Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

Venice AI Valued at $1 Billion as Erik Voorhees Makes the Case for Private ChatGPT Rivals

In briefVenice AI raised $65 million at a $1 billion valuation in its first outside funding round.Founder Erik Voorhees said the company has surpassed 3 million users and become profitable.Voorhees argued AI surveillance—not model capability—is becoming the industrys defining challenge.　　Venice AI has raised $65 million in its first outside funding round at a $1 billion valuation, founder Erik Voorhees announced Wednesday.　　In a post on X, Voorhees—a cryptocurrency industry veteran who is best known as the founder of the ShapeShift exchange—said the funding validates Venices mission to build a private, uncensored alternative to mainstream AI like ChatGPT.　　“This aversion to ubiquitous centralized surveillance and control is our philosophical foundation, and upon it Venice is growing rapidly,” Voorhees wrote. “In April, we hit 3 million users, and as of Q1, in an environment where AI firms were losing money while spying on you, Venice became profitable while choosing not to.”　　Launched in May 2024, Venice AI is a privacy-focused alternative to mainstream AI chatbots that is designed to avoid storing users conversations on centralized company servers. The round was led by Dragonfly, with participation from North Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Archetype, Liquid2 Ventures, and Morgan Creek.　　Venice AI native token ($VVV) rose following the funding

07-02Exchange

Bitcoin slips below $58K: Aggressive selling collides with weakening ETF demand

Bitcoin‘s latest sell-off intensified as bearish momentum continued building across Binance’s derivatives market. After repeatedly testing lower support levels, Bitcoin [$BTC] briefly slipped below $58,000 for the first time since September 2024.　　This price drop was accompanied by a net taker volume of about -$330 million. This exceeded the -$311 million that was seen on the 25th of June.　　The deeper negative reading shows sellers aggressively crossed the spread instead of waiting for buyers, overwhelming available bids and accelerating the decline.　　Source: CryptoQuant　　At the same time, the 7-day Open Interest trend remains positive. This indicates traders continue to add leverage based on their expectations of further declines in price.　　Unless buyer absorption strengthens and aggressive selling subsides, leveraged bearish positioning could keep Bitcoin under sustained downside pressure.　　Institutional distribution weakens Bitcoin demand　　That aggressive sell-side pressure also coincided with a continued deterioration in institutional demand. Rather than absorbing the latest wave of selling, U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their distribution trend, shedding more than 100,000 $BTC during 2026 alone.　　Source: CryptoQuant　　Furthermore, the total number of $BTC sold off by ETF issuers has reached approximately 160,000 $BTC since they hit a high-water mark in their reserves in late October 2025. This represents losses totaling more than $11 billion.　　Source:

07-02Exchange

Crypto Firms Spend $189M to Shape 2026 U.S. Elections

Crypto companies have contributed $189 million to influence the 2026 U.S. Election, making it the largest source of disclosed corporate spending. According to the Public Citizen report, the figure represents 37% of the $517 million in disclosed corporate election spending.　　The report identified Ripple, Crypto.com, and Coinbase as the biggest contributors, with combined spending of $123.4 million. Ripple supplied $49.6 million, Crypto.com provided $38.6 million, and Coinbase added $35.2 million through the first quarter of 2026.　　Fairshake and MAGA Inc. Capture $138.8M in Crypto Funding　　Meanwhile, Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss contributed another $25.7 million. Their support raised total spending by the four major crypto groups to nearly $149 million.　　Much of the industrys political funding flowed to two major super PACs. Fairshake received $82.6 million in crypto-related contributions, while Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. collected $56.2 million from companies connected to the sector.　　Another political vehicle, the Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Fellowship PAC, received $10 million from the Wall Street firm, which also serves as a banking partner to stablecoin issuer Tether.　　According to Public Citizen, these committees support or oppose candidates from either major party based on positions affecting the commercial interests of their corporate backers.　　Additional contributions further expanded the sectors political reach. Blockchain.com supplied $5 million

