Key takeaways:

The Spot Ether ETF outflows overwhelmed BitMine’s ETH accumulation, raising the chance of a drop below the $1,500 support.Falling DApps revenue and weak staking yields highlight limited ecosystem incentives despite tokenization potential.

Ether (ETH) has failed to sustain prices above $1,600 since Thursday, following the broader cryptocurrency market’s downtrend. Lower oil prices created a positive tone that fueled investors’ hopes for more expansionist monetary policy. That setup favors stocks and pushes bond yields higher.

Traders now fear that ETH will not hold the $1,500 support level for long. Spot Ether ETF outflows void the impact of accumulation from Ether treasury companies.

ETH/USD (orange) vs. Total crypto market cap (blue). Source: TradingView

Ether price has declined 31% since May and underperformed the total cryptocurrency market capitalization by 8% over that period. US-listed Ether ETFs saw $345 million in net outflows since June 17, which more than offset the $182 million in ETH accumulation from BitMine Immersion (BMNR US) and Sharplink (SBET US) during the same period.

Regulatory setbacks, AI competition and weak Ethereum onchain metrics

Several factors appear to have held back investor appetite, including regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Meanwhile, the stock market continues to draw attention thanks to strong earnings and lower inflation expectations.

The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act has awaited a Senate vote since May 15. The bill ends regulation-by-enforcement and clarifies which tokens count as securities. Yet it has faced pushback from lawmakers over provisions regarding stablecoin yields and anti-money-laundering standards.

Democratic lawmakers voiced ethical concerns about the Trump family’s ties to crypto and its role in the World Liberty Financial platform. Most view the CLARITY Act as a positive catalyst for the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. So ongoing uncertainty around approval hurts institutional demand for ETH.

The artificial intelligence sector now competes with blockchain for data processing as cloud providers deliver services through agentic architectures. Enterprise software leader SAP (SAP DE) has integrated autonomous, modular AI agents natively across multi-vendor clouds, enabling peer-to-peer collaboration.

Ether investors also feel disappointment from stagnant Ethereum network fees and decentralized applications (DApps) revenues. As a result, ETH supply becomes inflationary, staking yields remain limited, and fewer incentives exist for ecosystem growth, since part of DApps’ revenue flows back to users.

Ethereum monthly network chain fees vs. DApps revenue, USD. Source: DefiLlama

Ethereum network fees reached only $10.7 million in June, down from $24.4 million in April. DApps revenue hit $51.7 million in June, down from $64.8 million two months earlier. Top contributors included Sky (formerly Maker) at $12.7 million, Titan Builder at $7.2 million, and Chainlink at $4.6 million.

Ethereum supporters argue that tokenization remains in its early innings. The long-term growth potential should create enough blockchain demand to support a much higher ETH valuation.

Related: Ether treasury Sharplink bought $62.4M ETH last week

Ethereum real world assets (RWA) active market capitalization, USD. Source: DefiLlama

While real world assets (RWA) show real promise, the $14.5 billion in tokenized market cap on Ethereum has yet to spark meaningful DeFi activity. With a 2.7% staking yield and weak onchain metrics, the odds of ETH breaking below $1,500 remain in play.

The July 4 deadline for the CLARITY Act’s passage looks set to lapse without approval. Nearly a year has already passed since the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill in July 2025. 

Since then, it has encountered numerous obstacles in Congress. This includes opposition from the stablecoin industry regarding rewards and ethical concerns from lawmakers. Interestingly, the current delay is because the bill is now being used as leverage in larger negotiations by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump’s move sent shockwaves

According to the latest update, President Trump called off the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

The bill featured a ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and was supported by both parties in both chambers of Congress. In March, Trump had declared that he would “not sign other bills” until Republicans in Congress passed the SAVE America Act.

This has created a Senate scheduling crunch, directly squeezing the CLARITY Act’s chances of passage before the August recess. 

Senators are hopeful of the CLARITY Act

Even though Trump has retreated, Senator Tim Scott has stated his support for advancing the bill as soon as possible. 

The push also comes from the fact that Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have already put forward a bipartisan proposal. 

Taken together, the urgency stems from worries that extended regulatory ambiguity may push crypto’s ecosystem to nations with more defined legal systems. Because of this, Scott contends that the Senate should move quickly to pass the legislation.

Is the 4th July deadline realistic?

