Market on Pause: Tether Winds Down aUSDT, CME Group Sues CFTC, and Ark Invest Switches Robinhood for Coinbase
The morning of June 18 was packed with events that reveal tectonic shifts in the institutional landscape of the crypto industry. While retail investors watch Bitcoin's sideways movement, major players are reshaping strategies and preparing for legal battles. Let's break down the key trends that will set the tone for the coming weeks.
Market in consolidation phase: BTC and ETH show no direction
Bitcoin (BTC) started the day with minimal volatility. At the time of analysis, prices are hovering near the $63,943 mark, staying within a narrow range of $63,779 to $66,354 over the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) is also showing a sideways trend, trading around $1,735. This is a classic accumulation pattern, where the market is waiting for a trigger for the next move.
Among the top 10 by market cap, Tron shows the best daily performance (+0.94%), while Hyperliquid became the weekly leader with an impressive gain of 26.88%. However, there were losses: BNB and Tron were among the day's laggards (-0.34%). In the top 100, Ethena stands out (+7.78% in 24 hours) along with the rapid surge of SKYAI (+99.80% over the week), while Audiera continues its deep correction, losing 74.38% in seven days.
Tether shifts priorities: aUSDT project shuts down
Tether has made a strategic decision to wind down the Alloy platform and the gold-backed stablecoin aUSDT. The project lasted only two years. The reason is a reassessment of priorities in favor of products with higher liquidity and demand, primarily the gold token XAUT. aUSDT allowed users to deposit XAUT as collateral to issue a dollar-denominated token without selling physical gold. The closure process will be phased: new positions are already unavailable, and funds and collateral can be withdrawn until September 17. This is Tether's third closed product after CNHT (February) and EURT (November). XAUT, with a market cap of $3 billion, remains the company's flagship instrument.
CME Group declares war on CFTC over perpetual futures
The operator of the world's largest futures exchange, CME Group, plans to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CEO Terrence Duffy stated that the lawsuit will be filed on Thursday. The main argument: perpetual futures should be classified as swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act. Recall that a month ago, the CFTC approved such contracts for Kalshi and took a neutral stance on a similar proposal from Coinbase. Duffy calls perpetual futures a "disaster," comparing the situation to the pre-crisis environment of 2008 and highlighting the high level of leverage and inexperience of market participants. This move could radically change the regulation of crypto derivatives in the U.S.
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest bets on Coinbase
Investment firm Ark Invest made a major portfolio rotation. The flagship ARKK fund purchased $18.4 million worth of Coinbase shares while selling nearly $29 million worth of Robinhood shares. Notably, Coinbase stock itself closed down 2.57% on Wednesday, extending its monthly decline to nearly 13%, while Robinhood surged 8.78%. After the sale, Robinhood remains the fourth-largest position in ARKK, while Coinbase rose to eighth place. This signals that Wood sees long-term value in the infrastructure player despite current market weakness.
My view: We are witnessing a classic "narrative shift" process. Institutions are no longer just passive observers — Tether is cleaning its portfolio, CME is fighting for regulatory frameworks, and Ark Invest is betting on survivors. The market is preparing for a new cycle, and the current consolidation is the best time for analysis, not panic.