Morning News | The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 25 basis points; Tether's profit margin reaches 99%, with a profit of 13.7 billion dollars last year; Zhao Changpeng: has contacted about 50 potential DAT teams
Overview of Important Market Events on September 17整理：Zhou，ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Federal Reserve Dot Plot: Overall more accommodative, one official expects a 150 basis point rate cut this year
- Crypto exchange Bullish reports first quarterly profit after listing, net profit reaches $108.3 million
- BNB market cap surpasses $133 billion, continues to hit new highs, surpassing UBS, ranking 166th globally
- Zhao Changpeng: Has contacted about 50 potential DAT teams, will only support a few strong companies
- John Lee: Hong Kong is implementing a stablecoin issuer system to promote tokenized asset trading
- Tether CEO: Company profit margin reaches 99%, with a profit of $13.7 billion last year
- Binance is negotiating with the U.S. Department of Justice to potentially remove key oversight requirements from its $4.3 billion settlement agreement
What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?
According to ChainCatcher, DeFi Development Corp. (stock code DFDV) has purchased an additional 62,745 SOL, valued at approximately $14.6 million. The total amount of SOL held by the company has exceeded 2 million, valued at nearly $500 million. The company currently has about 25 million shares outstanding, which calculates its "per share SOL value" indicator to be approximately $19.44.
According to ChainCatcher, cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has released its first quarterly financial report after listing, achieving quarterly profitability ------ as of June 30, the company reported a net profit of $108.3 million (equivalent to $0.93 per share), a significant turnaround from a net loss of $116.4 million (equivalent to $1.03 per share) in the same period last year.
Powell: This rate cut is a risk management cut
According to ChainCatcher, the Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points in September, a move supported by most of the Fed officials appointed by Trump, with only new board member Milan opposing it, advocating for a 50 basis point cut. At a press conference, Fed Chairman Powell stated that Wednesday's rate cut was a risk management decision and added that he sees no need for rapid adjustments to interest rates.
According to ChainCatcher, the Federal Reserve's dot plot shows that among 19 officials, one believes there will be no rate cuts in 2025, six believe there should be a cumulative cut of 25 basis points, two believe there should be a cumulative cut of 50 basis points, and nine believe there should be a cumulative cut of 75 basis points. It is highly likely that the one official, Milan, expects a significant rate cut of 150 basis points in 2025, believing there will be at least two more significant cuts this year.
Defi Dev Corp increases its holdings by 62,745 SOL, total holdings reach 2.095 million
According to ChainCatcher, Nasdaq-listed DeFi Dev Corp (DFDV) announced an increase of 62,745 SOL, bringing its total SOL holdings to 2,095,748, valued at approximately $499 million as of September 16, 2025.
According to ChainCatcher, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, Lu Lei, revealed at the 14th China Payment and Clearing Forum that significant progress has been made in cross-border QR code payment interconnectivity, with Ant Group's Alipay and Ant International being among the first institutions to participate in the cross-border QR code unified gateway business pilot.
According to ChainCatcher, the U.S. Congress will hold a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve legislative advancement meeting on September 17. Several Republican lawmakers, including Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn, as well as industry representatives like MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, will attend the meeting.
The "BITCOIN Act" was reintroduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis in March this year, aiming to classify Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve asset on par with gold and requiring the U.S. government to acquire 1 million Bitcoins over the next five years.
Yunfeng Financial's wholly-owned subsidiary completes FOF fund investment share RWA tokenization
According to ChainCatcher, Yunfeng Financial Group announced that its blockchain technology team successfully tokenized the physical assets of FOF (fund of funds) shares invested by its wholly-owned subsidiary, issuing the first RWA project independently completed by Yunfeng Financial, further promoting the deep integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology.
Bullish obtains New York BitLicense, will expand into the U.S. market
According to ChainCatcher, the New York Department of Financial Services has issued a virtual currency business activity license to Bullish US Operations LLC, allowing it to provide spot trading and custody services to New York institutions and high-level traders.
According to ChainCatcher, in the federal funds futures market at the CME, a "mysterious trader" is currently hedging against a super-dovish surprise in this week's Federal Reserve decision.
