The Federal Reserve on September 24 opened public comment on two proposals to implement the GENIUS Act for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers. The framework would require full backing with permitted liquid reserve assets, set standardized capital and risk-management requirements, and create a tailored application process for supervised banks seeking to issue stablecoins. The comment period is set to run for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Separately, the Fear & Greed Index stood at 71, or "Greed," on September 25, up from 56 a week earlier.
ECB Brings Central Bank Money to Tokenized Finance
The European Central Bank launched Pontes on September 21, a service linking its payment infrastructure to blockchain-based financial markets so banks and investors can settle tokenized transactions in central-bank euros. Deutsche Bank, Santander and Clearstream were among the first participants to complete onboarding. The ECB also said it will invest a small portion of its €23 billion of own funds in highly rated, euro-denominated securities issued on blockchain. The initiative adds live central-bank settlement infrastructure to Europe’s broader push toward tokenized finance.
Bitget Reports $352 Million Crypto Hack
Crypto exchange Bitget said approximately $351.6 million was affected by unauthorized transfers from some hot wallets on September 24, prompting a temporary withdrawal suspension while the incident was investigated. The company said its cold wallets remained secure and that losses would be covered by a protection fund holding more than $464 million. Bitget later said attackers compromised a wallet backend and spoofed transaction data rather than stealing private keys. The breach underscores the continuing operational and custody risks facing centralized crypto platforms.
Bitcoin ETFs opened Monday with $999.0 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $381.4 million, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB at $289.1 million and Fidelity’s FBTC at $238.8 million. Tuesday remained strong at $714.7 million, with IBIT adding $350.3 million and FBTC $257.4 million. Momentum eased through midweek: Wednesday brought $346.9 million, while Thursday was the weakest session at $190.7 million as IBIT still contributed $162.6 million and BTCW posted a $4.0 million outflow. Overall, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $2.2513 billion in net inflows across the reported week, with demand concentrated in IBIT, FBTC and ARKB.
Ethereum ETFs started Monday with $270.0 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s ETHA at $110.1 million, Fidelity’s FETH at $73.0 million and ETH at $59.3 million. Tuesday followed with $162.2 million, with ETHA adding $88.1 million and FETH $33.6 million. Inflows slowed midweek to $104.5 million Wednesday and $66.1 million Thursday, the weakest session, as ETHA and FETH remained the main contributors while ETH posted a $4.1 million outflow on Wednesday. Overall, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $602.8 million in net inflows across the reported week, with BlackRock’s ETHA accounting for the largest share.
Litecoin was the clear weekly leader at +25.0%, with CoinDesk noting that the exact driver was unclear but pointing to stronger on-chain activity and possible pre-halving positioning as contributing factors. Hedera (+19.9%), Metal DAO (+18.7%), Cardano (+15.6%), Stellar (+14.4%), XRP (+13.1%) and Dogecoin (+12.3%) also posted double-digit gains, while Bitcoin (+3.8%) and Ethereum (+3.1%) remained positive. Metal Blockchain (-0.4%), Loan Protocol (-1.4%) and XPR Network (-2.4%) were the only tracked names to finish the seven-day period lower.
