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Major tokens under pressure as U.S. attacks Iran

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Major tokens under pressure as U.S. attacks Iran

Bitcoin BTC$62,662.50 and the broader cryptocurrency market came under pressure Tuesday after the US and Iran exchanged aerial strikes, sending the dollar higher.

BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, slipped to $62,657 in Asian trading hours, down nearly 1% since midnight UTC, according to CoinDesk data. Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and solana (SOL) fell between 1% and 2.3%. WTI crude futures jumped more than 2% to $72.27, while the Dollar Index held steady above 101.00, maintaining Tuesday’s gains.

The U.S. said it launched “powerful strikes” against Iran following attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, including Qatari and Saudi tankers. In response, Iran said it targeted “85 US military installations” in retaliation for strikes on its Hormozgan and Mahshahr provinces.

The scale of the escalation appears to have pushed the two nations’ ceasefire to the brink of collapse.

The Iran war erupted in late February, pushing oil prices well above $100 per barrel and generating a massive inflationary shock worldwide. While prices have since crashed back below $60, inflation expectations among consumers have continued to rise, fueling fears of interest rate hikes across the world, including in the US.

Higher rates make it more difficult for traders to abandon yields from supposedly safe bonds in favor of higher-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.

BTC pulls back after run above $64,000

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BTC pulls back after run above $64,000

“The institutional bid has all but vanished,” said Yusuf Fakhro, partner at ARP Digital, pointing to CME futures open interest at a 32-month low and a term structure at its tightest since early 2023.

He added that six-month options skew, a measure of how much traders pay to protect against a drop, has spiked to its fourth-highest on record, with the only parallels in June and November 2022, both of which came near major cycle bottoms.

When downside insurance gets this expensive, he said, the market is paying up for protection just as the worst may already be priced in.

Oil re-entered the picture overnight. Brent crude rose 0.6% to about $72.45 a barrel after a laden liquefied natural gas carrier was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast as it left the Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg, a fresh attack that tests the peace deal reached in late June.

Energy shocks tied to the Iran conflict drove crypto’s selling earlier this year before the truce eased them, and a renewed flare-up is the kind of macro risk that had faded from the market’s view.

Elsewhere, Asian shares fell as technology stocks came under renewed selling, with South Korea’s Kospi down 6.7%, according to Bloomberg. Samsung Electronics slid 8.3% even after quarterly profit surged, and SK Hynix fell the same as it began marketing a U.S. listing. U.S. futures pointed lower, suggesting Monday’s Wall Street rebound may not carry.

Bitcoin Bounces Above $63K Following Strategy-fueled Selloff

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Bitcoin Bounces Above $63K Following Strategy-fueled Selloff

Key takeaways:

  • Bitcoin derivatives show resilience despite bearish pressure from Strategy’s Bitcoin sales.
  • Onchain Bitcoin data points to sellers’ exhaustion, strengthening the $60,000 support level.

Bitcoin price quickly recovered from the selloff to $61,300 that followed Strategy’s Bitcoin sale announcement. Despite the negative impact on traders’ sentiment, the additional $216 million cash position eased concerns about the company’s ability to pay dividends and cover its debt. Does the quick recovery suggest that Bitcoin bulls back in control?

Bitcoin perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas

The Bitcoin perpetual futures annualized funding rate jumped to 9% on Monday, indicating balanced demand between bullish and bearish leverage. While far from displaying conviction, the indicator distanced itself from the bearish momentum on Saturday marked by negative funding rates. But unlike the futures markets, Bitcoin options signaled minor stress on Monday.

Bitcoin options premium put-to-call ratio at Deribit. Source: Laevitas

The put (sell) options premium at Deribit outpaced the equivalent call (buy) instruments on Monday, reverting the trend from Thursday and Friday. Typically, periods of stress can easily push the indicator above 2 times, hence the current 1.15 level remains under the neutral range. Bitcoin futures and options displayed resilience, although the bounce to $63,500 was unable to instill bullishness.

