India's oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said state-owned fuel retailers recorded a retail loss of ₹74,781 crore in the first quarter, largely because they were still selling inventory bought earlier at higher crude prices. Brent crude has slipped to around $70 a barrel, down 26% over the past month and nearly 40% from its April peak, but pump prices were not reduced in step. Puri indicated retail price cuts could be considered if crude remains stable. He also referred to reports of Indian refined products being routed via traders amid fuel shortages in Russia, without confirming direct exports from India.

CryptoQuant-based on-chain analyst Maartunn reports that 113,483 BTC, worth about $6.97 billion, have been transferred on-chain since June 29. The coins moved were all at least three months old. Of the total, 22,921 BTC (around $1.41 billion) came from long-term addresses that had held the assets for over two years.

Crypto prices pushed higher on Friday, led by ether and solana, as a wave of short covering lifted bitcoin toward $62,000 and capped the market's first clearly strong week since mid-June. Bitcoin was trading near $61,360, up 2.5% over the past seven days, according to CoinDesk data. Ether jumped 4.2% in the past 24 hours to about $1,702 and is up 9.7% for the week. Solana hovered around $80, posting an 18.6% weekly gain—the strongest performance among major tokens. XRP rose 5.7% over the week to $1.09, while Hyperliquid's HYPE advanced 5.1% on the day. Liquidations data underscored the squeeze. Over the past 24 hours, traders positioned against crypto saw $281 million in forced closures, compared with $159 million in long liquidations, out of $440 million total across 95,690 traders, Coinglass reported. When short positions are liquidated, traders must buy back the asset to close out, adding demand that can cascade into further short liquidations. The largest single liquidation was an $18.2 million ether position on Hyperliquid. Ether accounted for $157 million of wiped short positions, exceeding bitcoin's $103 million in a notable reversal from the usual pattern. Macro conditions also supported risk assets. U.S. June employment data released Thursday came in weaker than expected, reducing expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike and pressuring the dollar against most major currencies, Bloomberg reported. Softer hiring eased the case for restrictive policy that has weighed on crypto since the Fed's hawkish June outlook. Gold rose for a third straight session as rate-hike bets faded. Equities steadied as well. Asian stocks bounced after two days of tech-led losses, with South Korea's Kospi gaining 3% after briefly flirting with a technical bear market. Samsung Electronics climbed 6.8% following reports that AI firm Anthropic is in talks with the company to manufacture a custom AI chip—a signal that AI-related spending behind this year's equity rally remains resilient. A firmer AI trade can reduce the near-term pressure from capital rotating away from crypto, though it also revives the competition for investor flows seen in the first half of the year. The key question is whether the current squeeze turns into a sustained trend: short-covering can drive sharp moves without creating lasting demand, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs are still digesting record monthly outflows, and third-quarter liquidity is typically thinner—amplifying moves in either direction.

Japan-listed Metaplanet said its bitcoin treasury has reached 43,000 BTC, overtaking Marathon Digital (MARA) and making it the world's second-largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin. The company described the increase as part of its recent steady accumulation, without disclosing purchase prices or the exact timeframe. Attention is now on whether Metaplanet can continue scaling its holdings toward a 100,000 BTC target, and whether it could further narrow the gap with Twenty One Capital. The move underscores ongoing real-economy capital allocating large sums to bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.

July 3 — EtherFi has posted a Temp Check on the Aave Governance Forum proposing the deployment of a dedicated, white-labeled Aave V4 instance on OP Mainnet to serve as the credit engine for its Visa card offering, EtherFi Cash. The setup would replace EtherFi's current Debt Manager. Under the proposal, the new market would remain isolated while sharing liquidity and certain market resources with Aave. EtherFi would take responsibility for configuration, risk parameters, liquidity provisioning and day-to-day operations. Aave would grant V4 deployment and operational authorization and receive 20% of the reserve factor revenue. Commercial terms outlined include integrating GHO, deploying the GHO GSM on OP Mainnet, onboarding up to $1.75 billion of assets at launch, and designating EtherFi Cash as the exclusive user of the Aave V4 lending market. The Temp Check is slated to collect at least five days of community feedback; if it passes, the plan would move to the ARFC phase, with a target deployment in July 2026.

