Crypto World
Pi Network price sinks to a new ATL, will June token unlocks push it below $0.10?
Pi Network price has fallen to a fresh all-time low after heavy token unlock pressure and weak market liquidity triggered another wave of selling across the ecosystem.
Summary
- Pi Network price fell to a new all-time low near $0.126 as traders reacted to more than 163 million PI tokens scheduled to unlock in June.
- Weak liquidity and a crypto market selloff that triggered over $1.6 billion in liquidations added further pressure to the token.
- A confirmed breakdown below a falling wedge pattern and the loss of key $0.13 support have put the $0.10 level in focus for traders.
According to data from crypto.news, Pi Network (PI) price traded near $0.130 on June 5 after plunging to a new record low of approximately $0.126. The token has now lost more than 30% over the past month, extending a downtrend that has persisted since its March rally faded.
A major source of pressure continues to come from the network’s token release schedule. Data from PiScan shows that more than 159 million PI tokens are still scheduled to enter circulation this month, with daily unlocks averaging over 5 million tokens. The largest single-day unlock is expected on June 11, when nearly 16 million PI will become available for trading.
The additional supply arrives at a time when market liquidity remains thin. Daily trading volume has slipped below $20 million across major exchanges, leaving the token vulnerable to large sell orders from early miners and long-term holders who recently completed KYC verification and mainnet migration.
Outside the Pi ecosystem, sentiment across digital assets has deteriorated sharply. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell to an intraday low near $61,550 on June 4, while Ethereum (ETH) dropped below $1,800.
CoinGlass data shows the selloff triggered more than $1.6 billion in liquidations across leveraged crypto positions, reducing appetite for speculative altcoins and adding further pressure to Pi Network’s price.
Network activity has offered a mixed picture. CiDi Games recently launched a Developer Center alongside four new games designed to attract builders and users into the Pi ecosystem.
Whale activity has also attracted attention in recent weeks, although those developments have so far failed to offset concerns surrounding rising token supply.
A recent X post from Whale Hunter highlighted the sharp rebound that followed PI’s previous drop to $0.128.
The analyst added that buyers had started returning to the market and argued that a break above $0.20 could trigger renewed momentum.
Falling wedge breakdown opens the door to lower prices
As crypto.news previously reported, Pi Network price was nearing a critical test of falling wedge support on the daily chart. Buyers failed to defend that level, allowing sellers to force a breakdown that eventually pushed the token to a new record low around $0.126.

The decline also took PI below the psychological $0.13 support zone, a level that had repeatedly attracted buying interest in recent months. Although the token managed to recover part of the loss, the breakdown has left the market focused on whether the next wave of June unlocks could trigger another move lower.
Technical indicators remain heavily tilted toward the downside. PI continues to trade below its Supertrend resistance at approximately $0.151, while price action remains well beneath its major short- and medium-term moving averages. The chart has also produced a sequence of lower highs and lower lows since March.
Meanwhile, the MACD remains in bearish territory, with the MACD line still positioned below the signal line. Although histogram bars have started to contract, buyers have yet to generate enough momentum to reverse the prevailing trend.
June token unlocks keep $0.10 level in focus
The most important support now sits near the recent low between $0.126 and $0.13. A decisive break below that zone would place PI in new price-discovery territory and expose the psychologically important $0.10 level.
Token unlocks remain the primary risk factor throughout the month. Fresh supply entering circulation could increase exchange inflows and intensify selling pressure, particularly if crypto market sentiment remains weak.
On the upside, bulls would first need to reclaim the former breakdown area near $0.14 before attempting a move toward the Supertrend resistance around $0.15. Above that, the next notable resistance zone sits between $0.18 and $0.20, where multiple recovery attempts failed during May.
Until buyers absorb the upcoming unlocks and reclaim key resistance levels, the chart structure continues to favor sellers, with the $0.10 threshold emerging as the market’s next major downside target.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
Securitize Targets $400M Raise Before Public Market Debut
Tokenization platform Securitize is set to make its long-awaited leap into the public markets after reporting final redemption results for its merger partner, Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT). According to Securitize’s filing, fewer than 30% of CEPT shareholders chose to redeem their shares—an outcome that improves the odds that the deal can move forward as scheduled.
The company said the transaction is expected to generate approximately $400 million in gross proceeds, including private investment in public equity (PIPE) financings. The merger is expected to close on Wednesday, July 1, followed by trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ on Thursday, July 2, subject to shareholder approval on Monday and other closing conditions.
Key takeaways
- Securitize said final redemption results show less than 30% of CEPT shareholders redeemed, a lower-than-feared level that supports deal momentum.
- The merger is expected to bring in about $400 million in gross proceeds, including PIPE financing, excluding transaction-related expenses.
- The company plans to begin NYSE trading under ticker SECZ on July 2, after the July 1 expected closing.
- The move reflects accelerating institutional interest in tokenized securities amid heightened attention from US regulators.
Redemption results reduce uncertainty for the merger
The immediate catalyst for CEPT’s post-announcement trading was Securitize’s update on final redemption outcomes. In a statement to investors reported by PR Newswire, Securitize said that its final redemption results indicated that fewer than 30% of CEPT shareholders elected to redeem.
Redemption thresholds matter for SPAC-style transactions because they directly affect the cash proceeds available at closing. While Securitize did not characterize the numbers as “unexpected” in its release, the company’s disclosure effectively signals that the funding structure underpinning the merger is likely to remain intact, clearing one of the more common obstacles for deals tied to shareholder opt-outs.
On Friday, CEPT shares rose, closing up 7% to $10.86 and continuing higher after hours to $11, according to market data cited alongside the announcement.
Expected proceeds and what they mean for tokenization ambitions
Beyond the redemption update, Securitize outlined the expected funding to be raised through the combination. The company said it expects to receive approximately $400 million in gross proceeds from the merger, including related PIPE financings, while excluding transaction-related expenses.
For investors watching tokenization, the scale of the proceeds is not just about corporate finance—it also points to how seriously major market participants are preparing for tokenized securities infrastructure. Tokenization remains a complex intersection of technology, market structure, and regulatory compliance. Capital raised in public markets can help cover product expansion, business development, and operational scaling as tokenized offerings move from pilots toward broader rollouts.
Securitize positions the listing as a “significant milestone” and, in remarks shared in the company’s release, CEO Carlos Domingo framed the step as evidence that tokenization is shifting from a niche concept to a mainstream institutional priority.
Why this public listing matters to the tokenization market
Securitize’s debut arrives at a moment when Wall Street increasingly views tokenization as a route to improved settlement efficiency and asset accessibility, while regulators continue to refine expectations for how tokenized securities should be offered and traded.
The company is backed by major institutions, including BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, and also counts crypto-native firms such as Coinbase and Circle among its supporters, according to the information provided in the announcement. That blend matters because it suggests tokenization is being pursued simultaneously through traditional capital markets channels and crypto rails—an alignment that can influence how liquidity, custody, and compliance tooling evolves.
In addition, Securitize has been actively working with established market infrastructure. Earlier this year, the company partnered with the New York Stock Exchange in March to support tokenized assets for the exchange’s upcoming tokenized securities platform—an effort reported by Cointelegraph. While that project is distinct from Securitize’s SPAC path, it reinforces the company’s goal of becoming a bridge between regulated markets and tokenized issuance.
Elsewhere in the broader ecosystem, Standard Chartered earlier this month projected that tokenized assets active in decentralized finance could expand 37-fold to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030. That kind of forecast underscores why investors are paying attention to tokenization platforms that can operate across different settlement and trading environments.
Regulatory backdrop: SEC decisions still shape the pace
Even as interest grows, US regulatory uncertainty continues to influence how quickly tokenized products can be adopted in mainstream trading venues. In mid-May, Cointelegraph reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was reportedly ready to allow trading of tokenized stocks under an innovation-related framework. However, the plan was later delayed after stock exchange officials raised concerns about implementation details, according to that earlier coverage.
This matters for Securitize and peers because the path from “tokenization is possible” to “tokenization is broadly tradable” depends heavily on regulatory clarity—especially around operational readiness, market oversight, and the mechanics of secondary trading for tokenized instruments. A public-market listing can bring visibility and liquidity, but compliance and market structure decisions still determine how fast product adoption accelerates.
