Client Access 
Communications
Bitcoin moved back toward the psychological threshold of $70,000 on Monday evening, in a downward move that also affected several major cryptocurrencies. Over 24 hours, BTC lost a little more than 4%, while Ethereum fell back below the $2,000 mark. Other major assets such as BNB, XRP, and Solana also ended in negative territory, signaling a broad weakening of risk appetite in the crypto market.
This selling pressure can be partly explained by the return of geopolitical concerns, particularly surrounding tensions between the United States and Iran. Tehran’s suspension of certain talks, in response to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, revived fears of instability in the Strait of Hormuz region. Even though Donald Trump said discussions with Iran were continuing at a rapid pace, investors preferred to reduce their exposure to more volatile assets.
Market sentiment was also affected by Strategy’s announcement that it had sold 32 bitcoins for approximately $2.5 million. In itself, the sale remains very limited compared with the size of the company’s reserves, but it had a significant symbolic impact. For several analysts, the fact that a company so closely associated with bitcoin accumulation proceeded with a sale, however modest, temporarily calls into question the narrative of absolute confidence that surrounded it.
One of the main factors behind this weakness remains the massive capital outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs. These products recorded nearly $3 billion in withdrawals during a ten-day negative streak. This trend even pushed net Bitcoin ETF flows into negative territory since the start of the year, suggesting that several investors prefer to reduce their exposure to BTC, recover liquidity, or redeploy their capital elsewhere.
Traditional markets, however, moved in a more positive direction in the United States, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted further gains. In Asia, the trend was more mixed, with sharp declines in Japan and South Korea, but gains in Hong Kong and mainland China. For crypto traders, attention now remains focused on two key factors: the evolution of geopolitical tensions and bitcoin’s ability to defend the key $70,000 level.
Michael Saylor’s company, long associated with an aggressive and almost unconditional BTC accumulation strategy, sold approximately $2.5 million worth of bitcoin between May 26 and May 31, at an average price of slightly above $77,000 per coin. It was the company’s first sale in four years, which explains why the announcement immediately raised questions about a possible change in direction.
In reality, the transaction remains tiny compared with the scale of Strategy’s reserves. At the end of May, the company still held more than 843,700 BTC, meaning the sale represented about 0.004% of its bitcoin treasury. For some Wall Street analysts, the market’s reaction was therefore exaggerated. They instead view the sale as a one-off measure intended to fund dividends tied to STRC, Strategy’s high-yield perpetual preferred stock, rather than as an abandonment of its long-term accumulation thesis.
Other observers nevertheless acknowledge that the move could change how investors perceive the company’s bitcoin reserves. Even if Strategy is not expected to rely primarily on BTC sales to fund its dividends, its holdings can now be seen as a form of safety net supporting its capital structure. At the same time, the company also appears to be seeking to rebuild its liquidity, notably through share issuance and the repurchase of convertible debt at a discount.
The real question, then, is not so much whether the sale of 32 BTC is important in itself, but rather what it reveals about Strategy’s future flexibility. Some see it as a simple treasury decision with no impact on Michael Saylor’s long-term vision. Others interpret it as a signal that the company may be willing to use its bitcoins when the financial health, or the perceived health, of its capital structure requires it. Against this backdrop, Strategy’s stock fell by about 5%.
Strategy’s recent bitcoin sale triggered an unexpected controversy on Polymarket, where more than $50 million had been wagered on a very specific question: would the company sell BTC before May 31? Strategy announced on Monday morning that it had sold part of its holdings, its first such move since 2022, but the exact timing of the announcement caused confusion among participants in the prediction market.
According to the information released by the company, the sale involved 32 bitcoins, worth around $2.5 million, and took place between May 26 and May 31. On the substance, that would appear to support a “Yes” resolution. However, because Strategy only publicly confirmed the transaction on June 1, some users argue that the information was not available within the period specified by the market rules. This distinction between the actual date of the sale and the date of public confirmation is what is now fueling the dispute.
The market had initially been proposed for a “No” resolution, but that outcome was challenged twice by users. The case must now be settled through a vote by holders of the UMA token, the oracle used by Polymarket to resolve this type of dispute. Some “Yes” bettors argue that the question was only about whether Strategy sold or not within the specified timeframe, not about when the sale was publicly confirmed.
Polymarket said it could not directly intervene to impose a resolution, but it nevertheless provided contextual information to UMA voters. According to those indications, no official data, on-chain information, or credible reporting had confirmed the sale within the market’s timeframe, and a confirmation obtained after the fact would not be sufficient. Meanwhile, other markets dealing with potential Strategy sales by June 30 and December 31 have already resolved in favor of “Yes,” leaving participants in the May 31 market waiting for a final decision.
Mt. Gox carried out a major bitcoin transfer early Tuesday, once again drawing market attention to the repayments still awaited by creditors of the former exchange. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the entity linked to the defunct platform transferred a total of more than 10,400 BTC, worth around $739 million, to two separate addresses.
The largest part of the movement involved 10,306 BTC, valued at approximately $730.8 million, sent from Mt. Gox cold wallets to an unidentified address. At the same time, 116.3 BTC were also transferred to the entity’s hot wallet. A little later, an equivalent amount of 116.3 BTC was moved to another address, along with a very small transfer to a Bitstamp cold wallet.
For now, the bitcoins that were moved are still listed as unspent, and it is not yet clear whether they will be used for future creditor repayments. Historically, large fund movements from Mt. Gox have often preceded distributions, which explains why these transactions are closely watched by investors. It was also the first notable bitcoin movement by Mt. Gox since late March.
