Plus: Gemini drags the CFTC for clout-chasing

GM. Warning: today’s juice contains traces of nuts, market meltdowns, and one feral mango.

👍 The GENIUS Act passed the Senate.

⏳ Solana ETFs got delayed.

🍋 News drops: Gemini's mad at the CFTC, a Canadian company's using excess natural gas to mine Bitcoin + more

🍍 Market flavor today

Crypto Market Cap: $3.25T -1.61% (24H)
Name		Price	24H	7D
	Bitcoin BTC	$104,728.42	-0.22%	-4.01%
	Ethereum ETH	$2,520.01	-1.22%	-10.64%
	XRP XRP	$2.15	-2.58%	-7.11%
	BNB BNB	$641.03	-1.67%	-3.73%
	Solana SOL	$145.86	-2.47%	-12.12%

Everything’s dipping, the Fear & Greed Index got knocked down to Neutral, and yup - it's still because of the tensions between Israel and Iran.

... And the role of the US in the whole thing.

Donald Trump and his team have consistently denied that the US is helping Israel’s strikes.

But at the same time, more US troops are being sent into the region, and his recent statements don’t sound like someone staying out of it.

He said they have complete control of the skies over Iran, told Iran to surrender unconditionally, and threatened the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

So yeah, markets are on edge.

And as if that wasn't enough - it’s FOMC day too.

That means everyone’s going risk-off and waiting to hear what Jerome Powell has to say.

Now, nobody’s expecting a rate cut today, but markets still care a lot about Powell’s tone and projections. If he hints at fewer cuts this year, Bitcoin could drop. If he sounds more relaxed about inflation, prices could rebound.

The policy statement drops at 2 PM ET. If you miss it, swing by the Daily Squeeze tomorrow - we’ll break it down for you 😉

👀 DEX power, CEX comfort

What if you could trade memecoins on-chain - without using a wallet or switching networks?.. Yeah, we didn’t believe it either - until MoonX showed up.

BYDFi built this wallet-free trading tool that looks like a regular exchange, but every trade is executed on-chain using liquidity from DEXs like Raydium.

And now there’s a BitDegree Mission about it. You get to poke around, figure out how it works, and maybe rethink everything you thought you knew about trading.

Oh, and obviously:

🎁 1,500 Bits

🎁 100 USDC

🎁 Up to $1,000 deposit bonus

🗓️ Deadline: July 18 - which sounds far away, but we both know you’ll forget if you don’t click now.

🥝 Memecoin harvest

Breaking: tokens inspired by the stupidest things you've heard in your life are once again defying all forms of logic 🤯

Data as of 06:20 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

🗞️ Updates

Good evening, folks.

In today’s top stories: two headline-worthy updates just dropped on topics we’ve been tracking.

Our team has been refreshing X every 12 seconds monitoring the situation, and we’re here to bring you the latest developments - live, unfiltered, and straight into your inbox.

1/ GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act - aka the bill that wants to make stablecoin regulations clearer - passed the Senate with a 68-30 vote.

(If you’re wondering what this bill actually does or why some people don't f*ck with it - we explained it all here.)

So, what happens now?

It heads over to the House of Representatives. From here, they can:

👉 Vote on the GENIUS Act as-is;

👉 Push their own stablecoin bill, the STABLE Act, which is stricter and treats stablecoin issuers like banks;

👉 Combine the two into a new draft.

Either way, both chambers need to agree on something before it lands on Trump’s desk, who, btw, wants it signed before Congress goes on break in August.

2/ Altcoin ETFs

Last week, we talked about how we might be heading into an altcoin ETF summer.

Now there’s a new update on that:

The SEC opened public comments on two proposed crypto ETFs from Franklin Templeton - one for XRP, one for Solana.

This pushes the decision deadline by 35 days, so we’re looking at late July now.

Wait, the SEC delayed it?? Is that bad?

Don't worry, it's not. Kind of the opposite.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said delays like this are normal.

What really matters is that the SEC is actually reviewing the filings, not ignoring them. That's a win.

And you know what's an even bigger win? The SEC is also reviewing a Solana staking ETF.

That matters because right now, if you want to earn yield from staking something like Solana or Ethereum, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops: manage your own wallet, lock up your assets, choose a validator, etc.

A staking ETF would change that. It would let regular investors earn staking rewards just by holding a normal ETF - no wallets, no staking setup, no technical knowledge needed.

That would open up a new stream of demand for these assets.

But it's not simple. There are some big hurdles:

• Custody: the fund has to stake user assets securely without violating SEC rules;

• Legality: the SEC has previously suggested that offering staking services might count as selling unregistered securities;

• Technical risks: validators can fail, slashing can happen, and protocols can update in ways that mess with staking mechanics.

So, the fact that the SEC is even talking about this - instead of rejecting it outright - is a strong sign of progress.

Same goes for the Franklin ETFs. Delays are annoying, sure, but the engagement is a green flag.

And that, dear viewers, wraps tonight’s broadcast. Your inbox is officially up to speed.

This has been your favorite correspondent, reporting live from the frontlines of crypto.

Stay informed and mildly skeptical.

🍋 News drops

👀 Gemini’s calling out the CFTC. They're saying the seven-year legal case against them wasn’t about protecting the public - it was the agency's team chasing clout.

😬 The Iran-based crypto exchange Nobitex got hacked for over $81M. A hacker group that claims to support Israel is taking credit for the attack.

⛏️ A Canadian agriculture company, AgriFORCE, found a new use for excess natural gas that’s hard to sell. They’re using it to fuel 120 Bitcoin miners in Alberta.

🍌 Juicy memes