WTI and Brent crude oil continue to rally, with both rising more than 3% intraday.
According to Bitget's market data, both WTI and Brent crude oil have continued to rise, with each gaining over 3% intraday, trading at $94.88 per barrel and $101.78 per barrel respectively.
7 minutes ago
Trader Maji cuts long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, incurring $1.42 million in account losses over the past 24 hours.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, crypto figure "Big Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Lichang) has reduced his long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with his account incurring a $1.42 million loss in the past 24 hours. His current positions are as follows: Ethereum (ETH) long positions worth approximately $96.47 million, with an unrealized loss of around $50,000, entry price of $2,658.94, and liquidation price of $2,549.76; HYPE long positions worth about $19.72 million, with an unrealized loss of roughly $330,000, entry price of $93.25, and liquidation price of $72.96; Bitcoin (BTC) long positions worth approximately $16.72 million, with an unrealized loss of around $20,000, entry price of $83,693.60, and liquidation price of $64,174.98.
7 minutes ago
Tom Lee: Robinhood chose Ethereum as its infrastructure, citing its security and liquidity.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, an Ethereum treasury firm, said that Robinhood’s choice of Ethereum as the infrastructure for its related businesses is primarily driven by the network’s security and liquidity, rather than low transaction fees. Ethereum’s value proposition is gradually moving beyond simply earning transaction fees; the network no longer needs to maximize gas fees or extract more value from projects built on it to drive growth. Meanwhile, ETH is gradually evolving into a store-of-value asset, with users holding it for its practical utility and appreciation potential.
7 minutes ago
WTI crude oil’s intraday gain has widened to 2.00%, now trading at $93.96 per barrel.
According to Bitget market data, WTI crude oil's intraday gain has expanded to 2.00%, currently trading at $93.96 per barrel.
7 minutes ago
Federal Reserve's Paulson: Further interest rate hikes may be needed to lower inflation; at most, it can only be said that inflation has not worsened further.
2026 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting member and Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Paulson said the September inflation report prompted interest rate hikes, AI development has fueled persistent inflation, and he backs the policy path of lowering inflation to the 2% target. The Federal Reserve may need to implement another interest rate hike to bring inflation down. As for inflation, the best that can be noted is that it has not worsened further.
7 minutes ago
ONDO breaks through $0.51, with its 24-hour price rally expanding to over 22%
Per HTX market data, the positive momentum from Ondo’s partnership with BlackRock to launch a tokenized “smart portfolio” continues to build, driving ONDO past $0.51, with its 24-hour gain expanding to over 22%. The development: Ondo and BlackRock have partnered to roll out a tokenized “smart portfolio” that grants exposure to professional investment portfolios via a single on-chain token.
Ethereum [ETH] is expected to post a 70% return for Q3 2026, its strongest-ever quarterly performance. The ETH Open Interest reached $30 billion, and the average Long/Short ratio was 1.54 across popular exchanges, signaling a clear dominance in long positions.
Institutional buying and whale accumulation added to the list of bullish signals for the leading altcoin. The ETH/BTC was knocking on a key resistance level at 0.033.
AMBCrypto reported that a breakout past this level would add to the convincing bullish signals Ethereum exhibited. Cascading leveraged positions drove a swift rally higher, and Bitcoin [BTC] faced a correction within this rally at the time of writing.
Bitcoin was down 4.45% from the $87,395 local high it made on Monday, the 21st of September. Ethereum was down by 5.31% in under three days, too.
Rising volatility signals Ethereum trader opportunity Source: CryptoQuant Recently, the Ethereum 30-day realized volatility rose to 0.73, the highest it had been since March. Since then, the realized volatility has dipped by 38% to 0.45, wrote crypto analyst Arab Chain.
This increased volatility followed the Ethereum range breakout in recent days. The decline in volatility signaled a momentary lull in price action, but it is not a signal that the uptrend has lost strength.
Rather, a six-month high in volatility only signaled the validity of the breakout past the $2,500 supply zone. Swing traders and investors have reason to maintain a bullish bias.
Long-term holders hold their ETH tightly Source: Santiment The MVRV ratio is used to assess if an asset is overvalued or undervalued. On the Santiment chart above, negative scores show whether ETH of a certain age is being held at a profit or loss, on average.
Like July 2025, the 365-day MVRV moved back into positive territory. Meanwhile, the 3-month MVRV ratio was already strongly profitable, once again like the July 2025 conditions.
Back then, strong ETF inflows and heavy demand for ETH from institutions drove a swift rally.
The dormant circulation had seen sizeable spikes in July 2025 to show distribution trends during the price uptrend. Yet, by comparison, though profit-taking inclination should be similar (based on MVRV), the dormant circulation was far quieter.
It suggested that compared to a year ago, 1-year+ Ethereum holders were far more comfortable holding the altcoin, showing firm bullish conviction and another sign of a bull run.
Final Summary The Ethereum 30-day realized volatility reached a six-month high when the altcoin broke out past the $2.5k resistance zone. The Ethereum long-term holder distribution trends, or lack thereof, were an interesting sign of bullish conviction.
WTI and Brent crude oil continue to rally, with both rising more than 3% intraday.
According to Bitget's market data, both WTI and Brent crude oil have continued to rise, with each gaining over 3% intraday, trading at $94.88 per barrel and $101.78 per barrel respectively.
7 minutes ago
Trader Maji cuts long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, incurring $1.42 million in account losses over the past 24 hours.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, crypto figure "Big Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Lichang) has reduced his long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with his account incurring a $1.42 million loss in the past 24 hours. His current positions are as follows: Ethereum (ETH) long positions worth approximately $96.47 million, with an unrealized loss of around $50,000, entry price of $2,658.94, and liquidation price of $2,549.76; HYPE long positions worth about $19.72 million, with an unrealized loss of roughly $330,000, entry price of $93.25, and liquidation price of $72.96; Bitcoin (BTC) long positions worth approximately $16.72 million, with an unrealized loss of around $20,000, entry price of $83,693.60, and liquidation price of $64,174.98.
7 minutes ago
Tom Lee: Robinhood chose Ethereum as its infrastructure, citing its security and liquidity.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, an Ethereum treasury firm, said that Robinhood’s choice of Ethereum as the infrastructure for its related businesses is primarily driven by the network’s security and liquidity, rather than low transaction fees. Ethereum’s value proposition is gradually moving beyond simply earning transaction fees; the network no longer needs to maximize gas fees or extract more value from projects built on it to drive growth. Meanwhile, ETH is gradually evolving into a store-of-value asset, with users holding it for its practical utility and appreciation potential.
7 minutes ago
WTI crude oil’s intraday gain has widened to 2.00%, now trading at $93.96 per barrel.
According to Bitget market data, WTI crude oil's intraday gain has expanded to 2.00%, currently trading at $93.96 per barrel.
7 minutes ago
Federal Reserve's Paulson: Further interest rate hikes may be needed to lower inflation; at most, it can only be said that inflation has not worsened further.
2026 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting member and Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Paulson said the September inflation report prompted interest rate hikes, AI development has fueled persistent inflation, and he backs the policy path of lowering inflation to the 2% target. The Federal Reserve may need to implement another interest rate hike to bring inflation down. As for inflation, the best that can be noted is that it has not worsened further.
7 minutes ago
ONDO breaks through $0.51, with its 24-hour price rally expanding to over 22%
Per HTX market data, the positive momentum from Ondo’s partnership with BlackRock to launch a tokenized “smart portfolio” continues to build, driving ONDO past $0.51, with its 24-hour gain expanding to over 22%. The development: Ondo and BlackRock have partnered to roll out a tokenized “smart portfolio” that grants exposure to professional investment portfolios via a single on-chain token.
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.
WTI and Brent crude oil continue to rally, with both rising more than 3% intraday.
According to Bitget's market data, both WTI and Brent crude oil have continued to rise, with each gaining over 3% intraday, trading at $94.88 per barrel and $101.78 per barrel respectively.
7 minutes ago
Trader Maji cuts long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, incurring $1.42 million in account losses over the past 24 hours.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, crypto figure "Big Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Lichang) has reduced his long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with his account incurring a $1.42 million loss in the past 24 hours. His current positions are as follows: Ethereum (ETH) long positions worth approximately $96.47 million, with an unrealized loss of around $50,000, entry price of $2,658.94, and liquidation price of $2,549.76; HYPE long positions worth about $19.72 million, with an unrealized loss of roughly $330,000, entry price of $93.25, and liquidation price of $72.96; Bitcoin (BTC) long positions worth approximately $16.72 million, with an unrealized loss of around $20,000, entry price of $83,693.60, and liquidation price of $64,174.98.
7 minutes ago
WTI crude oil’s intraday gain has widened to 2.00%, now trading at $93.96 per barrel.
According to Bitget market data, WTI crude oil's intraday gain has expanded to 2.00%, currently trading at $93.96 per barrel.
7 minutes ago
Federal Reserve's Paulson: Further interest rate hikes may be needed to lower inflation; at most, it can only be said that inflation has not worsened further.
2026 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting member and Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Paulson said the September inflation report prompted interest rate hikes, AI development has fueled persistent inflation, and he backs the policy path of lowering inflation to the 2% target. The Federal Reserve may need to implement another interest rate hike to bring inflation down. As for inflation, the best that can be noted is that it has not worsened further.
7 minutes ago
ONDO breaks through $0.51, with its 24-hour price rally expanding to over 22%
Per HTX market data, the positive momentum from Ondo’s partnership with BlackRock to launch a tokenized “smart portfolio” continues to build, driving ONDO past $0.51, with its 24-hour gain expanding to over 22%. The development: Ondo and BlackRock have partnered to roll out a tokenized “smart portfolio” that grants exposure to professional investment portfolios via a single on-chain token.
7 minutes ago
Market News: New York State Government Sues Polymarket
According to market sources, the New York State government has filed a lawsuit against Polymarket, accusing the prediction market platform of operating an illegal gambling business. No additional details have been disclosed regarding the lawsuit’s specific allegations and the relief measures sought by New York State.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, crypto figure "Big Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Lichang) has reduced his long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with his account incurring a $1.42 million loss in the past 24 hours. His current positions are as follows: Ethereum (ETH) long positions worth approximately $96.47 million, with an unrealized loss of around $50,000, entry price of $2,658.94, and liquidation price of $2,549.76; HYPE long positions worth about $19.72 million, with an unrealized loss of roughly $330,000, entry price of $93.25, and liquidation price of $72.96; Bitcoin (BTC) long positions worth approximately $16.72 million, with an unrealized loss of around $20,000, entry price of $83,693.60, and liquidation price of $64,174.98.
Today, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH) This week, Ethereum rallied by 10% and managed to test the resistance at $2,800. However, sellers returned there to push the price into a pullback, but this could end up being just a brief pause before buyers push higher still.
With a higher high secured, Ethereum is well on its way to recover most of the losses incurred since 2025. If the resistance at $2,800 turns into support, then this cryptocurrency has the path clear towards $3,000 and beyond.
Looking ahead, Ethereum’s latest price action appears to confirm $1,500 as the bottom. As such, the expectation is that the current uptrend will continue and aim for $3,300 and $4,000 as the next major targets.
Source: TradingView Ripple (XRP) As expected, XRP has retested the $1.6 resistance and closed the week 15% higher. While this is an impressive performance, bulls still did not manage to break that level and turn it into support.
Sell volume increased again at $1.6, which did not allow the price to continue its rally. As long as sellers hold at this key level, XRP will be forced to move in a range between $1.3 and $1.6.
Looking ahead, XRP is preparing for its next major move as pressure is building under the key resistance. Considering the underlying market, the price may eventually break away and aim for $2 next.
Source: TradingView Cardano (ADA) ADA finally had its breakout and turned $0.23 into support. That confirms $0.15 as the bottom and allows the price to aim much higher in the future, with $0.30 and $0.33 as major targets.
This latest price action saw ADA to close the week 23% higher. This is an amazing performance, with bulls returning in force. That buying volume also fueled the breakout.
Looking ahead, ADA’s next major target is $0.30 and should be easy to reach if this momentum holds. However, before that, the price could re-test the breakout point at $0.23 as support.
Source: TradingView Binance Coin (BNB) Binance Coin is up 6% this week as buyers dominate the chart. The price also made a higher high and is close to reaching $800 next. The current resistance is found at $900 and the key support is at $690.
With the bullish momentum picking up speed, a test of the current resistance appears likely in the coming days. While sellers may return there, a four-digit valuation at $1,000 will act as a magnet for the price.
Looking ahead, BNB’s rally may just be starting after a long consolidation around $600, which lasted almost eight months in 2026. For this reason, a price above $1,000 is likely before the end of the year.
Source: TradingView Hype (HYPE) This week, Hyperliquid made a new record price at $98 and closed 17% higher. This level is a key resistance before $100 becomes possible. Considering the overall momentum, buyers may not let go of the price until they hit it.
