Crypto World
Order Flow Trading: Concepts, Tools and Strategies
Order flow trading is the analysis of real-time buying and selling activity to understand how market participants interact and where prices may move next. It focuses on executed orders, resting orders, liquidity, volume, and market participation. This shows the activity behind price moves, not just the moves themselves. Its purpose is to help traders identify potential trades, assess market sentiment, and make trading decisions.
Traders apply order flow analysis across forex and CFD markets. This article explains how order flow works, its components, and three order flow trading strategies.
What Is Order Flow Trading?
Order flow trading is a method that uses the analysis of executed trades, pending orders, liquidity, and volume to understand market participation and anticipate potential price movements. Applying order flow in trading involves examining where buy and sell orders might rest in the market.
To implement order flow analysis, traders focus on three components: liquidity, supply and demand zones, and trade execution.
Liquidity is the pool of resting orders waiting to trade at each level. These orders form supply and demand zones, where buying or selling has concentrated. Trade execution occurs when incoming orders meet that liquidity, and the balance between the two drives price discovery.
Much of the trading volume comes from banks and funds, so reading institutional trading activity adds context that price alone cannot give.
Order Flow vs Volume Analysis vs Price Action
Order flow, volume and price action describe market activity at different depths.
Price action reflects the shape of past price on a chart. Volume shows how much traded. Order flow shows the orders behind that trade. Order flow gives the most detail of the three.
Price action shows what happened. Volume tells you the size of activity but not its direction or intent. Order flow adds that missing layer. It shows whether buyers or sellers were the aggressors and where liquidity zones build up.
Tools such as volume profile, Volume-Weighted Average Price, Volume-Weighted Moving Average sit between volume and order flow analysis, mapping volume across price to hint at order concentration. The practical trade-off is depth of insight against complexity. Order book analysis is the most detailed but also the hardest to read.
Core Components of Order Flow Analysis
In the realm of trading, dissecting the order flow is akin to peering into the heart of the market, revealing the intentions of traders through the movement of buy and sell orders.
The sections below cover the main chart components in order: order blocks, market structure and trends, imbalances, and volume. The commonly used order flow tools then follow, namely footprint charts, depth of market (DOM), also called market depth, and cumulative delta, alongside the volume profile.
Understanding these components allows traders to interpret order flow directly from the chart, providing insights into where the market might head next based on past and present trader actions.
Order Blocks (Supply and Demand Zones)
In analysing order flow on a chart, order blocks, or supply and demand zones, appear as areas where price action has shown significant movement away from a particular level, indicating a concentration of buy (demand) or sell (supply) orders.
These zones are typically highlighted by a sudden surge or drop in price, leaving behind a footprint where future price often reacts. For example, a demand zone might be identified by a rapid price increase from a specific area, suggesting buyers overpowered sellers significantly.
An order block marks where unfilled orders cluster, forming dense liquidity zones before a sharp move. When price revisits these supply and demand zones, those resting orders can absorb or repel it, which is why the area often produces a reaction. Blocks left by institutional trading activity tend to be the clearest.
Market Structure/Trends
The market structure, or trend, is visible through the series of highs and lows on a chart. An uptrend is recognised by ascending peaks and troughs, while a downtrend is marked by descending peaks and troughs. These structures show order flow traders the prevailing direction of market sentiment.
Trend continuation is central to market structure trading. In an uptrend, buyers repeatedly absorb supply at higher levels, and each higher low marks a fresh trading imbalance in their favour. In a downtrend, sellers repeatedly absorb demand and push prices lower, while each lower low signals a fresh supply–demand imbalance in their favour.
That imbalance has to persist for the trend to hold. When opposing flow takes over, the run of higher highs or lower lows breaks, which often signals a shift in market structure rather than a pause.
Imbalances
Imbalances manifest as large, directional candles that break away from a consolidation area, signifying a sudden imbalance between buyers and sellers. These are often accompanied by increased volume, which may suggest a strong commitment from traders to move the price in a specific direction.
In ICT and order flow terminology, this kind of gap usually appears in the form of a fair value gap. It forms when price moves so fast that one side barely trades, leaving a three-candle gap where little business was done. Traders mark these gaps because price often returns to fill them, rebalancing the orders that were skipped. A trading imbalance that stays unfilled can act as a magnet for future price, while one that fills cleanly tends to confirm the move that created it.
Volume
Volume is directly observable on a chart, usually depicted as bars beneath the price action. High volume bars accompanying significant price moves validate the strength of that move, implying a robust interest from the market in that price level. Conversely, low volume may indicate a lack of conviction, suggesting that the price move may not be sustainable.
Volume confirmation and order flow confirmation differ. Volume shows how much traded, confirming a move had participation behind it, but not who was in control. Order flow confirmation goes further, showing whether buyers or sellers were the aggressors at each level. A volume profile bridges the two by mapping where volume built up across price, though only footprint and delta data confirm the direction of that activity.
Footprint Charts and Cumulative Delta
A footprint chart shows the volume traded at the bid and at the ask inside each price bar. It reveals who was aggressive at every level, not just where price closed. Cumulative delta then tracks the running net of that buying against selling, turning the detail into a single trend line.
Bid and ask volume sit at the centre of this. Volume traded at the ask comes from aggressive buyers lifting offers. Volume traded at the bid comes from aggressive sellers hitting bids. Delta is the difference between the two within a bar, a positive figure when buyers dominate and a negative figure when sellers do.
Cumulative delta adds each bar’s delta to a running total. A rising line shows net buying building over time, while a falling line shows net selling. The most watched signal is divergence. If price makes a new high but cumulative delta does not, the buying behind the move may be weakening. Footprint and delta data are standard in centralised futures markets, where every trade is recorded at the exchange, which is why they appear so often in order flow study.
