Tech stocks and crypto are selling off in a “classic pre-mega-IPO liquidity squeeze,” say analysts.

South Korea's national police has been battling crypto-enabled crimes from DPRK-state level threats to scams targeting retail investors.

The shutdown highlights the challenges of sustaining Layer 2 networks without token incentives, impacting future Bitcoin scalability solutions.

The post Botanix to wind down Bitcoin Layer 2 network, urges asset withdrawal by July 9 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Waymo's benchmark model could redefine AV safety standards, influencing regulatory frameworks and public trust in autonomous technology.

The post Waymo builds benchmark model for robotaxi crash comparisons appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The banking arm of Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings is reportedly launching a crypto rewards program for depositors as part of a broader push to expand its digital assets business.

SBI Shinsei Launches BTC, ETH, XRP Rewards

SBI Shinsei Bank, the banking arm of Japan’s SBI Group, will reportedly launch a program this fall that rewards depositors with cryptocurrency vouchers, based on their account balances, Nikkei first reported on Monday.

According to local news outlets, depositors will receive exchange vouchers equal to 20% of their deposit interest payments, redeemable for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or XRP “within a certain period,” with conversion based on market rates at the time of execution.

The bank will hold a three-month trial campaign starting June 10. The campaign will reportedly apply to fixed-term deposits and savings accounts with maturities ranging from three months to five years.

Deposits of 300,000 yen will receive a voucher worth about 500 yen, while deposits of 30 million yen or more will earn roughly 20,000 yen in vouchers. SBI Shinsei is set to take customer feedback to shape the final structure of the service, evaluating account openings and usage before deciding on a permanent rollout this fall.

While offering digital assets as a permanent deposit product is highly unusual, the program aims to attract new customers to the group’s crypto business, SBI VC Trade, using bank deposits as the entry point.

Notably, the number of individual deposit accounts currently stands at approximately 4.33 million, the reports added, and customers will reportedly be required to open an SBI VC Trade account to exchange their vouchers.

In February, SBI Shinsei Bank and SBI VC Trade ran a campaign offering up to 20,000 yen in XRP exchange vouchers, based on the total amount deposited in Power Direct yen time deposits.

SBI Group Expands Crypto Push

SBI Group has been accelerating its crypto expansion, rolling out new products while deepening its footprint in both trading and investment services. In March, SBI VC Trade introduced a retail USDC lending service, allowing users to lend stablecoins under fixed-term agreements in exchange for returns.

In May, SBI VC Trade, APLUS, and Visa Worldwide Japan introduced the SBI Visa Crypto Card, which converts spending rewards into BTC, ETH, or XRP. The card integrates with SBI Securities’ investment services, enabling automated crypto accumulation tied to monthly investment activity.

SBI Securities, alongside Rakuten Securities, is developing crypto investment trusts for direct sale to individual investors. Meanwhile, SBI has partnered with Startale Group to build a blockchain for tokenized stocks and launched JPYSC, a yen-backed stablecoin.

The group has also moved to consolidate its position in Japan’s crypto exchange market, formally submitting a letter of intent to acquire a stake in Bitbank, one of Japan’s top regulated exchanges, to make it a consolidated subsidiary, following the integration of Bitpoint Japan into SBI VC Trade.

In addition, SBI has outlined plans to launch crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), filing for a combined Bitcoin and XRP ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, targeting $32 billion in assets within three years, and a “Digital Gold Crypto” ETF that would allocate 51% to gold and 49% to digital assets.

A new investigation by Reuters alleges that the Trump family has generated $2.3 billion from its four main crypto ventures, while investors in those projects have absorbed losses of a similar magnitude, amounting to roughly $2.3 billion, including paper losses, by the end of April. 

World Liberty Sales

The investigation describes World Liberty Financial’s token fundraising as the largest component of the Trump family’s alleged crypto windfall. World Liberty has disclosed raising $1.4 billion by selling 30 billion WLFI tokens, which Reuters says yielded roughly $987 million for the Trump family.

However, Reuters argues that the Trump family’s earnings from World Liberty token sales may be higher than the disclosed estimate. The outlet says that in an October 2025 filing tied to European crypto sales regulations, World Liberty reported it held 3 billion fewer tokens than it previously stated publicly. 

Using a weighted average of token prices during the relevant period, Reuters calculates that if sold, those tokens would have generated at least $460 million for the Trump family. 

Reuters says these likely additional sales would bring total Trump family earnings from World Liberty token sales to more than $1.4 billion, representing the largest share of the $2.3 billion overall figure cited in the investigation. 

