Stepn and Steve Aoki Join Forces to Launch an Digital Sneakers as Solana NFTs

Stress in global bond markets is causing ripples in risk assets, with Japan's bond rout signaling broader fiscal strain. Unrealized losses on Japanese bonds are mounting, erasing an estimated 45% of their value since 2019. The flight to hard assets like Bitcoin is driven by low global government bond market liquidity.

Rep. Maxine Waters has raised concerns about pending crypto legislation, warning that it could lead to fraud and financial ruin for American families. She criticized the CLARITY Act for potentially hindering investor protection and the GENIUS Act for favoring industry interests over consumer safety.

Coinbase stock reached an all-time high of $398.50, just shy of the $400 target set by Argus Research. Analysts praised the company's growth and profit margins, with a market cap exceeding $100 billion.

BitMine Immersion Technologies saw its stock price surge by 45% to $59.00 after surpassing $500 million in ETH holdings, but the gains were short-lived, dropping to $41.02 by the end of the day. The company's stock has been highly volatile due to its ETH treasury strategy.

XRP's price surged to over $3.00, driven by optimism about its utility and regulatory environment. Analysts predict further growth due to tokenization trends and XRP Ledger's compliance features. Ripple's CEO highlighted the positive impact of recent regulatory developments on the cryptocurrency's future.

A blockchain researcher accidentally burned $58,000 worth of Pump.fun's PUMP token on Solana, but he remains unfazed by the costly mistake. Despite losing a significant amount, he maintains a positive outlook, focusing on what he can control.

Flori Gilroy, former co-founder of BlockFi, has been appointed as the senior vice president of SoFi's crypto unit. The hiring was quietly confirmed through an update on SoFi's website, marking her return to the crypto industry.

Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, warned about the risks of corrupt politicians in Nigeria using cryptocurrencies to hide illegitimate wealth. Experts agree that crypto has become a tool for political corruption in Africa, with a lack of concrete data on the scale of the issue.

Bitcoin's recent 9.07% gain to $119,400 marks its strongest weekly run since May, with predictions of maintaining momentum above $100K and hitting $125K. The cryptocurrency's bullish trend is supported by technical indicators and a favorable market environment.

Ethereum-linked funds have seen a 19.5% growth in assets under management to $19.6 billion over the past 12 weeks, outpacing Bitcoin-linked funds. Despite Ethereum's price surge of 85% in the last three months, it has yet to reach its pandemic-era high of nearly $4,900.