According to @AltcoinGordon, a constructive outlook for crypto markets is emerging for the second half of the year, driven by a stronger macroeconomic environment and clearer regulations. A Coinbase Research report highlights that an improved U.S. growth forecast, with the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker jumping to 3.8% QoQ, is strengthening investor sentiment. This is coupled with significant regulatory progress, including the Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and the CLARITY Act, which aims to define the roles of the SEC and CFTC. Furthermore, the SEC is reviewing over 80 crypto ETF applications, with some decisions expected as early as July. Coinbase Research suggests these factors create strong tailwinds for Bitcoin (BTC). The report also notes that altcoins may lag unless driven by specific catalysts like ETF approvals or major protocol developments, such as the recent mainnet launch of the XRP Ledger's (XRP) EVM sidechain and the debut of Botanix, a Bitcoin Layer-2 network.

According to @jessepollak, the crypto landscape is seeing significant infrastructure development alongside critical warnings from industry leaders. A new TON-based money market protocol, Affluent, aims to transform Telegram into a DeFi 'super app' by offering lending and yield strategies through a mini app, as stated in an announcement. In a significant development for Bitcoin (BTC), the EVM-compatible Layer-2 network Botanix has launched its mainnet, promising to reduce block times to five seconds and enable Ethereum dApps on the Bitcoin ecosystem. Similarly, Ripple has officially launched the XRP Ledger's (XRPL) EVM sidechain on mainnet, allowing developers to deploy Ethereum-based applications using XRP as the native gas token. These developments come as Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin issued a stark warning at EthCC, arguing that the ecosystem is at risk if decentralization remains a mere catchphrase and projects fail security tests against insider attacks and centralization. Furthering institutional involvement, Robinhood (HOOD) is building its own Layer-2 network on Arbitrum for tokenized assets, and Deutsche Bank (DB) plans to launch a crypto custody service.