While the top focus of the industry remains the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act that would establish a full U.S. regulatory regime for crypto activity, its second priority has been on crypto taxation, which was the central thrust of a June 9 committee hearing discussing several bills, including the legislation from Carey, an Ohio Republican.
Democrats on the committee revealed some concerns about how this bill would be utilized by the industry in practice, and outside critics such as the Revolving Door Project argued that crypto mining firms — including American Bitcoin, in which President Donald Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. have a significant stake — could defer taxes indefinitely while still getting a financial benefit from their holdings.
The industry letter countered that the bill “does not provide unlimited deferral or full parity with all forms of self-created property; instead, it ensures income is recognized while avoiding immediate taxation before taxpayers can monetize the asset.”
Crypto tax policy has been approached by a number of legislative efforts over the years. The latest House bills remain at a fairly early stage of the process, while the current congressional session is facing its final months, so it’s uncertain what their viability is at this stage.
Bitcoin (BTC) continues to exhibit a strong technical setup after holding a weekly close above $63,000 for three consecutive weeks since tagging a new 2026 low near $59,000. This pattern closely resembles a bottom-building phase seen in previous trend reversals in bearish periods.
At the same time, Bitcoin futures open interest has fallen 19.5% from its June peak, funding rates have cooled to 0.02% from 0.1%, and spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows have slowed sharply to $540 million over the past two weeks from $5.5 billion the prior month.
Together, the data points to a market that is shedding excess selling pressure while holding near a key support zone for BTC.
Bitcoin’s recent weekly price action resembles a pattern seen several times since 2023. Once a local bottom is established, the price often trades close to that range for weeks before a sustained uptrend develops. One exception came in November 2025, when the price spent roughly 10 weeks moving sideways above $88,000 before breaking lower to the $60,000 level.
The current setup also resembles the price from late 2022 and early 2023. During that period, the weekly relative strength index (RSI) entered oversold territory, recovered, and later formed a higher low, while the BTC price printed a lower low, creating a bullish divergence. That bullish divergence marked a key turning point, preceding the broader uptrend that developed during 2023.
The focus is now on the $63,000 area, where the price has formed a positive RSI divergence. The repeated weekly closes above $63,000, keeps Bitcoin trading above its recent low at $59,000 rather than extending towards it. The behavior fits a range-building phase that has appeared near previous turning points, as identified in the chart.
Related: US dollar strength hits highest since May 2025: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week
BTC futures turn less crowded as ETF sell-pressure eases
Bitcoin derivatives markets have become notably less crowded over the past three weeks. Bitcoin funding rates cooled to 0.02% from 0.1% at the start of June, reducing signs of aggressive long positioning.
Bitcoin funding rate on all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant
Crypto analyst Woominkyuu noted that total Bitcoin open interest across exchanges peaked at $25.96 billion on June 1, then fell to $20.89 billion by June 21. The 19.5% decline exceeded Bitcoin’s 11.4% price drop during the same period.
The simultaneous decline in the price and open interest typically signals that existing positions are being closed or liquidated rather than new leveraged bets entering the market. This indicates a significant reduction in excess leverage. It also points to limited evidence of aggressive new short positioning at current levels.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flows show a similar shift with $5.5 billion leaving the spot ETFs between May 15 and June 11. The outflows over the past two weeks total about $540 million, marking a sharp slowdown in selling activity.
Weekly spot BTC ETF netflows. Source: SoSoValue
Onchain data paints a mixed but constructive picture. Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr. highlighted that long-term holders’ realized supply recently reached 12.42 million BTC, a level associated with supply maturation and coins moving into stronger hands.
At the same time, Bitcoin’s sales pressure metric has stayed inactive for 1,256 consecutive days, the longest stretch on record. The data points to continued supply maturation alongside other signs that Bitcoin may be stabilizing near a potential cycle low.
Bitcoin LTH realized supply. Source: Axel Adler Jr.
Related: Strategy adds $300M to USD Reserve, acquires 520 BTC
Financial regulators in South Korea are pushing for broader reporting requirements on crypto transfers to further align with global Anti-Money Laundering standards for digital assets.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) raised proposals to expand the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Travel Rule requirements to smaller crypto transfers during a plenary meeting in Paris last week, according to an announcement on Monday.
The crypto Travel Rule is a global AML standard that requires crypto exchanges to share sender and recipient information for transfers above certain thresholds. It is designed to improve the traceability of funds moving between platforms.
South Korea already applies Travel Rule requirements to crypto transfers above 1 million won ($650), and the latest proposal calls for extending those obligations to smaller transactions.
Ongoing gaps in global oversight and DeFi risks
The FIU said Travel Rule obligations should apply to both originating and receiving crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to close gaps in cross-border transfers.
