{"id":3674,"date":"2025-09-20T13:43:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T13:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/20\/crypto-market-update-stablecoin-funding-hits-record-ethereum-sets-next-hard-fork-date\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T13:43:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T13:43:01","slug":"crypto-market-update-stablecoin-funding-hits-record-ethereum-sets-next-hard-fork-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/20\/crypto-market-update-stablecoin-funding-hits-record-ethereum-sets-next-hard-fork-date\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Market Update: Stablecoin Funding Hits Record, Ethereum Sets Next Hard Fork Date"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

<\/em>Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 19) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Bitcoin and Ethereum price update <\/h3>\n

Bitcoin (BTC) <\/strong>was priced at US$115,191, a 1.9 percent decrease in 24 hours, and its lowest valuation of the day, after an earlier price peak to US$116,450. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bitcoin price performance, September 19, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Chart via TradingView.<\/em><\/p>\n

The crypto market showed strength this week, bolstered by investor confidence after the US Federal Reserve\u2019s interest rate cut on Wednesday (September 17) and NVIDIA’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) US$5 billion investment in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) adoption of new generic listing standards for spot crypto exchange-traded products paves the way for faster approvals of products tracking digital assets. <\/p>\n

The REX-Osprey XRP ETF (NYSEAMERICAN:XRPR) and the REX-Osprey DOGE ETF (NYSEAMERICAN:DOJE) launched on Thursday (September 18) as the first implementations of this rule change. <\/p>\n

The funds saw US$37.7 million and US$17 million traded on the day, respectively.<\/p>\n

Ether (ETH)<\/strong> was trading at US$4,445.54, down by 3.2 percent to its lowest valuation on Friday. The cryptocurrency’s highest valuation was US$4,541.88.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Altcoin price update <\/h3>\n
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  • Solana (SOL)<\/strong> was priced at US$236.73, a decrease of 4.8 percent over the last 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$236.10, while its highest valuation was US$242.53. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    • XRP<\/strong> was trading for US$2.99, down by 3.8 percent in the past 24 hours, its lowest valuation of the day. Its highest was US$3.04. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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      • SUI (Sui)<\/strong> was valued at US$3.65, trading at its lowest valuation of the day and down by 7.6 percent over the past 24 hours. Its highest price point on Friday was US$3.75.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        • Cardano (ADA)<\/strong> was priced at US$0.8959, down by 3.6 percent over 24 hours. Its lowest value of the day was US$0.8933, while its highest value was US$0.9075. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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          ETF data & derivatives trends <\/h3>\n

          Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew record inflows this week, with around 20,685 BTC were added. The influx pushed US spot Bitcoin ETF holdings to around 1.32 million BTC worth US$150 billion. <\/p>\n

          BlackRock\u2019s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) led with US$1 billion in net buys, while Fidelity’s Advantage Bitcoin ETF (TSX:FBTC) topped US$843 million and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (BATS:ARKB) added US$182 million. <\/p>\n

          Meanwhile, US Ethereum ETFs saw outflows of US$62 million over the week. <\/p>\n

          Altcoin ETFs are also taking shape. In mid-September, the SEC approved the first US ETFs for XRP and Dogecoin. DOGE jumped by 20 percent upon its ETF debut. This altcoin ETF wave, now backed by giants like Grayscale and Franklin Templeton, is reshaping flows and legitimizing more speculative assets.<\/p>\n

          On the derivatives side, leverage is at a near-record level. <\/p>\n

          Bitcoin futures open interest surpassed US$220 billion in September. CryptoQuant notes clusters of orders just above and below the spot price, so any sharp swing, even a small break, could trigger \u201crecord liquidations.\u201d <\/p>\n

          Bitcoin liquidations have totaled approximately US$13.71 million over the past four hours, predominantly from long positions, indicating continued selling pressure in the market. <\/p>\n

          Ethereum liquidations reflected a similar trend, with about US$10.85 million liquidated in the same period, of which US$10.08 million were long positions, signaling sustained bearish momentum.<\/p>\n

          The perpetual funding rate for BTC was at 0.0064 percent, while the ETH funding rate stood at 0.001 percent, indicating a neutral or balanced market without strong bias toward bullish or bearish positioning.<\/p>\n

          Market indicators showed an RSI level of 41.03 as of 8:00 p.m. UTC, suggesting neutral conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

          \n

          Next week’s crypto news to watch <\/h3>\n

          Bitcoin has formed a rising wedge pattern over the past month, with a bearish divergence noted by on-chain analysts. Technically, Bitcoin appears to be in a mild consolidation after last week\u2019s surge. <\/p>\n

          CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler has observed that Bitcoin is trading just above its short-term holder realized price.<\/p>\n

          In equities, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and Nasdaq Composite (INDE XNASDAQ:.IXIC) hit record highs as crypto pulled back modestly on Friday, reflecting a temporary decoupling.<\/p>\n

          Key crypto catalysts to watch next week include potential announcements out of Korea\u2019s Blockchain Week, scheduled to run in Seoul from September 22 to 28. <\/p>\n

          Additionally, LayerZero (ZRO) is scheduled for a major token unlock on September 20 of approximately 25.7 million ZRO tokens, roughly 8.5 percent of the current circulating supply, valued at around US$52.5 million<\/p>\n

          Other significant upcoming unlocks include Optimism\u2019s 116 million OP tokens on September 21 and AltLayer\u2019s 3.7 million ALT token release on September 25. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          Today’s crypto news to know <\/h3>\n

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          Stablecoin startups post fundraising record<\/h4>\n

