Crypto Markets: Greed Trumps Fear Amid Regulatory Shifts (2026-06-03)

Goldman Sachs CEO: Greed outweighs fear in the market

Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon stated that the stock market boom is driven by a thirst for profits that outweighs concerns about economic turmoil and inflation risks. "The current situation is that greed far outweighs fear, and there is ample liquidity," Solomon said on Tuesday. He also acknowledged that the risk of escalating inflation could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. "I think inflationary pressures are real, and if they exceed expectations, I think the Fed will take action," he said. [Odaily Planet Daily]

Why Crypto Markets Cheer Trump’s Pick for Acting DNI Role

President Donald Trump named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday. The pick drew immediate celebration from Bitcoin holders tracking his pro-crypto record. The 38-year-old will keep his FHFA role and chairmanship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He will dual-hat the positions until a permanent DNI is nominated and confirmed.

Pulte’s Pro-Crypto Record at FHFA: In June 2025, Pulte ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to recognize crypto in mortgage assessments. The directive removed any requirement that borrowers liquidate holdings first. He expanded the policy in March 2026, allowing crypto reserves to back mortgages for the first time. However, only assets held on U.S.-regulated exchanges qualify under the strict custody restrictions attached to the rule.

Federal disclosures list his personal holdings in Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), and miner MARA Holdings. Spousal crypto exposure reaches up to $2 million.

Vice President JD Vance defended the pick in a separate post praising Pulte’s posture toward the intelligence community. However, critics highlight Pulte’s lack of intelligence or national security background. They note federal statute favors such experience, especially as the crypto market structure debate heats up in Congress. The acting role itself does not require Senate confirmation. It will be interesting to see whether Pulte’s Bitcoin-friendly housing playbook extends to his intelligence remit.

Tom Lee predicts that Ethereum's price will reach $250,000 as enterprise validators take control of the network.

On June 3, Tom Lee, Head of Research at Fundstrat and Chairman of Bitmine, stated at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris that he expects Ethereum to eventually reach $250,000, with artificial intelligence and tokenization driving a major transformation of financial infrastructure.

Lee noted that with the advent of the machine-to-machine economy, Ethereum will evolve from a speculative digital asset into the primary global currency for paying for automated computational processing power. Bitmine recently acquired 111,942 ETH, increasing its holdings to nearly 5.4 million ETH—approximately 4.47% of the circulating supply.

Lee stated that Bitmine is now eligible for inclusion in the Russell 1000 Index, and its staking model has significantly outperformed holding spot ETH.

[PANews]

Stablecoin depeg fears push New York and EU regulators closer

New York’s financial regulator has formed a stablecoin supervision agreement with the European Banking Authority as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic tighten cooperation over digital assets. The New York State Department of Financial Services said Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the EBA to support the exchange of supervisory and confidential information linked to stablecoin activity.

Under the agreement, the two regulators plan to share information on entities involved in stablecoin operations, market risks, and supervisory concerns. The DFS said the arrangement is meant to strengthen oversight, protect consumers, and support market integrity in a sector that continues to draw attention from finance officials.

Kaitlin Asrow, acting superintendent of the DFS, said effective financial regulation depends on strong ties between regulators. She added that international cooperation remains important for digital assets because stablecoins operate across borders and involve multiple markets simultaneously. EBA Executive Director François-Louis Michaud described the agreement as a milestone for transatlantic cooperation on stablecoin supervision. According to Michaud, the deal supports efforts to build a coordinated supervisory framework for crypto-assets and maintain high standards for cross-border activity.

DFS said it has supervised stablecoin issuance since 2018, covering regulated firms approved to issue stablecoins in New York. The department said its framework includes reserve requirements, redeemability standards, transparency rules, and a ban on rehypothecation. The New York regulator has long played a central role in U.S. crypto oversight through its BitLicense regime and separate rules for digital asset firms. In the stablecoin market, its standards apply to companies under DFS supervision, including those approved to issue dollar-backed tokens in the state.

