Crypto World
Crypto Firms Shift to Stablecoins and DeFi Changes Under MiCA 2.0
The European Commission has opened a public consultation on proposed updates to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, signaling that Brussels plans to refine how its landmark crypto rules address newer parts of the market. The consultation—initiated in May—comes as full application and enforcement of MiCA began on December 30, 2024, with the first licensing steps rolling out in the early months of 2025.
Some in the industry have already started calling the expected revision “MiCA 2.0,” with regulators aiming to tackle gaps left by the initial law. According to Katie Harries, director and head of policy for Europe at Coinbase, refinements could help keep the EU’s framework “competitive” as digital-asset regulation moves into a second phase—particularly for decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, and tokenization-related activity.
Key takeaways
- Brussels’ consultation is structured to adjust MiCA’s scope and definitions, tighten rules for certain token categories, and broaden coverage to topics not addressed in MiCA 1.0.
- Stablecoin policy is expected to be highly political because the rules could change depending on whether stablecoins are treated like trading instruments or payment infrastructure.
- For DeFi, regulators are looking for practical ways to evaluate “how decentralized” a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) is, rather than treating decentralization as a simple yes-or-no concept.
- EU lawmakers are also seeking input on prediction markets, including whether existing EU regimes would apply and where potential conflicts between frameworks might arise.
- The consultation runs until Aug. 31, but industry observers expect the legislative process to take years, with concrete proposals unlikely before 2028.
MiCA set the baseline—now the EU wants to recalibrate
MiCA’s rollout marked the EU’s attempt to establish a unified approach across member states, replacing fragmented national rules. Harries told Cointelegraph that MiCA “helped set an early global benchmark for digital asset regulation” and gave the EU a “first-mover advantage” by delivering a single, harmonised rulebook for crypto.
In practical terms, Harries said the law is meant to give consumers more transparency and protection, while giving businesses enough regulatory clarity to plan investment and expansion across the bloc. For Coinbase, she added, MiCA has also served as a foundation to scale operations in Europe into the next stage of adoption for both retail and institutional users.
Even so, Brussels is now preparing changes ahead of revisions and additions to the framework. The Commission’s consultation is divided into four parts: updating regulatory scope and definitions for crypto assets other than asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs); setting requirements for EMTs, ARTs and their issuers; defining a legal framework for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs); and addressing areas that MiCA 1.0 did not cover—such as DeFi and prediction markets.
Stablecoins: the use-case determines the regulatory priority
One section of the consultation stands out for its potential downstream effects: stablecoins and related requirements. Catarina Veloso, director of regulatory and compliance at Notabene, described the stablecoin-focused part as the “longest and arguably the most politically charged” segment of the process.
Veloso noted that the way stablecoins are used—whether as a mainstream retail payment tool, a wholesale settlement rail, or as a supplement to existing cross-border payment methods—could heavily influence what rules the EU ultimately prioritizes.
In her view, if stablecoins are treated mainly as crypto trading instruments, regulators may concentrate on investor protection and market integrity. If they are treated more like payment infrastructure, the regulatory center of gravity shifts toward redemption mechanics, liquidity requirements, reserve management, operational resilience, and supervisory reporting.
That shift matters because the risk profile of stablecoins can vary depending on scale, who uses them, and where they sit inside the broader financial system. “What risks they carry,” Veloso said, “depend heavily on how they are used, at what scale, by whom, and in connection with which parts of the financial system.”
Coinbase’s policy priorities focus on making euro stablecoins more competitive within the EU rule set. Harries said Coinbase would like MiCA 2.0 to recalibrate elements including reserve rules, stablecoin rewards, and the multi-issuance model. She argued that allowing a larger share of reserves to be held in “high-quality sovereign assets” could reduce risk without undermining safety.
Another issue is rewards. Veloso pointed out that EMT issuers are currently prohibited from offering interest, which she said can weaken the competitiveness of euro-denominated stablecoins. In practice, that could push users either toward foreign-currency stablecoins or toward yield strategies that sit outside the regulated perimeter.
Harries said Coinbase wants MiCA to permit non-interest incentives—such as cashback and loyalty programmes—stating that these are common features in payments and may support consumer choice and competition.
DeFi under MiCA: regulators want measurable decentralization
A core limitation of MiCA 1.0 is that it does not cover CASPs that are “fully decentralized” and operate without intermediaries. But Veloso cautioned that decentralization is rarely binary in reality.
To build a workable policy, regulators need a way to assess the degree of decentralization and decide which indicators should matter. That includes whether the protocol is under particular control, who holds governance rights, the status of administrative keys, whether the front-end is controlled by a central party, who captures revenue, how upgrades are handled, and whether identifiable persons can materially influence outcomes.