That said, the bill might also lose steam if Republicans are unable to obtain the required sixty votes before the Senate’s August recess. It’s possible that congressional priorities will shift as a result of many lawmakers refocusing on reelection campaigns. This, in turn, would delay the CLARITY Act’s consideration until the following session of Congress in 2027.

Galaxy Research has lowered its outlook for the CLARITY Act from 60% to 50%. This marks a sharp contrast to early June, when optimism was high, even within the White House,  that the crypto market structure bill would be passed by its original July 4 deadline. 

Final Summary

Donald Trump called off the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. 
With this blocker, the 4th of July deadline looks dicey for the approval of the CLARITY Act. 

Taiwanese lawmakers on Tuesday passed a law to establish a regulatory framework for crypto, which includes licensing and rules for stablecoins.

The country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said that the Legislative Yuan passed the law requiring all virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, to get approval from the regulator to operate.

The law also says stablecoins issued in the country must get approval from the central bank and the FSC, and issuers must maintain sufficient reserves with a trustee and undergo regular audits.

The law is the first to regulate crypto and stablecoins in Taiwan, bringing it in line with other nations in the region, such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, that have long passed laws to regulate the sector in a bid to attract the industry.

The FSC said the bill further strengthens the protection of traders’ rights and that issuing stablecoins will help Taiwan integrate with the international market and secure a place in the global crypto market.

Source: Cointelegraph

Taiwan’s rules outline seven types of VASPs, including exchanges, trading platforms, custodians and lenders, which will all be subject to rules for internal control and audits, cybersecurity systems, crypto listing and delisting rules, customer asset segregation and financial reporting.

The rules outlaw crypto-based fraud and price manipulation, with violators facing between three and 10 years in prison and fines ranging from about 10 million New Taiwan dollars ($300,000) to 200 million New Taiwan dollars ($6.3 million).

Those caught operating a VASP or issuing a stablecoin without a license face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 100 million New Taiwan dollars ($3.1 million), Taiwan’s national news agency, CNA, reported on Tuesday. 

Related: US ban on stablecoin yield could see others fill the void: Ledger exec

The implementation date of the bill is still to be determined, and the law will take effect only after it is published by the government’s executive branch.

The FSC said VASPs that complete anti-money laundering registration before the bill is implemented, and institutions that provide related services under the agency, should apply for a license within 12 months after the bill is implemented.

CNA reported that lawmakers also passed a resolution asking the FSC to propose a plan within a year outlining how the crypto industry can provide derivative crypto commodity services, with the aim of providing diversified investments and improving the sector’s health.

Asia Express: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers

US President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more income for him in 2025 than his real estate and resort businesses, according to his latest financial disclosures. 

Donald Trump’s annual financial disclosure report was released by the US Office of Government Ethics on Tuesday, revealing more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto-related ventures last year. 

The filings show Trump has profited substantially from an industry that he’s simultaneously regulating, which critics say creates a conflict of interest. In 2025, his administration pushed pro-crypto policy, a friendlier regulatory environment and executive orders favorable to digital assets, while his family’s ventures generated vast income as crypto markets surged to an all-time high. 

In a statement to the media, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said Trump had “proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world.”

“Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest,” she added.

Memecoins and WLFI top earners 

According to the 927-page disclosure, the licensing and sale of memecoins such as Trump Coin (TRUMP) generated the most income for Trump, with about $635 million coming from “royalties” in a “license agreement with Celebration Coins.”

Meanwhile, the Trump family’s DeFi platform, World Liberty Financial, was the second-biggest earner, generating about $588 million from “proceeds from token sales.” 

The disclosure also revealed that Trump earned $197 million from selling equity in a stablecoin venture.

Trump’s memecoin income disclosures. Source: US OGE

This combined crypto income dwarfs the second category, real estate and resorts, with the president reporting more than $290 million in income related to revenue from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, and various golf clubs and resorts he owns. 

The filing also shows Trump owns more than $50 million of Bitcoin (BTC) and between $5 million and $25 million in Ether (ETH) stored in cold wallets, along with USDC (USDC) and USD Key (KEY).

Source: Galaxy Digital

Public Citizen calls for action  

The Trump Organization said in a statement that “the breadth and depth of this filing further underscores our ​commitment to transparency,” according to Reuters. 