At the time of this post, HYPE was found in a pullback. However, this may be short-lived before bulls see that they hit a three-digit valuation. Nevertheless, sellers may return as soon as price reaches it.
Looking ahead, HYPE continues to show strength, with clear higher highs and new record prices almost weekly. As long as this continues, the $100 milestone will be easy to reach and position this cryptocurrency to go higher still before the end of 2026.
Source: TradingView 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.
Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom projects that AI agents will eliminate nearly a quarter of global finance fees by 2035.
His team’s model puts the resulting investor savings at $1.4 trillion a year. Chalom, a former BlackRock executive, set out the forecast in an X post on Wednesday.
A $4 Trillion Prize and a $180 Billion Blind SpotChalom’s team modeled 10 financial verticals through 2035. The model puts more than $1 trillion in annual financial services revenue up for grabs by 2030. Chalom expects that figure to reach $4 trillion a year by 2035.
AI Agents and Financial Fees. Source: X/Joseph ChalomThe model assumes agents will make financial providers compete more aggressively on fees. Consumers would then keep an extra $350 billion a year by 2030, before the figure climbs to $1.4 trillion.
Chalom also points to roughly $15 trillion that US households hold in checking, savings, and short-term deposits. Much of it earns well below money-market rates, which he says costs savers at least $180 billion a year.
“Over $1 trillion of annual global financial services revenue is going to be up for grabs by 2030, growing to $4 trillion annually by 2035. Every major bank, broker, payments firm, and digital assets company is racing to capture a share in one of the most important battles over money and value we will see in our time,” he said.
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Visa, Coinbase, and Circle Race for the Agent’s WalletChalom says the contest to control these agents has already begun. He names Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, PayPal, Circle, Tether, Robinhood, Coinbase, and Binance among the contenders.
In his view, the winner would also decide which products agents recommend and where idle cash gets swept.
“Whoever owns the infrastructure, owns the agent, and therefore the customer,” Chalom added.
BlackRock’s research paper this week made a related case, naming stablecoins as the leading candidate for agent payments.
Chalom argues that agentic transactions will predominantly occur where stablecoins, tokenized assets, and DeFi liquidity are concentrated, with much of that activity currently centered in the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem. He points to Ethereum’s record of 3.6 million daily transactions in April as evidence of the network’s growing activity.
That outlook lines up with Sharplink’s balance sheet. The company held 891,714 ETH as of September 14, according to its dashboard.
Fidelity Digital Assets offered a more cautious read in August. Senior research analyst Max Wadington warned that closed systems run by tech and fintech firms could instead absorb agent activity.
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Trader Maji cuts long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, incurring $1.42 million in account losses over the past 24 hours.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, crypto figure "Big Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Lichang) has reduced his long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with his account incurring a $1.42 million loss in the past 24 hours. His current positions are as follows: Ethereum (ETH) long positions worth approximately $96.47 million, with an unrealized loss of around $50,000, entry price of $2,658.94, and liquidation price of $2,549.76; HYPE long positions worth about $19.72 million, with an unrealized loss of roughly $330,000, entry price of $93.25, and liquidation price of $72.96; Bitcoin (BTC) long positions worth approximately $16.72 million, with an unrealized loss of around $20,000, entry price of $83,693.60, and liquidation price of $64,174.98.
2 minutes ago
Tom Lee: Robinhood chose Ethereum as its infrastructure, citing its security and liquidity.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, an Ethereum treasury firm, said that Robinhood’s choice of Ethereum as the infrastructure for its related businesses is primarily driven by the network’s security and liquidity, rather than low transaction fees. Ethereum’s value proposition is gradually moving beyond simply earning transaction fees; the network no longer needs to maximize gas fees or extract more value from projects built on it to drive growth. Meanwhile, ETH is gradually evolving into a store-of-value asset, with users holding it for its practical utility and appreciation potential.
2 minutes ago
WTI crude oil’s intraday gain has widened to 2.00%, now trading at $93.96 per barrel.
According to Bitget market data, WTI crude oil's intraday gain has expanded to 2.00%, currently trading at $93.96 per barrel.
2 minutes ago
Federal Reserve's Paulson: Further interest rate hikes may be needed to lower inflation; at most, it can only be said that inflation has not worsened further.
2026 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting member and Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Paulson said the September inflation report prompted interest rate hikes, AI development has fueled persistent inflation, and he backs the policy path of lowering inflation to the 2% target. The Federal Reserve may need to implement another interest rate hike to bring inflation down. As for inflation, the best that can be noted is that it has not worsened further.
2 minutes ago
ONDO breaks through $0.51, with its 24-hour price rally expanding to over 22%
Per HTX market data, the positive momentum from Ondo’s partnership with BlackRock to launch a tokenized “smart portfolio” continues to build, driving ONDO past $0.51, with its 24-hour gain expanding to over 22%. The development: Ondo and BlackRock have partnered to roll out a tokenized “smart portfolio” that grants exposure to professional investment portfolios via a single on-chain token.
2 minutes ago
Market News: New York State Government Sues Polymarket
According to market sources, the New York State government has filed a lawsuit against Polymarket, accusing the prediction market platform of operating an illegal gambling business. No additional details have been disclosed regarding the lawsuit’s specific allegations and the relief measures sought by New York State.
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.
According to Scam Sniffer’s monitoring, Duelbits’ hot wallets on the Ethereum, BSC, and Tron networks saw an outflow of approximately $4.2 million in funds, suspected to be related to a private key leak. The transferred assets include 836 ETH, 1.62 million USDT, 97,000 USDC, 209 BNB, and 192,000 TRX. Most of the moved assets have now been converted into ETH.
Uniswap has recorded a strong rally, with its UNI token increasing 72% from its late August base. This surge has coincided with a significant rise in UNI reserves on Binance, which now hold 71,584,353 UNI—the highest since at least June 25. The combination of rising prices and increasing exchange balances has prompted renewed attention from market participants.
UNI flows and market activityOn-chain analysis reveals that Binance experienced marked increases in UNI inflows in September. Notably, a single session saw 4.11 million UNI deposited to the exchange. Inflows have continued to outpace outflows recently, arriving alongside higher trading volumes as the token climbed in value. These developments have drawn scrutiny, as rising exchange reserves can sometimes imply heightened selling risk.
However, industry observers noted that increasing exchange balances do not automatically signal impending selloffs. Users may transfer UNI to Binance for reasons such as market making, using their holdings as collateral, or seeking custodial services. Nevertheless, when tokens are stored on a liquid centralized exchange like Binance, they become easier to sell quickly if holders choose to do so.
The current trend suggests that many UNI holders are seeking spot liquidity on Binance as the token’s price strengthens. The timing is notable, given UNI’s rapid ascent and recent price volatility.
Recent price action and technical levelsThe token’s price moved from around $5.00 at the end of August, breaking through resistance levels at $6, $7, and $9, before reaching a brief high of approximately $10.90. Following rejection from this local peak, UNI is now trading close to $8.90.
Technical analysis reveals that the daily chart retains a bullish overall structure. The shortest moving average is approaching $7.20, while longer-term averages continue to trend higher. Despite the upward momentum, the rejection above $10 produced a long upper wick and a sequence of red candles, and the relative strength index (RSI) has slid from near-overbought conditions.
In the current climate, higher UNI deposits on Binance reflect holders’ demand for rapid liquidity as prices rise, increasing the importance of monitoring whether these reserves continue climbing as UNI tests key resistance.
Date/PeriodUNI PriceBinance UNI ReserveLate August$5.00LowerSeptember Surge$6.00 – $9.00IncreasingCurrent$8.9071,584,353Key support and resistance levelsWhether UNI can sustain its gains may depend in part on how exchange reserves trend from here. Should the Binance balance continue rising as UNI attempts to reclaim $9.50 to $10, available supply could exert additional pressure during any price corrections.
Currently, the closest significant support lies in the $8.50 to $8.70 region. Maintaining this area would preserve prospects for further advances toward $10 and $11, keeping the recent breakout structure intact. Conversely, a decisive drop below $7.80 would put the steeply rising moving average near $7.20 into focus as the next technical support.
Mini dictionary: Uniswap – A decentralized exchange protocol that enables the automated trading of ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. It is governed by the UNI token, which allows holders to participate in protocol governance and development decisions.
Zcash and NEAR Protocol have emerged as two of crypto’s strongest alternative trades in 2026, a move Bankless co-founder David Hoffman believes is being driven by investors moving some capital away from Bitcoin and Ethereum toward assets with stronger return narratives.
Summary
David Hoffman says ZEC has captured the Bitcoin bid as some BTC holders allocate capital to the smaller privacy asset. NEAR has emerged as a smart contract alternative as traders look beyond established assets such as ETH and SOL. Hoffman says the trend could leave Bitcoin and Ethereum competing for capital as investors seek higher returns from smaller crypto assets. Hoffman said in a Sept. 23 post that ZEC has become what he calls the latest winner of the “Bitcoin Bid,” while NEAR has captured a similar position among smart contract platforms.
His argument centers on the size of Bitcoin’s existing pool of wealth. Bitcoin carries a market capitalization of roughly $1.7 trillion, while Zcash remains a fraction of that size even after its rally. Hoffman said only a small portion of Bitcoin holders would need to allocate some of their capital to ZEC for the smaller asset to experience substantial buying pressure.
Zcash’s market capitalization has climbed to roughly $26 billion after starting from a much smaller base, according to figures cited by Hoffman. The move has coincided with growing interest in privacy, quantum computing risks and regulated access to the asset.
The privacy coin market has grown nearly fivefold over the past year, according to a Sept. 22 report from 21Shares cited by crypto.news. The sector expanded from $6.2 billion to roughly $30 billion, while CoinGecko valued the category near $36.9 billion at the time.
Hoffman sees ZEC drawing from Bitcoin’s pool of capital Hoffman compared the current ZEC trade with Ethereum’s run in 2021, when ETH moved from a market capitalization near $12 billion at its cycle bottom to roughly $554 billion at its peak.
His thesis does not suggest that Bitcoin holders are abandoning BTC altogether. Instead, Hoffman believes enough holders may be allocating a small part of their portfolios to ZEC as a hedge or complementary position.
Zcash gives that group several narratives to work with. The network shares Bitcoin’s fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins while offering optional transaction privacy through shielded addresses. Concerns over the long term effect of quantum computing on existing cryptographic systems have provided another part of the investment case cited by ZEC supporters.
Institutional access has changed as well. Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into the ZCSH spot ETF on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25, launching with roughly $304 million in assets under management. ZEC crossed $1,000 in early September as assets in the fund moved above $400 million.
Hoffman argued that ZEC’s dollar gains alone do not explain the trade. He instead pointed to the difference between the size of Bitcoin and Zcash, saying the pool of BTC wealth potentially available for rotation remains far larger than ZEC’s market value.
“There’s $1.7T of BTC out there, and it only takes a very small amount of Bitcoiners to agree that ZEC is valid,” Hoffman wrote.
He said investors could reach that conclusion because of privacy, concerns around quantum computing or simply a desire to hedge their Bitcoin exposure.
The argument remains Hoffman’s interpretation of the source of demand rather than direct evidence tracing ZEC purchases to Bitcoin holders. He acknowledged that point himself, saying he believed few capital allocators would skip BTC, ETH and the rest of the crypto market to buy ZEC solely on its own merits.
NEAR has become the smart contract alternative, Hoffman says A similar capital rotation may be playing out around NEAR Protocol, according to Hoffman, although he sees the source of that demand as more dispersed.
“I think NEAR has won the ‘smart contract bid’ trophy of 2026,” he wrote.
NEAR was trading around $4.28 on Sept. 24 after gaining more than 60% over the previous seven days, according to CoinGecko. Its rally has come alongside several developments across the network and its trading markets.
On Sept. 23, NEAR spot trading went live on Hyperliquid through a NEAR/USDC market. NEAR perpetual open interest on Hyperliquid stood near $344 million at the time, while positive funding rates showed long positions were paying shorts.
Network development has provided another part of NEAR’s 2026 narrative. The protocol has spent much of the year building around artificial intelligence, chain abstraction and autonomous agents.
In July, NEAR introduced staking based AI payments, allowing users to lock NEAR and receive monthly compute credits for AI services. The system covered 43 AI models at launch and allowed users to access confidential inference and autonomous agents without paying through a credit card.
Hoffman said the capital supporting NEAR is probably coming from a more varied group than the investors he believes are moving from BTC into ZEC.
Ethereum has historically faced more competition among smart contract networks than Bitcoin has faced within the store of value category, he argued. Solana has already challenged Ethereum for users, activity and investor attention, leaving the smart contract market less concentrated around a single asset.
For Hoffman, the difference means NEAR does not need to pull capital from one clearly defined group. Traders looking beyond ETH, SOL and other established smart contract assets could contribute to the same effect.