07-02Exchange

Ethereum: Can ETH avoid its first-ever 3-quarter losing streak？

Ethereum [$ETH] has struggled in recent quarters, but what stands out is the divide among major players. Is $ETH simply going through a rough patch, or is it about to fall further for good？　　Ethereums first 3-quarter losing streak　　Per the quarterly returns chart from CoinGlass, $ETH closed Q4 2025 in red and has continued to fall through Q1 and Q2 2026. If this quarter ends the same way, this would be Ethereums first-ever run of three consecutive negative quarters.　　Source: Coinglass　　$ETH has seen big corrections before, but it has usually recovers within the next quarter or two. This time, the sell pressure has lasted longer, so its more concerning for bulls.　　Traders will probably stay nervous until $ETH recovery becomes obvious.　　Blackrock sells, Bitmine buys　　Source: Arkham Intelligence　　What makes this peculiar, is that big institutions are not moving in sync. BlackRock has reportedly deposited more Bitcoin [BTC] and $ETH to Coinbase Prime and has sold $ETH for seven straight trading days. Its last $ETH buy was around two weeks ago.　　Source: Arkham Intelligence　　But on the other side, Tom Lee‘s Bitmine is still buying aggressively. The firm added another 27,084 $ETH, worth about $42.5 million, taking its total holdings to 5.7 million $ETH. That is around 4.72%

07-02Exchange

Landmark First: Coinbase Brings Stablecoin Funding to Europes Regulated Mutual Funds

Coinbase Payments Integration Enables $EURC and $USDC Subscriptions for Regulated Funds　　Institutional investors in Europe can now subscribe to and redeem holdings in regulated money market funds using stablecoins after Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) revealed on June 30 that it had connected its Payments infrastructure with Spiko, a European fintech firm delivering tokenized exposure to short-term U.S. Treasury investments through regulated money market funds.　　This development represents what the companies characterize as the first UCITS funds in Europe to accept onchain funding through Euro Coin ($EURC) and USD Coin ($USDC), bringing near-instant settlement capabilities.　　Coinbase stated:　　“In a landmark first for Europe, investors can now enter and exit a regulated mutual fund (UCITS) near-instantly using stablecoins.”　　The crypto exchange explained that the service operates on Base, a layer-2 blockchain network created by Coinbase, and supports Spikos EU T-Bills Money Market Fund and Spiko US T-Bills Money Market Fund. The firms indicated that the setup permits investors to shift between stablecoins and short-term U.S. Treasury investments continuously, including weekends and holidays.　　Stablecoin Payments Aim to Reduce Settlement Delays for Institutional Treasury Operations　　The companies said that the new payment model goes beyond tokenizing investment products by improving how investors access and exit regulated funds. Coinbase portrayed stablecoin-backed treasury management

07-02Exchange

Crypto Firms Lead $517 Million Corporate Surge Into 2026 Midterms

Cryptocurrency companies have become the single largest corporate political spenders in the United States, pouring $189 million into the 2026 midterm elections — more than they spent during the entire 2024 election cycle — according to a new report from the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.　　The crypto sector accounts for 37% of the $517 million that corporations have reported spending on the 2026 midterms so far, a figure that already surpasses the previous record of $461 million set during the full 2024 cycle.　　Months remain before Election Day.　　The report, authored by Public Citizen researcher Rick Claypool and published June 30, draws on Federal Election Commission data and finds that corporations have now spent nearly one third of the $1.58 billion in total corporate election spending since the Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United decision — all in a single election cycle.　　Corporate super PACs pioneered by crypto　　At the center of the spending surge is a category the report calls “corporate supremacist super PACs” — political committees structured not around party affiliation, but around advancing the interests of specific industries. The strategy, pioneered by the crypto sector in 2024, is now being replicated across multiple industries.　　The primary crypto-aligned vehicle, Fairshake, has received $82.6 million

07-02Exchange

Bitso unveils the 'Hybrid Finance' era as stablecoins reshape global payments

MEXICO CITY, June 23, 2026 — Bitso Business, the B2B arm of Bitso, Latin Americas leading digital financial services company, used the stage of Stablecoin Conference 2026, Latin Americas largest gathering focused on stablecoins and digital payments, to unveil a vision of what it calls the next phase of financial infrastructure: the rise of “Hybrid Finance,” where traditional financial institutions and blockchain-native companies increasingly operate on shared rails.　　The announcement comes amid accelerating institutional adoption of stablecoins globally. During the conference, Bitso released the second edition of its Stablecoin Landscape in Latin America report, revealing that stablecoin payment volumes processed by Bitso Business grew 81% year-over-year during the first half of 2026.　　The report also found that more than 60% of all new institutional clients onboarded by Bitso Business this year were banks and financial institutions, significantly outpacing crypto-native firms and traditional enterprises. According to the company, the data reflects a structural shift in which blockchain infrastructure is moving from an alternative payment mechanism to a core component of modern financial services.　　“Were entering an era of hybrid financial system where its no longer the TradFi world and the digital assets world, but it is just really a set of companies, individuals, businesses