“At nearly 1,000 pages, it represents one of the most comprehensive financial disclosure reports ever submitted and demonstrates ​a level of financial ⁠transparency unmatched in presidential history.”

Related: Donald Trump has 10 days to decide on housing bill with CBDC ban

Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, called it an “obscene crypto grift” in a statement on Tuesday,

“Trump’s personal profit interest has now aligned him with the crypto industry, paving the way for dangerous legislation that will facilitate mass rip-offs and even threaten financial system stability,” said Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman as he called on Congress to take action.

Magazine: Bitcoin slides to $58K, XRP hits $1 but onchain data promising: Market Moves

Enhancing Cross-Chain Consensus

Blockchain platform Flare has scheduled a community governance vote to deploy Flare Confidential Compute (FCC) on its Songbird canary network. The voting period will run from July 6 to July 13, following a notice period that began June 29. The deployment is described as the first live implementation of the architecture for Flare 2.0, which was first outlined in March 2025.

The new system combines trusted execution environments (TEEs) with Flare’s existing data protocols. The integration is designed to let applications execute transactions on external blockchains while maintaining decentralized verification on the Flare network.

The architecture aims to provide a programmable layer for real-world assets issued on the XRP Ledger. The setup allows those assets to interact with decentralized applications without requiring users to manually bridge them between different networks.

“XRPL is the layer where assets get issued, while Flare acts as the compute layer that adds smart features and flexibility,” Hugo Philion, co-founder and CEO of Flare, said.

If approved by the community, the Songbird deployment will introduce three main components that include protocol-managed wallets. These allow protocols on Flare to operate automated wallets on external blockchains based on predefined rules. At launch, the wallets will support the XRP Ledger, using cryptographic keys secured inside hardware-protected environments.

The deployment also enables transitioning the Flare data connector from batched data confirmation to faster, individual transaction processing, serving as a verification layer for the automated wallets.

The upgrade or structural foundation will also allow external developers to build custom secure hardware extensions that use Flare’s relay and consensus networks.

During the initial testing phase on Songbird, the hardware environments will be run by the Flare Foundation using Google confidential compute. Participating network data providers will package and authorize the data through a weighted consensus mechanism, receiving compensation from a foundation-funded pool and attestation fees.

Company officials said the Songbird rollout will serve to gather operational performance data before the technology is deployed on the primary Flare mainnet.

TLDR:

Ethereum is trading near $1,600, approximately 21% below its 30-day peak amid sustained market weakness.
Two whale wallets withdrew $58.83M in ETH from Kraken and Bitgo, matching prior Bitmine purchase patterns.
Binance stablecoin reserves and netflows have shifted to neutral, signaling a pause in aggressive capital flight.
The bullish regime shift probability has climbed to 45%, but confirmation signals are still needed before acting.

Ethereum is trading around $1,600, roughly 21% below its 30-day peak, as on-chain data and whale activity draw renewed attention.

A quantitative regime model currently enforces a highly defensive stance, limiting market exposure to just 15%. Yet underlying metrics are shifting, with the probability of a bullish regime transition climbing to 45%.

Analysts and market observers are watching closely for confirmation signals before adjusting their positioning.

Defensive Model Meets Stabilizing Liquidity

Ethereum’s current price decline reflects a broader period of caution across crypto markets. The systematic regime model relies on multiple data layers, not price action alone.

It factors in Bitcoin’s structural cycles, derivative flows, and stablecoin dynamics on major exchanges like Binance.

Trend filters remain weak, with a moving average death cross showing a spread of -18.8%. That reading keeps the model in a highly defensive mode, reducing exposure significantly. However, momentum indicators tell a different story at the margin.

MACD histograms are contracting positively, suggesting that selling pressure may be running out of steam. This divergence between long-term trend weakness and short-term momentum stabilization is a key feature of the current setup.

Crucially, stablecoin data on Binance adds another layer of nuance. Stablecoin reserves registered a z-score of -0.32σ, while netflows came in at +0.20σ, both now in neutral territory.

This suggests the aggressive capital flight seen during deep corrections has paused, and exchange liquidity is no longer actively draining.

Whale Withdrawals Add a Bullish Variable

On-chain intelligence firm Arkham flagged notable activity from two fresh whale addresses this week. The wallets withdrew a combined $58.83 million worth of Ethereum from Kraken and Bitgo within hours.

Arkham noted that the purchase patterns matched prior observed activity linked to Bitmine, raising speculation about institutional accumulation.

