Bitcoin (BTC) touched $80,000 around Thursday’s Wall Street open as US stocks hit fresh all-time highs and oil retested $100.

Key points:

• Bitcoin rebounded to $80,000 while US stock markets hit new records, ignoring high inflation.
• Risk appetite is “skyrocketing,” analysis says, despite worries over central-bank policy tightening.
• Bitcoin can still head to $85,000 next, traders agree.

Bitcoin recoups losses as US stocks ignore inflation

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD recovering much of the previous day’s losses, which followed some of the highest US inflation data in four years. 

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stocks quickly shook off the numbers, despite the implications for future financial policy tightening. 

The S&P 500 posted its highest daily close on record, and continued to surge on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average revisited 50,000 points for the first time since early February.

S&P 500 versus Dow Jones one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Commenting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter reported “skyrocketing” risk appetite among investors.

“Assets under management (AUM) in US leveraged ETFs are up to a record $177 billion. Since the March bottom, total leveraged ETF AUM has surged +$45 billion,” it wrote in its latest analysis on X.

Leveraged ETF AUM data. Source: The Kobeissi Letter/X

Kobeissi used the same term to describe global money-supply growth — a crypto and risk-asset tailwind at odds with concerns that central banks were adopting a “hawkish stance.” 

“Meanwhile, US M2 money supply jumped +$1 trillion YoY, or +4.6%, to a record $22.7 trillion,” it continued. 

“Money supply growth is accelerating.”

Global money supply data. Source: The Kobeissi Letter/X

As the US-Iran war rumbled on, oil prices seemed unable to crack new highs, with WTI crude retesting the $100 per barrel mark from above.

CFDs on WTI crude oil one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“Most important” BTC price support still in play

Looking at BTC price action, trader Daan Crypto Trades saw the market at a “pivotal level.”

Related: Bitcoin price history suggests 77% odds of new all-time high within a year

“Hanging on to that ~$79.4K level which marked the previous highs in April,” he told X followers.

An accompanying chart showed the 200-period simple (SMA) and exponential (EMA) moving averages trending higher toward the spot price.

BTC/USDT perpetual contract four-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

On the same topic, fellow trader CrypNuevo saw the potential for BTC/USD to head to new multi-month highs at the 50-week EMA should that support hold.

“Bitcoin is at the most important level,” he agreed on Wednesday. 

“If it holds the range highs here, then it’ll push towards the 1W50EMA at $84k-$85k. But a failure to hold this level could trigger a rotation back to the mid-range, potentially exposing range lows if momentum doesn’t shift.”

BTC/USDT one-day chart. Source: CrypNuevo/X

TLDR

• Strive will convert its SATA preferred stock into a daily dividend security starting June 16.
• The company will maintain a 13% annual dividend rate with an effective yield of about 13.88% through daily compounding.
• SATA will become the first U.S.-listed preferred stock to distribute cash dividends every business day.
• Strive has eliminated all outstanding debt after repurchasing its long-term notes.
• The firm expanded its bitcoin treasury to 15,009 BTC through acquisitions and market purchases.

Strive Asset Management will convert its SATA preferred stock into a daily dividend security on June 16. The structure will distribute cash every business day while keeping a 13% annual rate. The company said the compounding effect lifts the effective annual yield to about 13.88%.

Strive Introduces Daily Bitcoin-Linked Income Structure

Strive will replace the standard monthly payout model with daily cash distributions. The company will keep the stated 13% annual dividend rate. However, daily compounding across about 250 trading days increases the effective yield to roughly 13.88%. Chief executive officer Matthew Cole said the design aims to reshape income products. He stated, “We designed SATA as a structural innovation for income-focused investors.” He added that the company seeks to position SATA against money market funds and short-duration vehicles.

The company said investors will receive small payments each trading day. As a result, holders can reinvest cash more frequently and improve liquidity management. Strive structured the preferred stock to function as an equity instrument with fixed income features. The company confirmed that SATA can trade above par value in the market. Therefore, Strive can issue more shares and raise capital tied to bitcoin accumulation.

