Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) reclaimed $84,000 Tuesday morning, invalidating a key part of prominent analyst Benjamin Cowen’s thesis of a deeper bear market decline.
Is $83,000 Making the Bear Case Harder?Cowen told the Bankless podcast on Monday that he expected Bitcoin to rally during the summer before weakening into Q4—in line with the traditional four-year cycle.
Instead, Bitcoin broke above its May high of $82,800 and made a higher high, which historically has signaled the end of the bear market as BTC crossed its 50-week moving average.
"As long as Bitcoin can kind of hold above $83,000, then it’s hard to be deterministically bearish," Cowen said.
He stressed that his change in view does not mean Q4 weakness is impossible.
Bitcoin could still pull back after establishing a higher high. Cowen now sees a higher low as more plausible than automatically expecting a fresh cycle low.
A failed breakout above $82,800 could hit altcoins even harder after their recent rally.
Macro Headwinds Haven’t Stopped BitcoinCowen acknowledged that Bitcoin’s resilience has surprised him because several macro developments he expected, including higher energy prices, rising bond yields and a stronger dollar, have materialized without derailing Bitcoin.
Rather than forcing the chart to fit the macro thesis, Cowen said traders should respond to Bitcoin’s price action.
Cowen also expects diminishing returns in the next bull cycle if the summer low holds, arguing that Bitcoin’s relatively shallow 53% peak-to-trough decline did not produce the type of capitulation seen in previous cycles.
An earlier bottom could also mean an earlier eventual cycle peak, as the next bull market would effectively have started sooner.
Image: Shutterstock
Read Next
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
After testing above $87,000, Bitcoin has retreated and continues to trade in the $82,000-$85,000 range.
While it remains to be seen whether the uptrend will continue, Glassnode points to the $84,000-$85,000 range as a potential target.
Critical Resistance Zone in Bitcoin! According to Glassnode analysis, Bitcoin is facing resistance in the $84,000-$85,000 range, where long-term investors are most concentrated.
At this point, Glassnode, in its analysis from account X, stated that for the uptrend to gain strength, it is important for Bitcoin to surpass the $84,000-$85,000 region and hold above these levels.
Glassnode also notes that if Bitcoin breaks above the aforementioned $84,000-$85,000 resistance zone, the next key level to watch is the MVRV price, which is around $96,700.
Conversely, Glassnode notes that if BTC falls below $84,000, the $77,000 level will regain importance as a key support level.
Do Bond Yields Mean a Decline for Bitcoin? In addition to Glassnode’s analysis, Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, also analyzed US Treasury bond yields, which he believes triggered the decline in Bitcoin.
Speaking to Coindesk, Markus Thielen stated that a rise in the US 10-year Treasury yield to 6% does not necessarily mean it will harm Bitcoin.
At this point, Thielen makes a distinction based on the reasons why bond yields are rising.
FED Policy Plays a Critical Role! According to Thielen, if the rise in US 10-year Treasury yields to 6% stems from concerns about fiscal deficits and government debt, it may not necessarily be negative for BTC. The analyst suggests that this could lead investors to alternative assets and increase demand for BTC.
In response, Thielen notes that if the rise in bond yields is due to the Fed’s interest rate hikes, it could put pressure on Bitcoin. He recalled that Bitcoin lost approximately 64% of its value during the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes in 2022 and warned that similar downward pressure could reappear if the Fed continues with aggressive interest rate increases.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
A new analysis has emerged for Bitcoin and gold, which have been considered each other’s biggest rivals for years.
Accordingly, Coinbase Institutional shared a new assessment highlighting the relationship between Bitcoin and gold.
Coinbase Institutional noted that Bitcoin’s 90-day correlation with gold is nearing a record high, but stressed that high correlation does not mean the two assets will yield the same return.
Bitcoin Takes the Lead Against Gold, Directions Diverge in the Last Month! Coinbase Institutional’s analysis reveals that the 90-day correlation between Bitcoin (BTC) and gold is nearing a record high, but Bitcoin has outperformed gold in recent returns.
According to the analysis, Bitcoin has risen in the last month while gold has fallen during the same period. This means that although the two assets tend to move in similar directions/have a stronger correlation, their price movements can diverge significantly during certain periods.
Another key point highlighted in the analysis was that, in an environment of rising interest rates, new investment demand shifted towards Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin > altın. BTC’nin altınla korelasyonu rekor düzeye yakın. Ama benzer korelasyonlar benzer getiriler anlamına gelmez. Son bir ayda BTC yükseldi, altın ise düştü.
The lesson we learned: Marginal demand favors bitcoin despite higher interest rates.
Bitcoin Faces Its First Major Test! Wintermute, a cryptocurrency market maker, also offered an assessment of Bitcoin.
Wintermute, in its latest market analysis, noted that Bitcoin closed above its 50-week moving average last week for the first time since November 2025. According to the company, following this recent surge, attention has turned to the $82,500 level.
Wintermute states that the $82,500 level is critical for Bitcoin this week. This area forms the upper limit of the previous consolidation range, and maintaining this level is important for the sustainability of the recent rally. According to Wintermute, sustained price action above this level, which the price has struggled to break through for weeks, could indicate that the first weekly close above the 50-week moving average points to a more permanent price formation rather than a temporary movement.
However, Wintermute notes that while they expect the $82,500 level to be tested a few times in the short term, a close below this level could raise questions about the validity of the upward breakout.
Wintermute also noted that risky assets remained strong last week, despite the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rising above 5%, its highest level since 2007.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
For most of crypto’s history, Bitcoin has been the undisputed king of derivatives markets. On Hyperliquid, that hierarchy just flipped.
Ethereum’s open interest on the decentralized perpetual futures exchange has surpassed Bitcoin’s, with ETH reaching approximately $3.02 billion compared to BTC’s roughly $2.80 billion. On a platform that now accounts for an estimated 8.7% to 10.9% of global perpetual futures open interest, that gap is more than a rounding error.
What the flip actually tells us Open interest measures the total value of outstanding derivative contracts that haven’t been settled. It’s not volume, which tracks how much changes hands in a given period. OI is more like a headcount of how many traders are still sitting at the table with live bets.
Throughout 2026, ETH and BTC have been locked in a tight contest for the top OI spot on Hyperliquid, with leadership seesawing between the two assets. The current ETH lead suggests a rotation in trader sentiment that’s worth watching, particularly because it’s happening on a venue that’s increasingly representative of broader market positioning.
Hyperliquid’s rise from niche to notable Hyperliquid launched around 2023 with a simple pitch: deliver centralized-exchange speed and features on a fully decentralized platform. Built on its own Layer-1 blockchain, the exchange runs an on-chain central limit order book, or CLOB, rather than the automated market maker model that most DEXs rely on. That architecture lets it offer up to 50x leverage across its markets.
Total open interest on Hyperliquid hit approximately $18 billion as of late September 2026, a record high for the platform, representing nearly a tenth of all global perpetual futures open interest.
The October 2025 launch of the HIP-3 framework opened the door to tokenized traditional assets, including equity indices like the S&P 500, commodities, and individual stocks. Some of these tokenized asset markets have occasionally overtaken BTC itself in open interest on the platform.
Why this matters beyond Hyperliquid The risk side of the equation deserves attention. Concentrated open interest on a single decentralized venue means that any smart contract vulnerability, oracle failure, or liquidity crisis could cascade quickly. Hyperliquid’s CLOB model is more capital-efficient than AMM-based alternatives, but it also concentrates matching and settlement risk in ways that are still relatively untested at this scale.
For traders watching the ETH-BTC dynamic specifically, the open interest flip is a useful sentiment gauge but not a directional signal on its own. Higher ETH OI can precede sharp moves in either direction, since it reflects both long and short positioning.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin recovered above $84,000 on Tuesday, boosted by steady institutional flows and notable corporate purchases after a modest downturn the previous day. The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded near $84,300, bringing it close to the $85,000 resistance level that analysts are closely monitoring.
ETF inflows and corporate acquisitions drive demandRecent activity in US spot Bitcoin ETFs has helped maintain upbeat sentiment. Data from CoinGlass showed that these funds posted $31 million in net inflows on Monday, marking an eighth consecutive trading session of positive flows. However, while this streak reflects lasting appetite for Bitcoin exposure, Monday’s inflow was relatively modest compared to the preceding week’s surge.
In the week ending September 25, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted roughly $2.4 billion, their largest weekly inflow since October 2025. This influx reversed earlier year-to-date outflows and contributed to Bitcoin pushing above $85,000 during last week’s rally.
Momentum from ETF inflows supported Bitcoin’s recent gains but the size and consistency of these flows remain critical as the market approaches key technical levels. Monday’s inflow, while still positive, was notably smaller than last week’s major sessions, leaving traders to gauge whether demand will intensify if Bitcoin attempts to clear the $85,000 barrier.
Simultaneously, corporate acquisition activity added to the positive tone. Strategy revealed a purchase of 1,665 BTC for approximately $142.7 million between September 21 and 27. This transaction raised its total holdings to 847,666 BTC, cementing its lead as the largest public corporate Bitcoin treasury.
The company’s latest filing also outlined a buyback of $152 million in STRC preferred shares, underscoring an ongoing effort to manage its capital structure while increasing Bitcoin exposure. Coin removal from the open market through such acquisitions can influence short-term supply, but does not inherently set a price floor. The broader trend still depends on ongoing investor demand and holder activity.
Profit taking and technical landscapeOn-chain data point to persistent profit taking by existing holders following Bitcoin’s recent rally. According to Santiment’s Network Realized Profit/Loss indicator, realized profits spiked twice last week, reaching the highest levels since December 12, 2025. Although Monday’s upward move in the metric was smaller, it still signaled active selling into strength.
This leaves Bitcoin balancing continued inflows from ETFs and corporate treasuries against ongoing profit realization by long-term holders. A pause in heavy profit taking could make it easier for bullish demand to push prices higher, provided new inflows remain consistent.
Technically, Bitcoin continues to hold above its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages, which range from approximately $74,100 to $77,500. This cluster of moving averages has so far maintained a constructive backdrop for the BTC/USD daily chart, even amid recent consolidation.
The relative strength index (RSI) sits near 62, reflecting solid positive momentum without indicating an overheated market. Meanwhile, the MACD histogram has flattened, indicating that upward momentum has paused for now.
Market analysts are watching the $85,000 mark as the next significant resistance. A daily close above this level would signal potential for further gains, while repeated rejection at this point could lead to a period of consolidation. On the downside, immediate support is seen at the 50-day EMA near $77,586, with stronger support around the 100-day and 200-day EMAs just above $74,000.
Meme token market highlights trading behaviorIn addition to institutional and corporate flows, cryptocurrency traders remain attentive to areas of rapid momentum, particularly in the meme token market. Technical indicators like price clusters and RSI strength have underscored the importance of close market monitoring. During periods of volatility, shifts in social sentiment and timing can lead to notable gains or losses.
In the meme token market, an internet trend can transform into millions of dollars of interest within days. According to data shared by Fomo App, a trade involving “Niu Lai”—which turned an initial $99 investment into approximately $370,000—stands out as a striking example of this activity. In this market, tracking not only prices but also the timing and token choices of investors is crucial. Fomo App brings token discovery and trading together on a single platform, featuring social feeds, investor rankings, and trade notifications. Discover Fomo App to follow the world of meme tokens alongside investor activity.
Hunter Biden explains why $LAPTOP crashed 98% post-launch, blaming a DEX market maker liquidity failure, and shares his long-term Bitcoin price prediction.
Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP token dropped more than 98% within minutes of launch, and now he’s explaining what happened. In this interview, he walks through the plan to list on a centralized exchange, the switch to a decentralized exchange, and the market maker liquidity miss he blames for the crash. He also shares his 2028 Bitcoin price prediction.
Chapters:
0:00 Why Hunter Biden Named His Token $LAPTOP
1:36 What Went Wrong With the $LAPTOP Launch
7:07 $LAPTOP vs. the Trump Token: Tokenomics and Transparency
10:46 Operation Choke Point 2.0 and Lobbying His Father
13:30 Will Democrats Ever Get Behind Bitcoin and Crypto?
19:24 Hunter Biden on Michael Saylor and Strategy
21:22 Bitcoin Payments for Art and Global Bitcoin Adoption
24:52 Is Fiat a Sham? Banks, Wall Street, and Bitcoin
28:32 Silk Road, Bad Actors, and Crypto’s Partisan Shift
31:34 Hunter Biden’s 2028 Bitcoin Price Prediction
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.
Patrick Green
Patrick Green is an Assistant Producer and Channel Manager on the multimedia team at Bitcoin Magazine, focusing on production, content distribution, and channel strategy across the network.
According to Axios, sources familiar with the matter disclosed that OpenAI’s enterprise sales have more than doubled since July. Data indicates that OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate has risen by over 70% since the start of the third quarter, now standing at nearly $70 billion. Over the same period, its business-to-business (B2B) revenue from enterprise clients has grown by more than 100%. For its consumer segment, OpenAI’s third-quarter new revenue exceeded the total new revenue it generated in all of 2025. However, Axios noted that specific spending details for OpenAI have not yet been disclosed.
6 minutes ago
Robinhood CEO: U.S. SEC Greenlights Tesla’s Retail Investor Voting Plan, Pushing Retail Investors to Participate in Corporate Governance
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a "no-action letter" to Tesla today, clearing the way for a voting plan that empowers retail investors. "This is what equity should look like," Tenev noted. When millions hold shares in a public company, they should be able to vote their holdings more conveniently. Currently, Robinhood has helped multiple companies directly engage with shareholders, offering messaging services, retail investor voting programs, and real-time earnings Q&A sessions accessible directly within the app. More features will be launched in the future.
