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The cryptocurrency market is suffering on Tuesday, reflecting concerns about the global economy and lower liquidity in the summer. Bitcoin (COIN:RONNNUST) fell below $65,000 for the first time since mid-May, hitting a low of $64,237, and was trading at $64,500 at the time of writing. Ether (COIN:RONNNUST) is down 3% at $3,405, while other top 10 coins like Ripple (COIN:XRPUSD), Solana (COIN:SOLUSD), and Toncoin (COIN:TONCOINUSD) faced even greater declines of -4.8%, 6.9%, and 8.7%, respectively.
Meme coins, including Dogecoin (COIN:DOGEUSD), Shiba Inu (COIN:RONNNUST), and Pepe (COIN:RONNNUST), also underperformed on June 18, falling by 7.3%, 5.3%, and 9.1%, respectively. The market capitalization of these meme coins decreased by about 11%, while trading volume surged, indicating intense selling pressure. The previous increase in hashrate and speculation on these coins are stabilizing, influenced by broader market conditions and adjustments after recent highs.
On June 17, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs faced withdrawals totaling $145.9 million, continuing a three-day trend of outflows. Fidelity’s ETF (COIN:RONNNUST) recorded the largest loss, with $92 million withdrawn, while Ark’s ETF (COIN:RONNNUST) saw outflows of $50 million. In contrast, Grayscale’s ETF (COIN:RONNNUST) had a smaller outflow of $3 million. This withdrawal trend coincides with a drop in Bitcoin prices, hitting the lowest value since mid-May.
CleanSpark (COIN:RONNNUST), a U.S. company specializing in renewable energy Bitcoin mining, confirmed the purchase of five mining facilities in Georgia. The $25.8 million deal is expected to close immediately. These facilities have a total processing capacity of over 3.7 exahashes per second and operate with a power range between 8 and 15 megawatts, totaling 60 megawatts. The company anticipates a significant increase in its total mining capacity, reaching over 20 exahashes per second by the end of the month. Additionally, the facilities include special contracts to help balance the local grid’s energy demand.
High summer temperatures in North America may finally slow the continuous increase in Bitcoin hashrate, providing some relief to miners facing reduced profit margins. The sector was already under pressure after the halving, which halved mining rewards, even as the hashrate hit record highs. Heatwaves force miners to reduce operations or increase cooling expenses, impacting performance. This operational cooling is expected to lower the hashrate, as seen in previous summers, possibly easing mining due to reduced competition.
The HashKey Group, an Asia-based cryptocurrency financial services company, announced that its platform token, HSK, will be officially listed in the third quarter of this year. Before the listing, the company plans to distribute an airdrop to the community at the end of this month. The HSK token, which follows the ERC-20 standard with one billion units available, will be integrated into the company’s products and applications. About 65% of the total will be allocated to ecosystem growth.
The recently launched DJT token on the Solana blockchain saw an impressive increase in value following unconfirmed reports that former U.S. President Donald Trump is associated with the project. If true, it would be the first time a presidential candidate from a major political party launched a cryptocurrency. However, the authenticity of these reports is still under question, with skeptical comments dominating the crypto community and bets on Polymarket giving only a 7% chance of it being true.
An Ethereum whale known by the wallet address 0xf07 sold $35.4 million worth of Ethereum (COIN:RONNNUST) in the past two days, as the price of ETH fell below $3,500. This massive sale occurs as other long-term holders also begin to reduce their ETH holdings. The whale, who acquired ETH in the 2015 Initial Coin Offering at just $0.31 per token, still holds a large amount of Ethereum despite the recent sales, indicating possible caution amid an unstable market.
A meme coin whale made a substantial profit of $3.7 million by selling TRUMP tokens during the current market downturn. The whale, identified by the wallet address “0x52C0,” traded over 171,000 TRUMP tokens for 414 Ether, equivalent to $1.44 million, over the past two days. Despite the sale, 28% of their wallet still consists of TRUMP tokens.
Famous rapper Drake faced a significant loss after betting $500,000 in Bitcoin (COIN:RONNNUST) on the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals. The bet, which would have yielded $1.375 million if successful, did not materialize following the Boston Celtics’ victory. Additionally, Drake has a similar pending bet on the NHL Stanley Cup finals, where he backed the Edmonton Oilers with the same amount, with a potential return of $1.025 million.
New privacy features have been added to MetaMask, allowing users to customize security and privacy settings. ConsenSys, the company behind MetaMask, announced the update to its privacy policy, aiming to improve user consent, transparency, and control over personal data. The changes include better management and processing of IP addresses and greater clarity in user data operations.
Fox Corporation (COIN:RONNNUST), responsible for channels like Fox News and Fox Sports, added TIME as its first editorial partner in the Verify Protocol, a blockchain-based platform on Polygon. This system, developed in collaboration with Polygon Labs, allows cryptographic verification of media content, ensuring users can confirm its origin from a trusted publisher. The protocol also aims to facilitate licensing agreements and create new commercial opportunities through smart contracts.
Infineo, an innovative blockchain-based insurance company, announced the creation of the first tokenized life insurance policy. Using the Provenance network, the company transformed $9.4 million in policies into tokens, enabling decentralized management and increasing transparency in the process. The fusion of blockchain technology with the trillion-dollar life insurance market promises greater efficiency and accessibility.
Ronin Blockchain (COIN:RONNNUST), specializing in gaming, announced the launch of Ronin zkEVM, an advanced Layer 2 chain supporting Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. Developed with a customized version of the Polygon Chain Development Kit, the Ronin zkEVM aims to expand the network’s capacity to support more users and facilitate the growth of partner game studios, increasing scalability and security in transactions within the Ronin gaming ecosystem.
Sonic, a Layer 2 network on Solana focused on gaming, raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Bitkraft Ventures with participation from other investors, bringing its valuation to $100 million. The platform, developed by Mirror World Labs, uses the HyperGrid Framework technology to optimize horizontal scaling on Solana. With the promise of a robust infrastructure for gaming, Sonic plans to launch its mainnet and its own token in the third quarter, aiming for global expansion and the integration of more game studios.
The U.S. Department of Justice opposed Virgil Griffith’s request to reduce his 63-month prison sentence, imposed for violating sanctions against North Korea. In the Southern District of New York court, prosecutor Damian Williams argued against reducing the sentence to 51 months, emphasizing that Griffith knowingly helped a hostile nation evade sanctions using cryptocurrencies.
A bank in China uncovered a complex embezzlement and money laundering scheme involving former executives and a former shareholder. Using cryptocurrencies, they allegedly laundered around $248 million. According to investigations, in 2020, former leaders of the Bank of Huludao and accomplices diverted 2.6 billion yuan, part of which was converted into foreign currency and transferred to companies in Hong Kong. Chen, one of those involved, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for money laundering.
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