Kraken and Babylon jointly launch BTC staking, issuing BABY as a reward mechanism

On June 19, the US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced a partnership with the BTCFi protocol Babylon, allowing users to stake BTC directly on Kraken while earning Babylon's native token BABY.

Kraken launches BTC staking service, issuing BABY as staking rewards

Kraken said that users no longer need to transfer BTC out of the exchange wallet, nor do they need to perform cross-chain, packaging or lending operations. The pledged BTC will be locked in the Bitcoin mainnet, and the Babylon protocol will then authorize these BTC to other PoS chains to enhance network security.

Kraken said the new product was launched today and is available on all Kraken interfaces, including the Kraken website and the Kraken Pro professional platform.

Although the staked tokens this time are BTC, the rewards users receive are Babylon’s native token “BABY”. According to CoinMarketCap , the price of BABY rose by nearly 3% after Kraken announced the news.

Kraken says idle BTC is an opportunity cost

Mark Greenberg, head of Kraken's global consumer business, said that there are currently a large number of Bitcoins on the platform that are idle, which is a considerable opportunity cost for users. He pointed out that this cooperation with Babylon not only allows users to earn income from idle BTC, but also allows emerging PoS chains to further strengthen their network security by leveraging the economic scale of Bitcoin .

What are BTCFi and Babylon?

BTCFi (Bitcoin Finance) refers to financial applications built on the Bitcoin mainnet. In the early days, Omni Layer, a protocol layer built on the Bitcoin chain, allowed developers to issue digital assets and tokens of their own design without changing the Bitcoin mainchain.

Omni Layer supported USDT in 2013, but due to its slow efficiency and poor scalability, it was later replaced by blockchains such as Ethereum that support coin issuance and DeFi applications. Therefore, BTCFi usually refers to newer projects such as Babylon.

The BTCFi protocol Babylon focuses on the self-custody model, allowing users to lock BTC assets in the form of script contracts on the Bitcoin mainnet, while outputting "security consensus services" on multiple BTC layer2s, thereby obtaining benefits from other extended chains. In this model, users can maintain full control over BTC in a self-custodial manner without the need for a third-party custody platform.

The Babylon protocol will issue new BABY every year, with an annual inflation rate of 8%, of which 4% will be distributed to BTC pledgers and the other 4% to BABY pledgers. In addition to paying transaction fees, BABY can also be used to participate in protocol governance and proposal voting.

BTCFi is growing rapidly, and decentralized funds are increasing significantly

Not only Babylon, but also other BTCFi protocols. Such as:

• L2 built on Bitcoin mainnet: Stacks

• Rootstock, a Bitcoin sidechain compatible with Ethereum virtual machine

• Bitcoin Alliance Chain Liquid Network

• Lightning Network

According to an April report from the well-known exchange Binance , the total amount of BTCFi locked has surged by more than 2,700% in the past year.

In addition, Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock also saw a significant increase in network security and miner participation in Q1 2025, with the average daily DeFi locked volume reaching US$215 million, a record high.

Semler Scientific, a medical technology company that holds Bitcoin, announced the hiring of Joe Burnett as director of Bitcoin strategy and plans to buy 105,000 Bitcoins within three years. However, its stock price has been falling, and the market value of SMLR is close to the value of the Bitcoin it holds. Is it undervalued or a warning?

Semler Scientific hires Bitcoin strategy director, expects to buy 105,000 Bitcoins within three years

Semler Scientific, a medical technology company that holds Bitcoin, announced on Thursday that it has hired Joe Burnett as its new director of Bitcoin strategy and announced plans to buy 105,000 Bitcoins within three years. Burnett previously served as director of market research at Unchained and was also the chief analyst and product manager at Blockware Solutions.

Semler Scientific also announced that it will use proceeds from equity and debt financing and cash flow from operating activities to purchase Bitcoin to achieve the following goals:

• End of 2025: 10,000 BTC
• End of 2026: 42,000 BTC
• End of 2027: 105,000 BTC.

SMLR's market value is close to the value of Bitcoin it holds. Is it undervalued or a warning sign?

Semler Scientific, which joined Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy)’s Bitcoin reserves in May last year, is a medical technology company that develops products for detecting peripheral arterial disease.

As of June 4, 2025, the company holds 4,449 bitcoins, valued at approximately $420 million. According to Bitcoin Treasuries , Semler Scientific is currently ranked 14th among public companies holding bitcoin.

