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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared new assessments on the network’s long-term roadmap. The effort, called “Lean Ethereum,” is described as a transformation on the same scale as the Merge upgrade.In a post on X on Saturday, Buterin wrote that this is not a one-time update, but a series of improvements that will unfold over the next three to four years. In his own words, this is Ethereum’s “third major iteration,” and almost every part of the protocol will change.The post came after a meeting held by Ethereum researchers in Berlin at the end of June. The updated plan is part of a draft roadmap introduced in February by Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, which includes seven network upgrades through 2029.Major Change in Data StorageButerin sees the change in the data storage system as the most disruptive part of the plan. Ethereum currently keeps everything, from token balances to exchange contracts, in a single expensive format. Under the new plan, this system will remain in place for the most complex applications, while a separate and cheaper layer will open for simpler applications.In Buterin’s example, this new layer could carry 50 times more data than the old system by 2030. Most tokens, NFTs, and DeFi applications could move to the cheaper layer, while complex contracts such as Uniswap would remain in the existing system. No one will be forced to migrate, but transaction fees for a token designed according to the new system could fall by more than 10 times.Quantum Security and Privacy Move to the ForefrontQuantum security has moved “very significantly” higher on the priority list, in Buterin’s own words. Concerns that future quantum computers could break today’s cryptography require vulnerable components on the roadmap to be replaced from end to end. The most urgent issue is finding a quantum-resistant design for blobs, the temporary data space used by Layer 2 networks to keep fees low.Privacy has gained a similar position. Buterin said privacy is no longer an add-on feature, but a primary goal; new features are now designed with the question of how transactions can remain private in mind. A quantum-resistant network and private ETH transfers embedded into the base layer are listed among the five main goals of the draft roadmap.What Will Replace the EVM?Buterin also addressed alternatives that could replace the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the software environment that runs every application. He pointed to RISC-V and leanISA as the most likely candidates, but acknowledged that this change remains a distant target. The RISC-V proposal, which came up in April 2025, sparked debate; Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs argued last November that WebAssembly would be a better choice, but that option was not included in Buterin’s list on Saturday.In the ideal scenario, the network would run entirely on the new engine, while the current EVM would remain as a translation layer so older applications can continue to operate smoothly.Timing Pressure ContinuesButerin said Ethereum’s capacity will increase steadily over the next five years, with a major gas limit increase expected through the Glamsterdam upgrade. Glamsterdam, expected in the first half of 2026, has not yet gone live, and Hegota is expected to follow. Hegota, planned as this year’s second upgrade, is expected to be the last major hard fork before Lean Ethereum.The post came about ten days after the Ethereum Foundation completed a restructuring that included laying off around 20% of its staff, or 54 people.At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading around $1,762.83.
Four wallets that accumulated ETH at an average price of $830 in 2018 moved on Friday after eight years of silence. They put their ETH up for sale at a time when the market was going through one of the deepest pullbacks of this cycle, walking away with gains far below the position’s full potential.According to Arkham data shared by onchain analytics platform Lookonchain, the four wallets sold a total of 33,623 ETH within roughly four hours, at an average price of $1,560 per coin. The sales generated around $52.5 million in total proceeds, while net profit is estimated at roughly $27.4 million.Timing Was Painful for the WhalesThe numbers may look large on their own, but the real story is the missed opportunity. During both the 2021 and 2025 bull markets, the paper profit of these four wallets had exceeded $150 million, more than five times the amount they ultimately realized. However, the ETH holders chose not to sell at those peaks, and the market is now offering a much lower price.Ethereum had reached an all-time high of around $4,946 in August 2025. Since then, the price has seen a sharp decline. According to the ETH price page, ETH was trading around $1,565 as of Friday. In other words, the owners of these wallets waited eight years, only to sell near the bottom. The four addresses behind the sale had purchased a total of 37,602 ETH in 2018 at around $830 per coin. These wallets had not made a single transaction until Friday, when they moved for the first time. The addresses are: 0x71B...D412f, 0x92a...ae49D, 0x6C7...5C327 and 0xffd...5BeE5.Dormant Wallets Are Waking Up One After AnotherThis sale is not an isolated case. In recent months, several long-dormant Ethereum wallets have become active again as the market has weakened.In March, an Ethereum “veteran” who had held for more than a decade reportedly sold $31 million worth of ETH through Coinbase. In April, an ICO-era investor moved 10,000 ETH, worth about $23 million at the time, to a new address after more than ten years of inactivity.Holding without making a transaction for eight years initially points to a strong long-term investor profile. However, this case shows that in the crypto market, exit timing can be just as decisive as the length of the holding period, no matter how powerful the patient investor narrative may be. Although the wallet owners still made millions of dollars in profit, the charts also show that the sale took place during a period of market weakness.