Solana posted record readings across several core on-chain indicators in the second quarter of 2026, CoinDesk reported, citing SolanaFloor-aggregated data. The network set new highs in tokenized stock trading, perpetuals volume, transaction activity and dApp revenue, reinforcing its role in high-frequency trading use cases. Tokenized stock trading on Solana reached a new quarterly peak, with spot volume hitting $4.84 billion in Q2. The report said Solana accounted for more than 96% of the segment, processing more volume than all other blockchains combined and extending its lead for a fourth straight quarter. As on-chain securities trading expands, tokenized equities are emerging as one of the fastest-growing parts of the ecosystem. dApp revenue also remained a standout. Applications in the Solana ecosystem generated a combined $257 million in Q2, keeping Solana at the top among major Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks. The report said Solana has held a leading position for nine consecutive quarters, suggesting developer activity and user demand have stayed resilient despite heightened competition. Perpetual contracts set a separate record, with notional trading volume rising to $183 billion in Q2. Competition among decentralized perpetuals venues intensified: GMTrade led the quarter in trading volume, while Pacifica and Jupiter also contributed meaningful activity. By May, GMTrade's total value locked exceeded $40 million, cumulative trading volume topped $50 billion and protocol fee income surpassed $6.58 million. Phoenix recorded a new daily volume high during the quarter and introduced the "Flight Codes" feature, aimed at letting developers build and monetize applications and services around its marketplace. Beyond trading, Solana's daily, weekly and monthly transaction counts also reached all-time highs throughout Q2. The report added that the Solana Foundation's share of staking continues to decline, reflecting an ongoing reduction in its direct influence over validation as the validator set matures.

10x Research said Bitcoin saw early volatility after U.S. employment figures came in stronger than expected, while ETF outflows added to selling pressure. Even so, steady demand from long-term holders helped underpin prices. The firm noted that subsequent weaker jobs data shifted market pricing for the next rate hike from October 2026 to December 2026, providing a degree of short-term support for Bitcoin. Looking at seasonality, 10x Research highlighted that July has historically been a strong month for Bitcoin, posting an average gain of 9.1%. August through September typically brings consolidation, with September often shaping up as the potential cycle low. Bitcoin's rebound from $58,500 to $61,500 may be creating fresh positioning opportunities for traders, the report added.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are seeing sharp capital flight. On-chain flow tracking shows a net outflow of 6,165 BTC on July 2, valued at about $379.6 million, pushing seven-day net redemptions to $2.02 billion. Ethereum ETFs logged a brief improvement: a one-day net inflow of 21,568 ETH on July 2. Even so, the broader weekly trend remains negative across both assets. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin led the retreat with 32,807 BTC withdrawn. Ethereum's seven-day tally totaled 54,411 ETH, leaving a $92.3 million net deficit. A single positive session only partially offset the prior day's pressure: July 1 saw a 19,556 ETH daily outflow, making the July 2 move—a $36.6 million inflow—look more like a pause than a turning point. Bitcoin Outflows Point to Institutional De-Risking A near-$380 million one-day withdrawal is significant and suggests large allocators are reducing spot exposure rather than rotating within crypto. The persistent seven-day drawdown—about $288 million per day on average—reads as a deliberate unwind, not a one-off rebalance. With no obvious macro catalyst, markets will watch whether the pace extends into the second half of the week. Outflows of this scale often signal a shift in conviction, putting the thesis of Bitcoin as a long-duration inflation hedge under scrutiny. The data indicates some ETF holders are stepping aside, and the speed of the move stands out. This does not imply the underlying networks are deteriorating. Developer engagement across major chains, highlighted in a weekly review of blockchain activity, continues to rank Ethereum near the top. The gap between on-chain building and off-chain fund flows remains a notable tension in the current market. Ethereum's Inflow Offers Only Limited Relief Ethereum ETFs' $36.6 million daily inflow ends a losing streak but does little to change the weekly math. A negative $92.3 million over seven days still points to net distribution. The pullback comes as tokenized real-world assets reach major milestones, as covered in a recent tokenization roundup. One possibility is that institutional capital is shifting from broad crypto beta into more structured on-chain products rather than exiting the space altogether. It remains unclear whether the single-day ETH inflow marks the start of a broader trend or reflects short-lived positioning. The print could be noise—potentially driven by a large creation basket—rather than sustained demand. Attention now turns to the next two sessions to see whether Ethereum can build on the positive reading or if outflows quickly resume. For now, fund flows deliver a clear message: Bitcoin remains under persistent institutional selling pressure, and Ethereum's brief inflow is not enough to call a bottom. ETF demand is contracting for both assets, not expanding.

