cryptonews

Monday, June 16, 2025

BTC Tops $108K on JPMorgan Crypto Filing, XRP Rallies on ETF News

Crypto markets pushed higher on Monday as traders have shifted focus from geopolitical anxieties to crypto-related institutional developments ahead of the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting.

Bitcoin BTC has risen 3.1% in the last 24 hours and is now trading for $108,600, only a couple of thousand dollars below its all-time record. It certainly wasn’t alone in its ascension. The CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, memecoins and exchange coins — is up 4.3% in the same period of time, buoyed by strong performances from XRP and chainlink LINK, which both notched 6-7% gains, and most other tokens rising at least 3%.

A check at traditional markets shows that risk appetite has returned after last week's jitters on Israel and Iran launching missiles. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes bounced 0.9% and 1.4%, while safe haven gold declined 1.5%.

Crypto stocks also joined the surge. Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) closed the day 7.7% and 13% in the green. Among bitcoin miners, Bitdeer (BTDR) and Hut 8 (HUT) gained 6.9% and 5.6% respectively. Remarkably, one of the only equities in the red was Strategy (MSTR), which lost almost 0.2%, while rival bitcoin treasury companies Metaplanet rose 25% on the Japanese stock market.

Positive crypto-related news added further fuel to today's rally: JPMorgan has filed a trademark application for a product that seeks to offer digital asset services such as trading, exchange, payment services and issuance. Meanwhile, asset manager Purpose is set to launch its spot XRP exchange-traded fund in Canada as momentum for altcoin-focused ETFs grows.

When altcoin season?

While today's altcoin outperformance may have inspired some traders' hope for an imminent alt season, Nansen research analyst Nicolai Søndergaard poured cold water on such expectations.

It's still bitcoin that's leading the market, he said, with strength often tracing back to the largest crypto's performance.

"BTC has mostly served as a trigger for altcoins," Søndergaard. "Some alts also do well. BTC breaks an ATH? The market likes that." Some profits from BTC's rise to fresh record high may have trickled down to other cryptos, while some sectors such as DeFi have enjoyed short-term bursts of outperformance.

"These have, however, not been prolonged runs for alts, and looking at the grand scheme of things, most alts have been bleeding for some time," he said. The focus is still very much on BTC."

Bitcoin's strong rebound from Friday's low could bode well for the crypto market.

Bitfinex analysts noted that the sentiment index Fear and Greed Index dropped into “Fear” territory last week, while Bitcoin’s Net Taker Volume showed aggressive selling.

"This behavior, combined with a spike in liquidations, resembles past capitulation-style setups that often mark local bottoms,” the analysts said. "If BTC can hold the $102,000-$103,000 zone, it may suggest that selling pressure is being absorbed and that the market could be primed for recovery."

Eyes on the Fed and Powell

From a macro lens, attention is squarely on the Federal Reserve and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

Investors overwhelmingly expect the Fed to keep benchmark rates steady this week and the following meeting in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool, market participants will focus on Powell's remarks about clues on how policymakers navigate inflation and job market pressures.

"Powell’s tone, not the rate decision, will drive volatility," digital asset analytics firm Swissblock said in a Monday note. "Expect whiplash trading across commodities, yields and risk assets."

source https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/16/btc-tops-108k-on-jpmorgan-crypto-filing-xrp-rallies-on-etf-news

JPMorgan Files Trademark for Digital Asset Platform as Wall Street's Crypto Embrace Continues

Global banking giant JPMorgan Chase has filed a trademark application for a new crypto-focused platform branded as JPMD, signaling that the bank is pushing deeper into digital assets.

According to the application filed on Sunday to the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office, JPMD will offer services such as "providing trading, exchange, transfer, and payment services for digital assets" and "issuance of digital assets."

The bank's moves come as traditional financial institutions consider stablecoin issuance and asset managers issue crypto investment products and explore asset tokenization.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has long criticized cryptocurrencies, said last month the bank will allow its clients to buy bitcoin BTC. The bank recently added BTC ETFs for loan collateral for customers, and was also mentioned among the U.S. banks that reportedly held discussions about launching a stablecoin.