TRUMP Memecoin Cashout

For the President’s official memecoin, Reuters used blockchain data to trace gains from coin sales across online marketplaces and to identify coin movements to crypto exchanges. 

The investigation says movements to exchanges strongly suggest sales, and it attributes that method to experts, including finance and computing professors, a law professor, and an industry analyst. 

Reuters reports that using weighted average prices during the periods when coins were moved to exchanges, it calculated that those movements—if they represented sales—raised more than $880 million. Reuters says total revenue, including sales through other channels, was about $1.2 billion. 

Reuters also details token flows involving ALT5 Sigma and World Liberty Financial. It says ALT5 Sigma, transformed into a crypto acquisition vehicle, partnered with World Liberty Financial to buy $717 million worth of World Liberty tokens. This purchase allegedly sent more than $500 million to the Trump family.

Beyond token sales, Reuters says it found that Eric Trump’s stake was worth over $70 million at the end of April, while it says the value of Donald Trump Jr.’s stake was not disclosed. 

The report also states that Hut 8 Corp, the Trump family’s partner in the venture, bought $25 million of World Liberty tokens shortly after the company launched, sending about $19 million to the Trump family.

Crypto Investor Losses

To estimate investor losses, Reuters says it compared what initial buyers paid for TRUMP and World Liberty tokens and for new shares in ALT5 Sigma and American Bitcoin against the current market values.  

For investors in World Liberty governance tokens, Reuters says early purchasers paid either $1.5 or $0.5 per token. Those early buyers may have profited on tokens they sold after trading began on crypto exchanges, but Reuters notes they were restricted from selling 80% of their holdings. 

Reuters says that for tokens bought after exchange trading began, prices have fallen as well. Altogether, Reuters estimates losses for investors in World Liberty tokens total about $674 million.

Reuters says buyers spent at least $1.2 billion on TRUMP, at prices up to $75.35. Using the April 30 price of $2.38, the report says those coins were worth $521 million, implying a loss of more than $700 million for buyers.

For the Nasdaq-listed companies, Reuters reports that ALT5 Sigma and American Bitcoin disclosed the number of shares sold and the money they raised through the end of March 2026. 

Since August of last year, Reuters says ALT5’s share price fell sharply, leaving investors down about $675 million. It says American Bitcoin’s shares dropped from $11 to $1.15 by the end of April after declining since September, leaving investors down more than $200 million.

Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com

Bipartisan Senate talks over crypto ethics turned rocky this week after a Democratic source described an “about-face” by GOP members and the White House on a prior enforcement agreement.

The disputed provision would have allowed state attorneys general to sue the Justice Department for failing to enforce certain crypto ethics requirements.

As Punchbowl News and Eleanor Terrett reported, Senate Republicans floated a weaker ethics guardrail package during a bipartisan meeting on June 9, discussed removing the state enforcement provision entirely, and raised impeachment as a separate option.

GOP sources responded that senators not involved in the original ethics discussions later raised concerns about granting state officials the authority to bring actions against federal officials, including members of Congress.

The floor math was already tight before the recent talks broke down. The CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 by a 15-9 vote, with all 13 Republicans joined by Democrats Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks.

Yet the bill needs 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster, meaning at least seven Democrats must cross over if all Republicans vote yes.

Gallego warned he was “not afraid to vote no” on the floor if outstanding issues stay unresolved, and Alsobrooks described her committee's vote as a commitment to keep negotiating in good faith.

How the ethics fight got here

The conflict-of-interest question has been on the table in CLARITY negotiations since September 2025, when 12 Senate Democrats released a market structure framework that demanded ethics provisions.

By January 2026, when the Senate Banking Committee released a 278-page draft, the ethics language was watered down.

In the May 309-page draft, it was gone entirely, marking a trajectory from demand to dilution to deletion, with Democratic senators publicly signaling that the bill was dead on arrival without a reversal.

At the May 14 markup, Sen. Chris Van Hollen's amendment aimed to block senior government officials, including the president and vice president, from holding business ties to the crypto industry.

Republicans decided not to include the language, arguing that ethics considerations sit outside the committee's remit and could be added via amendment on the Senate floor.

Crypto-friendly Democrats had argued that the committee needed to reach a deal ahead of the vote to avoid a future scenario in which the language is not included later, and the Van Hollen amendment failed 11-13.

Committee supporters had pointed to floor negotiations as the path to resolving ethics after that vote. Per Terrett's reporting, Republicans and the White House are backing away from an agreement that had been within reach.

