Bitwise research suggests that Bitcoin is leading a broader risk-off move across markets as global liquidity and stablecoin reserves remain elevated.

A BBB advertising watchdog escalated its review of Kalshi after the prediction market platform declined to participate in an inquiry into influencer disclosure practices.

PepsiCo's driverless truck success highlights a shift in logistics, pressuring traditional trucking jobs and challenging vehicle-centric firms.

The post PepsiCo is running 41 fully driverless trucks while Tesla’s robotaxi fleet lags behind appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The case underscores the growing intersection of espionage and cryptocurrency, prompting potential regulatory crackdowns impacting crypto markets.

The post Israeli prosecutors plan to indict Raanan Ohana for spying for Iran using crypto payments appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

BNB has already forced its way back into the upper end of the crypto market rankings by beating XRP in May, but the next question is much bigger than its battle with XRP. 

A new analysis argues that the token can still reclaim its old high and push above $2,000, but any talk of a $10,000 to $20,000 BNB price requires a much larger crypto market than the one that exists today.

The Math Behind BNB’s Push Above $10,000

Crypto Patel, a popular crypto analyst on X, published an interesting breakdown of BNB’s price ceiling this week, and the numbers are worth sitting with. BNB currently holds a market cap of about $80.6 billion, placing it at number four in global rankings, only behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. Its all-time high of around $1,370 in October 2025 implies a market cap that reached somewhere near $185 billion at its peak. 

Although the peak all-time high means BNB has managed to hold huge value before, getting to $10,000 per token is an entirely different scale of ambition. With BNB’s supply on an assumed long-term burn trajectory to a 100 million supply target, a $10,000 price would imply a market cap of $1 trillion, which is almost what the total market cap of Bitcoin is worth today.

A $20,000 BNB, he pointed out, would represent a $2 trillion valuation for a single asset, which would exceed the combined worth of the entire crypto market as it stands right now. “Anyone throwing out $20,000 as a near-term target is selling you something, not analyzing,” the analyst wrote.

Can BNB Really Overtake Ethereum?

BNB overtook XRP again in market cap rankings in mid-May, and the distance between them has been growing since then. The next crypto is Ethereum, and BNB overtaking Ethereum is not impossible, but the current market cap gap makes it more of a long-term challenge.

At today’s supply, BNB would need to trade around $1,500 to match Ethereum’s $203 billion valuation, using the current ETH market cap as a static comparison. That level is close to BNB’s previous all-time high zone, which means a flip could only happen soon if BNB returns to record levels while the Ethereum price stays relatively the same. However, in a real-world scenario, Ethereum would likely also rise in a broad market recovery.

The more pressing structural obstacle is one Crypto Patel identified as the Binance concentration risk. Almost every value driver for BNB, the burn mechanism, exchange fee utility, on-chain activity, and institutional custody, runs through or is adjacent to the crypto exchange Binance. Any serious negativity against Binance would also dent BNB’s price action.

Crypto Patel’s believable bull case is reclaiming the old high and pushing toward $3,000. However, the analyst’s chart also projected a trajectory that eventually reaches the $20,000 range, placing that scenario in 2029 at the earliest.

Solana (SOL) has officially entered deep oversold territory, a level analysts say is worse than the one the cryptocurrency reached during the FTX collapse. A decline in this area highlights just how bearish the market has become after months of volatility and steep price declines. Throughout last year, Solana experienced a massive rally that pushed its price firmly above $200. However, now the cryptocurrency has spent most of 2026 trading between lower levels around $60 and $95. Given the poor performance, a crypto analyst is questioning whether SOL may have finally hit a bottom. 

Solana RSI Hits Oversold Levels Beyond FTX Crash

According to a detailed price chart shared by market expert Ash Crypto, Solana’s monthly Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped to 38.84, below the signal line sitting near 48.86. The analyst noted that this reading shows the altcoin has reached oversold levels even more extreme than those recorded when FTX collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022, and SOL fell to a low near $8. 

The fact that the RSI is now lower despite the price being significantly higher than the 2022 $8 bottom suggests that the momentum decline in this cycle has been unusually severe. From a technical standpoint, prolonged oversold readings on the monthly RSI can signal a potential price reversal, reflecting seller exhaustion. However, oversold conditions can persist for a long time, as a low RSI alone does not confirm that a cryptocurrency has reached its bottom.

Given the uncertainty around Solana’s future price direction, Ash Crypto is questioning whether the struggling altcoin has finally found a price floor. If a bottom has been reached, it would imply that most traders who wanted out have likely exited the market, leaving only holders who are committed to Solana long-term. This kind of capitulation often sets the stage for a recovery, as there is very little selling pressure left to disrupt the market. 

