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The market for loans backed by BTC is stable and evolving to be centered around institutional players, according to an analysis by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In a report cited by CoinDesk, SVB noted that BTC is now recognized as a collateral asset that offers immediate liquidation, global trading, rapid settlement, and fungibility. Institutional participation is also expanding, with major U.S. banks beginning to offer BTC-backed lending services. The bank highlighted that the overall crypto-backed loan market has grown by 49% over the past year to reach $67 billion. While the current market for BTC-backed loans to individuals is estimated at around $3 billion, SVB projected it could grow into a $1 trillion market within the next 10 years as liquidity demand from long-term holders increases.

JPMorgan has voiced its support for the U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory framework, emphasizing that industry growth should not be prioritized over risk management. According to CoinDesk, Umar Farooq, Co-Head of Global Payments at JPMorgan, wrote in a blog post that a pending bill aimed at providing clarity for payment stablecoins could help the existing banking industry mature, provided it closes existing regulatory gaps rather than creating new ones. Farooq assessed that cryptocurrency should not be allowed to bypass the safeguards applied to traditional finance, warning that innovation without proper oversight could introduce new risks for consumers and the financial system. He added that while tokenization and programmable money can speed up payments, reduce settlement times, and improve cross-border fund transfers, these benefits can only be realized with regulatory clarity and strong consumer protections. Furthermore, Farooq argued that cryptocurrencies with the characteristics of securities should be subject to existing securities laws, even if issued on a blockchain. He also explained that decentralized platforms acting as exchanges or intermediaries must adhere to the same regulations as traditional financial institutions regarding market integrity, disclosure, and investor protection.

As crypto hacks continue to result in millions of dollars in damages, the theft of private keys has been identified as a primary cause. According to a report by DeFiLlama, crypto projects have lost a total of $16.69 billion to hacks to date. Approximately 40% of these losses stemmed from the leak or theft of private keys, rather than from smart contract vulnerabilities. In response, Web3 security firm CertiK noted that while attacks exploiting smart contract vulnerabilities are decreasing, hacks occurring during operational processes are on the rise. The firm suggested that as projects have focused their investments on smart contract security, other areas have become relatively more vulnerable.

JPMorgan's tokenization platform, Kinexys, has expanded its blockchain payment network by adding five currencies from the Asia-Pacific region. According to CoinDesk, Kinexys, which previously supported the U.S. dollar, euro, and British pound, has now added the Australian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and Singapore dollar. This brings the total number of currencies available for institutional clients' blockchain-based payments and foreign exchange transactions to eight.

Alex Fazel, chief partnership officer at crypto trading and analysis app SwissBorg, said that over 10 million users in the European Union may need to find new platforms as the grace period for the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation ends on July 1. In an interview with CoinDesk, he stated that users of exchanges discontinuing services will be the most immediately affected. Fazel stressed that when a platform scales back its services, users must absorb the full impact, comparing them to tenants evicted by a landlord without notice. Pointing to recent deposit and transfer incentive promotions by Coinbase and OKX to attract new users, Fazel advised that users should choose a platform built to last. He explained that while price is important, factors like the platform's culture, security, practical features, and community should all be considered. Fazel concluded that incentives disappear, but a reliable home does not.

The White House invited law enforcement agencies opposing the CLARITY Act to a meeting on June 29, CoinDesk reported. The meeting aims to resolve disagreements over provisions for combating illicit finance, such as money laundering. The central point of contention is Section 604 of the act, known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). This provision would ensure that developers who create software but do not directly operate or control it are not considered money transmitters. The industry views this as an essential legal safeguard for DeFi development. Conversely, some groups, including the National Sheriffs' Association, have expressed concerns that the provision could grant overly broad immunity. In a letter sent to the Senate Banking Committee in May, they argued that mixers, tumblers, and DeFi should not receive a blanket exception. They added that while some developers are not subject to regulation, many perform activities that should fall under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Cryptocurrency Committee, has been in continuous discussions with stakeholders, including law enforcement and Wall Street financial firms, to secure the CLARITY Act's passage in the Senate.

Restructuring in the cryptocurrency industry that began last year has continued through the first half of this year, according to a report from CoinCup. Following workforce reductions by Wemade and Consensys in the second half of last year, major exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini, Crypto.com, and Kraken also conducted layoffs this year. The announcements were heavily concentrated in March, when six firms—Gemini, Crypto.com, Algorand, OP Labs, PIP Labs, and Messari—publicly announced staff cuts. Meanwhile, the crypto job market has yet to recover to its 2022 peak. Although new job postings rebounded by 47% year-over-year to 66,494 last year, the number was still below the 2022 high. In January of this year, new listings on major recruitment platforms plummeted by about 80% compared to the same period last year.

