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Standard Chartered has become the first globally systemically important bank to provide institutional clients with direct stablecoin minting and redemption services through its banking platform.

The move allows eligible institutional clients to mint and redeem USD Coin directly without needing to open separate accounts with Circle. This creates a more streamlined onboarding process by combining traditional banking and stablecoin services within a single platform.

Integrated Banking and Stablecoin Access

The service, announced on July 2, was developed through a partnership between Standard Chartered and Circle. It will initially be offered through the bank’s operations at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Qualified institutional clients will be able to access banking, custody, and digital asset services through one integrated system while using USDC for on chain settlement and treasury management.

For now, the offering is limited to the bank’s DIFC operations, but Standard Chartered plans to expand the service into additional markets pending regulatory approval.

Roberto Hoornweg said digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of global financial infrastructure, with institutional clients demanding the same trust, governance, and reliability found in traditional finance.

He added that the initiative is designed to support broader institutional participation in digital asset markets while maintaining strong compliance and risk management standards.

Stablecoin Adoption Gains Momentum

Market analysts view this launch as another major step in the integration of stablecoin infrastructure into regulated finance.

According to crypto market observers, allowing a globally significant bank to participate directly in the USDC minting process removes a major operational barrier for institutions, many of which previously relied on exchanges or over the counter trading desks to access stablecoins.

This development could accelerate institutional adoption of USDC and strengthen liquidity across blockchain based financial markets.

The announcement comes amid intensifying competition in the stablecoin sector. Just one day earlier, OpenUSD entered the market as a new stablecoin initiative backed by more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, Ripple, and BlackRock.

OpenUSD introduces another strong competitor in the race to build institutional grade stablecoin infrastructure.

Standard Chartered has continued expanding its presence in regulated digital assets. Earlier this year, the bank was among the first institutions to secure a stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong, enabling it to issue Hong Kong dollar backed stablecoins for cross border payments.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Circle is facing growing competitive pressure following the launch of OpenUSD (OUSD), a new stablecoin backed by some of the world’s biggest financial and payment companies.

OpenUSD enters the market with support from major players including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, and Coinbase.

The announcement has sparked concerns about what the new stablecoin could mean for USD Coin and Circle’s market position. Investor sentiment has already reacted, with Circle’s stock declining roughly 12.7 percent over the past five trading sessions.

Although established stablecoin issuers still dominate the market, analysts believe OpenUSD could significantly reshape competition.

OpenUSD Could Challenge Circle’s Distribution Advantage

According to Alex Witt of Verda Ventures, distribution remains the most critical factor in the stablecoin market.

He noted that Circle, unlike Tether, does not control its main distribution channels. This weakens its competitive position and may leave it vulnerable to challengers with stronger built in distribution networks.

Witt pointed to Circle’s revenue sharing arrangements as evidence of this weakness and suggested OpenUSD could significantly reduce Circle’s first mover advantage.

Bernardo Brites, co founder and CEO of Trace Finance, described OpenUSD as a major turning point for the stablecoin industry.

He said the market views OpenUSD as a direct competitive threat to Circle, though he also highlighted several risks. These include the challenge of building liquidity from scratch, limited trading pair availability, governance complexity across multiple stakeholders, and a low fee model that may restrict long term growth.

Despite these concerns, Brites believes OpenUSD has a major advantage through its backers. He emphasized that support from global payment networks, financial processors, and banking institutions gives the project an unprecedented distribution advantage.

Circle Pushes Back on OpenUSD Concerns

Jeremy Allaire has responded by defending Circle’s position and challenging the assumptions behind OpenUSD’s model.

Allaire argued that stablecoin markets operate through powerful network effects, often favoring a small number of dominant players. He stressed that long term network building and ecosystem trust matter more than newly formed alliances.

Addressing OpenUSD’s revenue sharing model, Allaire said Circle already shares a large portion of its revenue with distribution partners. However, he warned that giving away too much revenue could weaken the infrastructure needed to sustain a stablecoin ecosystem.

He also raised concerns about OpenUSD’s consortium based governance structure, pointing to the poor historical performance of consortium led products in achieving scale, agility, and strong product market fit.

Allaire noted that Circle experimented with a similar model during USDC’s early development and encountered significant operational complexity.

Despite the competitive threat, Allaire expressed confidence in Circle’s position. He reaffirmed that Circle’s partnership with Coinbase remains strong and added that many of OpenUSD’s founding members are likely to continue using USDC as partners and customers.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Bitcoin regained momentum and moved back above the $60,000 mark after a volatile trading session, while major altcoins also posted gains despite ongoing concerns over ETF outflows.

