Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

'Accumulation beneath the surface': Bitcoin rebounds above $61,000 as long-term holders accumulate amid steady ETF outflows

Quick TakeBitcoin trades back above $61,000 after bottoming near $57,800 this week, even as spot ETFs posted a $296 million net outflow on July 1.Glassnode and Bitfinex analysts both say long-term holders are quietly accumulating beneath the selloff, even as ETFs turned net sellers of bitcoin for the first time this cycle.　　Bitcoin traded above $61,000 on Thursday, clawing back some ground after tumbling to a 21-month low earlier in the week, according to The Blocks prices page.　　U.S. spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds recorded a net outflow of $296 million on July 1, according to data compiled by The Block.　　The Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF posted the largest single-day inflow among the group at $36.3 million. Spot ether (ETH) ETFs fared better, taking in a net $14.8 million, led by BlackRocks ETHA at $36.6 million.　　The moves follow The Blocks report that spot bitcoin ETFs shed $4.5 billion in June, their worst month since launching in January 2024, with BlackRocks IBIT alone accounting for $3.55 billion of it.　　Accumulation signals　　Glassnode analyst Chris Beamish wrote that long-term holders have returned to accumulation after an extended period of distribution, with buying activity broadening across wallet cohorts, including smaller holders and entities holding 100 to 1,000

07-02Industry

98% Crash, Then a Pivot: Story Protocol Rebrand Bets on AI Data

A 98% price collapseis a brutal way to end a chapter. But for Story Protocol, it may also be the only honest way to start a new one. The project announced its Story Protocol rebrandto Data Network on June 25, pivoting from an intellectual property blockchain to an AI training data infrastructure play — and the operational consequences are already rippling across crypto derivatives markets.　　Key takeawaysCoinbase will suspend IP-PERP perpetual futures trading on July 6, giving traders a narrow window to close or adjust open positions.Story Protocol is rebranding to Data Network, abandoning its original IP blockchain focus in favor of AI training data infrastructure.The $IP token will migrate to $DATA at a 1:1 ratio— no dilution, no complex conversion math.The $IP token had already shed roughly 98% of its valuebefore the rebrand was announced.Kraken and Bybithave both confirmed support for the token transition, with Bybit specifically confirming swap support.　　Coinbase Suspends IP-PERP Futures Trading Ahead of the Transition　　Coinbase is halting IP-PERP perpetual futures contracts on July 6. The move covers the IP-PERP contract alongside related IP derivatives, and it is being handled as a procedural step rather than a punitive delisting.　　The distinction matters. A punitive delisting signals misconduct or regulatory

07-02Exchange

'I think we're nearing the bottom': Bitwise CIO says Strategy's STRC selloff is part of bitcoin's end-of-cycle dynamics

Quick TakeSTRC, Strategys preferred stock, traded as low as $75 from its $100 par value before Strategy overhauled its framework on June 29 and let the price float instead of defending $100.Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called the STRC selloff a classic “end-of-cycle” pattern and said he expects a new bitcoin bull market to begin this fall.　　Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the sharp sell-off in Strategys STRC preferred stock is a “painful but necessary” part of the current crypto market cycle and argued it reflects the kind of end-of-cycle deleveraging that typically precedes a market bottom.　　Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in late June, its lowest level since 2024, a decline Hougan attributed largely to turmoil around STRC, the perpetual preferred equity instrument Strategy (MSTR) uses to help fund its bitcoin purchases.　　A preferred stock under pressure　　STRC launched last year, targeting a $100 par value, initially paying a 9% yield.　　Strategy said it would raise that yield by 0.25 to 0.50 percentage points whenever the price drifted below $100 to draw buyers back toward par. The mechanism worked for a while, since the rate climbed to 11.5%, the price held near $100, and investors poured $10.5 billion into the instrument, helping to fund

