Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has offered a more detailed account of the 1,096 BTC linked to the project’s early Isle of Man Foundation, saying the Bitcoin was used around 2016 and 2017 for demands tied to Michael Parsons and an original audit process.

The claim came during a recent AMA focused on Discord, governance, and community management. The video drew attention after Thomas Braziel, founder of 117 Partners and known online as Bkclaims, said the explanation may answer one part of the long-running question, but not the full record trail.

Public reporting on the AMA said Hoskinson tied the disputed Bitcoin to a March 2016 email from Parsons, who was then connected to the Cardano Foundation structure. Hoskinson also cited Bitcoin’s price at the time to argue that the payment was far smaller then than its current value.

Braziel asks for documents

Braziel pushed back on X and asked for the invoices, agreements, approvals, and payment records behind the payment. 

“The question was never whether audits cost money. The question was where 1,096 BTC went, who received it, and why,” Braziel said.

He also questioned the timing. In one post, Braziel said any audit would likely have happened later, when Bitcoin traded much higher than in the first fundraising tranches. He added, “The numbers just don’t seem to add up,” pointing to what he viewed as a gap between normal audit costs and the Bitcoin amount discussed.

A Cardano community member, Cardano_G, argued that the questions should be directed to the Cardano Foundation rather than Hoskinson. The account said the Isle of Man Foundation was a legal entity and that its successor should hold the relevant records.

Braziel responded that he had already raised the issue through private channels. He also said former employees had contacted him, which he cited as one reason he continued posting questions in public.

Governance debate widens

The dispute comes as Cardano faces a wider public debate over governance, communication, and treasury decisions. As previously reported by crypto.news, Hoskinson has proposed moving much of Cardano’s community activity from X to Discord, where future AMA questions would come from dedicated Cardano and Midnight channels.

That plan followed several weeks of arguments over governance, treasury spending, and ecosystem direction. crypto.news also reported that a 7.8 million ADA treasury proposal tied to the planned Cardano 2026 Summit in Singapore was rejected, after which organizers canceled the event.

The 1,096 BTC question now sits within that wider setting. It is not only about the present value of the coins, which has been estimated near $70 million, but also about the paper trail behind early Cardano entities, payments, and approvals.

Braziel has not presented the matter as a theft claim. His posts frame the issue as a request for records. Hoskinson, meanwhile, has argued that repeated public allegations drain time and resources from the ecosystem. 

Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped by 10.09% on Sunday, marking the blockchain’s 11th-largest downward adjustment and easing some of the pressure on miners.

Galaxy Research said that mining difficulty fell from 138.96 trillion to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568 on Sunday, the second biggest drop of 2026 and a 20% decrease from its peak in November.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen by around 15% so far in June, which has “squeezed miner margins,” Galaxy said. It added that the epoch, the time between when mining difficulty is adjusted, ran for 15.6 days, above the typical 14 days, as hashrate came offline.

Mining difficulty keeps block production stable even as the amount of mining power on the network changes. The drop means that Bitcoin miners will have an easier time mining blocks, as the falling hashrate means less competition.

Historical Bitcoin difficulty declines, with the drop on Sunday highlighted in orange. Source: Galaxy Research

Total hash rate, or the amount of mining computing power, is currently 886 exahashes per second (EH/s). It has fallen 12% so far this month and is down 23% from its peak in October, according to Blockchain.com.

The remaining miners now earn around 9% more per machine, according to crypto trader Merlijn Enkelaar.

Related: Bitcoin falls further as BTC miners pivot to AI, pro-crypto legislation stalls

Bitcoin mining difficulty fell more than 11% in February due to storm curtailments and a 25% BTC price crash. The highest ever difficulty drop was in July 2021, after China’s ban on mining and a following exodus. 

The next difficulty adjustment is expected on June 27, with Coinwarz predicting a slight 1.69% increase to around 127 trillion.

Hashprice returns to above $30 

Hashprice, which quantifies how much a miner can expect to earn from a specific quantity of hashrate, has increased 13% as a result of the difficulty dip and is currently $33 per Petahash per second per day, according to Hashrate Index.

It is an important threshold as it pushes more miners to a gross breakeven point, The Energy Mag reported on Saturday.

It reported that efficient fleets of miners will continue to generate profit at a lower hashprice, while older-generation machines that have higher electricity costs are likely to be turned off.

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XRP’s rebound is starting to look less like a dead-cat bounce and more like a market trying to build a base.

Buyers pushed the token through $1.14 and then $1.18 on the strongest volume seen since the selloff began, forcing traders to focus on whether the recovery can carry into the $1.20-$1.30 resistance zone that has capped previous rallies.