Notably, after Solana dropped to the $8 bottom in 2022, the cryptocurrency eventually rallied to over $270 in 2025, representing a massive 3,000% recovery. While a confirmed bottom in this cycle does not guarantee the same scale of gains, historically, assets that hit a price floor with RSI readings tend to produce significant rallies. 

What It Means If SOL Has Yet To Reach A Bottom

On the flip side, Ash Crypto stated in his analysis that Solana’s price has fallen to a three-year low of $60 after plunging more than 80% from its 2025 all-time high. The analyst noted that cryptocurrency has posted eight consecutive red monthly candles for the first time in its history, highlighting the depth of its bearish trend. 

At the moment, there is no signal on SOL’s chart that definitively confirms a bottom or an imminent price reversal. This is because Solana remains firmly in bearish territory, which means its RSI can stay oversold longer than expected. If a price floor has not been reached, it suggests that SOL still has room for further downside, potentially pushing the cryptocurrency below its current level near $60.  

Circle has launched cirBTC on Ethereum, but the larger play is to make wrapped Bitcoin look like collateral infrastructure institutions can route through DeFi, OTC desks, lending markets, treasury systems, market makers, and settlement flows.

cirBTC is live on Ethereum and backed 1:1 by native BTC, according to Circle's launch materials. The company says the underlying Bitcoin is held through a Circle entity, segregated from corporate assets, and designed for onchain reserve visibility.

The product also sits inside Circle's existing stack. Circle is positioning cirBTC around Circle Mint, USDC workflows, Ethereum DeFi, and planned support for Arc and other chains.

This moves wrapped Bitcoin into an issue of trust. BTC itself does not move natively through Ethereum contracts, so any wrapped version asks users to trust a claim on Bitcoin held somewhere else.

For retail DeFi users, that can be a bridge decision. For institutions, it is a collateral decision: who holds the keys, how reserves are checked, what happens during redemption, and whether the operational process can survive internal risk review.

Circle is selling custody before yield

Circle's cirBTC pitch starts with the same basic promise as other wrapped Bitcoin products: one token for one BTC. The difference is the operating package around that promise.

Its materials say cirBTC is backed by native BTC, reserves are separated from corporate assets, and counterparties can verify reserves onchain. Circle also ties the product to the same institutional interface many firms already use for USDC issuance and redemption.

A desk that already moves USDC through Circle Mint could, in theory, add BTC collateral to the same account-and-settlement relationship instead of stitching together a separate custodian, wrapper, exchange, bridge, and DeFi access point.

The proof-of-reserve component supports that positioning. Proof of Reserve systems can help tokenized assets and DeFi protocols monitor backing data onchain and build safeguards around undercollateralization.

For cirBTC, the next live signal is the reserve feed or dashboard counterparties can use for the token itself.

That leaves counterparty trust in place. cirBTC still depends on custody, redemption, reserve controls, and user confidence in Circle's process.

The institutional pitch is that those assumptions can be packaged in a cleaner way, with the BTC claim, reserve visibility, and Circle account relationship pointing in the same direction.

The comparison is clearest against cbBTC and WBTC.

Coinbase's cbBTC is also a 1:1 BTC-backed wrapped asset, held in Coinbase custody and available across Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum.

Coinbase also maintains a proof-of-reserves page, giving users a public reserve and supply reference for the product. Availability and terms can vary by jurisdiction.

WBTC remains the incumbent Bitcoin wrapper in Ethereum DeFi. Its own site presents WBTC as backed 1:1 by Bitcoin, with a public reserve dashboard and proof-of-reserve context.

Circle's opportunity sits in the trust bundle it can offer: the USDC issuer, Circle Mint, reserve transparency, Ethereum access, and future Arc support under one institutional brand.

The comparison shows why cirBTC is more than a token launch. Wrapped Bitcoin products increasingly compete on the legal and operational identity of the issuer, the visibility of reserves, and the pathways by which collateral enters lending markets.

Coinbase has already tied cbBTC to lending through Base. CryptoSlate reported that Coinbase and Morpho introduced Bitcoin-backed loans on Base, using cbBTC and USDC in a consumer-facing borrowing flow.

That comparison shows the distribution Circle has to challenge if cirBTC is to become more than another Ethereum asset.

Arc gives cirBTC a bigger role

Circle's Arc ambitions give cirBTC a second layer of meaning.

Arc is being pitched as infrastructure for stablecoin finance, with USDC fees, settlement tooling, privacy controls, and institutional use cases around payments, foreign exchange, tokenized assets, and capital markets.