The specific mechanism in dispute, allowing state attorneys general to sue the DOJ over enforcement failures, would have put outside pressure on the Justice Department if Democrats believed federal officials were failing to enforce ethics rules.

Republicans counter that senators raised constitutional concerns about allowing state officials to bring actions against federal officials, including members of Congress.

What the enforcement dispute actually decides

Democrats need guardrails they can describe as binding, and the state-AG provision was the mechanism they had negotiated to make that case.

If the enforcement mechanism is removed or weakened beyond what swing-vote Democrats can defend publicly, the bill does not reach 60.

The bull case is that Republicans and the White House agree on an alternative enforcement mechanism, with impeachment and a separate judicial pathway discussed per Punchbowl, that produces a deal Democrats can bring to their caucus as enforceable.

Under that outcome, the bill reaches the floor with a coalition broad enough to clear the filibuster, and the ethics fight closes before it consumes the floor calendar.

Galaxy Research's Alex Thorn currently estimates the probability of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 at 60%.

The bear case is that Democrats conclude the ethics language is too weak, and Gallego and Alsobrooks do not carry their committee votes to the floor.

Analysts warn that slippage into 2027 is still possible if the floor calendar does not open in June, and senators have warned that failure before the August recess could push the next viable legislative window to 2030 or beyond.

A bill that clears committee with thin bipartisan support and then loses those two Democrats on the floor is a failed vote on the most consequential crypto legislation the Senate has considered.

Four more reasons the floor coalition is fragile

Ethics is the immediate fire, but four unresolved issues are still active, dragging on the coalition.

Senate Banking Democrats have targeted the bill's anti-money laundering provisions, and a Sen. Elizabeth Warren-sponsored amendment to give Treasury authority to sanction DeFi services was rejected by all 13 Republicans at markup, leaving an enforcement split that Democrats can reopen on the floor.

On DeFi more broadly, the bill defines when trading protocols are “non-decentralized” based on control, discretion, or the ability to alter or censor operations, and requires rulemaking for how persons controlling such protocols comply with securities intermediary rules.

That definition leaves the bill politically exposed from both directions, as DeFi advocates push back on broad enforcement obligations, while Democrats use narrow definitions as a national-security attack line.

The stablecoin yield dispute reached a working compromise through the Tillis-Alsobrooks agreement, which prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield on balances in a manner economically equivalent to an interest-bearing bank deposit, while allowing activity-based and transaction-based rewards modeled on credit card points programs.

Banks are still concerned about deposit flight, but that fight has moved to the margins. On procedure, the Senate Banking text still needs to be merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee's parallel version before a full Senate vote, and any Senate-passed text would then need House approval, since the House passed its own version in July 2025 by 294-134.

That sequence, combined with the 60-vote hurdle, means the ethics fight has to be resolved before any of the other steps can move on a timeline that avoids the August recess.

White House adviser Patrick Witt has said the administration will accept ethics rules only if they apply across the board, from the president down, rejecting any provision that singles out the president specifically.

That posture frames the enforcement dispute as a substantive question about whether the bill's ethics rules apply with equal force to the officials responsible for enforcing them.

The post CLARITY Act momentum slows to a crawl as lawmakers clash over crypto ethics rules appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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.

Meta has signed an agreement with Reliance Industries to lease its first AI-enabled data center in India. Reliance will build the 168 MW facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, with options to scale capacity.

The deal extends a partnership that began with Meta’s $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms in 2020. It also arrives as data centers face growing public scrutiny over electricity and water consumption.

Meta Signs First Indian AI Data Center Lease With Reliance Industries

According to the announcement, renewable energy will power the Jamnagar facility, while desalinated seawater will cool it. Meta will cover the full cost of the energy and water supporting the site. 

Meta pointed to Jamnagar’s strategic value, where Reliance is constructing a massive data center campus backed by the energy capacity that advanced AI systems demand.

“We’re proud to be working with Reliance to build our first AI-enabled data center in India. This world-class facility in Jamnagar will help us scale our AI infrastructure globally while deepening our long-term investment in India’s economy,”  Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta, said.

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In addition, Meta also contracted nearly 1 GW of new clean energy in India. CleanMax will supply 837 MW of solar and wind projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka. Fourth Partner Energy will add 88 MW across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

“Meta is investing aggressively to expand our capacity footprint to support our technologies, services, and AI ambitions, which serve billions of people worldwide. India’s rapidly growing tech-forward digital economy, its massive user base, and the strength of our partnership with Reliance make India an ideal place to invest,” the blog added.

