Crypto Chaos: 1,000 Bitcoin Millionaires Vanish Daily, Altcoins & NFTs Explode, Hackers Strike! (Sep 28

Key Facts:

Bitcoin bloodbath: Crypto researcher Glassnode reports ~7,700 addresses holding ≥$1M in Bitcoin disappeared between Sept 22–26 (≈1,100 per day), as BTC slid from ~$116K to ~$109K ^[1]. The market lost ~$150–$300B that week (mostly on Bitcoin and Ethereum), and institutional Bitcoin ETF inflows flipped to outflows ^[2] ^[3].
Altcoin pump: After the dip, many top altcoins jumped 3–4% on Sept 29, fueled by massive short-liquidations (≈$260M of Bitcoin shorts closed, ~$345M total) ^[4] ^[5]. Decrypt reports that Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ethereum, and XRP led the gains, and analyst Shivam Thakral (BuyUcoin) notes a “Bitcoin uptick” triggered short-covering that “amplified prices for altcoins.” He predicts traders will “consolidate until rotating capital into altcoins” (especially narrative-driven sectors) soon ^[6] ^[7]. Crypto Fear & Greed moved back toward “neutral,” and total market cap recovered to ~$2.23T ^[8].
DeFi explosion: Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao announced he joined Aster DEX (a new perpetuals exchange), sparking an epic rally in its ASTER token. Within days of its Sept debut, ASTER soared hundreds-fold (some sources even cite +7,000%) to a market cap above $3 billion with 24h volume ~$46B ^[9]. The “CZ Effect” – his praise calling Aster “a very strong project” – helped Aster briefly overtake rivals like Hyperliquid ^[10] ^[11]. (DeFi TVL and trading volume on Aster exploded as Hyperliquid protocols were beset by hacks – see below.)
NFT frenzy: On Sept 28, Hyperliquid airdropped its new “Hypurr” cat NFTs to early users. These quickly traded for sky-high prices: floor ~$68.7K and a rare #21 NFT sold for 9,999 HYPE (~$467,000) ^[12]. Crypto.news notes Hyperliquid’s own token (HYPE) jumped ~5% on the launch ^[13]. However, security issues emerged: a researcher reported eight Hypurr NFTs (≈$400K) were stolen from wallets during the frenzy ^[14], underscoring ongoing hacks in the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Dogecoin’s own NFT scene also made headlines: Doginal Dogs (a Dogecoin-based NFT brand) announced a partnership with nightlife giant TAO for “DDVEGAS”, a three-day Web3 crypto-culture festival in Las Vegas (Oct 15–17) ^[15] ^[16]. Co-founder David Chaboki said DDVEGAS “embodies… community, culture, and creation” – a sign of crypto’s growing cultural momentum ^[17].
Regulatory U-turn: U.S. crypto policy is shifting. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce (“Crypto Mom”) used the Coin Center Policy Summit (Sept 25) to urge the industry to “build and innovate” under clearer rules ^[18]. She even apologized for the SEC’s earlier heavy-handed stance and applauded the new commission under Chair Paul Atkins, as Project Crypto drafts guidance and high-profile enforcement (like Coinbase and Kraken) have been paused ^[19] ^[20]. Peirce’s rallying cry – “use this time of regulatory clarity to build good things” ^[21] – reflects a more collaborative tone. A looming U.S. government shutdown (now ~43% likely) is already rattling markets: analysis shows a 5.7% 24h BTC drop and 10% ETH drop as lawmakers stalled. Jessica Martinez of the Blockchain Association warns a shutdown “would stall critical progress on crypto policy,” delaying ETF approvals and other reforms ^[22] ^[23].
Institutional embrace: Wall Street continues to warm to crypto. Morgan Stanley officially announced that by mid-2026 its ETrade clients will trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana directly ^[24] ^[25]. Morgan Stanley is teaming with infrastructure provider ZeroHash and sees this rollout as “phase one of a more extensive digital asset strategy,” said Jed Finn, the firm’s wealth management head ^[26]. On the OTC side, Coinbase investor interest remains strong: Kraken is reportedly in talks to raise another $200–$300M, aiming for a $20 b valuation (up from $15B in a just-closed $500M round) ^[27] ^[28]. That surge in funding fever – with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley even advising Kraken’s future IPO – has spilled over into crypto tokens: exchange tokens (BNB, FTT, OKB, etc.) all jumped as investors cheered these infrastructure bets ^[29].
Macro factors: In traditional markets, U.S. inflation unexpectedly fell to 1.99% in September ^[30], below the Fed’s 2% target. This intensifies speculation that central banks may soon pivot to cuts, an environment many analysts say favors risk assets like crypto. The U.S. dollar index (DXY) is hovering near the critical 100 level ^[31] – a barrier whose breach could hurt crypto prices. Both factors underpin some analysts’ bullish seasonal call: crypto strategy firm CoinCentral argues that September weakness often flips to Q4 strength and that “consolidation” now could set the stage for a year-end rally, especially if new spot altcoin ETFs (e.g. for Solana, XRP, etc.) start launching ^[32] ^[33].

