Corporate Bitcoin Strategies Diverge Amid Market Shifts (2026-06-03)

Helius CEO Clarifies Zcash Outage Rumors: Network Operating Normally, Only Block Explorer Node Abnormal

Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz stated that rumors about “the Zcash network has stopped producing blocks for over 4 hours” are inaccurate.

He explained that the Zcash mainnet did not go down; the issue only occurred with nodes connected to some block explorers, causing the explorers to display incorrect information and leading to market misjudgment.

[PANews]

Binance winds down centralized NFT service, gives users one month to withdraw assets

Binance is closing its centralized non-fungible token service effective July 3, 2026, and has directed users to withdraw transferable assets to Binance Wallet or another compatible external wallet before the deadline, or lose access to them.

The exchange confirmed the change on Wednesday, framing it as an “upgrade” rather than a wind-down. NFTs not withdrawn by 23:59 UTC on July 3 will become inaccessible on the Binance Exchange platform, the announcement said.

Non-transferable NFTs — including course completion certificates issued through Binance Academy — cannot be withdrawn and will also go dark after the deadline. Binance said Academy will issue PDF certificates to affected holders as a substitute.

To encourage prompt action, Binance is reimbursing withdrawal fees for up to 100,000 users who move non-CR7 NFTs to Binance Wallet via BNB Smart Chain or Ethereum between June 3 and June 17. Each qualifying user receives 1 USDC, roughly the cost of one onchain withdrawal transaction, credited to their account by July 3.

CR7 NFT holders face a separate but parallel reimbursement window. Withdrawals on BNB Smart Chain completed by July 3, 23:59 UTC, will be refunded, with credits arriving by July 19.

The exit continues a pattern of Binance steadily unwinding its NFT ambitions. Back in April 2024, the exchange ended support for Bitcoin Ordinals and, in September 2023, dropped the Polygon network from its NFT marketplace.

The broader NFT market has offered little reason to stay. Total annualized NFT trade volume across all chains stood at roughly $5.5 billion in 2025 — down from more than $50 billion at the 2022 peak, according to The Block’s data.

Q4 2025 volume came in at $1.25 billion, a 28% drop quarter-over-quarter, with December alone generating just $303 million. Several major platforms — Nifty Gateway, Kraken NFT, X2Y2 — shut down entirely in that period. The Block Research’s 2026 outlook projected no revival, forecasting that NFT marketplace volumes would continue declining.

[The Block]

UK regulators warn football clubs over unauthorized crypto sponsorship deals

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sent letters to football clubs, including the Premier League, warning that sponsorship deals with unauthorized crypto firms and trading platforms may violate financial services laws and pose risks to fans. Fiona Mackinnon-Miller, Head of Department at the FCA, stated that there has been an increase in clubs partnering with unauthorized firms, some of which appear to be operating illegally.

Lucy Castledine, Director of Consumer Investments at the FCA, pointed out that these firms may be breaking UK law by offering services without the proper authorization. Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport, has backed the FCA’s actions.

Furthermore, the FCA stated it is coordinating with the government, the Premier League, and the new independent football regulator to address the issue of unauthorized financial services marketing in professional football.

[Odaily]

Trump: Working to reach an agreement with Iran; Iran has agreed not to possess nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Trump stated in a podcast interview: “We are reaching an agreement with Iran. Iran has agreed not to possess nuclear weapons. Iran’s Supreme Leader is negotiating with the U.S. and has granted approval for these negotiations.”

Trump mentioned that he might meet Iran’s Supreme Leader at some point—a meeting he had never previously considered having with any Iranian leader. The sanctions against Iran could be lifted by U.S. Labor Day.

U.S. Labor Day falls on Monday, September 7, 2026.

[PANews]

Analyst: Trump’s latest remarks actually indicate that the U.S. will not make concessions.

After Trump’s latest remarks on Iran, Investinglive analysts stated that it appears he is trying to maintain the position that Iran must make some fundamental commitments regarding its nuclear arrangements before any agreement is signed. I’m not sure whether Iran will agree to this. And even if they ultimately accept this condition, I don’t believe Iran will consistently uphold this commitment.

In addition, Trump’s comments about U.S. naval blockade measures are also intriguing. This once again signals that they will not back down—especially since such a naval blockade was supposed to be one of Iran’s bottom lines for reaching an agreement. Trump’s full statement was: “I don’t know. I mean, I think the blockade on Iran might end before Labor Day, but I doubt it. I think we’ll end it. I think this matter will be resolved very soon.”

For reference, U.S. Labor Day falls on September 7—meaning this situation will persist for another three months.

[Odaily]

STRC Falls Below $97 as Latest Bitcoin Sale Challenges MicroStrategy’s Capital Turbine

MicroStrategy sold 32 Bitcoin (BTC) between May 26 and May 31 to help fund dividends on its preferred stock, its first such sale since 2022. Now, its STRC shares are trading below their $100 par value. The sale was small next to the 843,706 BTC the company holds. Still, it raised a sharper question for investors: Can MicroStrategy keep buying Bitcoin if the engine behind those purchases stalls?

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, built its treasury through capital markets rather than business operations. Its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, known as STRC, became the main tool for that effort. STRC pays an 11.50% annual dividend and is designed to trade near $100. When it holds that level, MicroStrategy can issue more shares at par and turn the cash into Bitcoin. The preferred program has funded more buying than spot ETFs this year.

During the latest reporting period, the company sold no new STRC shares. Issuance stalled while the stock sat below par, cutting off its cheapest route to fresh Bitcoin and adding to talk of a weakening funding loop.

The funding machine has not stopped completely. MicroStrategy sold 801,994 MSTR shares in the same week, raising about $128 million in net proceeds. It also keeps a $900 million cash reserve for dividends and interest. That cushion means near-term obligations look covered.

The strain shows in the mix. MicroStrategy is leaning on common stock and reserves instead of issuing STRC at par, and it reached for its Bitcoin to cover a payout. Executives have previously detailed when it sells Bitcoin, framing such moves as a last resort. The company also raised the STRC dividend earlier this year to defend the peg. Critics see a turning point worth a real selling debate.

MicroStrategy maintained the 11.50% rate for June and left billions in STRC capacity open for later sales, signaling confidence the model recovers once Bitcoin firms up. Bitcoin traded near $67,252 on June 3, below MicroStrategy’s average purchase price of $75,702, according to the company filing. With the treasury underwater on paper and STRC below par, the coming weeks will test whether the preferred engine restarts or MicroStrategy keeps reaching for other funding.

George Santos under DOJ investigation over Kalshi trades tied to Trump speech

Federal investigators have opened a probe into former U.S. Representative George Santos after suspicious prediction market trades allegedly generated tens of thousands of dollars around President Donald Trump’s February State of the Union address. The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating Santos after prediction market platform Kalshi detected unusual trading activity linked to a contract on whether he would attend the speech.

Kalshi froze Santos’ account and referred the matter to regulators after reviewing the trades. Santos allegedly wagered that he would not attend the event despite posting a video on X indicating that he planned to be present in the gallery. As President Trump delivered his address, Santos posted from an airport, after which the market’s odds on his attendance dropped sharply. People familiar with the matter said that Kalshi has sought to interview Santos as part of its internal investigation, but the report added that Santos has not participated in those requests. When contacted by the outlet, Santos responded, “Well, that’s news to me.”

Coming months after Kalshi disciplined political candidates for trading on their own races, the Santos case places renewed attention on how prediction markets police participants who may possess direct knowledge of an event’s outcome. Back in April, Kalshi suspended three federal candidates after an internal review found they had placed bets on their own election contests. Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, said at the time that candidates capable of influencing market outcomes violated exchange rules regardless of the size of their trades. Those earlier cases resulted in exchange penalties but did not lead to referrals to the DOJ or the CFTC. The Santos matter followed a different path, with Kalshi freezing the account and escalating the issue to regulators.

Kalshi has recently expanded measures intended to prevent market abuse, introducing screening tools designed to stop users from trading on events in which they are directly involved. Attention from regulators has increased as several high-profile cases have raised questions about the use of nonpublic information in event-based contracts. In April, federal prosecutors charged a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier with making roughly $409,881 from Polymarket bets tied to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Authorities alleged the trader possessed advance knowledge connected to the operation.

More recently, the DOJ and the CFTC charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading tied to prediction markets. Prosecutors alleged that Spagnuolo used confidential Google search ranking data to place $2.7 million in bets on Polymarket, generating approximately $1.2 million in profit before the information became public. CFTC Enforcement Director David Miller said in May that insider trading laws apply to prediction markets and rejected arguments that event contracts exist outside existing market abuse rules.

Congress has also stepped up oversight. In May, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer launched an inquiry into insider trading safeguards at Kalshi and Polymarket, seeking information about monitoring systems and enforcement practices. As scrutiny has intensified, both Kalshi and Polymarket have introduced additional compliance measures. Kalshi has focused on identifying participants with direct involvement in market events, while Polymarket has revised its rules, expanded surveillance programs, and hired blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to support investigations into insider trading and market manipulation.

[NPR]

Doubao plans to launch “Doubao Professional Edition” for professionals; the product is currently still in the testing phase.

June 3rd news, according to an official statement from Doubao, Doubao plans to launch “Doubao Pro” to meet high-end productivity needs such as software development, data analysis, professional design, process automation, financial analysis, and scientific research. This product is currently still in the testing phase, and the official launch time and specific service content will be announced through official channels.

The official emphasized that core functions for general users, including search and Q&A, text creation, image generation, and voice and video conversations, will continue to be free and will not affect existing user experience and habits. At the same time, Doubao will continue to provide new models, new capabilities, and experience upgrades to free users in the future, and some functions of the Pro version will also offer a certain free quota.

In addition, Doubao specifically clarified that the recent claims circulating online about “forcing users to purchase memberships by degrading the experience of basic functions” are false information.

