Category: Business

The crypto market crash erased over $170 billion within a day as hefty outflows occurred on Tuesday. Moreover, it led to more than $1.5 billion in liquidations of leveraged crypto assets. The slump comes in response to rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions stemming from the current U.S.-Iran conflict.

Crypto-backed political groups have expanded their election spending as several US primaries test the industry’s influence in Congress.

According to filings with the US Federal Election Commission, Fairshake-linked groups backed by Coinbase, Ripple, and other crypto supporters have directed millions of dollars into House and Senate races as voters cast ballots in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota.

Crypto PACs target key primary races

The FEC filings showed that Protect Progress, an affiliate of the Fairshake political action committee, spent about $3 million supporting Democratic candidates in House races across California and New Jersey. Another Fairshake affiliate, Defend American Jobs, spent more than $411,000 to support Republican Senator Mike Rounds in South Dakota.

Although several states are voting this week, the crypto industry has also turned attention to Maryland’s June 23 primaries. FEC filings showed Protect Progress spent more than $3.1 million on media backing Adrian Boafo, a Democratic candidate in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

In New York, the same filings showed about $320,000 in spending to support Representative Ritchie Torres, whose district will also hold a primary on June 23. Torres has been one of the more visible Democratic voices involved in digital asset policy debates in Congress.

Fairshake builds on Texas wins

The latest spending comes after Fairshake and allied PACs supported candidates who won primary contests in Texas last week. Those races gave the crypto industry another chance to show whether campaign spending can affect congressional contests where digital asset policy has become a dividing issue.

Fairshake reported more than $193 million in available funds as of January, according to campaign finance records cited in the filings. Other crypto-aligned groups have also entered the cycle, including Fellowship, which received $11 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, funded with $175,000 from Chainlink and Anchorage.

Fairshake has said it plans to oppose lawmakers it views as hostile to crypto policy. Representative Al Green became one of its clearest targets after he voted against the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, and the CLARITY Act, a digital asset market structure bill.

Protect Progress spent $5 million supporting Christian Menefee, Green’s Democratic primary opponent in Texas’s 18th Congressional District. Green later lost that primary, according to the election results referenced in the report.

Maryland becomes the next focus

Maryland now gives crypto PACs another major test before the end of June. Protect Progress’s spending for Boafo places the race among the industry’s more expensive primary efforts this cycle, based on the FEC figures cited in the report.

The spending also shows how crypto groups are working across party lines. Protect Progress backs Democrats, while Defend American Jobs backs Republicans, according to FEC filings.

The campaign activity comes as Congress weighs major digital asset legislation. After approval by the Senate Agriculture Committee in January and the Senate Banking Committee in May, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act was added to the Senate calendar for possible consideration.

Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), said it had backed Ethena ($ENA), buying the protocol’s token on the open market as the two firms prepare to launch a new onchain savings product for the exchange’s more than 100 million users.

Ethena announced Tuesday that it partnered with Coinbase to expand onchain finance and savings offerings, with the first initiative scheduled to launch next week.

“Excited to partner with Coinbase for the first time to support their dollar savings products,” Ethena founder Guy Young said in a post on X. “The upcoming integration next week will be the first time Ethena products are available for their 100m+ user base.”

As part of the deal, Coinbase said it is already Ethena’s primary custodian, wallet provider and perpetuals venue, while the protocol’s $USDe yield token will be distributed on the Base network and the “wider [Coinbase] ecosystem.”

$ENA, Ethena’s governance token, surged 20% following the news before paring gains. The token was up 3% over the past 24 hours despite the broader crypto market pullback.

The investment marks a notable endorsement from Coinbase as Ethena seeks to expand beyond crypto-native users. Ethena emerged as one of crypto’s fastest-growing protocols, combining stablecoin demand with derivatives-based funding strategies to provide yield to investors in a token form. Assets on the protocol swelled to $15 billion by the October market peak, but since then declined to $5.3 billion as demand and yields vaned amid the crypto downturn.

The announcement comes as lawmakers continue to debate the CLARITY Act, a market structure bill that could provide a clearer regulatory framework for crypto products in the U.S. Young said the legislation could create additional tailwinds for onchain-native assets such as $USDe, Ethena’s synthetic dollar token.