Bitcoin and Ethereum face what Hoffman calls a blue chip problem Hoffman framed the moves in ZEC and NEAR as part of a larger issue for the crypto market’s biggest assets.
Investors seeking large multiples may be less willing to allocate new capital to assets that already carry hundreds of billions or more than $1 trillion in market value, he argued. Smaller networks can offer more room for price appreciation if they attract a meaningful portion of existing crypto wealth.
Hoffman called the situation the “Blue Chip Curse.”
Bitcoin still needs to establish itself more firmly as an alternative to gold, in his view, while Ethereum faces the question of what could produce another major revaluation after years of growth.
The comparison comes as the total cryptocurrency market remains much smaller than the traditional financial system. CoinGecko data placed the global crypto market capitalization near $2.96 trillion on Sept. 24, with Bitcoin accounting for roughly 57% of the total.
Hoffman said crypto could continue producing new winners even if BTC and ETH do not deliver the multiples investors saw during earlier cycles. He pointed to Hyperliquid, Venice, Lighter, Ethena and Morpho as examples of projects bringing new products and infrastructure into the industry.
His concern is where the economic value from that activity ultimately ends up.
Hoffman argued that Robinhood, Coinbase, Apollo and traditional brokerage businesses could be positioned to capture part of the value created by the latest generation of crypto products, while the extent to which BTC and ETH benefit remains uncertain.
For the industry’s overall value to move materially higher, Hoffman said total crypto market capitalization would eventually need to grow far beyond its current level. He raised $10 trillion as a level he hopes the market can reach during the current cycle, while contrasting it with a possible $30 trillion market needed for a much larger expansion of the sector.
The crypto market today, September 24 is retreating as rising US bond yields weigh on risk appetite. By midday UTC, crypto market capitalization stood near $2.83 trillion, down about 3.15% over 24 hours.
Bitcoin slipped below $84,000, while Ether, XRP and Solana gave back gains from this week’s rally.
The reversal follows rising borrowing costs and renewed inflation concerns. Traders also unwound leveraged positions, adding pressure across major tokens.
Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana Retreat Bitcoin price traded around $83,400, down 2.5% in a day. BTC had climbed close to $87,300 earlier this week before losing momentum. The move erased part of a rally that had taken Bitcoin to its highest level since January. A drop beneath $85,000 then exposed the market to faster selling.
Coin360 data Ether changed hands near $2,640, about 3% lower over 24 hours. Its daily high was about $2,729, putting the token nearly $90 below that mark. XRP fell roughly 6% to $1.47 after reaching $1.58 during the previous day. Solana traded near $113, down about 3% after a daily high around $117.
XRP’s steeper retreat suggests traders were taking profits after its recent advance. The synchronized declines across the four assets point to a shift in sentiment.
Rising Yields Put Pressure on the Crypto Market US Treasury yields rose sharply Wednesday after strong business activity data raised fresh questions about interest rates. S&P Global’s preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index reached 58.4 in September, up from 56.0 in August. The survey also found business costs rising at their fastest pace in nearly four years.
🚨 THIS IS INSANE.
US 30-year bond yield just hit 5.402%, its highest level in 22 years.
It has been trading above 5% for 79 straight days now, the longest stretch since 2007. https://t.co/2MF0BfXStO pic.twitter.com/qnTlGQXAhW
— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) September 24, 2026
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield closed Wednesday at 5.11%, up from 4.96% Tuesday. The 30-year yield reached 5.40%, according to Treasury data. Higher bond returns can reduce the appeal of assets that do not pay interest, including Bitcoin.
Oil climbed above $105 a barrel as tensions involving Iran kept inflation concerns alive. A firmer dollar and weaker appetite for risk added to the pressure on crypto prices. A poorly received Treasury auction also added to the bond market selloff.
Liquidations Deepen the Selloff Leveraged trading magnified the decline once Bitcoin began falling away from its high. CoinGlass data cited in market reports showed roughly $454 million in long positions liquidated over 24 hours. Such liquidations force exchanges to close losing bets, potentially accelerating a move already underway.
Coinglass data The retreat came shortly after spot Bitcoin ETF inflows helped support this week’s advance. That contrast shows how quickly macroeconomic pressure can overwhelm bullish trading momentum. The crypto market remains sensitive to changes in yields, inflation expectations and the dollar’s direction.
Bitcoin’s next test is whether it can stabilize above $83,000 after slipping through $85,000. Ether remains below $2,700, while XRP has given up $1.50 and Solana holds near $113. Continued pressure in bond markets could leave any recovery uneven, even after forced selling subsides.
PeckShield Flags $4.3M in Suspicious Duelbits Outflows.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield has reported approximately $4.3 million in suspicious cryptocurrency outflows from Duelbits across Ethereum and BNB Chain, involving ETH, stablecoins, BNB, and Shiba Inu.
#PeckShieldAlert #Duelbits has seen a suspicious outflow of ~$4.3M in crypto on #Ethereum and #BNBChain, including 836 ETH($2.23M), 1.146M USDT, 209 BNB ($160.68K), 96.805K USDC, 12.398B SHIB ($70.17K), and 31.515K DAI.
The attacker has since swapped the stolen funds for 1587.87… pic.twitter.com/zJ5HUtIghQ
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 24, 2026
PeckShield identified the recipient as an attacker and said the funds had been converted into approximately 1,587.87 ETH, valued at around $4.2 million, alongside about 31,500 DAI. Its alert did not identify how the funds were accessed or establish whether customer balances were affected.
ETH, Stablecoins and 12.398 Billion SHIB Involved According to PeckShield, the suspicious outflows included 836 ETH worth approximately $2.23 million, 1.146 million USDT, and 209 BNB valued at $160,680.
PeckShield Flags $4.3M in Suspicious Duelbits Outflows. The firm also listed approximately 96,805 USDC, 12.398 billion SHIB worth $70,170, and 31,515 DAI.
The $4.3 million figure represents PeckShield’s aggregate estimate. The individual amounts listed account for approximately $3.74 million at the quoted valuations, assuming the stablecoins traded near $1. The alert did not explain the difference between those figures.
Ethereum records dated September 24 show several incoming transfers from a Duelbits-labeled address to a wallet beginning 0xA77e24 and ending 05aef76. These included 31,515 DAI at 09:00:35 UTC, approximately 12.4 billion SHIB at 09:00:59, 96,804.68 USDC at 09:01:23, and 593,430.32 USDT at 09:02:11. The explorer also identified Duelbits as the address’s initial funding source.
Funds Moved Through deBridge and Relay Addresses Subsequent transactions show the recipient moving assets to addresses associated with cross-chain services.
At 09:27:35 UTC, the wallet transferred 96,804.68 USDC to a deBridge-labeled address. A separate transaction at 09:31:23 moved approximately 6.4 billion SHIB to the same labeled destination. Four later SHIB transactions, ranging from 1 billion to 2 billion tokens each, brought the displayed outgoing SHIB total to approximately 12.4 billion.
The records also show six transfers of 100,000 USDT each to Relay: Router V3, followed by another transfer of 83,346.89 USDT. Together, those seven transactions amounted to 683,346.89 USDT.
Following the transactions, the Ethereum address’s recorded balance stood at approximately 1,587.876 ETH, valued by Etherscan at $4,190,468.37. Its remaining token holdings consisted of 31,515 DAI worth approximately $31,510.37, placing the combined ETH and DAI balance at roughly $4.22 million at that snapshot.
Duelbits Previously Suffered a Separate Wallet Exploit Duelbits, which operates a cryptocurrency casino and sports betting platform, previously suffered an exploit on February 13, 2024. De.Fi’s incident report recorded losses of approximately $4.64 million and identified a loss of wallet access control as the apparent cause. Assets taken in that incident were also bridged and exchanged into ETH.
That historical finding does not establish the cause of the September 24 outflows. PeckShield’s latest alert focused on the assets moved and their subsequent conversion, without specifying an attack method.
Markets are pricing in four more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve through June next year, with Bitcoin briefly dipping below $83,000.
CME FedWatch data shows markets are currently pricing in a cumulative four interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve by June 2027, pushing the federal funds rate target range to 4.75%–5%, a 100 basis point increase from the current 3.75%–4% range. U.S. Treasury yields rose across the board, with the 20-year yield approaching 5.5% and the 10-year yield breaking above 5.1%—hitting its highest level since 2007. The long-term U.S. Treasury ETF TLT fell below $80. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index broke above 101, up roughly 3% year-to-date. Factors driving the rise in U.S. Treasury yields include strong economic data, Middle East tensions boosting inflation and energy prices, and increased bond supply from AI infrastructure financing. Pressed by high interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar, BTC has dipped from its recent high of $87,500 to below $83,000, while gold has held above $4,200.
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A new crypto address has withdrawn UNI, BNB, and LTC worth over $9.9 million from a CEX.
According to lookonchain’s monitoring, a newly created wallet address 0xC374 withdrew approximately 814,020 UNI from Binance one hour ago, valued at $7.24 million. The wallet also pulled out 2,382 BNB (worth $1.85 million) and 12,397 LTC (valued at $841,000), bringing the total value of assets withdrawn in this single operation to roughly $9.93 million.
1 seconds ago
IBM integrates with Swift’s blockchain ledger to support tokenized deposit transactions.
IBM announced that it has connected its digital asset management platform Digital Asset Haven to Swift’s blockchain-based shared ledger via a new ISO 20022 message adapter, enabling financial institutions to use standard payment messaging instructions for tokenized deposit transactions. IBM noted that financial institutions participating in the Swift project have already tested tokenized deposits on Digital Asset Haven. Swift’s shared ledger supports bank-issued tokenized deposits and allows participating institutions to achieve 24/7 digital asset transfers and final settlement. In addition, IBM has launched a beta version of Digital Asset Haven’s on-premises deployment, which runs on IBM Z and LinuxONE, letting customers manage digital assets such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits without relying on public cloud infrastructure. The key management layer of this version operates entirely in the customer’s own environment, with keys protected by IBM Crypto Express hardware security modules. Swift first unveiled its blockchain shared ledger at the 2025 Sibos conference; over 40 financial institutions are currently involved in its design, while 17 institutions are participating in the tokenized deposit pilot.
1 seconds ago
New wallet withdraws $7.24M $UNI, $1.85M $BNB, $841K $LTC from Binance
A newly created wallet (0xC374) withdrew 814,020 $UNI ($7.24M),2,382 $BNB ($1.85M) and 12,397 $LTC ($841K) from #Binance an hour ago.
1 seconds ago
During Bitcoin's price correction, a whale dumped BTC worth $41.6 million. If the current BTC price rallies back to $84,100, the whale will be liquidated.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, during Bitcoin (BTC)'s minor pullback, an address starting with 0xc3ed on Hyperliquid added a short position of approximately 500.88 BTC 10 minutes ago, bringing its total open positions to around $41.641 million at an average entry price of $83,135.2. As of press time, the address still holds the full short position, valued at roughly $41.657 million, with an unrealized loss of about $16,000. It is using 40x isolated margin leverage, with a liquidation price of $84,174.1. BTC is currently quoted at $83,168; a roughly 1.2% rebound would likely trigger its liquidation line.
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Over the past 24 hours, total crypto liquidations hit $617 million, dominated by long positions.
According to data from Coinglass, global crypto liquidations reached $617 million over the past 24 hours, with long-position liquidations totaling $546 million and short-position liquidations hitting $70.84 million. Bitcoin futures liquidations amounted to $191 million, while Ethereum futures liquidations stood at $140 million.
$1.1 million in fees in 24 hours for Solana, versus $649,423 for Ethereum. Over 30 days, the same scenario: $23.58 million against $12.04 million. On paper, Solana thus takes the lead. Then the burn comes to blur the cards. Ethereum destroyed $2.80 million in tokens over the period, versus $2.66 million for its rival. The fees tell one story. The burn tells another.
In brief Solana dominates fees: $23.58M generated over 30 days, almost twice as much as Ethereum. The burn changes the game: Ethereum burns $2.80M, slightly ahead of Solana’s $2.66M. Two opposing economies: Solana relies on activity, Ethereum maintains massive capital depth. Samani bets on SOL: the Multicoin co-founder sees Solana surpass Ethereum in market cap during this cycle. The real test remains open: adoption, capital, and captured value will show if activity turns into lasting gains. Solana is turning network activity into serious fee revenue Solana is no longer much of an underdog from a few years ago. September’s numbers tell the story of a network running at full speed: 3.04 million active addresses and 113.95 million transactions over the studied period. On the decentralized exchanges side, the seven-day volume reaches $16.61 billion, against $9.03 billion for Ethereum.
These are considerable volumes, but they do not yet allow us to know who actually benefits from this activity.