Market Volatility & Outlook

After a brutal September, sentiment is mixed. Glassnode data showed ≈1,100 Bitcoin millionaires lost each day (addresses with ≥$1M worth of BTC) as prices slid ^[34]. In dollar terms, Bitcoin dipped ~6% over 24 hours on Sept 28 (from ~$104K to ~$96.5K) ^[35], while Ethereum fell ~10% to about $3,511 ^[36]. Across the market, leveraged traders were wiped: ~$15B of positions liquidated in the week (10x leveraged longs hit particularly hard) ^[37]. The crypto Fear & Greed Index plunged to 28 (“extreme fear”) by Sept 28, the lowest since March ^[38]. Equity-like crypto businesses felt it too – Coinbase’s stock (COIN) fell 8% and Robinhood (HOOD) 17%, reflecting a Q2 revenue slide (Coinbase said transaction revenue was down 39% QoQ) ^[39].

Yet the Sept 29 weekend delivered relief. Bitcoin rebounded ~3% and small caps led an altcoin bounce. Decrypt reports $345M of positions liquidated in 24h, mostly shorts ($260M), fueling the surge ^[40]. The Solid moves in SOL, DOGE, ADA, XRP (each +3–4%) show traders hunting bargains after the pullback. Shivam Thakral (BuyUcoin) sees this as a classic short-covering rally and predicts capital rotation into altcoins once BTC stabilizes ^[41]. If so, “narrative-driven” sectors – Layer2 networks, AI-related tokens, staking/yield projects – could lead Q4 gains ^[42]. Many analysts share this cautious optimism. For example, Decrypt notes the Fear & Greed Index already ticked back to “neutral,” suggesting risk appetite is returning ^[43].

Longer term, many forecasts remain bullish. Binance’s CZ publicly reiterated a $500K–$1M Bitcoin target (though without a timeline) ^[44], and some now expect Bitcoin to test $140K if current resistance holds. On Sept 24 CoinDesk detailed Ethereum’s upcoming “Fusaka” upgrade for early December, which will roughly double the network’s data capacity ^[45] – a technical step that may lower L2 costs. Meanwhile new platforms are emerging: Plasma’s stablecoin-focused blockchain launched in late September with a whopping ~$2 billion in liquidity on day one ^[46], aiming to rival Ethereum and Solana for stablecoin payments.

Regulatory & Policy Developments

The U.S. regulatory environment is notably shifting toward accommodation. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce used a Coin Center forum to tell crypto firms to “build and innovate” under the new rules ^[47]. She acknowledged previous missteps, praising the SEC’s new leadership (Paul Atkins) and its Project Crypto initiative, which is drafting clearer guidelines. The SEC also quietly dropped or settled cases (even against Coinbase and Ripple) under the new stance ^[48] ^[49]. Peirce’s message – “use this time of regulatory clarity to build good things” ^[50] – has been echoed by industry advocates urging firms to take advantage.

Not all policy news was positive: political gridlock in Washington loomed. Budget stalemate news spooked markets as lawmakers missed deadlines. CoinCentral analysis notes the chance of a U.S. shutdown rose to ~43% as late Sept, triggering sell-offs in crypto (Bitcoin -5.7%, Ethereum -10%) ^[51]. Jessica Martinez of the Blockchain Association warned that a shutdown “would stall critical progress on crypto policy” ^[52]. In practice, a shutdown means SEC and other agencies stop processing applications, potentially delaying any pending approvals (such as ETH or XRP ETFs or stablecoin rules).

Elsewhere, traditional finance giants made crypto moves. Reuters reports SWIFT (the global bank messaging system) and 30+ major banks (JPMorgan, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, etc.) are jointly building a blockchain-based “shared ledger” to make cross-border payments instant and 24/7 ^[53] ^[54]. This high-profile collaboration signals that stablecoins, tokenized deposits and even CBDCs are becoming central to mainstream finance. U.S. banks are also integrating crypto: Morgan Stanley announced it will allow ETrade clients to trade BTC, ETH, and SOL by H1 2026 ^[55] ^[56], using partner ZeroHash for custody. Morgan Stanley’s Jed Finn says this is only “phase one” of a larger digital strategy ^[57], hinting the firm may later expand to wallets or more assets.

DeFi Dynamics

Aster DEX frenzy: The DeFi sector was rocked by a single event: news on Sept 27–28 that Binance founder CZ joined Aster DEX as an advisor (and YZi Labs took a stake). The result was an explosive rally in the ASTER token. Within 48 hours ASTER spiked roughly 400%–7000% from its launch price ^[58], rocketing Aster’s market cap above $3 billion and its 24h trading volume to ~$46 billion ^[59] – eclipsing even top rivals like Hyperliquid. Analysts call this the “CZ Effect”, illustrating how a single endorsement can validate a project. CZ himself lavished praise, calling Aster “a very strong project” that offers “low fees and strong (financial) design” ^[60]. Aster’s CEO says the exchange’s innovative AMM, perpetual swap and liquidation mechanics (outperforming PancakeSwap) were already attracting DeFi users; CZ’s support just accelerated the craze.

Hyperliquid troubles: Ironically, much of Aster’s gain came amid chaos at Hyperliquid (another emerging DeFi L1). On Sept 27, Hyperdrive (Hyperliquid’s lending protocol) was hacked for ~$700K, draining its treasury pools ^[61]. Just a day earlier, HyperVault (a yield vault) lost ~$3.6M in an exploit/exit scam ^[62]. These back-to-back breaches set off a panic: on-chain data show >$200M of USDC fleeing Hyperliquid pools in two days, and its HYPE token plunged over 20% as investors dumped positions ^[63]. Security experts note that Hyperliquid’s ultra-fast blockchain (only 4 validators) may be too centralized, creating systemic risk ^[64]. Protocol teams have paused markets and promised post-mortems. This string of incidents underscores a broader point: high-throughput blockchains need rigorous auditing and decentralization to be safe, a lesson relevant across DeFi.

Other DeFi headlines: Even outside Hyperliquid, the year’s DeFi narrative is evolving. Yield platforms are slicing inflation or changing models: Babylon Protocol, for example, voted on Sept 29 to cut its BABY token’s annual inflation to 5.5% and introduce co-staking rewards to encourage holding. And in TradFi bridging, Ondo Finance (a tokenized asset firm) partnered with Ripple on Sept 27 to bring short-term U.S. Treasuries (their OUSG token) to the XRP Ledger ^[65] ^[66]. Ondo’s Ian De Bode says this move “broadens access to institutional-grade financial instruments” and “strengthens connections between traditional finance and decentralized finance” ^[67]. It lets institutions mint and redeem tokenized U.S. government debt 24/7, using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin for settlement. With Ondo’s $690M OUSG stablecoin TVL and Ripple’s XRPL upgrades, analysts see this as a sign that on-chain Treasuries could finally scale up.

NFT & Web3 Highlights

The NFT and Web3 space was lively. Beyond the Hypurr NFT saga on Hyperliquid (see above), one of the week’s biggest Web3 stories was cultural: Doginal Dogs (a Dogecoin NFT project) teamed with nightclub operator TAO Group to host “DDVEGAS” – a crypto/NFT festival in Las Vegas Oct 15–17 ^[68] ^[69]. Events at lavish venues (TAO Beach, Hakkasan, etc.) will feature crypto community mixers and parties, signaling that NFT culture is intersecting with mainstream entertainment. Co-founder David Chaboki explained “crypto is not just about charts and tokens, it’s about people, lifestyle, and shared experiences” ^[70].

On the technology side, blockchain firms are courting AI and new use cases. Circle announced on Sept 29 a partnership with Web3 payments provider Crossmint to expand access to the USDC stablecoin ^[71] ^[72]. Notably, they’re targeting not just humans but “AI agents” – envisioning future scenarios where self-driving cars or digital assistants autonomously spend USDC for services. By integrating Crossmint’s wallet and API layer with USDC rails, the companies hope to make stablecoin payments nearly instantaneous worldwide ^[73] ^[74]. Such moves hint at a broader Web3 vision where money flows seamlessly between machines and humans.

Major Partnerships & Funding

The crypto startup funding scene remains strong in infrastructure. Besides Kraken’s rumored mega-round ^[75] ^[76], institutional venture continues. Valar Ventures and Kora, for instance, are planning new banking-crypto integrations (not covered here in detail), and Circle’s Circle Ventures arm is partnering widely on stablecoin projects (as above). Overseas, Asian firms are exploring tokenization: Japan’s SBI Holdings and partners are trialing tokenized deposit systems; Beijing’s blockchain firms are pushing yuan stablecoins domestically (HK warned against offshore yuan coins on Sept 25).

On the corporate front, even mining and payments sectors saw news. QNB (Qatar National Bank) announced adoption of JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform on Sept 28, enabling blockchain-based digital payments across corporate clients – a move touted as “pioneering” in MENA fintech ^[77]. And wood-for-token? Not exactly – but at least one solar energy firm announced a partial token offering. All these reflect a blend of tech and finance, and point to growing institutional involvement: banks, asset managers and large corporates increasingly treat crypto/blockchain as core infrastructure rather than fringe.

Forward Outlook

With Q4 ahead, analysts see a tug-of-war. On one side, seasonal trends (thanks to historically bullish Oct–Dec for crypto) and easing macro fears might fuel a rally. As coincentral argued, the deep September correction could “fuel a massive altcoin season in Q4” ^[78]. The strong narratives (AI tokens, DeFi innovations, payment rails) and improving regulation also set a positive backdrop. On the other side, tightening financial conditions or renewed regulatory hurdles (if a shutdown occurs) could stifle gains. Observers recommend caution: “Consolidate now and be ready to rotate,” advises Thakral ^[79].

For readers, keep an eye on ETF developments (the SEC is expected to rule on major Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF filings by late October), which could attract fresh capital. Also watch Fed signals – any hint of rate cuts could reignite bullish bets (e.g. crypto strategist Charles Edwards and others have flagged Bitcoin often rallies after Fed pivots).

In short: the last two days of September delivered a dizzying mix of events – from dramatic wealth attrition in Bitcoin to parabolic DeFi tokens and multi-million-dollar NFT trades, all under a shifting regulatory sky. As one analyst put it, we are witnessing crypto’s “old world meets new world” moment – where hedge funds and Silicon Valley smart money dance alongside Discord-deployed NFTs and anime cats. How this cocktail resolves could set the tone for the rest of 2025.

Sources: Contemporary crypto media and financial news from Sept 28–29, 2025 ^[80] ^[81] ^[82] ^[83] ^[84] ^[85] ^[86] ^[87] ^[88] ^[89] ^[90] ^[91] ^[92] ^[93] (see footnotes). Each category above cites relevant reports and expert quotes.