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WSJ Parent Company Sued Over Tether, Bitfinex Article

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At the beginning of last spring, the Wall Street Journal published an investigative article on Tether, Bitfinex, and related companies.

The majority stake of both Tether and the Bitfinex exchange is owned by iFinex, a corporation established in the Virgin Islands.

Controversial Article

At the time, the Wall Street Journal claimed that the two companies, along with a slew of smaller shell firms related to the crypto businesses and their executives, employed shady methods in order to maintain their connections to the international banking system.

The article claims that the group of entities surrounding iFinex attempted to stay on top of the situation by opening accounts connected to businessmen who already had a reputation. However, the names of the companies used were changed for optics purposes.

“In Taiwan, the accounts were held in trust by Chrise Lee, an executive of Hylab Technology Ltd., which makes television set-top boxes. But the accounts were opened under the name Hylab Holdings Ltd., documents show.”

Ultimately, the accounts tied to Tether and Bitfinex often ended up running afoul of various investigations, whether related to terrorist financing or more garden-variety financial crimes, which cost the firms quite a bit in the long run.

The biggest loss, according to the article, was the result of an $850 million seizure of funds tied to Panama-based payment processor Crypto Capital Corp by the authorities. These funds are believed to have been tied to Tether despite the lack of formal documentation of the relationship.

Minority Stakeholder Sues Parent Company

Another company that the article alleged was in breach of proper financial conduct is AML Global Ltd. Owned by British businessman Christopher Harborne – who owns nearly 13% of the Tether-issuing company – AML Global – was pointed out in the article as an entity that engaged in misbehavior on iFinex’s behalf.

Harborne has taken Dow Jones & Company, WSJ’s parent firm, to court in Delaware over the matter, accusing the team of defamation.

“This defamation action arises from Defendant Dow Jones & Company, Inc.’s d/b/a The Wall Street Journal (the “Journal”) publication of an article in which it falsely accused Plaintiffs Christopher Harborne (“Mr. Harborne”) and AMLF of committing fraud, laundering money, and financing terrorists — even though the Journal and its reporters knew and possessed documentation that conclusively showed that those accusations are false.”

The Wall Street Journal has since taken down the part of the article accusing Harborne and his company of any wrongdoing. While Harborne does not deny being a stakeholder, he refutes holding any executive position at the company, as well as the accusations of illicit activity, and states that the stake was acquired as a result of a Bitfinex reimbursement plan following a hack in its early days.

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Bitcoin Rejected at $110K Despite US-China Trade Deal and Favorable CPI Numbers: Market Watch

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Despite the positive news on the US-China trade front and the CPI numbers in the States, bitcoin’s price failed to capitalize and has fallen by over two grand.

Most altcoins are also in the red today, with DOGE, SUI, ADA, LINK, TRX, and AVAX posting big losses.

BTC Stopped at $110K

After last Friday’s violent correction amid the rising tension between US President Trump and former ally Musk, when BTC plunged below $100,500, the primary cryptocurrency was actually going strong for a while. It managed to recover all losses by the weekend and started to gain traction at the start of the current business week.

Bitcoin spiked to $110,500 on a few occasions as the week progressed, and the latest example came yesterday when the asset came just over a grand away from tapping a new all-time high.

The macroeconomic scene improved as the POTUS said Washington and Beijing are very close to a trade deal, while the US CPI data for May was more favorable than expected. However, BTC failed to keep climbing and was quickly stopped at the $110,000 mark and pushed south by over $2,500.

As of now, it still trades below $108,000, and its market cap has slumped to $2.140 trillion. Its dominance over the alts stands still at 61% on CG.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

Alts in Retreat

Most altcoins registered impressive gains in the past several days, so it’s rather expected that red dominates the charts today. Ethereum, which recently painted a multi-month peak, is down by just over 1% and trades at $2,750. XRP has lost the $2.3 line and is below $2.25 after a 4% daily decline.

Even more painful declines come from the likes of DOGE, TRX, SOL, ADA, SUI, LINK, and AVAX, with daily drops of up to 6-7%.

SPX is once again the top gainer today, having surged by almost 9%, while JUP, FET, and SEI lead in terms of value lost.

The total crypto market cap has shed over $70 billion and is down to $3.510 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
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Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Spot Ethereum ETFs Outshine Bitcoin with $240M Daily Flow

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Spot Ethereum ETFs have outpaced their Bitcoin counterparts, raking in $240 million in net daily inflows on Wednesday, June 11.

