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Crypto’s Defining Policy Moment Is Here. We Must Seize It Together

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This week, I stepped into my role as Blockchain Association CEO at what may be the most consequential moment in crypto’s policymaking history. After years of regulatory uncertainty and punishing enforcement, we have a generational opportunity to establish clear, innovation-friendly rules that will govern digital assets for the next decade and beyond.

The convergence of factors creating this window is unusual. We have a pro-crypto administration, bipartisan momentum in Congress around comprehensive stablecoin and market structure legislation, and recent court victories – like the end of the dealer rule – that validate positions this industry has held for years. Institutional adoption continues to grow, creating urgent demand for regulatory clarity from legacy financial institutions.

But windows of opportunity in Washington close as quickly as they open. And whether we seize this moment or watch it slip away will depend largely on the crypto ecosystem’s ability to speak with one clear voice.

Read more: CFTC Commissioner Mersinger to Be CEO at Blockchain Association

I’ve spent more than three years as a CFTC Commissioner watching how policy actually gets implemented at the agency level. When regulators see a fractured industry advancing competing agendas, they default to restrictive approaches that satisfy no one. But when they encounter sophisticated, unified positions on complex issues, I’ve found that those same regulators engage constructively. The difference between these outcomes isn’t just academic, it shapes markets, determines which innovations survive, and decides where global leadership in emerging technologies ultimately resides.

This dynamic explains why Blockchain Association exists and why our work has never been more critical. Consider what we’ve accomplished when we’ve acted in concert. Our consensus market structure principles, developed through extensive member collaboration, provide a blueprint for legislation that protects innovation while ensuring consumer protection. And our unified opposition to overreaching regulatory proposals, as with the dealer and broker rulemaking sagas, has helped courts recognize when agencies exceeded their authority.

These successes didn’t happen by accident. They emerged from our willingness to prioritize collective progress over individual positioning and to recognize that the regulatory challenges facing this industry are bigger than any single company or protocol.

Now we face our biggest test yet. As policy momentum builds and stakes rise, the temptation to fragment will intensify. Organizations will be tempted to pursue narrow advantages. Well-meaning advocates will push maximalist positions that sound appealing but lack the pragmatic grounding necessary to become law.

We cannot afford that luxury. The crypto industry’s opponents are counting on us to splinter as we approach the finish line. They know that a divided industry might lose focus, might dissolve into endless debate. And they think they’ve seen this movie before where we get close to policy success before it all collapses in a smouldering heap.

That’s precisely why my experience as a regulator matters for this role. I’ve seen how agencies respond to clear and constructive industry engagement. I understand the difference between positions that sound good in conference presentations and those that can actually survive the legislative process. Most importantly, I know that the relationships and credibility required to achieve lasting policy victories are built through consistency, reliability, and demonstrated commitment to the public interest.

The opportunity we have right now requires us to be ambitious about our goals and disciplined about our approach. We need comprehensive legislation that provides regulatory clarity for digital assets; this has been obvious for years. We need agencies that understand the technology they’re regulating, and encourage those regulators when they show progress. We need international coordination that ensures American innovation isn’t handicapped by jurisdictional arbitrage. And we need to maintain the consumer protections and financial stability safeguards that make sustainable growth possible.

These aren’t competing priorities. They’re complementary elements of a coherent vision for American leadership in digital assets.

As I take on this responsibility, I’m committed to ensuring that Blockchain Association recommits to its founding purpose. That means hosting the difficult conversations required to build genuine consensus. It means elevating our shared priorities over our individual preferences. And it means approaching our work with the seriousness and sophistication that this moment demands.

The crypto industry has graduated from its startup phase. We’re no longer asking for permission to exist, we’re negotiating the terms of regulation that will allow this technology to further supercharge its growth. That evolution requires not just technological maturity, but political maturity as well. The next 18 months will test whether we’ve developed that maturity. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but neither could the opportunity.

Let’s seize it – together.

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Bitcoin-Gold Price Ratio’s 10% Surge Greenlights Bullish Flag Pattern: Technical Analysis

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This is a daily technical analysis by CoinDesk analyst and Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole.

The ratio between the per-piece dollar price of bitcoin (BTC) and gold’s (XAU) per-ounce dollar-denominated price rose over 10% to 33.33 last week, registering its best performance in two months, according to data source TradingView.

The double-digit gain, representing BTC’s outperformance relative to gold, marked a breakout from the bull flag pattern. The so-called flag breakout signals a continuation of the rally from lows near 24.85 reached on April 11.

A bull flag pattern is characterized by a sharp uptrend followed by a relatively brief counter-trend consolidation that usually refreshes higher, as is the case with the BTC-gold ratio.

The flag breakout is said to extend the upside by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of the initial rally. So, the ratio could rise to 42.00, topping the record high of 40.73 hit in December.

