Europe Shows Binance the Door as EthLabs Emerges to Bolster Ethereum: Hodler's Digest June 14-28
European operations for Binance will cease on July 1, though the platform continues pursuing licensing opportunities. Meanwhile, as the Ethereum Foundation reduces personnel, Ethlabs steps forward with solutions: Hodler's Digest, June 14-21.
Polymarket sees approximately 60% of World Cup participants as crypto newcomers
Roughly 60% of individuals who made their inaugural World Cup wagers through Polymarket had no previous experience with blockchain technology, indicating that prediction platforms are serving as gateways into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
This conclusion stems from a comprehensive 90-day analysis conducted by Bitget Wallet, which monitored the blockchain transactions of 857,000 Polymarket participants.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Alvin Kan, who serves as chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, explained that previous attempts to introduce people to cryptocurrency primarily concentrated on simplifying blockchain concepts through more intuitive wallet designs and improved interface experiences, yet participants still needed foundational knowledge of cryptocurrency mechanics before engaging.
"The emergence of prediction markets fundamentally altered this paradigm. Participants arrive with opinions about real-world events," Kan explained.
Presidential decision halts housing legislation signing containing CBDC prohibition
President Donald Trump of the United States postponed the ceremonial signing of housing legislation that includes provisions banning a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as he pressures Congressional Republicans to advance a disputed voting measure.
Through a Truth Social message posted Wednesday morning, Trump announced that the ceremonial event for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which received approval from both the US Senate and House of Representatives, would be postponed "until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE America Act."
The housing legislation, which the House approved on Tuesday, contained language preventing the US Federal Reserve from launching or developing a CBDC "or any digital asset that is substantially similar" through the conclusion of 2030.
Widespread expectations suggested Trump would approve the legislation, designed to address housing cost challenges, on Wednesday without complications. Nevertheless, the president stated in March his refusal to "not sign other bills" before the SAVE America Act received passage. This proposed law would mandate that voters present proof of US citizenship during in-person registration, with opponents arguing the requirement would prevent eligible citizens from exercising their voting rights.
Ethereum research nonprofit receives backing from Bitmine, Sharplink and Joe Lubin
Previous Ethereum Foundation team members and Ether treasury companies Bitmine and Sharplink have provided support for a newly established research and development nonprofit organization designed to prepare Ethereum for widespread institutional implementation.
On Monday, Sharplink announced that the entity, Ethlabs, was created to "ready Ethereum for the next phase of institutional adoption," with the firm contributing alongside Bitmine, Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and additional Ethereum developers to finance the initiative.
"As stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, funds and autonomous AI commerce move on-chain, they are converging on Ethereum as the neutral, credibly permissionless settlement layer for the global economy," Sharplink stated. "Ethlabs exists to ensure the network is ready to absorb that demand at scale."
This announcement arrives just days following warnings from former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps regarding Ethereum's core development funding challenges and during an ongoing series of exits from the Foundation, including the recent departure of co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang, who stepped down last week.
Strategy faces dividend sustainability concerns as cash holdings decline 38%, CryptoQuant alerts
Following Strategy's dividend coverage dropping from seven years to 14 months, CryptoQuant suggested that Michael Saylor's company should halt Bitcoin acquisitions and prioritize rebuilding its cash position, which has decreased 38% year-to-date.
The dividend commitments of Strategy have grown nearly fourfold to $1.2 billion, resulting from the company's issuance of significant additional STRC preferred stock, which provides an 11.5% yield.
"They should pause Bitcoin purchases, rebuild cash reserves, and adopt a systematic framework for purchase timing," stated Ki Young Ju, CEO of the market data analytics provider, in a Wednesday post on X, further recommending that the largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company should also establish a "disciplined selling framework" for the upcoming bull market.
The cash reserve at Strategy dropped 38% following the company's repurchase of $1.5 billion worth of its 2029 senior notes at a discounted price, as Cointelegraph documented on May 26. These reserves have subsequently rebounded to $1.4 billion after selling $335.5 million in MSTR shares, which contributed $300 million to its US dollar holdings on Monday, though it remains near a historical low of 14 months' worth of dividend payment capacity.
Religious organizations, law enforcement groups express reservations about CLARITY Act concerning illegal transactions
Law enforcement coalitions and Catholic organizational groups have emerged as the most recent parties calling for careful consideration of the US CLARITY Act, which is scheduled for a critical hearing in July.
In correspondence sent Tuesday, four law enforcement groups contacted White House officials expressing apprehensions that the CLARITY Act might generate regulatory oversight vulnerabilities regarding illegal transactions.
