WB-Shield Innovations GmbH, operating as WhiteBIT EU, announced today that it has obtained authorization under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Austria.

The authorization was granted by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). 

The Austrian authorization marks a key step in WhiteBIT’s European growth strategy and underscores WhiteBIT EU’s commitment to operating within a transparent, secure, and harmonized regulatory framework.

Under MiCAR, WhiteBIT EU will be able to provide regulated crypto-asset services to eligible users across the EEA.

The authorization marks an important step in WhiteBIT’s broader strategy to build a regulated European presence and contribute to the continued development of the digital asset ecosystem in the EEA.

“WhiteBIT was originally founded as a European exchange, and Europe remains at the core of our long-term vision,” said Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of W Group, which WhiteBIT is part of.

“With MiCA setting a global benchmark for digital asset regulation, this authorization reinforces our commitment to building a transparent, secure, and compliant crypto ecosystem for users across the region.”

Strengthening WhiteBIT EU’s regulatory position in Europe

MiCAR establishes a harmonized EU framework for crypto-asset service providers, including requirements relating to governance, transparency, client protection, and market integrity.

By obtaining authorization in Austria, WhiteBIT EU has completed a substantive regulatory assessment in a jurisdiction recognized for its well-established financial supervisory standards.

This strengthens WhiteBIT EU’s regulated European presence and supports the planned provision of crypto-asset services across the EEA within the scope of its MiCAR authorization and in accordance with applicable passporting, onboarding, and regulatory requirements.

With the MiCA license in Austria, these efforts are now consolidated under a single regulatory framework, enabling WhiteBIT to serve millions of European retail and institutional clients with compliant, secure, and accessible crypto services.

Launch of WhiteBIT.EU for European users

As part of its transition to the MiCA framework, WhiteBIT is preparing to launch whitebit.eu — a dedicated platform designed specifically for users across the European Economic Area (EEA).

This new platform will serve as WhiteBIT’s regulated hub for the European market, operating under the MiCA framework and offering compliant access to the company’s products and services across the EEA.

New users interested in joining whitebit.eu can already register their interest through a dedicated form on the website and will be among the first to receive updates when the platform becomes available.

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Investors are turning their attention to Micron Technology’s upcoming earnings report for clues on whether the artificial intelligence-driven rally in the US stocks can sustain its momentum.

While major US stock indexes remain close to record highs despite a sharp mid-week selloff, markets have continued to draw support from strong corporate earnings linked to the artificial intelligence investment boom, alongside easing concerns surrounding the Iran conflict.

Micron’s quarterly earnings report, scheduled for June 24, is expected to provide fresh insight into demand trends across the semiconductor industry.

The memory chip maker’s shares have risen 298% this year, making its results an important indicator of whether spending on data centres and AI infrastructure continues to accelerate.

Semiconductor sector gains momentum

The broader semiconductor sector has continued to benefit from optimism surrounding artificial intelligence.

Apple’s agreement with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the United States has been viewed as a potential boost for Intel’s turnaround efforts.

The development helped support broader market sentiment, with the S&P 500 rising nearly 1% so far this week and remaining on track for a second consecutive weekly gain.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index reached a record high and was last up 7% for the week, reflecting investor confidence in chip-related companies.

High stakes for Micron Technology’s earnings

Micron’s results arrive at a time when market valuations remain elevated, and investors are increasingly debating whether the rally has become stretched.

Any indication that demand remains robust and AI-related spending continues to strengthen could reinforce confidence in the current market trend.

According to market expectations, spending by major technology companies on artificial intelligence is projected to exceed $700 billion this year, up from $400 billion in 2025.

Those projections have strengthened investor belief that demand for chips and supporting infrastructure remains intact.

Macro risks remain in the background

Despite continued enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, investors remain cautious about broader economic risks and the outlook for monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve this week left interest rates unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%, marking a fourth consecutive meeting without a policy move.

However, updated projections signalled a more hawkish outlook, with nine policymakers now expecting at least one rate increase before the end of 2026, compared with expectations for rate cuts earlier this year.

Investors will closely watch next week’s release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and the final estimate of first-quarter US GDP for fresh clues on the health of the economy.

The data could shape expectations for future monetary policy and determine whether the broader market rally has enough momentum to continue through the second half of the year.

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UK equities were largely unchanged on Friday as the cancellation of US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland dampened investor sentiment and kept risk appetite subdued.

Gains in energy and healthcare stocks, however, helped limit broader market losses.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index slipped 5.40 points, or 0.05%, to 10,394.30 by 0948 GMT.

The domestically focused FTSE 250 index declined 0.5% to 23,210.43 and remained on course for a weekly loss.

Geopolitical concerns pressure markets

Investor caution increased after Washington and Tehran called off peace talks that had been expected to ease concerns surrounding energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

The development weighed on global equity markets, while oil prices moved higher as traders reassessed supply risks.

The rise in crude prices provided support to energy companies listed in London.

Mining stocks lead declines

Mining shares were among the biggest drags on the FTSE 100.

Anglo American fell 2.2%, while Glencore declined 1.5%.

Rio Tinto also traded lower, shedding 1.1%.

The weakness in mining stocks contributed to the subdued performance of the broader market, offsetting gains elsewhere.

Political developments add to uncertainty

Markets were also digesting political developments in the UK after Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path on Friday to potentially challenge British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The political developments added another layer of uncertainty for investors already navigating geopolitical tensions and economic concerns.

Bond yields rise

British government bond yields climbed to their highest level in a week. The increase slightly outpaced moves in German government debt yields.

The rise followed higher-than-expected government borrowing figures and Burnham’s election victory, both of which appeared to influence investor expectations.

Energy and healthcare stocks provide support

Despite broader market caution, energy shares emerged as the strongest source of support for the FTSE 100.

BP gained 1.7%, while Shell advanced 1.0% as Brent crude traded near $79.50 per barrel.

Healthcare stocks also performed well.

AstraZeneca rose 1.3%, leading gains within the sector, while GSK added 0.9%.

The strength in these sectors helped counterbalance losses in mining stocks and kept the benchmark index close to flat territory.

Company-specific moves

Shares of Admiral Group fell 5% after RBC downgraded the insurer’s stock to “sector perform” ahead of its upcoming results.

Homebuilder Barratt Redrow announced the appointment of former British Airways finance chief Rebecca Napier as its new chief financial officer.

The company’s shares edged 0.5% lower following the announcement.

Meanwhile, shares in Entain moved modestly higher after Reuters reported that the Ladbrokes owner had started exploring options for its joint venture operations in Central and Eastern Europe, including a potential sale.

As trading progressed, investors continued to balance geopolitical risks, domestic political developments, and sector-specific movements, leaving the UK’s main stock index little changed while the FTSE 250 remained on track for a weekly decline.

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest increased its exposure to Tesla and Snowflake on Thursday while continuing to trim its position in Roku, according to the firm’s latest daily trading disclosures.

The moves underscore ARK’s continued focus on artificial intelligence, cloud software, and long-term technology themes even as market volatility persists around some of its biggest holdings.

ARK’s purchases came as TSLA shares remained under pressure following the market debut of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and as Snowflake continued to attract investor interest as a beneficiary of growing demand for data and artificial intelligence applications.

ARK rebuilds Tesla position after SpaceX-related selling

ARK’s exchange-traded funds purchased 54,815 Tesla shares valued at approximately $21.9 million.

The purchases were spread across the ARK Innovation ETF and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF.

Tesla remains the largest holding in the ARK Innovation ETF, representing 9.7% of the fund’s assets, and the second-largest position in the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, accounting for 8.6% of the portfolio.

The latest purchases mark a reversal from last week, when ARK sold portions of its Tesla holdings as SpaceX went public.

By June 12, ARK held approximately 3.29 million SpaceX shares across several exchange-traded funds.

It remains unclear whether those shares were acquired through an initial public offering allocation or purchased in the open market after trading began.

Wood has long viewed both Tesla and SpaceX as investments tied to transformative technologies rather than traditional business models.

ARK’s research has argued that Tesla’s future opportunities extend beyond electric vehicles into areas including robotaxis, robotics, and energy storage. The investment firm expects Tesla shares to reach $2,600 by 2029.

ARK has also highlighted SpaceX’s potential role in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

“SpaceXAI will be able to monetize its infrastructure as it pushes toward AI’s competitive frontier. Ultimately, the compute capacity from orbital AI servers, and their lower costs, should differentiate SpaceXAI from its earth-centric competitors,” wrote ARK Chief Futurist Brett Winton in the firm’s Innovation Newsletter earlier this week.

Snowflake and healthcare buys offset Roku reduction

Beyond Tesla, ARK purchased approximately 149,700 shares of Snowflake valued at roughly $34.8 million.

