Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled a multi-year roadmap that places native privacy, quantum resistance, and protocol simplification at the center of Ethereum’s next major upgrade, describing it as the network’s largest transformation since The Merge.

According to a roadmap published on Strawmap.org and shared by Buterin on X over July 6, the proposed changes are expected to be introduced over the next three to four years following discussions among Ethereum researchers in Berlin.

The document outlines coordinated upgrades spanning nearly every layer of the network and presents what Buterin describes as Ethereum’s third major evolution after its transition to proof-of-stake in 2022.

Native privacy becomes a core protocol feature

Instead of leaving privacy to applications built on Ethereum, the roadmap proposes making it a built-in property of the protocol itself. The document evaluates key components, including Frames, the transaction mempool, and future state designs, according to whether they can support intermediary-free, quantum-safe privacy while keeping computational costs low.

Building on ideas first outlined in May 2026, Buterin’s latest proposal expands an earlier privacy roadmap into a network-wide redesign. What previously focused on incremental improvements has now developed into a long-term architectural plan covering the protocol’s core infrastructure.

Among the document’s strongest statements is Buterin’s observation that “quantum safety has shifted up a LOT in priority.” The roadmap identifies work on quantum-safe blob designs, which support Ethereum’s rollup-based scaling model, as an urgent priority.

According to the proposal, several cryptographic systems currently used by Ethereum, including BLS signatures, KZG commitments, and ECDSA, would eventually be replaced with post-quantum alternatives. The direction aligns with the post-quantum cryptography standards finalized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2024.

Protocol redesign targets faster verification and smaller overhead

Alongside cryptographic upgrades, the roadmap introduces changes intended to simplify how Ethereum validates transactions. Rather than requiring every node to re-execute every transaction, the proposal recommends recursive STARK-based verification, where one prover performs the intensive computation while the rest of the network verifies a compact cryptographic proof.

The proposal also continues work first discussed by the Ethereum Foundation earlier this year. In February 2026, the Foundation released an initial strawmap examining quantum threats facing Ethereum, while Buterin separately detailed the network’s quantum security risks. The latest roadmap develops those earlier discussions into a more detailed implementation strategy.

Meanwhile, the technical proposal arrives as the Ethereum Foundation continues internal restructuring. The organization has reduced its workforce by roughly 20%, eliminating about 54 positions, while also cutting its budget by a targeted 40%. Recent departures have included protocol contributors Hsiao-Wei Wang, Tomasz Stańczak, Tim Beiko, and Barnabé Monnot.

Community discussion on X has largely focused on the roadmap’s technical detail rather than broad ambitions. Several participants noted that the draft identifies specific signature schemes, cryptographic replacements, and state-size objectives instead of relying on high-level goals.

For now, the roadmap remains a working draft rather than a finalized implementation schedule. According to the document, the upcoming Hegotá fork is expected to be the final major network upgrade before Ethereum enters what Buterin describes as the Lean Ethereum era, where privacy, scalability, and quantum resistance are treated as core protocol requirements rather than optional additions.

Ben-Sasson also welcomed Buterin’s decision to make privacy and quantum-resistant cryptography top priorities.

“Quantum safety—excellent,” he wrote on X. “Glad to see this as a high priority.”

But he argued Ethereum shouldn’t wait three to four years to get there.

“‘3-4 years’ as the timeline is way too long,” Ben-Sasson said. “Especially for quantum readiness.”

Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist struck a similar tone. Calling the roadmap’s vision “really cool,” Feist said on X that features like near-instant transaction finality and dramatically higher throughput could transform the network.

His biggest concern, however, was speed. “But 3-4 years is very slow,” Feist wrote. “I think we should be ambitious and get it done in ~1 year.”

Feist even suggested recent advances in AI tools, including large language models, could help accelerate development.

Not every discussion centered on timing. Some researchers dug into the roadmap’s technical details.

Ben-Sasson questioned one of Buterin’s proposals to introduce new types of blockchain “state,” essentially the data Ethereum stores about accounts, balances and smart contracts.

“New kinds of state: what does that mean? Who is affected by it?” he asked, calling for more explanation.

Meanwhile, Ethereum Foundation researcher Barnabé Monnot focused on how the roadmap had changed from an earlier version released in February.

