Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 28 - July 4, 2026

Weekly Crypto Market Performance 

Period: June 28–July 4, 2026

Total crypto market cap: $2.14T

Crypto Fear & Greed Index: 22 (Extreme Fear)

BTC.D: 58.38%

Price action 

Bitcoin opened the week under heavy pressure, falling to an intraday low near $57,735 on July 1, its weakest level in 21 months, before staging a sharp reversal. The rebound pushed BTC price back above $61,000 on July 2 and toward $62,520 by July 3, after reclaiming the $62,000 zone. It is trading slightly softer near $63,200, still up 3.58% over the week.

Ethereum is the stronger major, trading near $1,782, up about 11.28% on the week but still down more than 60% below its 2025 high. CoinGlass data showed ETH price posting three straight negative quarters: Q4 2025 -28.28%, Q1 2026 -29.26%, and Q2 2026 -25.28%. Internal pressure also persisted after the Ethereum Foundation cut 20% of staff and reduced its budget by 40%. Still, sentiment improved after Ethereum Institutional launched, with Binance recording over 166,000 ETH withdrawals in one day, the highest single-day level since March 2023. 

Crypto-native fundamentals

ETF flows remained a major overhang. US spot BTC ETFs posted about $526.64M in net outflows during the shortened June 29–July 2 trading window. The weekly pressure followed a much heavier June, when BTC ETF redemptions reached roughly $4.15B, the largest monthly outflow since the products launched. ETH ETFs were also negative, losing about $13.67M over the same weekly window, while June outflows totaled roughly $529M. 

Macro context

Macro pressure eased after the June jobs report. Employers added just 57,000 jobs, below expectations of roughly 110,000–115,000, while April and May payrolls were revised down by a combined 74,000. The softer labor print reduced Fed-hike pricing: July hike odds fell to about 20% from 30%, while September hike odds dropped to roughly 50% from 67% before the data.

The repricing mattered because policy tone was still hawkish. At the June FOMC, the Fed held rates at 3.50%–3.75%, raised its 2026 PCE inflation projection to 3.6%, and showed nine officials still favored at least one hike by year-end. Chair Kevin Warsh also said on July 1 that inflation remained “too high,” limiting any clean dovish interpretation. Gold benefited from lower rate expectations, softer oil, and easing Strait of Hormuz risk as US-Iran talks progressed.

Regulation stayed unresolved. The CLARITY Act remained in limbo, with Polymarket odds for 2026 passage near 48%, down from 74% a month earlier. Cooling AI-linked memory and semiconductor stocks also acted as a potential catalyst for the upside, as investors raised the question of whether capital may rotate back into Bitcoin.

Regulation, Capital Discipline, and Stablecoin Governance

MiCA Deadline Reshapes Europe’s Crypto Market

Europe’s MiCA regime became fully operational on July 1, forcing crypto exchanges, custodians, brokers, issuers and stablecoin firms into a unified EU authorization framework. USDT was pushed off licensed European exchanges after Tether did not submit the required electronic money issuance application, while Circle’s USDC and EURC compliance created an opening on regulated venues. MiCA also leaves unresolved questions around multi-jurisdictional stablecoin issuance.

Strategy Sets New Capital Framework to Protect Bitcoin Exposure

Strategy approved a Digital Credit Capital Framework that adds a Bitcoin Monetization Program, USD Reserve policy, preferred-security repurchases, common-stock buybacks and a new STRC dividend policy. The company paused Bitcoin purchases for the cited week, kept holdings at 847,363 BTC and rebuilt its USD Reserve to $2.55 billion. The framework gives Strategy tools to preserve Bitcoin exposure while managing preferred-stock obligations and market dislocations.

Open USD Challenges Circle’s Stablecoin Model, But Then Faces Partner Backlash

Open Standard announced Open USD, a planned stablecoin expected later in 2026, with a model that shares most reserve income with participating businesses and removes minting and redemption fees. The pitch pressured Circle shares and raised questions around USDC’s reserve-income economics. The launch then faced scrutiny after claims that some listed partners had not formally approved participation, with Samsung, Shinhan, Dunamu and K Bank cited in reported pushback.

Institutional Ethereum, Tokenized Markets, and Treasury Accumulation

Ethereum Institutional Launches With Wall Street Backing

Ethereum Institutional launched as an independent nonprofit focused on helping banks, asset managers and other financial firms engage with Ethereum, Ethereum L2s and Ethereum-based applications. BitMine, SharpLink and Joseph Lubin were named as anchor funders. The nonprofit is positioned as a neutral institutional access point during a broader Ethereum support-structure shift that also includes EthLabs and Ethereum Foundation restructuring.

Robinhood Launches Chain as Crypto Push Expands

Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 built with Arbitrum’s tech stack for tokenized real-world assets, DeFi applications and 24/7 tokenized stock trading. Stock Tokens are live for eligible users but are not available in the U.S. or to U.S. persons. Robinhood also announced DeFi integrations, gas-fee coverage for eligible users, European perpetual futures expansion and planned AI-powered crypto trading tools.

Metaplanet Buys $170.7 Million in Bitcoin

Metaplanet bought 2,823 BTC for $170.7 million, expanding its treasury to 43,000 BTC and becoming the world’s third-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder. The latest purchase placed it behind Strategy and Twenty One Capital and ahead of MARA Holdings. The company also reported a 6.6% BTC Yield for the quarter and stronger Bitcoin Income Generation revenue from Bitcoin-related options activity.

Bitmine Adds ETH as Tom Lee Cites Quarter-End Selling

Bitmine added 27,084 ETH in the week, lifting holdings to just over 5.7 million ETH, or about 4.7% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. The company remains the largest corporate Ethereum treasury holder and is targeting 5% of total circulating supply. Chairman Tom Lee linked recent crypto weakness to quarter-end “window dressing,” while Bitmine had staked almost 4.9 million ETH through MAVAN at a cited 2.75% yield.

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Stablecoin Banking and Wallet Distribution

BNY Adds USDC Custody, Minting and Redemption for Institutions

BNY expanded its Circle relationship by adding USDC custody, transfer, minting and redemption services for institutional clients on its Digital Asset Custody platform. USDC is the first stablecoin supported on the platform. The service lets clients hold USDC at BNY, convert U.S. dollars into USDC and redeem USDC back into dollars through the bank.

Standard Chartered Launches Institutional USDC Services

Standard Chartered launched institutional USDC minting and redemption services with Circle through its Dubai International Financial Centre business. The service targets eligible qualified institutional clients, not retail users, and lets them access USDC through one banking onboarding process rather than a separate Circle relationship. The rollout begins in the UAE, with expansion dependent on regulatory approvals and market demand.

MetaMask Launches Money Account With mUSD Yield

MetaMask launched Money Account, a self-custodial wallet feature that lets eligible users hold mUSD, earn up to 4% variable APY, spend through the Mastercard-powered MetaMask Card and access trading tools from the same balance. mUSD sits at the center of the product, while yield is routed through Veda vault infrastructure into DeFi lending protocols. Money Account uses Monad as its home chain and excludes the U.K. and other restricted jurisdictions.

National Rulebooks and Physical Risk

UK Finalizes Landmark Crypto Rulebook

The UK FCA finalized a crypto rulebook that will require major crypto firms serving UK customers to obtain authorization starting October 25, 2027. The framework covers trading platforms, intermediaries, custodians, stablecoin issuers, lending and borrowing providers, staking providers and some DeFi activities where an identifiable controlling entity exists. The rules add capital, disclosure, market-abuse, custody, consumer-protection and stablecoin-reserve requirements.

Taiwan Passes First Dedicated Crypto Licensing Law

Taiwan passed the Virtual Asset Service Act, replacing AML-only oversight with a licensing framework for virtual asset service providers, stablecoin issuers and offshore firms serving Taiwanese users. The Financial Supervisory Commission becomes the sole main crypto regulator. Domestic stablecoin issuance is limited to banks, requires 100% reserves and excludes algorithmic stablecoins, while unauthorized operations and market manipulation can trigger criminal penalties.

France Counts 77 Crypto Kidnapping Cases Since January

France recorded 77 crypto-linked kidnapping, abduction, unlawful confinement, extortion, attempted abduction or attempted extortion cases since the start of 2026. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called the situation serious and outlined a response built around intelligence sharing, ADAN coordination and cross-border operational cooperation. Authorities have arrested roughly 200 people and enrolled 724 crypto-sector participants in immediate-identification systems for high-risk individuals.