Morning News | South Korea's largest portal site Naver acquires Upbit operator; GAIN faces abnormal issuance and massive sell-off
Overview of Important Market Events on September 25整理：Zhou，ChainCatcher
Important News:
- GriffinAI Founder: GAIN Experienced Abnormal Issuance and Massive Sell-off Due to LayerZero Contract Forgery Attack
- South Korea's Largest Portal Naver Acquires Upbit Operator, Enters Stablecoin Market
- Deribit Q3 Options Settlement Nominal Value Will Reach $23 Billion, Setting a New Record
- If Tether's Valuation Reaches $500 Billion, Its Chairman May Become the Fifth Richest Person in the World
- Peter Schiff: ETH Has Officially Entered a Bear Market, Down 20% from August's All-Time High
What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours?
Bloomberg Analyst: Bitwise Has Submitted Hyperliquid ETF Application to the U.S. SEC
According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart posted on X platform that Bitwise has submitted a Hyperliquid ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) application to the U.S. SEC.
U.S. Regulators Investigate Insider Trading at Cryptocurrency Strategic Reserve Companies
ChainCatcher reports that, according to Jinshi, U.S. financial regulators have launched an investigation into abnormal trading patterns of companies attempting to purchase stocks as part of a core corporate strategy involving cryptocurrency. The SEC and FINRA have contacted over 200 companies that announced the adoption of cryptocurrency reserve strategies, focusing on unusual spikes in stock trading volume and sharp price increases days before announcements. Officials warned that companies may be violating the Fair Disclosure Rule, and lawyers indicated that such letters typically signal a deeper insider trading investigation.
ChainCatcher reports that the price of Aster platform's XPL perpetual contracts briefly surged to $4, currently reported at $1.37. In response, Aster stated that it has noticed abnormal price fluctuations in this trading pair, ensuring user funds are secure, and the team is conducting a comprehensive investigation while compensating affected users for their losses.
Andrew Kang: Has Bought a Large Amount of ETH Short Put Options
ChainCatcher reports that Mechanism Capital partner Andrew Kang tweeted that he has bought a large number of ETH short put options. Each contract cost $15, and if ETH drops to the $3000 range, he will gain $400-$1000.
ChainCatcher reports that according to GMGN data, the official Twitter of GIGGLE, a meme token associated with CZ's Giggle Academy, is suspected to have been hacked, with its market cap briefly dropping below $8 million, currently reported at $8.9 million.
CZ previously reiterated that Giggle Academy has not created any tokens and will not do so in the foreseeable future. The GIGGLE token is not an official token of Giggle Academy, but rather a meme token on the BSC chain, lacking official endorsement, and investors should exercise caution.
NFT Project Akio Completes $5 Million Seed Round Financing, Led by Pantera Capital
ChainCatcher reports that NFT project Akio has completed a $5 million seed round financing, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from AMD Ventures, NVentures, Hasbro Ventures, NetEase Ventures, SBI Holdings, Susquehanna Crypto, LD Capital, MZ Web3 Fund, and B Dash Ventures.
Solana Stablecoin Issuance Exceeds $30 Billion, Ecosystem TVL Surpasses $40 Billion
ChainCatcher reports that SolanaFloor posted on X platform that the issuance of RWA and stablecoins in the Solana ecosystem surged this week. The supply of Solana stablecoins has exceeded $30 billion, and the ecosystem's TVL has surpassed $40 billion.
Circle Issues 250 Million USDC on Solana Network
ChainCatcher reports that according to Onchain Lens monitoring, Circle has issued 250 million USDC on the Solana network. Since 2025, Circle has cumulatively issued 3.1 billion USDC on the Solana chain.
Traders Strongly Agree on Bearish Outlook for ETH, but Bullish on BTC
ChainCatcher reports that Greeks.Live macro researcher Adam stated that the community has reached a strong consensus on a bearish outlook for ETH, believing its upside potential above $4100 is limited, with a significant possibility of a sharp decline. Traders are actively selling ETH puts and calls, betting on continued weakness and range-bound trading. In contrast, bullish prospects for Bitcoin are emerging, with $115,000 seen as a trigger point for a significant rise.
ChainCatcher reports that according to market news, Nasdaq-listed company POP Culture plans to expand its Bitcoin treasury to 1000 BTC to support the establishment of a $100 million digital trend fund "Crypto Pop Fund." The company disclosed last week that it has spent $33 million to purchase 300 BTC.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF Adds Support for XRP, SOL, and XLM
ChainCatcher reports that Hashdex announced on X platform that its Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF (NCIQ) has been expanded to include support for XRP, SOL, and XLM, allowing U.S. investors to gain exposure to five crypto assets—BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and XLM—through a single investment vehicle.