Depth of Market (DOM)
The depth of market, or DOM, is a live ladder of buy and sell orders waiting at each price. It is also called the order book, or market depth. The bid side lists resting orders to buy below the current price. The ask side lists resting orders to sell above it. The size at each level shows where liquidity is stacked.
Reading this ladder, sometimes called DOM trading, is a form of order book analysis that aids short-term price discovery. A centralised exchange shows the full depth of the market. OTC forex does not, because there is no central book and each broker sees only its own flow. This is the main limit on order flow trading in forex, which pushes traders toward liquidity and supply-demand methods, or toward futures data as a proxy. Even on exchanges, book depth alone can read liquidity incompletely.
Interested readers can learn more about these components and how they interact with each other in our comprehensive article on order flow analysis.
Order Flow Trading Strategy Examples
Let’s now take a look at how these components can be used in three order flow trading strategies.
The three examples below are educational illustrations of how order flow concepts fit together. They are not trading recommendations, and no setup works every time. Each one shows how tools such as order blocks, liquidity and moving averages might combine in an order flow trading strategy. Any approach can be tested on a demo account.
If you are ready to try these approaches on live markets, you can consider trading with them on FXOpen’s TickTrader platform.
Liquidity Sweep at Order Block/Supply or Demand Zone
A liquidity sweep is a quick push past an obvious high or low, where stop orders and breakout orders rest, followed by a sharp reversal. The move taps that pooled liquidity, fills large orders against the crowd, then turns. Spotting the sweep and the snap-back is what separates this setup from a plain breakout.
The concept of a liquidity sweep within an order block stands out for its nuanced approach to capitalising on market reversals. This strategy hinges on the premise that price movements in these critical zones often preclude a significant direction change, making them ripe for reversal entries.
However, while leaving a simple limit order at these areas may be tempting, unforeseen news or a strong trend can cause the price to trade beyond it. Therefore, the theory states that looking for confirmation is important. Using the idea of a liquidity sweep or a bull/bear trap, traders can identify higher probability setups in these areas.
Entry
- Traders typically identify an order block, marking zones that prompted a significant imbalance and strong directional price move.
- Watching for the price to approach these zones is important, with a keen eye on the price action within the zone for signals of a potential reversal.
- The formation of new highs in a supply zone or lows in a demand zone accompanied by a liquidity sweep (a brief breach of these highs/lows followed by a quick return) might serve as a trigger for entry.
- The appearance of reversal patterns, like a shooting star, hammer, or engulfing candlestick, may indicate the market’s rejection of prices beyond the zone.
Stop Loss
- Traders could place a stop loss just beyond the boundary of the supply or demand zone.
Take Profit
- Profit targets might be set at the nearest opposing supply or demand zone, usually where another significant imbalance lies.
Moving Average Crossover at Order Block/Supply or Demand Zone
Integrating moving averages into the analysis of order blocks or supply/demand zones offers traders a quantitative lens through which market sentiment can be gauged more precisely. This strategy particularly revolves around the utilisation of two moving averages.
We’ve used Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) with periods of 9 and 20, leveraging their sensitivity to price movements to identify potential reversal points within these critical market zones. However, traders can use whichever type or length they prefer, though a balance should be struck between responsiveness and mitigating false signals.
Note that moving averages are confirmation tools here, not order flow indicators. They read prices, not orders, so they confirm an order flow signal at the zone rather than generate one.
Entry
- The trader identifies an order block where a substantial move has previously occurred, leaving behind a noticeable imbalance in the price chart.
- As the price revisits this zone, attention is directed towards the EMAs’ behaviour. For instance, a crossover of the 9-period EMA above the 20-period EMA signals bullish momentum, whereas its crossover below the 20-period EMA reflects bearish momentum.
- Entry might be considered once the moving average crossover aligns with the anticipated direction of the reversal, indicating a strengthening trend.
- This signal might be further validated if accompanied by a liquidity sweep or specific candlestick patterns within the zone.
Stop Loss
- A stop loss could be placed beyond the zone’s extremes.
- Given the added confidence from the moving average crossover, the stop loss could also be positioned just beyond the most extreme high or low when the price entered the zone.
Take Profit
- The take-profit target might be set at an opposing supply or demand zone. Such zones are anticipated to act as natural barriers where the next significant price reaction could occur.
Impulse and Correction Stop Order
The Impulse and Correction Stop Order strategy leverages the dynamic reaction of prices at supply or demand zones, focusing on the price action that follows these pivotal areas.
Recognising that initial reactions from these zones can be sharp, signalling strong market rejection, this approach waits for a pullback or correction as a secondary entry point. This method is popular among traders looking to capitalise on the momentum shift or those who may have missed the primary reversal within the zone.
An impulse is the first sharp move out of a zone, where one side overwhelms the other. The correction is the slower pullback that follows, as price drifts back toward the zone. Often it refills the trading imbalance left by the impulse, trading through the gap the fast move skipped. That refill is what offers the second entry.
Entry
- Traders monitor for a pronounced impulse move away from a supply or demand zone, indicating strong market rejection of these levels.
- A subsequent pullback or correction phase is observed, ideally filling the imbalance left by the initial impulse. This correction signals the market’s natural attempt to retest the zone before a potential markup or markdown begins.
- A stop order might be set at the low (for bearish setups) or high (for bullish setups) that initiated the correction. This positioning aims to capture the breakout moment that confirms the market’s commitment to the new direction.
Stop Loss
- The stop loss might be placed beyond the correction. This placement is strategic, potentially minimising loss if the anticipated breakout does not materialise and the correction reverses direction.
Take Profit
- The take-profit point might be chosen within a suitable opposing zone, considering the optimal risk/reward ratio or strong support/resistance levels.