Circle has described Arc as a chain purpose-built for stablecoin finance, and CryptoSlate has previously reported how the network pushes Circle deeper into territory also occupied by Coinbase and Base.

In that context, cirBTC could become the Bitcoin leg of a broader Circle stack. USDC provides the dollar asset. Circle Mint provides issuance and redemption access. Ethereum provides current DeFi reach.

Arc, if it develops as planned, could give Circle a venue where tokenized dollars, BTC collateral, and settlement workflows operate with fewer handoffs.

The record remains early. Circle says cirBTC is live on Ethereum and points to planned Arc and multichain support. Its launch materials stop short of showing broad DeFi protocol adoption, live Arc usage for cirBTC, or a supply figure that would show market depth.

A token can be fully backed and still fail to become preferred collateral.

Institutions and DeFi protocols still need liquidity, risk parameters, redemption confidence, oracle support, and a clear reason to add another BTC wrapper beside existing options.

The broader market context is already moving in that direction. CryptoSlate recently framed a Morgan Stanley and Galaxy arrangement as part of Bitcoin's next institutional test in lending collateral.

The cirBTC launch fits that same issue: Bitcoin can become useful collateral for institutions when the custody and risk controls around the token are strong enough to satisfy the people managing the real BTC.

Arc also gives the Coinbase comparison more weight. Coinbase can route cbBTC through Base and its own account system; Circle is trying to offer a parallel route built around USDC, Mint, and Arc.

The adoption contest centers on which issuer can turn custody relationships into liquidity.

Acceptance decides whether the wrapper becomes infrastructure

Circle has the right ingredients for a bank-grade wrapper: a known issuer, reserve language, onchain verification, institutional access, USDC proximity, and an Arc roadmap.

Collateral infrastructure comes later, when counterparties use those ingredients in production.

That means lenders need to accept the asset, market makers need to quote it, treasury teams need clean redemption, DeFi protocols need collateral parameters, and risk desks need confidence in the reserve process.

Users also need to move between BTC exposure and dollar liquidity without wondering where the real Bitcoin sits.

That is where cirBTC will face WBTC and cbBTC. WBTC has incumbent DeFi familiarity. Coinbase has distribution, custody, and Base workflows.

Circle has USDC, Mint, compliance credibility, and an ambition to own more of the settlement stack through Arc.

Circle can turn wrapped Bitcoin into institutional collateral infrastructure if cirBTC becomes the wrapper institutions choose because the custody, reserve, and redemption model lowers operational friction.

If liquidity stays elsewhere and Arc remains future context, cirBTC will still read as a product launch rather than infrastructure.

For now, Circle has changed the frame around wrapped BTC. The debate now centers on who institutions trust to hold the Bitcoin while the token moves through programmable finance.

The post Circle wants wrapped Bitcoin to look bank grade before institutions trust it as collateral appeared first on CryptoSlate.

President Donald Trump’s family has turned crypto into one of the most lucrative businesses tied to its name, outpacing some of the companies that spent years building the digital asset market.

Between the post-election momentum of November 2024 and April 2026, ventures tied to the US President generated roughly $2.3 billion in pretax crypto income, Reuters reported.

To understand the sheer scale of this capital extraction, one must look at the foundational pillars of the industry during that same window.

For context, the Trump firm's gains exceeded Coinbase’s $2.1 billion in income over the same period, as well as earnings from major crypto operators across mining, stablecoins, exchange-traded funds, and market infrastructure.

IREN, the largest Bitcoin miner by market value, earned $127 million during the period. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF business, built around IBIT, the world’s largest spot Bitcoin fund, generated an estimated $109 million.

Meanwhile, Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, lost $14 million, while Galaxy Digital, a major crypto company, posted a $430 million loss.

Unlike Coinbase or BlackRock, the Trump Organization did not compete on trading latency, deep liquidity, or assets under management.

Instead, it leveraged an entirely different business model: an asymmetrical risk structure where the family deployed minimal personal capital, yet captured massive upside via token sales, founder allocations, and equity stakes.

However, the market dynamic has proven entirely zero-sum. Data indicates that the $2.3 billion captured by the president's family mirrors the $2.25 billion in estimated net losses absorbed by the retail and public-market investors who bought into these ventures.

Monetizing the Trump name

World Liberty Financial accounted for the largest share of the Trump family’s reported crypto revenue.

The project began selling governance tokens in October 2024, with Trump and his sons promoted as central figures. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump traveled to pitch World Liberty’s vision of a financial system outside traditional banks, while the company positioned itself as a decentralized finance and stablecoin platform.

