Executive Summary

• SpaceX plans to complete its initial public offering this week, seeking $75 billion in capital at a historic $1.75 trillion market capitalization
• The Starlink division boasts more than 10 million users with Ebitda margins exceeding 60%; Baron Capital forecasts 300 million subscribers within 12 years
• Major agreements with Anthropic and Alphabet secure approximately $26 billion annually in AI computing rental revenue
• A majority of surveyed investment professionals recommend avoiding immediate purchases due to anticipated volatility and the company’s pre-profitability phase
• Corporate governance structure raises red flags — Musk maintains complete control over all voting shares and board composition

The highly anticipated SpaceX initial public offering is scheduled to be priced before the end of this week. The aerospace manufacturer seeks to secure $75 billion in fresh capital, positioning the company at a $1.75 trillion enterprise value. If successful, this would shatter all previous IPO records.

The pending public debut has created considerable debate within the investment community. While some view it as an exceptional entry opportunity, the majority counsel patience.

Arguments Supporting Investment

The primary investment thesis revolves around Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite-based internet service. The division currently serves over 10 million paying customers while maintaining Ebitda profit margins surpassing 60%.

Ron Baron of Baron Capital anticipates the subscriber base will reach 15 million by late 2026, eventually expanding to 300 million customers by 2036. Such growth could deliver $500 billion in yearly revenue alongside $300 billion in Ebitda during the 2030s.

The company has diversified into artificial intelligence infrastructure as well. Recent contracts with Anthropic and Alphabet secure computing capacity rentals worth approximately $26 billion annually. According to ARK Invest’s analysis, this generates roughly $52 billion in revenue for SpaceX.

Musk has publicly outlined ambitions to expand AI computing capabilities one hundred-fold. Using current rate structures, that expansion could yield $2.6 trillion in AI rental income.

Supporting these projections is SpaceX’s dominance in orbital launches and ongoing Starship development. This fully reusable heavy-lift vehicle could slash orbital access costs from thousands of dollars per kilogram down to hundreds.

Skeptical Perspectives

Critics emphasize that these figures represent distant projections rather than current realities. Starship remains in development. The proposed AI satellite network hasn’t been validated at commercial scale.

Robert Johnson, a finance professor, noted the valuation “assumes all of its growth projections play out perfectly.” He advised typical investors to avoid the offering.

Andy VandenBerg referenced Truist research indicating major technology IPOs experience average maximum declines of 55% during their inaugural year. He predicts superior entry opportunities will emerge later.

Keith Fitz-Gerald cautioned that individual investors are “not prepared” for the institutional trading dynamics that characteristically follow prominent public listings.

Mike Serio highlighted Meta’s experience, which failed to exceed S&P 500 returns until over a decade following its public debut.

Corporate Control and IPO Mechanics

Governance concerns have achieved widespread consensus. The corporate framework grants Musk absolute authority over voting shares and board membership. Yumi Narita representing the New York City Comptroller’s Office described it as “unprecedentedly bad.”

Lockup provisions deviate from conventional IPO standards. Rather than a uniform 180-day restriction expiration, SpaceX implements staggered lockups partially linked to share price performance.

Barron’s analysts suggest SpaceX represents superior value at $90 per share compared to the anticipated IPO pricing of $135.

Among eight investment professionals polled by Business Insider, six indicated they would decline to purchase shares on the debut day.

Zcash developers are proposing a new shielded pool called Ironwood after a recently patched bug raised concerns about whether counterfeit ZEC could have entered circulation unnoticed.

The Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) said Saturday that it is working with Tachyon, Valar Group, the Zcash Foundation and Shielded Labs on the proposed network upgrade, which would add formal verification and independent audits to the Orchard protocol, a privacy system that lets users move ZEC without revealing transaction details.

The proposal would close the current Orchard pool to new deposits and internal transactions, requiring funds to pass through a “turnstile,” which serves as an accounting checkpoint, before entering Ironwood.

The Zcash Foundation said Wednesday that auditors discovered a vulnerability in the Orchard shielded pool. Developers said there was no evidence that user funds were affected or that Zcash’s total supply changed. 

Auditors at Shielded Labs said the vulnerability could have allowed attackers to create an infinite amount of counterfeit ZEC within Orchard without detection.

Source: ZODL

Ironwood could show whether counterfeit ZEC existed

In a separate X post, Shielded Labs said Ironwood may produce evidence about whether the Orchard bug was ever exploited, though the proposal does not depend on proving the issue retroactively. 

