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According to Etherscan data, 1,158 ETH, worth approximately $2.02 million, was transferred from the private rollup bridge address of Aztec Labs, an Ethereum privacy-enhancing Layer 2 project, to an external address starting with 0x6952. In connection with the transfer, Robert Chen, founder of Solana auditing firm OtterSec, said that Aztec has been hacked again.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced it has added a feature to its Web Application Firewall (WAF) allowing content owners and publishers to charge AI bots and agents in USDC for access. When a bot attempts to access protected content, the WAF requires a payment, displaying the price, payment networks like Base and Solana, and the recipient wallet address. The bot can then read this price tag, automatically execute the payment without human intervention, and retrieve the content. This automated transaction process uses the open-standard x402 protocol. AWS stated it is not involved in payment processing or fee collection, as funds are sent directly to the designated wallet. The feature is only available in environments connected to Amazon's Content Delivery Network (CDN), CloudFront.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at long-term Bitcoin bull Bitwise, predicted that the next cryptocurrency bull market will be slower and less volatile than previous cycles, he said in an interview with CoinDesk. This is due to investor attention being diverted to other hot trends like artificial intelligence (AI) and a shift in focus from Wall Street. Hougan noted that interest from U.S. Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and institutions in Bitcoin and the broader crypto space remains at an all-time high. He also maintained his existing forecast that Bitcoin will surpass $1 million within the next 10 years. However, he analyzed that during the current downturn, investors are turning their attention to more tangible and intuitive areas like stablecoins and Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization rather than just Bitcoin. The total market capitalization of stablecoins recently surpassed an all-time high of $322 billion, and Citi has projected this figure could reach $4 trillion by 2030. Hougan added that this institutional preference for assets linked to the real world could be a factor that slows the overall recovery of the cryptocurrency market.

Tether is discontinuing its gold-overcollateralized derivative stablecoin, aUSDT, and its issuance platform, Alloy by Tether, as part of a strategic rebalancing to focus on user demand, secure liquidity, and expand long-term market opportunities, Cointelegraph reported. Launched in June 2024, the Alloy platform was a DeFi structure that allowed users to collateralize Tether Gold (XAUT) to mint the dollar-pegged aUSDT, hedging against value volatility. However, its market capitalization has only reached $1.2 million. The shutdown will be implemented in phases, beginning with the suspension of new position openings and further issuance.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of approximately $29.3 million (about 44.5 billion won) on June 17, marking a shift to outflows after two consecutive days of net inflows, according to data from Farside Investors. - BlackRock's ETHA: -$9 million - Fidelity's FETH: -$4.3 million - Bitwise's ETHW: -$500,000 - 21Shares' TETH: -$2.8 million - VanEck's ETHV: -$600,000 - Grayscale's ETHE: -$2.2 million - Grayscale's Mini ETH: -$9.9 million

The KOSPI index has surpassed 9,000 for the first time in history.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net outflow of approximately $82.2 million on June 17, according to data from Farside Investors. The figure marks a return to net outflows after a single day of net inflows. - BlackRock (IBIT): -$30.8 million - Fidelity (FBTC): +$14 million - Ark Invest (ARKB): -$43.5 million - Invesco (BTCO): -$6.4 million - VanEck (HODL): -$4.1 million - Morgan Stanley (MSBT): +$4.1 million - Grayscale (GBTC): -$15.5 million

Square, the merchant services division of Jack Dorsey's payment company Block, announced on X that it has added a Bitcoin payment feature to its Square Register point-of-sale terminals. The feature allows customers to select a BTC payment button instead of U.S. dollars on the checkout screen. Merchants can enable the function without any additional training. This follows Block's move in March to automatically activate Bitcoin payments for small business owners.

Ark Invest purchased 111,799 shares of Coinbase, valued at $18.4 million, yesterday while selling approximately $29 million worth of Robinhood stock, The Block reported. The move follows a note from Benchmark Equity Research, which maintained its buy rating on Coinbase. Benchmark noted that the company is expanding beyond its role as a cryptocurrency trading platform to become an on-chain financial infrastructure provider.

Danal has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Line Next, the Web3 arm of Japan's LY Corporation (Line Yahoo), to expand the use of the JPYC stablecoin for real-world payments in South Korea, Digital Asset reported today. The two companies plan to start in South Korea and later extend the JPYC payment service to other major Asian regions, aiming to build a new financial ecosystem that connects digital assets with the physical payments market.

