TL;DR
A late-week ceasefire announcement sparked a sharp short-covering rally that fully reversed a midweek 953-point drawdown in the Dow, leaving the S&P 500 essentially flat at –0.12% on the week.
A supply-driven energy squeeze pushed headline CPI up to 4.2%, while core CPI held at 2.9%. The Fed held rates steady and lifted its median year-end dot to a restrictive 5.1%.
The Israel–Iran ceasefire is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, likely compressing the oil risk premium and easing cost-push inflationary pressure on global central banks.
STRC continued to trade at roughly a 5% discount to par as the market awaits Strategy’s next monthly dividend reset and a potential adjustment to restore par value.
Bittensor (TAO) benefited from rising interest in decentralized AI, as U.S. export restrictions on frontier AI models drew attention to permissionless alternatives.
Japan’s crypto bill advanced, opening a path toward spot crypto ETFs and tax reform.
The CFTC proposed a framework that treats sports-event contracts as regulated derivatives rather than gambling.
EDGE Markets raised a US$29.2M Series A to build payment and settlement rails for prediction markets.
Morpho raised US$175M at a valuation of up to US$2B to expand its onchain credit infrastructure.
Digital Asset raised US$355M to accelerate adoption of the Canton Network across capital markets.
Macro Overview
Ceasefire Rally Offsets Hawkish Federal Reserve Rate Outlook and Hot Headline Inflation
U.S. equities experienced extreme volatility last week as market participants navigated high-stakes inflation updates and sudden geopolitical developments. Mid-week panic triggered a massive 953-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, driven by anxiety over hot consumer price data and escalating Middle East conflict. However, a dramatic reversal in sentiment occurred on Friday following a major breakthrough announcement, which stabilized trading. Short-covering and a powerful relief rally swept through Wall Street, allowing the benchmark S&P 500 index to claw back almost all its losses and finish the turbulent week nearly flat at -0.12%. This rapid recovery demonstrates that equity markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical risk premiums and discount-rate shocks rather than to structural deterioration in domestic growth.
The macroeconomic fight against persistent price pressures suffered a setback as the Consumer Price Index accelerated to a hot 4.2% yoy rate in May. This upside surprise primarily reflected a severe energy price squeeze stemming from intense geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. In contrast, the core inflation metric, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, landed exactly in line with consensus expectations at a cooler 2.9% yoy expansion. This widening gap between headline and core prints confirms that supply-side cost-push shocks are currently dominating the inflation profile. This unfavorable development fuels widespread concern that headline inflation will remain uncomfortably sticky, complicating the near-term path toward monetary policy normalization.
The Fed added to the hawkish market tone by keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged while aggressively reshaping its macroeconomic projections. The updated dot plot revealed a significant hawkish shift among monetary policymakers who now indicate that the median interest rate will remain near 5.1% by the end of 2026. This revised outlook implies far fewer interest rate cuts than previously expected by market participants. During the press conference, the Fed emphasized that it still requires greater confidence in a sustained downward trend in inflation before pivoting toward monetary easing. This restrictive stance signals that borrowing costs will stay higher for longer to successfully cool down aggregate demand and anchor long-term price expectations.
Geopolitical dynamics shifted dramatically as President Trump announced a complete and total ceasefire between Israel and Iran. This historic breakthrough directly targets the critical energy channel, with the expectation that the vital Strait of Hormuz will fully reopen to global shipping. Consequently, global crude benchmarks reacted positively to the major de-escalation, with WTI crude breaking lower to around 90.54% of its peak or specific target ranges and Brent crude stabilizing near 93.09% relative as the agreement promises to dismantle the severe cost-push inflation risk premium.
Market attention next week will shift toward major domestic demand metrics, including May retail sales and industrial production data, to evaluate the underlying health of American consumers. Participants will heavily analyze these economic releases against the hawkish 5.1% year-end dot plot to determine if restrictive borrowing costs are cooling the economy. Additionally, traders will closely monitor the durability of the ceasefire in the Middle East, as any unexpected breakdown would immediately revive energy volatility. (1)
DXY
The U.S. Dollar Index exhibited strong upward momentum early last week before giving up some gains to finish lower. The DXY index opened at 100.07 and briefly pushed above the 100 threshold following hot consumer price data, but reversed lower to close at 99.86 as a major Middle East ceasefire agreement reduced urgent defensive safe-haven currency demand. Despite this tactical profit-taking, the greenback remains fundamentally supported by the Fed’s hawkish dot plot projection. (2)
US 10-Year and 30-Year Bond Yields
U.S. Treasury yields experienced a modest downward retracement from their weekly highs as the abrupt de-escalation in geopolitical tensions triggered an influx of bond buying. The 10-year Treasury yield fluctuated from an opening level of 4.536% down to a lower range, while the 30-year yield softened from its 4.999% opening mark. However, the monetary policy path laid out in the updated dot plot provided a firm structural floor, preventing a deeper correction across the curve. (3)
Gold
Gold prices extended their recent downward slide last week as heavy macro liquidation outweighed traditional inflation-hedging demand. Bullion opened at $4,337.10 and dropped toward $4,222.00 to register a distinct contraction. The historic ceasefire breakthrough effectively stripped away the critical geopolitical war risk premium from the energy and commodity channels while stubbornly high real yields in the United States continued to compress the tactical appeal of holding non-yielding physical assets. (4)
Crypto Markets Overview
Main Assets
ETH/BTC Ratio
BTC rose 3.8% last week, while ETH gained 2.1%. Despite the rebound in both assets, the ETH/BTC ratio continued to decline, falling 1.7% over the week.
Spot BTC ETFs recorded a further US$315.8M in net outflows, extending the recent streak of withdrawals. Spot ETH ETFs also saw net outflows of US$14.9M. (5)
Market sentiment remained firmly in Extreme Fear territory, with the Fear & Greed Index improving modestly to 20, up from 8 the previous week. (6)
Total Market Cap
Crypto Total Marketcap
Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding BTC and ETH
Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding Top 10 Dominance
Total crypto market cap rose 2.9% last week. Market cap excluding BTC and ETH increased 1.4%, while the altcoin market excluding the top 10 gained 2.1%.
Overall, this reflects a modest rebound after last week’s sharp sell-off, though the recovery remains relatively muted across broader altcoins.
STRC Performance
STRC recorded US$888M in trading volume last week, despite trading below par for the fourth consecutive week. (7)
The preferred share has now spent a second straight week trading at roughly a 5% discount to par ahead of Monday’s ex-dividend date, while Strategy’s month-end dividend reset decision remains unresolved.
The market continues to debate whether Strategy will raise the dividend rate to restore STRC to par value. For now, the discount appears to be driven primarily by two factors: the dividend that has yet to be paid and the uncertainty premium associated with whether the shares will ultimately return to par following the reset decision.
Among Bitcoin treasury preferred securities, STRC accounted for 80.4% of total trading volume last week, up from 78% in the previous week. The second largest was Strive’s SATA, which accounts for 12%.
SATA continues to hold a sizable position in Bitcoin treasury preferred securities. Its share price has remained relatively close to par, supported by its higher 13% dividend yield.
Strategy purchased 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately US$101 million at an average price of US$65,332 per BTC, increasing its total holdings to 845,256 BTC. Alongside the purchase, Strategy increased its cash reserves by US$100 million to US$1 billion, strengthening liquidity to support preferred stock dividend obligations. (8)
Top 30 Crypto Assets Performance
Source: Coinmarketcap and Gate Ventures, as of 15th June 2026
The top 30 cryptocurrencies fell 3.4% on average last week, with Bittensor, ZCash, and Monero standing out as the strongest performers and among the few assets to post gains.
Bittensor surged 31.5% last week after the U.S. Commerce Department reportedly restricted foreign access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, reinforcing the market narrative that centralized AI access can be constrained by government action.
The move strengthened Bittensor’s investment case as a decentralized, permissionless AI network that cannot be shut off through a single company or jurisdiction, driving capital rotation into TAO. (9)
Zcash gained 11% last week after developers fixed a critical Orchard Pool flaw that could have allowed unlimited counterfeit ZEC to be created.
Sentiment improved further after Anthropic’s Claude Mythos conducted a follow-up audit and found no additional critical vulnerabilities in the protocol, easing concerns around network security. (10)
The Key Crypto Highlights
LG, Arbitrum launch blockchain-based bid in $679B ad market
LG Electronics and Arbitrum are building a blockchain-based advertising network aimed at the global digital ad market, which reached an estimated US$679B in 2025. The network would use Arbitrum to create a shared database for ad inventory, ad delivery and customer engagement tracking, allowing advertisers and publishers to transact more transparently while reducing reliance on traditional ad-tech intermediaries. LG is evaluating whether to bring the service to market in 2026, as the company explores enterprise blockchain use cases beyond its previous NFT and wallet initiatives. (11)
Japan crypto bill advances with ETF and tax reform path
Japan’s Lower House reportedly passed a bill to move crypto assets under the country’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing them closer to the regulatory treatment of stocks and bonds. The reform could introduce stricter trading rules, disclosure requirements, insider trading restrictions and stronger oversight for exchanges, while potentially opening the door to crypto ETFs in Japan. The bill is expected to take effect in 2027 after Upper House approval, while the proposed tax reform could lower crypto capital gains tax from a maximum of 55% to a 20% flat rate in 2028. (12)
CFTC proposes framework favoring sports event contracts over gambling
The CFTC proposed new rules for prediction markets that would allow many sports-based event contracts while restricting markets that could create manipulation risks. The framework treats sports contracts as "gaming" under federal law but says contracts based on aggregate outcomes, such as final scores, win-loss records and season statistics, may still serve the public interest through price discovery. Election contracts would not be classified as gaming, potentially reducing regulatory uncertainty for platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, while all contracts would still face case-by-case review under the CFTC’s public interest standard. (13)
Key Ventures Deals
Digital Asset raises US$355M to accelerate Canton Network adoption in capital markets
Digital Asset, the creator of the Canton Network blockchain, raised US$355 million in a funding round led by a16z crypto with participation from major financial institutions including BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, DRW, Goldman Sachs-linked investors, HSBC, Nasdaq-backed participants and Tradeweb. The funding will support the expansion of Canton, a privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure designed for regulated financial markets, enabling use cases such as tokenization, collateral mobility, settlement and payments. The raise follows earlier reports that Digital Asset was targeting a valuation of roughly US$2 billion. (14)
Morpho raises US$175M at up to US$2B valuation to expand onchain credit infrastructure
Morpho secured US$175 million in a funding round co-led by Paradigm, a16z crypto and Ribbit Capital, valuing the decentralized lending protocol at up to US$2 billion. The protocol provides blockchain-based lending infrastructure that enables institutions, fintechs, exchanges and asset managers to create and manage customized credit markets, with more than US$11 billion in deposits across its network. The new capital will be used to accelerate Morpho’s vision of building an "open credit network," expanding institutional adoption of onchain lending and positioning the protocol as foundational infrastructure for global credit markets. ****(15)
EDGE Markets raises US$29.2M Series A to build payment and settlement infrastructure for prediction markets
EDGE Markets closed a US$29.2 million Series A funding round led by CoinFund, with participation from Indicator Ventures, Mantis VC, StepStone Group and Bullpen Capital. The company provides banking, payments and settlement infrastructure for prediction markets, gaming platforms and digital asset markets. The new capital will support the launch of EDGE Pro, a banking platform designed for institutional market makers trading on regulated prediction markets, and EDGE Connect, a real-time payment rail aimed at reducing settlement friction and improving capital efficiency across the prediction market ecosystem. (16)
Ventures Market Metrics
The number of deals closed in the previous week was 9, with Infra and Data having 3 deals respectively, DeFi having 2 deals and Social having 1 deal.
Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 15th Jun 2026
The total amount of disclosed funding raised in the previous week was $584.6M. The top funding came from the Infra sector with $366.4M. Most funded deals: Digital Asset ($355M).
Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 15th June 2026
Total weekly fundraising surged to $584.6M for the third week of June-2026, an increase of 935% compared to the week prior.
About Gate Ventures
Gate Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gate.com, is focused on investments in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications that will reshape the world in the Web 3.0 age. Working with industry leaders across the globe, Gate Ventures helps promising teams and startups that possess the ideas and capabilities needed to redefine social and financial interactions.
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Reference:
IG Global Week Ahead Economic Preview, https://www.ig.com/au/news-and-trade-ideas/week-ahead--15-june-2026-260612
DXY Index, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/z1UD772v/?symbol=TVC%3ADXY
US 10 Year Bond Yield, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/B9cgEklh/?symbol=TVC%3AUS10Y
Gold Price, TradingView, https://www.tradingview.com/chart/z1UD772v/?symbol=TVC%3AGOLD
BTC & ETH ETF Inflow, https://sosovalue.com/tc/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
BTC Greed and Fear Index, https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/
STRC Dashboard, https://bitcoinquant.co/preferred-equity
MSTR BTC Purchase, https://www.strategy.com/purchases
Bittensor TAO Price Surges After U.S. Government Weaponizes Centralized AI, https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6a2deb7f7dab7f469bd8b32d/
Zcash: Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Detects No Major Flaw After Requested Audit https://coinmarketcap.com/community/en/articles/6a2e7820a83f925ee17abc1f
LG, Arbitrum launch blockchain-based bid in $679B ad market, https://cointelegraph.com/news/lg-arbitrum-launch-blockchain-based-bid-for-679b-ad-market?utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
Japan crypto bill advances with ETF and tax reform path, https://cointelegraph.com/news/japan-crypto-bill-etf-tax-reform-path
CFTC proposes framework favoring sports event contracts over gambling, https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-prediction-market-rules-sports-election-contracts
Digital Asset raises US$355M to accelerate Canton Network adoption in capital markets, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/11/canton-network-s-digital-asset-targets-usd2-billion-valuation-in-a16z-crypto-led-raise-bloomberg
Morpho raises US$175M at up to US$2B valuation to expand onchain credit infrastructure, https://fortune.com/2026/06/09/morpho-fundraise-a16z-crypto-paradigm-ribbit-capital-175-million/
EDGE Markets raises US$29.2M Series A to build payment and settlement infrastructure for prediction markets, https://www.feixiaohao.ai/news/126387?tab=article