Key Takeaways
Order flow trading in forex and CFDs provides a deeper understanding of market behaviour by revealing how buyers and sellers interact through executed trades, resting orders, liquidity, and volume. By combining key concepts with tools such as the order book, footprint charts, and volume profile, traders can gain valuable insight into market sentiment and potential price direction.
While no method guarantees favourable outcomes, understanding order flow may support traders’ decisions across financial markets.
To study any order flow trading strategy on live charts, you can consider opening a trading account with FXOpen and use the TickTrader platform.
FAQs
What Is Order Flow in Trading?
Order flow represents the myriad of buy and sell orders executed in the market. It acts as a snapshot of market sentiment, showing where and how traders are placing their orders, which in turn influences price movements.
How Do Traders Read an Order Flow?
Reading order flow involves analysing the data on the volume of trades, the price levels at which they are executed, and the type of orders (buy or sell). Traders often use specialised software that visualises these data points, though they can be identified on charts through the use of order blocks and imbalances.
How Do Traders Trade an Order Flow?
Trading order flow typically involves looking for signs of imbalance between buy and sell orders and trading from order blocks. Traders often enter positions based on the anticipation that price will fill these imbalances and reverse from order blocks.
Why Is Order Flow Important in Trading?
Order flow is important because it provides insights into the immediate direction of the market, revealing the underlying demand and supply dynamics, which can be important for decision-making.
What Is the Difference Between Order Flow and Volume?
While closely related, order flow technically refers to the detailed list of transactions (buy and sell), whereas volume measures the quantity of an asset traded over a period. Order flow gives insight into the specifics of market transactions, while volume indicates the level of activity.
What Is the Difference Between Order Flow and Price Action Trading?
Order flow trading focuses on the underlying transactions that drive market movements, whereas price action trading relies on analysing the price movements themselves. Price action traders study charts for patterns and trends without necessarily considering the specific buy and sell orders that cause those movements.
What Tools Are Commonly Used for Order Flow Analysis?
The most common order flow analysis tools are footprint charts, depth of market, cumulative delta and the volume profile. Footprint charts show bid and ask volume per bar, DOM lists resting orders, cumulative delta tracks net buying against selling, and volume profile maps volume across price levels.
Can Order Flow Be Used in Forex Trading?
Yes, but with limits. Order flow trading in forex cannot draw on a full central order book, because forex trading is decentralised and each broker sees order flows of a particular broker. Traders instead read liquidity, supply and demand zones, and footprint or delta data from correlated futures as a proxy.
What Is a Cumulative Delta in Trading?
Cumulative delta is the running total of delta, where delta is ask volume minus bid volume in each bar. It shows whether net buying or selling is building over time. When price rises but cumulative delta falls, the move may lack support, a divergence traders watch for.
This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.
A former Goldman Sachs analyst just put a $1,000 price target on XRP by 2030. XRP is currently trading around $1.20, down 3.5% over 24 hours, but also the whole market as we wait for FOMC.
Dom Kwok, co-founder of Web3 education platform EasyA and a former Goldman Sachs analyst, told The Rollup podcast: “I think it could go over $1,000 in the next four to five years.”
His thesis centers on mass crypto adoption routing through XRP rather than Bitcoin or Ethereum, arguing that new retail entrants are priced out of the larger-cap assets and will default to cheaper, more practical alternatives.
This target sits orders of magnitude above the institutional consensus band of $3–$20. On-chain, wallets holding at least one million XRP now control 74.1% of the total supply, with those large holders adding 1.53 billion tokens over the past six months, accumulating at a scale.
Simultaneously, easing U.S.-Iran tensions lifted risk appetite, pushing Bitcoin toward the mid-$60,000s and pulling XRP along.
Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio
Can XRP Price Hit $1,000, Or Even $10, Before 2030?
At $1.20 with a weekly green candle of 8%. XRP is in a corrective phase, but the technical structure hasn’t broken down. RSI sits near 62, constructive, not overbought. A recent 3-day MACD bullish cross remains intact, and a decade-long rising trendline has not been violated.
Key support is clustered in the $1.10–$1.15 zone, with mid-term resistance flagged at $1.43–$1.55 by multiple technical frameworks (the asset has since broken above those levels, setting up a new range).
If the U.S. legislative progress via the CLARITY Act passes, XRP-linked ETF inflows will likely accelerate. Then, continued whale accumulation will tighten supply, and price will retest recent highs and push toward $2, consistent with Standard Chartered’s conditional $8 target.
The $1,000 call? That would require a market cap measured in the tens of trillions, a number that requires assumptions about global financial infrastructure adoption that are plausible in theory and extraordinary in practice. Kwok’s framing as an internet-era analogy is intellectually coherent.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
LiquidChain Eyes Early Infrastructure Positioning as XRP Tests Range
XRP’s bull case leans heavily on infrastructure maturation, the idea that real adoption follows useful applications built on top of accessible networks. That same thesis is driving early interest toward a different layer of the stack.
Even in a confirmed XRP uptrend, entry at $1.20 is entry into an asset with a $75 billion market cap. The asymmetry is compressed. Early-stage infrastructure is where that asymmetry still exists.
LiquidChain is always cooking something new. — LiquidChain (@getliquidchain) June 15, 2026
This is what happens when a great idea meets innovation. 
pic.twitter.com/qYbth0impA
LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is a Layer 3 infrastructure project positioning itself as the cross-chain liquidity layer, fusing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single execution environment.
The architecture includes a Unified Liquidity Layer, Single-Step Execution, Verifiable Settlement, and a Deploy-Once model that lets developers access all three ecosystems without redeployment. The presale is currently priced at $0.0147, with $850K raised to date.
Research LiquidChain’s presale details here.
The post XRP Price Is Targeting $1,000 Says Ex Goldman Analyst appeared first on Cryptonews.
Stablecoin settlement infrastructure company Trace Finance has raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by CoinFund.
