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.

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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.

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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.

EXPLAINED: 🏦 Wall Street seems to only be getting more and more bullish on blockchain, incorporating it deeper into its infrastructure every week.

Citi, Mastercard, Visa, DTCC, and major banks are all testing rails for stablecoins, tokenized deposits, private shares, money…

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) June 20, 2026

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Current prices are not the most important thing when it comes to determining whether it’s the right time to acquire a certain asset, said the person behind one of the most popular investment books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Kiyosaki further explained when he is prepared to start acquiring more BTC, ETH, silver, and gold amid all assets’ recent declines.

When Will Kiyosaki Start Buying Again?

It has been a wild year for investors in all assets. Bitcoin’s price began the year with a surge toward $100,000, where it was stopped, and the subsequent months were quite painful. The correction culmination, at least for now, was in early June at $59,100. ETH followed a similar path, dumping to $1,500 a few weeks back. Although both have recovered some ground since then, they are still deep in the red YTD.

Even the two largest precious metals, typically considered more stable and reliable, have bled out. Silver pumped above $120 at the start of the month, but now sits nearly 50% away from that peak. Gold rocketed to $5,600/oz, but its crash has been quite painful, ending the business week at under $4,160/oz (a 25% correction).

Robert Kiyosaki believes these dips are not the only factor that matters. In fact, he admitted that he has recently made this mistake of “letting price determine reasons to buy or sell any asset.” He has now learned to “understand the ‘context’ or the environment the asset is in… not the price.”

The author and investor explained that he has shifted his focus to the technical charts of the four assets mentioned above and “will buy when prices reverse their decline.” Moreover, he predicted that the two precious metals are “poised for a massive rise in prices.”

No Safe-Haven Status?

Being down YTD and since their respective peaks marked in January, both bitcoin and gold raised some analysts’ eyebrows regarding their safe-haven status. Market observer and commentator Charlie Bilello recently pointed out that this decline in both assets’ prices is quite hard to explain, especially since most major stocks are up by double digits.

He believes a major part of this is due to rotation, as investors have turned their attention to the tech sector, mostly because of the AI boom. He added that capital has opted to move to assets with earnings momentum rather than staying on stores of value with negligible yield.

The post Why Isn’t Robert Kiyosaki Buying the Dip in BTC, ETH, Gold, and Silver? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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TLDR:

• OpenAI’s 2025 net loss hit $38.5 billion despite revenue tripling to $13.07 billion overall.
• Uber, Amazon and JPMorgan now restrict employee AI usage after costs spiraled unexpectedly.
• Anthropic and OpenAI filed confidentially for IPOs, both targeting valuations near $850 billion.
• Chinese models DeepSeek and Kimi undercut Anthropic and OpenAI pricing in benchmark cost tests.

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Anthropic and OpenAI are pushing toward public markets while facing mounting questions about AI spending sustainability.

OpenAI posted a $38.5 billion net loss in 2025, even as revenue tripled to $13.07 billion. Rising pay-per-token costs have prompted major employers to limit staff usage, raising doubts about near-term profitability for both companies.

Enterprise Costs Spark Internal Crackdowns

Several large corporations have begun restricting employee access to AI tools after expenses climbed sharply. Uber reportedly exhausted its 2026 AI budget by April and now caps spending at $1,500 per employee monthly.

Amazon told staff to avoid using AI tools without clear purpose, following reports that engineers ran automated agents to climb internal usage leaderboards.

JPMorgan circulated an internal memo this month addressing excessive AI spending across departments. Some employees reportedly generated AI bills exceeding their own monthly salaries.

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These examples reflect a broader pattern among companies that adopted AI tools aggressively over the past two years.

One pricing shift illustrates the scale of the problem. Workato saw its Anthropic bill increase 700% in a single day after the company moved from flat-rate to pay-per-token pricing in May.

Workato’s chief information officer said earlier subsidized pricing had encouraged widespread adoption before actual costs became visible.

IPO Timing Collides With Spending Concerns

Anthropic and OpenAI filed confidentially for public offerings this month, both reportedly targeting valuations near $850 billion.

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THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

A company’s AI bill jumped 700% in a single day because Anthropic changed how it charged for AI usage.

Workato had been paying one flat monthly fee to use Anthropic’s AI. In May, Anthropic moved them to pay per token pricing, where every single prompt… pic.twitter.com/usMOUrCWID

— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) June 20, 2026

Neither company has reached profitability, and OpenAI’s losses nearly tripled year over year. In 2024, the company lost $5.09 billion, a figure that grew to $38.5 billion in 2025.

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This timing creates friction for both firms as they court investor confidence. Public offerings typically require evidence of sustainable revenue growth, yet enterprise clients are simultaneously scaling back usage. The same trend driving corporate cost-cutting threatens the growth narrative needed for successful IPO valuations.

