US Strikes on Iran Push Bitcoin Below $63K as Markets Sour

US strikes on Iran send Bitcoin below $63,000, sparking broader market selloff US Central Command completed strikes on more than 80 Iranian sites on July 7 after Iran attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating the 2026 conflict. Bitcoin dropped below $63,000, reversing recent gains, as traders fled risk assets; Brent crude jumped 5% to $75. The move threatens to nullify BTC's double-bottom reversal thesis, with the 50-day EMA at $65,581 as immediate resistance. 12

JPMorgan launches $700M USDC vault on Ethereum, signaling institutional pivot JPMorgan Chase deployed a $700M USDC-denominated vault via its Kinexys protocol on Ethereum, holding U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, and repos. The move instantly ranks the bank fifth among vault curators and marks a shift from its earlier permissioned-blockchain focus, even as CEO Jamie Dimon had previously opposed stablecoins and DeFi. 3

USDT delisted from EU exchanges as Tether skips MiCA authorization Tether's USDT lost access to regulated EU exchange order books on July 1 after the MiCA transition ended, with platforms including Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com withdrawing the token for European users. Tether cited the requirement to hold at least 60% of reserves in European bank deposits as incompatible with its Treasury-focused reserves model, ending USDT's regulated presence in the EU despite its $186B global market cap. 4

FinCEN proposes KYC rules for stablecoin issuers under GENIUS Act FinCEN, alongside the OCC, Fed, FDIC, and NCUA, issued a joint NPRM extending Bank Secrecy Act customer identification obligations to permitted payment stablecoin issuers. The proposal, published June 30, requires written CIP programs modeled on bank and broker-dealer rules, with comments due August 21 and a 12-month implementation timeline after finalization. 5

RWA perpetuals hit record $100B monthly volume as markets explode from 29 to 600 Real-world asset perpetual futures surpassed $100 billion in June trading volume, according to DefiLlama, with average daily volumes above $6 billion. The number of RWA perp markets surged from 29 at the start of 2026 to over 600 by June, led by Hyperliquid ($210B 30-day volume), Aster ($51B), and Lighter ($41B). 6

Lazy Summer Protocol drained of $6M in share-price manipulation exploit On July 6, an attacker manipulated the share price of two Lazy Summer USDC vaults on Ethereum mainnet, extracting approximately $6.04M in a single atomic transaction. The exploit exploited an uncorrected NAV in a halted Silo market, allowing the attacker to deposit inflated vault tokens and withdraw real USDC. The Guardian Multisig and SEAL 911 responded; the DAO is evaluating next steps. 7

Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange supply drops to multi-year lows, signaling holder conviction Santiment data shows Bitcoin on exchanges hit its lowest level since 2017 at 6.58%, while Ethereum reached its lowest since 2015 at 4.32%. The decline reflects withdrawal to custody wallets and staking, reducing immediate selling pressure and historically correlating with long-term investor confidence, though not guaranteeing price increases. 8

SEC updates agenda to propose crypto safe harbor as early as July 2026 The SEC added 'Regulation Crypto' to its spring 2026 regulatory agenda, proposing safe harbors and exemptions for certain on-chain activities, including DeFi and tokenized securities. The proposal could exempt startups raising under $75M and is seen as a fallback if the Clarity Act fails to pass before the 2026 midterms. 9