After falling to an intraday low of around $58,300, Bitcoin staged a strong rebound as buyers stepped in and pushed prices higher. At one point, BTC briefly traded above $61,000 before settling near $60,500.

The asset is now up nearly 3 percent over the past 24 hours, with its market capitalization recovering to approximately $1.2 trillion.

Bitcoin Rebounds but Market Caution Remains

Although Bitcoin has regained the key $60,000 psychological level, broader market sentiment remains cautious following several days of sustained selling pressure.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has risen to about $2.16 trillion, marking a 2 percent increase over the last 24 hours. Daily trading volume has also climbed above $83 billion.

Bitcoin’s market dominance remains above 56 percent, indicating that while altcoins are recovering, they are still struggling to significantly outperform BTC.

Ethereum also moved higher alongside Bitcoin, gaining around 3 percent to trade near $1,625. Despite the rebound, ETH remains well below the highs recorded earlier this year.

Solana and Bitcoin Cash Lead Altcoin Gains

Several major altcoins joined the market recovery, with Solana and Bitcoin Cash emerging as standout performers.

Solana rose more than 4 percent, making it one of the strongest performers among the top ten cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin Cash posted even stronger gains, climbing roughly 5 percent.

Cardano also moved higher, with ADA gaining over 3 percent. Chainlink recorded similar gains during the session.

Meanwhile, XRP traded near $1.06 after posting modest gains. XRP related ETF products have continued to attract inflows, standing out at a time when Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are experiencing notable outflows.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Ethereum continues to face heavy bearish sentiment, but underlying supply dynamics suggest a more complex picture beneath the surface.

According to data from CryptoQuant, Ethereum is currently experiencing a sharp contrast between market pessimism and tightening supply conditions. Analysts described the situation as a “wall of worry,” where negative sentiment is colliding with growing staking activity.

Institutional demand appears weak, with the Coinbase Premium, often used as an indicator of institutional interest, falling 230 percent below its three month average. At the same time, deeply negative funding rates on Binance point to cautious sentiment among leveraged traders and short term market participants.

Despite the widespread pessimism, Ethereum’s price has remained relatively stable over the past week instead of breaking lower.

Staking Activity Reduces Liquid Supply

Ethereum’s supply is becoming increasingly constrained as more ETH moves into staking.

CryptoQuant reported that stablecoin balances on Binance are declining while staking inflows have surged by 65 percent. This trend suggests that long term holders are continuing to lock up Ethereum, even as short term traders reduce exposure or open short positions.

Analysts noted that this combination of deep market pessimism and shrinking exchange supply has historically created conditions that can pressure short sellers, especially if selling momentum begins to weaken.

They added that a recovery in the Coinbase Premium could be an important signal of improving market sentiment.

Staking data further reinforces this tightening supply trend. According to Ultrasound Money, Ethereum staking has reached a record 40 million ETH, representing around 33 percent of the network’s total supply.

Validator data also highlights strong demand for staking. While only 9,248 ETH are waiting in the validator exit queue, more than 2.9 million ETH are currently in the entry queue.

Market Outlook Remains Uncertain

Tom Lee recently noted that cryptocurrency remains highly volatile and that Ethereum continues to face several macroeconomic headwinds.

These include concerns over potential Federal Reserve rate hikes, regulatory uncertainty surrounding the Clarity Act, growing investor focus on artificial intelligence, and increased competition from private credit markets.

At the same time, Lee highlighted several long term positive catalysts for Ethereum, including the continued growth of tokenization, the expanding role of digital finance, and increasing adoption of blockchain based financial infrastructure.

ETH Price Outlook

Despite these supportive long term trends, Ethereum’s price remains under pressure.

ETH fell to an intraday low of $1,550 on Tuesday before recovering slightly to around $1,585 during Wednesday’s Asian trading session.

Market analysts warn that prolonged weakness at current price levels could increase the risk of another downward move, particularly if Bitcoin loses key support near $58,000.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Metaplanet has increased its Bitcoin holdings after purchasing an additional 2,823 BTC, bringing its total treasury to 43,000 BTC. Despite this expansion, the company still needs to acquire 57,000 more Bitcoin to achieve its target of holding 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026.

The latest acquisition marks Metaplanet’s first major Bitcoin purchase in three months and completes its second quarter accumulation under its ongoing Bitcoin treasury strategy.