This figure eclipsed the $164 million flowing into BTC ETFs, marking the first time Ethereum products have led daily inflows since the launch of U.S. spot crypto ETFs 18 months ago.

Ethereum Breaks Through

The shift, hailed by analysts and echoed across social media, is seen by some as a potential turning point in institutional crypto adoption, fueled by unique catalysts driving capital towards the second-largest digital asset.

“As far as I can remember, this is the first time this has happened,” noted prominent crypto commentator CryptoMe in a post on X, highlighting the historic nature of the flows.

Data compiled by SoSoValue shows a consistent trend building over recent weeks. Ethereum ETFs have now enjoyed 18 consecutive days of net inflows, culminating in the near-record $240.29 million haul. The crypto-linked investment products now boast $3.74 billion in cumulative net inflows, $830.98 million in total daily trading volume, and $11.05 billion in net assets, making up roughly 3.25% of Ethereum’s market cap.

The top performer, BlackRock’s ETHA, contributed just over $163 million on June 11 alone and leads all Ethereum ETFs with $5.13 billion in cumulative inflows.

In comparison, while still dominant in absolute terms, spot BTC ETFs appear to be facing diminishing momentum. Despite some $45 billion in cumulative inflows and almost $132 billion in assets under management (AUM), net inflows have softened over the past week. After a mid-week rally on June 10, where the ETFs brought in $431.12 million, flows tapered off, dropping to $164.57 million on June 11.

Even BlackRock’s flagship IBIT, which recently shattered records by becoming the fastest ETF in history to surpass $70 billion in AUM, is now experiencing moderated daily volumes, down to $1.89 billion yesterday.

Regulatory Clarity, DeFi Potential Spark Inflows

Market watchers have pointed to a combination of factors to explain Ethereum’s sudden surge in the spot ETF space. These include optimism in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector following recent remarks by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins directing the agency to explore rule amendments to accommodate on-chain financial systems.

Other key drivers include a perception of ETH as an undervalued asset as well as institutional spillover from Bitcoin ETFs. Regulatory clarity, particularly regarding Ethereum’s classification, appears to be easing institutional hesitancy.

Furthermore, ETH’s stronger recent price performance, up 5.4% over the past week compared to BTC’s 2.9% gain, and 12% over the last month versus the king cryptocurrency’s 4.9%, is reinforcing the undervaluation narrative, especially with Bitcoin trading just 3.8% below its recent all-time high while Ethereum remains 43.5% below its peak.

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XRP Price Suffers Again but Can June 16 Change Everything for Ripple?

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TL;DR

  • Alongside the rest of the crypto market, Ripple’s native token has headed south with a 3% daily decline that has pushed it to $2.25.
  • The XRP Army, though, remains bullish on the asset’s future price performance, especially since a key date in the legal case between Ripple and the SEC is approaching.

Save the Date: June 16

It has been nearly three months since Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse triumphantly announced on X that the legal spat between his company and the US securities regulator had effectively come to an end. Although both parties indeed reached an agreement regarding the payment Ripple has to make, Judge Torres rejected their joint motion, which would have extended the lawsuit, and there is no official conclusion yet.

Judge Torres argued that the agency and the company failed to file the motion correctly under Rule 60. As of now, June 16 stands as the most crucial date for a major update about the potential resolution between the two, as the SEC must file a status update with the US Court of Appeals by that date.

Numerous XRP Army members outlined the significance of the date, including perma-bull John Squire. He asked his over 500,000 followers whether Ripple’s XRP will finally get regulatory clarity after Monday.

It’s worth noting that this is not a “settlement or bust” date for the case, but it’s an important deadline for a procedural update. Any real settlement would still require Judge Torres’s final approval, which could take more time.

Will XRP’s Price React?

Although June 16 could have significant implications in the legal case between Ripple and the SEC, market experts believe it won’t have a big positive impact on XRP’s price movements. After all, the hype surrounding the closure of the case has come and gone, and investors have already factored its resolution. However, there could be further pain on the horizon if the case is extended again, as it has been in the past.

For now, XRP’s price struggles at $2.25 following a 3% daily drop. Still, the XRP Army continues to be highly bullish on the asset’s future price trajectory, marking some mindblowing targets like the one below.

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