Bitcoin’s June slide has put bulls in a tough spot, with $13 billion in options set to expire on June 26 and bears holding the clear advantage. Meanwhile, one of Ethereum’s most prolific MEV bots, Jaredfromsubway.eth, got a taste of its own medicine, losing over $7.5 million in a counter-MEV attack.
Avalanche keeps landing institutional wins, yet AVAX coin just sank to a five-year low, proof that fundamentals aren’t always enough.
From bridge exploits to Tether’s pivot away from gold-backed stablecoins, it’s been a rough stretch across the board. Catch every story shaping the week in the full recap.
Bridge Flaw Lets Hacker Mint $4.67M in Fake Tokens on Axelar-Secret Link
An attacker exploited a years-old bug in the Axelar-Secret Network bridge, faking deposits to mint $4.67 million in fraudulent tokens, then redeemed them for real funds. Proceeds were laundered through Osmosis, Ethereum, and three exchanges. Axelar disabled the connection after discovery, calling its core protocol unaffected.
Goldman Trims Gold Forecast as Fed Rate-Cut Bets Cool
Goldman Sachs cut its 2026 gold target to $4,900 from $5,400, citing fading odds of Fed rate cuts amid sticky inflation and solid GDP. Still well above gold’s current $4,155 level, the new forecast points to a slower climb rather than the explosive rally Goldman previously expected, with $5,000 now seen as a tougher ceiling.
Regulators Open Public Comment on “Swap” Rules as CME Sues Over Crypto Futures
The CFTC and SEC have opened a 60-day public comment period to clarify how the terms “swap” and related derivatives apply to modern markets, including crypto and prediction products. The move comes days after CME Group sued the CFTC, arguing that it wrongly classified Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual futures as futures rather than swaps.
Algorand Sets Firm Timeline for Quantum-Safe Upgrade
The Algorand Foundation has set a 2027 deadline to become fully quantum-resilient, with upgrades starting in Q3 2026. Plans include post-quantum user accounts, Falcon-1024 signatures, hybrid cryptography, and a new quantum-safe consensus mechanism led by Chris Peikert. The goal: outpace NIST and NSA quantum-readiness timelines.
Ethena (ENA) Slides Toward Record Low Despite Strong Network Growth
ENA dropped 8% to $0.088 amid a broad market selloff, sitting just above its all-time low. Despite active addresses hitting a 7-month high and USDe’s market cap growing to $4.51 billion, traders ignored the fundamentals. With negative funding rates and extreme fear gripping markets, ENA’s recovery now hinges on Bitcoin’s price action.
AVAX Sinks to Five-Year Low Despite Major Institutional Push
Avalanche keeps landing big institutional wins, a 28-member payments collective with VanEck and Franklin Templeton, plus FIFA’s 2026 World Cup ticketing, yet AVAX has crashed 96% from its 2021 peak to $6.10. Its Nasdaq treasury fund cratered 81% in five days, and a strong downtrend signals more pain ahead.
Pi Network Eyes Breakout as Tau Day Approaches
Pi Network’s price has stalled near $0.1315, just above its all-time low, despite progress such as the Kraken listing and Stellar Protocol upgrades that add smart contracts. June 28’s “Pi 2 Day” could spark momentum through a vibe-coder developer push. Technicals show bullish RSI divergence, with $0.15 as the next target if support holds.
Kevin Warsh’s Fed Debut: No Rate Move, No Dot, No Powell-Style Plain Talk
In his first FOMC meeting as Fed chair, Kevin Warsh led a unanimous vote to hold rates at 3.5%-3.75%, skipped forward guidance, and became the first chair in over a decade to withhold his own dot-plot projection. He resisted political pressure for cuts, favoring vague “first principles” language over Powell’s directness.
Tether Pulls the Plug on aUSDT, Doubles Down on Gold
Tether is shutting down aUSDT, its gold-collateralized synthetic dollar, after failing to gain traction since its 2024 launch. New minting has stopped, and holders have until September 17, 2026, to redeem. Tether says it’s shifting focus to Tether Gold (XAUt), now a multibillion-dollar product, while USDT remains unaffected.
