[News Brief] Jun 17, morning | BTC Falls Below $65,000

BTC Falls Below $65,000

According to Odaily, BTC fell below $65,000 on OKX.

BTC is currently trading at $64,956.1, down 2.37% over the past 24 hours.

Address Linked to Bhutan Government Transfers 533.2 BTC to Binance

According to Odaily, on-chain analyst Yu Jin said that an address linked to the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 533.2 BTC, worth about $34.52 million, to Binance 15 minutes ago.

Yu Jin estimated that the address has gradually sold about 10,451 BTC since June of last year, cashing out roughly $979 million. The average selling price was calculated at $93,738.

The address is currently believed to hold around 1,750 BTC, worth approximately $113 million.

About 80% of $10.6 Billion in BTC Options Expiring on June 26 Are Out of the Money

According to Odaily, Deribit data shows that about 80% of the roughly $10.6 billion in BTC options open interest set to expire on June 26 are currently out of the money.

The notional value of BTC options currently in a loss position is about $8.6 billion, raising concerns that concentrated hedging adjustments by market makers and traders ahead of expiry could amplify short-term price volatility.

The max pain price in the Bitcoin options market is around $74,000, about 14% higher than the current spot price of roughly $65,000. The put-call ratio stands at about 0.87, indicating mixed market expectations.

Major positions are concentrated in $60000 put options with about $450 million and $80000 call options with about $406 million.

U.S. Congressional Leaders Agree on Bill Including Extension of Fed CBDC Development Ban Through 2030

According to Bloomberg, U.S. congressional leaders reached an agreement on a comprehensive housing bill that includes an extension of the ban on the Federal Reserve’s development of a central bank digital currency through 2030.

The agreement resolves months of deadlock between the House and Senate. The bill also includes restrictions on institutional investors purchasing single-family homes, removes provisions requiring the disposal of certain rental housing, and contains measures to ease bank regulations.

Senate leadership expects the upper chamber to pass the bill this week, after which the House is expected to send it to the president for signature next week.

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Imposing 0.2% Business Tax on Digital Asset Activities

According to PANews, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 3019, which includes the Digital Asset Tax Act.

The law imposes a 0.2% business tax on brokers that trade, transfer, or custody digital assets on behalf of customers in Illinois. It will take effect on January 1, 2027.

The state expects the tax to generate about $60 million in annual revenue. The tax applies to digital-asset-related business activity rather than investment gains.

The Illinois Digital Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Blockchain Association opposed the tax, arguing that it unfairly targets a specific asset class. Industry groups claim the measure could encourage crypto firms to relocate to other states.

U.S. to Immediately Allow Exports and Sales of Iranian Oil and Fuel

Odaily, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that the United States plans to immediately allow the export and sale of Iranian oil and fuel under a new agreement.

According to the report, sanctions waivers covering oil sales will take effect immediately after the agreement is signed this week, and supporting services including banking, shipping, and insurance will also be exempted.

United Against Nuclear Iran said that a very large crude carrier loaded with Iranian oil departed Chabahar Port and moved toward the Gulf of Oman. This is said to be the first such confirmed case since the U.S. imposed a maritime blockade in April this year.

A senior U.S. official said Iran would receive advance sanctions waivers related to oil sales, but any long-term sanctions relief would depend on whether it keeps the strait open and fulfills demands related to its nuclear program.

Binance Says Greek Capital Market Commission Has Completed Review of MiCA License Application

Binance said that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission has completed its review of the company’s MiCA license application and determined that it meets the relevant requirements.

According to Wu Blockchain, the application was also reviewed at the level of the European Securities and Markets Authority. Binance said it will continue pursuing the MiCA license and plans to disclose additional information before June 30.

MiCA is the European Union’s regulatory framework for crypto assets and serves as a key authorization standard for exchanges and other digital asset service providers operating in the region.

Binance Wallet Launches Web3 API for Developers and Institutions

According to Odaily, Binance Wallet has launched a Web3 API for developers, institutions, and advanced on-chain traders.

The API supports multiple chains including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Plasma, Arbitrum, Polygon, Base, Monad, Optimism, Linea, and Solana, and provides real-time market data, aggregated swap quotes, and on-chain trade execution.

Key features include token price and candlestick data, aggregated quotes and token swaps, built-in MEV protection, and a non-custodial structure. Binance Wallet said it does not currently charge service fees or positive slippage fees and returns price improvements to users.

Ethereum Developers Prepare Public Testnet Deployment for Glamsterdam Upgrade

According to PANews and CoinDesk, Ethereum developers are operating a devnet that includes the relevant EIPs ahead of the public testnet deployment of the Glamsterdam upgrade.

Ethereum Foundation core developer Paritosh Jayanthi said this stage is the final step to strengthen the codebase and prepare for transition to the testnet. While no specific timeline has been confirmed, mainnet launch is expected in the second half of this year.

Glamsterdam is regarded as Ethereum’s most significant upgrade since the Merge. Key changes include EIP-7732, which integrates block construction and proposal architecture into the protocol, and EIP-7928, which introduces block-level access lists.

The upgrade also includes gas repricing. Computational tasks may become cheaper, while state management costs could increase, potentially changing how the Ethereum network operates.

BitGo Offers MiCA Compliance Transition Solution

According to PANews, citing CoinDesk, BitGo is offering a compliance transition solution for European crypto firms ahead of the MiCA regulatory deadline.

BitGo Europe, which is approved by Germany’s BaFin, said its crypto services platform can help European firms transition into the MiCA framework. Even firms without a MiCA license can onboard customers through BitGo wallets, with customers receiving independent sub-accounts within BitGo that meet MiCA requirements.

BitGo said these firms can pursue their own MiCA assessment or application while integrating infrastructure. Industry data shows that although more than 3,000 crypto firms were registered in Europe in 2024, only 194 had received approval as of May 2026.