Bitcoin Improvement Proposal BIP-110 is seeking to introduce a soft fork that would block the use of arbitrary on-chain data employed by protocols such as Ordinals and Runes, and would also disable Taproot script opcodes including OP_IF. The change would affect Miniscript-based wallets and legacy P2PK outputs. Critics argue the activation creates a sharp user-safety hazard: users could still send BTC to addresses derived from scripts that would become invalid under the new rules, but those funds could become permanently unspendable. More than 17,000 BTC is currently held in P2PK addresses; while spending would remain permitted, opponents warn of potential temporary freezes and increased theft risk during the transition. BIP-110 is slated for mandatory activation in August 2026 at block 961632. Support among miners and nodes is currently described as limited. Opponents say the proposal directly challenges one of Bitcoin's core value propositions: secure self-custody.

Taiko announced on June 29 (UTC+8) that it has successfully patched the attack vector responsible for the June 21 exploit, following a comprehensive review by independent security experts. According to reports from Foresight News, the team confirmed that user funds remained secure throughout the incident. To restore operations, Taiko has initiated a four-step restart plan. This process begins with deploying the patch and verifying the chain's state under Security Council supervision, followed by topping up cross-chain bridge funds to ensure 1:1 backing for Layer-2 assets. Once L2 activities like swaps and transfers resume and network stability is confirmed, the Security Council will propose lifting the bridge suspension. Additionally, Taiko will implement conservative withdrawal limits as a precautionary measure to safeguard the ecosystem during the transition back to full functionality.

Stablecoin liquidity on Hyperliquid is increasingly concentrating in USD Coin (USDC), as traders move away from the network's native USDH in favor of deeper, more established settlement assets. To ease the transition, the Hyperliquid Foundation has distributed about $10 million in grants to offset migration costs and keep its ecosystem operating smoothly, including HIP1, HIP3, HyperEVM protocols, bridges, and native markets. Users can also swap USDH into USDC via the same migration routes, reducing friction during the changeover. DeFiLlama data show USDC now overwhelmingly dominates Hyperliquid's stablecoin liquidity: $5.74 billion of a $5.96 billion total stablecoin pool. USDH balances have dropped to roughly $20 million, while Tether (USDT) sits at about $155 million. The distribution highlights strong network effects behind USDC's growing lead, positioning it as preferred collateral across spot and perpetual markets. Continued institutional participation could further entrench USDC, while USDH would likely need meaningful utility upgrades to claw back share. The migration has coincided with resilient onchain activity under Hyperliquid's USDC-first model. DeFiLlama reports roughly 6,932 daily active addresses and more than 315,000 daily transactions, with perpetual trading volume holding near $2.8 billion, underscoring Hyperliquid's strength in onchain derivatives. Rising usage is also translating into annualized fee revenue in the hundreds of millions. Those fees are increasingly funneled into HYPE through staking, priority fees, buybacks, and incentives rather than being driven primarily by speculation. If trading activity and USDC liquidity continue to expand in tandem, HYPE's long-term value capture could strengthen; weaker network momentum would likely slow revenue growth. In summary, Hyperliquid's shift from USDH to USDC is reinforcing liquidity concentration while supporting continued network expansion, with future growth tied closely to sustained trading activity and fee generation.

American Express is stepping up its push into stablecoins and blockchain, moving beyond research and toward building products tied to digital dollars. The payments company has posted an opening for a newly created vice president of stablecoin and blockchain partnerships and strategy. The role sits within Amex's Digital Labs unit in New York and lists an annual salary range of $176,750 to $282,000. The posting says the executive will focus on integrating stablecoins into Amex's existing payment rails and developing partnerships with token issuers, networks, and what the company describes as "emerging commerce ecosystems." Amex also advertised a second senior position: vice president of onchain products. Together, the listings point to a broader team buildout aimed at blockchain-native capabilities rather than a single exploratory hire. The hiring drive comes as major rivals Visa and Mastercard expand stablecoin settlement pilots, and as a number of former Amex and Visa executives have moved on to launch stablecoin ventures targeting mainstream brands. CEO Stephen Squeri has previously framed stablecoins as a potential alternative to traditional payment networks, while noting that a crypto-linked Amex card remains a distant prospect. The new roles suggest the company is shifting from public discussion to internal development. The wider industry has accelerated over the past year, helped by clearer U.S. policy signals. The two largest stablecoins now total about $260 billion in combined market capitalization, roughly triple their 2023 level. Analysts expect stablecoins to represent a growing share of dollar-denominated payments by the end of the decade. Timing is also being shaped by regulation. Congress passed the GENIUS Act, creating the first federal framework for payment stablecoins and classifying them as payment instruments rather than securities. Six federal agencies are working toward implementation rules ahead of a July 18 statutory deadline; issuers would then have roughly 120 days to meet compliance requirements. Bitcoin.com News also reported that stablecoin issuer Circle recently urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to finalize stronger rules grounded in law. Attention now turns to whether Amex's stablecoin team can deliver a tangible offering—such as a merchant settlement suite or a cross-border transfer platform—before the GENIUS Act framework takes effect in late 2026.