6 minutes ago
Oracle's intraday gain hit 5%
Per BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S.-listed Oracle (ORCL.N) saw a 5% intraday gain during trading hours.
6 minutes ago
U.S. House Oversight Committee to expand insider trading probe into prediction markets to platforms including Hyperliquid
According to CNBC, James Comer, chairman of the U.S. House Oversight Committee and Republican representative from Kentucky, is expanding his investigation into insider trading in prediction markets and has asked three online platforms to outline their measures to combat such conduct. In letters sent Tuesday, Comer requested documents and information from the CEOs of Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com, and Aristotle Exchange Inc. — which owns the PredictIt platform — asking them to detail their identity verification processes and how they identify and prevent insider trading on their respective platforms. Comer stated in a declaration: "As online prediction platforms continue to evolve and grow more mainstream, some bad actors are exploiting non-public information to place bets, earning thousands of dollars. The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether these platforms are meeting their legal obligations and taking sufficient steps to identify and prevent insider trading before it occurs."
6 minutes ago
Trump administration launches AI tool to simplify government online services
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Trump administration has rolled out an artificial intelligence-powered tool, which its developers claim will act as the federal government’s "digital steward" designed to modernize the relationship between citizens and the government. The tool will be hosted on the website America.gov, which officially launched on Tuesday, serving as a test of the Trump administration’s digital ambitions. Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and head of the White House National Design Studio, said the online portal will be the federal government’s new digital gateway. He noted that as the technology evolves, America.gov will eventually become a unified entry point for all federal public services, setting "a standard worthy of a superpower".
6 minutes ago
Bitcoin ETFs See $42.99M Inflow, Ethereum ETFs Attract $15.37M in Single Day
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
AJ Scaramucci reveals Solari Capital’s $350M launch and breaks down his “programmable reality” thesis across AI, biotech, and Bitcoin debasement.
Solari Capital just came out of stealth with $350 million deployed across AI, biotech, and Bitcoin. Founder AJ Scaramucci explains his “programmable reality” thesis: exponential computing power is turning biology, matter, intelligence, and finance into programmable systems. He also covers why Bitcoin is a core bet against monetary debasement.
Chapters:
0:00 AJ Scaramucci and Solari Capital’s Programmable Reality Thesis
1:22 Programmable Matter: Robotics, Alchemy, and Embodied AI
2:56 Physical Superintelligence and the Next Paradigm in Physics
4:16 How Close Are Humanoid Robots? Lessons From Waymo
5:27 Bitcoin and Monetary Debasement in Solari’s Framework
6:56 Scarcity vs. Abundance: Gold and Bitcoin vs. the Mag 7
8:23 Frontier AI Labs, Open Source, and the Application Layer
9:12 Treasure Trove and Collectibles as a Cultural Store of Value
11:39 The Dinosaur Fossil Market: T-Rex as an Asset Class
13:26 Fission Labs, Tokenized Private Shares, and the Future of IPOs
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.
Patrick Green
Patrick Green is an Assistant Producer and Channel Manager on the multimedia team at Bitcoin Magazine, focusing on production, content distribution, and channel strategy across the network.
China tackles an old reputation of crypto. For its Ministry of State Security, using bitcoin or other digital assets is not enough to disappear from the radars. Public transactions remain on the blockchain, exchanges often know their customers, and conversions to traditional currency can leave new traces. Beijing talks about fraud, money laundering, ransoms, and even espionage. The observation holds quite well for Bitcoin. For all crypto, it is already less simple.
In brief China claims that the anonymity offered by crypto is largely overestimated. Bitcoin allows public tracking of movements between addresses for years. Monero and Zcash were precisely designed to hide much more information. Beijing tackles the myth of crypto anonymity The first part of the Chinese reasoning is quite classical. A Bitcoin address carries no name, but transactions remain traceable on the blockchain. Amounts, addresses used, and the history of movements can be viewed in an explorer.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security, or MSS, relies on this feature to warn against criminal use of crypto. It notably cites phone scams, online gambling, and certain cross-border traffics. Ransomware also enters the list. The ministry also claims that foreign intelligence services can use digital assets to pay agents without going directly through the traditional banking system.
Crypto then complicates the work. It does not necessarily make it impossible. A freshly created address may reveal almost nothing about its owner. Funds arrive, leave to a second wallet, then a third. No name appears in the registry. This can last a long time. The problem begins when one of these movements intersects with information located elsewhere.
Bitcoin does not forget transactions Bitcoin has a quite annoying feature for someone seeking absolute anonymity: its history remains there. A crypto transaction made today can still be examined several years later. The tools available at that time might even no longer be the same.
A bitcoin can pass through several addresses. These movements do not disappear for all that. It’s very different from cash. A $100 bill passes through a store, returns in a cash register, is deposited in a bank, and then possibly comes out elsewhere. It does not carry with it a public registry containing each of these steps.
On Bitcoin, the registry exists. That does not mean it automatically indicates who owns each address. This is where one must avoid mixing two things. The blockchain allows tracking funds. Identifying the person usually requires something else. Crypto analysis companies try precisely to link several addresses, identify recurring behaviors, or spot wallets belonging to certain known services. An investigation can also start from an already identified address and work back to past movements.
The user who thought they were safe because no name appeared next to their wallet can then have an unpleasant surprise. Beijing therefore talks about an “illusion.” For Bitcoin, the term is not absurd if one speaks of complete anonymity. The network is pseudonymous. This is not exactly the same thing.
Identity often comes back through exchanges The most interesting moment comes when bitcoins simply leave the blockchain to reach a company that knows its customer. Let’s take a person who uses ten different addresses. They receive BTC, move them several times, and avoid publishing their wallets. Seen only from the blockchain, putting a name behind each movement can remain difficult.
Then they send part of the funds to a large centralized exchange. This crypto platform may have already asked for their passport, address, phone number, and other information during KYC verification.
The scene changes. The same applies with a conversion to a bank account. The Chinese ministry also mentions other information that can accompany these operations, such as IP addresses or data related to the devices used. Investigators are thus not condemned to only look at a sequence of transactions in an explorer.
They can cross sources. This is often where the image of totally anonymous crypto collapses. A user can be very cautious on the blockchain and much less so when connecting to a centralized service. They can also reuse an address, publish it on a social network, or associate it themselves with an identifiable activity. A single mistake can be enough to provide a starting point. Then there is the history. Not necessarily all the user’s personal history, but sometimes much more than they imagined.
Monero and Zcash seriously change the equation This is where the Chinese discourse becomes too broad. Not all cryptos work like Bitcoin. Monero is probably the most obvious example. The protocol uses several technologies designed to mask transactional information, notably ring signatures and stealth addresses. Privacy is part of the normal functioning of the network.
Zcash uses a different approach with zero-knowledge proofs. Some transactions can hide information while allowing the network to verify that they remain valid.
This is no longer the same playing field. The subject falls coincidentally at a time when privacy coins are experiencing a spectacular comeback. In five months, Zcash and Monero have contributed to a $24.5 billion increase in this crypto segment’s valuation.
The privacy-focused coin market was worth about $11.97 billion at the beginning of April.
End of September: $36.51 billion. Zcash went from about $319 to over $1,500 during the studied period. Monero rose from $330 to about $555. Not really a small forgotten market. That does not mean a Monero user becomes invisible as soon as they open their wallet.
If they buy their XMR on a platform that knows their identity, an initial piece of information already exists. If they expose their IP address, then convert funds via a regulated intermediary, or make an operational mistake, other traces can appear. The protocol’s privacy does not automatically protect everything that happens around it. The same observation applies to Zcash.
Crypto privacy does not only concern criminals This is also where I depart from Beijing’s discourse. The MSS essentially presents crypto privacy through fraud, money laundering, ransoms, and espionage. This is not very surprising. China has maintained a particularly tough policy toward private digital assets for years and further tightened its control over crypto in 2026.
But wanting to keep one’s finances private is nothing criminal. A merchant paid in bitcoin does not necessarily want a customer to be able to check the balance of their wallet. A company does not necessarily wish to show competitors the payments sent to its suppliers. An employee paid in crypto may simply prefer that their employer does not then see where their money goes.
In the traditional banking system, this confidentiality seems normal. A payment made to someone does not open to them the complete history of your account. On a public blockchain, an identified address can sometimes reveal much more. That is almost the paradox of the debate.
For a long time, bitcoin was presented as an ideal currency to hide. In reality, its ledger is extremely transparent. Part of the industry now tries to fix exactly the opposite problem: how to use a blockchain without making one’s entire financial life observable?
Monero provides one answer. Zcash provides another. Zero-knowledge technologies are progressing well beyond only privacy coins. Investigators continue to improve their tools. No one has really won this race. And probably no one will ever win it definitively. China is thus right on one essential point: an address made of numbers and letters must never be confused with a guarantee of anonymity.
For bitcoin, this is a basic rule. But crypto is no longer limited to Bitcoin. Between a public BTC transaction, a stablecoin transfer on Ethereum, a shielded operation on Zcash, and a Monero payment, the level of privacy varies considerably. Putting everything in the same basket makes for an effective slogan, but not a complete view of the technology. Incidentally, some researchers are already exploring solutions to make Bitcoin more confidential, like Zcash.
Maximize your Cointribune experience with our "Read to Earn" program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.
Join the program
A
A
Lien copié
Lydie M.
Enseignante et ingénieure IT, Lydie découvre le Bitcoin en 2022 et plonge dans l’univers des cryptomonnaies. Elle vulgarise des sujets complexes, décrypte les enjeux du Web3 et défend une vision d’un futur numérique ouvert, inclusif et décentralisé.
El Salvador is backing a government app that lets citizens send and hold digital dollars. The app runs on stablecoins, not Bitcoin (BTC).
Five years ago, President Nayib Bukele made El Salvador the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. It seems the country is now looking to shift towards a more stable form of crypto.
What the El Salvador Stablecoins App DoesThe app, called Sivar, is built by Modveon, a Palo Alto startup that came out of stealth on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported. Its payments run on Base, a blockchain network built by US exchange Coinbase.
Salvadorans sent $9B home last year. Percentage fees took millions of it.@Modveon's Sivar now uses Coinbase infrastructure and Base to let US users send any amount to El Salvador for a flat $2.
Transfer to off-ramp, all included. pic.twitter.com/a5b2na5lJ0
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) September 29, 2026 Users first verify with a government ID. The app then places them in local groups based on their home address.
From there, they can send money, post content, and join live polls. Salvadorans living abroad can also vote in local elections.
Modveon CEO Nana Murugesan says El Salvador is the firm’s first national deployment. The five-year contract carries a multimillion-dollar fee the company did not disclose.
The post has since been deleted.
Modveon CEO Nana Murugesan on XWhy Bitcoin Payments Failed to Catch OnBitcoin never became everyday money in El Salvador. Around 92% of Salvadorans said they had not used it in 2024, a University of Central America survey found.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) found only about 1.75% of remittances moved through crypto wallets. Remittances are money sent home by relatives working abroad.
In 2025, reforms tied to a $1.4 billion IMF loan ended Bitcoin’s mandatory status. They also scaled back Chivo, the state’s Bitcoin wallet.
Is Bukele Giving Up on Bitcoin?Not for the national treasury, Murugesan told Bloomberg.
“El Salvador keeps embracing Bitcoin when it comes to treasury and as a store of value. But from a money movement point of view, President Bukele is very committed to the fastest, cheapest and most trusted way of moving money, and you can’t beat stablecoins,” Bloomberg reported, citing Nana Murugesan, the CEO of Modveon.
Earlier this month, the IMF said donations, not public funds drove the country’s recent Bitcoin reserve growth.
The money at stake for the new app is large. El Salvador received nearly $10 billion in remittances in 2025, central bank data shows. About 92% came from the US.
Sivar charges US users a flat $2 per transfer home. However, cheaper crypto rails are not guaranteed. A Bank of Italy study found stablecoin remittances no cheaper than banks, with costs reaching 9%.
Bitcoin’s place in the country may also face voters soon. Bukele’s rivals are already challenging his Bitcoin strategy ahead of the 2027 election.
Bitwise’s André Dragosch breaks down rising 10-year yields, why rapid moves trigger stock market drops, and how a Fed pivot launches Bitcoin.
The 10-year Treasury yield is spiking, and Bitwise’s André Dragosch has a rule of thumb for when that becomes dangerous: 80 basis points in 20 trading days. He explains why the speed of the move matters more than the level, how a stock market correction could force a Fed pivot, and why that pivot could be the last domino before a genuine Bitcoin bull market.
Chapters:
0:00 Operation Choke Point 2.0 and Crypto’s Shift to Republicans
0:37 Will Democrats Stop Fighting Bitcoin and Crypto?
1:53 Hunter Biden on Elizabeth Warren’s Crypto Stance
2:44 Blockchain in the Age of AI and Bitcoin Going to Zero
3:34 Why Hunter Biden Launched a Meme Token
4:57 Bitcoin for the Unbanked and Cross-Border Payments
5:52 Hunter Biden on Michael Saylor and Strategy
7:50 Crypto Payments for His Art and the Blockchain Art Economy
9:02 Global Bitcoin Adoption and the Meme Economy
11:20 Is Fiat a Sham? Banks, Argentina, and Wall Street
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.
Patrick Green
Patrick Green is an Assistant Producer and Channel Manager on the multimedia team at Bitcoin Magazine, focusing on production, content distribution, and channel strategy across the network.
Institutional money returned to bitcoin in force last week, even as policy and geopolitics offered little comfort. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded products absorbed about $2.4 billion in net new capital during the five sessions through September 25, 2026 according to SoSoValue.
That was the strongest weekly haul since October 2025 and enough to push 2026 year-to-date flows back into the black at roughly $934 million, after a mid-July deficit near $5.8 billion.