If users migrate from Orchard to Ironwood and no excess ZEC tries to leave the old pool, that would be strong evidence that the vulnerability was never exploited, Shielded Labs said. If excess ZEC tries to leave, the turnstile would reject it, effectively preventing counterfeit coins from entering the supply. 

Related: Why ZEC fell 40% even after Zcash patched a shielded pool bug

The distinction has been a source of discussion among community members. Some questioned whether Zcash can prove the bug was not exploited without implying some kind of backdoor. Others argued that if Orchard is deprecated and funds can only leave through a turnstile, any excess coins would be trapped even if they existed. 

David Schwartz, Ripple’s former chief technology officer, said on X that if there were no exploits, users would remain safe whether or not they move their coins. He said users who stay in the pool may be “lonely” there, but their funds would remain safe and accessible.

Zcash 24-hour price chart. Source: CoinGecko

ZEC traded at $429 at the time of writing. It fell as low as $303 from above $600 when traders reacted to the vulnerability disclosure on Friday, according to CoinGecko.

ZODL said it plans to target Ironwood activation for late July 2026, pending testing, review and coordination across the Zcash ecosystem.

Magazine: Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI, so why is the hashrate near ATHs?

While the crypto market burned through the early days of June 2026, a quieter but consequential fight was unfolding in Washington. 

Congress is moving to ban its own members from betting on crypto prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, the platforms that let users trade contracts on the outcomes of elections, policy decisions, and real-world events.

The Senate already did it: on April 30, 2026, senators unanimously passed a rule barring themselves and their staff from trading on prediction markets, effective immediately.

Now the House is preparing to follow, with Representative Bryan Steil working to attach prediction-market restrictions to a broader bill banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks, and a vote possible this summer.

The driving concern is stark and specific: members of Congress have access to non-public information that moves the very outcomes these markets price, from legislation to policy to national security, which makes their participation a form of insider trading hiding in plain sight.

The strangest part of the story is who supports the ban. Polymarket and Kalshi, the platforms that would lose these users, are publicly cheering it on.

This piece explains what is being proposed, why it is happening, the real cases driving it, and what it means for the prediction-market industry.

What is actually being proposed

The push is not a single bill but a cluster of overlapping efforts at different stages, and understanding the landscape requires separating what has already happened from what is still in motion.

The furthest-along action is already done. On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a rule barring senators and their staff from trading on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, effective immediately.

Unanimous passage in a chamber as divided as the Senate is itself remarkable, signaling that concern about lawmakers betting on prediction markets crosses party lines completely.

The Senate move came amid rising worry about insider trading on these platforms and about event contracts that can involve sensitive outcomes, and it applied to senators and their offices right away instead of waiting on a lengthy implementation process.

The House is the current battleground. Representative Bryan Steil, who chairs the House Administration Committee, is working with Republican leadership to bring the House in line with the Senate.

His chosen vehicle is H.R. 7008, a bill that would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependents from buying individual stocks, and that would require lawmakers to publicly disclose an intent to sell at least seven days before completing a transaction.

Steil’s plan is to attach prediction-market language to this stock-trading ban, extending the same logic, that lawmakers should not trade on markets their decisions can move, from stocks to prediction contracts.

The stock-trading bill was reported out of committee and placed on the House calendar, making it eligible for a floor vote that Steil expects could happen during the summer.

Violations would trigger penalties of either $2,000 or 10% of the investment’s value, whichever is larger.

Maelstrom co-founder Arthur Hayes liquidated his Worldcoin (WLD) holdings just days after the research outfit described WLD as one of the cleanest proxies for the AI investment wave. The move underscores how public bets on AI narratives can rise and fall quickly, even for assets a prominent investor once touted as a sure-fire proxy.

Hayes took to X to critique a chart of the SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures contract, saying the chart was moving in the wrong direction. His post concluded with a blunt disclosure: “Dumped WLD. I’m out. See y’all at the clerb.” The timing follows Maelstrom’s characterization of Worldcoin as an attractive entry point into the AI-IPO theme and a note that helped spur a brief rally for the token.

It was only a few days earlier that Maelstrom researcher Lukas Ruppert described Worldcoin as an “overlooked” bet on “AI mega IPOs,” predicting WLD could reach $5 by August. The note sparked a short-lived advance, sending WLD above the $0.60 level on Friday before retreating toward the $0.40 area by Sunday as Hayes publicly exited the position to his roughly 800,000 followers on X.

