PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD is losing ground as the stablecoin race heats up. After reaching an all-time high market capitalization above $4.2B in March, PYUSD has steadily contracted. Its market cap now sits at $2.74B, down nearly 35% from the peak. The pullback raises a familiar question for the market: will stablecoins remain dominated by Tether and Circle?

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has sharply reduced his public media appearances in recent weeks as Parliament investigates whether he failed to declare a £5 million (about $6.4 million) gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne ahead of the 2024 general election. Figures show Farage held 20 press conferences in the first four months of the year, but just one in May, after the previously undisclosed donation was reported on April 29. Critics note Reform UK later promoted a number of crypto-friendly proposals, including cutting the capital gains tax rate on crypto assets to 10% from 24% and creating a national Bitcoin reserve held at the Bank of England. After the UK Parliament's Commissioner for Standards said an inquiry would be opened, Reform UK removed a draft digital finance policy document from its website at the end of May. (FT)

Sam Bankman-Fried has lost his most significant appeal to date, tightening the former FTX chief executive's remaining legal options as a separate clemency request continues to sit with the White House. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday unanimously upheld Bankman-Fried's 2023 fraud conviction and the 25-year sentence imposed after the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Circuit Judge Barrington Parker, writing for the panel, called the government's case "robust," saying the trial record provided ample support for the jury's verdict. Prosecutors argued Bankman-Fried diverted about $8 billion of customer money from FTX to Alameda Research, the trading firm he founded, describing the conduct at trial as a "fraud of epic proportions." A federal jury convicted him in 2023 on seven counts, including fraud and conspiracy. The appeals court endorsed prosecutors' central narrative: Bankman-Fried publicly told customers, investors and regulators that assets were safe while using FTX funds for personal spending, political donations, investments and real estate purchases. The panel rejected claims that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrongly excluded evidence the defense said would have supported Bankman-Fried's belief that FTX could meet customer withdrawals. Citing precedent, the court held that fraud is complete when money is obtained through deception. Under that standard, customers were defrauded once their funds were moved to Alameda, regardless of any later intent or belief about repayment. Bankman-Fried has consistently maintained he did not steal customer funds, acknowledging management failures at FTX but denying criminal wrongdoing. Earlier attempts to win a new trial also fell short. He filed and later withdrew a Rule 33 motion asserting newly discovered evidence, and Judge Kaplan later denied a retrial request after concluding the witnesses in question were not newly discovered. Prosecutors also contested defense assertions that FTX remained solvent before its collapse, pointing to reports that the exchange held just 105 Bitcoin against customer claims of roughly 100,000 Bitcoin. Separately, Bankman-Fried has applied for a presidential pardon, described in filings as a "pardon after completion of sentence." Public backing appears limited. President Donald Trump told The New York Times earlier this year that he did not plan to pardon Bankman-Fried, and the White House has directed reporters to those comments. Senator Cynthia Lummis has also said she hoped Trump would not grant clemency given the losses suffered by customers. Now 34, Bankman-Fried is serving his sentence at a low-security federal prison near Santa Barbara, California. Bureau of Prisons records list his current release eligibility as 2044. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling. Bankman-Fried can still ask the full Second Circuit to rehear the case en banc or petition the U.S. Supreme Court, but Friday's decision closes a major route to overturning the conviction. For the crypto sector, the ruling stands as a major accountability marker stemming from one of the industry's largest failures. It also reinforces the ongoing regulatory and criminal risks faced by exchanges and executives, underscoring that deceptive commingling of customer assets can carry severe penalties.

June 13 — Data from Farside Investors show U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted a combined net inflow of $85.9 million in the latest session. BlackRock's IBIT led gains with $57.7 million of net inflows. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs moved the other way, recording $4.9 million of net outflows, with ETHA responsible for $4.5 million.

