Bitcoin Falls Below $60,000 and Ethereum Nears Top 100 Exit
Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 for the first time since 2024. Ethereum fell below $1,800 and is approaching the edge of the top 100 global assets by market cap. Over $1 billion in trader positions were liquidated in a single day. Meanwhile, a critical vulnerability was found in Zcash that could allow unlimited coin creation, the US sanctioned Iran’s largest crypto exchanges, and the SEC declared digital assets a strategic priority through 2030. Here is a clear look at the most important crypto and tech stories making headlines.
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Table of contents
- Bitcoin Falls Below $60,000 for the First Time Since 2024
- Ethereum Falls Below $1,800, Near Top 100 Exit by Market Cap
- Over $1 Billion in Trader Positions Liquidated in One Day
- US Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchanges
- SEC Declares Digital Assets a Strategic Priority Through 2030
- Binance Closing Its NFT Marketplace on July 3
- Central Bank of Russia Values Russian Crypto Holdings at 3.8 Trillion Rubles
- MEV Bot Accidentally Sends 167 ETH to a Random User
- LAB Token Drops 77% in Hours, Losing $6.8 Billion in Market Cap
- Strive Buys 2,500 BTC for $185.2 Million
- Wrapping Up
Bitcoin Falls Below $60,000 for the First Time Since 2024
Bitcoin dropped below $60,000, a level not seen since 2024. The decline reflects broader market pressure and renewed uncertainty among retail and institutional participants alike.
Bitcoin losing the $60,000 floor is psychologically significant. That level held for a long time. When major support breaks, it changes how traders think about the next move. Buyers who bought expecting that the floor would hold are now underwater, and that creates more selling pressure.
Ethereum Falls Below $1,800, Near Top 100 Exit by Market Cap
Ethereum dropped below $1,800, putting it at risk of falling out of the top 100 global assets ranked by market capitalization. The decline represents a significant loss of relative standing compared to traditional financial assets.
Ethereum dropping out of the top 100 global assets would be a reputational milestone, not just a price one. It means the second-largest cryptocurrency has been overtaken in value by enough traditional companies and assets that it no longer ranks among the most valuable things on earth. That matters for institutional narratives around crypto as an asset class.
Over $1 Billion in Trader Positions Liquidated in One Day
As Bitcoin continued falling below $68,000, over $1 billion in leveraged trader positions were liquidated within a single day. The cascade of forced closures amplified the downward price movement.
A billion dollars in liquidations in one day is a forced selling event. Traders borrowed to go long, the price dropped, and their positions were automatically closed. Each liquidation adds more selling pressure, which triggers more liquidations. That feedback loop is why crypto crashes move fast.
US Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchanges
The US government issued sanctions against four major Iranian crypto exchanges: Nobitex, Bitpin, Ramzinex, and Wallex. The action targets platforms that allowed Iranian users to move money outside the reach of existing financial sanctions.
Sanctioning the actual exchanges is a different approach than seizing funds. It cuts off the infrastructure. Any global business that processes transactions through these platforms now risks secondary sanctions. That isolates Iranian crypto activity more effectively than chasing individual wallets.
SEC Declares Digital Assets a Strategic Priority Through 2030
The SEC designated digital assets as a strategic priority through 2030. The declaration signals a sustained regulatory focus on crypto rather than a case-by-case enforcement approach.
The SEC committing to digital assets as a four-year priority means regulatory clarity is coming whether the industry wants it or not. A strategic priority gets dedicated staff, budget, and rulemaking attention. Companies that have been operating in gray areas should take this seriously as a signal to get compliant.
Binance Closing Its NFT Marketplace on July 3
Binance announced it will shut down its NFT marketplace on July 3, 2026, giving users one month to withdraw their assets before the platform closes.
Binance killing its NFT marketplace is an admission that centralized NFT platforms lost the market. OpenSea and Blur won the trading volume. Binance built the infrastructure but never got the community or the liquidity. Closing now rather than running a ghost platform is the right call, even if it comes years late.
Central Bank of Russia Values Russian Crypto Holdings at 3.8 Trillion Rubles
The Central Bank of Russia assessed Russian citizens’ investments in crypto instruments at 3.8 trillion rubles, based on its financial stability analysis covering late 2025 and early 2026.
3.8 trillion rubles in crypto exposure means Russian household savings are meaningfully tied to crypto markets. When regulators start publishing numbers like this, it signals that crypto has moved from a fringe concern to a systemic one. That changes how seriously the central bank has to take market volatility.
MEV Bot Accidentally Sends 167 ETH to a Random User
An MEV bot on Ethereum accidentally transferred 167 ETH, worth approximately $300,000, to a random wallet address due to an execution error.
An automated bot sending $300,000 to the wrong address with no way to reverse it is a clean demonstration of why blockchain transactions are high stakes. There is no customer support. There is no undo button. The recipient received money they did nothing to earn, and the bot operator has no recourse.
LAB Token Drops 77% in Hours, Losing $6.8 Billion in Market Cap
The token LAB collapsed approximately 77% within a few hours, erasing nearly $6.8 billion in market capitalization in a rapid selloff.
A $6.8 billion wipeout in a couple of hours is an extraordinary collapse by any measure. Tokens with that kind of market cap are supposed to have enough liquidity and holder diversity to slow a crash. When they do not, it usually means the cap number was not real in the first place, propped up by thin order books and low circulating supply.
Strive Buys 2,500 BTC for $185.2 Million
Public company Strive purchased 2,500 Bitcoin for $185.2 million, adding to a growing list of publicly traded companies building Bitcoin treasury positions.
Strive buying $185 million in Bitcoin while the price is falling is either a conviction buy or a poorly timed one, depending on where prices go from here. Either way, it adds another public company to the list of corporate Bitcoin holders, which has become its own narrative signal for institutional adoption regardless of short-term price action.
Wrapping Up
This week showed a market under real stress. Bitcoin broke below $60,000 for the first time since 2024, Ethereum is losing its standing among global assets, and over a billion dollars in leveraged positions were wiped out in one day. At the same time, Mastercard settled on-chain, Coinbase launched pre-IPO futures, MoneyGram issued a stablecoin, and the US registered its first Bitcoin-backed mortgage. The infrastructure build continues even as prices fall. A Zcash vulnerability, Iranian exchange sanctions, and a $6.8 billion token collapse in hours remind everyone that the risks have not gone anywhere either. The gap between what crypto is becoming institutionally and how the market is behaving right now has rarely been wider.
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