Hayes’s stance on Worldcoin had previously been aligned with a broader AI-forward thesis—one that tied multiple token bets to the idea of a wave of AI IPOs and platform-scale adoption. Yet the latest exit came even as Hayes had signaled a willingness to hold WLD through the SpaceX IPO on Nasdaq, which had been anticipated to launch the following Friday, drawing scrutiny from some observers who cautioned about timing and concentration risk.

Key takeaways

• Arthur Hayes liquidated Worldcoin (WLD) holdings days after Maelstrom framed WLD as a clean proxy for AI IPOs, signaling a pivot away from a narrative he helped amplify.
• WLD’s price action reflected the churn around AI-narrative assets: a rally to about $0.60 followed by a retreat to roughly $0.40 as the exit news circulated.
• Hayes has a documented history of shifting positions on high-profile bets—ranging from Worldcoin to Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Zcash (ZEC)—even after initially promoting a bullish thesis.
• The broader AI-IPO theme remains in play, but investors should weigh the risks of relying on single-asset proxies and the potential for rapid reversals when public bets shift.

From AI megabets to ongoing pivots: Hayes’s track record in focus

The sequence around Worldcoin sits within a larger pattern that crypto markets frequently witness: a bold call tied to a transformative technology, followed by quick re-evaluation as markets digest momentum, valuation, and macro signals. In March, Hayes publicly argued that Hyperliquid (HYPE) could reach as high as $150 by August, a forecast that attracted attention in the more speculative corners of the market. Then, on June 1, he asserted that HYPE would outperform any other top-ten crypto in USD terms for the remainder of the year. Just three days later, he said he would exit the entire HYPE position, citing concerns over energy prices tied to the Iran war, inventory restocking dynamics, and the looming AI IPO wave. Those moves illustrate how even strongly bullish calls can give way to disciplined risk management amid shifting conditions.

The broader narrative around HYPE extended beyond the original calls. A separate episode saw Hayes depicting what he called the “Holy Trinity” of HYPE, ZEC, and NEAR as dead. Yet the script appears to have evolved again. On Monday, a wallet linked to Hayes reportedly purchased back around 33,978 HYPE tokens, valued at approximately $2 million, after the price had fallen following his June sale, according to Arkham Intelligence. The reversal underscores how public figures in crypto can simultaneously shape sentiment and experience reversals themselves as markets respond to new information and evolving risk appetites.

Cointelegraph sought comment from Maelstrom on the latest movements, but as of publication had not received a reply. The episode nonetheless adds another data point to a long-running conversation about how influential investors manage risk when AI-focused narratives dominate sentiment, and how those narratives intersect with real-world catalysts like major IPOs.

Implications for investors and the ongoing AI narrative

The Worldcoin episode highlights two central tensions facing crypto markets today. First, there is an enduring allure to “AI mega IPO” narratives, which promise outsized upside by aligning token bets with the broader science-fiction-like story of artificial intelligence redefining industries. Yet the rapid swings seen in WLD—especially after high-profile endorsements and headlines—also demonstrate the fragility of such narratives when measured against price action and risk control. For traders and funds, the episode reinforces the importance of explicit risk budgets and diversified exposure rather than relying on a single proxy to capture a sweeping theme.

Second, Hayes’s sequence of bullish pronouncements followed by swift exits raises questions about conviction versus timing. The pattern—picking a narrative, staking a position, and then revisiting the thesis in light of new data—mirrors a recurring dynamic among market participants who seek to monetize speed and access to information. For followers and rivals, the episodes provide case studies in how influence can guide attention and liquidity, but also how quickly opinion can reverse when new data arrives or when market conditions shift.

Looking ahead, traders will likely watch not only the immediate price trajectory of Worldcoin but also the broader AI narrative’s staying power. Key questions include whether WLD can sustain an upward trajectory without a sustained, verifiable catalyst beyond talk of AI IPOs, and how other AI-focused tokens perform as the market evaluates the credibility and timing of these megabets. The SpaceX IPO timeline remains a potential inflection point: if the listing proceeds as expected, it could either validate the broader AI-exposure thesis or reignite questions about the durability of proxy assets in crypto markets.

As with many episodes in the crypto space, the outcomes are as much about investor psychology as about fundamentals. The next developments—SpaceX’s IPO timeline, the continuing temperature of AI-narrative bets, and how participants reconcile competing signals—will help determine whether Worldcoin and its peers can sustain a durable narrative or retreat into the realm of episodic volatility.