Ripple is working to introduce a lending protocol for institutions on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), CoinDesk reported. The initiative, called the XRPL Lending Protocol, aims to allow institutions to use their on-chain assets as collateral for loans, rather than simply issuing or transferring them. The protocol is designed to separate the roles of the blockchain and financial institutions. After a loan is issued, the blockchain automatically manages the fund pool, calculates interest, processes repayments, and handles default procedures. Meanwhile, financial institutions will continue to conduct traditional off-chain tasks, including borrower credit assessment, loan approval, and setting loan terms. The protocol is composed of two parts: a Single Asset Vault, which gathers a single asset to create a liquidity pool, and a lending layer that deploys these funds as loans according to set conditions.

Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff has warned that a new Bitcoin monetization program announced by MicroStrategy (MSTR) could trigger a market collapse. On X, he stated that MicroStrategy has now become a Bitcoin seller, outlining three purposes for the sales: to raise up to $1.25 billion to bolster its U.S. dollar reserves, to pay preferred stock dividends and debt interest, and to fund $1 billion buybacks of both its preferred and common stock. Schiff argued that the program would cause Bitcoin's price to plummet, forcing MicroStrategy to sell even more of the cryptocurrency.

Binance stated that it invests approximately $300 million annually in compliance, with a team of nearly 1,500 people dedicated to the effort. The exchange added that between 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, it blocked $10.53 billion in potential fraud attempts through its systems. Additionally, Binance has recovered over $8.2 billion in user assets since 2021 and has responded to 310,000 requests from law enforcement agencies. The company recently withdrew its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license application in Greece and plans to seek re-authorization in other EU member states.

JPMorgan stated in a report that crypto perpetual futures are unlikely to replace traditional derivatives for institutional investors, as they offer few additional benefits. According to CoinDesk, the bank argued that perpetuals are dominated by traders making leveraged directional bets rather than by market participants looking to hedge underlying asset risk, noting that current institutional demand is "non-existent or extremely limited." The report identified several barriers to institutional adoption, including unlimited basis risk, a lack of price benchmarks for different maturities, and no support for physical delivery. Citing data from Hyperliquid, JPMorgan also raised questions about market depth, pointing out that about half of all offshore perpetual futures trading volume originates from just 12 wallets. However, the bank expects demand from retail traders to continue, given the advantages of 24-hour trading and built-in leverage structures.

Bybit has announced the suspension of its cryptocurrency trading services for users residing in Europe. The exchange explained it plans to migrate these users to its European Union (EU) entity, which has obtained a license under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. This move is part of a transition to a service framework that complies with local rules.

Leveraged ETFs based on MicroStrategy (MSTR) are experiencing a sharp decline, according to market analysis firm The Kobeissi Letter. In a post on X, the firm noted that the 2x long leveraged ETFs MSTX and MSTU have each fallen 82% year-to-date, hitting their lowest levels since their 2024 launch. Meanwhile, MSTP, which was introduced last year, has dropped 81% year-to-date to an all-time low. Over the same period, MSTR's stock has fallen 46% and plunged 27% in the last week alone. Consequently, MSTX, MSTU, and MSTP lost about half their value in a single week. "Despite all MSTR-linked long and short leveraged ETFs launched in 2024 having fallen more than 90% since their inception, they have still attracted billions of dollars in inflows," The Kobeissi Letter stated, concluding that "leverage is amplifying losses across the broader cryptocurrency market."

The three major U.S. stock indices opened higher today. - S&P 500: +0.47% - Nasdaq: +0.76% - Dow Jones: +0.31%

Strategy made no additional Bitcoin (BTC) purchases last week, Onchain Lens reported via X. According to the report, Strategy currently holds 847,363 BTC, valued at $51.32 billion, with an unrealized loss exceeding $12.9 billion.

Bitmine (BMNR), a company focused on accumulating Ethereum (ETH), announced it has purchased an additional 27,084 ETH over the past week, valued at $42.41 million. According to the company, it now holds 5,700,040 ETH as of June 29, representing 4.7% of the total ETH supply. In response to ETH's 8% price decline over the same period, Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee suggested the drop was likely due to investors engaging in window dressing ahead of the quarter-end. He noted this practice involves selling off assets that have underperformed over the last three months.

Wall Street investment bank Bernstein has analyzed that Kalshi and Polymarket are potential M&A targets as consolidation in the prediction market industry accelerates. Bernstein explained that the lines between sports betting, exchanges, and consumer finance are rapidly blurring as prediction market platforms pursue vertical integration to secure both customer distribution networks and trading infrastructure. The bank noted that while Kalshi and Polymarket have established trading infrastructure, their relatively weak distribution capabilities make them more likely to be acquired than to act as acquirers.

