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ProShares and Bitwise are seeking the SEC nod to launch exchange-traded funds tied to shares of Circle Internet Group, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last week.

ProShares’ proposed fund, ProShares Ultra CRCL ETF, is designed to deliver daily returns that are twice the performance of Circle’s stock (CRCL).

Bitwise, meanwhile, is planning the Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF, an income-focused product that aims to track CRCL through options strategies while generating yield from call option premiums.

Both firms submitted their respective ETF filings on June 6, less than 24 hours after Circle went public on the NYSE. Those proposed ETFs are scheduled to go into effect on August 20, 2025, pending regulatory clearance.

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, made a rousing Wall Street debut, with its market valuation quadrupling its IPO price of $31 per share by the end of the second trading day. The company’s decision to go public is widely seen as a strategic success, positioning it alongside other crypto-native firms in the public markets.

The stock reached as high as $137 on Monday morning, briefly pushing Circle’s market valuation to $27 billion, according to Yahoo Finance data.

At the time of writing, CRCL was trading around $114, up around 6% on the day.

USDC maintains a market cap of around $61 billion, second to Tether’s USDT at $154 billion, per CoinGecko.

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A wallet believed to belong to Ogle, the pseudonymous crypto influencer and advisor to World Liberty Financial, has posted unrealized losses exceeding $100,000 after betting against the $TRUMP meme token, according to data tracked by Lookonchain.

Looks like Trump’s World Liberty (@worldlibertyfi) is airdropping 47 $USD1 to every wallet that participated in the $WLFI sale.https://t.co/kbyhK9usHQ pic.twitter.com/YT8Y7IpfpU

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 4, 2025

Ogle reportedly opened a 10x leveraged short on $TRUMP at an entry price of $9.4, with a liquidation level set at $12.49. Although the meme coin briefly dipped below the entry point, it has since rebounded above that level.

$TRUMP is currently trading at around $9.8, down approximately 10% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

President Trump’s official coin dropped below $10.5 on Thursday afternoon following fresh legal drama and political heat.

World Liberty, strongly backed by the Trump family, including Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Fight Fight Fight, the team behind the Official Trump coin, and to Magic Eden, over their development of an unaffiliated Trump-branded crypto wallet, per Bloomberg.

After the wallet’s existence surfaced, Eric Trump threatened legal action, making it clear the Trump family had no connection to the initiative.

While prior interactions had blurred the lines between Trump-themed crypto projects, the family now insists they have no involvement in the crypto project and teased that their official wallet is coming soon.

Bearish momentum intensified later in the day after President Trump publicly pushed back against Elon Musk’s criticism of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a piece of legislation Trump has championed.

Musk responded swiftly, disputing Trump’s statements and igniting what many are calling the most high-profile feud between two of the most influential figures in tech and politics.

Tensions between Trump and Musk spilled into the markets on Thursday, dragging down both traditional and crypto assets. Tesla shares plunged more than 15%, marking their worst single-day performance since September 2020, according to Yahoo Finance.

It wasn’t just $TRUMP and $TSLA feeling the heat. The broader crypto market took a hit, with Bitcoin briefly dipping below $101,000.

Ethereum fell by around 7%, Solana dropped 5%, and both XRP and BNB slid approximately 4% as risk-off sentiment spread.

On a day when most things fell apart, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) was an unexpected winner. The token soared over 10% after Coinbase put it on its listing radar.

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Bo Hines, President Trump’s top crypto advisor, hosted Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), at the White House this week to discuss strategic cooperation on Bitcoin and digital assets, according to a Wednesday announcement on the PCC’s official X page.

“The meeting underscores Pakistan’s growing role in shaping digital asset policy in emerging markets and its commitment to fostering international partnerships that support crypto and blockchain adoption,” the council noted.

“I envision Pakistan to be a leader in the Global South for Digital Assets,” said Saqib in a statement reported by Dawn. “From launching our Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to unlocking the national infrastructure for crypto mining and AI data zones, Pakistan is building a real framework for digital asset adoption and economic modernization.”

In a joint statement, both US and Pakistani officials emphasized a mutual interest in advancing cooperation on crypto policy, blockchain innovation, and financial technology.

The meeting also touched on ways to build blockchain-driven innovation ecosystems aimed at empowering youth and expanding access to financial services. The parties reportedly explored strategies to boost economic inclusion through digital infrastructure and education.

Saqib also held a separate meeting with the White House Counsel’s Office, as per the report.

