Donald Trump has announced via his social media site, Truth Social, that he will be elevating William J. Pulte, the current director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Pulte will apparently retain his posts at the FHFA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac alongside his new role.

The DNI position was created during George W. Bush’s administration and was meant to unify and oversee the disparate parts of the United States Intelligence Community (IC).

This position was last held by Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned in May.

Pulte’s Alleged Scams

Pulte has been embroiled in a number of controversies both during his time in the private sector and his tenure in public service.

He was an important promoter of the $ZACK memecoin, which was founded by Edward Constantinescu.

Constantinescu was later accused by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding investors through this pump-and-dump scheme.

Lawyers for Pulte told Mother Jones that he did not profit from his promotion of this allegedly fraudulent project.

Mother Jones also reported on a donation from Team Pulte Inc. to One World Love.

Pulte claimed in tax filings that this donation was for “assistance to underserved people,” however, it seems that this entity was actually tied to Binnall Law Group, which was representing Trump’s nonsensical election fraud claims.

This eventually led to a letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden to Pulte to discuss the purpose of this donation.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 4.4% within 24 hours of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) disclosing its voluntary sale of 32 BTC. Two hours later, it fell another 2%.

That sale, which reneged on multiple promises to never sell by Strategy leaders like founder Michael Saylor, preceded a decline from $72,500 per BTC at the time of the firm’s 8-K to $69,300 precisely 24 hours later.

Strategy is the second-largest known BTC investor besides its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The company has amassed 4.2% of the asset’s circulating supply, and its holdings exclusively increased since December 2022 until yesterday’s disclosure.

Yesterday’s sale disclosure, albeit just 0.004% of its stack, spooked countless media outlets who covered Saylor’s bearish reversal across mainstream media yesterday including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, AOL, TheStreet, Gizmodo, and Forbes.

The disclosure’s reporting period was May 26-31 during which the sale actually occurred.

‘Never. No. We’re not sellers. We’re only acquiring and holding BTC.’

Saylor has become a minor celebrity in recent months after an aggressive media and ad campaign for STRC, Strategy’s 11.5% dividend-yielding, quasi-pegged stock that he dubiously believes is a competitor to high-yield bank accounts.

Google queries for his name reached an all-time high this year.

STRC, which doesn’t hold a stable value nor guarantee repayment of principal, has attracted four-fifths retail ownership attracted to its simplistic promotions.

It also enjoyed the credibility of the company’s BTC stack and its founder’s lapsed promises to never sell, such as his promise to Bloomberg, “Never. No. We’re not sellers. We’re only acquiring and holding BTC.”

For the first time in years, Strategy pocketed roughly $2.5 million by selling BTC at an average price of $77,135, slightly above the company’s blended cost basis of $75,699. 

Proceeds of the sale, the 8-K filing noted with cinematic irony, will fund dividends on the company’s preferred shares like STRC.

“Proceeds from the bitcoin sales are expected to be used to fund distributions on preferred stock.”
-Strategy 8-K

Strategy selling BTC to ‘innoculate’ the market

Not that it reduced the irony, but Saylor had telegraphed the sale in advance.

Specifically, on his first quarter earnings call last month, he said Strategy would probably sell a little BTC to “inoculate” the market as to his willingness to sell, despite his prior promises.

Coinbase Ventures has purchased ENA tokens on the open market as Coinbase and Ethena prepare a new partnership focused on on-chain finance and savings products.

Ethena said in an official X post on Tuesday that Coinbase Ventures made its first disclosed open-market investment in the protocol’s ENA token, while Coinbase and Ethena also agreed to work together on products for Coinbase users. The company said the first growth initiative from the partnership will launch next week, though it did not name the product.

Coinbase Ventures takes public ENA position

Coinbase Ventures confirmed the purchase in a separate X post, saying it backed Ethena through an open-market buy of ENA. The venture arm said Ethena plays a key role in on-chain finance and added that it expects closer work between Ethena, Coinbase, and USDC.

