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Morning Minute: Bitcoin Clears $120,000 as Uptober Begins with a Bang

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors continue to grind up as Bitcoin breaks $120,000
  • BNB hits new ATH over $1,100 kicking off BNB SZN (Cake + memes soar)
  • CME 24/7 will launch 24/7 crypto futures and options trading in early 2026
  • Moonbirds tease BIRB token for first time, floor passes 4 ETH before retracing
  • Art Blocks announces Quine by Larva Labs as final Art Blocks Curated

🟠 Bitcoin Clears $120K as Uptober Starts With a Bang

The bears were loudly calling for $90k before $120k. Their “guts” said crypto had topped.

Well, looks like they were wrong.

📌 What Happened

BTC pushed above $120,000 on Thursday, hitting a level not seen since August 13.

That’s a full 10% up move on the week.

So what’s driving the action?

ETFs inflows are certainly helping, with over $2.25B in inflows so far this week.

The other key factor?

Saylor’s tax bill (or lack thereof).

Strategy and the rest of the U.S. got news on Wednesday that a Biden-era AMT tax of up to 15% on unrealized asset gains would not come to fruition, as digital assets were excluded.

That likely freed up a lot of cash for Saylor and it will be very interesting to see next Monday if he has indeed put that to work this week (or maybe it was more ETF driven).

Plus the government shut down means no more economic data to come before FOMC, likely meaning a rate cut is a done deal (90% on Polymarket).

But it wasn’t just Bitcoin.

Taking a look at the rest of the majors and their weekly gains:

  • ETH +15% to $4,480
  • BNB + 18% to $1,100 (new ATH)
  • SOL +20% to $230

And some other top winners on the week:

  • Zcash + 180% to $151
  • PUMP +42% to $0.00714
  • SPX +33% to $1.28

So while Bitcoin is grinding up, it’s not a Bitcoin-led rally. All the majors are moving.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“The steep rise in the gold price over the past month has made bitcoin more attractive to investors relative to gold, especially as the bitcoin to gold volatility ratio keeps drifting lower to below 2.0. By taking into account this volatility ratio, which implies that bitcoin currently consumes 1.85 times more risk capital than gold, then mechanically the market cap of bitcoin at $2.3tr currently would have to rise by close to 42% (implying a theoretical bitcoin price of $165k), to match on a vol-adjusted basis the around $6tr of total private sector investment in gold via ETFs or bars and coins… …This mechanical exercise thus could imply significant upside for bitcoin.” – JPMorgan

🧠 Why It Matters

Breaking $120k again sure feels good.

And the speed of its reclaim, along with October seasonality + the broader q4 setup (more rate cuts, more money printing) seems like a very strong one for higher.

Don’t just take my word for it though.

Major banks have put out some serious forecasts for Bitcoin’s near and mid-term future.

  • Citi: $133K by year-end, $181K in 12 months, driven by ETF demand and broader adoption
  • JPMorgan: ~$165K on a catch-up trade versus gold and the “debasement trade”

Great point by JPMorgan there, as Bitcoin has been seriously lagging Gold over all of 2025.

Simply catching Gold on yearly increase (+45% on the year) would mean another 16% from here for Bitcoin ($140,000), and that doesn’t take into account any other factors.

The writing is on the wall for a big October (Uptober).

Now we just have to fade any big monkey wrenches or (bad) surprises…



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are green again, as Bitcoin breaks $120k; BTC +1% at $120,350, ETH +2% at $4,480, XRP +2% at $3.03, SOL +2% at $230
  • CAKE (+24%), ETHFI (+15%) and ASTER (+8%) led top movers
  • BNB hit a new ATH over $1,100 while Pancake Swap (CAKE) was the top mover on the day and BNB memes outperformed
  • Trump said he is considering giving taxpayer rebates of $1,000-$2,000 using tariff money
  • The Bitcoin ETFs have seen $2.25B in net inflows so far this week, with ETH seeing $1.06B
  • The CME is set to launch 24/7 crypto futures and options trading in early 2026
  • In Arthur Hayes’ latest blog he argues Eurozone money printing could drive the next leg up for Bitcoin
  • New York lawmakers moved to tax Bitcoin miners, proposing an energy-use excise tax to fund affordability programs
  • FG Nexus is partnering with Securitize to tokenize Nasdaq-listed equities on Ethereum, offering on-chain stock trading with real-time settlement

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

  • Avalanche Treasury Co. announced a $675M SPAC merger with Mountain Lake, creating a public vehicle to accumulate $200M AVAX from the Foundation with more plans to add $1B AVAX post-IPO

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are mostly red; DOGE -1%, Shiba -2%, PEPE -1%, PENGU -3%, BONK -3%, TRUMP even, SPX +5%, and FARTCOIN -5%
  • BSC memes exploded led by 4 (+100% to $140M), Giggle (+140% to $80M), 1 (+550% to $9M), Priceless (+250% to $21M) and PUP (+43x to $4M)

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

  • DoubleZero launched its mainnet beta, effectively providing a new internet for blockchains to communicate (2Z token at $5.2B fdv)
  • Sui TVL hit a new ATH at $2.43B, now 9th amongst all blockchains
  • Moonbirds teased the BIRB token coming soon on Solana, which briefly drove Moonbirds NFTs over 4 ETH before retracing (now 3.24 ETH)
  • Justin Sun touted Tron’s perps exchange “SunPerp” with private dark pools and subsidized fees as Tron’s answer to Hyperliquid and Aster