Arkham posted on X: “Is Tom Lee stacking ETH this week?” referencing Bitmine chairman Tom Lee, known for public bullish stances on digital assets. The withdrawal pattern drew attention because it occurred against a backdrop of broader price weakness.

Ethereum recorded a 2.94% decline over the past 24 hours and a 7.43% drop over the past seven days, with 24-hour trading volume reaching $13.08 billion. Despite that, large-wallet behavior suggests some participants are positioning ahead of a potential reversal.

A decisive shift in Binance stablecoin netflows toward positive territory could serve as an early signal of returning risk appetite.

Until that confirmation arrives, the data supports patience rather than conviction in either direction. Ethereum’s next move may depend on whether these liquidity and behavioral signals continue to align.

India’s USDT premium is in the news after it climbed above 8.5% due to a contraction in the availability of stablecoins domestically. As it stands, capital flows into the country are being discouraged by regulators through both enforcement actions and greater oversight.

That imbalance pushed Tether’s value [USDT] to ₹102.88 against an official USD/INR rate of ₹94.65. This shift also led to a widening of the premium well beyond its typical 3–4% range. The growing spread may be a sign that arbitrage has become less effective as compliance risks discourage capital inflows.

Meanwhile, traders, cross-border users, and businesses continue to compete for limited stablecoin supplies. If regulatory uncertainty persists, elevated premiums could remain and encourage greater reliance on informal trading channels.

Otherwise, clearer regulations and improved liquidity may gradually narrow the pricing gap and restore more efficient market conditions.

Regulatory pressure reshapes stablecoin liquidity

That tightening premium is increasingly reflecting deeper changes in India’s stablecoin market structure rather than temporary pricing disruptions. In recent months, regulatory enforcement has slowed down fresh USDT inflows, reducing liquidity across P2P markets, OTC desks, and exchange order books.

Due to this fall in supply, both exchanges and on-chain flows demonstrated that there were minimal top-ups made to local inventory levels. Nonetheless, the total number of active wallet addresses, along with transaction volume, has remained relatively strong.

The resilience of these metrics may be evidence of the demand for using USDT. This includes sending cross-border payments, settling trade, and storing value backed by dollars, which has not abated together with the decrease in supply.

These divergences mean that regulations have constrained the supply of USDT in India greater than they have the end-use or need for it. Should the availability of compliant inflow channels be limited, then the liquidity shortage could continue.

However, regulatory clarity and better market access may gradually restore supply and narrow India’s elevated USDT premium.

Can India’s stablecoin market regain its efficiency?

Rather than just driving up the price, the increasing regulatory pressure is also affecting how the Indian stablecoin market operates. According to P2P transaction data, for instance, the INR/USDT rate was approximately at Rs 107.21 at press time.

The daily transaction count was over 140,000, but the amount of money changing hands was relatively low due to reduced liquidity. Meanwhile, buy volume reached only $1.2 million, compared with $17.8 million in sell volume, highlighting constrained market-making capacity.

This demonstrated an inability for market makers to operate in this environment. Furthermore, the enforcement actions and scrutiny surrounding ₹2500 crores in VDA transfers. This has additionally led to less new USDT inflow into the Indian market, thereby sustaining the ongoing supply shortages.

These imbalances might mean that regulatory uncertainty is currently diminishing market efficiency and increasing cost to acquire dollar liquidity. In the long run, if conditions remain as they are now, it will lead traders to seek alternative means or offshore dollar liquidity.

Clearer regulations would help restore arbitrage opportunities, increase available dollar liquidity, and eventually reduce India’s USDT premium.

Final Summary

Tether [USDT] demand remains resilient in India, but prolonged supply constraints could keep domestic premiums elevated.
USDT liquidity depends on regulatory clarity, with stronger compliance pathways needed to restore efficient pricing.

Claude Mythos and DeFi: Real threat or overblown fear?

When Anthropic introduced Claude Mythos-class models as its most advanced AI system for cybersecurity, it drew the usual mix of reactions from crypto communities. The lineup included Claude Fable 5, a Mythos-class model intended for broad use, although access was later suspended after a US government directive.

The concern around decentralized finance (DeFi) was easy to understand. If AI systems can find software flaws faster and with less human input, attackers may also use them to spot weak points in protocols before security teams can fix them. 