Veloso also said regulators are looking for practical rules to determine when the EU should treat access to DeFi platforms as a regulated service. She explained that, even if platforms themselves are exempt because they are decentralized, the broader question is whether firms that connect users to those platforms should still conduct due diligence obligations vis-à-vis their clients.
Legal practitioners highlighted that this is already a live compliance question. Miroslav Đurić, a senior associate at Taylor Wessing, said many CASPs already connect clients with DeFi platforms, and because those platforms are exempt, regulators are now asking whether CASPs should meet fiduciary duty expectations through due diligence.
Đurić also noted that the Commission may consider different approaches, potentially including options that restrict client connections to DeFi platforms only if they are certified under a future certification regime.
Prediction markets: fitting them into EU frameworks may be tricky
Prediction markets are another area where MiCA’s initial scope is not fully settled. The EU currently lacks a unified regulatory structure for these markets, and they are banned in some member states.
The consultation seeks views on whether prediction markets provide economic benefits for consumers, and whether they should fall under MiCA or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Đurić said the answer depends on the specific contracts offered by each platform.
Because event contracts can have different characteristics, a platform operator could find itself subject to multiple, sometimes conflicting regimes—ranging from MiFID II rules to gambling-related regulation or potentially MiCA requirements—depending on contract structure.
Deadlines—and the long timeline ahead
Crypto industry observers say they plan to remain engaged with Brussels during the consultation process. Harries said an effective MiCA 2.0 will require ongoing “dialogue between industry, policymakers and regulators,” including learning from how the existing framework works in practice and refining parts where additional clarity or flexibility could support the next phase of growth.
While the comment period ends on Aug. 31, Đurić suggested the broader legislative process could take years. He said it is unlikely that concrete legislative proposals will be adopted before 2028, given both the complexity of the topics and the usual pace of EU lawmaking.
For market participants, the key next step is watching how regulators decide to translate stablecoin and DeFi policy questions into enforceable definitions—especially around how decentralization is assessed and how payment-versus-trading use cases shape the rules. Those choices will likely determine how quickly the EU’s second-phase framework can become operational for issuers, platforms, and intermediaries.
AAVE’s fair value could climb to around $175 within the next year if clearer regulations accelerate the adoption of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), according to a new report from Grayscale Research.
The firm estimates AAVE’s current fair value at between $80 and $100, while the token is currently trading near $73.
Massive Upside for AAVE
Grayscale stated that Aave’s position as the leading decentralized lending protocol, in addition to growing stablecoin usage and the tokenization of traditional financial assets, creates a favorable setup for future growth. Aave operates similarly to a digital lending platform, which allows users to deposit crypto assets, earn yield, and borrow against collateral through smart contracts rather than traditional intermediaries.
As of the report, the broader DeFi ecosystem holds more than $59 billion in deposits and $25 billion in outstanding loans. Aave controls a significant share of that activity. The protocol serves nearly 200,000 monthly users and generates revenue primarily through lending spreads, treasury earnings, and income from GHO, its native overcollateralized stablecoin.
Aave’s financial performance has strengthened considerably in recent years, Grayscale said. Between 2023 and 2025, the protocol’s revenue increased more than sixfold, while profitability stayed strong at about 50%. The report added that Aave’s DAO treasury has at times held more than $360 million, providing a sizeable pool of capital that can be used for expansion plans and other community-approved initiatives.
An important part of Grayscale’s bullish outlook focuses on Aave’s institutional expansion plans, particularly Horizon, a dedicated market that would allow institutions to use tokenized real-world assets as collateral for accessing DeFi liquidity. The firm believes that regulatory clarity around digital assets and tokenized securities could significantly boost adoption of these products, driving loan growth and increasing protocol revenues.
Additional catalysts include the continued expansion of GHO, the rollout of the Umbrella safety module, the upcoming V4 protocol architecture, and the launch of a simplified Aave App that aims to attract mainstream users. Grayscale’s valuation framework indicates that Aave’s current market price implies relatively modest long-term earnings growth despite strong sector tailwinds. Uncertainty around regulations remains one of the main reasons AAVE trades at a discount compared with fintech firms that have similar lending and revenue-generating characteristics.
UK FCA Approval
Last month, Aave Labs announced that its UK-based subsidiaries, Push Labs Ltd. and Push Virtual Assets Ltd., received registration from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as crypto asset exchange providers. The approval also allows the companies to issue electronic money under the UK’s Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
According to the company, the registrations pave the way for regulated crypto services and payments infrastructure, including stablecoin on- and off-ramp solutions. Founder Stani Kulechov said the approvals will allow users to move traditional fiat currency directly into the Aave ecosystem through a zero-fee on-ramp. He added that the FCA approvals form part of Aave’s wider regulatory push across Europe, which includes a MiCA license in Ireland.