"Regulatory certainty should not come at the expense of accountability, transparency, victim protection, or public safety," they stated. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking, established by US Catholic Sisters, indicated these regulatory gaps could complicate efforts to combat human trafficking.
Senator Cynthia Lummis announced this week that the complete text for the legislation would become available July 4, with the House Financial Service Committee arranging a hearing regarding the Clarity Act on July 17.
Weekly Performance Leaders and Laggards
As the week concludes, Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $59,359 representing a 6.8% decline, while Ether (ETH) stands at $1,565, following an 8.8% weekly decrease. XRP (XRP) trades at $1.04 and experienced an 8% weekly drop. The aggregate market cap stands at $2.06 trillion based on CoinMarketCap data.
Within the largest 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the top three altcoin performers are Velvet (VELVET) at 290%, DeXe (DEXE) on 55% and Audiera (BEAT) which gained 49%.
The three worst-performing altcoins of the week are MemeCore (M), which declined 76%, WorldCoin (WLD), which dropped 28%, and Mantle (MNT), which fell 20%.
Weekly Forecast Spotlight
BTC could decline further though power-law model characterizes $58K drop as 'normal'
The Bitcoin decline to $58,000 aligns with power-law model cycle bottoms, despite futures market indicators suggesting additional BTC price weakness ahead.
Giovanni's Bitcoin power-law model positions the network's long-term trajectory price around $135,000, rendering the recent decline to $58,000 approximately 54% beneath the all-time peak and 1.22 standard deviations below that trajectory.
Based on the analyst's assessment, the essential conclusion is clear: previous cycle bottoms in 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2022 each occurred within a comparable statistical range. Using this framework, the current decline fits within a zone that has historically represented deep bear-market bottoms instead of a disruption in Bitcoin's long-term upward trajectory.
Week's Most Concerning Headlines
European Union users face Binance service restrictions as MiCA regulations become active
European Union members using Binance have been informed that critical service access will face limitations after the platform was unable to obtain Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) authorization from any member state ahead of a July 1 deadline.
These limitations encompass stopping the registration of new EU members and restricting specific services for EU-based accounts beginning July 1, based on exchange notifications circulated by users through social media platforms.
The notifications indicated users will maintain withdrawal capabilities beyond that date, specifying that "all digital assets are still available for withdrawal," consistent with applicable regulatory requirements.
This development represents among the first significant transitions under the EU's MiCA regulatory framework following Binance's Wednesday announcement that it withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece.
During the week commencing June 22, Binance experienced more than $400 million in net outflows.
Binance's official communications emphasize that the company plans to persist in seeking a MiCA license, notwithstanding its trajectory toward missing the July 1 deadline.
Iranian-connected addresses transferred $3.8B via CoinEx, according to TRM report
Cryptocurrency wallets with traceable connections to sanctioned Iranian organizations have transferred more than $3.84 billion through cryptocurrency platform CoinEx beginning in 2019, establishing it as among the primary conduits utilized to circumvent US economic sanctions, based on findings from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
Approximately 60 Iranian platforms were connected to these funds, with $2.7 billion of this amount flowing between CoinEx and Nobitex, Iran's largest domestic cryptocurrency platform, at an average daily rate of roughly $1 million since 2018, according to TRM Labs in a Wednesday report.
By 2024, CoinEx had become Nobitex's largest external trading partner, nearly nine times larger than the second-largest exchange, a trend that TRM Labs described as "inconsistent with independent market behaviour."
CoinEx rejected claims of maintaining any business relationship with the Iranian government or Iranian domestic exchanges and challenged TRM Labs' analysis, asserting that blockchain fund movements do not establish a platform's awareness of or involvement in illegal activity.
Ethereum Foundation eliminates 20% of staff during strategic reorganization
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has dismissed 54 team members, approximately 20% of its total workforce, as part of a significant organizational restructuring initiative.
Based on a blog post released Tuesday, the EF will reorganize its operations around five specialized clusters addressing protocol, access, user, community and institutional work. The Foundation indicated the modifications are designed to focus resources on Ethereum's long-term technical objectives, encompassing scaling, privacy, security and censorship resistance.
Within the revised structure, distinct teams will manage Ethereum's core protocol, user access infrastructure, community engagement and institutional partnerships, while management and operational functions remain organized separately.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder, stated the Ethereum Foundation is cutting its budget by approximately 40% as it evolves toward a long-term, endowment-based organization. He indicated the foundation seeks to reduce annual expenditures from roughly 15% of its remaining assets to approximately 5% following 2030, a transformation he acknowledged required challenging personnel decisions.