Researcher Ed Bolingbroke found that there was the largest block trade in federal funds futures history at the front end of the curve on Monday, confirmed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on the X platform.
It is reported that both the price and timing of this block trade align with buyer characteristics, and given that the current swap market has fully digested the expectation of a 25 basis point rate cut, this move may indicate that the mysterious trader is hedging against the risk of a direct 50 basis point cut in Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision.
H100 Group increases its holdings by 21 BTC, total holdings rise to 1,046
According to ChainCatcher, H100 Group has increased its holdings by 21 Bitcoins at an average price of approximately 1,087,500 Swedish Krona per Bitcoin. The company now holds a total of 1,046 Bitcoins.
Binance Wallet collaborates with Aspecta to launch BuildKey TGE model
According to ChainCatcher, Binance Wallet has partnered with Aspecta to launch the BuildKey TGE model. Participants can deposit BNB to receive BuildKeys, which are certificates representing token allocations. BuildKeys can be traded in the bond curve liquidity pool or held until the TGE period to redeem tokens. The first project to adopt this new Aspecta BuildKey TGE model will be announced on September 18.
Forward Industries launches $4 billion ATM plan to support Solana treasury strategy
According to ChainCatcher, Forward Industries (FORD), the largest Solana treasury company, announced today that it has submitted a $4 billion ATM plan to the U.S. SEC to fund its Solana financial strategy.
The plan will be used for general corporate purposes, including continuing to execute Solana's strategy, purchasing income-generating assets, and other capital expenditures. Previously, Forward Industries completed a $1.65 billion PIPE private placement, led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital, and purchased over 6.8 million SOL, becoming the largest publicly traded Solana financial company globally.
Metaplanet plans to invest $1.25 billion to increase Bitcoin holdings
According to ChainCatcher, Metaplanet announced plans to invest $1.25 billion to increase its Bitcoin holdings by October and to invest $139 million in its Bitcoin revenue-generating department.
Binance completes Maker (MKR) token swap, increment, and brand upgrade to Sky (SKY)
According to ChainCatcher, Binance has completed the Maker (MKR) token swap, increment, and brand upgrade to Sky (SKY) on September 17, 2025, and has opened recharge and withdrawal services for the new SKY token. Binance opened spot trading for SKY/BTC, SKY/TRY, SKY/USDC, and SKY/USDT at 16:00 on the same day. Users can enable the new trading pairs through spot follow orders.
Economist: Japan's debt crisis risk may drive up demand for cryptocurrencies
According to ChainCatcher, economist Robin Brooks analyzed that Japan is facing a potential debt crisis, with its debt-to-GDP ratio reaching about 240%, further deteriorating due to rising inflation and government bond yields. However, a U.S. economic recession may provide Japan with a brief window of relief, lowering global bond yields and easing fiscal pressure.
Brooks pointed out that Japan is currently in a dilemma: maintaining low interest rates may lead to further depreciation of the yen and trigger uncontrollable inflation; allowing yields to rise further to stabilize the yen may jeopardize debt sustainability. This dilemma may prompt investors to turn to alternative financial instruments such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
John Lee: Hong Kong is implementing a stablecoin issuer system to promote tokenized asset trading
According to ChainCatcher, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated in his fourth policy address that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will promote commercial banks to launch tokenized deposits and facilitate real tokenized asset trading. John Lee pointed out that Hong Kong is implementing a stablecoin issuer system and formulating legislative proposals for licensing digital asset trading and custody services, while strengthening international tax cooperation to combat cross-border tax evasion.
Zhao Changpeng: Has contacted about 50 potential DAT teams, will only support a few strong companies
According to ChainCatcher, BNB treasury company B Strategy released a video of a conversation between its founder Leon Lu and Zhao Changpeng on the X platform. In the video, CZ stated that BNB is a utility token and a native coin on multiple blockchains. BNB is also one of the few tokens with many use cases on CEX, including trading discounts, yield generation, Launchpad, Launchpool, and Alpha. Additionally, it is used for payments in some countries.
Regarding the BNB digital asset treasury company (DAT), Zhao Changpeng stated that he has contacted about 50 potential DAT teams but cannot support all BNB DAT companies, only a few strong companies.