The post Why Grayscale Thinks AAVE Has a Path to $175 Despite Trading Near 60% Away appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Main Street USD (msUSD) lost its dollar peg on Saturday after verification provider Accountable ended its agreement with the protocol, erasing most of the token’s value within hours.
The token had traded close to $1 for months. It now changes hands near $0.29, down roughly 71% over 24 hours, with its market value near $30.5 million.
Accountable Ends the Deal That Backed msUSD
Accountable runs real-time proof-of-reserves checks that let firms verify holdings without exposing sensitive data.
Accountable says its network has verified over $1 billion in client assets, including those of Galaxy and Amber Group. It is backed by Pantera Capital.
Main Street promoted itself as Accountable-verified and ran a public dashboard, powered by the firm, that tracked msUSD collateral.
On Saturday, Accountable said Main Street could not meet its standards and immediately cut off the relationship.
“Accountable has terminated its service agreement with MainStreet, effective immediately. MainStreet was unable to meet our verification standards… We will continue to hold this standard without exception,” they wrote in a post.
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With the feed switched off, the Accountable-powered dashboard no longer verifies any reserves behind msUSD.
A Yield Model That Leaned on Outside Parties
Main Street marketed msUSD as a dollar token always redeemable one-to-one for USDC. Staking it minted msY, a strategy token earning yield from options box spreads, a hedge-fund tactic pitched as institutional-grade.
That design leaned on the verification feed and on integrations with larger venues. Main Street had promoted an msY market on Morpho lending markets, one of the largest decentralized lenders, holding billions in deposits.
The token also runs on an upgradeable proxy contract. Security scanner GoPlus warns its owner can disable sells, mint new tokens, or change fees.
Analysts had questioned the yield-bearing stablecoin risks behind such products before the collapse. The case adds to another stablecoin depeg this year, after a token lost its peg when its backing came into doubt.
The case shows how fast confidence drains when one outside verifier steps away. A protocol built on a single feed inherits that partner’s decisions.
Main Street has not issued a public statement. In tandem, msY, the primary yield token issued by Main Street Finance, has also plummeted.
msY represents yield from the Main Street Finance protocol’s delta-neutral options strategies. The crash triggered extreme illiquidity (100% utilization, 138% borrow rates) on Morpho’s msY/USDC market, where an AlphaUSDC vault holds approximately $18 million exposure.
The depeg erased more than half the token’s market value in a day. msUSD price action and any rebound now hinge on whether the protocol can prove its backing.
The post Main Street msUSD Stablecoin Loses Dollar Peg and Crashes 90% appeared first on BeInCrypto.
For many traders, the “altseason” playbook has relied on a familiar pattern: profits from Bitcoin flow into smaller tokens, sparking broad-based rallies across the market. But new on-chain and market-structure indicators suggest that mechanism is weakening—and that could meaningfully change how altcoins move in the next phase of the cycle.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju says the Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation trade has “basically disappeared,” citing data that shows BTC-pair altcoin trading activity has fallen to its weakest levels since 2021. At the same time, the altcoin market appears more concentrated, with fewer large-cap tokens commanding most of the sector’s value—another factor that may reduce the breadth of any future rally.
Key takeaways
- CryptoQuant data cited by Ki Young Ju shows BTC-pair altcoin trading volume has dropped to post-2021 lows, weakening the usual rotation from Bitcoin into altcoins.
- Altcoin liquidity and capital are increasingly concentrated in fewer projects, which can delay or limit broad “altseason” style moves.
- Bitcoin dominance is showing early signs of a rebound that could keep capital favoring BTC over smaller tokens in the near term.
- The next phase of altcoin strength may depend less on “narrative-only” momentum and more on tokens tied to real usage and revenue themes.
Why the classic rotation trade is fading
Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, argues that the traditional “Bitcoin pumps, then alts catch up” sequence is no longer behaving the way it did during prior bull cycles. In a Saturday post on X, he said the Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation trend has “basically disappeared,” pointing to CryptoQuant data that tracks aggregated altcoin trading volume for BTC-priced pairs.
That metric focuses on mid- and lower-cap altcoins traded against Bitcoin on centralized exchanges, explicitly excluding major assets such as Ether (ETH), XRP, BNB, and Solana (SOL). In other words, it attempts to measure whether traders are using BTC as the funding source for speculative positions in smaller coins.
Historically, that type of flow intensified during two key periods—2017 and again in 2021—helping set the conditions for some of the most aggressive alt rallies. But the chart Young Ju referenced suggests BTC-pair altcoin activity remains near post-2021 lows, implying that Bitcoin is no longer serving as the primary liquidity engine for broad alt speculation.
“The era of alts pumping just because BTC pumps may be over,” Young Ju wrote, framing the slowdown in rotation as a potential structural shift rather than a short-term pause.
More money, fewer tokens
Beyond rotation, the composition of the altcoin market also appears to have changed. Young Ju pointed to increasing concentration across the non-BTC, non-stablecoin segment. Using figures reported for Saturday, the non-BTC, non-stablecoin market value was roughly $600 billion, while the top 10 non-stablecoin altcoins accounted for about $483 billion—around 80.5% of the total.
That implies that instead of value spreading across a wide range of assets, the market’s center of gravity is moving toward a smaller set of larger names. When capital is clustered, rallies often become less uniform, with fewer tokens capturing most of the upside.
The narrowing of large-cap altcoins has also been highlighted by CoinMarketCap snapshots. According to a 2021 historical snapshot referenced in the source, there were roughly 106 altcoins above $1 billion in market valuation at that time. By June 2026, that number had fallen to around 50, suggesting that the pool of sufficiently large assets to dominate flows has shrunk materially.
Young Ju connects those trends to a broader maturity in the market. He also said in a separate thread that “narrative-only altcoins” are losing relevance as crypto develops, arguing that hype alone is no longer enough to sustain sustained attention across the board.
While that doesn’t mean the altcoin market is disappearing, it suggests a different kind of cycle—one where fewer projects benefit from most of the capital and where investor demand may be driven by more concrete fundamentals.
What themes could matter more than broad alt hype
Young Ju’s argument is not simply that altcoins are weaker; it’s that the strongest pockets of the market may be linked to areas with clearer business models and real-world utility. In his view, stronger activity is tied to revenue-generating decentralized finance, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and AI agent-related applications.
That framing matters for traders because it changes the selection problem. If rotation into the entire alt market is less reliable, performance may hinge on identifying which tokens have genuine demand drivers rather than relying on “market beta” from broad speculation.
It also implies that the next alt cycle—if it arrives—may look different from the older playbook. Instead of a sweeping move across many names, the cycle could be characterized by narrower leadership tied to specific sectors where usage and adoption can compound.
Bitcoin dominance could be a near-term headwind
Another factor potentially limiting altcoin momentum is a rebound in Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market. The source cites Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) showing early signs of a lift after interacting with its 100-week exponential moving average (100-week EMA) and the lower trend line of an ascending channel at around the 58.75% level, according to a weekly chart on TradingView.
In the same setup, BTC.D could rise toward the channel’s upper trend line near 60% if momentum continues. If BTC.D moves higher toward that level, the implication is straightforward: Bitcoin would be gaining market share relative to the rest of crypto, which can divert speculative liquidity away from smaller assets.
Analyst Rekt Capital shared a similar perspective on X, citing bullish divergence on Bitcoin dominance. The divergence described in the source follows a common technical interpretation: BTC.D making lower lows while the RSI makes higher lows, often signaling weakening downside pressure and the potential for a rebound—hence the view that “altseason is postponed.”
Rekt Capital, however, also warned that the upside may not be unlimited. He suggested the dominance rebound could represent a post-breakdown relief move before further weakness returns, with a bearish case pointing to BTC.D possibly drifting toward its 200-week EMA at around 57%.
For alt traders, the practical takeaway is that even if smaller coins find their footing, a strengthening BTC dominance trend can cap how broad and how fast alt rallies spread—particularly in the early stages of any rotation attempt.
As rotation signals remain weak and market leadership looks increasingly concentrated, investors may want to watch two things closely: whether BTC-pair altcoin volume starts to recover from its post-2021 lows, and whether BTC dominance sustains its rebound or rolls over again. The answers to those questions will likely determine whether any alt rally becomes broad-based—or stays confined to a narrower group of assets with more durable demand.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) floated freezing Satoshi’s Bitcoin and other dormant, quantum-vulnerable coins if they stay unmoved after a future network upgrade. He raised it as a question for the community, not a personal plan.
The Binance executive shared the idea on the Galaxy Brains podcast with Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn. He has since pushed back on reports that he would personally freeze Satoshi Nakamoto’s address for a year.
Is Freezing Satoshi’s Bitcoin a Good Idea?
The debate grew louder in March, when Google Quantum AI published research on breaking the cryptography that secures digital signatures.
Its team estimated an attack could need fewer than 500,000 qubits and run in minutes, well below earlier projections.
