Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig on Tuesday acknowledged fundamental differences in the traditional commodity markets it has long regulated and its more recent role overseeing aspects of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.

He told the American Cotton Shippers Association Annual Convention that considering the agency’s roots in overseeing asset classes that range from corn to hog bellies, the perpetual contracts tied to digital assets weren’t “suitable for all asset classes, especially in products like agriculture.”

“We fully recognize and understand that 24-7 trading and the perpetual model is not a natural fit for traditional commodity markets, like agriculture, that observe limited trading hours and rely on physical delivery,” said Selig.

The CFTC chair’s remarks followed the agency approving perpetual futures contracts tied to the spot price of Bitcoin for prediction markets platform Kalshi and issuing a no-action position for similar products on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in May. Kraken also subsequently launched perpetual futures trading for US users through its CFTC-regulated platform Bitnomial.

Related: Crypto lobby urges Congress to pass staking and mining tax bill as is

Selig’s position as sole commissioner at the CFTC, both in claiming that the agency has “exclusive jurisdiction” in overseeing prediction markets and approving crypto perpetual futures, has prompted legal backlash from many companies and state level authorities. Last week, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group sued the agency in the District of Columbia, alleging that the perpetual contract approvals violated the Commodity Exchange Act.

Still no commissioner nominations from Trump

Despite the urging of many US lawmakers, President Donald Trump has made no move to fill out the CFTC’s five-person leadership panel. Selig has been the only Republican commissioner and chair following the departure of Caroline Pham in December 2025.

The US Senate is expected to take up a vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in a matter of weeks, which could change the roles of the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission in overseeing digital assets.

Magazine: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers: Asia Express

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A group of US Senate Democrats is pressing Senate Republicans to open hearings into a reported $500 million investment that links a Trump-linked crypto firm to Abu Dhabi royalty, arguing the transaction could raise national security and conflict-of-interest concerns.

In a letter sent Tuesday, the lawmakers urged Republican leadership—who control the Senate’s committee system and set whether hearings move forward—to call witnesses from the Trump administration and to investigate whether the reported deal between the Trump family’s crypto company and a UAE-backed investor influenced decisions made by the president or his officials. The letter also points to broader concerns that the administration has weakened crypto enforcement.

Key takeaways

• Senate Democrats want immediate Senate hearings into a reported $500 million UAE-linked deal involving Trump family crypto interests.
• The lawmakers are asking for testimony from Trump administration officials “under oath” regarding the investment and related developments.
• They cite national security worries, including concerns that sensitive technology could be accessed by China after a major UAE arms and chip agreement.
• The letter links the investigation request to claims that the administration has loosened crypto compliance and enforcement efforts.

UAE investment into Trump-linked World Liberty Financial under scrutiny

The push follows reporting that an Abu Dhabi investment company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—an adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ national security apparatus—signed a deal in January 2025 to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform associated with President Donald Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal as referenced earlier by Cointelegraph.

The Democrats’ Tuesday letter treats the reported transaction as more than an ordinary business arrangement. It argues that Congress should examine both the investment details and whether the deal affected subsequent actions by the president and the administration.

According to the letter, the senators are “deeply concerned” about what the UAE may receive—or may have already received—“at the expense of US national security.” They also argue that Congress must investigate whether the reported investment influenced decisions taken by President Trump.

National security concerns extend beyond crypto

The lawmakers point to additional context involving the UAE and the US administration. In May 2025, the Trump administration agreed to a major arms and artificial intelligence chip deal with the UAE, a development the senators said occurred “despite concerns raised by US national security officials that China could access the chips.”

President Trump has previously denied awareness of the World Liberty Financial deal, according to coverage referenced by Cointelegraph, which cited Trump’s position that he was not aware of the arrangement.

For the Democrats, the combination of a reported UAE investment in a Trump-connected crypto platform and a subsequent US-UAE technology and defense agreement is the heart of the scrutiny. Their central question is whether there is an asymmetry in benefits—whether the UAE may have obtained preferential access or other advantages in connection with both economic and strategic ties, even if the president says he was unaware of the crypto transaction.

Claims about weakening crypto enforcement fuel the call

Beyond the specific investment, the letter also ties the investigation request to what the senators describe as steps to weaken enforcement in the crypto sector. The Democrats cite concerns about actions such as exempting crypto service providers from certain financial services regulations and disbanding the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement team.

The senators—Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden—appear to be arguing that congressional oversight is needed not only to evaluate potential foreign influence around a high-profile crypto entity, but also to determine whether enforcement posture changes have reduced deterrence or oversight at a time when the sector’s regulatory and compliance framework is evolving.

