Iran has suspended a 60-day negotiation process with the United States less than 24 hours after signing a new agreement, while warning that Israeli strikes could trigger a renewed Strait of Hormuz blockade.

Summary

• Iran suspended a 60-day negotiation process with the U.S. less than 24 hours after signing a new agreement.
• Tehran accused Washington of violating the deal after Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.
• Iran warned that further escalation could lead to retaliatory strikes and another Strait of Hormuz blockade.

According to The Hormuz Letter, citing reports from Fars and Al-Mayadeen, Tehran halted the entire negotiation framework less than 24 hours after the agreement was electronically signed. 

BREAKING: Iran has suspended its entire 60-day negotiation period with the US over the direct violation of the MOU’s first clause, with Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon constituting a breach less than 24 hours after the MOU was electronically signed, per Fars and Al-Mayadeen.…

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) June 18, 2026

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Iranian officials argued that Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon violated the first clause of the memorandum, which they said was intended to halt hostilities and protect Lebanese sovereignty.

Israeli forces carried out overnight operations in southern Lebanon, according to reports cited by Iranian media. Tehran subsequently accused the United States of failing to ensure compliance with the agreement and rejected suggestions that Israel’s actions should be viewed separately from Washington’s responsibilities under the deal.

BREAKING: Iran warns of cancelling all upcoming negotiations, re-imposing the full Hormuz blockade and responding with missiles over the direct violation of the US-Iran MOU’s first clause, with Israel continuing military aggressions in southern Lebanon, including last night,…

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) June 18, 2026

Iranian officials also warned that the country would not unilaterally fulfill its own obligations under the memorandum until it receives assurances that Israeli military activity has stopped and that the U.S. has adhered to the agreement’s terms, according to The Hormuz Letter.

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The dispute quickly disrupted diplomatic efforts. Reports indicated that an Iranian delegation had already been preparing to travel to Switzerland for the first round of negotiations before Tehran decided to suspend the entire process.

The planned talks were expected to begin a 60-day diplomatic track between U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. With the negotiations now paused, uncertainty has returned to a process that had only just begun.

Oil supply concerns return to financial markets

Attention has increasingly shifted toward the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy exports. Iranian threats to close the waterway have renewed concerns about potential disruptions to oil shipments despite recent declines in crude prices.

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Market participants have closely monitored the route because a significant share of the world’s seaborne crude exports passes through the narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to international markets. Any interruption could tighten energy supplies and reverse the recent drop in oil prices toward the $75-per-barrel range.

Analysts have long warned that higher oil prices can fuel inflation pressures, complicating expectations for future monetary policy decisions. A renewed surge in energy costs could affect sentiment across equities, commodities, and other risk-sensitive assets.

Crypto traders react to rising geopolitical tensions

Digital asset markets moved lower as investors assessed the latest developments. Bitcoin fell below $63,000 on Thursday and briefly traded near the $62,000 level as traders reduced exposure to risk assets amid growing uncertainty in the Middle East.

The decline extended across the broader cryptocurrency market, where concerns over a possible Hormuz disruption added to existing macroeconomic risks. Traders have also been weighing how higher energy costs could influence inflation and interest-rate expectations.

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Rising geopolitical tensions also triggered a wave of liquidations across crypto derivatives markets. According to CoinGlass data, approximately $499.34 million in positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long traders accounting for $402.11 million of the losses. More than 125,000 traders were liquidated during the period as Bitcoin fell below $63,000 and broader market volatility increased.

With negotiations suspended and Tehran warning of additional retaliatory measures, investors are likely to remain focused on developments surrounding the U.S.-Iran agreement, Israeli military activity in Lebanon, and the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

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Backpack's tokenized SpaceX share token has crossed 10,000 onchain holders on Solana, six days after listing alongside the company's Nasdaq debut. The milestone widens the holder gap with rival xStocks' SpaceX product and lands as Backpack chief executive Armani Ferrante stakes out a structural… Read the full story at The Defiant

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The ‘SpaceX exit liquidity’ narrative is everywhere since the IPO last week. Critics argue that the huge demand for SpaceX shares could let early investors, employees, or insiders sell stock at very high valuations while new buyers, especially retail investors, take the risk.