Although the memorandum is not legally binding, DFS said the agreement provides both regulators with a framework for cooperation when supervisory issues arise. The department said the MOU also supports identifying stablecoin market trends and potential risks.

The agreement comes as PYMNTS reported that digital assets have reached discussions among finance chiefs but have not entered daily corporate finance operations at most firms. According to PYMNTS research, 77% of CFOs cited regulatory or compliance uncertainty as a barrier to using crypto in business payments. The same research found that 67% of CFOs gave the same answer for stablecoins. PYMNTS also reported that 58% of CFOs said their companies have neither discussed nor considered using stablecoins. For cryptocurrencies, the figure was 70%. The research found that 13% of companies currently use stablecoins, while 5% use cryptocurrencies. European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel recently warned that stablecoins remain exposed to risks and could affect Europe’s monetary sovereignty.

Binance NFT service has been upgraded to Binance Wallet; affected users must withdraw funds before July 3rd.

June 3rd news: According to an official announcement, Binance NFT service has been upgraded to Binance Wallet. After this upgrade, users can manage their NFTs within the Binance Wallet and more conveniently use Web3 and decentralized features. Starting June 3rd, 2026, users holding transferable NFTs on Binance must withdraw their NFTs to their Binance Wallet or other compatible wallets within a one-month window to continue managing their NFT digital assets. After the upgrade, the Binance centralized exchange will cease supporting the current NFT service on July 3rd, 2026. After this date, any unwithdrawn NFTs will be inaccessible. During the withdrawal period, Binance will proactively notify and remind holders of transferable NFTs to ensure a smooth upgrade process. Non-transferable NFTs were designed to be non-transferable and therefore cannot be withdrawn. [PANews]

A U.S. senator plans to introduce legislation establishing an AI sovereign wealth fund, proposing a one-time 50% equity tax on the largest U.S. AI companies.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders plans to introduce the “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act,” which proposes imposing a one-time 50% equity tax on America’s largest AI companies and injecting the resulting shares into a national sovereign wealth fund. The wealth generated by AI would then be shared with all U.S. citizens via cash dividends, healthcare, education, and housing.

Bernie Sanders believes the trillions of dollars in wealth generated by AI should not accrue solely to a handful of tech companies and their shareholders. He stated that the full legislative text will be released in the coming weeks. At present, this proposal remains at the policy advocacy stage, and there is significant uncertainty regarding its passage into law and subsequent implementation.

[Odaily]

Debt crisis fears put Bitcoin undervaluation back in focus

Bitcoin has drawn a new valuation argument from Bitwise, as rising sovereign debt pressures keep bond markets under strain and strengthen the case for BTC as a macro hedge. Bitwise said in a new report that deeper investor concern over government debt could widen Bitcoin’s perceived undervaluation.

The asset manager linked the argument to stress in global bond markets, where governments and companies face a much heavier borrowing calendar in 2026. The OECD expects public and corporate borrowers to raise about $29 trillion in 2026, an estimate 17% higher than 2024 levels and nearly twice the amount raised a decade earlier. The report added that about 78% of OECD governments’ borrowing will go toward refinancing existing debt rather than funding new spending. This refinancing burden may raise investor concerns about sovereign balance sheets if yields remain elevated, potentially leading investors to seek assets outside government credit systems.

Japan received special attention in the report due to its high debt load, with public debt at nearly 230% of GDP. Bitwise noted that Japan’s 10-year government bond yield recently climbed to 2.78%, while its 30-year yield reached a record high. With Japanese investors holding around $1.2 trillion in US Treasurys, higher domestic yields now make foreign bonds less attractive after currency hedging costs. Bitwise noted that this gap could encourage Japanese capital to return to domestic bonds.

Global pressure is mounting, as US 30-year Treasury yields reached 5.11% on May 11, the highest level since 2007. Sovereign risk premiums, measured through 10-year swap spreads, have risen to their highest levels since the European debt crisis of 2011 and 2012. While tighter financial conditions may weigh on Bitcoin in the short run, a serious disruption in the bond market could force central banks to provide liquidity, which might benefit Bitcoin if investors expect fiat liquidity to rise.

