Weekly Rollup - June 16, 2026

Market highlights

• Bitcoin and Ethereum gained on U.S.-Iran peace deal.
• Bitcoin layer-2 project Botanix will shut down its network in July.
• Metaplanet will acquire securities firm Siiibo Securities for US$13 million.
• A package of U.S. crypto tax bills faced scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers.
• Digital Asset, the creator of the Canton Network, raised US$355 million in a funding round.
• Japan's largest banks are collaborating on a joint stablecoin platform launching in 2027.

Macro market overview

TradFi risk assets recovered this week on optimism surrounding the successful SpaceX IPO (despite confusion over the tiered lock-up arrangements), softer inflation data, and falling oil prices. The U.S. core consumer price index came in on forecast at 2.9% for the 12 months ending May 31, 2026, while monthly CPI came in under forecast at 0.2%. As a result, U.S. treasuries declined, with the 2-year yield ending the week at just over 4%, while the ten-year yield closed at almost 4.5%. For now, it quells market participants' concerns about a Hawkish Fed at the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's meeting on June 17. CME's Fed Watch tool notes the likelihood of rates staying on hold is 96.7%.

Oil also declined this week as the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Currently trading around US$79.2 per barrel, oil declined to a two-year low heading into the new week.

In other news, the Bank of Canada left rates on hold at 2.25%, while the European Central Bank lifted rates by 25 basis points to 2.4%.

This week, market participants will presumably monitor implementation of the Middle East peace deal, the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) rate decision, and the FOMC rate decision. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Bank of England (BoE) also deliver their interest rate decisions this week.

Weekly performance: S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow Jones +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.7%.

Looking ahead:

• RBA interest rate decision - Tuesday, June 16
• U.S. FOMC rate decision - Wednesday, June 17
• SNB and BoE rate decisions - Thursday, June 18

Crypto Market Performance

Market Cap: $2.26T (+1.29%)

All crypto sectors rebounded this week on improving sentiment driven by AI optimism, easing geopolitical tensions and hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not be too Hawkish in its policy outlook. The crypto fear and greed index improved slightly this week, though it's still in fear territory at 24.

Bitcoin (BTC)

• Opened the week at US$63,302, declined into Wednesday on the sell-off in tech stocks and broader risk-off sentiment, and gained to a high of US$65,759 on Sunday, June 14 on Middle East peace progress and risk-on sentiment following declining oil prices and treasury yields. Bitcoin is trading around US$66,280 (+5.2% 7D) to start the new week.
• BTC dominance ranged between 58.5% and 59.3% this week.
• Bitcoin investment products saw outflows of US$319.3 million.

Bitcoin mining difficulty fell by more than 10% in its latest adjustment, marking one of the largest declines since China's mining ban in 2021. The drop reflects reduced network hash rate as miners face profitability pressures, potentially improving mining economics for operators that remain online.

Japanese bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet will acquire securities firm Siiibo Securities for US$13 million, giving it a regulated platform to launch bitcoin-linked yield products. The deal marks the first step in Project Nova, Metaplanet's strategy to build a bitcoin-focused financial ecosystem and expand access to digital asset investment products in Japan.

Bitcoin layer-2 project Botanix will shut down its network in July after finding limited demand for bitcoin-based DeFi applications. The team said users showed stronger interest in bitcoin treasury strategies and payments, prompting a shift in focus toward infrastructure better aligned with market demand.

In bitcoin buying (and selling) news:

• Strategy brought 1,587 BTC (US$101 million), bringing its total holdings to 846,842 BTC at an average purchase price of US$76,656.
• Nakamato Inc. sold US$48 million worth of its bitcoin holding to eliminate some of its debt, while authorising a US$25 million share buyback program. The company now holds 4,467 BTC, worth US$284 million.
• Fold Holdings sold US$45 million in bitcoin to pay off its debt and reinvest in the company's growth, which includes expanding its BTC rewards credit card and new product launches. Fold shares gained 162% on the news.
• GameStop renewed its bitcoin options agreement with Coinbase after its initial contracts expired worthless on May 29. While the strategy generated US$1 million of premium income in Q1, it contributed little to the retailer's record quarterly profit, highlighting the limited financial impact of its bitcoin treasury strategy to date.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Ethereum (ETH)

• Opened the week at US$1,689, declined on risk-off sentiment early in the week then rallied to a high of US$1,731, presumably due to the U.S.-Iran peace deal. Ethereum is now trading around US$1,790 (+6.1% 7D).
• Ethereum dominance ranged between 9.3% and 9.5% this week.
• Ethereum-focused funds saw outflows of US$14.8 million.

Ethereum researchers have proposed a post-quantum account protection framework that could be deployed without a hard fork, using Ethereum's existing account abstraction infrastructure. The proposal would allow users to adopt quantum-resistant signatures for US$0.07 per account, offering a low-cost pathway to strengthen wallet security against quantum computing threats.

In Ethereum buying news:

• BitMine bought 76,881 ETH (US$136 million). The company now holds over 5.6 million ETH, worth US$9.6 billion and equating to over 4.6% of supply.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Altcoins

The altcoin season index is currently 47, which is bitcoin season.

Aero gains

• Aerodrome Finance gained 24.8%. The decentralised exchange, which is the central liquidity hub on the Base network, gained after a spike in buy volume, presumably as risk-on sentiment returns across crypto.

Omnichain gains

• Layerzero gained 33%. The omnichain interoperability protocol gained as the network heads into a US$23 million token unlock on June 20.

AI wins

• Bittensor gained 23.8%. The gains came as access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 were suspended for foreign nationals, which pushed market participants to decentralised AI projects that aren't exposed to centralised control and regulatory risks.
• Worldcoin gained 18.9%, continuing its recent rally, despite Arthur Hayes exiting his entire WLD position. A Maelstrom researcher published a bullish note, stating that Worldcoin is an "overlooked" bet amongst the upcoming AI IPOs.

Fifth crypto from the sun

• Jupiter gained 20.5%. The gains are presumably due to the recent launch of its native prediction market on Solana and growing total value locked on the network due to the launch of Solana exchange-traded funds.

Morpho cowbell

• Morpho gained 9%. The decentralised lending protocol announced that it raised US$175 million in a funding round led by major investors including traditional finance participants. The announcement also noted that French banking firm Société Générale is building on the platform, supporting its ambitions to build a shared credit layer amongst banks, asset managers and fintech firms.

Crypto ETF News

Digital asset investment products saw outflows of US$439.6 million as the risk-off sentiment at the start of the week saw outflows continue.

In altcoins, Solana saw outflows of US$4 million, while XRP and HYPE saw inflows of US$12.8 million and US$23.1 million, respectively.

Other crypto news

• A package of U.S. crypto tax bills faced scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week. Critics argued the proposals could create tax loopholes and weaken oversight, while supporters said the measures would modernise digital asset taxation and provide greater regulatory clarity for the industry.
• As the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act remain before Congress, TradFi and DeFi stakeholders are having their say. U.S. banking and financial industry groups urged lawmakers to expand stablecoin legislation to cover secondary market activity, arguing current proposals leave anti-money laundering and illicit finance gaps. And in DeFi, Paradigm and the Hyperliquid Policy Centre challenged proposed anti-money laundering and sanctions rules that state secondary market activity should be regulated like issuer activity. The groups say the rules could push users away from regulated DeFi stablecoins and delay adoption.
• Digital Asset, the creator of the Canton Network, raised US$355 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from major Wall Street institutions and a sovereign wealth fund. The capital will support ecosystem growth, partnerships and acquisitions as demand for tokenised real-world asset infrastructure continues to accelerate. Canton's native token gained 12.4% on the week.
• Japan's largest banks, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, and SMBC, are collaborating on a joint stablecoin platform expected to launch by March 2027. The initiative aims to streamline domestic and cross-border payments, reduce settlement costs and support tokenised financial services, reflecting growing interest among traditional financial institutions in blockchain-based payment infrastructure.
• Mastercard unveiled a new framework enabling AI agents to make secure digital payments, partnering with crypto firms Coinbase and Ripple. The initiative aims to support autonomous commerce by allowing AI systems to complete transactions on users' behalf, while incorporating identity verification, payment controls and compliance safeguards across traditional and digital asset networks.