The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Monday! Although the September interest rate decision was once seen as a pivotal moment for crypto prices, analysts said that the market's bull cycle has largely run its course amid an early morning price slump.
In today's newsletter, billions of dollars in liquidations sweep crypto as BTC slides, Midas and Axelar launch a yield-bearing tokenized XRP product, Strive and Semler Scientific announce a bitcoin treasury merger, and more.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and the UK team up to create a crypto-focused task force to guide future regulations.
Let's get started!
P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!
Liquidations sweep crypto markets as bitcoin slides
Crypto positions saw more than $1.7 billion liquidated in the past 24 hours, $1.6 billion of which on the long side, including over $1 billion in under an hour early Monday, according to CoinGlass data.
- More than 400,000 traders saw their positions wiped out, the largest of which was a single $12.7 million BTC/USDT liquidation on OKX.
- Liquidations occur when traders' positions in a particular market are forcibly closed due to significant losses or insufficient margin to meet the maintenance requirements.
- The surge in liquidations came as bitcoin fell 2.5% toward $112,000, while ether slid over 6% to nearly $4,000, according to The Block's prices page, slipping back below pre-Fed rate cut levels.
- "The fireworks from earlier this year have fizzled," said Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst at BTC Markets. "Investors are cautious, long-term holders aren't panicking, but short-term traders are restless. Onchain data shows holders aren't selling, so sentiment is more 'nervous optimism' than outright fear."
- Still, Lucas added that this isn't a reversal but just a pause. "Long-term holders are still in, but traders are waiting for a [bitcoin] breakout above $124K to call the next leg up."
Midas and Axelar launch tokenized XRP product targeting up to 8% yield
Tokenization platform Midas and Interop Labs, developer of the blockchain interoperability protocol Axelar, launched mXRP, a tokenized XRP product targeting a 6-8% base yield.
- Users can also deploy mXRP in DeFi markets to generate additional returns, with yield strategies managed by third-party "risk curators" like Hyperithm, and payouts made directly in XRP.
- Issued on the XRP Ledger's EVM sidechain, Axelar will bridge the token across major blockchain ecosystems, positioning mXRP as a "perpetual buyer" of XRP through reinvested yield, Axelar co-founder Georgios Vlachos said.
- mXRP aims to kickstart DeFi activity on XRPL, offering yields above the current sub-1% levels, though it is restricted in the U.S., UK, and sanctioned jurisdictions.
Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive to buy Semler Scientific in bitcoin treasury firm merger
Strive, the DAT co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, has agreed to acquire Semler Scientific in an all-stock deal that will create a combined bitcoin treasury of more than 10,900 BTC — worth $1.2 billion.
- The merger values Semler at a 210% implied premium based on Friday's closing price, with each share converting into 21.05 Strive Class A shares.
- Strive also disclosed on Monday that it had bought another 5,816 BTC for $675 million at an average price of $116,047 per bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 5,886 BTC ahead of the tie-up. Semler currently holds 5,021 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.
- Post-close, Strive's management and board will remain, while Semler's executive chairman, Eric Semler, is expected to join the new combined board.
Metaplanet buys $632 million in bitcoin, largest BTC acquisition to date
Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet said Monday it had acquired another 5,419 BTC for $632.5 million at an average price of $116,724 — marking its largest purchase yet.
- The acquisition lifted Metaplanet's total holdings to 25,555 BTC, worth $2.9 billion, reclaiming its place as the fifth-largest public company bitcoin holder.
- Earlier this month, the firm announced a $1.4 billion share issuance earmarked for more BTC purchases and set up a U.S. subsidiary to expand its bitcoin income generation business.
- Meanwhile, Strategy bought another 850 BTC for $100 million, taking its total holdings to 639,835 BTC, and BitMine topped 2% of Ethereum's supply with over 2.4 million ETH on its balance sheet.
LINE and Kaia to launch stablecoin superapp for cross-border payments
Layer 1 blockchain Kaia and LINE NEXT, the web3 arm of messaging giant LINE, plan to launch Project Unify later this year, a stablecoin superapp to integrate payments, remittances, and on/off-ramps in one interface.
- The app will support stablecoins tied to major currencies, including the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, Thai baht, Korean won, Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso, and Singapore dollar, with features like deposits, rewards, and message-based transfers.
- Unify will ship with an SDK for issuers and developers, aiming to consolidate Asia's fragmented payments infrastructure and drive cross-border stablecoin adoption.
In the next 24 hours
- U.S. FOMC members Michelle Bowman and Raphael Bostic will speak at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, respectively. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell follows at 12:35 p.m.
- Korea Blockchain Week continues in Seoul. Wyoming Blockchain Stampede continues in Laramie.
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