Wealthsimple has secured approval to offer roughly 4,000 prediction market contracts in Canada, expanding retail access to event-based trading through a new partnership with Kalshi.

According to Wealthsimple, the company plans to launch a standalone prediction markets platform called Wealthsimple Predict this summer, giving Canadian investors access to thousands of contracts listed by Kalshi across categories such as financial markets, economic data, and climate-related events.

Prediction markets are coming to Canada.

For the first time, millions of Canadians will be able to trade what’s next through Wealthsimple. pic.twitter.com/UemU39GOhQ

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— Kalshi (@Kalshi) June 18, 2026

The rollout follows authorization from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization in March. Under the approval, Wealthsimple became the second investment dealer permitted to offer prediction market contracts in Canada. CIRO said the products will be regulated as derivatives and must carry settlement periods of at least 30 days.

Wealthsimple’s launch arrives as prediction markets continue to attract attention from regulators, lawmakers, and traditional exchanges in several countries. While Canadian authorities have allowed the products under an established derivatives framework, regulators elsewhere remain divided over how such contracts should be classified.

Kalshi expands beyond prediction markets

At the same time, Kalshi has continued pushing into crypto-linked derivatives. The company announced on Thursday that its perpetual futures products are now available for trading, following a May 31 announcement that formally introduced its crypto perpetual futures business.

Earlier this week, Kalshi disclosed that its perpetual futures platform generated more than $5.5 billion in trading volume within two weeks of launch. The company currently offers 11 crypto-linked perpetual futures contracts and has stated that discussions with regulators regarding additional products are ongoing.

Crypto.news previously reported that Kalshi’s rapid growth has intensified a separate political dispute in Washington. According to a Semafor report, a coalition that includes the Indian Gaming Association, the American Gaming Association, and several labor groups has urged the U.S. Senate to amend the CLARITY Act to explicitly prohibit sports and casino-style event contracts from being offered through prediction market platforms.

In a letter to lawmakers cited by Semafor, the coalition argued that sports betting should remain under existing state and tribal regulatory systems rather than falling under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The groups also claimed that prediction markets have enabled what they described as the largest expansion of gambling in U.S. history over the past 18 months without direct congressional approval.

Legal challenges continue to grow

Meanwhile, resistance is also emerging from established derivatives exchanges.

On Thursday, CME Group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the regulator’s approval of cryptocurrency perpetual futures contracts offered by Kalshi and similar products introduced by Coinbase. The filing came one day after CME Chief Executive Officer Terrence Duffy said the company intended to challenge the approvals through the courts.

The legal dispute follows a series of regulatory actions supporting onshore crypto perpetual futures trading. In May, the CFTC approved Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts for Kalshi and issued a no-action position that allowed Coinbase to launch comparable products.

Several jurisdictions outside North America have taken a different approach. Spanish regulators ordered internet providers in May to block access to Kalshi and Polymarket while examining whether the platforms violated national gambling laws.

Indonesian authorities have banned Polymarket, while Japanese and South Korean regulators have also taken action against prediction market activity.

Within the United States, at least 11 states have challenged prediction markets in recent months. Speaking at Bitso’s Stablecoin Conference in Mexico City on June 16, Digital Chamber Chief Executive Officer Cody Carbone said the growing dispute between state gambling regulators and the CFTC is likely to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Key Highlights

• Shares of Take-Two Interactive climbed more than 6% following Rockstar Games’ announcement that GTA VI preorders begin June 25.
• Rockstar confirmed a November 19, 2025 release date, bringing clarity after multiple delays.
• Piper Sandler maintains an Overweight rating with a $280 target, forecasting over 45 million units sold initially.
• CEO Strauss Zelnick projects FY2027 net bookings between $8 billion and $8.2 billion.
• Official box art revealed by Rockstar generated significant buzz across social platforms.

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Shares of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) rallied over 6% Thursday following Rockstar Games’ confirmation that Grand Theft Auto VI will be available for preorder starting June 25, ahead of its November 19 launch. The stock traded near $241.74 during afternoon hours.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., TTWO

Rockstar made the announcement through its verified X account, simultaneously unveiling the game’s retail box artwork. The reveal quickly gained traction online.