Bitcoin ETF flows reversal and long-term holders conviction favor $65,000 rally

Bitcoin bears might have underestimated the relevance of the $223 million net inflows into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Friday, the first after 10 consecutive outflows. The record-high $4.51 billion net outflows in June negatively impacted trader sentiment.

Still, the sell pressure will eventually subside, and the potential reversal in ETF flows could be enough to instill bullishness in Bitcoin derivatives markets.

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs daily net flows, USD. Source: SoSoValue

Part of the recent bearishness can be pinned to the record drawdown in Strategy preferred perpetual equity Stretch (STRC US), which offers holders an attractive 12% yield. However, new stock issuance can occur only at the fixed $100 price; hence, the company currently has fewer instruments available to support the dividend payout.

Strategy holds sufficient cash reserves to cover 17 months of dividends; thus, the urgency of additional Bitcoin sales is debatable.

Strategy preferred perpetual equity Stretch (STRC US). Source: TradingView

Regardless of Strategy’s extremely low 8% debt leverage, Bitcoin bears have the upper hand as the company endures $8 billion in unrealized losses from its Bitcoin purchases. Bitcoin bulls’ biggest hopes rely on long-term holders’ conviction and onchain data pointing to selling exhaustion, strengthening the $60,000 support level.

Bitcoin transfers from long-term holders to exchanges, BTC. Source: Glassnode

Transfers from long-term holders to exchanges are down to 4,130 BTC per day on average, from 8,040 BTC one week prior. Nonetheless, unless the spot Bitcoin ETFs exhibit a sequence of relevant net inflows, derivatives traders will likely remain skeptical of sustained bullish momentum, reducing the odds of a sustained rally above $65,000.

Presently, Strategy’s huge unrealized losses and skepticism in Bitcoin derivatives point to further pressure from bears.

Tether’s Former CIO Heathcote Plans to Sell Equity Stake

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Tether’s Former CIO Heathcote Plans to Sell Equity Stake

Richard Heathcote, who until earlier this year served as Tether Holdings SA’s chief investment officer, is planning to sell a small stake in the stablecoin issuer, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Heathcote is working with investment bank PJT Partners to sell part…

Richard Heathcote, who until earlier this year served as Tether Holdings SA’s chief investment officer, is planning to sell a small stake in the stablecoin issuer, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Heathcote is working with investment bank PJT Partners to sell part of his 1.26% holding in Tether, according to Bloomberg’s sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Negotiations with potential buyers are underway, though no final price or buyer has been disclosed.

Executive Handover

Tether said in March that Heathcote was stepping down as CIO to move into a non-executive advisory role, giving up day-to-day responsibilities. His deputy, Zachary Lyons, took over the position.

As CIO, Heathcote had overseen the reserves backing Tether’s USDT stablecoin, the largest by circulating supply, and steered an aggressive investment push that included stakes in soccer clubs and humanoid-robotics ventures, per Bloomberg’s March report.

Rare Window Into Ownership

Tether has historically disclosed little about its capitalization table or the equity stakes held by executives. A sale process run through a Wall Street bank offers one of the first concrete data points on how the company’s ownership is structured below its founders, and could eventually signal a market-set valuation if a transaction price becomes public.

The stake sale comes as Tether’s stablecoin business continues to dominate the sector, with USDT remaining the largest stablecoin by circulating supply. Bloomberg’s reporting did not disclose the size of the stake being sold in dollar terms or identify any prospective buyers.

Tether did not comment on the planned sale in Bloomberg’s report, and Heathcote could not immediately be reached through the company’s channels.

Ex-Tether CIO plans to sell a piece of his stake in the crypto giant

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Ex-Tether CIO plans to sell a piece of his stake in the crypto giant

Richard Heathcote, who until March was Tether’s chief investment officer, is planning to sell part of his 1.26% stake in the stablecoin giant, according to a Bloomberg report.