Newly released financial disclosures indicate former president Donald Trump reported more than $1 billion in income last year linked to cryptocurrency ventures, and at least $2.2 billion in total when factoring in broader assets such as real estate. His businesses reported about $622 million in revenue for 2024 before he returned to the presidency, suggesting he likely earned more than $1 billion while in office. The filings highlight an expanding web of crypto-related ties built during the 2024 campaign. Trump's family invested through multiple entities, including CIC Digital, a Trump Organization affiliate associated with the $TRUMP memecoin. Another vehicle, World Liberty Financial, is described as a Trump family–backed crypto company cofounded during the campaign by Trump, his sons and associates, including the family of special envoy Steve Witkoff. The White House says Trump has divested from World Liberty; the firm has since supported several prominent crypto tokens. Alongside these investments, Trump has taken steps that critics say could benefit the sector and reduce oversight. Since returning to the White House, he has installed crypto-friendly regulators in key oversight roles and backed legislation that would exempt many digital assets from being treated as securities—a shift that could significantly cut disclosure obligations. The disclosures also raise questions about trading activity, timing and transparency. Trump's investment accounts reported more than 20,000 trades last year, with some activity appearing to cluster around market-moving public announcements. One example cited: the day before Trump announced a 90-day pause on sweeping tariffs, his accounts executed 327 separate stock purchases, each up to $250,000. After the pause was announced the following day, the S&P 500 surged nearly 10%, one of the largest single-day gains in the index's history. Observers argue that the volume and complexity of the holdings make it difficult for the public to evaluate whether policy decisions serve the public interest or align with private financial positions. Questions also remain about whether all investments have been fully disclosed. The filings show roughly $300 million in payments from Middle Eastern entities to Trump's businesses last year, the largest identifiable foreign region disclosed. Separately, scrutiny intensified after Trump took the maiden flight of a new Air Force One—a $400 million jet purchased by the Qatari royal family. Ownership is expected to transfer to the Trump presidential library foundation when he leaves office, adding to debate over the boundary between official travel, gifts and private benefit. The White House said neither Trump nor his family "has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest." Critics dispute that characterization, arguing that substantial private crypto exposure combined with targeted regulatory appointments and policy initiatives creates material conflict risks. Trump has previously dismissed such concerns, saying "the president can't have a conflict of interest … because everything a president does in some ways is like a conflict of interest," and asserting Americans "don't care at all" about his unreleased tax returns or personal finances. For crypto markets, the implications could be significant. If legislation or regulatory action weakens the treatment of many tokens as securities, issuers could face fewer transparency and disclosure requirements, potentially advantaging projects and investors with privileged access or insider knowledge. Critics warn that for a president with major crypto-related stakes, policy decisions could influence token prices and valuations tied to his and his family's holdings. The piece's author, Robert Reich—a former U.S. labor secretary and UC Berkeley public policy professor emeritus—casts the developments as a pattern of self-enrichment and reduced accountability. He writes for Guardian US and publishes at robertreich.substack.com. His latest book, "Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America," is out now. Bottom line: the convergence of the presidency, active crypto investments and efforts to reshape digital-asset rules is intensifying scrutiny over transparency, timing and who stands to benefit from forthcoming regulatory changes.