Mt. Gox still holds around 34,504 BTC, or nearly $2.43 billion at current prices. The former Japanese platform, once the dominant player in the global bitcoin market, began repaying creditors in July 2024 through partners such as Kraken and Bitstamp. The process remains long and complex, however: the rehabilitation trustee postponed the final repayment deadline to October 2026, after several delays from the original 2023 date.
The CFTC has authorized Kalshi to offer bitcoin price-linked perpetual futures in the United States, a decision that marks an important milestone for a type of product that has so far been mostly associated with offshore platforms. Kalshi plans to launch this new offering soon and presents the approval as one of its largest expansions since the introduction of its event contracts.
Perpetual contracts allow traders to speculate on price movements without a fixed expiration date, unlike traditional futures contracts. This market is currently dominated by platforms such as Hyperliquid, while several U.S. players have so far had to work with products limited in time. The CFTC had already given a positive signal to Bitnomial in December, although its contracts had a maximum duration of 25 years, distinguishing them from true perpetual contracts.
For Kalshi, this approval also represents a strategic evolution. The company, already known for its prediction markets and often compared with Polymarket, is now seeking to position itself as a more complete derivatives platform. Its leadership believes that regulated perpetual contracts accessible in the United States could improve risk management and capital allocation for many American businesses and investors.
Mastercard has obtained a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services, a highly sought-after authorization in the digital asset industry. This approval allows the payments giant to strengthen its presence on Wall Street while operating within one of the strictest regulatory frameworks in the United States for cryptocurrency-related activities.
The move is part of a broader strategy aimed at developing stablecoins and tokenized deposits in an environment aligned with regulatory expectations. Mastercard emphasizes the importance of clear rules to build trust, particularly in terms of consumer protection, cybersecurity, financial integrity, and operational resilience. For the company, innovation in digital assets must therefore evolve alongside a strong regulatory framework.
The license comes as major financial institutions accelerate their adoption of stablecoins, notably since the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for the sector. Mastercard has already invested heavily in this direction, including through its planned acquisition of BVNK, a company specializing in infrastructure that enables businesses to send, receive, convert, and hold stablecoins globally.
Standard Chartered remains highly optimistic about Ethereum despite the recent weakness in its price. The bank believes the market is currently undervaluing the network’s actual activity, particularly the growing number of transactions and the significant value locked in decentralized finance applications. To illustrate its point, it compares Ethereum’s situation to that of Amazon after the bursting of the dot-com bubble, when the stock was falling sharply even as the company’s fundamentals continued to improve.
Ethereum was recently trading around $2,000, about 60% below its August high near $5,000. This underperformance is more pronounced than bitcoin’s, which has fallen by about 42% from its October all-time high. According to Standard Chartered analysts, this gap could narrow if Ethereum’s price eventually better reflects the improvement in its internal metrics and its central role in digital asset infrastructure.
The bank is therefore maintaining its $4,000 target for year-end and goes much further over the long term, with a $40,000 target by the end of the decade. This forecast is mainly based on Ethereum’s dominance in two sectors expected to grow strongly: stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets. Stablecoins are said to already represent a significant share of transactions on the network, while tokenized assets, such as stocks, bonds, and commodities, could become a major driver of activity in the coming years.
Standard Chartered also points out that technical and regulatory developments could reinforce this trend. The creation of a new “economic zone” backed by the Ethereum Foundation is expected to make it easier for digital assets to move between different networks built on Ethereum. At the same time, greater regulatory recognition of DeFi could attract more institutions. Even though the market remains cautious in the short term, the bank believes Ethereum still has significant potential if its ecosystem continues to reach new highs in activity and value locked.
Bitcoin’s volatility has fallen sharply in recent weeks, but several analysts believe this calm could precede a major price move. According to some data, one-week realized volatility, smoothed over 30 days, has dropped from around 39% to 17.2% during the quarter, a decline of 56%. This level sits well below the long-term median, indicating that the market is going through a pronounced phase of compression.
Historically, this type of compression has often preceded double-digit moves, even though the direction cannot be predicted from volatility alone. Longer-term measures also confirm this slowdown: three-month and six-month realized volatility have declined since early April. At the same time, some valuation indicators show that bitcoin’s market capitalization is growing more slowly than its realized capitalization, reflecting a more cautious market with less speculative momentum.
Bitcoin has now been trading for 114 days within a broad range between $60,000 and $80,000. For some analysts, a clear breakout from this zone could open the door to a 10% to 20% move. Some remain optimistic and view the current area as an important support zone, but they warn that a downside break could bring BTC back toward $61,000. Conversely, if the support holds, the market could see a more sustained recovery after this correction phase.
The signals remain mixed, however. Bitcoin inflows to Binance have increased since April, among both smaller investors and whales, which could create short-term selling pressure. On the other hand, wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC accumulated heavily in late May, reaching their fastest pace of buying since February. The market therefore appears caught in a tug-of-war: deposits on exchanges suggest a risk of selling, while accumulation by large wallets could provide support if demand remains strong.
The presented information is as of June 2nd, 2026, unless otherwise indicated and is provided for information purposes only. The information comes from sources that we believe are reliable, but not guaranteed. This statement does not provide financial, legal or tax advice. Rivemont Investments are not responsible for any errors or omissions in the information or for any loss or damage suffered.