Over thirty days, users generated $23.58 million in fees on Solana. Yet, only $2.66 million was accounted as burn. Why such a gap?
The detail is in the plumbing. The base fee is 5,000 lamports per signature. Half is burned. The other half goes to the validator. And when users pay more to get ahead of others, priority fees also go to the validator. This is an important difference. A network can experience huge pressure without seeing its burn keep pace.
Applications also contribute to this frenzy: $7.7 million in revenue in 24 hours within the studied snapshot. The blockchain makes a lot of noise. The question now is what this noise really brings to the token.
Ethereum still holds the deeper pool of capital Meanwhile, capital remains massively concentrated on Ethereum. DeFi represents $51.53 billion in TVL there, against $6.13 billion on Solana. For stablecoins, the gap is even wider: $146.94 billion versus $15.40 billion.
The same observation applies to tokenized real-world assets. There is $13.50 billion on Ethereum, against $1.58 billion on Solana.
These are markets very different from simple transactions. Some of this capital serves as liquidity. Some serves as collateral. Some is locked into protocols for weeks or months. That is why fee levels are not enough to measure the footprint of a network.
The burn adds an additional layer. Over 30 days, the reported burn reaches $2.80 million, slightly ahead of Solana’s $2.66 million.
Ethereum destroys its base execution fees as well as those linked to blobs, while priority tips go to validators.
However, be cautious of the classic shortcut: burning tokens does not mean directly paying holders. The tokens concerned are simply removed from circulation. They are not distributed to those who hold ETH.
Staking further complicates the picture. A validator’s income depends on several parameters, including their commission, performance, and the amount delegated to them.
Fees reveal only part of the value battle In the snapshot of September 22, Ethereum shows a market cap of about $335 billion, against $69 billion for Solana.
And yet, the smaller network generates almost twice as much in fees over 30 days.
This discrepancy deserves attention. Solana charges its users more while its token weighs much less on the market. This might give the impression that something doesn’t add up. But fees are only part of the calculation.
Money generated by a transaction can pay a validator. It can be distributed to stakers. It can be burned. It can also remain in an application’s economy.
A blockchain can be extremely active without capturing all the value created by this activity.
The same goes for active addresses. The 3.04 million recorded on Solana do not necessarily represent 3.04 million people sitting behind their screens. A user can own multiple wallets. Bots can also multiply transactions.
This is where the comparison becomes less spectacular but more interesting. Solana has a lot of activity. Ethereum maintains a lot of capital. To differentiate the two models, one must look at what happens after payment: issuance, burn, staking, validator income, and token demand.
Samani is betting on a Solana flip Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, does not simply see Solana as a network catching up. He believes SOL can surpass Ethereum in market cap during this cycle.
The numbers give an idea of the scale of the bet. In the data he cites, Solana is worth about $58 billion against $293 billion for ETH. So SOL would need almost five times more market cap to overtake.
Samani relies notably on current activity. Solana generates more fees on seven- and thirty-day windows, shows more transactions, and dominates the DEX volume of the studied period. He also believes some crypto companies could choose this infrastructure over another for their new products.
But his journey should be kept in mind. He entered crypto via Ethereum in 2016, and Multicoin then participated very early in funding Solana. His view on the subject thus also comes from a personal history with these two ecosystems.
This does not make his thesis false. But it helps to put it back into context.
And the current context remains shared. Ethereum keeps a huge lead on stablecoins, DeFi, and real-world assets. Solana still has to prove that its volumes and fees can turn into lasting token demand.
Key figures $2,674: ETH price at the time of writing. $23.58M: fees generated by Solana over 30 days. $12.04M: fees recorded by Ethereum over the same period. $2.80M vs $2.66M: burn reported for Ethereum and Solana. $335B vs $69B: market caps shown in the September 22 snapshot. The massive adoption advocated by Michael Saylor adds another dimension to the debate. His idea is simple: the crypto market will eventually surpass the regulatory debates alone if usage continues to expand. This might be where the future is decided. Solana attracts spectacular activity. Ethereum maintains a considerable mass of capital. If adoption accelerates, fees and burn alone will no longer suffice: it will be necessary to see which of the two networks truly transforms its users into lasting value.
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Mikaia A.
La révolution blockchain et crypto est en marche ! Et le jour où les impacts se feront ressentir sur l’économie la plus vulnérable de ce Monde, contre toute espérance, je dirai que j’y étais pour quelque chose
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Cloudflare, the company that routes roughly 20% of all global web traffic, just launched a payments product that could quietly reshape how machines pay each other on the internet. And the scaling architecture behind it? Borrowed straight from Ethereum’s original sharding blueprint.
Will Papper, who joined Cloudflare as Director of Product in July 2026, is leading the company’s push into stablecoin micropayments. His thesis is straightforward: the internet needs a payment layer that can handle 5 to 50 million transactions per second, and no existing blockchain comes close to delivering that on its own.
The Monetization Gateway and x402 Cloudflare launched its Monetization Gateway on July 1, 2026, giving sellers the ability to charge for web resources using USDC stablecoin payments settled on Base and Polygon networks. The product is built around x402, a revived version of HTTP’s long-dormant 402 status code, now optimized for stablecoin transactions with near-instant finality and negligible fees.
The target customer isn’t a person buying coffee. It’s an AI agent making sub-cent payments millions of times per second to access APIs, data feeds, or computational resources across the web. Traditional payment rails like credit cards charge minimum fees that make transactions below a few cents economically absurd. Stablecoins on fast L2 networks don’t have that problem.
Settlements through the gateway happen on-chain in seconds, which matters when you’re talking about autonomous software making purchasing decisions without human intervention.
Why Ethereum’s sharding design matters here Papper has pointed to Ethereum’s original sharding design as the architectural model for scaling Cloudflare’s stablecoin payment infrastructure. Sharding, in its simplest form, is the idea of splitting a database into parallel pieces that can each process work independently. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed sharding years ago as the path to massive throughput, though the network ultimately pivoted toward a rollup-centric roadmap instead.
Cloudflare’s interest in this design makes sense given the math involved. If AI agents are generating millions of payment requests per second across the company’s network, no single blockchain or single-server architecture can absorb that load. Papper’s argument is that the throughput demands of machine-to-machine commerce will eventually exceed what all existing blockchains can handle combined.
The AI agent economy takes shape Cloudflare is uniquely positioned to capture this shift. The company already sits between clients and servers for a massive chunk of the internet. Adding a payment layer at that chokepoint turns existing infrastructure into a toll road, one where the tolls are fractions of a cent and the drivers are algorithms.
For the stablecoin market specifically, Cloudflare’s entry validates a use case that goes well beyond the typical remittance and trading narratives. USDC issuer Circle stands to benefit directly from increased on-chain volume flowing through Base and Polygon, and the selection of those two networks over alternatives like Solana or Arbitrum signals where Cloudflare sees the best combination of speed, cost, and reliability for payment workloads.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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.
Per monitoring by YuEmber, an OTC whale/institution that added 15,000 ETH to its positions only yesterday took partial profits and cut most of its ETH holdings after the early morning price drop today: it transferred 42,000 ETH (worth $112 million) to Galaxy Digital seven hours ago, locking in $21.12 million in profits. The address accumulated 52,000 ETH over the past two months at an average price of $2,161, and reduced its 42,000 ETH position at $2,664 in the early hours of today.
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Analyst: Bitcoin market momentum has shifted, marking the 5th time in history a bull market confirmation signal has emerged.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted in a post that Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder (STH) cost base has confirmed crossing above that of Active Long-Term Holders (LTH), signaling a shift in market momentum, leading him to conclude that Bitcoin’s bull market has been confirmed. This marks the 5th occurrence of this signal in history, though he stressed the relevant indicator still carries a risk of misjudgment. "Active LTH" is defined as long-term held Bitcoin that has moved at least once in the past seven years, to exclude long-term dormant or non-circulating BTC. Currently, over 3.5 million BTC held for more than 10 years remain dormant, with this supply growing by an average of 8,000 to 30,000 BTC monthly. Since 2019, this indicator has only recorded one instance of negative growth, triggered by an early miner reactivating and transferring roughly 100,000 BTC—a relatively isolated event. Darkfost argues the current signal reflects positive shifts in the Bitcoin market, with ETF liquidity inflows serving as one of the driving factors.
3 minutes ago
Genius adjusts Season 2 point rules, with the unlock time of 70 million GENIUS tokens delayed to February 2028.
According to market sources, the Season 2 points campaign of on-chain trading terminal Genius, in which YZi Labs has invested, has undergone adjustments. The platform originally promised to unlock 70 million GENIUS tokens on October 25 to incentivize user trading and points accumulation, but subsequent changes were made. Previously, official documents stated that Season 2 would run from April 10 to August 10, with 1.5 million points distributed daily; recently, the platform’s page has been updated to remove the season’s stated end date, and daily points have been cut to 50,000. CoinMarketCap data shows that the unlock time for the 70 million tokens has been delayed to February 2028. Some participants are demanding that tokens be unlocked as originally scheduled, or that relevant fees from Season 2 be refunded.
3 minutes ago
Multicoin has deposited an additional $12.15 million worth of HYPE into Coinbase Prime, bringing its total deposits since July 28 to $285 million.
According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, after a one-week pause, Multicoin Capital has once again deposited 130,331 HYPE tokens into Coinbase Prime, valued at approximately $12.15 million. Since July 28, the firm has cumulatively deposited 4.23 million HYPE tokens into Coinbase Prime, with a total value of around $285 million.
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Multicoin Capital deposits 130,331 $HYPE ($12.15M) to Coinbase Prime after week break
After a one-week break, #MulticoinCapital deposited another 130,331 $HYPE ($12.15M) into #CoinbasePrime. Since July 28, #MulticoinCapital has deposited a total of 4.23M $HYPE ($285M) into #CoinbasePrime.
3 minutes ago
Grayscale: SEC Innovation Exemption Will Pave the Way for Tokenized Stocks to Enter the US Regulated Financial System
Grayscale Research Head Zach Pandl wrote that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s recent "Innovation Exemption" order is designed to bring on-chain trading of tokenized equities into the regulated U.S. financial system, shifting the market away from its current model dominated by offshore derivative-style "wrapped assets" toward tokenized securities that grant holders full voting rights and dividend entitlements. The order temporarily relaxes two key registration requirements: Eligible trading venues do not need to register as securities exchanges, and qualified liquidity providers are exempt from registering as broker-dealers. This means approved wallet addresses can trade tokenized equities using stablecoins via permissioned Uniswap liquidity pools. However, the exemption comes with multiple conditions: Relevant transactions must occur on public blockchains, participants must be pre-approved, and trading venues must publicly disclose information before commencing operations. Rules on fraud, market manipulation, anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and OFAC sanctions screening remain in effect. Additionally, the order is valid for five years and sets caps on the number of securities that can be listed and transaction volumes. U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins called the order a "temporary measure," noting that long-term regulatory rules still need to be developed. Grayscale argues the exemption will support the continued growth of the tokenized equities market and validate that blockchain transaction infrastructure can balance compliance requirements with investor protection. If the pilot is successful, regulatory scope may be further expanded, pushing the U.S. Congress to enact relevant bipartisan legislation.
3 minutes ago
The global bond market sell-off is spreading, pushing Japan's 10-year government bond yield to a new high since 1996.
Japan’s bond market reopened after a three-day holiday, immediately following a sell-off in US Treasuries. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield rose 10 basis points on Thursday to 3.075%, hitting its highest level since August 1996; the 5-year yield climbed around 9.5 basis points to 2.37%, while the 30-year yield rose to 4.134%. United Overseas Bank (UOB) noted that the current global bond sell-off is mainly driven by a rebound in oil prices, stronger-than-expected US PMI data, and weak demand for the $70 billion 5-year US Treasury auction. As a result, the 5-year US Treasury yield broke through 5%, and the 10-year US Treasury yield also rose to a nearly 19-year high, driving a repricing of global long-term borrowing costs. Domestic factors in Japan further amplified bond market pressure. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its benchmark interest rate last Friday and hinted at possible further monetary policy tightening, though it did not specify the pace of future actions. Additionally, the Japanese government is considering raising its medium-term defense budget target to 3.5% of GDP, intensifying market concerns over fiscal expansion and rising debt financing costs. Analysts point out that Japan has long been a key anchor of the global low-interest-rate environment. As Japanese government bond yields continue to rise, carry trades relying on low-cost yen financing may face adjustments, and volatility in global asset prices could further intensify.
Ethereum is showing all the signs of hitting $3k next.
From a technical perspective, ETH is expected to post a 70+% ROI by the end of the quarter, making it the strongest Q3 performance in its history.
To put this into context, that’s nearly 2x stronger than Bitcoin’s return, setting a strong benchmark heading into the final quarter of the year, with short-term investors clearly keeping a close eye on ETH’s momentum.
