Gate Ventures Weekly Crypto Market Update (July 6, 2026)

Summary

• As the US and Iran agree to cease hostilities and resume peace negotiations, the severe shipping risk premium surrounding the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway has eased, fueling a strong rebound in U.S. stocks.
• The ADP report shows private sector employment growth slowing to 165k, while initial jobless claims rose to 238k, indicating that the U.S. domestic labor market is gradually returning to normal.
• Markets are bracing for a volatile macro environment next week, with upcoming CPI data and FOMC meeting minutes set to directly test the resilience of global asset valuations.
• The cryptocurrency market rebounded last week, with ETH leading the gains and long-tail assets also broadly recovering. BTC rose 6.8%, ETH rose 13.6%, pushing the ETH/BTC ratio up 6.3% to 0.028.
• Following Strategy's announcement of its Digital Credit Capital Framework, STRC recovered to $87.8, with investors responding positively to the company's clearer liquidity support plan, which includes $2.55 billion in USD reserves, a 12-month minimum liquidity target, an increased STRC dividend rate to 12.00%, up to $1 billion in Digital Credit Securities buybacks, and an optional $1.25 billion BTC monetization plan.
• Standard Chartered enters the first MiCA register update after the ESMA deadline.
• Solana Foundation launches protocol-level governance framework.
• Extended completes $12.5 million strategic funding round led by eToro.

Macro Overview

Easing Geopolitical Rifts and Weakening Labor Market Reignite Policy Easing Expectations, Wall Street Rises Across the Board

This week, the U.S. stock market experienced a broad-based, relief-style rally, with investors warmly embracing a significant cooling of geopolitical risks and softening domestic economic indicators. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 1.55% to close at 7,467.92 points; the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.10% to 25,828.87 points. Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average steadily climbed 1.15% to 52,472.69 points. This widespread positive momentum stems from a major diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East, which immediately removed a cost-push inflation premium that had been suppressing equity valuations for months. As growth risks recede and clear signs of structural normalization emerge in global energy transport corridors, institutional funds have actively flowed back into risk assets.

U.S. domestic labor market indicators released this week show that overall employment growth momentum is gradually slowing, providing new flexibility for macroeconomic policy. The ADP employment report showed the private sector added 165k jobs in the month, below the consensus estimate of 186k. Meanwhile, weekly initial jobless claims edged up to 238k. Although the fundamental labor market remains solid, these incremental signs of weakness suggest that historically tight monetary policy is effectively cooling hiring demand. This cooling trend may provide the central bank with necessary breathing room later this year.

Following the successful agreement between the U.S. and Iran to cease hostilities and resume formal peace negotiations, geopolitical tensions in global commodity networks have significantly eased. This historic diplomatic stabilization immediately defused the threat of a blockade around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, restoring shipping confidence. Consequently, energy market volatility has narrowed sharply, with global crude oil benchmarks quickly stabilizing. Brent crude fell below $70.00, reflecting the sudden dissipation of a heavy war risk premium.

Next week, market participants' focus will shift to key inflation data, which will directly test the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. Investors will closely analyze the upcoming CPI report, with estimates suggesting a monthly increase of up to 0.9%, and an annual rate of 3.4%. Traders will also carefully dissect the latest FOMC meeting minutes and the ISM services index to assess U.S. domestic economic momentum amid evolving diplomatic conditions. (1)

DXY

The U.S. dollar index edged lower last week, with the DXY index opening at 101.37 and closing at 100.86, down 0.50% for the week. This decline was primarily driven by the significant diplomatic agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which notably weakened safe-haven demand for the dollar. However, supported by the structural resilience of the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve's sustained high-interest-rate narrative, the dollar overall remained firm. (2)

US 10-Year and 30-Year Bond Yields

U.S. Treasury yields edged lower last week, as fixed-income markets stabilized amid the sudden easing of geopolitical concerns in the Middle East. Across the yield curve, long-term borrowing costs declined slightly, with the 10-year yield slipping 1 basis point from its opening level to 4.485%; the 30-year yield also fell 1 basis point to close at 4.985%. Bond market participants largely ignored the mixed employment data, awaiting clearer policy signals. (3)

Gold

Gold prices rose strongly last week, reversing recent consecutive declines, climbing 3.20% from an opening level of $4,086.46 to close at $4,187.30 per ounce. Despite a clear dissipation of short-term war risk premiums, the precious metal fully benefited from the weakening dollar environment. Additionally, persistent investor concerns about domestic structural inflation trends and long-term fiscal sustainability provided strong macroeconomic tailwinds for this wave of commodity buying. (4)

Crypto Market Overview

Major Assets

BTC Price

ETH Price

ETH/BTC Ratio

BTC rebounded 6.8% last week, while ETH performed even more strongly, rising 13.6%. The ETH/BTC ratio increased by 6.3% to 0.028, reflecting a relative return of strength for ETH.

In terms of flows, spot BTC ETFs recorded net outflows for the eighth consecutive week, totaling $526.6 million for the week. Spot ETH ETFs also saw a small net outflow of $13.7 million. (5)

Market sentiment remains in the extreme fear zone, with the Fear and Greed Index rising from 12 last week to 24, indicating a slight improvement in risk appetite despite continued ETF outflows. (6)

Total Market Cap

Crypto Total Marketcap

Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding BTC and ETH

Crypto Total Marketcap Excluding Top 10 Dominance

The total cryptocurrency market cap rose 6.8% last week, while the market cap excluding BTC and ETH rose 4.8%. The altcoin market excluding the top ten coins performed even better, rising 7.7%, indicating a broader recovery in long-tail crypto assets.

STRC Performance

Last week, STRC recorded trading volume of $931 million, trading below par value for the sixth consecutive week. Following Strategy's announcement of its Digital Credit Capital Framework, STRC recovered to $87.8, with the market reacting positively to clearer liquidity support and capital management plans.

Under the new framework, Strategy introduced a USD reserve policy, holding approximately $2.55 billion in reserve funds, equivalent to about 17.4 months of preferred stock dividend and debt interest coverage. The company also set a minimum liquidity target, maintaining at least 12 months of expected preferred stock dividend and interest coverage, with any reductions below that level requiring board approval.

Strategy also increased the STRC dividend rate to 12%, applicable to semi-monthly dividend cycles with record dates on or after July 1, 2026, aiming to support STRC's trading price toward its $100 par value. Additionally, the company authorized up to $1 billion in buybacks of its Digital Credit Securities (including STRC, STRF, STRD, and STRK), and if deemed accretive, STRC is expected to be the primary buyback target.

Furthermore, Strategy authorized up to $1 billion in MSTR common stock buybacks and initiated a BTC Monetization Program. Under this program, the board authorized the sale of up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin to build USD reserves, pay dividends or interest, supplement liquidity, and support accretive buybacks. However, any BTC sales are optional and subject to market conditions, liquidity needs, tax and accounting considerations, and management's judgment of long-term value. (7)

Among Bitcoin reserve preferred securities, STRC accounted for 82.1% of total weekly trading volume, up from 76% the previous week. In second place was Strive's SATA, with a 7.1% share. (8)

Top 30 Crypto Asset Performance

Source: Coinmarketcap and Gate Ventures, as of 6th July 2026

The top 30 cryptocurrencies averaged a significant gain of 8.2% last week, with ADA and BCH leading.

Cardano led the market with a 31.8% gain, benefiting from improved on-chain activity and renewed interest from the upcoming RealFi upgrade.

Since June 23, active wallet addresses have increased by 14,783, and Cardano's RealFi Phase 1 testnet went live on July 6, opening the first public testing window. The founder described it as the network's largest upgrade to date. The initiative aims to connect DeFi with real-world lending and credit markets by mobilizing idle on-chain liquidity, with mainnet deployment expected shortly after the testnet. (9)

Key Crypto Industry Developments

Standard Chartered Enters ESMA's First Post-Deadline MiCA Register Update

Standard Chartered has been included in the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) first MiCA register update following the end of the EU transition period. A total of 36 new crypto asset service providers also received licenses, including FalconX, Sygnum Europe, and Ronin EM. This update brings the total number of registered CASPs from 243 in the previous update to 280. Additionally, Standard Chartered obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license, allowing it to issue electronic money and provide payment services in Europe. (10)

