Bitcoin Resilience Amid Regulatory Uncertainty (2026-06-10)

Citigroup lowered its 3-month gold target price to $4,000/oz

Citigroup lowered its 3-month gold price target to $4,000/oz from $4,300/oz, and maintained its 6-12 month gold price target at $5,000/oz.

Citigroup stated that despite negative short-term momentum, it expects gold prices to eventually rebound as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz ease.

[Odaily]

Jiang Zhuo’er: Strategy increases BTC holdings by 1,550 BTC; the belief that “buying BTC far exceeds selling” remains unshaken.

Jiang Zhuo’er posted on X, stating that after Strategy sold 32 BTC, it raised $181 million through the sale of common stock to purchase 1,550 BTC (approximately $100 million), with the remaining funds held as cash reserves. This move maintains MicroStrategy’s “unbroken faith in Bitcoin,” as the amount of BTC purchased far exceeds the amount sold—aligning with the principle of maximizing returns.

Jiang Zhuo’er also noted that the current cryptocurrency price is in an upward trend and indicated plans to wait for further price appreciation before considering any BTC sales.

He added that, as a Bitcoin-denominated “HODLer,” his default strategy is to hold 100% spot positions; thus, he has not opened any short positions. His swing trading is aimed solely at increasing his BTC holdings.

[Odaily]

Aave founder says protocol is “resilient,” but $8.45 billion deposit run exposes risks

In April this year, KelpDAO’s LayerZero bridge suffered a $292 million vulnerability attack, triggering an $8.45 billion deposit run on Aave within 48 hours, marking the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) capital outflow event to date. Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that the design of Aave V3 withstood market tests, demonstrating the network’s “resilience.”

However, independent data indicates that Aave’s survival largely depended on a $300 million emergency rescue, which included a 25,000 ETH collateral from Aave DAO and a personal injection of 5,000 ETH (approximately $8.4 million) from Kulechov.

Kulechov attributed the vulnerability to third-party infrastructure rather than core smart contracts, but analysts pointed out that the incident exposed deficiencies in Aave’s risk architecture and insurance mechanisms, leading to substantial bad debt (approximately $123.7 million in wETH) for the platform.

To prevent future systemic runs caused by bridge failures, Aave V4 will adopt a modular “hub-and-spoke” architecture, enabling automatic local risk adjustment and collateral freezing.

[CoinDesk]

Ripple and Coinbase press Senate as CLARITY Act faces delays

The crypto industry has intensified its push for the CLARITY Act after more than 200 companies and organizations signed a letter urging Senate leaders to schedule a floor vote, while analysts warn the bill is running short on time. A coalition that includes Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, Circle, Binance US, and Andreessen Horowitz sent a joint letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calling for immediate Senate consideration of the legislation. The effort was coordinated alongside the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber.

In the letter, the signatories argued that the CLARITY Act would establish clear rules for digital asset markets, define regulatory responsibilities, create registration pathways for crypto businesses, and preserve protections for software developers. The coalition stated that passing the bill would help keep innovation, investment, and jobs within the United States while supporting the country’s position in digital asset development. Representing nearly 3 million advocates across all 50 states, Stand With Crypto has made the legislation one of its primary policy priorities. Separately, the Crypto Council for Innovation publicly confirmed its support for the letter and urged Senate leaders to move the bill forward as soon as possible.

Although support for the bill continues to grow, recent assessments from industry analysts suggest the legislative timeline has become increasingly challenging. According to Galaxy Digital head of research Alex Thorn, the firm’s estimated probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law this year has been reduced from 75% to 60%. Thorn said the Senate must move the bill before lawmakers leave for their August recess, warning that the opportunity to complete the legislative process becomes much narrower afterward. He explained that the bill still requires Senate floor debate, an amendment process, and reconciliation between different committee versions before it can advance.

Galaxy also identified ethics provisions and illicit finance language as unresolved policy issues that could affect support among senators who remain cautious about crypto legislation. A separate assessment reported by crypto.news found that JPMorgan placed the odds of passage below 50%, adding to concerns that procedural constraints rather than outright opposition could become the biggest challenge facing the bill.

Despite those concerns, several influential lawmakers and administration officials have continued advocating for the legislation. Following the Senate Banking Committee’s approval of the CLARITY Act, Senator Cynthia Lummis said the bill had successfully cleared the committee and that the next step was a vote before the full Senate. Support has also come from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt, both of whom have publicly encouraged Congress to advance the legislation. Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott described the proposal as historic and said it would bring digital assets into a more transparent regulatory framework.

At the same time, competing legislative priorities may complicate the schedule. Several industry groups noted that Senate attention has increasingly turned toward artificial intelligence regulation, prompting crypto advocates to call for debate, amendments, and voting on the CLARITY Act without further delay. With committee approval already secured, the bill’s immediate future now depends on whether Senate leaders can dedicate floor time, resolve remaining policy disputes, and maintain enough bipartisan support to clear the chamber before the congressional calendar becomes even more restrictive.

[Stand With Crypto]

MetaMask rolls out AI wallet designed for swaps, perps, and onchain finance

MetaMask has launched an early access version of Agent Wallet, a new non-custodial product that allows AI agents to execute crypto transactions under user-defined controls across Ethereum-compatible networks and Hyperliquid. The wallet is designed for autonomous agents that can carry out tasks such as token swaps, perpetual futures trading, liquidity provisioning, and prediction market activity without requiring manual input for every step.