News Background

• XRP-linked ETFs have attracted roughly $1.4 billion in cumulative inflows since launching, with May marking the strongest month of institutional demand so far.

• More than 25 million XRP recently left exchanges, extending a trend that suggests long-term holders are accumulating despite the broader market weakness.

• Whale addresses holding significant XRP balances climbed to a record high, reinforcing the view that larger investors have been adding exposure during the correction.

Price Action Summary

• XRP rose from $1.1503 to $1.1866 during the 24-hour session, gaining more than 3%.

• The key move came during the June 14 21:00 UTC session, when volume surged to 107.6 million XRP, more than four times the daily average, pushing price through resistance near $1.14.

• Momentum carried into the close, with XRP briefly reaching $1.1928 before consolidating above $1.18.

Technical Analysis

• The most important development was the reclaim of the $1.14-$1.15 area. That zone acted as resistance throughout the recent decline and has now flipped into support.

The European Union’s MiCA transition period ends on July 1, 2026, creating a hard stop for crypto exchanges, brokers and wallet providers that still lack approval. 

After that date, firms without a MiCA license will no longer be allowed to serve EU customers.

ESMA said entities providing crypto-asset services to EU clients without a MiCA license after the deadline will breach EU law and must stop. It also expects unapproved providers to have “orderly wind-down plans” and help clients transfer crypto to an authorized provider or self-hosted wallet.

Most older firms may lose eligibility

The gap between old registrations and new licenses remains wide. Hogan Lovells said Europe had more than 3,000 virtual asset service providers in 2024, but only 194 authorized crypto-asset service providers in May 2026, including credit institutions.

The law firm expects around 75% of the pre-MiCA provider base to lose registration status as transition periods expire. Recently, crypto.news reported that an ESMA register snapshot showed 204 authorized providers as of May 22, 2026, showing that approvals are still moving but remain limited.

MiCA also uses passporting. A company licensed by one national regulator can notify other authorities and serve clients across all 27 EU member states. That system puts national approval speed and review quality at the center of the July transition.

Regulators prepare enforcement

France has made one of the clearest warnings. The AMF said only authorized crypto-asset service providers can serve French clients from July 1. Providers that continue without approval face a two-year prison sentence and a €30,000 fine under French rules.

The AMF also said it can publish blacklists, warn the public and seek court action to block websites. Reuters reported that AMF president Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani told reporters it was “very, very urgent” for firms to complete license applications.

National rollout remains uneven. As previously reported, Poland’s president stalled a MiCA-aligned crypto bill despite the EU deadline, while Italy set an earlier local deadline for registered providers to seek approval or wind down.

Users face account transfers and withdrawals

The deadline will not affect every user in the same way. Accounts at licensed exchanges should continue operating. Users on platforms that move business to an approved European arm may need to accept new terms, verify identity again, or confirm which legal entity holds their account.

Unlicensed providers will need to stop taking new deposits and guide clients to withdraw assets, sell positions, or move funds to licensed firms or self-custody wallets. ESMA warned that MiCA protections apply only to the authorized EU entity, not necessarily to other companies using the same brand.

Moreover, as previously reported by crypto.news, an OKX Europe analysis found that 60% of European crypto users still use exchanges without MiCA authorization. The same analysis said 7.6 million of 18.5 million exchange app downloads in Europe from May 2025 to May 2026 went to platforms without a valid license.

The July deadline will test whether MiCA delivers a single EU crypto market or a stricter system split by national approval speed. For users, the next step is practical: check the ESMA Interim MiCA Register, read platform notices, and move assets before access changes.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell by 10.09% on Sunday, easing one of the main cost pressures facing miners as the network recalibrated to a drop in hash rate. Data shared by Galaxy Research indicates difficulty moved down from 138.96 trillion to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568.

The adjustment comes as June has been challenging for the sector: Galaxy Research said Bitcoin’s price is down about 15% so far this month, a move that it believes “squeezed miner margins.” In the background, the most recent adjustment window also ran longer than usual—15.6 days rather than the typical 14—because some mining capacity was taken offline.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped 10.09% to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568, marking the 11th-largest decline on record.
• Galaxy Research attributes the reset to falling hashrate and weaker margins amid roughly a 15% Bitcoin drawdown in June.
• Hashrate has declined meaningfully in recent months, which reduces competitive pressure and helps individual miners mine blocks with less difficulty.
• Hashprice rose to $33 per PH/s/day after the difficulty decrease, pushing more efficient fleets toward gross breakeven.
• The next difficulty adjustment is expected around June 27, with Coinwarz projecting a modest increase.

