A turbulent week in crypto ended with a pointy market downturn, as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and main altcoins plunged following U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear websites ordered by President Donald Trump.
Whereas geopolitical shockwaves rattled costs and NFTs posted a double-digit drop, crypto enterprise funding remained surprisingly resilient, and Reddit made headlines for exploring iris-scanning expertise to deal with identification challenges within the age of AI.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and different tokens plummet
- The crypto market slumped over the weekend as geopolitical tensions escalated following President Trump’s order for U.S. forces to hitch Israel in bombing Iran’s nuclear websites.
- Trump claimed the strikes “fully and completely obliterated” the services, prompting Iran to vow retaliation.
- Over the previous 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) fell by over 2.8% and 9%, respectively. Main altcoins like Virtuals Protocol, Celestia, AB, and Aptos dropped greater than 9% in 24 hours.
Iran imposes curfew on home crypto exchanges
- Earlier within the week, the Central Financial institution of Iran restricted change working hours to 10 a.m. to eight p.m.
- The choice follows a politically motivated hack on Nobitex, the nation’s largest buying and selling platform, that led to losses exceeding $90 million.
- The June 18 assault drained and burned property, rendering them unrecoverable.
Reddit considers iris scans
- Reddit is in talks to integrate Sam Altman’s World ID, a biometric verification system that scans irises with out storing private knowledge, to handle rising stress from AI threats, age verification legal guidelines, and bot abuse.
- The partnership would assist Reddit confirm consumer identification and age whereas preserving anonymity—an more and more crucial steadiness as regulators and researchers ramp up scrutiny of on-line platforms.
Coinbase unveils end-to-end stablecoin funds infrastructure
- The answer, powered by Coinbase’s layer-2 community, Base, allows retailers to simply accept Circle’s stablecoin USDC with out coping with blockchain complexity.
- Shopify, the primary main companion, has already built-in the system, enabling its huge service provider base to obtain near-instant, low-cost USDC funds from clients worldwide.
Crypto VC funding stays resilient
- Final week, 18 crypto tasks or startups secured a mixed $159.5 million regardless of broader market volatility.
- The week was dominated by infrastructure and AI-focused ventures, with EigenLayer leading the pack by way of a $70 million spherical backed by a16z crypto—bringing its whole funding to $234.5 million. Different notable raises included PrismaX, Sparkchain AI, Gradient Community, Ubyx, and Models Community, every attracting $10 million or extra from distinguished traders like Pantera, Lightspeed, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase Ventures.
- The exercise indicators continued confidence in foundational crypto applied sciences and AI convergence, whilst deal sizes focus round fewer, well-backed tasks.
NFTs expertise sharp drop
- NFT gross sales fell by 18.43% to $116.9 million, in response to knowledge from CryptoSlam.
- Regardless of the gross sales decline, market participation metrics present combined outcomes. NFT consumers stay flat at 1,061,348 (50.56% development maintained).
- NFT sellers rise by 8.09% to 38,494. NFT transactions have decreased barely by 0.63% to 1,709,086.
KindlyMD, Nakamoto merger replace
- Utah-based telehealth supplier KindlyMD is now channeling tens of millions into Bitcoin through its anticipated merger with Nakamoto Holdings, the Bitcoin-focused funding agency based by David Bailey.
- They’ve secured a further $51.5 million in PIPE financing, bringing their whole dedicated capital for Bitcoin treasury accumulation to $763 million.
- The newest spherical, priced at $5 per share in KindlyMD inventory, was totally subscribed in below 72 hours, signaling sturdy institutional curiosity regardless of broader market uncertainty.
Texas Governor indicators Bitcoin reserve invoice
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed Senate Invoice 21, creating the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve—a state-managed fund that may maintain Bitcoin as a long-term monetary asset.
- Operated independently from the overall treasury, the reserve is designed to bolster monetary resilience and hedge in opposition to inflation.
- Solely property with a market cap over $500 billion—presently simply Bitcoin—qualify. The fund might be overseen by the Texas Comptroller and suggested by a three-member crypto funding committee.
X makes good on ‘tremendous app’ concept
- X, previously Twitter, is expanding its push to grow to be a “tremendous app” by creating in-app funding and buying and selling options, in response to the Monetary Occasions.
- Below Elon Musk’s possession, the platform is evolving into an all-in-one monetary hub, with CEO Linda Yaccarino confirming plans to combine a variety of monetary companies.
- The transfer builds on Musk’s crypto-friendly fame and goals to place X as a central platform for each social and monetary exercise.