Solana Foundation Launches Protocol-Level Governance Framework

The Solana Foundation has introduced Solana Governance Proposals, a new protocol-level governance framework that allows validators with at least 100k SOL in delegated stake to submit proposals, bringing major network decisions on-chain. Proposals need support from at least 15% of active stake to enter formal voting, and final approval requires a two-thirds supermajority of voting stake. Technical implementation will continue separately through Solana Improvement Documents. (11)

Russia Prepares Wider Digital Ruble Rollout from September 1

The Central Bank of Russia stated that the digital ruble remains on track for expanded rollout starting September 1, with systemically important banks and large retailers expected to be the first to integrate, followed by phased adoption to broader applications between 2027 and 2028. The digital ruble is positioned as a third form of Russian currency alongside cash and bank deposits. Users can open digital ruble wallets, make transfers, and pay for goods and services via the central bank's infrastructure. This rollout indicates that Russia's CBDC strategy is moving from pilot testing to payment system integration: the goal is not merely to issue a digital currency but to build a state-controlled settlement layer to enhance the resilience of the domestic payment system. (12)

Key Venture Capital Deals

Ionic Raises $400 Million as AI Infrastructure Revenue Overtakes Bitcoin Mining

Ionic Digital, a U.S. digital infrastructure and Bitcoin mining company restructured from Celsius Mining's bankruptcy assets, is currently shifting some of its power and data center capacity toward AI and high-performance computing (HPC). The company raised $400 million in a private placement from investors including Attestor, Oaktree Capital Management, and Sachem Head Capital Management, at a pre-money valuation of $2 billion. It plans to directly list on Nasdaq under the ticker IOND. Ionic reported Q1 revenue of $51.4 million, of which $44 million came from digital infrastructure leasing for AI/HPC, while Bitcoin mining revenue was only $7.4 million, reflecting a broader transformation trend in the publicly traded crypto mining sector. (13)

THEA Raises $8 Million to Build Solana-Based AI Coordination Layer

THEA is a predictive behavioral AI network focused on risk markets, with its models trained on over 35 billion real-world decision data points, helping enterprises predict crowd and market behavior under stress. The company raised $8 million from Maven11 Capital, Spartan Group, ManifoldTrading, HackVC, and Fisher8 Capital to expand its AI infrastructure and build THEA Network — a Solana-based coordination layer that routes inference requests and settles transactions on-chain while keeping heavy data processing off-chain. (14)

Extended Completes $12.5 Million Strategic Funding Round Led by eToro

Extended is an on-chain perpetual futures exchange founded by former Revolut employees, aiming to provide high-throughput, low-cost derivatives trading and settle trading activity on Ethereum via StarkWare's StarkEx infrastructure. The company completed a $12.5 million strategic funding round led by eToro, with participation from Jump Crypto and Àlber Blanc. The investment is also tied to a partnership with Zengo, a self-custody wallet acquired by eToro earlier this year. (15)

Venture Capital Market Data

A total of 7 deals were completed last week, with 6 in the infrastructure sector and 1 in DeFi.

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 6th Jul 2026

Total disclosed funding last week was $488.5 million, with 2 deals not disclosing amounts. The sector with the most funding was Infrastructure, at $485.5 million. The project with the highest funding amount: Ionic Digital ($400 million).

Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 6th Jul 2026

In the first week of July 2026, weekly total financing surged to $488.5 million, up 132% from the previous week.

About Gate Ventures

Gate Ventures is the venture capital arm of Gate, focusing on investments in decentralized infrastructure, ecosystems, and applications, dedicated 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 models of society and finance.
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Disclaimer:

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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. Strategy Digital Credit Capital Framework,

8. STRC Dashboard,

9. Cardano Upgrade,

10. Standard Chartered joins ESMA’s first post-deadline MiCA register update,

11. Solana Foundation launches protocol-level governance framework,

12. Russia prepares wider digital ruble rollout from Sept. 1,

13. Ionic raises US$400M as AI infrastructure revenue overtakes Bitcoin mining,

14. THEA raises US$8M to build Solana-based AI coordination layer,

15. Extended raises US$12.5M strategic round led by eToro,