Against this backdrop, the chart below starts to gain weight. Notably, ETH Open Interest has touched $30 billion for the first time since October 2025.
That would amount to nearly 12 million ETH in exposure and an average Long/Short Ratio of 1.54 across Binance, Bybit, Bitget, HTX and Gate, which indicates a clear dominance of long positions.
Source: Alphractal Looking at the larger picture, this positioning appears to be more strategic than random.
According to Arkham Intelligence, BlackRock’s two ETH ETFs have acquired $1.01 billion worth of Ethereum over the past 20 trading days, $787.2 million via ETHA and $221.2 million via ETHB, which sent total Ethereum ETF flows back to pre-October crash levels, highlighting a clear recovery in institutional demand.
Meanwhile, whale accumulation adds another layer to this setup.
Together, strong institutional buying, whale accumulation, and improving technicals are creating a strong base for ETH’s upside.
However, the bigger question is whether the rising speculation around ETH is actually being supported by these signals, or if another key catalyst is needed for Ethereum [ETH] to extend its rally.
Ethereum’s next move may depend on rotational flows The market seems to be positioning heavily around a key catalyst.
According to Lookonchain data, a mysterious whale recently swapped another 200.71 BTC, worth around $17.2 million, for 6,247 ETH.
What’s more, over the past six days, the whale has rotated 1,308 BTC, worth around $104 million, into 40,670 ETH and staked all of it. This suggests growing conviction in ETH and sets the stage for another Q3-style ETH/BTC breakout in the months ahead.
That said, this positioning may be running ahead of the technical setup.
ETH/BTC just posted its highest weekly close in eight months, but the ratio is up against resistance around 0.03. This is the third time in just over a month that the ratio has hit this level and bounced back down. In short, ETH/BTC would need to break above 0.03 to confirm stronger momentum.
Source: TradingView (ETH/BTC) According to AMBCrypto, the ETH/BTC ratio is becoming a key signal.
The logic is simple: Speculative positioning in favor of an ETH/BTC breakout is influencing traders’ actions on social media, which leads to increased long positions in the derivatives market. If ETH fails to break higher, these leveraged positions could unwind quickly, triggering additional selling pressure on ETH.
In short, Ethereum’s bullish setup is becoming increasingly compelling, but it requires some confirmation before another move higher can be expected.
In order for Ethereum to climb back above $3k, ETH/BTC would need to break above 0.03 and confirm that the current momentum has enough strength to carry another leg higher.
Final Summary Strong ETH gains, ETF inflows, and whale buying are supporting the move toward $3k. ETH/BTC needs to break 0.03 for Ethereum to confirm its next move higher.
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.
BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF pulled in $50.8 million on September 23, making it the single largest contributor to a day that saw $105 million flow into US spot Ethereum ETFs collectively. The iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has become the gravitational center of institutional Ethereum exposure.
Cumulative net inflows into ETHA have now crossed $13 billion. That figure alone accounts for a substantial share of the broader US spot Ethereum ETF sector, which has accumulated net assets exceeding $17 billion.
One ETF, half the market ETHA’s $50.8 million haul represented roughly 48% of all spot Ethereum ETF inflows that day. Its Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, followed a similar trajectory: launch, dominate early flows, then become the default allocation vehicle for institutions that want exposure without the headaches of self-custody.
The approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in mid-2024 opened the door, but early months were marked by inconsistent flows and periodic outflows. September 2026 appears to mark a return to sustained positive momentum after those earlier rocky stretches.
The staking twist In March 2026, BlackRock launched ETHB, a staked Ethereum ETF that gives holders yield on top of price appreciation. ETHB has not recorded a single day of net outflows since launch. The product’s consistency suggests that yield-bearing crypto instruments have found a receptive audience among institutional allocators who are accustomed to income-generating assets in traditional fixed income and equity portfolios.
The existence of both ETHA and ETHB creates a two-pronged offering that covers different risk and return profiles. Investors who want pure price exposure go with ETHA. Those willing to accept the additional smart-contract risk inherent in staking, in exchange for yield, opt for ETHB.
Why institutions keep choosing the wrapper The preference for ETF structures over direct token purchases comes down to a few practical realities. Regulated funds offer professional custody, daily NAV transparency, and seamless integration with existing brokerage accounts. Many institutional mandates restrict investments to regulated, exchange-listed products, and an ETF checks that box in a way that a direct token purchase cannot.
The $17 billion in net assets across all US spot Ethereum ETFs reflects this structural advantage. It’s a market that essentially didn’t exist before mid-2024, and in roughly two years, it has grown to a size that rivals many established commodity ETF categories.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bankless co-founder David Hoffman suggested that the strong rise in Zcash (ZEC) price is driven by a large pool of capital created by Bitcoin investors. According to Hoffman, ZEC will become one of the leading cryptocurrencies that Bitcoin investors will turn to besides BTC by 2026, while NEAR Protocol is achieving a similar position among smart contract platforms.
Hoffman noted that ZEC’s market value had risen from approximately $200 million to $26 billion, and stated that many investors in the market were asking, “Where is this strong and sustained buying coming from?”
Hoffman stated that in the cryptocurrency market, a particular altcoin sometimes becomes central to a strong influx of capital from Bitcoin investors. He noted that the Bitcoin community has traditionally been quite distant from cryptocurrencies other than BTC, and that the “Bitcoin and only Bitcoin” mentality is extremely strong among Bitcoin maximalists.
However, according to Hoffman, Bitcoin investors also occasionally switch to different cryptocurrencies. While these transitions generally remain at the individual level, if a sufficient number of Bitcoin investors switch to the same asset, the movement can turn into a mass capital influx.
Hoffman believes Ethereum is one of the most important examples of this. Arguing that ETH similarly attracted significant capital from Bitcoin investors in 2021, Hoffman cited Ethereum’s market capitalization rising from a low of approximately $12 billion to a peak of $554 billion as evidence.
Hoffman made a rather bold comparison for Zcash, stating, “ZEC of 2026 is ETH of 2021.”
Hoffman notes that Zcash has become a sufficiently strong alternative for Bitcoin investors, and believes that discussions regarding its privacy features and the potential impact of quantum computers on Bitcoin have particularly increased interest in ZEC.
According to Hoffman, some Bitcoin investors buy ZEC directly because of its technological features, while others add it to their portfolios as a kind of hedge against Bitcoin investments.
Hoffman pointed out that Bitcoin’s market capitalization of approximately $1.7 trillion makes ZEC’s market capitalization of around $26 billion seem relatively small in comparison. Therefore, even a small fraction of Bitcoin holders investing in ZEC can have a significant impact on its price.
Hoffman argued that instead of focusing on how much ZEC has risen against the dollar, one should look at the difference in market capitalization between Zcash and Bitcoin. According to the analyst, the key to understanding the strong buying pressure on ZEC lies in the enormous amount of capital controlled by Bitcoin investors.
Hoffman also stated that he believes the number of large investors who have completely skipped BTC, ETH, and other major cryptocurrencies and bought only ZEC, solely based on their belief in Zcash’s properties, is quite limited.
Hoffman argued that a similar situation is occurring with the NEAR Protocol, suggesting that NEAR will become one of the new focal points for investors among smart contract platforms in 2026.
According to Hoffman, just as ZEC is attracting alternative investment demand from Bitcoin investors, NEAR has begun to receive a share of the capital allocated to smart contract platforms.
However, Hoffman noted that capital flows into NEAR were weaker and more dispersed compared to ZEC, attributing this to the historical structure of the cryptocurrency market.
According to Hoffman, in the crypto sector, the store of value trend has always been first, followed by smart contract platforms. He also noted that Bitcoin’s dominance as a store of value is much stronger than Ethereum’s dominance in smart contracts.
Hoffman noted that Solana was able to seriously challenge Ethereum’s position, but conversely, no cryptocurrency has threatened Bitcoin’s position as a store of value to the same extent.
Hoffman also noted that the Ethereum community is more open to different blockchains compared to Bitcoin maximalists, and therefore believes that the capital flowing into NEAR comes from a broader group of investors.
Hoffman went on to highlight another problem facing major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. He described this as the “curse of big cryptocurrencies,” where investors no longer see the same high return potential in major assets as they did in the past.
Hoffman noted that investors are seeking higher returns in smaller projects rather than assets with massive market capitalization like BTC and ETH, arguing that Bitcoin and Ethereum have also accumulated significant technological overhead over the years and may appear technologically behind some newer generation projects.
However, according to Hoffman, this poses a significant problem for the entire crypto sector. Because for the sector’s total size to increase substantially, new capital needs to flow into major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Hoffman stated that Bitcoin needs to transform from a volatile digital currency into a truly global store of value that can be a genuine alternative to gold, adding that whether BTC has fulfilled this role strongly enough recently is debatable.
Hoffman states that despite all its shortcomings, gold remains gold, and he believes that Bitcoin’s long-term growth story largely depends on capturing a share of this market.
Hoffman, however, was more skeptical about Ethereum, stating that he did not see any new trend or fundamental development strong enough to cause ETH to rise tenfold from its current levels.
Hoffman added, however, that innovation continues in the crypto sector. He noted that projects like Hyperliquid, Venice, Lighter, Ethereum, and Morpho have recently introduced significant innovations, but the real question is to what extent the economic value created by these projects will be reflected in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
He argued that if the total cryptocurrency market capitalization doesn’t rise from approximately $3 trillion to $30 trillion, a significant portion of the value created by new projects could be acquired by traditional companies rather than crypto assets.
Hoffman noted that at this point, Robinhood, Coinbase, Apollo, and traditional brokerage firms appear to have an advantage over Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of profiting from the growth of the new crypto economy.
According to Hoffman, the sector could continue to produce new winners similar to ZEC, NEAR, or Hyperliquid. However, if major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum don’t also participate in the growth process, the total size of the cryptocurrency market could fall below the levels the sector has targeted in the past.
*This is not investment advice.
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Leading cryptocurrencies corrected on Wednesday as hot macro data signaled the chance of another rate hike.
Crypto Market ReversesBitcoin descended from $87,000, hitting an intraday low of $83,654.39. Ethereum also retreated to $2,600, while XRP and Dogecoin recorded sharper declines
Cryptocurrency-related stocks also fell, with Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) closing down 3.07% and 4.52%, respectively.
Over $540 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with long positions taking the heaviest losses, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin’s open interest plummeted 6.63% over the last 24 hours. BTC’s Long/Short ratio dipped below 1, meaning a large number of traders are actively taking short positions.
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The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.96 trillion, down 2.60% in the last 24 hours.
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Stocks Plunge As Rate Hike Bets SpikeStocks faced heavy sell-offs on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 352.10 points, or 0.68%, to end at 51,511.59. The S&P 500 slid 0.75% to end at 7,706.03, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.13% to settle at 26,936.04.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note surged to its highest level since 2007 after the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index readings came in higher than expected.
Traders are now pricing in a nearly 70% chance of another 25-basis-point rate hike next month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
A Dip Before Rip?Ali Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, flagged a “double bottom” pattern on Bitcoin’s daily chart, suggesting the $82,500 horizontal neckline will remain as a key support.
“The target remains $100,000,” Martinez added.
On-chain analytics firm Santiment noted that Bitcoin wallets holding 100-1,000 BTC have boosted their holdings by 2.22% over the last two months.
“Santiment’s five-year analysis found 100-1,000 BTC wallets particularly have correlated quite closely with crypto market direction, with accumulation often appearing before or during stronger price periods,” the firm stated.
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Photo Courtesy: Sodel Vladyslav on Shutterstock.com
Bankless co-founder David Hoffman has published an article noting that the crypto market occasionally sees instances where a single asset absorbs capital flows from Bitcoin holders. In 2021, Ethereum (ETH) experienced a similar phenomenon, and in 2026, Zcash (ZEC) is mirroring that trend. Leveraging its privacy and anti-quantum narratives, ZEC has successfully drawn some Bitcoin holders to treat it as a "just in case" hedge, fueling a sharp surge in its market capitalization. The actual driver behind ZEC's rise is spillover from Bitcoin (BTC) wealth, not fresh capital. Separately, NEAR is absorbing relatively weak "smart contract buy demand" in 2026. Hoffman further argues that BTC and ETH can no longer achieve 10x growth, with more innovation being captured by new projects such as Hyperliquid and Ethena, as well as traditional finance, which could limit the overall expansion of the crypto industry. Earlier reports indicate that in early June, Hoffman fully disclosed on X the allocation of funds following his ETH liquidation: VVV (Venice AI's governance token), NEAR, ZEC, LIT, and HYPE.
Attackers drained roughly 11.7 million XRP from thousands of D’CENT App Wallet users. The theft, worth close to $20 million, unfolded between September 15 and 20. XRPL.to published the on-chain forensic timeline.
The operation unfolded across six separate waves. It hit a combined 6,678 wallets using keys the thief already controlled.
