argument is that the CLARITY Act can replicate that momentum across the wider crypto space. Formally known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, it is the most comprehensive piece of crypto regulation ever to pass one chamber of Congress, clearing the House of Representatives in July 2025 with a 294-134 vote. The bill would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets other than stablecoins and divide jurisdiction between the CFTC and the SEC based on the functional activity and decentralization of a given digital commodity. The Senate has yet to pass the bill.
The CLARITY Act seeks to define and rationalize the boundaries of SEC and CFTC jurisdiction, addressing what many stakeholders have described as "regulation by enforcement," a dynamic that has created legal uncertainty and constrained participation by traditional financial institutions.
Open USD Launch Underscores the Momentum
Witt cited the recent unveiling of Open USD as a concrete example of what legislative clarity can unlock. More than 140 companies, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock and Coinbase, have joined Open Standard to launch Open USD ($OUSD), a new stablecoin that shares most of the earnings from its reserves.
Open USD's pitch to corporate adopters rests on three stated design principles: businesses can mint and redeem the token at no cost and with no volume caps; partners receive nearly all of the earnings generated on the token's reserves after a management fee; and the asset is governed collectively rather than by one company.
The launch comes as stablecoins move further into mainstream finance. Once used primarily by crypto traders, dollar-pegged tokens are increasingly powering cross-border payments, merchant settlements and corporate treasury operations. The stablecoin market is valued at approximately $307 billion, and the consortium's backers have projected it could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
For Witt, the scale of the Open USD consortium is precisely the kind of outcome that follows when Washington provides a workable regulatory foundation. With the CLARITY Act still awaiting Senate action, the White House is pushing for that foundation to extend to all digital assets.
Sources:
The Block: Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and more join Open USD stablecoin
Latham and Watkins: US Crypto Policy Tracker, Legislative Developments
Arnold & Porter: Clarifying the CLARITY Act

Guilty Plea in Florida Federal Court
Christopher Alexander Delgado, the 34-year-old founder and CEO of Goliath Ventures, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in a Florida federal court. From at least January 2023 through at least January 2026, Delgado and his co-conspirators operated Goliath as a Ponzi scheme, paying purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors.
Delgado's scheme involved soliciting victims to invest substantial sums of money under false promises of monthly returns generated through cryptocurrency liquidity pools. Victims were induced to give money to Goliath through personal referrals, professional marketing materials, luxury events, and charitable sponsorships.
Prosecutors said the crypto investment scheme raised at least $400 million and disguised a Ponzi operation behind promises of returns from cryptocurrency liquidity pools. In the plea agreement, Delgado admitted to causing a minimum of $250 million in losses to investors.
Mansions, Lamborghinis, and Louis Vuitton
Rather than deploying investor capital as promised, Delgado purchased at least six residential properties, each worth between $1.15 million and $8.5 million, and millions of dollars worth of high-end vehicles, watches, and jewelry, including Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Rolex watches, several dozen Louis Vuitton bags, wallets, luggage, and custom Tiffany jewelry.
Delgado and his co-conspirators did not invest the funds in cryptocurrency liquidity pools as promised. They used the money to pay for luxury travel, events, vehicles, and other goods for their personal enrichment and to lure in additional investors through a projected image of success.
As part of his plea, Delgado agreed to forfeit eight real properties, 11 vehicles, 30 watches, more than 50 luxury bags and wallets, and at least 29 pieces of high-end jewelry. He also agreed to forfeit several bank and cryptocurrency accounts seized by the United States.
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each fraud count and up to 10 years for the money laundering count. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2026. Delgado has thus far been the only person charged in connection with Goliath Ventures, though his plea agreement does acknowledge the involvement of co-conspirators.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Justice: Goliath Ventures CEO Pleads Guilty to Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme Conspiracy
The Block: Florida Man Pleads Guilty in Crypto Fraud Scheme
Click Orlando: Christopher Delgado Pleads Guilty to Running Ponzi Scheme

SharpLink Adds 10,000 ETH, Pushes Treasury to 886,725 Ether
SharpLink Gaming ($SBET) has purchased another 10,000 $ETH for its corporate treasury, lifting total holdings to 886,725 ETH. The company paid an average of $1,611 per ETH, marking its first publicly announced acquisition since October after eight months of no new purchases.
Alongside the ETH buy, SharpLink repurchased 2,132,773 shares of common stock at an average price of $4.69 per share. The buyback falls under an ongoing repurchase program that launched in August 2025. Since inception, the company has bought back more than 4 million shares in total.
The latest move was funded in part by a capital raise completed the week prior. SharpLink raised roughly $75 million through a registered direct offering on June 23, 2026, issuing shares and warrants to an institutional investor at a 41% premium to its closing price on June 18.
Treasury Structure and Strategy
SharpLink's 886,725 ETH holding is not held entirely as spot Ether. The total includes 632,719 native ETH, alongside ETH-equivalent positions through liquid staking tokens, specifically LsETH and weETH. That structure allows the company to maintain staking participation and preserve some liquidity while still counting the full exposure toward its treasury figure.
The core objective, according to CEO Joseph Chalom, is to grow ETH per share over time. Buying more ETH increases treasury exposure, while share repurchases reduce the outstanding count and lift each shareholder's effective claim on the ETH base. The dual approach mirrors the logic used by Strategy with Bitcoin, applied here to Ethereum.
SharpLink launched its Ethereum treasury strategy in May 2025, pivoting away from its original sports betting affiliate marketing business. The company is Nasdaq-listed and has Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin serving as chairman. Its treasury now places it among the largest publicly traded corporate holders of Ether globally.
Sources:
Bitcoin.com: Sharplink Adds 10,000 ETH as Corporate Treasury Grows to 886,725 Ether
FXStreet: Sharplink Makes First Treasury Purchase in 2026
Investing News Network: Sharplink Acquires 10,000 ETH, Bringing Total ETH Holdings to 886,725

On-Chain Activity Picks Up Sharply
Activity on the XRP Ledger has climbed at a notable pace over the past two weeks. $XRP daily active addresses rose from around 23,000 on June 14 to nearly 39,500 by June 27, a gain of roughly 72% in a fortnight, according to CoinDesk. The network also added 4,941 new wallets in a single day during that stretch, its strongest wallet growth in over three months, per Santiment data cited by crypto(.)news.
The uptick in addresses stands out because it is running against the grain of the price action. XRP has traded near the psychologically important $1.00 support level after losing ground through most of June. Despite that, users and wallets continued to accumulate on-chain, suggesting the underlying ledger is drawing fresh participation independent of short-term price moves.
ETF Inflows Diverge From Bitcoin Trend
On the institutional side, XRP spot ETFs extended their run of positive flows. CoinDesk reported that XRP spot ETFs recorded an eighth consecutive week of inflows, bringing cumulative net inflows to $144.7 million over that eight-week period. The most recent week, ending June 26, added $22.99 million, with Bitwise leading at $11.18 million and Franklin Templeton contributing $3.80 million on June 26 alone.
The contrast with Bitcoin is notable. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $444.50 million in net outflows in a single session that same week, while XRP ETFs posted zero outflow days, per CoinGlass data cited by BeInCrypto. That divergence points to investors treating XRP's regulatory positioning as a distinct story from the broader crypto market selloff.
The derivatives market tells a separate, but related, story. Open interest across major exchanges fell sharply, dropping from a peak of around $1.3 billion to below $150 million, its lowest level since July 2025. The decline reflects a broad clearing of leveraged long positions built during XRP's earlier rally. While the deleveraging contributed to downward price pressure, removing crowded leverage can set a cleaner base for the next directional move.
For now, the $1.00 level remains the main line in the sand. Whether the combination of rising on-chain activity and steady ETF inflows is enough to convert into a sustained price recovery remains to be seen.
Sources:
CoinDesk: XRP Holds $1 Support as Network Activity Rises and Leverage Clears Out
BeInCrypto: XRP ETF Inflows Hit 8-Week Streak as Bitcoin ETF Outflows Continue
crypto(.)news: XRP Price Near $1 as Wallet Growth Hits Three-Month High