For market watchers, this preorder timeline represents more than just a marketing milestone. It provides concrete evidence that the November launch window remains on track — a crucial signal following years of uncertainty and postponements.

The road to GTA VI’s release has been turbulent. Originally targeted for 2025, the launch was subsequently delayed to mid-2026, then pushed again to November 2026. When that final postponement was revealed, TTWO shares tumbled nearly 18% in a single trading day.

By announcing preorders five months before launch, institutional investors are interpreting this as strong indication that additional delays are unlikely.

The franchise’s previous installment debuted in 2013. That represents thirteen years of accumulated anticipation, and market data supports the magnitude of this buildup.

Wall Street’s Expectations

Piper Sandler maintained its Overweight stance on TTWO with a $280 price objective. Their analysis suggests GTA VI could move more than 45 million copies in its initial release period.

To put this in perspective, GTA V generated over $1 billion in sales during its first three days in 2013 and has delivered more than 200 million units lifetime — establishing it as the most successful entertainment launch ever.

FactSet consensus estimates point to Take-Two generating $8.6 billion in revenue for the fiscal year concluding next March, representing a 27% increase from fiscal 2026.

CEO Strauss Zelnick has provided guidance for FY2027 net bookings in the $8 billion to $8.2 billion range.

Preorder Window Opens Late June

The June 25 preorder availability will span PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S digital platforms, alongside physical reservation options at leading retailers globally.

The game’s cultural impact is already extending beyond the gaming sector. Burger Motorsports, an automotive parts retailer, announced it will shut down operations on November 19 — the GTA VI release day — describing it as “an unprecedented cultural event.”

TTWO remains down approximately 6.9% for the year and roughly unchanged over the trailing twelve months. Preorder metrics in the weeks ahead will provide investors with better visibility into whether consumer demand aligns with market expectations.

• Hyperliquid (HYPE) holds a strong uptrend with all major EMAs stacked bullish.
• HYPE price is testing $75.62 resistance after the recent all-time high move.
• RSI neutral at 62, leaving room for a continued momentum move.

HYPE has remained one of the strongest-performing digital assets in recent weeks as growing activity on the Hyperliquid ecosystem continues to attract attention across the crypto market.

The token recently climbed to a new all-time high of $76.70 before pulling back slightly to around $72.50 at the time of writing.

Despite the retracements, HYPE is still up more than 30% over the past seven days and more than 52% over the last month.

The rally comes at a time when Hyperliquid is reporting record levels of trading activity, revenue generation, and derivatives market participation.

Hyperliquid revenue growth continues to accelerate

Hyperliquid’s revenue growth has emerged as one of the biggest talking points surrounding Hyperliquid in 2026.

The platform has generated more than $1.16 billion in cumulative revenue, placing it among the highest-earning crypto protocols in the market.

The growth has been driven by rising trading volumes across its perpetual futures markets, which have attracted both retail traders and large institutional participants.

Notably, trading activity has remained strong throughout the year, with the DEX recording approximately $1.38 billion in 24-hour trading volume, while total value locked on the platform has climbed to roughly $6.38 billion.

The strong revenue figures are particularly notable because they come as Hyperliquid continues expanding beyond its original crypto-native derivatives business, with new markets tied to equities, commodities, indices, and pre-IPO assets broadening the platform’s reach and creating additional sources of trading activity.

Hyperliquid’s open interest surpasses $6 billion

Another major milestone arrived when Hyperliquid’s total open interest crossed $6 billion on June 14.

This places Hyperliquid among the largest perpetual futures venues globally and highlights the platform’s growing influence within the derivatives market.

Earlier in the year, Hyperliquid controlled around 8.3% of global perpetual futures open interest, demonstrating how quickly it has gained market share against established competitors.

HYPE price outlook

While the Hyperliquid price action has cooled slightly from its recently reached all-time high, the broader structure still points to a market that is holding a strong upward trend rather than reversing it.