The risk sits in exposed keys. A quantum computer could derive private keys from public keys, then drain the wallets they protect.
The fix is to adopt quantum-resistant cryptography, yet coordinating that across the network takes years.
More than a third of all Bitcoin had revealed a public key on-chain by March. That leaves them in addresses vulnerable to quantum theft.
Satoshi Nakamoto mined an estimated 1.1 million BTC in 2009 and 2010. That estimate rests on the Patoshi pattern traced by researcher Sergio Demian Lerner.
At Bitcoin’s current market price near $63,244, that hoard is worth roughly $70 billion.
What CZ Actually Said
Zhao did not call for a seizure, nor did he say Binance would act. He put the decision to the community, asking why it should not set a roughly 1-year timeline.
Coins left in vulnerable addresses after that point would be locked in by a fork.
CZ said the popular take that he would personally freeze Satoshi’s address was not quite right. He also flagged a snag, that telling Satoshi’s wallets apart from other early miners is hard.
Zhao has urged calm on quantum risk before.
His thinking aligns with BIP-361, a draft by Jameson Lopp and five other researchers. It would block sends to vulnerable addresses about three years after activation, then void legacy signatures two years later.
The authors frame a blunt choice. A quantum thief could grab the exposed coins, or miners could slowly recover them. The network could instead lock them so no one wins.
That proposal even cites Bitcoin’s creator on the issue of lost coins.
“Lost coins only make everyone else’s coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone,” Satoshi Nakamoto, as quoted in the proposal.
The dormant coins are contested on another front. An anonymous plaintiff and two Wyoming LLCs are fighting a New York abandoned-property lawsuit.
They want 39,069 idle addresses, including the Satoshi coins, declared theirs. A Galaxy report by Thorn doubts it will prevail.
Any forced lock still violates a core Bitcoin rule: no one can take another person’s coins. Many would read it as confiscation.
CZ said there is no perfect answer. He warned that doing nothing could prove the worst outcome of all.
The post CZ Floats Freezing Satoshi’s Bitcoin Over Quantum Risk appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Adoption of Solana increases as institutional investment in blockchain infrastructure goes beyond merely investing in crypto products to actual integration.
The Institutional Engagement Has Gone Beyond Investment Exposure
There has been growing traction of Solana as financial institutions turn their attention toward blockchain technology and infrastructure rather than investing in digital assets. The emergence of credit assessments in relation to blockchain technology, along with interest from established financial entities such as Moody’s, points to a gradual shift in perception about decentralized blockchain technology from traditional financial institutions.
For decades, public blockchains have been associated with speculation and diversifying investments. The focus of traditional financial institutions centered on the risk factors and regulatory issues associated with blockchain technology. This shift indicates that institutions are recognizing the usefulness of blockchain in practice.
Traditionally, credit ratings have been used to assess companies, bonds, and sovereign debts. The increased use of these terms in blockchain contexts demonstrates that institutions are starting to assess decentralized blockchain technology using conventional financial risk management models. It shows more engagement than exposure to crypto-assets alone.
Rather than just asking whether digital assets can be invested in, institutions are now looking at whether blockchain technologies can sustain key operations of financial institutions.
Advantages of Solana in the Blockchain Infrastructure Arena
Among prominent blockchain projects, Solana is one of the top candidates expected to be adopted by financial institutions. Its main advantages include high transaction capacity, low costs, and rapid finality, making it well suited for applications that need scalable infrastructure.
Over the past several years, the Solana network has developed in DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and, finally, in tokenizing real-world assets. These processes have turned Solana from an instrument of investment into a working layer of the digital economy.
Institutional adoption of Solana does not relate to custody services and trading anymore. At the moment, some financial companies are considering integrating blockchain infrastructure into their business processes. This means building a payment network, issuing platform, and settlement infrastructure on the blockchain level. All these processes require careful planning, significant industry knowledge, and compliance with regulations.
Market Dynamics Illustrate Resilience of Networks Over Time
The history of Solana’s performance on the market has been characterized by cycles of rapid growth followed by a decline typical of other players in the cryptocurrency industry. When conditions were bullish, the price of SOL previously soared above $200, while total market capitalization reached dozens of billions of dollars due to an increased influx of funds.
As expected for any other digital asset, Solana’s valuation dropped during the bearish period due to reduced risk appetite and lower liquidity in the industry. Nevertheless, the network continued developing actively despite this period.
During subsequent recovery phases, Solana’s valuations grew rapidly, with market capitalization soaring above previously observed levels to exceed $100 billion. While the latest correction has negatively impacted this momentum, valuations are still much higher than during the bearish period. This illustrates changing investor perception of Solana, shifting from short-term prospects to long-term perspectives.