Record Monthly Exodus from Bitcoin ETFs
Spot Bitcoin ($BTC) exchange-traded funds posted a record $4.5 billion in net outflows during June, their worst monthly performance since launching in January 2024. According to SoSoValue data, the funds reported another day of net outflows on June 30 worth $222.6 million, ending the month on a negative streak that extended to nine consecutive trading days.
The combined monthly outflow of $4.5 billion exceeds the previous record of $3.48 billion set in February 2025 by 29%. On an annual basis, net flows for 2026 turned negative for the first time ever across the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF category.
BlackRock's IBIT, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by net assets, accounted for the largest portion of the outflows, reporting $3.55 billion in withdrawals for the month alone. Total net assets across the category have fallen to $72.82 billion, down from $107.8 billion in mid-May.
Macro Pressure and the SpaceX IPO Effect
Analysts cited capital rotation amid macroeconomic uncertainty and SpaceX's historic IPO as the main drivers of the significant outflows. Maxime Seiler, CEO of STS Digital, said the record outflows stem from a "simple lack of fresh capital" following last year's heavy deployment into Bitcoin and ETFs, alongside a significant capital rotation into the SpaceX initial public offering. Several analysts had previously flagged that SpaceX's IPO could have an outsized impact on crypto.
SpaceX's debut marked the largest single day of net buying from retail investors on record, selling over 555 million shares and raising $75 billion, according to CNN. With the Federal Reserve maintaining a relatively normalized interest rate environment to keep inflation in check, borrowing remains expensive, reducing investors' ability to fund new positions without rotating out of existing holdings like Bitcoin ETFs.
Jerald David, CEO of Lynq, noted that ETF outflows "can create near-term selling pressure because they represent a reduction in one source of demand for spot bitcoin," adding that combined with a cautious macro backdrop, this "could contribute to increased volatility and make it more difficult for bitcoin to sustain upward momentum in the short term." Still, analysts broadly agree the outflows do not signal a deterioration in Bitcoin's fundamentals, with Renna Ba, head of ecosystem at Morph, describing the move as "speculative exposure cooling rather than long-term conviction leaving."
The Block: Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record Worst Month Since Debut | Crypto Briefing: US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Face Record $4.1B in Outflows in June | DailyCoin: Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record $4.06B Monthly Outflows

1,700 Investors File High Court Claim Over Unauthorized Derivatives
Nearly 1,700 UK investors have sued Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao (@cz_binance) in London's High Court, seeking at least £150 million ($200 million) over crypto derivatives they say were sold unlawfully. The case, officially filed on Tuesday, June 30, is being brought by law firm KP Law on behalf of the claimant group.
The claimants say Binance marketed complex crypto derivatives to retail investors starting in late 2019, a full two years before the UK's Financial Conduct Authority formally restricted retail access to such products. Some of the claimants said they had lost tens of thousands of pounds, alleging Binance entities knowingly sold leveraged products, which can amplify gains or losses, and promoted them in breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act.
The High Court action names Binance Holdings Ltd, which is based in the Cayman Islands, alongside UAE-registered entity Nest Exchange, founder Changpeng Zhao, and unnamed individuals. At the heart of the case is a straightforward argument: selling leveraged crypto derivatives to UK retail customers without FCA authorization violates the Financial Services and Markets Act.
Binance Vows to Defend, But Faces Broader Regulatory Pressure
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, vowed to defend itself but declined to comment further on ongoing litigation, with a spokesperson saying it "remains committed to its obligations to users and to operating in accordance with applicable law."
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority banned retail crypto derivatives in January 2021, citing extreme volatility and a high risk of sudden losses. The lawsuit argues Binance was already operating outside acceptable lines before that ban existed, and continued in violation of the Financial Services and Markets Act afterward.
The lawsuit arrives at a difficult moment for the exchange. Binance is now defending a nine-figure UK lawsuit over pre-2021 conduct at the exact moment its European licensing strategy has collapsed and Britain's regulator has just finished writing the rulebook Binance will need to pass to keep operating there long-term. In 2023, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty in the United States to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, agreeing to a $4.3 billion settlement. CZ served four months in prison, stepped down as chief executive in favour of Richard Teng, and was later pardoned by President Trump in October 2025.
If the claimants succeed, even partially, it would set a significant legal precedent for how crypto exchanges can be held accountable for selling complex financial products across borders without local authorization.
Sources:
Reuters via Global Banking and Finance: UK Investors Sue Binance in London Over £150 Million Crypto Losses
BeInCrypto: UK Investors Sue Binance for $200 Million in Losses They Chased With Leverage
Decrypt: Binance, Changpeng Zhao Sued for $200M by British Investors