You think you research crypto brands on Forbes or CoinDesk. You don’t. You ask ChatGPT. And ChatGPT already picked its favorites.

The Gatekeeper Nobody Noticed

For twenty years, if you wanted to know whether a financial brand was trustworthy, you went to established media. Forbes. The Wall Street Journal. Bloomberg. CoinDesk for crypto specifically.

Those outlets shaped perception. Their coverage decided who was credible and who wasn’t. A positive Forbes profile moved markets. A negative Bloomberg investigation destroyed reputations.

That era just ended.

On July 2, 2026, PR firm 5W released The Crypto Trust Index, research scoring how ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI answer when a first-time buyer asks whether a crypto brand is safe.

The finding: AI engines do not stay neutral. They answer with a verdict, recommend, hedge, or warn.

There is no neutral tier.

The gatekeeper didn’t disappear. It just moved. And almost nobody noticed.

What The Research Actually Found

5W ran 60+ first-time-buyer prompts across six question types, five times per engine, across 25 crypto exchanges and brands.

The results are unambiguous:

Coinbase Trust Score 94. The default first-time-buyer recommendation across all five AI engines.

Kraken 87. Cited for proof-of-reserves and clean operating record.

Fidelity Crypto 82. Inherited trust from a traditional-finance brand the engines extend without re-litigation.

Gemini 77. Recommended on US regulatory posture.

And then there’s everyone else. Hedged. Warned about. Or simply absent from AI recommendations entirely.

If your brand doesn’t appear in an AI recommendation, you don’t exist for the majority of first-time buyers. Not because you’re not listed on Google. Because the AI didn’t mention you.

Why This Changes Everything About Crypto Marketing

Traditional crypto marketing operated on a simple premise: get coverage, build awareness, convert buyers.

The funnel looked like this:

• User hears about crypto
• User Googles crypto brand
• User reads reviews on media sites
• User decides to buy or not

AI just collapsed that funnel into a single step:

• User asks ChatGPT “is [brand] safe?”
• ChatGPT answers with a verdict
• User acts on the verdict

The media layer, the reviews, the coverage, the PR campaigns, still exists. But it now feeds AI training data rather than reaching users directly.

Your brand’s reputation isn’t built on the Forbes article anymore. It’s built on what Forbes said that the AI learned from.

And you can’t see what the AI learned. You can only see the verdict it delivers.

The Uncomfortable Finding AI Inherited Traditional Finance Bias

One of the most significant findings from the 5W research: brokerage-backed crypto brands inherit trust the engines extend on day one.

Fidelity Crypto scored 82, not because Fidelity has been in crypto longer or built better technology than native crypto companies. But because Fidelity has decades of traditional finance credibility, and AI engines absorbed that credibility without question.

This is a structural bias baked into how AI systems were trained. They learned from the same financial media, regulatory filings, and institutional coverage that already favored traditional finance brands.

So when a first-time buyer asks ChatGPT whether Fidelity Crypto is safe, ChatGPT answers with the confidence that comes from decades of institutional reputation, even if Fidelity’s crypto product launched last year.

Meanwhile, a crypto-native brand that’s been operating for ten years, has proof-of-reserves, and has never been hacked starts from zero in AI trust scores if it doesn’t have extensive mainstream media coverage.

The playing field isn’t level. The AI decided who starts with an advantage.

The New Rules Of Crypto Marketing

The 5W research identified exactly what moves AI trust scores:

What works:

• Proof-of-reserves (auditable, citable, verifiable)
• Clean regulatory record (no enforcement actions, no major incidents)
• Traditional finance association (legacy credibility transfers automatically)
• Mainstream media coverage (feeds the training data that shapes AI responses)

What doesn’t work:

• Marketing campaigns (AI doesn’t factor in ad spend)
• Social media presence (follower counts don’t move trust scores)
• Community building (Discord size is invisible to AI trust evaluation)
• Sponsored content (AI learns to discount promotional material)

This is a fundamental inversion of how crypto brands have marketed themselves for the last decade.

The entire playbook, build community, drive social engagement, get influencer coverage, sponsor events, doesn’t register in AI trust evaluations.