The Part Solana Will Play in the Future of Blockchain Infrastructure
The increasing use of Solana signals a shift happening across the blockchain industry. As organizations transition from exploration to real incorporation, networks that can provide reliable and efficient infrastructure are becoming more prominent. Regardless of market turbulence, Solana is establishing its position in this new environment.
Cryptocurrency traders are no longer using Bitcoin (BTC) profits to buy altcoins as they did in previous bull cycles, raising doubts about whether a broad “altseason” can return.
Key takeaways:
- Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation trend has collapsed to its weakest level since 2021.
- Altcoin capital is increasingly getting concentrated in fewer projects, delaying the altseason.
Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation trend has “basically disappeared”
The old altseason trade is no longer working the way it did in previous bull cycles, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant.
In a Saturday post, Ju said the Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation trend has “basically disappeared,” citing CryptoQuant data showing BTC-pair altcoin trading volume has collapsed to its weakest levels since 2021.
Aggregated altcoin trading volume for BTC-priced pairs. Source: CryptoQuant
The metric excludes major altcoins such as Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), BNB (BNB) and Solana (SOL), focusing instead on mid- and lower-cap altcoins traded against Bitcoin on centralized exchanges.
In simple terms, it shows whether traders are using BTC to buy smaller altcoins.
That flow surged in 2017 and 2021, helping fuel record altseasons. But Young Ju’s chart shows BTC-pair altcoin volume remains near post-2021 lows, suggesting Bitcoin is no longer the main liquidity source for altcoin speculation.
“The era of alts pumping just because BTC pumps may be over,” Young Ju said.
Altcoin capital is now concentrated in fewer tokens
The wider altcoin market has become more concentrated, excluding stablecoins.
As of Saturday, the non-BTC, non-stablecoin crypto market was worth roughly $600 billion. The top 10 non-stablecoin altcoins accounted for about $483 billion of that total, or roughly 80.5%.
TOTAL crypto market excluding Bitcoin and all stablecoins. Source: TradingView
The number of large market-cap altcoins has also fallen sharply since the last bull cycle.
In 2021, roughly 106 altcoins had above $1 billion in market valuation, according to CoinMarketCap’s historical snapshot. That number fell to around 50 in June 2026.
This echoes Young Ju’s argument that capital is no longer spreading across the altcoin market the way it did in 2021. The market has not disappeared, but it is being comprised of fewer large altcoins.
In a separate thread, Young Ju said that “narrative-only altcoins” are losing relevance as the market matures.
Source: X/Ki Young Ju
Young Ju said hype alone is no longer enough. The stronger areas, he added, are tied to real businesses, revenue-generating DeFi, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and AI agents.
That suggests the next altcoin cycle may be less about rotating into the whole market and more about finding tokens that can find applications and users across the aforementioned fields.
BTC dominance rebound may have “postponed” altseason
Bitcoin’s crypto market dominance (BTC.D) is also showing early signs of a rebound, which could delay a broader altcoin rally.
The BTC.D metric has bounced from its 100-week exponential moving average (100-week EMA, purple) and the lower trend line of an ascending channel, both aligning at the 58.75% level.
BTC.D weekly performance chart. Source: TradingView
It could rally toward the channel’s upper trend line near 60% if momentum persists.
A move toward 60% would mean Bitcoin is gaining market share against the rest of crypto. In market terms, that suggests capital may continue rotating from altcoins back into BTC, limiting the chances of a near-term altseason.
Analyst Rekt Capital shared a similar view, pointing to a bullish divergence on Bitcoin dominance, which suggests that the “altseason is postponed.”
BTC.D weekly performance chart. Source: TradingView/Rekt Capital
A bullish divergence forms when the metric makes lower lows while its RSI makes higher lows. It often signals weakening downside momentum and a potential rebound.
Related: Altcoin selling tops $266B as capital rotates out of crypto: Is altseason extinct?
Nevertheless, Rekt Capital said Bitcoin dominance’s upside may be limited because the metric has already lost its macro uptrend. He said the current bounce may act as a post-breakdown relief rally before further downside.
Bitcoin’s dominance may drop toward its 200-week EMA at 57% if Rekt Capital’s bearish scenario plays out.
TLDR:
- Mastercard and Visa are building stablecoin settlement rails for issuers and payment networks.
- Five major US banks plan a tokenized deposit network targeted for early 2027 launch.
- DTCC’s tokenization service spans 50+ firms, with RWA trades starting in July 2026.
- Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody deal strengthens institutional digital asset custody offerings.