The FIU also called for stronger action against offshore and unregistered crypto platforms, citing increased misuse in illicit finance cases and risks of regulatory arbitrage.
FIU Commissioner Lee Hyung Ju at the FATF plenary session in Paris. Source: FIU
Beyond the Travel Rule discussion, FATF also approved a new report examining risks associated with decentralized finance (DeFi), according to the FIU.
Related: South Korea police raid Bithumb over lawmaker hiring favoritism probe: report
FIU Commissioner Lee Hyung Ju welcomed the adoption of a DeFi-related report during FATF discussions. However, he said regulatory arbitrage across jurisdictions mainly stems from differences in licensing, supervision and offshore oversight.
Seven years after FATF extended Travel Rule scope to crypto
The proposal was part of broader discussions on the implementation of FATF Recommendation 15, the international standard updated in 2019 to apply AML measures to crypto assets and CASPs.
Seven years after FATF extended its AML framework to cover crypto assets, global implementation of Recommendation 15 remains uneven, according to a targeted update by FATF in 2025.
Source: FATF
The FATF assessment found that 49% of jurisdictions were only partially compliant with requirements for CASPs, while 21% remained non-compliant as of April 2025, leaving only about 29% of jurisdictions rated largely compliant or compliant.
Magazine: China’s 107 Bitcoin memory thief, Bithumb CEO booked: Asia Express
The departures also come as the foundation has unveiled a new strategic framework known as “CROPS,” an acronym standing for cypherpunk values, resilience, open-source development, permissionlessness and security. Foundation leaders presented the framework as a way to clarify the EF’s mission and reinforce Ethereum’s core values as the ecosystem becomes increasingly decentralized. Supporters viewed it as a reaffirmation of Ethereum’s founding principles, while critics argued it did little to address concerns about execution, organizational effectiveness and the network’s competitive position.
Among the most vocal critics was former Ethereum researcher Dankrad Feist, who suggested the recent spate of executive departures reflected deeper management issues rather than disagreements over strategy.
“The people who are leaving the Ethereum Foundation are CROPS believers,” Feist wrote on X. “The problem isn’t with the strategy, it’s with management.”
Feist’s comments were notable because they challenged the prevailing idea that recent departures stemmed from dissatisfaction with the foundation’s new direction. Instead, he argued that many of those leaving supported the CROPS vision itself, making the loss of talent a reflection of leadership shortcomings rather than ideological disagreements. “The exodus of talent is truly bearish for Ethereum, sadly,” he added.
Other community members echoed concerns about the Foundation’s internal dynamics. “It makes me sad to see the dysfunction at the Ethereum Foundation,” head of engineering at Coinbase Yuga Cohler wrote on X.
Federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital is rolling out infrastructure that allows banks to issue tokenized deposits, joining a growing effort by financial institutions to bring traditional bank money onto blockchain networks.
The bank said on Monday that its new platform will help banks to offer round-the-clock payments and settlement services using blockchain technology without replacing their existing core banking systems.
“Many of the banks that we’re starting to work with are thinking about tokenized deposits, and how do we start to do [them],” Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley said in an interview with CoinDesk.
The product works by creating a blockchain-based representation of customer deposits while keeping the underlying funds within the bank’s traditional deposit accounts. Anchorage will provide the blockchain infrastructure, wallet management and smart contract technology, while banks maintain customer relationships and custody of deposits.
The move comes as banks increasingly look for ways to offer faster payments and settlements in a financial system that still largely operates on business hours and batch processing.
The Bank of England (BoE) published a policy statement and draft rules for systemic stablecoins on Monday, outlining how regulated British pound-backed stablecoins would operate in the United Kingdom.
The BoE defines systemic stablecoins as those that are widely used in payments and may pose risks to the UK’s financial stability. HM Treasury is responsible for determining whether a stablecoin falls within the systemic regime.
Under the policy statement, systemic stablecoin issuers will be allowed to hold up to 70% of reserves in interest-bearing government debt, up from 60% under the previous proposal. Proposed holding limits have also been replaced with a temporary 40-billion-pound ($52.8 billion) issuance cap.
“This guardrail will be reviewed regularly and removed once risks to credit provision have been addressed,” the central bank said in an announcement published on Monday.
The proposal means that the UK is the only country capping issuance of stablecoins in its own currency, said Katie Harries, Coinbase’s head of policy, Europe.
“Two questions remain if the UK is to fully capitalize on the benefits stablecoins can bring: what ‘temporary’ means for the per-coin issuance cap and whether stablecoins can be used for settlement in core wholesale markets, without which the UK’s tokenization ambitions will not be delivered,” she said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.
Aiming for 2027 rulebook rollout
However, this moves the UK closer to launching a dedicated regulatory framework for stablecoins, with the BoE aiming to finalize its rulebook by the end of 2026 ahead of a planned 2027 rollout.
“The Bank of England has clearly listened on holding limits, moving away from a complex and restrictive approach towards a more proportionate framework. That is a positive step,” said ClearBank CEO Mark Fairless in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. “But further progress is needed to ensure the regime does not constrain sustainable business models, particularly through the backing asset requirements.”
Related: Critics tell UK Lords stablecoins are not future money
Bank shifts approach after industry feedback
The issuance guardrail replaces the holding limits proposed in the BoE’s November 2025 consultation, which would have limited individuals to 20,000 pounds per stablecoin and businesses to 10 million pounds per stablecoin.
Systemic stablecoins entail payments and retail-focused tokens. Source: Bank of England
At the time, the Bank argued the limits were needed to prevent large-scale shifts of deposits out of the banking system, which could reduce the availability of credit to households and businesses. Respondents to the consultation warned that the restrictions could limit the usability of stablecoins and create operational challenges for issuers.
The Bank said the new approach is intended to achieve the same policy objective while allowing unrestricted use by households and businesses.
“The endgame should be a truly risk-based framework rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, otherwise the UK is in danger of leaving sterling stablecoins at the starting line while other markets move ahead,. ClearBank’s Fairless said.”
The regime will apply only to stablecoins deemed systemic, while non-systemic stablecoins used mainly for crypto trading will remain under the Financial Conduct Authority’s supervision.
In May, BoE Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the the central bank was reconsidering its proposed holding limits and reserve requirements following feedback from digital asset companies, which argued that the restrictions could hinder adoption and make UK-issued stablecoins less competitive with US dollar-backed rivals.
An attacker has used an “infinite mint” bug in a vulnerable smart contract on the Secret Network to create unbacked, wrapped versions of Axelar-wrapped assets, resulting in a $4.67 million exploit.
The exploit happened on June 10 but was discovered a week later on Wednesday, after a failed cross-chain transaction caused by an “insufficient funds” error in the drained account was detected, blockchain research firm Common Prefix reported on Friday.
The attacker redeemed the Axelar-wrapped assets (saTokens) back over legitimate channels to drain the real Axelar-wrapped assets held in escrow because the smart contract did not verify the source of the inbound transfer before minting, so “deposits forged over an attacker-controlled channel minted genuine saTokens with no assets backing them,” Common Prefix said.
It is the latest in a series of crypto protocol hacks and exploits this month, which now number at least 22, according to DeFiLlama. The Secret Network was one of the largest, behind the Humanity Protocol and Syscoin Bridge, which lost $32 million and $8 million, respectively, earlier this month.
The Secret Network is a privacy-focused, layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos ecosystem, and Axelar is a decentralized interoperability network that connects different blockchain ecosystems.
The Axelar-wrapped assets minted without backing in the exploit included saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH.
Related: Aztec Connect’s abandoned smart contract exploited for $2.1M
The attacker moved the exploited assets to the Ethereum blockchain and converted them to Ether (ETH). They then split the haul between around 30 wallets, eventually depositing the funds into exchanges including KuCoin, ChangeNow, and HitBTC, according to Common Prefix.
“If you hold Axelar-bridged saXXX tokens on Secret, please be aware their backing was affected, and your funds may be lost,” the Secret Network said on Saturday.
Stolen funds split into multiple wallets for obfuscation. Source: Common Prefix
The Secret Network’s token, Secret (SCRT), was not impacted by the incident, but it remains down 99% from its 2021 all-time high, currently trading at $0.058. Axelar’s native token, Axelar (AXL), is in a similar state, trading at $0.045, down 98% from its 2024 peak.
Axelar posted a confirmation on Saturday following “some confusion” around the incident.
“Neither Axelar nor IBC [Inter-Blockchain Communication] was compromised. The exploited token smart contract was not developed, deployed, or maintained by Axelar. Axelar’s firewalling prevented the impact from spreading to other chains,” it said.
MoneyGram said Monday it has become a validator on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, the latest step in the remittance firm’s ongoing push into crypto infrastructure as it builds payment services around stablecoins.
By operating a validator, MoneyGram will help process transactions and secure Solana’s proof-of-stake network, becoming a key part of the infrastructure that keeps the network running.
The company also joined Solana Developer Platform, an initiative aimed at helping institutions build financial products on the blockchain.
The move comes weeks after MoneyGram unveiled its MGUSD stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain, a sign of the company’s growing commitment to blockchain-based payments infrastructure. After spending several years integrating crypto into remittances and settlement, MoneyGram is now taking a more active role in the networks that support those services.
“MoneyGram has spent the past several years integrating blockchain into our payment infrastructure, and everything we are building now leverages this foundation,” CEO Anthony Soohoo said in a statement. “We believe the future of global money movement will be built on open, interoperable stablecoin rails that anyone, anywhere can access.”