The reversal is notable because it arrived after months of uneven demand and a stretch when many professional desks treated digital assets as a funding source rather than a destination.
The week opened with a burst of demand. Monday alone brought in close to $999 million, the largest single-day print since early October last year.
Inflows then tapered each session—about $715 million on Tuesday, $347 million on Wednesday, $191 million on Thursday, and $134 million on Friday—but never flipped negative.
The seven-session streak that began September 17 now totals around $3 billion.
BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack with about $1.2 billion for the week, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at roughly $702 million and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB with nearly $295 million.
Combined assets in the bitcoin products remain above $108 billion, underscoring how large the regulated wrapper has become as a channel for traditional capital.
That appetite arrived despite several headwinds.
The CLARITY Act remains stalled in the Senate, leaving comprehensive market-structure legislation unfinished.
Policy makers have also sounded more cautious on rates after a recent hike into the 3.75–4 percent range, and some officials have warned that persistent demand-side inflation could force tighter policy sooner than markets hoped.
Overlay that with tension around Iran, and the usual recipe would have been risk-off selling in assets that still trade as high-beta expressions of liquidity.Instead, bitcoin held a relatively tight $84,000–$87,000 band.
The price has not broken down in a lasting way, and a growing number of analysts now argue that this range may mark the cycle low.
Stability at those levels, after a long period of digestion, has encouraged the view that forced sellers have already done most of their work.
Ether funds joined the rebound with nearly $690 million in weekly inflows after the prior week’s outflows, while Solana products posted a record one-day intake of about $87 million and lifted combined assets toward $1.5 billion.
The breadth of the bid suggests the rotation is not confined to a single ticker.
October has a reputation in digital asset circles as “Uptober,” a stretch when crypto often finds a seasonal bid as positioning resets into the fourth quarter. Whether that pattern repeats is unknowable, but the flow data suggests institutions are already building exposure rather than waiting for a legislative green light.
As the final quarter of 2026 opens, attention is likely to split between two tracks: the next wave of AI product and infrastructure news, and the usual mix of inflation prints, Treasury issuance, buyback plans, and central-bank guidance.
Micro developments—ETF creations and redemptions, corporate treasury purchases, and on-chain supply tightness—will matter as much as the macro tape.
The message from last week is not that every obstacle has vanished.
It is that allocators appear willing to look through unfinished regulation, firmer rates, and geopolitical noise if they believe bitcoin’s longer-term role is intact. Flows of this size do not guarantee higher prices, but they do show that the bid from regulated products remains one of the market’s most important supports heading into the seasonally watched month ahead.
In brief BTC traded around $84,000 Tuesday, up 0.9% on the day, while spot Bitcoin ETFs notched eight consecutive sessions of inflows totaling around $3 billion. The 10-year Treasury yield is at its highest since 2007, while Brent crude has eased from Monday's peak. Futures markets put the odds of an October Fed hike at 70.3%, up from 55.4% a week ago. Bitcoin was trading at around $84,000 on Tuesday, up 0.9% over 24 hours but down 2% across the week, according to CoinGecko data, holding a range it has occupied for a fortnight while the assets around it move against it.
The pressure is coming from outside crypto. Treasury yields are sitting near multi-year highs, driven largely by oil. The 10-year peaked at 5.274% on Monday, its highest since June 2007, and the 30-year at 5.583%, a level last seen in 2002. Both eased slightly on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, as crude turned lower. Brent moved back above $100 a barrel on Monday after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's seven-day plan to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the dollar with it. Brent then fell below $104, down about 1.7% on the day after topping $108 on Monday, as US and Iranian officials continued indirect contacts through Qatar and Saudi Arabia restored roughly half the flows through its East-West pipeline, an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. Gold has fallen to a seven-week low.
"The rise in crude prices is capping non-yielding assets, so Bitcoin's rally has taken a bit of a pause," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, who expects Bitcoin to struggle for upside momentum while the energy risk persists. He reads the charts more favorably, describing price action as consolidation within a short-term uptrend.
Thahbib Rahman, research analyst at Block Scholes, made a similar point about how little Bitcoin has given up, in a note shared with Decrypt. It has held between $82,000 and $84,000 for a week and a half despite the macro backdrop and the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, he said, with institutional demand behind that resilience.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have now taken in money for eight straight sessions, per Farside Investors data, a run Rahman put at roughly $3 billion. Monday's contribution was slight: a net $31.07 million, according to SoSoValue, with $54.84 million into BlackRock's IBIT and $10.32 million into Grayscale's mini trust offsetting outflows of $23.19 million from GBTC and $10.90 million from Fidelity's FBTC. The funds now hold $107.82 billion, equal to 6.42% of Bitcoin's market capitalization.
Myriad: When will Bitcoin reach a new all-time high? Click to make your prediction.Options traders are hedging their optimism. The 25-delta put-call skew for seven to 30-day tenors is close to neutral, Rahman said, which he reads as traders moving between buying downside protection and positioning for a rally.
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy has kept buying. The company disclosed purchasing 1,665 BTC for about $142.7 million between September 21 and 27, taking its holdings to 847,666 BTC and past the 847,363 it held in June, a record.
This week's U.S. data will settle the Fed argument either way. August core PCE lands on Wednesday, alongside the third estimate of second-quarter GDP. The measure ran at 3.3% year-on-year in July, and the Fed lifted its own 2026 projection for it to 3.4% at this month's meeting. Friday's September jobs report is forecast to show payroll growth of about 90,000, down from August's 162,000, with unemployment holding at 4.1%, though Barclays chief U.S. economist Marc Giannoni puts September closer to 50,000. The Fed meets on October 27 and 28, three weeks after its first rate rise since 2023. Futures markets put the chance of another quarter-point increase at 70.3%, up from 55.4% a week ago and 17.7% a month ago, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Traders on Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, price the same outcome at 69%, also up over the past week.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
In brief BTC traded around $84,000 Tuesday, up 0.9% on the day, while spot Bitcoin ETFs notched eight consecutive sessions of inflows totaling around $3 billion. The 10-year Treasury yield is at its highest since 2007, while Brent crude has eased from Monday's peak. Futures markets put the odds of an October Fed hike at 70.3%, up from 55.4% a week ago. Bitcoin was trading at around $84,000 on Tuesday, up 0.9% over 24 hours but down 2% across the week, according to CoinGecko data, holding a range it has occupied for a fortnight while the assets around it move against it.
The pressure is coming from outside crypto. Treasury yields are sitting near multi-year highs, driven largely by oil. The 10-year peaked at 5.274% on Monday, its highest since June 2007, and the 30-year at 5.583%, a level last seen in 2002. Both eased slightly on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, as crude turned lower. Brent moved back above $100 a barrel on Monday after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's seven-day plan to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the dollar with it. Brent then fell below $104, down about 1.7% on the day after topping $108 on Monday, as US and Iranian officials continued indirect contacts through Qatar and Saudi Arabia restored roughly half the flows through its East-West pipeline, an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. Gold has fallen to a seven-week low.
"The rise in crude prices is capping non-yielding assets, so Bitcoin's rally has taken a bit of a pause," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, who expects Bitcoin to struggle for upside momentum while the energy risk persists. He reads the charts more favorably, describing price action as consolidation within a short-term uptrend.
Thahbib Rahman, research analyst at Block Scholes, made a similar point about how little Bitcoin has given up, in a note shared with Decrypt. It has held between $82,000 and $84,000 for a week and a half despite the macro backdrop and the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, he said, with institutional demand behind that resilience.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have now taken in money for eight straight sessions, per Farside Investors data, a run Rahman put at roughly $3 billion. Monday's contribution was slight: a net $31.07 million, according to SoSoValue, with $54.84 million into BlackRock's IBIT and $10.32 million into Grayscale's mini trust offsetting outflows of $23.19 million from GBTC and $10.90 million from Fidelity's FBTC. The funds now hold $107.82 billion, equal to 6.42% of Bitcoin's market capitalization.
Myriad: When will Bitcoin reach a new all-time high? Click to make your prediction.Options traders are hedging their optimism. The 25-delta put-call skew for seven to 30-day tenors is close to neutral, Rahman said, which he reads as traders moving between buying downside protection and positioning for a rally.
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy has kept buying. The company disclosed purchasing 1,665 BTC for about $142.7 million between September 21 and 27, taking its holdings to 847,666 BTC and past the 847,363 it held in June, a record.
This week's U.S. data will settle the Fed argument either way. August core PCE lands on Wednesday, alongside the third estimate of second-quarter GDP. The measure ran at 3.3% year-on-year in July, and the Fed lifted its own 2026 projection for it to 3.4% at this month's meeting. Friday's September jobs report is forecast to show payroll growth of about 90,000, down from August's 162,000, with unemployment holding at 4.1%, though Barclays chief U.S. economist Marc Giannoni puts September closer to 50,000. The Fed meets on October 27 and 28, three weeks after its first rate rise since 2023. Futures markets put the chance of another quarter-point increase at 70.3%, up from 55.4% a week ago and 17.7% a month ago, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Traders on Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, price the same outcome at 69%, also up over the past week.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Voters have had enough, but Democrats refuse to listen.
Despite their rhetoric about costs and affordability, not a single Senate Democrat voted to advance the Clarity Act last week.
The legislation would have established rules of the road for digital assets, helping bring down the cost of transactions for everyday Americans.
Unfortunately, because of Democrats, the bill did not move forward.
Read more: How months of work on the Clarity Act all fell apart
Policy is personal, so when voting on legislation like this, I ask myself, "Will this help single moms like the one who raised me?"
These are the kinds of Americans that Democrats have long claimed to look out for. Yet, when they get to Washington, they vote time and again to take money out of the pockets of hardworking families.
Americans want to keep more of their own money, but Democrats voted to raise taxes on overtime, tips, and Social Security. If Democrats got their way, Americans would be paying hundreds of dollars more each month in taxes.
Democrats just blew another opportunity to put money in the pockets of Americans. Digital assets offer real promise. They can lower costs, move money faster, and help small businesses grow. But we need clear guardrails in place to prevent customers and investors from being taken advantage of.
My Republican colleagues and I, along with Democrats, spent more than a year negotiating this legislation. Our final proposal included over 120 changes Democrats requested, yet they still said no.
Expanded ethics provisions. Got it done. Ethics provisions relating to President Trump. Got it done. Ethics rules covering elected officials and their spouses. Got it done. A meaningful role for state attorneys general in enforcement. Got it done. Additional money laundering tools for law enforcement. Got it done.
Each time Republicans met Democrats' demands, they moved the goalposts. No amount of good-faith negotiating would satisfy Democrats playing politics with our country’s financial future.
At least 12 Senate Democrats claimed they wanted to make a deal. But lip service is different than delivering results. When the vote came, not one Senate Democrat voted to move the bill forward.
At its core, the Clarity Act would protect everyday Americans, safeguard their hard-earned money, give entrepreneurs a fair shot, and make it harder for criminals and foreign adversaries to abuse our financial system.
Before I came to the Senate, I ran a small business, and I hear every day from job creators about the need for certainty. An entrepreneur working in financial services has practical questions, too. What rules apply? Which agency is responsible? The answers affect how their businesses operate and how they serve customers.
Democrats know this, too. That's what makes last week’s vote so frustrating.
We are less than 40 days away from Election Day, and Democrats put what they felt was good for politics above what was good public policy. They would rather poke President Trump and block him for achieving a major bipartisan legislative accomplishment than do what is right for the American people.
After Democrats tanked the Clarity Act, I called for the SEC and CFTC to set clear rules of the road for digital assets while Congress continues its work. The SEC and CFTC focus on the companies customers deal with and the rules those companies follow. Certainty matters.
I keep coming back to the person on the other side of that transaction.
A mother saving for her children knows what it took to earn that money.
A worker putting money aside knows what it took to get through the week.
A business owner knows the people waiting for their paychecks.
That is the perspective I bring from South Carolina. Technology has changed since I was growing up, but the need to lower costs and reduce uncertainty has not.
My story started with a single mom working hard to give her children a future. I have not forgotten her sacrifice and what every dollar meant at home.
Democrats should take note and remember the people they represent and do what's best for them, not what's best for their political calculus, consultants, and special interests.
This election, voters have a choice between one party that advances economic opportunity for all and another that would rather keep taking money out of your pocket. Democrats, once again, sided with taking money out of the pockets of Americans.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
Bitcoin may not be done falling, but several altcoins are already showing signs of strength. Current chart setups point to a short, sharp move lower within days, which could open the best entry points of the current range.
Bitcoin’s Two Scenarios
Bitcoin charts show two possible paths:
Base case: A dip into the late $70,000s to $81,000 zone, followed by a strong bounce.Bullish case: Bitcoin pushes higher first, making a drop to the mid-$70,000s less likely while the low $80,000s remain in play.In both cases, a run toward $100,000 becomes the next target once the shakeout ends. Liquidity is building near $86,000, which points to choppy trade over the next two to three days.
Altcoins With Buy Setups
AVAX: Has broken out and retested its weekly level, putting $16 to $20 in view. A 20% pullback remains possible, so smaller entries make sense.NEAR: After a strong two-week run, the mid to late $3 range is the key support zone.ONDO: A return to the mid-40 to late-50 cent area would offer an attractive entry.Ethereum: The strongest of the majors, with ETH dominance rising and an important zone near $2,425.Zcash: Has lost its four-hour trend, and the $1,000 to $1,100 range is the level to watch.Filecoin, Compound, HBAR, Chainlink and Curve are also on the watchlist, with Curve currently breaking out.
Where More Downside Is Likely
XRP has lost its trend and could drop another 15% to 20% and Immutable X is showing similar weakness.