Bitwise cited investor Greg Foss’s sovereign default risk model, which values Bitcoin near $224,000 if it gains wider use as a hedge against government credit risk, though the firm stressed this is theoretical. The report also highlighted the impact of real interest rates, noting that Bitcoin performed well during the 2021 bull market as real rates fell, while the 2022 bear market coincided with rising real rates. Meanwhile, Bitcoin researcher Sminston suggested BTC could trade between $90,000 and $255,000 by the end of 2026, based on the Bitcoin Decay Channel logarithmic model.

[Bitwise]

Only 7% of Europe’s Crypto Providers Hold MiCA Licences Before July Deadline

Europe’s crypto sector is entering its sharpest contraction in years. About 210 firms hold a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licence ahead of the July 1 MiCA deadline. That number compares with nearly 2,747 Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registrations counted across the European Union in 2024. The new licensed group represents roughly 7% to 8% of the previous registered universe, according to industry trackers and supervisory data.

MiCA Deadline: The Scale of the Cut. Industry tracker Coincub estimated 2,747 VASP registrations across Europe in 2024. Poland alone accounted for more than 1,400. ChainScreen placed authorised CASPs at around 183 in April 2026. ITISPay updated that figure to roughly 210 by May.

Estonia shows the squeeze most clearly. Its Financial Intelligence Unit reported 641 licensed VASPs in June 2021. The number fell to 45 by October 2024 and to 40 by February 2025. The country was once one of Europe’s largest crypto hubs.

France highlights a different angle. Reuters reported in January that only 30% of roughly 90 unlicensed French firms had applied for MiCA authorisation. A further 40% did not intend to apply, and 30% had not responded to the regulator.

Patrick Hansen, Director of EU Strategy and Policy at Circle, has tracked MiCA authorisations since December 2024. His early-2026 count showed 39 CASP licences and 14 stablecoin issuer approvals among the first 54 granted. The pace has picked up since then, but it remains far short of the legacy market. The list of licensed crypto exchanges captures only a slice of that group.

Why Most Providers Will Not Make It. The CASP standard demands governance frameworks, prudential capital, cybersecurity controls, client protections, and continuous supervisory dialogue. Smaller firms struggle to absorb those fixed costs. Faustine Fleuret is Head of Public Affairs at Morpho and a former president of the French industry association ADAN. She has argued that MiCA’s design places a heavy burden on smaller players. The VASP licensing process under earlier national regimes was already demanding. MiCA raises the bar substantially while applying identical rules to every applicant, regardless of size.

What Happens After July 1. Ignacio Santos is CEO of Madrid-based Fazil Crypto. He told BeInCrypto exclusively about heavy inbound interest since his firm obtained its Spanish CASP licence. Unlicensed entities now have five options after July 1. They can obtain a licence or stop operating. Other options include an orderly wind-down, client transfer to an authorised CASP, or a merger with a licence-holder.

The French AMF warned in May that operating without authorisation will expose firms to criminal prosecution. Law firms tracking the transition expect a wave of consolidation through the second half of 2026. International operators seeking European access face the same choice as smaller domestic firms. Recent EU crypto licensing rules suggest the framework will continue to favour larger, well-capitalised players. The market that emerges in late 2026 will be smaller and more concentrated. Whether it also becomes safer for retail users depends on enforcement after the deadline. [BeInCrypto]

Crypto.com integrates with TradingView to become an official broker.

Crypto.com Exchange has officially integrated with TradingView and become an official broker. Eligible retail and institutional users can execute trades directly from TradingView charts without switching between analysis and trading interfaces.

This integration covers not only cryptocurrencies but also supports diversified assets such as stocks, commodities, pre-IPO perpetual contracts, and tokenized real-world assets.

Eric Anziani, President and COO of Crypto.com, said that the integration combines two powerful platforms, enabling traders to instantly complete the transition from analysis to execution, obtaining deep liquidity and real-time market data directly from the charts.

