Bitcoin Tops $74K as CFTC Approves BTCPERP and SEC Hits AI Crypto Scam

Bitcoin pushed above $74,000 as U.S. regulators split between supporting crypto derivatives innovation and cracking down on a fresh round of old-fashioned fraud dressed up in AI hype.

• Bitcoin topped $74K as the market kept its bullish footing
• CFTC approved KalshiEX’s BTCPERP Bitcoin spot price-linked perpetual contract
• SEC sued Nathan Fuller over an alleged “AI crypto trading bot” scam
• USDC minting on Solana and large BTC inflows to Coinbase Institutional signaled active liquidity flows
• Ethereum stayed weak under ETF outflows and persistent leverage pressure
• Strait of Hormuz tensions kept broader risk sentiment on edge

BTC rose above 74,000 USDT on OKX, up about 1.57% over 24 hours, and the move came with a familiar mix of optimism and baggage. Bitcoin’s strength is still the cleanest signal in crypto right now, but the rest of the market is hardly a victory parade. Derivatives approvals, stablecoin minting, whale transfers, ETF outflows, and geopolitical jitters all hit at once. Crypto never just does one thing at a time, because apparently tranquility is not in the product roadmap.

CFTC Approves Bitcoin Perpetual Contract

The biggest regulatory headline came from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which approved KalshiEX to list a Bitcoin spot price-linked perpetual contract called BTCPERP. The CFTC said “the CFTC determined the product complies with the Commodity Exchange Act” and related regulations.

That matters because it gives a regulated path for a product tied to Bitcoin’s price without requiring traders to go through the kind of offshore circus that has long dominated perpetuals trading. A perpetual contract is basically a futures-style product with no expiration date. Traders use them to speculate, hedge, and, when they’re feeling particularly reckless, borrow heavily to crank up exposure.

Perpetuals are a core part of crypto market structure. They drive price discovery, absorb positioning, and let traders express directional views without owning the underlying asset. They also amplify leverage, which is a fancy way of saying they can help good traders or completely vaporize bad ones. The CFTC didn’t sugarcoat that risk, either, warning that “the ‘perpetual’ contract structure is not necessarily suitable across all asset classes”.

That caution is fair. Not every market needs a leverage machine bolted onto it. Still, the approval is a meaningful step. It suggests U.S. regulators may be more comfortable allowing certain crypto-linked products when they sit inside existing market rules instead of outside them. That’s not the same thing as full-blown blessing from Washington, but it is a lot better than the regulatory whiplash and anti-crypto fog that has slowed U.S. market development for years.

For bitcoin, this is part of the bigger institutional story. Spot ETFs may grab the headlines, but derivatives are where a lot of the serious market plumbing lives. Traders hedge there, funds rebalance there, and institutions often find their first real crypto exposure there. In other words, if Bitcoin is becoming more embedded in traditional finance, the road usually runs through derivatives first.

SEC Targets Alleged AI Crypto Scam

While the CFTC was giving a crypto product the green light, the SEC was doing what it should have been doing all along: going after scam artists who slap buzzwords on a Ponzi and call it innovation.

The SEC sued Nathan Fuller, a Texas resident accused of running an alleged “AI crypto trading bot” scheme through Preyvy Investments and Gateway Digital Investments. According to the complaint, Fuller raised about $12.3 million from roughly 150 investors by promising the bot could “generate guaranteed returns of 40% to 100% within 21 to 45 days”.

That’s not a trading strategy. That’s a neon sign screaming “run.” Anyone promising guaranteed double- and triple-digit returns in a matter of weeks is either delusional or trying to steal your money with a smile and a PowerPoint deck. The “AI” label is just the latest costume for a very old crime.

The SEC alleges that “at least $6.2 million was diverted for personal use” and that “about $5.5 million was used to pay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like structure”. That’s the classic trap: pay old investors with new money, keep the pitch machine running, and hope the whole thing doesn’t collapse before the next round of victims is onboarded. Nothing about that is technologically impressive. It’s just fraud with a shiny buzzword stapled to its forehead.

The regulator also says Fuller falsely claimed funds were protected by FDIC insurance, surety bonds, and professional liability coverage. Those claims are the sort of nonsense that preys on people who hear “insured” and assume they’re safe. They weren’t safe. They were being conned.

USDC Minting on Solana and BTC Flows to Coinbase Institutional

On-chain and exchange activity added another layer to the market picture. USDC Treasury minted 250 million USDC on Solana on May 29 at 3:11 p.m. ET, and 189.93 million USDC was transferred from an anonymous wallet to the USDC Treasury.

Fresh stablecoin issuance is often read as a sign of rising on-chain liquidity supply. In plain English: more dollar-linked crypto units may be available to move into trading, DeFi, payments, or treasury flows. That does not automatically mean fresh buying is already hitting the market. Stablecoins can be parked, routed, or kept ready for later use. Still, when a large mint shows up, traders notice. It’s one of those subtle signals that says capital is circling, even if it hasn’t pounced yet.

Bitcoin also saw notable movements heading toward institutional infrastructure. Whale Alert flagged 1,856 BTC sent to Coinbase Institutional in two transactions: 968 BTC worth about $71.49 million and 888 BTC worth about $65.73 million.

Large exchange inflows can mean sell-side pressure, but not always. They can also reflect custody changes, treasury management, collateral movement, or over-the-counter settlement activity. The lazy take is to see a big transfer and immediately assume a dump is coming. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it’s just the grown-up version of moving money between vaults. Markets love to turn every whale move into a doomsday prophecy, and most of the time that’s just noise.

Ethereum Weakness Deepens

Ethereum continued to look soft. ETH lost the $2,000 support level, shifting attention toward the $1,800–$1,750 area. CryptoQuant analyst Pelliney cited an estimated leverage ratio around 0.74, while ETH funding rates have stayed positive since April, suggesting traders still lean long even as price action has cooled.

For readers unfamiliar with the jargon: funding rates are periodic payments in perpetual futures that help keep the contract price close to the spot price. When funding stays positive, it usually means longs are paying shorts, which often signals a crowded bullish bet. That can work for a while. Then the market bites back.

ETH’s RSI was cited near 31, approaching oversold territory. RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a momentum gauge used to spot when an asset may be stretched too far in one direction. Near 30 is often viewed as oversold, but oversold does not mean instant reversal. It just means the market may be getting tired of selling, or at least temporarily out of breath.

The bigger drag has been flow data. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded 13 consecutive sessions of net outflows, totaling around $695 million. The largest single-day outflow during that stretch was about $121 million.

That is not a healthy tape. If Bitcoin is increasingly being treated as the sector’s institutional anchor, Ethereum is still fighting for cleaner narrative strength. Bulls can point to network utility, smart contract activity, and ecosystem depth. Fair enough. But price is where the market votes, and right now the vote is coming back lukewarm. ETH’s long-term role in crypto may remain important, but near-term capital is clearly not treating it with the same enthusiasm as BTC.

Hyperliquid Surges While Risk Assets Juggle Macro Pressure

Not everything was bleeding. Hyperliquid (HYPE) pushed above 65 USDT, rising about 13.11% on the day. That kind of move stands out in a market where many assets are either grinding or sagging. HYPE’s strength may not last forever, but it shows that liquidity is still hunting for winners even as broader conditions stay uneven.

Outside crypto, the macro backdrop was still a headache. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said “multiple vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked this week”, raising fresh concerns about energy supply and broader market stability.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important oil chokepoints on the planet. If shipping there gets disrupted, oil prices can jump, inflation expectations can get uglier, and risk assets can wobble hard. Crypto doesn’t live in a vacuum no matter how much the community likes to pretend otherwise. When the macro tape gets ugly, bitcoin can act like a hedge, a risk asset, or both depending on the day and the mood of the market gods. Usually, it’s the liquidity that decides.

Key Questions and Takeaways

What did the CFTC approve?
The CFTC approved KalshiEX to list BTCPERP, a Bitcoin spot price-linked perpetual contract.

Why does the CFTC approval matter?
It gives a regulated U.S. pathway for a Bitcoin derivatives product and suggests a more practical, less hostile stance toward certain crypto market structures.

What is a Bitcoin perpetual contract?
It is a futures-style contract with no expiration date, widely used in crypto for speculation, hedging, and leveraged trading.

What is the SEC alleging in the Nathan Fuller case?
The SEC says Fuller ran an alleged AI crypto trading bot scam that raised about $12.3 million and used fake promises of guaranteed returns to lure investors.

Why are scams still such a big problem in crypto?
Because scammers keep recycling the same fraud model and just update the packaging. “AI” is the new bait, but the underlying con is ancient.

What does USDC minting on Solana signal?
It can suggest growing liquidity supply and potential capital waiting to enter markets, although it does not automatically mean immediate buying pressure.

Do large BTC transfers to Coinbase Institutional always mean selling?
No. They can signal sell pressure, but they can also reflect custody shifts, collateral moves, or internal treasury activity.

Why is Ethereum under pressure?
ETH lost key support, spot Ethereum ETFs have seen 13 straight sessions of net outflows, and leveraged long positioning remains crowded.

What does an oversold RSI mean?
It means momentum has been weak enough that a rebound becomes more likely, but it does not guarantee one. Markets can stay oversold longer than traders can stay solvent.

How do Strait of Hormuz tensions affect crypto?
They can raise oil prices and broader market fear, which often spills into crypto through risk-off sentiment and tighter liquidity conditions.

What stands out most from the day’s action?
Bitcoin is still getting stronger as the market’s cleanest institutional story, while the rest of crypto keeps splitting between legitimate growth, speculative excess, and outright scam debris. The signal is better than it used to be. The nonsense is still very much alive.

Bitcoin’s move above $74,000 reinforces the same basic truth: BTC remains the most credible asset in the space when it comes to institutional acceptance, regulatory relevance, and monetary narrative. Around it, crypto is still a mixed bag of useful infrastructure, speculative leverage, real innovation, and shameless grift. The technology keeps advancing. The scammers keep adapting. And for anyone still pretending the bad actors have somehow vanished, the SEC just served a reminder that the trash never takes itself out.