Today's news tips:
1. Macroeconomic Outlook for Next Week: "Super Central Bank Week" is coming, and the Federal Reserve is about to restart its interest rate cut cycle
2. Important notice on the USAT website: USAT is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or other institutions.
3. Crypto Reporter: Tether CEO says the goal is to launch USAT by the end of this year, with new headquarters in North Carolina
4. Shibarium cross-chain bridge suffered a flash loan attack, resulting in losses exceeding $2.4 million
5. DefiLlama founder: He was pressured for questioning Figure data, and most of his loan processes could hardly find any on-chain payment transactions.
6. Yala: The protocol recently suffered an attack, and all user assets were unaffected.
7. This week, NFT transaction volume rebounded by 5.69% to $106.6 million, while the number of buyers and sellers plummeted by nearly 70%.
8. Data: The total market value of stablecoins exceeds US$290 billion, setting a new record high
Macro
This past week, mild CPI and PPI inflation reports, along with a surge in initial jobless claims, paved the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points at its September meeting. The coming week will be a highly anticipated "super central bank week," and President Trump is about to have his long-awaited moment. The Federal Reserve will meet next week to set monetary policy, and its decision is likely to set the tone for market performance for the rest of the year. Here are the key points the market will be watching in the new week:
At 20:30 on Monday, the US September New York Fed manufacturing index;
At 20:30 on Tuesday, the monthly rate of U.S. retail sales in August and the monthly rate of U.S. import price index in August will be released;
At 2:00 on Thursday, the Federal Reserve FOMC will announce its interest rate decision and a summary of its economic forecasts;
At 2:30 on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell held a monetary policy press conference;
At 20:30 on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending September 13th;
At 22:00 on Thursday, the U.S. Conference Board Leading Index monthly rate for August will be released.
The Federal Reserve will hold its policy meeting next week, where it is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, with a 7% chance of a 50 basis point cut. However, according to market pricing, a more likely scenario is for the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at each of the remaining three meetings.
Project News
According to the important information disclosed on the USAT website, the US dollar stablecoin USAT is not legal tender (pursuant to Section 5103 of Title 31 of the United States Code) and is not issued, supported, approved, or guaranteed by the U.S. government. USAT is also not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), or any other government agency.
The USAT website is published by Tether Operations, SA de CV and is for reference only. Tether Operations, SA de CV is not the intended issuer of USAT. The issuer of USAT will be Anchorage Digital Bank, NA.
0xngmi, the anonymous founder of the on-chain data analysis website DefiLlama, posted on the X platform that Figure wanted him to avoid due diligence on the company and attempted to pressure him through public and private defamation. 0xngmi pointed out that DefiLlama's value lies in user trust in providing good data, and providing high-quality data that meets user expectations and helps them make informed decisions is crucial. Figure claims that their on-chain RWA volume has reached $12 billion, but DefiLlama's investigation revealed something peculiar:
Figure only holds $5 million worth of BTC and $4 million worth of ETH on exchanges (of which Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume is only $2,000).
2. Figure’s own stablecoin, YLDS, has a supply of only 20 million, and theoretically all its RWA transactions should be based on this;
3. Most of Figure’s transactions transferring RWA assets appear to be conducted by accounts other than the accounts holding those assets;
4. Figure’s loan process is mostly completed through fiat currency, and there is almost no on-chain payment.
0xngmi added that DefiLlama is unsure how Figure’s $12 billion in assets are traded when there are so few assets available for trading on the chain. Since most holders do not seem to transfer these assets with their own keys, it is questionable whether they are simply mirroring their internal databases on the chain.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett posted on the X platform that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told her the goal is to launch USAT by the end of the year. New CEO Bo Hines said the new US headquarters will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Binance Alpha to List Project Merlin (MRLN) on September 16th
Binance Alpha will list Project Merlin (MRLN) on September 16th. Eligible users can claim the airdrop using Binance Alpha Points after Alpha trading opens. Detailed details will be announced separately.
The Shibarium cross-chain bridge connecting the Layer 2 network and Ethereum was hacked, resulting in a loss of $2.4 million. Developers suspended staking, unstaking, and related processes to rotate and protect validator keys.
The attacker borrowed 4.6 million BONE tokens (Shibarium's governance token) through a flash loan and appears to have gained access to 10 of the 12 validator signing keys used to secure the network, giving them a two-thirds majority stake. The attacker then exploited their privileged position to steal approximately 224.57 ETH and 92.6 billion SHIB from the Shibarium bridge contract and transferred these funds to their own address. These funds are worth approximately $2.4 million at current prices.
In response to the attack, Shiba Inu developers suspended staking and unstaking functionality on the network, effectively freezing borrowed BONE tokens (which had already been affected by the unstaking delay) and causing the attacker to lose majority control. The attacker also obtained a large amount of K9 (KNINE) tokens (associated with K9 Finance), valued at approximately $700,000. When the attacker attempted to sell the KNINE, the K9 Finance DAO intervened and blacklisted the attacker's address, preventing the tokens from being sold.
Derive co-founder Nick Forster has proposed increasing the supply of DRV, the native token of his on-chain options exchange, to retain core contributors and secure deals with institutional partners. The proposal calls for minting 500 million DRV tokens, increasing the supply by 50%, and distributing these tokens to the Derive Foundation (to be renamed the Lyra Foundation). Forster stated that the proposal estimates that existing holders would see their tokens diluted by up to 8.25% annually over four years.
As part of the proposal, Forster said Derive has “entered into a key partnership that will bring institutional-grade liquidity and custody services to the ecosystem,” adding that the foundation is “in advanced talks with several of the largest liquidity providers and dealers to bring in deeper liquidity and launch new product lines.”