Coinbase Ventures, Jump Capital and Paxos were among the investors that participated in the round, the company said Wednesday in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.
Trace Finance provides banking, foreign exchange and stablecoin settlement infrastructure for cross-border payments across Latin America. It claims to have processed more than $10 billion in transaction volume and plans to use the fresh capital to expand across LatAm, the US and Asia-Pacific markets.
The funding comes as stablecoin settlement increasingly moves into regulated financial infrastructure, with companies racing to connect blockchain-based payments to local banking systems and foreign exchange networks.
In 2022, Trace Finance raised $4.3 million in a seed round led by HOF Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures and Mantis VC, the venture capital firm co-founded by electronic music duo The Chainsmokers. HOF Capital also participated in the company’s Series A round.
Stablecoin market capitalization stood at about $315 billion. Source: DeFiLlama
Stablecoin regulation drives cross-border payments push
Stablecoin policy discussions accelerated globally after US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025.
The legislation spurred discussions around stablecoin laws in jurisdictions developing their own digital asset strategies. Hong Kong implemented its Stablecoin Ordinance in August 2025 and has recently granted its first batch of licenses.
On Wednesday, People’s Bank of China (PBOC) official Wang Xin said authorities are closely monitoring how stablecoins could affect the international monetary system and cross-border payments.
Wang’s remarks were less critical than comments made by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng in October 2025, when Pan described stablecoins as high-risk and vulnerable to misuse for illicit cross-border transfers.
As stablecoin regulations advance globally, private-sector firms have also ramped up efforts to build infrastructure for cross-border payments.
Last Thursday, cross-border payout platform MassPay partnered with Coinbase to offer stablecoin-powered international payouts. The companies said the service would allow customers to move between fiat currencies, USDC and other digital assets while reducing costs and speeding up settlement times.
Other financial infrastructure providers have also expanded their stablecoin offerings. Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure startup Bridge in 2025, while Circle launched its Circle Payments Network in May 2025 to connect banks, payment companies and digital wallets for real-time cross-border settlement using stablecoins.
Aster DEX just handed its tokenomics a structural overhaul, and its crypto token rockets. The announcement redirecting 99% of daily platform fees into automatic ASTER buybacks sent the token up over 10% on the day.
Under the upgraded model, Aster executes TWAP buybacks across each day, settling on-chain to a public wallet. For every token repurchased, an equal amount is permanently burned from reserves, starting with team allocations.
[Tokenomics Update] $ASTER Buyback and Burn Steps Up to 198% — Aster
Aster is upgrading its buyback so the platform's own activity both rewards stakers and sets $ASTER on a deflationary path.
Starting from 12:00 PM UTC today, 99% of Aster's daily platform fees buy back $ASTER. An equal…
(@Aster_DEX) June 17, 2026
All bought-back tokens flow directly into Loyalty Rewards, stacked atop the existing 300,000 $ASTER base pool and distributed proportionally to veASTER lock weight. The protocol has already completed over $214 million in cumulative buybacks, reclaiming more than 143.38 million ASTER (7.11% of supply) in under a month.
Aster has drawn consistent comparisons to Hyperliquid as institutional capital rotates toward on-chain derivatives infrastructure, making this tokenomics upgrade more than a housekeeping move. It’s a direct competitive signal.
Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio
Can ASTER Crypto Break $1?
Before the crypto announcement, ASTER was trading in a tight range, consolidating under $0.7 after a brief spike to $0.76 months ago, a level it failed to hold. The token broke a short-term downtrend line in the lead-up to the announcement, posting a 12% rally in less than 2 hours, but resistance near $0.75 has rejected the price twice.
Support is long gone; it was clustered in the $0.63 demand zone, where every sell pressure has been absorbed. The 30-period moving average sits near $0.65, acting as a short-term floor. RSI hovering near 61 signals moderate bullish momentum.
For its crypto holders, daily buybacks of $2–3 million would compress supply steadily, and unlock pressure from the locked airdrop wallet might be absorbed. If all those happen, ASTER could clear $1 to open a path toward $1.50 once again.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
Bitcoin Hyper Eyes Early-Stage Entry as ASTER Tests Structural Resistance
ASTER’s 10% pop on strong tokenomics news underscores a familiar dynamic: the market rewards supply-side discipline, but established tokens with billions of market cap face a different risk/reward than early-stage entries. At this market cap, the multiple is compressed. The asymmetry has already been partially priced. That’s exactly where traders with a different time horizon start looking elsewhere.
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is a Bitcoin Layer 2 presale building what it bills as the first-ever BTC L2 with Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) integration, targeting sub-second finality on top of Bitcoin’s security layer. The pitch directly addresses Bitcoin’s three structural constraints: slow throughput, high fees, and limited programmability.
Hard numbers: presale price sits at $0.0136, total raised has crossed $32.8 million, and staking carries a high APY for early lockers. The Decentralized Canonical Bridge handles native BTC transfers without custodial wrapping. The DEX token game might be too late to enter, and Bitcoin layer 2 could be the next narrative.
Research Bitcoin Hyper before the next stage closes.
The post Aster Crypto Explodes: Buyback and Burn News Sends Hyperliquid Rival Up 10% appeared first on Cryptonews.
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced founder of FTX, is floating plans to launch a new crypto token after his release from prison. The former crypto magnate is currently serving a 25-year sentence after the catastrophic collapse of his exchange.
Here is what SBF reportedly said, why experts strongly dismiss the plan, and how the crypto community is now reacting.
SBF Has Ambitious Plans After Prison
SBF shared his future plans during a recent conversation with former inmate David Bunevacz. The revelation was later detailed in a New York Magazine feature. According to the report, his main goal is to return to the tech business right after his release from prison.
“Maybe he was joking, and probably no one will flock to him. But who knows,” Bunevacz said.