Tapping into Coinbase’s user base

While neither company disclosed details of the upcoming product, investors speculated the partnership could significantly expand Ethena’s distribution.

Access to Coinbase’s user base could provide a new source of capital as the protocol seeks to expand beyond decentralized finance into mainstream crypto brokerage platforms.

Yan Liberman, managing partner at Delphi Ventures, an investor in Ethena, said the deal could potentially connect Coinbase’s roughly $19 billion $USDC stablecoin ecosystem with Ethena’s yield-generating infrastructure.

“If sUSDe yields clear baseline $USDC rates, Coinbase can offer better $USDC lending yields,” Liberman wrote on X. “Ethena gets deeper and cheaper funding than native DeFi alone.”

Expansion to institutional credit market with Anchorage

Ethena is also pushing deeper into institutional markets.

On Tuesday, the protocol and crypto bank Anchorage Digital said it had broadened its partnership with Ethena to support institutional lending.

Under the arrangement, Anchorage will manage collateral for Ethena’s loan investments through its Atlas platform, allowing borrowers to keep assets in custody rather than moving them onchain.

The setup aims to make crypto-native lending more accessible to institutions that require regulated custody and compliance controls.

“Institutions want access to crypto-native capital, but not at the cost of custody, controls, or operational rigor,” Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley said in a statement.

The announcement builds on an existing relationship between the firms. Anchorage Digital Bank already serves as the U.S. issuer of Ethena’s USDtb stablecoin.

The crypto market is having a rough June. Bitcoin opened today at $71,305 and skidded to a low of $66,948 before settling around $67,287—down 5.65% in a single session and at its lowest point since April.

The broader crypto market is bleeding with it, and the macro picture isn’t offering much comfort: sticky inflation, a Fed that isn’t cutting, and geopolitical tensions from the U.S.-Iran situation have all been rattling risk assets for weeks. Institutions have been quietly—and some not so quietly—heading for the door.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted their worst monthly outflow of 2026 in May, with $2.43 billion pulled from the products. That reversed April’s $1.97 billion in inflows in one stroke.

So where does Bitcoin go from here?

On Myriad—the prediction market built by Decrypt‘s parent company Dastan—traders are now pricing a 52.6% chance Bitcoin dumps to $55,000 before it bounces to $84,000. That’s a dramatic reversal from mid-May, when the $84K bull scenario held a commanding 80% edge. The $55K odds slipped another 2.1% today alone, suggesting the sentiment flip is fresh and still moving.

Bitcoin price: What the charts say

Bitcoin has been in a downtrend since its all-time high of $126,198 on October 6, 2025—a correction that has now erased more than 46% from the peak.

The daily chart shows price accelerating lower through May, failing to hold the $76,000 level that briefly acted as support during March and April’s bounce attempts. Today’s candle—opening at $71,305 and sliding to $66,948—represents a decisive break of the $68,000–$70,000 zone that had been holding for several weeks, even breaking the volume barrier that usually holds prices either acting as ceiling or floor.

The Relative Strength Index, or RSI, measures market momentum on a scale from 0 to 100, with readings below 30 indicating oversold conditions. Bitcoin’s RSI is at 22.7—deep into oversold territory. In theory, that’s a contrarian positive: sellers may have pushed too hard and buyers could step in. In practice, assets can stay oversold for extended stretches inside a strong downtrend as the panic spreads, so it’s important to use this indicator in combination with others. Think of a car skidding on ice—already sliding doesn’t mean it stops quickly.

The Average Directional Index, or ADX, measures how strong the current trend is, regardless of direction. A reading above 25 confirms a trend is in place; at 30.6, Bitcoin’s ADX is firmly in “strong trend” territory. That’s the problem: combined with everything else on the chart, a strong trend reading here confirms the bears have conviction behind them. The recovery that happened in April is losing steam to the bigger bearish trend from October 2025.