BlockBeats reports that bearish signals surfaced in the ETH futures market on June 13. ETH perpetual futures' annualized funding rate turned negative on June 5, a sign that short sellers are paying to keep positions open. Over the past five weeks, ETH has fallen 30%, yet leveraged longs have shown little appetite to add risk. Positioning has thinned materially. Total open interest in ETH futures is down 30% from a month ago, hitting a 13-month low. In the U.S., spot Ethereum ETFs logged net outflows of $323 million over the past two weeks, pointing to soft institutional demand. On-chain indicators have also weakened. Ethereum's total value locked (TVL) has dropped 33% in two months to $37.5 billion. DApp revenue in May fell 43% versus the average of the prior six months, typically reflecting lower fee demand and reduced ETH usage. Derivatives tied to staking tell a different story. The current wait to enter the validator queue is about 50 days, with more than 2.9 million ETH in line. Exit wait time is zero, and total staked ETH stands at 39.5 million. Exchange balances continue to trend lower as well. ETH reserves on exchanges fell from 16.15 million ETH three months ago to 15.05 million ETH, suggesting ongoing accumulation. CoinGecko data shows BitMine added 337,078 ETH over the past 30 days. The report argues that weak demand for leveraged longs should not be read as a straightforward signal of sharply higher downside risk. If staking metrics remain steady and spot ETF outflows stay relatively contained, a drop to $1,500 is considered unlikely.

According to BlockBeats, RWA trading platform MSX began spot trading of the SpaceX U.S. stock token, SPCX.M, on June 13. Market data shows SPCX.M climbed to an intraday peak of $176.52 and was last changing hands at $166.85, roughly 40% above its PreIPO subscription price of $119.138. MSX said the start of spot trading also marks the completion of share distribution for user subscriptions made during the PreIPO phase. The project's PreIPO valuation was $1.38 trillion, with an early locked-in offer price set at $119.138. SPCX.M is MSX's latest core PreIPO asset following Cerebras (CBRS.M), completing the full cycle of early subscription, listing, and share distribution.