To build a real corporate structure, he reportedly needs initial capital between $50 and $100 million. Furthermore, the most striking part of his testimony focused on issuing a fully independent digital asset of his own design.
The former crypto figure expressed full confidence in the idea. According to the source, SBF said he will launch his coin, and everyone will come to it. The statement reignites scrutiny over his ambitions, despite his serious legal troubles.
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His legal record makes the comeback ambitions controversial. The 2022 FTX collapse exposed widespread fraud and misuse of client funds. Moreover, US courts categorically rejected the defense’s appeal to reduce the sentence.
The announcement also revives debate over how crypto handles repeat offenders. SBF was once celebrated as one of the most influential founders in the industry. However, his fall from grace became one of the most documented corporate scandals of the past decade.
Why Experts Strongly Dismiss SBF’s Crypto Comeback
The claims belong strictly to SBF’s personal wishes, according to industry experts. His release date is still far away, so the current market will not face any real or operational changes from comments made inside prison.
However, the episode shows that the former billionaire retains his ambition in full. His mindset has not changed despite the destruction of trust caused by the FTX collapse. The desire for financial redemption exposes the persistence of messianic crypto leadership.
Compliance regulations from supervisory bodies represent a major barrier to any return. Securities commissions across the West have strengthened background checks on token issuers in recent years. As a result, no legitimate bank or VC fund is expected to support his operations.
Still, crypto markets have shown short memories toward unethical conduct. Several controversial figures have managed relative success after launching new campaigns. That dynamic keeps a remote window open for the disgraced founder’s potential return in the long term.
How the Crypto Community Is Reacting to the News
Reactions across crypto forums and social media showed deep divisions. A majority of the community argues that SBF’s reputation has been permanently and irreversibly destroyed. For this group, it is impossible for the market to ever validate a platform they develop.
“Yeah mate, I’ll believe it when I see it, but honestly who’d line up for round two of that circus,” one user said on X.
On the other hand, some observers note that volatility and the search for quick returns often cloud traders’ judgment. There are precedents of digital assets gaining popularity based purely on the media notoriety of their creators.
That speculative dynamic feeds the remote possibility of a comeback for the polemic founder of the defunct trading platform. Whether the market ultimately rewards or punishes the attempt remains an open question that may unfold over the years.
“After going broke, SBF needs your money to rug you and start a wealthy life,” another user exposed.
In any case, the resolution of this story will be written under market conditions likely very different from today. The current institutional infrastructure punishes attempts to manipulate capital more severely. Time will determine whether SBF’s projections become reality or fade quietly into oblivion.
The post Sam Bankman-Fried Want’s to Launch a New Crypto After Prison appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Wall Street expectations for future Federal Reserve tightening have increased sharply, with Citadel Securities now warning that policymakers could begin raising interest rates again as early as September 2026.
Summary
- Citadel Securities expects the Fed could begin raising interest rates again as early as September 2026.
- The firm cites persistent inflation, strong labor markets, and rising AI investment as key drivers of price pressures.
- Prediction markets and major banks including BNP Paribas are increasingly discussing the possibility of future rate hikes.
According to a note from Citadel Securities Head of Macro Strategy Frank Flight, the firm sees a growing risk that inflation is becoming embedded across the U.S. economy, creating conditions that could force the Federal Reserve into a more aggressive stance than investors currently expect.
The warning arrives just ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 17, where CME FedWatch data shows markets overwhelmingly expect officials to leave interest rates unchanged.
While an immediate move is not anticipated, Citadel believes the focus should be on how Fed Chair Kevin Warsh frames the outlook for inflation and future policy.
Inflation data keeps pressure on policymakers
Within its client note, Citadel argued that inflation is no longer being driven solely by energy prices. Frank Flight wrote that the U.S. economy faces the risk of entering a “hysteretic equilibrium,” a condition in which temporary shocks leave lasting effects on inflation even after the original trigger fades.
Although oil prices have retreated following the initial U.S.-Iran agreement, Citadel said price pressures have continued spreading through other parts of the economy. The firm pointed to accommodative financial conditions, supply-chain disruptions, and ongoing labor-market strength as factors supporting inflation.
Additional signs of persistent inflation have emerged in recent economic data. Citadel highlighted that a growing share of core Consumer Price Index components are now rising more than 3% year-over-year. The firm also noted that headline CPI reached 4.2% in May, while Producer Price Index inflation climbed to 6.5%, indicating continued pressure on businesses and consumers.
At the same time, Citadel argued that the artificial intelligence investment boom is adding another source of demand. The firm estimates AI-related capital expenditures could reach roughly $750 billion in 2026 before rising to $1.25 trillion in 2027 amid spending tied to companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX.
Markets increasingly discuss the possibility of hikes
Against that backdrop, Citadel expects the Federal Reserve under Warsh to adopt a noticeably hawkish tone. Flight said policymakers could remove any remaining easing bias from their projections and publish forecasts showing no rate cuts during 2026.
“We think the risks skew to a rate hike at the September meeting,” Flight wrote.
Citadel further expects at least five Federal Reserve officials to signal support for future tightening and estimates that an inertial Taylor Rule framework would justify roughly 75 basis points of rate increases during 2026. The firm’s projected path includes potential hikes in September and December 2026, followed by another increase in March 2027.
Other market indicators have moved in a similar direction. Kalshi prediction market data currently assigns a 60% probability that the Federal Reserve raises rates before July 2027.
Separately, a recent Bank of America fund manager survey found that nearly 40% of respondents expect at least one rate hike within the next year, up from 16% a month earlier.
BNP Paribas has also shifted to a more hawkish outlook. The bank recently abandoned its expectation for stable policy and now forecasts three rate hikes beginning in December, citing strong employment data, persistent inflation, and inflation risks linked partly to the U.S.-Iran conflict.