[financefeeds]

Coinbase Opens PLUME Trading to New York State Users

On June 2, according to a Coinbase Markets announcement, Plume has officially opened trading for residents of New York State.

New York users can now buy, sell, exchange, send, receive, and store PLUME via the Coinbase website and its iOS and Android apps.

[PANews]

All three major U.S. stock indices closed higher, while COIN fell over 4.66%.

June 3rd news, according to Bybit data, the three major US stock indexes all closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.57%, the Nasdaq Composite up 0.61%, and the S&P 500 up 0.21%. Cryptocurrency stocks generally fell, with COIN (Coinbase) down 4.66% and HOOD (Robinhood) down 2.65%. [PANews]

Franklin Templeton and MoonPay open new door for BENJI fund

Franklin Templeton has added its BENJI tokenized money market fund to MoonPay Trade, giving institutional clients a new route between stablecoins and tokenized fund products. According to a statement released Tuesday, the partnership will allow institutional users to swap USDC, USDT, and other stablecoins for Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market fund via MoonPay’s on-chain trading platform.

The companies said the arrangement is also expected to serve as the basis for a deeper strategic relationship between Franklin Templeton and MoonPay. The integration gives BENJI holders a direct path into stablecoin liquidity, while also creating an on-chain entry point for institutions seeking exposure to tokenized money market products. Franklin Templeton said the setup can support treasury management, portfolio rebalancing, collateral use, and liquidity provision.

Sandy Kaul, Franklin Templeton’s head of innovation and digital assets, said tokenized money market funds become more useful when they can move at the speed and with the programmability of digital asset networks. Kaul added that working with MoonPay creates another trusted gateway between stablecoin liquidity and tokenized fund exposure. MoonPay said the deal also expands its institutional business beyond crypto, fiat, and stablecoins.

The announcement comes after Caroline Pham, former acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, joined MoonPay Institutional as CEO. Pham said tokenized money market funds can improve liquidity and capital efficiency when institutions can access the on-chain financial system. She said MoonPay’s partnership with Franklin Templeton on liquidity and collateral solutions illustrates the infrastructure now supporting institutional digital asset adoption.

MoonPay introduced MoonPay Trade in late May as an institutional on-chain execution platform. The company said the platform gives enterprises and institutions a single API to access more than 200 blockchains, cross-chain routing, trade execution, settlement, collateral movement, and tokenized asset transactions, all under compliance controls. MoonPay Trade also relies on infrastructure from recent MoonPay acquisitions, including Decent for cross-chain routing and liquidity, DFlow for trading technology, and Sodot for crypto key management.

Franklin Templeton, which reported about $1.74 trillion in assets under management in its latest quarterly report, has become one of the largest traditional asset managers active in tokenization. Its Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, known as FOBXX or BENJI, launched in 2021 as the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain. The asset manager has also expanded BENJI through other crypto partnerships, including work with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and Binance to support BENJI as off-exchange collateral. In April, Franklin Templeton agreed to buy 250 Digital, a CoinFund spinoff, to grow its crypto investment business. The firm is also working with Ondo Finance to tokenize a group of ETFs.

As previously reported by crypto.news, MoonPay launched a dedicated app inside ChatGPT’s App Store on May 22. The app allows users to create crypto purchase links without leaving OpenAI’s chatbot, while MoonPay described itself in its announcement as the first crypto onramp integrated in ChatGPT. As per the report, the MoonPay ChatGPT app supports Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana, USDC, and more than 100 other digital assets across over 30 chains. After the chatbot generates a checkout link, users complete KYC and payment on moonpay.com using a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or bank transfer.

Shell company linked to Musk exposed for purchasing land outside Houston; chip factory may be built here

A shell company linked to Musk has purchased properties in a rural area outside Houston, Texas in recent weeks, suggesting it may be finalizing a location for a planned $55.00B chip factory, Terafab. The Terafab project is jointly promoted by SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI, and aims to provide chip support for artificial intelligence and robotics projects, with a total investment of up to $119.00B.