Research Finds No Link Between Data Centers and Electricity Prices

The AI buildout has stoked fears, voiced by figures like Senator Elizabeth Warren, that households will absorb the cost of surging power demand.

Entergy CEO Drew Marsh recently rejected those concerns.

“Data centers really want to be good neighbors. They have reputations that they want to protect, and they want to be part of the community,” Marsh told CNBC.

Separately, research published in March 2026 by the Institute for Energy Research found no statistically significant correlation between the number of data centers in a state and its current electricity prices. Two other recent reports reached comparable conclusions.

Meanwhile, states are also moving to shield their citizens. Last week, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed an executive order requiring data center developers to cover the grid costs their projects create.

Whether similar cost-shielding models reassure communities in India and beyond may shape how fast the next wave of AI facilities gets built.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights

The post Meta Turns to Reliance as AI Data Center Race Reaches India appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The latest Wintermute crypto prediction says capital has not returned, and no bottom is confirmed. BeInCrypto analysts tested every checkable claim against on-chain data. The short answer is that the call holds, except for the one thing it dismisses.

Bitcoin trades near $62,000 after a 14% weekly drop, back to levels last seen in September 2024, while the Nasdaq fell 4.7% amid AI exhaustion.

What the Wintermute Crypto Prediction Actually Says

The market maker’s June 8 note argues the decline came from US institutional selling and Bitcoin ETF outflows, not from Strategy’s sale of 32 BTC.

That sale, the firm’s first since 2022, was immaterial in size and symbolic in signal, in Wintermute’s words. Disclosures this week even showed Strategy back on the bid with a 1,550 BTC purchase.

Here, the desk pushes back on one point. The coins never hit order books, yet sentiment data reviewed by BeInCrypto shows Bitcoin’s positive sentiment score collapsing from 814 on June 3 to 61 now, a fall of more than 92%.

The crash brackets the sale’s circulation, suggesting the damage ran through psychology even if it skipped the tape.

The macro half of the Wintermute crypto prediction reads good news as bad news. May payrolls printed 172,000 jobs against roughly 80,000 expected, services prices hit their hottest since August 2022, and the 10-year yield rose to 4.55% on Friday.

Consequently, the easing case faded, and some analyst commentary now frames oil-driven inflation as a potential trigger for a rate hike.

Wintermute adds one structural worry. Bitcoin never spent meaningful time between $50,000 and $59,000 in 2024, so few shelves exist underneath, leaving capital flows to set direction.

So BeInCrypto analysts checked the flows first.

The Money Has Not Come Back, and the Reserves Prove It

The cleanest gauge is stablecoin exchange reserves, the pool of dollar-pegged tokens sitting on exchange wallets as ready-to-deploy buying power.

CryptoQuant data reviewed by BeInCrypto shows that the pool peaked at $75.12 billion on November 12, 2025. Roughly a month after BTC’s all-time high.

It has since drained to $62.81 billion as of June 10, 2026, a fall of roughly 16%. That round-trips the entire fourth-quarter build and returns reserves to a level even lower than last seen in late September 2025, before the price peak even formed.

The broader stablecoin market cap tells the same story from another angle. DefiLlama shows the total float at $315.97 billion, down $3.25 billion in the past week after topping near $323 billion.

Dry powder is draining while the total money on crypto’s rails leaks at the same time.

On its core claim, the Wintermute crypto prediction verifies in full. Capital has not returned, by either measure. The ETF ledger then shows how unusual this drought already is.

An Outflow Streak With No Precedent

SoSoValue monthly data frames the whole cycle. Inflows of $6.02 billion in July 2025 began the setup, and September and October added $3.53 billion and $3.42 billion as prices peaked at $126,210.

Then the funds flipped. November through February printed four straight red months, the longest monthly outflow streak since the products launched, against a single two-month streak in February and March 2025. November alone bled a record $3.48 billion.

May reopened the wound with $2.43 billion out, the worst month of 2026, and June has already shed $1.89 billion in just 10 days, nearly 80% of May’s total.

During the outflow era, fund assets nearly halved from $147.73 billion to $77.58 billion, while prices halved from the record high to $62,000.

The dates further strengthen the Wintermute crypto prediction.

Rekt Capital called the October 2025 top in June 2024 using halving-cycle timing, and October proved to be the final month of meaningful inflows. His late-November macro triangle breakdown landed on the streak’s worst month.

His forward math is where the scenario sharpens.

