Daily Report 6 June 2025

Global markets slipped as early optimism over a reported phone call between Presidents Trump and Xi—described as “very good” by Trump—was overshadowed by a public spat between Trump and Elon Musk, which sent Tesla shares plunging 14.26%. The S&P 500 (-0.53%), the Dow (-0.25%) and the Nasdaq (-0.83%) all closed lower, with consumer sectors leading the decline. In Europe, the ECB cut its benchmark rate by 25 bps to 2.00% but signaled a pause ahead, pushing German 2-year yields up 8 bps to 1.86%. The FTSE 100 added 0.1%, supported by mining stocks. Investors are now eyeing the US non-farm payrolls due Friday at 14:30  CET; expectations are for 125,000 new jobs. Copper jumped 1.2% to $9,740/ton on LME inventories hitting 11-month lows, while silver surged 3.32% to $35.65. Bitcoin dropped 4% to $100,504 amid market nerves over the Trump-Musk fallout and crypto policy uncertainty.

• The global crypto market cap decreased 2.3% in the past 24 hours to $3.21tn while the total crypto market 24h increased over 40% to $144bn.
• In the past 24 hours, crypto liquidations increased 340% and totaled $982.5m, with over 89% of them long positions. The largest single liquidation order ($10.00m) happened on Bitmex (XBTUSD).

• US Bitcoin ETFs saw $278 million in net outflows on June 5, ending a volatile stretch of flows with the worst daily pullback since May 30. Ark’s ARKB led the redemptions with $102.0 million pulled, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at $80.2 million and Bitwise’s BITB at $36.7 million. Grayscale's GBTC lost $24.1 million and its spot ETF BTC also saw outflows of $16.7 million. Cumulative net inflows across all issuers remain positive at $44.27 billion (down from $45.31 bn on May 28), with BlackRock still dominating with $48.78 billion raised since launch.
  According to a report by CoinShares, the primary driver behind the recent decrease in institutional Bitcoin ETF exposure was the price depreciation of Bitcoin, rather than institutional selling pressure.
• Ethereum ETFs saw modest inflows of $11.3 million on June 5, led solely by BlackRock’s ETHA with $34.7 million. This was partially offset by $23.4 million in outflows from Fidelity’s FETH, while all other funds reported flat flows. Cumulative net inflows across all ETH ETFs now total $3.32 billion, with ETHA and FETH making up the majority at $4.84 billion and $1.53 billion, respectively, while ETHE continues to drag with $4.29 billion in net outflows.

• A crypto wallet linked to the defunct dark web marketplace AlphaBay has been identified as the source of a $31 million Bitcoin donation to Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The 300 BTC, donated earlier this month, were likely sent by a former AlphaBay vendor, not from Silk Road proceeds, as confirmed by independent investigator ZachXBT. The donor reportedly used centralized mixing services and fragmented exchange deposits to obscure the origin of the funds, suggesting illicit ties. Chainalysis, which played a role in AlphaBay’s 2017 takedown, noted the coins had appreciated significantly since then. The donor’s identity and motive remain unknown. Ulbricht was pardoned by President Trump in January after serving over 12 years of a double life sentence.
• The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize $7.74 million in crypto assets allegedly tied to a North Korean scheme involving IT workers posing as remote blockchain developers. The workers, operating under false identities across multiple countries, were paid in stablecoins like USDC and USDT, which were then laundered through chain-hopping and NFT swaps to conceal origins. Authorities say the funds were funneled back to Pyongyang through sanctioned intermediaries, including China-based banker Sim Hyon Sop. The DOJ warns the case highlights North Korea’s growing exploitation of crypto to fund sanctioned activities, echoing past advisories and recent findings by Google and blockchain investigator ZachXBT.
• Crypto AML firm Global Ledger has uncovered over $15 million in assets tied to sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex that continue to circulate, despite a high-profile freeze by Tether. In a new report, Global Ledger tracked $2.3 million in ETH funneled to Tornado Cash and BTC bridged to Tron and sent to Grinex. The firm’s CEO, Lex Fisun, called it a “failure of sanction enforcement,” highlighting that digital assets remain active across obscure chains and mixers. The findings follow Tether’s March 6 freeze of $27 million in USDt, coinciding with Garantex halting operations. US and EU authorities have sanctioned the exchange for AML violations, and its founder, Aleksej Bešciokov, is now facing extradition to the US.
• Uber is exploring the use of stablecoins to reduce cross-border payment costs, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed at the Bloomberg Tech conference on Thursday. While still in the early “study phase,” Khosrowshahi said stablecoins—digital assets pegged to fiat currencies—offer practical benefits for global companies like Uber by lowering international transfer fees. He also briefly described Bitcoin as a “proven commodity,” though did not indicate any near-term plans for broader crypto adoption. The remarks come as U.S. lawmakers debate regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, which are increasingly valued for their efficiency and price stability.
• The Trump Media & Technology Group, founded by Donald Trump, has filed an S-1 registration form with the US regulator to launch the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF.
• European fund manager APS, led by unnamed executives, made the first direct institutional purchase of retail-available tokenized assets, buying $3.4 million in tokenized real estate via MetaWealth.
• A solo bitcoin miner secured a $330,000 block reward block through a block that was confirmed at 3:48 am UTC on June 5, despite the network difficulty surging to a record 126.98 trillion. The miner collected a subsidy of 3.125 Bitcoin and an additional 0.026 BTC in fees.