According to Fixygen, the cryptocurrency market ended the week with a partial recovery after Bitcoin fell below the psychological threshold of $60,000, however, the main topics for the industry remained outflows from ETFs, major banks revising their forecasts, intensifying regulatory competition surrounding stablecoins, and miners shifting to the AI data center sector.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $62,440, while Ethereum was trading around $1,625. Earlier in the week, BTC fell below $60,000 amid weak demand from institutional investors, outflows from exchange-traded funds, and persistent geopolitical risks.
Data on U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs served as a key negative signal. According to CoinDesk, citing SoSoValue, the funds recorded $4.5 billion in net outflows in June—the worst month since the launch of such products in January 2024. The previous record low was $3.48 billion in February 2025.
Against this backdrop, Citigroup lowered its 12-month price forecast for Bitcoin from $112,000 to $82,000, and for Ether from $3,175,000 to $2,240,000. The bank attributed the revision to waning investor interest, outflows from ETFs, and a lack of rapid progress in U.S. crypto regulation. Citi also lowered its expectations for net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs from $10 billion to zero.
The week’s regulatory agenda focused primarily on stablecoins. In the UK, the FCA eased its final requirements for stablecoin issuers, lowering the proposed capital reserve from 2% to 1% of the issuance volume. The final rules are set to bring the crypto-asset sector fully under FCA supervision starting in October 2027.
This is an important signal for the global market: jurisdictions are beginning to compete not only for crypto exchanges but also for tokenized payment infrastructure. Following increased U.S. scrutiny of dollar-pegged stablecoins, the UK is attempting to make its own regulations more proportionate so as not to lose companies working with payment tokens.
Another trend of the week is the continued expansion of Bitcoin miners into the AI and data center sectors. Reuters reported that the Hunt and Crow families—both American billionaire families—along with Nasdaq-listed company Empery Digital, have signed an agreement for a $230 million industrial facility with a capacity of 150 MW and plan to convert it into a hyperscale data center. The parties also signed a non-binding letter of intent for a $1 billion lease with a cloud computing company.
Another telling example is Ionic Digital, a company that positions itself as both a Bitcoin miner and an AI infrastructure company, which has filed for a direct listing on Nasdaq. This confirms structural changes in the sector: for some miners, the key asset is no longer so much hash rate as access to electricity, land, substations, and permits for data centers.
For miners, this diversification has been a response to the deteriorating economics of Bitcoin mining following the halving, high network difficulty, and falling BTC prices. Reuters previously noted that crypto miners are increasingly using large energy facilities for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, as mining profitability remains volatile and demand for AI data centers is growing rapidly.
The week also demonstrated a shift in investor sentiment. Following a strong first half of the year for AI-related stocks, part of the market began looking for opportunities to rotate back into Bitcoin after a deep correction. CoinDesk noted that a loss of momentum in the segment of stocks for companies involved in memory and semiconductor manufacturing could raise the question of returning some capital to BTC; however, traders are not yet showing full confidence in the sustainability of the rebound.
From a practical standpoint, the market situation looks like this: Bitcoin has recovered above $60,000 but has not received sufficiently strong institutional validation via ETFs. Ethereum remains under pressure from weaker network activity and lower forecasts, while stablecoins and AI data centers are becoming the most dynamic segments of the crypto infrastructure.
In the coming weeks, key factors for the market will remain the dynamics of inflows and outflows in spot ETFs, macroeconomic expectations regarding U.S. interest rates, regulatory signals regarding stablecoins, and Bitcoin’s ability to consolidate above $60,000. If outflows from ETFs continue, the market may revert to a defensive scenario. If, on the other hand, institutional demand stabilizes, July could be a month of technical recovery following a weak June.
Antigua and Barbuda could lose visa-free access to the Schengen Area by the end of 2026 due to the European Union’s concerns about its citizenship-by-investment program, said Prime Minister Gaston Brown. According to him, Brussels has warned of a possible revocation of visa privileges if the EU’s security concerns regarding the program are not addressed.
This refers to the Citizenship by Investment Program—a scheme under which foreign investors can obtain citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda through a fee or investment. For purchasers of such passports, mobility remains the key commercial benefit: the country’s passport currently allows for short-term visa-free entry into the Schengen Area.
Brown made it clear, however, that the government does not intend to shut down the citizenship-by-investment program, even under pressure from the EU. For Antigua and Barbuda, it remains an important source of non-tax revenue and a tool for financing development. The authorities hope to convince the European side that additional electronic travel monitoring could serve as an alternative to a full-fledged visa regime.
Pressure on Caribbean programs has intensified following the reform of the EU’s visa mechanism. In October 2025, the European Parliament supported an update to the rules that allows for the faster suspension of visa-free travel for countries that pose security risks or violate the conditions of visa liberalization. “Golden passport” schemes effectively fall into a separate category of such risks.
In its eighth report on the visa suspension mechanism, the European Commission explicitly stated that citizenship-by-investment programs in visa-free countries pose a “non-zero risk” to the Schengen Area. Although countries in the Eastern Caribbean have already raised the minimum investment threshold to $200,000 and tightened applicant screening, Brussels considers the situation problematic.