ChainCatcher reports that according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), a whale/institution with the address 0x790…41023 has acquired 54,081,783.66 XPL tokens. This address previously staked 50 million USDC during the early stages of Plasma in June and added 2.7 million USDT two months ago.
ChainCatcher reports that according to Globenewswire, HyperionDeFi (Nasdaq: HYPD) announced today that it has purchased an additional 176,422 HYPE tokens, increasing its total holdings to 1,712,195 HYPE, with an average purchase price of $38.25 per token.
Peter Schiff: ETH Has Officially Entered a Bear Market, Down 20% from August's All-Time High
ChainCatcher reports that economist and cryptocurrency critic Peter Schiff posted on social media, stating, "Ethereum just dropped below $4000. Despite many Ethereum treasury companies buying in, ETH has now officially entered a bear market, down 20% from its all-time high. Bitcoin will be next."
Federal Reserve Governor Milan: Can Cut Rates by 50 Basis Points in the Short Term
ChainCatcher reports that according to Jinshi, Federal Reserve Governor Milan stated that if rates are not quickly lowered, the Fed will face risks of economic damage. He believes the current policy rate is between 4% and 4.25%, significantly above his estimate of the "neutral" level. Milan emphasized the importance of quickly adjusting rates and noted that under restrictive monetary policy, the economy is more susceptible to downward shocks. He believes a consecutive cut of 50 basis points can be made in the short term, followed by a reassessment of monetary policy.
SharpLink to Collaborate with Superstate to Issue Tokenized Stocks on Ethereum
ChainCatcher reports that SharpLink (SBET) announced on X platform that it will collaborate with Superstate to issue tokenized SBET stocks directly on the Ethereum blockchain. SharpLink will be the first publicly traded company to do so. Both parties will work together to promote the compliant trading of tokenized public equity on automated market makers (AMM) and other DeFi protocols in the future.
River Launches Yield Products on Base, Pushing On-chain Economy into a New Phase
ChainCatcher reports that River announced today the launch of Smart Vault and Prime Vault yield products based on its stablecoin on Base, filling the financial layer of the on-chain economy.
Base's mission is to "bring the world on-chain," while River aims to connect diverse assets and opportunities, allowing assets to flow freely and be activated through its stablecoin satUSD and one-click financial products for both retail and institutional investors. River is the first chain-abstract stablecoin system, currently with a cumulative TVL of $700 million and a satUSD circulation of $290 million, ranking 24th in DeFiLlama's stablecoin rankings, surpassing Resolv and BUSD supply. The official pointed out that the choice to launch on Base is not only a technical integration but also due to the alignment of visions: to create a usable, open, and real on-chain economy.
Deribit Q3 Options Settlement Nominal Value Will Reach $23 Billion, Setting a New Record
ChainCatcher reports that Deribit announced on X platform that this Friday will see its largest Q3 options settlement in history, with a total nominal value of approximately $23 billion.
The positions for this settlement are mainly concentrated in Bitcoin put options between $95,000 and $110,000, as well as Ethereum open contracts above $4000.
Stablecoin Payment Company RedotPay Completes $47 Million Financing, Led by Coinbase Ventures
ChainCatcher reports that stablecoin payment company RedotPay has completed a $47 million strategic financing round, surpassing a valuation of $1 billion, officially becoming a fintech unicorn. This round of financing was led by Coinbase Ventures, with continued support from Galaxy Ventures and Vertex Ventures, along with participation from an undisclosed global tech entrepreneur.
SharpLink: Has Made $500 Million in Unrealized Gains Since Launching Ethereum Reserve Strategy
ChainCatcher reports that SharpLink stated that since launching its Ethereum reserve strategy on June 2, 2025, it has accumulated $500 million in unrealized profits. This has been achieved not only through acquisitions but also by staking nearly 100% of its ETH.
Currently, SharpLink holds 838,728 ETH on its balance sheet, allowing it to continue generating daily income under strong financial conditions.
Tokenized Stocks on Ethereum Surge to $275 Million in Value
ChainCatcher reports that Messari posted on X platform that the value of tokenized stocks on Ethereum surged to $275 million in September.
Nine European Banks Plan to Jointly Launch MiCA-Compliant Euro Stablecoin
ChainCatcher reports that according to CoinDesk, nine European banks, including ING, Banca Sella, KBC, Danske Bank, DekaBank, UniCredit, SEB, CaixaBank, and Raiffeisen Bank International, have announced the establishment of a new company, planning to issue a MiCA-regulated euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026.
The company will apply for an electronic money institution license from the Dutch central bank, aiming to become the standard for digital payments in Europe and open up more banks for participation. The stablecoin will support low-cost, near-real-time cross-border payments and digital asset settlements.
ChainCatcher reports that Raoul Pal, co-founder and CEO of Real Vision, stated in the latest podcast released yesterday that Bitcoin is currently replicating the ISM (Institute for Supply Management Index, also known as the "Business Cycle"). The core idea is that Bitcoin is now following ISM, and interest rates are also moving in sync. From 2021 to 2022, the Treasury extended the weighted average maturity of its debt from 4 years to 5 years. Thus, the entire cycle has been artificially extended by a year—the original "four-year cycle" has become a "five-year cycle." The model shows that ISM will peak in 2026; liquidity is likely to peak earlier because the second derivative of ISM and liquidity (the rate of change) will turn first.
South Korea's Largest Portal Naver Acquires Upbit Operator, Enters Stablecoin Market
ChainCatcher reports that according to local media Chosun, Naver's financial subsidiary is in the process of a comprehensive equity exchange with Dunamu, the operator of the virtual asset exchange Upbit.
This collaboration will integrate Naver's payment business, which has an annual transaction volume of 80 trillion won, with the advantages of Upbit, the world's fourth-largest virtual asset exchange, to jointly develop a Korean won stablecoin business and plan to expand into overseas markets.
Analyst: Bitcoin's Dominance Expected to Exceed 60%
ChainCatcher reports that cryptocurrency analyst and ITC Crypto founder Benjamin Cowen predicted today that Bitcoin's dominance is expected to return to above 60%. He noted that in the coming month, altcoins may weaken against Bitcoin, and while ETH may reach new highs in the future, current market liquidity is flowing back to Bitcoin.
Plasma Has Transferred Over 1 Billion USDT to USDT0 in Preparation for Mainnet Launch
ChainCatcher reports that according to analyst Emmett Gallic, Plasma has transferred over 1 billion USDT to USDT0 in preparation for the mainnet launch. This will provide Plasma with immediate significant USDT liquidity.
USDT0 is a cross-chain dollar stablecoin launched by Tether, aimed at extending USDT to new blockchains, providing a seamless user and developer experience while maintaining a 1:1 peg with USDT on Ethereum. USDT0 is built using LayerZero's OFT standard for deploying and transferring assets on new chains.
ChainCatcher reports that GriffinAI founder @Griffin_AI disclosed that GAIN (BNB chain) experienced abnormal issuance and massive sell-off a few hours ago, leading to a sharp price drop.
Investigations revealed that the attacker initiated the attack by introducing unauthorized LayerZero forged nodes: they deployed a counterfeit Ethereum contract (token TTTTT, address 0x7a8caf) and added it as a LayerZero node for GAIN on Ethereum, bypassing the official contract (0xccdbb9). The attacker then issued 5 billion GAIN on the BNB chain and continued to sell. Currently, the related attacker's wallet still holds excess tokens.
ChainCatcher reports that Multicoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain commented on "Tether is raising $20 billion at a $500 billion valuation," noting that with the Fed expected to cut rates, the market anticipates an average interest rate of about 3.6% over the next year, which means Tether's revenue would be $600 million. This equates to a P/E ratio of about 77 times. However, factors such as the rate-cutting cycle and increasing competitive pressure will inevitably threaten Tether's revenue sustainability. Nevertheless, Tether enjoys high brand loyalty in emerging markets, and these users are less likely to switch to higher-yield stablecoins. Tether is continuously committed to expanding in these countries.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF Approved, Can Invest in Assets Beyond BTC and ETH
ChainCatcher reports that Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, stated that the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF has been approved under the SEC's new general listing standards.
This product will hold crypto assets beyond BTC and ETH, including XRP, SOL, and XLM.
ChainCatcher reports that according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index scenario calculations, if Tether completes a $20 billion fundraising round and the company's valuation reaches approximately $500 billion, based on his shareholding ratio (about 47%), its chairman Giancarlo Devasini's net worth could reach $224 billion, potentially making him the fifth richest person in the world, just behind Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, and surpassing Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, by several positions.
ChainCatcher reports that crypto market maker GSR has submitted an application to the U.S. SEC to launch a digital asset treasury company ETF, with at least 80% of the assets allocated to publicly traded companies holding cryptocurrencies. Initially, it plans to include 10 to 15 stocks, including Strategy, Bitmine, SharpLink, and SUI Group. Additionally, GSR has applied for four funds related to Ethereum staking, crypto staking, core three assets (BTC, ETH, SOL), and Ethereum yield.
Previously, the SEC relaxed the listing standards for commodity trust funds, making the approval environment for crypto ETFs more lenient.
ChainCatcher reports that according to market news, Australian Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino announced on Wednesday that the government has released a draft regulatory bill for digital asset platforms. This bill extends the Financial Services Act to crypto businesses, requiring major crypto platforms to obtain an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL).
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of September 26, 09:40,
The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: sUSDe, USDe, LINK, HAHAYES, SPX
The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: MetaMask, XPL, MetaMask, MetaMask, COAI
The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: EURC, ZORA, BSTER, Polyfactual, Charlie
What Are Some Must-Read Articles from the Past 24 Hours?
Tron Cuts Gas Fees by 60%, Can Incremental Changes Effectively Compete with Price?
On the 26th of last month, Tron implemented the largest fee reduction in history, with Sun Yuchen stating, "This proposal is a real benefit for users, reducing fees by 60%. No other network can make such a bold move." He also mentioned that the short-term profitability of the Tron network would be affected due to the 60% reduction in network fees, but long-term profitability would improve as more users and transactions occur on Tron.
Latest gasfeesnow data shows that even after halving the fees, the cost of USDT transfers on Tron still ranges from $2.02 to $4.22, far exceeding other major blockchain networks.
GAIN Faces Malicious Issuance Crash, Binance Alpha Truly Becomes a "Gambler's Paradise"?
On the morning of September 25, the on-chain network focused on AI agents, Griffin AI's token GAIN, experienced a flash crash, plummeting over 90% in just one hour, from $0.1 to only $0.004185, significantly shrinking its market cap.
This dramatic turn of events occurred just as GAIN was listed on the Binance Alpha platform the day before, attracting over 90,000 users with its airdrop mechanism based on score accumulation, with the token price surging from $0.0819 to a peak of $0.2764, leading to a spike in trading volume.
The driving force behind this crash was a carefully planned malicious attack. According to GoPlus security team analysis, the attacker exploited a vulnerability in GAIN's LayerZero Peer configuration, initializing a counterfeit Peer (codename TTTTT) on the Ethereum chain, bypassing cross-chain verification, and issuing 5 billion GAIN on the BNB chain.
Subsequently, the attack address quickly sold off for a profit of approximately $3.01 million and transferred the funds across chains to Solana, Ethereum, Base, and Arbitrum networks. Currently, the attacker still holds a large number of tokens, and the situation remains unclear.
How to Best Brush Up for the $700 Million Airdrop from Aster S2
Pump and dump is the best promotion.
In just one week, the Aster platform has seen its new user count surpass 710,000, with perpetual contract trading volume reaching $21.112 billion in the past 24 hours, directly exceeding that of the established DeFi derivatives platform Hyperliquid by more than double. The platform's TVL has reached $1.744 billion, with a 24-hour income of $7.12 million, ranking just behind stablecoin giants Tether and Circle in the overall income leaderboard.
Besides "Can ASTER still be bought?" another frequently asked question is "Can Aster still be brushed?"
Binance Alpha Bull Market: A One-Sided Game Dominated by Market Makers
In the current market environment where liquidity is not yet sufficient during the rate-cutting cycle, the bull market on Binance Alpha continues to unfold: an obscure project can often see its price multiply several times in a short period.
This article will discuss the market-making strategy of launching Alpha + Perp from the perspective of market makers, as well as the inner thoughts of market makers, achieving "dancing with the庄."
Binance Alpha serves as a natural liquidity pool, concentrating massive attention and retail resources on the launch day, while also attracting a group of native Alpha users to participate in trading—they may choose to sell off or buy in, with each "Alpha worker" placing their bets from their own perspective.
Fever, Fall, and Escape: The Disillusionment History of Classical VCs in Web3
"All in Crypto"!
In 2021, Sequoia Capital China's leader Shen Nanpeng typed a few words in a WeChat group, and the screenshot was quickly forwarded to countless investment groups, like a war drum, pushing the market's enthusiasm to a higher point.
Risk warning
Risk warning