For risk assets, Citadel warned that a prolonged period of tighter monetary policy could weigh on valuations. The firm said higher borrowing costs and reduced liquidity would likely create a more challenging environment for Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market if investors begin pricing in additional Fed tightening.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Key Takeaways
- Carvana shares declined approximately 6% Wednesday following CarMax’s 7% drop after its Q1 earnings release
- CarMax exceeded EPS projections ($1.31 vs $0.96) and revenue forecasts ($8B vs $7.39B) while warning about margin challenges
- Used retail gross profit per unit at CarMax decreased $230 year-over-year, landing at $2,177
- Styrax Capital LP reduced its Carvana position by 26.6%, divesting 81,729 shares; company insiders offloaded $29M in stock last quarter
- Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus on CVNA with a mean price target of $93.14
Carvana shares began Wednesday’s session at $69.96 before tumbling approximately 6%, caught in the downdraft created by CarMax’s steep decline following the used vehicle dealer’s quarterly earnings announcement.
CarMax delivered results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The company reported EPS of $1.31, exceeding the $0.96 estimate, while revenue reached $8 billion compared to the anticipated $7.39 billion. On the surface, the numbers looked impressive — but a closer examination revealed underlying challenges.
The primary concern centered on profitability metrics. CarMax’s gross profit per used retail unit fell to $2,177, representing a $230 decline from the prior-year period. CFO Enrique Mayor addressed this directly, acknowledging that the company’s current strategic approach “requires some margin concession to support sales growth.”
Average transaction prices increased by $1,168 per unit to reach $27,288, primarily due to elevated acquisition expenses. On a comparable store basis, used unit sales declined 0.8% during the quarter.
CEO Keith Barr also highlighted operational inefficiencies, noting that while CarMax facilitates over 2 million vehicle transfers annually, the company currently experiences “too many unproductive transfers.”
Rising Consumer Credit Stress Compounds Challenges
Regarding financing operations, Jon Daniels, SVP of CarMax Auto Finance, observed that consumers are “continuing to be pressured by overall inflation.” He highlighted that delinquency rates for both credit cards and auto loans remain elevated across the broader market.
CarMax significantly expanded its Tier 2 credit exposure from 10% to 25% of total volume and established a $96 million loan loss reserve for the quarter — a figure that drew considerable attention from investors.
This convergence of compressed margins, increasing acquisition expenses, and heightened credit exposure is what precipitated Carvana into Wednesday’s selloff. Market participants are factoring in the likelihood that comparable challenges may emerge in CVNA’s upcoming financial results.
Recent Trading Activity by Institutions and Insiders
Beyond Wednesday’s price action, noteworthy selling activity has occurred recently. Styrax Capital LP decreased its Carvana holdings by 26.6% during Q4, disposing of 81,729 shares and maintaining a remaining position of 225,272 shares valued at approximately $95.1 million.
Company insiders have also been transacting. VP Stephen R. Palmer divested 5,000 shares at $70.42 on June 1st. Director J. Danforth Quayle sold 14,525 shares at $70.00 on June 10th. Collectively, insiders have sold 415,812 shares worth approximately $29.1 million during the previous quarter. These transactions were conducted through pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements.
Despite recent selling pressure, Carvana’s most recent quarterly results were robust. The company delivered EPS of $1.69 versus the $0.32 consensus estimate, while revenue of $6.43 billion exceeded the $6.12 billion projection.
Wall Street analyst sentiment remains predominantly bullish. Needham maintained its Buy recommendation with a $120 price target on June 5th. JPMorgan elevated its target from $91 to $93 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
The consensus analyst price target stands at $93.14, supported by 17 Buy recommendations, 2 Strong Buys, and 5 Hold ratings on the stock.
CVNA’s 52-week trading range extends from $54.46 to $97.38, with shares currently positioned below both the 50-day moving average of $71.47 and the 200-day moving average of $75.25.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved closer to allowing tokenized stock trading as industry participants expect a new regulatory exemption that could support upcoming offerings from crypto firms, including Coinbase.
Summary
- SEC is reportedly preparing an innovation exemption that could permit tokenized stock trading in the U.S.
- Coinbase plans to launch 1:1-backed tokenized shares as regulatory discussions advance.
- CoinGecko data shows tokenized stocks grew more than 3,300% between 2024 and 2026.
According to a Reuters report citing lawyers and market analysts, SEC Chair Paul Atkins is expected to introduce an innovation exemption that would allow companies to test blockchain-based financial products under a modified regulatory framework.
The proposal comes as several crypto firms prepare tokenized equity products that would let users trade shares around the clock with near-instant settlement.
As reported by crypto.news, Coinbase has already disclosed plans to launch tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by underlying shares, while Binance and other exchanges have expanded similar offerings outside the United States. Under the framework being discussed, tokenized shares could carry the same economic rights as traditional equities, including dividend payments and voting privileges.
The expected exemption follows earlier reports that the SEC had delayed efforts to permit tokenized equities after raising concerns about investor protection standards and custody requirements.
Industry participants cited by Reuters now believe the agency is preparing a revised approach that would allow experimentation without requiring full compliance with every existing disclosure and investor-protection rule.
SEC reviews market structure rules
Separate from the proposed exemption, the SEC last week advanced a market structure proposal that could influence how tokenized equities eventually operate in the United States.
As crypto.news reported earlier, the agency proposed rescinding Rules 611 and 610(e) of Regulation NMS, two provisions that have governed U.S. stock trading since 2005.
Rule 611 currently prevents trading venues from executing stock orders at inferior prices when better quotes are available elsewhere, while Rule 610(e) addresses locked and crossed quotations in national market system stocks.
The regulator said the proposal would also remove related definitions from Rule 600 and open a 60-day public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.