Crypto ETF flows fractured last week as investors pared back broad exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum while selectively adding to a handful of altcoin-linked products. Data compiled from Farside Investors show U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $1.79 billion in net outflows from June 22 to June 26. Over the same period, U.S. Ethereum ETFs recorded roughly $273.5 million in net outflows. In contrast, XRP spot ETFs posted $22.99 million of net inflows, HYPE wrappers attracted around $111.4 million, and SOL products ended slightly negative. The split suggests fragmentation rather than a clean rotation. Investors sold the two largest regulated crypto exposures aggressively, while still allocating targeted capital to smaller wrappers. The key question is whether the move reflects a one-week rebalance or early evidence that institutions are using ETFs to express more specific crypto views as appetite for Bitcoin weakens. Flow snapshot (June 22–26) - U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs: about $1.79 billion net outflows — broad "crypto beta" sold heavily. - U.S. Ethereum ETFs: about $273.5 million net outflows — weakness extended to both major ETF complexes. - XRP spot ETFs: +$22.99 million net inflows — positive but small relative to BTC and ETH redemptions. - HYPE wrappers: about +$111.4 million net inflows — the strongest positive altcoin-wrapper signal of the week. - SOL wrappers: about $1.9 million net outflows — kept the altcoin signal uneven. XRP: a positive signal, but small in size SoSoValue data put XRP spot ETF net inflows at $22.99 million from June 22 to June 26, driven primarily by $16.9739 million into Bitwise's XRP product and $3.9673 million into Franklin Templeton's XRPZ. The direction mattered more than the dollars: XRP drew fresh allocation in the same week the dominant BTC and ETH categories absorbed heavy redemptions. HYPE strengthens the case for selective altcoin demand HYPE drew roughly $111.4 million of net inflows in the same window, nearly five times the XRP total cited by SoSoValue. That makes HYPE the clearer positive altcoin-wrapper signal for the week and reduces the likelihood that XRP inflows were simply an issuer- or asset-specific anomaly. SOL failed to confirm a broader altcoin wave Farside's SOL table shows no flow for the first three days of the period, a $3.9 million outflow on June 25, and a $2.0 million inflow on June 26, leaving the week slightly negative. The lack of consistent SOL participation weakens the argument for a broad-based altcoin inflow cycle. Wrapper design can blur comparisons ETF mechanics add noise to week-to-week interpretations. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs function as default regulated access points for broad market exposure. Newer products tied to assets such as HYPE and SOL can reflect different assumptions because they are smaller, newer, and sometimes structured or marketed around staking or network-specific economics. Bitwise's Spot Hyperliquid ETF, launched in May, offers spot HYPE exposure and in-house staking mechanics. The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF similarly emphasizes direct SOL exposure and staking rewards. Differences in liquidity, launch timing, volatility, distribution, and investor base can all distort a single-week read. What to watch next The latest flows point to selective demand: institutions may be cutting broad BTC and ETH ETF exposure while using a limited set of altcoin wrappers for targeted positions. For the pattern to look like a durable allocation shift, it needs to repeat. XRP and HYPE would have to keep attracting inflows across multiple weeks of weak BTC and ETH demand, and SOL or other altcoin wrappers would need to participate more consistently. If BTC and ETH stabilize and XRP/HYPE fade, last week may register as a tactical blip. If all major wrappers see outflows together, the picture shifts toward a synchronized risk-off move. If altcoin wrappers continue to draw capital while Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs bleed, the implication becomes more significant: institutions would be using ETFs not only to access crypto beta, but to choose which specific crypto risks they want to own.