How the Attack Actually UnfoldedSomeone manually drained eight wallets, each holding over 99,999 XRP, within an hour on September 15. An automated script then swept a total of 1,682 wallets that same day.
Five more waves followed through September 20. Each wave reused the same script, manual tool, and stolen keys.
Attackers went beyond simple transfers, too. They deleted 5,001 accounts entirely to claim their remaining reserve balances, XRPL.to reported.
Notably, 2,470 of those wallets had never been swept. That detail suggests the thief held a broader list of compromised keys than the initial drain revealed.
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Wallets swept per hour (up) and accounts deleted per hour (down). Source: xrpl.toThe stolen funds moved fast. Roughly 5.6 million XRP crossed into Ethereum through THORChain. Other funds are routed through exchanges, including Binance, as well as services like unionchain.ai and NEAR Intents.
Each sweep often reached an off-ramp within hours, limiting the window available for freezing stolen funds. About 1.3 million XRP still sat in the attacker’s own wallets as of September 21.
Why Are D’CENT Users Specifically at Risk?D’CENT confirmed abnormal transfers affecting its App Wallet on September 16. The company clarified that hardware wallets remained unaffected. It later urged users to move funds immediately, though it has not confirmed whether reimbursement will follow.
Notably, no XRP Ledger exploit caused this incident. Every sweep used valid signatures from the wallets’ own private keys. That detail means the compromise originated from how those keys were exposed, not from any flaw in the network itself.
5.6 Million XRP Moved to Ethereum Through THORChain. Source: xrpl.toXRPL.to’s analysis found the operation reused identical scripts and fee patterns across multiple waves. That pattern strongly suggests a single coordinated actor carried out every stage. Security researchers now recommend one specific step.
Anyone who used D’CENT’s App Wallet at any point should migrate funds to a new wallet immediately. The exact method behind the original key compromise still remains unconfirmed.
XRP trades near $1.49 at the time of writing. That figure marked a 6% drop over the past 24 hours, according to BeInCrypto data. The token’s market cap stood near $93.82 billion, ranking fifth among all cryptocurrencies.
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Blockchain.com and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) have announced a partnership to develop a platform for continuous trading of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs. This collaboration aims to leverage NYSE’s planned digital alternative trading system (ATS) to allow users access to tokenized securities around the clock. The initiative, pending regulatory approvals, is set to enhance the accessibility and liquidity of U.S. equities through tokenization, reflecting a significant move towards integrating traditional finance with blockchain technology.
The partnership could influence the Ethereum market, as tokenization of securities often relies on blockchain platforms like Ethereum. This development may increase interest in Ethereum’s capabilities, potentially impacting its future price predictions. Current market pricing for Ethereum reaching $10,000 by the end of 2026 remains relatively low, but the collaboration between Blockchain.com and NYSE suggests an increase in the potential application of blockchain technologies.
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Markets appear to interpret this collaboration as a moderate positive indicator for Ethereum’s long-term value, consistent with a gradual increase in the likelihood of Ethereum reaching higher valuations. The move toward regulated exchange infrastructure for tokenized assets may bolster confidence in blockchain-based financial products.
Key Takeaways The partnership between Blockchain.com and NYSE suggests increased interest in tokenized securities, which could support Ethereum’s pricing. NYSE’s planned digital ATS aims to provide 24/7 access to tokenized U.S. stocks, which may enhance liquidity and accessibility. Market pricing implies a moderate positive outlook for Ethereum, with a potential increase in its application for tokenization. What to Watch Watch for regulatory developments and approvals that could impact the timeline and implementation of the NYSE’s digital ATS. Additionally, observe Ethereum’s market response to increased interest in blockchain-based financial products. Any significant announcements from key market actors, such as the Ethereum Foundation or major financial institutions, could further influence market perceptions and Ethereum’s price trajectory.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31, 2026 1.5% +0.1¢ $395 View market → December 31, 2026 1.6% -0.4¢ — View market → December 31, 2026 2.5% -0.2¢ $568 View market → December 31, 2026 5.1% 0.0¢ $30 View market → December 31, 2026 10.5% -1¢ $4K View market → January 1 2027 35% -3.5¢ $59K View market → January 1 2027 4.5% 0.0¢ $30K View market → January 1 2027 1.6% -0.1¢ $290 View market → January 1 2027 1.9% -0.6¢ $57 View market → January 1 2027 3.6% -0.2¢ $810 View market → January 1 2027 7.4% -0.2¢ $800 View market → January 1 2027 18% -2¢ $3K View market → January 1 2027 7.5% +1¢ $11K View market → January 1 2027 3.5% -0.1¢ — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% +0.1¢ $25 View market → January 1 2027 5.5% 0.0¢ $626 View market → January 1 2027 69.5% -5¢ $19K View market → January 1 2027 10% 0.0¢ $5K View market → January 1 2027 2.5% +0.4¢ — View market → January 1 2027 19.5% +3¢ $51K View market → January 1 2027 33.5% +2.5¢ $82K View market → Updated 4min ago
Ethereum privacy is getting a stronger push as AI and advanced data analysis make basic identity separation less effective. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he won’t give up on privacy and intends to strengthen it further.
Speaking at the 12th Global Blockchain Summit on September 23, 2026, Buterin said keeping real names separate from transactions is no longer enough for onchain privacy in the AI era.
source: xThe issue is straightforward. Public blockchains expose transaction activity by default, while growing use by individuals, businesses and institutions increases the amount of sensitive financial information potentially exposed.
Balances, transaction history and other financial activity can reveal plenty even when a user’s real name isn’t directly attached.
Programmable Privacy Could Change Onchain DataButerin also pointed toward broader applications for blockchain beyond payments, with users demanding better performance and functionality.
Modern cryptography can extend privacy beyond protecting digital assets and toward protecting information itself. In that model, code could determine not only who is allowed to transfer assets, but also who can access specific information. That’s a considerably broader definition of Ethereum privacy.
Privacy Joins Ethereum’s Bigger RoadmapPrivacy is also being discussed alongside quantum security, native Rollups and scalable infrastructure as Ethereum moves toward its next phase.
The point isn’t simply to process more transactions. Ethereum’s expanding use means the network also needs mechanisms that make onchain activity safer and more private without abandoning on-chain verification.
For Ethereum privacy, the direction is becoming clearer: hiding a name may no longer be enough. The bigger goal is programmable control over financial and other sensitive information as blockchain adoption expands.
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US spot Bitcoin ETFs vacuumed up $714.7 million on September 22, while their Ethereum counterparts added roughly $162 million. Combined, that’s nearly $877 million in fresh capital flowing into crypto ETFs in a single trading session, translating to over 7,000 BTC and 67,000 ETH worth of net buying.
The numbers cap off a four-day inflow streak that has funneled between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion into these products since September 17. That stretch started just days after Bitcoin ETFs hemorrhaged over $450 million in redemptions on September 15.
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Who’s writing the checks BlackRock’s IBIT led the Bitcoin ETF charge with $350.3 million in net inflows, roughly half the day’s total. Fidelity’s FBTC followed at $257.4 million, and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT contributed $99 million.
On the Ethereum side, BlackRock’s ETHA topped the leaderboard at $88.1 million, with Fidelity’s FETH pulling in $33.6 million and Grayscale’s mini trust adding $27.3 million.
The bigger picture in numbers Cumulative net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs now sit at approximately $56.9 billion. Total assets under management across the category have climbed to roughly $110.8 billion to $111 billion, representing about 6.4% of Bitcoin’s entire market capitalization.
Just one day earlier, on September 21, Bitcoin ETFs recorded $999 million in net inflows, setting a single-day record for 2026. Bitcoin itself was trading above $86,000 during this period, having briefly punched through $87,000 — levels the asset hadn’t touched since January.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
European financial authorities have flagged quantum computing as a potential risk to blockchain cryptographic systems. Currently, no quantum machine possesses the capability to compromise Bitcoin or Ethereum encryption. Google’s latest research dramatically lowered estimates for quantum resources needed to crack elliptic-curve encryption. A preliminary Bitcoin proposal outlines a roadmap for eliminating quantum-susceptible signature schemes. Ethereum has set December 2029 as its deadline for implementing comprehensive quantum-resistant protections. European financial regulators have issued a cautionary statement regarding quantum computing’s potential to undermine the cryptographic foundations that protect blockchain networks and broader financial systems.
In their Autumn 2026 risk assessment, the European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and European Securities and Markets Authority identified quantum computing as an emerging technological threat. The authorities urged enhanced readiness measures as quantum capabilities evolve, positioning it alongside artificial intelligence and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Google’s Breakthrough Research Intensifies Urgency The primary worry revolves around next-generation quantum computers potentially dismantling the mathematical frameworks that safeguard digital signatures. In cryptocurrency systems, such a breach could enable malicious actors to extract private keys from publicly visible keys and execute unauthorized transfers.
No existing quantum computer has achieved this capability. Present warnings emphasize preparing blockchain infrastructure before fault-tolerant quantum machines of sufficient power emerge.
A study released by Google Quantum AI alongside research partners this year heightened concerns. The research team calculated that compromising 256-bit elliptic-curve cryptography might need approximately 1,200 logical qubits, with certain modeled configurations requiring under 500,000 physical qubits.
These projections mark a substantial downward revision from previous forecasts. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum currently employ cryptographic architectures that could prove vulnerable to Shor’s algorithm once adequately powerful quantum computing hardware materializes.
Cryptocurrency Networks Advance Quantum Defense Strategies Bitcoin’s development community has initiated conversations about network transition strategies. The draft specification BIP-361, created by Jameson Lopp alongside five additional contributors, outlines a progressive elimination of current ECDSA and Schnorr signature schemes once post-quantum transaction formats become operational.
The proposed framework would ultimately restrict fund transfers to quantum-exposed addresses. A subsequent stage, activating five years post-implementation, would impose further limitations on spending coins that haven’t transitioned to quantum-secure protection. This proposal remains in draft status without formal Bitcoin adoption.
Ethereum has established a more definitive internal objective. The Ethereum Foundation has announced its ambition to achieve quantum resistance across Ethereum’s execution, consensus, and data infrastructure by December 2029, though the timeline remains flexible pending technical developments.
Ethereum has assembled a specialized post-quantum security working group and is currently evaluating novel signature and verification frameworks. Official communications emphasize that Ethereum assets remain protected under current conditions and users face no immediate requirements for action.
The prevailing narrative centers on proactive preparation rather than imminent danger. The vulnerability timeline for cryptocurrency holders hinges on quantum hardware development velocity and whether blockchain platforms can successfully transition their security architectures before existing cryptographic methods become obsolete.
Ethereum hovered near $2,750 on Tuesday after surpassing a key technical resistance level, with market attention turning to whether the cryptocurrency can reclaim the $3,000 mark.
Technical breakout sets upward targetsA recent breakout above $2,661, identified through Reuters technical analysis, completed a bullish continuation pattern. This pattern signals a potential price objective close to $3,050, though analysts caution that Ethereum may initially encounter resistance in the $2,775–$2,825 range before any further gains.
Reuters stated that clearing the $2,775–$2,825 consolidation zone could provide Ethereum with a clearer path toward the psychologically important $3,000 threshold. Holding above this area would also solidify the technical structure that has emerged since the breach of the $2,661 barrier.
Coinpaper linked Ethereum’s rally to its successful move above the $2,500–$2,550 area, describing this as a “broader recovery” that positioned the cryptocurrency firmly in bullish territory.
These developments extend a wider upward trend that began when Ethereum lifted off from the $2,500 level highlighted in earlier analysis reports.
Improving supply dynamicsAnalysts attribute a portion of the rally’s strength to tightening supply conditions in the Ethereum market. As staking activity remains robust, exchanges now hold around 14.88 million ETH, marking the lowest reserve levels in several years.
Simultaneously, spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States attracted a daily inflow of $216.4 million on September 11. Total cumulative inflows for these products have reached approximately $13.38 billion.
DateETH Exchange ReserveUS Spot ETH ETF Daily InflowCumulative ETH ETF InflowsSeptember 1114.88 million ETH$216.4 million$13.38 billionMarket observers suggest these supply changes could lead to a favorable environment for further price appreciation if new demand materializes.
Coinpaper, a digital asset news platform, has examined how the shrinking supply on exchanges and steady staking may be reducing available liquidity and “quietly running out of sellers,” potentially shifting the balance in favor of buyers.
Mini dictionary: Coinpaper, a digital asset news and analysis service known for its technical market coverage and blockchain research.
If Ethereum manages to maintain momentum above $2,825, technical analysts see an increased probability of rallying toward $3,000 and potentially advancing to $3,050.
The combined effect of bullish market structure, declining sell-side liquidity, and ETF inflows has brought renewed optimism among Ethereum traders. However, upcoming price action will depend on both sustained demand and Ethereum’s ability to stay above new support levels established during this rally.
