Plus: Widow loses life savings in a crypto ATM scam

GM. Blended with love, shaken with a little bit of panic, and served in a glass.

👀 Crypto might be counted as an asset when evaluating mortgage applications.

🍋 News drops: elderly woman loses life savings to a crypto scam, US Senators don't show up to a hearing about crypto rules + more

🍍 Market flavor today

Crypto Market Cap: $3.29T -0.68% (24H)
Name		Price	24H	7D
	Bitcoin BTC	$107,142.46	-0.60%	2.71%
	Ethereum ETH	$2,437.32	0.23%	-2.95%
	XRP XRP	$2.13	-3.64%	-0.81%
	BNB BNB	$643.08	-0.38%	0.51%
	Solana SOL	$142.42	-3.04%	-1.14%

Bitcoin climbed above $107K as traders react to the fact that the Israel-Iran ceasefire is actually holding for now.

Oil prices have dropped back to pre-conflict levels, and that’s giving investors a reason to feel optimistic again.

But don’t get too comfortable - there’s always something to worry about. And the focus is now on NATO vs. Russia.

According to QCP Group, European defense officials are warning that a war could break out in the next five years.

• Russia's been producing more weapons than it needs for the war in Ukraine, upgrading its nuclear facilities in Kaliningrad, and setting up more military bases near European borders;

• In response, NATO countries agreed to increase defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035.

QCP says stuff like this is changing how investors think about risk, because what used to be seen as a worst-case scenario is now just part of the normal.

And for that, it’s getting harder for markets to figure out what anything is really worth.

So, the big picture is a mess. However, the short term... nah, it's also messy.

CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha pointed out this:

1/ Binance Open Interest (OI) has increased

Binance's OI jumped above 6%. The last two times this happened (on May 26 and June 10), Bitcoin either dipped or started going sideways afterward.

That's because rising OI means more money’s getting pumped into futures, mostly by traders using leverage = usually a sign of growing excitement or speculation.

And when things get more speculative, the market becomes more fragile. Leveraged traders don’t have much room for error, so even a small price drop can spook them into closing positions, which adds extra selling pressure.

2/ Long-term holders are slowing down

A stat that shows what long-term holders are up to - the LTH Net Position Realized Cap - dropped from over $57B to just $3.5B.

This means they’re not accumulating like before, and some might be taking profits after the recent price rally.

And since these are usually the chill and strategic people, seeing them cool off is something worth noting.

So, where does that leave us?

There’s no clear sign that Bitcoin’s about to crash. Don't worry.

But a dip or some sideways movement wouldn’t be surprising.

Analyst IT Tech suggests watching these price levels:

👉 $108.25K → a break above it could trigger a squeeze toward $109.5K+;

👉 $106.4K → a drop below it could be followed by a local pullback.

🥝 Memecoin harvest

Turns out the secret to market success is a smug-lookin' fish 🐠

Data as of 06:40 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

🏡 Mortgage

Meet Alex, a freelance web developer.

Like a lot of 20-somethings, Alex dreams of owning a small house. A realistic dream for a little stability, y’know.

But he doesn't have enough cash to buy one outright - he’ll need a mortgage.

Now, Alex's issue: his earnings vary month to month, so the bank only sees like $10K in his account and no steady income.

Because of that, from the lender's perspective, he's a risk. Not enough reserves to cover payments if something goes wrong.

But what the bank doesn't see is that Alex actually has $100K worth of Ethereum on Coinbase. He's really in good financial shape, it's just that crypto gets ignored in these decisions.

... That might be about to change, though 👀

The US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - two government-sponsored giants that buy most US mortgages - to update their business processes so crypto can be counted as an asset when evaluating mortgage applications.

Now, this doesn’t mean $50K in Titcoin on some sketchy DEX is gonna cut it.

FHFA director Bill Pulte says only verifiable and traceable assets stored on US-regulated exchanges will count.

Coinbase checks that box - so Alex would be good.

And this isn’t just big for future homeowners - it’s big for the whole industry.

👉 It proves that crypto's getting closer to being treated like real money in regulators’ eyes. Something stable enough to back a 30-year mortgage.

👉 If big dawgs like Fannie and Freddie accept crypto, other lenders pretty much have to follow.

It only took a decade and three bull runs. Either way, Alex is SO back.

🍋 News drops

🐙 Curious how Kraken’s doing? Here’s the volume, token count, ranking, and other data you actually need - all in one place.

😬 A Senate hearing about new crypto rules was held on Tuesday. But out of eleven members on the digital assets subcommittee, only five actually showed up.

🏦 The Bank of Korea’s deputy governor, Ryoo Sang-dae, thinks banks should be the first ones to launch stablecoins in South Korea. He says it's to keep things safe and under control.

🇦🇺 Cops in Australia have been cracking down on crypto ATM scams and ended up reaching out to over 90 people. One of them was a 77-year-old widow who lost AU$433K - money she’d spent 40 years saving.

💔 A guy named Michael Zidell is suing Citibank after he lost $20M to a romance scam. He says the bank should’ve noticed the red flags and stopped the transfers before things got out of hand.

🍌 Juicy memes