The EMA setup is the most alarming signal. Exponential Moving Averages—or EMAs—smooth out past prices to show the underlying trend direction. Bitcoin’s 50-day EMA is currently trading below its 200-day EMA, still in a “death cross” that started last year. It signals that short-term momentum has rolled over below the longer-term trend baseline, and historically it marks the kind of structural damage that doesn’t repair overnight.

Why the bullish case to $84K could work

The RSI at 22.7 is genuinely extreme. Bitcoin has historically seen sharp short-term bounces from oversold readings this deep, and the $64,000–$60,000 zone visible on the chart represents a potential demand area where buyers might step in. A relief rally back toward $76,000—the last significant resistance—is technically possible if macro conditions shift or ETF flows stabilize.

Myriad’s 47.4% still betting on $84K isn’t irrational. Bitcoin remains far above its pre-halving levels, and the long-term structural case hasn’t changed. Any dovish signal from the Fed, an easing of geopolitical risk, or a reversal in ETF flows could change the picture quickly. Crypto moves fast in both directions—and so can political conditions nowadays.

Why doom to $55K is more likely

The bearish alignment here is hard to argue away, even though it seems a bit difficult to achieve as a short-term bottom. It would only be possible if the bearish trend is actually a continuation of the 2025 movement.

The death cross is confirmed, and the ADX says the downtrend has real conviction behind it. Multiple short signals are active simultaneously. Seeing these in combination likely means this is not noise and more of a coordinated technical breakdown across different indicators.

It requires an atypical event to change the way markets are moving since bearish movement is the current normal.

The macro backdrop currently provides no relief. None of the three converging pressures—inflation, AI stock competition, geopolitical risk—have resolved heading into June. When the money that drives Bitcoin’s price is actively being reallocated elsewhere (like AI stocks, for example), oversold readings alone don’t create reversals.

Prediction market traders pricing $55K at 52.6% are reading the same setup. It’s not a landslide—yet—but the direction of travel for sentiment is clear. The $64,000–$60,000 zone is the next meaningful support cluster on the chart. If that fails, $55,000 stops being a prediction market abstraction and starts looking like a real target.

The key question is: More pain may be coming, but is it enough to dump prices below $55,000?

Key levels to watch:

• Resistance
  • Immediate resistance: $71,305 (today’s open and breakdown level)
  • Strong resistance: $76,000 (previous bounce ceiling, MF zone)
  • Moon target: $84,000 (Myriad bull scenario)
• Support
  • Immediate support: $64,000 (near-term chart support)
  • Strong support: $60,000
  • Doom target: $55,000 (Myriad bear scenario, 52.6% odds)

The US stock market edged higher on Tuesday and held near record highs as strong AI earnings and resilient labor data outweighed fresh geopolitical risk.

The S&P 500 rose 0.14% at press time on a chip rally, though Iran’s ending of US talks and heavy software selling kept the gains modest.

1. AI Earnings Strength Lifted Chipmakers

Artificial intelligence was the day’s strongest engine. A record earnings beat from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and a high-profile chip endorsement for Marvell Technology (MRVL) showed AI demand is still turning into real revenue.

This pushed investors back into semiconductors.

HEWLETT PACKARD $HPE JUST REPORTED Q2 EARNINGS

– Revenue: $10.68B vs $9.79B est 🟢
– Net Income: $624M
– Cash from Ops: $1.40B

Q3 Guidance:
– Adjusted EPS: $0.88-0.93 vs $0.58 est 🟢
– GAAP EPS: $0.84-0.89

FY Guidance:
– Revenue growth: 29-33%
– Adjusted EPS: $3.35-3.45 vs… pic.twitter.com/DbtFqGyCeS

— WOLF (@WOLF_Financial) June 1, 2026

Broadcom (AVGO) climbed about 5%, and Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 5.6% as that confidence spread. The chip rally did most of the work, lifting the indexes toward record highs.

2. Resilient Job Openings Backed the Economy

Fresh labor data reinforced the risk-on mood. April job openings, tracked by the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), jumped to 7.62 million. That topped the 6.9 million economists expected and marked the highest level since May 2024.

