Crypto News Recap: CFTC Rules, BTC Near $62K, Stablecoin Updates

The CFTC unveiled proposed rules outlining which prediction market contracts would be permitted under federal law. Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee discussed digital asset taxation after releasing seven Republican-backed bills.

A Washington man was sentenced to five years in prison for helping facilitate a $100 million crypto laundering scheme. Kalshi introduced mandatory employment verification and other measures to reduce insider trading risks. The EU expanded sanctions on Russia-linked crypto entities.

In banking, MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC plan live commercial transactions using a jointly issued stablecoin. Botanix said it will wind down its Bitcoin Layer 2 network, urging users to withdraw assets before July 9. New York regulators proposed changes to align the state's stablecoin framework with the GENIUS Act.

K33 Research noted that more than half of bitcoin's circulating supply is now underwater, historically a bear-market signal. BTC traded around $62,000 as ETF outflows, geopolitical uncertainty, and AI-driven capital rotation weighed on sentiment.

Other developments: Curve Finance launched Llamalend v2 on Optimism; Pyth launched a suite of 24/7 index products covering equities, commodities, and energy; Ripple introduced a toolkit for agentic payment apps on the XRP Ledger; Benchmark maintained a Buy rating on Securitize with a $16 price target as it moved closer to a NYSE listing.