Kraken-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 plans to launch and airdrop new INK token, foundation says

Avalanche has experienced an onchain boom in recent weeks, as the 7-day moving average (7DMA) of the number of transactions on the chain reached 1 million, its highest in over a year. For context, at the beginning of May, this figure stood at just 296,000 transactions. In the span of less than two weeks, this figure more than doubled to 696,000, before a notable decline and slowdown towards the end of the month.

However, as June approached, transactions on Avalanche exploded, with the 7DMA increasing from 400,000 on May 31 to over 1 million in just two weeks. The increased activity is reflected in the 7DMA of the average transaction fee on the chain, which has doubled from 0.0035 AVAX at the beginning of May to 0.0072 AVAX at the time of writing.

However, interestingly, the 7DMA of the number of active addresses on Avalanche experienced a notable spike in May, as it grew from 40,000 to 296,000 in the first half of May. This caused Avalanche to record its highest-ever monthly figure for active addresses, totalling 3.6 million for the month of May, which is 16.5% higher than the previous monthly high of 3.09 million in December 2021. Since the early May spike, it has declined significantly, currently standing at just 68,000 at the time of writing.

Considering the spike in the number of transactions in June that was not followed by a similar spike in active addresses, it can be assumed that the spike in transactions that occurred in June has been driven by a smaller cohort transacting more frequently rather than by a fresh influx of wallets.

Regardless, the spike in activity was likely catalyzed by arena.trade, a launchpad that allows users to mint tradable ERC–404–style tokens directly from X posts using a bonding-curve mechanism. Each interaction, whether issuing or trading a token, triggers a sequence of micro-transactions, creating a cascade of fee-generating activity that has mechanically inflated Avalanche’s daily transaction count throughout June.

This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.

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XRP bulls appear to be facing one last test of conviction before the market’s next explosive phase, according to CryptoInsightUK’s video analysis released on 16 June. The British analyst argues that the token is sculpting an inverse head-and-shoulders formation whose right shoulder “still needs to form around the high-$1.80s” before any sustained rally can commence.

How Low Must XRP Go?

In the broadcast, he emphasised that “dense liquidity is below us,” pointing to a confluence of resting bids and stop-loss clusters between roughly $1.92 and $1.80. “I still think it comes down to make the right shoulder which is around 1.88,” he said, adding that a swift wash-out into that pocket would “flush the lows, tap in there and send it.”

At present, XRP is changing hands near $2.24, up about 3% over the past 24 hours, which implies a prospective drawdown of roughly 20% if the market fulfills his downside scenario. From the analyst’s vantage point, such a retreat is less a cause for alarm than a prerequisite for the next major leg higher: “If we come down first, we’ve done the downside part. Otherwise I’m still going to be worried about going down even if we come up to $2.42 or higher.”

He linked the bearish short-term bias to structural forces beyond the XRP Ledger’s ecosystem. Bitcoin dominance, he noted, has crept toward a historical inflection zone that previously triggered alt-seasons: “Anywhere in this box could be the start of alt-season… That would probably coincide with Bitcoin dropping to between $100,000 and $93,000.” A dominance spike fed by a late-cycle Bitcoin dip, he argued, would typically inflict outsized percentage losses on major altcoins—including XRP—before liquidity rotates back into them.

Within XRP’s own order book, CryptoInsightUK highlighted a “liquidity vacuum” created by May’s capitulation candle. Although the token has since retraced most of that single-session collapse, he described the rebound as “choppy corrective price action,” lacking the conviction and volume that accompanied earlier impulse waves. The right-shoulder flush, in his view, would neutralise residual leverage, particularly among traders who re-loaded longs too aggressively during the $2.15–$2.40 bounce.

How High Can XRP Explode?

The inverse head-and-shoulders thesis also features prominently on his long-range chart, stretching back to mid-May. The analyst first published the pattern on X, showing a left shoulder near $2.42, a head at $1.47, and a neckline just above $2.50. Completing a symmetrical right shoulder near $1.88 would, by classical pattern-measuring rules, project an upside target above $3.50—a level not visited since late-2021’s cycle top.

Liquidity dynamics across the broader market reinforce his caution. Open interest in perpetual swaps for Ether, he observed, remains “as high as it’s ever been,” suggesting that any sudden drop in majors could spark a forced-liquidation cascade across altcoin pairs. “These people will be flushed out,” he warned, calling attention to negative-funding episodes that hint at an overcrowded short base waiting to be squeezed—once the final downside pocket has been filled.

Despite the near-term jitters, CryptoInsightUK reiterated a resolutely bullish macro stance. “The next stage I’m most certain about is that we’re going to go significantly higher for crypto,” he told viewers. Drawing parallels with gold’s record weekly close, he argued that an undercurrent of global risk aversion is quietly supporting non-sovereign stores of value, positioning both Bitcoin and XRP for accelerated appreciation once the technical reset concludes.

