Jordi Baylina’s new venture, Zisk, will carry the zkVM torch forward following the Polygon Foundation’s decision to decommission the costly chain. Baylina retains a founder’s title, but his team and codebase are now fully independent. On June 18, Polygon co-founder…

Polygon co-founder Jordi Baylina revives zkEVM tech under new venture, Zisk

Bitcoin is navigating a highly volatile environment, as escalating Middle East 
conflicts and intensifying macroeconomic risks dominate global headlines. 
Despite mounting uncertainty, BTC continues to hold firm above the $104K 
level, signaling strong buyer interest at key support zones. Bulls remain in 
control for now, but hawkish macro conditions—such as elevated US Treasury 
yields, persistent inflation concerns, and geopolitical turmoil—pose serious 
risks that could drive BTC below the critical $100K mark. Related Reading: 
Ethereum Golden Cross Approaching – Will History Repeat? The market is divided 
on what comes next. Some analysts point to strong fundamentals and 
institutional adoption as fuel for a massive bull run, while others warn of a 
deeper correction before any upward continuation. Top analyst Darkfost 
emphasized the importance of monitoring on-chain behavior during such periods 
of uncertainty. According to CryptoQuant data, realized profits on Bitcoin 
(7-day moving average) show no major warning signs. Current profit-taking 
activity remains below $1 billion—similar to levels seen following the October 
2024 correction—indicating that investors are neither panicking nor overly 
euphoric. This muted profit realization could be a sign that long-term holders 
are still confident in the broader trend, setting the stage for an eventual 
breakout once macro conditions stabilize. On-Chain Metrics Signal Calm Bitcoin 
Consolidates As the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates, fears of a 
broader war—and the possibility of US intervention—continue to weigh heavily 
on global markets. Investors remain on edge, with rising oil prices and 
weakening economic confidence feeding into macro uncertainty. Yet, Bitcoin 
seems largely unfazed. Despite the heightened geopolitical tension, BTC 
continues to consolidate just below its all-time high, showing resilience that 
has both bulls and bears second-guessing their next move. Fundamentally, 
Bitcoin remains strong. Institutional adoption is steadily increasing, and 
exchange supply continues to decline, reflecting a trend toward long-term 
holding and off-exchange accumulation. In many ways, BTC appears to thrive in 
this environment of volatility and uncertainty. According to on-chain data 
shared by Darkfost, realized profits on Bitcoin—measured by the 7-day moving 
average (7DMA)—show no major warning signs. Current profit levels remain under 
$1 billion, a range not seen since the end of the October 2024 correction. 
Even during the recent ATH surge, realized profits stayed well below the 
January 2025 peak. This lack of aggressive profit-taking suggests that most 
investors are still holding strong, neither panicking nor rushing to sell. 
That restrained behavior is playing a key role in Bitcoin’s ongoing 
consolidation. Without a wave of profit realization, there’s little pressure 
to force the market down—yet no catalyst strong enough to push it decisively 
higher either. Monitoring these on-chain signals will be critical in the 
coming days. If realized profits spike or exchange inflows surge, it may mark 
the beginning of a new phase. Related Reading: Bitcoin Holds Strong Despite 
Israel-Iran Tensions – Weekly Resistance Begins To Crack BTC Technical 
Analysis: Key Support Being Tested The 12-hour chart of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) 
shows the asset currently trading at $104,292, just above a crucial support 
level at $103,600. This area, which corresponds to the previous all-time high 
set in late 2024, has become a key battleground for bulls and bears. BTC has 
repeatedly bounced from this level in recent weeks, and its ability to hold 
could determine the direction of the next major move. BTC failed to break 
through the $109,300 resistance, forming a series of lower highs since tapping 
the $112,000 level. This suggests a weakening bullish momentum and highlights 
the importance of current price action around the 50-period SMA, which is now 
acting as short-term dynamic resistance. Volume has remained relatively stable 
but showed slight upticks during recent pullbacks, hinting at cautious selling 
rather than full-blown capitulation. The 100-period and 200-period SMAs, 
currently sitting at $104,065 and $94,617, respectively, offer additional 
support beneath the current range, with the 100-SMA now directly aligned with 
the horizontal $103,600 level. Related Reading: Ethereum Holds Key Range 
Support – Bulls Set Sights on Higher Levels If BTC breaks and closes below 
this demand zone with volume confirmation, it could trigger a move toward the 
$100K psychological support. Conversely, a strong bounce from here would 
reinforce the ongoing consolidation and keep the path open for another test of 
$109,300. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Consolidates as Realized Profits Stay Low – No Signs Of Major Sell-Off Yet

3IQ’s XRP ETF launch opens broad institutional access to XRP, backed by 
Ripple, secured with cold storage, and offered with zero management fees, 
positioning it strongly in the expanding crypto ETF market. 3IQ Unleashes XRP 
ETF With Ripple Backing Digital asset manager 3IQ Corp. announced on June 18 
the launch of the 3IQ XRP ETF […]

Ripple-Backed 3IQ XRP ETF Launches as Institutions Race to Capture Crypto’s Next Wave

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is witnessing increased network activity, which is 
bullish for its native token’s price. On-chain data also shows that whales are 
actively accumulating XRP, with the addresses holding one million coins 
recently reaching a new high. XRP Ledger Records Massive Growth In Past Week 
In an X post, on-chain analytics platform Santiment revealed that the XRP 
Ledger is showing signs of growth, from both a usage and key stakeholder 
perspective. The platform revealed that there are now over 2,700 whale and 
shark wallets holding at least 1 million XRP for the first time in the token’s 
12-year history. Related Reading: Is There A “Secret XRP Ledger” And Is The 
Price Really At $1,000? Additionally, Santiment stated that the number of 
active XRP addresses has averaged over 295,000 daily over the past week. This 
is notable as the normal daily average over the past three months was between 
35,000 and 40,000. It is worth mentioning that the XRPL recorded some major 
developments last week. One is the launch of Circle’s USDC stablecoin on the 
XRP Ledger. This is expected to boost network activity given the increasing 
demand for stablecoins. Crypto analyst Moon Lambo predicted that this would 
increase the total value locked (TVL) on the network. He also noted how this 
was bullish for the XRP price, since users will need the token for every USDC 
transaction. Furthermore, Ondo Finance launched its tokenized US treasury fund 
(OUSG) on the XRP Ledger last week, which could have also contributed to the 
surge in network activity. The BlackRock-backed fund will be mintable and 
redeemable using the RLUSD stablecoin. Meanwhile, Guggenheim also recently 
partnered with Ripple to launch the first Digital Commercial Paper on the 
XRPL. Expert Predicts Price Rally Above $4 Amid the surge in network activity 
on the XRPL, crypto analyst Javon Marks has predicted that the XRP price could 
rally above $4 and even reach as high as $8. He stated that the altcoin is 
holding a clear breakout and is getting ready for a major bullish 
continuation. Marks added that the targets are at $4.80 and $8, marking new 
all-time highs (ATHs) for XRP. Related Reading: These Factors Will Drive XRP 
Price To $25-$75 In June – Analyst Crypto analyst Dark Defender recently 
alluded to a previous analysis in which he stated that the XRP price could 
make a decision within two weeks. The analyst is confident that the altcoin 
could rally to as high as $6 on this Wave 5 impulsive move to the upside. He 
has also previously predicted that XRP would reach double digits in this 
market cycle. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that the XRP price has 
again dropped below the $2.25 level. Crypto analyst CasiTrades had warned that 
the support levels at $2.01, $1.90, and $1.55 could be in play if the $2.25 
level holds as resistance. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at 
around $2.16, down over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from 
CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP Addresses Holding 1M Coins Reach 12-Year High As Experts Predict Move Above $4

Market analyst Weston Nakamura has labeled the 40-year Japanese Government 
Bond (JGB) market as the &#8220;most dangerous market in the world. Cross-Asset 
Contagion While many global investors and financial journalists may overlook 
it, the 40-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) market is, according to market 
analyst Weston Nakamura, the &#8220;most dangerous market in the world.&#8221; Nakamura 
[…]

The World’s Most Dangerous Bond? Analyst Sounds the Alarm on Japan’s 40-Year JGB Market

According to the Telegram founder, France’s political leaders continue to make 
poor choices regarding censorship.