U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed over $1 billion in revenue from crypto-related activities last year, according to a financial disclosure. The figure includes $635 million in royalties from his memecoin business and over $500 million from token sales tied to World Liberty Financial. Trump also reported stakes in companies like CoreWeave, a bitcoin miner turned AI compute firm, as well as holdings of at least $100 million in BTC and ETH. The disclosure comes as bitcoin closes out a weak second quarter, with the cryptocurrency trading near $58,000, down 3% on the day and roughly 15% for the quarter.

Market Overview: Stocks Surge, Crypto Crumbles

The last day of the month and quarter painted a familiar picture for crypto markets: stocks powered higher while digital assets sold off. The Nasdaq climbed 1.3%, pushing its quarterly gain to over 20%—the best since the second quarter of 2020, when markets rebounded from the Covid crash. The S&P 500 added roughly 15% in the same period. In contrast, bitcoin slipped 3% to $58,350, a level not seen since September 2024. Ether, XRP, and Solana suffered similar losses. XRP hovered near $1.03, threatening to drop below $1 for the first time since the aftermath of President Trump's 2024 election victory.

The divergence highlights a persistent rotation away from crypto and into technology stocks, driven by the artificial intelligence boom. The Nasdaq's rally has been fueled by semiconductor and AI infrastructure spending, which competes directly for capital that might otherwise flow into bitcoin and other digital assets.

Circle Stock Declines on Rising Stablecoin Competition

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, saw its shares tumble as much as 9% in morning trading after the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin backed by over 140 companies including Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa, BlackRock, Google, and Cloudflare. Unlike existing stablecoins, Open USD allows participating businesses to keep the interest earned on reserves, minus a small management fee, and eliminates minting and redemption fees. That model directly challenges Circle's business, which earns significant revenue from interest on the U.S. Treasury reserves backing USDC. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire downplayed the threat, saying the company welcomes innovation and competition in the space.

Other crypto stocks also fell. Coinbase dropped 4%, Galaxy Digital lost nearly 5%, and Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) slid 7%, giving back gains from Monday's relief rally. Strategy's preferred shares (STRD, STRK, STRC, STRF) declined 1% to 4% across the stack. The company had earlier unveiled a new capital framework authorizing up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin sales from its treasury under certain conditions, along with buyback programs and a dividend increase on STRC.

Bitcoin Bulls Grapple with Weakening Demand

The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index, a key gauge of U.S. investor demand, fell 15% in 24 hours to -110, remaining in negative territory since late April. The index measures the price difference between bitcoin on Coinbase and global averages, and its persistent negativity signals sustained selling pressure from U.S. investors. With spot bitcoin ETFs continuing to see outflows—BlackRock's IBIT alone shed $300 million on Monday—and Strategy potentially becoming a net seller, there appears to be a lack of sizable buyers in the market.

Bullish commentators have pointed to the fact that 82% of bitcoin is in cold storage, arguing that price moves are driven by manipulation on unregulated derivatives exchanges. However, as one analyst noted, prices are set at the margin, and the amount of bitcoin in cold storage has little bearing on short-term price action. Similar arguments were made by goldbugs for decades as gold flatlined or declined.

Gold Heads for Worst Quarter in 13 Years

Gold is on track for its worst quarterly performance in 13 years, falling roughly 13% in the second quarter after reaching an all-time high of $5,600 an ounce in January. The precious metal now trades just above $4,000, nearly 30% below its record. The slump is attributed to expectations of higher U.S. interest rates and a strengthening dollar. Bitcoin has matched gold's quarterly decline of 13%, marking its third consecutive negative quarter. The simultaneous weakness in both assets underscores a broad risk-off sentiment in non-yielding assets, even as stock markets surge. The dollar remains elevated, with the Dollar Index rising above 101.30 since the June 17 Iran peace deal, which many expected would weaken the greenback. An economist warned that speculative positioning is "max long the dollar," often a sign of an impending reversal.

Miner Pivots and Strategic Moves

Ionic Digital, a bitcoin miner, raised $400 million and filed to go public as it pivots from mining to AI infrastructure. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $44 million from AI and high-performance computing leasing, far exceeding the $7.4 million from bitcoin mining. It still holds 2,815 BTC but sold 1,009 BTC in 2025 for $101.5 million at an average price above $100,000. The move reflects a broader industry trend of miners repurposing power infrastructure for AI workloads, which have become more profitable than mining.

Strive Asset Management saw its position in Strategy's STRC preferred equity decline by $12 million, as the security fell to $82 in pre-market trading. Strive had invested $50 million in March, and its stake is now worth roughly $37.7 million. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid Strategies, a HYPE-focused treasury company with over $1.14 billion in the token, was added to the Russell 3000 and 2000 indexes, as well as the S&P Global BMI. The token rose 3.4% in the past week, bucking the broader market decline.

Outlook: Jobs Data and Dollar Direction

Market maker Wintermute noted that the crypto bear market has likely not bottomed, citing washed-out sentiment, rising supply held at a loss, and bitcoin's 200-week moving average as signs of capitulation. However, buying pressure remains absent, with ETF outflows and subdued OTC demand. Wintermute suggested that the market rarely bottoms in summer, and accumulation on thin volume is unlikely. The next key test is Thursday's U.S. jobs data, which could determine whether risk appetite rotates back into crypto or further drains liquidity. A weaker dollar, potentially triggered by a soft jobs report, might provide a floor for bitcoin and gold. For now, the crypto market waits for a catalyst as the third quarter begins.

Source:Coindesk News