90/10 Rule
In a typical market pullback, around 90% of altcoins fall while 10% keep climbing. Tokens already sitting at the bottom of their Bitcoin pairs after months of losses may have little room left to drop, which makes small positions in blue chips like Chainlink reasonable now. The US dollar index is approaching resistance, while stocks and gold are testing key levels.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored and Advertisements:Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt called October 4 as the day Bitcoin’s bear market would end, but now he thinks the market beat him to it.
“There’s a good possibility we have seen the low and now are entering a new bull market cycle in Bitcoin,” Brandt tells Cointelegraph on the latest episode of Trade Secrets.
In July, Brandt warned that prices could fall into the high-$40,000 range. Bitcoin was trading near $64,000 when that interview was published and climbed to almost $85,000 by his latest appearance.
With the benefit of hindsight, Bitcoin’s fall to around $58,000 in late June may have already marked the cycle bottom.
But that doesn’t rule out a sharp drop first, says Brandt, who is on the lookout for a possible pullback toward $65,000 or $66,000 in early October.
“One thing that could happen, of course, is we just had too many people now chase the market,” he says. “They have bought the idea that the Bitcoin low is in and they have loaded up on the rally.”
A pullback could shake out those late buyers and give investors an opportunity to build their positions.
“We all know Bitcoin doesn’t go straight up.”
Brandt sees Bitcoin hitting $500,000 this cycleBrandt has also raised his sights for Bitcoin’s next peak, putting a late-2029 high of between $300,000 and $600,000, up from the $250,000 to $300,000 range he outlined in July.
“The bull market cycle this time has a very good chance of reaching half a million,” he says.
A million-dollar Bitcoin by 2030 isn’t impossible in his view, but he doesn’t need that target to come true for the trade to work. Brandt says he hasn’t invested all the money he has earmarked for Bitcoin. He would be content with 70% of that allocation in the market for 70% of the move into the projected 2029 highs.
“If Bitcoin’s $350,000 in late 2029, I’m not gonna be a million-dollar bull,” he says.
Bitcoin staged a Q3 recovery and broke through $80,000. Source: Price move ‘explanations’ are often wrongBrandt is also wary of using headlines about the CLARITY Act or other events to explain every price move. He looks at the timing and pace of previous market cycles to gauge what could come next.
“Markets do something, traders need to create a narrative. More often than not, the narrative is at least partially wrong,” he says. “Let price be king.”
His model places the halving roughly halfway in time between the bear market low and the next peak. He expects gains to accelerate toward the end, with the final three or four months potentially delivering about 30% of the total increase.
Brandt’s forecast assumes a new bull market is already underway and that Bitcoin’s historical cycle patterns broadly hold. For now, finding the next buying opportunity with manageable risk matters more to him than whether Bitcoin reaches $100,000 by year-end.
“It’s unimportant,” he says. “I think more important is can we identify the next tradable spot where one can have somewhat of a measured risk?”
Brandt questions XRP’s investment appealBrandt is famously dismissive of many altcoins and he says the thesis of investors tipping money into “some fool coin” like XRP is often wrong.
XRP’s usefulness for payments and Ripple’s banking partnerships don’t automatically make it a winning investment in his eyes.
“Just because something is transactional, that doesn’t mean automatically that it must be more valuable,” he says, comparing it to the US dollar.
It works for payments, but people don’t buy it simply because they expect its transactional usefulness to push up its value.
Ether and Solana get a warmer reception, with room for both alongside Bitcoin in his suggested crypto portfolio allocations. Chasing the next new token is another matter.
“Don’t be sold on the new upstarts, don’t be conned into the latest fast horse in the game,” he says.
For financially secure investors, he suggests a crypto allocation of up to 10%, with Bitcoin taking the largest share.
“I believe that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Magazine: THORChain under fire over Bitget, ETH evolves beyond blockchain: Hodler’s Digest
Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt called October 4 as the day Bitcoin’s bear market would end, but now he thinks the market beat him to it.
“There’s a good possibility we have seen the low and now are entering a new bull market cycle in Bitcoin,” Brandt tells Cointelegraph on the latest episode of Trade Secrets.
In July, Brandt warned that prices could fall into the high-$40,000 range. Bitcoin was trading near $64,000 when that interview was published and climbed to almost $85,000 by his latest appearance.
With the benefit of hindsight, Bitcoin’s fall to around $58,000 in late June may have already marked the cycle bottom.
But that doesn’t rule out a sharp drop first, says Brandt, who is on the lookout for a possible pullback toward $65,000 or $66,000 in early October.
“One thing that could happen, of course, is we just had too many people now chase the market,” he says. “They have bought the idea that the Bitcoin low is in and they have loaded up on the rally.”
A pullback could shake out those late buyers and give investors an opportunity to build their positions.
“We all know Bitcoin doesn’t go straight up.”
Brandt sees Bitcoin hitting $500,000 this cycleBrandt has also raised his sights for Bitcoin’s next peak, putting a late-2029 high of between $300,000 and $600,000, up from the $250,000 to $300,000 range he outlined in July.
“The bull market cycle this time has a very good chance of reaching half a million,” he says.
A million-dollar Bitcoin by 2030 isn’t impossible in his view, but he doesn’t need that target to come true for the trade to work. Brandt says he hasn’t invested all the money he has earmarked for Bitcoin. He would be content with 70% of that allocation in the market for 70% of the move into the projected 2029 highs.
“If Bitcoin’s $350,000 in late 2029, I’m not gonna be a million-dollar bull,” he says.
Bitcoin staged a Q3 recovery and broke through $80,000. Source: Price move ‘explanations’ are often wrongBrandt is also wary of using headlines about the CLARITY Act or other events to explain every price move. He looks at the timing and pace of previous market cycles to gauge what could come next.
“Markets do something, traders need to create a narrative. More often than not, the narrative is at least partially wrong,” he says. “Let price be king.”
His model places the halving roughly halfway in time between the bear market low and the next peak. He expects gains to accelerate toward the end, with the final three or four months potentially delivering about 30% of the total increase.
Brandt’s forecast assumes a new bull market is already underway and that Bitcoin’s historical cycle patterns broadly hold. For now, finding the next buying opportunity with manageable risk matters more to him than whether Bitcoin reaches $100,000 by year-end.
“It’s unimportant,” he says. “I think more important is can we identify the next tradable spot where one can have somewhat of a measured risk?”
Brandt questions XRP’s investment appealBrandt is famously dismissive of many altcoins and he says the thesis of investors tipping money into “some fool coin” like XRP is often wrong.
XRP’s usefulness for payments and Ripple’s banking partnerships don’t automatically make it a winning investment in his eyes.
“Just because something is transactional, that doesn’t mean automatically that it must be more valuable,” he says, comparing it to the US dollar.
It works for payments, but people don’t buy it simply because they expect its transactional usefulness to push up its value.
Ether and Solana get a warmer reception, with room for both alongside Bitcoin in his suggested crypto portfolio allocations. Chasing the next new token is another matter.
“Don’t be sold on the new upstarts, don’t be conned into the latest fast horse in the game,” he says.
For financially secure investors, he suggests a crypto allocation of up to 10%, with Bitcoin taking the largest share.
“I believe that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Magazine: THORChain under fire over Bitget, ETH evolves beyond blockchain: Hodler’s Digest
Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.
Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
The local altcoin rally could stall if Bitcoin fails to hold its recent breakout, according to analysts at institutional market maker Wintermute.
Although the altcoin index rose 5.0% in week 39, outpacing Bitcoin's 4.1% gain, the analysts say retail investors' optimism is premature. The outlook for XRP and other altcoins now depends on whether Bitcoin can hold its newly gained ground.
The week's main trigger was Bitcoin's first weekly close above its 50-week moving average since last November. That breakout now faces a test at $82,500, the former upper boundary of a prolonged trading range. This level could determine the near-term direction of the broader crypto market.
HOT Stories
Cross-asset performance ranking for week 39 showing Altcoins, Bitcoin, and Nasdaq leading the gains, Source: Wintermute OTCWintermute cautioned against drawing conclusions too soon. It remains to be seen whether $82,500 will hold, and the firm would not be surprised to see the level retested several times in quick succession.
"$82.5k is the level to watch this week, because it capped the range for weeks and a hold there turns the first weekly close above the 50-week since November into a base rather than a wick," the analysts wrote.
You Might Also Like
"We expect it to be tested more than once in short succession, and a close back below it puts the breakout in question," they added.
In derivatives markets, large players are already replacing short-term hedges with longer-dated call options targeting $126,000 by year-end. They see these positions as an affordable bet on further gains for Bitcoin.
Why the XRP and Ethereum rally now depends on US jobs dataWintermute's OTC desk is seeing an imbalance: retail investors are selling Bitcoin and moving profits into alternative tokens, including XRP and Ethereum, before the breakout is confirmed. At the same time, market breadth — the share of tokens rising together—has become stretched. Historically, in 80% of comparable cases, altcoins moved sideways for an extended period or corrected when Bitcoin failed to confirm their gains.
The report warns that an altcoin-led rise without support from BTC is risky for buyers: "...a bounce led by alts that BTC does not confirm is the setup that has historically resolved flat to negative."
The analysts expect attention to return to the largest cryptocurrencies: "While alts are selectively putting in +ve performance, we expect focus to shift back to the majors, because BTC has to push higher to reset this alt cycle and recycle new wealth into it."
Until Bitcoin completes its breakout and restarts that cycle, altcoin investors may see only brief rotations between sectors, such as the recent shift from real-world assets (RWA) into artificial intelligence (AI) tokens.
You Might Also Like
The crypto market has remained resilient despite the yield on 10-year US Treasuries climbing above 5%, its highest level since 2007, and a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike. Among traditional assets, only the Nasdaq held up, gaining 3.3%, while gold fell 1.9% and long-term bonds lost 2.4%.
The main risk has shifted to commodities as Brent crude reached $103 a barrel after traffic through the SOH fell by half. If Brent remains above $100, the Fed could raise rates again in October. Bitcoin has so far absorbed the pressure with support from ETFs: spot funds recorded their largest inflow of 2026, $999 million, on Monday, although that figure had fallen to $150 million by Friday.
Two factors will shape the market's direction in the coming days: whether Bitcoin holds $82,500 and Friday's US payrolls report.
Bitcoin trades around the $83,900 mark on Tuesday and Ethereum trades around $2,680 as the crypto markets consolidated. The cryptocurrency was trading at the $83,915 mark and Ethereum was trading at the $2,708 mark.
In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin and Ethereum were up 1.37% and 2.36% respectively. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin, and Cardano gained up to 3.56%, whereas Hyperliquid was down 1.06%.
Also Read |
Power Mech Projects shares gain 3% after securing Rs 279 crore order from Telangana Power Generation Corporation
Crypto TrackerPowered By
TOP COINS
TOP COIN SETS
Avinash Shekhar, Co-founder & CEO, Pi42 said Bitcoin is trading around the $83,500 mark after giving back some of its recent gains, as rising US Treasury yields, higher oil prices and expectations of further monetary tightening keep risk appetite in check.
He further said, "For Bitcoin, the $82,000-$83,000 zone remains an important near-term support area, while a move back above $85,000 could help restore momentum towards the recent highs."
The global crypto market capitalisation was up 1.08% to $2.87 trillion, according to data on CoinMarketCap.
Popular in Markets
CoinSwitch Markets Desk said BTC is consolidating around $83K as investors reassess risk amid higher oil prices, with crude holding above $100 on renewed US-Iran tensions. Institutional demand remains robust, with spot Bitcoin ETFs drawing $2.45 billion in net inflows last week, their strongest run since October 2025.
Over the last week, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 2.34% and 1.20% respectively. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Tron, Hyperliquid, and Dogecoin corrected up to 7%, whereas Solana and Cardano were up 1.99% and 2% respectively.
Prateek Gupta, Head of Business, Mudrex said Bitcoin is consolidating around $83,000 after giving back much of last week's breakout above $86,000, as renewed US-Iran tensions pushed oil toward $108/barrel and Treasury yields to their highest since 2007.
Gupta further said that the move looks more like risk-off pressure and profit-taking than a fundamental reversal. However, liquidation risks are rising, with Binance showing $4.35 billion in long positions below current levels versus $1.65 billion in shorts above.
Also Read |
NCC shares rally 5% after securing Rs 1,076 crore Andhra Pradesh drinking water projectMarket perspective
Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX: Bitcoin trades near $83,022 in a short-term pullback within a constructive daily structure. Immediate support lies around $81,700-$82,000, while $83,200-$83,500 forms resistance. Holding support could stabilise momentum; reclaiming resistance may restore buyer control, whereas a breakdown would shift attention toward the secondary $80,900-$81,200 support region during the next trading session.
Harish Vatnani, Head of Trade, ZebPay: ETH is consolidating within a short-term descending channel after rejecting near $2,800. Price is repeatedly facing resistance at the descending trendline, while $2,580 acts as the key support zone.
Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange: Overall, the market is seeing volatility and repeated rebounds and rejections, but the move remains closer to macro-driven deleveraging and consolidation than a broad sell-off.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is up roughly 8% over the past month, but Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) has outpaced it with an 11% advance, as signs of capital rotation and a bullish technical setup strengthen the case for ETH.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex on Monday described sentiment around Bitcoin as “warm,” with softer prices still supported by strong underlying demand of heavy ETF inflows.
Still, the exchange cautioned that "one strong week is not a trend yet."
Bitfinex highlighted that on Sept. 29 ETH spot trading volume was 300% that of Bitcoin, the highest ratio since September 2025.
Bitcoin ETF Demand Surges — Is FOMO A Risk?Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $2.77 billion in net inflows from Sept. 17 through Sept. 27, marking seven consecutive positive U.S. trading sessions and helping underpin Bitcoin’s recovery above $85,000.