OpenAI is reportedly considering token price reductions to retain customers shifting toward Anthropic’s offerings. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anthropic’s Claude Code product helped push annualized revenue from $9 billion to $47 billion within five months. That growth has intensified competitive pressure between the two firms.

Competitive Pricing Pressure Intensifies From Chinese Models

Artificial Analysis tested major AI models on identical benchmark tasks, comparing total operational costs. Anthropic’s flagship model cost $4,811 to complete the test suite, while OpenAI’s model cost $3,357 for the same workload.

Chinese alternatives showed substantially lower costs in the same testing. DeepSeek completed the benchmark for $1,071, while Kimi finished for $948.

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These figures suggest Chinese developers prioritize cost efficiency over matching premium-tier performance metrics.

Bain surveyed nearly 1,000 companies regarding AI return on investment, finding that 40% reported actual cost savings below 10%.

One investor told Axios that a corporate finance officer spent $500 million on Claude access in a single month before anyone noticed.

As Anthropic and OpenAI prepare investor pitches, enterprise customers are demonstrating measurable resistance to current pricing structures.

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Michael Saylor marked Strategy’s turnaround from its 2022 lows, saying the firm’s Bitcoin (BTC) and cash reserves now top its debt by roughly $48 billion. His remarks land as MicroStrategy’s STRC preferred stock trades well below its $100 target.

Saylor is celebrating a multi-year win, yet traders question whether his newest Bitcoin funding tool can hold steady.

How Strategy Climbed Back From Its 2022 Lows

In October 2022, the company then called MicroStrategy (MSTR) held about 130,000 BTC. Weeks later, as the FTX collapse drove Bitcoin below $16,000, Saylor says its debt briefly topped its Bitcoin and cash by about $300 million.

Adjusted for a 10-for-1 split in 2024, the stock traded near $13. Michael Saylor says the picture has since transformed.

MicroStrategy has raised more than $60 billion, and it now holds about 843,700 BTC, more than any other public company. He casts the rebound as proof that conviction paid off.

“When I gave this speech in October 2022, Bitcoin traded near $20,000… Today, our BTC and USD reserves exceed debt by ~$48 billion. Thank you to everyone who believed, endured, and took the long view,” Saylor wrote in a post.

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Why STRC Slipped Below Its $100 Target

STRC, formally the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, was built to trade near $100, and Strategy resets the dividend monthly to defend that level. The company has lifted the rate repeatedly, now to 11.5%.

Strategy’s own filings note STRC is not collateralized by its Bitcoin and carries only a preferred claim on residual assets. That makes it a credit product, not a Bitcoin proxy.

The stock has not cooperated. It recently changed hands in the high $80s, having fallen below its $100 floor during the sell-off.

With Bitcoin near $63,700, leverage unwinds and paused issuance drove the slide. MicroStrategy can sell new STRC only at or above par, so a deep discount stalls its Bitcoin-buying machine.

Conviction Meets a Real Stress Test

Supporters remain calm. Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Capital, argued that STRC cannot break this cycle unless Bitcoin crashes toward $10,000, and he expects it to move back near par within a week.

Others see a messaging problem rather than a structural one.

Crypto analyst James Van Straten said the panic misreads what STRC is, noting that retail investors hold most of the stock, around 80% by one count.

“$STRC is not a stablecoin, it does not ‘de-peg.’ … The issue has been with [Saylor’s] messaging. You can’t expect ‘one penny of volatility’ when the underlying asset is a 40-50 vol asset and the majority of holders are retail,” the analyst stated.

The selling fears are not new. Strategy made its first-ever Bitcoin sale in that same 2022 window, selling 704 BTC for a tax benefit before rebuying days later.

It again sold 32 BTC this year to help cover dividends, and economist Peter Schiff has branded the structure a house of cards as STRC, MSTR, and Bitcoin fell together.

The timing sharpens the test. Shareholders approved a move to semi-monthly STRC dividends that takes effect at the end of June.

The post Michael Saylor Touts $48 Billion Bitcoin Turnaround, But Can MicroStrategy’s STRC Survive 2026? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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After finding support around $1.5K earlier this month, Ethereum has managed to stage a modest recovery. However, the asset remains positioned below critical technical barriers, and sentiment metrics indicate that buyers have not yet regained control of the market. The latter specifically shows a lack of strong institutional demand, suggesting that recovery attempts could face considerable headwinds.

Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, ETH remains firmly inside the large descending channel that has guided price action lower for several months. The asset recently broke below the important $1.85K support area, which has now flipped into resistance. The breakdown accelerated selling pressure toward the major demand zone at roughly $1.5K. This area, coinciding with the mid-line of the channel, has successfully halted the decline so far, producing a relief bounce back toward the $1.8K region.

However, the asset was rejected from the $1.8k zone, and the broader structure remains bearish as ETH continues to trade below both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which are sloping downward in the $2.1K-$2.4K range.