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mostly red; Punks even at 47.3 ETH, Pudgy -4% at 9.5, BAYC -5% at 8.3 ETH; Hypurr’s even at 1,520 HYPE
  • Memeland Potatoz +23% were a notable top mover
  • Art Blocks announced the final Art Blocks Curated release titled ‘ Quine’ from Larva Labs; 500 total supply, 477 available and starting at 0.25 ETH, coming Oct 9
  • OpenSea added $500k to its prize pool on Thursday across 5 different memecoins
  • A gold Plush Pepe sold for ~$50,000 on Thursday as TON NFTs continue to see success

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Morning Minute: Polymarket Prepares for Imminent U.S. Launch

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors see more green; Bitcoin at $118,800
  • ZCash continues to lead, soaring 50% to $140
  • U.S. goverment shut down pauses ETF approvals
  • Lighter leaves private beta, opens Perps platform to public
  • PNKSTR jumps 50% to $140M as other NFT Strategies boom

🟣 Polymarket’s U.S. Return: “Green Light” Becomes Go-Time

After four years on the sidelines, the world’s biggest prediction market is set to reopen to U.S. users.

Potentially as soon as today…

📌 What Happened

To understand how we arrive at Polymarket potentially launching in the U.S. as soon as today, let’s look at the timeline.

  • In July, Polymarket bought QCX/QC Clearing (QCEX) for $112M, securing a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse.
  • On September 3, CFTC staff issued a no-action letter giving limited relief on event-contract reporting/recordkeeping for those entities.
  • Polymarket has since started self-certifying event contracts (sports, elections), clearing the final runway to switch the U.S. platform on.
    • Under CFTC rules, once a DCM files a certification, the agency has one business day to object; absent objection, the market can list immediately.
  • In its filings, Polymarket U.S. explicitly says listings will occur “no earlier than October 2, 2025,” which is why the platform could open as soon as tomorrow. Though other sources are reporting October 7, 2025.

There you have it. Polymarket U.S. is coming, if not today, soon.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“Polymarket has been given the green light to go live in the U.S.A by the @CFTC.” -CEO Shayne Coplan, following the no-action letter.

Some news (reposted for an error): Polymarket US has self-certified sports and election contracts with the CFTC.
➡️ Polymarket plans to offer moneylines, point spreads and totals for any sport
➡️ Oct. 7 is first day they could be offered
➡️ Sportsdata dot io is providing data

— Dustin Gouker (@DustinGouker) October 1, 2025

🧠 Why It Matters

If you’re in the U.S., this means you can use Polymarket without a VPN—just a normal U.S. account.

Because it’s running on a CFTC-licensed venue, expect a quick KYC/identity check and standard U.S. compliance (some state-by-state limits may apply at launch).

The first listings should look familiar, likely sports spreads/totals and “who wins” elections.

And, thanks to the self-certification process, they can appear as soon as the next business day after filing (i.e. today).

Access will likely start on the official U.S. web app and then roll into App Store / Google Play once approvals are cleared (another huge potential lift – Polymarket mobile).

Overall this is clearly huge for U.S. adoption and should pour gasoline on what is the prediction market fire happening right now.

And may help them regain market share against Kalshi, which has pulled out to a bigger lead over the past month (66% market share last week).

Expect volumes to continue to grind up an to the right (barring any new legal or regulatory issues)…



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are green again continuing the shutdown rally; BTC +2% at $118,800, ETH +2% at $4,380, XRP +1% at $2.99, SOL +4% at $225
  • ZEC (+50%), DEXE (+30%) and SPX (+17%) led top movers
  • Zcash rocketed ~63% to a three-year high, as traders (and Naval) pitch privacy coin as “insurance” hedge during Bitcoin strength
  • MSTR stock jumped 5% yesterday after Strategy avoided a multi-billion AMT (tax) hit after new IRS/Treasury guidance, easing concerns over taxes on unrealized gains tied to its Bitcoin holdings
  • Polymarket is poised to relaunch for U.S. users within days, as filings show self-certified contracts after acquiring a CFTC-licensed venue
  • Circle introduced a new tokenized U.S. Treasury fund U.S.YC on Solana
  • The UK government seeks to keep most of $7B in Bitcoin it just seized linked to massive Chinese fraud
  • The White House withdrew Brian Quintenz for CFTC chair, reopening leadership questions at the derivatives regulator amid active crypto agenda
  • New York is running a pilot to give low income residents $12,000 in U.S.DC to help alleviate poverty, with funding provided by Coinbase

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are very green; DOGE +7%, Shiba +3%, PEPE +4%, PENGU +4%, BONK +3%, TRUMP +3%, SPX +19%, and FARTCOIN +8%
  • VIRU.S. +77% to $30M, LOOK +43% to $85M and aura +30% to $90M led onchain Solana movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

  • Sui announced a new income-generating digital dollar token suiU.S.De powered by Ethena, with revenue used for SUI buybacks
  • Pump.fun introduced “easy onramp,” enabling new funding methods powered by Apple Pay, Phantom, Robinhood and more
  • Monad’s “intern” teased that Monad will launch in Q4
  • Lighter launched its public mainnet (perps dex) yesterday, now open to the public after 8 months of private beta

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mostly even, Hypurrs lead; Punks even at 47.3 ETH, Pudgy even at 10, BAYC -3% at 8.75 ETH
  • Hypurr’s rebounded 30% to a 1,500 HYPE floor ($71,000)
  • Punk Strategy jumped 50% to $140M and a new ATH, 65% of the way to its 20th Punk; BIRBStrategy +80% to $12M and PDGYSTR +60% to $11M led movers
  • A NodeStrategy has teased its launch, using an auction format to use funds to acquire NodeMonkes in a similar style as the other NFT Strategies (not affiliated)
  • Doodles landed on Froot Loops boxes, with 500 limited editions at $50 selling as NFTs on Base
  • Oh Baby Games announced its first NFT venture, the “Oh Baby Pass,” launching next week

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Morning Minute: Vanguard Flirts With Crypto

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors rally over the weekend; BTC reclaims $112,000
  • Vanguard reportedly considering offering crypto ETF access to its 50M investors
  • SEC and FINRA investigating DATs for insider trading
  • Tether is reportedly raising at a $500B valuation; XPL at $13B after first days of trading
  • Hypurr NFTs open at $65k floor on $60M+ in their first day of trading

🛡️ Vanguard Flirts With Crypto

The world’s second-largest asset manager is considering letting its U.S. clients buy crypto ETFs.