07-02Industry

Taiko reopens bridge after $1.7M exploit, says users made whole

Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Taiko reopened its bridge and restored full operations after a June exploit drained up to $1.7 million.　　On Thursday, Taiko announced that users could once again move funds to and from the network after completing the final stage of its four-step recovery plan. The project said it had made all victimized users whole and that any remaining withdrawal limits are temporary safeguards that do not affect normal usage.　　The reopening ends an 11-day disruption following the implementation of security fixes and the restoration of the bridges 1:1 backing.　　The exploit occurred on June 21 after an attacker compromised Taikos chain-state verification mechanism, allowing forged proofs to be accepted and enabling unauthorized withdrawals from its Ethereum vault. Blockchain security companies said that up to $1.7 million in crypto assets were taken.Taiko’s seven-day token chart. Source: CoinGecko　　Its token, TAIKO, briefly surged to about $0.35 following the bridge reopening, before retreating to roughly $0.14.　　Taiko restores bridge backing before reopening　　Taiko outlined its recovery plan on Sunday, saying it would bring the network back through four stages. The project said it had deployed fixes and verified that the chains finalized state contained no forged checkpoints or attacker claims that could still be executed.　　According to Taiko,

07-02Industry

OpenAI weighs 5% stake for US government amid Trump talks: FT

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reportedly discussed giving the US government a 5% equity stake as artificial intelligence oversight in Washington intensifies.　　The company raised the idea in early discussions with the Trump administration as it seeks to navigate a tougher political environment ahead of a potential public listing, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.　　OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that giving the public a financial stake in the company would be the best way to share the economic benefits of the booming AI industry.　　The report comes weeks after OpenAI announced it had confidentially submitted an S-1 for a US initial public offering, joining Anthropic in preparing for a Wall Street debut this year. It also comes as the US government takes a more active role in overseeing advanced AI models.　　Proposal extends to other AI companies　　The proposal would see several leading US AI companies contribute a 5% equity stake to a public investment vehicle. However, it remains unclear whether companies such as Anthropic, Google and Meta would support the idea.　　The Financial Times reported that Altman modeled the proposal on Alaskas Permanent Fund, which invests the states oil revenue into stocks and pays dividends to residents.

07-02Industry

Yield-bearing stablecoin slowdown ends three-year run for crypto-native products

Yield-bearing stablecoin supply fell by more than $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, reversing nearly three years of quarterly growth as crypto-native products contracted and Treasury-backed tokens expanded.　　Crypto exchange CEX.IO reported Thursday that the category declined by 15% during Q2. Ethena‘s sUSDe lost 52% of its supply, shedding nearly $2 billion, while Sky’s sUSDS declined by 16%.　　Treasury-backed products moved in the opposite direction. BlackRocks BUIDL grew by 2%, Circles USYC increased by nearly 16% and Ondo Finances USDY rose by over 66%, highlighting a widening divide between crypto-native yield assets and products backed by traditional assets.　　The divergence came as the broader stablecoin market recorded its first quarterly contraction since the third quarter of 2023, according to CEX.io. Total supply fell to $312 billion in Q2, while adjusted transaction volume declined by 5.5%.　　Supply growth per quarter, compiled by CEX.io. Source: CEX.io　　Stablecoin slowdown deepens after weaker Q1 signals　　The Q2 decline marks a sharp reversal from the start of 2026. In Q1, stablecoin supply increased by about $8 billion to a record $315 billion, with yield-bearing products among the main growth drivers.　　However, signs of weakening organic demand had already emerged early in the year. During the first quarter, retail-sized transfers fell

07-02Industry

Solana Foundation launches framework for protocol-level governance

The Solana Foundation, the Swiss organization that supports the Solana networks development, launched a new framework for protocol-level governance that enables proposing and voting on governance decisions for the Solana blockchain.　　The Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs) establish a standard that enables validators to submit core protocol proposals and vote onchain, with voting power based on their delegated Solana (SOL) stake, the Foundation announced in a Thursday X post.　　“An SGP captures a stake-weighted directional decision. It records what the community wants. It is not strictly focused on the technical detail of how to build the feature,” according to the GitHub repository, launched on Thursday.　　The new framework offers Solana a transparent, community-driven way to make major protocol decisions, reducing reliance on centralized coordination while keeping technical implementations, or Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs), separate from community governance.　　Other blockchain networks with similar stake-weighted governance mechanisms include Polkadot, Cosmos, Cardano, Tezos and Avalanche.Source: Solana Foundation on X.com　　Proposals require minimum 15% support　　A proposal must receive endorsements from validators representing at least 15% of actively staked Solana tokens to qualify for a formal onchain vote, a measure that seeks to filter out low-quality proposals.　　Validators with at least 100,000 SOL delegated can open a new governance proposal via SGP.