BTC/Gold ratio and BTC/USD's daily charts. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

Previous uptrends in the ratio have been characterized by sharp upswings in BTC’s dollar-denominated price, as observed in late 2024 and in April and May, rather than gold dropping more than BTC.

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Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin ‘Calm Rarely Lasts’

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By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Just bet on the price movement, not the direction.

That’s the message from a market maker as bitcoin (BTC) continues to bore traders with prices caught in crosswinds of continued ETF inflows and selling by long-term holders.

Its solidity above $100,000 has sparked a meltdown in volatility metrics, including Deribit’s DVOL, which measures the 30-day implied or expected BTC price turbulence. The index fell below an annualized 40%, the lowest in nearly two years.

«Compared to equities, Tesla and Coinbase vols are ~50% richer, highlighting just how quiet crypto has become,» Jimmy Yang, a co-founder of institutional liquidity provider Orbit Markets, told CoinDesk. «But calm rarely lasts. Historically, vol tends to bounce from here. With direction unclear — breakout or breakdown — going long volatility via vol swaps offers a clean way to position for a return of movement.»

A volatility swap is a forward contract that allows investors to trade the future realized volatility of an underlying asset. Another way to bet on price turbulence is through volatility futures, and some traders are already doing so.

Perpetuals linked to Volmex Finance’s bitcoin and ether (ETH) implied volatility indices (BVIV and EVIV, respectively) debuted on the decentralized leverage trading platform gTrader last week. The cumulative trading volume in these perpetuals is fast approaching the $1 million mark.

In other news, President Donald Trump said he wants interest rates cut to 1% from the current range of 4.25%-4.0% and would «love» it if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were to resign. The Fed, however, is unlikely to cut rates unless the labor market softens, according to Dario Perkins, managing director of global macro at TS Lombard. That data is due later this week.

National Bank of Kazakhstan Governor Timur Suleimenov reportedly said the country will establish a crypto reserve, which will be managed by a National Bank affiliate. Meanwhile, Bhutan detailed plans to develop crypto-backed tourism to attract high-value global travelers.

Leading Ethereum liquid staking platform, Lido, implemented a two-way governance structure, allowing holders of staked ether (stETH) to delay or block proposals made by holders of LDO, its native token. The stETH holders can do so by locking in their tokens in an escrow contract.

In traditional markets, Nasdaq E-mini futures rose 0.6% to new lifetime highs, suggesting a return of the «U.S. exceptionalism narrative.» The dollar index, however, showed little signs of life. Stay alert!

What to Watch

  • Crypto
    • June 30: BNB Chain (BNB) activates the Maxwell hard fork on BNB Smart Chain mainnet, halving block times 0.75 seconds to enhance transaction speed, validator coordination and network scalability.
    • June 30: CME Group will launch spot-quoted futures, allowing trading in bitcoin, ether and major U.S. equity indices with contracts holdable for up to five years.
    • June 30: Zilliqa (ZIL) launches a new staking platform at stake.zilliqa.com, enabling instant staking and unstaking with no waiting period, and offering a boosted APR starting at 55.85% for early users, following the Zilliqa 2.0 mainnet upgrade.
    • June 30, 11 a.m.: Robinhood Markets is hosting «Robinhood Presents: To Catch a Token,» its first international crypto-focused keynote from the French Riviera. Livestream link.
  • Macro
    • Day 1 of 3: ECB Forum on Central Banking (Sintra, Portugal)
    • July 1, 9 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Brazil data on manufacturing and services activity.
      • Manufacturing PMI Prev. 49.4
    • July 1, 9:30 a.m.: “High Level Policy Panel” discussion chaired by Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. Livestream link.
    • July 1, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (final) June U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity.
      • Manufacturing PMI Est. 52 vs. Prev. 52
    • July 1, 10 a.m.: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) releases June U.S. services sector data.
      • Manufacturing PMI Est. Est. 48.8 vs. Prev. 48.5
    • July 1, 10 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases April U.S. labor market data (i.e. the JOLTS report).
      • Job Openings Est. 7.45M vs. Prev. 7.391M
      • Job Quits Prev. 3.194M
    • July 2, 9:30 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Canada data on manufacturing and services activity.
      • Manufacturing PMI Prev. 46.1
    • July 3, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases June employment data.
      • Non Farm Payrolls Est. 129K vs. Prev. 139K
      • Unemployment Rate Est. 4.2% vs. Prev. 4.2%
      • Government Payrolls Prev. -1K
      • Manufacturing Payrolls Prev. -8K
    • July 3, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Department of Labor releases unemployment insurance data for the week ended June 28.
      • Initial Jobless Claims Est. 239K vs. Prev. 236K
      • Continuing Jobless Claims Prev. 1974K
    • July 3, 9 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Brazil data on manufacturing and services activity.
      • Composite PMI Prev. 49.1
      • Services PMI Prev. 49.6
    • July 3, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (Final) June U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity.
      • Composite PMI Est. 52.8 vs. Prev. 53
      • Services PMI Est. 53.1 vs. Prev. 53.7
    • July 3, 10 a.m.: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) releases June U.S. services sector data.
      • Services PMI Est. 50.3 vs. Prev. 49.9
  • Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
    • None in the near future.