What to watch next
With a planned July 1 closing and July 2 NYSE start under ticker SECZ, the next key signal will be whether shareholder approval and remaining closing conditions clear without further complications. Investors should also watch how regulatory developments around tokenized stock trading evolve, since they will likely influence the pace at which tokenization platforms convert momentum into large-scale liquidity and recurring issuance.
Crypto World
Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit $696M as Regulators Brace for Market Shift
US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted their largest June daily net outflows on Thursday, following renewed weakness in Bitcoin that pushed the asset below the $60,000 level. The withdrawals underscore a cooling in demand that many US-listed ETF investors previously relied on as a stabilizing institutional inflow channel.
SoSoValue data shows the outflows amounted to $696.3 million on the day, exceeding the prior monthly peak of $519.2 million recorded on June 2. As a result, total net outflows for June rose to $3.61 billion, lifting year-to-date net outflows to $4.6 billion, according to the same dataset.
Key takeaways
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a $696.3 million net outflow on Thursday, the largest daily outflow in June.
- June net outflows reached $3.61 billion, bringing year-to-date net outflows to $4.6 billion (SoSoValue).
- Total net assets in US spot Bitcoin ETFs fell below $73 billion for the first time since late 2024, down roughly 57% from a reported October 2025 peak.
- Separate tracking data indicates ETF BTC holdings declined by about 63,500 BTC over the past 30 days.
- Strategy’s reported June buying pace slowed materially, prompting renewed scrutiny of institutional accumulation risk management and liquidity planning.
Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows accelerate in June
The Thursday withdrawals represent a material step-down in net inflows that had been supporting ETF balance sheets earlier in the year. According to SoSoValue, the $696.3 million net outflow surpassed the previous June high daily outflow recorded on June 2, signaling that the pullback is not confined to isolated days.
From a compliance and institutional risk perspective, sustained outflows can affect how ETF issuers and their service providers manage operational readiness and liquidity across custody, brokerage settlement, and fund administration. While ETFs remain structurally distinct from crypto spot custody models used by direct holders, the flow-through effect on the underlying Bitcoin exposure can become relevant to internal risk controls, including contingency planning for valuation, margining arrangements (where applicable), and concentration monitoring.
ETF net assets and holdings retrace from late-2025 highs
In addition to daily flows, broader balance-sheet data points to a sustained contraction in the ETF complex. SoSoValue reports that total net assets in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have fallen below $73 billion for the first time since late 2024. The same source previously cited a record net assets level of $169.5 billion in October 2025; the latest figure is about $72.6 billion, representing a decline of roughly 57%.
WalletPilot data provides a view into the underlying Bitcoin holdings. It indicates that the funds held a combined 1.24 million BTC as of Tuesday, with approximately 63,500 BTC leaving the products over the prior 30 days. For institutions, the shift from flow-based indicators to holdings-based indicators is often critical: daily net flows can reverse quickly, but reductions in the total BTC held can influence longer-horizon risk assessments related to custody balances, redemption dynamics, and exposure to market-wide volatility.
Strategy’s slower accumulation draws renewed attention
ETF outflows are occurring alongside signs that other large sources of institutional Bitcoin demand are easing. Strategy, described as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, reportedly reduced its pace of Bitcoin accumulation during June.
Company filings indicate Strategy has bought roughly 3,600 Bitcoin so far in June, down from about 25,000 BTC in May and more than 50,000 BTC in April. The filings also show a net sale of 32 BTC earlier in the month—one of the few instances in which the company has sold Bitcoin during its accumulation period.
The change in behavior has prompted renewed debate about corporate treasury strategy, particularly whether liquidity preservation becomes a priority during market downturns. Critics have argued that Strategy should pause additional purchases and instead rebuild cash reserves, pointing to the importance of downside risk management for firms that rely on balance-sheet leverage and equity-linked financing structures.
In June’s context, institutional scrutiny is not limited to “buy or sell” decisions. It also extends to how capital is raised, how discount rates and equity market conditions influence treasury financing, and what liquidity buffers are maintained to support continued operations. These issues can indirectly affect how regulated counterparties—such as lenders, underwriters, and custodians—assess operational continuity.
Financing-market pressure and the preferred stock debate
Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock (STRC) has reportedly come under pressure. The stock has traded below its intended $100 benchmark level, with Thursday’s close reported at $75.69, down 6.37%.
The price movement has fueled discussion around whether the company’s preferred share financing approach is aligned with its long-term accumulation plan under stressed market conditions. CryptoQuant analysts raised concerns about timing and risk management, while Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow argued that STRC has a “self-repairing mechanism” that activates when the stock trades below its $100 benchmark. He also noted that Strategy pauses new share issuance through its ATM program at that level, limiting new supply.
For institutional stakeholders, this debate matters because financing mechanics can influence the predictability of future purchasing behavior. Where issuance programs and preferred-stock terms include triggers or constraints, equity-market volatility can propagate into accumulation schedules—creating uncertainty for counterparties that model corporate Bitcoin demand. It also raises questions for governance and disclosure oversight, particularly for firms subject to securities regulation and investor reporting obligations.
More broadly, policy compliance teams monitoring the crypto market may find it useful to connect these developments to regulatory context. US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs operate under a mature set of investor protection expectations, including custody arrangements and securities-law compliance frameworks. At the same time, corporate treasuries and their financing instruments intersect with conventional financial regulation, making transparency and risk disclosures a recurring theme for oversight bodies.
What to watch next
Whether ETF outflows continue or reverse will likely remain the near-term indicator that shapes institutional exposure to Bitcoin via regulated wrappers. Separately, Strategy’s future acquisition cadence and any further changes in financing-market conditions could affect expectations for corporate demand, reinforcing the need for monitoring of disclosures, treasury liquidity posture, and the operational implications of sustained reductions in net asset growth.
Crypto World
Securities Probe Lands on Strategy as MSTR Sinks and STRC Slips Below Par