Those concerns may seem overstated, but they come from a real shift in technology. AI tools have become better at reviewing code, spotting flaws and supporting security teams. At the same time, DeFi remains a major target for attackers because its code is often public, its protocols hold large amounts of money and many systems are new or not fully battle-tested.

The key question is whether Claude Mythos and similar tools pose a serious threat to DeFi, or whether the industry is overstating what today’s AI can actually do.

The answer sits somewhere between the hype and the alarm.

What is Claude Mythos?

Claude Mythos is Anthropic’s most advanced AI system for cybersecurity. Unlike general-purpose AI assistants that can write code or explain technical concepts, Mythos is designed to handle complex security tasks.

Anthropic initially limited access to the model instead of releasing it widely. According to the company, Mythos showed clear improvements in vulnerability research, exploit analysis and layered cybersecurity reasoning compared with earlier versions.

That capability drew attention quickly because vulnerability detection is valuable in both cybersecurity and crypto.

A security expert might spend weeks reviewing code for small flaws. If AI can shorten that timeline to hours, or even less, it could change the balance in defensive security.

That possibility explains much of the unease in crypto circles.

Why Claude Mythos matters to DeFi

DeFi has lost billions of dollars to hacks, exploits and protocol failures in recent years. The concern is not new.

Flash-loan attacks, cross-chain bridge exploits, governance attacks and smart contract bugs have shown that even audited protocols can still have gaps.

Unlike traditional software systems, DeFi protocols often control large amounts of money through smart contracts. A vulnerability may not just expose information. It could allow attackers to move funds quickly and without permission.

That makes DeFi especially attractive to malicious actors.

The open-source nature of many blockchain projects adds another risk. Their code is available for security teams to review, but it is also available to attackers.

In the past, finding advanced vulnerabilities required deep technical skill. Security researchers needed strong knowledge of coding languages, blockchain architecture, cryptography and attack methods.

AI changes that.

Instead of manually reviewing large codebases, analysts can now use AI assistants to flag suspicious patterns, summarize complex systems and point out possible attack paths.

This is where concerns around Claude Mythos begin.

Did you know? In some controlled security competitions, AI systems have identified software vulnerabilities in minutes that would normally take human researchers several hours, or even days, to find.

Can AI really find vulnerabilities in DeFi protocols?

The short answer is yes. AI systems have already shown that they can find certain types of software vulnerabilities.

Studies from Anthropic and other research groups show that advanced models can review code repositories, test security assumptions and sometimes find issues that human analysts miss.

Smart contracts are well suited to this kind of analysis because they are often public and written in structured languages such as Solidity.

An AI system can quickly review thousands of contracts, spot repeated patterns and look for known types of vulnerabilities.

Areas where AI is likely to provide growing support include:

Reviewing audit reportsIdentifying unsafe coding practicesComparing protocol upgradesDetecting permission errorsModeling possible exploit pathsAnalyzing interactions between smart contracts

AI is becoming a force multiplier for security researchers. A task that once required a full team of experts could increasingly be handled by a smaller group of security professionals using advanced AI tools.

That is a meaningful change, not just marketing hype.

The table below shows how Claude Mythos compares with other models:

Why AI threats to DeFi may be exaggerated

Even with these advances, there is a clear difference between finding a vulnerability and stealing funds. Many crypto attacks involve much more than spotting a flaw.

Attackers often need to:

Understand complex protocol mechanicsBring in significant capitalCoordinate multiple transactionsExploit market conditionsManipulate liquidityNavigate governance systemsAvoid detection

Even when a vulnerability exists, turning it into a successful attack often requires detailed planning and careful execution.

The real-world environment is far more complex than isolated coding tests.

Current AI systems also have limits. They can reach wrong conclusions, miss key details or follow weak lines of analysis. Security experts often find that AI tools produce useful insights alongside many false alarms.

An AI tool might flag 10 possible vulnerabilities, but only one may turn out to be valid. That matters because skilled human oversight is still essential.

Claude Mythos could speed up vulnerability detection, but it does not remove the need for experienced security experts.

Did you know? Many DeFi protocols publish their code online. This gives both security teams and AI tools more real-world financial software to review than in traditional banking systems.

The defensive side of AI in DeFi

A major flaw in the claim that AI will weaken DeFi is the idea that only attackers will benefit from these tools. Security teams have access to them too.