Heathcote is working with PJT Partners to sell his holding in the San Salvador, El Salvador-based company, Bloomberg said, citing sources close to the matter. The sources said discussions with potential buyers were ongoing. They declined to comment on the company’s potential valuation.

Heathcote took on a non-executive advisory role at the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, in March, and was replaced by his deputy Zachary Lyons.

In February, Tether scaled back from plans to raise as much as $20 billion after facing investor resistance to a proposed $500 billion valuation that would rank the stablecoin issuer among the world’s most valuable private companies. Tether advisers then followed up with plans to raise $5 billion. Tether reported a full-year profit of more than $10 billion for 2025.

Tether did not respond to a CoinDesk request for comment. PJT Partners declined to comment. Heathcote could not be reached.

Kraken Seeks Final Judgment After $22 Million Award Against Former Auditor

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Kraken Seeks Final Judgment After $22 Million Award Against Former Auditor

Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has asked the Delaware Court of Chancery to enter a final judgment against its former auditor, Mazars USA, after an arbitrator awarded the firm $22 million. 

The exchange disclosed the request on July 7 through an open letter from co-CEO Arjun Sethi and a series of posts from CEO Dave Ripley.

The dispute traces to December 2023, when Mazars withdrew from Kraken’s 2022 audit days before its completion. Mazars had audited Kraken for three prior years and issued two clean opinions, according to the company. 

In writing, Sethi said, the auditor confirmed it had no disagreement with management, no concerns about the firm’s integrity, and no findings of fraud.

Mazars attributed its resignation to legal developments, among them a complaint the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Kraken weeks before.

That SEC complaint was dismissed with prejudice, with no penalties and no admission of wrongdoing. Kraken said the abandoned audit cost it years and millions of dollars in legal fees to secure new auditors and reassure banks, regulators, and counterparties. The exchange said it has received a clean audit in each year that followed.

The letters come as Kraken pursues a full European banking license, reportedly through Lithuania, a move that would allow the company to offer traditional banking services across the European Economic Area and potentially become the first cryptocurrency exchange to secure a full European bank license, according to CoinDesk reporting. 

The effort is part of Kraken’s broader regulatory strategy as it expands beyond crypto into mainstream financial services, building on milestones including U.S. Federal Reserve payment access and authorization in the UAE.

Operation Chokepoint 2.0

Sethi placed the episode within what critics call Operation Chokepoint 2.0, a term for what they describe as a coordinated effort by regulators to cut lawful crypto firms off from banking and other services. In December 2022, a year before quitting the Kraken audit, Mazars Group halted proof-of-reserves work for the crypto sector and removed those reports from its website.

The letter cited a chain of actions from 2022 and 2023. On January 3, 2023, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC issued a joint statement warning that crypto business models raised safety and soundness concerns for banks. 

Documents released after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit showed the FDIC sent at least 25 letters to two dozen banks urging them to pause or refrain from expanding crypto activity. The SEC’s SAB 121 accounting guidance required public companies holding crypto to record those assets on their balance sheets, a step that made custody uneconomical for banks. 

The Federal Reserve denied a master account to Custodia, a Wyoming bank built for digital assets. And in March 2023, the payment networks run by Silvergate and Signature shut down within days of each other.

As the debanking era ends, Kraken demands rules 

Much of that framework has come undone. The SEC rescinded SAB 121, the banking regulators withdrew the joint statement, and a House committee report concluded that regulators used vague rules and informal pressure to push banks away from lawful digital asset firms. 

Sethi also recounted the experience of Kraken founder Jesse Powell, who started the exchange in 2011. In March 2023, federal agents raided Powell’s home and seized his devices in connection with a dispute involving a nonprofit unrelated to Kraken. 

After two years, the government closed the investigation, returned the devices, and brought no charges. Powell handed the chief executive role to Ripley, and Sethi joined Ripley in leading the company.

The letter closed with a call for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, which would establish market-structure rules for digital assets, dividing oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the SEC and adding protections for software developers. 