The project’s economics gave the family a direct claim on token sale revenue. DT Marks DEFI LLC, a corporate entity linked to the family, secured a contractual right to 75% of token sale proceeds after expenses, generating an estimated $987 million for the family.

That structure allowed the family to collect revenue from the primary token sale, limiting its exposure to later market declines.

However, the token Buyers faced a different outcome. World Liberty investors were sitting on roughly $674 million in losses by the end of April, weighed down by long lockup periods and a sharp decline in the token’s post-listing value.

Meanwhile, a similar pattern emerged with the TRUMP meme coin. The token launched shortly before Trump’s second inauguration and became a speculative vehicle tied to the president’s political brand rather than an asset with clear underlying utility.

Blockchain analysis of exchange transfers suggested the project generated more than $1.2 billion in total revenue, including an estimated $616 million for the Trump family.

Like WLFI, retail buyers absorbed the losses as the token fell from highs of $75.35, leaving investors with more than $700 million in losses.

Wall Street opened another route into the trade

Trump-linked crypto gains also moved through public companies, extending the trade beyond tokens and into brokerage accounts.

ALT5 Sigma, a small Nasdaq-listed company now known as AI Financial Corp., became one of the clearest examples. The company raised $750 million by selling new shares and used $717 million to buy World Liberty tokens. Reuters reported that more than $500 million from that purchase flowed to the Trump family through World Liberty’s revenue-sharing structure.

The deal gave public-market investors indirect exposure to World Liberty through a listed stock. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. later rang the Nasdaq opening bell after the transaction closed, turning the token purchase into a Wall Street event.

The stock then collapsed. Reuters reported that ALT5’s share price fell from more than $9 in August 2025 to 75 cents by the end of April, leaving investors with about $675 million in losses.

The family’s economics were separate from that decline because its gain came from World Liberty’s sale of tokens to ALT5. Outside shareholders carried the risk of the listed company’s falling share price.

American Bitcoin offered another public-market channel. The Bitcoin mining and treasury company, backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, gained a Nasdaq listing in 2025.

Reuters reported that the Trump brothers received stakes in American Bitcoin at no monetary cost. Eric Trump’s stake was still worth more than $70 million at the end of April, even after a sharp decline in the stock. Donald Trump Jr.’s stake was not disclosed.

Outside investors again absorbed the losses. American Bitcoin shares fell from $11 at their September launch to $1.15 at the end of April, Reuters reported, wiping out more than $200 million for investors.

The listed-company deals expanded the reach of the Trump crypto business as investors who may never have bought a meme coin or governance token directly were able to take exposure through ordinary equities.

However, the result was the same financial split: Trump-linked entities captured early value, while public investors were left exposed to falling market prices.

Ethics questions follow the money

These market maneuvers are occurring against a complex regulatory backdrop. The current administration has actively championed digital assets, pushing stablecoin legislation and directing federal agencies to adopt a “light-touch” framework.

While this macro policy pivot has undeniably benefited the broader crypto sector, the direct financial windfall enjoyed by the First Family has triggered unprecedented ethical alarms.

Watchdogs argue that while the mechanisms of these corporate maneuvers appear strictly legal under current law, they represent a profound conflict of interest that monetizes an industry the executive branch is actively deregulating.

This intersection of policy and personal profit has drawn fierce legislative blowback.

Democratic lawmakers, spearheaded by Senator Elizabeth Warren, have petitioned agencies like the CFTC and SEC, arguing that the administration's deep financial entanglements in crypto and prediction markets severely compromise federal rule-making, subordinating public protection to the president's personal balance sheet.

However, the White House continues to categorically dismiss these allegations, maintaining that the administration's sole objective is securing American dominance in the global digital asset race.

Representatives for World Liberty have similarly pushed back, framing the protocol as a purely private fintech enterprise rather than a political vehicle.

Yet, beyond the partisan rhetoric, the ledger is remarkably clear. By treating the presidency as a premium licensing asset, the Trump family has executed one of the most efficient capital extraction strategies in modern financial history, leaving a trail of underwater retail investors holding the bill.

The post Trump family’s $2.3B crypto windfall matched by $2.25B in investor losses, Reuters finds appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Citigroup revised its near-term gold price target this week, and the smart money bought long positions before the note landed. The biggest traders were already there.

The revision was a cut from $4,300 to $4,000. Yet the perps book, the options market, and the macro backdrop had all leaned bearish for weeks. The bank confirmed the trade. It did not call it.