This is a warning sign for the investment migration market. Vanuatu has already become the first country to lose visa-free access to the EU due to “golden passports”: the European Union permanently revoked the visa-free travel agreement with this Pacific nation in December 2024, following a previous suspension of the arrangement in 2022.
Antigua and Barbuda has already faced similar pressure from the United States. In early 2026, Washington suspended visa services for the country’s citizens, citing concerns that the citizenship-by-investment program could be exploited by criminal organizations to gain access to the U.S.
If the EU does indeed impose visa requirements, the value of an Antigua and Barbuda passport for foreign investors will plummet. For small island economies in the Caribbean, this could mean not only a drop in demand for CBI programs but also a reevaluation of the entire model of attracting capital through the sale of citizenship.
For investors, the conclusion is becoming increasingly clear: a “golden passport” without sustainable visa-free access to the EU is transforming from a tool for mobility into a much riskier asset. European policy is gradually shifting from tolerance of investment citizenship to direct control and the possible revocation of visa benefits.
Antigua and Barbuda, EU, golden passport, INVESTMENT, VISA-FREE TRAVEL
On Sunday night, the eastern regions, the Azov region, Crimea, and parts of the country’s northwest will see brief showers and thunderstorms in some areas; during the day, these conditions will extend across Ukraine, except for the south and southeast, according to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
The wind will be from the northwest at 7–12 m/s. Nighttime temperatures will range from 11–16°, reaching up to 19° along the coast; daytime temperatures will range from 21–26°, and 18–23° in the northeast of the country.
In Kyiv on July 5, no precipitation is expected at night, with brief showers in some areas during the day. The wind will be from the northwest at 7–12 m/s.
Temperatures will range from 14–16° at night to 22–24° during the day.
According to data from the Boris Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory in Kyiv, the highest daytime temperature on July 5 was 33.7° in 1924, and the lowest nighttime temperature was 8.6° in 1893.
On Monday, July 6, in Ukraine, there will be brief showers and thunderstorms at night in most western and northern regions, and during the day in the northeastern part and the Carpathian region; the rest of the country will be dry.
Winds will be predominantly westerly, 7–12 m/s. Nighttime temperatures will range from 11–16°, reaching up to 19° along the coast; daytime temperatures will range from 21–26°, up to 29° in the south and 18–23° in the northeast.
In Kyiv on July 6, skies will be partly cloudy. At night, there will be brief showers in some areas; during the day, no precipitation is expected.
Winds will be from the west at 7–12 m/s. Nighttime temperatures will range from 14–16°, and daytime temperatures from 22–24°.
The Consulate General of Ukraine in Lyon will resume consular services for citizens starting July 9, following the completion of administrative procedures and technical preparations, the consulate announced on its official website.
Appointments will be scheduled via an online queue, and a separate appointment system is in place for vulnerable groups. The Consulate General urged Ukrainians to familiarize themselves in advance with the procedures for obtaining consular services and the document requirements.The consular district of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Lyon covers three regions of France: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Corsica. Citizens residing in these regions will be able to register for temporary and permanent consular registration, register the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship by birth, and register adopted children.
At the same time, other consular services will be provided without restrictions based on place of residence in France. The Consulate General also clarified that foreign passports previously issued by the Embassy of Ukraine in France can only be obtained at the Embassy of Ukraine in France.
The Consulate General also plans to provide mobile consular services in remote cities with the highest concentration of Ukrainians. The first such visits are scheduled for September in Nice and October in Marseille. The possibility of providing mobile services in other cities may also be considered depending on the community’s needs.
The opening of the Consulate General in Lyon is expected to reduce the workload on the Embassy of Ukraine in France and simplify access to consular services for Ukrainians living in the southeastern part of the country, particularly in the regions of Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Nice, and Corsica.
According to Eurostat, as of April 30, 2026, there were 4.37 million non-EU citizens in the EU under temporary protection who had fled Ukraine due to the war; more than 98.5% of them were Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, regarding France, Eurostat specifically notes that its data typically does not include minors, so official statistics on temporary protection do not fully reflect the total size of the Ukrainian community in the country.
According to media estimates, there may be approximately 80,000–100,000 Ukrainians in France who left after the start of the full-scale war, although some of them have already transitioned from temporary protection to other legal statuses or have left the country.
CONSULAR SERVICES, consulate general, FRANCE, Lyon, UKRAINIAN
According to Fixygen, major Bitcoin miners are accelerating the repurposing of some of their energy facilities and infrastructure into data centers for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing amid a deteriorating Bitcoin mining economy, Cointelegraph reports.
In this new model, the miners’ key asset is not ASIC equipment—which is unsuitable for AI computing—but rather access to electricity, substations, cooling systems, permits, and ready-to-use sites. It is precisely the shortage of grid-connected power that has become one of the main constraints on the development of AI data centers. The total capacity of AI data centers worldwide reached 29.6 GW by the end of 2025, whereas in 2022 it was less than 1 GW.