Previous Democratic probes and pressure campaigns

This request is part of a broader pattern of Democratic scrutiny around World Liberty Financial and Trump-linked crypto interests.

Earlier this year, Cointelegraph reported that Senate Democrats urged the Treasury Secretary to determine whether the UAE stake should be reviewed under the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) framework, pointing to the possibility that foreign investment could implicate national security concerns. That push, according to prior coverage referenced by Cointelegraph, specifically urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to assess whether the deal warranted a CFIUS probe.

Democrats have also raised questions about how regulators have handled enforcement decisions in the crypto space. Earlier coverage referenced by Cointelegraph described senators pressing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins concerning the decision to drop a fraud case involving Justin Sun, a major backer associated with World Liberty Financial.

Separately, lawmakers have pursued investigations beyond crypto investment ties. In May, Democratic Senator Peter Welch and Representative Dave Min launched a probe into Trump’s pardons, including the pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. That inquiry came after Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi fund in early 2025 and agreed that the funds would be paid in World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, USD1.

Taken together, the new letter suggests Democrats intend to keep pressure on the oversight agenda—moving from regulatory enforcement questions and transaction scrutiny toward potential connections between foreign investment, presidential decision-making, and enforcement posture changes.

What to watch next

The next step hinges on whether Senate Republicans agree to schedule hearings and, if so, what specific questions committees will put to Trump administration officials and other witnesses about the reported UAE investment, related communications, and the administration’s enforcement decisions. With the national security and conflict-of-interest concerns now being formally framed as matters for congressional investigation, the key uncertainty is whether oversight will expand beyond allegations into documented evidence and official timelines.

Zcash miner Fortitude Mining Holdings is set to merge with medical technology company HeartSciences in a deal that will allow Fortitude to become publicly traded without pursuing a traditional initial public offering.

The all-stock transaction announced Tuesday will see Fortitude’s management team assume control of the combined company, which will operate under the Fortitude name and is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TUDE, subject to regulatory approval. Existing HeartSciences shareholders will retain a minority ownership stake.

HeartSciences CEO Andrew Simpson hinted at the rationale behind the transaction, saying it would free the company from “the constant cycle of raising capital” while providing what it believes is the best path forward for shareholders.

While the combination brings together two unrelated businesses — Fortitude mines digital assets, while HeartSciences develops AI-enabled cardiac diagnostics — the deal is effectively a reverse merger that gives Fortitude access to the public markets through an existing Nasdaq-listed company. For HeartSciences, which has faced ongoing capital needs, the transaction offers shareholders continued exposure to a publicly traded business while allowing its healthcare unit to continue operating under Simpson’s leadership.

The structure is similar to other crypto companies that have reached the public markets through mergers rather than traditional IPOs. For example, Bitcoin miner Core Scientific listed via a SPAC merger in 2022, while Cipher Mining also went public through a SPAC transaction.

Shares of HeartSciences, which continue to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker HSCS pending completion of the transaction, rose as much as 91% on Tuesday, according to Google Finance data.

HeartSciences stock. Source: Google Finance

Related: CoinShares stock makes US debut on Nasdaq following SPAC merger

HeartSciences remained unprofitable before merger deal

HeartSciences has yet to achieve meaningful commercial revenue and has reported net losses for several consecutive years. According to MarketScreener, the company generated minimal revenue in fiscal 2025 while its net loss widened to $8.77 million from $6.61 million a year earlier.

Despite its financial challenges, HeartSciences advanced its product roadmap in fiscal 2025, launching its MyoVista Insights software platform, which is designed to modernize existing ECG management systems.

As a privately held company, Fortitude has disclosed little about its finances. However, it said it had scaled its annualized production to 157,000 Zcash (ZEC) as of May 31. ZEC was last trading at about $413 apiece, CoinMarketCap data showed at time of publication. That gave the token a market cap of $6.92 billion.

Related: Crypto Biz: Is AI the exit strategy for miners?

Bitcoin and ether are grinding toward the lower end of their recent ranges, major market making firm Wintermute’s OTC trading desk said in a Wednesday note shared with CoinDesk, with both assets caught between last week’s hawkish Fed and the stop-start Iran headlines.

Options markets price a relatively tight move for the next 24 hours. Wintermute’s one-day straddle, a measure of expected swing derived from options pricing, put bitcoin in a $61,242 to $63,563 range and ether between $1,606 and $1,694, implying moves of about 1.9% and 2.7% respectively.

