Morning Report | Tether seeks to raise up to $20 billion at a valuation of $500 billion; U.S. CFTC launches tokenized collateral program
Overview of Important Market Events on September 23rd整理：Zhou，ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Tether seeks to raise up to $20 billion at a $500 billion valuation
- U.S. CFTC launches tokenized collateral program, allowing derivatives trading with stablecoins
- Blockchain startup Raiku completes $13.5 million funding round, led by Pantera Capital
- Probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Fed in October reaches 93%
- BlackRock earns $260 million annually from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
- Data: Bitcoin short-term holders panic selling, key support levels under pressure
- UXLINK hacker suspected of "black eat black," 542 million tokens stolen by phishing gang
What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?
U.S. CFTC launches tokenized collateral program, allowing derivatives trading with stablecoins
According to ChainCatcher, Caroline D. Pham, acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced the launch of a "tokenized collateral" program, allowing derivatives traders to use stablecoins and other non-cash assets as collateral to enhance market efficiency and transparency.
This initiative continues a pilot project this year in collaboration with Circle, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Ripple, and Moonpay, and invites industry feedback by October 20. This move is seen as an important step for the CFTC in advancing capital market modernization and clarifying crypto regulation.
Tether seeks to raise up to $20 billion at a $500 billion valuation
According to ChainCatcher, Tether Holdings, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, is negotiating with investors to raise up to $20 billion, a deal that could elevate the cryptocurrency company to one of the most valuable private companies globally.
Tether aims to raise $15 billion to $20 billion through a private placement, representing about 3% of the company’s shares. Negotiations are still in the early stages. Based on the offered share percentage, this deal could value Tether at around $500 billion, placing it alongside OpenAI and SpaceX. Its closest competitor, Circle, had a market capitalization of about $30 billion on Tuesday afternoon. Tether is at the forefront of stablecoins, with its USDT token pegged to the dollar, having a market cap of $172 billion, making it the largest stablecoin, while Circle's second-largest stablecoin, USDC, has a market cap of about $74 billion.
FTX Trust sues Bitcoin mining company Genesis Digital, seeking to recover $1.5 billion
According to ChainCatcher, the FTX restructuring trust has filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin mining company Genesis Digital Assets in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Delaware, accusing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of investing $1.15 billion in the company through Alameda using commingled and misappropriated funds, calling it "one of its most reckless investments." The lawsuit seeks to recover $1.5 billion.
The FTX restructuring trust stated that Genesis Digital, located in Kazakhstan, is severely overvalued, and the unaudited financial statements provided "do not reflect reality," as the locality was facing power shortages, new taxes, and energy restrictions at the time. A spokesperson for Genesis Digital declined to comment.
Blockchain startup Raiku completes $13.5 million funding round, led by Pantera Capital
According to ChainCatcher, blockchain startup Raiku announced the completion of a $13.5 million seed and pre-seed funding round, with the seed round led by Pantera Capital and participation from Jump Crypto, Lightspeed Faction, among others. The pre-seed round was led by Figment Capital and Big Brain Holdings, with Reciprocal Ventures and Anagram participating.
Probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Fed in October reaches 93%
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Jin10, CME's "FedWatch" shows that the probability of the Fed maintaining interest rates in October is 7%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 93%. Additionally, the probability of the Fed maintaining rates in December is 1.3%, with a cumulative probability of a 25 basis point cut at 22.5% and a cumulative probability of a 50 basis point cut at 76.2%.
Powell: We are in an economy of "low employment, low layoffs"
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Jin10, Fed Chair Powell stated that we are in an economy of "low employment, low layoffs."
According to ChainCatcher, Falcon Finance announced on social media that the public sale contribution window has officially closed, raising over $112 million on Buidlpad, oversubscribed 28 times, setting the highest record for oversubscription in Buidlpad's history.
Powell: Fed rates remain tight, room for rate cuts still exists
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Jin10, Fed Chair Powell stated that even after last week's rate cut, he still believes that the Fed's rate stance "remains slightly tight," indicating that if officials continue to judge that recent labor market weakness outweighs inflation setbacks, there is still more room for rate cuts this year. He emphasized that the Fed faces challenges in achieving stable low inflation and promoting a healthy labor market. Powell noted that cutting rates too much or too quickly could push inflation closer to 3% instead of the Fed's 2% target, while maintaining restrictive policies for too long could weaken the labor market.
Zhao Changpeng: Sign in YZi Labs' portfolio
According to ChainCatcher, Zhao Changpeng shared a tweet about "Sign launching a blockchain technology stack S.I.G.N. designed for sovereign nations," stating, "I might have helped a little bit with this. Of course, it was just a chat, no code was written. I made a few connections and introductions in several countries. Sign is one of the companies in YZiLabs' portfolio (minor shareholder)."
USDe to launch on Kraken, marking its first listing on a U.S. trading platform
According to ChainCatcher, Ethena Labs announced that USDe is set to launch on Kraken, marking its first listing on a U.S. trading platform.
BlackRock earns $260 million annually from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Cointelegraph, Leon Waidmann, research director at the nonprofit Onchain Foundation, shared data on Tuesday showing that BlackRock's Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have a total annualized income of $260 million, with the Bitcoin ETF contributing $218 million and the Ethereum product contributing $42 million.
U.S. SEC may introduce "innovation exemptions" for crypto companies by year-end
According to ChainCatcher, market sources indicate that the U.S. SEC plans to introduce "innovation exemptions" for crypto companies by the end of the year.
Data: Bitcoin short-term holders panic selling, key support levels under pressure
According to ChainCatcher, CryptoQuant analysis shows that the realized profit-to-loss ratio (STH SOPR) for Bitcoin short-term holders has sharply dropped below 1, indicating that short-term holders are realizing losses, which is a typical sign of panic selling in this group.
Short-term holders are not only facing unrealized losses but are also actively capitulating and selling. At a price of $113,000 per coin, this panic selling amounts to over $3.39 billion. However, Bitcoin prices are still fluctuating near the realized price for short-term holders (average on-chain cost), a historical price point that often serves as support during volatile phases.
Notably, whales are also showing signs of pressure, with new whales realizing losses of $184.6 million and old whales realizing losses of $26.3 million, both parties are de-risking, which is unfavorable for short-term trends. Additionally, the MVRV for short-term holders is approximately 1, indicating that the average position is at breakeven, but SOPR < 1 suggests that many are selling below cost, reflecting that recent high buyers in the rebound are panic selling.
According to ChainCatcher, UXLINK released an update on the migration of the UXLINK token contract: currently, unauthorized issuance of UXLINK tokens has occurred, which violates the UXLINK white paper and undermines community consensus. Communication has been made with major CEX partners regarding the planned token swap, and they have all expressed full support.
Matrixport: Low ETH trading volume may exacerbate liquidation risks
According to ChainCatcher, Matrixport stated that despite a favorable macro environment, Ethereum's current trading volume has significantly declined, potentially increasing liquidation risks.
Data shows that the open interest for ETH remains at $14.6 billion, while trading volume continues to be sluggish. Analysts warn that under the backdrop of rising U.S. Treasury yields following the Fed's FOMO meeting, market pressure is further intensifying. If prices fall below key technical support levels, it could trigger a chain reaction of stop-loss orders, leading to rapid deleveraging. Investors are advised to control risk exposure and maintain a cautious attitude.
UXLINK hacker suspected of "black eat black," 542 million tokens stolen by phishing gang
According to ChainCatcher, SlowMist founder Yu Xian tweeted that the hacker of the UXLINK project may have been targeted by the Inferno Drainer phishing gang. On-chain data shows that the hacker's address signed a malicious "increaseAllowance" authorization, resulting in approximately 542 million UXLINK being transferred to the phishing address.
According to ChainCatcher, glassnode released its latest view after the recent decline, indicating that the cost basis for short-term holders is typically seen as a critical line between bulls and bears, currently at $111,400. Sustained trading below this level may signal a shift in market structure towards a bearish outlook in the medium to long term.
Synthetix to launch Perp DEX on Ethereum mainnet
According to ChainCatcher, decentralized derivatives protocol Synthetix announced that it will soon launch a perpetual contract decentralized trading platform (Perp DEX) on the Ethereum mainnet. To conduct stress testing before the official launch, Synthetix will hold a trading competition, inviting top traders from the industry to participate. The ultimate champion will receive a $1 million prize.
CleanSpark secures $100 million Bitcoin staking credit
According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark announced that it has secured a $100 million Bitcoin staking credit line from Coinbase Prime.
