Good morning and welcome to Kaupr Today!

Two signals from the digital asset treasury world this morning — Strategy sold Bitcoin for the first time since 2022, and markets reacted hard. Meanwhile, Bitmine kept buying Ethereum without anyone noticing.

Beyond the treasuries: the CFTC just opened the door to regulated perpetual futures in the US, Telegram is bringing back Gram, and the Clarity Act is racing a packed Senate calendar.

Stories in today's newsletter:

♦️ Strategy sells 32 BTC — and markets price in something bigger.
♦️ Bitmine quietly reaches 4.49% of all Ethereum.
♦️ CFTC greenlights crypto perps — Kraken, Coinbase and Kalshi move fast.
♦️ Telegram revives Gram — the token the SEC killed in 2020.
♦️ The Clarity Act has four weeks and a crowded Senate calendar.
♦️ India: Revolut launches, RBI plans cross-border CBDC pilots.
♦️ ECB's Schnabel draws the battle line on dollar stablecoins.

Have a great read!

Morten

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Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million between May 26 and May 31 — proceeds earmarked for preferred stock dividends across five series totalling roughly $1.5 billion annually. It is the first sale since a tax-motivated disposal in December 2022, and the first ever tied directly to meeting financial obligations. Strategy still holds 843,706 BTC at an average cost of $75,699.

Why it matters: Strategy built its identity around accumulation. Selling to fund preferred dividends signals the equity stack now creates real, recurring pressure on the treasury.

Source: Strategy Sells 32 Bitcoin for $2.5M to Fund Preferred Dividends, First Sale Since 2022 — The Defiant

Strategy shares fell 5.85% and Bitcoin dropped below $72,000 — its lowest since April 13. Over $93 million in futures positions were liquidated in a single hour, 95% of them longs. Bitcoin ETFs have now posted ten consecutive days of net outflows, the longest streak on record.

Why it matters: The reaction was not about the size of the sale — it was about what it signals. Markets are repricing the assumption that Strategy will never sell.

Source: Strategy shares fall after selling $2.5 million in bitcoin, its first sale since 2022 — CNBC

Bitmine added 26,497 ETH for approximately $53 million last week, bringing total holdings to 5,416,901 ETH — 4.49% of circulating supply. The firm has staked 4.72 million ETH, generating annualised staking revenue of $258 million, and expects to reach its 5% target in 2026.

Why it matters: While Strategy's sale dominated headlines, Bitmine quietly kept accumulating. The two firms now represent the largest institutional concentrations of Bitcoin and Ethereum respectively.

Source: Bitmine acquires 26,497 ETH as it targets a slower approach to 5% of Ethereum's total supply — The Block

Revolut has begun a controlled beta rollout in India, giving thousands of waitlisted users access to UPI payments, multi-currency cards, and e-money wallets. The company targets 20 million users by 2030 and $7 billion in transactions. India's UPI network processed a record 23.2 billion transactions worth $313 billion in May alone.

Why it matters: India is the world's most active real-time payments market. Revolut's entry puts it directly in competition with established local fintechs and global players already moving fast in the same space.

Source: Revolut rolls out services to thousands of users in India ahead of broader launch — TechCrunch

The Reserve Bank of India outlined plans in its 2025–26 annual report to launch bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots with Singapore and the UAE. The bank is expanding programmable digital rupee pilots across welfare schemes — though retail e-rupee circulation fell from ₹1,016 crore to ₹772 crore over the past year.

Why it matters: India is simultaneously the world's largest remittance recipient and a leading CBDC experimenter. Cross-border digital rupee pilots would place it at the centre of a new payments corridor that bypasses traditional correspondent banking.

Source: RBI plans cross-border CBDC pilots amid digital currency experiments — Business Standard

ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel warned Monday that the stablecoin market — approaching $300 billion, with USDT and USDC holding 90% — poses risks to financial stability and European monetary sovereignty. The digital euro is in a technical preparation phase, with a pilot scheduled for mid-2027 and issuance readiness targeted for 2029, contingent on legislation this year.

Why it matters: The ECB is not just warning about stablecoins — it is accelerating its own alternative. For European fintech and crypto firms, the digital euro timeline is becoming a concrete planning horizon.

Source: Digital euro is key to counter stablecoin risks, says ECB's Schnabel — The Block

The CFTC gave US crypto platforms a green light Friday to offer perpetual futures under American regulatory oversight. KalshiEX was first to receive approval for a BTC perp; Coinbase immediately extended access to global options and perps via Deribit; Kraken expects to follow within 30 days via Bitnomial Exchange.

Why it matters: Crypto perps have been the dominant global trading product for years — almost entirely offshore. Bringing them onshore under CFTC supervision reshapes the competitive landscape for every regulated US exchange.

Source: Kraken plans regulated perp contracts as rivals are quick off the blocks — Cointelegraph

In an advisory issued the same day, the CFTC drew a clear line between crypto and traditional derivatives on 24/7 trading. Blockchain infrastructure and stablecoins make round-the-clock markets a natural fit for crypto — but agricultural and other traditional markets face liquidity and manipulation risks if they extend trading hours.

Why it matters: The CFTC is formally embedding a two-track regulatory framework — one for crypto-native markets, one for everyone else. That divide is now official US policy.

Source: U.S. regulator says 24/7 trading is great for crypto, may not be fit for other sectors — CoinDesk

The Senate returned from recess Monday with roughly four weeks before the July 4 break — and the Clarity Act competes for floor time against a reconciliation bill, Pentagon funding, and a June 12 FISA deadline. Winning 60 votes means flipping Agriculture Committee Democrats who voted against the bill on party lines in January, with ethics guardrails for government officials the key sticking point.

Why it matters: The Clarity Act has Treasury support and political momentum — but the calendar is a constraint lobbying cannot fix. The next four weeks will determine whether this bill moves in 2026.

Source: Clarity faces a crowded Senate calendar — Crypto in America

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced Monday that TON's native cryptocurrency will be renamed Gram — the original name from the project's first white paper. The transition takes three weeks, requires no token swap, and leaves balances and staking unchanged. TON surged more than 13% on the news. In 2020, the SEC forced Telegram to return $1.22 billion to investors after blocking the original Gram launch — the community rebuilt the network independently as TON.

Why it matters: Telegram now controls the network it was forced to abandon in 2020, backed by 950 million users and a far more permissive US regulatory climate. Durov is reclaiming the full original vision.

Source: TON revives Gram token brand as Telegram CEO Durov says network is 'returning to roots' — The Block

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Wishing you a great Tuesday — and welcome back tomorrow morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.

Best regards Morten Myrstad Founder & Editor