BlackRock plans to support Ethena's dollar-pegged stablecoin USDe on its Aladdin portfolio risk management platform, The Block reported. The move is expected to improve institutional clients' access to Ethena products and enhance the liquidity of BlackRock's tokenized fund, BUIDL. As part of the collaboration, Ethena will provide a $100 million liquidity support program through Securitize, BUIDL's tokenization platform.

BNY (formerly The Bank of New York Mellon) announced an expansion of its collaboration with Circle, the issuer of USDC, to support the custody, transfer, issuance, and redemption of the stablecoin on its digital asset custody platform for institutional clients. With this move, USDC becomes the first stablecoin to be utilized on BNY's platform. Clients can now hold USDC in their BNY digital asset custody wallets and use BNY to convert U.S. dollars into USDC or redeem USDC for U.S. dollars. BNY also stated it plans to extend its support to other stablecoin issuers and digital cash services in the future.

Ethereum Layer 2 project Taiko announced via X its plan to gradually restart its chain after blocking the path of a recent exploit and completing a review by external security experts. The project will first deploy a fix, confirm the final chain state, and replenish its bridge collateral to ensure all Layer 2 (L2) assets are verifiably backed 1:1 on-chain. Following this, L2 transfers, swaps, and transactions will be re-enabled. The bridge itself will be reactivated through a Security Committee proposal once block finalization returns to normal and network stability is confirmed, initially with conservative withdrawal limits. The project team stated that there would be no loss of user funds. Previously, on June 22, Taiko announced it had identified the root cause of a $1 million exploit in one of its vaults and would work to restart the chain within days.

Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) announced in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has adopted a "Digital Credit Capital Framework." The framework is composed of five key policies: - A USD reserve policy - An adjustment to its STRC dividend policy - A preferred stock buyback program - A common stock buyback program - A plan to sell BTC The company plans to maintain sufficient USD reserves to cover preferred stock dividends and debt interest payments for the next 12 months. Its current reserves stand at $2.55 billion. Starting July 1, Strategy will increase the annual dividend rate for STRC to 12% and has established new buyback programs of $1 billion each for its preferred stock, including STRC, and its Class A common stock. Additionally, the board of directors has approved the sale of up to $1.25 billion worth of BTC. The proceeds from the sale are slated to be used to increase USD reserves, pay preferred dividends and interest, and fund the stock buybacks.

While Bitcoin continues to show weakness, an unwinding of overheated bets on a stronger U.S. dollar and higher interest rates could provide downside support for the cryptocurrency, CoinDesk reported. According to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Europe, net long positions on the dollar rose by 18% to $34.5 billion in the week ending June 22, the highest level in seven years. Additionally, speculative funds such as hedge funds held a record 2.97 million short contracts on U.S. short-term interest rate futures. CoinDesk analyzed that if oil prices fall and the U.S. employment data released on July 3 comes in below expectations, these crowded bets could unwind quickly. "This scenario would lead to a weaker dollar and lower interest rates, which could positively affect risk assets like BTC," the outlet noted.

KOSDAQ-listed companies with digital asset treasuries (DAT) that profit from virtual asset investments are facing delisting risks ahead of revised listing regulations set to take effect on July 1, the Chosun Ilbo reported. Under the new rules, which begin in the second half of the year, stocks whose price or market capitalization falls below a set standard for 30 consecutive trading days will be designated as administrative issues. After being designated, they are given a 90-trading-day recovery period, but delisting is confirmed if they fail to meet the standard for another 45 consecutive days. The assessment is that with virtual asset prices falling in both the first and second quarters, it has become difficult for DAT companies to maintain their listings as they must report large-scale valuation losses.

Institutional financial services firm FundBank has changed its name to IRACE Digital and announced the acquisition of Cayman Islands-based Tenet Bank. The company plans to expand its business from its existing institutional financial services to include digital asset custody, liquidity management, and execution services. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

XRP's daily active addresses have increased by 36% in two weeks, a trend that diverges from its recent price decline, The Crypto Basic reported. Citing Santiment data, the report noted that active addresses grew from 27,205 on June 14 to 37,202 on June 28. Despite XRP's price falling 43% year-to-date and 21% this month, the outlet suggested that the steady number of active addresses, hovering around 38,000, indicates sustained demand for the XRP Ledger's infrastructure. The report also highlighted CryptoQuant data showing active receiving addresses at 39,916, significantly outnumbering the 12,676 active sending addresses, which could point to accumulation through exchange withdrawals and peer-to-peer transfers. With XRP currently trading around $1.04, The Crypto Basic identified the next major support levels at $0.80 and $0.62 should the downtrend continue.