Ondo Finance Tokenizes 173 More Stocks, Tops 430 Onchain Assets
Ondo Finance added 173 new tokenized stocks and ETFs to its Global Markets platform, pushing its total past 430 assets across Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. New listings lean into AI, robotics, defense, and semiconductors, including Dell, Nokia, and Corning, building on Ondo’s rapid expansion since March.
SpaceX Stock Tumbles After Blockbuster IPO Surge
SpaceX shares dropped from $225 to $193 as investors took profits ahead of the Fed’s first meeting under Kevin Warsh, amid a broader market pullback. Despite the dip, SpaceX’s market cap topped $2.5 trillion, surpassing Tesla and TSMC. Analysts note newly listed firms like Figma and Circle saw similar post-IPO crashes before eventually rebounding.
MSTR Could Sink Below $100 as Bitcoin Loses Steam
Strategy’s stock has fallen 38% from its May high to $122, mirroring Bitcoin’s weakening momentum. Both assets show bearish technical patterns, while spot Bitcoin ETF outflows top $4 billion as money rotates into stocks. Analysts warn MSTR could test $103, then $90, if Bitcoin slides toward $50,000.
SBF’s Prison Plans: A Memoir, a Possible New Coin, and a Pardon Bid
Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly writing a prison memoir and has floated launching his own crypto token after his release, telling a fellow inmate, “everyone would flock to it.” He’s also filed a formal pardon request with the DOJ. Polymarket traders now put the odds of a pardon at around 14%, keeping SBF’s story in crypto’s spotlight.
Uniswap Surges 42% as Standard Chartered Eyes a 40x Price Run to $100
Uniswap jumped 25% in a day and 42% weekly, hitting $3.52 with trading volume more than doubling to $561 million. The rally follows Standard Chartered’s bold $100-by-2030 price target, tied to explosive RWA tokenization growth. A breakout past key resistance could push UNI toward $6, though thin protocol revenue tempers the optimism.
Worldcoin Surges 180% as OpenAI IPO Buzz and Tokenomics Overhaul Fuel Rally
Worldcoin’s WLD token has jumped 180% from its 2026 low, hitting its highest level since November 2025. The rally is driven by SpaceX’s strong IPO, anticipation around OpenAI’s upcoming listing, and a planned 43% cut to daily token emissions in July. Bullish chart patterns point toward a possible run to $1.
SKYAI Could Be Crypto’s Next Crash After Humanity, Siren, Audiera Collapse
Humanity Protocol, Siren, and Audiera tokens have all crashed hard this month after suspicious surges, fitting a pump-and-dump pattern. Now SKYAI, up 220% with low liquidations and thin trading, shows the same red flags. Having already crashed 84% once before, analysts warn its current rally looks like another dead-cat bounce.
DeFi’s April Wipeout: $13B Exits, Leverage Spikes to 2021 Levels
Binance Research says April’s DeFi hacks, led by KelpDAO and Drift Protocol, totaling $635 million in losses, sparked $13 billion in liquidity outflows. TVL dropped 10.7% to $82.7 billion, while leverage jumped to 38% as debt stayed sticky against shrinking collateral, leaving DeFi fragile and exposed to further shocks.
Ventuals Shuts Down After Hitting $650M in Pre-IPO Trading Volume
Ventuals, the Hyperliquid-based platform that lets traders bet on private companies like OpenAI and Anthropic through perpetual contracts, is shutting down. After six months and $650 million in volume, all markets will close by June 18. OpenAI and Anthropic positions already settled, vHYPE holders get full 1:1 redemptions, and no token will be issued.
HYPE Holds Near $65 as Bulls and Bears Clash Over Next Move
Hyperliquid jumped nearly 8% to $64.79, fueled by leveraged buying, ETF inflows, and record open interest. Analysts split on what’s next: one sees a head-and-shoulders top targeting $48-$40 if HYPE breaks $54, another expects consolidation before a run at $100. A whale’s $50.9 liquidation level adds risk near that threshold.
BitMine Stock Plunges 90% as Ethereum Bets Sour
BitMine’s stock crashed to $16.10, down 90% from its 2025 peak, as Ethereum’s weakening fundamentals, falling TVL, shrinking network fees, and stablecoin outflows drove over $10 billion in unrealized losses. Technicals show a confirmed bearish breakout below key support, with $15 the next level to watch, though a dip-buying bounce remains possible.