SharpLink reopened a wallet that had been inactive for eight months on a day when Ethereum fell to its lowest level of 2026, placing a 5,000 ETH order in the market. Here are the details…SharpLink opens its wallet for EthereumSharpLink made its first Ethereum purchase since October 2025. According to information shared by onchain analytics platform EmberCN, based on Arkham data, the company received a transfer of 5,000 ETH from FalconX on Thursday. The transaction was worth around $7.85 million at the time.The purchase came on the same day ETH fell to its lowest level of 2026; Ethereum dropped as low as $1,537 on Thursday. SharpLink’s previous purchase through FalconX took place in October 2025, when the company paid $78.3 million for 19,270 ETH. According to data on the company’s website, SharpLink held 876,285 ETH as of June 21, which was worth roughly $1.3 billion at the time. Based on EmberCN’s calculations, the company’s average purchase price stands at $3,609 per ETH. Compared with today’s prices, that difference points to a paper loss of $1.79 billion. SharpLink has not yet officially confirmed the purchase.The company ranks second among corporate ETH treasury holders. The top spot belongs to Bitmine Immersion, led by Tom Lee. As of June 14, Bitmine held 5.67 million ETH, worth $8.7 billion, and continued its buying pace with an additional 52,203 ETH added last week.SharpLink changed its name from SharpLink Gaming in February and shifted from a traditional staking model to a broader onchain yield strategy. In the first quarter of this year, the company reported $12.1 million in revenue, compared with just $742,000 in the same period a year earlier.The company is also among the backers of Ethlabs, a nonprofit founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers. Ethlabs aims to prepare the network for the next phase of institutional adoption. Its supporters include Ethereum co-founder and SharpLink Chairman Joe Lubin, as well as Bitmine Immersion.The ETH purchase came in the middle of a broader market selloff. Ethereum fell 5% in the past 24 hours to $1,534, while Bitcoin dropped 3.3% to $58,787. Meanwhile, Tether’s USDT surpassed Ethereum by market capitalization, with USDT rising to $186.1 billion while Ethereum stood at $185.4 billion.SharpLink’s Nasdaq-listed shares closed Thursday down 3.49% at $4.56. The stock has lost 26.8% over the past month and 50.4% over the past six months.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced that it has increased its Ethereum treasury to 5.67 million ETH tokens. This figure corresponds to 4.7% of the total circulating supply of ETH, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.With purchases made over the past week, the company’s total Ethereum holdings increased by 52,203 tokens. Based on a price of $1,733 per token, the treasury is currently worth approximately $9.8 billion. This makes Bitmine the world’s largest corporate holder of Ethereum. In terms of total crypto treasury size, the company ranks second behind Strategy Inc., which holds a $54 billion Bitcoin position. Although the gap between the two companies remains wide, Bitmine’s recent accumulation pace suggests that it could gradually narrow the distance.Including Bitmine’s strategic investments, which it refers to as “moonshots,” including its partnership with Beast Industries, the company’s total crypto assets, cash and securities reached $10.7 billion as of June 21.With this figure, Bitmine has reached 94% of its self-defined “alchemy of 5” target. This goal involves holding 5% of Ethereum’s total supply of 120.7 million tokens. The fact that the company is now so close to this target shows that it has continued its accumulation strategy regardless of price fluctuations.“We are at the beginning of crypto spring”Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee said the company maintained a steady accumulation pace throughout 2026 and added that he believes “we are still at the beginning of crypto spring.”Lee said the best period for crypto markets is still ahead and added that rapid advances in tokenization and artificial intelligence are likely to exponentially increase demand for blockchain and decentralized crypto systems.ETH traded at $1,763 on Monday, rising 2.26% over the past 24 hours. This level is still about 64% below its all-time high of $4,946.05, recorded in August 2025. The fact that the price remains so far from its peak shows that Bitmine’s accumulation strategy is based on long-term supply targets rather than short-term price movements.Staking income exceeds $200 millionBitmine said it has currently staked 4,718,677 tokens, or more than 83% of its total Ethereum holdings. According to the company, the staking operations are generating a weekly yield of 2.73%, while annualized staking income currently stands at around $223 million. Once the MAVAN validator infrastructure reaches full capacity, this figure is expected to rise to $268 million.The company’s transparent disclosure of staking income shows that its Ethereum treasury is not only based on price appreciation, but is also turning into a yield-generating revenue model.Beyond Ethereum, Bitmine’s portfolio includes 205 Bitcoin, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, a $104 million stake in Eightco Holdings, and a total of $601 million in cash and securities.Bitmine shares closed Friday’s session up 2.8% at $16.14.