Yala is suspected of being hacked, and SlowMist said it has received official help from Yala.
SlowMist Technology's Chief Information Security Officer, 23pds, posted on the X platform that they had received an official request for help from Yala this morning and were following up on the matter. More information awaits official disclosure from Yala. There were previous rumors that the protocol had been hacked.
According to previous news , Yala's stablecoin YU decoupled and fell to a low of $0.2074.
Yala: The protocol recently suffered an attack, and all user assets were unaffected
Yala announced on the X platform that the protocol recently experienced an attack, which briefly impacted the anchoring of YU. With the assistance of security partners such as SlowMist, the issue has been identified and improvements have been implemented to enhance system performance. Officials emphasized that the security of all user assets was unaffected.
Binance Alpha now lists ALEO tokens, with an airdrop threshold of 200 points
Binance Alpha has officially launched Aleo (ALEO). Users holding at least 200 Binance Alpha Points are eligible to claim the token airdrop. Claim 165 ALEO tokens on the Alpha event page. The point threshold will automatically decrease by 15 points every hour until all rewards are distributed. Claiming the airdrop will cost 15 Binance Alpha Points. Users must confirm their claim within 24 hours on the Alpha event page; otherwise, they will forfeit the airdrop. Additionally, an Aleo trading competition will be launched with a total prize pool of 1,500,000 ALEO. Only purchases during the event will count (sales will not be counted).
Viewpoint
According to Caixin.com, regarding the surge in stablecoins in the first half of 2025, former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers stated that stablecoins would not significantly increase net demand for US Treasuries, as a large portion of the funds that would flow into them are already allocated to US Treasuries. He also expressed skepticism about the claim that stablecoins would significantly contribute to budget deficit financing, arguing that they would significantly reduce the burden of the fiscal deficit. There are two key areas of regulation for stablecoins: preventing bank runs under multiple equilibria and prohibiting anonymous transactions. The raison d'être of stablecoins should be to facilitate payments and transactions, not to make it easier for governments to finance their debt.
Summers added that over time, Trump will realize what every previous U.S. president has learned: "Fed bashing is a very risky game."
Circle executives: About 90% of USDC anchored asset reserves are managed by BlackRock
According to Caixin, David A. Katz, Circle's Vice President of Strategy and Public Policy for Asia Pacific, stated at a forum in Singapore that digital assets must first ensure network security, preventing trading systems from being attacked by hackers. Secondly, digital assets must be backed one-to-one by real, high-quality, and highly liquid assets and held in custody by appropriate institutions. For example, approximately 90% of USDC's anchored reserves are held by BlackRock. Circle currently has over 900 employees, approximately 300 of whom are lawyers and compliance officers. Furthermore, digital assets such as stablecoins require government regulation to become part of the international financial system.
Vitalik: Ethereum plans to scale 10 times next year while maintaining decentralization and security
According to Bitcoin.com, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, on stage at EthTokyo 2025, reflected on the early days of blockchain, Asia's key role in Ethereum's growth, and his vision for the network's future. His speech, combining history, personal insights, and a future roadmap, emphasized Ethereum's mission to connect Eastern and Western communities. On a technical note, Vitalik Buterin reiterated his unwavering belief in second-layer solutions, which not only improve Ethereum's scalability but also enhance interoperability across ecosystems. He further announced an ambitious goal: Ethereum aims to scale tenfold over the next year, increasing throughput and accessibility while maintaining decentralization and security. Vitalik Buterin also reflected on the differing dynamics between the Chinese and Japanese developer communities. In China, development is rapid, large-scale, and often associated with large-scale projects. In Japan, developers demonstrate an early adopter attitude towards emerging technologies, often conducting cutting-edge experiments before they go global.
Important data
According to the latest data from 8MarketCap, BNB's market value has reached US$130.55 billion, setting a new historical high. It has risen by 3.38% in the past 24 hours, surpassing BYD and ranking 167th in global asset market value.
Data: The total market value of stablecoins has exceeded US$290 billion, setting a new record high
According to the latest data from Coingecko, the total market value of stablecoins has exceeded US$290 billion, currently reaching US$292,438,649,465, setting a new historical high. It has increased by 0.5% in the past 24 hours, and the 24-hour trading volume is US$116,829,414,452. Among them, Tether’s market value is approximately US$170.11 billion, ranking first; USDC’s market value is approximately US$72.99 billion, ranking second; USDE’s market value is approximately US$13.32 billion, ranking third.
CryptoSlam data shows that NFT market transaction volume rebounded slightly by 5.69% to $106.6 million over the past week. The number of NFT buyers decreased by 69.84% to 180,693, while the number of NFT sellers decreased by 70.87% to 123,713. The number of NFT transactions increased by 2.60% to 1,754,295.
Ethereum network transaction volume was $34.02 million, down 4.95% from the previous week. Mythos Chain network transaction volume was $15.5 million, up 61.06% from the previous week. Polygon network transaction volume was $13.37 million, down 14.39%.
This week's high-value sales include:
- CryptoPunks #2368 sold for 89 ETH ($408,599 USD)
- CryptoPunks #5702 sold for 57.95 ETH ($264,994 USD)
- CryptoPunks #8464 sold for 48.5 ETH ($225,753)
- CryptoPunks #6557 sold for 50 ETH ($220,923 USD)
- CryptoPunks #5935 sold for 46.5 ETH ($216,444 USD)
Galaxy Digital bought another 325,000 SOL in the past 5 hours, worth about $78 million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, Galaxy Digital purchased another 325,000 SOL ($78 million) in the past 5 hours.
