# Crypto Weekly Roundup: Prediction Markets Drive New Crypto Users, Trump Cancels CBDC-Related Bill, and Ethereum R&D Gets New Backing
## Prediction Markets Emerge as Crypto Onboarding Gateway
Approximately 60% of users who placed their first World Cup bets on Polymarket had never previously interacted with blockchain protocols, according to a 90-day study by Bitget Wallet that tracked the onchain activity of 857,000 active Polymarket users. The findings suggest that prediction markets are rapidly becoming a major entry point into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph that earlier crypto onboarding efforts largely focused on making blockchain technology easier to understand through simpler wallets and better user interfaces, but users were still expected to learn how crypto worked before they could participate.
“Prediction markets shifted that dynamic. Users show up because they have a view on something happening in the world,” Kan said.
## Trump Cancels Signing of Housing Bill With CBDC Ban
US President Donald Trump canceled the signing ceremony for a housing bill containing a ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as he pressed Republicans in Congress to prioritize a controversial voting bill.
In a Wednesday morning Truth Social post, Trump said that the signing for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed by the US Senate and House of Representatives, would be canceled “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE America Act.”
The housing bill, passed by the House on Tuesday, included a provision barring the US Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a CBDC “or any digital asset that is substantially similar” until the end of 2030.
Many had expected Trump to sign the bill, aimed at tackling housing affordability, into law on Wednesday without issues. However, the president said in March that he would “not sign other bills” until the SAVE America Act was passed. The legislation would require voters to provide proof of US citizenship in person to register, with critics saying the measure would disenfranchise citizens already eligible to vote.
## Bitmine, Sharplink and Joe Lubin Back Ethereum R&D Nonprofit
Former Ethereum Foundation contributors and Ether treasury firms Bitmine and Sharplink have backed a new research and development nonprofit that aims to make Ethereum ready for institutional use.
Sharplink said on Monday that the organization, Ethlabs, was formed to “ready Ethereum for the next phase of institutional adoption,” with the company pitching in with Bitmine, Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and other Ethereum contributors on its funding effort.
“As stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, funds and autonomous AI commerce move on-chain, they are converging on Ethereum as the neutral, credibly permissionless settlement layer for the global economy,” Sharplink said. “Ethlabs exists to ensure the network is ready to absorb that demand at scale.”
The launch comes days after former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps warned that Ethereum is facing a core development funding crisis and amid an ongoing wave of departures from the Foundation, most recently co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang, who left last week.
## CryptoQuant Warns on Strategy’s Dividend Coverage as Cash Reserve Falls 38%
After Strategy’s dividend coverage fell to 14 months from seven years, CryptoQuant said the company led by Michael Saylor should pause Bitcoin purchases and focus on replenishing its cash reserve, which is down 38% year-to-date.
Strategy’s dividend obligations have nearly quadrupled to $1.2 billion, as the company issued substantial new STRC preferred stock, which carries an 11.5% yield.
“They should pause Bitcoin purchases, rebuild cash reserves, and adopt a systematic framework for purchase timing,” wrote the market data analytics provider’s CEO Ki Young Ju in a Wednesday X post, adding that the biggest public Bitcoin treasury holder should also create a “disciplined selling framework” for the next bull market.
Strategy’s cash reserve fell 38% after the company repurchased $1.5 billion of its 2029 senior notes at a discount, Cointelegraph reported on May 26. Those coffers have since recovered to $1.4 billion after it sold $335.5 million in MSTR shares, which added $300 million to its US dollar reserve on Monday, although it is near a record-low of 14 months’ of funds available to pay dividends.
## Catholic Leaders, US Authorities Challenge CLARITY Act Over Illicit Activity
A group of law enforcement organizations and a coalition of Catholic organizations have become the latest two groups urging caution over the US CLARITY Act, which is heading for a key hearing in July.
In letters sent Tuesday, four law enforcement organizations reached out to White House officials with concerns that the CLARITY Act could create oversight gaps when it comes to illicit activity.
“Regulatory certainty should not come at the expense of accountability, transparency, victim protection, or public safety,” they said. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking, founded by US Catholic Sisters, said these oversights could make it harder to crack down on human trafficking.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said this week the final text for the bill would be released July 4, with the House Financial Service Committee scheduling a hearing into the Clarity Act on July 17.
## Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $59,359 which represents a 6.8% decline, while Ether (ETH) is at $1,565, after falling 8.8% for the week. XRP (XRP) is at $1.04 and down 8% for the week. The total market cap is at $2.06 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers are Velvet (VELVET) at 290%, DeXe (DEXE) on 55% and Audiera (BEAT) which was up 49%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are MemeCore (M), which lost 76%, WorldCoin (WLD), which lost 28%, and Mantle (MNT), which was down 20%.
## Prediction of the Week: Bitcoin May Fall Lower but BTC Power-Law Frames Crash to $58K as ‘Normal’
Bitcoin’s drop to $58,000 lines up with the power-law model’s cycle lows, even though futures market data points to deeper lows for BTC price.
Giovanni’s Bitcoin power-law model places the network’s long-term trend price near $135,000, making the recent drop to $58,000 roughly 54% below the all-time high and 1.22 standard deviations beneath that trend.
According to the analyst, the key takeaway is straightforward: the previous cycle lows in 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2022 all fell within a similar statistical range. By that measure, the latest decline falls within a territory that has historically marked# Crypto Weekly: Binance Faces EU Service Limits, Ethereum Foundation Restructures, and Crypto Under Sanctions Scrutiny
The crypto markets continue to evolve against a backdrop of regulatory shifts, geopolitical tensions, and internal industry restructuring. This week saw major developments across several fronts, from Binance’s regulatory struggles in the European Union to a significant workforce reduction at the Ethereum Foundation. Meanwhile, questions about crypto’s role in circumventing international sanctions have come under fresh scrutiny following a damning report from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
## Top FUD of the Week
### Binance Faces EU Service Limits as MiCA Rules Take Effect
Binance has notified European Union users that access to key services will be restricted after the exchange failed to secure Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) authorization from a member state before a July 1 deadline.
Those restrictions include halting the onboarding of new EU users and limiting certain services for EU-based accounts effective July 1, according to exchange notices shared by users on social media.
The notices said users will still be able to withdraw their assets after that date, stating that “all digital assets are still available for withdrawal,” in line with applicable regulatory requirements.
The move marks one of the first major transitions under the EU’s MiCA framework after Binance announced it withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece on Wednesday. The withdrawal of the application signals a significant setback for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange as it navigates the EU’s comprehensive new regulatory regime designed to bring digital assets under a unified compliance framework.
Binance recorded over $400 million in net outflows during the week beginning June 22. The outflows reflect growing concern among users about the exchange’s future ability to serve European customers and the broader implications of its failure to meet the MiCA deadline.
Binance’s public messaging is that the company intends to continue pursuing a MiCA license, despite being on pace to miss the July 1 buzzer. The exchange has assured users that it remains committed to regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions in which it operates, though the path forward in the EU remains uncertain as other major exchanges have secured or are in the process of securing MiCA authorization from various member states.
The development is a watershed moment for the MiCA framework, representing the first significant test of the EU’s ability to enforce its sweeping crypto regulations on a major global exchange. Industry observers will be watching closely to see how both Binance and EU regulators handle the transition period.
### Iran-Linked Entities Moved $3.8B Through CoinEx, TRM Says
Wallets with identifiable links to sanctioned Iranian entities have moved over $3.84 billion through cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx since 2019, making it one of the main channels used to bypass US economic sanctions, according to blockchain analytics company TRM Labs.
About 60 Iranian platforms were tied to the funds, with $2.7 billion of this flowing between CoinEx and Nobitex, Iran’s largest domestic cryptocurrency exchange, at an average rate of about $1 million per day since 2018, wrote TRM Labs in a Wednesday report. The staggering volume of flows raises serious questions about the exchange’s compliance infrastructure and its ability to detect and prevent sanctioned entities from using its platform.
By 2024, CoinEx was Nobitex’s largest external counterpart, nearly nine times that of the next-largest exchange, a pattern that TRM Labs called “inconsistent with independent market behaviour.” The analytics firm’s report suggests that the sheer scale and consistency of the flows point to a deliberate operational relationship rather than incidental overlap between trading patterns.
CoinEx denied having any commercial relationship with the Iranian government or domestic Iranian exchanges and disputed TRM Labs’ interpretation, saying onchain fund flows do not demonstrate a platform’s knowledge of or participation in illicit activity. The exchange argued that blockchain data alone cannot establish intent or complicity, and that many legitimate users may have transacted with Iranian-linked wallets without the exchange’s awareness.
The report adds to growing pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges to strengthen their anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) protocols, particularly as governments around the world intensify their focus on the use of digital assets to circumvent sanctions. The findings could also prompt regulatory bodies to scrutinize CoinEx more closely and potentially take enforcement action.
### Ethereum Foundation Sacks 20% of Workforce Amid Strategic Restructuring
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has laid off 54 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, as part of a major organizational restructuring. The decision marks one of the most significant personnel changes in the foundation’s history and signals a strategic pivot in how the organization approaches its mission of supporting the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to a blog post published Tuesday, the EF will reorganize around five specialized clusters covering protocol, access, user, community and institutional work. The Foundation said the changes are intended to concentrate resources on Ethereum’s long-term technical priorities, including scaling, privacy, security and censorship resistance.
Under the new structure, separate teams will oversee Ethereum’s core protocol, user access tools, community engagement and work with institutions, while management and operations functions remain organized independently. The restructuring is designed to create clearer lines of accountability and ensure that the foundation’s efforts are aligned with the most critical areas of Ethereum’s development roadmap.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation is reducing its budget by roughly 40% as it transitions toward a long-term, endowment-based organization. He said the foundation aims to lower annual spending from about 15% of its remaining funds to roughly 5% after 2030, a shift he said necessitated difficult staffing decisions. The move toward an endowment model reflects a desire to ensure the foundation’s financial sustainability over the long term, even as it means making painful cuts in the near term.
The layoffs come at a time when Ethereum faces increasing competition from other layer-1 blockchains and layer-2 scaling solutions, and as the broader crypto market navigates a period of regulatory uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment. The restructuring could position the foundation to operate more efficiently, but it also raises questions about the pace of Ethereum’s development and the foundation’s capacity to support the growing ecosystem.
## Top Feature Stories of the Week
The failure of Botanix suggests that Bitcoiners still prefer Ethereum DeFi to Bitcoin L2s. How can Bitcoin L2s change to win hodlers over? The question highlights the ongoing challenge facing Bitcoin layer-2 solutions as they attempt to capture the decentralized finance activity that has flourished on Ethereum and its ecosystem.
Ethereum’s latest “funding crisis” has triggered a fierce debate over whether to tax staking rewards or to pursue funding from large ETH holders for new organizations like EthLabs. The discussion underscores the broader challenge of sustaining public goods funding in decentralized ecosystems.
AI is widening access to banking for the unbanked across Africa. But used badly, it can simply automate financial exclusion at greater speed. The dual-edged nature of AI in financial services presents both an opportunity and a risk for the world’s most underserved populations.
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*This article is based on information from the original post. Source: [Original Article]*