The launch places MetaMask among a growing list of crypto companies building tools for AI-powered finance. Over recent months, firms across the sector have introduced products that let AI systems interact with wallets, trading platforms, and payment networks while keeping final authority with human users.

Joe Lubin, founder of Consensys, said crypto infrastructure is well suited for machine-driven transactions because autonomous software can coordinate and verify activity through blockchain networks. “Agents will manage real capital and make real financial decisions, and the infrastructure underneath has to be worthy of that. MetaMask Agent Wallet is the first agent wallet built with comprehensive full stack security for that world: one where agents act with autonomy, security is mandatory, and the person behind the agent stays in control.” – Joe Lubin, Founder and CEO of Consensys and Co-Founder of Ethereum.

Built around preset permissions, Agent Wallet requires users to establish spending limits, approved transaction lists, and other operating rules before an AI agent can access funds, according to Consensys. Every transaction must first pass through a simulation process that checks the expected outcome before execution. Consensys said the wallet also integrates security monitoring from Blockaid, which scans transactions for potential scams and suspicious activity.

Where a transaction falls outside a user’s predefined rules or is considered risky, Blockaid can trigger a two-factor authentication request through email or push notification before execution proceeds. The announcement further added that MetaMask’s Transaction Protection program will cover eligible transactions deemed safe by the platform for up to $10,000, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

Support for Agent Wallet extends across several AI development environments, including OpenClaw, OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, and Nous Research Hermes Agent. Consensys said the product is framework agnostic and can work with different agent architectures. For now, access is limited to a small group of users through a command-line interface as part of an Early Access Program. A wider rollout is expected later this summer, according to the company.

Elsewhere in the industry, crypto firms have increasingly connected wallets and payment systems to AI agents. Gemini has introduced tools that let users connect AI trading bots to exchange accounts, while card issuers and wallet providers have explored dedicated financial accounts for autonomous software. A similar approach emerged in May when Base introduced Base MCP, a system that connects AI agents with Base Accounts. According to Base, the tool lets users conduct transfers, swaps, portfolio tracking, and other onchain actions through chat interfaces while requiring explicit user approval before any transaction is signed.

Base said its MCP system supports ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, and Cursor, and integrates with decentralized finance applications including Uniswap, Morpho, Moonwell, Aerodrome, and Avantis. The company maintained that private keys remain inaccessible to AI agents, with transaction approval staying under user control. Security concerns have continued to accompany the rise of agent-based crypto products. In a recent report, researchers from Google, Meta, Gray Swan AI, EmbraceTheRed, and several universities argued that AI agents should be treated as untrusted components and separated from sensitive systems and instructions.

[crypto.news]

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on crypto tax reform this Tuesday.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on digital asset tax reform this Tuesday at 2:00 PM. Attending experts include representatives from Fidelity, Coinbase, Coin Center, and New York University.

The committee will deliberate on seven discussion drafts covering stablecoin transactions, revenue recognition for mining and staking, crypto lending, wash sale rules, tax treatment of charitable donations, and voluntary disclosure programs for taxpayers. These drafts originate from the split versions of the “Digital Asset PARITY Act,” which was jointly introduced last December by Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford.

Previously, it was reported that the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee was circulating these seven digital asset tax discussion drafts, aiming to comprehensively reform the U.S. crypto asset tax framework.

[Foresight News]

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried officially files for a presidential pardon from Trump

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is pressing ahead with his bid for a presidential pardon, even after President Donald Trump said he has no plans to grant clemency. The former exec, 34, officially filed for a “pardon after completion of sentence,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney website.

Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 during the Biden administration on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges for stealing billions of customers’ funds from his now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX. He is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence and is in the process of trying to appeal the conviction.

Over the past year, Bankman-Fried has been active on his X account, praising some of Trump’s actions, including the pardon of ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. Bankman-Fried’s wooing does not seem to be having an effect on Trump.

In January, Trump told The New York Times in a wide-ranging interview that he has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried. On Monday, when asked for a comment about Bankman-Fried’s renewed effort, a White House spokesperson pointed The Block to previous comments Trump made in January in his interview with the Times.

Bankman-Fried is now at a low-security federal correctional facility in Santa Barbara, California, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Strategy proposal approved: STRC dividends to be paid biweekly, with the first payment date on July 15

Bitcoin Treasury Company Strategy Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor posted that STRC and MSTR shareholders have approved changing the STRC dividend payment frequency from monthly to semi-monthly.

Under the new arrangement, the first record date is June 30, and the first payment date is July 15.

[ChainCatcher]

Binance Futures will adjust the contract amount of SPCXUSDT Coin-Margined Pre-IPO Perp.

Binance Futures will adjust the contract amount of SPCXUSDT Coin-Margined Pre-IPO Perp at 16:30 on June 10.

The adjustment is expected to take 15 to 30 minutes, after which a 5-minute cancel-only period will commence. Users holding positions in this contract are advised to assess their current positions in advance to prepare for potential price volatility.

[ChainCatcher]

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are considering launching futures products linked to GPU rental prices.

On June 8, according to The Information, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are considering launching futures products tied to GPU rental prices.

[PANews]