Strong ETF demand points to renewed investor appetite and provides an important source of buying pressure.
Santiment Intelligence cautioned that rapidly accelerating inflows following a significant price rally can eventually signal FOMO and increase the risk of an overheated market.
"Healthy demand is encouraging. Euphoric demand is where risk starts rising," the on-chain analytics firm said.
Ethereum ETF flows, meanwhile, have been more mixed in recent weeks, although August 2026 recorded their strongest monthly inflows in more than a year.
Ethereum’s technical structure is drawing attention.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez on Monday said Ethereum is forming a bull flag, with $2,640 serving as key support. An hourly close above $2,700 could confirm a breakout from the pattern and put $3,000 in sight. Widely followed trader ZeroHedge similarly noted that ETH has slipped into a bearish-to-neutral phase on the four-hour chart but argued that the higher-time-frame picture remains constructive. Ethereum’s relative strength comes as SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom described Ethereum as his bet on the emergence of new financial rails.
He argued that Ethereum’s key advantage over Bitcoin is programmability, with majority infrastructure for stablecoins, tokenization, DeFi and agentic applications is being built on ETH or ETH-compatible networks.
Image: Shutterstock
Read Next
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Below are key pre-market news for US stocks on Tuesday: 1. Executives from AI giants including NVIDIA (NVDA.O) and Anthropic will discuss AI risks with Trump; 2. Anthropic’s IPO prospectus has been released, showing it generated $4.59 billion in revenue in 2025, a roughly 12-fold year-over-year increase, with future computing power investment expected to remain astronomical; 3. AMD will acquire World Labs for $8.2 billion, with Fei-Fei Li set to serve as AMD’s chief scientist; 4. The "Big Short" investor Michael Burry is accelerating bets on an AI crash, stating the bubble could burst earlier than expected; 5. Tesla has postponed the unveiling event for its next-generation Roadster from October 1 to October 15. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase cut Tesla’s price target from $445 to $415; 6. US spot Bitcoin ETFs and spot Ethereum ETFs both recorded net capital inflows for 7 consecutive trading days; 7. Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) said it may collaborate with S&P Dow Jones Indices to explore innovations in new products such as tokenized option contracts.
CME Nine-Asset Crypto Basket Is 86.29% Bitcoin and Ethereum
Ahmed Barakat
Author
Ahmed Barakat
Part of the Team Since
Mar 2024
About Author
Ahmed Barakat is a journalist and copywriter based in Georgia with a growing focus on blockchain technology, DeFi, AI, privacy, digital assets, and fintech innovation.
Has Also Written
Fact Checked by
CryptoNews Editorial Team
Author
CryptoNews Editorial Team
Part of the Team Since
Sep 2018
About Author
The CryptoNews editorial team is composed of seasoned writers specializing in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Their expertise ensures comprehensive, accurate, and insightful content for...
Has Also Written
Last updated:
Nine crypto coins are now traded inside a single, financially settled futures contract on CME Group’s platform, but Bitcoin and Ethereum together make up 86.29% of that basket. The Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (NCI) and its micro-sized companion give institutions a way to hedge or gain exposure to a nine-asset crypto basket through one trade instead of managing separate spot positions.
CME Crypto BasketCME’s published contract specifications describe NCI futures and Micro NCI futures (MCI) as financially settled against the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index, meaning no delivery of underlying tokens and no custody chain to manage at expiry. That structure is the point: a desk that wants crypto-market exposure, or a hedge against a multi-token portfolio, no longer needs nine separate futures legs or nine separate spot wallets to get there.
CME positions the contracts as tools for portfolio hedging, macro overlays, and directional exposure across the crypto market. Because the index settles financially rather than physically, a fund running long spot Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a handful of altcoins can offset that book with a single short position in NCI futures rather than stacking hedges across separate crypto futures markets for each asset.
That’s the operational pitch: fewer legs, one margin account, one settlement price. It also puts the product in the same regulated lane as CME’s existing single-asset Bitcoin and Ether futures, giving institutions a familiar clearing and margining framework instead of a bespoke basket built from nine separate spot custody relationships.
Earn $50 and Enter $300K Prize Draw on EdgeX
The Basket Is Still a Bitcoin TradeThe Nasdaq CME Crypto Index itself is built to be dynamic, broadly representative of the market, and readily trackable by investors, per Nasdaq’s own index methodology. Constituent selection runs through a list of Core Exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and LMAX Digital, and Core Custodians such as Coinbase, Fidelity, and BitGo.
The Nasdaq MarketSite display.The index is free-float market-cap weighted and rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly, which is why its composition and weights shift over time rather than staying fixed at launch. As of the September 1 snapshot, the basket held nine assets in the following order:
ComponentSymbolWeight (%)BitcoinBTC74.47EthereumETH11.82XRPXRP5.18SolanaSOL3.73HyperliquidHYPE3.39CardanoADA0.46ChainlinkLINK0.43Stellar LumensXLM0.31Bitcoin CashBCH0.22That distribution tells the real story. Nine-asset breadth on paper translates into an 86.29% combined weighting toward Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the remaining seven tokens, including Hyperliquid. HYPE itself has drawn attention amid broader derivatives activity, accounting for the last 13.71%.
So, a trader buying NCI futures for diversification is, in practice, buying a leveraged Bitcoin position with a thin Ethereum and altcoin garnish.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
What the CME Crypto Structure Solves?The single-trade design genuinely removes friction. Managing nine separate spot positions across nine wallets and multiple custodians is operationally expensive and introduces counterparty risk at every leg.
Collapsing into one CME-cleared futures contract standardizes margin, settlement, and reporting under a framework that already handles single-asset Bitcoin and Ether futures.
What it doesn’t solve is correlation. Bitcoin and Ether tend to move together during broad risk-on and risk-off swings, and with the two combining for well over four-fifths of NCI’s weight, the index’s volatility profile will track Bitcoin far more closely than any equal-weighted crypto basket would.
For traders seeking a hedge against a genuinely diversified altcoin book, rather than a compact wrapper for BTC and ETH exposure, the nine-asset label overstates how much the contract actually diversifies away idiosyncratic token risk.
Nasdaq’s methodology also means the composition described here is a snapshot, not a fixed allocation. Quarterly rebalancing and reconstitution can add or drop constituents and shift weights as market capitalization and liquidity change, so a desk building a hedge around today’s 74.47% Bitcoin weighting should expect that number to move by the next quarterly reset.
For now, the index remains a Bitcoin and Ethereum product with a long tail attached, and CME’s futures wrapper makes that concentrated exposure easier to trade, not necessarily easier to diversify.
Trade Bitcoin and Ethereum on Bybit and Get a Chance to Win Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop
According to Axios, sources familiar with the matter disclosed that OpenAI’s enterprise sales have more than doubled since July. Data indicates that OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate has risen by over 70% since the start of the third quarter, now standing at nearly $70 billion. Over the same period, its business-to-business (B2B) revenue from enterprise clients has grown by more than 100%. For its consumer segment, OpenAI’s third-quarter new revenue exceeded the total new revenue it generated in all of 2025. However, Axios noted that specific spending details for OpenAI have not yet been disclosed.
4 minutes ago
Robinhood CEO: U.S. SEC Greenlights Tesla’s Retail Investor Voting Plan, Pushing Retail Investors to Participate in Corporate Governance
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a "no-action letter" to Tesla today, clearing the way for a voting plan that empowers retail investors. "This is what equity should look like," Tenev noted. When millions hold shares in a public company, they should be able to vote their holdings more conveniently. Currently, Robinhood has helped multiple companies directly engage with shareholders, offering messaging services, retail investor voting programs, and real-time earnings Q&A sessions accessible directly within the app. More features will be launched in the future.
4 minutes ago
Oracle's intraday gain hit 5%
Per BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S.-listed Oracle (ORCL.N) saw a 5% intraday gain during trading hours.
4 minutes ago
U.S. House Oversight Committee to expand insider trading probe into prediction markets to platforms including Hyperliquid
According to CNBC, James Comer, chairman of the U.S. House Oversight Committee and Republican representative from Kentucky, is expanding his investigation into insider trading in prediction markets and has asked three online platforms to outline their measures to combat such conduct. In letters sent Tuesday, Comer requested documents and information from the CEOs of Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com, and Aristotle Exchange Inc. — which owns the PredictIt platform — asking them to detail their identity verification processes and how they identify and prevent insider trading on their respective platforms. Comer stated in a declaration: "As online prediction platforms continue to evolve and grow more mainstream, some bad actors are exploiting non-public information to place bets, earning thousands of dollars. The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether these platforms are meeting their legal obligations and taking sufficient steps to identify and prevent insider trading before it occurs."
4 minutes ago
Trump administration launches AI tool to simplify government online services
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Trump administration has rolled out an artificial intelligence-powered tool, which its developers claim will act as the federal government’s "digital steward" designed to modernize the relationship between citizens and the government. The tool will be hosted on the website America.gov, which officially launched on Tuesday, serving as a test of the Trump administration’s digital ambitions. Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and head of the White House National Design Studio, said the online portal will be the federal government’s new digital gateway. He noted that as the technology evolves, America.gov will eventually become a unified entry point for all federal public services, setting "a standard worthy of a superpower".
4 minutes ago
Whale MK4 posts over $15 million in unrealized profit on its long NEAR position
According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, crypto whale MK4’s long position of 5.84 million NEAR tokens currently has an unrealized profit of $15.47 million, with the position valued at $29.21 million.
HBAR is also on the rise once again today, surging by 20% to almost $0.12.
Bitcoin continues to trade within a well-defined range, with a lower boundary at $83,000 and an upper at $85,000, currently sitting right in the middle.
ETH has soared past $2,700 again, while LINK and XLM have stolen the show from the larger caps, surging by double digits.
BTC Above $84K The primary cryptocurrency went on a wild run last Monday after it rebounded from a dip to $80,000 during the weekend. It added over $7,000 in value within 12 hours or so and surged past $87,000 for the first time since late January. The first dip drove it to $85,000 before the bulls tried to take down the $87,000 barrier once again.
The second rejection was a lot more painful as it drove BTC to under $84,000 within hours before the asset further dropped to $82,800. It bounced off shortly after, but it was stopped at $85,000 once again.
Since then, it has been more or less the aforementioned trading range. It tried to break out during the weekend, but it was halted at $85,000. The bears then tried to push it south hard, but they couldn’t crack the $82,500 level. As of now, BTC has rebounded to just over $82,000.
Its market capitalization has risen to $1.680 trillion on CMC, while its dominance over the alts remains sideways at 58.6%.
BTCUSD September 29. Source: TradingView LINK, XLM, HBAR Rocket Ethereum has gained over 3% in the past 24 hours and has risen past $2,700 once again. XRP is above $1.50 after a 2.3% increase. SOL, BNB, TRX, and DOGE are also slightly in the green. ADA is above $0.25 after a more impressive 4% pump.
Chainlink’s LINK has soared by over 11% in a day and now sits above $15. XLM has posted a similar jump, currently trading around $0.23. HBAR has surged by 20% and now trades close to $0.12. In contrast, ZEC and NEAR have dumped by up to 9%. CRO, AAVE, and ICP are the other notable gainers among the larger-cap alts.
The cumulative market capitalization of all crypto assets has increased slightly since yesterday to $2.860 trillion on CMC.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview September 29. Source: QuantifyCrypto Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Chainlink price hovered at $15 on Tuesday after rising 10.50% over 24 hours, outpacing the broader market’s 1.19% gain.
The BTC, ETH, SOL, and DOGE prices are seeing slight consolidation, eyeing recovery ahead.
The move followed Monday’s CCIP 2.0 launch and a separate announcement involving Swift’s blockchain ledger. LINK investors also watched fresh exchange-traded fund inflows and DTCC’s plans for continuous collateral management. The rally has brought the $20 level into focus for traders.
Chainlink’s institutional momentum at Sibos 2026 continues 🔥
Chainlink is powering @The_DTCC’s Collateral AppChain, bringing 24/7 collateral management to the backbone of global post-trade infrastructure
The Chainlink stack:
⁰• CRE for orchestration across systems⁰• CCIP… https://t.co/LCBe1BiEPu pic.twitter.com/1f8ox5vMXk
— Zach Rynes | CLG (@ChainLinkGod) September 28, 2026
CCIP 2.0 Launch Brings New Institutional Controls Chainlink launched CCIP 2.0 at Sibos, giving institutions control over cross-chain transactions. The upgrade allows organizations to add independent transaction verifiers, set transfer speeds, and apply compliance checks. Chainlink says those options can support tokenized assets across public and private networks.
Chainlink said it is developing a connection to SWIFT’s shared blockchain ledger. Its Runtime Environment would coordinate bank workflows while institutions retain control of transaction signing keys.
Swift’s ledger is designed to coordinate cross-border payments involving tokenized deposits around the clock. The announcement did not provide a date for banks to begin using the connection
LINK-focused ETFs attracted $2.41 million on Monday, following $6.27 million last week. Those flows followed three consecutive positive weeks, indicating interest in funds tracking the token.
LNK ETF
Will Chainlink Price Break Resistance and Climb to $20? The LINK Price surged to $15.19 on Tuesday, after climbing from around $14. Trading volume rose during the advance, although the latest four-hour candle slipped slightly.
Chainlink price briefly approached $15.70 before easing. A sustained move above that recent high could bring the chart’s $18 resistance into focus.
The next marked target is $20, roughly 32% above the chart’s measured starting point. Reaching it would require LINK to clear both the recent high and $18.
Source: TradingView The four-hour RSI stood at 65.54, indicating firm momentum below the 70 overbought threshold. However, Chaikin Money Flow registered −0.06, suggesting the price advance needs stronger buying pressure.