The Bitcoin and Ethereum options market has shifted its focus back to price dynamics following the weekly expiry. Contracts with a combined notional value of $2.1 billion expired, with both assets trading below their respective maximum pain levels.Bitcoin and ETH Options ExpireBitcoin and Ethereum options contracts dated June 19 expired with a combined notional value exceeding $2.1 billion. According to data shared by Adam, a macro researcher at Greeks.live, approximately 31,000 BTC options expired with a put-call ratio of 0.78, a maximum pain point of $65,000 and a notional value of $1.9 billion.Meanwhile, 138,000 ETH options expired on the same day. These contracts had a put-call ratio of 1.03, a maximum pain point of $1,725 and a notional value of $230 million. Calls Still Dominate Overall Open InterestThe broader open interest picture tells a slightly different story. Bitcoin has 284,786.70 call contracts and 182,440.60 put contracts outstanding, bringing the overall put-call ratio to 0.64.Ethereum has 1,432,297 call contracts and 800,389 put contracts, leaving its ratio at 0.56. While selling pressure was more visible in the daily expiry, calls continue to dominate across the broader market.A significant share of this open interest is concentrated on a single date. Contracts expiring on June 26 account for 35.09% of total Bitcoin open interest and 44.67% of Ethereum open interest. Adam said next week’s quarterly expiry will cover approximately 15% of total open interest.Prices Remain Below Maximum Pain LevelsAccording to Adam, Bitcoin attempted to recover toward $67,000 this week, but the move lacked sufficient momentum. The market’s buying capacity remained limited amid institutional selling pressure.Both BTC and ETH are currently trading below their respective maximum pain levels and continue to fluctuate around these ranges.This week’s expiry represents approximately 6.5% of total open interest. The figure is lower than last week’s level and remains within the average range recorded in recent periods.Gamma Concentration Sits Between $60,000 and $63,000The options structure shows gamma exposure, or GEX, concentrated between $60,000 and $63,000. These positions will expire over the next two weeks and could affect price action through released margin or changes in implied volatility.The skew indicator also remains in negative territory, suggesting that market participants are still seeking protection against a potential decline.MicroStrategy Pressure Weakens Market ConfidenceAdam identified MicroStrategy’s continued coin sales and the discount affecting its shares as two major factors weakening market confidence and making fresh capital inflows more difficult.Market sentiment remains subdued for now.
Ethereum-focused corporate treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) purchased another 76,881 ETH last week. The purchase took place at a point where 1 ETH was trading at around $1,718, lifting the company’s total ETH holdings to 5.62 million tokens. Bitmine’s total crypto, cash and investment portfolio has reached $10.4 billion, while the company continues to hold its position as the largest Ethereum treasury globally. Accumulation continuesCompany Chairman Thomas Lee explained the reasoning behind the purchase directly: “This pullback in ETH prices does not reflect Ethereum’s strengthening fundamentals. That is why we are keeping our buying pace relatively elevated.”This weekly purchase of 76,881 ETH remained below the previous week’s record-level acquisition of 126,971 ETH, but it still shows Bitmine’s continued commitment to its target. The company’s long-term goal is to acquire five percent of Ethereum’s total supply. With Ethereum’s total supply standing at 120.7 million tokens, Bitmine held a 4.66% share as of June 14, 2026. The company is now only 0.34 percentage points away from this target, which it calls the “alchemy of 5%.”The company also holds 204 Bitcoin, $502 million in cash and securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, and an $88 million stake in Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings (ORBS). Eightco stands out as one of the rare publicly traded stocks offering indirect exposure to OpenAI.Preferred share issuance and staking incomeBitmine completed the sale of 3.5 million Series A Perpetual Preferred Shares on June 10, 2026, carrying a 9.50% annual dividend. After underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses, the company received net cash proceeds of $273.8 million. The shares, expected to begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker BMNP on June 16, 2026, will pay dividends weekly.This model is being compared to the preferred capital instruments used by Strategy (MSTR) to finance Bitcoin purchases. However, according to Lee, Bitmine’s balance is different: regular cash flow from Ethereum staking provides a stronger foundation for meeting dividend obligations. “The company’s estimated annual staking rewards are approximately $219 million. This income provides the projected cash flow to support the dividends related to the Series A preferred shares,” Lee said.Staking platform and institutional infrastructureBitmine recently launched its institutional-grade staking platform MAVAN, short for Made in America Validator Network. Initially developed to support the company’s own Ethereum treasury, the platform plans to serve institutional investors, custodians and ecosystem partners in the future.As of June 14, Bitmine’s total staked ETH reached 4,718,677 tokens. At a price of $1,718, this corresponds to roughly $8.1 billion and represents more than 83% of the company’s total ETH holdings. Once all ETH is fully staked, annual staking income is expected to reach $269 million; the seven-day yield stood at 2.79%.Market position and institutional backingBitmine has managed to become one of the most actively traded stocks on U.S. exchanges. According to Fundstrat data, BMNR ranked 203rd among 5,704 U.S.-listed stocks by five-day average trading volume, with $550 million in daily volume. It was positioned between Oklo Technologies at 202nd and Parker-Hannifin at 204th.On the investor side, notable names include Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Kraken, DCG, Galaxy Digital and Thomas Lee himself as a personal investor.The company also entered the Fortune Crypto 100 list on June 11, 2026. Compiled by Fortune magazine based on data analysis from Inca Digital and input from crypto experts, the list ranks the most influential companies in the blockchain sector.Support from infrastructureBitmine’s management views the GENIUS Act enacted in the United States and the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative as a historic turning point for financial markets. According to the company, these regulatory steps are comparable in significance to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 and carry the potential to reshape Wall Street.The board of directors also approved a third weekly cash dividend of $0.2639 per share for the Series A Preferred Shares it holds. The payment will be made on July 6, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 26, 2026.