A clean audit moves your score. A viral tweet doesn’t.

Why “The On-Ramp Moved” Is The Most Important Sentence In Crypto Marketing Right Now

5W’s research includes one line that should be required reading for every crypto marketer:

“The on-ramp moved. The first trust decision now happens inside an AI answer, before a buyer reaches any site.”

Let that land.

Before a first-time buyer visits your website, reads your whitepaper, checks your social proof, or sees your ad, they’ve already formed an opinion based on what an AI told them.

If the AI recommended you, they arrive pre-convinced.

If the AI hedged on you, they arrive skeptical.

If the AI warned about you, they don’t arrive at all.

Your entire marketing infrastructure, your website, your content, your community, your influencer partnerships, is operating on users who’ve already been filtered by an AI they didn’t realize was making a judgment call.

The Winners And Losers This Creates

Established brands with clean records win.

Coinbase at 94 doesn’t need to convince AI engines. Years of regulatory engagement, mainstream media coverage, and transparent operations built a reputation that AI absorbed and now distributes to every first-time buyer who asks.

Traditional finance entrants win immediately.

Fidelity at 82 on day one of its crypto product. The institutional credibility transfers. No crypto track record required.

Crypto-native brands without mainstream coverage lose.

If your brand built its reputation on crypto Twitter, crypto influencer networks, and community Discord servers, none of that feeds AI training data in a way that builds trust scores. You’re invisible to the new gatekeeper.

Brands with any regulatory history lose badly.

The AI doesn’t forget. A 2019 enforcement action, a 2021 hack, a 2023 regulatory warning, all of it is in the training data. All of it surfaces when a first-time buyer asks if you’re safe.

The AI doesn’t distinguish between “resolved issue from five years ago” and “current problem.” It just knows it exists.

What This Means For Crypto’s Future

The trust infrastructure of crypto just got centralized, not by a government, not by a regulator, but by AI systems trained on data those systems chose.

This is ironic in the deepest possible way. Crypto was supposed to be decentralized. Trustless. Permissionless. No gatekeeper deciding who’s legitimate.

But now five AI engines, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI, are making trust judgments about 25 crypto brands, and their answers are shaping where billions of dollars flow.

That’s not decentralization. That’s a new kind of centralization that’s harder to see because it’s embedded in a conversational interface rather than a regulatory filing.

And unlike a regulator, you can’t appeal an AI trust score.

The Marketing Question Nobody’s Asking Yet

If AI engines are the new gatekeepers of crypto trust, and those engines are trained on data that favors traditional finance brands and mainstream media coverage, what happens to the next wave of crypto innovation?

A genuinely novel DeFi protocol, a new blockchain architecture, an innovative crypto product that launches without institutional backing or mainstream media coverage, starts from zero in AI trust scores.

Not because it’s less safe. Not because it’s less innovative. But because the AI hasn’t seen enough reliable coverage of it to form a verdict.

The early-stage crypto project that needs trust the most, to attract first-time users, to build legitimacy, to grow, is the one that AI trust evaluation helps the least.

That creates a structural disadvantage for innovation and a structural advantage for incumbents.

Which is exactly what crypto was supposed to fix in finance.

What Comes Next

Every crypto brand needs to answer a new strategic question: What does ChatGPT say about us when a first-time buyer asks if we’re safe?

Not “what does our marketing say.” Not “what do our users say on Twitter.” What does the AI say?

Because that’s the first answer the next billion users are going to get.

And the brands that understand this shift, that start building for AI trust evaluation rather than traditional marketing metrics, will have an enormous advantage over the next three years.

The gatekeeper moved. Most crypto brands are still marketing to the old one.

Ask ChatGPT right now if your favorite crypto brand is safe. Then tell me what it said, because that answer is shaping more buying decisions than any ad campaign you’ve ever seen.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw flash volatility into Monday’s Wall Street open as markets reacted to tech company Strategy’s new BTC sales.

Key points:

• Bitcoin reacts sharply to news that Strategy had sold nearly 3,600 BTC.
• A rebound during the US trading session failed to recoup more than half of the day’s losses.
• Strategy may reveal a compensatory BTC buy, an analyst suggests.