For long-term holders, his advice was unequivocal: avoid wholesale portfolio shifts and instead treat any sub-$2.00 wick as a final accumulation window. “Dollar-cost averaging from here is a good thing to do,” he said, revealing that 97% of his own capital remains in spot positions, with only a single-digit percentage reserved for surgical bids in the $1.80–$1.92 zone.

Whether XRP respects that script will become clear in the days ahead. Should the market indeed sweep into the high-$1.80s and rebound with the aggressive thrust the analyst expects, the right shoulder will be complete—and the runway clear—for the long-awaited take-off.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.23.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has a message for anyone new to the markets: do not trade, just buy Bitcoin. In a recent post on X, Brandt - who has been trading for over 40 years - said that beginners would be better off avoiding the day-to-day noise. Instead, he suggests putting money into broad market ETFs like SPY and QQQ, and even adding Bitcoin to the mix.

It is a clear recommendation, especially from someone who is known for their deep technical analysis and pattern recognition. But according to Brandt, most people are not built for trading and end up losing money trying to outsmart a market that outsmarts them instead.

His advice? Keep it simple: build long-term positions and leave the fast moves to the pros.

However, there is one interesting nuance to his opinion.

Bitcoin on verge of 75% crash to $30,000 BTC

Just a week before this latest post, Brandt shared a technical chart suggesting that the Bitcoin price could be about to drop majorly. His point was that there is a sideways consolidation pattern forming near Bitcoin's recent highs - around $104,000 - that looks a lot like the one seen in late 2021, just before the market crashed. 

If the pattern repeats itself, Brandt warned that BTC could potentially fall as much as 75%.

Some expressed concerns, pointing out stronger fundamentals and rising production costs for miners. Brandt was not convinced. He likened Bitcoin to commodities like gold and wheat, saying that production costs do not set market prices - supply and demand do.

Even though the chart is looking bearish, Brandt's core message has not changed. He is not saying to avoid Bitcoin, just to stop trying to trade it. To him, the real risk is not in holding Bitcoin long-term, it is in overestimating your ability to time it right.

In a world where hype, leverage and fast money are the name of the game, Brandt's advice is a breath of fresh air: do not play unless you understand the rules - and even then, it might be better to sit it out.

Mackenzie Tatananni

MicroStrategy stock isn't for every investor. The company, which does business as Strategy, abandoned its roots in enterprise software as it pursued ambitions to become the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

However, Strategy's latest stock offering presents a gradual growth opportunity for investors itching to get exposure to the cryptocurrency, TD Cowen analyst argued on Tuesday.

Analysts led by Lance Vitanza asserted that the company was "hitting its stride" following a public offering of junior perpetual preferred stock. The company issued 11,764,700 shares priced at $85 each on June 10. A non-cumulative dividend rate of 10% per annum applies to a face value of $100 a share.

The offering of the so-called STRD (pronounced "Stride") shares will prove to be "highly accretive to common shareholders" over time, Vitanza argued. He noted that the offering raised $1 billion of gross proceeds and "far exceeded initial expectations" for $250 million.

Proceeds were promptly used to fund Strategy's latest Bitcoin purchase. From June 9 through June 15, the company snapped up 10,100 Bitcoins in a $1.051 billion transaction financed mostly by the offering.

Crucially, the offering "establishes a channel for future high yield fund flows into Bitcoin," Vitanza continued. He anticipates "significant accretion" for common shareholders from the offering itself, "and even greater accretion from potential future issuance."

The analyst expects the preferred shares, which have no maturity date and are paid out to shareholders before common stock dividends are distributed, to trade at a higher dividend yield than the company's senior preferred shares.

Vitanza rates MicroStrategy common stock at Buy with a $590 price target. The price target implies nearly 60% upside, with MicroStrategy stock down 1.4% at $376.74 on Tuesday.

Strategy has more than $63 billion of underlying Bitcoin value compared to $11.6 billion of total debt and preferred outstanding. This number is even lower excluding in-the-money converts.

The price of Bitcoin fell steeply on June 12 after Israel launched its initial barrage of attacks on Iran. While enthusiasts may argue that the crypto is a safe-haven asset under certain circumstances, its price is generally subject to volatility during periods of market instability.

At last check, the price of the cryptocurrency was down 2.9% over the past 24 hours to $105,487, according to CoinDesk data. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.

Strategy's latest Bitcoin acquisition brought the company's total holdings to 592,100 tokens purchased for an aggregate $41.84 million.

Even in the face of market instability, Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor has remained upbeat. The company's executive chairman posted a series of tweets seemingly in support of the crypto, including the proclamation "Sometimes you need to fight for Bitcoin," earlier this week.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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