MicroStrategy purchases additional Bitcoin as price reaches 1 million
**Weekly Recap Highlights**
**Bernstein Predicts Bitcoin at $1 Million by 2033**
In this week’s news, Bernstein has forecasted that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $1 million by 2033, despite ongoing market uncertainty. The firm also anticipates Bitcoin hitting $200,000 during this cycle, driven by ETF-related demand.
**Ethereum ETFs Expected to Launch in July**
Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, has indicated that Ethereum ETFs could go live in July, following recent SEC filings and market preparations.
**MicroStrategy Plans Further Bitcoin Purchases**
MicroStrategy is looking to acquire more BTC, increasing its purchase plans from $500 million to $700 million through a convertible notes offering.
**Crypto Market Movements**
Pepe Coin (PEPE) experienced an 11% surge in 24 hours, reaching $0.0000129, with trading volume spiking to $1.27 billion. Toncoin (TON) similarly hit a new all-time high of $8.13, while Mantra (OM) achieved a record high of $1.0924 amid expansion in the UAE.
The NFT market saw a 17% increase in sales, totaling $145.3 million. Bitcoin led this surge with a 50% increase in NFT sales, surpassing Ethereum in volume.
**Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange Balances Hit Lows**
Bitcoin’s price dropped to $66,000 ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum balances on exchanges reached four-year lows, dropping below 2.3 million and 16 million respectively, as investors withdrew assets.
**Crypto ETF Developments and Regulatory Actions**
BTC ETF outflows hit $200 million on June 11, preceding the Federal Reserve’s inflation data release.
In regulatory news, Nigeria dropped tax charges against Binance executives Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan. In Thailand, the SEC revoked Zipmex’s operating license due to compliance issues.
In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned of a rise in crypto romance scams, where fraudsters develop relationships to defraud victims. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a Polyus employee for laundering money via crypto.
**Blockchain Investments and Innovations**
Paradigm announced an $850 million fund for early-stage crypto projects. Blockchain startups secured $109.3 million in major funding rounds.
Fireblocks expanded its connectivity through a partnership with Coinbase International Exchange, while Ripple launched a new blockchain fund targeting the Asian market.
**Crypto Scams and Security Breaches**
OKX customers suffered from a SIM swap attack, and hackers stole over $22 million from British exchange Lykke. Crypto scammers impersonated Binance co-founder Yi He, defrauding victims of $210,000. UwU Lend lost $19.3 million in a hack exploiting a smart contract vulnerability.
**Innovations and Partnerships**
Nuffle Labs, a spin-off of NEAR Foundation, raised $13 million for blockchain development. IOTA Foundation’s Web3 protocol was selected for the EU Blockchain Sandbox Initiative. Polygon launched a new grants program with 1 billion POL and committed 35 million MATIC to support network projects.
**Further Reading**
For more details on these stories, including a teenage crypto executive’s critical view on NFTs and predictions for significant industry changes, read more [here].
