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Crypto Currents: Bitcoin slides as Strategy sells for first time since 2022

Crypto Currents: Bitcoin slides as Strategy sells for first time since 2022

Posted June 5, 2026 at 9:45 am

Kelly Carroll
The Fly

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

STRATEGY SELLS BITCOIN FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2022: 

In a Monday regulatory filing, Strategy (MSTR) announced it sold 32 bitcoin for $2.5M at an average sale price of $77,135 during the period of May 26 through May 31. The company held 843,706 bitcoin with an aggregate purchase price of $63.87B as of May 31. The sale marks the company’s first bitcoin disposal since December 2022.

Mizuho lowered the firm’s price target. The firm remains constructive on shares of Strategy despite the “crypto winter” remaining intact. The company has $2B of reserves intended to cover two years of dividends and “innovative products,” the analyst said. Mizuho updated Strategy’s model post the Q1 report, reducing its end of 2027 bitcoin price assumption to $94,000 from $128,000. It cited lower bitcoin values for the target cut.

Canaccord lowered the firm’s price target on Strategy. The firm noted the company telegraphed to the market that some bitcoin sales may happen in 2026, the market reacted decisively to the downside when this event occurred and was disclosed, even though it transpired in a quite small and symbolic quantity. Canaccord noted currently the company’s main capital markets vehicle to fund increased bitcoin purchases is its STRC preferred equity.

MASTERCARD, VISA, STRIPE NEAR LAUNCH OF STABLECOIN PLATFORM: 

Stripe, Visa (V), and MasterCard (MA) are nearing the launch of a stablecoin platform with Coinbase (COIN) also exploring participation, CoinDesk’s Ian Allison reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the plans. The move reflects accelerating institutional adoption of stablecoin infrastructure and broader expansion of crypto-based settlement and payments use cases across the industry. Stripe previously acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge for $1.1B and Mastercard acquired stablecoin firm BVNK earlier this year. Additionally, Visa announced it was expanding a stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains in April.

Additionally on Thursday, Visa announced a collaboration with Brale to explore stablecoin-based settlement using SBC, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Brale, on the Canton Network. The proof of concept will evaluate how privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure can support faster, more programmable settlement while helping financial institutions and payment companies maintain control over the visibility of sensitive settlement transaction data. Visa began enabling stablecoin settlement in 2021 and continues to expand its capabilities, allowing VisaNet obligations to be settled using supported stablecoins. A central focus of this collaboration is the Canton Network’s privacy architecture.

“Stablecoin settlement has shown how blockchain infrastructure can improve the speed and efficiency of money movement,” said Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto, Visa. “Through our work with Brale, we’re exploring how SBC on the Canton Network can support institutional settlement use cases that require both programmability and privacy controls. This collaboration helps us evaluate what it takes to bring these capabilities into production environments.”

BETTER, COINBASE OFFER CRYPTO-BACKED MORTGAGE: 

Better Home & Finance Holding Company (BETR) and Coinbase announced Thursday the funding of the first Fannie Mae (FNMA)-backed mortgage backed by bitcoin in the United States. The companies also confirmed plans to make the product available to qualified borrowers nationwide by Summer. In March, Better and Coinbase announced plans to offer the first Fannie Mae-eligible token-backed mortgage. The product is designed to address the evolving financial profiles of modern homebuyers, based on how they store wealth and how the mortgage system has traditionally evaluated it. Initially supporting bitcoin and USDC, the product allows borrowers to pledge digital assets as collateral, enabling them to secure a mortgage without liquidating their holdings. The companies plan to expand support to additional digital assets as the market matures.

“At Coinbase, we believe that Bitcoin should do more than sit in a wallet. It should work for the people who hold it,” said Mark Troianovski, Head of Consumer & Platform Partnerships. “Funding the first token-backed conforming mortgage is one of the most tangible demonstrations of that vision that we have seen. Tens of millions of Americans have built real wealth in digital assets. That wealth now has a direct path to homeownership, creating new opportunities for the next generation of homebuyers.”

The company also announced this week that it is fully accessible to Indian retail traders with direct INR support, it has partnered with Checkout.com to offer stablecoin acceptance for eligible merchants and it is offering pre-IPO perpetual futures starting with SpaceX (SPCX).

B. Riley lowered the firm’s price target on Coinbase. The updated price target reflects a softer near-term revenue backdrop and updated earnings power estimates, the analyst said.