07-02Industry

Magic Eden, Founders Sued by $ME Buyers Over Broken 'Utility' Promises

Three $ME token buyers sued Magic Eden and its four co-founders, alleging the company promoted the tokens use cases — multichain trading, governance, staking rewards, and revenue sharing — then delayed, diminished, or abandoned them, according to a class-action complaint filed in federal court in New York.　　Jaime Pagan, Ariel Ruano and Chris Sadowski filed the suit on June 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against co-founders Jack Lu, Zhuoxun Yin, Sidney Zhang and Zhuojie Zhou, along with Euclid Labs Inc., which does business as Magic Eden, and the ME Foundation. The plaintiffs are represented by Max Burwick of Burwick Law, a firm that has brought several consumer class actions against crypto issuers.　　$ME traded at about $0.056 on Tuesday, leaving it down roughly 99% from its post-launch high and giving it a market capitalization of about $34 million, according to CoinGecko data. The token slipped 3.8% over the prior 24 hours, compared with BTCs 2.4% decline.　　The complaint, which cites prices as of its filing date, says the token reached about $5.63 on Dec. 11, 2024 — excluding a launch-day spike on thin liquidity — and had fallen about 98%, to roughly $0.12, by mid-June.　　The

07-02Exchange

Robinhood rolls out public blockchain as it expands deeper into crypto

Beyond the Robinhood Chain ecosystem, the company announced several additional product launches and international expansion efforts. Robinhood said it is expanding perpetual futures trading in Europe to include commodities, ETFs and foreign exchange markets alongside crypto. It also plans to launch crypto trading in the U.K. and said its services are now available in Canada following its acquisition of WonderFi.　　The company also unveiled Agentic Accounts for crypto, an AI-powered trading tool that will allow eligible U.S. users to connect AI models to Robinhoods trading infrastructure while retaining control over capital allocation and trading parameters.　　“Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate,” Johann Kerbrat, Robinhoods senior vice president of crypto.　　Robinhoods product push shows how the lines between crypto and traditional finance are continuing to blur. The brokerage has steadily expanded beyond stocks and spot crypto trading into tokenized equities, derivatives and event contracts, better known as prediction markets. That strategy fits into the race for the “everything exchange” to host all kinds of trading and financial activity under one roof, increasingly on top of blockchain rails.　　At the same time, the company also said last month it would lay off 10%

07-02Industry

Today Was the Deadline for Crypto Exchanges in Europe to Obtain MiCA Licenses: Which Ones Got Them, and Which Ones Didnt？

The transition period under the European Unions comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrency markets, MiCA, ended today. Under the new regulations, cryptocurrency exchanges wishing to operate in Europe must obtain the necessary licenses and regulatory approvals.　　With this process underway, exchanges that haven‘t received MiCA approval are reportedly starting to suspend some of the services they offer to their European users. Platforms like Binance, which haven’t yet completed the licensing process, may also impose service restrictions on millions of users in Europe.　　Related News The Big Bears Take the Stage: Peter Schiff and Mike McGlone Comment on the Future of Bitcoins Price　　The exchanges that have received MiCA approval and can operate in compliance with European regulations include the following platforms:　　Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gate, OKX, Kraken, Bitstamp, Bybit, Backpack, Bitvavo, Bit2Me, Revolut, Bitpanda, Blockchain.com, Robinhood, eToro, Swissquote, MoonPay and Strike.　　With the MiCA regulation, licensed activity, user protection, transparency, and oversight will come to the forefront in the European crypto market. The introduction of this regulatory framework is expected to strengthen the position of licensed platforms in the European market, while reducing the scope of activity for unlicensed exchanges in the region.　　*This is not investment advice.

07-02Exchange

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