Executive brief
The digital asset market is grappling with a multi-front liquidity drain as robust US economic data clashes with systemic security concerns. The primary driver of recent volatility is the May US jobs report, which showed nonfarm payrolls rising by 172,000. This figure significantly exceeded the 85,000 consensus estimate, forcing a hawkish repricing of interest rate expectations and pushing the US dollar higher. Bitcoin reacted as a high-duration risk asset, surrendering the $60,000 support level to reach its weakest price since late 2024. This downward pressure resulted in more than $1.5b in levered crypto liquidations within a 24 hour window, reflecting a move toward extreme fear in market sentiment.
Adding to the macro headwinds, a major security disclosure rocked the privacy sector. Security researchers utilised AI models to uncover a four year old flaw in the Zcash Orchard shielded pool that could have enabled the creation of unlimited counterfeit tokens. Although developers executed an emergency hard fork to patch the vulnerability, the incident wiped out $5b in market capitalisation and led prominent investors like Arthur Hayes to exit their positions. In response to the liquidity squeeze, corporate treasury giants are pivoting toward preferred equity markets. BitMine is seeking a $300m raise with a 9.5% payout as its unrealised Ethereum losses top $8.5b. Similarly, Strategy disclosed a small 32 BTC sale to meet preferred stock obligations, highlighting the financial strain on debt carrying treasury models.
A notable directional cue appeared as US spot bitcoin ETFs ended a 13 session outflow streak with a net inflow of $3.05m. This provides a potential stabilisation signal, though the opportunity for a recovery remains contingent on bitcoin reclaiming the $66,900 to $70,000 shelf. A significant risk persists as capital rotates toward traditional AI infrastructure trades and upcoming mega IPOs such as SpaceX, which continue to compete for marginal dollar liquidity.
1) Top 20 news headlines
- US job growth blows past forecasts; nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, exceeding the 85,000 consensus.
- Bitcoin loses $60,000 level; the price fell to its weakest level since October 2024 amid rate hike fears.
- Zcash loses $5b in market value; an AI discovered a four year bug in the Orchard pool that could have created fake coins.
- BitMine seeks $300m via preferred stock; the Ethereum treasury firm is offering a 9.5% payout as unrealised losses exceed $8.5b.
- Major US banks launch shared tokenised network; JPMorgan, BofA, and Citi plan to introduce a network in 2027 to compete with stablecoins.
- US Bitcoin ETFs end 13 day outflow streak; spot funds pulled in a net $3.05m on Thursday after $4.4b in total outflows.
- Securitize clears hurdle for NYSE listing; the BlackRock backed tokenisation specialist could begin trading following a merger registration.
- Strategy discloses 32 BTC sale; the firm sold roughly $2.5m in bitcoin to fund preferred stock distributions.
- Arthur Hayes exits HYPE and NEAR positions; the veteran trader warned that mega AI IPOs could drain market liquidity.
- US House weighs seven crypto tax bills; proposals include relief for small transactions, mining, and staking burdens.
- Memecoins dive 9%; Dogecoin and Shiba Inu led losses as liquidations overwhelmed support levels.
- Casascius 25 BTC coin unlocked; a physical artifact from 2011 worth $1.78m was moved to a SegWit address.
- Cardano founder denies exit rumours; Charles Hoskinson confirmed he is not resigning but is stepping back from social media toxicity.
- SEC commissioner says code is protected speech; Hester Peirce argues blockchain software publishing is a First Amendment activity.
- Visa tests private stablecoin settlement; the payments giant is trialling institutional privacy features on the Canton network.
- Coinbase launches SpaceX pre-IPO market; non-US users can now trade perpetual futures tied to Elon Musk’s private company.
- Crypto billionaires fund Reform UK; Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo donated $9.4m to Nigel Farage’s party in the first quarter.
- South Korea probes Polymarket users; police launched an illegal gambling investigation into local users of the prediction market.
- Bitcoin miner inflows hit yearly high; over 24,716 BTC was moved to Binance in a single day, the most since February.
- Strategy linked stablecoin apxUSD depegs; the synthetic dollar fell to $0.91 as the value of preferred share collateral slipped.
2) BTC and ETH ETF flows
| Metric | BTC | ETH |
|---|---|---|
| Net inflow | $3,046,802.14 | No data supplied |
| Value traded | $3,549,429,993.1 | No data supplied |
| Net assets | $80,398,906,662.00 | No data supplied |
| Cumulative net inflow | $54,266,023,806.25 | No data supplied |
3) X trending news
- META market cap erased; the stock wiped out $115b in value following reports of a new stock offering.
- US Financial Conditions Index falls; the index reached -1.75, its lowest level in over two years as markets price in rate hikes.
- Peter Schiff warns of Black Monday; the prominent critic advised investors to prepare for a major crypto crash.
- Strategy unrealised losses hit $13b; Michael Saylor’s firm is facing record paper losses on its bitcoin investment.
- SpaceX revenue forecast; Morgan Stanley expects the company’s revenue to reach $3.4 trillion by 2040.
- Citibank warns of stock froth; the bank stated that equity levels are at their frothiest since the Great Financial Crisis.
- Trump OpenAI stake discussion; the administration is reportedly considering a government stake in the AI firm.