The backdrop is deteriorating. Token correlations are rising, meaning assets are moving together rather than on their own fundamentals, while liquidity is thinning into the summer months with no fresh institutional bid visible in ETF flows.

Wintermute flagged $59,000 as the level to watch, calling it the bear market low and the key support if current pressure continues.

Three catalysts shape the rest of the week: the U.S.-Iran peace deal and whether it holds, Thursday’s PCE inflation print, the Fed’s preferred measure of price growth, and the quarterly options expiry at month-end, which can amplify moves as traders roll or close large positions.

Bitcoin (BTC) holders who acquired their coins more than five years ago have cut spending to a 90-day average of 962 BTC, the lowest level since November 2024, according to CryptoQuant data. The slowdown follows three major spending peaks over the past two years, including a high of 3,860 BTC in May 2024. 

At the same time, BTC analysts said that market and profitability indicators are converging in the second half of 2026, putting a new timeline of a potential Bitcoin bottom. 

Bitcoin “OG” holders step back

Crypto analyst Darkfost said the current cycle has produced the highest level of spending by long-term Bitcoin holders on record. The cohort tracked in the dataset consists of investors who acquired Bitcoin more than five years ago. 

Using spent transaction outputs (STXO), which track Bitcoin that has moved across the network, the analyst identified three major spending waves following strong rallies.

OG Bitcoin Holders selling pressure. Source: CryptoQuant

The 90-day moving average peaked at 3,860 BTC in May 2024, 3,200 BTC in February 2025 and 2,360 BTC in September 2025. Individual sessions were far larger, with some days recording output exceeding 10,000, 30,000 and even 142,000 BTC.

That selling pressure has eased sharply. The 90-day average has dropped to 962 BTC, the lowest reading in 19 months. Darkfost said the most expensive coins held by this group were acquired for about $63,200, which is close to current prices. This indicates that many of these holders are choosing not to sell, even though their holdings are trading near their highest cost basis.

Bitcoin Researcher Axel Adler Jr. further noted a split between newer and older BTC investors. The analyst said that Bitcoin’s adjusted net unrealized profit/loss (aNUPL) has fallen to -0.14 from near zero a month ago, showing that the average holder has moved back into unrealized losses as BTC traded near $62,500. However, Adler Jr argued, 

“STH capital has shrunk by -56%, while LTH capital has barely drawn down. Weak hands are capitulating. Strong hands have not even flinched.” 

Adler Jr. added that the key metric has spent nearly half of the past three months below zero, indicating sustained pressure on newer BTC market participants rather than a broad capitulation across long-term holders. 

STH vs LTH realized cap analysis. Source: Axel Adler Jr.

Related: Bitcoin slump worsens amid SpaceX rout: Can BTC price hold $60K any longer?

BTC halving cycle points to September bottom, says analyst

Crypto analyst LP highlighted a recurring pattern tied to Bitcoin’s halving cycles. The previous bear market entered a final capitulation phase 826 days after the halving event, followed by a major low and sideways consolidation for 70 to 110 days.

For the current cycle, the 826-day marker falls on July 6. Applying the same timing range places a potential bottoming window in early September.

BTC bottom analysis by LP. Source: X

The trader noted that the scenario becomes more relevant if Bitcoin continues to trade higher into early July. 

Likewise, BTC trader Titan also identified downside liquidity below the current levels. On the quarterly chart, Bitcoin has an untapped low near $58,900 and an open fair value gap between roughly $49,000 and $58,900. 

The trader explained that leaving the quarterly low untouched throughout September may draw more attention to that liquidity zone, eventually leading to a market bottom between Q3 and Q4. 

BTC quarterly analysis. Source: X

Related: Bitcoin gets new $54K warning as BTC price hits 11-day low on Asia tech sell-off

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly directed his staff to create a prediction markets mobile app called “Arena” in what could become a challenge to platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

According to a Tuesday New York Times report citing two employees with knowledge of the matter, Zuckerberg ordered the development of the prediction markets app that would allow users to place wagers using a points system rather than money. The app will reportedly function independently of Meta’s existing platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

The news outlet said insiders described the effort as experimental but a top priority for the company. If launched, it could challenge Kalshi’s and Polymarket’s market share for prediction markets, with Meta reporting its apps drew in 3.56 billion users daily as of March.

