Crypto & Digital Assets news from the last 24 hours, AI-curated by PiQ Markets

SpaceX's upcoming Nasdaq debut has seen significant activity in the crypto space, with tokenized share offerings attracting substantial interest and funds. Despite initial excitement and over $557 million in deposits on platforms like Binance, several major exchanges including Binance, Bybit, and Bitget canceled their tokenized pre-IPO offerings due to a failure to secure underlying shares. Meanwhile, SpaceX's shares surged over 26% on their Nasdaq debut, reaching a market capitalization exceeding $2.2 trillion, and the company has also emerged as a significant Bitcoin holder. Kraken has launched its own tokenized access to the SpaceX IPO.

Bitcoin has experienced significant volatility, trading near $63,538 after a volatile week that saw it dip below $60,000. The cryptocurrency's price movements are influenced by a confluence of factors including inflation, geopolitical tensions, and macroeconomic data. A stronger-than-expected US jobs report and capital rotation into AI infrastructure and IPOs have pressured Bitcoin, contributing to outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs. Despite these headwinds, easing geopolitical concerns and a broader market rally have helped Bitcoin stabilize above $63,000, though outflows from both Bitcoin and Ether ETFs persist.

Bitcoin and ether are on track for their worst weekly performance since the FTX collapse, as the cryptocurrency market has shed approximately $390 billion in value.

Zcash's price has fallen by over 50%, erasing $5 billion in market capitalization due to concerns over a counterfeiting vulnerability in its Orchard shielded pool. This bug makes verifying the cryptocurrency's total supply difficult. In response, Zcash developers have proposed the Ironwood upgrade, a new shielded pool intended to restore independent supply verification. The upgrade is slated for activation in late July 2026. Meanwhile, Monero's price surged from $330 to $438 following a $120 million USDT laundering attempt traced by ZachXBT, which Tether later addressed by freezing $72 million.

Ethereum's price has fallen below $1,600, a significant drop that reduced a $10,000 investment to $7,731 in a single day. This decline occurred as Ether approached a critical $1,500 support level. F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang withdrew approximately $28.67 million worth of ETH from Binance amid the market downturn. The broader cryptocurrency market also saw a dip, with Ethereum experiencing a 1.3% decline and the CoinDesk 20 index trading lower. DFG CEO James Wo expressed skepticism regarding a high Ether price forecast, opting instead to increase his Bitcoin investments.

Six U.S. senators are challenging a proposed 1,250% risk weight for Bitcoin capital requirements, which they argue makes holding the cryptocurrency too expensive for regulated banks and could hinder institutional adoption. In parallel, major U.S. banks are launching tokenized deposits and planning a tokenization network to compete with stablecoins and crypto startups. This initiative aims to establish dominance for cash on blockchain networks. Meanwhile, Bitcoin's value has dropped to 0.23% of global capital, with its purchasing power below $56,000.

Kalshi has received regulatory approval to offer perpetual futures contracts on Bitcoin, a move that has ignited debate among derivatives experts regarding the classification of these contracts and their implications for broader regulatory oversight of crypto derivatives. Meanwhile, prediction markets, including Kalshi and Polymarket, are experiencing a surge in trading volume, with event-based trading reaching $1 billion, driven by interest in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and attracting quantitative firms.

Hyperliquid's HYPE token is scheduled for a substantial unlock on June 6, releasing tokens valued at approximately $690 million. This release represents about 23.8% of the total supply and is intended to incentivize long-term commitment from core contributors. Despite potential sell pressure from this large unlock, Hyperliquid's robust trading volume and liquidity are expected to help mitigate its impact. Separately, Bitcoin has reached its lowest price of 2024, while new HYPE ETFs, linked to hyperliquid platforms, are gaining investor interest.

Exodus and Ondo Finance have launched Exodus Markets, a platform for trading over 200 tokenized stocks and ETFs directly within the Exodus self-custodial wallet on the Solana blockchain. Concurrently, Ethena Labs is set to allocate $250 million to the Securitize Tokenized AAA CLO Fund, also launching on Solana, to diversify its collateral for synthetic dollar products. These developments highlight Solana's growing role in facilitating access to traditional financial assets through tokenization.

BlackRock has filed for its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), aiming for a launch on Nasdaq next week, potentially as early as June 18. This new ETF will generate income by selling call options on BlackRock's existing spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT. Meanwhile, VanEck has launched the first U.S. spot BNB ETF, VBNB, providing investors with direct exposure to the cryptocurrency and highlighting BNB's user activity and deflationary mechanics.

Vietnam's securities regulator is backing crypto assets and tokenized real-world assets as potential pillars for its digital economy, exploring plans for a regulated digital asset market. The country sees high global rankings in crypto users and transaction growth. Meanwhile, South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance has classified tokenized stocks as securities, not crypto assets. This decision could subject them to existing capital markets tax laws, potentially affecting investors anticipating a different tax treatment under a future virtual asset tax regime.

A New York court has halted a potential default judgment that could have affected 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets. The wallets, estimated to hold 3.8 million BTC, were the subject of a legal action. An attorney intervened, arguing that the wallets, some active since 2011, were not abandoned. This intervention prevents a default judgment from being entered against these digital assets.

A Tennessee man has been indicted on 11 federal charges for allegedly running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme through Star Credit Holdings between 2020 and 2024. Prosecutors allege he defrauded investors of millions by using new investor funds to pay earlier investors, while also diverting more than $1.9 million for personal expenses. The scheme operated for approximately four years before charges were brought.

Sam Bankman-Fried's attempt to overturn his crypto fraud conviction and 25-year sentence has been denied by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court affirmed the conviction, stating there was substantial evidence presented against the former FTX CEO. This decision upholds the original verdict and sentence stemming from the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.

Four years ago, Celsius Network halted all withdrawals due to extreme market conditions, freezing $12 billion in assets for 1.7 million users. The CEL token experienced a 60% price drop within an hour, preceding a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing the subsequent month. This event marked a significant moment in the cryptocurrency market's volatility.

Y Combinator, a prominent startup accelerator, anticipates that all its portfolio companies will eventually integrate cryptocurrency technologies, such as stablecoins. The firm is actively supporting the Clarity Act, a legislative proposal aimed at establishing regulatory clarity for digital assets. This move is intended to facilitate the seamless integration of crypto into traditional financial systems and enable broader adoption across Y Combinator's diverse range of businesses, which include major companies like Airbnb and DoorDash.

The SKYAI token saw a significant surge of 70% in its price over a 24-hour period, accompanied by a 107% increase in trading volume to $54 million. This sharp rise reflects a broader trend of heightened investor interest in tokens associated with artificial intelligence technologies, outperforming the general cryptocurrency market.

Decentralized finance saw significant activity in May, with Hyperliquid reaching a record 6.63% of global DEX perpetual trading volume. In contrast, Radiant Capital is undergoing an orderly wind-down, citing previous losses and financing challenges. Meanwhile, a hacker associated with the Kelp DAO bridge incident successfully laundered $220 million in stolen assets, highlighting ongoing security concerns within the DeFi space.

The U.S. has identified Brazil's Pix payment system as a potential target for trade restrictions in a recent report. In a separate development, Chilean authorities have seized $88 million in cryptocurrency assets as part of an operation against a money laundering ring connected to the Tren de Aragua gang. Brazil is also investigating the feasibility of using sugarcane to power Bitcoin mining operations.

Solana's price dropped below $65 on June 5th, marking its lowest point since late 2023. The cryptocurrency experienced an 8% decline in 24 hours, trading near $63.23. Analysts have identified $53 as a crucial support level, with the dip occurring amidst wider market downturns.