If Chainlink price loses $15, the breakout could weaken and expose the chart’s $14 support. Holding $15 would keep the $18 and $20 targets in view as per the LINK long-range prediction.
LINK Trading Volume Jumps 213% as Open Interest Climbs The Chainlink derivatives market recorded $2.04 billion in trading volume, a 213.13% increase, according to the data. The open interest increased by 13% to stand at $863.02 million, which indicated an increase in open positions.
Source: Coinglass data The greater volume gain is an indication that more trading is executed without a similar rise in open contracts. The numbers show increased action in the LINK area but do not give any firm evidence regarding the direction of the prices in the future.
Bitcoin price hovered near $83,700 on Tuesday as the crypto market gained 0.99% over 24 hours to $2.87 trillion.
Ethereum price held above $2,700, while XRP climbed toward $1.50 and Chainlink price also advanced.
Recent spot ETF inflows supported sentiment, although uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran talks kept broader risks in focus.
Iran Officials Pessimistic About US Deal Before Midterms Iranian officials privately doubt Washington and Tehran will settle their conflict before November’s U.S. midterm elections, according to reports. Any agreement would also need to address shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil supplies.
The sides made little progress during recent meetings in New York, while distrust continues to complicate negotiations. Qatari mediators have spoken separately with both governments about Iran’s proposal to reopen the waterway.
JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi says “talks with US through mediators has been ongoing, but it is getting serious now.”
“We hope to receive a final response from the US on Tuesday.” pic.twitter.com/MzcNKWo4B8
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) September 28, 2026
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the indirect exchanges had become more serious following Tehran’s latest offer. He hoped Washington would deliver a final response through mediators on Tuesday, leaving the next diplomatic move uncertain.
President Donald Trump previously rejected Iran’s proposal, although he expected further talks this week. Tehran seeks relief from sanctions and restrictions, while Washington wants commitments on Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
Bitcoin ETFs Draw $31M as Inflow Streak Reaches Eight Days The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $31.07 million in net inflows on September 28, according to SoSoValue.
The result extended their run of positive flows to eight consecutive trading days, SoSoValue reported. Spot Ethereum ETFs took in $17.10 million over the same session, continuing their seven-day inflow streak.
According to SoSoValue, US Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $31.07 million yesterday (September 28, Eastern Time), marking 8 consecutive trading days of net inflows. Meanwhile, Ethereum spot ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $17.10 million yesterday, marking their… pic.twitter.com/zx8DTSV4a0
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 29, 2026
Bitcoin funds attracted $13.97 million more than their Ethereum counterparts that day. Both ETF categories posted positive net flows for at least a full trading week, according to the reported figures.
Will Bitcoin Price Break $85,000 or Fall Toward $82,000? The BTC Price traded at $83,934 on September 29, up 0.22% on the supplied four-hour chart. Bitcoin price remained below $85,000 after retreating from the $86,000 area.
The BTC price has immediate support at $82,000 and resistance at $85,000. A four-hour close above $85,000 could put $86,000 in view, followed by $88,000 as per the detailed Bitcoin price analysis. A drop below $82,000 could instead bring the $80,000 area back into focus.
Source: BTC/USDT 4-hour chart: TradingView The relative strength index stood at 50.80, pointing to broadly balanced momentum. The Chaikin Money Flow indicated a buy signal of 0.19 even in the midst of sideways trading. Bitcoin has to ride past $85,000 to make a stronger case for higher targets.
Every major crypto spot ETF had a good day on September 28. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP products each recorded net inflows simultaneously, according to data from SoSoValue, bringing the day’s combined total to roughly $65 million.
Where the money went Bitcoin ETFs led on the day with $31.07 million in net inflows, which was actually the lowest single-day figure for Bitcoin ETFs during that month. Ethereum followed at $17.10 million, Solana at $12.70 million, and XRP at $3.96 million.
Those daily numbers look small against the cumulative picture. Bitcoin spot ETFs have now absorbed $57.58 billion in total net inflows since launching in January 2024, with total net assets sitting at $107.82 billion. That represents 6.42% of Bitcoin’s entire market cap sitting inside regulated ETF wrappers.
Ethereum’s cumulative net inflows stand at $13.96 billion against $17.69 billion in total assets. XRP ETFs, which launched in late 2025, have already accumulated $1.79 billion in cumulative inflows. Solana’s tally sits at $1.62 billion.
Solana and XRP products only came to market in 2025, after Bitcoin’s January 2024 launch and Ethereum’s May 2024 follow-on.
The week ending around September 25 set the stage for this. Bitcoin ETFs pulled in approximately $2.39 billion that week alone, the largest single-week figure of 2026, enough to push Bitcoin ETFs’ 2026 net flows into positive territory after earlier redemptions had dragged the year-to-date figure negative. Solana set a single-day inflow record of $86.7 million on September 25, just three days before the synchronized four-asset inflow day.
Why Solana and XRP are picking up institutional interest The issuer lineup for these products includes BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Grayscale, competing on fees and product structure.
Solana ETFs carry an additional feature that Bitcoin and Ethereum products currently lack: staking integration. Some Solana ETF structures pass through staking yield to holders, which turns a passive index exposure into something closer to a yield-bearing position.
XRP’s trajectory is its own story. The asset spent years in regulatory limbo following the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple. With that resolved and ETFs now live, pent-up demand from investors who were waiting for a regulated vehicle is the most straightforward explanation for $1.79 billion in cumulative inflows in a relatively short window since the late 2025 launch.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
US crypto ETF inflows cool after $3.3B week but streaks holdMarketsPublishedSep 29, 2026
US spot crypto ETF inflows fell about 80% from Friday as Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP funds attracted $64.8 million combined on Monday.
US spot crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) attracted about $64.8 million on inflows continued to cool on Monday, down roughly 80% from Friday after a strong week of buying.
SoSoValue data showed US spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs led Monday’s inflows with $31.07 million, followed by $17.1 million for Ether (ETH) ETFs. Solana (SOL) funds recorded $12.7 million, while XRP (XRP) ETFs drew $3.96 million.
The four categories attracted roughly $330.8 million on Friday. Bitcoin funds drew $134.47, while Ether took in $86.95 million, Solana $86.7 million and XRP $22.65 million.
The broad cooldown across US spot crypto ETFs followed a week of strong demand, when the same four ETF categories attracted more than $3.3 billion combined. Bitcoin ETFs led last week’s inflows with $2.39 billion, followed by Ether at $690 million, Solana at $188 million and XRP at $75.6 million. Zcash ETFs added about $35 million last week before posting an $8.1 million outflow on Monday.
US spot Bitcoin ETF daily inflows. Source: SoSoValueCrypto ETF inflow streaks continue despite slowdownWhile Monday’s inflows were substantially smaller, all four categories remained in positive territory and continued their inflow streaks.
Monday extended Bitcoin ETFs’ net inflow streak to eight consecutive trading sessions. The funds have attracted about $3 billion over the period, including a 2026 high of nearly $1 billion on Sept. 21.
Ether ETFs recorded their seventh consecutive positive trading session. Farside data shows BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust accounting for $15.4 million of Monday’s $17.1 million total, while 21Shares’ TETH added $1.7 million.
Solana ETFs extended their net inflow streak to seven consecutive trading sessions on Monday, with Bitwise’s BSOL accounting for most of the day’s inflows. XRP ETFs posted a fifth straight positive session, with Canary Capital’s XRPC attracting the entire $3.96 million category inflow.
Magazine: Altseason is coming — and traders are more discerning this time
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted $145.71 million in net inflows on September 28, maintaining strong investor interest as Bitcoin traded above $83,000 despite fresh selling pressure.
ETF inflows provide market supportAs of the latest trading session, Bitcoin stood at $83,598.82, down 1.03% in the past 24 hours. Despite this dip, ETF data underscored continued demand, with 1,740 BTC entering ETFs in a single day, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. The seven-day net inflow was even stronger, reaching 29,298 BTC, equivalent to approximately $2.45 billion.
Lookonchain highlighted that both the daily and weekly ETF flows remained firmly positive during the reported period. Sustained inflows into spot ETFs are often interpreted as an indicator of growing investor participation and confidence, as Bitcoin continued to hold above the $80,000 level even as profit-taking and short-term volatility persisted.
Lookonchain emphasized the figures: “1D NetFlow: +1,740 $BTC (+$145.71M)” and “7D NetFlow: +29,298 $BTC (+$2.45B),” providing context for ongoing positive sentiment in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Additional data supplied by SoSoValue reinforced that spot Bitcoin ETF activity remained a focal point for the market, further elevating the importance of ETF flows in the current Bitcoin landscape.
Price analysis and technical outlookRecent TradingView data showed Bitcoin trading at $83,598.82, comfortably above the $80,711.52 middle Bollinger Band. The upper and lower Bollinger Bands stood at $88,105.80 and $73,317.24 respectively, placing Bitcoin in the upper segment of its recent range. Although the latest candle suggested some downside pressure, the overall trend maintained a degree of bullish momentum.
The Bitcoin Relative Strength Index (RSI) measured 61.29, just above its moving average of 62.45. With the RSI above the neutral midpoint but below the common overbought threshold, market momentum continued to show strength without excessive overheating.
For the bullish trend to intensify, market analysts observed that Bitcoin would need to approach and potentially surpass the $88,105.80 resistance level.
Derivatives activity remains strongCoinGlass data placed open interest in Bitcoin derivatives at roughly $54.5 billion as of September 27. The upward trajectory in open interest, which accelerated both in August and late September, pointed to robust participation from derivatives traders as Bitcoin hovered in the $80,000–$85,000 bracket.
Trading volumes also remained elevated, with chart data showcasing multiple surges, especially near September 22-23, when Bitcoin experienced another leg higher. While derivatives metrics alone do not predict price direction, they do point to persistent trader engagement and form a critical component of market analysis alongside ETF inflows.
Key levels and market toolsTraders are watching whether Bitcoin can sustain its position above the middle Bollinger Band and maintain positive ETF net flows. The $80,711 area is providing a technical support threshold, while $88,105 marks a potential resistance target, according to TradingView data. A decisive move outside this zone could offer stronger signals about Bitcoin’s next directional push.
As markets react swiftly to changing catalysts—ranging from Federal Reserve decisions to new altcoin listings—efficient tools are becoming increasingly essential for participants. In today’s rapidly evolving environment, many traders opt for all-in-one, privacy-focused platforms like CryptoAppsy. This approach enables users to monitor real-time charts, receive smart price alerts, track specific coin news, and access critical macro data, all in one interface and without requiring an account.
Currently, the market presents mixed signals: Bitcoin has dipped by 1.03% over the past day, yet ETF inflows reached $2.45 billion across the latest week. This reflects ongoing volatility and underlines the need for active monitoring of market sentiment and technical indicators.
Derivatives metrics show that traders remain actively engaged, making open interest and trading volume important signals to track alongside ETF flows as Bitcoin’s price action develops.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey took aim at Reform Party leader Nigel Farage’s pro-Bitcoin stance during a speech on Monday, drawing comparisons between Farage and former Prime Minister Liz Truss over his approach to economic policy and cryptocurrency.
Healey targets Farage’s Bitcoin advocacyAddressing the growing popularity of the Reform Party, Healey described Farage as “Liz Truss with a Bitcoin account,” referencing Truss’s brief and controversial tenure as prime minister, which was marked by a poorly received mini-budget in 2022. Healey added that Farage presents himself as a populist but questioned his credibility regarding financial management.
Nigel Farage positions himself as a man of the people, yet Healey argued his approach labeled him “Liz Truss with a Bitcoin account.”
The Chancellor stated that the Labour Party, which he represents, would steer the UK towards economic stability by prioritizing fiscal discipline and support for strong domestic industries.
Farage’s history with digital assets and donationsNigel Farage, a prominent figure in British politics and current leader of the Reform Party, has consistently promoted cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as tools for personal freedom and resistance to government oversight. Since 2020, Farage has cast Bitcoin as a counterweight to state monopoly on money, a stance that has resonated with a segment of the electorate seeking alternatives to traditional finance.
Farage previously said he was “debanked” by Coutts, a well-known British private bank, which sharpened his interest in digital assets and financial self-sovereignty.
During the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas last year, Farage stated his commitment to reducing crypto capital gains taxes and pledged to direct the Bank of England to hold a Bitcoin reserve if elected to office.
Farage has also attracted attention for accepting significant crypto donations from industry figures. Christopher Harborne, a technology entrepreneur and Tether investor, along with Ben Delo, a founder of the now-defunct BitMEX crypto exchange, have each sent millions in cryptocurrency to Farage’s campaign.
Mini dictionary: Reform Party — A British political party founded in 2018, known for its populist stance and advocacy for electoral reform and policies distinct from the mainstream Conservative and Labour parties.
Farage indicated at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference that he would lower crypto capital gains taxes and require the Bank of England to maintain Bitcoin reserves if he became Prime Minister.
Political FigureCrypto PolicyNotable ActionsNigel FaragePro-Bitcoin, supports lower crypto taxes, advocates Bitcoin reservesReceived crypto donations, outspoken at crypto conferencesJohn HealeySkeptical of crypto, promotes fiscal disciplineCriticized Farage’s crypto ties and proposalsResponses to Healey’s comments appeared rapidly online. Several Bitcoin proponents questioned his terminology, particularly the use of the phrase “Bitcoin account,” which was widely ridiculed for its inaccuracy.
The Simply Bitcoin account on X commented that the labeling showed a lack of understanding of basic industry concepts among officials overseeing Britain’s finances.
Meanwhile, the ongoing scrutiny around Farage’s crypto funding has intensified. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into whether the Reform Party violated regulations on overseas donations. Reform Party officials maintain that they have complied with all rules and express readiness to fully cooperate with authorities.
Unlike whale accumulation, corporate accumulation has much more weight.