Loopring has discontinued its decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) services, citing weak long-term user growth, limited business expansion, and mounting competitive pressure from next-generation Ethereum scaling networks. The team said on Platform X that all trading has been halted and the protocol relayer has been shut down. Loopring, once best known for its zero-knowledge Rollup technology, acknowledged that its current architecture lacks virtual machine functionality, reducing composability and limiting real-world use cases such as payments. Loopring attributed the closure to three main factors: insufficient user adoption, constrained business development capacity, and competition from zkEVM networks. It added that although substantial resources were directed toward R&D, the project failed to build a durable business foundation. Rather than continuing to operate what it described as a "shell" service, the team opted for a full shutdown. User funds will be returned in batches. Loopring said it will calculate each user's final balance and then transfer remaining assets directly to the user's Ethereum wallet, with the team covering all associated gas fees. The decision follows a steep decline in activity. L2Beat data show Loopring's total value locked (TVL) peaked at about $760 million during the November 2021 bull-market high, before sliding to roughly $8 million, down nearly 99%. LRC has also fallen from a record high near $3.75 to around $0.01. Loopring partnered with GameStop in 2021 to support the retailer's NFT marketplace, which launched in 2022. As Ethereum-compatible zkEVM networks have matured rapidly, Loopring's more specialized design has steadily lost competitiveness. The announcement also noted that LRC was delisted from exchanges in 2026, accelerating the platform's wind-down. Separately, RootData estimates that by 2026 more than 60 crypto projects or protocols had already ceased operations, with Pyra, Carrot, and Botanix Labs among those that previously reported shutdowns or business cutbacks.

Loopring has shut down its DEX relayer, effectively ending operations for one of Ethereum's earliest zero-knowledge scaling pioneers. The project said final user balances are being sent to associated Ethereum Layer 1 addresses, closing the book on a zkRollup design that helped prove ZK scaling could work without sacrificing self-custody. The decision underscores how decisively the market has moved toward general-purpose zkEVM rollups. Loopring's execution environment was not EVM-equivalent, so developers could not port Solidity smart contracts directly. What once looked like a reasonable performance trade-off turned into a structural disadvantage as activity clustered around zkEVM platforms such as zkSync Era, Scroll, and Polygon zkEVM. Loopring's infrastructure was built around orderbook-style trading, a model that fit early DeFi before AMMs dominated. Over time, liquidity consolidated into a smaller set of EVM-native venues across zkEVM and optimistic rollups, leaving application-specific rollups with fewer paths to sustainable volume. In its statement, the team cited weak business development, limited adoption, and a wave of LRC exchange delistings in 2026 as key factors behind the shutdown. Delistings tend to accelerate user outflows: centralized exchange removals reduce orderbook depth, DEX liquidity thins, and confidence can deteriorate quickly. Regulatory uncertainty may have added pressure. The original report noted that a landmark crypto bill is facing strong pushback from banks, and exchanges have responded by tightening token listing standards. For LRC, already dealing with low volumes, the exchange risk-reward calculus increasingly favored removal. User funds are being returned under a structured winddown rather than a loss event. Loopring is publishing final asset snapshots and will distribute balances worth at least $10 to the linked Ethereum L1 addresses, with the project covering gas fees. Wallets below the threshold may not receive distributions, a measure intended to cap operational costs. Users who held assets on the Loopring DEX are being asked to confirm their L1 addresses. With no secondary market for the relayer infrastructure, the shutdown is considered final. Once funds arrive on Ethereum L1, holders will need to decide whether to keep the assets or move them elsewhere. The broader takeaway is why zkEVM won. zkEVM rollups offered a simple proposition: deploy existing Solidity contracts without rewrites, making it far easier for established DeFi protocols to expand to L2. Loopring required developers to adopt a different environment at a time when liquidity competition from alternative L1s such as Sui has made fragmentation more costly. Timing also worked against Loopring. It launched when ZK tech was still experimental. By 2026, proving times improved and EVM equivalence became the baseline expectation, shrinking the opportunity for an application-specific ZK layer to sustain meaningful trading volume. Attention now turns to whether other non-EVM zkRollups face similar pressure. Some projects have chosen different strategies—for example, dYdX moving to its own appchain—but orderbook-based systems rely heavily on network effects. LRC remains live on Ethereum L1 and on some smaller DEXs. Without the Loopring DEX as a core use case, its utility becomes harder to define and increasingly speculative. The team has not announced a rebrand or pivot, leaving price discovery likely to remain volatile and uneven in the near term.

Data from Hyperinsight show that whale address 0x9e8—previously up $3.1 million after shorting crude oil on Hyperliquid—has opened a $4 million leveraged long in MU. The position uses 10x leverage, with an average entry price of $1,155, and is currently showing a small unrealized gain. On-chain MU positions total about $166 million, including $67.45 million in longs and $98.17 million in shorts. The whale’s average long entry is $1,090.74, while the average short entry is $995.66. Liquidation levels are listed at $1,352.65 for shorts and $738.42 for longs.