The company spent 35.89 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $222 million, on the latest purchase, with an average acquisition cost of more than 12.7 million yen per Bitcoin. This increased its holdings from 40,177 BTC at the end of March to 43,000 BTC by June 30.

Lower Purchase Price Improves Cost Basis

According to the company’s official statement, the lower average purchase price during the quarter helped reduce Metaplanet’s overall average acquisition cost from 15.51 million yen to 15.3 million yen per Bitcoin.

In total, Metaplanet has invested 659 billion yen to build its Bitcoin treasury of 43,000 BTC.

The company also reported strong revenue from its Bitcoin income generation activities, earning approximately $10.95 million, or 1.747 billion yen, during the quarter.

After accounting for this revenue, Metaplanet’s effective acquisition cost dropped to 34.14 billion yen, translating to around 12.093 million yen per Bitcoin.

Expansion Continues Despite Stock Decline

Although Metaplanet continues to aggressively expand its Bitcoin reserves, its stock performance has struggled this year. The company’s shares have fallen nearly 49 percent since the start of the year.

Beyond Bitcoin accumulation, Metaplanet is also expanding its presence in the financial sector. The company recently announced plans to acquire SBI Securities in a deal valued at approximately $13 million. The transaction is expected to close in July, after which the firm will be rebranded as Metaplanet Securities.

Simon Gerovich described the acquisition as the company’s first major strategic purchase and a key milestone under Project Nova, its long term initiative aimed at building a Bitcoin focused financial ecosystem in Japan.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

A new independent nonprofit organization has been launched to support and accelerate institutional adoption of Ethereum and its broader ecosystem.

Named Ethereum Institutional, the organization was officially announced on Wednesday. Its mission is to act as a trusted and neutral gateway for institutions exploring Ethereum, layer 2 networks, tokenization, stablecoins, and on chain financial markets.

The nonprofit was founded by former Ethereum Foundation Enterprise team members David Walsh, Matthew Dawson, and Marius Smith. Financial backing has come from Bitmine, SharpLink, and Joseph Lubin, the CEO of Consensys.

The launch comes at a challenging time for Ethereum, as the network continues to face market uncertainty, growing skepticism, and price pressure. Despite this, interest in Ethereum remains strong, especially among institutions looking at blockchain as the foundation for future financial systems.

Building a Trusted Institutional Gateway

The team behind Ethereum Institutional believes the ecosystem has long lacked a credible and neutral point of contact for institutions.

According to the founders, institutions need a reliable platform that represents the entire Ethereum ecosystem without bias and provides direct engagement opportunities.

Ethereum Institutional will focus on five core areas: institutional engagement, market intelligence, Ethereum marketing, requirements discovery, and industry events. The goal is to better understand institutional needs and help translate those requirements into real Ethereum based solutions.

David Walsh stated that Ethereum has consistently remained the most credible, neutral, liquid, and battle tested foundational layer in the crypto industry. However, he noted that the ecosystem lacked a dedicated independent organization focused on institutional go to market efforts.

He explained that institutions repeatedly expressed the need for an honest and neutral partner they could directly engage with. Ethereum Institutional aims to fill that gap with long term support and independence.

Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, said the nonprofit is expected to play an important role in driving institutional adoption across the Ethereum ecosystem.

The launch follows closely behind the introduction of Ethlabs, another nonprofit established by Ethereum developers and supported by companies managing Ether treasury operations.

Ethereum Foundation Releases Guide for Governments and Institutions

At the same time, the Ethereum Foundation has published a new educational guide titled Ethereum Basics for Governments and Institutions.

The guide serves as a non technical introduction to Ethereum, explaining how the network works, its governance structure, and its value as neutral public infrastructure. It also highlights Ethereum’s advantages over centralized systems, particularly in areas such as resilience, security, and resistance to misuse.

The Ethereum Foundation said the guide was created to help governments and institutions better understand Ethereum’s core principles and how it differs from traditional and centralized infrastructure.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, are facing a major lawsuit in the United Kingdom as nearly 1,700 investors seek approximately $200 million in damages.

The group lawsuit, filed in London’s High Court, accuses Binance of selling high risk cryptocurrency derivative products to retail investors without proper authorization. According to the claimants, Binance offered products such as leveraged tokens, options, futures, and contracts between late 2019 and 2020 without approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

The investors argue that these derivatives qualify as specialized investments under the Financial Services and Markets Act. They claim Binance continued offering these complex financial products even after regulatory restrictions were introduced.

The lawsuit also alleges that Binance actively promoted these products through advertising campaigns, social media content, online materials, and email marketing.