The logic is simple: Whales usually buy Bitcoin [BTC] for risk/reward prospects and portfolio diversification, while corporations are adding Bitcoin to their treasury reserves. Therefore, a prolonged period of BTC price decline may considerably hurt corporate finances, stock prices, and the overall market confidence.
On the flip side, sustained DAT accumulation could generate the reverse effect, as it would boost corporate exposure to BTC and add another layer of demand on the asset. Notably, with fresh momentum building around Bitcoin DATs, the Q4 narrative around corporate BTC accumulation may already be taking shape.
Source: X To begin with, Michael Saylor has shared an “Orange signal” on X, indicating a possible BTC purchase. This comes as MSTR continues to gain ground, extending last month’s 30% rise with a 20% rally this month.
Along the same lines, Strive CEO Matt Cole has also hinted at the purchase of more Bitcoin. In turn, Strive’s share (NASDAQ: ASST) has been climbing strongly after registering a huge rally of 118% last month with another 21% gain this month.
This matters because a higher stock price gives Strategy and Strive more room to raise capital, and potentially scale their Bitcoin treasuries, which is another channel for structural BTC demand. More importantly, one key metric suggests that this corporate accumulation trend could be laying the groundwork for Bitcoin’s Q4 cycle.
Corporate Bitcoin buying meets bullish macro backdrop The timing of these corporate signals stands out.
According to CoinGlass, Bitcoin exchange balances have dropped by 40,000 BTC this week alone, taking total exchange holdings to 2.46 million BTC, the lowest level since the mid-May cycle. In essence, available BTC supply is tightening just as corporate accumulation is gaining traction. If this trend continues, stronger DAT demand could further squeeze liquid supply and set the stage for a stronger Q4 move.
Notably, this is where a key metric starts to matter. As the chart below shows, the BTC/Gold ratio is up more than 13% so far this month, extending last month’s 15% rally and taking its Q3 gain to around 37%. This shows a clear shift in relative momentum toward Bitcoin over gold.
Source: TradingView With macro volatility building into Q4, this rotation could become an important backdrop.
The key is that companies usually buy BTC with a long-term perspective. Meanwhile, rising stock prices can provide companies with more space to raise capital and expand their BTC holdings. If the macro setup remains bullish for Bitcoin, increased corporate accumulation will likely result in diminished liquid supply, which will set up a strong setup for Bitcoin heading into Q4.
Final Summary Bitcoin supply on exchanges is falling, with nearly 40k BTC leaving exchanges this week as corporate buying picks up. Higher stock prices and a bullish macro setup could support more BTC buying, giving companies like Strategy and Strive more room to raise funds.
Morgan Stanley: The Federal Reserve may raise interest rates by a smaller margin than market expectations.
Morgan Stanley interest rate strategists stated in a report that following the Federal Reserve’s September rate hike, they project additional increases in December and March next year. However, current market pricing points to a more aggressive rate hike trajectory over the coming year. The strategists highlighted that uncertainty surrounding the Fed, economic growth, corporate bond issuance, and oil price movements is boosting expectations of further monetary policy tightening over the next 12 months. Still, Morgan Stanley argues the Fed’s actual tightening will not align with market expectations, as key factors shaping the central bank’s policy path will only become clearer later this year. Per data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), money markets are currently pricing in a total of 100 basis points of Fed rate hikes over the next 12 months.
2 minutes ago
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted net inflows for eight consecutive days, adding $31 million yesterday.
According to Farside data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows for the eighth consecutive trading day yesterday, totaling $31 million.
2 minutes ago
U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs have posted net inflows for seven consecutive days, with a net inflow of $17.1 million yesterday.
According to Farside data, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs posted net inflows for the seventh consecutive trading day yesterday, totaling $17.1 million.
2 minutes ago
SharpLink staked another 42,074 ETH today, worth $112.8 million.
According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, SharpLink, the second-largest Ethereum treasury firm, staked an additional 42,074 ETH today, valued at $112.8 million. The firm currently holds 892,127 ETH (worth $2.4 billion) and has earned staking rewards of 27,945 ETH (valued at $75 million).
2 minutes ago
Multiple positive catalysts have propelled NMR and HBAR to lead gains in the altcoin market, with the two tokens surging over 40% and 27% respectively.
According to HTX market data, NMR leads the altcoin market, surging over 40% in 24 hours, hitting a high of $15.5 before trading at $14.1 as of press time. The rally is more of a catch-up move by capital under the "AI + institutional narrative": earlier, established institutional-linked tokens like QNT had rallied first, with some traders viewing NMR as a peer asset. Its price broke out of the $9–$10 consolidation range with significant volume, trading volume expanding notably from prior levels. Fundamentally, Numerai currently manages around $700 million in assets, has repurchased approximately $3.2 million worth of NMR over the past year, and has switched to a new on-chain staking mechanism. HBAR also leads the altcoin market, jumping over 27% in 24 hours, briefly breaking above $0.13 before trading at $0.122. On the news front, Hedera’s IDTrust identity solution was added to the IBM Cloud catalog, targeting enterprise clients and AI Agent identities; a Hedera council member appeared on NVIDIA’s Open Agent Safety-related list, which the market interpreted as its entry into the AI security sector. Combined with positive factors including RWA rumors such as Lloyds Bank’s tokenized Treasury bonds and BlackRock’s money fund shares going on-chain, plus its inclusion in a UK wholesale digital market working group, multiple tailwinds have driven HBAR’s rise.
SharpLink Gaming(@Sharplink) staked another 42,074 $ETH($112.8M) today. SharpLink now holds 892,127 $ETH($2.4B) and has earned 27,945 $ETH($75M) in staking rewards.
The 10-year Treasury yield posted its highest close since 2007 on Monday. The Bits + Bips co-host expects it to peak soon and favors utility stocks over bonds.
Ram Ahluwalia: Treasury selloff is "technical panic," yields near a top
Original Photo by Money Knack on Unsplash
Posted September 28, 2026 at 8:33 pm ET.
The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.24% on Monday, its highest close since June 2007, after passing a 19-year high last week. Ram Ahluwalia, founder and CEO of Lumida Wealth and a co-host of Bits + Bips, said the selloff behind it is close to running its course.
“So this is just getting to like technical panic selling of bonds,” Ahluwalia said on the show Monday. “I think you’re gonna see this top out soon. I don’t think rates are gonna blow out.”
Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter.
Ahluwalia Favors Utilities Over Bonds Ahluwalia said “the better thing to do is instead of buying bonds, is look at rate-sensitive securities such as utilities and financials.”
He called utilities bond proxies, whose value comes from long, steady cash flows that are worth less when rates rise. He said the sector’s drop reflects rates rather than weaker businesses. “The earnings from these companies haven’t dropped. It’s just rates.”
He pointed to October 2023, the last time before this month the 10-year pushed toward 5%. It closed at 4.98% on Oct. 19 that year. Ahluwalia compared the two moments: “So here we are almost to the day, to the week, a few years later.”
The Case for Higher Rates Co-host Austin Campbell, founder of Zero Knowledge Group, laid out why bond traders may be worried. He said they may be pricing in inflation from government spending, including on Social Security. He said he was not taking a strong view himself, only describing what some in the market expect. “I think this is the classic sort of conflict between rates and equities, and one of them is wrong.”
Ahluwalia said he agreed, and called the move a “technical overshoot.” He added, “I wouldn’t read too much into it.” He said “There is a case to be made for higher long run rates.” He cited inflation, stubborn house prices and higher returns on capital, which he called “the bull story.” Setting inflation aside, he said, “the rates are going up for the right reasons overall,” with AI investment adding about a point and a half to GDP.
Campbell noted on the show that as yields climbed, spot bitcoin ETFs took in $2.39 billion in the week to Sept. 25, their largest weekly inflow since early October 2025.
Related Listen: A Technical Strategist Sees Opportunity in Bitcoin’s Quiet Market
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
The market is debating whether the recent correction represents just another weak hand shake-out.
On-chain data shows that such a scenario is indeed quite plausible. From a technical perspective, BTC’s almost 2% pullback has caused its price to approach $82k after the weekly wick failed to reclaim $87k.
This creates the perfect environment for a liquidity sweep, which has forced leveraged longs to unwind their positions as the upside thesis is abruptly flushed away.
Coinglass reports that the amount of long liquidations crossed above $250 million, representing the largest flush in almost a week. As of now, the liquidations have not fed through to the ETF market, with demand for Bitcoin seemingly still in check.
In this context, the latest correction could simply be regarded as another deleveraging cycle, which is likely to clear the way for BTC to make another attempt at breaking above $87k in the early October cycle.
Source: X Notably, this is where the chart above starts gaining more weight.
According to Lookonchain, yet another Bitcoin whale has just moved 4,500 BTC worth of $378.79 million. The wallet was inactive for more than four years before suddenly moving the coins.
Even more suspicious is the fact that a nearly identical move happened on the 25th of September, making the timing hard to ignore.
Unsurprisingly, the move sparked off fresh market reaction, with analysts mulling over if it is just repositioning or a signal of potential selling pressure.
However, given Bitcoin’s struggle to reclaim key levels, the bigger question is whether this whale activity could be an early warning sign that BTC’s 2% correction is more than just a routine weak-hand shakeout.
Bitcoin whale move adds fresh uncertainty to the current pullback Macro factors are adding to the significance of this whale move. Notably, Bitcoin’s correction towards $82k isn’t happening in isolation.
Macro FUD is building again, which may explain why the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index hasn’t entered “extreme” greed despite BTC closing September with a 6% ROI and Bitcoin ETFs seeing more than $2 billion in terms of monthly inflows.
The chart below highlights the key macro pressure. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has climbed towards 5.2% and is close to its highest level since July 2007.
Markets are pricing in more tightening by the Fed, and higher yields could add another layer of pressure to Bitcoin’s [BTC] already precarious setup.
Source: TradingEconomics Against this background, the timing of the Bitcoin whale move is far from accidental.
On the bullish note, though, Bitcoin’s exchange balance is still trending lower and has now reached a four-month low, so the latest transfer doesn’t confirm selling pressure just yet.
However, two nearly identical moves by whales in less than a week are hard to ignore.
With macro FUD building and BTC’s technical structure losing strength, such whale activity is expected to become a key trend to watch as the correction proceeds.
If the pattern persists while exchange balances begin to rise, the current 2% BTC pullback could mark the early stages of a deeper correction rather than just a short-term liquidity flush.
Final Summary Bitcoin whale moves are raising fresh selling concerns. A deeper correction could follow if exchange balances start rising.
Morgan Stanley: The Federal Reserve may raise interest rates by a smaller margin than market expectations.
Morgan Stanley interest rate strategists stated in a report that following the Federal Reserve’s September rate hike, they project additional increases in December and March next year. However, current market pricing points to a more aggressive rate hike trajectory over the coming year. The strategists highlighted that uncertainty surrounding the Fed, economic growth, corporate bond issuance, and oil price movements is boosting expectations of further monetary policy tightening over the next 12 months. Still, Morgan Stanley argues the Fed’s actual tightening will not align with market expectations, as key factors shaping the central bank’s policy path will only become clearer later this year. Per data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), money markets are currently pricing in a total of 100 basis points of Fed rate hikes over the next 12 months.
2 minutes ago
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted net inflows for eight consecutive days, adding $31 million yesterday.
According to Farside data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows for the eighth consecutive trading day yesterday, totaling $31 million.
2 minutes ago
U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs have posted net inflows for seven consecutive days, with a net inflow of $17.1 million yesterday.
According to Farside data, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs posted net inflows for the seventh consecutive trading day yesterday, totaling $17.1 million.
2 minutes ago
SharpLink staked another 42,074 ETH today, worth $112.8 million.
According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, SharpLink, the second-largest Ethereum treasury firm, staked an additional 42,074 ETH today, valued at $112.8 million. The firm currently holds 892,127 ETH (worth $2.4 billion) and has earned staking rewards of 27,945 ETH (valued at $75 million).
2 minutes ago
Multiple positive catalysts have propelled NMR and HBAR to lead gains in the altcoin market, with the two tokens surging over 40% and 27% respectively.
According to HTX market data, NMR leads the altcoin market, surging over 40% in 24 hours, hitting a high of $15.5 before trading at $14.1 as of press time. The rally is more of a catch-up move by capital under the "AI + institutional narrative": earlier, established institutional-linked tokens like QNT had rallied first, with some traders viewing NMR as a peer asset. Its price broke out of the $9–$10 consolidation range with significant volume, trading volume expanding notably from prior levels. Fundamentally, Numerai currently manages around $700 million in assets, has repurchased approximately $3.2 million worth of NMR over the past year, and has switched to a new on-chain staking mechanism. HBAR also leads the altcoin market, jumping over 27% in 24 hours, briefly breaking above $0.13 before trading at $0.122. On the news front, Hedera’s IDTrust identity solution was added to the IBM Cloud catalog, targeting enterprise clients and AI Agent identities; a Hedera council member appeared on NVIDIA’s Open Agent Safety-related list, which the market interpreted as its entry into the AI security sector. Combined with positive factors including RWA rumors such as Lloyds Bank’s tokenized Treasury bonds and BlackRock’s money fund shares going on-chain, plus its inclusion in a UK wholesale digital market working group, multiple tailwinds have driven HBAR’s rise.
SharpLink Gaming(@Sharplink) staked another 42,074 $ETH($112.8M) today. SharpLink now holds 892,127 $ETH($2.4B) and has earned 27,945 $ETH($75M) in staking rewards.
Hunter Biden expressed strong optimism about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and pushed back against critics of the cryptocurrency sector on Monday.
Bullish on BitcoinDuring an interview with BMTV, Hunter Biden said he expects Bitcoin to hit $220,000 by 2028.