JPMorgan operates a private blockchain payments network Kynexis that processes more than $2 billion in daily transaction volume.

source https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/06/16/jpmorgan-files-trademark-for-digital-asset-platform-as-wall-streets-crypto-embrace-continues

Bitcoin Mining Costs Soar as Hashrate Hits Records: TheMinerMag

Bitcoin BTC miners are facing mounting pressure as the network’s hashrate and difficulty continue to climb, tightening margins even as bitcoin’s price holds steady, according to TheMinerMag’s monthly report.

The network's mining difficulty hit a record 126.98 trillion, propelled by a 14-day average hashrate of 913.54 exahashes per second (EH/s). Transaction fees in June fell below 1% of block rewards, and hashprice dropped to $52 per PH/s before rebounding slightly.

Escalating competition and energy costs are expected to drive production expenses above $70,000 per BTC, up from $64,000 in the first quarter of the year, the report said.

To remain competitive, public miners like MARA Holdings (MARA), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and IREN (IREN) are accelerating buildouts. MARA grew its hashrate by 30% in May, while HIVE (HIVE) added 32% after energizing a new facility in Paraguay. Cipher Mining (CIFR) is targeting a 70% boost by expanding its Texas operation.

Top-tier ASICs now cost between $10 and $30 per terahash, the report said, with operational payback periods stretching as long as two years. That’s assuming a $0.06/kWh electricity rate — already out of reach for some. Terawulf, for instance, paid $0.081/kWh in the first quarter, pushing its fleet hashcost up by over 25%.

Meanwhile, mining equities are decoupling from bitcoin’s price performance. IREN, Core Scientific (CORZ), and Bit Digital (BTBD) were all in the green over the last month, while Canaan (CAN) and Bitfarms (BITF) were both down double digits during the same time period.

The shift suggests that investors are paying closer attention to business models rather than just Bitcoin’s price action.

source https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/16/bitcoin-mining-costs-soar-as-hashrate-hits-records-theminermag

Metaplanet Overtakes Coinbase With 10K BTC, Becomes No. 9 Bitcoin Holder

Metaplanet (3350), the Japanese company that's committed to buying bitcoin BTC, boosted its holdings to 10,000 BTC, overtaking crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) to now own the ninth-largest stash among publicly traded companies.

The Tokyo based company bought 1,112 BTC for $117.2 million at an average price of $105,435 per bitcoin, CEO Simon Gerovich posted on X. The purchase lifted its holdings above Coinbase's 9,267, according to data on BitcoinTreasuries.com.

As of June 16, Metaplanet’s cumulative bitcoin investment stands at roughly $947 million, with an average acquisition cost of $94,697 per BTC. It started down the bitcoin accumulation path in April 2024.

A standout metric in Metaplanet’s performance is its bitcoin yield, a proprietary measure that tracks the percentage change in the ratio of total BTC holdings to fully diluted shares outstanding. The company has recorded strong figures in recent quarters:

Q3 2024 (July to September): 41.7%
Q4 2024 (October to December): 309.8%
Q1 2025 (January to March): 95.6%
Q2 2025 to date (April to June 16): 87.2%

To fund additional BTC purchases, Metaplanet issued $210 million in zero-percent ordinary bonds. Market response to the company’s aggressive bitcoin strategy has been positive, with shares closing 26% higher on Monday, reaching 1,895 yen.

source https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/16/metaplanet-overtakes-coinbase-with-10k-btc-becomes-no-9-bitcoin-holder

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Asia Morning Briefing: Risk of Escalating Israel-Iran Conflict Keeps BTC Around 105K Says QCP

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.

As Asia opens the trading week, BTC is changing hands at around $ 105,000, stuck in this range due to market uncertainty about whether the Israel-Iran conflict will escalate into a broader regional war, according to a recent note from trading firm QCP.

QCP wrote in a Friday note published on Telegram that risk reversals have "flipped decisively," with front-end BTC puts now commanding premiums of up to 5 volatility points over equivalent calls, a clear indicator of heightened investor anxiety and increased hedging against downside risks.

The firm said that despite this defensive shift in positioning, BTC has demonstrated notable resilience. Even amid recent volatility, which saw over $1 billion in long positions liquidated across major crypto assets, on-chain data shows that institutional buying continues to provide meaningful support.

QCP emphasizes that markets remain "stuck in a bind," awaiting clarity on geopolitical outcomes, and warns that the digital asset complex will likely remain tightly linked to headline-driven sentiment shifts for the foreseeable future.

With all that in mind, however, Glassnode data provides some reassurance to investors concerned about longer-term directionality.

Although recent volatility underscores short-term anxiety, bitcoin’s current cycle gain of 656%, while lower than previous bull markets, is notably impressive given its significantly larger market capitalization today.

Previous cycles returned 1076% (2015–2018) and 1007% (2018–2022), suggesting investor demand is still pacing closely with BTC’s maturation, even as near-term macro jitters dominate market sentiment.

Galaxy Research Says OP_Return Debate Wasn't That Important

The OP_Return debate was less important than what a "loud but small group of critics" wanted everyone to think, Galaxy Research's Alex Thorn wrote in a recent note.

Thorn described critics' reactions as "wild accusations of the 'death of Bitcoin'" and argued that such hyperbole was misplaced given historically low mempool congestion.

On-chain data shows that the mempool is virtually empty compared to a year ago, and the notion that a congested blockchain is suffocating BTC, as was the prevailing narrative in 2023, now appears significantly overstated.

In the note, Thorn further highlighted the irony of labeling arbitrary data as "spam," reminding observers that Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, famously included arbitrary text, the "chancellor on brink of second bailout" headline, in the Bitcoin’s blockchain's very first block.

Instead, Thorn argued, Bitcoin's community attention would be better focused on potential upgrades like CheckTemplateVerify (CTV), a proposed opcode enabling strict spending conditions ("covenants").

"We continue to believe [CTV] is a conservative but powerful opcode that would greatly enhance the ability to build better, safer methods of custody," he wrote, noting that around 20% of Bitcoin’s hashrate already signaled support for the upgrade.

Bitcoin upgrades require extensive consensus-building, reflecting its open-source ethos, and Thorn emphasized that cautious, deliberate evolution remains critical for broader adoption and scalability.

ByBit Launches Byreal, a Solana-Native Decentralized Exchange

Bybit is entering the decentralized exchange space with Byreal, an on-chain trading platform built on Solana, Ben Zhou, Bybit's CEO announced via X over the weekend.

Byreal's testnet is scheduled to launch on June 30, with the mainnet rollout expected later this year. Zhou said that Byreal is designed to combine centralized exchange features such as high liquidity and fast execution with the transparency and composability of DeFi. The platform will also include a fair launchpad system and curated yield vaults linked to Solana-native assets like bbSOL.

Market Movements:

BTC: Bitcoin held near $105,000 after more than $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, led by a $200 million long on Binance, as rising Israel-Iran tensions triggered a sharp selloff, a flight from altcoins, and a brief but intense bout of volatility.
ETH: Ethereum rose 2% to around $2,550 after finding strong support at $2,510, showing resilience amid Israel-Iran tensions and broader market volatility, with continued institutional inflows supporting the uptrend.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday, led by Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.87 percent, as investors weighed escalating Israel-Iran tensions, while oil and gold prices surged on safe haven demand.
Gold: Gold climbed to $3,447 in early Asian trading Monday, hitting a one-month high as Middle East tensions and rising expectations of a September Fed rate cut outweighed strong U.S. consumer sentiment data.

Elsewhere in Crypto:

source https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/15/asia-morning-briefing-risk-of-escalating-israel-iran-conflict-keeps-btc-around-105k-says-qcp

ETH Holds Strong; Is It the ‘Digital Oil’ Powering the Global Digital Economy?

Ether (ETH) ETH is trading above $2,540, showing strong resilience in the face of market turbulence fueled by heightened geopolitical risk. After briefly dipping to $2,491.72, ETH recovered swiftly, closing higher on above-average volume and validating key support near $2,500, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model.

Technical indicators suggest renewed momentum, supported by a double-bottom formation and heavy intraday buying near $2,530. ETH open interest stood at $35.36 billion as of 6:05 p.m. UTC on June 16, per CoinGlass data, indicating active institutional positioning.

However, U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs saw $2.1 million in net outflows on Friday, ending a record-setting 19-day inflow streak, according to data from Farside Investors. Despite that, ETH continues to hold its range between $2,500 and $2,800, suggesting bullish sentiment is intact for now.

Helping to support this narrative is a press release issued on Thursday by Etherealize, a group focused on bridging institutional finance and Ethereum. The statement announced the publication of "The Bull Case for ETH," a comprehensive report backed by ecosystem leaders like Danny Ryan, Grant Hummer, Vivek Raman, and others. The report argues that Ethereum is becoming the essential foundation for a digitally native global financial system.

According to the report’, the global economy is undergoing a generational shift, with financial assets increasingly moving onchain. Ethereum is positioned as the primary settlement layer enabling this transformation due to its decentralization, security, and uptime. The reports says that Ethereum already powers over 80% of all tokenized assets and is the default infrastructure for stablecoins and institutional blockchain deployments.

ETH, the native asset of Ethereum, is described not just as a store of value but also as programmable collateral, computational fuel, and yield-bearing infrastructure. The report claims ETH is vastly underpriced compared to its long-term utility and describes it as “digital oil” — a productive reserve asset underpinning a composable, global financial ecosystem. It argues ETH should be a core holding in any institution’s long-term digital asset strategy, complementing bitcoin’s role as digital gold.

In sum, while macro conditions remain volatile, Ethereum’s market behavior —combined with continued institutional engagement and its growing role as financial infrastructure — suggests ETH could be forming a durable base for a future breakout.

Technical Analysis Highlights

ETH traded between $2,500.43 and $2,554.69, closing near session highs at $2,542.
A double-bottom structure developed near $2,495–$2,510, supported by above-average volume.
Resistance was tested at $2,553, but a strong hourly close on 158,553 ETH volume signals renewed momentum.
A V-shaped bounce followed a low at $2,529, driven by spikes at 13:43 and 13:46.
Continued buying could push ETH toward $2,575–$2,600 short term.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

source https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/06/15/eth-holds-strong-is-it-the-digital-oil-powering-the-global-digital-economy

Owning One Bitcoin Is the New American Dream, Says Bitwise Portfolio Manager

Bitcoin (BTC) BTC is holding firm above $105,000 after recovering from a sharp downturn triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East. The leading cryptocurrency dropped below $104,000 following Israel’s strike on Iran, but quickly regained lost ground, now trading at $105,590, up 0.15% in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s swift rebound suggests underlying strength, with high-volume buying visible during the dip. Analysts point to the $104,000–$105,000 range as an important zone of support, as price action continues to grind upward. Sentiment remains cautious — reflected in a pullback in trader confidence — but structurally, bitcoin’s trend remains intact.

Beyond near-term volatility, bitcoin continues to capture the imagination of a younger generation of investors. In a recent episode of the Unchained podcast, Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management, described how bitcoin’s appeal increasingly transcends traditional financial goals.

According to Park, many younger people no longer aspire to own suburban homes or pursue the white-picket-fence ideal. Instead, they’re focused on becoming "wholecoiners" — those who own at least one full bitcoin — as a new form of prestige and long-term security. For some, the goal even extends beyond personal wealth to securing a financial legacy across generations, reflecting the popular meme of "retiring your bloodline."

Park added that bitcoin’s global, apolitical nature is central to this shift. It offers a shared value system, allowing people worldwide to "opt out" of systems they no longer trust. That sentiment is fueling a cultural pivot: bitcoin is no longer just a hedge or speculative asset, but for many, it has become a social signal of financial independence and self-sovereignty.

As BTC holds above $105K and macro catalysts loom, the contrast between short-term fear and long-term conviction has rarely been sharper.