Euro-denominated trading accounts for only a small share of Binance’s activity, as the exchange faces uncertainty over its European licensing prospects under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Euro (EUR) trading accounts for around 1% of Binance’s spot volume, CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn told Cointelegraph.
“Binance’s inflows remain globally distributed, which may limit the impact of potential MiCA-related setbacks,” Maartunn said, pointing to the exchange’s diversified user base across regions.
Source: CryptoQuant
The data comes as Greek regulators are reportedly preparing to reject Binance’s licensing application ahead of MiCA’s transitional deadline on July 1, a move that could complicate the exchange’s ability to serve EU residents.
Binance ranks among Europe’s biggest crypto exchanges
Even though EUR trading represents only about 1% of Binance’s global spot volume, the exchange still processes hundreds of millions of dollars in euro-denominated trades.
According to CryptoQuant data, Binance’s daily EUR-pair volumes have ranged from roughly $100 million to $250 million in 2026, with occasional spikes above $600 million.
Source: CryptoQuant
According to a December 2024 report by Kaiko, Binance, alongside Bitvavo, Kraken and Coinbase, accounted for more than 85% of all euro-denominated crypto trading volume.
Related: WhiteBIT secures MiCA license in Austria ahead of July 1 EU deadline
Unlike Binance, Bitvavo, Kraken and Coinbase are among the major exchanges that have already secured MiCA authorization, allowing them to offer services across the EU under the framework’s passporting regime.
83% of CASPs have yet to receive a MiCA license
Binance’s licensing uncertainty comes as many crypto asset service providers (CASPs) are still adapting to MiCA’s requirements.
According to estimates based on European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) data cited by market analyst Merlijn Geurds, only around 210 of more than 1,200 firms operating under pre-MiCA registration regimes have obtained full authorization under the new framework.
Source: Merlijn Geurds
Geurds told Cointelegraph the gap reflects the cost and complexity of compliance, which requires governance standards, compliance controls and operational safeguards that many smaller firms lack.
“The result is consolidation by design,” Geurds said, adding: “A smaller group of well-capitalized, licensed players gets a passport to all 27 states, while a long tail faces forced migrations or cutoffs.”
Cointelegraph contacted Binance for comment on the size of its European business and the potential impact of MiCA-related restrictions but had not received a response by publication.
Magazine: SBF will never get a pardon, Trump peace deal boosts Bitcoin: Hodlers Digest June 14-21
Taiko, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, has urged its users to withdraw assets from the network’s bridges after an exploit on one of its bridge protocols saw attackers make off with $1.7 million in the latest decentralized finance hack this month.
“We have confirmed a compromise of Taiko’s chain state verification mechanism,” Taiko posted to X early on Monday. “As a result, the security assumptions of all bridges deployed on Taiko can no longer be relied upon.”
“We strongly advise all users to withdraw their funds from all bridges deployed on Taiko immediately,” it added.
It is the latest in a series of crypto protocol exploits this month, which now number at least 23, according to DeFiLlama. The Humanity Protocol and Syscoin Bridge, which lost over $30 million and $8 million, respectively, have been the largest two exploits so far in June.
Source: Taiko
Taiko said it was coordinating partners to contain the incident and had paused affected systems.
Crypto security firm Blockaid said that the root cause appears to be a flaw in how the Taiko bridge validated source signals.
It said that message proofs were accepted as valid on Ethereum without corresponding legitimate proofs on the Taiko blockchain.
“This allowed the attacker to register and later retrieve fraudulent bridge messages, resulting in unauthorized asset releases from the ERC20 vault,” Blockaid said.
Blockaid estimated that at least $1 million had been stolen, while Lookonchain and PeckShield suggested the value of assets stolen could be as high as $1.7 million.
The exploiter has already transferred 1.99 million Taiko (TAIKO) tokens worth around $189,000 to MEXC, stated PeckShield. TAIKO is currently trading down 98% from its 2024 peak at $0.084, according to CoinGecko.
Related: Secret Network bridge exploited for $4.7M with ‘infinite mint’ bug
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham shows Taiko exploiter wallets holding around $1.5 million, primarily in Ether (ETH).
The Taiko exploiter account holds more than $1.5 million in ETH. Source: Arkham Intelligence
Exploits in June are mounting up
The attack comes just days after the discovery on Friday of a smart contract exploit on the Secret Network, which resulted in the theft of $4.67 million worth of assets.
On Saturday, around $1.1 million was drained from the OLPC/LABUBU liquidity pool on PancakeSwap. LABUBU is a memecoin inspired by the popular toys of the same name.
Other notable exploits in June include Aztec Connect, RetoSwap, Raydium AMM, and the largest one so far this month, Humanity Protocol.