Small Transfers Dominate Litecoin Network Activity
New on-chain data shows retail participants are driving a significant portion of activity on the Litecoin network. According to figures shared by Litecoin and tracked by ForceXHQ, transactions between 1 and 5 $LTC accounted for a quarter of all transfers recorded on the blockchain over the past 30 days, totalling 1.32 million transactions in that range alone.
The second most common bracket was transfers between 0.1 and 0.5 $LTC, another segment firmly in retail territory. Together, the two size categories made up more than 42% of all Litecoin transactions during the period, suggesting the network is being used predominantly by everyday participants rather than large holders or institutional desks moving significant sums.
A Network Built Around Low-Cost, Everyday Payments
The data aligns with Litecoin's longstanding positioning as a payments-focused blockchain. BitInfoCharts tracks average transaction fees and network statistics for Litecoin, which is known for keeping costs well below a cent on most transfers. Litecoin also carries a block time of roughly 2.5 minutes, making it well suited to everyday commerce and point-of-sale payments.
On the institutional side, Canary Capital launched the Canary Litecoin ETF (Nasdaq: LTCC) in 2025, becoming the first U.S. spot Litecoin ETF to have its shares registered with the SEC. Although assets under management remain modest, the product gives institutions and retail brokerage clients regulated exposure to Litecoin for the first time.
Taken together, the transaction size data from ForceXHQ and the broader on-chain metrics point to a network where retail participation remains the foundation, even as institutional interest begins to build around it.
Sources:
BitInfoCharts: Litecoin Network Statistics
SEC: Canary Litecoin ETF (LTCC) Form 10-K Filing

Arc Plugs Into Chainlink's Enterprise Oracle Stack
Arc, the Layer-1 blockchain backed by Circle, has joined the Chainlink Scale program, opening up a suite of enterprise-grade oracle and interoperability services to developers building on the network.
Through the partnership, builders on Arc can now tap CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol), Data Streams, Data Feeds, and Proof of Reserve. Chainlink CCIP is a blockchain interoperability protocol that enables developers to build secure applications that can transfer tokens, messages, or both across chains. Data Streams, meanwhile, provides pull-based oracles with sub-second latency, enabling DeFi applications to access high-quality financial market data.
The Scale program, which stands for Sustainable Chainlink Access for Layer 1 and 2 Enablement, is centered around accelerating the growth of blockchain and layer-2 ecosystems. It allows blockchains and layer-2 networks to fast-track smart contract innovation by covering the operating costs of Chainlink oracle networks for a period of time. In doing so, developers get access to a variety of important oracle services, including configurations specific to their ecosystem needs, such as Data Feeds with higher update frequencies to enable more advanced and low-latency smart contract applications.
What Arc Brings to the Table
Arc features predictable dollar-based fees using stablecoins as gas, opt-in configurable privacy that supports compliance obligations, and direct integration with Circle's full-stack platform, making it uniquely suited for use cases like lending, capital markets, FX, and payments.
Chainlink has been selected as a core ecosystem partner of Arc, the newly launched layer-1 blockchain by Circle. The Chainlink Scale membership now formalises and expands that relationship, putting the full oracle toolkit directly in the hands of Arc's developer community.
Arc is currently in public testnet, with strong developer adoption and sustained network activity ahead of mainnet launch. Launch partners include BlackRock, Visa, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, Amazon Web Services, and Coinbase, representing diverse segments of the financial ecosystem from asset managers to payment processors to infrastructure providers. The addition of Chainlink Scale infrastructure is likely to deepen that institutional appeal as Arc prepares for its mainnet debut.
Arc official website | Chainlink Scale program overview, Chainlink Blog | Arc on Chainlink Ecosystem

