This week, the cryptocurrency space recorded a major win in the stablecoin sector despite geopolitical headwinds keeping markets in a risk-off stance. However, bitcoin (BTC) continued to consolidate until Friday before it plummeted due to tensions between Israel and Iran.

A weekly report by the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, revealed that global markets have faced heightened volatility since the beginning of the week. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, but investors sold off their risk assets, including BTC and equities, as they sought safety.

Bitcoin Consolidates

Bitcoin and equities started the week with a rally, shrugging off the negative sentiment brought by geopolitical headlines. By mid-week, BTC retraced its steps and fell to $103,500, and investors moved to defensive assets as fears of a deeper Middle East geopolitical spillover resurfaced.

The flight-to-safety trend was not just witnessed in bitcoin; ether and other large-cap altcoins saw similar moves.

While investors moved from a risk-on to risk-off approach, Binance analysts found that structural demand for BTC remained resilient. The United States spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) market saw inflows totaling $2.4 billion across an eight-day streak that extended till June 18. The exchange said this was a sign of “dip-buying” by long-term investors.

Spot Ethereum ETFs also saw notable positive flows, surpassing $605 million during the same period. In addition, on-chain metrics for Ethereum remained positive, with staked ether (ETH) surging to a record 34.9 million ETH, accounting for roughly 28.9% of the circulating supply. Analysts discovered that more than 500,000 ETH of the staked amount was added in the first two weeks of June.

“This points to rising conviction in ETH’s yield potential and network security while further reducing liquid supply,” Binance stated.

U.S. Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill

On the regulatory front, the U.S. Senate passed the landmark Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in a 68–30 vote on June 17. The bill is the first comprehensive regulatory framework for fully-reserved, anti-money laundering (AML)-compliant stablecoins. The next step for the GENIUS Act is to pass the House of Representatives before it can become law.

Although the bill marks a major step forward for stablecoin regulation, it has raised concerns about the concentration of risk within the traditional banking system. This is because the Act mandates that stablecoin reserves be held by only federally regulated entities.

Meanwhile, the policy win comes as stablecoin usage reaches record highs: the total supply has grown 22.5% since 2024 ended to exceed $250 billion, and on-chain transfer volumes have surpassed $20 trillion.