[PANews]

Strive: Plans to issue additional SATA to increase holdings of 175,000 BTC

Jeff Walton of Strive (@PunterJeff) stated that Strive is raising funds at a rate of $8.10 million per day; if this capital were used to pay dividends, it could support a $15.5 billion SATA token issuance.

Jeff Walton noted that this amount of capital is equivalent to purchasing approximately 175,000 BTC at the current price, which would increase its total BTC holdings to 10 times its current size.

[Odaily]

Trezor says Safe 7 funds are safe after Ledger finds chip flaw

Trezor and Tropic Square have disclosed a TROPIC01 chip flaw found by Ledger Donjon, but said the Trezor Safe 7 wallet and user funds remain secure. The vulnerability was found during an independent audit of the TROPIC01 Secure Element chip. Ledger Donjon, the white-hat research team at rival hardware wallet maker Ledger, carried out the review. Tropic Square gave the chip to Ledger Donjon for testing.

Trezor said the flaw affects one of three independent security layers inside the Safe 7 wallet. According to the disclosure, Ledger Donjon told Tropic Square in January 2026 that it had carried out a laser fault injection attack under lab conditions. The attack allowed researchers to extract some chip secrets and bypass firmware signature checks. Tropic Square disclosed a vulnerability in the TROPIC01 Secure Element chip used in Trezor Safe 7. It has been identified based on findings from the Ledger Donjon team’s independent audit. Important: Your funds remain safe and secure. Trezor Safe 7 has not been hacked.

Tropic Square later found another way to use the same weakness. That method could expose another secret tied to PIN-related chip functions. Trezor said users do not need to take action. The company said a compromise of TROPIC01 alone does not give access to a user’s PIN, wallet or funds. “Because the Trezor Safe 7 was built with multiple independent security layers, a vulnerability in TROPIC01 does not put user funds at risk,” Trezor CEO Matej Žák said.

The issue sits at the hardware level, so it cannot be fixed through a normal remote firmware update. Trezor and Tropic Square still chose public disclosure after reviewing Ledger Donjon’s findings. The Safe 7 uses TROPIC01 with two other chips. Its design combines TROPIC01, OPTIGA Trust M and STM32U5 to protect PIN checks, device authenticity and wallet creation.

The disclosure gives a rare public view of rival security testing in the hardware wallet market. Ledger Donjon has previously reviewed Trezor devices and published research on physical attack routes. As previously reported by crypto.news, Ledger Donjon earlier said Trezor Safe devices still faced physical attack risks linked to microcontroller use. Trezor said at the time that user funds remained safe when devices came from official sources.

Separate crypto.news coverage also warned that some hardware wallets using ESP32 chips faced private key theft risks. That report showed that chip-level flaws remain a key security concern for crypto custody devices. Tropic Square markets TROPIC01 as an open and auditable secure element. The company says the chip lets researchers inspect and test hardware that would often remain closed under non-disclosure terms. The new flaw shows that open testing can reveal weaknesses before attackers do. It also shows that hardware wallet security depends on full device design, not only one chip.

For users, the main guidance remains simple. They should buy devices from official channels, keep firmware updated, protect recovery phrases offline and avoid using any wallet that shows signs of tampering.

Strive: Plans to issue additional SATA tokens to acquire 175,000 BTC

Jeff Walton of Strive (@PunterJeff) stated that Strive is raising funds at a rate of $8.10 million per day; if this capital were used to pay dividends, it could support a $15.5 billion SATA token issuance.

Jeff Walton noted that this amount of capital is equivalent to purchasing approximately 175,000 BTC at the current price, which would increase its total BTC holdings to 10 times its current size.

[ChainCatcher]

Bitget launches its global affiliate recruitment program with a total prize pool of 1,000,000 USDT

Bitget announced the launch of its global agent recruitment program “Score Your 40%”, which will be rolled out globally during June with a total prize pool of 1 million USDT. The campaign aims to empower content creators and community leaders to better achieve community growth and value conversion.

The Bitget agent program has a highly inclusive low barrier to entry, with applicants only needing to have 100 social media followers or 500 community members to join. New agents can receive exclusive incentives of up to 600 USDT and participate in the distribution of the million-dollar prize pool. They can also enjoy a permanent commission rate of up to 40% on the first day of approval.

[Foresight News]

BlackRock deposited 6,005.46 BTC to Coinbase, worth approximately $403 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, BlackRock deposited 6,005.46 BTC into Coinbase, valued at approximately 403 million USD.

[Foresight News]

US President Trump: Reached an agreement with Iran, Iran has agreed not to possess nuclear weapons

U.S. President Trump: We are reaching an agreement with Iran. Iran has agreed not to possess nuclear weapons.

[Jinshi]

Revolut plans to launch its licensed banking services in the U.S. in 2026.

On June 3, news emerged that the fintech company Revolut plans to launch banking services in the United States in 2026.

At that time, the company will offer deposit accounts insured by the FDIC and integrate features including stablecoins, multi-currency deposits, and cryptocurrency trading.

[PANews]