Crypto Market Update: Catholic Leaders Oppose CLARITY Act Provisions

Bitcoin price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$59,822.39, down by 4.1 percent over the past 24 hours.

In an email, Bitfinex analysts said Friday’s (June 26) US$10.5 billion Bitcoin options expiry will provide a critical market reset: “The headline number most desks will quote is max pain at US$74,000, but that level is a distraction here. Max pain pulls price only when dealers are long gamma and hedge toward it, and Bitcoin is below the flip, so US$74,000 has no gravity. The expiry matters because it brings a reset of the positioning that has shaped the range."

They warn that the US$60,000 put wall, which currently acts as a floor, will disappear post-expiry, leaving the price vulnerable to a downward cascade toward US$54,000 to US$56,000 if institutional spot demand remains weak.

Analysts at Yield Basis, a decentralized liquidity protocol, acknowledged that the Bitcoin price appears increasingly unresponsive to many of the catalysts that powered previous cycles.

They believe the next wave could come from institutional investors reallocating gains from artificial intelligence (AI) trades into Bitcoin as a diversification play, especially as concerns about overheated AI valuations grow.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$1,580.61, trading 4.9 percent lower over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.06, trading 4.2 percent lower in 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$65.99, 4.1 percent lower over the past 24 hours.

Today's crypto news to know

Here's a breakdown of today’s biggest news in the crypto and blockchain markets, including:

• Catholic leaders oppose CLARITY Act over trafficking safeguard provisions
• DOJ seizes Huione infrastructure linked to crypto laundering
• Senate passes anti-CBDC legislation
• Binance vows to remain in Europe despite imminent MiCA license failure
• Ethereum Foundation restructures
• Meta developing prediction market app
• MoneyGram becomes Solana validator

Catholic leaders oppose CLARITY Act over trafficking safeguard provisions

Close to 100 Catholic bishops and church leaders have sent a letter to the Senate opposing the CLARITY Act, arguing that a core provision would weaken federal safeguards against human trafficking and other financial crimes.

The letter, sent by the Alliance to End Human Trafficking (AEHT), is addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Signatories include prominent religious leaders from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia, the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

The group's primary objection centers on Section 604 of the bill, which would codify the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to establish that non-custodial blockchain software developers are not money transmitters.

According to the coalition, this specific language would introduce regulatory gaps that could be easily exploited by human traffickers, organized crime networks, child exploiters and sanctions evaders.

The AEHT is urging Congress to weigh Section 604 against parallel legislative work, warning policymakers to avoid creating unintended loopholes that could undermine active anti-trafficking efforts like the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act. Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone pushed back on the AEHT the same day, clarifying that Section 604 simply ensures that non-custodial developers who build software tools are not unfairly penalized or treated under the same regulatory burdens as traditional banks.

With the legislative clock ticking toward the August recess, the CLARITY Act sits on the Senate floor calendar, but still requires at least seven Democratic votes to clear the necessary 60 vote cloture threshold.

If the bill fails to advance before the summer recess, negotiations will be pushed into the fall.

DOJ seizes Huione infrastructure linked to crypto laundering

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized a cloud computing account that hosted the technical backend infrastructure for subsidiaries of Cambodia-based Huione Group.

According to federal prosecutors, the seized account allowed illicit actors to transfer, move and conceal billions of dollars stolen through Southeast Asian scam centers before converting the funds into the traditional banking system.

Court documents reveal that the account helped operate Huione Guarantee — also known as Haowang Guarantee — a notorious Telegram-based marketplace where criminals openly traded stolen card data, identity information, malware proceeds and escrow laundering services. According to the DOJ:

“The Huione Group used this cloud computing account as part of a technological backbone that allowed billions in fraud proceeds to be transferred, moved, and concealed — much of it stolen through Southeast Asian scam centers."

Blockchain analytics firms have described Huione Guarantee as one of the largest illicit online marketplaces in history, even eclipsing dark web predecessors like the Silk Road before Telegram banned its channels in May 2025.

This operational seizure by the DOJ caps a year-old federal crackdown on the conglomerate, following a final rule by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this past October that severed Huione from the US financial system as a primary money laundering concern.

Senate passes anti-CBDC legislation

The US Senate passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Act on Monday (June 22). The act includes a ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) through 2030.

The provision would prevent the Fed from issuing or facilitating a CBDC directly or indirectly during that period, while carving out room for open, permissionless private dollar assets such as stablecoins.

Supporters argue that the language protects cash-like privacy and prevents the Fed from moving into retail digital money without congressional approval. However, President Donald Trump then canceled the planned signing ceremony, saying he will not sign the bill until Congress passes the SAVE America Act.

Binance vows to remain in Europe despite imminent MiCA license failure

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it intends to maintain its operations within the EU and will launch a fresh regulatory push despite the collapse of its latest license application.

Gillian Lynch, Binance’s head of Europe and the UK, told Reuters that the firm is actively exploring alternative pathways to authorization after its bid to secure a critical passporting license in Greece unraveled.

The firm’s defiant stance sets up a collision with European regulators, especially after the European Securities and Markets Authority warned that unlicensed crypto firms must take immediate steps to wind down their EU activities.

Binance now has less than a week to secure a replacement license before its current operating permissions expire on June 30; that would legally require the platform to halt services for millions of European users.

Ethereum Foundation restructures

The Ethereum Foundation said on Tuesday (June 23) that it has cut about 20 percent of its workforce and is reducing its budget by roughly 40 percent as it shifts toward a more sustainable, endowment-style operating model.

The organization will be split into five domain-focused clusters: protocol, access, user, community and institutional, alongside operations and management support functions, as per a post by Vitalik Buterin.

The foundation said the overhaul is meant to bring annual spending down from about 15 percent of treasury assets to roughly 5 percent by 2030, while offering severance and transition support to departing staff.

Meta developing prediction market app

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly ordered a small internal team to build a standalone prediction markets app, internally called Arena, the New York Times said.

According to the news outlet, the goal is to compete with fast-growing prediction platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, and to use Meta’s existing audience to drive adoption. The app would operate separately from Meta’s other businesses and would likely use a points-based system at launch rather than real-money betting.

MoneyGram becomes Solana validator

MoneyGram has joined the Solana network, becoming an active validator and infrastructure partner.

The company framed the move as part of a broader push to support blockchain-based financial infrastructure and deepen its role in the Solana ecosystem.