Disclosure Reveals Crypto as Trump's Biggest Earner
Donald Trump's annual financial disclosure for 2025 shows at least $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income, making digital assets the largest single source of earnings during his second term. The 2025 filing was released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and spans more than 900 pages, covering the first year of Trump's second non-consecutive term.
Trump reported $635 million in royalties tied to what the disclosure describes as "Celebration Coins," connected to CIC Digital LLC, his meme coin business. The $TRUMP meme token launched on the Solana network just days before Trump retook office in January 2025. Separately, he pocketed more than $500 million from token sales connected to World Liberty Financial, the crypto company that he and his family have maintained an ownership stake in, even as it has drawn conflict-of-interest complaints.
The prior year's filing, released in June 2025, showed about $57.35 million from World Liberty token sales, meaning the 2025 total is roughly 25 times larger.
Bitcoin Holdings and Conflict-of-Interest Questions
Trump also disclosed holding more than $50 million in Bitcoin, stored in cold wallets, according to the filing. The Bitcoin sits inside The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, dated April 7, 2014, of which the president is the sole beneficiary. Trump also reported holding between $5 million and $25 million in Ethereum, among other digital assets.
The numbers reignited a familiar debate over conflicts of interest, with ethics groups arguing that a sitting president should not profit from industries his own policies directly touch. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly dismissed those concerns, stating that neither the president nor his family has ever engaged in conflicts of interest. Even as Trump increased his fortune from crypto industry ties, the broader sector headed into a rough patch in which assets have plummeted in price and businesses struggle.
Sources:
Fox Business: Trump financial disclosure reveals more than $1B in crypto income
NBC News: Trump's financial disclosure lists $1.4 billion in crypto earnings
Decrypt: Trump Discloses Over $1.2 Billion in Crypto Earnings, $50M in Bitcoin Holdings

Kaspa Crosses Into Programmable Territory
Kaspa's Toccata hard fork went live on mainnet on June 30, 2026, marking what the project describes as the biggest upgrade in its history. The hard fork activated at DAA score 474,165,565, roughly at 16:15 UTC. The upgrade draws a clear line between what Kaspa was and what it is now becoming: a chain that started as a high-speed payments network and is now reaching for full programmability at the base layer.
Toccata marks the point where Kaspa's high-frequency monetary base layer meets programmability in two layered forms: native L1 covenant systems, and based zero-knowledge systems built on top of the same foundations. That is a significant departure from Kaspa's original identity as a pure proof-of-work payments chain.
What Toccata Actually Delivers
The consensus-changing upgrade introduces native L1 covenant support and transaction introspection, allowing for expressive stateful contracts on $KAS, alongside an OpZkPrecompile for trustless L1 ZK proof verification and partitioned sequencing commitments to support ZK applications.
The upgrade introduces native KRC-20 tokens, covenant programming via SilverScript, and zero-knowledge verification directly on the base layer, designed to shift the network's appeal from pure transaction speed toward supporting application development and privacy-enhanced use cases.
The fork does not, however, ship finished applications. It lays the protocol infrastructure that developers need to build on top. The upgrade activates the protocol infrastructure for covenant-based Layer-1 applications and zero-knowledge systems anchored to Kaspa's BlockDAG. The race now begins for what actually gets built.
The hard fork brings new utility, which means new SDKs and APIs will increasingly target a new developer audience, while classic Kaspa APIs should continue working without change. For node operators and miners, the operational story is straightforward: upgrade nodes, and everything that already works should keep working.
Toccata follows Kaspa's Crescendo hard fork, which in May 2025 increased block production from one block per second to ten blocks per second, achieving one of the highest base-layer throughputs in the proof-of-work space. The question now is whether Toccata's programmability layer can attract the developer activity needed to match that technical foundation.
Sources:
Kaspa Official Toccata Upgrade Guide, kaspanet/rusty-kaspa on GitHub
Kaspa Covenants++ Toccata Hard Fork Outlook by Michael Sutton, Medium
Kaspa Toccata Hard Fork Deep Dive, Gate Blog