Security firms are already adding AI to their review processes. Developers are using AI-assisted code checks more often. Bug hunters can also use AI to spot issues before attackers find them.

Over time, AI may become a normal part of protocol security.

That could mean:

Every code update goes through AI-assisted reviewAI agents continuously monitor deployed contractsAutomated systems look for unusual on-chain activityPossible vulnerabilities are flagged before deployment

In that case, AI could strengthen DeFi security instead of weakening it.

The technology is neutral on its own. Its impact depends on how well attackers and defenders use it.

When AI attacks meet AI defenses

A more realistic outlook points to a future where AI systems challenge each other directly. This would make security faster on both sides.

Attackers will use more advanced models to find vulnerabilities and plan attacks. Security teams will use similar tools to monitor threats, improve code quality and respond faster.

This already happens in traditional cybersecurity, where offensive and defensive tools improve side by side.

DeFi could become the next major battleground for this contest. The likely result is not a sudden collapse of the sector. Instead, DeFi may enter a period of faster security upgrades and adaptation.

Projects that are slow to find vulnerabilities and update their code could face greater risk. Those that adopt AI-supported safeguards may become stronger than before.

Did you know? Several major crypto losses have come from compromised private keys, social engineering attacks or governance manipulation rather than flaws in smart contract code itself.

Assessing protocol vulnerabilities

Risk is not spread evenly across DeFi. Smaller projects with limited security resources often face the highest exposure.

Several categories are especially vulnerable:

Fast deployment schedules: Projects that prioritize quick launches over careful testing may leave structural flaws in place.Copied codebases: Many protocols reuse or slightly modify existing code. Advanced AI tools can compare these systems quickly and expose inherited flaws.Weak audit coverage: Projects with little or no third-party review are less prepared for advanced attacks.Legacy smart contracts: Older contract designs may rely on assumptions that no longer hold up against modern exploit methods.

Automated analysis tools could sharply reduce the time needed to find these weaknesses.

What DeFi builders should do now

Claude Mythos offers an important lesson for the industry. DeFi builders should assume that attackers may already be using automated research tools. Security strategies need to improve accordingly.

Core priorities should include:

Expanding automated security testingRunning continuous, real-time auditsAdding AI-assisted code analysis to development pipelinesIncreasing bug bounty rewardsUsing formal verification for critical codeImproving threat monitoring and real-time incident response

Engineering teams must reduce the time between finding a vulnerability and deploying a fix. In an AI-accelerated environment, response time becomes just as important as prevention.

A major shift, not DeFi’s breaking point

Claude Mythos has shown that automated systems can handle complex security tasks that once required specialized experts. That marks a major shift for DeFi, where a code flaw can lead to the immediate loss of user funds.

Still, predictions of total systemic failure ignore several practical realities. Finding a vulnerability does not guarantee a successful exploit. Current AI tools still produce uneven results, human oversight remains essential and defensive teams have access to the same technology.

The more likely outcome is a change in security standards, not a collapse of DeFi. Automated tools could reduce the time and cost needed to find vulnerabilities. That will put more pressure on development teams to improve code quality, respond faster and build stronger security systems.

Ultimately, these developments are a warning, not a guaranteed outcome. The future of decentralized infrastructure will not be decided only by what AI can find. It will also depend on whether attackers or defenders use the technology more effectively.

The proposal aims to give XRPL users guaranteed execution priority if they pay a reservation fee before a ledger closes.

David Schwartz, who co-founded the XRP Ledger, has proposed a transaction reservation scheme as a potential fix for front-running on the network’s decentralized exchange and automated market maker.

His proposal was in response to a post from the XRP-focused account XRPresso.io, which argued that validators and well-connected nodes can exploit pre-validation transaction visibility to extract value from regular traders.

Front-Running Concerns on XRPL

According to XRPresso, transfers usually sit in a publicly visible queue before a ledger closes on the XRPL, with validators and some nodes able to see these pending trades. As such, they are in a position to assess whether sandwiching them would be profitable, and then to submit multiple entries to game their position in the final canonical ordering.

And because that ordering is decided by a known, deterministic formula involving transaction hashes, submitting similar entries increases the odds of landing in a favorable slot relative to the target trade. That, as XRPresso claimed, could see everyday users trading through standard wallets and apps getting systematically disadvantaged while more sophisticated operators extract value from their trades.

