Gate Ventures This Week's Crypto Market Update (June 29, 2026)

TL;DR

• The NASDAQ Composite Index plunged 4.70% to 25,297.62 as hardware costs surged, prompting investors to broadly exit AI-related positions; meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60%, signaling a clear shift toward defensive sectors.

• Core PCE inflation broke through the 4% threshold to 4.1%, while Q1 GDP was revised upward to 2.1%, further reinforcing market expectations for the 3.8% median policy rate path proposed by Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh.

• Brent crude fell below $72 per barrel as more than 330 vessels resumed partial transit through the Strait of Hormuz, easing supply concerns. However, a military attack on a container ship and the cancellation of a signing ceremony scheduled in Switzerland reignited geopolitical tensions.

• Altcoins continued to underperform, particularly long-tail tokens. Against a backdrop of a stronger dollar, rising hawkish Fed expectations, and capital rotation into AI stocks, overall risk appetite further cooled.

• STRC remained under pressure ahead of the key June 30 event, trading around $74, corresponding to an implied yield of approximately 15%. June 30 is significant because the ex-dividend date and dividend rate reset occur on the same day. Market focus is on whether Strategy can raise the dividend rate amid weakening BTC prices and shrinking balance sheet buffer capacity, thereby rebuilding market confidence.

• The SEC and CFTC are publicly soliciting market opinions to promote the harmonization of portfolio margin rules.

• Fomo completed a $75 million funding round to expand its consumer-facing onchain trading application.

• Allium completed a $40 million funding round to build blockchain data infrastructure for institutional clients.

• Ornn completed a $33 million funding round to build financial infrastructure for AI computing power.

Macro Overview

Tech Sell-Off Crushes NASDAQ; High PCE Inflation and Hawkish Fed Shift Fuel Rate Hike Expectations

Last week, U.S. stocks experienced a massive tech-led sell-off as market participants broadly exited crowded trades in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index plunged 4.70% to close at 25,297.62, marking its largest weekly drop since early April; the broader S&P 500 fell 2.05% to close at 7,353.95. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60% to close at 51,876.11, with capital rapidly rotating into defensive value sectors. As hardware input costs continued to climb, corporate margins came under pressure, further worsening market sentiment. Notably, Apple announced a 20% price increase on certain hardware products due to surging memory costs; OpenAI was also reported to have delayed its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) plans.

Domestic U.S. macroeconomic data further confirmed that inflationary pressures are becoming entrenched in the economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the May PCE price index rose 4.1% year-over-year, breaching the key 4% threshold for the first time since 2023; Core PCE rose 3.4% year-over-year and 0.4% month-over-month, remaining strong. Meanwhile, Q1 GDP was revised sharply upward to an annualized growth rate of 2.1%. However, consumer spending growth was revised down to 0.5%, while AI-related business equipment investment surged 15.8%, contributing 74% of overall economic growth on its own.

Under the leadership of new Chairman Kevin Warsh, the Fed’s hawkish monetary policy stance continued to dominate market pricing. Last week, the Fed voted unanimously (12-0) to keep the federal funds rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range. At the same time, policymakers sharply raised their 2026 PCE inflation forecast to 3.6% and raised the median year-end policy rate to 3.8%, implying that the market expects the next policy move to be a rate hike rather than a cut. Currently, the market has priced in roughly an 80% probability of at least one rate hike before December.

Geopolitical conditions also shifted rapidly. With the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, more than 330 vessels have resumed navigation, restoring daily shipping volume to half of pre-war levels. As a result, the energy risk premium quickly receded, with Brent crude falling below $72 per barrel on Friday and WTI crude dropping over 3% to close at $69.50 per barrel. However, ongoing actual military clashes and uncertainty over potential future transit fees levied by Iran keep market participants highly cautious about energy supply stability.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) released the summary of its June policy meeting, signaling further monetary tightening, with multiple members noting that domestic inflation is continuing to heat up. Having already raised its benchmark policy rate to 1.0%, the BOJ's hawkish stance further strengthened expectations for another rate hike later in 2026. This tightening bias triggered sharp volatility in Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei 225 falling 4.15% to close at 69,360.88, dragged down by a steep drop in domestic tech stocks.

Looking ahead to next week, despite shortened trading hours due to a U.S. holiday, market participants will closely monitor key employment data to assess whether the labor market remains tight. Key economic data include the JOLTS job openings report, ADP employment change, and the important June Jobs Report due Friday. Additionally, traders will watch the ISM Manufacturing PMI to evaluate U.S. supply chain conditions and industrial growth momentum against a backdrop of persistently tight global monetary policy. (1)

DXY

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rallied strongly last week, opening at 100.84 and climbing to 101.80, a one-year high, before paring gains to close at 101.366, up 0.52% on the week. The dollar’s strength was mainly driven by the repricing of hawkish Fed policy after the PCE price index breached the key 4.0% threshold, further reinforcing expectations of tight monetary policy. However, a sharp pullback in global crude oil benchmarks later in the week eased overall inflation concerns, limiting further dollar upside. (2)

US 10-Year and 30-Year Bond Yields

U.S. Treasury yields were volatile last week. The 10-year Treasury yield initially traded above 4.50% before declining later in the week, mainly due to the structural inflation relief effect from the sharp drop in global oil prices. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury issued 20-year bonds on June 22 with a high winning yield of 5.00%, further solidifying the high-rate environment. As the bond market continues to digest the Fed's hawkish policy path and persistently high core inflation, long-term borrowing costs remain elevated. (3)

Gold

Gold prices fell for the fourth consecutive week, opening with a gap down on Monday at $4,144.68, significantly lower than the previous week’s close. Under pressure from a strengthening dollar, gold hit a low of $3,990.00 mid-week before staging a modest technical rebound, eventually closing near $4,088.87, down 1.34% for the week. Additionally, Goldman Sachs lowered its year-end gold target to $4,900.00, further dampening market sentiment. (4)

Crypto Market Overview

Major Assets

BTC Price

ETH Price

ETH/BTC Ratio

Last week, BTC fell 6.4%, while ETH underperformed further, dropping 7.9%. The ETH/BTC ratio declined 2.2%, reflecting ETH’s widening relative weakness against BTC.

In terms of fund flows, spot BTC ETFs recorded a net outflow of $1.79 billion for the week, the highest single-week net outflow on record, and the seventh consecutive week of net outflows. Spot ETH ETFs also recorded net outflows of $273.3 million. (5)

Market sentiment deteriorated further, with the Fear & Greed Index falling from 23 last week to 12, plunging deeper into Extreme Fear territory. (6)

Total Market Cap

Crypto Total Marketcap

Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding BTC and ETH

Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding Top 10 Dominance

Last week, the total crypto market cap fell 5.4%; excluding BTC and ETH, it fell 3.7%. The broader altcoin market faced heavier selling pressure, with the total market cap excluding the top 10 tokens falling 6.4%.

STRC Performance

Last week, STRC traded $1.8 billion in volume but remained below par for the sixth consecutive week. Its price fell to around $74, approximately 26% below the $100 par value. (7)

Currently, market focus is on June 30, when STRC’s ex-dividend date and monthly dividend rate reset occur simultaneously. Eligible holders will receive the first semimonthly dividend of $0.48 per share on July 15. However, the dividend itself is not the market’s core concern, as its amount is less than 0.7% of STRC’s current price, far below STRC’s typical daily price swing of 2%–3% in June.

The market is more focused on whether Strategy will raise STRC’s dividend rate. Over the past four months, STRC’s nominal dividend rate has remained at 11.50%. However, as STRC’s price has fallen to around $73–$74, its implied yield has risen to approximately 15%. Even a modest increase to 12% or 12.50% may not be enough to push STRC back toward par value.

Ultimately, STRC’s current pressure depends less on this dividend rate reset and more on BTC’s price trend and the buffer capacity of Strategy’s balance sheet.

Currently, Strategy holds approximately 846k BTC. At a BTC price of around $59,888, the market value of its holdings is about $50.7 billion, below the estimated cost basis of approximately $64.07 billion. This means the asset buffer protecting preferred shareholders is narrowing. Meanwhile, MSTR’s persistently weak share price also limits the company’s ability to raise funds through ATM (At-the-Market) offerings.

Among Bitcoin Treasury Preferred Securities, STRC accounted for 75% of total volume last week, slightly down from 76.2% the previous week. The second-highest volume was Strive’s SATA, accounting for 11.4% of total volume. (8)

Top 30 Crypto Asset Performance

Source: Coinmarketcap and Gate Ventures, as of 29th June 2026

Last week, the average decline among the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap was 4.7%, with only AVAX posting gains.

Altcoins continue to underperform the broader market, with pressure coming from three main macro and liquidity factors: a stronger U.S. dollar, a more hawkish Fed policy path, and capital rotation into AI-related stocks.

These factors have jointly tightened global risk liquidity and weakened the appetite for holding high-beta crypto assets. Consequently, in the current risk-off environment, long-tail altcoins are more susceptible to downward pressure compared to BTC and large-cap tokens.

Key Crypto Industry Developments

Enso Launches RWA App Offering Access to 500+ Tokenized Assets

Enso, a Switzerland-based Web3 infrastructure platform focused on simplifying onchain execution across different protocols and applications, recently launched a Real World Asset (RWA) trading application. By integrating xStocks, Ondo Finance, and Anchorage Digital’s Porto, the app provides users access to over 500 tokenized assets, including U.S. stocks, ETFs, U.S. Treasuries, commodities, and stablecoins.

This launch indicates that the RWA market is moving beyond simple asset tokenization issuance toward the distribution and execution phase. Users not only need tokenized assets to exist, but also need a unified entry point that connects different issuers, trading venues, and liquidity pools to address market fragmentation. (8)

Australia’s ASIC Extends Crypto Licensing Transition Period to September

Australia’s financial regulator, ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), announced an extension of the temporary “no-action relief” policy for crypto asset firms from the original June 30, 2026 to September 30, 2026.

