Morning crypto market overview: Iran under sanctions, Ethereum staking generates millions, and ChatGPT learns to predict
The cryptocurrency market greeted the morning of July 15 with mixed sentiment. While Bitcoin fluctuated in a narrow range, three significant events took center stage: a large-scale freeze of assets linked to Iran, record revenue from Ethereum staking, and an unexpected integration of prediction markets into ChatGPT. Let's break down the details.
Market in a sideways trend: BTC and ETH without sharp movements
The leading cryptocurrency began the day with consolidation. As of 07:35 Moscow time, Bitcoin was trading at $64,751, setting a 24-hour low of $62,434 and a high of $65,046. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, also showed sideways movement, stabilizing around $1,876.
Among the top 10 by market cap, Hyperliquid showed the best 24-hour performance (+5.81%), while Ethereum led over the week (+6.98%). All coins in the top ten ended the day in the green. In the top 100, Pump.fun was the daily growth leader (+13.01%), and DeXe led over the week (+45.28%). Pi Network holders suffered the largest weekly losses (-23.33%).
US freezes $131 million in cryptocurrency linked to Iran
The US Department of the Treasury, under the leadership of Scott Bessent, delivered a new blow to Iran's financial infrastructure. Four wallets on the Tron network, containing $131 million worth of USDT stablecoins, were frozen. Tether, the issuer of USDT, complied with the authorities' directive.
As Bessent confirmed, these wallets are linked to the Central Bank of Iran. The freeze coincided with a sharp escalation of the conflict in the Middle East: the US reinstated a blockade of Iranian ports, and American military forces announced a new wave of strikes. The Treasury made it clear that it intends to continue strictly monitoring cryptocurrency flows, depriving the Iranian regime of revenue from illegal schemes.
Bitmine earns $45.7 million from Ethereum staking — 98% of total revenue
Mining company Bitmine Immersion Technologies has made a strategic pivot. After launching an institutional Ethereum staking platform in March, revenue from ether validation for the quarter (ending May 31) reached $45.7 million — accounting for 98% of the company's total revenue. For comparison, its own Bitcoin mining brought in only $624,000, and consulting generated $168,000.
Moreover, by July 13, 2026, the company had staked 85% of its ETH reserves — approximately 4.9 million tokens. This is a clear signal that institutional players are increasingly shifting from mining to staking as a more predictable and profitable instrument.
ChatGPT begins displaying Kalshi odds for World Cup matches
Sam Altman's OpenAI has taken an unexpected step by integrating data from the prediction market Kalshi into ChatGPT search results. Users can now see charts showing teams' chances of winning World Cup matches directly in the AI's responses.
No official partnership has been announced, but this appears to be the first instance of OpenAI collaborating with a prediction market platform. The integration allows fans to track betting dynamics in real-time without leaving the ChatGPT interface.
My comment: The freeze of Iranian USDT is a precedent that will damage Tron's reputation as a "haven" for illegal transactions. At the same time, Bitmine's success confirms that Ethereum staking is becoming a primary revenue driver for public companies, while the integration of Kalshi into ChatGPT opens a new era of accessibility for prediction markets to the mass user.