The fund also acquired additional shares of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.

At the same time, ARK sharply reduced its Roku position.

The firm’s funds sold a combined 721,279 Roku shares worth approximately $99.6 million on Thursday, following earlier sales totaling more than $93 million this week and an additional disposal of 239,267 shares on Wednesday.

ARK also sold positions in Strata Critical Medical and Twist Bioscience.

The portfolio rotation suggests increasing conviction in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and Tesla-related growth opportunities while reducing exposure to streaming and media-related businesses.

Musk transactions and SpaceX volatility remain in focus

Tesla’s latest gains also coincided with news that Musk exercised stock options tied to approximately 303.96 million shares at a strike price of $23.34 and surrendered 17.53 million shares to cover a tax bill of approximately $7.09 billion.

Meanwhile, SpaceX has given up some of its initial post-IPO gains after rising as much as 67% above its $135 offering price.

Despite the recent pullback, ARK’s latest moves suggest Wood remains committed to Musk’s long-term vision and continues positioning her funds around technologies she believes will shape the future economy.

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The Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75% in June, maintaining its cautious stance amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding inflationary pressures linked to recent geopolitical developments.

The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favour of keeping rates on hold.

External MPC member Megan Greene and Chief Economist Huw Pill dissented, calling for a quarter-percentage-point increase in rates.

The majority maintains an ‘active hold’ stance

Despite the split vote, most MPC members appeared reluctant to move towards a tighter monetary policy.

Their position remained broadly aligned with Governor Andrew Bailey’s “active hold” approach, which he has previously described as an effective form of tightening when compared with market expectations for rate cuts before the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict.

The BoE’s decision stands in contrast to recent moves by other major central banks.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan have both raised interest rates over the past week.

Meanwhile, projections released following the first policy meeting under new US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh indicated that policymakers expect rates to increase later this year.

Energy market developments offer some relief

Ahead of the June policy meeting, a tentative truce between the United States and Iran raised hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen fully, potentially easing pressure on global energy markets and lowering oil prices.

Such a development would be particularly beneficial for Britain, which relies heavily on imported natural gas.

However, the BoE signalled that it remains cautious about declaring victory over inflation.

“Whatever happens in the future, the higher energy prices of the past four months mean there’s already some inflationary pressure in the pipeline,” Andrew John Bailey, governor of BoE said in a statement accompanying Thursday’s policy decision.

Inflation forecast remains above target

The central bank expects inflation to rise above 3.25% during the final quarter of the year, compared with 2.8% recorded in May.

However, the projected increase is less severe than the 3.6%-3.7% range outlined in two of the BoE’s three primary scenarios published in April.

Inflation has remained above the BoE’s 2% target for much of the past five years, driven by a series of economic shocks since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the most significant was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which pushed British inflation above 11%.

Growth outlook improves marginally

Alongside its inflation assessment, the BoE struck a slightly more optimistic tone on economic growth.

The central bank estimated that the economy is expanding at an underlying pace of 0.2% per quarter, an improvement from the 0.1% rate projected in its previous forecasts.

This assessment came despite a modest decline in output during April.

The latest decision underscores the BoE’s balancing act as policymakers weigh lingering inflation risks against a still-fragile economic recovery, while keeping a close watch on developments in global energy markets.

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Pi Network’s PI token is trading around $0.1300 on Thursday, down by 1% in the last 24 hours as the broader cryptocurrency market struggled to sustain a recovery.

The token remains under pressure as recurring spikes in long liquidations and cautious investor sentiment weigh on the market. 

Technically, PI risks invalidating a recent bullish breakout from a long-term descending trendline if selling pressure continues.

Market sentiment remains fragile

The broader crypto market has lost momentum, with Bitcoin (BTC) slipping back below the $65,000 mark amid concerns over a more hawkish monetary policy stance from the US Federal Reserve under its new leadership.

Investor confidence has also weakened. Data from CoinMarketCap shows the Fear and Greed Index fell to 21 on Thursday, down from 25 on Monday, bringing sentiment closer to the Extreme Fear zone.

Meanwhile, derivatives data continues to favor bears. According to CoinGlass, approximately $311 million in long positions were liquidated on Wednesday, significantly higher than the $129 million in short liquidations, highlighting continued downside pressure across the market.

Pi Network technical outlook: PI risks losing breakout momentum

The PI/USD 4-hour chart remains bullish and efficient despite the slight retracement.

The rebound briefly pushed above a key descending trendline near $0.1300, a level that had previously rejected multiple recovery attempts. 

However, the latest pullback suggests bulls may be struggling to maintain control.

A daily close below $0.1300 could invalidate the breakout and reinforce the prevailing bearish trend.

Momentum indicators continue to paint a cautious picture for PI.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram remains above the zero line but continues to contract, while the signal lines are approaching a potential bearish crossover.

This suggests that buying momentum is weakening.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers near 50. The reading indicates subdued demand and a lack of strong bullish conviction.

Together, these indicators suggest the recent recovery may lack the strength needed to develop into a sustained uptrend.

If sellers push PI below the critical $0.1300 level, the token could revisit the lower support zone at $0.1186, with another demand zone at $0.1000. 

A break below these levels could expose PI to further downside pressure.

For bulls to regain momentum, PI will need to overcome several technical hurdles.

The first major resistance stands at $0.1471, with another hurdle at $0.1606. 

A sustained move above these resistance levels would improve the technical outlook and increase the chances of a broader recovery.

While the token recently broke above a long-standing descending trendline, weakening momentum indicators and fragile market sentiment suggest bears are regaining control.

Unless buyers defend the current support zone and push the price above key moving averages, PI could face renewed pressure toward $0.1186 and potentially the $0.1000 level in the sessions ahead.

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Shares of consulting and technology services giant Accenture plunged 14% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company lowered the top end of its annual revenue growth forecast, underscoring concerns that businesses remain cautious about spending on discretionary technology projects.

The company now expects annual revenue growth of 3% to 4%, compared with its earlier forecast of 3% to 5%.

It also projected fourth-quarter revenue of between $17.75 billion and $18.4 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The reduced outlook overshadowed better-than-expected quarterly earnings and a series of acquisitions aimed at expanding Accenture’s cybersecurity capabilities.

Quarterly earnings beat expectations

For the three months ended May 31, Accenture reported net income of $2.34 billion, up from $2.2 billion a year earlier.

Quarterly earnings rose to $3.80 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $3.71 per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue increased 5.6% to $18.72 billion, although it narrowly missed Wall Street expectations of $18.78 billion.

The company also raised the lower end of its adjusted earnings forecast and now expects annual earnings of $13.78 to $13.90 per share, compared with prior guidance of $13.65 to $13.90.

However, new bookings slipped to $19.3 billion from $19.7 billion a year ago, indicating softer demand conditions.

Cybersecurity push gathers pace

Accenture also announced a significant expansion of its cybersecurity business through acquisitions valued at a combined $4.18 billion.

The company said it would acquire a majority stake in industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos, and fully purchase asset intelligence company runZero and device security specialist Netrise.

The acquisitions are expected to close in August or September, subject to regulatory approvals.

The deals will add companies with combined annual recurring revenue of $208 million and strengthen Accenture’s cybersecurity division, which already generates about $10 billion in annual revenue.

The new assets are expected to broaden Accenture’s offerings in protecting industrial operations and critical infrastructure, including power grids, factories, pipelines and data centers, amid growing concerns about AI-driven cyber threats and geopolitical risks.

The announcement follows acquisitions of Alfahealth and Industries eXcellence Group that were unveiled earlier this week.

Spending concerns weigh on sentiment

Despite its acquisition push, Accenture entered its earnings report facing growing investor skepticism.

Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal-Weight from Overweight earlier this week, saying massive investments in artificial intelligence were diverting resources away from traditional information technology services.

“We are not seeing the budget growth inflection we had previously expected,” the bank’s analysts wrote.

Accenture derives roughly half of its revenue from consulting services, a business that has come under pressure as corporate clients continue to constrain technology spending.

Analysts have also questioned whether Accenture’s recent acquisitions, which are increasingly product-oriented rather than service-based, can deliver meaningful revenue contributions.

The current interest-rate environment has added another layer of pressure.

Morgan Stanley described it as a “neutral to negative signal,” arguing that stable rates offer little support for technology budgets while any future increases could further tighten corporate spending.

Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind also raised concerns earlier this year, saying he had seen no evidence of a recovery in customer demand despite management’s optimistic commentary.

Thursday’s sharp share decline suggests investors remain focused on slowing enterprise technology spending and weakening demand trends, even as Accenture bets heavily on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence-related opportunities.

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