CLARITY Act Deadline, Bitcoin Holds $64K & XRP ETF Demand Collapses | Daily Crypto Roundup

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Welcome back to the Daily Crypto Roundup. Bitcoin is trying to hold the line. Washington is running out of time on the Clarity Act. XRP Exchange Traded Fund Demand has almost disappeared, and some of the biggest names from the last crypto cycle are now shutting down, selling assets or filing for bankruptcy.
By the end of this episode, we are also announcing this week's XRP Giveaway Winners, so stay with us. The biggest story today is the Clarity Act, because the legislation that could finally define the rules for crypto in the United States is now in danger of missing its window before Congress leaves for the summer recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated that the bill is unlikely to pass before lawmakers leave Washington, and the core problem is still the same. Supporters need enough votes to get it through the Senate, but the political argument around Donald Trump's own crypto interests is making that extremely difficult. The White House says Democrats should accept the ethics restrictions already offered, while Democrats want tougher limits around political figures profiting from crypto.
A long-awaited market structure bill is therefore being dragged into a wider fight about conflicts of interest. One positive development is that a major national police union has reportedly reversed its position and now backs the legislation. That gives supporters an answer to claims that clearer rules could weaken enforcement and create loopholes for criminals. Our view is that the Clarity Act will return, even if it misses this summer deadline. The industry, major exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and a growing number of lawmakers all want a workable market structure. The real question is whether it happens in 2026, or whether political fighting pushes the whole thing into another year. Before we move on, today's episode is supported by Kraken. Kraken is one of the world's best known crypto platforms, giving users access to Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum and a wide range of other digital assets. Our link is in the episode description. Anyone who signs up through it and completes the required steps can message us to claim 20 XRP for signing up through our link. This is not financial advice. Crypto trading involves a risk of loss, prices can be extremely volatile, and you should never invest money you cannot afford to lose. Now to Bitcoin, which is continuing to show surprising resilience. Bitcoin had been holding near $65,000 even as oil moved towards $100 a barrel and geopolitical tensions remained elevated. It has since slipped back towards $64,000 as stock markets weakened. But the important point is that it has not completely collapsed under the pressure. That does not mean the danger has passed. Coinbase, Institutional and Glassnode believe the market may be showing the early stages of a bottoming process. But they remain neutral on the third quarter. Weak exchange-traded fund demand, growing leveraged long positions, tight liquidity and macroeconomic uncertainty could still produce another sharp move lower. This creates a contradiction. On-chain analysts see a possible bottom while options traders are positioning for a large move higher. On Deribit, close to $5 billion of Bitcoin options' open interest has accumulated around the $70,000 and $72,000 strike prices. Calls massively outnumber puts at both levels, showing that traders are still willing to bet on a breakout. At $70,000, there are reportedly around 39,000 call contracts compared with roughly 3,800 puts. At $72,000, there are close to 37,900 calls against only about 1,200 puts. That is an aggressively bullish imbalance. Options positioning is not a guarantee. Some trades may be hedges or volatility bets. But despite all the fear, a large amount of money is still positioned for Bitcoin to recover. The more worrying story is what is happening to Bitcoin treasury companies.
During the bull market, dozens of listed companies tried to copy strategy by raising money, buying Bitcoin and marketing themselves as leveraged exposure to the asset. That model looked brilliant while Bitcoin was rising. It looks very different after a major drawdown. A growing number of these companies are now selling Bitcoin to repay debt, fund operations, buyback shares, or rebuild cash reserves.
Satsuma shareholders have approved the sale of all 668 of the company's Bitcoin. SmarterWeb Company has sold 178 Bitcoin to repay a convertible instrument. Miners including Mara and Bitdeer have also sold Bitcoin while redirecting capital towards artificial intelligence infrastructure. This is the risk we warned about when every company suddenly wanted to become a Bitcoin treasury business. Strategy has a massive capital markets operation, deep liquidity and years of experience raising money against its holdings. Smaller copycats often have weaker balance sheets, more expensive debt and far less room for error. Strategy itself has introduced new net Bitcoin metrics which subtract preferred stock and convertible debt from its reserves. Its stated net reserve is around $36.6 billion after deducting roughly $22.3 billion of senior claims from its Bitcoin and cash. That does not mean Strategy is in immediate trouble, but it shows why investors need to look beyond the headline number of coins held. Now to XRP, where the exchange traded fund story has cooled dramatically. Weekly XRP ETF flows have reportedly fallen by around 99% compared with the launch period. Early demand topped $200 million, but recent flows have dropped into the low single digit millions with repeated days showing no new money.