Readers should monitor how public bets translate into liquidity shifts, and how notable investors adjust their positions as new data arrives. The coming weeks will be telling for whether the AI IPO story can withstand a test of time or whether it remains a narrative-driven rally that hinges on ongoing catalysts and consistent risk management.

Gold has fallen below its 200-day moving average (200DMA), a widely followed long term technical indicator that tracks the average closing price over the previous 200 trading days.

A break below the 200DMA is often interpreted as a sign that long term bullish momentum has weakened and that a broader trend reversal may be underway. This is the first time gold has traded below its 200DMA since October 2023, with prices now slipping beneath $4,300 per ounce.

The decline follows a huge rally in which gold surged nearly 200%, climbing from below $2,000 per ounce in October 2023 to a record high of $5,600 in January this year. Much of that advance was driven by the “debasement trade“, the investment thesis that government spending, rising debt levels, and loose monetary policy would erode the purchasing power of fiat currencies, increasing demand for scarce stores of value such as gold.

Gold has now entered bear market territory, having fallen more than 20% from its all time high. The latest weakness follows a stronger than expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, which prompted markets to price in a greater likelihood of Federal Reserve tightening. CME FedWatch Tool, now assigns a 25 basis point rate hike in December, which would lift the federal funds rate to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%.

Silver, which is often viewed as a higher beta version of gold due to its greater volatility, is currently testing support at its own 200DMA near $67 per ounce.

The bitcoin BTC$62,945.93 to gold ratio, which measures how many ounces of gold one bitcoin can purchase, has risen 3% over the past 24 hours to 14.72 ounces as bitcoin recovers toward $63,000.

Despite the rebound, the ratio remains roughly 70% below its December 2024 peak of approximately 41 ounces. Last month, the ratio was rejected at its 200DMA, which preceded bitcoin’s decline below $60,000. However, the ratio remains above its February lows, offering a modest sign of resilience for bitcoin bulls.

Adding further pressure to risk assets, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has climbed back above 100. A stronger dollar is typically a headwind for commodities, gold, and cryptocurrencies because it tightens global financial conditions, reduces liquidity, and makes dollar denominated assets more expensive for international investors.

XRP price has stabilized near $1.14 after a sharp weekly selloff, but analyst warnings and weak technical structure suggest the token could still revisit $0.90 before forming a durable bottom.

According to data from crypto.news, XRP (XRP) price traded near $1.14 on June 8 after plunging from around $1.45 at the start of the month and briefly testing support near $1.10 during the recent market-wide selloff.

XRP token has spent the past two sessions consolidating between roughly $1.10 and $1.15 as traders assessed the impact of macroeconomic headwinds, rising geopolitical tensions, and a liquidation-driven decline that pushed several momentum indicators into oversold territory.

XRP price stabilized despite crypto market sentiment remaining fragile following Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop toward the $60,000 area, persistent spot Bitcoin ETF outflows, and a stronger U.S. dollar after hotter-than-expected labor market data reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

XRP faces pressure from macro shocks and oil-led inflation risks

Risk appetite weakened further after WTI crude futures jumped more than 4% above $94 per barrel on June 8. The move followed renewed missile exchanges between Iran and Israel, which threatened President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a proposed 60-day ceasefire with Tehran.

Higher oil prices added another problem for crypto traders because energy-driven inflation could make it harder for the Fed to ease policy.

Rising Treasury yields and a stronger dollar usually weigh on non-yielding assets, leaving altcoins such as XRP exposed during periods of forced deleveraging.

Bitcoin’s brief recovery toward the $62,000 to $63,000 range has helped slow the selloff, but the Crypto Fear and Greed Index remains in Extreme Fear territory. XRP’s current consolidation therefore looks more like a pause after heavy selling than a confirmed trend reversal.

XRP chart keeps $0.90 in focus as liquidation clusters build

On the weekly chart, XRP continues to trade inside a descending parallel channel that has capped price action since its 2025 peak near $3.80. The latest candle is sitting near the lower half of that structure, with immediate support around $1.13 and deeper horizontal support near $0.90.

According to crypto analyst Ali Martinez, the $0.90 region remains a key level for long-term buyers.

Momentum data supports the bearish setup. The weekly MACD remains below the zero line, with the signal line still above the MACD line, while the Aroon indicator shows Aroon Down near 92.86% and Aroon Up around 14.29%. That structure shows sellers continue to control the larger trend.

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The 3-day XRP liquidation heatmap shows heavy leverage concentrated below spot price between $1.08 and $1.05, with another strong liquidity pocket near $1.04. A sweep of those levels could trigger another wave of forced selling before the market attempts a stronger rebound.