Last week, Saqib unveiled at the Bitcoin 2025 conference that Pakistan is establishing a government-led strategic Bitcoin reserve, a move that aligns closely with President Trump’s directive to develop a national Bitcoin reserve in the US.

The plan, according to Saqib, will be to have a Bitcoin wallet for long-term holding without selling the asset.

Pakistan also intends to allocate 2,000 megawatts to mine Bitcoin and power AI data centers, explore tokenization of illiquid assets, and enhance government efficiency using blockchain technology.

However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against Pakistan’s Bitcoin mining and AI data center plans, citing concerns about energy shortages, fiscal challenges, and potential impacts on electricity tariffs.

The IMF, which was not consulted beforehand, has requested urgent clarification from Pakistan’s Finance Ministry.

Pakistan’s Bitcoin reserve plan may test its ties with the IMF. The organization has consistently warned developing countries against adopting crypto as a national reserve or legal tender.

The most high-profile case was El Salvador, whose Bitcoin policy caused tensions with the IMF.

El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, eventually had to agree with the IMF on a more conventional fiscal framework and enhanced monetary transparency measures to keep negotiations alive for a $1.4 billion loan.

While the government did not fully reverse its Bitcoin law, it substantially scaled back public promotion, removed Bitcoin’s mandatory legal tender status, and made Bitcoin acceptance voluntary for businesses.

Despite the deal with the IMF, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele maintained that the government did not abandon its Bitcoin accumulation strategy. The official public wallet continued to receive one Bitcoin per day, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

However, many in the crypto community have persistently questioned whether these coins were actually purchased or simply transferred from other government-controlled wallets, possibly using Bitcoin mined locally or acquired through undisclosed means.

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BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw over $430 million in outflows after markets closed Friday, snapping a week-long inflow streak that had lasted since April 10. It was the ETF’s largest single-day net outflow since launch, according to Farside Investors.

IBIT continues to dominate the global Bitcoin ETF market, despite its recent pullback. The fund has brought in around $48 billion in new capital since launch, with assets under management nearing $70 billion.

Other competing Bitcoin ETFs also posted losses on the final trading day of May.

Fidelity’s FBTC saw outflows of approximately $14 million, Grayscale’s GBTC lost around $16 million, Bitwise’s BITB shed $35 million, and Ark Invest’s ARKB recorded the major outflow at $120 million.

Overall, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs lost about $616 million on Friday, continuing their slide after $346 million in outflows on Thursday.

The return of negative ETF flows coincided with renewed selling pressure on Bitcoin. After reaching a weekly high of $110,000, the asset slipped below $105,000 on Thursday, then edged closer to $103,000 by Saturday.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was hovering around $103,700, per TradingView data.

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Coinbase announced today it will extend its 24/7 futures trading to include XRP and Solana (SOL) contracts starting June 13, aiming to offer US traders compliant access to altcoin derivatives amid shifting regulatory dynamics.

Starting June 13, we’re enabling 24×7 trading for $XRP and Solana ( $SOL ) futures, unlocking real-time access to U.S. traders, reflecting the always-on nature of crypto markets.

— Coinbase Institutional 🛡️ (@CoinbaseInsto) May 29, 2025

The move follows Coinbase Derivatives’ recent activation of 24/7 trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, which made the entity the first CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange to offer round-the-clock access to crypto futures contracts in the US.

Like Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, the upcoming launch of 24/7 XRP and SOL futures trading is expected to address the gap between traditional US trading hours and global crypto markets.

The move also positions Coinbase to capture a large share of global derivatives flow.

According to the firm, derivatives now make up more than 75% of global crypto trading volume. With the new offerings, the firm seeks to tap into that growing demand, giving US traders more tools to stay active in a market that never sleeps.

“The arrival of 24/7 CFTC-regulated markets is a game-changer for the industry,” said Andy Sears, CEO of Coinbase Financial Markets, in a statement.

XRP and Solana futures trade heats up alongside Bitcoin and Ether

Coinbase introduced Solana futures contracts in February, and just launched XRP and nano XRP futures contracts last month. Despite the fresh start, both assets are already showing strong traction.

According to data from the Thursday trading session, nano Solana led all contracts in daily trading volume with over 23,000 contracts, while XRP futures, across both nano and standard sizes, recorded a combined volume exceeding 13,000.

