Stocks just hit new highs. So why isn't BTC?

There’s never a dull moment onchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

$77,086.34

󰍾

1.70%

Ethereum

$2,416.89

󰍾

3.00%

Tether

$0.9999

󰢸

0.01%

BNB

$695.56

󰢸

2.24%

XRP

$1.47

󰢸

5.04%

USDC

$1.00

󰍲

0.00%

See the latest prices

MARKET BYTES

BTC remains in tight range as stocks surge to new all-time highs

In a pattern that has repeated throughout much of this year, stocks hit new all-time highs this week on falling oil prices and AI prices — while crypto markets remained in a holding pattern. 

As Bloomberg noted on Tuesday, “Brent crude fell below $80 on bets a deal would avoid major US airstrikes on Iran and spur energy flows. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped previous records. The Nasdaq 100 rose 3.4%. A key gauge of chipmakers was set for its biggest four-day rally since 2020.”

Bitcoin, on the other hand, ticked upward slightly to around $64,400 as of Tuesday afternoon — but has been stuck in a range of around half of last year’s all-time high for several weeks now as markets wait for new catalysts. That said, several negative headlines that might have soured markets in the past were also shaken off by the biggest crypto by market cap. As Decrypt put it, “Perhaps a sign for where we’re at in the market cycle…”

Here’s more news you should know… 

Strategy sold another $104 million worth of BTC 

For the third time this year, the bitcoin accumulation giant Strategy sold some of its BTC last week. The firm let go of 1,638 BTC for around $104.7 million and used the funds to help pay for the dividend on its STRC preferred stock product. The firm also sold $291 million of its regular stock and bought back $81 million in STRC shares. 

What does this all mean? “The moves remain small relative to Strategy’s balance sheet, but are the latest to help the company adapt to mounting pressure on both Bitcoin and the financing model that helped fund its accumulation strategy,” notes Bloomberg. 

Meanwhile, the leading Ethereum accumulation firm, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, continued pushing toward its goal of owning 5% of all circulating ETH. The firm, which has purchased ETH every week for more than a year now, bought another 10,399 ETH, worth about $19.5 million — bringing its total holdings to 5.8 million ETH (about 4.8% of the circulating supply). About 85% of the firm’s ETH is staked, generating an annualized revenue the firm forecasts at around $247 million. 

Wells Fargo, BlackRock launch new tokenization products 

Wells Fargo announced that it will begin offering tokenized deposits to some commercial clients later this year, with the program starting by offering 24/7 transactions between U.S. dollars and British pounds using the bank’s own blockchain. The program will expand to more currency pairs over time. 

JP Morgan and Citi already offer similar services, which are designed to compete with the rapid and cheap cross-border transactions that stablecoins make possible. 

In other Wall Street news, BlackRock launched two new tokenized money market funds, joining a variety of similar products designed for the management of stablecoin issuers’ reserves. “Both funds will invest primarily in cash, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and overnight repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Treasuries,” notes the Block. 

SEEKING CLARITY

What are people saying about the CLARITY Act?

With the Senate heading on a month-long recess after this week, time is running out to pass the crypto regulatory package known as the CLARITY Act before the midterm elections.

Lawmakers, investors, industry insiders, and regulators have all called for the bill’s passage. With the clock ticking, here’s what experts are saying… 

“…Once you have regulatory clarity, builders have certainty and consumers know what to expect.” – Chris Dixon, a16z crypto managing partner

In a recent podcast interview with a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen, Dixon noted that last year’s GENIUS Act is the chief reason the stablecoin sector has seen so much momentum and adoption from major financial institutions. Continuing to operate without a similar law for the “other 85% of the market,” he says, would be like having “a regulatory framework for cellphones, but not for cell towers.” (a16z is a Coinbase investor.) 

"Congress is on the verge of making a terrible mistake by squandering the opportunity to appropriately regulate this industry that has fought for clarity for so long." – Anthony Scaramucci 

In a recent op-ed, the Skybridge Capital founder called the bill “the most important piece of financial market legislation Congress has considered in years” and warned that a failure to pass it could endanger America’s leadership in finance and digital-asset innovation. Scaramucci added that ethics provisions (which are still being negotiated) are critical and should be included, but at the same time, Congress shouldn’t let “perfect become the enemy of good.” 

“We have to get this done. Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules." — CFTC Chair Michael Selig 

In a recent interview, Selig urged lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act, in order to avoid a situation where there’s no unified framework of rules and regulations for the industry. Without a law, he said, much of the rulemaking process will be left to regulatory agencies and state governments, creating a patchwork set of rules that Selig says would be “really bad for business.”

NUMBERS

$50.6 billion

The total trading volume on Polymarket and Kalshi, the leading prediction markets, last month — a record high. Kalshi maintains a dominant position, seeing $37.7 billion of that total, but Polymarket saw its U.S. activity rise by 54% last month, in part due to interest around the World Cup. 

$1.8 billion

The price Mastercard reportedly paid for the stablecoin startup BVNK in a deal announced in March. The acquisition officially closed this week, and Mastercard said it aims to use BVNK’s technology to help fintechs and enterprises utilize stablecoins and tokenized assets for use cases like B2B payments, payouts, and company treasuries. 

10,000 BTC

The amount in BTC — worth around $640 million —  the government of Bhutan has pledged to Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special administrative region in the country’s south. The funds will be managed by 3iQ Corp, which will employ low-risk, market-neutral investment strategies to earn a yield of around 5% annually.

TOKEN TRIVIA

What is a prediction market?

Find the answer below.

Trivia Answer