Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and other cryptocurrencies barely budged over the past trading week as investors and traders were preoccupied with the initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX (NASDAQ: $SPCX).
BTC was trading at $63,500 U.S. late on the afternoon of June 12, having risen only 0.43% for the week. Other digital assets, such as Ethereum (CRYTO: $ETH), also stalled over the past five trading days.
Crypto stagnated as all eyes were fixated on the market debut of SpaceX, the commercial space company run by Elon Musk. SPCX stock began trading on June 12, rising 19% in its first trading day and giving the company a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion U.S.
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SpaceX proved to be the biggest IPO in history, having raised $75 billion U.S. from the share sale. The stock’s market debut also made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, lifting his net worth to $1.05 trillion U.S.
SPCX stock finished its first trading day at $160.95 U.S. per share. Crypto bulls are hopeful that investors will turn back to cryptocurrencies and allocate money to them now that the SpaceX IPO has been completed.
Here’s what else happened with cryptocurrencies this past week…
Strategy Offers Semi-Monthly Dividend On Preferred Stock: Serial Bitcoin acquirer Strategy (NASDAQ: $MSTR) is now paying dividends twice a month on its preferred stock. Strategy’s shareholders voted in favour of the bi-monthly dividend payments on the company’s preferred stock (NASDAQ: $STRC). Going forward, dividend payments will be made on the 15th and final days of each month. The next dividend payment will occur on June 30.
BlackRock To Launch Income-Paying Bitcoin ETF: Asset manager BlackRock (NYSE: $BLK) is planning to launch a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that pays a regular income to investors. BlackRock has filed to launch the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “BITA.” The ETF’s income will be generated from options trades. Each month, BlackRock will sell covered call options to generate capital that will be returned to investors in the form of income.
Hive Digital’s Chief Operating Officer Sells Stock: HIVE Digital’s (NASDAQ: $HIVE) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Luke Rossy has been selling company stock. Regulatory filings show the senior executive sold 66,700 shares of HIVE stock on June 3 for proceeds of $304,819 U.S. The stock sale by Rossy comes after HIVE’s stock has nearly doubled (up 97%) over the past year. Rossy continues to own 215,000 common shares of HIVE stock valued at $851,400 U.S. based on the current share price.
Prediction Market Trading On DraftKings: Sports-betting firm DraftKings (NASDAQ: $DKNG) reported that trading volume on “DraftKings Predictions” rose 24% month-over-month to $1.3 billion U.S. in April of this year. DraftKings’ stock had been hurt in recent months by the threat posed to its sports-betting operations from prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. But now, DraftKings appears to be successfully competing with prediction markets.
Kalshi Requires Users To Reveal Their Employer: Prediction market Kalshi now requires users to reveal their employer as it combats charges of insider trading and market manipulation on its platform. Kalshi said it will require some users to disclose their employer as part of a broader push to respond to accusations of insider trading. The change is effective immediately.
Bitmine To Slow Ethereum Purchases: Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technology (NYSE: $BMNR), says the crypto treasury company is likely to slow its Ethereum purchases moving forward. Lee noted that Bitmine is approaching its stated goal to own 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, and, as such, is likely to slow its purchases of the digital asset. Lee’s comments come after Bitmine made its largest Ethereum purchase of the year last week, acquiring 126,971 ETH worth $214 million U.S.
Japanese Banks Collaborate On Stablecoin: Japan’s three largest banks are collaborating on a new stablecoin that they plan to launch by March 2027. In a joint statement, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank (NYSE: $MFG), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (NYSE: SMBC) said that they plan to issue the stablecoin under a trust agreement. The three banks will serve as joint settlors for the stablecoin, which will be pegged to the Japanese yen currency.
Standard Chartered Says Crypto Has Bottomed: British bank Standard Chartered (LON: $STAN) says the cryptocurrency market has likely bottomed. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, says that Bitcoin’s recent drop to $59,000 U.S. was the cycle low point for the largest cryptocurrency. Kendrick notes that Bitcoin fell 53% from a peak of $126,000 U.S. reached last October and is unlikely to fall below $60,000 U.S. again.
Ethereum Staking Demand Soars: Demand for Ethereum staking is soaring as investors increasingly seek rewards from cryptocurrencies. Crypto staking is the process of locking up digital assets to help secure a blockchain network in exchange for rewards such as cash payments or additional digital assets. Analysts liken cryptocurrency staking to interest earned on a savings account at a bank. ETH staking demand is on the rise, with nearly three million ETH waiting to enter staking, creating an estimated 50-day entry queue.
Court Rejects Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bid For New Trial: Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has lost his appeal to overturn his jail sentence for fraud and receive a new trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals sided with an earlier district court’s decision, which found Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts of fraud. Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 by a New York jury on all seven counts related to defrauding FTX customers, lenders, and investors. Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of orchestrating the largest financial fraud of the past decade. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