According to ChainCatcher, crypto KOL AB Kuai.Dong (@_FORAB) reported that Vitalik attended the Japanese developer conference. At the conference, Vitalik stated that Ethereum's short-term goal is to scale by increasing the Gas limit of Ethereum L1 while maintaining decentralization.
According to ChainCatcher, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan warned that while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simplifies the approval process for cryptocurrency ETPs, which may lead to a new wave of products, this does not guarantee their success.
Coinbase data breach suspect's phone contains information of over 10,000 customers
According to ChainCatcher, Wealth Magazine reported that a revised complaint submitted by the class action law firm Greenbaum Olbrantz on Tuesday shows that Ashita Mishra, the core suspect in the Coinbase data breach and a former employee of TaskUs, had over 10,000 sensitive customer information on his phone.
According to ChainCatcher, possibly influenced by CZ changing his social media profile information and Binance negotiating with the U.S. Department of Justice to remove key oversight requirements, BNB briefly surpassed $960. According to the latest data from Coingecko, the market cap of BNB has exceeded $133 billion, continuing to set historical highs. Additionally, according to 8 MarketCap data, the current market cap of BNB has surpassed UBS Group, ranking 166th globally.
According to ChainCatcher, Jia Yueting stated on social media that the signals released by the Federal Reserve's rate cut are more important than the rate cut itself. This means that the cash in investors' hands will continue to lose purchasing power. Therefore ------ allocating part of wealth to a basket of transparent, decentralized digital assets that can grow in sync with global technology and economy is no longer a speculative act. I would call it "smart financial planning." This is not financial advice; please do your own research.
According to ChainCatcher, Web3 smartphone manufacturer Nothing announced the completion of $200 million Series C financing at a $1.3 billion valuation. The company previously collaborated with Polygon to launch the blockchain phone Nothing Phone. This round of financing was led by Tiger Global, with other investors including GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, and existing investors Tapestry. The new round of financing brings Nothing's total funding to over $450 million.
According to ChainCatcher, after launching on Binance Alpha and Kraken, the stablecoin protocol STBL, co-founded by Tether co-founder Reeve Collins, disclosed its next project plans, including the introduction of a governance framework that allows token holders to directly participate in protocol formulation. The governance integration will enable the community to influence key decisions such as upgrades, parameters, and fund management.
According to ChainCatcher, YZi Labs announced on X that Alex Odagiu has been promoted from Investment Director to Investment Partner, covering token, equity, and strategic investments. Alex Odagiu previously served as a reviewer/mentor for the BNB Chain MVB program for ten consecutive seasons and participated in investments in Avalon and Aspecta; recently, he has been deeply involved in the EASY Residency project. Odagiu stated that he has witnessed half of YZi Labs' lifecycle and three rounds of the crypto cycle.
Tether CEO: Company profit margin reaches 99%, with a profit of $13.7 billion last year
According to ChainCatcher, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated on the X platform that "Tether's profit margin reaches 99%."
According to market news, Tether previously announced a new token USAT plan, led by Hines, in collaboration with Cantor Fitzgerald LP and others, aimed at providing instant settlement and reducing costs, specifically tailored for the U.S. market. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company's advantage lies in the distribution network established over the past 11 years, while competitors like Circle rely on revenue sharing with Coinbase and others to expand their business.
Ardoino stated that Tether does not need to rent distribution channels and has its own channels. Despite Circle's high-profile announcement of going public, Tether has no intention of following suit, as the company made a profit of $13.7 billion last year and does not need to raise funds, but plans to invest in business development through building new distribution channels, having already invested $5 billion in the U.S., including a $775 million investment in Rumble Inc.
According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reported that Binance is negotiating with the U.S. Department of Justice to potentially remove key oversight requirements from its $4.3 billion settlement agreement. Insiders revealed that federal prosecutors are discussing the requirement to maintain an external compliance monitor with Binance. Previously, Binance faced related charges for allegedly insufficient anti-money laundering measures. The Justice Department has previously canceled oversight arrangements for several companies due to their high costs and operational impact.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to data from the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of September 18, 09:00,
The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: PEPE, USDe, SΞR, USPEPE, UNI
The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: BARD, PUMP, TRUMP, CARDS, 67
The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: EURC, Polyfactual, HOPELESS, Freedom, R
What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?