The transaction differs from the usual venture model used by Coinbase Ventures. According to Coinbase Ventures’ website, the firm has made more than 600 investments across crypto and web3 since its launch in 2018, with most deals involving seed or early-stage private rounds.

In this case, Coinbase Ventures bought ENA from the public market rather than through a discounted private allocation. Ethena did not disclose the number of tokens purchased, the average price, or any wallet addresses tied to the transaction.

Ethena partnership targets Coinbase users

According to Ethena’s announcement, the partnership will focus on expanding on-chain finance and savings products to Coinbase’s user base. Ethena said Coinbase has more than 100 million users, a figure Coinbase previously reported after crossing 100 million verified users in 2022.

The partnership could bring more attention to Ethena’s main products, USDe and sUSDe. USDe is Ethena’s synthetic dollar asset, while sUSDe is the staked version designed to generate yield.

Coinbase reported $294 billion in platform assets at the end of the first quarter. Ethena did not say whether the upcoming launch will involve USDe, sUSDe, ENA, or a separate Coinbase product.

Ethena’s TVL and revenue remain in focus

According to DefiLlama data cited in the announcement context, Ethena holds about $5.4 billion in total value locked. The USDe contract accounts for about $4.5 billion of that amount.

Source: DefiLlama

DefiLlama data also show Ethena is generating $178 million in annualized fees. The protocol has generated $972 million in cumulative fees and $332 million in cumulative protocol revenue since Ethena Labs was founded by Guy Young in 2023.

ENA, the protocol’s governance token, has a market capitalization of about $859 million and a fully diluted valuation of roughly $1.4 billion, based on the same market data.

ENA rises after the announcement

Market data showed ENA rose 8.3% over the past 24 hours after the announcement. DefiLlama showed 24-hour ENA trading volume of $168 million.

Source: Coinglass

At the same time, DefiLlama showed $178 million in on-chain ENA volume through Uniswap V3 and Aerodrome. The reported on-chain volume exceeded the centralized exchange flow during the period.

Ethena and Coinbase have not provided more details on the product expected next week. Coinbase already serves as the primary custodian for ENA held by the Ethena Labs core team and Foundation under a previous Coinbase Prime agreement.

Key Highlights

• Movement deploys licensed infrastructure to enable global stablecoin transactions
• New payment channels in US, EU, and Canada focus on remittance corridors
• Network foundation repurchases significant token allocation from early investors
• Platform bridges traditional banking systems with blockchain settlement technology
• Infrastructure aims to serve financially underserved populations in developing nations

Movement has obtained regulatory approval for licensed payment infrastructure spanning the United States, European Union, and Canada. This strategic expansion reinforces the network’s commitment to stablecoin-based settlement systems, international money transfers, and dollar-denominated savings solutions. The initiative specifically addresses markets where conventional financial systems impose significant friction and expense.

Addressing the Global Remittance Challenge

The network intends to bridge licensed financial infrastructure with blockchain-based settlement mechanisms to accelerate international money transfers. Movement now prioritizes remittance services, corporate treasury solutions, and banking products designed for populations with limited access to financial services. This represents a deliberate pivot from broad blockchain growth initiatives toward functional payment infrastructure.

The platform argues that existing financial networks continue to impose burdensome costs and delays on users worldwide. World Bank data indicates that remittance flows to developing and middle-income nations totaled $685 billion throughout 2024. Despite this massive volume, senders faced average transaction fees of 6.36% for cross-border transfers.

Movement seeks to eliminate these inefficiencies by leveraging stablecoin settlement technology combined with regulated partner channels. The infrastructure enables financial technology companies and digital banks to offer payment services, dollar-based savings accounts, and interest-bearing products. Importantly, this approach minimizes dependence on traditional correspondent banking relationships and prefunded nostro accounts.