Wall Street’s institutional embrace of blockchain is accelerating, with Citi, Mastercard, Visa, DTCC, and several major banks now testing infrastructure for stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and settlement.
These moves signal a shift from trading-focused crypto exposure toward core financial plumbing, reshaping how money and assets move across global markets.
Payments and Deposits Drive Early Adoption
Stablecoin settlement has become a focal point for payment networks. Mastercard said in June it would add stablecoin settlement options for issuers and acquirers, while Visa is testing private stablecoin settlement with Brale on the Canton Network, a privacy-focused blockchain built for institutions.
Banks are pursuing a parallel approach centered on tokenized deposits. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and The Clearing House are planning a bank-led tokenized deposit network targeted for the first half of 2027, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Retail banking is also entering the space. SoFi launched its own SoFiUSD stablecoin on its retail banking platform and named Bullish as its first centralized exchange partner. The company’s leadership framed this as removing a long-standing barrier between crypto and traditional finance.
As CoinMarketCap noted in its coverage, Wall Street is entering the next phase of institutional crypto adoption, moving beyond trading desks and exchange-traded funds into core financial infrastructure. This shift extends well past payments into asset management itself.
Tokenization Reaches Private Markets and Fund Products
Private market access is expanding through tokenized structures. Citi launched Digital Depositary Receipts for private-company shares in June, creating a new way for investors to access private markets, amid rising demand for exposure to high-profile IPO candidates.
Fund products are following a similar path onchain. BlackRock has filed to expand its tokenized fund suite following the 2024 launch of BUIDL, its first tokenized money market fund.
Separately, Ondo Finance, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and Ripple completed a pilot to redeem a tokenized US Treasury fund on blockchain rails in May.
Equities are also moving toward tokenized formats. Coinbase has outlined plans to offer tokenized US equities to non-US customers, while Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has pushed tokenized IPO access through xStocks.
Behind these products, infrastructure providers are building the systems that support settlement and custody at scale.
DTCC said in May it was rolling out a tokenization service with more than 50 financial firms, with initial limited production trades for select tokenized real-world assets planned for July and a broader launch targeted for October.
Custody infrastructure is consolidating as well. Standard Chartered said in May it would acquire Zodia Custody’s crypto custody business and fold it into its own infrastructure, deepening its digital asset capabilities.
Industry observers describe this custody layer as essential groundwork. Ripple and Quinlan & Associates wrote in a February report that digital asset custody forms the foundational layer underpinning all digital asset use cases for financial institutions.
Together, these developments point toward blockchain becoming embedded in everyday financial operations, moving money, issuing securities, and settling transactions across major institutions.
Solana investors have changed their tactics in the past several days, as on-chain data shows a massive spike in SOL exchange inflows.
According to popular analyst Ali Martinez, such behavior could be the catalyst for a more profound price decline, possibly pushing the asset toward $50, a level not seen in almost three years.
600K SOL Reach Exchanges
Citing data from Glassnode, Martinez outlined the significant uptick in the number of SOL tokens that reached exchanges, going from about 27 million to over 27.6 million, meaning a 600,000 coin deposit. Similar developments suggest that “market participants are moving liquid supply out of private wallets, signaling rising caution around current price levels.”
He added that large-scale token transfers to trading platforms hint at potential de-risking or hedging from investors, potentially leading toward a “short-term drawdown.”
The analyst with over 165,000 followers on X warned that the $50 level might come into focus if this “spot supply triggers an immediate flush.”
“A localized pullback into this key zone would serve to fully absorb the short-term panic and clear the path for a healthy accumulation base before the next major expansion,” he added.
600,000 Solana $SOL were just deposited into trading platforms.
This rapid spike in exchange inflows indicates that market participants are moving liquid supply out of private wallets, signaling rising caution around current price levels.
Historically, large-scale token… pic.twitter.com/hUdZu5XPFd
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) June 20, 2026
Up or Down Next?
Solana’s native token is up by over 4.5% in the past 24 hours, and has seemingly reclaimed the $70 support. However, fellow analyst Crypto Tony warned that the asset could drop toward $60 if this particular level gives in. The token slipped to $60 during the early June crash, but managed to defend that level. It hasn’t traded at Martinez’s lower target at $50 since late 2023.
Daan Crypto Trades also weighed in on SOL’s potential, but he focused on the BTC pair. He believes SOL is “attempting a breakout from this ralling wedge,” which could send it well above the current upper boundary of 0.0011 SAT. This became possible after SOL bounced from the lower boundary in early June at 0.001 SAT.
The post 600,000 SOL Moved to Exchanges: Is a Drop to $50 Next? appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Robert Kiyosaki says he is watching gold, silver, Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) for a technical reversal before buying, arguing that the macro backdrop, not falling prices, decides whether hard assets are worth holding.
