Binance is trying to enter the Philippines market through a local partner. Regulators are making clear it won’t be simple.

The country’s central bank said neither the world’s largest crypto exchange nor its local partner, BlockShoals Technologies Inc., holds the necessary license to operate as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the country, BitPinas media reported.

The license, issued by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is essential to facilitate crypto payment and transaction rails and is separate from any approval granted by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

CoinDesk reached out to Binance for a comment.

Binance has previously been active in the country. But in 2023, the SEC noted it was operating without a license. It ordered internet service providers and app stores to block the exchange the following year.

Last month, Binance said it is working with BlockShoals, a local fintech company that received initial SEC clearance in November under the regulator’s sandbox framework. The sandbox, called StratBox (Strategic Sandbox), is a controlled, supervised environment for fintech and crypto firms to test financial services.

According to BitPinas, the central bank has explicitly stated that participation in the sandbox doesn’t substitute for central bank licensing, and entities seeking to operate in the country must comply with both frameworks independently.

The report also says the SEC revised its language in the sandbox deal, describing Binance as a global crypto-asset service provider rather than a global VASP, a narrower designation. The revised terms also require BlockShoals to integrate its systems with a licensed domestic VASP within 90 days before any user onboarding through Binance infrastructure can begin.

Binance is back at the door. Whether it gets in, and on whose terms, remains to be seen.

BlackRock is close to launching a bitcoin fund that pays an income.

The world’s largest asset manager filed its fourth amendment for the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF on Tuesday, according to its SEC filing. The fund will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker BITA.

The income comes from options. The fund holds bitcoin and shares of IBIT, BlackRock’s $47 billion spot bitcoin ETF. Each month it sells call options on those IBIT shares.

A call option gives the buyer the right to purchase the shares at a set price. The fund collects a fee, called a premium, for selling that right. That premium is the income it hands to investors.

As such, selling calls caps how much the fund gains if bitcoin rallies hard. Investors take steady income in exchange for giving up part of a big move. The fund plans to write calls on 25% to 35% of its value at a time.

The fee is the edge, however. BlackRock set the sponsor’s fee at 0.65%, which sits below the two largest covered-call bitcoin funds, YBTC and BTCI, which charge 0.95% and 0.99%, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in a post on X.

Balchunas added he expects the fund to launch very soon, noting BlackRock is under pressure to beat Goldman Sachs to market, with Goldman’s own bitcoin fund due to go live around July 1.

BlackRock already has the strongest distribution base in the spot bitcoin ETF market. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, has become the flagship product of the sector, regularly drawing the largest inflows and often absorbing capital even when rival funds see redemptions.

IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC have increasingly turned the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF market into a two-firm race, with smaller issuers often contributing little to daily flows.

The launch would be another step in turning bitcoin into an income product for mainstream investors. The filing shows the fund is already seeded and has started buying bitcoin and IBIT shares – a sign it is close to being ready.

As the chart shows, the Nasdaq 100 (US Tech 100 Mini on FXOpen) is down more than 6% from its recent highs, with Friday, 6 June, standing out as the defining session: a single-day loss of approximately 4.74% marked the worst daily performance of 2026.

The S&P 500 (US SPX 500 Mini on FXOpen) declined around 4% from its highs, while the Dow Jones (Wall Street 30 Mini on FXOpen) posted a more contained loss of approximately 3%. Investors and traders are now asking the same question: Is this the beginning of a deeper correction, or simply an isolated bout of volatility?

Why Did US Markets Sell Off?

The sell-off was driven by a combination of geopolitical, macroeconomic, and technical factors. On the geopolitical front, US/Israel–Iran negotiations have shown signs of escalation in recent days, injecting uncertainty into already fragile risk sentiment.

The primary catalyst, however, was Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls report, which showed 172,000 jobs added compared with forecasts of just 85,000. The stronger-than-expected reading sent the US dollar sharply higher, putting pressure on all inversely correlated assets, including equity indices, gold, silver, forex pairs, and cryptocurrencies.

Adding further headwinds, Wednesday’s CPI print showed inflation holding at 4.2% (Core CPI: 2.9%), potentially pushing the Fed, now under new Chair Warsh, to keep rates on hold for longer.

Technical Analysis of the Nasdaq 100

The chart presents two contrasting scenarios.

On the bullish side, the price defended the 28,200–28,300 support zone twice, triggering a rebound toward the 28,800–29,000 region, a key former support level now acting as resistance. A clean break above this level could suggest the broader uptrend remains intact, while a rejection might initiate a sequence of lower highs and lower lows.

On the bearish side, a confirmed break below the lows of 9 and 11 June could potentially expose the 25,800–26,000 zone — where a key former resistance and the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement of the late-March rally converge. An RSI divergence on the 4H time-frame, already visible before the sell-off, appears to be playing out in support of this scenario.

With dollar strength, sticky inflation, and geopolitical risk all weighing on sentiment, these levels could prove decisive in the sessions ahead.

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The May read on inflation cooled expectations for rapid monetary easing, as the U.S. consumer price index rose 4.2% year over year. The print reinforced a data-dependent stance from the Federal Reserve and tempered hopes for near-term rate cuts, even as some analysts still anticipate further rate hikes later in the year. The result added headwinds for risk assets, including Bitcoin and gold, while crude oil extended a rebound that has persisted through the year.