Bitcoin erases holiday gains on Strategy sale

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping to near $61,000, sparking daily losses of more than 4%.

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

A rebound at the start of the US session pushed the price higher before settling around the $62,000 mark at the time of writing.

Strategy revealed that it sold 3,588 BTC through July 5 to fund preferred stock dividend payments and replenish cash reserves.

Commenting on the latest BTC price moves, X commentator Exitpump suggested that the Strategy news was the catalyst for an already weakening market.

“Bearish signs were there, posted about it yesterday, news about Saylor selling just triggered more dump,” they wrote. 

“Funding is still pretty positive. That was it i guess. Short term bounce from 61.2k and then more dump imo.”

Exitpump referred to funding rates across exchanges, with a post on Sunday eyeing a buyer entity using a time-weighted average price (TWAP) method to add exposure.

“Once the TWAP buyer backs off, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a fast flush lower,” they wrote, anticipating a price ceiling at $64,000.

BTC chart with funding rate data. Source: Exitpump/X

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital appeared unsurprised by the behavior, reiterating similarities between current price action and the latter portion of the 2022 bear market.

“Generally, Bitcoin is doing the same exact thing now as it was doing in the Summer of 2022,” he told X followers.

An accompanying chart showed the 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) trend line potentially becoming new resistance, just like four years ago.

BTC/USD one-month chart with 21, 50EMA. Source: Rekt Capital/X

Analyst: Strategy may reveal more BTC buys

Others remained upbeat, with trader Jelle eyeing bullish divergences on weekly time frames on the BTC/USD relative strength index (RSI).

Related: $60.4K Becomes ‘most important area’: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

“I have seen the $BTC chart look much worse than this over the years,” he argued.

BTC/USDT one-week chart with RSI data. Source: Jelle/X

As Cointelegraph continues to report, various onchain indicators have printed reversal signals absent since late 2022.

Crypto trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe, meanwhile, suggested that Strategy itself could end up delivering a market rebound.

“The markets are reacting with a shock response to this news. $BTC drops, and it’s clearly valuing the potential impact that Strategy can continue to sell Bitcoin going forward,” he wrote on X. 

“However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a message in the coming days that they’ve been buying more $BTC than they’ve sold.”

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin is trading below $64,000 after rallying more than 6% last week.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $526.64 million in net outflows, marking an eighth consecutive week of withdrawals.
• Renewed geopolitical concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are limiting demand for risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading slightly lower on Monday after climbing more than 6% last week, with buyers struggling to push the cryptocurrency above the key $64,000 resistance level.

Although last week’s rebound improved short-term sentiment, persistent institutional selling and renewed geopolitical uncertainty continue to cap upside momentum.

For now, Bitcoin remains caught between improving technical conditions and cautious macroeconomic sentiment.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs extend historic outflow streak

Institutional demand for Bitcoin remains under pressure. According to CoinGlass data, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $526.64 million in net outflows during the previous week.

The withdrawals mark the eighth consecutive week of net redemptions, extending the longest outflow streak since spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading.

If institutional investors continue reducing exposure this week, Bitcoin could face renewed selling pressure despite last week’s rebound.

Global geopolitical uncertainty remains another obstacle for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency rallied last week after easing tensions between the United States and Iran briefly improved investor sentiment.

However, optimism has faded as concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz resurfaced.

Reports that Iran may introduce new service fees for vessels passing through the strategically important shipping route have renewed uncertainty, while the United States and several Gulf allies continue opposing such measures.

The lingering geopolitical risks have kept investors cautious, limiting demand for higher-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin price outlook: Bulls defend long-term support

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin continues to trade above a critical long-term support level.

Last week’s rally allowed BTC to reclaim the 200-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $62,867 after bouncing from an ascending trendline that has supported prices since early 2023.

Holding above this level keeps the broader recovery intact. If buyers maintain control above the 200-week SMA, Bitcoin could extend its advance toward the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $65,520, measured from the August 2024 low to the October 2025 record high.

On the daily timeframe, Bitcoin continues to trade below its major moving averages. The cryptocurrency remains beneath the 50-day EMA at $65,744, the 100-day EMA at $69,455, and the 200-day EMA at $75,471, leaving the broader trend tilted to the downside despite recent gains.