Schwartz acknowledged that the issue is real but pushed back on parts of the framing. He pointed out that all participants have an equal opportunity to see transfers and argued that validators don’t gain any structural advantage unless several of them conspire. Such an action, he said, would be visible on-chain and lead to the removal of the offending validators from the trust lists.

“If multiple validators did conspire, or a single validator attempted it, it would be *very* obvious to everyone exactly who was doing this,” he wrote.

Furthermore, he said that there have never been any reports of anyone attempting something like that, except as a proof of concept. The biggest issue, according to him, has been profitability, since to make money, the actors would need both high liquidity that would make volumes worth the effort available and low liquidity to move the price measurably and at a reasonable cost.

Still, he offered a solution in which a user would submit a reservation transaction specifying a ledger sequence number and a transaction ID, and pay a reservation fee. If the reservation succeeds and the actual activity is broadcast before that ledger closes, it gets guaranteed priority over any other formed after the original was disclosed.

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“This guarantees that you can execute your transaction ahead of any transaction that was formed after your transaction was disclosed,” explained the developer. “You would use this approach any time you want to perform a transaction that you want to ensure cannot be sandwiched or front run.”

The Front-Running Debate in DeFi

XRPresso responded that while Schwartz’s reservation idea is worth exploring, it would add cost and complexity and does not fully address the underlying visibility problem in the pre-validation stage. According to them, targeted confidentiality for the details of pending actions would be a cleaner long-term fix, with such approaches already being used on other chains.

The front-running problem isn’t unique to the XRP ecosystem, and Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao proposed a dark pool perpetuals DEX last year that uses zero-knowledge cryptography to hide order data until execution. That idea drew criticism too, with some decentralization advocates claiming that hiding order books will just recreate the insider dynamics that crypto was meant to move away from.

Analysts argue that investors are effectively buying the company’s Bitcoin holdings at a discount to their estimated value.

Metaplanet shares on the OTC market closed at about $1.29 on June 25, extending a year-long drop that has taken the stock down 88%, while the company’s Bitcoin holdings have risen to over 40,000 BTC.

The numbers have drawn the attention of one analyst who argues that the market is pricing the stock well below what the company is actually worth.

Metaplanet’s Market Value Trails Its Bitcoin Holdings

According to data posted by Bitcoin watcher Zynx on June 26, Metaplanet currently holds 40,177 BTC with a net asset value of approximately $2.36 billion, while its market cap sits at just $1.54 billion and its debt at $297 million.

“No reason for a profitable company to trade significantly below its book value,” Zynx wrote.

That $2.36 NAV figure comes from Metaplanet’s own tracker, which also shows its enterprise value is around 0.81x BTC NAV, meaning investors are effectively buying the Bitcoin at a discount. Furthermore, the company’s unrealized loss on its BTC stash is about $1.77 billion, since those 40,177 BTC were bought at an average price of $104,000 each, for a total of roughly $4.18 billion.

Additional data from Yahoo Finance shows its MTPLF stock lost 33% of its value in the last 30 days and is also 56% lower than where it was six months ago. This is despite the company consistently buying Bitcoin, including 5,075 in Q1 2026 for $405 million at an average price of $79,900. That buy pushed Metaplanet past MARA Holdings into third place among corporate Bitcoin holders worldwide, with only Twenty One Capital (43,514 BTC) and Michael Saylor’s Strategy (847,363 BTC) boasting bigger bags.

Investor Adam Livingston called the Metaplanet situation “a great opportunity for the long haul,” pointing to the company’s relatively low leverage compared to the likes of Strategy, which relies heavily on preferred shares and convertible notes.

Business As Usual

While the stock performance has been brutal, Metaplanet has not stopped its broader business expansion, with its latest move being the acquisition of Siiibo Securities, a licensed securities firm described as a pioneer of Japan’s online corporate bond market. The deal is reportedly worth 2.1 billion yen, which translates to just over $13 million, and should be closed by July 13.

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According to CEO Simon Gerovich, who framed the acquisition as the first move in the Tokyo-listed firm’s “Project Nova,” Siiibo will change its name to Metaplanet Securities and will offer Bitcoin-related yield products to retail investors in Japan.

The executive said Japanese households are holding an estimated $1.7 trillion in savings accounts and low-yield instruments, something he believes is an opportunity, especially considering the country’s gradual shift from deflation to inflation, which should see capital actively looking for better returns.