HYPG: the lowest-fee HYPE fund

A message from Grayscale  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  A message from   The lowest-fee HYPE fund just reached a new milestone — Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (Ticker: HYPG) has surpassed $100 million in AUM. Grayscale Research calls Hyperliquid "the breakout success story of the modern digital assets industry." A high-performance blockchain purpose-built for perpetual futures trading, Hyperliquid is emerging as critical infrastructure for onchain markets. Its native token, HYPE, which ranks among the top 10 tokens by market capitalization1, hit an all-time high this month2. While HYPE is a digital asset, it can equally be thought of as an early-stage technology company: one that processed nearly $3 trillion in derivatives volume and generated ~$800 million in revenue in 20253, all with no venture capital backing.   For investors interested in the Hyperliquid opportunity, HYPG offers exposure to HYPE through an exchange-traded product. Why HYPG? Over $100 million in AUM4 Lowest management fee in its category5 Potential staking rewards through a familiar structure. HYPG seeks to stake 70% or more of its assets, offering the potential for staking rewards that averaged ~2.2% last year6. Sponsored by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform7 Learn More For more information about HYPG or Grayscale, email info@grayscale.com or call 866-775-0313 to speak with a Grayscale portfolio consultant.   The Grayscale Team   Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF ("HYPG" or the "Fund"), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("40 Act"), and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 40 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds. HYPG is subject to significant risk and heightened volatility. HYPG is not suitable for an investor who cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. An investment in HYPG is not a direct investment in HYPE. 1 CoinMarketCap.com as of June 1, 2026. Excludes stablecoins. 2 cryptorank, June 17, 2026. 3 Crypto Briefing, December 26, 2025. 4 Bloomberg L.P. as of 6/26/26 5 Lowest-fee HYPE fund in the U.S. based on management fee of 0.29%. Brokerage fees and other expenses may apply.  6 Stakingrewards.com. Historical daily average measured from 5/1/25 to 04/21/26. Past performance is not indicative of future results. 7 Largest crypto-focused asset manager based on AUM as of 03/31/2026. For other companies in this category, AUM is considered as of most recent public disclosure. This information must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.    This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change.   When a Fund stakes its underlying asset, the token is subject to the risks attendant to staking generally. Staking requires that the Fund lock up the token for the period of time required by the staking protocol, meaning that the Fund cannot sell or transfer the staked token, thereby making it illiquid for the period it is being staked. In addition, during the lock-up period, the Fund is subject to the market price volatility of underlying asset, and it may miss opportunities to sell during opportune times. During the unstaking period, the Fund may miss out on earning opportunities because, in some cases, the staked token may not earn rewards during the unstaking period or may only earn rewards during part of the unstaking period. Staked assets are also subject to security breaches, network downtime or attacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, and validator or custodian failure or compromise, which can result in a complete loss of the staked asset or a loss of any rewards. Potential staking rewards are earned by the Fund and not issued directly to investors.   Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry. The value of the Fund depends on the acceptance of the digital assets, the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies and the fundamental investment characteristics of the digital asset. Digital asset networks are developed by a diverse set of contributors and the perception that certain high-profile contributors will no longer contribute to the network could have an adverse effect on the market price of the related digital asset. Digital assets may have concentrated ownership and large sales or distributions by holders of such digital assets could have an adverse effect on the market price of such digital assets.   Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the marketing agent for HYPG. © 2026 Grayscale. All trademarks, service marks and/or trade names (e.g., G™, GRAYSCALE®, GRAYSCALE CRYPTO SECTORS™, and GRAYSCALE INVESTMENTS®) are owned and/or registered by Grayscale. This communication is not directed at any person located outside the United States. Neither the Trust nor Grayscale is making an offer to sell shares or soliciting any offer to buy shares to any person located in any jurisdiction other than the United States. This communication is the sole responsibility of the sponsor. Neither Coindesk, Inc nor any of its affiliates ("Coindesk") are responsible for the content of this communication. Coindesk does not intend to make any offer or solicitation to any person with respect to any products and/or services referred to in this communication. CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, USA Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Who runs Ethereum now?

Nine departures. A 40% budget cut. Three new spinout organizations. Here is the full timeline of the Ethereum Foundation's most turbulent year.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ CoinDesk · The Protocol The timeline of the Ethereum Foundation's ongoing shakeup July 15, 2026 Weekly Issue Crypto Tech Development Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's tech newsletter covering the most important stories in blockchain. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk. This week, we're unpacking the timeline of all the changes at the Ethereum Foundation since the year began. ▮  Network News · Ethereum The Ethereum Foundation entered 2026 under mounting pressure. Developers, investors and prominent Ethereum community members had spent months criticizing the organization's pace of execution, governance and technical priorities, with many arguing Ethereum's roadmap had become overly focused on layer-2 scaling while neglecting improvements to the base layer. February The first major shakeup came when co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak announced he would step down after helping lead the foundation through its initial restructuring. A few weeks later, the foundation published a new mandate outlining a narrower vision for its role within the Ethereum ecosystem. Built around the CROPS framework — censorship resistance, resilience, openness, privacy and security — the document recast the foundation as a long-term steward rather than the ecosystem's primary builder or coordinator. Spring The leadership transition was followed by a steady stream of departures. Over the following months, nine senior foundation leaders, researchers and executives left the organization, marking one of the largest periods of turnover in its 12-year history. The exits fueled speculation about the foundation's future even as its leadership insisted the changes were not a sign of decline, but rather a necessary part of a broader organizational reset. June The reset accelerated. Co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang resigned, and days later the foundation announced its largest restructuring to date. It cut roughly one-fifth of its workforce, eliminating 54 positions, and reduced its annual operating budget by about 40% as part of a plan to make the organization leaner and more financially sustainable. Remaining staff were reorganized into five core operating groups focused on the areas the foundation said only it was uniquely positioned to support. The June overhaul also coincided with the emergence of new institutions designed to take on work that had traditionally fallen to the foundation. ETHLabs, a new organization backed by several of the ecosystem's largest ETH treasury companies, launched with the aim of accelerating protocol research, ecosystem coordination and product development outside the foundation itself. July Ethereum Institutional was unveiled — a dedicated initiative focused on supporting enterprises, asset managers and nonprofits adopting Ethereum through research, education and standards development. A few weeks later, yet another organization announced its ambitions to take on another role in the ecosystem. EthSystems, the latest spinout, has established itself as a new for-profit company aimed at building infrastructure that keeps transactions confidential for financial institutions using Ethereum. Taken together, the events of 2026 have amounted to the most significant reorganization in the Ethereum Foundation's history. What began with criticism from the community over governance and technical priorities ended with a smaller foundation, new leadership, a redefined mandate and an ecosystem increasingly reliant on independent organizations to drive research, institutional adoption and protocol development. By Margaux Nijkerk Full Story → Related Ethereum's newest nonprofit wants to become Wall Street's guide to crypto → f X ● in T See all of CoinDesk’s newsletters    CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York,NY,10011,USA, Unsubscribe Manage Preferences   Copyright © 2026 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.

Stripe + PayPal = the biggest stablecoin deal in history

June CPI gutted the rate-hike trade. BTC hit $65,200 then cooled. Iran tensions capped the rally. And Stripe just bid $53B for PayPal. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ SPONSORED BY Wednesday, July 15, 2026   June CPI came in at −0.4% month-on-month — well below the −0.1% consensus — and it gutted the rate-hike trade instantly. Polymarket odds of a July Fed hike plunged from 34% to 6.7%. Bitcoin rocketed to a three-week high of $65,200 and ether touched $1,895, its highest since June 3. Then Iran re-escalated, threatening to block Middle East energy exports, and Brent crude pushed above $85. The rally cooled. BTC has given back some ground to trade near $64,671 as the two forces — a soft inflation print and a hot geopolitical backdrop — push and pull in opposite directions. PPI today will add another data point. Warsh has made clear one good report doesn’t declare victory. And in a move with major implications for stablecoins: Stripe just offered $53 billion to buy PayPal. Read today’s full report → Market snapshot As of 8am EST Asset Price 24h BTC $64,671 +3.01% ETH $1,857 +4.70% SOL $82.40 +2.80% XRP $1.10 +1.60% Prices approximate. Visit coindesk.com/price for live data. A message from RealFi Most stablecoins leave capital sitting still. RealFi is different. It connects on-chain capital to real-world markets like US Treasuries, money market funds, and private credit. Real transparency. Real impact. RealFi. RealFi is launching August 2026. Join the waitlist at realfi.co. Join the waitlist CoinDesk Disclosure: The information contained in this newsletter, and any information linked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency or digital assets. L1.co Disclosure: This material is for informational purposes only, and the content contained herein should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to sell or buy any asset, strategy, or product. Investing in digital assets involves a high degree of risk, including the loss of principal. What matters today Markets   Story 1 of 3 Bitcoin’s rally cools as investors digest the inflation data and oil clouds the outlook. Tuesday’s June CPI print was unambiguously good: prices fell 0.4% month-on-month, versus the −0.1% consensus, gutting the rate-hike trade in one data release. Polymarket odds of a July Fed hike plunged from 34% to 6.7%. CME FedWatch now shows just a 14.4% chance of a hike. Bitcoin spiked to a three-week high of $65,200 and ether hit $1,895, its highest since June 3. But the rally is cooling on Wednesday as investors consider two complications. First, Warsh has made clear one favorable print is not enough to declare victory or trigger a rate cut — and the European Central Bank has also effectively ruled out a July cut. Second, Iran re-escalated, threatening to block Middle East energy exports now that the U.S. has resumed its Hormuz blockade, and Brent crude remains above $85. Higher oil keeps the inflation outlook uncertain even when monthly data surprises to the downside. The CoinDesk analyst puts it well: “the focus has shifted toward whether inflation can continue to cool without showing signs of a rebound.” PPI data is due later today and will add another signal. Whether bitcoin can sustainably break above $65,000 depends on whether oil stabilizes and the next data points confirm that disinflation is a trend, not a blip. HYPE rose 4% and is targeting a new record above $78. Altcoin Season on CoinMarketCap slipped to 46/100 as gains concentrated in the majors rather than the broader market. Zcash (ZEC) was a notable outperformer, up 10%+ in 24 hours. Read more → Finance   Story 2 of 3 Stripe mounts a blockbuster $53 billion bid to buy PayPal. Stripe offered to acquire PayPal in a deal worth $53 billion, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, made in tandem with private equity firm Advent International. The offer is $60.50 per share — a 28% premium over PayPal’s Tuesday closing price of $47.37. PayPal shares surged more than 18% in pre-market trading to $56.10. The bid follows an earlier expression of interest, though PayPal has been reluctant to engage so far, per the FT. The crypto angle here is significant: both Stripe and PayPal are among the most prominent mainstream financial companies integrating stablecoins into traditional payment rails. PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD is the eighth-largest by market cap at $185 million. Stripe’s stablecoin strategy runs deeper — the company has embedded Circle’s USDC into its payments infrastructure, is building its own mainnet called Tempo through its Bridge acquisition, and recently joined the Open USD venture alongside Mastercard, Visa and BlackRock to develop a new stablecoin that could compete with USDC. An acquisition of PayPal would combine two of the largest stablecoin-integrated payment networks, with aggregate merchant and consumer reach that dwarfs any pure-crypto competitor. If the deal proceeds it would represent the largest fintech acquisition in history and a defining moment for the mainstreaming of stablecoin-based payments — precisely the infrastructure category that RealFi’s real-world asset approach is designed to complement. Read more → Markets   Story 3 of 3 Crypto steadies as Middle East tensions counter the U.S. inflation report boost. Bitcoin touched a three-week high of $65,200 and ether hit $1,895 — its highest since June 3 — after Tuesday’s CPI print crushed rate-hike expectations. By Wednesday morning both had pulled back as U.S.–Iran tensions over Hormuz tanker movements re-escalated, with Iran threatening to block Middle East energy exports. BTC was down 0.6% since midnight UTC, holding above $64,600, while ETH remained 5% higher over 24 hours after its brief retreat. U.S. equities stayed positive: Nasdaq 100 futures +0.53%, S&P 500 futures +0.22%. The altcoin market showed selective strength: PUMP rose 8.5% after a team and investor unlock was absorbed by buyers — a sign of robust demand at a structurally tricky moment. HYPE added 4% and is pushing toward a record above $78. LIT stalled as profit-taking set in near its all-time high of $2.76. In derivatives, BTC open interest ticked up to $17.3 billion, the 3-month basis held at 3.8%, and funding rates remained in the 0–8% annualized range across major venues — a market consolidating, not reversing. Options positioning turned more bullish: the 24-hour call/put ratio moved to 66/34 from 58/42 the prior session and the one-week delta skew held near 15% — a renewed lean toward upside. The ATM vol surface remained in contango (front end 32–33%, long end ~42.5% to mid-2027), consistent with a calm-but-constructive environment. The Binance liquidation heatmap flags $63,500 as the key level to monitor on any pullback. $357 million in 24-hour liquidations: 19% longs, 81% shorts — shorts getting squeezed, not bulls getting washed out. Read more → CoinDesk Disclosure: The information contained in this newsletter, and any information linked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency or digital assets. L1.co Disclosure: This material is for informational purposes only, and the content contained herein should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to sell or buy any asset, strategy, or product. Investing in digital assets involves a high degree of risk, including the loss of principal. Crypto Daybook Americas: A newsletter from CoinDesk Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here.  Copyright © 2026 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, USA Unsubscribe Manage preferences