The Verdict on the Wintermute Crypto Prediction

In an interview with BeInCrypto, the analyst capped this year’s upside at the falling macro downtrend, the series of lower highs running since October.

“The mid-80s would probably be the top for this year, provided we don’t break the macro downtrend,” said Rekt Capital.

The pivot that changes everything is a sustained break above $82,500.

His floor runs deeper than current prices.

“This bear market should see a retracement of some 60% to 70%, which would mean we go sub-50 into the 40s, and that should be taking place in Q4 of this year,” he told BeInCrypto.

BeInCrypto’s projection highlights similar levels. Keeping the mid-January to early-May swing in play, a potential bottom for BTC comes at $44,627. That would be a 64% retracement from BTC’s peak.

The peak to breaking the bearish pattern lies around $82,824, aligning perfectly with Rekt Capital’s $82,500 pivot.

So, how true is Wintermute’s crypto prediction? The answer lands in three parts.

The flow claims verify in full, from the record streak to the drained reserves. The dismissal of the Strategy sale underplays a 92% collapse in Bitcoin sentiment that the desk can document.

And the one bullish crack is real, since long-term holder wallets keep absorbing coins even as their pace thins considerably.

However, weakening accumulation is what keeps Wintermute’s bearish case alive.

Wintermute named its own test in the SpaceX listing on June 12, and Rekt Capital named its at $82,500. Either one of those triggers breaks the pattern, or the flow math and the cycle math keep pointing at the same sub-$50,000 zone.

His ceiling stretches further out. Every cycle forms a three-year resistance that breaks only in the halving year, and this cycle’s level is $93,000. That makes $93,000 his absolute maximum for 2027, with new record highs unlikely before 2028.

The post Wintermute Suggests a Scary Crypto Market Scenario: How True Is It? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

On June 9, Grayscale shared a report regarding Bitcoin’s current price movement amid the bearish sentiment in the overall crypto market.

🆕 Grayscale Research: Is Bitcoin cheap yet?

After hitting a new cycle low of ~$60K, onchain valuation metrics say undervalued, but not as cheap as past cycle lows.

Identifying the bottom comes down to two catalysts:
↳ CLARITY Act
↳ How levered $BTC holders hold up.

Read… pic.twitter.com/9HbD65oXWM

— Grayscale (@Grayscale) June 9, 2026

Grayscale Research Says, This Bear Market is Shallower Than Previous Cycles

According to the research by Grayscale, on-chain data suggests that Bitcoin is currently trading below its long-term average, and it looks undervalued. However, the company mentioned that the price of Bitcoin is not as low as it was during the past bear market cycle during the FTX collapse in 2022.

The research stated that, “On-chain metrics suggest Bitcoin is undervalued, but not as cheap as previous cycle lows. Whether we have found the market bottom will depend on upcoming catalysts and the CLARITY Act, but we believe this is a buying opportunity for investors with long-term horizons.”

To do this research, Grayscale has used a composite on-chain valuation indicator. This is an average of many popular metrics. According to this indicator, Bitcoin is selling at a discount compared to its previous norms. However, the company made it clear that the current bear market has been mild in comparison to the previous cycles.

“We believe that this bear market may be shallower than in the past, given a more muted preceding bull market, as well as improvements in market structure from ETP availability, wealth platform deployment, and other types of institutional adoption,” stated the research.

In the report, the investors are currently focusing on the regulatory developments around the digital asset sector and how leveraged BTC holders are performing in the short term. Grayscale has mentioned two factors behind BTC’s price movement on the short-term chart.

The first one is the progress in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) in the Senate. In May, the Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act after a long delay in the process.

Senator Cynthia Lummis stated in the post on X, saying that, “I’ve spent years building toward this moment. The Clarity Act is the most consequential financial legislation of this generation, and we are going to get it done.”

The major factor to watch for investors is whether leveraged Bitcoin holders will be able to stabilize their balance sheet.

“We believe that current price levels offer an opportunity for investors with long-term investment horizons to consider dollar-cost averaging their Bitcoin purchases. More tactical traders may want to consider waiting on CLARITY,” a Grayscale researcher said.

Bitcoin Struggles to Recover Amid Major ETF Outflows

According to CoinMarketCap, BTC is currently trading at around $61,901 after witnessing a drop of 21% in the last 30 days.

This turmoil in the financial world has created intense selling pressure in the crypto market as investors have started pulling out their money. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like BlackRock ETFs have witnessed the longest streak of outflow of its history, which lasted for 13 days. In total, investors have withdrawn around $4.4 billion worth of investments.

