As the legislative timetable for the CLARITY Act, a U.S. virtual-asset market structure bill, is pushed back again to July, Bitcoin and XRP are continuing a tough tug of war around the psychological support lines of $60,000 and $1, respectively.

In South Korea, as legislation on the Basic Digital Asset Act is delayed, brokerage houses, banks and asset managers appear to be moving into a race to secure infrastructure ahead of formal institutionalisation through exchange equity investments and business agreements.

• CLARITY bill faces July crossroads... direction of U.S. cryptocurrency regulation at stake • U.S. CLARITY Act heads to Senate in July... Senator Lummis and JPMorgan CEO in head-on clash • Galaxy Research cuts odds of CLARITY Act passing in 2026 from 60 percent to 50 percent... July vote a crossroads

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee set a CLARITY Act hearing for July 17 in New York, making the previously discussed possibility of completing legislation before July 4 effectively remote. The Senate Banking Committee passed the bill by 15 votes to 9, but securing a bipartisan 60 votes is key for a floor vote. Senator Cynthia Lummis said she would unveil a final compromise around the July 4 recess and push to pass it within July, but warned that if that window is missed, full-scale legislation could be delayed until 2030.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the current bill fails to apply bank-level regulation to virtual-asset firms and said, "If it passes like this, it will ultimately fail." Opposition voices also grew as U.S. Catholic groups joined in, increasing legislative variables. Galaxy Research lowered its outlook for passage within the year to 50 percent from 60 percent, and the prediction market Polymarket's approval odds fell to about 48 percent from 74 percent a month earlier.

• Bitcoin strains to defend $60,000... altcoins mixed amid 'fear' sentiment • Bitcoin rebounds after hitting 2026 low... could U.S. stock weakness trigger further declines • Strategy jumps 14 percent intraday on capital overhaul including possible Bitcoin sales

Bitcoin has traded in a $60,000 to $70,000 range for 2 months and recently slid to the $58,000 level, marking its lowest since September 2024. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows of $3.4 billion in a single week in early June, the largest on record for any one week, and another $2.3 billion left in May, extending outflows for 2 straight months.

Even after the Federal Reserve, under new Chairman Kevin Warsh, decided to hold its benchmark rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting, a strong dollar and expectations for tightening weighed on sentiment. According to CoinGecko analysis, Bitcoin has stayed below its 200-day moving average for 233 straight days, entering the fourth-longest bear market in history, but the size of the decline itself is assessed as the most moderate on record.

In prediction markets, many are betting that Bitcoin is more likely to test $55,000 before it regains $100,000, and some analysts present the $42,000 to $53,000 band as the cycle bottom. Meanwhile, major holder Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, chose to raise funds through a share issuance rather than selling Bitcoin, but warnings also emerged that its stock could fall by up to another 80 percent as a result.

• Fears grow of XRP breaking below $1... exchange holdings fall while whales keep accumulating • XRP down 69 percent from its peak but... a different flow from past cycles • XRP is not a buy yet... optimal chart-based staggered buying zone $0.42 to $0.72 • Ripple RLUSD begins distribution via SBI platform after approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency

XRP plunged more than 20 percent in June alone and slid to an annual low of $1.01, leaving it down 43 percent from the start of the year. Amid broad-based selling led by Bitcoin, XRP is even showing signs of ceding its market-cap ranking to rival assets such as BNB and USDC. Analysts present downside targets of $0.87 to $0.70 if the $1 support breaks, or as low as $0.55 in a bearish case, while on-chain data show whale wallets holding at least 1,000,000 XRP hold 74.1 percent of total supply and have accumulated an additional 1.53 billion XRP over the past 6 months. With exchange holdings falling and whale accumulation observed at the same time, some analysis says long-term holding sentiment remains valid apart from short-term volatility.

Meanwhile, Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD began distribution via the SBI platform after receiving approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency, expanding its real-world use base starting in regions where regulatory clarity is secured.

• Building infrastructure before institutionalisation... finance sector's 'digital asset alliance' spreads • U.S. Democrats urge withdrawal of plan to allow crypto investment in 401(k)s

In South Korea, as discussions on the Basic Digital Asset Act are delayed, the financial sector is moving preemptively into a race to secure infrastructure. Korea Investment & Securities has strengthened its digital-finance ecosystem partnership with Coinone, OKX and Com2uS Holdings, while Mirae Asset Global Investments is pursuing cooperation with Ondo Finance on ETF tokenisation and KB Securities is separately pushing cooperation with the Canton Foundation and Wavbridge to build distributed-ledger-based infrastructure. In the industry, the prevailing view is that after institutionalisation, competitiveness will be determined not by simple trading support but by how much issuance, distribution, custody, payments and management infrastructure is in place.

In the United States, Democrats have urged the withdrawal of a proposal to allow 401(k) retirement plans to invest in cryptocurrencies and private funds, citing insufficient consumer protection, highlighting a political tug of war over institutional capital inflows.