Precious metals extended a steep retreat this week, and a fresh dispute over the Strait of Hormuz tested a days-old US-Iran ceasefire. BTC and ETH edged higher over 24 hours.
Kiyosaki Watches Gold and Silver Context, Not Price
Kiyosaki built his case around the environment rather than the chart. The Rich Dad Poor Dad author said a falling market alone never tells him whether to buy or sell.
He pointed to whether political and banking leaders are fixing the economy or making it worse, and has called dips buying opportunities before.
“I have learned to understand the ‘context’ or the environment the asset is in….not the price… So I am watching prices of gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum on technical charts and will buy when prices reverse their decline,” Kiyosaki wrote in a post.
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The metals he is eyeing set records before the pullback. Gold hit an all-time high near $5,595 an ounce in late January and silver topped $100 for the first time.
Both records capped a run nearly doubling gold and quadrupling silver in a year.
This week’s ceasefire then drained the safe-haven premium the February war and Hormuz threats had rebuilt.
Kiyosaki keeps backing silver and Bitcoin and claims the charts point to a rebound, with no price target or timeline.
Hormuz Dispute Keeps the Safe-Haven Bid Alive
The backdrop Kiyosaki described stayed unsettled. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared the Strait of Hormuz closed over alleged ceasefire violations and warned vessels away.
Vice President JD Vance countered that no evidence backed the claim. Vance said the waterway stayed open, and CENTCOM reported 55 ships moving more than 17 million barrels of oil through Hormuz on Saturday.
That is close to the 20 million a day, about a fifth of global oil demand, the EIA says the strait normally carries.
Bitcoin traded above $64,000, up about 1.4%, while ETH held near $1,740, with both gains following developments at the Strait of Hormuz.
Even so, BTC sits roughly 49% below its October record near $126,000 and ETH about 65% under its August peak, with BTC down about 17% and ETH 18% over the past month.
Earlier Hormuz tensions dragged Bitcoin lower, and a US strike on Iran under the truce sent Bitcoin, gold, and oil moving within hours.
With US-Iran talks set for Switzerland on Sunday, the next signal is whether the ceasefire holds. For Kiyosaki, the charts rather than the headlines will decide his next move.
The post Kiyosaki Eyes Gold, Silver Rebound as Hormuz Risks Keep Safe-Haven Case Alive appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026.
Stringer | Reuters
Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday and warned vessels to stay away from the critical shipping route, but the U.S. denied those claims, stating the waterway remained open.
Tensions between the two countries escalated just days after Tehran and Washington reached an interim agreement to end hostilities in the region.
The announcement by Iran’s military and the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came as Iranian negotiators prepared to travel to Switzerland for technical-level talks with U.S. officials scheduled to begin Sunday.
Iran’s joint military command said the closure of the strait was in response to continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon and what it described as U.S. “bad faith” and a failure to uphold commitments under the truce framework, AP reported. Iranian state television said “subsequent steps have been planned” if what it called aggression continues, according to multiple outlets.
Earlier Saturday, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, AP reported, citing Lebanese authorities. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said seven people remained trapped beneath rubble in Nabatiyeh and nearby villages following the attacks, according to AP.
The U.S. military said the Strait of Hormuz had not been closed, however, and said that U.S. forces were monitoring the situation to ensure that it remained open, Reuters reported.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. “Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”
The attempt to shut down the strait again raises the stakes ahead of the talks in Switzerland, which are intended to advance the interim agreement reached Wednesday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after nearly four months of war.
The signed memorandum of understanding had called for the immediate end to military actions by Israel in Lebanon and the full reopening of the Hormuz strait without tolls imposed by Iran for at least 60 days.
U.S. officials disputed Iran’s assertion that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. “Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”
Vance says talks to continue
U.S. Vice President JD Vance struck an optimistic tone Saturday, saying negotiations were advancing despite Iran’s latest threat to shut the strait.
Speaking on Fox News earlier Saturday, Vance said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and special envoy Steve Witkoff in Switzerland were working through the agreement’s technical details. He added that discussions were “going well.”
Vance noted that tanker traffic had rebounded sharply following the ceasefire agreement.
“We actually got 16 million barrels of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz yesterday,” Vance said. “That is a record going back to even before the conflict started.”
He also said negotiators were focused on securing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile to make it “effectively impossible” for Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program, while emphasizing that the United States retained significant economic leverage if Iran failed to comply with the agreement.
Vance said he expects to travel to Switzerland within days to join the Iran negotiations, though he cautioned that diplomatic arrangements involving Qatari and Pakistani mediators were still being finalized.
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