BlockBeats will summarize the key industry news of the week (9.22-9.28) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and industry trends.

Important News Recap

Aster Launches Token Price Surges 400%, Seizes DEX Market Share, Trading Volume Surpasses Hyperliquid Multiple Times

Within just one week of its launch, Aster's user base surpassed the 710,000 mark, and its perpetual contract trading volume surpassed that of the well-established DeFi derivatives platform Hyperliquid multiple times. It ranks just below stablecoin giants Tether and Circle on the overall revenue leaderboard. At the same time, the ASTER token surged by 400% from its issuance price, sparking discussions in the market. Binance founder CZ retweeted a post on social media stating, "Aster's team includes several former Binance employees, YZi Labs holds a minority stake in Aster," with CZ commenting, "This content is completely accurate and not hard to understand."

Mira Reveals Token Name as MIRA, Launches Mainnet on September 26

On September 26, Binance will list Mira (MIRA) spot trading at 20:00 on September 26, 2025. The initial circulating supply at TGE is 19.12%. Additionally, Binance HODLer airdrop will be launched. On the same day, Mira will be listed on Huobi HTX, Gate, Upbit, and Bithumb.

Plasma Launches Mainnet and Introduces Native Token XPL, Listed on Multiple Exchanges

On September 25, Plasma, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for stablecoins, launched its mainnet and introduced the native token XPL. It also launched a zero-fee USDT transfer feature based on its self-developed consensus mechanism, PlasmaBFT, and has integrated with over 100 DeFi projects. Following the token launch, it was listed on various exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bitget. While the project gained immense popularity, there were rumors from a key opinion leader (KOL) that the team is composed of Blast's original members, not directly associated with Tether, and riding on the hype. However, this disclosure did not hinder XPL, which saw a continuous surge after listing, with a market cap exceeding $2 billion.

Related Readings: "Highly Anticipated Plasma Goes Live Tonight, Can It Change the On-chain Payment Landscape?" "Whale Frenzy, How Attractive is Plasma's XPL Public Sale?"

Bitlight Labs to Launch Token Symbol LIGHT, TGE on September 27

On September 24, according to official sources, Bitlight Labs, the developer of the RGB protocol infrastructure, released the token symbol LIGHT with the specified date as September 27. On September 25, according to an official announcement, Binance Alpha and contracts will be launched on Bitlight on September 27, along with the Alpha airdrop.

Binance to List FF Spot Trading on September 29 at 21:00

On September 26, according to an official announcement, Binance will list Falcon Finance (FF) spot trading on September 29, 2025, at 21:00 (UTC+8) and open trading pairs for USDT, USDC, BNB, FDUSD, and TRY, applying the Seed Label Trading Rules. The FF deposit channel will be opened on September 26, 2025, at 18:00 (UTC+8). At the same time, Binance HODLer Airdrop has launched its 46th project – Falcon Finance (FF), a universal collateral infrastructure that boosts on-chain liquidity and returns.

DoubleZero Announces Mainnet Launch on October 2, Deploys 2Z Token

On September 27, the Solana-based custom fiber network DoubleZero announced that its mainnet will launch on October 2 and deploy the 2Z token. DoubleZero optimizes data transmission through hardware multicast, allowing Solana to leverage it to increase transaction inclusion speed and further enhance network scalability and fairness.

USDH Officially Listed on Hyperliquid

On September 24, according to The Block, the stablecoin USDH issued by Native Markets was listed on Hyperliquid with the USDH/USDC trading pair opened. Early trading volume was around $2.2 million, indicating a cautious yet active market start.

USDH is the first USD-pegged token issued through a validator-led selection process on Hyperliquid. This stablecoin is natively deployed on HyperEVM and can be used across the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

Bybit CEO: Mantle to Announce Major Event with Apex

On September 27, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced, "Mantle × Apex. A major event is coming!"

Arthur Hayes Explains Sell-off HYPE Reason: Massive Unlocking Is the "Sword of Damocles"

On September 22, Arthur Hayes retweeted an analysis article titled "The Sword of Damocles for HYPE" and stated, "This is why 96,600 HYPE was sold today. But don't worry, a 126x increase is still possible, and 2028 is still a long way off."