This move gives digital asset businesses more time to apply for or amend Australian Financial Services Licenses (AFSL) and, where necessary, seek market operating or clearing and settlement related permissions. The relief also expands to businesses operating through authorized representatives or intermediary arrangements with licensed entities, further broadening the path for crypto firms to transition into the formal regulatory framework.

This step indicates that Australia is not slowing down regulation but rather providing a longer transition period to guide crypto exchanges, tokenized custody platforms, and other digital asset service providers into the existing AFSL system and meet clearer compliance requirements. (9)

SEC and CFTC Seek Public Input on Portfolio Margin Rule Harmonization

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly initiated a public comment process to discuss whether further harmonization of portfolio margin rules across U.S. securities, futures, and swaps markets is appropriate.

Portfolio margin allows financial institutions to calculate margin based on the net risk of an entire portfolio rather than on each position individually, thereby improving capital efficiency and reducing capital requirements when related positions fall under different regulatory frameworks.

This initiative reflects the SEC and CFTC’s increasing regulatory coordination as traditional securities, derivatives, and crypto markets become more interconnected. Going forward, this reform could provide more efficient margin arrangements for institutions trading tokenized securities, crypto derivatives, and implementing cross-market hedging strategies, while continuing to prioritize investor protection and systemic risk control. (10)

Key Venture Capital Deals

Fomo Raises $75M to Scale Consumer Onchain Trading App

Fomo raised $75 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Union Square Ventures, Benchmark, and several angel investors, valuing the company at $550 million.

The funds will be used to expand the team and explore potential M&A opportunities. Fomo is building a social-first, fully onchain trading platform aimed at making token and app trading experiences closer to mainstream consumer fintech products.

This funding reflects renewed investor interest in consumer-grade crypto products, especially those that abstract away the complexity of wallets, blockchain networks, and liquidity, while allowing users to directly connect to onchain markets. (11)

Allium Raises $40M to Build Institutional Blockchain Data Infrastructure

Allium raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Amplify Partners, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and Theory Ventures, bringing total funding to approximately $61.5 million.

Allium provides blockchain data infrastructure that helps enterprises, banks, and asset managers clean, organize, and analyze onchain data. Its clients and users include Visa, BCG, Stripe, Uniswap Foundation, and Phantom.

This round reflects growing institutional demand for reliable crypto data infrastructure and data pipelines as stablecoins, tokenized assets, and onchain payments expand from retail applications to corporate and Wall Street use cases. (12)

Ornn Raises $33M Seed Round to Build AI Compute Financial Infrastructure

Ornn raised $33 million in a seed round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Galaxy Ventures, Nordstar, SV Angel, Vine Ventures, Crucible Capital, Link Ventures, and Box Group, aimed at building financial products for the GPU compute market.

The funds will support the development of Ornn Compute, a physical capacity layer that aggregates dedicated GPU computing power from various Neocloud providers. The company will also further develop the OCPI Benchmark, an index tracking real-time spot GPU pricing, providing pricing, financing, and risk hedging tools for the compute market.

This funding reflects growing investor conviction that AI computing power is becoming a commodity-like market. As GPU demand volatility increases and capital investment continues to rise, there is increasing demand from compute buyers, data center operators, and capital providers for standardized pricing, secondary market liquidity, and risk transfer infrastructure. (13)

Venture Capital Market Data

Last week, 18 financing deals were completed, with the Infrastructure sector being the most active, recording 10 deals; the Data and Social sectors each recorded 3 deals, and the DeFi sector recorded 2 deals.

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 29th Jun 2026

Total disclosed financing last week amounted to $210.3 million, with an additional 5 deals not disclosing amounts. Among them, the DeFi sector had the highest financing volume, raising $114 million. The single largest deal was Fomo’s $75 million raise.

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 29th June 2026

In the fifth week of June 2026, total crypto market financing reached $210.3 million, a massive 432% increase from the previous week.

About Gate Ventures

Gate Ventures is the venture capital arm of Gate Group, focusing on investments in decentralized infrastructure, ecosystems, and applications, committed to reshaping the world in the Web 3.0 era. Gate Ventures collaborates with global industry leaders to empower teams and startups with innovative thinking and capabilities, redefining the interaction model of society and finance.
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Reference:

1. IG Global Week Ahead Economic Preview,

2. DXY Index, TradingView,

3. US 10 Year Bond Yield, TradingView,

4. Gold Price, TradingView,

5. BTC & ETH ETF Inflow,

6. BTC Greed and Fear Index,

7. STRC Dashboard,

8. Enso launches RWA app with access to 500+ tokenized assets,

9. Australia’s ASIC extends crypto licensing relief to September,

10. SEC and CFTC seek public input on portfolio margin harmonization,

11. Fomo raises US$75M to scale consumer onchain trading app,

12. Allium raises US$40M to build blockchain data infrastructure for institutions,

13. Ornn raises US$33M to build financial infrastructure for AI compute,