Land registry records show that the company, named “WIT Tech LLC,” has purchased at least 6 plots of land in Grimes County, totaling more than 6000 acres (equivalent to nearly 10 square miles), with the transaction amount yet to be disclosed.

[Odaily]

After losing $46 million on a short position, Loracle switched to a long position; a counterparty opened a short position on HYPE and realized a $1 million paper profit.

On June 3rd, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, after incurring losses exceeding $46 million from short selling, whale Loracle (@loraclexyz) opened a new 82,195 HYPE long position with 2x leverage, worth $5.7 million, and simultaneously opened a 10x NEAR long position and is still adding to it. Meanwhile, whale "0x97f" opened a 270,000 HYPE short position with 10x leverage, worth $18.77 million, and currently has a floating profit of over $1 million. [PANews]

Was MicroStrategy and Saylor Right to Sell Some Bitcoin? The Maximalism Debate

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, sold 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million between May 26 and 31, marking its first crypto sale since 2022. Although the BTC sold represents only 0.004% of the company’s entire treasury, the move is symbolic for Bitcoin maximalists and detractors alike.

Strategy disclosed its transaction in a Form 8-K filing, noting that the proceeds were used to fund preferred stock distributions. Despite the sale, Strategy still holds 843,706 BTC valued at more than 60 billion dollars, with an average acquisition cost of 75,699 dollars per coin. The 32 BTC sale represents less than 0.004% of the entire treasury. Yet the symbolic weight runs heavy, since Michael Saylor built the company’s brand on aggressive, relentless Bitcoin accumulation and a public never-sell stance.

The transaction introduces nuance to that narrative for the first time in years. It tests whether the market views Strategy as a pure Bitcoin proxy or as a publicly traded company balancing many real financial obligations. That question sharply divides the crypto community, as the sale appears to some analysts as strategic mastery and to others as the first visible crack in an ironclad corporate maximalist position.

Several prominent analysts dismissed the move as either irrelevant or quietly positive for both Bitcoin and Strategy stock. Zynx downplayed the news, pushing back against early FUD and saying he remains bullish on MSTR. Michaël van de Poppe framed the sale as the resolution of an uncertainty, arguing that the FUD surrounding any Saylor Bitcoin sale is now over, which he considers structurally bullish.

Against Wall Street offered a deeper strategic read, calling the 32 BTC sale symbolic and designed to satisfy credit rating agencies to unlock far larger Bitcoin repurchases later. He summarized the sentiment as “Chess, not checkers,” suggesting that small tactical sales protect the broader accumulation engine. Other voices like Telcier, ImCryptOpus, and Jack echoed this perspective, noting that selective selling to fund dividends could strengthen confidence in financial instruments and support greater net Bitcoin accumulation.

The bearish camp focused less on the size of the sale and more on what it signals about Strategy’s evolving discipline. For analysts like Peter Schiff, the precedent matters far more than the dollar amount. 0xNobler warned that the company has started liquidating Bitcoin, a sentiment echoed by DeFiTracer, who called the first historical sale extremely bad for markets.

Crypto McKenna flagged the risk of perception, noting that Strategy has shifted from a “never sell” policy to selling to meet dividend obligations. His key concern is that if preferred stock obligations require additional sales over the coming quarters, market interpretation could worsen. Tradinglord also voiced concerns that once a public company introduces sales to meet financial commitments, the door opens to potentially larger disposals if conditions deteriorate.

Critics argue that even a negligible sale chips away at the “diamond hands” ethos that fueled Strategy’s brand. The contrast reflects a deeper tension: bullish analysts treat Bitcoin as an actively managed treasury asset, while bearish voices see it as an absolute store of value that must never be touched. With 843,706 BTC still on the balance sheet, Strategy’s position remains overwhelmingly intact, though how the company manages future obligations will likely shape how the market perceives corporate Bitcoin strategies moving forward.