The House passed the bill in July 2025 by a vote of 294 to 134, with 78 Democrats in support, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced its version in May. 

Sethi contrasted the U.S. timeline with the European Union, where the MiCA framework took effect across member states.

AI trade loses steam as Samsung earnings fail to lift chip stocks amid open source AI shift

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AI trade loses steam as Samsung earnings fail to lift chip stocks amid open source AI shift

The AI trade, which incorporates semiconductors and memory stocks, is showing signs of fatigue as investors reassess whether the extraordinary spending boom on chips and data centers can be sustained.

Semiconductor and memory stocks such as Micron Technology (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK) came under heavy pressure on Tuesday, after Samsung Electronics (005930) reported record second-quarter earnings but missed revenue estimates.

Shares still fell nearly 7%, extending a broader selloff across AI-linked chipmakers. Concerns are growing that hyperscalers could slow AI infrastructure spending.

Meanwhile, rival SK Hynix is down 25% from its all-time high ahead of its U.S. listing this week, a deal that is also drawing investor capital away from existing chip stocks.
The weakness comes after a spectacular rally in AI infrastructure stocks this year, with Sandisk up more than 525%, Micron gaining over 120%, and SK Hynix climbing roughly 225% in 2026.

Adding to the changing narrative, China’s Zhipu AI, one of the country’s leading artificial intelligence startups, is exploring a custom AI chip as demand for its open-source GLM models surges, highlighting the rise of lower-cost AI ecosystems built around domestic hardware rather than cutting-edge US chips.

The shift comes just weeks after SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO and amid elevated valuations across AI-related stocks. Investors are increasingly questioning whether the next phase of AI will require ever more GPUs and high-bandwidth memory, or whether more efficient models will reduce demand for the infrastructure that has powered the AI rally.

Over the past year, bitcoin and the broader crypto market have suffered from the AI trade, and if investor enthusiasm for AI continues to fade, crypto bulls could see capital rotate back into digital assets.

Bitcoin Bulls Buy The Dip And Use Leverage To Keep BTC Price Pumping

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Bitcoin Bulls Buy The Dip And Use Leverage To Keep BTC Price Pumping

Bitcoin (BTC) fell from nearly $64,000 on Sunday to about $62,000 on Monday, and the primary trigger behind the move appeared to be a SEC disclosure showing Strategy’s largest ever sale of 3,588 BTC. The fuller explanation for the price action can be found deeper in the plumbing.

Sunday’s climb toward $64,000 was almost entirely futures driven. Net futures buying reached roughly $415 million for the day, capped by a single four-hour burst of about $687 million that force-closed some $33 million in bets against Bitcoin. Spot flows over the same session were slightly negative, and this gap matters since a rally with no cash buyers behind it rests on positions that can be forced to unwind at any moment.

Monday morning delivered the unwind, and it accelerated as Strategy’s filing landed. The largest corporate Bitcoin treasury holder sold BTC for $216 million to fund dividend payments, with a further $1.25 billion of sale capacity still untouched. 

Related: Bitcoin recovers from Strategy’s BTC sale, funding rates hit 9%: Are bulls back?

Following the news, Bitcoin futures flows swung to roughly $456 million of net selling in a single four-hour window. Liquidations hit both directions at once, roughly $42 million of bullish positions and $49 million of bearish ones. The Monday afternoon recovery looked different from Sunday’s rally as futures buying of about $568 million was joined, for the first time in days, by meaningful spot buying of about $143 million.

BTC/USD cumulative volume delta. Source: Hyblock

Through the price whipsaws, Bitcoin’s funding rate held firm in positive territory for over a week, including during Monday’s slide. With about $20.6 billion in open futures positions, the market’s leveraged optimism remains largely intact, but due to the funding rate and number of longs crowded into leveraged positions, the current setup is fragile.