Foundation Executes Strategic Token Buyback

The Movement Network Foundation recently acquired approximately 19% of tokens that had been distributed to initial backers. This repurchase represented roughly 4.2% of the entire token circulation. The foundation characterized this action as aligned with its commitment to token holders and payments infrastructure development.

The company has not publicly identified the specific regulated entities providing access to its payment channels. However, it confirmed that the infrastructure encompasses significant markets throughout North America and the European region. This access creates pathways between conventional banking infrastructure and decentralized settlement networks.

Movement has reinforced this approach through multiple ecosystem collaborations. KAST has onboarded more than 18,000 verified participants spanning over 160 nations using Movement-enabled products. Additionally, Circle deployed USDCx on the platform as a stablecoin with one-to-one backing by native USDC reserves.

Stablecoins Emerge as Critical Financial Infrastructure

Digital dollar tokens have become foundational to numerous blockchain expansion initiatives. Movement aligns with ecosystems including Solana, Polygon, and Aptos in emphasizing payments and financial services infrastructure. This shift positions blockchain platforms in direct competition with established settlement and money transfer networks.

The platform has cultivated partnerships across savings products, yield generation, digital wallets, and tokenized tangible assets. Sorted Wallet, Yuzu Money, Oro, Avant Protocol, and Zoth contribute various components to this technology foundation. These solutions encompass mobile-accessible wallets, dollar-based returns, precious metal storage, and institutional-quality real-world asset yields.

Movement’s strategic reorientation follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established regulatory clarity for payment stablecoins in the United States. The legislation intensified attention on compliant stablecoin offerings and reserve-backed financial instruments. Movement now frames its payment infrastructure as connecting regulated traditional finance with blockchain-based settlement technology.

Movement, a project originally designed to link blockchains built using the Move programming language with Ethereum, is pivoting toward cross-border payments, remittances and dollar savings products, reflecting a broader shift across the increasingly crowded layer-2 landscape.

The company behind the blockchain said Tuesday that it had secured access to licensed payment systems in the U.S., Canada and European Union, and would focus on building stablecoin-based settlement infrastructure for emerging markets.

The direction change comes as a number of layer-2 projects reassess their original scaling-focused roadmaps amid growing competition and declining differentiation among networks. With dozens of Ethereum scaling chains now competing for users, liquidity and developer attention, some projects are turning toward payments and real-world financial applications as a path to growth.

Polygon, one of the earliest Ethereum scaling projects, has increasingly emphasized payments and stablecoin infrastructure in recent years, pursuing projects with fintechs and payment providers as transaction fees and rollup technology become commoditized.

While layer-2 networks were initially pitched as a solution to Ethereum’s scaling challenges, the sector’s rapid expansion has left many projects searching for more specialized use cases. For Movement, that increasingly means competing not with other blockchain networks, but with traditional payment systems and remittance providers.

The team behind Movement said it plans to leverage licensed payment partners alongside blockchain settlement infrastructure to target the roughly $685 billion remittance market serving low and middle-income countries.

As part of the transition, the Movement Network Foundation said it repurchased some 19% of tokens previously allocated to investors, equivalent to 4.1% of total token supply. MOVE was recently trading around 14.35 cents.

“Billions globally are financially disenfranchised and unserved,” CEO Torab Torabi said in a press release shared with CoinDesk. “Our mission is to marry licensed payment rails with onchain settlement to modernize financial services globally, particularly in emerging markets.”

Read more: Movement Labs Terminates Rushi Manche After MOVE Token Deals

Bitcoin (BTC) losses passed 6% after Wednesday’s Wall Street open as a cascade of liquidations gathered pace.

Key points:

• Bitcoin falls below $67,000 for the first time since the first week of April as losses pile on.
• Liquidations hit $1.25 billion over 24 hours as analysis sees the mid-$50,000 range returning.
• BTC/USD appears to repeat a bear flag breakdown from earlier in the year.

BTC price dives to $66,950 in liquidation cascade

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping as low as $66,948 on Bitstamp.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

That level marked the pair’s lowest since April 5, erasing months of gains as 24-hour cross-crypto liquidations hit $1.25 billion.

Crypto liquidation history (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Continuing a grim divergence from other risk assets, Bitcoin collapsed as the S&P 500 set yet another all-time high.

BTC/USD vs. S&P 500 one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“Investors are Macro Risk-Off, fleeing into Stablecoins and moving away from Bitcoin,” trader and analyst Rekt Capital wrote in a response on X.

BTC/USD one-month chart. Source: Rekt Capital/X

Rekt Capital saw price targeting its 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) at $66,250 next.

“There could be a limited reaction from there on contact but over time Bitcoin is likely to breakdown from this EMA and continue macro downside in this Bear Market,” he added.

Source: Kalshi

As prediction service Kalshi saw $50,000 returning, commentator Exitpump put the spotlight on record open interest contributing to an “insane amount of spot selling.”

“I think this can end with a big red candle wiping out all the underwater longs from the system,” it warned X followers. 

“Maybe we hit low 60Ks or even mid 50Ks.”

BTC/USDT 12-hour chart with exchange order-book data. Source: Exitpump/X

Bitcoin bear flag returns to the spotlight

Continuing, CollinTalksCrypto, creator of the social media channel of the same name, brought back a familiar chart feature to explain the BTC price weakness.

Related: Trump says Iran will ‘work out well’: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

BTC/USD, he argued, was simply continuing a previous breakdown pattern, having exited a bear flag structure.

“Many wanted to overcomplicate this with ‘this time is different,’ but bitcoin is just doing the same thing it always does in bear markets. It breaks down,” an X post read. 

“And it definitely takes longer than 4 months (Oct->Feb $60k), despite the hopium to want otherwise. I think it’s more likely than many still want to admit that we see lower lows this year.”

BTC/USD one-day chart. Source: ColinTalksCrypto/X

ColinTalksCrypto described the BTC price chart as “pretty straightforward.”

Key takeaways

• XRP has dropped below $1.25 after three straight days of losses, its lowest level since February 6.
• The bearish performance comes as the broader crypto markets remain under pressure from geopolitical tensions. 

Ripple’s XRP has dropped below the $1.25 support level on Tuesday after extending losses for a third consecutive day, marking its weakest price since February 6. 

The broader cryptocurrency market continues to face selling pressure as investors adopt a risk-off stance, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Although U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that a peace deal with Iran could be reached “over the next week,” uncertainty persists. 

A CNN report also indicated that negotiations between the two countries resumed shortly after Iran paused talks following Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, further contributing to market volatility.

Mixed capital flows show continued institutional interest in XRP

Despite the price decline, XRP continues to attract institutional inflows across digital investment products, including U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

According to CoinShares, roughly $20 million flowed into XRP-related products in the week ending June 1, making it one of only a few assets to record meaningful inflows above $1 million.

At the ETF level, XRP spot products recorded $4.13 million in net inflows last week, extending a five-week streak of positive flows. 

Cumulative inflows have reached approximately $1.43 billion, with total net assets under management standing at $1.11 billion, according to SoSoValue data.

XRP technical outlook: bearish pressure builds below key moving averages

XRP is currently trading around $1.23, remaining below its key short-, medium-, and long-term moving averages, reinforcing a bearish near-term structure.

Momentum indicators also reflect continued downside pressure. The MACD histogram remains negative, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits near 37, approaching oversold territory but still indicating persistent bearish momentum.

If the bulls regain control, immediate resistance is seen at the 50-day EMA around $1.38, followed by the 100-day EMA near $1.45. 

A stronger rebound would require a break above a descending trendline near $1.52. A broader trend reversal would only be signaled if XRP can reclaim the 200-day EMA around $1.65.

While institutional inflows continue to provide underlying support, XRP remains under pressure from broader macro uncertainty and technical weakness. 

With the buyers failing to defend the $1.25 support level, XRP could likely drop below $1.20 in the near term.