The analysis mentioned that HYPE is about to face its real test. The analysis points out that the current buyback ability can only absorb about 17% of the unlocked tokens, leaving an excess token supply of about $410 million per month. Token unlocking is a potential "Sword of Damocles."

On the same day, Arthur Hayes sold 96,600 HYPE tokens worth $5.1 million. Just three weeks ago, he predicted that the price of HYPE could increase by 126x in the coming years.

Related Articles: Was the Drop in HYPE Really Because of Aster?, Betting on Reputation, Escaping the Top: Learning Arthur Hayes's 'Pump and Dump' Trading Strategy, When a Hundred Billion Sell Pressure Meets a 45% Burn Proposal, the Hyperliquid Valuation Battle Escalates, Arthur Hayes KBW Speech: Embracing Bitcoin's "Million Dollar" Era, The Ethereum Single Call Maker Was Called an Idiot, is ETH Topping Out?, Tom Lee Loudly Declares "ETH Fair Value Is $60,000," Andre Kang Retorts "Sounds Like an Idiot"

Major South Korean Portal Website Naver's Subsidiary to Undergo Full Stock Swap with Upbit's Parent Company Dunamu

On September 25, according to local South Korean media Chosun, Naver's financial subsidiary, Naver Financial, is set to undergo a full stock swap with Upbit's parent company Dunamu. The transaction will be completed through Naver Financial issuing new shares in exchange for Dunamu shareholders' existing holdings. Through this stock swap, Dunamu will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naver Financial. Related Reading: "South Korea's Largest Exchange Platform Upbit to be Acquired by Naver, Entering the 'Chaebol Era' of the Crypto Market?"

Fed's Daly: Further Rate Cuts May Be Needed

On September 25, San Francisco Fed President Daly stated on Wednesday that she "fully supported" the Fed's rate cut decision last week and indicated that further rate cuts may be necessary in the future. Daly, when discussing the Fed's rate cut last week, said, "Economic growth, consumer spending, and the labor market have all slowed, with inflation rising less than expected, mainly focused on industries directly affected by tariffs." Daly had previously indicated that two 25-basis-point rate cuts this year were a reasonable expectation. Related Reading: "Powell's Latest Signal: Fed Shifts to Neutrality Amid Inflation and Employment Pressures"

US SEC and CFTC to Hold Joint Roundtable Next Monday to Coordinate Crypto Regulatory Policies

On September 25, several cryptocurrency company executives will attend a roundtable next week to discuss the "regulatory coordination efforts" of the United States' two major financial regulatory agencies. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday that it will hold a roundtable next Monday with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to coordinate financial regulatory policies, including those related to cryptocurrencies. Representatives from cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Crypto.com, as well as prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, will participate in the thematic discussion.

US Regulators Investigating Crypto Treasury Reserve (TRE) Companies for Insider Trading

On September 26, according to WSJ, sources revealed that U.S. financial regulators have launched investigations into abnormal trading patterns by companies attempting to make purchasing cryptocurrency a core corporate strategy. The U.S. SEC and CFTC have contacted some of the 200+ companies that announced this year they would adopt a cryptocurrency treasury strategy, expressing concerns about the significant increase in stock trading volume and sharp price rises a few days before these companies' announcements. Officials warned that companies may have violated the Fair Disclosure Rule. Lawyers stated that such letters often mark the beginning of a more in-depth investigation into insider trading. Related Reading: "Arthur Hayes: We Are in the Midst of a Cycle, TRE Will See a 'FTX-Like Collapse'" "US SEC Begins Crackdown on Crypto Treasury Companies, Will the TRE Narrative Continue?"

If US Government Shutdown Delays September Jobs Report, Fed Meeting Faces Data Gap

On September 26, US President Trump stated: "If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall." Trump mentioned the economy is doing well and prices are going down. On September 27, according to the official website, Polymarket currently indicates a 71% probability of the "US Government Shutdown on October 1." According to an operational contingency plan released earlier this year by the US Labor Department, if a federal government shutdown occurs, the September jobs report scheduled to be released next Friday will face a delay. The specific impact of the government shutdown is still unclear. A contingency plan updated by the Labor Department in March of last year indicates that once a shutdown occurs, all data collection efforts and planned data releases will be paused.