In a week marked by a sharp downturn in crypto markets, two major corporate treasury companies continued to buy. Bitmine and Strategy both expanded their positions despite price pressure, though with different preferences: one is buying Ethereum at record speed, while the other is maintaining a more measured but steady pace in Bitcoin.Bitmine made its biggest weekly purchase of the yearBitmine bought 126,971 ETH last week. At current prices, the purchase is worth about $214 million, making it the company’s largest weekly transaction of 2026. The figure stood at only 26,497 ETH a week earlier, showing how sharply the pace increased.The company’s total ETH holdings have now reached 5.54 million. When 247 million dollars in cash, a small amount of Bitcoin, and investment stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings are added, the total portfolio value reaches 9.9 billion dollars.What makes this interesting is that Bitmine Chairman Thomas Lee had said a few weeks ago that the company would slow its pace of purchases. The reason made sense; the company was approaching its goal of holding 5 percent of ETH’s total supply. That figure now stands at 4.59 percent, meaning the target has almost been reached. But the market downturn appears to have changed the plan.Lee said this week: “We increased our purchases because we believe this pullback in ETH prices does not reflect Ethereum’s strengthening fundamentals.”Given this approach, Bitmine really stands in a different place among crypto treasury companies. Many rivals have either paused their purchases or sold altogether as prices have fallen sharply since October. Bitmine is doing the opposite. No one knows how this will end; the company’s current paper loss is estimated at around 9.6 billion dollars. ETH has lost more than 65 percent of its value since its record high in August and has fallen to its lowest levels in the past year.The company also announced that it will issue a class of preferred shares paying a 9.5 percent dividend to raise additional financing. This is a model long used by Bitcoin-focused Strategy. However, Strategy’s own version of this model is now being questioned by investors. The company’s latest preferred share class, STRC, fell to 90 dollars as of last Friday, 10 percent below its nominal value. Whether dividend obligations can be met is now being debated.Strategy bought another 1,550 BTCMeanwhile, Strategy did not remain inactive either. The company bought 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately 101 million dollars. With this purchase, its total Bitcoin reserve rose to 845,256 BTC. The timing of the purchase is notable. Last week, Bitcoin fell by around 15 percent and briefly dropped below 60,000 dollars. It later recovered and moved above 62,000 dollars, but the loss was still there. On top of that, a filing surfaced showing that Michael Saylor sold 32 BTC on June 1, adding further pressure to an already tense market.Strategy made this purchase at an average price of 65,332 dollars. Since the company’s all-time average purchase cost is still 75,680 dollars, the transaction can be seen as a move to lower its cost basis. To finance the purchase, the company sold 181 million dollars worth of stock during the period. Its cash reserve also increased by 100 million dollars, reaching 1 billion dollars.Two different approaches, the same uncertaintyBitmine and Strategy represent two different versions of the corporate crypto treasury model. One is aggressively accumulating ETH with a target of holding 5 percent of the supply; the other is adding Bitcoin at a more measured but consistent rhythm. Both are positioning themselves against the broader market trend.It is hard to say which one will be proven right. Bitmine’s paper loss has reached enormous levels, while Strategy’s dividend model is being closely watched by investors. If markets recover, these two companies may be remembered as the boldest institutional investors of the period. If they do not, the picture will clearly be read differently.
BTC is trading roughly $9,000 below its max pain level as a major options batch expires today following a week marked by heavy liquidations.Deribit, one of the leading exchanges in the crypto derivatives market, announced that around $1.81 billion worth of crypto options contracts will expire today at 11:00 a.m. Turkey time. Coming right after a week of sustained selling pressure and more than $1.5 billion in liquidations, this expiry represents a double layer of stress for market participants.BTC options: $1.56 billionMost of the expiring contracts are tied to Bitcoin. The total notional value of BTC options stands at $1.56 billion. The put/call ratio is 0.56, clearly showing a call-heavy structure, with long-position sellers far outpacing the short side. Max pain, the price point where options writers make the lowest payout and the largest number of contracts expire worthless, is at $71,000. BTC spot is currently trading roughly $9,000 below that level. If the expiry closes under these conditions, a large portion of contracts will end out of the money.According to Deribit data, the highest concentration of open interest is at the $80,000 strike price, with $1.6 billion. The short side is not silent either: there is still $1.1 billion in OI at $60,000. Coinglass figures show that total BTC options OI across all exchanges has recently declined to around $31.6 billion.ETH options: $252 millionThe Ethereum side presents a slightly different picture. Around 153,500 contracts will expire today, with a notional value of $252 million. Max pain stands at $2,000, while the put/call ratio is 0.97, almost perfectly neutral. On the ETH side, neither bulls nor bears have established a clear advantage. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is hovering around $5.7 billion.After a bloody weekThis expiry comes at the end of an extremely painful week for the crypto market. More than $300 billion was wiped from the market’s total value over the week. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000, while $1.5 billion in liquidations left both long and short position holders with heavy losses.Derivatives analytics platform Greeks Live said that bears became more aggressive after the price broke below $70,000, with a notable increase in put positions at the $68,000, $65,000 and $60,000 levels.Geopolitical tensions continue to add pressure. The military conflict between the United States and Iran has not been resolved in recent weeks, while global inflationary pressures have started to resurface. In this environment, risk appetite remains fragile, and institutional investors are keeping their hedging positions in place.Market impactAlthough the figure sounds large, analysts describe this expiry as a “relatively small event.” The $1.85 billion volume, which is far below last week’s month-end expiry package, is not expected to trigger a significant move in spot markets.Still, BTC spot trading this far below the max pain level cannot be ignored. During expiry periods, prices are often seen moving toward max pain. Whether that dynamic plays out this week will become clear within the next few hours.
