Crypto lags a nine-week stock rally as ETF demand cools and Stellar surges 16%

The dominant story today is a widening gap between crypto and equities. Stocks have now rallied for nine consecutive weeks, but Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin have not kept pace — and the data points to one clear reason: ETF demand is cooling. When institutional money flows into crypto ETFs, it tends to lift large-cap assets first. When those flows slow or reverse, Bitcoin and Ethereum drift while smaller assets can still catch bids from traders rotating out of large-cap exposure. That rotation dynamic appears to explain Stellar's 16% jump today — the largest move in the top-tracked universe. With BTC essentially flat and ETH up only 0.34%, traders seeking movement found it in lower-cap assets. BNB was the standout in the top 15, rising 5.43%, and Hyperliquid gained 4.77%, both outperforming the large caps by a wide margin. The Fear & Greed index at 23 — deep in 'Fear' territory — reflects the broader mood: the market is not panicking, but it is not confident either. Bitcoin at $73,459 remains well below its all-time highs, and the total market cap of $2.56 trillion suggests no fresh capital wave has arrived. The day's price action is less about a specific shock and more about a slow drift as crypto waits for a catalyst that has not yet appeared.

• –JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon escalated his opposition to the CLARITY Act, specifically targeting a provision that would allow stablecoin issuers to pay interest — a feature he argues banks cannot match under current rules.
• –The CFTC opened the door for crypto perpetual futures contracts in the US, with Coinbase and prediction market platform Kalshi among the first to move forward — a significant expansion of regulated crypto derivatives.
• –The US government has seized nearly $1 billion in crypto assets linked to Iran, Treasury Secretary Bessent confirmed, in one of the largest state-level crypto enforcement actions on record.