Autor Cointelegraph By Cointelegraph

Crypto treasury company Sharplink, which resumed buying Ether last week after an eight-month pause, has bought a total of $62.4 million worth of Ether since Thursday. Onchain data from Arkham shows that after Sharplink bought 5,000 ETH on Thursday, it bought another 5,000 ETH (worth $7.9 million) on Friday, followed by 29,196 ETH (worth $46.7 million) across three over-the-counter transactions on Saturday. Source: LookonchainThe three-day buying spree adds to evidence that Sharplink has revived its active Ether accumulation strategy. The crypto treasury company was once a close competitor to Bitmine as the world’s largest ETH treasury company. Sharplink declined to comment on the reason and timing of the Ether purchase when first contacted on Thursday. Sharplink backs EthlabsHowever, the purchases came the same week that both Bitmine and Sharplink backed a new research and development nonprofit that aims to make Ethereum ready for institutional use. Sharplink said on Monday that the organization, Ethlabs, was formed to “ready Ethereum for the next phase of institutional adoption,” with the company joining Bitmine, Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and other Ethereum contributors in backing the initiative. Related: Sharplink, Forward Industries among crypto firms considered for Russell indexes“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 said. “Ethlabs exists to ensure the network is ready to absorb that demand at scale.”Ether slumpThe purchases also come as the cryptocurrency is down 22.8% month-on-month, and nearly 50% compared to the start of the year, allowing Tether stablecoin USDt (USDT) to briefly surpass Ether in market capitalization last week. Meanwhile, US spot Ether ETFs recorded their seventh week of outflows last week, recording $12.9 million in net outflows, driven mainly by withdrawals from BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Magazine: Bitcoin slides to $58K, XRP hits $1 but onchain data promising: Market Moves

Binance recorded over $400 million in net outflows during the week beginning June 22, as the cryptocurrency exchange announced the withdrawal of its Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license application in Greece.According to DefiLlama data viewed by Cointelegraph on Sunday, Binance’s seven-day net outflows amount to 0.3% of its $133.3 billion in tracked assets. Excluding BNB, Binance’s native token, the outflows equal 0.35% of the exchange’s $113.8 billion in crypto assets.Binance led tracked exchanges in weekly net outflows. Source: DefiLlamaNet outflows accelerated on Wednesday, when Binance announced its withdrawal from Greece’s securities regulator, recording $1.96 billion in net outflows, followed by two more days of $2.52 billion and $1.46 billion.The scale of outflows is not unusual for Binance, which regularly records billions of dollars in daily inflows and outflows. The data also does not identify the geographic origin of the fund movements.The outflows came during the final week before the European Union’s MiCA transition deadline. Starting July 1, Binance will restrict onboarding and some services for affected EU users.Daily net flows in the billions of dollars are not unusual for Binance. Source: DefiLlamaMiCA winners are less clear than expectedSeveral rival exchanges have sought to attract Binance users ahead of the bloc’s deadline.OKX, one of the most vocal exchanges courting Binance users, recorded $285.5 million in net inflows over the same period, according to DefiLlama’s rankings based on exchanges’ proof of reserves. The exchange received MiCA authorization in Malta in January 2025.However, OKX was third in weekly net inflows, behind Bitget’s $710 million and Bitfinex’s $400 million. Neither exchange appears on the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) interim MiCA register, which was last updated on Friday.Related: Spain regulator rules out extension for non-MiCA compliant crypto companiesBinance says Europe still mattersCryptoQuant analyst Maartunn recently told Cointelegraph that euro trading accounts for just 1% of Binance’s spot volume, which may limit potential MiCA-related setbacks for the exchange.However, Binance’s public messaging is that the company intends to continue pursuing a MiCA license, despite being on pace to miss the July 1 buzzer.“As for Binance and Europe, we take this market seriously. It’s a small part of our business, but an important one, and we’re committed to the EU and our customers there,” Yi He, a co-founder of the exchange, said on Friday.Meanwhile, Binance has started telling some EU users to move funds to self-custodial wallets or other exchanges. A Binance representative told Cointelegraph that the restrictions vary depending on users’ jurisdictions and that no action is required for users not served through a local registered entity.ESMA said in a June 23 statement that crypto service providers unlicensed by July 1 must take “immediate steps” to wind down EU activities, and limit services to actions to sell, transfer, relocate assets or close positions.Magazine: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto

Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, said he hopes Strategy will sell at least $3 billion in Bitcoin to cover most of the company’s cash obligations for the next two years.In a Saturday X post, Pandl argued that the move may restore market confidence in the company’s capital structure.Contrary to his hopes, Pandl said he expects a 50-basis-point increase to the dividend rate on Strategy’s preferred stock, STRC, adding roughly $100 million in annual obligations over two years. Pandl added that this scenario “probably does not help market confidence.”Strategy faces an annual preferred dividend obligation of approximately $1.2 billion, driven primarily by STRC.STRC is Strategy’s flagship “digital credit” preferred stock designed to trade near its $100 par value, but has been sliding for weeks. On Friday, it fell to as low as $71.25, a 28.75% discount to par. Strategy’s common stock MSTR fared little better and closed Friday at $82.31, down 26.86% throughout the trading week.Pandl said he expects Strategy to raise STRC’s dividend rate but hopes the company sells Bitcoin instead. Source: Zach PandlStrategy’s cash reserve under pressureStrategy is the world’s largest publicly-listed corporate Bitcoin holder, placing its 847,363 BTC stash and financing decisions under the industry’s microscope. According to Strategy’s latest 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it acquired 520 Bitcoin for $34.9 million between June 15 and June 21.Blockchain analytics company CryptoQuant argued in a Tuesday report that Strategy should pause Bitcoin purchases and focus on replenishing its cash reserve, which is down 38% in 2026.Related: Bitcoin doesn’t need Ethereum-style yield, says Strategy’s Michael SaylorThe 8-K filing also revealed that Strategy increased its US dollar reserve by $300 million to $1.4 billion. This leaves the company with roughly 14 months of dividend coverage, down sharply from what was once a seven-year cushion.Strategy said on Monday that it plans to continue replenishing its cash reserves to support the credit quality of its “digital credit” securities.Alternatives to a Bitcoin saleCryptoQuant added that the company has no obligation to sell Bitcoin to support STRC’s price, because it can deploy other methods to defend its stock, such as raising the current 11.5% dividend yield.Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow argued in a Monday X post that STRC has a built-in “self-repairing mechanism.” Once the stock falls below its $100 reference price, Strategy halts new ATM issuance, cutting off the supply of fresh shares.At the same time, a lower price mechanically boosts the yield for new buyers relative to what they paid, which Mow said should draw in fresh demand and pull the price back toward par over time.Source: Samson MowMagazine: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto