Cryptocurrency markets faced renewed selling pressure on Tuesday, with bitcoin falling below $66,000 to trade at $65,500 as of U.S. equity market close. The decline of 1.5% over the past 24 hours came despite a broader risk-on rally triggered by a U.S.-Iran peace deal over the weekend. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.15% on the day, led lower by AI-related stocks such as AMD, Intel, Micron, and Broadcom, which fell between 4% and 8%. Nvidia dropped 1.9%.
SpaceX stole the spotlight with a massive acquisition deal and continued its post-IPO rally. The company agreed to acquire AI coding platform Cursor in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The deal marks one of the largest acquisitions in the artificial intelligence sector and comes just days after SpaceX went public at an IPO price of $135 per share. The stock surged another 9% in pre-market trading Tuesday, pushing its valuation above $2.7 trillion and surpassing Amazon's $2.6 trillion market capitalization. SpaceX closed at $201.80, up 4.8% for the day, though it pulled back about 10% from its intraday high above $225.
Cursor, founded in 2023 by four MIT graduates, has become a leading AI coding assistant, competing with Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex. SpaceX said the acquisition will combine Cursor's developer-focused software with its vast AI computing infrastructure, including the Colossus supercomputer. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
Oil Prices Tumble on Iran Deal
Oil prices suffered their steepest decline in months after The Wall Street Journal reported that a proposed U.S.-Iran deal would allow Tehran to immediately resume selling oil and fuel. WTI crude futures fell as much as 5.8% to below $76 a barrel, its lowest level since early March. Goldman Sachs quickly lowered its oil price forecasts, now expecting Brent crude to average $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter of this year, down from its previous projection of $90. The bank also revised its 2027 average price forecast to $75 from $80.
The sharp drop in oil prices is likely to ease inflation pressures, providing some relief to bond markets. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4.4 basis points to 4.21%, down from near 4.70% about one month ago. Lower-than-expected oil prices could reduce the likelihood of aggressive interest rate hikes by major central banks and offer support to risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Fed Meeting in Focus with New Chairman Kevin Warsh
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as it begins its two-day policy meeting, the first under new Chairman Kevin Warsh. Markets are pricing no change in short-term interest rates, but traders are closely watching for any hints about future policy direction. On Polymarket, the most active bets are on how many times Warsh will mention the word 'inflation' during his post-meeting press conference. There is a 45% chance he says it 40 or more times, a 28% chance of 50 or more times, and a 16% chance of 60 or more times. A mention of 'rate cut' has a 95% probability, while 'crypto' or 'bitcoin' is given a 14% chance. 'Artificial intelligence' or 'AI' is expected to be mentioned with 70% probability.
The Fed's decision comes against a backdrop of mixed economic data. U.S. housing starts plunged 15.4% in May to an annualized pace of 1.177 million, far below expectations of a rise to 1.43 million. The NAHB Housing Market Index also fell to 35 in June, signaling continued weakness in the housing sector amid elevated interest rates.
Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Remain Unfazed
Despite bitcoin's 50% drawdown from its October all-time high of $126,000, long-term holders (LTHs) are showing remarkable restraint. According to data from Glassnode, LTHs have realized only about $50 million to $100 million in profits per day over the past several months, among the lowest levels recorded in recent years. This is only modestly above the 2022 bear market lows, when bitcoin traded between $15,000 and $20,000 and LTH realized profits averaged just $20 million to $25 million per day.
Long-Term Holder Realized Profit measures the total profit, in USD, generated by coins moved at a higher price than when they last changed hands. With an average cost basis of $49,413, LTHs remain comfortably in profit but are choosing not to sell. This behavior suggests that long-term investors continue to view the current price levels as a buying opportunity rather than an exit point.
Crypto ETF Flows Show Rotation, but Scale Matters
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost a net $64 million on Monday, even as spot ETFs for ether, XRP, Solana, and Hyperliquid all pulled in fresh cash. Ether funds gained $22.5 million, Hyperliquid funds $17.2 million, and the XRP and Solana funds about $2.8 million each. This tracks Monday's price action, where the alts ran well ahead of bitcoin, with XRP up about 7%, Solana 6%, and Hyperliquid 11%.