Commenting on the proposal, SEC Chair Paul Atkins argued that two decades of experience with Rule 611 justified a fresh review of its market impact. According to Atkins, the regulation may have produced unintended consequences that limited competition and increased complexity within equity markets.
While the proposal does not authorize tokenized stock trading, it arrives as the SEC continues examining ways to accommodate blockchain-based securities infrastructure. Previous reporting indicated that agency officials have been studying an innovation exemption specifically designed to support tokenized public equities.
Tokenized stocks attract growing interest
Interest in the sector has accelerated sharply over the past two years. According to data from CoinGecko, tokenized stocks expanded from 14 assets on Jan. 31, 2024, to 478 assets by May 31, 2026, representing growth of more than 3,300%.
CoinGecko identified tokenized equities as the fastest-growing crypto category during that period. The same dataset showed real-world assets increasing from 64 projects to 1,282, a gain of roughly 1,900%.
Large financial institutions have also begun exploring the market. As per a WSJ report, Citigroup is preparing tokenized shares tied to private companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, initially targeting international investors before potentially expanding access to U.S. clients.
Elsewhere, the New York Stock Exchange is developing infrastructure for 24-hour stock trading through tokenized market systems, according to previous disclosures.
Taken together, the SEC’s ongoing review of tokenized equity exemptions and traditional market structure rules has positioned blockchain-based stock trading closer to the U.S. regulatory mainstream than at any point since the concept first emerged.
The decline is a reflection of a broader slump in investor sentiment toward digital asset-linked stocks. After a wave of crypto IPO enthusiasm last year, bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have tumbled, and attention has increasingly turned toward artificial intelligence (AI) companies and a pipeline of highly anticipated tech listings like SpaceX (SPCX).
Several crypto companies, including Kraken and Consensys, have halted their efforts amid turbulent crypto markets.
BitGo provides custody, trading, staking and settlement services for digital assets. It also issues USD1, the U.S. dollar stablecoin tied to the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial project.
The firm has also been promoting its Germany’s BaFin-regulated infrastructure platform as an option for companies adapting to the European Union’s digital asset regime, MiCA, ahead of a licensing deadline at the end of the month.
Most tech startups discover the same uncomfortable truth about PR at some point in their journey. The moment they most need press coverage — when they are launching a product, closing a funding round or trying to establish themselves in a new market — is exactly the moment they are least equipped to get it. The team is stretched, the budget is tight and the process of securing meaningful coverage in the right publications feels opaque and slow.
This problem is particularly acute for tech startups building in the artificial intelligence space. The AI sector generates enormous media interest at the industry level but that interest does not automatically translate into coverage for individual companies. Getting a specific startup’s story into the finance and technology publications that investors and customers actually read requires a media distribution infrastructure that most early-stage companies simply do not have.
Kooc Media has spent eight years building that infrastructure. The agency is a specialist PR and media distribution service with deep roots in the technology, crypto and fintech media ecosystem, and it has now introduced a range of AI-focused PR campaigns designed specifically around the needs of tech startups building in the artificial intelligence space. The service delivers guaranteed placements, same-day publication and distribution across the precise media landscape that AI startup audiences inhabit.
What AI-Focused PR Campaigns Actually Mean in Practice
The phrase AI-focused PR campaign gets used loosely by a lot of agencies. For Kooc Media it has a specific meaning that shapes every element of how campaigns are built and executed.
AI-focused means content that is written with an understanding of artificial intelligence as a technology and a market. Press releases for tech startups in AI need to communicate clearly to multiple audiences simultaneously — investors who care about market opportunity and competitive positioning, enterprise buyers who care about practical applications and business outcomes, developers who care about technical capability and integration, and general business audiences who are trying to understand what AI means for their own operations. Getting that balance right requires an editorial approach that is specifically calibrated for AI communications rather than adapted from a general technology PR template.
AI-focused also means distribution that reaches the specific publications where AI startup audiences are most active. Finance and investment media, specialist technology platforms, crypto and Web3 press, business and economic news sites — these are the outlets that the investors, customers and partners of AI tech startups read. Reaching them requires a network built within this ecosystem, not a generic list of websites assembled to produce impressive-sounding placement numbers.
Kooc Media’s AI-focused PR campaigns are built on both of these foundations — content crafted for AI audiences and distribution designed for the media landscape those audiences inhabit.
Owned Publications Deliver Guaranteed Results Every Time
The single most important feature of Kooc Media’s PR service for AI tech startups is the owned publication portfolio that makes guaranteed placements a genuine operational reality rather than a marketing claim.
Blockonomi, CoinCentral, MoneyCheck, Parameter, Beanstalk and Computing are all publications owned and operated by Kooc Media. They are established brands in the finance, cryptocurrency and technology publishing space with real editorial authority, genuine reader communities and meaningful credibility in the sectors that AI tech startup audiences follow. Every client receives confirmed placements across all of these publications as part of their campaign — not as a best-efforts goal but as a guaranteed outcome.
Press release approved by the client. Published across all owned sites the same day. No journalist outreach. No editorial pitch process. No uncertainty. This is how every Kooc Media AI PR campaign operates, and the difference it makes for tech startups trying to coordinate press coverage with specific business activities is significant.
Product launches, funding announcements, partnership reveals and platform updates all benefit from guaranteed same-day publication. News in the AI sector has a narrow window of peak relevance and coverage that appears days or weeks after the moment has passed delivers a fraction of the impact it would have had if it had gone live immediately. Kooc Media’s owned media model solves this problem completely. All owned publications are listed on the Kooc Media sites page.
Scaled Distribution Across Partner Networks and Global Platforms
Every AI tech startup PR campaign begins with confirmed in-house placements and extends outward through Kooc Media’s AI-focused campaign distribution network to reach audiences across the full scope of relevant finance and technology media.