The Revision That Followed the Crowd

Here is the headline move. Citi lowered its near-term gold price target to $4,000 from $4,300. This could be due to expectations of higher US interest rates this year, amid the Strait of Hormuz impasse and high energy prices.

On its own, that looks like a bank turning cautious after a long rally. The mystery is the timing, because the real money had already moved the same way.

This is where positioning matters. Positioning data shows how the largest and most successful traders are placed, long or short, before the headlines catch up.

On gold, that data had been flashing Citi’s warning for weeks. The question is not why Citi cut, but how the smart money got there first.

Who Got There First, and Why It Matters

Two groups of traders moved ahead of the bank, and both warrant definitions. These are whales and smart money.

When both groups lean the same way, it is a strong signal. On the gold price, they did exactly that, well before Citi published.

The proof sits in the perps book. On Hyperliquid, the smart money and whale cohorts are both net short gold, a combined position of nearly $18.8 million. Smart money sits short about $6.3 million. Whales lean short by $12.5 million, the heavier bet of the two.

The profit picture confirms the conviction. The top short positions entered between $4,560 and $4,880, and all sit in profit, while the largest longs entered higher up the rally and now show unrealized losses.

The funding rate seals it. At about 5.47% annualized and positive, longs are paying shorts to hold their positions, exactly what a short-dominated market looks like.

So the traders who moved first were positioned for a pullback before Citi’s note. The options market told the same story.

The Options Market Tilted Bearish Too

The signal repeats in gold’s largest ETF. The put-call ratio, which measures bearish bets against bullish ones, shifted toward puts on the SPDR Gold fund.

In early June, the volume ratio was near 0.64, and the open interest ratio was near 0.55. The open interest ratio has since risen to 0.59, while the volume ratio jumped to 1.13.

A volume ratio above 1 indicates more put contracts traded than calls. That is a clear bearish tilt, and it matches the short positioning in the perps market.

Two separate venues, the perps book and the ETF options, leaned the same way. The most regulated venue of all confirmed it next.

The COT Report Showed the Institutions Pulling Back

The heaviest signal came from the Commitments of Traders report, the weekly CFTC filing that breaks gold futures positioning down by trader type.

As of June 2, total open interest fell by 27,437 contracts to 326,052. Shrinking open interest as price weakens suggests traders are closing positions, not opening new bullish ones.

The detail matters. Large speculators trimmed their short book but added a few fresh longs, while commercial hedgers stayed heavily net short at 260,196 contracts against 53,851 long.

That mix shows conviction draining from the long side. The regulated futures market was already easing off gold before Citi published its report.

Three venues, crypto perps, ETF options, and regulated futures, all leaned bearish before Citi. The macro backdrop gave them the reason.

The Macro Backdrop Stopped Favoring Gold

Here, the pieces connect. The forces that usually lift gold had quietly turned against it.

The Treasury yield curve is firm and upward sloping, with the 30-year near 5% and the 10-year at 4.55%. Higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no income.

That ties directly to Citi’s probable reason. Rate-hike expectations are rising as Strait of Hormuz tensions and energy prices keep inflation sticky, and a firmer dollar adds more weight.

The commodity ratios agree. The gold-silver ratio near 63.6 and the gold-oil ratio near 48.4 indicate gold is not leading the complex, a risk-off surge, or strength against oil.

Every macro pointed in the same direction as the positioning did. Which is why the revision, when it came, resolved no mystery for anyone reading the flows.

Still, this is a near-term call, not a verdict on gold itself. Big banks have kept their long-term bullish view intact, and the crowded short positioning means any upside surprise could force a sharp short-covering bounce.

The mystery was never whether Citigroup turned bearish. The gold price had already told the story to anyone watching the whales.

The post Here’s How Whales Beat Citigroup to the $4,000 Gold Trade appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The worst headlines Cardano has seen in five years have arrived at the same moment as its most extreme technical bottom signal ever. ADA trades at $0.1669, below $0.20 for the first time since 2021 and down 39% in a month.

The decline arrived with a cascade of bad news: a founder break announcement, a DeFi collapse warning, a canceled summit, suspended leadership at the Cardano Foundation, and a governance system that rejected its own flagship event.

However, ADA posted a 1.96% gain on Monday, June 8, a small bounce that leaves the broader monthly damage intact.

Cardano ADA: What Went Wrong

Charles Hoskinson posted “I’m taking a break. TTYL” on X on June 3, triggering a 10% single-day drop that pushed ADA below $0.20 for the first time since 2021.

He later clarified he was not leaving, which created more confusion than comfort. The break came immediately after he warned of a “wave of failures” among Cardano-based DeFi projects, citing macroeconomic pressure and governance gridlock.