Difficulty declines as mining capacity drops

Mining difficulty is designed to keep block production relatively steady even when the network’s total computing power changes. When hashrate falls, difficulty is lowered at the next adjustment so the remaining miners can still find blocks at the expected pace.

Galaxy Research said the latest epoch—the time between difficulty adjustments—lasted 15.6 days instead of the standard 14. It linked the extension to hashrate coming offline before the recalibration, leading to a larger-than-normal reduction in difficulty.

According to Galaxy, this Sunday’s move was the second biggest difficulty drop of 2026 so far. It also represented about a 20% decrease from the peak level reached in November, suggesting that miners are working through a broader adjustment phase rather than a one-off fluctuation.

Hashrate trends and what miners may earn next

Beyond difficulty itself, overall network hashrate influences how competitive mining is in practice. Blockchain.com data cited in the reporting shows total hash rate at about 886 exahashes per second (EH/s). That figure is down roughly 12% since the start of June and down 23% from its October peak.

With competition reduced as hashrate declines, miners can often expect better returns per machine relative to a period when the network is more heavily saturated. Crypto trader Merlijn Enkelaar said the remaining miners now earn around 9% more per machine, reflecting the combination of lower difficulty and a less crowded mining environment.

Hashrate levels remain a key variable to watch because difficulty only responds at set intervals. If hashrate continues to fall quickly, the next adjustment could again move in a direction that benefits miners—though the timing of the response depends on how long the downturn lasts within the epoch.

Hashprice rises and the cost-benefit line for older fleets

While “difficulty” is a protocol parameter, hashprice is a practical metric that estimates how much miners can earn from a given amount of hashrate over a day. After Sunday’s difficulty drop, hashprice increased by 13% and is currently $33 per Petahash per second per day, according to Hashrate Index.

Hashprice matters because it is closely tied to gross economics: electricity costs, maintenance, and power procurement typically determine whether a mining fleet stays online. The Energy Mag reported that this higher hashprice level pushes more operators toward gross breakeven, meaning efficient miners should be able to keep generating profit even if broader market conditions remain tight.

The same report warned that older-generation machines—often burdened with higher electricity and operating costs—are more likely to be idled when hashprice is not high enough to cover expenses. In other words, difficulty declines can extend the runway for some miners, but they may also sharpen the split between efficient and inefficient fleets.

Historical context and the next adjustment date

Bitcoin has experienced large difficulty declines before, usually during periods when hash rate drops faster than expected or when mining economics worsen abruptly. The article notes that difficulty fell by more than 11% in February, a move linked to storm curtailments and a separate 25% BTC price crash. It also references the steepest historical drop in July 2021, which followed China’s mining ban and the subsequent exodus of miners from the country.

Looking forward, the next difficulty adjustment is expected on June 27. Coinwarz’s difficulty chart projection calls for a slight 1.69% increase to roughly 127 trillion, implying that the current epoch may not produce another difficulty reset of the same magnitude. Still, that outcome depends on how stable hashrate remains between now and the adjustment.

Miners and investors should watch two things next: whether hashrate continues trending down (which would keep difficulty pressure lower) and whether hashprice can hold above the $30 threshold long enough to support less efficient machines. With the next adjustment only weeks away, the network’s capacity trajectory could quickly determine how much of Sunday’s relief is sustained.

Bitcoin climbed to its highest level in nearly two weeks after the US and Iran reached a deal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, removing the energy-supply fear that had weighed on markets for months.

The token traded around $65,844 on Monday, up 2.1% over 24 hours, after touching a low near $63,722 in the early hours of Asian trading before the deal news broke, per CoinDesk data.

The move puts bitcoin about 9% above the sub-$60,000 low it hit last week, its weakest level since October 2024.

The rally was broad. Ether rose 2.5% to $1,721, solana gained 3.6% to $71 and XRP added 3.2% to $1.19. Hyperliquid’s HYPE was the standout, up 7.5% on the day to nearly $65. BNB and dogecoin both added more than 1%.

Brent crude slumped more than 4% toward $83 a barrel as traders unwound the geopolitical premium that had kept oil elevated since late February. Asian stocks jumped more than 3%, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 heading for a record close. S&P 500 futures were up 1.2%. The dollar fell against major peers.

The US and Iran said they reached an interim agreement to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the deal to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.

The price of bitcoin BTC$65,668.48 has risen to $65,700, up 2% over the past 24 hours, and its highest level since the early June plunge.

The price of WTI crude oil has plunged nearly 5% to just under $81 per barrel, its softest level in about two months.

Nasdaq 100 futures are higher by 1.5% and S&P 500 futures are up 0.9%.