Token Events

  • Governance votes & calls
    • Lido DAO is voting on updating its Block Proposer Rewards Policy to SNOP v3. The proposal sets new standards for node operators, including use of vetted APMs and clearer responsibilities to enhance decentralization, fair rewards, and operational security. Voting ends June 30.
    • Arbitrum DAO is voting on lowering the constitutional quorum threshold to 4.5% from 5% of votable tokens. This aims to match decreased voter participation and help well-supported proposals pass more easily, without affecting non-constitutional proposals, which remain at a 3% quorum. Voting ends July 4.
    • The Polkadot community is voting on launching a non-custodial Polkadot branded payment card to “to bridge the gap between digital assets in the Polkadot ecosystem and everyday spending.” Voting ends July 9.
  • Unlocks
    • June 30: Optimism (OP) to unlock 1.79% of its circulating supply worth $16.65 million.
    • July 1: Sui (SUI) to unlock 1.3% of its circulating supply worth $122.75 million.
    • July 2: Ethena ENA to unlock 0.67% of its circulating supply worth $10.93 million.
    • July 11: Immutable IMX to unlock 1.31% of its circulating supply worth $11.15 million.
    • July 12: Aptos APT to unlock 1.76% of its circulating supply worth $54.97 million.
    • July 15: Starknet STRK to unlock 3.79% of its circulating supply worth $15.11 million.
  • Token Launches
    • July 1: VeChain (VET) to launch a new staking program with a 5.3 billion VHTO reward pool.
    • July 4: Biswap (BSW), Stella (ALPHA), Komodo (KMD), LeverFi (LEVER), and LTO Network (LTO) to be delisted from Binance.

Conferences

The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17.

Token Talk

By Francisco Rodrigues

  • Tokenized securities look to be the theme for the second half of 2025 after the memecoin trading frenzy started dying down to what is now a fraction of its former volumes.
  • On Friday, Dinari, an on-chain protocol for tokenized securities offerings, secured a broker-dealer license in the U.S. It’s now waiting for approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to start its offerings in the country.
  • In Europe, meantime, centralized exchange Gemini has already introduced tokenized equities for users.
  • Coinbase is also working on getting SEC approval for tokenized stock trading, while several other platforms including Superstate and Republic have already introduced similar offerings, including for pre-IPO firms like SpaceX.
  • Cryptocurrency firms have in the past attempted to introduce tokens backed by securities, but their efforts were shut down by regulators around the world.
  • Memecoin trading volumes, meanwhile, have slumped. Token launchpad Pump.fun saw monthly volume plunge from $11.6 billion in January to $3.5 billion this month, according to DeFiLlama data.
  • Those volumes were also affected by growing competition. Decentralized exchange Raydium debuted LaunchLab to compete with Pump.fun earlier this year. Its 30-day volume is just under $300 million.

Derivatives Positioning

  • While BTC jumped over 7% last week, open interest in offshore perpetuals dropped slightly with spot volumes staying low. The diverging trends raise a question mark on the sustainability of any gains. The ETH market showed similar patterns.
  • Perpetual funding rates for most major coins remain mildly positive, implying a cautiously bullish stance. XLM had deeply negative funding rates in a sign that traders chasing bearish short positions.
  • Ether CME futures open interest has pulled back from the record 1.39 million ETH to 1.26 million ETH. Positioning in the BTC CME futures remains light.
  • On on-chain options platform Derive, traders chased BTC put options in the July 11 expiry, reflecting downside fears. On Deribit, BTC risk reversals held flat across most tenors, indicating a lack of clear directional bias.