07-02Industry

FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed six-figure Strategy stock purchase months after trade: report

Quick TakeFBI Director Kash Patel disclosed a $100,001 to $250,000 purchase of Strategy stock about six months after buying the shares, according to a NOTUS report.　　FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed a six-figure purchase of Strategy (MSTR) stock roughly six months after executing the trade, according to a NOTUS report citing federal ethics records.　　Patel acquired between $100,001 and $250,000 of Strategy common shares on Nov. 21, 2025, but did not disclose the transaction until filing an amended ethics report on May 26 this year, the report said.　　The late disclosure stemmed from what Patel described in the filings as an “inadvertent omission.” According to records cited by NOTUS, Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor said the omission resulted from a miscommunication and that Patel remained in compliance with applicable conflict-of-interest rules. The FBI said in response to inquiries that the corrected paperwork had been submitted and approved.　　Under the STOCK Act, covered executive branch officials generally must disclose securities transactions above $1,000 within 30 days of notification and no later than 45 days after the transaction. First-time violators are subject to a $200 fine, though no fine has been issued in Patels case, according to an FBI official familiar with the matter.　　The purchase

07-02Industry

Dubai crypto market hits 50 licensed firms after new VARA approval

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubais crypto regulator, has granted its 50th virtual asset service provider (VASP) license.　　On Thursday, VARA said its latest approval went to tokenized assets platform Tribe Tokenisation FZE.　　The milestone provides one measure of the growth of Dubais crypto licensing regime, though license totals alone do not show how many firms are operational or the level of business they generate.　　A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that holding an active license does not necessarily mean a firm has completed its commercial launch. Newly licensed companies may go through a controlled operationalization period before offering services or onboarding customers.　　At the end of 2025, VARA classified 39 licensed VASPs as fully operational. The spokesperson said the regulator is validating an updated figure for 2026.　　Dubais bid to attract crypto firms　　Dubai has spent the past several years positioning itself as a global hub for digital asset businesses. As part of that effort, the emirate established VARA in March 2022 as a dedicated crypto regulator and has sought to attract crypto businesses through a standalone licensing framework.　　Against that backdrop, Dubais 50 licensed VASPs exceed the totals reported in Hong Kong and Singapore, two other jurisdictions competing to attract regulated crypto businesses. Each jurisdiction

07-02Industry

Metaplanet buys 2,823 BTC, surpasses 43,000 in Bitcoin holdings

Japanese investment company Metaplanet acquired 2,823 Bitcoin during the second quarter at a price below its average purchase price, as its holdings surpassed 43,000 BTC.　　The company acquired its latest trove at an average price of about 12.71 million yen ($78,850 at current exchange rates), reducing its average acquisition cost to about $95,117 per BTC from $96,258, according to a Thursday announcement.　　Metaplanet now holds 43,000 Bitcoin acquired for about $4.1 billion. It also reported about $10.95 million in revenue from its Bitcoin income generation strategy in the quarter, which earns premiums by selling cash-secured options and employing other Bitcoin-related yield strategies.　　The purchase extends Metaplanets aggressive accumulation strategy, which has made the company one of the worlds largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The acquisition comes days after Michael Saylors Strategy, the worlds largest corporate Bitcoin holder, skipped its usual weekly Bitcoin purchase while unveiling a new capital framework designed to support dividends and expand its cash reserves.Metaplanet Notice of Additional Bitcoin Purchase. Source: Metaplanet　　Metaplanet shares closed 3.5% higher on Thursday but remain down 48% year-to-date, underperforming Bitcoin, which has fallen 31% over the same period.　　K Wave latest company to exit Bitcoin treasury strategy　　While companies such as Metaplanet continue buying more Bitcoin, a handful

07-02Industry

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