The partner distribution network adds hundreds of additional websites and thousands of syndicated outlets to every campaign, ensuring that press releases from AI tech startups circulate broadly across the relevant media ecosystem rather than being confined to the owned portfolio. This layer of distribution is what turns a solid baseline of guaranteed coverage into a campaign with genuinely wide reach across the publications and platforms that AI startup audiences are following.
Premium distribution packages provide access to a third tier of reach through the most authoritative business and financial media platforms in the world. Through these channels press releases from AI tech startups can appear on Business Insider, Bloomberg, Benzinga, MarketWatch, USA Today, Dow Jones feeds and comparable global platforms that carry enormous credibility with institutional investors, global enterprise clients and international industry press.
For tech startups at the stage where a single well-placed media mention in a globally recognised publication could change the trajectory of an investor conversation or an enterprise sales process, this level of distribution access is genuinely transformative.
Michelle De Gouveia, spokesperson for Kooc Media, said: “Tech startups in AI are building some of the most significant products of this generation. The challenge is not that their stories are not worth telling. It is that they have not had access to a PR service that is genuinely built for them — fast enough to keep up with the pace of the sector, targeted enough to reach the audiences that matter and guaranteed enough to actually deliver on its promises. That is exactly what our AI-focused campaigns provide. We built this service to give AI tech startups the media infrastructure that was previously only available to much larger companies.”
AgentLocker.ai — Ongoing Visibility Beyond the Campaign
Every tech startup that runs an AI-focused PR campaign with Kooc Media receives a permanent free listing in AgentLocker.ai, the dedicated AI tools and agents directory that Kooc Media has developed and operates.
AgentLocker.ai was built to solve the discovery problem that has emerged as the AI tools market has expanded. The number of AI-powered products available across categories including productivity, automation, content creation, coding assistance, data analysis, customer service, marketing and research has grown faster than any general search mechanism can effectively organise. AgentLocker.ai provides a structured alternative — a purpose-built directory where users can find, compare and evaluate AI tools across specific categories with confidence.
The strategic value of an AgentLocker.ai listing for AI tech startups lies in what it delivers over time. Press coverage is enormously valuable at the moment of publication — it creates immediate awareness, drives traffic and generates the kind of third-party credibility that no owned content can replicate. But its impact is concentrated in time. An AgentLocker.ai listing works differently. It places a startup in a directory visited by users who are actively searching for AI tools, generating a consistent stream of targeted visibility that continues indefinitely.
The listing is included at no additional cost, created during the campaign and permanently active. For startups that are building for the long term, the combination of press campaign impact and sustained directory presence creates a media approach with both immediate reach and enduring value.
Fully Managed With No PR Experience Required
Kooc Media’s AI-focused PR campaigns are completely managed by the agency from first brief to final report. Tech startups do not need communications staff, pre-written press releases or any prior experience of running PR campaigns to get started.
The editorial team handles all content creation based on a brief from the client. Finished copy is shared for review and approval before anything is published. Distribution begins the same day approval is received. A comprehensive results report with live links to every placement follows when the campaign is complete.
Those links serve as investor-facing evidence of media coverage, website press mentions that build credibility for new visitors, backlinks that strengthen search engine performance and validation signals that support enterprise sales and funding conversations.
Give Your AI Startup the Media Presence It Deserves
The AI tech startups that will define their categories over the next five years are building right now. The ones that invest in media presence early accumulate credibility and recognition that compounds over time and becomes increasingly difficult for competitors to overcome. Kooc Media’s AI-focused PR campaigns provide the fastest, most reliable and most guaranteed route to that media presence — built specifically for the pace, complexity and audience profile of the artificial intelligence sector.
Kooc Media’s AI packages are available now through the company’s website at https://kooc.co.uk/ai-pr/.
Hackers are sneaking malware into Steam Workshop wallpaper downloads that are capable of stealing crypto wallet information and installing crypto miners.
The wallpaper malware operation, discovered by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, relies on Wallpaper Engine, one of the many apps available on Valve’s Steam Workshop.
Kaspersky discovered that downloads were being loaded with malware that included “infostealers” such as Lumma and Vidar, and the ReEngine loader.
In the case of the Lumma infostealer, it’s capable of stealing data from crypto wallets and installing further malware that allows it to search for wallet files, browser extensions, and local keys from the likes of MetaMask, Electrum, and Exodus.
Read more: Crypto malware creators allegedly infected their own PCs
The RenEnginer loader, meanwhile, has been utilised in pirated game launchers for the likes of Assassin’s Creed, FIFA, and Need For Speed, and is also capable of crypto wallet data extraction.
Kaspersky also noted that some hidden malware was installing crypto miners. This malware often would run unnoticed; however, a tell-tale sign of an illicit crypto miner is often an unusual decrease in computer performance.
Crypto malware wallpaper download by tens of thousands
The infected wallpaper packages had anywhere between thousands and tens of thousands of downloads.
Kaspersky claims that users from China and Russia were downloading most of them, with users also found in Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Vietnam, India and Canada.
The firm believes that the malware, which relied on the legitimacy of Steam Workshop, is likely the work of multiple individual bad actors and not a collective hacking group.
Steam has reportedly removed all the identified malicious wallpaper packages.
Read more: GitHub breach traced to poisoned VS Code extension
In 2023, a popular fan-made version of Super Mario Bros was found to have been laced with malware and infostealers that installed miners and stole personal information.
Last year, it was theorised that the US might be helping actors deploy similar malware against Russian Solana developers in order to disrupt Kremlin-linked ransomware gangs.
In another case from 2025, one group of 16 alleged creators of a malware-as-a-service bot were charged by the US.
The group allegedly leased the bot to bad actors and helped deploy malware to over 300,000 computers across the globe. They’re believed to have caused $50 million worth of damage.
Legal documents noted that the alleged creators also infected their own PCs both deliberately and accidentally.
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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