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Ayo Akinyele, Chief Engineer at RippleX, has revealed a security upgrade strategy for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) designed to counter threats from artificial intelligence and quantum computing. RippleX is the developer community for the public blockchain project led by Ripple developers. Akinyele stated that the team cannot afford to be unprepared, noting that research with cryptographers has been underway since the 2024–2025 period. He explained that the team is implementing a hybrid signature method on the XRPL. This new architecture allows the blockchain to operate normally but will immediately switch to a protected cryptographic stack if a quantum attack is detected.

The United States and Iran are discussing moving up their memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony to June 18 from the originally scheduled date of June 20, Axios reported, citing sources.

Blockchain-based digital advertising platform EarnOS has secured $6 million in a Pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by 1kx, with participation from Coinbase and Circle Ventures.

Re, a decentralized reinsurance protocol, has announced that it secured a strategic investment from Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of Coinbase. The specific size of the investment was not disclosed.

Popular trader Ansem, who has 960,000 followers, has advised that now is not the right time to buy Bitcoin, suggesting there are more attractive altcoin candidates available. He noted that Bitcoin is at a very critical juncture, retesting the key weekly resistance zone between $65,000 and $66,000. According to Ansem, if Bitcoin manages to close a weekly or daily candle above this resistance, its next likely target would be a retest of $72,000. Conversely, a break below the $63,800 support level could lead to a test of the $60,000 mark. He added that he plans to take a short position if the market provides a clear entry opportunity, such as a period of short-term consolidation to absorb stop-loss orders before a downward breakout.

Stablecoin payment infrastructure company Trace Finance announced it has raised a $32 million Series A funding round with participation from investors including CoinFund and Coinbase Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to expand its business into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and to accelerate its efforts to acquire additional global licenses. Trace Finance also stated that it has processed over $10 billion in cumulative institutional cross-border transactions to date.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Iran will sign a nuclear deal, adding that if it does not, the negotiation process will start over from scratch.

a16z Crypto, the digital asset arm of venture capital firm a16z, has diagnosed that the cryptocurrency market has shifted into a "Show Me" era based on a "Proof-First" mechanism, where projects must demonstrate performance with clear data and products. In the past, whitepapers, token narratives, and proofs of concept were sufficient to attract market attention. However, with increased regulation and the full-scale entry of institutional investors, this vision-centric model is no longer effective, the firm explained. According to a16z, projects must now prove metrics such as actual on-chain transaction volume, active user numbers, and retention rates, rather than relying on simple partnerships or roadmaps. Consequently, the industry's communication logic has moved from "what we will build" to "what we have completed." The firm's analysis concluded that the weight of narrative and vision has plummeted from 80% in the past to just 20% now, and the market has entered a starkly competitive phase where results are paramount.

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who has an estimated net worth of around $5 billion, has called Bitcoin a better investment than real estate, CoinDesk reported. He stated his conviction that Bitcoin is the best long-term investment vehicle and that 70% of his portfolio is allocated to it. Salinas explained his view that traditional fiat currencies are set to lose purchasing power over time. He also shared that he persuaded his wife to take out a loan against her home to buy Bitcoin, acknowledging it as a controversial topic. Salinas stressed that everyone should consider converting at least some of their home equity into Bitcoin. He argued that since a home mortgage is often the largest investment and retirement fund for most people, they should find a way to invest that asset, whether large or small, into Bitcoin. This would allow them to benefit from potential appreciation in both their home equity and Bitcoin's value, he added.

The attacker behind the UXLINK exploit purchased 3,686 ETH with 6.5 million DAI over the past 30 minutes at an average price of $1,764, according to monitoring data from Lookonchain. The funds are now being laundered through the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that oil prices are plummeting. He reiterated his position that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened immediately after an agreement is signed.

Sports-related betting volume on Polymarket has more than doubled since the start of the World Cup, surging from under $130 million to over $300 million daily, The Block reported via its official X account. The Block added that betting on soccer, in particular, has seen its daily volume quadruple since the tournament began.

BMNP, the preferred stock of Ethereum-acquiring firm Bitmine (BMNR), debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 16. The stock opened at $91.49, an 8.5% discount to its $100 par value, and closed the day at $88.10, approximately 12% below par. BMNP, which is considered to be modeled after Strategy's (MSTR) STRC, is a preferred stock that pays a weekly dividend at a 9.50% annual rate. It is currently trading at $89.75, about 10% below its par value.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened mixed today. - S&P 500: +0.14% - Nasdaq: +0.63% - Dow Jones: -0.05%

A Bittensor (TAO) developer has released a proposal to change the validator reward system, aiming to convert chronic selling pressure from subnet tokens into net buying pressure, CoinDesk reported. In a proposal titled "Root Reborn," a developer known as unconst explained that Bittensor currently comprises dozens of subnets, each with its own cryptocurrency. The current system requires individual validators to swap their reward tokens for TAO, a process that creates persistent selling pressure and price declines for the subnet tokens. The proposed method would allow validators to directly choose which subnets to support and reinvest their rewards back into them. The developer noted that this would also help identify high-performing subnets. The code for the proposal has been published, and while it initially had some flaws, they have since been corrected.

Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) Aster (ASTER) has launched a campaign for new users offering bonuses of up to $100,000, the project announced on its official X account. Rewards will be granted to users who meet specific deposit and trading volume requirements. The campaign runs from 10:00 a.m. UTC on June 17 to 10:00 a.m. UTC on June 24, with rewards to be distributed within 14 business days after its conclusion. Market makers are excluded from participation, and users found engaging in wash trading, volume manipulation, or Sybil attacks will be disqualified.

New York Stock Exchange-listed e-commerce company DDC Enterprise (DDC) has purchased an additional 95 BTC, BitcoinTreasuries reported via X. The company now holds 2,899 BTC, ranking it 28th among all publicly traded companies for Bitcoin holdings.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a resolution opposing any pardon or sentence reduction for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), Decrypt reported. The effort is led by lawmakers including Democrat Rubén Gallego and Republican Cynthia Lummis. The senators argued that SBF has shown no remorse for his crimes and dismissed his claims that the prosecution was a form of political persecution. SBF officially requested a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump on June 8, and a U.S. appeals court rejected his appeal request on June 12. SBF has also reportedly mentioned plans to issue a new cryptocurrency after his release. Although Trump stated in January that he had no plans to pardon SBF, the senators appear to have introduced the resolution due to his history of pardoning other crypto-related figures, the outlet noted.

SpaceX (SPCX) has surged over 40% since its listing to reach a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 trillion, about double that of Bitcoin (BTC), according to an analysis by CoinDesk. The media outlet argued that SpaceX is competing with the crypto market for investment funds, as both fall under the same theme of innovative investments. The recent rally suggests that capital from risk assets and the attention of retail investors are shifting toward the AI sector. CoinDesk highlighted that SpaceX is no longer just a space company. Following its acquisition of Elon Musk's xAI in February, it secured the Grok model and data centers, transforming into an AI firm that competes with OpenAI and Anthropic. As an example of this capital competition, CoinDesk pointed to Ark Invest recently selling some of its existing assets to raise funds to invest in SpaceX.

Plasma (XPL) announced on X the launch of its premium membership service, Plasma One. According to CoinMarketCap, XPL is currently trading at $0.1054, up 9.72% over the past 24 hours.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) added crypto exchange Bybit to its Investor Alert List on June 17, Wu Blockchain reported. The list is published to warn the public about entities that are not regulated by the MAS or may be wrongly perceived as being licensed by the authority.

An address linked to the Bhutanese government deposited 533.2 BTC, worth $34.52 million, to Binance about 15 minutes ago, according to EmberCN. Such deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as a precursor to selling. EmberCN estimates that the Bhutanese government has sold a total of 10,451 BTC since June of last year, cashing out approximately $979 million at an average price of $93,738. The government's current holdings are now 1,750 BTC, valued at $113 million.

U.S. privately held mining company Ionic Digital announced that it mined 24.77 BTC in May and did not sell any of its holdings. The company held 2,861 BTC as of the end of May.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Aster (ASTER) announced through its official X account that it is expanding its buyback and burn ratio to 198%. Effective from 12:00 p.m. UTC on June 17, 99% of daily platform fees will be allocated to ASTER buybacks, with the treasury simultaneously burning an equivalent amount of tokens. The bought-back ASTER will be distributed to stakers. According to the announcement, this policy will run automatically until ASTER's total supply decreases from 8 billion to 3 billion. Additionally, a 50,000 USDT fee from each permissionless listing on the Aster spot market will be used for the buybacks.

U.S. investment bank Benchmark has maintained its 'Buy' rating and $270 price target for Coinbase (COIN) following the company's announcement of its goal to become a comprehensive exchange, The Block reported. Coinbase previously stated it would transform into a comprehensive infrastructure platform by unveiling a product suite that includes stocks, derivatives, AI, and consumer finance. Benchmark explained that Coinbase's announcement shows it is evolving from a strategy as a cyclically affected exchange to an infrastructure platform connecting the nascent on-chain economy with traditional finance. The bank added that Coinbase's recent expansion into prediction markets, AI agents, and its Layer 2 Base infrastructure are further evidence of its business expansion beyond spot trading.