U.S. President Donald Trump again said a "final deal" with Iran is "imminent"—his 38th such declaration, according to the author—triggering another headline-driven risk rally across global markets. U.S. equities finished sharply higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.90%, the S&P 500 gained 1.73%, and the Nasdaq jumped 3.42%. Crypto-linked stocks also outperformed, with Coinbase (COIN) up 4.99% and Robinhood (HOOD) rising 7.40%. Asia opened with a strong bid. South Korea's KOSPI opened up 519.25 points, or 6.69%, at 8,283.2 and briefly triggered a circuit breaker before extending gains to as much as 8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 opened 880.53 points higher, up 1.37% at 65,097.80. In commodities, oil dropped 4.3% while gold rebounded 3.1%. With the U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict entering its fourth month, markets—especially U.S. stocks—are increasingly pricing in a best-case path, including a potential end to the war. Recent sessions have been dominated by "news-driven" upside moves. Trump's comments revive the "TACO" trade Reports late last night and early this morning said Trump first called off a planned strike and bombing operation against Iran. He later posted that negotiations had been submitted to and approved by Iran's highest leadership, and that both the broad framework and detailed terms had been agreed by parties including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt. Iran and Israel later denied the claim, but markets traded as if the announcement was credible. Trump also said an "excellent agreement" had been reached, documents are in final drafting, and the deal could be finalized and signed in the coming days. He added the signing may take place in Europe as soon as this weekend, with Vice President Vance attending. Trump further said that once Iran signs, the Strait of Hormuz will open. Despite repeated delays—Trump acknowledged talks "have taken too long"—investors have, for now, chosen to buy the optimism. U.S. CPI: headline heats up, core cools; rate-hike fears fade Wednesday's U.S. May CPI report showed: - CPI (seasonally adjusted, m/m): 0.5% (consensus 0.50%, prior 0.60%) - Core CPI (seasonally adjusted, m/m): 0.2% (consensus 0.30%, prior 0.40%) - CPI (not seasonally adjusted, y/y): 4.2% (consensus 4.20%, prior 3.80%), the highest since April 2023 - Core CPI (not seasonally adjusted, y/y): 2.9% (consensus 2.90%, prior 2.80%), the highest since September 2025 Analysts said inflation has moved back into the "4%-handle," with war-related price spikes likely behind. The third straight month of a sharp CPI increase points to mounting pressure on households, with more consumers potentially dipping into savings to cover costs. After the release, the market-implied probability of the Federal Reserve holding rates steady in June rose to 96.3%, easing earlier concerns about additional tightening. Trump reacted with a high-profile quip: "I love inflation." With core inflation coming in softer than expected, traders also scaled back expectations for a Fed rate hike later this year. Seema Shah, Chief Global Strategist at Principal Asset Management, said headline inflation remains uncomfortably near 4%, but the softer core reading reduces pressure. She added that energy has been a key driver while housing costs have moderated, and the absence of clear second-round effects gives the Fed room to stay patient. Bank of America analyst Afonso Borges described the post-CPI move led by short-dated Treasuries as "logical," arguing the data lowers the risk of a rate hike later this year. Japan, Korea: dip-buying on leverage; BOJ rate path in focus Attention is also on Japan and South Korea, where equities rebounded after two sessions of declines. Yonhap News Agency reported that after a two-day correction in the KOSPI driven by negative cues from U.S. markets and a sharp drop in semiconductor shares, overdraft balances at major commercial banks rose by more than 600 billion Korean won (about RMB 2.67 billion). Analysts said the increase suggests retail investors used overdraft credit as leveraged dip-buying in anticipation of a rebound. Nikkei reported that the Bank of Japan is expected to raise its short-term policy rate from 0.75% to 1.0% at its June 15–16 meeting, which would mark the highest policy rate since 1995. USD/JPY rose 0.2% on the day to 160.168. BofA analyst Shusuke Yamada said a hawkish BOJ decision next week could support the yen, while noting that markets have already priced in much of the expected hike. Risks ahead: war uncertainty, correction warnings, and a major liquidity test Despite today's rally on Trump-driven headlines, several indicators suggest investors remain only cautiously bullish, with growing warnings about a deeper pullback. Ali Akbar Dareini of the Tehran Strategic Research Center said Trump's announcement of canceled strikes does not represent a meaningful change. From Iran's perspective, the United States would need to take confidence-building steps before talks or nuclear discussions can move forward—and those steps have not been taken. Iran has reiterated it will not compromise under coercion. Barclays: technicals and sentiment look stretched Alex Altmann, Head of Global Equity Strategy at Barclays, issued a rare cautious note, saying a combination of technical overbought conditions, overheated sentiment, and macro pressures has pushed him to a short-term bearish view on U.S. equities. He sees the market partway through a structural correction and flagged a widening gap between retail sentiment and macro reality. Altmann said the S&P 500 could face a 6%–7% correction. The latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) sentiment survey showed the share of bearish investors jumping to 47.7% over the past week, close to this year's high of 52% (March 18) and well above the historical average of 31%. Other firms have also turned more cautious. BofA Securities has warned that an increasing number of bearish signals suggest U.S. stocks may be nearing a peak. In a June 5 report, Savita Subramanian's strategy team wrote that roughly 70% of bear-market signals have been triggered, consistent with historical patterns near market tops. The team said 17 of 20 valuation metrics show statistically significant overvaluation, with eight above tech-bubble levels. They also pointed to the sharp outperformance of high P/E stocks versus low-valuation names as a sign of speculative excess, and noted that within tech, the performance spread between the top and bottom quintiles is the widest since February 2000. That view has been publicly challenged by "New Stock God" Serenity, who argued BofA's bearishness should be treated cautiously because spikes in negative news can coincide with institutions seeking liquidity. In Korea, June 10 data showed put open interest on the KOSPI 200 Index rising sharply relative to calls. By the prior close, the protective-put to speculative-call ratio was nearing 2.5-to-1, the highest in five years, a level only briefly seen in past episodes. Separately, Korean retail investors sold more than 1 trillion KRW in overseas stocks in the first week of June, which some interpret as a possible shift back toward domestic equities. SpaceX IPO frenzy and the liquidity question Market attention is also fixed on SpaceX's upcoming U.S. IPO. The latest reports said retail subscriptions have exceeded $100 billion. With SpaceX targeting $75 billion in fundraising and allocating 30% of shares to individual investors, retail demand alone is more than four times the available allocation. Short-seller and investment manager Jim Chanos said investors are buying into narratives rather than realistic profit outlooks, arguing SpaceX's valuation multiples are far above Tesla's (TSLA.O). Institutional demand has also surged. Franklin Templeton and the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are among those reported to have joined the order book, with foreign media saying multiple institutions placed orders of around $10 billion or more. Two days ago, total demand was already said to exceed $250 billion, nearly four times the $75 billion target. Based on current momentum, the oversubscription ratio could rise to as much as 10x ahead of the official listing this Friday. Tom Lee, Bitmine board chair known as a "Wall Street Oracle," said investors are selling existing holdings to raise cash for the IPO, intensifying the capital diversion effect and potentially contributing to recent softness in U.S. equities. Christophe Boucher, CIO at ABN Amro Investment Solutions (a Rabobank subsidiary), compared buying into the SpaceX IPO to buying crypto roughly 15 years ago: investors could lose everything, or see outsized gains. Despite liquidity concerns, market sources said S&P Dow Jones Indices believes SpaceX could qualify for fast inclusion in certain indices, which would make it a major new force in U.S. equities. Bottom line Global markets remain hostage to a mix of liquidity conditions, domestic policy signals, and geopolitical swings tied to the Israel–Iran conflict. Near term, traders are also watching for potential headline-driven whipsaws tied to Trump's repeated cycles of intimidation and optimism. Source notes: Mentions of BitPush Twitter/Telegram, subscriptions, original link, and a general disclaimer stating the article reflects the author's views and does not constitute investment advice.

