Market on pause, gambling lobby against Polymarket, WLFI gets a bank — digest for June 17
While most market participants were resting, several significant events occurred simultaneously. The US gambling industry declared war on prediction markets, the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty Financial is on the verge of obtaining a federal banking license, and Coinbase has taken a serious step toward becoming a universal financial platform. Let's break down the key news of the morning of June 17.
Bitcoin and Ethereum: Sideways Movement Without Momentum
As of 07:44 Moscow time, the leading cryptocurrency is showing sideways movement, trading near the $65,858 mark. Over the past 24 hours, BTC's minimum was $65,315 and its maximum was $66,928. Ethereum is also inactive, remaining around $1,793.
In the top 10 by market capitalization, Hyperliquid stands out with an impressive gain of 7.25% over the day and 31.58% over the week. The laggards were BNB (-0.78% in 24 hours) and Tron (-1.27% over seven days).
Among the top 100 coins, the leader in daily growth is SPX6900 (+24.74%), and in weekly growth, SKYAI (+154.46%). The largest losses were recorded by Audiera: -27.84% for the day and -37.10% for the week.
Gambling Lobby vs. Prediction Markets
Major US gambling industry associations sent a letter to the Senate demanding a ban on sports and casino-like prediction markets as part of the upcoming crypto regulation. In their view, platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi have sparked the "largest expansion of the gambling business in US history," disguising bets as regulated financial products.
Special emphasis is placed on the fact that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) lacks both the expertise and infrastructure to oversee sports betting. The primary regulatory tool remains the Clarity Act, which has already passed the Senate Banking Committee and awaits a vote by the full chamber.
World Liberty Financial: Banking License Virtually Guaranteed
The crypto project associated with Donald Trump's family is close to obtaining a federal banking license as a national trust bank. According to sources, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) head Jonathan Gould will soon announce a decision on the application, and former agency employees describe approval as "virtually guaranteed."
The license will allow World Liberty to independently issue and redeem the USD1 stablecoin, manage reserves, and store digital assets under a single federal regulator — without intermediaries. Given that 75% of revenue from the sale of the WLFI token goes to a structure controlled by the president, the decision will inevitably spark new political debates about conflicts of interest.
Coinbase: Now You Can Transfer Stock Portfolios
The crypto exchange has taken another step toward becoming a full-fledged financial super-service. Users now have access to a feature for transferring existing stock portfolios from other brokerage firms via the ACATS system — without needing to sell assets.
Earlier this year, Coinbase already launched stock and ETF trading, covering approximately 6,000 securities. Clients are offered commission-free trading, fractional shares, and up to 3.5% annual interest on USDC balances. The expanded functionality makes the platform a direct competitor to traditional brokers.
My comment: The prediction market remains one of the most controversial but fastest-growing niches in the crypto industry. The gambling lobby's attempts to block this sector are a classic defense of their market share. However, the Trump project obtaining a banking license is a much more significant signal: institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is reaching a new level, and regulators appear ready to acknowledge this.