Japanese listed company Remixpoint announced it is considering a special dividend linked to the price of Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its shareholder return policy for the fiscal year ending March 2027. According to a post on the company's X account, it aims to raise its total dividend to over five yen per share, which would include a regular annual dividend of three yen per share. Remixpoint noted that this would mark the first time a listed company in Japan has used the price of BTC as a key indicator for calculating dividends.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $141.25 million liquidated (69.3% longs) - ETH: $111.63 million liquidated (72.64% longs) - SOL: $16.36 million liquidated (78.68% longs)

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has identified interoperability between banks as the key challenge for the widespread adoption of deposit tokens. In a company post, Jack Pouderoyen, SWIFT's Head of Digital Asset Strategy, pointed out that the main issue is not the development of deposit tokens themselves, but rather creating a form of money that can be used beyond a single bank's network. He stressed the need for common standards, operating rules, and broad participation among banks. Pouderoyen noted that a current limitation is that even when deposits are tokenized, transfers are restricted by the issuing bank's Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and existing interbank agreements, making them difficult to use immediately at other banks. He added that SWIFT could help achieve compatibility by setting standards and coordinating interbank transactions, all without creating a new payment network. Under this model, the legal authority for final payment settlement would remain with the existing banks and payment systems.

According to CoinNess monitoring, Apyx's synthetic dollar stablecoin, apxUSD, has depegged, falling to $0.90. The stablecoin is issued based on STRC from Strategy (MSTR) and SATA preferred shares from Strive (ASST).

Tarek Mansour, co-founder of the prediction market platform Kalshi, said in an interview with Front Office Sports that he does not view Polymarket as a major competitor. He emphasized that Kalshi is more focused on other platforms, adding that Polymarket needs to be brought into the regulatory fold and that a recent scandal has damaged the industry's reputation. Mansour identified CME Group and Robinhood as Kalshi's primary competitors.

The European Central Bank (ECB) reportedly directed Greek financial authorities to reject Binance's application for a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license. Gareth Jenkinson of The Block reported on X that, according to a source, Greek regulators had effectively approved Binance's application before the ECB intervened behind the scenes to ensure its rejection. Jenkinson noted that if the ECB is taking control of MiCA licensing decisions, it could be a negative development for the crypto market.

Crypto analyst CryptoCapo argued on X that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) could be considered one of the greatest investors in history, citing the significant value appreciation of his early investments in companies like Kursor, Anthropic, Robinhood, Genesis Digital, and SpaceX. According to the analyst, if FTX had not gone bankrupt, its enterprise value would now exceed $114 billion, potentially making SBF one of the world's 20 wealthiest individuals. - Kursor: $200,000 to $3 billion (15,000x) - Anthropic: $500 million to $75 billion (165x) - Robinhood: $648 million to $5 billion (8x) - Genesis Digital: Approx. $1.15 billion to $3 billion (3x) - SpaceX: Approx. $100 million to $10 billion (100x)

Pro-cryptocurrency U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that digital assets can bring sound money back to all Americans. Writing on X, Lummis argued that sound money is the foundation upon which the country was built and that cryptocurrency makes it accessible to everyone again, calling it something worth defending. The term 'sound money' refers to a stable currency that maintains its purchasing power, relatively safe from artificial government manipulation of the money supply or inflation.

OKX announced it will list RE for spot trading at 2:00 p.m. UTC on June 18.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have emphasized the need for a joint response to North Korea's cryptocurrency theft and cybercrime, according to a statement on geopolitical issues. The leaders also expressed deep concern over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reiterated their commitment to the country's complete denuclearization in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

Fidelity Digital Assets has argued that Bitcoin complements traditional alternative assets by addressing their key weaknesses, such as low liquidity and information opacity. In a post on X, the firm noted that while assets like art and collectibles have significant upside potential, they are often difficult to trade and lack transparent information. Bitcoin, in contrast, has a finite supply and is priced in real time across the globe. However, Fidelity also pointed out that Bitcoin's own weaknesses include inadequate infrastructure, the potential for code flaws, and regulatory changes.

An address associated with BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has purchased 1,500 ETH, worth $2.63 million, from Cumberland, Onchain Lens reported.

Strategy (MSTR)'s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, fell to a new all-time intraday low of $88.51 before closing at $89 yesterday, Wu Blockchain reported. The stock, which has a par value of $100 per share, is now trading at an approximate 11% discount. According to the company's official website, STRC offers an annual dividend yield of around 11.50%, with the rate adjusted monthly. Strategy had previously stated it could adjust the dividend rate to maintain the stock's price near the $100 level.

CME Group, the world's largest futures exchange operator, plans to sue the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over its approval of perpetual futures in the U.S., according to CEO Terrence Duffy. The dispute follows the CFTC's decision in late May to authorize platforms, including Kalshi and Coinbase, to offer crypto perpetual futures. Duffy argued that perpetual futures should be classified as swap products under the Dodd-Frank Act, not as standard futures. He also emphasized that because CME holds exclusive rights to the benchmark providers associated with these products, any related offerings should be listed and traded through CME, regardless of their contract structure.

Italian fintech firm Conio has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (CASP) license under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, Reuters reported. The approval followed a review by Italy's financial market regulator, Consob, and the Bank of Italy. Conio is now authorized to offer cryptocurrency services in compliance with EU regulatory standards.