Security researcher 0xflorent returned 1,003.62 ETH to investors after the funds had remained inaccessible for nine years in the smart contract of a failed 2016 ICO. The funds, worth around $2 million at current prices, had been locked all this time because of a bug in the contract’s refund function.Contract bug fixed after 9 yearsThe contract belonged to HongCoin, also known as “The HONG,” a project launched in 2016 as a community-based investment fund. When the project failed to reach its funding target, investors were supposed to receive automatic refunds. That never happened.The root of the problem was in code written with an old version of Solidity. The contract’s refund function was designed in a way that rejected any investor whose token balance was higher than a global counter. Partial refunds over the years pushed this counter down to 356; in practice, the refund limit was trapped at 3.56 ETH, around $7,000. Most of the investors waiting for refunds had balances far above that threshold.0xflorent found the solution in an administrator function within the contract. This function, originally written for token distribution, contained an integer overflow vulnerability that later Solidity versions closed through SafeMath. When called with a specific input value, it reset an investor’s balance to 1, allowing the refund check to be passed and the funds to be released. Still, this was not something that could be carried out unilaterally. The relevant administrator function was restricted to HongCoin’s multisignature wallet. 0xflorent first contacted the team, verified the steps on a mainnet fork using Foundry, and the transactions were signed by the team members themselves. Around one week passed between the first email and the final transaction.In total, the team signed 41 transactions, each corresponding to a separate investor. Seven investors with sufficiently small balances received their refunds directly without needing this procedure. As a result of the recovery, 48 original investors became able to claim their funds. As of Sunday, two of them had done so, claiming a total of 96.5 ETH, or roughly $193,000. These two investors voluntarily sent 0xflorent a “whitehat bounty,” though there was no obligation to do so. The researcher says he took no commission or cut, and that curiosity was the only thing behind the work.This is the second successful recovery 0xflorent has publicly shared in the past eight days. On May 24, he said he had recovered 19.329 ETH from two old contracts: 5.141 ETH from a failed 2018 ICO where the funds were waiting behind an uncalled refund function, and 14.190 ETH from seven expired atomic swaps belonging to Liquality Wallet, which shut down in 2024.0xflorent does not make much of a mystery out of his methodology. He set up a self-hosted Ethereum node, built a scanner that flags every contract holding more than 100 ETH, and then reviewed the candidates one by one. “Many contracts are forks of others, so a vulnerability in one can affect every contract in the same cluster,” he says, adding that the well-known major clusters have already been scanned to a large extent.He also used Claude Code in his work, though with one caveat: “Artificial intelligence is influenced by the fact that the contract has not been broken before. So it often concludes, ‘It cannot be broken, I tried everything,’ which is usually wrong.”The recovery comes at a time when the DeFi ecosystem has been shaken by a serious wave of exploits. In April alone, hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from various protocols, with the largest attack causing around $293 million in damage to Kelp DAO. One of the co-founders of security firm OpenZeppelin also recently declared “all of DeFi” unsafe.“I want to see a counter-movement of people trying to protect systems instead of exploiting them,” 0xflorent says. “It is more satisfying morally, and it can also provide a good financial return.”