The final walls are falling down.

📌 What Happened

Last week, Crypto in America reported that Vanguard is weighing access to select spot crypto ETFs for brokerage customers.

This is a sharp departure from its 2024 stance, when it blocked spot Bitcoin ETFs on-platform.

There’s no final decision or product list yet; the discussions reflect persistent client demand and the competitive reality that most major peers already enable trading.

Notably, Vanguard’s CEO Salim Ramji was previously at BlackRock and oversaw the launch of their Bitcoin ETF IBIT, one of the most successful ETF launches of all time.

For asset context, Vanguard today oversees ~$10T in AUM and serves more than 50 million investors globally, so even a cautious rollout would be consequential for ETF liquidity.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“They’re being very methodical in their approach, understanding the dynamics have been changing since 2024.” – source talking to Crypto in America

“Vanguard, the 2nd largest asset manager in the world, is finally planning to allow clients to invest in crypto ETFs on their platform. By waiting this long, they have “protected” clients from +150% gains on $BTC since the ETFs went live.” – Satoshi Stacker on X

🧠 Why It Matters

If Vanguard enables crypto ETF access, even with tight guardrails, it adds a massive set of ongoing inflows into crypto majors.

That means deeper secondary-market liquidity, broader retirement-account penetration, and more “default” exposure from set-it-and-forget-it investors who previously had to move assets elsewhere.

Just 1% of $11T is $110B in inflows (and likely a major up-front portfolio rebalance adjustment).

That’s massive.

It also marks a symbolic validation: the firm that once said “not appropriate for long-term portfolios” would be acknowledging a durable role for crypto alongside stocks and bonds.

The final holdouts are starting to capitulate.

The crypto boom cycle is about to begin…



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

  • The SEC and FINRA announced investigations into DATs for potential insider trading
  • SharpLink (SBET) to offer tokenized shares via Superstate’s Opening Bell

In Memes

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the week:

  • Plasma’s XPL mainnet + token launched on major exchanges with a $2.4B+ market cap (though down 9% from yesterday at $1.29)
  • Aster led all perps dexes in volume and fees over the past week, including beating Tether in fees
  • ApeX (APEX) spiked ~280% last week amid whale buys and team teasers, coming after 25M APEX rewards/airdrop program and roadmap were teased
  • Punk Strategy’s PNKSTR token soared to $90M and a new ATH after announcing a series of new NFT strategy token launches including Squiggles, CrypToadz and more

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap +2% at $16.9B, leaders were green
  • FARTCOIN (+5%), VIRTUAL (+3%), TIBBIR (-5%), aixbt (+2) & ai16z (+2%)
  • DOGEAI (+18%) and TIBBIR (+14%) led top movers

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were slightly red on the week despite the pick up in NFT Strategy tokens; Punks -3% at 47.6 ETH, Pudgy -2% at 10.23, BAYC -3% at 9.13 ETH
  • Kaito Genesis NFTs (+170%), goblins (+260%) and GVC (+50%) were notable top movers
  • Hypurr NFTs were airdropped to early Hyperliquid users and reached a 1,390 HYPE floor ($65,000) on an insane $60M in daily volume

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For One Glorious Morning, a Website Saved San Francisco From Parking Tickets
Product Reviews

For One Glorious Morning, a Website Saved San Francisco From Parking Tickets

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He suspected this absurd-seeming pattern was due to limitations baked into the software used by parking control officers. Whatever its reason for existing, the pattern of sequential ticket IDs, paired with parking officers likely claiming batches of ticket numbers, meant Walz was able to track their routes by plotting each parking ticket on a map as soon as it was entered into the system. A car owner could look at the activity of the officers currently out on patrol and see if any of them were slowly descending on their neighborhood.

Last year, parking officials in San Francisco issued over a million tickets within city limits, which amounted to over $100 million in fines for car owners. “I actually don’t have a car, but I have plenty of friends that talk about it,” says Walz. Like most costs in San Francisco, these tickets can quickly add up. For example, forgetting to move your car during the weekly street sweeping—an error my household has made more than once—will cost you $90 every time.

Dude, Where’s My Parking Cop?

The website’s live updates were pulled from the city government’s website and visualized on an Apple Map. Find My Parking Cops tracked the routes of individual parking control officers, giving them each unique visual identifiers, as well as their cadence of tickets.

On Tuesday, for example, the site displayed one officer seemingly starting their shift around 10:30 am and handing out 35 tickets over the next few hours as they patrolled a neighborhood in Lower Pacific Heights. The citations logged were primarily for expired meters, which costs $107 per ticket, and not having a residential permit, which costs $108 per ticket. In total, the fines racked up by that one officer over a few hours amounted to almost $4,000.