Capital Structure and Bitcoin Treasury Expansion

Strive reported that it eliminated all outstanding debt after repurchasing long-term notes. The company now operates without leverage, margin requirements, or encumbered bitcoin holdings. Executives said the clean balance sheet supports the income strategy linked to digital assets. Strive expanded its bitcoin treasury to 15,009 BTC through acquisitions and open market purchases. The company also issued equity through an at-the-market program to support purchases.

The firm reported a net loss of $265.9 million in the first quarter. It attributed most of the loss to mark-to-market declines in bitcoin holdings. The company said the accounting treatment reflected price changes rather than realized losses. Strive shares have gained about 10% this year and over 30% in the last month. The stock trailed Strategy during that period but outperformed Bitcoin.

Myanmar has proposed introducing the death penalty for violent criminals who coerce victims into crypto scam center operations.

Singapore news outlet CNA reports that draft legislation for the “Anti-Online Scam Bill” was published today. 

The legislation states that the death penalty would apply to criminals using “violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams.”

The bill will reportedly be scrutinized when Myanmar’s current military government, which came to power in a 2021 coup, returns to sit in Parliament in June. 

Read more: Starlink a lifeline for Myanmar scam compounds, report

Local media also reports that those found to run scam centers or carry out crypto scams will also face a potential life sentence in prison. 

It’s unclear if this same sentence would apply to victims forced to undertake scams against their will.

Just last month, Myanmar’s president Min Aung Hlaing commuted all death sentences to life sentences. 

$1 billion of assets linked to alleged scam kingpin frozen 

The billion-dollar crypto scam industry has set up numerous compounds along Myanmar’s borders as well as across Southeast Asia in countries such as Cambodia and Laos. 

One alleged kingpin is Prince Group CEO Chen Zi. Today, the Hong Kong High Court reportedly ordered the freezing of HK$9 billion ($1.15 billion) in assets under Chen’s ownership. 

Chen is currently in custody in China after he was extradited from Cambodia in January. He’s accused of running a mammoth criminal enterprise that included the operation of crypto scam centers. 

Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company Strive, whose common stock has lost 85% in a year, just inexplicably rebranded itself to focus on its dividend calendar.

As though investors care more about the dividend schedule than how well it performs, Strive Asset Management has rebranded to Strive The Daily Dividend Company, and will start paying cash dividends on its SATA preferred stock every business day beginning June 16. 

SATA is supposed to trade near $100 and pay dividends on time, but has actually traded as low as $81.02 in February due to uncertainty about its enterprise. 

Despite offering 13% annualized yield on $100 per share of par value, investors have been willing to sell preferreds as low as $97.29 in the past month.

As SATA has struggled to trade near $100, Strive has tried to encourage bids by hiking its dividend rate four times since its November 2025 debut.

Pharma bro and disgraced DOGE ex-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founded the company alongside a former Bud Light executive. It just lost $265 million for its shareholders within three months.

ASST down 85% but the company found ‘zero-to-one’

The company’s common stock opened for trading today at $16.83. Last May, it was trading above $268.

Chairman and CEO Matthew Cole called the daily-dividend mechanic “a true zero-to-one innovation,” as though Zero to One author Peter Thiel would agree that daily dividends are as important as the automobile or word processor.

XRP (XRP) has recovered from its April lows of $1.26, rising as much as 19% to a three-week high of $1.50 on Sunday.

Whale activity, network growth and a strengthening technical setup suggested that the XRP/USD pair was primed for a move higher once resistance at $1.50 is broken. 

Key takeaways:

• XRP whale addresses hit record highs of 332,230, indicating accumulation.
• XRP Ledger monthly transactions hit an all-time high of 71 million in April.
• Price must break above the $1.50 resistance to continue its upside toward $2.

XRP whales show growing conviction

XRP whales remain confident about the prospects of a breakout, using the recent consolidation range to accumulate more tokens. 

Santiment’s whale count metric indicates that the number of wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP has reached an all-time high of about 332,230.

“This extends a consistent growth trend that has been building since June, 2024,” Santiment said in an X post on Wednesday.  

Related: XRP analysts watch key support zone as $12 price target emerges

The market intelligence firm explained that the amount of mid to large stakeholders continuing to grow is an important long-term signal showing that “larger holders have kept accumulating even during periods of volatility and uncertainty,” adding:

“Historically, rising numbers of mid-to-large wallets suggest increasing conviction from investors who are less focused on short-term price swings and more interested in long-term positioning.”