          Funding for stablecoin-related companies has surged to unprecedented levels this year, with 14 firms raising a combined US$537 million so far, according to DefiLlama data. That figure marks a sharp jump from the US$84 million raised across all of 2024, underscoring a wave of investor confidence in fiat-pegged digital assets.<\/p>\n

          The year\u2019s biggest deal came in July, when Hong Kong\u2019s OSL Group (HKEX:0863) secured US$300 million.<\/p>\n

          Analysts have linked the momentum to favorable regulatory shifts, including the GENIUS Act, signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump in July, which provided legal clarity for stablecoin issuers. <\/p>\n

          The sector\u2019s rapid rise is also visible in secondary markets. For instance, after its initial public offering in June, Circle (NYSE:CRCL) is now trading at four times its debut value.<\/p>\n

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          Watchdog flags Trump-linked crypto firm for token sales to sanctioned actors<\/h4>\n

          A watchdog group has accused World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture tied to US President Donald Trump, of allowing its tokens to flow into the hands of users connected with sanctioned entities. <\/p>\n

          According to Accountable.us, WLFI tokens ended up with wallets linked to North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group, Iran\u2019s Nobitex exchange, and Russian traders, despite long-standing US restrictions. <\/p>\n

          The report highlights one case on Jan. 20, 2025, when WLFI sold 600,000 tokens, worth roughly US$10,000, on Trump\u2019s inauguration day to a wallet later tied to Lazarus transactions. <\/p>\n

          Even after DeFi platforms flagged the account, the wallet continued operating until late August, receiving WLFI\u2019s branded USD1 stablecoin as part of an airdrop. Separate sales were traced back to Iran\u2019s Nobitex in October 2024, a platform that Chainalysis has previously identified as a hub for sanctions evasion. <\/p>\n

          The allegations raise questions over WLFI\u2019s compliance and could intensify regulatory pressure on the company. <\/p>\n

          Trump\u2019s team has not publicly responded to the claims.<\/p>\n

          Ethereum Foundation announces next hard fork details and timeline<\/h4>\n

          Ethereum\u2019s Fusaka hard fork is scheduled for mainnet launch on December 3, 2025, according to an announcement shared by Ethereum researcher Christine D. Kim. <\/p>\n

          The upgrade will include 11 to 12 Ethereum improvement proposals focused on scalability and network efficiency, particularly doubling blob capacity to enhance layer-2 transaction throughput.<\/p>\n

          Testing will occur on public testnets throughout October and November. A US$2 million audit competition is underway to ensure Fusaka\u2019s code security ahead of deployment.<\/p>\n

          The upgrade follows May\u2019s Pectra hard fork and sets the stage for subsequent improvements planned for 2026.<\/p>\n

          PayPal\u2019s US dollar stablecoin expands to nine blockchains<\/h4>\n

          PayPal Holdings’ (NASDAQ:PYPL) US dollar stablecoin, PYUSD, is expanding to nine new blockchains through a partnership with interoperability protocol LayerZero. <\/p>\n

          The move broadens the token\u2019s reach beyond its native issuance on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Stellar, making it accessible across networks like Avalanche, Aptos, Tron, and others. <\/p>\n

          As part of the rollout, LayerZero created a wrapped version called PYUSD0, which is fully interchangeable with the original token and operates within its Hydra Stargate system. <\/p>\n

          The expansion is designed to accelerate adoption and cement PYUSD\u2019s role as a dollar-backed instrument across the crypto ecosystem. Since launching in 2023 through issuer Paxos, PYUSD has grown steadily, with supply climbing from US$520 million at the start of the year to US$1.3 billion.<\/p>\n

          Kraken, Trust Wallet partner to expand xStocks access<\/h4>\n

          Kraken has partnered with Trust Wallet to expand access to xStocks, a tokenized equities product developed by Backed.<\/p>\n

          This collaboration, announced on Friday, brings 60 tokenized US equities to over 200 million Trust Wallet users worldwide, allowing them to trade these assets across multiple blockchains using a variety of local fiat currencies.<\/p>\n

          \u201cFor xStocks to achieve true mass adoption, seamless integration with the world\u2019s most popular self-custody wallets is vital. Bringing xStocks to Trust Wallet places open and interoperable tokenized equities directly into the hands of millions, alongside the crypto, stablecoins and DeFi assets they already use every day,\u201d said Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi.<\/p>\n

          In the coming weeks, the team said it will continue collaborating with partners to introduce xStocks to additional high-performance blockchains and leading consumer applications.<\/p>\n

          Canadian regulators called to crypto action<\/h4>\n

          In a speech on Thursday, the Bank of Canada\u2019s executive director of payments, Ron Morrow, said that Canada is behind other countries in developing rules for the use of stablecoins and should consider regulations for digital assets given the growing interest in them domestically and the US’ efforts to enable widespread adoption.<\/p>\n

          \u201cGovernments are moving to regulate stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies so consumers can reap their benefits and be protected from credit and liquidity risks. In fact, many jurisdictions worldwide either have, or will soon have, a regulatory framework for cryptoassets,\u201d Morrow said during a keynote speech at the ONE Conference in Ottawa. <\/p>\n

          He called on federal and provincial regulators to \u201cwork quickly and collaboratively to evolve our regulatory frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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          Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          <\/strong>Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

          This post appeared first on investingnews.com<\/div>\n

          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 19) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC. Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news. Bitcoin and Ethereum price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$115,191, a 1.9 percent decrease in 24 hours, and its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}