Who’s handing out the most tickets each week? Walz included a leaderboard on the website that ranked just how much in fines each officer handed out. While officers were only identified on the map by a number and their initials, their cumulative ticket cost was tracked. When WIRED was last able to check Walz’s website on Tuesday, the top fine giver had issued 157 tickets so far, handing out over $16,000 in fees for violations.

Prior to Find My Parking Cops, Walz created another San Francisco–specific website. This one used a phone, placed on a street corner in the Mission District, to identify what songs people were listening to in public. He then uploaded a live feed of the songs, captured and identified through the Shazam app, onto the Bop Spotter website. It provided a little peek into what neighborhood residents were bumping at the time while also slyly nodding at the abundance of surveillance in the city. He’s also previously built a site, called IMG_0001, to surface old YouTube clips uploaded by everyday people in the platform’s early days. Those grainy, private videos stand in stark contrast to the stuff that dominates the platform today.

The parking ticket tracker was another side project for Walz. “I worked in my free time on the weekends the last few weeks to make it happen,” he says.

While Walz’s websites sometimes come with a dose of social commentary, he didn’t envision this project as making some kind of grand, sweeping statement about parking tickets or what it means to drive in 2025. Rather, it’s another entry in his repertoire of cool websites powered by unique data sources.

“I’m not ‘pro’ parking cop. I’m not ‘anti’ parking cop,” says Walz. “It’s just data I was able to unearth, and I thought it would be cool to visualize it.”

And now it’s gone. Representatives for Apple did not respond to immediate requests for comment. I reached out to Walz after the city’s data feed was cut off, but he didn’t pick up.



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Morning Minute: MetaMask Confirms Token, Airdrop SZN Incoming

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors retreat after post-FOMC rally; BTC -1% at $116,300
  • Joe Lubin confirms MetaMask token coming “very soon”
  • Plasma sets mainnet debut & XPL token TGE for Sept 25
  • Pump Fun crosses $100M in PUMP buybacks (tho PUMP falls 7%)
  • Kevin Durant regains access to Coinbase wallet lost in 2016 when BTC was $600

🪂 Airdrop Season Incoming

Everyone loves yelling “wen token?”

Well the answer for several major protocols is now “soon.”

📌 What Happened

Yesterday, co-founder of Consensys Joe Lubin confirmed that a MetaMask token is coming “very soon.”

We don’t know any other details beyond that, and betting markets have the MASK token coming in September at just 3%.

So, it’s probably not next week.

But up until now, there was no formal confirmation a token would ever come. Now that has changed.

And add it to the growing list of major protocols dropping tokens sometime soon:

  • OpenSea just moved into the “final phase” of its pre-TGE rewards program and told users to expect token details in early October.
  • On the L2 front, Base finally said the quiet part out loud: Jesse Pollak told reporters the network is exploring a native token, with plans still early.
  • Pump Fun is slightly different from the rest with its PUMP token live for trading, but no airdrop…yet. The PUMP airdrop is expected in Q4 2024 (47% by end of 2025).
  • Meteora materials point to an October TGE for MET.
  • Finally, Polymarket token chatter is back in force alongside reports of a financing round that could value the company as high as $10B.

Airdrop SZN is truly coming.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“One thing to think about with the MetaMask and Opensea token is that there are a lot of graveyard wallets that have not been onchain in a long time. Depending on how they structure the airdrop, you potentially see a lot of dead wallets forced onchain to claim.” – Threadguy

Joe Lubin took over Sharplink & launched Linea token in the last 3 months.

He’s launching Metamask’s next. This guy is on an absolute heater

— Andy (@ayyyeandy) September 19, 2025

🧠 Why It Matters

This one is pretty easy to explain – we like free money.

Free money is good for the crypto ecosystem.

Airdrops from protocols like MetaMask and OpenSea have long been written off by most users. Now they’re actually incoming, likely in the next 3-6 months.

Not to mention big money coming in the Solana eco in the very near future, courtesy of Meteora and Pump Fun. (And Polymarket is just a fun surprise).

So what does it mean?

Airdrop money typically stays in the casino.

Expect booms in activity on Solana (thanks to MET & PUMP), NFTs (thanks to SEA) and maybe even the broader crypto eco (MASK, POLY).

Plus the timing is great with crypto majors within 10% of ATH, a rate cut cycle just beginning, ETFs about to explode and the DAT trade showing signs of life again.

As the kids say, Q4 is going to be a movie…



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are red and retreating after the post-FOMC rally; BTC -1% at $116,300, ETH +-1% at $4,510, XRP -3% at $3.02, SOL -2% at $240
  • ASTER (+32%), IMX (+10%) and NEAR (+8%) led top movers
  • MSTR stock jumped 7% on Thursday, outperforming Bitcoin’s 2% rally
  • The Bitcoin ETFs saw $163M in net inflows, while the ETH ETFs led with $213M
  • Google Cloud and EigenLayer partnered to make EigenCloud the verifiable backbone for AP2 agentic payments across cards, bank rails, and stablecoins
  • Coinbase introduced USDC lending within its app, allowing users to earn yields up to 10.8% via Morpho
  • The White House is looking at other CFTC chairs after Brian Quintenz’s confirmation has stalled, at least partially due to criticism from the Winklevoss brothers
  • Kraken partnered with Legion to debut “Kraken Launch,” a token-sale platform that brings IPO-style, reputation-scored allocations and early token access to millions of users with its first sale “coming soon.”
  • Kevin Durant regained access to Bitcoin he “lost” access to on Coinbase back in 2016, which he purchased when Bitcoin was ~$600

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

  • Brera Holdings rebranded to ‘Solmate,’ and announced a $300M private raise to build a Solana treasury (BREA stock briefly +500%)
  • The DOGE ETF $DOJE did $17M volume in its debut yesterday, enough to notch a top 5 debut for any ETF this year
  • The first Crypto Index ETF launches today from Grayscale, including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and ADA

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are very red along with majors; DOGE -3%, Shiba -3%, PEPE -3%, PENGU -3%, BONK -3%, TRUMP -2%, SPX -8%, and FARTCOIN -2%
  • 1 led top movers again, up 100% to $12M; MESA +2500% to $2.6M was another notable mover

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap -4% at $13.6B, leaders were red
  • FARTCOIN (-1%), VIRTUAL (-4%), TIBBIR (-5%), aixbt (+1) & ai16z (-4%)
  • HYPER (+41%) and TETSUO (+14%) led top movers
  • Talus Labs debuted its testnet along with $125,000 in cash prizes for a new AI Agent game

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mostly flat; Punks -1% at 47.9 ETH, Pudgy even at 10.5, BAYC even at 9.3 ETH
  • Cryptodickbutts (+13%) and Meebits (+10%) were top movers
  • Abstract NFTs saw a lot of green led by Roach Racing and Bearish
  • Gondi rolled out its Gondi Purchase Bundler, allowing users to buy NFTs across marketplaces without needing the full purchase amount (using existing loan offers for the difference)

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Morning Minute: Polymarket Token Speculation Soars Along with $10B Valuation

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Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors mostly flat into FOMC, Bitcoin leads +1% to $116,300
  • Binance in talks with US DOJ to end its compliance monitor
  • Bank of America says 67% of fund managers hold 0 crypto
  • Trump suing NY Times for $15M saying they hurt the TRUMP meme
  • Tether co-founder launches STBL, token soars to $1.7B fdv in debut

🔮 Polymarket Token Incoming?

The world’s biggest prediction market is flirting with a token.

And it’s doing it while eyeing a stratospheric new valuation, rolling out earnings markets with Stocktwits, and prepping a regulated U.S. return.

📌 What Happened

Polymarket’s recent SEC filings hinted at “other warrants” which typically indicate a token.

This has led to broad speculation of a Polymarket token in the works.

And the token speculation comes just days after multiple outlets reported that Polymarket has raised a fresh round that could value the company as high as $9B–$10B.

A massive jump from the ~$1B valuation discussed in June.

That’s a lot of big money news, coming along with major fundamental progress:

  • Regulated U.S. comeback: After acquiring CFTC-licensed QCEX and receiving staff relief, CEO Shayne Coplan says the platform has the “green light” to go live in the U.S.
  • New product + distribution: Polymarket launched public-company earnings prediction markets and became the official prediction-markets partner of Stocktwits, bringing live probabilities to Stocktwits’ 10M+ users
  • Volume check: Volumes are coming in around ~$250M/week and consistently at the $1B/month mark

The $10B raise makes a bit more sense with that backdrop.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“Polymarket has been given the green light to go live in the USA by the @CFTC. Credit to the Commission and Staff for their impressive work.” – Shayne Coplan, CEO, on X (Sep 3)

“Prediction markets transform uncertainty into clarity by turning big questions-like earnings-into simple, tradable outcomes with transparent pricing.” – Matthew Modabber, CMO, Polymarket, on the Stocktwits partnership.

“Polymarket is the largest prediction market in the world, and the U.S. needs access to this important platform.” – Donald Trump Jr., as Polymarket added him to its advisory board following 1789 Capital’s investment.

🧠 Why It Matters

A token would formalize community upside.

If a Polymarket token launches, it turns users into owners, likely deepens liquidity across markets, and enables new incentive design (e.g., fee shares, staking for dispute resolution, or market-maker rewards).

Timing-wise, it makes sense.

They have more momentum than ever with the combination of regulatory approval, new product verticals (earnings markets), sports markets catching fire (see Kalshi’s latest volume surge) and a general explosion in prediction market interest.

And just the hint of a token is enough to steal market share and attention from their rival Kalshi (which has flipped Polymarket in volume as of late).

All being equal, users will trade on the apps that have the best lines, market and/or best UX.

With token incentives in the mix, the decision of which app to use has a heavily weighted new factor.

So expect Polymarket volumes and attention to boom here in the near future.

As for its token, it’s tough to value. Polymarket is a true unicorn. And without them taking a fee, there is no revenue model to use.

It wouldn’t be crazy at all to think a Polymarket token would fetch $5B-$10B upon its debut.

Maybe we’ll find out this year…



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are mixed ahead of FOMC, BTC leads; BTC 1% at $116,300, ETH even at $4,500, XRP -1% at $3.01, SOL -1% at $234
  • MYX (+56%), IP (+10%) and HYPE (+5%) led top movers
  • The Bitcoin ETFs saw another $292.3M in net inflows, continue 7-day inflow streak
  • Bank of America reported that 67% of fund managers hold no crypto and only 8% have started structural crypto investments
  • Binance is in talks with the U.S. DOJ about ending its compliance monitor, per Bloomberg
  • Trump is suing the New York Times for $15B, claiming that reporting hurt his TRUMP meme coin
  • The Ethereum exit queue has swollen to ~2.5M ETH with waits >46 days, the longest yet
  • Santander’s Openbank turned on crypto trading in Germany under MiCA, with Spain up next
  • UBS, Sygnum and PostFinance pilot what they call the first interbank settlement using deposit tokens on a public chain
  • Galaxy Digital plans a tokenized money-market fund spanning Ethereum, Solana and Stellar
  • The UK is expected to announce tighter crypto-oversight coordination with the U.S., according to the Financial Times
  • Over $3,000,000,000 in USDT was minted onchain in the past 4 days

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

  • Forward Industries (FORD) announced a $4B ATM program to buy more SOL after just buying $1.6B in SOL
  • SharpLink (SBET) bought just 900 ETH in the past week though it did buy 1M shares back
  • Bitwise filed for an Avalanche ETF as XRP and Dogecoin ETFs near launch

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are mostly flat; DOGE even, Shiba even, PEPE +1%, PENGU +1%, BONK +2%, TRUMP -1%, SPX +1%, and FARTCOIN +1%
  • KIND (+33%) and 67 (+350%) lead notable onchain movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

  • Tether co-founder launched STBL as a new stablecoin protocol focused on yield, touted as “stablecoins 2.0”
  • Pump.fun bonding curves had their highest day of volume in 7 months
  • Circle bought HYPE and signaled it may run a Hyperliquid validator alongside new USDC tooling on HyperEVM
  • LimeWire bought the Fyre Festival brand and hinted at token and NFT hooks for a rebooted event
  • OpenSea clarified that its “final pre-TGE phase” would have multiple seasons

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap +1% at $13.75B, leaders were mixed
  • FARTCOIN (+1%), VIRTUAL (-1%), TIBBIR (+12%), aixbt (even) & ai16z (+1%)
  • SNAI (+23%), BIOS (+21%) and IRIS (+18%) led top movers
  • Virtuals announced it’s more than software, plans to fuel “the next wave of robotic agents”
  • Google debuted an open-source AI payments protocol with stablecoin support, with input from Coinbase and Salesforce

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

Daily Debrief Newsletter

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Asia Morning Briefing: BTC Traders Brace for Fed Cuts But Massive $4.5B Liquidity Tests Loom
Crypto Trends

Asia Morning Briefing: BTC Traders Brace for Fed Cuts But Massive $4.5B Liquidity Tests Loom

by admin



Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.
Polymarket and CME FedWatch are aligned: the Fed’s easing cycle begins tomorrow. Both have a 25 bps cut locked in for the next FOMC meeting, with odds building for a three-cut path through year-end.

Polymarket traders leave more room for aggressive easing, while CME assigns steadier probabilities of 25 bps steps. Either way, markets see 75 bps in cuts as the baseline for 2025.

Market conviction around the Fed pivot is already showing up on-chain, with BTC trading at $116,762, up 1.3% on the day and 4.7% on the week, while ETH sits at $4,502, up 4.3% on the week as traders price in the cuts.

Now, some traders are sitting on the sidelines to see just how the market might react as the Fed announces cuts.

In a recent report, CryptoQuant data shows bitcoin exchange inflows have dropped to a 7-day average of just 25,000 BTC, the lowest in more than a year and a half; the level seen in mid-July when BTC first crossed $120,000. The average BTC deposit size has also halved to 0.57 BTC, evidence that large holders are sitting idle rather than rushing to sell.

ETH is seeing the same pattern: exchange inflows have fallen to a two-month low of 783,000 ETH, down sharply from 1.8 million in August. The average ETH deposit has declined to 30 ETH from 40–45 ETH earlier this summer, suggesting reduced sell-side activity from whales.

If BTC and ETH are being hoarded, stablecoins are flowing in CryptoQuant writes in its report. USDT deposits into exchanges surged to $379 million at the end of August, the highest this year, and remain elevated at $200 million. The average daily USDT deposit has doubled since July, giving exchanges the “dry powder” needed to support a post-Fed rally.

But the flows aren’t uniform. Altcoins are seeing a resurgence of exchange activity, with transaction deposits climbing to a 7-day total of 55,000, up from a flat 20,000–30,000 range earlier this year. That divergence signals possible profit-taking in higher-beta names even as BTC and ETH supply remains tight.

“September brings a wave of token unlocks totaling $4.5 billion, a dynamic that could pressure liquidity and test market absorption,” OKX Singapore CEO Gracie Lin wrote in a note to CoinDesk.

True opportunity lies beyond short-term volatility, Lin argued.

“Stablecoins are nearing $300 billion in supply, token unlocks are putting market depth to the test, and major infrastructure upgrades like Nasdaq’s move toward tokenized securities are signaling that crypto is becoming part of the global financial system, not an outlier,” she wrote.

The message is clear: the Fed pivot is nearly priced in. What matters now is whether crypto’s liquidity buffers, stablecoins, exchange inflows, and token unlocks can absorb the shocks and channel capital into the next leg higher for BTC.

Market Movement

BTC: BTC is trading above $116,500 as traders are optimistic about potential U.S. interest rate cuts. Technical factors such as the closing of futures gaps have added upward pressure. Some caution is setting in ahead of the Fed meeting.

ETH: ETH is trading with modest strength, supported by overall crypto market momentum (dominated by BTC), but with some resistance as investors weigh macro risks and await clarity on policy from the Fed.

Gold: Gold is hitting record highs, driven by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates, a weakening U.S. dollar, and heightened geopolitical or macroeconomic uncertainty. Safe‑haven demand from investors is strong.

Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks fell on Wednesday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.3%, as investors tracked Wall Street losses and awaited a likely Fed rate cut decision.

S&P 500: The S&P 500 slipped 0.13% to 6,606.76 Tuesday as investors booked profits ahead of the Fed’s rate decision after touching a record high earlier.

Elsewhere in Crypto

  • Eric Trump defends UAE-Binance deal, says his father is ‘first guy who hasn’t made money off of the presidency’ (The Block)
  • President Trump Alleges New York Times Harmed Meme Coin in $15 Billion Lawsuit (Decrypt)
  • The Clarity Act Is Probably Dead: Here's What's Next for Its Successor Legislation (CoinDesk)



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GameFi Guides

Morning Minute: BlackRock Wants To Tokenize Its ETFs

by admin



Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors green, led by SOL; BTC at $115,000
  • SOL hits $238 on back of FORD DAT $1.65B raise; SOL memes + infra up
  • BlackRock to tokenize ETFs and RWA funds, pending regulatory approval
  • Sharps Technology partners with Pudgy Penguins for marketing
  • DOGE up 20% on week ahead of ETF launch

🏦 BlackRock Eyes Tokenized ETFs

Wall Street’s biggest asset manager is about to take tokenization mainstream.

📌 What Happened

Bloomberg reported that BlackRock is preparing to tokenize ETFs and other real-world asset (RWA) funds, expanding beyond its existing on-chain cash management product, BUIDL.

The move is pending regulatory approval, but it represents a major step toward bringing traditional investment vehicles onto blockchain rails.

BlackRock launched BUIDL with Securitize in 2024, giving institutions tokenized exposure to U.S. Treasuries.

Now, the firm wants to extend that model to ETFs and additional fund structures, which would mark the first time a traditional manager has tokenized mainstream funds at scale.

Potential types of funds include:

  • Equity ETFs
  • Bond / fixed income funds
  • Money Market funds
  • Real Estate funds
  • Private Credit funds

These sectors represent Trillions in assets ($12.5T in Q2 2025 to be exact). And a huge chunk of them (maybe eventually all) are coming on-chain.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“Just like everyone downplaying digital assets being proven wrong over the last decade. Those downplaying tokenization will likely be proven wrong as well” – James Seyffart, Bloomberg

“BlackRock is tokenizing their ETFs and you’re bearish? Everything will be tokenized.” -Graeme Moore, Head of Strategy at Project 11

reminder:

all ETFs and all equities will eventually be tokenized

because assets will naturally flow to where they can be used as the most efficient collateral

and most of that lending/borrowing will happen on Ethereum L1/L2 https://t.co/ulTmfcsBRA

— DCinvestor (@iamDCinvestor) September 12, 2025

🧠 Why It Matters

So why do we care about tokenization of real world assets?

Tokenized ETFs would:

  • Timing: Enable 24/7 settlement and faster transfers
  • Composability: Plug assets from these funds into other areas of DeFi
  • Signal: Crypto becomes “too big to fail” once giants like BlackRock move their entire books on-chain

And bringing these assets onchain grows the overall crypto market cap.

No, it doesn’t mean that new liquidity will flock to every alt L1 or meme coin.

But it’s not a stretch to think it will flow to the best assets, and it will certainly send stablecoinx up significantly. DeFi assets would likely win as well.

And there’s a real chance that most of these funds are tokenized on Ethereum (where BUIDL is).

If that’s the case, ETH is likely the biggest winner here.

So this is a big one to root for the regulators to approve.

And once BlackRock gets the approval and executes, everyone else will follow.



🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

  • Crypto majors are green with SOL outperforming; BTC +1% at $115,000, ETH +2% at $4,520, XRP +1% at $3.03, SOL +6% at $239
  • M (+11%), MYX (+8%) and PUMP (+8%) led top movers
  • The BTC ETFs saw $552.7M in net inflows yesterday, now at $1.93B in net inflows since September began
  • BlackRock is working on tokenizing ETFs and other real-world asset (RWA) funds according to Bloomberg
  • PayPal pitched Hyperliquid on expanding its network across PayPal’s 400M accounts
  • Coinbase accused the SEC of deleting Gary Gensler’s text messages during the critical crypto crackdown years
  • Rex-Osprey’s ETFs for BTC, XRP, DOGE, BONK, and TRUMP have passed the SEC’s 75-day window and are scheduled to launch today
  • Crypto lender Figure saw its shares finish 24% above their IPO price in the company’s Nasdaq debut

In Corporate Treasuries

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are green led by DOGE; DOGE +4%, Shiba +2%, PEPE +2%, PENGU +1%, BONK +2%, TRUMP even, SPX even, and FARTCOIN +4%
  • Dogecoin has jumped 20% this week, as a treasury firm accumulates DOGE and ahead of the DOJE DOGE ETF launching today
  • SPARK (+68%), KORI (+60%) and YAC (+1900%) led on-chain movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

  • PUMP got listed on Upbit on Thursday, rallying as high as $0.06 ($6B FDV); daily active PUMP app users have passed 35k
  • World Liberty Fi proposed using 100% of WLFI fees to buy and burn WLFI
  • Collector Crypt’s CARDS token jumped 18% to $517M after another $1.3M gacha pack sellout

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

  • Overall market cap up 2% at $14.1B, leaders were green
  • FARTCOIN (+2%), VIRTUAL (+2%), TIBBIR (-3%), aixbt (+1%) & ai16z (+2%)
  • LEA (+23%), simmi (+20%) and Acolyt (+17%) led top movers

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

  • ETH NFT leaders were mixed; Punks -2% at 46.3 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 10.5, BAYC -2% at 9.15 ETH
  • Abstract NFTs were mixed, led by Dreamilio (+17%)
  • Pudgy Party hits 500k downloads across Apple and Google app stores
  • Moonbirds announced a mystery physical collectible mint open for 24 hours

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.





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Astro Bot Joyful DualSense Limited Edition Preorders Open Tomorrow Morning
Game Updates

Astro Bot Joyful DualSense Limited Edition Preorders Open Tomorrow Morning

by admin



Astro Bot fans have another chance to get a DualSense Controller themed around the adorable little robot. Preorders for PlayStation’s Astro Bot Joyful Limited Edition DualSense open tomorrow, September 12, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET. The remixed version of the incredibly popular DualSense launches October 30.

PlayStation hasn’t officially confirmed pricing details, but we’d expect the controller to retail for $85 like other recent Limited Edition DualSense models. Like the original, the Astro Bot Joyful edition will be sold at PlayStation Direct and participating major retailers. In the US, this likely means Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and GameStop.

$85 | Releases October 30

As the “Joyful” moniker suggests, the 2025 edition makes one change to the design: Astro’s eyes on the touchpad match his smiling face from the PS5 game. The original edition depicted Astro’s eyes as circles. The updated design matches Astro’s face on the game’s cover art.

Outside of that small, but noticeable alteration, this is the same controller that launched in September 2024.

The white and blue color scheme simply looks fantastic, so it’s not surprising this controller was popular enough to warrant a second edition. It’s arguably the best-looking Limited Edition DualSense yet. It also helps that Astro Bot is one of the best 3D platformers ever made and has a strong argument for best overall PS5 game.

Note: The links below are search results where you can expect to find the controller once retailers create store pages. We will update with direct store pages once available.

Heads up: The original Astro Bot controller sells for around $150 on eBay. Amazon says 50+ people have purchased preowned Astro Bot controllers for $155-$170 in the past month. Though we’d be surprised if the new edition sells out as quickly as the first one–just because many people already have a very similar controller–we wouldn’t count on this remaining in stock for too long.

That said, it’s worth noting that PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei Limited Edition DualSense Controllers (and PS5 consoles) remain in stock a week after preorders opened. PlayStation Direct has an exclusive edition with black artwork, while the gold edition is available at all major retailers.

For more Astro Bot merch, check out the upcoming Funko Pop vinyl figure. Slated to release January 30, 2026, the Astro Bot Funko Pop is available to preorder for $15 at Amazon.

Sign up for GameSpot’s Weekly Deals Newsletter:



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Putting Star Wars in Destiny 2 sounded like a slam dunk, but the morning after Renegade's release date was announced, players seem unhappier than ever
Game Updates

Putting Star Wars in Destiny 2 sounded like a slam dunk, but the morning after Renegade’s release date was announced, players seem unhappier than ever

by admin


It’s not a good time for Bungie. This year’s Destiny 2 expansion, The Edge of Fate, is widely regarded as one of the worst expansions the game has ever seen – a big feat to achieve when you’re 11 years old. As intriguing as some of the new story developments in the expanding world of Destiny are, little could soften the impact of some atrocious decision-making from the sandbox and gear teams within the studio: the grind in Destiny has rarely been worse, and fans’ patience for the MMOFPS is becoming increasingly thin.

Even the blowout reveal of what should have been a slam dunk for Bungie – a Star Wars collab that was initially announced back in May – has been met with apathy and disinterest. Renegades (to give the event its proper name) will be the first ever crossover-themed campaign in Destiny’s complicated history, and operates in a muddy middle ground between full crossover and vague skin-based collab.

“Renegades merges Destiny’s distinctive storytelling and gameplay with themes and elements drawn from the iconic sci-fi franchise,” Bungie enthuses in its own press release. In the expansion, we “will defy the Vanguard” to pursue Drifter across Sol, navigating a world of shadows and syndicates in the new social hub, Tharsis Outpost, as we work across story missions to build a crew and resist a rising faction tied to the Nine.

Go and see a Star War.Watch on YouTube

As you can see from the video above, Renegades positions an activity called the Lawless Frontier front and center: per Bungie, it’s “a chaotic, cooperative new game mode, where players take on a variety of high-risk jobs and contracts to earn reputation, unlock all-new Renegade abilities that change the tide of battle, and wield weapons that include the iconic Praxic Blade and an energy-based arsenal from the new Blaster archetype.” A new dungeon is also promised to land after the expansion’s launch on 2nd December.

But, frankly, who cares? This should have been a home run for Bungie – a big crossover like this is often catnip for MMO ride-or-dies – but the general consensus amongst the community at the moment is one of exhausted apathy. After the presentation that debuted information on both Renegades and the other incoming expansion, Ash & Iron, the top post on Destiny’s dedicated Subreddit reads: I think tonight this is a breakpoint for many people and Bungie as a whole. Another bemoans “Almost everything in this “Major Update” is reskinned/reissued, except [the paid shop]”, and every single top post in the dedicated megathread about Renegades is critical of Bungie.

Now, I’ve been a member of /r/DestinyTheGame for about 12 years, and even since the early days (alpha and beta for D1!), the sub has had toxicity issues. Go figure. But this is something else: I don’t think I’ve ever seen the community so fed up and bored with basically everything that is suggested.

The problem is three-fold: as well as Bungie losing key staff that have overseen the Destiny vision since inception, the remaining designers have also implemented sandbox aspects players actively hate – namely, The Portal, a high-grind, low-reward anomaly of game design that actively punishes you for wanting choice in the things you do and the gear you equip. Decisions like these seem to manifest because of a studio culture that “stem from a lack of player empathy, disconnected leadership, and a corporate-first culture,” per one recent report.

Diminishing returns. | Image credit: Eurogamer/SteamDB

At this point, it feels like Bungie’s back is against a wall: player numbers are dropping, player satisfaction is low, and even massive crossover events like Star Wars are failing to stem the haemorrhaging. As a big new update lands, concurrent player counts on Steam are even struggling to reach 50k – a historic low for the game. Will this trend reverse by December, when the Star Wars update actually launches? We’ll have to wait and see but right now, it doesn’t seem likely.



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