The son of former President Joe Biden voiced a positive outlook on cryptocurrency, adding that all his art is on the blockchain.
Hunter Biden revealed earlier that he accepts Bitcoin as payment for his artwork and provides blockchain-based certificates of authenticity for his paintings.
He added that blockchains, including Bitcoin, also facilitate cross-border transactions without a “mega monopolistic bank,” and that this narrative could influence their future adoption.
Biden Says Warren is So Wrong About CryptoBiden also addressed criticism of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, particularly from Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
“I love Elizabeth Warren. I really do. But I think she is so wrong about this,” Hunter Biden said.
He acknowledged the issues within the cryptocurrency world, including “an enormous amount of grift,” but slammed those who make blanket statements that Bitcoin is "going to zero."
Read Next
Biden’s Explanation on LAPTOPHunter Biden’s comments come at a time when his own memecoin, the LAPTOP (LAPTOP), is attracting eyeballs.
The memecoin, launched earlier this month, has collapsed more than 99% from its peak amid allegations of a pump-and-dump.
Hunter Biden called the launch "horrible," attributing it to liquidity problems that led to “artificial” price spikes in the first few minutes.
“But the one thing that I’ve been trying to let people know is that there will be a full accounting one way or another,” he said. “I am still 100% committed to this token and all of the intention that I had when I launched it.”
Price Action: As of this writing, BTC is down 0.50% in the last 24 hours to $82,977, according to Benzinga Pro.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Leading cryptocurrencies declined further on Monday as investors reacted to rising bond yields and growing expectations of interest rate hikes.
Crypto Market Drops FurtherBitcoin pushed for a breakout above $84,000 but met strong resistance and fell back toward the $82,000 area.
Similarly, Ethereum hit an intraday high of $2,717.37 but failed to break through. XRP and Dogecoin recorded sharp dips.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks also slipped, with Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) closing down 0.93% and 2.61%, respectively.
Over $530 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, predominantly in bullish long positions, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin’s open interest fell 2.21% over the last 24 hours. However, smart money sentiment — the collective outlook and capital allocation of institutional investors — remained “bullish.”
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.96 trillion, broadly unchanged over the last 24 hours.
Read Next
Stock Market PlungesStocks kicked off the week in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 347.11 points, or 0.67%, to end at 51,481.51. The S&P 500 fell 0.77% to end at 7,683.69, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.92% at 26,820.38.
The 10-year Treasury yield has spiked 48 basis points in a month to 5.23%, the highest since June 2007. The longer-dated 30-year yield advanced to 5.55%.
Market participants are now pricing in a 71% chance of another 25-basis-point rate hike in October, up from 64% the day before, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
BTC Buying Opportunity?Ali Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, identified a double bottom breakout on Bitcoin’s daily chart, with price now retesting the $82,000 neckline.
A double bottom pattern signals that a downtrend is likely ending and an uptrend is beginning. It resembles the letter "W" and shows buyers taking control.
“If this level holds as support, the retest could offer a buying opportunity before the rally resumes toward the pattern’s $100,000 target,” the analyst projected.
Michaël van de Poppe, another well-known cryptocurrency commentator, said Bitcoin may have formed a local bottom and projected an upward trend if the cryptocurrency reclaims the $84,000 level.
SharpLink Gaming(@Sharplink) staked another 42,074 $ETH($112.8M) today. SharpLink now holds 892,127 $ETH($2.4B) and has earned 27,945 $ETH($75M) in staking rewards.
8 minutes ago
The cost of Instinct’s 10% daily growth: Computing power demand doubles weekly, and the founder spends 40% of their time figuring out how to procure it.
In a Beating AI Express report, Noah Shinn, founder of personal AI agent Instinct, said the company’s user base has grown by roughly 10% to 11% daily in recent weeks, with corresponding computing power demand nearly doubling weekly. He now spends around 40% of his time deciding how much computing power to purchase in advance. The challenge is that computing power cannot be bought on-demand to match user growth. Shinn crunched the numbers: buying just twice the current computing power would be exhausted in about a week; five times the current capacity would be used up in under three weeks; while purchasing ten times the current capacity would mean tying up a large sum of capital upfront. Many resources also require booking months in advance, and emergency computing power purchases can cost 3 to 4 times more. Even if Instinct’s daily growth rate drops from 10% to 5%–8%, Shinn estimates that after 3 to 4 months of sustained growth, the company may need to prepare computing power for a 100-million-user scale. The problem is that this timeline is exactly how long it takes for new computing power to come online. Buying too little cannot support growth, while buying too much leads to inflated costs if growth slows. Shinn believes this is more difficult than scaling for regular consumer internet products. When Instagram or Facebook double their user base, they mainly handle more requests; each new user of a personal AI agent also continuously consumes large amounts of model inference resources. He added that the scaling speed Instinct is currently facing is even faster than similar challenges encountered by Claude Code and Codex in the past.
8 minutes ago
Binance to Launch Multiple TradFi USDT-Margined Perpetual Contracts
Per an official announcement, Binance will gradually launch a range of TradFi USDT-margined perpetual contracts, including CRML/USDT, BWET/USDT, ACN/USDT, MP/USDT, SECZ/USDT, UNH/USDT, NKE/USDT, DE, and more.
8 minutes ago
Reserve Bank of Australia raises interest rates as scheduled, pushing the rate to a nearly 15-year high.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.6%, in line with market expectations, pushing the rate to its highest level since November 2011.
8 minutes ago
Japan’s 40-year government bond auction records strongest demand since 2020.
Driven by relatively high yields attracting investors, Japan’s 40-year government bond auction drew its strongest demand since 2020. The bid-to-cover ratio for the auction stood at 3.1, up from 2.82 in the prior sale and above the 2.67 average over the past 12 months. Japanese government bond futures continued to rise after the auction, with the 40-year JGB yield last quoted at 4.23%. The bond sale comes as investors grow increasingly concerned that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may be falling behind the curve on monetary tightening. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, after delivering a widely expected interest rate hike earlier this month, failed to provide clear guidance on the pace of future hikes, stoking market expectations that the central bank may ultimately need to implement more aggressive rate increases.
8 minutes ago
Coinbase is accused of covering up losses exceeding $1 billion from a hack, with at least a dozen institutions affected.
Crypto hedge fund BlockTower Capital founder and CIO Ari Paul said that Coinbase "lost" roughly $25 million from his firm several years ago, an incident later revealed to be a cover-up for multiple large-scale hacks, with the funds still unrepaid to date. Paul also claimed that at least a dozen affected institutions have been identified, with the total amount concealed exceeding $1 billion, though he cannot disclose more details due to multiple ongoing legal proceedings. In response, Coinbase’s official customer support account has contacted Paul to arrange a private conversation, and the platform has not yet issued any further public response.
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.
By Jonatan Randin, Senior Market Analyst at PrimeXBT
In mid September the setup looked bad for Bitcoin. The CLARITY Act failed in the Senate on 15 September and the Fed hiked to 3.75 to 4.00% the next day. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly traded under $75,000. A week later it was above $87,000.
Then the bond market moved, and Bitcoin stopped going up.
What happened in bonds
On 23 September the 10 year US Treasury yield jumped more than 18 basis points, the biggest one day rise since April 2025. It kept going and rose above 5.2% the next day, the highest since 2007. The 30 year reached about 5.50%, a level last seen in 2004.
There was no single trigger. Strong PMI data, a weak five year auction and higher oil all played a part. The Treasury even bought back $4 billion of long bonds on 24 September, and yields still rose.
Why the hike didn’t matter much
Everyone saw it coming. By the eve of the meeting, futures markets priced the hike at close to 90%. Some of Bitcoin’s weakness in the weeks before arguably reflected that repricing.
ETF flows show it. Spot Bitcoin ETFs lost about $750 million over 15 and 16 September, then took in $2.39 billion in the week to 25 September, their biggest week since October 2025 according to Farside Investors.
Why the bond move is different
Look at those flows day by day: $999 million on Monday, then $715 million, $347 million, $191 million and $135 million on Friday. The buying never stopped. It just got smaller as yields went up.
A hike is one decision with a known size. A bond selloff has no size, and the market decides how far it goes. Yields above 5% compete directly with an asset that pays nothing.
There’s another way to read it. If the Treasury has to keep borrowing at higher rates, the deficit grows and so does the supply of bonds. Many in crypto see that as the long term case for Bitcoin. For now, though, the short term effect is the one showing up in the flows.
So far Bitcoin is holding the move. It isn’t extending it.
What the chart says
On the 3 day chart, Bitcoin broke above the $70,000 region around 20 August. It then spent a few weeks consolidating near $80,000 before breaking higher again last week.
That second breakout matters. It’s arguably the first higher high on the higher timeframes since the bear market began, and price reached above $87,000 before pulling back.
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) 3 day chart with the 20 and 50 EMA. The breakout above $80,000 marks the first higher high since the bear market began, and the 20 EMA has crossed above the 50 EMA. Source: TradingView
The moving averages support the same picture. The 20 EMA has crossed above the 50 EMA on the 3 day chart for the first time since they crossed down in November 2025, which is roughly where the bear market started.
Price is now retracing the latest leg up. The next higher timeframe support sits at $80,000, and the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the move from around $75,000 to $87,000 falls just above it, near $81,000.
As long as Bitcoin holds the $80,000 area, the overall structure could still be read as constructive. A sustained move back below it would put that higher high into question.
Navigating Bitcoin’s next move with PrimeXBT
As Bitcoin’s recovery meets pressure from rising bond yields, PrimeXBT, a global multi-asset broker and crypto asset service provider, allows traders to position for either a continuation of the rally or a deeper pullback. Clients can trade BTC through Crypto Futures and CFDs, taking long or short positions with adjustable leverage, as well as buy, exchange and hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Crypto Futures maker fees are 0.01% and taker fees start from 0.045%, falling to 0.015% at VIP 5 tier through PrimeXBT’s volume-based VIP program. Crypto CFDs carry no trading commission, with BTC/USD spreads available as low as $19 at the same tier.
The same forces testing Bitcoin’s recovery are also relevant to Gold, US Dollar pairs and major equity indices. PrimeXBT provides access to these markets offering more than 350 instruments with accounts in USD, USDT, USDC, BTC and ETH. This gives traders scope to act on a broader macroeconomic view across crypto and traditional markets.
On broker’s PXTrader 2.0 platform, TradingView-powered charting allows traders to follow the $80,000 support area and the moving-average signals discussed above, while advanced order and risk-management tools help them manage positions as the outlook develops. Crypto Futures execution combines a real order book and deep liquidity with volume-weighted average pricing (VWAP). With Bitcoin holding its breakout but struggling to extend it, the emphasis shifts from identifying the rally to managing the trade as evidence for its next move emerges.
Start trading with PrimeXBT.
About PrimeXBT
PrimeXBT is a global multi-asset broker and crypto asset service provider trusted by traders in more than 150 countries. The platform bridges traditional and digital markets within one integrated environment, redefining versatility and innovation in online trading. Clients can access Forex, CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, crypto, and Crypto Futures, as well as buy, store and exchange cryptocurrencies. This unified experience extends across both the native PXTrader 2.0 platform and MetaTrader 5, supported by advanced risk-management tools and a wide range of funding options in crypto, fiat and local payment methods. Since 2018, PrimeXBT has focused on empowering traders through broad multi-asset access, fair and transparent conditions, professional-grade technology and dedicated human support. By combining expertise, trust and a client-first approach, PrimeXBT sets a benchmark of excellence in the financial industry and provides traders with the tools they need to trade, grow and succeed with confidence.
Disclaimer: The content provided here is for informational purposes only and is not intended as personal investment advice and does not constitute a solicitation or invitation to engage in any financial transactions, investments, or related activities. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The financial products offered by the Company are complex and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. These products may not be suitable for all investors. Before engaging, you should consider whether you understand how these leveraged products work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money. The Company does not accept clients from the Restricted Jurisdictions as indicated on its website / T&Cs. Some products and services, including MT5, may not be available in your jurisdiction. The applicable legal entity and its respective products and services depend on the client’s country of residence and the entity with which the client has established a contractual relationship during registration.
Bitcoin is doing what Bitcoin does best in times of uncertainty: not panicking. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap dipped roughly 1.7% to the $83,000 area on September 28, holding well above its mid-August lows near $75,000 to $77,000. Meanwhile, Zcash decided to take the elevator down, shedding approximately 12% in a single session.
Oil, inflation, and the risk-off ripple Brent crude climbed above $100 per barrel, posting gains of more than 3% as geopolitical tensions involving Iran pushed energy markets higher. The Fed already hiked its target rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4% on September 16, citing resilient economic activity alongside stubbornly elevated inflation.
Advertisement
Zcash’s correction in context Zcash had been on a historic tear, rallying more than 2,000% from earlier lows near $50 to an all-time high above $1,485 earlier in September, with some intraday prints reportedly touching near $1,680.
On the fundamental side, Paradigm made a significant disclosure positioning ZEC as a “private complement” to Bitcoin. Grayscale launched a spot Zcash ETF, giving institutional investors a regulated on-ramp to the privacy coin for the first time. When ZEC began to falter, futures liquidations exceeded $1 million in a single session. The token slid from levels near $1,592 to as low as $1,551.
Bitcoin’s quiet confidence Bitcoin’s ability to hold the $83,000 level through multiple macro shocks deserves closer examination. The asset has now maintained a floor well above its August lows despite rising interest rates, climbing energy prices, and geopolitical uncertainty.
Part of this resilience traces back to the institutional infrastructure that’s been built around Bitcoin over the past two years. Spot ETFs, corporate treasury allocations, and sovereign-level interest have created a buyer base that doesn’t liquidate positions because oil went up 3%.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.