The former support zone around $2K now represents the most significant resistance cluster overhead. A recovery into that area would likely attract fresh selling interest unless accompanied by a decisive breakout above the descending channel.

Yet, as long as ETH remains below $1.85K and beneath the channel resistance, the prevailing trend favors sellers. A decline from current levels could expose the $1.5K support region once again, while a breakdown below that demand zone would open the door for a deeper drop toward the lower boundary of the channel below the $1.2K mark.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour timeframe shows a clearer picture. Following the sharp selloff into the $1.5K support area, ETH formed a rising channel and began carving out higher lows. This recovery structure allowed price to rebound toward the $1.8K resistance zone, where sellers quickly regained control and pushed the asset back lower.

The rejection from that resistance area confirms its importance in the near term. Since then, ETH has broken below the ascending channel and is consolidating around $1.7K. The RSI also currently hovers around neutral territory, indicating that bearish momentum has eased but has not yet shifted decisively in favor of buyers.

Immediate support remains at $1.5K, which served as the origin of the recent bounce. Yet, if the measured move of the broken ascending channel plays out, the market could drop well below this zone. On the upside, buyers must still reclaim the $1.8K resistance region to generate stronger recovery momentum. Yet, as things stand, the overall bearish sentiment is still dominant.

Sentiment Analysis

The Coinbase Premium Index continues to provide a bearish signal for Ethereum. This metric measures the price difference between ETH traded on Coinbase and other major exchanges, often serving as a proxy for U.S. institutional and spot demand. Positive readings generally indicate stronger buying activity from Coinbase participants, while negative readings suggest weaker demand and increased selling pressure.

The latest data shows the Coinbase Premium Index remaining predominantly below zero, with recent readings approaching -0.1. This marks one of the weakest periods of Coinbase demand seen since the beginning of last year. Notably, the deterioration in the premium has occurred alongside ETH’s price decline, which reinforces the view that U.S.-based investors have not yet returned aggressively to the market.

Historically, sustained recoveries in Ethereum have often been accompanied by persistent positive premium readings. Until the metric can reclaim and hold above the neutral line, order flow suggests that rallies may continue to face selling pressure rather than broad-based accumulation.

The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Can ETH Reclaim $2K Before Month-End? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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XRP remains under pressure across both its USD and Bitcoin pairs, with the asset continuing to trade within a well-defined bearish structure. While buyers have managed to defend key support levels in recent weeks, the broader trend has yet to show convincing signs of a reversal, as the token remains below major moving averages and the descending trendline resistance.

Ripple Price Analysis: The USDT Pair

On the USDT pair, XRP continues to trade inside a large descending channel that has governed the price action since the second half of 2025. The recent decline pushed the asset back into the critical support zone around $1.1, where buyers have once again stepped in to prevent a deeper breakdown.

This area has acted as a major demand region throughout the current correction and remains the most important support level on the chart. A decisive loss of this zone could expose the next major downside target around the $0.60 region, which marks the next visible demand area on the higher timeframe.

On the upside, XRP is capped by several layers of resistance. The descending channel’s upper boundary currently coincides with the 100-day moving average near the $1.35 area, while the 200-day moving average is positioned higher around $1.75. Beyond that, the major supply zone at $2.5 remains the key level that buyers would need to reclaim to shift the long-term structure back in their favor.

Meanwhile, overall momentum remains weak. Although the RSI has stabilized above the oversold territory, it has yet to generate the type of bullish divergence or strength typically associated with a sustainable trend reversal.

As long as XRP remains below the descending channel resistance and the major moving averages, the broader market structure continues to favor sellers despite the recent stabilization.

The BTC Pair

The BTC pair paints a similarly cautious picture and highlights XRP’s ongoing relative weakness against Bitcoin. After a prolonged decline within a descending channel, XRP/BTC has recently entered a consolidation phase above the key support area around 1,720 SATs. This level has been tested multiple times since May and continues to attract demand, forming the base of the current range.

However, despite holding support, buyers have repeatedly failed to establish a sustained breakout above the nearby resistance zone around 1,850 SATs. This area coincides with the 100-day moving average and has acted as a ceiling throughout June.

If XRP/BTC loses the 1,720 SATs support floor, the next major demand area sits considerably lower around 1,500 SATs. Conversely, a successful breakout above the 1,850 SATs level could open the door for a move toward the next resistance region near 2,000 SATs, where additional supply is likely to emerge.

Still, the BTC pair suggests that XRP has yet to establish meaningful relative strength, reinforcing the cautious outlook visible on the USDT chart. Until buyers reclaim the nearby resistance levels and break the broader descending structure, rallies are likely to be viewed as corrective rather than the start of a new bullish trend.

The post Ripple Price Analysis: Where XRP Could Go Next After Its Weekly Rejection appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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