Standard Chartered Bank argues that Ethereum’s sharp price decline in recent months has fallen far behind what on-chain data suggests. The bank compares ETH’s current situation to Amazon stock during the 2001 dot-com crash.Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, referred to a 2018 speech by Jeff Bezos in a report shared on Thursday. Bezos had said that Amazon’s stock fell from $113 to $6 at the time, while the company’s internal metrics continued to improve throughout the same period. Kendrick makes the same point for ETH: the price is falling, but what is happening in the background has little to do with that.“AMZN stock has risen 1,000x from its 2001 lows on a split-adjusted basis. ETH will also catch up with its internal metrics sooner or later. It is only a matter of timing,” Kendrick said.Transaction volume and TVL hit records despite price declineETH has lost around 57% of its value since its August 2025 peak and is currently trading around $2,000. The ETH/BTC ratio has also declined by 37% over the same period. However, Ethereum’s transaction count and total value locked (TVL) measured in ETH remain close to all-time highs. In other words, the network is being used; the price is simply masking that activity.According to Kendrick, this divergence is not permanent. Strong metrics will eventually be reflected in the price. The bank maintains its targets of $4,000 by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030. It also expects the ETH/BTC ratio to move back toward its 2021 highs, near the 0.08 level, by the end of this decade.Stablecoin and RWA growth could support EthereumAt the center of Kendrick’s bullish scenario are stablecoins and the growth of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.Currently, 54% of all stablecoins are on Ethereum. Since the beginning of 2026, one-third of Ethereum transactions have consisted of stablecoin transfers, while 60% of gross TVL also falls into this category. The bank forecasts that the total stablecoin market cap could rise from the current $321 billion to around $2 trillion by the end of 2028, representing sixfold growth. Such expansion would also proportionally increase Ethereum’s weight within the ecosystem.The picture is even more striking on the tokenized RWA side. Ethereum accounts for 62% of non-stablecoin RWAs and 68% of active on-chain credit. Kendrick expects this sector to grow 50x by the end of 2028 and reach $2 trillion. “If RWAs multiply as we expect, the importance of this sector for Ethereum will become much more visible. Transaction counts and TVL will continue to break records, which will push the price higher,” he said.Ethereum Economic Zone and regulatory groundworkKendrick also sees the upcoming Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) project as an important catalyst. EEZ is expected to allow assets to move more freely across the Ethereum ecosystem and reduce composability problems between protocols. It is also expected to reduce reliance on bridges, which have historically been vulnerable to cyberattacks. This could mark a step forward in both security and usability.On the regulatory front, progress on the Clarity Act in the United States, the crypto market structure bill, also stands out. Kendrick believes a clearer legal framework would support decentralized finance (DeFi) growth and Ethereum activity.In short, the picture is clear: the Ethereum network has become an infrastructure capable of carrying transactions and value at this scale. The price has not yet reflected this. Standard Chartered believes it is only a matter of time before this divergence closes. Here's Ethereum's current price:
Ethereum treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) bought 111,942 ETH last week. This marked the company’s largest weekly purchase since December 2024. Its total ETH holdings reached 5.39 million tokens; 4.47% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of 120.7 million tokens is now held by this company.At today’s prices, the weekly purchase is worth roughly $237 million. ETH is currently trading around $2,134. Plan changed, pace increasedAt the Consensus 2026 conference held in Miami in early May, Chairman Tom Lee said they would slow the pace of weekly purchases. Within a week or two, the plan changed. ETH fell from around $2,400 in April and early May to near $2,100. Bitmine saw this decline as worth buying.Lee said this directly in the company’s official statement: “We continue to steadily buy ETH. We view price levels below $2,200 as an attractive opportunity.” He also repeated the company’s goal of holding 5% of supply in 2026. In the company’s own words, it has reached 4.47% in 11 months on its way to the “alchemy of 5%.” In other words, it has completed 89% of the target.Lee also emphasized that they see two major catalysts ahead for Ethereum: Wall Street’s asset tokenization and the growing need of AI agents for public blockchains. Bitmine presents these two trends as the core arguments behind its ETH accumulation strategy.The full portfolioBitmine’s total crypto and cash holdings stand at $12.3 billion. ETH is the dominant part of this portfolio; 5.39 million tokens are worth around $11.5 billion at $2,134. The company also holds 203 Bitcoin and $444 million in cash.The portfolio also includes equity positions the company calls “moonshots”: a $200 million stake in Beast Industries and a $95 million stake in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS). Eightco is one of the few publicly traded companies in the world that offers indirect exposure to OpenAI.Staking: More than accumulationBitmine has staked 87% of its ETH holdings, equal to more than 4.71 million tokens. At a price of $2,134, this position is worth $10.1 billion. Annual staking revenue has reached around $276 million, while the seven-day yield was reported at 2.75%.Bitmine also built its own infrastructure for a staking operation of this scale. MAVAN, short for Made in America VAlidator Network, was launched in 2026 and was initially developed only to stake Bitmine’s own ETH. Now its scope is expanding; the company plans to open it to institutional investors, custodians and ecosystem partners.Global rankingBitmine maintains its position as the world’s largest ETH treasury. In the global crypto treasury ranking, it is second only to Strategy Inc. (MSTR). Strategy holds a portfolio worth $64 billion with around 818,000 BTC.The stock’s liquidity also paints a notable picture. According to Fundstrat data, BMNR’s five-day average daily trading volume stands at $572 million, placing it 193rd among 5,704 US-listed companies. It ranks just behind Trane Technologies at 192 and ahead of Delta Airlines at 194.Institutional supportThe company’s investor base also stands out. Institutional names such as Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Kraken, DCG and Galaxy Digital are among Bitmine’s shareholders. Tom Lee also continues to support the company both as Bitmine’s chairman and as a personal investor.In April 2026, the company moved from NYSE American to the New York Stock Exchange. Its ticker remained BMNR.While assessing the market outlook, Lee also highlighted the GENIUS Act and the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative. He compares these regulatory steps to the United States abandoning the gold standard in 1971; pointing to how that decision transformed Wall Street, he argues that today’s crypto regulations could have a similar impact.