Meta has previously attempted to launch products with potential impacts on the crypto and blockchain industry, including its planned Libra stablecoin in 2019 that was later rebranded to Diem and dropped in 2022. In April, the company rolled out USDC payouts for certain Facebook creators in Colombia and the Philippines, with some US lawmakers expressing concerns about Meta’s US plans for stablecoins.

Related: Republican lawmaker proposes prediction markets insider trading ban, not including White House officials

Meta reportedly planned to cut 10% of its staff in April amid the company pivoting to artificial intelligence, a move expected to affect about 8,000 people.

Source: Kalshi

Prediction markets still under scrutiny in US

While US regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) remain engaged in legal battles with several state authorities over prediction markets, lawmakers are also considering legislation to address issues like insider trading and profiting from nonpublic information while in office.

Some of lawmakers’ concerns stemmed from a soldier allegedly making more than $400,000 on a Polymarket event contract related to the capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, removed by US forces in January to face a criminal trial in New York City. The soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, is scheduled to go to trial in December.

Magazine: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers: Asia Express

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Micron, Marvell and On Semiconductor, each more than doubled in 2026, led the drop. The selloff pulled the S&P 500 down 1.4% and the Nasdaq 100 down 3.3%. An attempted rebound in Asian chip stocks failed to hold on Wednesday, with Taiwan Semiconductor down more than 3%.

Oil kept falling as the other half of the macro picture. Brent crude slipped about 1% toward $76 a barrel as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz became more visible following the US-Iran interim peace deal. A gauge of the dollar climbed to a seven-month high as investors moved toward safer assets.

The crypto-specific signal sits in the fund flows, said Mike McCluskey, co-founder of tx, in an email to CoinDesk. He called bitcoin’s stabilization in the low-to-mid $60,000s a measured response to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn, given how hard such shifts usually hit digital assets.

US spot bitcoin ETFs have seen a record 30-day net outflow of more than $6 billion, which McCluskey described as sustained institutional de-risking by the same buyers that drove this cycle. Until those flows clearly reverse, he said, relief rallies are likely to hit a hard ceiling.

McCluskey also flagged Friday’s options expiry on Deribit, with roughly $10.6 billion in notional value set to expire. An option is a contract giving the right to buy or sell at a set price, and notional value is the total value of the assets those contracts cover.

Zero-knowledge scaling company StarkWare has introduced Private KYC on Starknet, enabling users to complete know-your-customer requirements without revealing their full personal information. 

The system, announced Tuesday as a demo, uses STRK20 privacy features and zero-knowledge STARK proofs to let users prove specific attributes, such as being older than 18 or holding valid credentials, without revealing their full passport details or address.

“Whether you need to prove you’re over 18, hold a valid credential or meet an eligibility rule, verification should only confirm the precise fact,” StarkWare said. Corporations should not collect the full identity behind it, “because every identity database becomes a liability the moment it exists.”

KYC compliance involves handing over personal information and trusting companies to keep it safe. The rollout comes as the US hit a record 3,322 data compromises in 2025, a 79% increase over five years, and the global average cost of a data breach is $4.4 million, according to StationX. 

StarkWare users start by scanning their passport on their phones, using the camera and NFC chip to read and confirm the document is genuine and signed by its issuing authority.

They can then encrypt identity data to their Starknet wallet, register attributes in a public onchain registry, and submit zero-knowledge proofs for selective checks. Verifiers can confirm eligibility by reading the public registry without ever seeing the actual identity data. 

Related: Privacy push as StarkWare and Sui move toward compliance-ready confidential transfers

“Private KYC shows that verification and privacy aren’t a trade-off,” StarkWare said. “An institution can confirm exactly what it needs without assembling another copy of someone’s identity it then has to defend.”

Contracts check the proofs, not the passports. Source: StarkWare

“Identity checks today ask for your whole document when they only need one fact,” the Starknet team said. 

The system is similar to Sam Altman’s World ID (Worldcoin), which uses zk-proofs to verify humanness via iris scans on hardware orbs. However, World ID faced backlash over centralized biometric custody, whereas StarkWare’s self-custody model aims to address that issue. 

Data breaches cost millions 

According to Axis Intelligence, more than 1 billion health care records have been breached, with an average cost of $7.42 million, as of 2026. In the US, 772 large health care data breaches were confirmed in 2025, the highest annual total ever recorded. 

The largest and most damaging data breach in the crypto industry occurred at hardware wallet provider Ledger, which suffered a massive database hack in 2020, resulting in the leak of more than 270,000 customer records and a wave of phishing attacks that continue to this day. 

Magazine: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers: Asia Express