Market on pause, Tether winds down aUSDT, CME Group takes CFTC to court: digest for June 18
Wednesday morning, June 18, finds the crypto market in a sideways movement. Bitcoin (BTC) is consolidating near the $63,943 mark, fluctuating in a narrow range of $63,779 – $66,354 over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) is also showing a flat trend, trading around $1,735. The total market capitalization remains stable, but without a pronounced momentum.
In the top 10 by capitalization, Tron stands out (+0.94% over the day), while Hyperliquid became the weekly growth leader with an impressive +26.88%. At the same time, BNB and Tron showed minimal decline over 24 hours (-0.34%). Among the top 100 assets, Ethena demonstrates the best daily dynamics (+7.78%), and the weekly maximum belongs to SKYAI (+99.80%). However, there were also laggards: Audiera lost 29.55% in a day and 74.38% over the week.
Key Events: Tether, CME Group, and Ark Invest
Tether shuts down the Alloy project and the aUSDT stablecoin. The company announced a phased winding down of the Alloy by Tether platform and the gold-backed token aUSDT. The decision comes just two years after the launch. Tether explains this by reprioritizing towards products with higher demand and liquidity, primarily its own gold token XAUT. Recall that aUSDT allowed users to deposit XAUT as collateral and issue a dollar token without selling gold assets. New positions are no longer available, and funds can be withdrawn until September 17. This is not the first closed product from Tether: the company previously discontinued the yuan-based stablecoin CNHT and the euro-based EURT. Meanwhile, XAUT remains a sought-after asset with a market cap of $3 billion.
CME Group sues the CFTC. The operator of the world's largest futures exchange intends to challenge the decision of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which approved perpetual futures for the Kalshi platform. CME CEO Terrence Duffy called such contracts a "disaster," comparing the situation to the pre-crisis environment of 2008. According to him, the lawsuit will be filed on Thursday based on the argument that perpetual futures should be classified as swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act. Previously, the CFTC took a neutral stance on a similar proposal from Coinbase. This is a serious signal: the largest player in the traditional derivatives market is openly opposing innovations that could undermine its business model.
Ark Invest's Cathie Wood shifts from Robinhood to Coinbase. The investment firm purchased $18.4 million worth of Coinbase shares while simultaneously selling nearly $29 million worth of Robinhood shares. Notably, Coinbase's stock itself closed down 2.57% on the day, extending its monthly decline to nearly 13%, while Robinhood surged 8.78%. After the sale, Robinhood remains the fourth-largest position in the flagship ARKK fund, while Coinbase now ranks eighth. This move demonstrates Wood's long-term faith in the institutional future of crypto exchanges, despite the current correction.
My conclusion: The market is in an accumulation phase, but regulatory risks and corporate disagreements (as in the case of CME and the CFTC) continue to exert pressure. Tether, meanwhile, is rationalizing its product line, which could be a sign of the stablecoin market's maturity. Investors should closely monitor the legal proceedings — their outcome could fundamentally change the landscape of crypto derivatives.