TapTools, one of Cardano’s most used analytics platforms, had already collapsed.

The governance crisis added another layer. DReps, Cardano’s elected governance delegates, voted down the 7.8 million ADA treasury proposal to fund the 2026 Singapore Summit, forcing its cancellation.

Reports also emerged that key figures at the Cardano Foundation were suspended in the same period.

The wave of DeFi closures following Hoskinson’s warning confirmed that the worst of the ecosystem concerns were not theoretical.

Cardano RSI Signal: Why Top Traders Are Long

The weekly RSI (Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator that measures how oversold or overbought an asset is) hit its most extreme oversold reading in Cardano’s entire history.

That level has only appeared twice before: ahead of the 2019 recovery and ahead of the 2022 recovery. Both preceded sustained price increases.

Professional and institutional accounts are positioning for a third repeat. Binance’s top traders are running a long/short ratio above 2.5, meaning they hold more than twice as many bets on price rises as price falls.

Retail accounts sit at 0.74, slightly net short. The divergence between retail and professional positioning is near its historical extreme.

One more factor sits outside the negative headlines. Cardano’s Leios upgrade enters public testnet, a developer trial environment, this month, targeting a significant improvement in transaction throughput toward a goal of 1,000-plus transactions per second.

Traders have already priced in the governance failure and wave of DeFi closures at $0.1669. The Leios upgrade is not. The worst Cardano headlines in five years arrived at the same moment as its most extreme bottom signal.

One of those two things has to be wrong.

The post Cardano Most Oversold RSI in History But Traders are Putting a 2.5x Long Bet appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Amid the bearish sentiment in the overall crypto market, BlackRock has reportedly moved $227 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to Coinbase Prime, which is a leading brokerage platform.

BlackRock Moves Fund Transfers After Major Outflows in ETFs

On June 8, the on-chain data provided by Arkham revealed that BlackRock-linked addresses witnessed an outflow of 3,580 Bitcoins, which is worth around $226.8 million. These transactions have sparked a fear within the community as large amounts of BTC have entered exchanges.

While Bitcoin (BTC) is already facing selling pressure, this transfer of BTC on the brokerage platform is raising questions about the intention of BlackRock behind this transaction.

Coinbase Prime is the leading brokerage platform for many financial institutions, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), along with its Ethereum Trust. Coinbase Prime is known for various services, including secure custody of assets, ETF share creation and redemption support, managing liquidity, executing trades, and others.

For major financial institutions and ETF issuers, Coinbase Prime is known for handling money inflows and outflows while working on internal treasury operations.

Bitcoin (BTC) Reclaims $64,000, But Fear Still Persists

After the recent bloodbath in the crypto market, on Monday, June 8, 2026, Bitcoin (BTC) gave a sign of recovery as it reclaimed a mark of $64,000. At the time of writing this, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $64,113 with a spike of 3.81% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC currently holds a market capitalization of around $1.28 trillion. The daily trading volume has soared above $36.08 billion.

However, the Fear and Greed Index is still showing that the crypto market is in an extreme state of fear. As of now, the Fear and Greed index stands at 8, which indicates extreme fear. 

After witnessing the longest streak of 13-day outflows in BTC ETFs, BTC has experienced a major crash. In the last 30 days, BTC has dropped from $80,000 to as low as $60,000. 

According to Farside, on June 5, BTC ETFs recorded a major outflow of $325 million. Between May 14 and June 3, investors withdrew approximately $4.4 billion from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has recorded the biggest outflows of around, which is around 75% of total outflows. The streak was broken on June 4, when it recorded a small inflow of $3.2 million.

Bitwise’s Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) Records First Outflow

On Friday, Bitwise recorded its first-ever net sale of the HYPE token through the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP). According to SoSoValue, investors of the BHYP ETF have sold approximately $2.9 million worth of the token. This was the first time money flowed out of the fund after its launch on May 15. At the time of writing, the cumulative inflow was $87 million. 

The overall crypto market is currently struggling to gain upward momentum. The ongoing war between U.S-Iran, a higher inflation rate, and the global energy crisis are creating selling pressure in the crypto market.

On June 5, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a leading American multinational investment bank and financial services company, announced the launch of its in-kind referral partnership with Galaxy Digital.

This agreement is expected to introduce a way for eligible clients to use in-kind creation for spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs).

Under this setup, clients will be able to convert the cryptocurrency they already hold into shares of spot crypto ETPs more easily than before.