Baird lowered the firm’s price target on Coinbase. The firm expects the company to miss Q2 consensus revenue estimates by 5%-6% on weak trading volumes. The analyst also finds it likely that the CLARITY Act remains unpassed until after the mid-term elections. While trading volumes improved in early June, this is due to heavy crypto selling, which may precede a period of ongoing slow trading, the analyst said. Baird thinks falling estimates and “weak multiples” in the finance technology space “could eventually bleed into” Coinbase’s valuation.

IREN PLANS DATA CENTER CAMPUS IN AUSTRALIA: 

IREN (IREN) announced Wednesday the signing of a transmission connection agreement to support a planned 800MW data center campus in Bundey, South Australia. This marks IREN’s first announced Australian data center project and one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region announced to date. The site is located approximately 78 miles northeast of Adelaide. The transmission connection agreement secures four 330kV feeder exits at the utility’s substation, expected to support up to 800MW without requiring network upgrades. IREN expects to commence early works and procurement in parallel with satisfaction of regulatory approvals and conditions under the transmission connection agreement. The company is on track to commence energization form 2028 and the project is expected to create over 200 ongoing skilled jobs, with over 500 additional jobs during construction.

Daniel Roberts, Co-CEO, said, “South Australia offers what AI infrastructure at scale requires: abundant clean energy, the connectivity to serve the APAC region, and a State Government that understands the opportunity and is acting on it. “The Bundey campus is able to serve global and regional AI demand, as well as South Australia’s own growing need for AI compute. We look forward to partnering with the Government of South Australia, local communities and industry to expand domestic access to AI infrastructure, support research and innovation, and help build the skills and jobs the AI economy requires.”

Additionally on Monday, BE Networks announced that it is working with IREN to leverage NVIDIA (NVDA) DSX Air to simulate and validate the network architecture supporting IREN’s upcoming deployment of more than 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs. The initiative will enable IREN and BE Networks to utilize a production-representative digital twin of IREN’s AI cloud environment before the physical infrastructure is deployed. Using NVIDIA DSX Air, the companies can model the behavior of large-scale GPU clusters, validate network topologies, test automation workflows, rehearse changes and identify issues before they impact production systems.

IREN also announced Monday it has closed a $3.65B investment-grade GPU financing facility to support the delivery of its AI Cloud contract with Microsoft (MSFT).

Canaccord raised the firm’s price target on IREN. The firm updated its model following the announcement of the closing of a $3.65B investment-grade financing facility.

B. Riley raised the firm’s price target on IREN. IREN signed the transmission connection agreement, marking activation of its Australian pipeline tied to the earlier Nvidia partnership, and reinforcing its perceived early-mover advantage in a region where AI compute demand is outpacing infrastructure due to its local execution expertise, the analyst said.

GALAXY LAUNCHES INSTITUTIONAL OTC PREDICTION MARKETS TRADING: 

Galaxy Digital (GLXY) announced Tuesday the launch of institutional OTC prediction markets trading through its Global Markets trading desk. With this offering, Galaxy can now enable hedge funds, family offices, and other institutional clients to access prediction market liquidity at sizes and with a level of discretion not available through retail interfaces. The offering covers instruments referencing non-sports event contracts traded on Kalshi and Polymarket with plans to expand to additional platforms. Galaxy can also pair prediction market positions with hedges in equities, commodities, and other assets, giving clients the ability to build complete risk strategies around a single event rather than managing exposure in silos.

“Event-driven markets are becoming core to how sophisticated investors express macro views, and they deserve institutional infrastructure to match,” said Jason Urban, Global Co-Head of Digital Assets. “We’re giving clients a principal counterparty that can warehouse risk, build hedged strategies across asset classes, and execute at sizes and scale that actually matter to their overall portfolios.”

Additionally on Friday, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MS) announced a new referral arrangement with Galaxy through which eligible clients can lend cryptocurrency to Galaxy and receive shares of exchange‑traded products with exposure to spot crypto. This model is designed for clients that want to lend crypto assets for repayment in traditional investment products in an efficient manner, enabling portfolio integration, including margin and lending capabilities, while reducing onboarding times and costs.

“We are excited to support referrals from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to offer an efficient and secure path to access spot crypto ETPs,” said Zane Glauber, Global Head of Distribution at Galaxy. “Streamlined onboarding and lowered transaction minimums make it easier for clients to integrate digital assets alongside traditional investments, supporting a holistic approach to wealth management.”

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:

PRICE ACTION: 

As of time of writing, bitcoin dropped roughly 16% this week to $61,253 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.

Originally Posted June 5, 2026

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