However, its stock price has fallen all the way from its high of $151 in October last year to only $31.94 today, with a market value of approximately $427 million, almost equivalent to the value of the $420 million in Bitcoin it holds!

Previously, asset management company VanEck also warned that Semler Scientific (SMLR)'s current market value is close to the value of its Bitcoin holdings. If the situation continues to deteriorate, it may lead to serious dilution of shareholder value and affect the company's operations. Semler Scientific, like most Bitcoin reserve companies, is in a loss-making business, and is involved in medical device-related lawsuits , which makes investors lack confidence.

(VanEck reveals Bitcoin Reserve's hidden concerns about discount: Issuing new shares will only dilute shareholder value faster )

Amid rising geopolitical risks and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, Bitcoin has remained above $100,000, with analysts viewing its performance as evidence of its role as a macro hedge and Treasury reserve asset, arguing that $100,000 has become an important benchmark price for investors.

US stock futures fall, Bitcoin remains at 104K

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but Chairman Powell's hawkish remarks that tariffs would eventually push up prices exceeded market expectations. In addition, US President Trump was considering launching an attack on Iran. Although the US stock market was closed yesterday for Juneteenth, US stock futures fell.

Bitcoin continues to consolidate around 104K. Nic Puckrin , founder of The Coin Bureau, said:

The $100,000 price of Bitcoin is no longer just a support price, it is becoming a benchmark price in the minds of investors.

Puckrin pointed out that the United States is still expected to cut interest rates twice this year, and the Bank of Japan has also hinted that it will relax quantitative tightening in 2026. He said that when liquidity flows in, Bitcoin will be the biggest beneficiary.

As institutional investors pile into the market and liquidity is about to return, analysts are warning that retail investors may need to reconsider taking profits too early .

Bitcoin ETF has seen net inflows for eight consecutive days, attracting $2.4 billion

Bitcoin ETFs have seen net inflows for eight consecutive days since June 9, bringing in $2.4 billion in funds, showing that retail investors are still increasing their investments. Currently, the total assets of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States have reached $127.4 billion, accounting for 6.12% of the Bitcoin market value. Among them, IBIT under BlackRock and FBTC under Fidelity have asset sizes of $71.1 billion and $20.5 billion, further confirming the demand of institutional investors for Bitcoin ETFs.

At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $104,647, with a 24-hour trading volume of $18 billion.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday and hinted at two more rate cuts this year. However, Powell said that tariff-driven economic uncertainty and inflation risks continue to complicate the central bank's efforts to ease policy. The three major U.S. stock indexes fluctuated around the flat line, and Bitcoin and Ethereum also consolidated in a narrow range, but ETFs continued to show net inflows.

The Fed remains on hold, and may cut interest rates by two basis points in 2025

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday, keeping the federal benchmark rate unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.5%.

According to the interest rate dot plot released this time, although the median expectation of two rate cuts in 2025 has not changed, some officials have lowered their forecasts. Seven officials currently expect no rate cuts this year, compared with only four in March, and two officials expect one rate cut this year. Officials also lowered the US economic growth rate in 2025 from 1.7% to 1.4%, and raised the median expectation for inflation at the end of 2025 from 2.7% to 3%. The unemployment rate is expected to be 4.5% at the end of the year, slightly higher than the previous estimate.

Powell: Tariffs will eventually push up prices

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters after the decision that the central bank "is better off understanding where the economy is likely to be before we consider adjusting our policy stance."

Powell noted that higher tariffs would likely push up prices and the impact on inflation could be more lasting.

Ultimately, the cost of the tariffs has to be borne by consumers, and we just want to wait and see before making any premature judgments.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are trading in a narrow range, while ETFs continue to receive net inflows

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market value are almost consolidating in a small range. Bitcoin reached a high of about $105,500 yesterday and fell back to $103,700 in the early hours of this morning, with very limited fluctuations. However, Bitcoin ETFs have seen net inflows for seven consecutive days since June 9, showing that retail investors are still continuing to increase their holdings. Currently, the total assets of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States have reached $128.1 billion, accounting for 6.18% of Bitcoin's market value.

Ethereum ETF has also seen a continuous influx of funds since May 16, with only one day showing a small net outflow. Currently, the total assets of Ethereum spot ETFs in the United States have reached US$10.05 billion, accounting for 3.32% of the ETH market value.