As per the latest weekly report from Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, the crypto market has seen significant ups and downs. Despite geopolitical tensions stirring up a risk-off market sentiment, a significant regulatory breakthrough in the stablecoin sector was achieved.
Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a consolidation phase throughout the week, only to take a nosedive on Friday due to escalating conflicts between Israel and Iran. Global markets, including risk assets like BTC and equities, have been plagued by increased volatility since the week’s onset.
Initially, Bitcoin and other equities managed to rally, brushing off the negative impacts of geopolitical news. However, by midweek, BTC had fallen to $103,500. Investors started leaning towards defensive assets amidst growing concerns over potential geopolitical repercussions in the Middle East.
Binance’s analysts highlighted that despite the shift from risk-on to risk-off, the structural demand for BTC remained firm. The US spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) market saw inflows amounting to $2.4 billion in an eight-day streak that lasted until June 18. This trend suggests that long-term investors are buying the dip.
Spot Ethereum ETFs also witnessed significant positive flows, crossing the $605 million mark during the same period. On-chain metrics for Ethereum remained optimistic, with staked Ether (ETH) reaching a record 34.9 million ETH, about 28.9% of the circulating supply. More than 500,000 ETH of the staked amount was added just within the first two weeks of June.
In a significant regulatory development, the U.S. Senate approved the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act with a 68-30 vote on June 17. This bill, the first of its kind, aims to create a regulatory framework for fully-reserved, anti-money laundering (AML)-compliant stablecoins. The Act now awaits approval from the House of Representatives to become law.
Despite marking progress in stablecoin regulation, the Act has sparked concerns about the risk concentration within the traditional banking system, given that it requires stablecoin reserves to be held exclusively by federally regulated entities. Notwithstanding, stablecoin usage has hit record highs, with total supply growing by 22.5% since the end of 2024 to surpass $250 billion, and on-chain transfer volumes exceeding $20 trillion.