XRP Ledger whale wallets. Source: Santiment

This aligns with growing XRP Ledger (XRPL) activity, whose monthly transactions jumped to a new all-time high of 71 million in April from 43 million a year ago, representing a 65% year-over-year growth, according to data from Evernorth.

The XRP treasury firm said that the growth was driven by institutional utility tied to Bitstamp, RLUSD, Braza Bank, and DeFi protocols as XRPL continues to expand its compliance-focused infrastructure.

XRPL transaction activity. Source: Evernorth

Meanwhile, analyst CW8900 said XRP whale long positions remain dominant relative to retail positions, suggesting that they are “maintaining a bullish view” of the market

XRP whales vs. retail delta. Source: CW8900

XRP needs to flip $1.50 into support

XRP is seeking to break out from an ascending triangle, which has capped its price action since early February,  as shown below.

An ascending triangle is a bullish continuation pattern formed when the price consolidates between a horizontal resistance line (flat top) and a rising support trendline (higher lows). A breakout above resistance with increased volume often precedes a strong upward move.

XRP appears to be on a similar trajectory, but bulls need to flip $1.50, where the 100-day exponential moving average (EMA) and the triangle’s resistance line converge, to confirm the breakout. Note that the price has been rejected from this supply area four times since mid-February.

Another stiff barrier lies within the $1.67 and $1.70 supply zone, where the 200-day EMA sits. Higher than that, the next logical move would be toward the measured target of the triangle at $1.98, roughly 36% above the current price.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“$XRP has been defending its daily 20 EMA since it was reclaimed in early May ($1.42), which has since been guiding the price higher,” analyst ChartNerd said in a Thursday post on X, adding:

“$1.50/55 remains an imminent resistance to break.”

Zooming out, fellow analyst Neel said XRP/USD “needs a clear break above $1.60 for any meaningful short-term rally,” but rising above $2.00 would “generate fresh momentum.”

XRP/USD weekly chart. Source: X/Neel

As Cointelegraph reported, the $1.50-$1.60 is a critical level for the bulls to overcome in the short term, as a break above could signal a potential trend change, propelling XRP price toward $2.40.

The new futures product will be CME Group’s first market capitalization-weighted cryptocurrency futures contract and will be available in both standard and micro contract sizes.

CME Group announced plans to launch Nasdaq CME Cryptocurrency Index Futures on June 8, expanding its suite of regulated digital asset derivatives products as institutional demand for diversified crypto exposure continues to grow. According to the company’s announcement, the contracts are currently awaiting regulatory review.

The exchange operator said the contracts are designed to provide investors with a more capital-efficient way to gain exposure to leading digital assets through a single financially settled instrument.

At expiration, the contracts will settle against the Nasdaq CME Cryptocurrency Settlement Price Index, which tracks the performance of the most actively traded cryptocurrencies in the market. As of May 14, the index includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar.

CME expands institutional crypto offerings

The launch marks another step in CME’s broader expansion into cryptocurrency derivatives as traditional financial firms continue building products tied to digital assets. CME already operates futures markets for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several micro-sized crypto contracts that have become widely used by institutional traders for hedging and portfolio management.

The addition of a multi-asset index product comes as investor appetite for diversified crypto exposure increases beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies. In a previous crypto.news story, institutional Bitcoin investment demand showed signs of moderating after months of heavy ETF inflows, prompting market participants to explore broader crypto allocation strategies.

The new index futures also arrive amid rapid growth in crypto derivatives trading volumes across both centralized and decentralized venues. Another crypto.news story highlighted Coinbase’s expanding USDC partnership with Hyperliquid as trading firms increasingly seek deeper liquidity infrastructure for digital asset markets.

Meanwhile, traditional exchanges continue competing to capture institutional crypto trading activity through regulated products. Earlier this year, crypto.news reported in another story that Cboe expanded its crypto-related ETF initiatives as Wall Street firms accelerated digital asset product development.

By introducing a market cap-weighted crypto index futures contract, CME appears to be positioning itself to serve investors seeking broader exposure to the digital asset sector without directly holding individual cryptocurrencies.