Bitcoin and Ether remain foundational to Coinbase’s derivatives offering, but this early momentum suggests that traders are embracing altcoin derivatives alongside Coinbase’s more established contracts.

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Banco Santander SA, which has recently surpassed UBS to become continental Europe’s largest bank by market capitalization, is in the early stages of exploring a stablecoin launch and expanding retail crypto offerings through its digital banking unit, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The Santander-backed stablecoin initiative could take the form of either a proprietary token issued by the bank or a platform facilitating access to existing stablecoins. It is expected to be pegged to either the euro or the US dollar.

In Latin American countries grappling with economic volatility, dollar-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC are gaining traction as a hedge against weakening local currencies.

Nations like Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, where Santander holds a large customer base, are at the forefront of this trend, driven by inflation, devaluation, and the need for efficient remittances.

For retail services, Santander is exploring the rollout through Openbank, its digital banking subsidiary. Openbank has applied for licenses under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework to provide crypto trading services to retail clients.

If approved, the platform could launch as early as this year in markets such as Spain, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

Santander has demonstrated a strong interest in blockchain technology since the early stages of blockchain development, and that interest has only grown over time. The bank’s venture arm has previously invested in pioneering blockchain startups, including Ripple and Digital Asset Holdings.

Santander was also the first UK bank to utilize blockchain for international retail payments, launching a Ripple-enabled app in 2019 that enabled same-day cross-border transfers for customers in multiple countries.

Most recently, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) executed its first EUR intraday repo and a USD term repo on the Digital Financing Application via Kinexys Digital Assets, JPMorgan’s digital asset platform for tokenized financial products.

The move reflects increased momentum among banks to develop regulated stablecoin products, amid legislative progress in both the EU and the US, and a stablecoin market recently exceeding $250 billion, per CoinGecko.

European banks have stepped up digital asset activity since MiCA regulations took effect. Santander’s rival, BBVA, received approval in March to offer retail crypto services in Spain, expanding on its existing operations in Switzerland and Turkey.

Other institutions are also advancing. Société Générale’s crypto unit SG Forge plans to launch a US dollar-backed stablecoin on Ethereum, aiming to become the first global bank to issue a stablecoin on a public blockchain.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank’s DWS Group, Flow Traders, and Galaxy Digital have also teamed up to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin.

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Volatility Shares is set to launch the first-ever XRP futures ETF in the US tomorrow, according to a post-effective amendment filed with the SEC on May 21. The launch was confirmed by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

The fund, structured as part of the Volatility Shares Trust, will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPI.

In addition to this product, Volatility Shares is also rolling out the Volatility Shares 2X XRP ETF (XRPT), which is designed to deliver twice the daily performance of XRP through leveraged exposure to XRP futures.

With the new offerings, Volatility Shares will join Teucrium Investment Advisors in offering investment products tied to XRP, Ripple’s native asset.

Last month, Teucrium launched the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF aiming to offer returns double those of XRP’s daily movements.

According to Balchunas, Teucrium’s leveraged XRP ETF currently manages approximately $120 million in assets and averages $35 million in daily trading volume.

“Good signal that there will be demand for this one,” the expert said.

The fund will invest in cash-settled XRP futures contracts and aims to deliver returns that track the price movements of XRP.

Volatility Shares will serve as the investment adviser and charge a management fee of 1.15%, though expenses are capped at 0.94% through May 2026 due to a fee waiver agreement.

To maintain its regulated investment company status, the fund will invest in XRP futures through a wholly-owned Cayman Islands subsidiary. The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in XRP-linked instruments, including futures contracts and potentially other derivatives.

This comes as efforts to expand XRP-based investment products continue. ProShares was expected to launch three XRP futures ETFs in late April, but the SEC has yet to approve them. Yesterday, the agency also delayed decisions on proposed spot XRP ETFs from Grayscale and 21Shares.

As ProShares awaits clarity from the SEC, other XRP futures products include Coinbase’s CFTC-regulated XRP contracts, as well as CME’s XRP futures, which debuted on Monday with $19 million in first-day volume, highlighting growing market appetite for XRP exposure.

Ripple, the issuer of XRP, has faced major regulatory hurdles many thought would be resolved by now, but its legal saga remains ongoing.

On May 8, Ripple agreed to a reduced $50 million settlement with the SEC, down from the original $125 million. However, Judge Analisa Torres rejected the joint motion on May 15 due to procedural issues, and the case remains under appeal. At press time, XRP is trading at $2.36, little changed on the day.

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