Blockchain security remains one of the most challenging issues in the crypto market. Bridges, which facilitate asset transfers between different networks, have become a frequent target for attackers in recent years. The latest example is a security breach on the Verus Protocol's Ethereum bridge. On Monday, a large-scale attack was detected on the cross-chain bridge known as the Verus-Ethereum bridge. This bridge allows users to transfer value between the Verus network and Ethereum, including ETH and ERC-20 assets. However, the attacker managed to trick the system with a fake cross-chain transfer message, withdrawing millions of dollars worth of assets from the bridge reserves. On-chain security platform Blockaid announced via X that they had detected an ongoing attack on the Verus-Ethereum bridge. According to the shared transaction data, the attacker transferred 1,625 ETH, 147,659 USDC, and 103.57 tBTC v2, the tokenized Bitcoin asset of the Threshold Network. The total value of these assets is estimated to be over $11.5 million.Blockchain security company PeckShield also assessed the transaction as an attack exploiting a security vulnerability. According to on-chain data, the attacker later converted the stolen assets into ETH. The wallet in question held 5,402 ETH, worth over $11 million. Fake transfer message tricked the systemInitial findings indicate that the attack did not stem from a private key hijacking or a classic signature verification vulnerability. According to Blockaid, the attacker tricked the bridge into believing that fake transfer instructions were valid. Thus, the protocol sent assets from its reserves to the attacker's wallet.Blockaid noted similarities to the Nomad Bridge and Wormhole attacks of 2022. The Nomad attack resulted in the loss of approximately $190 million, while the Wormhole attack resulted in the loss of $325 million. Therefore, although the Verus attack appears smaller in terms of amount, the method used has brought fundamental security issues in crypto bridges back to the forefront.According to Blockaid's technical assessment, the problem is; The ECDSA signature breach wasn't a notary key compromise or a hash-binding error. The platform stated that the vulnerability stemmed from a missing source quantity validation in "checkCCEValues." According to the company, this deficiency was a security flaw that could be patched with approximately 10 lines of code on the Solidity side.Blockchain security provider ExVul made a similar assessment. The company reported that the attacker used a "fake cross-chain import payload" and that this data managed to pass through the bridge's validation stream. As a result, the attacker processed three different transfers linked to their own wallet.Bridges were once again the weakest linkThe Verus-Ethereum attack once again demonstrated how critical a risk area bridge infrastructures are in the crypto market. Cross-chain bridges provide liquidity and ease of use between different blockchain networks. However, they also broaden the attack surface because they operate between multiple networks, validation layers, and messaging systems. According to the crypto exchange Phemex, the biggest losses recently have stemmed from attacks targeting cross-chain connectivity and messaging infrastructure rather than directly targeting smart contracts. The Drift and Kelp DAO attacks are cited as significant examples of this trend. In April, the targeting of Kelp DAO's cross-chain messaging infrastructure, which runs on LayerZero, resulted in a loss of approximately $293 million. This suggests that bridge attacks could cause significant losses in 2026, as they have in previous years. In the first quarter, more than $168.6 million in assets were stolen from decentralized finance protocols. In April, the two largest attacks of the year were recorded; Drift Protocol lost approximately $280 million, and Kelp lost $292 million. Verus had not officially confirmed the attack at the time of writing. However, statements from security companies such as Blockaid, PeckShield, and ExVul, based on on-chain data, are causing concern.
The crypto market is on the verge of a new volatility, under pressure from billions of dollars worth of option contracts expiring on May 1st and the impact of global developments. The closing of options, particularly concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, could be decisive in determining the direction of price movements in the short term.Billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are expiringAccording to data from Deribit, a leading derivatives market platform, approximately $2.14 billion worth of cryptocurrency options are expiring today. Bitcoin options account for $1.74 billion of this, while Ethereum options are worth approximately $394-400 million.Approximately 23,000 Bitcoin option contracts are expected to close, and the put/call ratio is noteworthy at 1.10. This ratio indicates that sell (put) positions are higher than buy (call) positions, suggesting a cautious outlook among investors. The maximum pain point, defined as the price level at which options become worthless, is around $76,000. The fact that Bitcoin's spot price is trading very close to this level strengthens the expectation that the price may stabilize around this range. Looking at the option distribution, a high trading volume is noticeable between $75,500 and $77,000. This indicates that the market is still in a short-term squeeze and searching for direction. Deribit analysts point out that the price may consolidate around $76,000, especially after the expiry date. The fact that 95% of options are likely to close above this level, according to current data, suggests that the price may find equilibrium without experiencing a sharp downward break.However, indicators shared by the on-chain data provider Glassnode reveal that Bitcoin is still trading below some critical levels. The average cost of short-term investors being around $78,900 shows that the current price is below the cost of this group. Furthermore, the fact that the $78,000 level, considered the "true market average," has not yet been surpassed suggests that upward movements may remain limited. Below, the $65,000-$70,000 range stands out as a strong support area.What about Ethereum?A similar picture emerges on the Ethereum side. With over 175,000 option contracts expiring, the total size reaches approximately $400 million. At first glance, the put/call ratio appears more balanced at 0.95, but data from the last 24 hours shows this ratio has risen to 1.17. This change reveals that investors have adopted a more cautious position in the short term and are seeking protection against a possible pullback.The maximum pain point for Ethereum is at $2,325, and the fact that the current price remains below this level is noteworthy. This situation raises the possibility that the price may enter a search for upward equilibrium. Indeed, in the last 24 hours, the Ethereum price has risen by approximately 1.5 percent, fluctuating between $2,232 and $2,293. However, the 45% drop in trading volume suggests that this rise may be a temporary recovery rather than a strong momentum.On the macro side, the picture is even more complex. The PCE inflation data released in the US, reaching 3.5%, the highest level in the last three years, stands out as a factor limiting risk appetite in the markets. In addition, tensions between the US and Iran and developments around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil prices to $106, indicating that inflationary pressures may increase again. This increases volatility in risky markets, including crypto assets.