Bitcoin has endured a rough start to the year, sliding about 36% since January. Gold has fared no better, retreating roughly 23% from its January peak. In contrast, crude benchmarks have surged, with oil up more than 50% over the same span. The broad inflation backdrop thus remains a litmus test for capital allocation across risk assets and hedges alike.

“Today’s in-line CPI print keeps the Fed cautious, data-dependent, and in no rush to cut,” said Iggy Ioppe, chief investment officer at Theo, reflecting a common view among market participants that policymakers will await clearer signs of easing before altering the policy path. “For Bitcoin, an in-line print is unlikely to be a clean catalyst either way. It keeps liquidity expectations capped and risk assets trading more on positioning than on a fresh dovish impulse.”

Regarding gold, Ioppe noted that real yields remain a central driver. “Without imminent rate cuts, the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset stays elevated,” he said, underscoring why the precious metal has struggled as inflation data points oscillate between hot and not-so-hot readings.

Key takeaways

• The May CPI rose 4.2% year over year, reinforcing a data-dependent Fed stance and delaying expectations for near-term rate reductions.
• Bitcoin has fallen about 36% since January, while gold has declined roughly 23% from its January peak; oil has gained more than 50% in the same period, highlighting divergent macro reactions across assets.
• Institutional appetite for Bitcoin remains cautious. Markus Thielen of 10x Research says the macro setup isn’t yet supportive enough to trigger meaningful reallocations into Bitcoin by Wall Street players.
• Geopolitical and supply concerns—particularly around oil—add an extra layer of uncertainty that could influence inflation expectations and asset mix in the months ahead.
• Market odds on near-term rate moves reflect a wait-and-see approach: CME’s FedWatch tool pointed to a high likelihood—about 98%—of no change at the Fed’s upcoming meeting, underscoring how the inflation path governs risk appetite.

Policy backdrop and the road ahead

On the policy front, inflation dynamics continue to dictate the Federal Reserve’s posture. The latest CPI data align with a narrative of persistent price pressures that require careful monitoring before policymakers consider easing financial conditions. The debate among investors centers on whether inflation will meaningfully slow soon enough to justify rate cuts this year, or whether the data remains too fractious to permit a shift toward looser policy.

As traders parse these signals, the market environment remains fragile. The lack of a decisive shift in policy expectations suggests liquidity conditions may stay constrained for now, especially for assets that do not deliver yields. Tim Sun, a senior researcher at HashKey Group, captured the sentiment: “Only when inflation drops, rate cuts become viable, and liquidity improves alongside lower capital costs, will the overall risk appetite truly reverse.”

In practical terms, this macro tension translates into ongoing caution for digital-asset portfolios. Bitcoin, often viewed as a risk-on proxy in liquidity cycles, is susceptible to declines when macro catalysts loom large or when institutional demand remains tepid. The same backdrop has weighed on gold, despite its traditional role as a hedge, as real yields and the relative attractiveness of yield-bearing assets compete for capital.

Institutional stance and geopolitical risk

In the corporate and financial services sphere, the appetite for Bitcoin appears muted for the moment. Markus Thielen of 10x Research argued that the data released so far do not present a compelling case for a broad reallocation into Bitcoin by big investors. “We do not believe this data is sufficiently encouraging to prompt Wall Street investors to meaningfully reallocate into Bitcoin,” Thielen told Cointelegraph. He highlighted two key frictions: inflation’s persistence as a drag on risk sentiment, and geopolitical tensions—specifically Iran-related developments—that could compound supply-side volatility in oil markets and feed inflation expectations.

Thielen also warned that oil-supply disruptions could become more pronounced during the summer, potentially uplifting inflation expectations and complicating any near-term shift toward higher risk-taking in crypto and other speculative assets. In such an environment, the case for Bitcoin as a hedge or asymmetric bet remains nuanced, with outcomes highly dependent on the trajectory of inflation and the pace of liquidity normalization.

On the rate-front, the market is already looking past the immediate horizon. HashKey’s Sun emphasized that while rate hike expectations were heating up, the probability of a policy move this year remains relatively low unless inflation convincingly converges toward the Fed’s target. The market’s current pricing—reflected in Fed futures—suggests traders see little chance of an immediate policy shift, reinforcing a wait-and-see stance for both traditional and crypto markets.

What to watch next

Looking ahead, two threads are particularly consequential for markets and crypto builders alike. First, the inflation path remains the arbiter of policy and liquidity: sustained deceleration would tilt the balance toward rate cuts and a broader risk-on rally. Second, geopolitical tensions and commodity-market dynamics could reintroduce volatility by injecting uncertainty into inflation expectations and the pace of capital cost reductions.

Investors and developers should monitor upcoming inflation releases and any shifts in the Fed’s communications. Attention will also turn to global oil supply news and potential geopolitical flare-ups, which can ripple across equities, bonds, and crypto markets alike. As the data flush continues, the balance between inflation normalization and policy accommodation will likely shape how Bitcoin, gold, and other risk assets perform in the near term.

For a clearer read on the inflation trajectory, traders often turn to data trackers such as Trading Economics, which notes the CPI’s movement as part of a broader inflation picture, and to policy trackers like the Fed Funds futures market. CME’s FedWatch tool remains a widely cited barometer of policy expectations, currently signaling a minimal near-term likelihood of rate changes absent a sharper shift in inflation trends.