Weekly Roundup: Crypto Market Stays Resilient Amid Turbulence as Moscow Exchange Launches Bitcoin Index

Despite macroeconomic factors and military conflicts, the cryptocurrency market managed to maintain significant price levels. The Moscow Exchange launched a Bitcoin index, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retracted previous DeFi regulation initiatives, among other events from the past week.

On Monday, Bitcoin opened with a rise to $107,000, although the same day witnessed considerable ETF outflows and mass protests across the U.S.

According to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, this positive trend is linked to macroeconomic developments, including discussions between the U.S. and China, as well as signs of deflation in China’s economy.

The following day, June 10, Bitcoin approached $110,000, while the Coinbase premium reached its highest level since February, indicating strong interest from American buyers.

However, the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on June 11 had a muted impact on Bitcoin prices. The CPI for May increased by 0.1%, down from 0.2% in April, and the annual figure without seasonal adjustments rose to 2.4%. This data fell short of analysts’ expectations, who had forecasted a CPI of 2.5%.

On June 12, Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline, plummeting from $108,000 to $103,000 following an Israeli attack on Iran. Ethereum suffered an even greater loss, dropping 9.2% to $2,500.

Nevertheless, the market slightly rebounded and remains stable. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $105,050.

The rest of the cryptocurrency market largely mirrored the leading cryptocurrency. Notably, Ethereum gained 0.8% over the week, while Bitcoin registered a loss of 0.2%.

Among the top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the most significant declines were seen in TRX (-4.6%), DOGE (-4.1%), and XRP (-2.1%).

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index stands at 60, indicating «greed» among investors.

Since June 10, the Moscow Exchange has begun to display the Bitcoin index under the ticker MOEXBTC.

«The [MOEXBTC] index is a price indicator reflecting the value of derivatives on the BTCUSDT pair across major cryptocurrency exchanges. It is calculated as a weighted average of prices, taking into account coefficients from selected trading platforms,» the platform’s website states.

The index’s weight is distributed among four exchanges: Binance (50%), Bybit (20%), OKX (15%), and Bitget (15%).

In the future, the index may serve as an underlying asset for new financial instruments, which would pave the way for the launch of exchange-traded products based on the price of the leading cryptocurrency in the traditional Russian market.

According to Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the ENCRY Foundation, the launch is more symbolic regarding its immediate impact. The index serves as a benchmark for professional participants; while it can be utilized in calculations, its practical value will become apparent only after derivative products are developed.

Alexander Peresichan, CEO of Technobit, also views the index launch as a foundational step for future products. He believes this tool could act as a basis for creating derivative instruments.

During the week, the U.S. SEC officially withdrew proposed regulations related to the DeFi sector and crypto asset custody that had been initiated by former Chair Gary Gensler.

This includes the rejection of amendments to rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act, which sought to broaden the definition of «exchange» to apply «traditional» regulations to decentralized platforms.

Additionally, a project aimed at strengthening custody requirements for crypto assets was also withdrawn. It required investment advisors to use only qualified custodians and mandated additional protective measures.

Among other annulled initiatives were requirements for enhanced cybersecurity and the disclosure of ESG practices for investment companies.

Prior to this, current SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced a new approach to non-custodial cryptocurrency storage, referring to the right to self-custody as a «fundamental American value.»

Atkins emphasized the need for market participants to have more flexibility in independently storing crypto assets, particularly in cases where intermediaries create «unnecessary fees» or restrict participation in staking and other on-chain activities.

In the past week, there were several significant launches and announcements in the Ripple ecosystem. Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, reported at the Apex 2025 event in Singapore about their work on an EVM-compatible sidechain, slated for release in Q2 2025.

This new solution aims to combine the low transaction costs of XRPL with the functionality of Ethereum’s smart contracts, developed in collaboration with Peersyst using the evmOS software stack.

The sidechain will connect to the XRP Ledger mainnet via a cross-chain bridge utilizing the Axelar protocol to facilitate asset transfers, including wrapped XRP (wXRP), which will become the native token for gas payments.

Additionally, Guggenheim Treasury Services launched digital commercial paper on the XRPL. This product consists of tokenized promissory notes issued by fintech startup Zeconomy, backed by U.S. Treasury bonds.

This launch on XRPL marks an expansion for Guggenheim, which previously launched trading instruments on Ethereum.

By the end of the week, Ripple’s network saw Circle release the USDC stablecoin, aimed at «increasing the utility of the ledger, expanding on-chain liquidity, and opening new pathways for innovation.»

At the same time, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed intentions to compete with SWIFT, predicting that XRP could capture up to 14% of the global volume of cross-border payments processed by the international interbank messaging system within the next five years.

In light of rising offline threats against cryptocurrency holders, Didi Taihuttu, known as the head of the «Bitcoin Family,» has completely changed his asset storage approach.

Over the past eight months, he and his family have moved away from hardware wallets. They now use a hybrid system where seed phrases are encrypted, divided into parts, and concealed across four continents.

Some data is stored on the blockchain in encrypted form, while others are engraved on metal plates in physical vaults. Taihuttu has employed personalized encryption, modifying certain words in the phrase.

*»Even if a gun is held to my head, I won’t be able to give more than what’s in my wallet on my phone, and that’s a small amount,»* Taihuttu stated.

About 65% of their assets are now held in these secure storages. The family patriarch intends to tap into the capital only if Bitcoin reaches $1 million, predicting that this will occur by 2033.

Prior to this strategy, Taihuttu received multiple threats. The family had to relocate and conceal their address.

*»It’s much more important to understand why self-custody of data is crucial. Safety doesn’t always mean complexity. Today, there are tools and platforms that make secure and autonomous data-storage accessible for everyday individuals, including those in challenging environments. This is the direction we need to keep advancing — creating solutions that are secure enough for a whale yet simple enough for a street vendor,»* added Youssef.

The speaker noted that Taihuttu’s decision underscores «the global importance of security,» but this approach isn’t for everyone.

Youssef also reminded the necessity of self-custody for cryptocurrencies:

*»The most reliable model today for individual investors is one that incorporates personal control and multi-layered protection: where possible, multiple signatures, backups, and perhaps even geographical distribution if the stakes are high. But it all starts with education and accessibility.»*

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