However, the S-1 filing, the lock-up calendar, and crypto futures positioning suggest the opposite, at least for now.

Who Can Sell SpaceX Shares Early?

It is critical to start with the supply side of the exit liquidity question. The offering sells only newly issued SpaceX shares. The company raised about $75 billion from 555.6 million new Class A shares, and the S-1 confirms that no existing holder sells at listing.

Every dollar goes to SpaceX itself, largely to fund its AI buildout. Many readers asking how to buy SpaceX IPO shares assume insiders sell to them directly. They do not.

Want more insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Newsletter here.

Insiders keep roughly 95.8% of the equity. Elon Musk and certain significant investors agreed to a 366-day lock-up, an agreement that blocks sales for a set period. Employees face restrictions too.

Lower-tier staff, such as welders, became paper millionaires this week, but their equity stays frozen until the first release window after Q2 earnings. They cannot dump SpaceX stock today, no matter how much they want to.

The one true carve-out is a directed share program covering up to 5% of the IPO shares for individuals selected by executives. Even they reportedly sell only after the first earnings report, and they buy fresh stock at the offer price.

So if nobody connected to SpaceX can sell today, who wants to sell later, and when does the door open?

The Billionaires Want Out, but the Lock-Up Sets the Date

The sellers in waiting are real, and this is where the SpaceX IPO exit liquidity story finds its grain of truth. Google or Alphabet holds about 5% of the company after the xAI merger diluted its earlier 6.11% stake.

That position could be worth up to $100 billion, a roughly 100x gain on its 2015 investment. They might want to liquidate some of that.

Early venture backers sound the same alarm.

Space Capital founder Chad Anderson told Fortune:

“We’ve been invested for almost ten years, it’s our business to return capital to investors.”

Yet, their exit runs through the SpaceX lock-up schedule. Up to 20% of eligible insider shares unlock after Q2 earnings, expected between mid July and September. Another 10% unlocks if SPCX holds 30% above the offer price for five of ten sessions. Five 7% tranches follow at 70, 90, 105, 120, and 135 days, with 28% more after Q3 earnings and full release at 180 days.

That metered supply meets a scheduled buyer. Nasdaq’s fast entry rule and MSCI’s early inclusion push index funds, and the retirement accounts behind them, to buy SpaceX stock within weeks of listing.

Passive inflows become standing demand for whatever insiders release. The financials explain why some may hurry.

SpaceX reported $18.7 billion in 2025 revenue with a $4.9 billion net loss, as Starlink’s $4.4 billion operating profit funded a $6.4 billion xAI loss. The SpaceX valuation sits near 94 times trailing sales, and Facebook’s staggered 2012 lock-up still ended 40% below its offer price.

Selling pressure is therefore scheduled, not imaginary.

Whether retail stands beneath it depends on who actually received the allocation.

Retail Was Cut Back, Not Loaded Up

If insiders planned to unload on small investors, the allocation should have maximized the retail bag. The opposite happened. Retail investors submitted more than $100 billion in orders to buy SpaceX IPO shares, exceeding the $75 billion deal size, and total demand reached 3.5 to 4 times the available stock.

SpaceX then cut the retail allocation to the low 20% range from a planned 30% because institutional appetite was strong. BlackRock alone ordered at least $5 billion, while sovereign funds took allocations of more than $1 billion each.

Mechanics weaken the bag-holder framing further. Fills were random or pro rata, depending on the broker, and brokers’ debit cash only for shares actually received. Anyone who failed to buy SpaceX shares in the offering simply keeps their money.

The exit liquidity story only works if retail ends up as the bag holder. That requires one of two traps. Either retail holds shares it cannot sell, or it got handed shares nobody else wanted.

SPCX retail escaped both, since it can sell from day one and received fewer shares than it ordered.