Even BTC ETFs are still witnessing major outflows. On June 5, BTC ETFs recorded an outflow of around $325.7 million, according to Farside. On June 8, it witnessed an outflow of around $91.4 million. This shows the depleting trust of institutional investors in the crypto market during high volatility periods.

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 Just Moved $227M in Bitcoin , And Traders Are Already Watching Closely

A massive Bitcoin transfer just hit the chain.#BlackRock⁩ moved 3,580 $BTC , worth approximately $226.8 million, to Coinbase Prime, catching the attention of on-chain trackers across the market.… pic.twitter.com/j3WZ68ie2s

— EyeOnChain (@EyeOnChain) June 8, 2026

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. 

https://x.com/BitcoinFear/status/2063976865904074797

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

Bitwise sold HYPE for the first time ever.

Bitwise BHYP ETF clients net sold $2.9 Million of HYPE on Friday, the first time they have ever done so.

However, they have still net bought $89.4M over the past 3 weeks that BHYP has been live. pic.twitter.com/IQJO9OQVta

— Arkham (@arkham) June 8, 2026

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.

A 2021 Citibank document that used the phrase “Regulated Internet of Value” sits at the center of a new XRP debate, after researcher Jesse of Apex Crypto Insights argued the wording was later shifted to “Regulated Liability Network” because the link to Ripple was too obvious.

He says that paper trail, along with years of weak price action, points to a token that may be held down for reasons that are bigger than ordinary market trading.

A Price That Would Not Move

XRP’s chart is the first thing Jesse points to. The token reached $3.84 during the 2018 bull run and later touched $3.60 earlier in this cycle, yet it has spent much of the past decade moving sideways while Bitcoin climbed far higher.

Jesse called that mismatch hard to explain under a normal market setup and said, in his view, suppression is one possible answer.

The claim is not presented as proof. Jesse frames it as his opinion, but he ties it to a wider argument about how the financial system may change if XRP ends up in a deeper role than simple payments.

The Internet Of Value Thesis

Jesse says XRP should be viewed as part of an “internet of value” rather than just another crypto asset. He links that idea to Ripple’s Interledger Protocol, which he says is meant to move value in the same way the internet moves information.

From there, he says the trail runs through several institutional documents and speeches. According to Jesse, Citibank’s Tony McLaughlin has described the Regulated Liability Network and the shared ledger idea as the same concept, and he says the Bank for International Settlements has also talked about a unified ledger that could replace correspondent banking and even Swift.

The researcher’s case is built on that chain of references. He argues that if major banks are preparing a new settlement system, an asset tied to that system may not be allowed to swing wildly in price, since volatility would be a problem for anything meant to function as a reserve or settlement layer.

Jesse does not present hard evidence of manipulation. His argument is based on interpretation rather than any public proof of coordinated price control, and it ultimately leaves the question unresolved, with no definitive conclusion drawn on market behavior.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin has been forming a pattern for years now, and even with the uncertain price movements, this pattern has now finally be completed. This was explained by crypto analyst Bitcoin Teddy on the X social media platform, showing this pattern, how it was formed, and what the implications are for this formation on the Bitcoin price.

The Mid-Year Cup And Handle Pattern That Was Years In The Making

In the post, the crypto analyst pointed out that the Bitcoin price has completed a Cup and Handle pattern formation. Unlike some Cup And Handle patterns that are formed in a relatively short time, the analyst says this one has actually been forming for years, and now it’s finally ready to play out.

This pattern was completed with the most recent Bitcoin retest of the $60,000 support. This support was broken briefly, but the price quickly recovered. What this suggests is the formation of the handle part of the pattern after the cup was completed over the years.

To put this in perspective, the crypto analyst explained that three things needed to happen. These include the breakout, the retest, and a structure confirmation. The breakout was completed when the price recovered. Then, when the price crashed below $60,000, the retest was done.

Now, the confirmation is in place as the Bitcoin price has begun to move upward again. What comes next is even more important since the completion of a Cup and Handle pattern has historically been a precursor to a bull trend.

As the analyst explains, the resulting price surge will not be something like a 20% breakout or so. Historically, a breakout from this pattern would see the price rise multiples of where it was when the pattern was finally confirmed.

In this case, the resulting breakout is expected to send the Bitcoin price to new all-time highs. The minimum target placed with the analysis puts the top of this trend at $220,000, which would mean an almost 300% move from where the Bitcoin price is currently trading. What this means is that $220,000 could only be the start of this move if the momentum builds much higher than expected.