However, the bitcoin outflow was concentrated in Grayscale's GBTC, the high-fee legacy trust that lost $124 million on the day. BlackRock's IBIT actually took in $66 million. Strip out GBTC, and bitcoin ETFs had an ordinary session. The real question is whether the altcoin ETF inflows will prove durable once GBTC's drag fades.
Hyperliquid's HYPE Hits Fresh All-Time High
The native token of popular blockchain-based exchange Hyperliquid (HYPE) broke above $76 to a fresh record early Tuesday, surging another 13% over the past 24 hours. While most of the crypto market struggled in 2026, HYPE is up nearly 200% this year and lately has enjoyed attention even from outside of crypto circles. Hyperliquid ETFs attracted $178 million in inflows since their debut last month, while bitcoin and ether counterparts endured relentless selling.
Hyperliquid Strategies, a digital asset treasury run by Wall Street investment veterans, has also been a buyer. The broader bet is that Hyperliquid could be a financial juggernaut to trade all kinds of assets from cryptos to commodities, stocks, and even private companies ahead of IPO.
Coinbase Launches Tokenized Stocks
Coinbase (COIN) announced plans to launch tokenized U.S. stocks for customers in eligible markets outside the United States, joining a growing list of crypto and fintech firms trying to bring traditional equities onto blockchain networks. The company said the products will be backed by underlying shares and allow investors to receive dividends while trading and transferring the assets onchain. The announcement comes as competition in tokenized equities intensifies, with Kraken recently rolling out similar products internationally and Robinhood outlining plans for Europe.
Spread Between STRC and SATA Reaches Record High
The spread between the two most popular U.S.-listed bitcoin perpetual preferred stocks, Strategy's (MSTR) STRC and Strive's (ASST) SATA, has widened to its largest level on record. SATA is currently trading at $99.99, after briefly reaching its $100 par value on Monday. Meanwhile, STRC is down about 1%, trading at $94.15. The price gap now stands at $5.78, the widest since both began trading. The divergence has continued due to SATA transitioning to daily dividend payments, while STRC moved to a twice-monthly distribution schedule. SATA currently offers a 13% yield, compared with 11.5% for STRC.
Robinhood Cuts 10% of Workforce
Robinhood (HOOD) shares rose more than 2% in premarket trading after the company announced a 10% reduction (300 positions) in its full-time workforce and the closure of a small number of open positions. The move is part of management's effort to maintain a high-performance culture, accelerate product development, and operate more efficiently. Robinhood expects to incur approximately $20 million in restructuring-related cash charges, including about $8 million tied to share-based compensation. These costs are expected to be recognized in the second quarter of 2026. Robinhood joins a growing list of financial tech companies that have announced workforce reductions in recent months, including Block and Coinbase.
BoJ Tightening and Its Historical Impact
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1% on Tuesday, its highest level since 1995, as it continues to combat rising inflation. Historically, BOJ's tightening cycles have often coincided with or preceded U.S. recessions, including episodes in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and during the Global Financial Crisis. The only notable exception was the post-covid normalization period, according to Andre Dragosch, European Head of Research at Bitwise. Despite the rate hike, bitcoin climbed above $66,000 after the announcement, as markets focused on the BOJ's decision to pause bond tapering, a move that could help limit upward pressure on long-term yields and support broader financial conditions.
Standard Chartered Sets $100 Price Target for Uniswap's UNI
UNI, the native token of Ethereum's largest decentralized exchange Uniswap, jumped 12% to $2.92 in the last 24 hours. The rally comes as Standard Chartered initiated coverage on the token with a bullish $100 price target by end-2030, implying roughly 40x upside from the ~$2.50 level at the time of the report. According to the bank's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoff Kendrick, Uniswap is uniquely positioned to benefit from the expected explosion in tokenized assets on decentralized finance (DeFi). The report forecasts UNI reaching $6.50 by end-2026, scaling up to $100 by 2030, potentially outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum over that period.
As markets await the Fed's decision on Wednesday, the crypto landscape remains a mix of caution and opportunity. Bitcoin's correction has yet to shake long-term holders, while new narratives around AI, tokenization, and political betting continue to attract capital. The upcoming Fed press conference could be the next catalyst for volatility.
Source: Coindesk News