BTC/USD open interest. Source: Hyblock

Two areas to keep an eye on are whether Strategy’s sale marks the beginning of a prolonged selling phase for the company and whether the unused $1.25 billion authorization will weigh on any rally. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its June meeting, with markets currently pricing in a 75.6% chance that rates will remain at 3.50%-3.75% in July. Any hawkish tone in the minutes may test crowded leveraged long positions, with pressure zones at $62,300 to $62,800 above the market and $61,000 and $59,500 below.

SEC Crypto Rule Changes Are High on its 2026 Agenda

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SEC Crypto Rule Changes Are High on its 2026 Agenda

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced proposed rule changes that its chair said would “help clarify the regulatory framework for crypto assets and provide greater certainty to the market” as part of its annual agenda.

In a Tuesday notice, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said that the agency’s 2026 agenda was intended to align with the Trump administration’s policy goals on crypto, which included clarification on tokenized securities and capital raising with digital assets. The agenda included three proposed rule changes addressing crypto broker-dealers, digital assets on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges, and potential exemptions and safe harbors for digital assets.

“The proposed rules may provide greater certainty to the market, facilitate capital formation, and accommodate innovation within the crypto asset markets while, at the same time, ensuring that investors are adequately protected and provided with the information they need to make informed investment decisions,” said the SEC on one of the proposed rules “relating to the offer and sale of crypto assets.”

The proposed rules came as the US Congress is debating provisions in a crypto market structure bill expected to shift much of the oversight and enforcement of the industry from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In March, Atkins said that the SEC would move forward with an agency “bridge” to clarify crypto regulation, but signaled that he would defer to legislation if it was passed by Congress.

Related: Warren claims SEC’s Atkins likely misled Congress over enforcement data

The SEC’s approach to crypto under US President Donald Trump and Atkins has many critics accusing the administration of a “pay-to-play scheme.” Democratic lawmakers said in a January letter that Trump and those associated with him had financially benefited from companies that had previously been subject to enforcement actions or potential regulatory entanglements, including Binance, Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Kraken, that were later dropped.

“The SEC’s decision to let those who violated the securities laws go without consequences, together with recent statements by Chair Atkins that ‘most crypto tokens are not securities,’ despite holdings by federal district courts that at least some tokens are securities, has left a vacuum whereby securities violations by crypto firms are not enforced and US investors are not protected,” three Democratic House members said in a January letter to Atkins.

Trump says he partly promoted crypto ‘for politics’

Answering questions from reporters on Monday, Trump said that he “got involved in [crypto] a little bit for politics” after calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam” following his first term. He initially said that he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies, but in the lead-up to the 2024 election, began speaking with industry leaders and promoting the technology in public appearances.

Related: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto

Securitize (SECZ), BlackRock’s tokenization partner, slides 40% after SPAC debut

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Securitize (SECZ), BlackRock’s tokenization partner, slides 40% after SPAC debut

“There is no major negative fundamental catalyst that we can see,” Dorman said. “These kinds of big movements are common after SPACs because the entire investor base turns over from fixed-income-oriented SPAC buyers to new, fundamentally driven long-term equity owners.”

SPAC merger tickers are often volatile in their early days of trading. These vehicles raise money first and seek an acquisition later, allowing a private company to reach the public market by merging with the shell. But once the deal closes, the investor base often turns over, with SPAC arbitrage investors and redemption-focused holders giving way to public-equity investors weighing the company’s fundamentals. That transition can create sharp price swings, particularly when the float is limited or the stock had traded up before the merger.

Crypto IPO hangover

Dorman added that poor performance of recent crypto-related stock listings have conditioned investors to be cautious.

“Given how horrible recent crypto IPOs have been — Coinbase (COIN), Bullish (BLSH), Gemini (GEMI), BitGo (BTGO) and Circle (CRCL) — it’s not that surprising,” Dorman said.

Since its February IPO, digital asset service provider and custodian BitGo tumbled 70%. Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, is down 85% from its September debut. Bullish, CoinDesk’s owner, has fallen over 70% from its $90 debut price in August 2025, and sits below its $37 IPO price.

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