Galaxy Digital research cited by Cointelegraph says Bitcoin's cycle lows may form at higher price levels than in past bear markets as speculative activity cools. The report flags a potential bottoming zone between $62,000 and Bitcoin's actual price of $53,600. Alex Thorn, Galaxy's research director, reviewed major peaks and troughs across Bitcoin's history and said the four-year cycle remains closely aligned with the asset's long-term price pattern. The study also finds peak-to-trough drawdowns have progressively compressed, easing from early declines of 85% and 84% to 77% in 2022 and 51% in 2026.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rolling back two longstanding provisions of Regulation NMS that shape how U.S. equity orders are routed and quotations are displayed. The initiative is pitched as a cleanup of legacy market mechanics, though it could also carry indirect implications for tokenized equities. What the SEC is proposing The agency is seeking to rescind Rule 611, known as the Order Protection (Trade-Through) Rule, and Rule 610(e), which restricts locked and crossed quotations. Adopted in 2005, Rule 611 generally limits trading venues from executing trades at prices inferior to protected quotes displayed on other venues. Rule 610(e) governs situations where bids and offers across venues produce locked or crossed markets. The SEC argues that, after two decades of market evolution, the rules have contributed to "unintended complexity." It says removing them would simplify equity market structure, reduce trading complexity, and lower costs. Estimated savings and process The SEC estimates annual cost savings of about $54.2 million to $77 million for exchanges, alternative trading systems (ATSs), broker-dealers, and OTC market makers, citing reduced compliance, monitoring, and order-routing infrastructure costs. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register and will be subject to a 60-day public comment period. It is not final and could be revised or withdrawn depending on feedback. Why digital-asset market structure is paying attention The SEC did not present the proposal as a crypto or tokenization initiative. Still, digital-asset market-structure observers are watching closely because tokenized equities and real-world-asset platforms ultimately must operate within the U.S. securities framework. Onchain trading models, particularly automated market makers (AMMs) that trade against liquidity pools using pricing formulas, typically do not route each order to check the national best bid and offer the way traditional venues do. Under a strict trade-through regime, that mismatch can create compliance tension if a tokenized-stock AMM executes at prices that diverge from protected quotes on other venues. In theory, removing rigid per-trade routing requirements could make it easier to design blockchain-based equity trading systems that fit within regulatory constraints. The SEC's stated motivation, though, is simplification and cost reduction in traditional markets$not building a tokenization framework. Key caveats Repealing these Reg NMS rules would not automatically legalize tokenized stocks or eliminate other regulatory hurdles. Exchanges, broker-dealers, ATSs, custody providers, and tokenized-asset platforms would still need to comply with a range of securities-law obligations. Other exchange-level rules and FINRA requirements may also need updates, and changes to Regulation NMS alone would not remove every barrier. Bottom line The SEC's proposal represents a meaningful rethink of legacy U.S. equity market plumbing. While not a crypto rulemaking and not an endorsement of tokenized equities, it could indirectly reduce certain structural frictions for onchain trading models. The public has 60 days to comment. Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Newsroom proposal).