The post Is SpaceX the Ultimate Exit Liquidity for Billionaires? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Ondo Finance added 173 tokenized stocks and ETFs to Ondo Global Markets on Tuesday, pushing its catalog past 430 assets available across Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. Ondo Finance's official X account announced the expansion on June 17. The batch spans some of the most capital-intensive corners… Read the full story at The Defiant

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The CME Group has said that it will sue the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over its decision to approve perpetual futures in the U.S.

CEO Terrence Duffy told CNBC on Wednesday that the firm plans to file the lawsuit on Thursday, saying its case will be based on the argument that perpetual futures are swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Perpetuals Should Be Classified As Swaps

Duffy said CME believes the products should be treated as swaps instead of futures contracts, adding that the company’s benchmark licensing agreements mean providers offering them would need to work through the exchange.

“We have an exclusive license with every single provider of the benchmarks. So all of these would have to go through CME regardless of the perpetual,” said Duffy.

Perpetual futures are contracts that do not have an expiration date and allow traders to speculate on an asset’s price without directly owning it.

The development follows the CFTC’s May approval of Kalshi to offer BTC perpetual futures, making it the first time the product was greenlighted for the U.S. market. Meanwhile, the offering has already been widely used in international markets, with the prediction market platform already making plans to expand its range to include other cryptocurrencies.

Last year, Coinbase also became the first exchange to offer these derivatives to American investors through its Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM) platform.

Duffy Says CME is Ready for the Dispute

The CEO said the company has been preparing for the legal battle with its board for the past eight months and is prepared to proceed with the challenge.

“I’ve never shied away from one, and I won’t shy away from this…And that’s why I wanted to announce on your show that we will be filing this litigation tomorrow, because we are not taking this lightly,” he said.

Elsewhere, CFTC Chair Michael Selig has defended the agency’s decision to approve perpetual futures in the U.S., saying the move was aimed at allowing regulated products without expiration dates to become available domestically while ensuring they operate under American oversight.

The post CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Approval of Bitcoin Perpetual Futures appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Key Highlights

• Intel stock soared following news of a strategic chip collaboration with Apple centered on domestic U.S. production facilities
• Major semiconductor names like Nvidia, Micron, and Broadcom staged a powerful comeback following recent weakness
• SpaceX experienced its most significant drop since its blockbuster public debut as early investors locked in returns
• Crude oil retreated on optimism surrounding potential diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran
• Apple cautioned investors that escalating memory and storage component expenses may necessitate higher device pricing

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Intel’s shares surged during Wednesday’s trading session following revelations that Apple intends to partner with the chipmaker on design and production initiatives within American borders. The strategic alliance between these tech giants is anticipated to focus on semiconductor projects as the nation intensifies efforts to expand domestic chip manufacturing capabilities.

This development arrives as welcome news for Intel during a critical transformation period. The company has been aggressively expanding its contract manufacturing operations—referred to internally as its foundry business—in an effort to challenge industry leaders such as TSMC and Samsung.

Semiconductor Sector Mounts Impressive Comeback

The wider chip industry experienced a robust trading day. Nvidia, Micron, Broadcom, and Marvell Technology each recorded significant advances following several challenging weeks.

Market participants had been stepping away from semiconductor investments amid worries about elevated valuations and interest rate dynamics. Numerous investors viewed the recent decline as an attractive entry point to rebuild positions.

Artificial intelligence continues serving as the primary catalyst for sector demand. Corporations are allocating substantial capital toward AI processors, data center infrastructure, and network equipment, with industry observers projecting this momentum to persist.

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SpaceX Experiences Profit-Taking Pressure Following Historic Public Offering

SpaceX endured one of its most challenging trading sessions since its market debut earlier in the year. Shares declined as initial investors capitalized on profits following the company’s unprecedented IPO performance.

The SpaceX public offering set records as the largest ever completed. The enterprise’s diversified operations spanning rocket technology, satellite broadband services, artificial intelligence, and defense contracting generated substantial early enthusiasm among market participants.