Fed Governor Bauman: There Will Be a Need to Adjust Policy at a Faster Pace and Greater Magnitude in the Future

On September 27, Fed Governor Bauman stated in a discussion on monetary policy decision-making methods: "If these conditions persist, there will be a need to adjust policy at a faster pace and greater magnitude in the future." Bauman strongly supports the Fed holding only US Treasury bonds. Bauman suggested that the Fed's FOMC should now take decisive and proactive action to address weakening labor market dynamics and emerging signs of fragility, and it would be appropriate to overlook the one-time impact of tariffs.

Opinion: Bitcoin's "Biggest Bull Market Catalyst" Could Be the Next Fed Chair Nominee

On September 27, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz stated that if the next nominee to replace Powell as Fed Chair is an extremely dovish individual, then Bitcoin's price could see a significant surge. Novogratz expressed in an interview with Kyle Chasse released on YouTube on Friday: "That could be the potential biggest bull market catalyst for Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency space."

UXLINK Plummets After Hacker Attack, Plans to Deploy New Token Contract

On September 23, the decentralized social project UXLINK was hit by a hacker attack, where the attacker tampered with multi-signature permissions and stole over $11 million in assets. The attacker then gained minting authority to issue an additional 1 billion UXLINK tokens on-chain, causing UXLINK to plummet nearly 65% overnight. Following the attack, UXLINK's team promptly responded, stating that most of the stolen funds had been frozen, they were collaborating with a security firm to trace the funds, and they would initiate a token swap. On September 24, a new audited contract for UXLINK was in place, with the code remaining as "UXLINK," while the contract removed the burn functionality. Additionally, the team announced they would deploy a new token contract on the Ethereum mainnet for a 1:1 exchange of the old tokens. Related Readings: "Timeline | UXLINK Plummets 70% After Hacker Attack, Will Initiate Token Swap and Compensation Plan" "UXLINK Stolen Around $11.3 Million Technical Analysis"

Hyperdrive Under Attack, All Asset Markets Suspended

On September 27, as reported by @xhanTululu, Hyperliquid's DeFi ecosystem protocol Hyperdrive was allegedly attacked, resulting in a loss of approximately $700,000. Subsequently, the Hyperdrive team stated that two accounts on the thBILL market were compromised. As a precautionary measure, Hyperdrive has suspended all asset markets and will conduct further investigations. It was also noted that this incident will not affect the HYPED token.

Major Fundraises This Week:

On the 22nd, according to Bloomberg, Cardless, a startup focusing on co-branded credit cards, raised $60 million in funding. The new funding will primarily be used to enhance features and collaborate with well-known brand partners on project development. This round was led by Spark Capital, with participation from Activant Capital, Industry Ventures, and Pear VC.

On the 22nd, as reported by TechCrunch, the new crypto-native bank project Shield announced a $5 million seed round. Giant Ventures led this round, with other investors including Chris Dixon's a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, Factor Capital, as well as strategic angel investors Coinbase and Bank of America. The project has now raised a total of $7 million to date.

On the 23rd, according to TechFundingNews, the London-based blockchain payments company Fnality completed a $136 million Series C funding round. The round was led by WisdomTree, with participation from Bank of America, Citigroup, KBC Group, Temasek, and Tradeweb. Existing investors include Santander, Barclays, BNP Paribas, DTCC, Euroclear, Goldman Sachs, ING, Nasdaq, State Street, and UBS, among others.

On the 23rd, as reported by CNBC, crypto infrastructure startup Zerohash raised $104 million in a Series D funding round, valuing the company at $1 billion. Interactive Brokers led this round, with participation from Morgan Stanley, SoFi, Apollo, and others.

On the 23rd, according to CoinDesk, Cloudburst Technologies announced a $7 million Series A funding round to develop its off-chain crypto intelligence platform. Borderless Capital led this round, with additional support from Strategic Cyber Ventures, CoinFund, Coinbase Ventures, Bloccelerate VC, and In-Q-Tel.

On the 23rd, according to official sources, Synthesys (formerly known as Equitize) today announced the completion of a $11 million seed round and strategic financing to build a global next-generation tokenized securities infrastructure. The funding round was led by angel investor Mark Pui.

On the 23rd, as reported by The Block, UK blockchain startup Fnality raised $136 million in a Series C funding round. The round was led by WisdomTree, Bank of America, Citigroup, KBC Group, Temasek, and Tradeweb to expand its global settlement network for banks and tokenized assets.

On the 24th, as reported by Fortune magazine, stablecoin startup Bastion announced the completion of a $14.6 million financing round. Coinbase Ventures led the round, with participation from Sony's venture capital arm, Samsung's venture capital arm, a16z crypto, and Hashed.

On the 24th, according to official sources, the Solana ecosystem's Perp DEX Bulk Exchange completed an $8 million seed round. The round was led by 6th Man Ventures and Robot Ventures, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, Wintermute, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

On the 25th, according to official sources, the Solana ecosystem prediction market Melee announced the completion of a $3.5 million financing round. DBA, Variant, and a group of strategic angel investors participated.

On the 25th, cryptocurrency payment platform RedotPay announced a $47 million strategic financing round. Coinbase Ventures participated in this round, with continued support from Galaxy Ventures and Vertex Ventures, and received support from a global tech entrepreneur (identity undisclosed). The company has now become a fintech unicorn.

On the 26th, as reported by Fortune magazine, Kraken had only raised $27 million from inception to this year. However, the company recently decided to raise $500 million as a final preparation for its IPO push.

Fortune learned from a source unauthorized to publicly discuss the matter that Kraken has successfully completed this round of financing this month. The round did not have a major investor, and Kraken set the terms itself, including a $15 billion valuation. Investors included asset managers, venture capital firms, and Tribe Capital of Kraken's Co-CEO Arjun Sethi and Sethi personally.

Top Articles of the Week

"Missed Aster? Check Out These Super Lucrative Unlaunched Perp DEXes"

Missed Aster? No need to worry. More and more unlaunched Perp DEXes have run their protocol revenue through and set clear expectations: edgeX is widely bet by the market to have its TGE in Q4, Paradex has revealed its tokenomics, Ostium continues its incentive point system, Extended has completed Starknet migration, and Satori's fee ramp is stable.

"If You're Front-running Perp Dex, You Need These Tools"

The Perp DEX race has entered the fast lane, with CZ bluntly stating "Everyone is doing Perp DEX." When the market is violently tug-of-war, winners rely on two things: earlier abnormal movement signals and lower execution friction. This article breaks down tools into four categories based on outcomes: signal capture (capital flow/spread/fee rate), risk insight (liquidity gap/liquidation concentration/volatility factor), execution efficiency (cross-platform aggregation, paired hedging, conditional order management), and alert review (abnormal movement alerts, address tracking, report review). After following the checklist, you can achieve more certain marginal gains in the same volatility.

"In a Big Project Week, What Other New Listing Opportunities Are There?"

This week, the crypto primary market densely released projects and quotas. The headline events were the launch of Tether Plasma (XPL), the closing of DWF Falcon Finance, and Kraken listing Curve founder's new project as the anchor points. At the same time, the newly opened listing window presents multiple parallel tracks: Upheaval attracts oversubscription through its AMM on HyperEVM and JumpPad mechanism; Yield Basis establishes pricing expectations with Bitcoin-native returns and Kraken×Legion channels; Tea triggers a controversy in the testnet launch with a low FDV sale on CoinList; Limitless and Goated provide clear schedules and allocation rules in the prediction market and GambleFi side, respectively.

"Arthur Hayes: We Have Entered the Mid-Cycle, DAT Will See 'FTX-like Crash'"

Arthur Hayes believes that the weakening of the offshore US dollar implicit guarantee and the regulatory-anchored stablecoin asset allocation (bank deposits or T-bills) will jointly drive "re-dollarization," leading to the circulation of trillions of dollars of stablecoin reserves globally; this increment, after distribution in payment and super app scenarios, will transmit along the path of "stablecoin → wallet → DeFi Lego" to trading and leverage demand, thereby lifting the growth elasticity of protocols and platforms such as Ethena, EtherFi, Hyperliquid, reshaping the marginal pricing power of short-term interest rates.

"Playing the Long Character, Escaping the Top: Learning Arthur Hayes' 'Milk Burst + Plate Smashing' Trading Course"

A multi-asset sample shows that Arthur Hayes's high-frequency signals and capital actions follow a fixed paradigm: its public opinion end releases strong expectations and attracts incremental attention, its on-chain end utilizes the "what," innovative narratives, or historical highs to form liquidity peaks, its execution end sells in batches to lock in profits when the Maker/Taker depth is sufficient, its rhythm end gradually replenishes after the price weakens to restore position elasticity; this paradigm shows high consistency in historical highs of HYPE, sudden on-chain events of ETHFI, and trend inflection points of ENA.

"ASTER Soars 4x in a Week, Riding Binance's Challenge to Hyperliquid"

On September 18, Zhao Changpeng released the ASTER price chart and openly praised it, and this signal quickly amplified market attention. The ASTER token surged about 4 times from the issuance price within a few hours; at the same time, YZi Labs' long-term funding and BNB Chain's ecosystem mobilization formed external support, allowing the decentralized perpetual trading platform ASTER to take advantage and launch a positive challenge to Hyperliquid, thereby pushing the dominance battle of the derivatives market to a public competition stage.

"Major Pullback After Rate Cut, Has the Crypto Bull Market Ended? | Trader's Observation"

After the Fed's rate cut on September 17, Powell once again emphasized the two-way risks of weakening labor force and high inflation. The market continued to raise the probability of a rate cut in October. However, there was a divergence in risk assets: US stocks hit new highs under loose expectations, while the crypto market saw a one-day settlement of approximately $1.7 billion on the 22nd and experienced a deep retracement. Several traders attributed the pace difference to ETF and institutional marginal fund slowdown, Fermi-level liquidity not yet transmitting to the chain, and technical selling pressure overlap caused by key price levels.

"Was the HYPE Really Because of Aster's Fall?"

The Perp DEX track saw a phase of Alpha driven by new tokens such as Aster, Avantis, and STBL, with funds and attention diverging from top assets. Meanwhile, HYPE faced a triple pressure of "incremental demand being diverted, existing chips having cash-out motivation, and continuous unlocking in the next two years." The market thus increased the risk premium and lowered valuation multiples. Therefore, the price decline is more in line with the combined forces of industry competition and chip structure changes, rather than solely blaming Aster.

"MetaMask Coin Launch Preview: Large-scale Airdrop, Hundred Billion Valuation, and Potential Concerns"

While the market magnifies the "large-scale airdrop + flagship valuation," it also focuses on the downward variables at the execution level: LINEA TGE previously experienced congestion, delays, and selling pressure. Early permission discrepancies sparked controversy and hurt reputation. If MetaMask replicates the above flaws in terms of issuance pace, eligibility rules, and liquidity acceptance, valuation pricing and initial-day volatility will passively amplify. Related risks will be reflected in trading layer and secondary market expectations through the three paths of "airdrop distribution fairness, depth of market-making, and cross-exchange price spreads."

"CZ Responds to the Community: Why Can BNB Break Through $1000?"

The milestone of BNB surpassing $1000 is mainly attributed to the resonance of reduced regulatory uncertainty, macro liquidity rebound, and improved on-chain fundamentals: the US policy shift and overseas compliance progress weakened risk discounts, raised risk appetite due to rate cut expectations. Meanwhile, BNB Chain enhanced throughput by reducing block time, lowering Gas, alleviating MEV, and expanding opBNB, coupled with quarterly burns and ecosystem activity. Trading volume and institutional allocation synchronized amplification, thereby forming a mutual reinforcement of price and fundamentals.

"When a $100 Billion Sell Pressure Meets a 45% Burn Proposal, Hyperliquid's Valuation Battle Intensifies"

The Hyperliquid community engaged in a valuation tug-of-war around the "45% $HYPE Burn" and the "FECR/AF Stockpile in the Hundreds of Billions USD" proposal. This proposal aims to compress the nominal supply by revoking future emission allowances and disposing of the Treasury Fund's holdings, bridging the gap between Market Cap (MC) and Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) to reshape the institutional pricing anchor. The market is divided between "Lower FDV attracting funds more easily" and "Incentives and risk reserves being weakened," shifting the valuation game from price competition to a battle of accounting principles and governance paths.

"Messari: What's Missing for the Prediction Market to Truly Take Off?"

The prediction market is set to break out by 2024 with the help of electoral events and maintaining monthly billion-dollar volumes on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. Mainstream media will also incorporate odds into their reporting framework. However, high fund concentration and supply homogenization still constrain growth. Market elements must be further unleashed through "accessible trading interfaces, contracts with sustained pricing forms, and higher levels of entertainment interactivity." As a result, industry expansion will transition from event-driven to product- and distribution-driven.

"Planning a $700 Million Airdrop: Optimal Strategies for Aster S2"

Aster × Backpack arbitrage hedging has become a mainstream path in the S2 phase: participants acquire Maker points on the Backpack side with limit orders and trigger double points on the Aster side with market orders, enabling directional hedging and point accumulation on the same asset. Under the constraints of the "3.2 billion token airdrop pool, valued at over $700 million, with 11 days remaining," this path demonstrates a higher points/cost ratio. Net profits are determined by matching delays, unilateral non-execution exposures, and the Maker/Taker fee difference.

"In-Depth Analysis: During the PerpDEX Shuffle Moment, What's Next for Hyperliquid?"

The PerpDEX track entered a period of rapid differentiation in 2025, with the order book and hybrid model accelerating their competition for market share, while Aster's aggressive strategy and traffic aggregation had a significant impact on the existing landscape. In this context, Hyperliquid relied on CLOB depth, one-block confirmation, and ecosystem scale to maintain its technological leadership. However, its market share was under pressure from cross-chain and incentive spillover effects. Therefore, the market sees "HIP-3 permissionless market, USDH native stablecoin, and multi-application synergy" as key subsequent incremental validation points.

"14 Perp DEX Panorama Comparison: Who Can Become the Next Hyperliquid?"

The project is in different stages of "TGE completed - Points Season - Testnet/Internal Test," reflecting distinct participation paths: TGE-completed projects (such as HYPER, AVNT, DRIFT, JUP) maintain stickiness through "coin pledging and revenue sharing"; seasonal projects (such as Aster, Backpack, edgeX, Paradex, Reya) amplify growth through "transaction volume weighting and active threshold"; underlying infrastructure projects (such as Orderly, BasedOneX) expand channels through "order book infrastructure and front-end distribution." This misalignment of stages and path differences jointly determine the evolutionary rhythm and competitive threshold of the "next leader."

"Market Not Looking Good, Check Out Plasma Mining, How to Mine Properly"

Plasma mining participation has two prerequisites: participants first use Stargate to cross-chain convert mainnet USDT to USDT0, and then retain a small amount of XPL in their accounts to pay EVM side transaction gas. The Merkl Dashboard is responsible for recording the deposit size and duration, generating claimable WXPL within the period. The above process remains consistent across different protocols, while withdrawal cooling-off, borrowing constraints, and fee structures jointly determine the actual APY and capital turnover efficiency.

"Ethereum Shill Whale Gets Called a Moron, Is ETH Topping Out?"

After the Fed's rate cut, the crypto market experienced a sharp shakeout on September 22, with a single-day liquidation of about $1.7 billion, of which ETH's liquidation approached $500 million. Long-time bull Tom Lee still used $60,000 as a forward anchor and claimed that key levels were not being breached but were successively broken. On September 24, Mechanism Capital founder Andrew Kang publicly counterattacked and systematically questioned the logic of "Stablecoins and RWA→ETH Benefits," sparking a core dispute over ETH valuation and market pricing power.

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