This announcement is a major development where traditional finance is connecting with the digital asset sector. It is created on Morgan Stanley’s growing presence within the sector, including the launch of its own Bitcoin trust, called the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), earlier in 2026.

How the Morgan Stanley-Galaxy Referral Works

This new partnership will allow clients of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to lend their digital assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, or Solana, to Galaxy Digital. In return, those clients will receive shares in spot crypto exchange-traded products, including Morgan Stanley’s own MSBT fund, which tracks the price of Bitcoin.

There are many major benefits of this partnership. At times, traditional processes can take more than 4 weeks. This referral system can shorten that time by up to 75% in some cases.

Second, lower entry barriers as Galaxy has reduced the minimum transaction size for referred clients from $25 million down to $5 million. This makes the service accessible to more qualified investors.

Another major benefit of this partnership is the integration of a better portfolio. Shares of the exchange-traded products can fit into existing brokerage accounts, and they support features such as margin trading and lending.

Morgan Stanley is providing educational materials and handles referrals only when clients ask for them without any solicitation. Galaxy manages the actual transactions, the process of bringing clients on board, and the execution of trades. The two firms are not affiliated, and Morgan Stanley does not receive any payment from these referrals.

Zane Glauber, Global Head of Distribution at Galaxy, stated in the press release that, “We are excited to support referrals from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to offer an efficient and secure path to access spot crypto ETPs. Streamlined onboarding and lowered transaction minimums make it easier for clients to integrate digital assets alongside traditional investments, supporting a holistic approach to wealth management.”

Recent Progress in Crypto ETPs

In July 2025, the SEC approved in-kind creation and redemptions for certain Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded products. This moved beyond the earlier system that only allowed cash transactions. This change improves liquidity, narrows the difference between buying and selling, and offers tax benefits because it avoids forced sales of assets.

Morgan Stanley itself launched the MSBT in April 2026. This made the company the first asset manager affiliated with a US bank to offer a crypto exchange-traded product. Other firms, such as Invesco with its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that are partnered with Galaxy, have also expanded their digital asset offerings.

Alison Nest, Head of Investment Solutions Products, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said, “Morgan Stanley has been investing in the DeFi space for some time, and we are proud to support a referral capability with Galaxy to provide Wealth Management clients with an institutionalized pathway that helps integrate digital assets into their portfolio. This referral arrangement represents a significant step forward in bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance, providing more investors with streamlined opportunities to diversify.”

Recently, VanEck announced the launch of VBNB as the first U.S. spot ETF offering direct exposure to BNB.

In a new report, market expert Sam Daodu laid out three tentative scenarios for where XRP could be heading in 2027. His projections are built around several moving parts: the CLARITY Act, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

Conservative XRP Outlook

Under Daodu’s most conservative outlook, XRP could trade between $3 and $5 by 2027. This range assumes that the CLARITY Act moves forward and that demand for XRP through ETFs grows at a steady pace rather than in dramatic bursts. 

Daodu argues that this “unflashy” kind of progress would be enough to pull XRP back toward its earlier peak levels in under two years, without requiring a major, sudden breakout. 

In this scenario, Standard Chartered’s $7 XRP target for 2027 sits near the optimistic end, but the $3 to $5 outcome is presented as the best fit for current conditions if nothing destabilizes the market.

A more bullish case pushes XRP higher, with a forecast range of $7 to $10. For XRP to reach that upper band, the demand question would need to turn decisively in XRP’s favor. 

From Infrastructure To Demand

Daodu’s report points to a key catalyst: banks may need to start holding and settling in XRP itself, not just relying on stablecoins that use the XRPL network. He also notes that ETF inflows would likely have to accelerate beyond early expectations and reaching a level of “several billion dollars.” 

If both usage and buying pressure strengthen at the same time, Daodu suggests that XRP would have the combination of utility and market demand required to clear its prior highs and sustain the momentum afterward.

That bullish pathway is also where Bitwise’s more optimistic prediction comes into view. Bitwise’s outlook places XRP in the $9 to $10 area, aligning closely with the idea that 2027 could be the year the altcoin finally catches up to the value implied by its infrastructure. 

In Daodu’s framing, this would be the version of events where adoption and capital inflows reinforce each other—turning what is currently more infrastructure-led into a fuller demand-driven cycle.

Daodu also outlines a downside scenario, where XRP trades below $1.50 by 2027. In his analysis, the negative path depends less on technology and more on whether sentiment stays weak for longer than the market can easily absorb. 

A key risk factor is the possibility that the CLARITY Act stalls past August’s recess. At the same time, broader market conditions could keep pressure on risk assets. Finally, Ripple’s monthly supply pattern is described as steady, meaning it may not provide fresh demand catalysts on its own if buyers remain cautious.

