Bitcoin at $1m? MicroStrategy buys more; analysts expect Ethereum ETFs in July | Weekly Recap

Today’s edition of the weekly recap: Bernstein predicts Bitcoin (BTC) to hit $1 million in 2033; Ethereum ETFs are expected to launch in July; MicroStrategy looks to buy more BTC; and more fraudsters are developing romantic relationships to defraud victims.

Bernstein sees BTC at $1M despite market uncertainty 

• Pepe coin (PEPE) experienced an 11% surge over 24 hours to $0.0000129, with a rapid increase in volume to $1.27 billion. Toncoin (TON) also saw a similar surge, reaching a new all-time high of $8.13. 
• Interestingly, Mantra (OM) also hit a new all-time high of $1.0924 last week amid expansion efforts in the UAE and project development.
• The NFT market saw a 17% increase, reaching $145.3 million in sales. Bitcoin led this surge with a 50% jump in NFT sales, surpassing Ethereum in volume.
• Bitcoin’s price dropped to $66,000 ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision. Analysts noted that similar market behaviors have been observed in past FOMC-related scenarios.
• Despite the market-wide bearish sentiment last week, asset manager Bernstein forecasted a Bitcoin rise to $1 million by 2033. They also predicted Bitcoin to hit $200,000 this cycle, buoyed by ETF-driven demand.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum balances on exchanges reached a four-year low, respectively dropping below 2.3 million and 16 million, as investors continued to pull their assets out of exchanges.

Crypto ETF developments

• BTC ETF outflows hit $200 million on June 11 ahead of Federal Reserve inflation data. These outflows occurred as investors anticipated impacts from the upcoming data release.
• Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, suggested that Ethereum ETFs could go live in July. The potential launch follows recent SEC filings and market preparations.

Major regulatory actions

• Nigeria dropped tax charges against Binance executives Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan. The government withdrew the charges after reviewing the evidence and circumstances.
• In a regulatory effort, the Securities and Exchange Commission in Thailand revoked the operating license of crypto exchange Zipmex, citing regulatory compliance issues.
• Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission warned of crypto romance scams. The FTC reported a surge in scams where fraudsters develop romantic relationships to defraud victims of their cryptocurrency holdings.
• Also, OFAC sanctioned an employee of Polyus, a Russian state-owned gold producer, for laundering money via crypto. The individual used cryptocurrencies to facilitate money laundering operations.

Blockchain investments surge

• Last week, Paradigm announced an $850 million fund for early-stage crypto projects. The fund will support startups developing blockchain technology and applications.
• Blockchain startups secure $109.3 million in major funding rounds.
• MicroStrategy revealed plans to buy more Bitcoin with $500 million in convertible notes offering. Shortly after, the firm upsized the offering to $700 million.
• Fireblocks expanded its connectivity by joining forces with Coinbase International Exchange.
• Ripple bid for dominance in Asia with a new blockchain fund. The fund is designed to support blockchain projects in the Asian market. Ripple aims to strengthen its presence in the region through this initiative.

Crypto Hits and Runs

• OKX customers fell victim to a SIM swap attack. Hackers hijacked phone numbers to intercept SMS-based 2FA codes and withdraw funds. OKX advised users to adopt app-based authentication methods.
• Crypto scammers impersonated Binance co-founder Yi He to defraud victims of $210,000. They used fake identities and convincing communications to trick individuals into transferring cryptocurrency.
• Hackers stole over $22 million from British exchange Lykke. The platform launched an investigation to identify the attackers and is strengthening security protocols.
• UwU Lend also lost $19.3 million in a hack. Attackers exploited a vulnerability in the platform’s smart contracts. UwU Lend suspended operations to conduct a security audit and fix the issues.

Innovations and Partnerships

• Last week, NEAR Foundation’s spin-off Nuffle Labs raised $13 million. The funds will be used to develop blockchain solutions and expand Nuffle Labs’ operational capabilities.
• IOTA Foundation’s Web3 protocol was chosen for the EU Blockchain Sandbox Initiative. This includes IOTA in efforts to provide Web3 solutions for blockchain integration across Europe.
• Polygon launched a new grants program with 1 billion POL. The program supports and funds innovative projects within the Polygon ecosystem.
• Polygon also committed 35 million MATIC to support projects building on its network.