Publicly traded mining companies have already concluded a number of major deals in the AI and HPC segments. In particular, in November 2025, IREN signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft for GPU cloud services worth approximately $9.7 billion for a 750-MW campus in Texas. Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $7 billion contract with Fluidstack for the River Bend facility in Louisiana, while Core Scientific expanded its agreement with CoreWeave to $10.2 billion over 12 years.
According to CoinShares, public mining companies have already announced contracts in the fields of AI and high-performance computing totaling more than $70 billion. Companies with such agreements are valued significantly higher by the market: their price-to-earnings ratio for the last 12 months stands at 12.3, compared to 5.9 for miners that remain primarily focused on Bitcoin mining.
Analysts estimate that the share of AI revenue among public mining companies could rise to approximately 70% by the end of 2026, compared to about 30% in the first quarter. This trend is effectively transforming some mining companies into infrastructure operators for the AI market.
Pressure on traditional mining has intensified due to declining margins. According to JPMorgan’s estimates, the average cost of mining a single Bitcoin is about $78,000, and approximately 20% of miners are operating at a loss. Based on current prices, Bitcoin is trading at around $62,500, which is below the estimated average cost of production.
At the same time, the transition to AI is not cheap. According to CoinShares, a typical crypto mining infrastructure costs $700,000 to $1 million per 1 MW, while liquid-cooled AI facilities may require $8–15 million per 1 MW. This increases companies’ debt burden and makes them dependent on large clients—hyperscalers.
For the market, this signals a shift in investment logic within the mining sector. Whereas Bitcoin price, hash rate, and electricity costs were previously the main factors, long-term contracts with AI clients, access to capital, and the ability to quickly repurpose facilities for GPU infrastructure are now becoming increasingly important for some companies.
Publicly traded Bitcoin miners are under pressure following the halving due to the reduction in block rewards, high network difficulty, and Bitcoin price volatility. Expansion into AI and HPC allows them to diversify their revenue, but at the same time shifts their business into the capital-intensive data center segment, where debt, facility commissioning timelines, and customer concentration remain key risks.
AI, BITCOIN, DATA CENTER, HPC, MINING
The Kovel Porto Industrial Park (Kovel, Volyn Oblast) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Polish company Hanplast Sp. z o.o., which will serve as the general contractor and investor for the KovelEnergoPort project, with a total value of 42 million euros, according to the Kovel Porto Industrial Park.
The agreement was signed by the parties during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdańsk.
“We have signed an agreement with the Polish company Hanplast, the general contractor (EPC), which is also participating in the project as an investor with a 20% stake in the energy SPV,” the IP’s Facebook page states.
The project involves the construction of a 5.99 MW solar power plant, a 40 MWh energy storage system, and the generation of approximately 5,800 MWh of electricity per year. Solar panels will be installed on the roofs of industrial buildings.
The total budget for the logistics and energy segment is approximately 2 million euros.
It is noted that bringing in a contractor as a co-owner of the project is “a clear signal of the project’s banking attractiveness to international financial institutions.”
IP “Kovel Porto” adds that a memorandum was also signed in Gdańsk with UkraineInvest, paving the way for state support for the project under the significant investment regime.
For its part, the Polish company Hanplast announced on LinkedIn that the project will be co-financed by the Polish bank BGK, and Hanplast, as an investor, will receive a 20% stake in the project.
“The ‘Kovel Porto’ investment project is being built on one of the key transport routes connecting Ukraine with the EU. The development of such infrastructure opens up new opportunities for industry, logistics, and the further recovery of the Ukrainian economy. It is not often that we have the opportunity to participate in projects that contribute to Ukraine’s future. This makes us even more grateful for the trust placed in us,” Hanplast notes.
The investor reports that, as part of the project, the infrastructure supplies energy to the dry port, warehouses, and industrial park, and feeds surplus power into the grid.
“Kovel Porto” is a multimodal logistics and energy platform on a 25-hectare brownfield site, located 56 km by rail and 62 km by road from the EU border (the Yagodin-Dorohusk crossing).
The project has been designated as being of national importance and is integrated into the TEN-T core network.
The platform combines six areas of operation: a dry port and container terminal, a customs hub (Smart Customs Hub), warehouses and 3PL logistics, an industrial park, energy (KovelEnergoPort), and a data center.
The project operator is Kompressorna Technika LLC (the initiator of the “Kovel Porto” private enterprise), whose ultimate beneficiaries, according to YouControl, are businessman Ilya Koshkin (66.28%) and Angela Krapivianska (22.72%).
The Polish company Hanplast specializes, among other things, in the design and manufacture of molds, injection molding of plastics, as well as the production of photovoltaic modules and solutions.
The “Kovel Porto” industrial park was registered in July 2024, and in October of that same year, the park received 69.8 million UAH in government funding for the construction and modernization of its infrastructure.
Hanplast, INDUSTRIAL PARK, INVESTMENT, Kovel Porto, SOLAR POWER PLANT