An early investor in Ethereum (ETH) has drawn attention to the market by reactivating a wallet that had been inactive for years. This investor, who participated in the initial coin offering (ICO) in 2015, moved a significant portion of their assets, untouched for nearly 10 years, to a new address. According to blockchain data, the wallet, known as “0xCD5…7a336,” transferred a total of 10,000 ETH to a different address on Tuesday evening. The current market value of this transfer is estimated at approximately $23 million. Considering that the wallet acquired these assets for only $3,100 during Ethereum's ICO, the investment has increased in value by over 7,400 times over time. The reactivation of such long-inactive wallets is generally interpreted as significant signals in the crypto market. The actions of early investors (whales), in particular, are closely monitored by market participants, as these types of transfers are often seen as preparation for a potential sell-off. However, there is currently no clear information about the exact purpose of this transaction.On the other hand, this development coincides with the recent resurgence of similar movements. During the strong bull run in 2025, a significant portion of Ethereum ICO participants moved their assets after many years. In particular, the transfer of 150,000 ETH by another early investor last September caused a wide stir in the market. Such large-scale transfers generally have the potential to create short-term pressure on market liquidity and price dynamics.What is the current state of Ethereum price?The Ethereum price is following a relatively stable course in the shadow of these developments. According to current data, ETH is trading at around $2,335, with an increase of approximately 2% in the last 24 hours. However, this price remains well below the all-time high of $4,946 recorded last year. This indicates that a strong upward trend has not yet fully formed in the market. Ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and expectations regarding central bank monetary policies continue to be decisive factors for crypto assets. In particular, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decisions and inflation data play a critical role in determining the direction of the broader crypto market, including Ethereum. Therefore, macroeconomic developments, as well as large investor movements, continue to influence pricing. As a result, this ICO wallet, which has become active after years, has attracted attention. Whether these assets will be transferred to exchanges in the coming days and whether a potential sell-off will occur will be closely watched by market participants.
Institutional interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US has accelerated again. According to data from April 23rd, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows exceeding $223 million on a daily basis, maintaining a positive flow for the eighth consecutive day. Total inflows exceeding $2 billion over the past eight days suggest that institutional investors are viewing the post-2025 correction period as an accumulation opportunity. According to SoSoValue data, BlackRock's IBIT fund saw the largest share of inflows that day, totaling $167.5 million. Positive flows were also seen in Ark Invest/21Shares, Morgan Stanley, and Grayscale. On the other hand, Fidelity, Bitwise, and VanEck's Bitcoin funds experienced outflows totaling approximately $30 million. Source: The Block The picture is weaker for Ethereum. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net outflows of approximately $76 million on the same day, following a ten-day streak of uninterrupted inflows. The sudden shift in direction of ETH ETFs, which saw inflows of over $96 million on the previous trading day, suggests that the market is giving more weight to Bitcoin in the short term.Institutional demand is strengthening, Bitcoin is taking center stageMarket experts state that ETF flows now reflect a more structural demand rather than short-term speculative movements. According to Bitrue Research Leader Andri Fauzan Adziima, institutional investors are now positioning Bitcoin not just as a trading instrument, but as a stabilizing element in portfolios. This approach, combined with continuous buying through ETFs, especially during a period when supply has tightened after the halving, is creating a lasting demand base in the market.The Bitcoin price has risen by approximately 10% in the last 30 days and is currently stabilizing around $78,000. However, this level is still well below the peak of approximately $126,000 seen in October 2025. Nevertheless, the fact that Bitcoin dominance has risen above 60% indicates that the market is becoming increasingly BTC-weighted. In this period where altcoins are generally performing poorly, the flow of capital into Bitcoin is noteworthy. According to experts, if ETF inflows continue at this pace, the $85,000 to $90,000 range could emerge as the "base scenario" for Bitcoin. However, the possibility of a retest of the $74,000 to $70,000 range in the event of a slowdown in flows is not being ignored. On the macro side, geopolitical developments continue to be decisive for the markets. While US President Donald Trump's decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely supports risk appetite in the short term, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have not been fully resolved. This situation reveals that the crypto market is still sensitive to macroeconomic issues. On the other hand, the approximately $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiry that took place on April 24 is also being closely watched in terms of short-term volatility.