Market Movements

  • BTC is up 0.36% from 4 p.m. ET Friday at $107,554.22 (24hrs: +0.55%)
  • ETH is up 1.1% at $2,453.92 (24hrs: -0.12%)
  • CoinDesk 20 is up 1.86% at 3,012.02 (24hrs: -0.59%)
  • Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 15 bps at 2.88%
  • BTC funding rate is at 0.0008% (0.8497% annualized) on Binance

CoinDesk 20 members’ performance

  • DXY is down 0.16% at 97.24
  • Gold futures are up 0.32% at $3,298.00
  • Silver futures are down 0.16% at $36.31
  • Nikkei 225 closed up 0.84% at 40,487.39
  • Hang Seng closed down 0.87% at 24,072.28
  • FTSE is down 0.32% at 8,771.04
  • Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.32% at 5,308.51
  • DJIA closed on Friday up 1% at 43,819.27
  • S&P 500 closed up 0.52% at 6,173.07
  • Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.52% at 20,273.46
  • S&P/TSX Composite closed down 0.22% at 26,692.32
  • S&P 40 Latin America closed unchanged at 2,657.01
  • U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 3 bps at 4.253%
  • E-mini S&P 500 futures are up 0.39% at 6,248.25
  • E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are up 0.61% at 22,890.00
  • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are up 0.48% at 44,335.00

Bitcoin Stats

  • BTC Dominance: 65.47 (+0.18%)
  • Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.0229 (-0.78%)
  • Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 845 EH/s
  • Hashprice (spot): $58.19
  • Total Fees: 2.86 BTC / $307,544
  • CME Futures Open Interest: 156,365
  • BTC priced in gold: 32.7 oz
  • BTC vs gold market cap: 9.26%

Technical Analysis

Dollar index. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

  • The Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. currency’s value against major fiat peers, appears on track to slip into an ominous-sounding death cross on the weekly chart.
  • The death cross occurs when the 50-week simple moving average (SMA) dips below the 200-week SMA to suggest a deeper downtrend.
  • The occurrence of the indicator, however, has consistently marked bottoms since 2008.

Crypto Equities

Starting today, the price quoted for Galaxy Digital will be for its Nasdaq-traded shares.

  • Strategy (MSTR): closed on Friday at $383.88 (-0.66%), +1.48% at $389.55 in pre-market
  • Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $353.43 (-5.77%), +1.07% at $357.20
  • Circle (CRCL): closed at $180.43 (-15.54%), -2.89% at $175.21
  • Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $19.97 (-2.49%), +2.2% at $20.41
  • MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $15.03 (-1.57%), +0.53% at $15.11
  • Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $10.55 (+0.38%), +1.71% at $10.73
  • Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $16.65 (+1.77%), +4.62% at $17.42
  • CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $10.67 (-1.3%), +1.12% at $10.79
  • CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $21.71 (+0.98%), +1.38% at $22.01
  • Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $38.50 (-0.75%), +1.06% at $38.91
  • Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $29.85 (+0.1%), unchanged in pre-market

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

  • Daily net flows: $501.2 million
  • Cumulative net flows: $48.85 billion
  • Total BTC holdings ~1.24 million

Spot ETH ETFs

  • Daily net flows: $77.5 million
  • Cumulative net flows: $4.2 billion
  • Total ETH holdings ~4.08 million

Source: Farside Investors

Overnight Flows

Top 20 digital assets’ prices and volumes

Chart of the Day

LINK weekly net inflows/outflows. (Coinglass)

  • Centralized exchanges registered a net inflow of $9.51 million in oracle service Chainlink’s LINK token last week, snapping a multiweek trend of outflows.
  • Token inflows to exchanges are said to represent investor intention to liquidate holdings.

While You Were Sleeping

In the Ether

In 21 years, you'll wish you'd bought more.what stops this train?fixed it for you The conversation has changed in 2025. The Big Beautiful Bill will add roughly $3.3 Trillion to the U.S. Deficit warns the Congressional Budget Office

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Backed Finance Debuts Tokenized Stocks on Bybit, Kraken and Solana DeFi Protocols

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Real-world asset tokenization firm Backed Finance is launching its tokenized stock offering on major crypto exchanges, and Solana (SOL)-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, bringing equities like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft and crypto-native platforms closer.

The offering includes some 60 equity and ETF tokens that are available for trading around-the-clock, the company said on Monday.

Crypto exchanges Bybit and Kraken are first to allow trading with the tokens, followed by integrations with DeFi apps Kamino Swap, Raydium and Jupiter later in the day, the press release said. The tokens will soon be available as collateral for DeFi lending, too, Backed said.

The move comes as momentum grows for bringing traditional financial instruments including equities onto blockchain rails, also known as tokenization of real-world assets. Crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase and Gemini, are seeking to expand into tokenized securities trading, while Robinhood was reportedly working on offering tokenized U.S. stocks for EU users.

Backed’s rollout fits into that trend. The firm is orchestrated the xStocks Alliance, a group of exchanges and DeFi apps committed to building an open onchain market for real-world assets.

«xStocks represent a monumental leap forward in democratizing access to financial markets,» Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, said in a statement.

«By bringing familiar assets onto the blockchain with unprecedented accessibility, we are not just bridging traditional finance and DeFi; we are building the foundational blocks for a truly open, efficient, and inclusive global financial system where everyone can participate in wealth creation,» Levi said.

Read more: Gemini Rolls Out Tokenized Stocks in EU, Starting With Strategy Shares

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