Crypto Q2: $8.9B Left ETFs, Stablecoins Hit $323B

Crypto markets had a rough second quarter. Bitcoin closed June near $58,000, down 18% on the month, a level not seen since late 2024. Ethereum finished down 25%, its third straight losing quarter.

ETF outflows drove much of the decline. From May 6 through June 30, ETFs were net negative on 39 of 41 trading sessions. About $8.9 billion left the products in that stretch, pushing Bitcoin from roughly $80,000 to $58,000. Total Q2 net outflow was approximately $4.67 billion.

The pressure escalated upon news of Strategy's sale of 32 BTC at the end of May. The amount was small. Traders read the sale as a signal.

Solana ETFs went the other direction. They reached $115.3 million in inflows in May alone, with total assets increasing to $1.13 billion.

Stablecoins hit a new all-time high of $323 billion. Total volume reached $4.5 trillion. USDT and USDC together hold over 80% of the supply, about $261 billion. Non-USD stablecoin volume hit its own record at $2 billion, up more than 40% in 2026.

Tokenized real-world assets crossed $28.9 billion even as crypto markets fell. US Treasuries remained the largest category. BlackRock's BUILD contributed $3.1 billion and Circle/Hashnote $2.7 billion. Tokenized equities reached $5.5 billion. The SpaceX IPO on Ondo and xStocks platforms was a major contributor.

Hyperliquid's share of the perpetual DEX market rose from 32% to 63% during the quarter. HYPE hit new all-time highs. The broader market fell. Coinbase crypto perps reached $212 billion in cumulative volume across 25 contracts, one year on from CFTC approval. Pre-IPO perpetual futures emerged as a new category. Bitget, Binance, Gate, OKX, and BitMart all launched products around the SpaceX and Anthropic listings.

The GENIUS Act moved into implementation. MiCA's July 1 deadline split EU operators between compliant and non-compliant. Japan classified crypto as a financial product and cut taxes on gains.

Mastercard acquired BVNK for $1.8 billion. JPMorgan, which carries an Alpha Score of 65 at AlphaScala, launched JLTXX, its second tokenized fund on Ethereum. Visa reached a $7 billion annualized run rate on stablecoin settlements and joined the Canton Network as its first super validator.

About 83 exploits stole $755 million in Q2. KelpDAO and Drift Protocol accounted for over 75% of losses. Both were linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Cross-chain bridges were responsible for 46% of total losses.

Prediction market volume reached $50.69 billion monthly by June. Kalshi held the largest share at 58%, with $17.9 billion. Polymarket had around $8.8 billion. Sports was the leading category, pushed by FIFA World Cup markets. Galaxy Digital launched the first OTC prediction market service for institutional investors.

Bitcoin ended Q2 below its 200-week moving average. Fed Chair Warsh said July 2 that inflation risks had eased. BTC bounced to $61,000. June payrolls came in at 57,000 against a consensus for 113,000.