Rosen Law Firm opened a securities investigation into Strategy Inc., examining whether the Bitcoin treasury company issued materially misleading disclosures to investors across its entire capital stack, including common shares and all four series of preferred stock. The investigation notice,… Read the full story at The Defiant
Crypto World
Bitcoin Price In Rare Historical Value Zone After $58K Sell-Off: Data
Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop to $58,000 has pushed the price into a zone that long-term power-law models have historically associated with cycle bottoms. The data does not confirm a bottom range, though it shows BTC trading in a price range that has repeatedly marked major lows since 2014.
Derivatives data and liquidation levels highlight $55,000 as the next key support level and the $65,000-$68,000 range as the next major upside area of interest.
Bitcoin power-law puts $58,000 in historical range
Giovanni’s Bitcoin power-law model places the network’s long-term trend price near $135,000, making the recent drop to $58,000 roughly 54% below the all-time high and 1.22 standard deviations beneath that trend.
According to the analyst, the key takeaway is straightforward: the previous cycle lows in 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2022 all fell within a similar statistical range. By that measure, the latest decline falls within a territory that has historically marked the deep bear-market lows rather than a break in Bitcoin’s long-term growth path.

Bitcoin price deviation based on the power-law trend. Source: X
The model estimates the commonly referenced “-1σ” support near $68,000, while the stronger historical floor sits closer to $55,000. Giovanni also noted that Bitcoin would need to trade below roughly $17,000 for more than a year before the power-law itself could be considered invalid.
A second metric points in the same direction. Bitcoin’s power-law quantile has fallen to 6.2%, indicating the asset is cheaper than roughly 94% of its historical observations when measured against the power-law model. The chart highlights similar readings during the 2015, 2020, and 2023 cycle lows, with the current market now revisiting that historically rare valuation zone.

Bitcoin power-law quantile regression chart. Source: Checkonchain
Related: Bitcoin drops to $58K on high US PCE inflation as trader sees ‘manipulation’
Key BTC price levels to watch
Bitcoin fell to a new yearly low of $58,000 after aggressive selling swept through Binance. The hourly taker sell volume reached $2.1 billion, followed by another $1.9 billion in the next hour after the New York market open, marking the exchange’s largest hourly sell pressure since May 4.

Bitcoin taker sell volume on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
The flush liquidated more than $300 million in long BTC positions before the price rebounded toward $60,000. That level now carries added significance. A daily close back above $60,000 preserves the developing relative-strength index (RSI) bullish divergence across the one-hour, four-hour, and daily time frames which signals that selling momentum is fading even as the price prints lower lows.

BTC/USDT, one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Futures trader Byzantine General shared a similar outlook, saying the move to $58,000 cleared out leveraged longs while drawing in fresh short sellers. In his view, a daily close above $60,000 would strengthen the case that Bitcoin has printed a local bottom for now.
That would also shift attention toward a large pocket of upside liquidity. More than $4 billion in short liquidations cluster near $65,000, compared with about $1 billion below $55,000, creating a four-to-one imbalance. A relief rally could then target internal liquidity near $68,000, where a daily fair-value gap adds another area of interest for traders.

BTC liquidation map. Source: CoinGlass
Meanwhile, a daily close below $60,000 reinforces the bearish bias on both the short-term and long-term charts. The next area of interest then shifts to $55,000, where Bitcoin’s September 2024 weekly range low converges with its realized price near $54,000.
The realized price, which tracks the average cost basis of all onchain coins, has historically provided support at every major Bitcoin bear-market bottom since 2014. That trend makes the $54,000-$55,000 region a key level for traders to watch if selling pressure continues.

Bitcoin’s realized price. Source: X
Related: Bitcoin drop to $58K brings out bears: Is BTC’s next stop below $50K?
Crypto World
Tether's USDT Closes In on Ether for No. 2 Crypto Spot by Market Cap

Tether's USDT has drawn level with ether, narrowing the gap for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization to a fraction of a percent. The stablecoin briefly overtook ether earlier this month, the first time a dollar-pegged token has done so. USDT carried a market cap of about… Read the full story at The Defiant
Crypto World
XRP price forms multi-month falling wedge near $1 support as liquidations mount
XRP has fallen to its lowest level in months after a sharp selloff driven by a major derivatives flush and fresh pressure across the crypto market, while technical charts now show the token testing the lower boundary of a long-term falling wedge.
Summary
- XRP has fallen toward the key $1 support after a $10.8 billion crypto options expiry triggered heavy market-wide selling.
- A multi-month falling wedge and oversold momentum indicators suggest the token is nearing a critical technical inflection point.
- Analysts warn a break below $1 could expose lower support zones, while reclaiming $1.10 would improve the bullish outlook.
According to data from crypto.news price, XRP (XRP) price dropped from around $1.07 on June 25 to $1.01 on June 26, extending its year-to-date decline to more than 40%. The decline accelerated as a $10.8 billion crypto options expiry triggered heavy volatility across digital assets and forced a wave of long liquidations.
At the same time, sentiment surrounding the XRP ecosystem weakened after decentralized finance protocol Strobe Finance abruptly announced it would shut down operations.
The selling pressure arrived as investors also reduced exposure to risk assets following stronger expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer. Bitcoin’s slide below the $60,000 level removed another layer of support for altcoins, leaving XRP among the weaker large-cap tokens during Thursday’s session.
XRP approaches long-term support as liquidation clusters build overhead
The daily chart shows XRP trading at the lower edge of a falling wedge that has contained price action for almost a year. The pattern has compressed between descending resistance and gradually declining support, with the token now sitting close to the wedge’s lower boundary near $1.00.

Momentum indicators remain weak. The MACD has stayed below its signal line with histogram bars still in negative territory, while the Aroon indicator continues to favor sellers after Aroon Down climbed back toward 100 and Aroon Up remained subdued. Together, the indicators suggest bears still control the short-term trend even as XRP price approaches a historically important support zone.
The four-hour chart presents another important technical level. XRP has retraced almost the entire advance measured by the displayed Fibonacci range and now trades just above the 100% retracement near $1.01. Price also remains below the Supertrend resistance around $1.10, while the RSI has slipped to nearly 31, placing momentum close to oversold territory but without confirming a bullish reversal.

Derivatives positioning also highlights where volatility could increase next. CoinGlass liquidation heatmap data show large concentrations of leveraged positions clustered between roughly $1.05 and $1.08, while another sizable liquidity pocket sits around the $1.02 area. Those zones could attract price in either direction as traders compete for liquidity, increasing the likelihood of sharp short-term swings.

On-chain positioning has also drawn attention to nearby support. According to well-followed analyst Ali Martinez, UTXO Realized Price Distribution data identify $1.06 as a major accumulation level where more than 830 million XRP previously changed hands.
“XRP is testing a major volume block at $1.06…If the market drops below this level, the next core support targets are $0.80, $0.62 and $0.51.”
Bears retain control while lower demand zones come into focus
Several downside risks could still invalidate any recovery attempt. A sustained move below the wedge support around $1.00 would break one of XRP’s longest-running chart structures and could expose lower historical demand zones identified by both technical and on-chain data.
Commenting on the latest structure, crypto analyst ChartNerd noted that XRP has entered an area of interest after weeks of decline but warned that losing the current support would shift attention toward the $0.90-$0.70 range, where previous buying activity was concentrated.
$XRP has continued to decline into our area of interest since our last update two weeks ago. The deeper price retraces, the stronger the risk-reward setup becomes. If the new local $1.00 low is swept, the next major demand zone sits in the $0.90/$0.70 region. https://t.co/IzZZOIksTy pic.twitter.com/5K0KwKmTpr
— 🇬🇧 ChartNerd 📊 (@ChartNerdTA) June 26, 2026
Any recovery will also depend on conditions outside the XRP market. Additional institutional outflows from crypto investment products, another round of heavy derivatives liquidations, or stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data that reinforce expectations for restrictive Federal Reserve policy could extend pressure across digital assets.
Conversely, reclaiming the $1.10 region and breaking above the falling wedge resistance would be the first technical signal that buyers are regaining control.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
Strategy Executives Issue Coordinated Investor Reassurances as STRC Hits Record Lows

At least three Strategy officials published coordinated investor reassurances Friday morning, as bitcoin traded around $59,600 and the company's STRC preferred shares languished near record lows of $73-75. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, bitcoin executive Chaitanya Jain and President and CEO… Read the full story at The Defiant
Crypto World
Securitize Expects $400M Raise Ahead of US Debut
Tokenization platform Securitize says it expects to raise $400 million in its upcoming public debut through a merger with a company backed by Cantor Fitzgerald.
Securitize said on Friday that its final redemption results showed less than 30% of shareholders in Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT), the special purpose acquisition company that will take Securitize public, had elected to redeem.
The company said it expects to receive approximately $400 million in gross proceeds from the merger, including related private investment in public equity, or PIPE, financings and excluding transaction-related expenses.
Securitize is set to be the latest buzzy crypto-related public debut as Wall Street seeks exposure to tokenization, an area that is seeing heightened investor interest and attention from US regulators.
Shares in Cantor’s acquisition vehicle rose on Friday, closing the trading day up 7% to $10.86 and continuing to rise after-hours to $11.

CEPT shares climbed on Friday as Securitize announced fewer shareholder redemptions than expected. Source: Google Finance
The merger between Securitize and CEPT is expected to close on Wednesday, July 1, subject to shareholder approval on Monday and other closing conditions, and the company will then trade under the ticker SECZ on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, July 2.
“Reaching the public markets is a significant milestone for Securitize and a reflection of the growing momentum behind tokenization,” said Securitize co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo.

Source: Carlos Domingo
“When we started more than eight years ago, the idea that major institutions would embrace tokenized securities was still largely theoretical,” Domingo added. “Today, tokenization is moving into the mainstream.”
Related: Franklin Templeton, BNP Paribas see tokenization boosting EU’s capital efficiency
Securitize is backed by major institutions, such as BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, and crypto firms, including Coinbase and Circle, and has carved out a lead in the tokenization sector, where assets are represented on blockchains.
The company partnered with the New York Stock Exchange in March to create tokenized assets for the exchange’s upcoming tokenized securities platform,
Standard Chartered said earlier this month that it expects the amount of tokenized assets active in decentralized finance to grow 37-fold to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030.
In mid-May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission was reportedly ready to allow trading of tokenized stocks, but delayed the plan later that month after stock exchange officials raised concerns over how it would be implemented.
Magazine: Bitcoin slides to $58K, XRP hits $1 but onchain data promising: Market Moves
Crypto World
Brad Garlinghouse slams Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin funding strategy
Brad Garlinghouse has criticized Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin acquisition strategy, arguing that Strategy’s reliance on preferred stock financing has failed to create lasting value as its securities continue to weaken.
Summary
- Brad Garlinghouse criticized Strategy’s Bitcoin funding model, arguing long-term value should come from utility rather than financial engineering.
- Growing scrutiny of Strategy includes a shareholder investigation, insider share sales, and CryptoQuant’s call to preserve cash.
- Anchorage Digital said investors remain defensive, but options markets are not signaling expectations of a company-specific crisis.
According to comments made during a CNBC interview on Friday, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized Michael Saylor’s approach to financing Bitcoin purchases through Strategy’s capital markets program, saying long-term value in crypto should come from real-world utility rather than financial engineering.
Questioning whether the model can continue rewarding shareholders over time, Garlinghouse argued that issuing securities to fund additional Bitcoin purchases does not create sustainable value. He added that Strategy’s focus on financial structuring has had negative consequences for the digital asset market.
“Financial engineering does not drive long-term value … long-term value of any digital asset is going to be driven by utility.”
Although he challenged Strategy’s funding model, Garlinghouse maintained that he remains bullish on Bitcoin itself. His comments came as Bitcoin briefly traded below $60,000 on Friday, extending pressure across companies closely tied to the cryptocurrency.
Strategy’s preferred stock has come under pressure
Garlinghouse pointed to Strategy’s STRC preferred shares as evidence that investors are becoming more cautious about the company’s financing structure. He noted that the preferred stock has fallen roughly 25% below its $100 face value, describing the decline as a sign that investors are questioning the sustainability of the approach.
Strategy has spent roughly the past year raising capital through preferred securities, including STRC, to finance additional Bitcoin purchases. The instrument also carries an 11.5% cumulative annual dividend obligation, leaving the company with continuing dividend commitments alongside its expanding Bitcoin treasury.
At the same time, scrutiny has widened beyond Garlinghouse’s criticism. Earlier this week, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant recommended that Strategy pause further Bitcoin purchases and instead strengthen its cash reserves as market conditions remain difficult.
Additional pressure has emerged from legal developments. As crypto.news reported previously, Rosen Law Firm has opened an investigation into whether Strategy made materially inaccurate business disclosures to investors. According to the firm, it is evaluating potential securities claims and considering a possible class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders who suffered losses.
Investor scrutiny has continued despite mixed market signals
Selling by company insiders has added another layer to investor concerns. SEC filings show Strategy director Jarrod Patten exercised options to acquire 1,500 Class A shares on June 23 before selling the entire position the same day at $106.08 per share, generating an estimated pre-tax gain of about $131,766.
The latest transaction extends a months-long selling streak. Regulatory filings indicate Patten has sold 55,750 Strategy shares over the past three months for roughly $9 million in proceeds, with the sales taking place as investors continue debating the company’s reliance on repeated share issuance and leveraged Bitcoin accumulation.
Even so, derivatives markets are not signaling expectations of an immediate company-specific crisis. According to new research from Anchorage Digital, traders continue paying elevated premiums for downside protection across Bitcoin, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Strategy shares, but options pricing remains well below levels seen during previous periods of severe stress.
Anchorage Digital’s head of research, David Lawant, wrote that while defensive positioning has risen into the upper range of historical readings, Strategy’s options market has not reached the conditions normally associated with forced deleveraging or fears of a breakdown in the company’s business model.
Crypto World
Ripple is becoming a bank. What it means for XRP
A conditional national trust bank charter, a pending Federal Reserve master account, and a string of acquisitions in brokerage, payments, and treasury. Ripple is assembling a full regulated-finance stack. The benefits flow first to its stablecoin and the company itself. What is left for XRP is the question.
Summary
- Ripple has assembled a full regulated-finance stack: a conditional national trust bank charter, a pending Federal Reserve master account bid, and acquisitions in prime brokerage, payments, and treasury services.
- The charter and master account primarily benefit RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, whose reserves would sit under federal and state oversight, not XRP directly.
- A national trust bank cannot take ordinary deposits or carry federal deposit insurance, so the real prize is direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails and custody of its own stablecoin reserves.
- For XRP, the benefit is indirect: a more legitimate, bank-grade Ripple strengthens the whole ecosystem and XRP’s role as a bridge asset, but it creates no direct token-demand mechanism.
- This is the same pattern that defined XRP through 2026, in which Ripple’s wins flow first to the company and RLUSD, with the token benefiting slowly, if at all.
Ripple is turning itself into a bank, or something very close to one, and it is doing it methodically.
Over the past year the company won conditional federal approval to operate a national trust bank, applied for a Federal Reserve master account that would give it direct access to the central bank’s payment systems, and bought its way into prime brokerage, payments, and corporate treasury services through a series of acquisitions.
Add the dollar stablecoin it already issues, the 70-plus regulatory licenses it holds around the world, and a fresh European license that lets it passport services across 30 countries, and the picture is unmistakable.
A company once known mainly for a cross-border payments network and a controversial token is assembling the full apparatus of a regulated financial institution.
For XRP holders, who have watched the token grind sideways near a dollar through a year of Ripple triumphs, the natural question is what all of this means for them.
The honest answer is more complicated, and more sobering, than the headlines suggest, because almost every piece of Ripple’s banking build benefits the company and its stablecoin first, and the token only indirectly.
This piece works through Ripple’s transformation into a regulated financial institution and what it actually delivers for XRP. It covers the banking stack Ripple is assembling, what a national trust bank can and cannot do, the real prize of a Federal Reserve master account, why the charter is mostly a stablecoin story, what genuinely accrues to XRP, the bull case within the bank build, and what holders should watch.
The goal is to separate the real significance of Ripple becoming a bank, which is considerable for the company, from the wishful assumption that everything good for Ripple is automatically good for the token, which 2026 has repeatedly shown to be false.
A payments company is turning into a financial institution
Take the full measure of what Ripple has built, because the strategy only becomes clear when you see the pieces together.
The foundation is a conditional charter to operate a national trust bank, granted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal regulator that supervises national banks. The OCC conditionally approved Ripple National Trust Bank alongside other crypto firms in a broader wave of national trust bank approvals.
That federal approval matters because it moves Ripple deeper into the regulated banking perimeter without turning it into an ordinary retail bank.
A subsequent rule expanded what such trust banks are allowed to do, turning what would have been a narrow custody license into something with real operational scope, including digital-asset custody, stablecoin reserve management, and certain payment services.
On top of the charter, a Ripple subsidiary applied for a Federal Reserve master account, the account that would connect Ripple directly to the central bank’s payment rails.
And around that regulatory core, Ripple has been buying capabilities: a prime brokerage, a payments business, and a corporate treasury-services firm, each acquisition adding a piece of the institutional-finance stack.
Layer in the rest and the ambition is obvious. Ripple issues a dollar-pegged stablecoin that has grown past $1 billion in market value.
It holds dozens of regulatory licenses across jurisdictions, and it recently secured preliminary European authorization that lets it offer regulated services across the entire European Economic Area.
That is where Ripple’s European license fits into the larger build. The company is not only chasing U.S. banking access; it is trying to make its regulated-finance stack portable across major markets.
Taken individually, any one of these is a notable corporate step. Taken together, they describe a single, coherent strategy: to become the institutional infrastructure layer for crypto-native finance.
Ripple wants to be a regulated entity that banks and corporations can trust to custody assets, manage stablecoin reserves, settle payments, and connect to both the traditional financial system and the blockchain world.
Ripple is not dabbling in banking. It is building a bank-grade financial institution deliberately, piece by piece.
The question for a token holder is where, in all of this carefully assembled machinery, XRP actually fits.
What a national trust bank is, and what it is not
Before assessing what the charter means for XRP, it is worth being precise about what a national trust bank actually is, because the word “bank” carries connotations the charter does not deliver.
A national trust bank is not a retail bank. It cannot take ordinary deposits, cannot offer checking or savings accounts, and does not carry federal deposit insurance, the protection that backs ordinary bank deposits.
What it can do is custody assets, provide fiduciary and trust services, manage reserves, and, under the expanded rule, handle digital-asset custody and certain payment-related functions.
Headlines that say “Ripple becomes a bank” are gesturing at something real, but they compress away an important distinction.
That distinction matters for understanding the charter’s purpose. Ripple’s trust bank exists primarily to serve Ripple’s stablecoin business.
Its core planned function is to custody and manage the reserve assets that back the stablecoin, which today are held through a separate trust entity, and to provide custody to institutional clients.
By bringing reserve management in-house under a federal charter, Ripple gains tighter control, removes reliance on third-party custodians, and obtains a regulatory standing that few stablecoin issuers can match: oversight at both the federal level, through the national chartering regulator, and the state level, through New York’s financial regulator.
That dual supervision is a genuine selling point to institutions weighing whether to trust Ripple’s rails.
This is also why the fight over trust charters matters. Senator Elizabeth Warren and banking groups have challenged the idea that crypto firms with OCC trust charters should be treated like bank-grade institutions, arguing that they could act like crypto banks without the same restrictions.
The crypto industry has pushed back. The Digital Chamber called on the OCC to uphold crypto trust bank charters for firms including Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, and BitGo, arguing that the charters are part of bringing digital assets into regulated finance rather than keeping them outside it.
But notice what the trust bank does not do. It does not custody XRP for the benefit of XRP holders, does not create any obligation to buy or hold the token, and does not make XRP a bank deposit or a regulated bank instrument.
It is, at its heart, infrastructure for the stablecoin, which is the recurring theme of Ripple’s entire banking build.
The real prize: a Federal Reserve master account
The most consequential piece of Ripple’s banking strategy is the one furthest from being secured: a Federal Reserve master account.
A master account is the account a financial institution holds directly with the central bank, and it is the gateway to the core of the financial system.
It allows direct settlement through the central bank’s payment networks, the same rails the largest banks use, and direct access to base money rather than balances held at a commercial bank.
For a stablecoin issuer, the prize is enormous. With a master account, Ripple could hold the reserves backing its stablecoin directly at the central bank, the safest possible place, eliminating the counterparty risk of relying on private banks and giving institutions far greater confidence in the stablecoin’s solvency and redemption safety.
That is why custody and reserve safety matters so much in this story. Stablecoins are only as trusted as the assets backing them, the institutions holding those assets, and the transparency around redemption.
The catch is that no crypto-native firm has ever received full access of this kind on ordinary terms, and the bar is extraordinarily high.
The central bank has historically been reluctant to extend master accounts to non-traditional institutions. Uninsured trust banks face the most stringent levels of review, and previous attempts by crypto-adjacent firms to win access have often failed or taken years.
Ripple’s subsidiary has applied, and the application remains pending, with no public timeline and no clear signal of when or whether the central bank will act.
Approval would be genuinely transformative. It would mark a deeper integration between a crypto-native company and the core U.S. financial system, and it would dramatically strengthen the institutional credibility of RLUSD.
But it is far from assured. Even in the optimistic case, the direct beneficiary is again the stablecoin and the company’s settlement capabilities, not the token.
A master account would let Ripple hold stablecoin reserves at the central bank and settle through its rails. It would not, by itself, create demand for XRP.
The prize is real, and the prize is mostly about everything except the token.
Why this is mostly a stablecoin story
Step back and a clear pattern emerges from every piece of Ripple’s banking build: it is, overwhelmingly, a stablecoin story.
The trust charter exists primarily to custody and manage stablecoin reserves. The master account, if granted, would primarily benefit the stablecoin by letting its reserves sit at the central bank.
The European license primarily expands where Ripple can offer regulated payment and stablecoin services. The acquisitions in brokerage, payments, and treasury primarily build out an institutional settlement and services business in which the stablecoin is the natural cash leg.
Ripple’s dollar stablecoin has grown past $1 billion, expanded across multiple blockchains, and won approvals in multiple jurisdictions. The banking apparatus is being constructed largely to support and legitimize it.
That is why the RLUSD the bank serves is the center of the story. A stablecoin is useful to institutions precisely because it is designed to hold a steady dollar value while moving across crypto rails.
Ripple’s own reserve-transparency page also shows why this matters. The company is trying to make RLUSD look less like an experimental crypto product and more like a regulated dollar instrument with transparent backing, regular attestations, and bank-grade custody.
This is the same dynamic that defined XRP through 2026, when Ripple’s marquee bank deals and settlement milestones ran through its stablecoin and ledger while the token captured little beyond a negligible network fee.
As previously reported, this is why Ripple wins bypass the token. Ripple can deepen its institutional footprint while XRP still waits for direct, measurable token demand.
The banking build is that dynamic taken to its logical conclusion. Ripple is constructing a regulated financial institution whose central purpose is to make its stablecoin the most trusted, most institutionally credible dollar token in the market, and to build a settlement and custody business around it.
XRP is part of the broader ecosystem, but it is not the thing the bank is for.
A holder hoping that the charter, the master account bid, and the acquisitions would translate into direct demand for the token is, once again, watching the wrong variable.
The value of all this machinery flows first to Ripple the company and to the stablecoin it is built to serve, exactly as Ripple’s own communications have acknowledged in noting that the banking progress is unlikely to move the token’s price directly or immediately.
So what do XRP holders actually get?
If the bank build is mostly about the stablecoin, the fair question is whether XRP holders get anything at all.
The honest answer is yes, but indirectly and slowly. The benefit to XRP runs through legitimacy and ecosystem strength rather than any direct mechanism.
As Ripple becomes a regulated, bank-grade financial institution, the entire ecosystem it anchors gains credibility in the eyes of the banks and corporations Ripple wants as customers.
A more trusted Ripple makes every part of its stack, including the ledger on which XRP lives and the role XRP can play, more palatable to institutional users.
The argument, which Ripple and many holders make, is that demand for one asset in an ecosystem can lift others in the same stack, and that a Ripple wired into the core of the financial system is a Ripple better positioned to drive real-world use of XRP as a bridge asset over time.
This indirect benefit is not nothing, and it would be a mistake to dismiss it. XRP’s most plausible long-term role is as a bridge asset that moves value between currencies in settlement.
A Ripple with a federal charter, a master account, and a credible institutional settlement business is a Ripple with more opportunities to route that kind of settlement in ways that touch the token.
But the benefit is conditional, gradual, and unguaranteed, three qualities that make it very different from the direct, immediate boost holders often hope for.
XRP does not become a bank deposit, a stablecoin, or a regulated instrument through any of this. It remains a separate, volatile asset whose demand depends on whether Ripple’s growing institutional infrastructure eventually channels real settlement volume through it.
The competing path is obvious: the same settlement volume could instead keep flowing through RLUSD, which is better suited to settlement precisely because it does not move in price.
The banking build improves the odds that Ripple can win regulated institutional business someday. It does not make that business flow through XRP now, and it does not create token demand on its own.
The bull case within the bank build
In fairness to the optimistic view, there is a coherent bull case for XRP buried inside Ripple’s banking transformation, and it deserves a clear statement.
The strongest version goes like this: Ripple is methodically removing every reason an institution might hesitate to build on its rails.
The charter answers the custody and reserve-management question. The master account, if granted, answers the reserve-safety question at the highest possible level.
The acquisitions answer the brokerage, payments, and treasury questions. The licenses answer the regulatory question across jurisdictions.
As those barriers fall one by one, Ripple becomes a place where serious institutions can conduct serious volume. In a world where Ripple is running large-scale regulated settlement, the case for using XRP as the neutral bridge asset between currencies strengthens, because the infrastructure to do it at scale finally exists and is trusted.
Pair that with the token’s other tailwinds, including the regulatory clarity from its resolved legal status, the spot exchange-traded funds gathering assets, and the prospect of federal legislation codifying its commodity classification, and the bull case becomes clearer.
That is where the legislation that could codify XRP fits in. If the CLARITY Act turns XRP’s commodity treatment into durable federal law, it could make institutions more comfortable using the token where it has a genuine settlement role.
In that version of the future, XRP sits inside a maturing, increasingly bank-grade ecosystem at exactly the moment that ecosystem becomes capable of institutional-scale activity.
If even a fraction of the settlement flowing through a fully built-out Ripple touches XRP as a bridge, the demand could be meaningful, and it would arrive on top of a token that has already cleared its regulatory hurdles.
This is a real argument, and it is why the banking build is truly good news for the long-term XRP thesis even though it is not a direct catalyst.
The caveat, as always, is the word “if.” The bull case depends on Ripple choosing and managing to route settlement through the token rather than through the stablecoin, and the entire pattern of 2026 suggests the stablecoin keeps winning that role.
The infrastructure being built is real. Whether XRP is wired into it is the open question.
What XRP holders should watch
For a holder trying to judge whether Ripple’s banking transformation will ever translate into token demand, the analysis points to a few specific signals worth tracking, none of which is another charter or acquisition headline.
The first is the Federal Reserve master account decision.
If granted, it would be a landmark for Ripple and the stablecoin, and it would mark the company’s deepest integration into the financial system. Over time, that expands the surface area where XRP could be used.
If denied, a key piece of the institutional thesis stalls.
Either way, it is the most consequential pending item, and its outcome shapes everything downstream.
The second and more important signal is whether XRP actually appears in the settlement flows of Ripple’s bank-grade business, as opposed to the stablecoin doing all the work.
This is the variable that decides the entire question. If Ripple’s institutional settlement increasingly routes through XRP as a bridge asset, generating real, recurring token demand, then the banking build will finally have reached the token.
If, as has been the pattern, the stablecoin carries the settlement while XRP captures only a fee, then the bank is a Ripple and stablecoin story with XRP riding the halo of legitimacy but not the flows.
The third signal is the broader regulatory picture, particularly whether federal legislation codifies XRP’s status, which would compound the legitimacy the banking build provides.
The honest synthesis is that Ripple becoming a bank is a major, genuine achievement that strengthens the company, the stablecoin, and the long-term credibility of the whole ecosystem.
For XRP specifically, it improves the odds without delivering the goods.
The token’s payoff depends on a future choice, to run regulated settlement through XRP, that Ripple has not yet shown it will make.
Until it does, the bank is being built for everything except the token, and the token, as it has all year, waits.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ripple actually becoming a bank?
Sort of, but with important caveats. Ripple won conditional federal approval to operate a national trust bank and applied for a Federal Reserve master account, and it has acquired prime brokerage, payments, and treasury businesses. But a national trust bank is not a retail bank: it cannot take ordinary deposits, offer checking or savings accounts, or carry federal deposit insurance. It is a specialized institution for custody, fiduciary services, and reserve management. So Ripple is building a bank-grade regulated financial institution, but one focused on custody and stablecoin reserves instead of traditional deposit-taking banking.
What is the Federal Reserve master account and why does it matter?
A master account is an account held directly with the central bank, giving direct access to its payment rails and to base money, the same access the largest banks have. For Ripple, it would let the company hold its stablecoin’s reserves directly at the central bank, the safest possible location, eliminating reliance on private banks and boosting institutional confidence in the stablecoin. No crypto-native firm has ever been granted full access of this kind on ordinary terms, the review is stringent, and Ripple’s application is pending with no timeline. Approval would be transformative for the company and stablecoin, though not a direct catalyst for XRP.
Does Ripple’s banking push help XRP?
Indirectly and gradually, not directly. The charter and master account primarily benefit Ripple’s stablecoin, whose reserves they would custody and secure. XRP does not become a deposit, a stablecoin, or a regulated instrument. The benefit to XRP runs through legitimacy: a bank-grade Ripple strengthens the whole ecosystem and improves the odds that XRP is eventually used as a bridge asset in regulated settlement. But that is conditional and slow, not the direct demand boost holders often hope for, and Ripple itself has acknowledged the banking progress is unlikely to move the token’s price immediately.
Why does the stablecoin benefit more than XRP?
Because the entire banking build is designed around the stablecoin. The trust charter exists mainly to custody and manage stablecoin reserves. The master account, if granted, would let those reserves sit at the central bank. The acquisitions build a settlement business in which the stablecoin is the natural cash leg. A stablecoin is suited to settlement precisely because it holds a steady value, while XRP’s volatility makes it less suitable for that role. So Ripple’s regulated infrastructure naturally channels value to the stablecoin, with XRP benefiting only as part of the broader, more credible ecosystem.
What is the bull case for XRP in all this?
The bull case is that Ripple is methodically removing every reason an institution might hesitate to use its rails, through the charter, the master account bid, the acquisitions, and the licenses. As those barriers fall, Ripple becomes capable of large-scale regulated settlement, and the case for using XRP as a neutral bridge asset between currencies strengthens because the trusted infrastructure to do it finally exists. Combined with XRP’s regulatory clarity, its ETFs, and possible federal legislation, the bull case is that XRP sits inside a maturing, bank-grade ecosystem just as that ecosystem becomes capable of institutional-scale activity. The caveat is whether settlement actually routes through XRP instead of the stablecoin.
What should XRP holders watch next?
Three things. First, the Federal Reserve master account decision, which would mark Ripple’s deepest integration into the financial system and expand where XRP could be used, or stall a key part of the thesis if denied. Second, and most important, whether XRP actually appears in the settlement flows of Ripple’s institutional business, generating real token demand, as opposed to the stablecoin doing all the work. Third, the broader regulatory picture, especially whether federal legislation codifies XRP’s commodity status. The token’s payoff depends on Ripple choosing to route regulated settlement through XRP, a choice it has not yet shown it will make.
This article is information, not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is volatile, and regulatory approvals, corporate plans, and figures reflect reporting available as of June 26, 2026, which can change quickly. Verify current data from primary sources before making any decision.
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