CleanSpark stated that it will use this credit to expand energy assets, increase Bitcoin mining, and invest in high-performance computing (HPC) business. The company claims that this move will avoid the need to sell Bitcoin or issue new shares, achieving non-dilutive financing and enhancing shareholder value.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of September 24, 09:20,
The top five popular tokens in ETH over the past 24 hours are: USDe, sUSDe, ETHRING, COGNI, LINK
The top five popular tokens in Solana over the past 24 hours are: MetaMask, XPL, XPLK, MetaMask, XPL
The top five popular tokens in Base over the past 24 hours are: EURC, BSTER, GONNER, ZORA, AERO
What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?
UXLINK plummets over 70%, a comprehensive analysis of the event
On the evening of September 22, the Web3 social platform UXLINK encountered a severe security incident, where hackers used delegateCall to remove the original administrator of the project's multi-signature treasury and added a self-controlled address, subsequently gaining minting and management authority, transferring USDT, USDC, WBTC, ETH, and some UXLINK from wallets and authorized addresses controlled by the project, involving approximately $11.3 million in finance.
Subsequently, the hacker illegally minted UXLINK on Arbitrum (over 1 billion tokens) and began to sell off. According to on-chain tracking data, the hacker sold approximately 490 million UXLINK through six addresses in both decentralized and centralized scenarios, exchanging for 6,732 ETH, worth about $28.1 million at the time. Additionally, the hacker sold a large amount of UXLINK on various CEXs.
The combination of abnormal supply and concentrated selling triggered a rapid decline in UXLINK's price within hours, dropping from about $0.30 to the $0.07 to $0.10 range, a stage decline of 70% to 77%; its market cap fell from about $144 million to $37 million, with a 24-hour trading volume surging 2622.70% to $309 million.
Arthur Hayes' new article: Will the politicization of the Fed bring new market risks?
Buffalo Bill Bessent aims to promote the re-industrialization of America, attempting to slow down the inevitable decline of "American hegemony" from quasi-imperial to purely authoritarian nation-state, a plan that is not new. The wartime emergency allowed the Treasury to take over the Fed from 1942 to 1951. Part of Bessent's plan involves reshaping the yield curve, i.e., yield curve control. How does the shape of the yield curve during that period compare to today?
In the 2025 crypto market, stablecoins are becoming the true protagonists. As of August, the circulation of USDC has reached $65.2 billion, and the total market size of stablecoins has surpassed $280 billion, with an annual trading volume reaching $27.6 trillion, exceeding the combined total of Visa and Mastercard.
Against this backdrop, an arms race around stablecoin-specific blockchain infrastructure is fully underway. Unlike general-purpose public chains, these emerging "stablecoin public chains" are optimized for the issuance, payment, and settlement of stablecoins; they do not pursue the completeness of smart contracts but focus on making stablecoin transactions faster, cheaper, and more compliant. From fintech payment leader Stripe to stablecoin giants Tether and Circle, to various innovative projects like Codex, 1Money, and Converge, over ten teams are fiercely competing in this arena.
In the past year, the crypto industry has undergone significant changes.
In terms of regulation, Congress has made significant progress on clear rules for the "GENIUS Act"/stablecoins. The White House has established a digital asset market working group that has met with numerous industry participants and is working to provide them with clear guidance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a "crypto plan" aimed at making the U.S. the cryptocurrency capital by exploring how to tokenize a broader range of assets in financial markets.
Crypto builders have also made significant progress. There are now multiple large and liquid prediction markets (along with some upcoming new markets). The supply and usage of stablecoins have reached historic highs, with more people holding these assets than ever before. Many on-chain protocols have revenues reaching eight to nine figures. Some of these protocols also serve as developer platforms, boasting a strong startup ecosystem (these startups are also profitable). It can be said that now is the best time for crypto builders.
The total addressable market (TAM) for digital assets is now the largest in history and will be the smallest thereafter. This is especially true now. Here are some of the most anticipated entrepreneurial directions compiled by the original author.
Bitcoin confirms removal of OP_Return byte limit: Is Bitcoin facing on-chain governance rifts again?
Yesterday (22), the Bitcoin Core development team officially confirmed that it will remove the 80-byte limit on the OP_Return opcode in version 30.0. Bitcoin developer and advocate Jimmy Song strongly criticized Bitcoin Core for this move, calling it fundamentally a "fiat mentality."
OPReturn is a special output format in Bitcoin transactions that allows a small amount of data to be written to the blockchain, primarily used for storing small amounts of information on the Bitcoin blockchain without affecting its functionality. However, unlike regular transaction outputs, OPReturn outputs cannot be spent and do not add to the burden of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs).
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