Full text of the Federal Reserve decision: 25 basis point rate cut, two more cuts expected this year
On Thursday, September 18, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point rate cut, lowering the target range for the federal funds rate to 4%-4.25%, restarting the rate cut pace that had been paused since last December. Newly appointed Fed board member Milan cast a dissenting vote, supporting a 50 basis point cut.
The dot plot shows that among 19 officials, 9 expect two more rate cuts in 2025, two expect one cut, and six expect no further cuts.
On September 17, Binance announced the completion of the Maker (MKR) token swap, increment, and brand upgrade to Sky (SKY), and opened recharge and withdrawal services for the new SKY token. As of the time of publication, SKY is priced at 0.07414 USDT, with a circulating market cap of approximately $1.72 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of about $21.49 million.
According to public information, the migration from MKR to SKY will enter a delayed upgrade penalty process, with a 1% deduction starting from September 22 after governance confirmation, and an additional 1% deduction every three months thereafter. Currently, the completion rate of the MKR → SKY migration is approximately 78.2%, and DAI → DSDS is about 53.6%.
At this time of currency exchange, the market needs to reassess the narrative and future of DeFi giant Sky.
Tether co-founder re-employment, what exactly is STBL, the "second-generation stablecoin"?
Last night, after the announcement of STBL, which focuses on the concept of "second-generation stablecoin + Tether co-innovation project," the price surged, reaching as high as around $0.22, and at one point exceeding $0.3 in the afternoon, now having fallen back to around $0.17. Meanwhile, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has recently stated that "USDT has nearly 500 million total users, with an average daily trading volume of about $45 billion and an average of 17 million daily traders, with Tether's profit margin reaching 99%."
What exactly is SBTL? Is it related to the stablecoin public chain Stable launched by Tether? Is the identity of Tether co-founder credible? What is the background of STBL? Odaily Planet Daily will provide a detailed introduction and brief analysis of these questions in this article.
Rate cut is a foregone conclusion, three major uncertainties remain to be resolved
The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on Tuesday and Wednesday this week has been described by well-known financial commentator Nick Timiraos as one of the most "peculiar" meetings in the institution's history.
The market almost unanimously expects that after the two-day policy meeting, the Fed will announce its first rate cut in nine months on Wednesday. According to CME's FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25 basis point cut to the 4.25%-4.50% range is as high as 96%, almost a certainty.
Return to the throne, the revival of Pump.fun
In the crypto world, the lifecycle of projects is often as fleeting as a meteor, and falling from the peak to the abyss seems to happen in an instant.
In July 2025, Pump.fun, which was once the absolute leader of the Solana meme ecosystem, found itself on the brink of such a cliff, with token prices plummeting over 80%, entangled in legal disputes, and facing a siege from competitors, causing market confidence to nearly collapse.
However, just two months later, Pump.fun not only miraculously "revived" but also returned to the throne with an unprecedented strong posture. This was not a coincidence but a carefully planned, interconnected strategic counterattack.
Through nearly $100 million in aggressive buybacks, the Project Ascend that reshapes the creator economy, and a milestone breakthrough landing on Binance, Pump.fun staged a textbook-level self-rescue.
Data Insight: The status of local stablecoins in Southeast Asia in Q2 2025
Southeast Asia (SEA) has a total GDP of $3.8 trillion and a population of 671 million, making it the fifth-largest economy in the world, competing with other economies and having 440 million internet users, driving digital transformation.
Against this backdrop of economic vitality, non-USD stablecoins and digital currencies pegged to regional currencies or a basket of currencies provide transformative tools for Southeast Asia's financial ecosystem. By reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar, these stablecoins can enhance the efficiency of cross-border trade, stabilize transactions within the region, and promote financial inclusion between different economies.
This article explores why non-USD stablecoins are crucial for financial institutions in Southeast Asia and policymakers aiming to shape a resilient and integrated economic future.
Risk warning
Risk warning
