Strategy's STRC preferred slid to record lows near $73, about 25% below its $100 par in two weeks, as the leverage behind the bitcoin-treasury model ran in reverse. Hours later, Abracadabra's MIM fell roughly 50% below its dollar peg and the protocol declared an emergency, hiking rates across every Cauldron and halting incentives.

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PARTNER

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WATCH

Bitcoin Has a Strategy Problem. The Rest of Crypto Doesn't

Thursday's clip is the thesis behind today's split, argued live. Jeff Dorman, CIO of Arca, makes the case that the blockchain innovation layer is growing without Bitcoin — stablecoins, DeFi, and real-world assets — and that owning Bitcoin now is a pure store-of-value bet. The Strategy unwind, in his read, only speeds that separation.

MARKETS

Strategy's STRC Preferred Stock Hits Record Lows as Leverage Cascade Deepens

Strategy's Series A perpetual preferred, ticker STRC, slid to record lows between $73 and $78, about 25% below the $100 par it held two weeks ago. The company's bitcoin holdings stayed intact, which locates the stress in the capital structure. STRC sits senior to the common stock that fell below $100 on Wednesday, extending the funding squeeze the Defiant flagged when STRC first closed at a record low on June 18.

Why this matters: The stress sits in the preferred stack while the bitcoin holdings stay intact. How Strategy funds the next purchase prices whether the structure holds.

DEFI

Magic Internet Money Falls 50% Below Peg as Abracadabra Declares Emergency

Abracadabra's MIM stablecoin fell roughly 50% below its $1 peg, and the protocol declared an emergency — hiking interest rates across every Cauldron, halting Curve bribes, and suspending direct incentives. The depeg followed a stretch of thin liquidity and concentrated borrowing against volatile collateral. MIM has slipped from peg in past market-stress episodes, each time around leveraged loans souring faster than the protocol could unwind them.

Why this matters: A 50% depeg paired with emergency rate hikes signals solvency stress. Watch whether the hikes pull MIM back toward par or speed the exit.

DEFI

Spark, Uniswap, and Sky Launch $150M Liquidity Migration to Build Shared Stablecoin FX Layer

Spark, Uniswap, and Sky began migrating $150M in USDS into Uniswap v4 pools, the first step toward what the three call a shared stablecoin FX layer — common liquidity any issuer's coin can route through. Sky supplies the USDS, Spark coordinates the liquidity, and Uniswap v4's hooks handle the routing. The design treats stablecoins as currencies that share one exchange venue.

Why this matters: A shared FX layer makes stablecoins interoperable at the liquidity level — a precondition for the multi-issuer market the GENIUS Act invites.

TRADFI AND FINTECH

Invesco Files for Tokenized Stablecoin-Reserve Money Market Fund Built on Superstate Rails

Invesco filed for a tokenized money-market fund whose shares record directly on public blockchains, with reserves structured for GENIUS Act compliance and Superstate serving as sub-transfer agent. It extends a relationship already in place: Invesco took over management of Superstate's tokenized T-bill fund in March. The filing puts a top-tier US asset manager on the same on-chain rails crypto-native issuers built first.

Why this matters: A mainstream asset manager filing GENIUS Act-native funds moves tokenized money-market products from pilot to product. The contest now shifts to distribution.

DEFI

Aave's Kulechov Disputes Report, Says Firm Won't Sell AAVE at '70%' Discount

Aave founder Stani Kulechov rejected a report that the firm would sell a 15% stake to Kraken at a $385M valuation, a figure he called a 70% discount to fair value. He argued that all Aave protocol and GHO stablecoin revenue accrues to the AAVE token, and that the brand and software belong to token holders. Neither Aave nor Kraken has confirmed any talks.

Why this matters: The dispute is about who captures Aave's revenue — the token or an acquirer. Kulechov is drawing the line at protocol-owned value.