U.S. JOLTS JOB OPENINGS 7.618 MLN IN APR (CONSENSUS 6.880 MLN) (MAR 6.887 MLN) – LABOR DEPT

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) June 2, 2026

The surge signaled a resilient labor market, easing slowdown fears and supporting stocks.

However, it also cut bets on near-term rate cuts. A firm jobs market gives the Federal Reserve less reason to ease, so the gain in stocks stayed capped.

3. The US-Iran Deal Collapsed and Lifted Oil Risk

Geopolitics pulled the other way. Iran said it was ending all negotiations with the United States, citing repeated ceasefire violations, per CNBC. It also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries a large share of global oil.

BREAKING: Iran announces it is ending all negotiations with the US and vows to “completely” block the Strait of Hormuz, per CNBC.

Iran says it is ending negotiations due to repeated ceasefire violations including Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Iran also threatens to block the Bab…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 1, 2026

That threat revived the crude supply premium, lifting energy shares. It also pushed investors toward caution, the main reason the broad market rose only marginally despite the strength of AI.

What Happened to Major US Indexes?

• S&P 500: +0.14% to about 7,610, near record highs
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.21% to roughly 51,187
• Nasdaq Composite: +0.10% to about 27,113

The advance was narrow. Advancers and decliners finished nearly even. Gains in chips and cyclicals offset heavy selling in mega-cap software such as Microsoft (MSFT). New highs still outnumbered new lows by about two to one, a sign of steady underlying strength.

The S&P 500 trades near record territory after a bull-flag breakout in late May. A bull flag forms when a sharp rally pauses in a tight channel before pushing higher.

The index just cleared resistance at 7,604. If it holds that level, 7,677 and 7,890 are the next targets, the latter about 3.7% higher. Support sits at 7,546 and 7,505.

Which Sectors Are Holding Up?

Utilities led at 1.58%. The sector caught a defensive bid as investors sought safety during the Iran escalation. Rising power demand from AI data centers added a longer-term reason to buy.

Energy rose 1.38% because Iran’s Hormuz threat pushed oil higher. Higher crude prices lift revenue for producers like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX).

Basic Materials gained 1.33% as firmer commodity prices and inflation-hedge demand followed the move in oil. Technology added 0.96% on the chip rally.

Which Sectors Are Falling?

Healthcare fell 1.59%, the worst performer. Investors rotated out of defensive healthcare into AI and energy, and Eli Lilly (LLY) slipped 1.45% as the group lagged.

Communication Services dropped 1.28%. Alphabet (GOOGL) fell 2.48% after announcing a roughly $80 billion raise to fund its AI buildout. The plan stoked worries about share dilution.

Consumer Defensive eased 0.18% as the same rotation into cyclicals, and energy pulled money out of safer staples.

Major Stock News Investors Are Watching

Marvell Technology (MRVL) was the standout, surging about 27%. The jump followed Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang calling it the next trillion-dollar company at Computex. The remark put its AI networking chips in the spotlight.

The CEO of NVIDIA, looked at Matt Murphy and said “The next trillion dollar company, ladies and gentlemen.” (Save this).

NVIDIA already invested $2 billion in Marvell in March 2026 as part of the NVLink Fusion partnership pulling Marvell’s custom AI chip roadmap directly into… https://t.co/Z5l3ywA7Ba pic.twitter.com/wXnaljG2ME

— Milk Road AI (@MilkRoadAI) June 2, 2026

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) rose nearly 16% on its largest earnings beat since 2018. Record revenue and a raised outlook signaled that AI server demand is still feeding real sales.

What Are Investors Watching Next?

Attention turns to more AI-hardware earnings and the Iran standoff. Broadcom (AVGO) is among the chip names whose results could extend or stall the rally. Any real move to block the Strait of Hormuz would likely spike oil and pressure stocks.

The Federal Reserve meets later this month after the firm jobs data, following the May CPI and PPI releases.

🇺🇸🏁 USA 250 — $SPY

🏎️ June 19 → July 25 =
CLEAN AIR GAIN WINDOW

BORN TO RUN, BABY. BORN TO RUN.

The market’s June setup looks like a race track:

RISK CLUSTER FIRST
📍 June 10: May CPI
📍 June 11: May PPI
📍 June 16–17: FOMC (June 18th TWD)

That’s the stretch where… pic.twitter.com/qQvcYbLStZ

— Jim (@JP_Money_95630) June 2, 2026

Traders will watch whether resilient growth keeps rate cuts off the table through June.

Strategy, known for its Bitcoin-focused treasury strategy, continues to be a subject of debate among investors regarding its balance sheet. While the company’s extensive stock dilution policy has been criticized, some market commentators note that its Bitcoin assets still constitute a fairly strong collateral structure.

According to assessments, Strategy’s 843,700 Bitcoin holdings have a current market value of approximately $57 billion. In contrast, the company’s liabilities to common shareholders amount to approximately $22 billion, comprising about $6.8 billion in debt and $15.5 billion in preferred stock liabilities.

According to this calculation, if the Bitcoin price falls below approximately $26,000, the value of the company’s Bitcoin assets will equal its total liabilities to top-tier creditors. In other words, Bitcoin would need to experience a much sharper decline compared to current price levels.

Analysts add that the dilution of shares, which is of greatest concern to investors, does not directly alter this collateral calculation. While the dilution may cause existing shareholders’ share of the company’s Bitcoin reserves to shrink over time, the total value of Bitcoin assets remains significantly above liabilities.

On the other hand, some commentators argue that Strategy’s aggressive capital raising policies have created an interesting feedback mechanism. According to this view, while shareholder selling due to dilution concerns puts downward pressure on the share price, the company can then repurchase shares at lower prices. This situation can reduce the number of shares in circulation, contributing to an increase in the amount of Bitcoin per share.

According to market experts, this model offers a structure that could continue to work unless there is a permanent and very sharp drop in the Bitcoin price. However, the success of Strategy largely remains dependent on Bitcoin’s long-term performance.

*This is not investment advice.

Bitcoin tumbling to $67,000 may signal a challenging summer ahead as investor capital continues flowing into artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and away from crypto.

In a Tuesday report, K33 Research head Vetle Lunde said bitcoin’s weakness reflects fading institutional demand, heavy ETF outflows and growing vulnerabilities in derivatives markets.

“Much of the market views the opportunity cost of holding $BTC as too high while anything AI-related soars,” Lunde wrote.

The divergence has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Bitcoin has failed to reclaim its 200-day moving average while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 continue setting record highs. Investors are also looking ahead to potential IPOs from companies such as SpaceX and Anthropic, which may be drawing capital away from crypto, Lunde argued.

That rotation is evident in bitcoin ETF flows. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded products shed 62,794 $BTC over the past three weeks, the second-largest outflow streak on record, the report noted.

K33 said ETF selling accelerated after bitcoin’s failed attempt to break above its 200-day moving average last month.

$60,000 bottom being questioned

The shift in tone marks a notable change for K33. The firm previously argued bitcoin’s plunge to around $60,000 in February likely marked the deepest drawdown of the cycle. A key part of that thesis was unusually negative funding rates in perpetual futures markets, which reflected persistent bearish positioning and created conditions for powerful short squeezes.

That setup helped fuel bitcoin’s rebound toward $83,000. But the rally ultimately stalled at the 200-day moving average, a level that has capped previous bear market rallies.

Today, the derivatives picture looks very different, Lunde said. CME bitcoin futures open interest has fallen to its lowest level since October 2023, a sign that institutional traders are reducing exposure. Meanwhile, funding rates in perpetual futures have risen alongside open interest even as bitcoin falls, suggesting leveraged longs are building into a weakening market.

While the firm has not completely abandoned its view that $60,000 marked the cycle low, the tone has become more defensive.

“We read the latent selling pressure in those leveraged longs as a warning of possible deeper lows and advise caution,” the report said.

K33 still sees bitcoin as undervalued relative to equities over the long run. But with institutional demand fading, ETF investors heading for the exits and capital chasing stronger-performing sectors, the firm says the market faces a tougher backdrop than it did just a few weeks ago.

“With outside capital reluctant to enter and existing holders trimming exposure, we may be in for a choppy summer,” Lunde wrote.