Hannah Sharp, who represents the claimants, stated that her clients suffered substantial financial losses, with some losing tens of thousands of dollars and others losing millions. She added that the legal team is committed to holding both Binance and Zhao accountable.

Binance has acknowledged the legal action but has not directly addressed the allegations. In a statement, the company said it would not comment on ongoing litigation and intends to defend itself through the appropriate legal process.

This lawsuit adds to Binance’s growing list of regulatory and legal challenges worldwide. The company has recently struggled with regulatory approval in Europe, including difficulties securing a crypto license within the European Union.

Although Binance initially indicated it might reduce services in the region, Zhao later reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the European market and stated that it plans to pursue licensing through alternative jurisdictions.

The pressure on crypto firms has increased after the European Securities and Markets Authority instructed unauthorized digital asset companies to shut down operations by July 1 if they failed to secure licensing under MiCA regulations.

Meanwhile, UK regulators continue to maintain a cautious stance toward cryptocurrency. The FCA has repeatedly warned that crypto investments carry significant risks and recently introduced new rules requiring firms to meet stronger financial safety standards, comply with anti money laundering regulations, prevent market abuse, and improve consumer protection.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

The recent weakness in Bitcoin may not be driven by fading investor appetite for risk, but rather by capital shifting toward faster growing sectors such as artificial intelligence.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to record heavy outflows on June 30, with investors withdrawing $223 million. This marked the ninth consecutive day of outflows.

Overall, Bitcoin ETFs saw $4.51 billion leave during June, making it their largest monthly outflow since launching in January 2024.

Capital Is Moving, Not Disappearing

Tim Sun, Senior Researcher at HashKey Group, believes the bigger issue is not simply that money is leaving Bitcoin ETFs, but where that capital is being redirected.

According to Sun, if investors were moving funds into cash or short term bonds, it would suggest a temporary defensive strategy while waiting for macroeconomic uncertainty to ease.

Instead, capital flows this year indicate institutional investors are reallocating funds into sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and the GPU supply chain.

Sun argues that the market has not lost its appetite for risk. Rather, investors are becoming more selective about which high growth sectors they prefer.

He explained that Bitcoin and AI related stocks share several characteristics, including high volatility, long duration exposure, and strong narrative driven momentum.

However, institutional investors currently favor AI and semiconductor companies because those businesses can convert revenue growth and capital investment into measurable business results much faster than Bitcoin can generate returns through market narratives alone.

As a result, Sun believes current ETF outflows reflect a temporary decline in Bitcoin’s short term attractiveness relative to AI and semiconductor investments, rather than a collapse in long term confidence in crypto.

He described the current trend as a reallocation of capital within risk assets, with Bitcoin becoming less attractive than AI and semiconductor opportunities for now.

Still, Sun noted that Bitcoin could regain institutional interest if the AI trade becomes overcrowded and faces a correction, or if macro liquidity conditions improve.

Another Concern: Strategy’s Buying Power

ETF outflows are not the only challenge facing Bitcoin.

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, is also facing increasing pressure around its financing model.

Sun said one of the market’s biggest concerns is the simultaneous weakening of two major sources of marginal Bitcoin demand that previously supported the rally.

On one side, ETFs have shifted from steady inflows to persistent outflows.

On the other, investors are reassessing Strategy’s ability to continue funding large scale Bitcoin purchases.

According to Sun, the key risk is not necessarily that Strategy could trigger a major market crash, but that its capacity to maintain the same pace of Bitcoin accumulation may weaken.

The market is now closely watching whether Strategy will need to adjust its financing schedule, rebuild cash reserves, reduce its buying activity, or pause purchases entirely.

Interestingly, Sun noted that a slowdown in Strategy’s buying may not be entirely negative.

He argued that if Strategy purchases less Bitcoin, it could reduce the market distortion created by its aggressive financing and buying model.

In that scenario, Bitcoin may have a better chance of finding stable price support based on genuine supply and demand rather than relying heavily on ETF inflows and large corporate purchases.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Ripple has joined the OpenUSD (OUSD) consortium as a launch integration partner, becoming part of a stablecoin initiative backed by more than 140 companies across payments, banking, fintech, and crypto.

Despite the significance of the partnership, questions remain about how much value Ripple and XRP will gain from the initiative.

According to crypto analyst WrathofKahneman, OpenUSD will initially launch on Solana, Stellar, Base, and Polygon, but not on the XRP Ledger. This has led many traders to question Ripple’s long term strategy within the consortium and whether XRP stands to benefit.