Ethereum price fell below $2,700 on Sep. 23 after a rally toward $2,800 stalled. The reversal brought the day’s $2,648 low into focus, while US spot Ethereum ETFs had recorded two consecutive days of net inflows before the pullback.
Summary
Ethereum price traded near $2,675 at 15:07 UTC on Sep. 23, down 2.84% for the session. Price fell below its 4-hour 20-period moving average near $2,710 but remained above longer-term averages. A three-day CoinGlass heatmap showed liquidation bands near $2,700 and below the market around $2,650. US spot Ethereum ETFs drew $162.2 million in net inflows on Sep. 22. Ethereum price $2,800 breakout runs out of steam The daily chart showed ETH price near $2,675 at 15:07 UTC on Sep. 23. It had opened around $2,754, reached approximately $2,789, and fallen as low as $2,648. The decline stood at 2.84% for the session when the chart was captured.
The reversal followed a rally from around $2,400 in mid-September. ETH moved through the former $2,550 resistance area and approached $2,800 before turning lower. The daily chart marks a nearby level at $2,809.68, which remains above the latest high.
The 4-hour chart shows how quickly the sell-off developed. A candle with a high near $2,730 dropped to roughly $2,648, taking ETH below its 20-period simple moving average at $2,709.81. The loss of that short-term average leaves $2,700 as the first level buyers would need to regain.
Ethereum price 4-hour chart — Sep. 23 | Source: crypto.news ETH was still above the 4-hour 50-, 100- and 200-period moving averages at $2,586.27, $2,540.4,9 and $2,499.93, respectively. The gap between the current price and those averages shows how far the rally had carried ETH before the latest retreat.
ETF inflows continue as ETH pulls back The rejection near $2,800 came after a steep advance, making the recent gains a possible source of selling pressure. Price action alone, however, does not establish whether profit-taking, new short positions, or another factor drove the decline.
US spot Ethereum ETF data show that fund demand had strengthened ahead of the reversal. Farside Investors recorded $270 million in net inflows on Sep. 21 and another $162.2 million on Sep. 22. The two sessions brought in a combined $432.2 million.
The next flow report will show whether US ETF investors continued buying as ETH retreated from $2,800. Fund flows and exchange trading measure different activity, so the prior inflows do not settle whether buyers will defend the current price area.
US interest rates also remain part of the market backdrop. The Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00% on Sep. 16. The decision preceded ETH’s latest rally and pullback; the price charts do not establish a direct link between the rate decision and the Sep. 23 reversal.
A break below $2,648 could expose lower liquidity bands The day’s low near $2,648 is ETH’s nearest observed downside level. A move below it would put the lower bands on CoinGlass’s three-day liquidation heatmap in focus, including areas around $2,650 and $2,630.
Ethereum liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass The heatmap also shows a concentration near $2,700, close to the level ETH lost during the decline. Liquidation bands mark prices where leveraged positions may face pressure if reached. They can change as traders open and close positions, and they do not guarantee that price will move toward them.
For a recovery, ETH would first need to regain $2,700 and its 7-hour 20-period average near $2,710. The next tests would be the recent $2,789 high and the daily chart’s marked level near $2,810. Holding above those levels would provide stronger evidence that buyers had overcome the rejection near $2,800.
Daily momentum readings still reflect the earlier rise. MACD stood above its signal line, at 96.80 versus 83.87, and its histogram remained positive at 12.94. Aroon Up was 85.71%, compared with Aroon Down at 42.86%. The latest daily decline shows that those broader readings have yet to produce a sustained move above $2,800.
Ethereum price daily chart — Sep. 23 | Source: crypto.news Trader points to $2,550, but nearer levels come first Crypto trader Ted Pillows identified $2,550 as ETH’s largest liquidity cluster and said the token could revisit that level before another move higher. His forecast puts a deeper pullback in view, beyond the nearer bands around $2,650 and $2,630.
The $2,550 area sits close to ETH’s 4-hour 100-period moving average at $2,540.49 and the daily chart’s 0.786 retracement level at $2,531.99. Those nearby readings make the area one to watch if the sell-off extends, though ETH would first have to fall through the Sep. 23 low.
For now, $2,648 and $2,710 frame the immediate setup. Holding above the low would keep a short-term recovery possible; reclaiming the moving average would put the recent high back in view. A break below $2,648 would shift attention to the lower liquidation bands and, if selling continued, the $2,532–$2,550 area.
Bitcoin has dropped to $84,242.05, down 2.1% over 24 hours, as the broader crypto market shed value alongside a sharp selloff across stocks and precious metals. The total crypto market cap sits at $3.01 trillion, roughly flat over the past day despite the intraday drop, with Ethereum at $2,658.60 and XRP at $1.51.
What Triggered The Selloff
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly today, saying Iran “will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” while insisting the country remains open to dialogue “without accepting the language of force.” He also pushed back on accusations of terrorism, saying, “We just defended ourselves. We are not terrorists.”
The US delegation reportedly walked out during his address after Pezeshkian accused the United States of violence against civilians. Markets began falling almost immediately after the speech, as traders started pricing in the possibility of a prolonged US-Iran conflict, a scenario that would likely push oil prices higher and add fresh pressure on inflation.
The Scale Of The Damage
According to Bull Theory, close to $1 trillion was wiped out across US stocks, metals, and crypto within a single hour. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, erasing $414 billion in value. Gold dropped 0.8%, losing $242 billion. Silver fell 1.5%, wiping out $55 billion. The Nasdaq dropped 1.1%, losing roughly $149 billion. Bitcoin’s share of the damage came to about $40 billion.
What It Means Going Forward
Despite today’s pullback, XRP remains up nearly 20% over the past week, and Bitcoin is still up close to 12% over the same period, suggesting today’s drop is a reaction to fresh geopolitical uncertainty rather than a reversal of the broader rally. How markets move from here will likely depend on whether tensions between the US and Iran escalate further or ease in the coming days.
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.
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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) all pulled back Wednesday as traders braced for Friday’s $18 billion options expiry, the largest of 2026.
What the Options Expiry MeansDeribit CEO Luuk Strijers told CoinDesk that roughly $15.9 billion in Bitcoin options and $2.1 billion in Ethereum options expire Friday at 8:00 UTC, wiping out 37% of Deribit’s entire outstanding BTC open interest in one shot.
Positioning skews heavily bullish, with a put/call ratio of 0.69, meaning the book was built for higher prices.
Maximum pain for Bitcoin sits at $75,000, well below the current spot price near $85,500. Deribit calls that level a “soft magnet for price into expiry,” the point where option sellers benefit most if spot drifts there by settlement.
About a third of the entire book already sits in the money.
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Jean-David Péquignot added that open interest concentrates around the $85,000 to $100,000 call strikes, while defensive puts anchor lower at $60,000, $70,000, and $75,000, creating a multi-layered support floor beneath the market.
Why Friday Could Bring Extra VolatilityStrijers explained that dealer hedging helped fuel Bitcoin’s recent run from $80,000 to $87,000, since dealers short calls have to buy spot as prices rise to stay hedged.
Once Friday’s settlement clears that flow, the pinning effect fades, volatility can pick back up, and the trading range resets.
Why Ethereum Is Quietly OutperformingWidely-followed crypto analyst Crypto Tice posted on X that Ethereum has rallied 75% over three months, climbing from $1,510 to $2,650 and clearing April’s highs while Bitcoin still struggles above its May high.
He pointed to ETH accumulation on Binance hitting a three-year high, with monthly withdrawal transactions reaching 90,000, double the level from the start of the year.
“Investors are not trading ETH right now,” Tice wrote. “They are buying it and moving it into cold storage immediately,” he added.
Key Technical Levels for BTC, ETH and XRPRead Next
While the question of whether the rise in Ethereum (ETH) price will continue is debated, Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and Chairman of the Board of BitMine, made noteworthy statements about the market’s largest altcoin. Lee believes that Ethereum could reach its all-time high and surpass $5,000 before the end of 2026.
In his interview, Lee stated that Ethereum has consolidated within a wide price range for approximately five years, and claimed that opportunities for ETH in the coming period have become much stronger compared to the past. According to Lee, the fact that financial institutions are beginning to evaluate blockchain infrastructures is what makes Ethereum stand out. Ethereum’s long history of operation, high security, wide use case, and liquidity offer significant advantages for institutional players.
Lee, recalling that Ethereum rose approximately 17-fold from the 2018 bear market until 2021, argued that a similar surge on a larger scale is possible in the long term. He stated that Ethereum could potentially surpass its previous peak of around $5,000 by 10 to 12 times, suggesting a scenario that could propel the ETH price back to around $60,000 within the next few years. However, Lee emphasized that the $60,000 level is not a short-term or 12-month price target.
“Ethereum Could Reach New Highs This Year” Speaking more concretely about the short term, Lee stated that the previous all-time high might create psychological resistance, but he doesn’t expect it to halt Ethereum’s rise.
Lee answered “absolutely” to the question of whether Ethereum could reach an all-time high this year, stating that the $3,000 level is reasonable in the short term, and that prices significantly above $5,000 could follow. Lee also believes that the current cryptocurrency bull market could be permanent and that the sector is still in the early stages of its uptrend cycle.
Lee also noted Ethereum’s recent rise from $1,500 to $2,800, arguing that this movement received surprisingly little attention in the market. According to Lee, some large market players faced significant losses because they took positions against the rise. He believes this indicates that investor positioning in the market has not yet fully reflected Ethereum’s price performance.
Lee’s optimism about Ethereum isn’t solely based on the price chart. The renowned analyst believes that tokenization is one of the most important developments that could move the traditional finance sector to a blockchain infrastructure.
According to Lee, the tokenization of stocks and other financial assets will not only enable markets to trade 24/7. Blockchain technology could also facilitate the creation of new financial products, the use of assets as collateral, and the elimination of numerous intermediaries in existing financial transactions. Lee noted that today, a credit card transaction goes through many different intermediaries and regulatory functions, whereas a significant portion of these could be executed through smart contracts on a single blockchain.
Lee also considers Wall Street’s increasing interest in stablecoin and tokenization technologies a significant development, stating that financial companies can create new revenue streams by digitizing assets. According to him, for companies to adopt blockchain technology on a large scale, the technology needs to offer a significant advantage over existing systems in terms of operational efficiency, revenue generation, or customer experience.
Lee also believes that Robinhood’s choice of Ethereum for its blockchain infrastructure is a significant indicator of the network’s potential for enterprise use. According to Lee, Ethereum’s high security and liquidity played a key role in this choice, and the network’s story is evolving from simply a blockchain generating revenue from transaction fees to a progressively more powerful “store of value” narrative.
Lee: “AI Can Also Support Ethereum and Crypto Demand” Another long-term catalyst highlighted by Lee was artificial intelligence. Lee stated that AI agents will conduct economic transactions with each other in the future, and he believes that blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure could play a significant role, especially in small-amount, high-frequency payments.
According to Lee, machine-to-machine micro-payments via cryptocurrencies could be more economical than traditional payment systems. Therefore, the growth of the AI economy could further expand the use of blockchain infrastructures.
*This is not investment advice.
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11 U.S. Democratic senators urge Senate Banking Committee to hold a hearing on prediction markets
11 Democratic senators on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee are urging committee chair Tim Scott to hold a hearing on prediction markets, following the panel’s plan to host a Republican-only roundtable on the topic next week. The roundtable will focus on securities-based prediction markets, with a representative from Kalshi expected to attend. Currently, primary regulatory authority over prediction markets falls to the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); the Banking Committee’s planned discussion is seen as a further move by the panel to engage with the prediction market issue.
4 hours ago
Bitcoin breaks through $80,000, backed by institutional funds; analysts hold divergent views on the sustainability of this rally.
Bitcoin recently broke through $80,000 and hit a high of $87,300. Analysts note the current rally is backed by strong inflows from institutional capital and spot Bitcoin ETFs, but metrics including trading volume, market breadth, and derivatives positions have sparked debate over whether the uptrend can sustain. K33 points out that Bitcoin’s recent pullback in both magnitude and duration is significantly smaller than those during major bear markets in 2013, 2017, and 2021, suggesting the current cycle’s low may have already been established. The firm also adds that Bitcoin still has catch-up potential relative to gold and U.S. equities. 21Shares attributes the crypto market’s regulatory tailwinds to the U.S. SEC’s “innovation exemption” and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) advancing relevant rulemaking. K33 further notes that fading uncertainties—such as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and the vote on the CLARITY Act—also helped drive the market’s breakout. However, Nexo takes a cautious stance, highlighting that recent declines in trading volume, narrowing rally breadth, and rising derivatives leverage could expose Bitcoin to risks of profit-taking or a temporary correction. Capital.com’s analysts identify the $87,000–$88,000 range as the near-term resistance zone; a breakout would target $90,000 next, while key support levels to watch are $84,000–$85,000 and $80,000. Fundstrat founder Tom Lee claims the crypto bull market has already begun, citing drivers including the reflow of AI capital back into crypto markets, improved crypto fundamentals such as tokenization and AI integration, and the end of Bitcoin’s four-year cycle.