Immediate resistance is located around $64,004. A successful breakout above that level could allow Bitcoin to challenge the 50-day EMA, with additional upside targets at the 100-day EMA, the 200-day EMA, and eventually the major resistance area near $84,410.

While momentum has improved, the daily RSI near 49 and a positive MACD crossover indicate buyers are gradually regaining strength, although confirmation of a sustained uptrend is still lacking.

The 200-week SMA at $62,867 remains the most important support level in the near term.

A sustained move below that area would weaken the current recovery and expose the long-term ascending trendline near $58,000. If selling pressure intensifies further, Bitcoin could revisit its yearly low around $57,800.

Bitcoin has recovered significantly from recent lows, but the rally is encountering resistance just below $64,000.

Persistent ETF outflows, geopolitical uncertainty, and overhead technical resistance continue to limit upside potential.

As long as BTC holds above its 200-week SMA, the recovery remains intact. However, buyers will need to reclaim $64,004 and then $65,744 to build momentum for a broader move higher.

SpaceX (SPCX) is set to officially join Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index on July 7 after raising $75 billion in the largest iPO of all time in mid-June.

The stock immediately surged to as high as $225 in the days after the June 12 IPO,only to deflate to $162 last week. Now the big question is what happens after it is included in the Nasdaq index.

The answer is not necessarily bullish when viewed through the lens of history.

Past data suggests that index inclusion, often viewed as a positive milestone, is not a reliable bullish signal, particularly after a stock has already experienced a significant rally.

That’s because, in many cases, investor optimism is already elevated and peaked, passive fund buying has largely been anticipated, and expectations are priced in.

The two most notable recent additions to the Nasdaq 100 highlight this pattern.

Palantir (PLTR), the software giant, joined the index on Dec. 23, 2024, but the stock peaked around the time of its inclusion and declined roughly 25% in the weeks that followed.

Non-qualified investors will be allowed to trade under testing requirements and limits capped at roughly 300,000 rubles (around $3,800) per year, while market participants will have until July 1, 2027, to enter the official registry.

Russia’s complicated crypto history

The developments follow years of resistance from the Bank of Russia. In January 2022, the central bank called for a broad ban on crypto trading, mining, and usage, citing risks to financial stability and monetary policy.

Russia’s government was less hostile. The Finance Ministry pushed a regulatory bill over the central bank’s objections, keeping crypto payments prohibited while creating a path for licensed trading.

After the country’s invasion of Ukraine started, President Vladimir Putin signed a law in 2022 tightening the ban on using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services in Russia.

Cross-border use became the exception after sanctions cut Russian banks off from parts of the global payments system. Russia legalized crypto mining and an experimental cross-border settlement regime in 2024, giving the central bank authority to approve selected firms for foreign trade transactions.

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has also been moving into the cryptocurrency space, with the rollout of cash-settled futures contracts tied to various coins.

VTB and T-Bank, two other major financial institutions, are working on digital depositories after the law takes effect, RBC’s report added.

Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury company, stepped up its buying pace last week, purchasing 42,197 ether (ETH) as chairman Thomas Lee pointed to improving prospects for U.S. crypto legislation as a catalyst for the asset.

The latest purchase, worth roughly $74 million based on ether’s current price of around $1,750, lifted the company’s holdings to 5.74 million ETH, according to a Monday update. The stash is now worth about $10 billion and represents 4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, inching closer to the firm’s goal of cornering 5% of the asset’s supply.

The company also held 206 bitcoin, $527 million in cash and marketable securities, plus stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, bringing its total crypto, cash and investment holdings to $11.1 billion.

The acquisition marks an increase from the prior week’s purchase of 27,084 ETH, though it remains below the six-figure weekly buying pace BitMine maintained earlier this year.

Bitmine buys as Strategy sells

Bitmine’s continued buying contrasts with a shift at Strategy (MSTR), the largest digital asset treasury and corporate bitcoin holder, which sold about $216 million worth of BTC to raise cash. The sale marked a rare reduction in Strategy’s bitcoin holdings and underscored the funding pressures the company faces amid the crypto market downturn and increased dividend obligations.