On the technical side, the short-term setup remains firmly positive.

A majority of the technical indicators are bullish.

Oscillators are showing a buy bias, while moving averages are fully aligned on the upside.

The token is trading above all major daily exponential moving averages (EMAs), including the 10-day, 20-day, 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs.

This type of full EMA stack typically reflects sustained trend control by buyers rather than short-lived momentum.

The RSI (14) sits at 62, which places it in neutral territory with a slight upward tilt.

The RSI is not in overbought conditions, meaning there is still technical room for continuation if momentum returns.

However, price is now approaching a key decision area, and a daily close above the first major resistance at $75.62 would be required for HYPE to enter the next phase of price discovery.

But if the market becomes overbought and pulls back, the key structural support is positioned at $56.50.

A break below $56.50 would represent a meaningful shift in the current bullish structure.

BNB has fallen nearly 5% as uncertainty surrounding Binance’s European regulatory status collides with a risk-off move across crypto markets ahead of the EU’s MiCA enforcement deadline.

According to data from crypto.news, Binance Coin (BNB) dropped to around $576 on June 18 after reports suggested Binance’s path toward a Markets in Crypto-Assets license (MICA) remains unresolved, less than two weeks before the European Union’s July 1 compliance deadline.

The decline unfolded alongside a broader crypto selloff that pushed total market capitalization down nearly 3% to $2.18 trillion, while Bitcoin slipped below $63,000 following a hawkish Federal Reserve outlook.

The regulatory backdrop has become a new source of concern for BNB holders. According to a report from The Big Whale, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has opposed Binance’s entry into the EU market, raising questions about whether the exchange can secure authorization before the transition period expires.

Without MiCA approval, exchanges may be forced to halt services for EU clients or withdraw from certain jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, institutional demand across the crypto market has weakened. Data from SoSoValue showed U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $82.16 million, while spot Ethereum ETFs lost another $29.37 million. The withdrawals arrived as traders reassessed expectations for interest rates after Federal Reserve officials projected fewer rate cuts and left the door open to tighter policy if inflation remains elevated.

Oil markets have provided little relief. Although crude prices have retreated from recent highs following developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations, investors continue to weigh the risk that geopolitical tensions could reemerge and complicate the inflation outlook.

Higher-for-longer rates have historically weighed on speculative assets, including exchange-linked tokens such as BNB.

BNB technical structure keeps focus on key $585 support zone

The daily chart shows BNB trading below its Supertrend resistance near $661 after failing to reclaim momentum during several recovery attempts since February. BNB price remains trapped near the lower end of its multi-month range, while the daily RSI has fallen to around 38, its weakest reading since early April, highlighting persistent selling pressure.

On the four-hour chart, BNB recently broke below a descending trendline that had connected lower highs since late May. The selloff pushed the token toward the 100% Fibonacci retracement level near $556, calculated from the late-May rally that peaked around $745. Immediate resistance now sits near the 0.786 retracement at $597, followed by stronger supply zones around $629 and $651.

According to analyst Umair Orazkay, the $585-$600 region remains the most important area for bulls to defend.

“The number is psychological as well as is around the same area where the low of the range sits, so defending the $585-$600 area for BNB is very important as couple of closings below this can trigger a panic sell off.”

Liquidity data suggests traders are closely watching the same levels. CoinGlass liquidation heatmaps show one of the largest nearby leverage clusters concentrated around the $600 mark, with additional short liquidations stacked between $620 and $627. A recovery into those zones could trigger a squeeze, while continued weakness may attract fresh downside volatility.

A break below demand support could expose lower liquidity pockets

Another group of traders remains focused on a demand zone slightly below current prices. Commenting on the recent structure, crypto analyst Mr Bullish argued that BNB has begun forming higher highs and higher lows following June’s rebound and identified the $582-$585 region as a critical support area for buyers.

🚀 Finally, a bullish setup on $BNB after the massive crypto crash.

For the first time in a while, $BNB is starting to show a clean Bullish structure again.