Industry analysts note that post-IPO price swings are typical following high-profile market entries. The stock is projected to exhibit continued volatility in coming sessions as market forces establish appropriate valuation levels.

Crude Prices Decline on Diplomatic Optimism

Oil prices retreated as market participants grew increasingly hopeful regarding potential diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran. Should Iran resume greater oil exports to international markets, global supply would expand and prices would face additional downward pressure.

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Decreasing crude costs typically provide relief for aviation companies, logistics firms, and end consumers. They can also alleviate pressure on monetary authorities working to contain inflationary forces.

Apple Signals Potential Device Price Increases

Apple informed the investment community that escalating expenses for memory and storage elements may result in price adjustments for upcoming product releases. The technology leader has been impacted by robust demand for AI-focused semiconductors, which has elevated costs for critical components within its supply chain.

Market watchers are monitoring whether potential price hikes will impact unit sales volumes and the company’s profitability metrics.

Apple’s cost warnings underscore how artificial intelligence investment is creating cascading effects throughout the broader technology landscape, influencing everything from enterprise computing infrastructure to consumer-facing electronics products.

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LAB jumped more than 19% in a single day, reclaiming the $17 area as whale wallets stacked fresh long positions. A parabolic curve on lower timeframes now points the token toward $19.

The move extends a recovery off the $7 support band, where larger holders defended price and printed a higher low. On-chain positioning and momentum readings now suggest buyers still hold the advantage.

Whale Wallets Pile Into LAB Longs

Whale positioning leans heavily bullish. The notional long-to-short ratio is 260.67%, indicating long exposure outweighs shorts by roughly 2.6 times across 214 tracked whales.

The 129 long whales hold $27.58 million in positions at an average entry of $10.25. That cohort shows 92.24% profitability and $4.73 million in unrealized gains.

The 85 short whales tell the opposite story. They hold $10.58 million at an average entry of $10.85, yet only 4.70% sit in profit, with $1.30 million in unrealized losses.

Short-term flow confirms the same bias. Over the past hour, 67 whales bought against 35 sellers, with net buy volume of $490,000 versus $179,000 in net selling.

This accumulation echoes recent whale buying across other altcoins. A sustained move below the $13 zone would be the first sign that longs are unwinding.

RSI Climbs Toward Overbought Territory

On the daily chart, LAB reclaimed the $16 area with a daily candle up more than 19%, extending the uptrend that began at the May 29 low after the price bounced off the $7 support band and printed a higher low (blue circle).

The token now tests the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $16.03 as resistance, with the 0.382 level near $18.84 standing as the next upside target if buyers hold control.

Momentum supports the whale bias, though it carries a warning. The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads near 65 and is rising into bullish territory.

On the hourly chart, RSI trades inside an ascending parallel channel and sits just above the midline. That structure leaves room for a push toward the channel’s overbought extreme.

However, the advance comes on thin volume. A parabolic move into overbought conditions on weak participation often precedes sharp pullbacks. Therefore, the same readings that look bullish now could flip quickly if buyers fail to follow through.

LAB Price Prediction and the $13 Line

The hourly chart shows LAB tracking a steepening parabolic curve since the May 29 low. The token trades near $15.46 and is testing the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $16.03 as immediate resistance.

A clean break opens the path to the 0.382 Fibonacci level near $18.84, just below $19. That target is roughly 22% above the current price and aligns with the rally’s next logical resistance level.

Momentum favors that scenario in the near term. However, parabolic structures rarely hold for long, and the thin volume behind this leg keeps the risk of a fast reversal elevated.

The critical support is the 0.618 Fibonacci level at $13.21, the same $13 zone whales are watching. Losing it would invalidate the bullish thesis and expose the 0.786 level near $9.20.

Fundamentals add risk to the setup. A scheduled unlock of 282 million tokens in August could pressure a market still recovering from its June crash, when LAB fell 77% from its record high of $27.96.

For now, LAB price holds above support and eyes $19, but $13 remains the level that decides the trend.

The post BNB Chain’s LAB Token Keeps Exploding in a Parabolic Rally: What’s Next? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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