Trump, Musk feud; Circle IPO; Strategy upsize

This week’s crypto roundup captures a whirlwind of activity across markets, politics, and policy. Tech mogul Elon Musk is feuding with President Donald Trump, and meme coin prices tumbled, while Circle made headlines with a stronger-than-expected initial public offering.

Institutional appetite for Bitcoin intensified as Strategy and Semler Scientific bolstered their treasuries, and Japan’s Metaplanet unveiled a massive $5.3 billion BTC acquisition plan. Meanwhile, regulatory shifts took shape, with the UK lifting its retail crypto ETN ban and Ripple’s RLUSD gaining approval in Dubai.

From Robinhood’s European expansion to Yuga Labs proposing the end of ApeCoin governance, the week revealed growing divides between legacy players and new strategies reshaping the crypto economy.

Trump, Musk conflict weighs on meme coin performance

• Tensions between Trump and Musk reached a boiling point Thursday and continued over the weekend.
• Musk, who reportedly contributed $295 million to Republicans in the 2024 election year (most of that money going to Trump), grew angry with the GOP for its attempts to pass a sweeping budget bill.
• When Trump criticized Musk publicly, the Tesla CEO alleged on X that the president is named in confidential criminal files involving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
• The public dispute has negatively impacted meme coins associated with both figures, with the Official Trump (TRUMP) and Dogecoin (DOGE) ranking among the 10 worst-performing cryptocurrencies over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Also from MAGA world…

• The Trump family has reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to entities behind a disputed Trump-branded crypto wallet.
• Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump have all publicly disavowed the $TRUMP Wallet project.

Circle prices IPO above expected range

• Circle announced on Wednesday that the price of its IPO would be $31. This debut raised about $1.1 billion, above the estimated range of $24-26.
• Circle expanded from the initial proposal of 24 million Class A shares to approximately 34 million.

Strategy upsizes preferred stock offering to $1 billion

• Strategy said on Friday that it had raised the size of its STRD issuance from $250 million to $1 billion. At a price of $85 per share, 11,764,700 shares of Strategy’s 10% Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock will be offered for sale.
• Strategy also spent about $75 million for an extra 705 BTC, increasing its total Bitcoin holdings to 580,955 BTC.

Semler Scientific also adds Bitcoin to its coffer

• Semler Scientific bought 185 BTC for $20 million in the ten days ending June 3. They paid around $107,974 per Bitcoin.
• This purchase brings the company’s total holdings to 4,449 BTC.

UK proposes lifting retail crypto ETN ban

• The Financial Conduct Authority has announced proposals to lift limitations on cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (cETNs) for retail users.
• This proposed change would align the UK with countries such as the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and the EU.

Metaplanet launches $5.3 billion Bitcoin acquisition plan

• The Tokyo-listed business has revealed plans to issue 555 million shares through stock acquisition rights in order to buy more Bitcoin (BTC).
• Thanks to this $5.3 billion endeavor, Metaplanet is now one of the biggest corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies outside of the US.

Yuga Labs proposes ending ApeCoin DAO governance

• The inventor of Bored Apes proposed terminating the ApeCoin (APE) DAO governance structure in favor of a new operating paradigm.
• CEO Greg Solano slammed the current structure in Thursday’s proposal, saying “ApeCoin DAO was a bold experiment, but one born of a different era” that has devolved into “sluggish, noisy, and often unserious governance theater.”

Singapore court rejects WazirX restructuring plan

• The Singapore High Court declined WazirX’s proposed restructuring plan aimed at recovering from last year’s $230 million security exploit.
• In Wednesday’s statement, WazirX revealed the court’s rejection and indicated the team is considering an appeal against the decision.

Robinhood completes Bitstamp acquisition

• Robinhood has completed the purchase of Bitstamp, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Europe, for $200 million.

Ripple’s RLUSD gains Dubai regulatory approval

• The Dubai Financial Services Authority has greenlighted Ripple’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD as a payment rail within the Dubai International Financial Centre.
• This approval expands Ripple’s Middle Eastern footprint and provides additional utility for its stablecoin in a major regional financial hub.

Weekend Spotlight