Price is forming Higher Highs (H.H) and Higher Lows (H.L) smoothly, which is one of the first signs that buyers are… pic.twitter.com/le77yYqsSa

— 𝙈𝙧 𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 🚀 (@mr_bullishh) June 18, 2026

The bullish thesis weakens considerably if that demand zone fails. A decisive move below $582 would place the June low and the Fibonacci support near $556 back into focus.

Below that level, liquidation heatmaps show relatively thinner liquidity until the mid-$550 region, increasing the risk of a sharper move lower if sellers regain control.

Malta’s financial regulator has taken a step toward defining how decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) could fit into Europe’s existing crypto rulebook. In a public discussion paper opened on June 12, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) proposes a potential legal framework for “software-based organizations,” a category intended to cover DAOs and other DeFi entities governed through software.

The consultation runs until July 10 and is explicitly tied to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime. While the MFSA acknowledges that truly decentralized services may fall outside MiCA, its paper argues that many DeFi projects still have elements that complicate any claim of full decentralization—creating uncertainty about who would be accountable under financial regulation.

Key takeaways

• The MFSA opened a DeFi consultation on June 12 under the EU’s MiCA framework, inviting industry feedback until July 10.
• The regulator suggests treating DAOs as a type of “software-based organization,” separating legal rules for the entity from rules for the underlying protocol.
• MFSA emphasizes MiCA’s exclusion for fully decentralized models, but says many DeFi systems retain centralized features that raise regulatory accountability questions.
• The push for clearer DeFi treatment aligns with broader EU work—including a European Central Bank paper and a European Commission MiCA review launched in May.

Why Malta is proposing a “software-based organization”

In its discussion paper, the MFSA frames a central regulatory challenge: MiCA does not neatly describe how governance and responsibility should work when a financial activity is coordinated through code rather than a traditional corporate structure. Rather than attempting to create a completely standalone legal concept for DAOs, the MFSA’s approach is more structural—defining DAOs and similar arrangements as “software-based organizations.”

According to the paper, this would allow regulators to focus on the legal characteristics of the organization using software governance, while keeping the rules for the underlying protocol and software distinct. The goal is to address a practical question for compliance and supervision: if governance is executed through decentralized mechanisms, who—if anyone—should be considered responsible for regulated activities and outcomes?

MFSA also underlines that MiCA’s scope is not meant to capture every kind of decentralized arrangement. The paper states that “MiCA excludes fully decentralised models from its regulatory scope,” adding that projects without intermediaries or central control may not need to comply with MiCA. The issue, in the MFSA’s view, is that many real-world DeFi projects do not convincingly meet that standard.

DeFi governance remains a scrutiny flashpoint in the EU

Malta’s consultation is arriving during a period of intensified EU attention to whether and how decentralized systems should be regulated under MiCA. Earlier in the year, a European Central Bank working paper examined governance and control across four major DeFi protocols and found that control remained highly concentrated. While the ECB analysis does not automatically determine MiCA applicability for every protocol, it added evidence to the argument that “fully decentralized” may be the exception rather than the rule in large DeFi markets.

That emphasis on governance structure continued in May, when the European Commission launched a targeted review of MiCA. The review sought feedback on several issues, including stablecoin interest payments and the treatment of DeFi—along with whether gaps in the framework justify further regulation.

Against this backdrop, Malta’s MFSA paper can be read as an attempt to convert a persistent policy debate into a workable legal taxonomy. If regulators cannot reliably distinguish fully decentralized services from arrangements with meaningful centralized influence, the burden falls on the market to anticipate which compliance obligations might apply.

Not everyone wants a second DeFi-focused rulebook

Even as Malta works on a DeFi-specific discussion framework, broader EU commentary suggests there is disagreement about whether DeFi requires its own separate regulatory track. In remarks reported earlier to Cointelegraph, European Commission adviser Peter Kerstens argued that policymakers should prioritize integrating tokenization into a broader digital asset framework rather than pursuing a “second version” of MiCA aimed specifically at DeFi.

