Weekly Wrap: Bitcoin Nears Two-Year Low

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Leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC ) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH ) reached their lowest levels of the year over the past week. In late afternoon trading on June 26, Bitcoin was trading at $59,900 U.S., near its lowest level in two years and down more than 30% year-to-date. Ethereum’s price is down nearly 50% on the year at $1,580 U.S. Bitcoin has fallen below the key support level of $60,000 U.S. while Ethereum struggles to break through resistance at $2,000 U.S. Other cryptocurrencies such as Solana (CRYPTO: $SOL ) and XRP (CRYPTO: $XRP ) also fell over the past trading week and are each down more than 40% at the end of the year’s first half. The total crypto market cap has declined by 30% to nearly $2 trillion U.S. in this year’s first half. A big issue continues to be outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs). U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest daily outflows of the month on June 25 as Bitcoin’s price dropped below the $60,000 U.S. level. The latest withdrawals have pushed year-to-date net outflows from BTC ETFs to $4.6 billion U.S. Analysts warn that investor sentiment towards digital assets remains weak. Here’s what else happened with cryptocurrencies over the past week… Kraken Buys 15% Stake In DeFi Lender Aave: Crypto exchange Kraken is in talks to acquire a 15% stake in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave at a $385 million U.S. valuation. A deal would see privately held Kraken invest 35,000 Ethereum in return for 250,000 AAVE tokens and a 15% equity stake in the DeFi lender. In all, the deal is worth $71 million U.S. Aave is the largest decentralized lender and enables users to lend and borrow cryptocurrency assets without the use of intermediaries. Strategy Says It Has Enough Cash To Fund Its Dividend: Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (NASDAQ: $MSTR ) said it has enough cash on hand to fund the dividend on its preferred stock for another 10 months. The company is trying to soothe investor concerns about the dividend’s sustainability. The preferred stock (NASDAQ: $STRC ), which pays a twice monthly dividend that yields more than 12%, has broken its par value of $100 U.S. per share and fallen 23% in June. SBI Holdings Acquires Bitbank: Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings (OTC: $SBHGF ) has agreed to buy cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank for $289 million U.S. The Tokyo-based bank said the purchase of Bitbank will expand its crypto business. SBI Holdings previously bought crypto exchange Bitpoint in 2022. Bitbank is among Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with 24-hour trading volumes of $50 million U.S. Binance To No Longer Provide Service In Europe: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has told customers in the European Union (EU) that it is suspending services because it will not have an operating license in place by July 1. Users across Europe have been emailed and told the exchange is no longer accepting new registrations and will restrict services across the EU. The move comes after Binance failed to secure an operating license in Greece, which would have given it access to the entire European Union. Kalshi Targets $40 Billion Valuation Ahead Of IPO: Prediction market Kalshi is seeking to raise new capital at a valuation of $40 billion U.S. The new valuation is nearly double the $22 billion U.S. that the company was valued at in its last funding round and comes as Kalshi says it is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). The new $40 billion U.S. valuation would put Kalshi ahead of rival prediction market Polymarket, which was last valued at $15 billion U.S. Meta Platforms Is Building A Prediction Market App: Technology giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: $META ) is reportedly developing a new prediction market app called “Arena.” Meta is developing a smartphone app similar to Polymarket and Kalshi that would allow users to participate in prediction markets. Initially, users would not bet real money on the platform. The app will use a video game-like points system instead. However, Meta has not ruled out allowing real money bets in the future. Ethereum Foundation Cuts 20% Of Workforce: The Ethereum Foundation is cutting 20% of its workforce. The Foundation said that it is eliminating 54 full-time employees, equivalent to 20% of its workforce, as it concludes a months-long reorganization process. In a bog post, the Foundation said that the changes will give it “the structure, activities, and people necessary for execution on the critical tasks ahead.” HIVE’s Stock Jumps 20% On Positive Research Results: Shares HIVE Digital Technologies (NASDAQ: $HIVE ) rose 20% after the company produced positive research results on its microchip cluster. Specifically, HIVE, which is a Bitcoin miner turned artificial intelligence (A.I.) infrastructure provider, showcased research from Columbia University on its graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster in Paraguay. The study found that its Nvidia (NASDAQ: $NVDA ) A40 GPUs delivered performance that was comparable to newer systems for certain workloads. Polymarket Used Fake Information On Social Media: A media report claimed that prediction market Polymarket paid social media creators to promote fake bets and fabricate winnings online. An investigation by The Wall Street Journal said that Polymarket spread false and misleading information on social media as it promoted its prediction market to investors. The newspaper said it reviewed 1,105 videos posted by 10 social media creators and found that 70% of the featured wagers were not real. Hut 8 Pays $2.35 Million To Settle Lawsuit: Hut 8 (NASDAQ: $HUT ) has agreed to pay $2.35 million U.S. to settle a class action lawsuit related to its 2023 merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp. The investor lawsuit alleged that Hut 8 misled investors in connection with the all-stock merger that was finalized in November 2023. Investors claimed that Hut 8, which has pivoted to artificial intelligence (A.I.) data centres, overstated the U.S. Bitcoin transaction's benefits while failing to disclose energy curtailment and internet connectivity issues.

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