4 hours ago
US SEC Commissioner Uyeda: Dropping some crypto lawsuits to avoid harming the regulator’s credibility
US SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda stated that the agency has dropped several cryptocurrency cases inherited from the previous administration. The reason is that continuing to defend legal interpretations set to be overturned in court could harm the SEC’s credibility. Uyeda noted that as the SEC prepares to make a "180-degree shift" in its relevant legal interpretations, he does not want the agency’s litigation attorneys to keep defending its prior stance in court. He added that sticking to positions ultimately set to be overturned would "damage the SEC’s reputation". Furthermore, Uyeda referred to the SEC’s "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities as a "pilot program", arguing that this mechanism could create "significant potential opportunities" for new market entrants and traditional financial institutions.
4 hours ago
Visa Survey: Americans’ Willingness to Use Stablecoins Rises to 56% With Bank-Level Guarantees
Visa’s “Money Travels 2026” report reveals that if stablecoins offer bank-equivalent fraud protection and deposit insurance, U.S. consumers’ willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers will climb from 36% to 56%. The survey identifies stablecoin awareness as a major barrier: 56% of U.S. respondents said they have never heard of stablecoins. When stablecoins are offered by existing financial service providers, that willingness rises to 45%; 61% of respondents said they would trust traditional banks to provide digital currency services, while 60% would trust global payment networks. Visa notes that stablecoins currently do not carry FDIC deposit insurance, adding that the data is based solely on hypothetical scenarios and does not mean such protections are imminent. Conducted by Morning Consult between February 24 and March 2, the survey covered 45,445 people across 20 markets, including 2,192 U.S. adults. In Latin America, willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers jumps from 34% to 74% when the relevant protections are in place.
4 hours ago
Crypto exchange Coinbase has been stripped of its membership by UK Finance, the UK's financial industry lobbying group.
Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the board of UK Finance recently sent a letter to Coinbase, stating that after reviewing its membership framework, the crypto exchange failed to meet the organization’s membership standards, leading to the decision to terminate Coinbase’s membership. Coinbase still retains the right to appeal this ruling. UK Finance represents around 300 financial institutions, including major UK and international banks, market infrastructure firms, and payment providers. Both Coinbase and UK Finance declined to comment. In recent years, the crypto industry’s influence in policy discussions has continued to rise, though it has faced disagreements with traditional financial institutions over issues such as stablecoin yields and banking services. The revocation of Coinbase’s membership comes at a time when discussions between the UK crypto sector and traditional financial institutions on topics like banking service access are heating up.
4 hours ago
WSJ: Two senior executives from Anthropic invest in a biosecurity startup backed by Peter Thiel
Beating AI News Brief: According to a WSJ report, two senior executives from Anthropic have invested in a Peter Thiel-backed startup developing hardware capable of detecting airborne viruses. The report notes that the project focuses on biosecurity, aiming to address potential biosecurity risks stemming from the rapid advancement of AI technology. The hardware can detect airborne viruses to help identify potential biological threats at an earlier stage. This investment also reflects that the AI industry’s attention to AI-related biosecurity risks is expanding from model security to real-world protective infrastructure.
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.
The Bitcoin Trophy Bid "How the fuck is ZEC pumping so much?"
"Where is this infinite bid coming from?"
"How does an asset go from $200M to $26B without being manipulated?"
Every once in a while in crypto, a single asset wins the "Bitcoin Bid" trophy.
Bitcoiners famously hold their BTC close to their chest. The strength of the Bitcoin community and its narratives have created an extremely strong Schelling point around "BTC and BTC only," and it’s worked. The effect is currently measured at $1.7T.
That line almost never breaks. Bitcoiners who defect to another asset are shamed, ridiculed, and ostracized. There is one rule in Bitcoin: no shitcoins. The second rule is that everything other than Bitcoin is a shitcoin.
But alas, Bitcoiners are human too. They aren't immune to temptation, envy, or greed. Bitcoiner in the streets, shitcoiner in the sheets.
Usually Bitcoiners defect one at a time, and no one notices or cares. But once in a while, enough of them defect toward the same asset that defection becomes contagious.
This happened to ETH in 2021. It explains why ETH re-rated so violently, from $12B at the bottom to $554B at the top.
Listen to this absolute banger from Su Zhu in October 2021:
— (@)
"It's at this point now, that I know people who have flown around the world to move their Bitcoin in cold storage to buy Ether
If your brand is a Twitter Bitcoin Maximalist, you can't capitulate in public because you'll lose followers, but I'm sure a lot of these people own a lot of ETH in private, actually"
- Su Zhu, Oct 2021
2026 ZEC Is 2021 ETH ZEC has created a sufficiently capable schelling point for the Bitcoin Bid. There's $1.7T of BTC out there, and it only takes a very small amount of Bitcoiners to agree that ZEC is valid, either on its own merits (privacy, quantum) or simply as a hedge for their BTC exposure.
So this is why ZEC is up only. A $26b market cap asset is still pennies compared to a $1.7t one, and ZEC will continue to be up only so long as it convinces just a small percentage of Bitcoiners that they should hold just a little bit of ZEC, "just in case" — the same words Bitcoiners use to try and convince the rest of the world that it should own BTC... "just in case."
It doesn't matter how much ZEC is up in dollars. What matters is the relative size of ZEC to BTC, because its BTC wealth that is driving the bid behind ZEC.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but there are very few capital allocators out there who skipped over BTC, ETH and all the other crypto assets, and are bidding ZEC on its merits alone.
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NEAR Is the New Smart Contract Schelling Point I believe a similar phenomenon is happening with NEAR.
I think NEAR has won the "smart contract bid" trophy of 2026.
— (@)
The smart contract bid NEAR is wrestling for is obviously weaker than the Bitcoin Bid ZEC is grappling with. In crypto, it has always been store of value first and smart contract chain second.
ETH's grip on the smart contract trophy has also always been weaker than BTC's grip on the SoV trophy. SOL threatened ETH more than anything has ever threatened BTC. And Ethereum has always had a looser, more tolerant, more pluralist culture than Bitcoin's maximalists allow.
So NEAR is likely drawing its bid from a more diffuse group of market participants than ZEC draws from Bitcoiners. But nonetheless, the effect is the same.
Fewer people want to buy the large blue chips, simply because the returns aren't there. Both also carry too much tech debt and look technologically behind in 2026.
The Blue Chip Curse Unfortunately, this dynamic leaves the crypto industry with a problem: someone still needs to buy the blue chips.
Bitcoin needs to evolve beyond a volatile digital currency into a full-fledged gold alternative. Lately it doesn't look like BTC has been filling that role, and for all its shortcomings, gold is still gold.
And who's going to buy ETH after Tom Lee? I still don't see the evidence or narrative that would re-rate it 10x.
How does our industry progress if #1 and #2 don't 10x from here? It will progress, certainly. Hyperliquid, Venice, Lighter, Ethena, and Morpho have all brought incredible innovation. But unless total crypto market cap goes from $3T to $30T, the value these startups create will likely be captured outside crypto rather than by our native blue chips.
Robinhood, Coinbase, Apollo, and traditional brokerages look far better positioned than BTC and ETH to capture the upside from this latest cohort. It's debatable whether BTC and ETH capture any meaningful value from them at all.
If this dynamic remains, we may always get new winners, but the total aggregate size of the industry will remain more niche than the aspirations we once had.
Hopefully I am just impatient, and the total crypto market cap does truly break $10t this cycle!
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.
11 U.S. Democratic senators urge Senate Banking Committee to hold a hearing on prediction markets
11 Democratic senators on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee are urging committee chair Tim Scott to hold a hearing on prediction markets, following the panel’s plan to host a Republican-only roundtable on the topic next week. The roundtable will focus on securities-based prediction markets, with a representative from Kalshi expected to attend. Currently, primary regulatory authority over prediction markets falls to the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); the Banking Committee’s planned discussion is seen as a further move by the panel to engage with the prediction market issue.
3 hours ago
Bitcoin breaks through $80,000, backed by institutional funds; analysts hold divergent views on the sustainability of this rally.
Bitcoin recently broke through $80,000 and hit a high of $87,300. Analysts note the current rally is backed by strong inflows from institutional capital and spot Bitcoin ETFs, but metrics including trading volume, market breadth, and derivatives positions have sparked debate over whether the uptrend can sustain. K33 points out that Bitcoin’s recent pullback in both magnitude and duration is significantly smaller than those during major bear markets in 2013, 2017, and 2021, suggesting the current cycle’s low may have already been established. The firm also adds that Bitcoin still has catch-up potential relative to gold and U.S. equities. 21Shares attributes the crypto market’s regulatory tailwinds to the U.S. SEC’s “innovation exemption” and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) advancing relevant rulemaking. K33 further notes that fading uncertainties—such as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and the vote on the CLARITY Act—also helped drive the market’s breakout. However, Nexo takes a cautious stance, highlighting that recent declines in trading volume, narrowing rally breadth, and rising derivatives leverage could expose Bitcoin to risks of profit-taking or a temporary correction. Capital.com’s analysts identify the $87,000–$88,000 range as the near-term resistance zone; a breakout would target $90,000 next, while key support levels to watch are $84,000–$85,000 and $80,000. Fundstrat founder Tom Lee claims the crypto bull market has already begun, citing drivers including the reflow of AI capital back into crypto markets, improved crypto fundamentals such as tokenization and AI integration, and the end of Bitcoin’s four-year cycle.
3 hours ago
US SEC Commissioner Uyeda: Dropping some crypto lawsuits to avoid harming the regulator’s credibility
US SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda stated that the agency has dropped several cryptocurrency cases inherited from the previous administration. The reason is that continuing to defend legal interpretations set to be overturned in court could harm the SEC’s credibility. Uyeda noted that as the SEC prepares to make a "180-degree shift" in its relevant legal interpretations, he does not want the agency’s litigation attorneys to keep defending its prior stance in court. He added that sticking to positions ultimately set to be overturned would "damage the SEC’s reputation". Furthermore, Uyeda referred to the SEC’s "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities as a "pilot program", arguing that this mechanism could create "significant potential opportunities" for new market entrants and traditional financial institutions.
3 hours ago
Visa Survey: Americans’ Willingness to Use Stablecoins Rises to 56% With Bank-Level Guarantees
Visa’s “Money Travels 2026” report reveals that if stablecoins offer bank-equivalent fraud protection and deposit insurance, U.S. consumers’ willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers will climb from 36% to 56%. The survey identifies stablecoin awareness as a major barrier: 56% of U.S. respondents said they have never heard of stablecoins. When stablecoins are offered by existing financial service providers, that willingness rises to 45%; 61% of respondents said they would trust traditional banks to provide digital currency services, while 60% would trust global payment networks. Visa notes that stablecoins currently do not carry FDIC deposit insurance, adding that the data is based solely on hypothetical scenarios and does not mean such protections are imminent. Conducted by Morning Consult between February 24 and March 2, the survey covered 45,445 people across 20 markets, including 2,192 U.S. adults. In Latin America, willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers jumps from 34% to 74% when the relevant protections are in place.
3 hours ago
Crypto exchange Coinbase has been stripped of its membership by UK Finance, the UK's financial industry lobbying group.
Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the board of UK Finance recently sent a letter to Coinbase, stating that after reviewing its membership framework, the crypto exchange failed to meet the organization’s membership standards, leading to the decision to terminate Coinbase’s membership. Coinbase still retains the right to appeal this ruling. UK Finance represents around 300 financial institutions, including major UK and international banks, market infrastructure firms, and payment providers. Both Coinbase and UK Finance declined to comment. In recent years, the crypto industry’s influence in policy discussions has continued to rise, though it has faced disagreements with traditional financial institutions over issues such as stablecoin yields and banking services. The revocation of Coinbase’s membership comes at a time when discussions between the UK crypto sector and traditional financial institutions on topics like banking service access are heating up.
3 hours ago
WSJ: Two senior executives from Anthropic invest in a biosecurity startup backed by Peter Thiel
Beating AI News Brief: According to a WSJ report, two senior executives from Anthropic have invested in a Peter Thiel-backed startup developing hardware capable of detecting airborne viruses. The report notes that the project focuses on biosecurity, aiming to address potential biosecurity risks stemming from the rapid advancement of AI technology. The hardware can detect airborne viruses to help identify potential biological threats at an earlier stage. This investment also reflects that the AI industry’s attention to AI-related biosecurity risks is expanding from model security to real-world protective infrastructure.
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.