Ripple’s Role in OpenUSD

In a July 1 post on X, WrathofKahneman described OpenUSD as a consortium backed dollar stablecoin built to solve common business challenges. The project offers fee free minting and redemption, removes volume limits, and allows partners to share earnings generated from reserve assets after management fees.

Open Standard, the independent organization overseeing OpenUSD, confirmed the stablecoin is expected to launch later this year.

The initiative has attracted major players including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock, Google, and Bybit.

The analyst believes OpenUSD may partly represent a strategic challenge to Circle and its USD Coin business.

Following Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge earlier this year, WrathofKahneman suggested OpenUSD could help Stripe reduce reliance on Circle by creating neutral payment infrastructure with shared economics.

This model could create pressure on Circle because a stablecoin backed by many stakeholders may be harder to compete with than a traditional single issuer structure.

What Does This Mean for XRP?

According to WrathofKahneman, Ripple likely joined the consortium because it could not afford to be excluded from a major stablecoin payments network.

Since Ripple’s core business revolves around payment infrastructure, participation in OpenUSD helps the company stay relevant even if the stablecoin is not initially launched on the XRP Ledger.

The analyst also noted that Ripple’s business model would likely remain strong even if OpenUSD reduces some revenue potential for Ripple USD.

They added that there is limited overlap between RLUSD and OpenUSD. While OpenUSD is designed for broader commercial use, RLUSD mainly serves settlement needs within Ripple’s ecosystem.

As for XRP, the potential upside remains uncertain. WrathofKahneman suggested that XRP’s value would benefit only if economic activity eventually flows into the XRP Ledger through OpenUSD.

That means XRP could gain if OpenUSD is launched on XRPL in the future, though that remains uncertain.

The analyst believes this possibility may explain why Ripple chose to join the consortium early, even without direct XRPL support at launch.

Stablecoin Competition Shifts Toward Infrastructure

OpenUSD enters a market where competition is increasingly focused on infrastructure rather than individual tokens.

Payment firms and stablecoin issuers are now competing to build the networks that power digital payments, rather than simply promoting specific stablecoins.

This trend became even clearer earlier this month when Mastercard expanded support for multiple stablecoins, including Ripple USD and USD Coin, across networks such as XRPL, Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Base.

According to Mastercard, this move reflects its strategy of positioning itself as a neutral infrastructure provider rather than aligning with a single stablecoin issuer.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic

Bitcoin remains under heavy pressure as bears continue to dominate the market, with the leading cryptocurrency briefly falling to the $58,000 level.

June was a difficult month for Bitcoin, with the asset losing nearly 20 percent of its value. Although July has historically been a strong month for Bitcoin, the new month has started on a weak note, with BTC still trading well below the key $60,000 mark.

Many altcoins have followed Bitcoin’s downward move and posted additional losses, although Cardano has emerged as one of the few major gainers.

Bitcoin Remains Under Pressure

Bitcoin’s recent decline has been driven by several major factors, including the prolonged bear market across the crypto sector, weakening institutional demand, and uncertainty linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

On June 30, Bitcoin attempted to reclaim the important $60,000 psychological level, but bullish momentum faded quickly. Sellers regained control, pushing prices lower once again.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $58,900, reflecting a daily decline of about 1.5 percent.

Historically, July has often delivered strong performance for Bitcoin, so market participants are watching closely to see whether a recovery can still develop in the coming weeks.

However, several bearish indicators continue to point toward the possibility of further downside, with many analysts suggesting the market has not yet reached its cycle bottom.

Following the latest decline, Bitcoin’s market capitalization has dropped to around $1.18 trillion, while its dominance over the altcoin market remains above 56 percent.

Cardano Rejoins the Top 20

Most altcoins have mirrored Bitcoin’s weakness over the last 24 hours, recording modest losses.

Ethereum has slipped by 0.5 percent, while Hyperliquid has declined by around 2 percent.

Among the worst performers in the top 100 cryptocurrencies, LAB recorded the sharpest drop at 27 percent, followed by Audiera with a 7 percent decline.

Despite the broader weakness, a few altcoins have managed to move higher.

Cardano gained 4 percent and climbed back to $0.15. Its market capitalization rose above $5.6 billion, helping it reenter the list of the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market value.

Other altcoins posting gains today include WhiteBIT Coin, up 15 percent, JPT, up 13 percent, Stellar, up 12 percent, and CC, which gained 5 percent.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remains largely unchanged at approximately $2.1 trillion.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic