Crypto news

While most market participants were resting, the fundamental picture underwent significant changes. Key overnight events—from a strategic alliance between an AI giant and a miner to signals of easing conditions for institutional investors in bitcoin ETFs. We break down what this means for digital assets.

Market Dynamics: Consolidation Before a Breakout?

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading around $63,980 as of 08:40 Moscow time. The overnight session saw a short-term dip to $63,800 on the 15-minute chart, after which prices recovered to the $64,000 level, showing local consolidation. Ether (ETH) held near the $1,874 mark, fluctuating in a narrow range of $1,868–$1,880 following a recent drop from $1,928.

Altcoins in the top 10 showed mixed but restrained momentum. The growth leader was Hyperliquid (HYPE) with a gain of 2.12%, while Solana (SOL) strengthened by 1.04%. At the same time, BNB corrected by 0.52%. Among the top 100 assets, Curve DAO Token (CRV) stood out, surging by 10.8%, as well as Internet Computer (ICP) and Lighter (LIT), which rose by 7.84% and 6.62%, respectively.

The day's laggard was the Audiera token (BEAT), which plunged by 51.2%. It was followed by Canton (CC) with a loss of 6.25% and Cardano (ADA), down 4.94%. Flows into spot ETFs were mixed: bitcoin funds lost $144.67 million, Ethereum products—$14.59 million, while Solana ETFs attracted $8.83 million and HYPE funds—$2.74 million.

Over the past 24 hours, exchanges liquidated positions of 68,722 traders totaling $201.08 million. The largest liquidation order was for a BRENTOIL oil contract on Hyperliquid—$10.55 million, indicating overheating in adjacent, not just cryptocurrency, derivatives.

Deal of the Century: AI and Mining Unite

The key overnight event was an agreement between AI developer Anthropic and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms worth $9.1 billion over 20 years. The company behind Claude will receive 191 MW of computing capacity at Riot's site in Rockdale, Texas. Full deployment of the capacity is scheduled for June 2028. Two five-year extension options could increase the total contract value to approximately $16.1 billion. This is a clear example of how the AI sector is seeking to stake its claim on energy resources and infrastructure, which could reshape the economics of mining in the long term.

Hayes' Macro Scenario: Yen Rescue as a Catalyst

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes presented his scenario for yen strengthening, which he considers bullish for the crypto market. In his view, Japan will not go through sharp rate hikes or selling off US Treasuries, but rather through the Fed's credit facility—FIMA repo. The logic is as follows: Japan pledges US Treasury bonds in exchange for dollars, then sells them to buy yen. If the current $60 billion limit per counterparty is raised, the Fed's balance sheet will grow. The Japanese government and the GPIF fund hold about $1.37 trillion in such bonds—this is a powerful lever. Hayes views the resulting dollar liquidity as positive for bitcoin, gold, and Ethereum.

BlackRock Opens Doors to Retail

BlackRock executive Robert Mitchnick announced a reduction in the minimum threshold for in-kind transactions in its bitcoin ETF. Now, an investor with $1 million in bitcoin can conduct an exchange through authorized participants and receive shares of the IBIT fund, whereas previously $25 million was required. He also spoke about the BITA fund, which offers a yield of 15–19% in exchange for lower volatility and limited upside potential for bitcoin. This is a clear step toward democratizing access to institutional products.

My view: The Anthropic and Riot deal is not just a contract but a signal that mining infrastructure is becoming a strategic asset for tech giants. BlackRock's lowered threshold, in turn, will increase capital inflows into ETFs, which could become an additional driver for bullish momentum. However, given the lingering macro uncertainty, the market will likely continue consolidating near current levels until clearer triggers emerge.