That perspective highlights a tension within the EU approach: one camp believes decentralized finance needs clearer, DeFi-tailored treatment to address accountability and governance realities; another argues that tokenization and other digital asset developments are already broad enough for one coherent framework, reducing the need for a dedicated DeFi layer.

Malta’s “software-based organization” concept sits somewhere between these positions. It does not create a completely separate system from MiCA, but it does attempt to refine how key actors—especially DAOs—could be legally recognized so that MiCA’s responsibilities can be applied consistently when decentralized projects are not truly decentralized in practice.

What the MFSA’s proposal could mean for DeFi projects

For DeFi teams and governance stewards, the MFSA consultation raises a question that goes beyond legal vocabulary: how will regulators evaluate decentralization in ways that determine oversight and accountability?

By separating the legal framework governing the organization from the rules governing the protocol and software, the MFSA is implicitly pointing to a compliance model built around governance participation, decision-making authority, and the existence (or absence) of intermediaries. That approach could affect how projects document governance processes, define roles for contributors or administrators, and structure decision rights—especially where token holders, developers, or other groups retain meaningful influence.

At the same time, the MFSA’s emphasis on MiCA’s exclusion for fully decentralized models signals that the distinction will still matter. If a project can credibly demonstrate the absence of central control and intermediaries, it may argue it falls outside MiCA’s scope. If it cannot, the proposed legal categorization could make compliance planning more concrete—though it also suggests regulators may be looking closely at control concentration, not just the presence of governance tokens.

Whatever the final outcome, the consultation process itself is likely to be influential. By requesting input from the industry until July 10, the MFSA is effectively setting up a negotiation over definitions and boundaries: what exactly constitutes a “software-based organization,” and when does a DAO cross from a decentralized arrangement into something that demands traditional regulatory accountability?

For now, market participants should watch the submissions coming into Malta’s consultation and pay attention to how EU institutions continue to treat governance concentration and decentralization tests under MiCA—because the direction Malta is taking suggests regulators may increasingly rely on organizational accountability, not just code, when deciding whether DeFi fits within existing financial rules.

For the first time in seven years, the Irish government released an assessment related to digital assets, noting risks from money laundering, terrorism financing, sanctions violations and bribery.

The government of Ireland is taking aim at digital assets used in money laundering and terrorism financing as it moves to implement industry standards “relating to the acceptance of crypto-related activities as a source of funds” by the second half of 2027 as part of its policy priorities. 

In part of its implementation plan following a national risk assessment released on Thursday, the Irish department of finance said crypto assets presented “very significant” risks related to money laundering and terrorism financing. The government’s 2026 report was the first time in seven years that Ireland released a risk assessment related to digital assets, noting an increase in prosecutions related to money laundering and incidents of fraud in which using crypto was “particularly attractive” to criminal groups.

Source: Government of Ireland

In the time since its last report, Ireland noted that crypto “presents vulnerabilities that may facilitate sanctions evasion,” presented challenges to the country’s tax compliance and enforcement and was used to bribe corrupt officials responsible for decisions overseeing the industry. The government highlighted vulnerabilities in the sector, including “inconsistent international regulation” posing risks to Irish service providers and largely unregulated areas of the industry such as decentralized finance.

Ireland lacks many of the laws and regulations covering the crypto industry that are common in other jurisdictions like the European Union and United States. That’s despite its relatively high crypto ownership rates compared to other areas, with the Central Bank of Ireland reporting in December that about 10% of the population invested in crypto.

Related: BitGo courts crypto firms awaiting MiCA approval amid Binance licensing concerns

In November 2025, the central bank fined Coinbase Europe Limited about $24 million for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism violations, noting that the company delayed reporting failures in its transaction monitoring system.

Ireland banned crypto political donations

The risk assessment noted concerns about crypto being “increasingly used to make payments to corrupt officials,” but even official donations to political groups has been banned in Ireland for more than four years. In April 2022, officials proposed that no Irish political parties be allowed to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, privacy coins and others.

Magazine: OpenAI files for IPO, SEC scraps 611 rule and Hungary overhauls crypto: Hodlers Digest June 7-13

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