Despite a drop in overall crypto activity, BTC has traded consistently above $30k for the longest stretch of time since early 2022, bolstered by the possibility of a Blackrock spot ETF approval. Meanwhile, Binance lost several key executives and Gemini filed a lawsuit against DCG.

Crypto markets closed the quarter on a positive note despite trade volumes remaining at historical lows. Last week MicroStrategy confirmed that it  bought 12.3k BTC throughout Q2, Coinbase was named as the surveillance partner for Fidelity and other BTC spot ETFs.

Crypto markets are booming following a wave of ETF applications in the U.S., a welcome bullish catalyst in a much-battered region.

Crypto markets made slight gains this week after the Fed decided to pause interest rate increases, a bullish signal for risk assets, and Blackrock filed for a spot bitcoin ETF, a surprise move amid a tough U.S. regulatory environment.

What a week. Binance and Coinbase were each hit with major lawsuits by the SEC, causing heavy volatility and an altcoin sell-off. In other news, Tether invested in a BTC mining company, the Arbitrum network stopped for one hour, and Australia’s largest bank will limit crypto transactions.

Bitcoin whipsawed over the past week, closing lower on Sunday after a mixed U.S. jobs report. In industry news, Binance appointed a possible CZ successor as regional director, Celsius has deposited $745 million of ETH into staking contracts since June 1, and Coinbase’s derivatives exchange will offer new BTC and ETH futures this week.

Bitcoin gained some ground early on Monday as U.S. lawmakers reached a debt ceiling deal in principle. Hong Kong confirmed it will allow retail traders to trade certain crypto assets starting June while the Digital Currency Group (DCG) closed its trade execution and prime brokerage units, citing bear market and regulatory uncertainty.

Bitcoin lost some ground this week, down about 2%, as crypto trade volumes slipped to yearly lows. In other industry news, Digital Currency Group missed a $630 million payment owed to crypto exchange Gemini last week, the SEC responded to Coinbase’s lawsuit and Tether announced it would start buying BTC with 15% of its excess profits. In this week’s Debrief we explore: