

Over 90,000 leveraged crypto positions were liquidated totaling $369.67 million on Sept. 2, CoinGlass data shows, as oil and Treasury yield surges fueled Fed rate hike expectations. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh signaled last week the central bank is uncomfortable with the current pace of inflation, remarks traders read as pointing to a rate hike this month. Brent crude climbed more than 5 percent to about $95 a barrel after fresh U.S. strikes on Iranian targets, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to roughly 4.8 percent, its highest level since January 2025. XRP, Ethereum, and Solana came under the heaviest selling pressure. Ethereum dropped under $2,400, while Bitcoin briefly fell below $77,000 before recovering toward $78,000. Watcher.Guru reported roughly $100 million was liquidated within 60 minutes during the sharpest leg of the decline. The S&P 500 fell 0.71 percent and the Nasdaq dropped about 1 percent as the risk-off move extended across asset classes. The cascade shows how macro repricing now dominates crypto price action. Higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin, while a stronger inflation backdrop reduces expectations for easier monetary policy. The same forces that pressured the Nasdaq and other growth assets Tuesday are now flowing directly into crypto derivatives markets, where leveraged longs are the first to be flushed out when liquidity tightens. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted roughly $217 million on Aug. 31, reversing the prior session's outflow. BlackRock's IBIT accounted for $205.9 million of the total, following a nine-session buying streak that brought about $3 billion into Bitcoin funds during August. That institutional demand helped BTC gain roughly 24 percent last month, briefly pushing it above $81,000 before momentum cooled near $78,500. The divergence between ETF inflows and spot price weakness highlights a structural tension. While long-dated institutional buyers continue accumulating through funds, the derivatives market is repricing rapidly as macro conditions deteriorate. Higher energy costs feed directly into inflation expectations, and if the Fed responds with a hike, the opportunity cost of holding crypto rises further, potentially extending the deleveraging cycle. Traders now watch whether the Fed follows through on a rate increase at its September meeting. If Brent stays near $95 and Treasury yields remain elevated, ETF demand may not be enough to absorb further macro shocks, leaving leveraged positions across XRP, Ethereum, and Solana vulnerable to additional forced selling. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Bitcoin fell 1.02 percent to $76,800 on Sept. 2, breaking below $77,000 as a bond and equities sell-off pushed onchain demand negative. Darkfost, a pseudonymous analyst who tracks Bitcoin onchain flows, said the apparent demand metric reversed again after a brief recovery in August, with profit-taking by short-term holders — investors who acquired BTC within the past 155 days — outpacing new buying interest. The analyst cautioned that if demand does not recover soon, Bitcoin could face another leg down, potentially revisiting price ranges not seen in recent weeks. The onchain apparent demand metric estimates the net change in Bitcoin holdings among long-term investors. A negative reading indicates that selling pressure from short-term holders is exceeding new accumulation, often pointing to weakening market momentum. The latest reading follows a period in August when Bitcoin rebounded roughly 30 percent from its lows, though spot volume during that recovery hit a three-year low, according to data cited by BitcoinWorld. Notably, the number of Bitcoin wallets holding at least $1 million surged by 11,636 in August as large holders returned, yet that accumulation has not been enough to offset short-term selling pressure. The macro backdrop is dominated by a bond market sell-off that has pushed yields higher and pressured equities, creating risk-off conditions that typically weigh on speculative assets. Rising bond yields threaten to push up US borrowing costs, according to analysts cited by MSN. Bitcoin, which has increasingly traded in correlation with risk assets, has not been immune to this dynamic. Bitcoin's total market capitalization stands at $2.68 trillion, down 1.05 percent in the past 24 hours, while BTC dominance sits at 57.35 percent, according to CryptoRank data. Ethereum dominance is 10.84 percent. Total 24-hour spot volume across the market reached $33.3 billion, down 2.91 percent. For traders, the key question is whether Bitcoin can hold its current support zone near $77,000 and whether the apparent demand metric shows signs of improvement in the coming days. A sustained recovery in demand could indicate that selling pressure is exhausting, while continued negative readings might confirm a deeper correction. Onchain metrics should be weighed alongside technical analysis, trading volumes, and macroeconomic data releases that could influence liquidity conditions. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

A tokenized-asset protocol is pressing Washington to greenlight a product class that has so far lived offshore. Ondo Finance on Sept. 2 formally asked the SEC and CFTC to allow perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks to trade onshore, contending that the existing securities framework already covers these instruments. The company argues that perpetual futures on individual equities fall within the current scope of US securities law, according to its public statement to both agencies. The request arrives as US authorities have signaled a broader intent to pull derivatives trading back from offshore venues that have captured significant volume in the crypto derivatives market. The proposal targets perpetual futures — contracts with no expiry date that track the price of an underlying asset — a product class that has grown primarily on offshore crypto exchanges. Ondo's push would create a regulated onshore venue for these instruments, potentially bridging traditional equities with tokenized infrastructure. If the SEC and CFTC accommodate the proposal, it could open a new regulated market for stock perpetuals and expand Ondo's product footprint beyond its current tokenized-asset offerings. The outcome will hinge on whether regulators determine that existing securities law — rather than new legislation — can govern these hybrid products that sit at the intersection of equities and crypto derivatives. Ondo's advocacy reflects the growth of the real-world asset tokenization sector, where protocols have expanded from tokenizing bonds and funds into more complex financial instruments. The company's move into derivatives marks a significant step for a sector that has largely focused on tokenizing traditional assets rather than creating new derivative products. The regulatory question at the heart of the proposal is jurisdictional. Perpetual futures on individual stocks touch both the SEC's authority over securities and the CFTC's oversight of derivatives, raising questions about which agency would take the lead on approving and supervising such products. The two agencies have historically divided oversight of crypto products, with the SEC asserting authority over tokens deemed securities and the CFTC overseeing derivatives markets. For Ondo, the stakes are structural. The company has positioned itself as a bridge between traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure, and a favorable regulatory outcome would validate its expansion thesis while attracting institutional capital seeking compliant derivatives exposure to US equities. A rejection or prolonged review, by contrast, would leave the product class to continue trading offshore, outside the reach of US securities law. The SEC and CFTC have not yet publicly responded to Ondo's request as of press time. Industry observers will be watching whether the agencies treat the proposal as a test case for how tokenized derivatives products can be accommodated within the existing US regulatory framework. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.