In that bearish scenario, Daodu expects XRP to spend most of 2027 somewhere between $1 and $1.50. He also notes that there is a realistic chance XRP could lose the $1 level if selling intensity continues rather than fading. 

However, the market may not have to wait until 2027 to see sub-$1 levels for the altcoin, as it is currently trading at around $1.12. This is a recovery from the drop to $1.05 over the weekend, but there are still concerns that this key support level could be broken in the near term. 

Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com 

Arthur Hayes has turned sharply defensive on risk assets, warning that an AI stock-market unwind could spill into crypto before Bitcoin eventually benefits from the liquidity response that follows. In his June 9 essay “Reality Test,” the BitMEX co-founder said Maelstrom has cut several crypto positions while keeping Bitcoin and Ether as core holdings.

Hayes’ argument starts outside crypto, with oil. He frames the US-Iran conflict and reduced Strait of Hormuz traffic as the central macro variable for markets, arguing that higher hydrocarbon prices could feed inflation, constrain US political options and pressure the AI trade that has dominated capital allocation since late 2022.

“We start with oil and end with an election in Pax Americana,” Hayes wrote. “This story arc could produce a situation whereby the AI stock bubble pops and takes the entire crypto complex down with it. When the dust settles, then and only then, can Bitcoin rise from the ashes.”

Hayes Turns Bearish On Crypto And Risk Assets

The core of Hayes’ thesis is that AI has absorbed the dollar liquidity that, in previous cycles, might have flowed more directly into Bitcoin and crypto. He notes that Bitcoin rose from around $15,000 after the FTX collapse to roughly $125,000 by October 2025, but says AI equities still outperformed, led by Nvidia’s 11x move over the same period. Since Bitcoin’s all-time high, he says BTC is down 50%, while Nvidia has still risen about 10%.

Hayes argues this divergence reflects where new fiat liquidity actually went. By his estimate, AI-related companies issued roughly $1.5 trillion of debt since November 2022, matching the $1.5 trillion increase in M2 over the same period. He adds that $1.3 trillion of that AI debt issuance occurred from 2025 onward, just as Bitcoin’s rally stalled.

“AI sucked up all created dollars,” Hayes wrote. “Bitcoin never had a chance.”

That is why, in his view, an AI correction would not immediately be bullish for crypto. Hayes expects a sharp drawdown in AI stocks to damage bank lending, tighten credit and destroy speculative capital before policymakers respond with fresh liquidity.

“Bitcoin cannot rally in the short term if the entire world takes serious losses from the deflation of the AI bubble globally. Eventually, it will bottom, then rise as Bitcoin forecasts an increase in liquidity to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. But right now, it’s about protecting one’s crypto capital.”

Hayes identifies three potential catalysts for the AI bubble to break: higher energy costs, supply pressure from major AI-linked IPOs, and anti-AI rhetoric from Donald Trump as election politics intensify. He argues that rising oil and natural gas prices directly raise the cost of producing AI tokens, compressing margins for model companies such as Google, Anthropic and OpenAI. If usage growth slows and earnings assumptions weaken, he says the market could begin questioning future data-center capex.

The IPO calendar is another pressure point. Hayes says SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI could test the market’s ability to absorb enormous supply at elevated valuations. He focuses in particular on SpaceX, writing that its S-1 implies investors would pay roughly 100x sales, with only 4% to 5% of shares floated initially. He says SpaceX would immediately become a $1.8 trillion company, ranking seventh globally by market cap, while its float could increase fivefold by early September.

Hayes also sees the Federal Reserve as unlikely to rescue risk assets immediately. He says the two-year Treasury yield trading more than 0.5 percentage points above the effective fed funds rate implies the market is pricing pressure for tighter policy, not cuts, ahead of the June 16-17 meeting. A “hawkish hold,” in his view, would add another headwind to AI equities and crypto.

The portfolio response has already started. Hayes said Maelstrom has moved long US-listed energy producers and exited several non-core crypto positions. “I dumped HYPE, NEAR, and WLD last week,” he wrote. “I also dumped ZEC because of the Orchard Pool bug. I wish I didn’t have to do that, but capital preservation is more important than capital appreciation.”

Bitcoin and Ether remain. Hayes described Ether as “dead but functional,” saying he has no immediate reason to liquidate it. For Bitcoin, his base case is more volatile: a near-term drawdown if the AI bubble bursts, followed by a stronger rebound once the financial system requires another major liquidity injection.

At press time, BTC traded at $62,638.