Upside liquidity is clustered around $1.17 to $1.20, meaning a short squeeze is still possible if XRP breaks above the current range. However, the token would need to reclaim $1.31 and then $1.50 to weaken the descending channel structure.

Fundamentals offer one counterweight to the bearish chart. As crypto.news reported earlier, XRP Ledger recorded around $1.5 billion in real-world asset inflows over the last 30 days, while Ethereum saw roughly $1.2 billion in outflows. XRPL’s RWA market cap also rose more than 124% in the first quarter, with tokenized assets reaching about $2.25 billion.

Ripple’s RLUSD expansion through Wormhole has also improved liquidity options across multiple networks. The stablecoin push adds to Ripple’s focus on tokenized securities, funds, and institutional assets, giving XRP a stronger fundamental story than many altcoins facing similar macro pressure.

Still, price action remains the near-term driver. A weekly close below $1.10 could expose $1.05 first, followed by the $0.90 zone highlighted by Martinez.

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A recovery above $1.20 would ease immediate downside pressure, but XRP may need a break above $1.50 before traders can argue that the larger downtrend has started to fail.

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

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The second week of June puts the crypto market’s resilience to the test as digital assets battle an unusual divergence from record-setting equity markets.

Following a grueling nine-month correction cycle that has pushed bitcoin down to major psychological support levels, traders enter the week facing a double-barreled threat of heavy token emissions and tightening cross-asset liquidity.

The direction of the week’s risk appetite could be dictated by a high-stakes macro calendar. Traditional markets are bracing for Wednesday’s U.S. CPI print, and a hot inflation reading could lock in a restrictive Federal Reserve stance and deepen recent spot ETF outflows.

With the market trying to find a definitive bottom amid persistent geopolitical friction and shifting risk capital, the week’s data will determine whether the asset class faces further downside or maps out a structural recovery.

What to Watch

(All times ET)

• Crypto
  • June 8: Coinbase debuts its perpetual-style equity index futures, expanding its derivatives offerings beyond crypto assets.
  • June 8: Starknet STRK$0.03293 introduces a new STRK20 privacy standard on its mainnet, adding native privacy-preserving features and shielding mechanics to the Ethereum layer-2 network.
  • June 8-12: The Clarity Act continues its legislative progress on the full Senate floor. The market-structure bill faces debate over DeFi obligations and stablecoin yield exemptions.
• Macro
  • June 9, 9:30 p.m.: China Inflation Rate YoY for May est. 1.3% (Prev. 1.2%); PPI YoY est. 3.8% (Prev. 2.8%)
  • June 10, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. Inflation Rate YoY for May est. 4.2% (Prev. 3.8%); Core Inflation Rate YoY est. 2.9% (Prev. 2.8%)
  • June 10, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. Inflation Rate MoM for May est. 0.5% (Prev. 0.6%); Core Inflation MoM est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.4%)
  • June 11, 4:15 a.m.: ECB Interest-Rate Decision est. 2.25% (Prev. 2.00%)
  • June 11, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. PPI MoM for May est. 0.8% (Prev. 1.4%); Core PPI MoM est. 0.4% (Prev. 0.7%)
  • June 11, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for period ending June 6 est. 218K (Prev. 215K)
  • June 12, 2 a.m.: U.K. GDP MoM for April est. -0.1% (Prev. 0.3%); GDP YoY est. 1.1% (Prev. 1.2%)
• Earnings

Token Events

• Governance Votes & Calls
  • Aave AAVE$62.56 is conducting a temperature check seeking community feedback on deploying Aave V4 on Arc alongside supporting an initial set of high-quality assets. Voting ends on June 9.
  • Bancor (BNT) is voting on a proposed lower fee on numerous stablecoin pairings, including USDS, UDSe and PYUSD. Voting closes on June 10.
  • Decentraland DAO is voting on lowering the voting power threshold for governance proposals from 6 million to 5 million or less, aiming to address declining voter participation. Voting ends on June 12.
• Unlocks
  • June 9: HumidiFi (WET) to unlock 111.59% of its circulating supply worth $14.33 million.
  • June 10: HOME (HOME) to unlock 19.79% of its circulating supply worth $25.68 million.
  • June 10: Magic Eden (ME) to 33.99% of its circulating supply worth $10.08 million.
  • June 6: Hyperliquid (HYPE) to unlock 2.54% of its circulating supply worth $673 million.
• Token Launches
  • June 8: Pharos (PROS) listed on Bitrue at 2 a.m.

Conferences