The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Wednesday! U.S. government shutdown tensions and profit-taking have fueled a short-term pullback in the crypto market, according to analysts, though structural demand and ETF flows remain firm, supporting a constructive medium-term outlook.
In today's newsletter, Ethena and Jupiter are set to launch a native Solana stablecoin, Litecoin and HBAR ETFs reach the "goal line," K33 claims the "4-year cycle is dead," and more.
Let's get started!
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Ethena and Jupiter partner to launch native Solana stablecoin JupUSD
Ethena Labs and Jupiter are launching JupUSD, a new native Solana-based stablecoin to be integrated across Jupiter's DeFi ecosystem.
- Jupiter will "progressively" convert about $750 million worth of USDC from its Liquidity Provider Pool into JupUSD as part of the rollout, slated for later this quarter.
- At launch, JupUSD will be fully backed by USDtb, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin that primarily invests in BlackRock's BUIDL fund, with potential to migrate to USDe backing over time.
- The token is designed to serve as collateral, a trading pair, and a liquidity hub across Jupiter's lending and DEX integrations.
- The partnership expands Ethena's whitelabel stablecoin lineup, which already includes collaborations with Sui, MegaETH, and Anchorage Digital.
- "Stablecoins have proven true product market fit onchain, and we believe the sector will 10-100x from here," Jupiter co-founder Siong Ong said.
Litecoin, HBAR and more crypto ETFs reach the 'goal line'
Canary Capital's amended filing on Tuesday for its HBAR ETF signals the product is nearing Securities and Exchange Commission approval, alongside its proposed Litecoin ETF, according to analysts.
- Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas called the filings "pretty finalized," with the new sponsor fee and ticker details usually the last thing to be updated before "go-time."
- Fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the Litecoin and HBAR ETFs feel like they are "at the goal line," reflecting growing regulatory momentum for a slew of new altcoin ETFs.
- However, the U.S. government shutdown has stalled SEC operations, delaying potential ETF approvals for now as only emergency staff remain active.
'The 4-year cycle is dead, long live the king': K33 says bitcoin's new era breaks every old rule
Bitcoin's four-year halving cycle has been rendered obsolete, replaced by a new era driven by institutional adoption, sovereign participation, and macro policy alignment, according to research and brokerage firm K33.
- "The 4-year cycle is dead, long live the king," Head of Research Vetle Lunde wrote in a new report, suggesting that this time is indeed different and bitcoin has entered a fundamentally new regime where structural forces, not retail mania, dictate its trajectory.
- The analyst contrasted 2025's rally with past euphoric peaks, citing ETF approvals, BlackRock's $100 billion in bitcoin assets, and Trump's pro-crypto policies as among the structural game-changers.
- Lunde acknowledged the recent record ETF and derivatives inflows but said limited frothy signals show the rally remains fundamentally healthy despite short-term overheating.
- "Nothing points toward another repeat of the dreaded 4-year cycle," he said.
Bitwise predicts record bitcoin ETF inflows in Q4 as 'debasement trade' kicks in
Crypto asset manager Bitwise expects U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs to set record inflows in Q4, enough to surpass their $36 billion 2024 haul by year-end.
- CIO Matt Hougan cited wealth manager approvals, bitcoin's recent price surge, and the "debasement trade" narrative as three catalysts driving the potential surge.
- Major institutions like Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are now opening the door to bitcoin allocations across their financial advisory networks, signaling expanding institutional adoption, he noted.
- Bitcoin has also emerged as a top-performer this year, driving what Wall Street calls the "debasement trade" — investing in assets that benefit when governments erode currency value.
- With BTC recently trading at new all-time highs above $126,000 and $4.4 billion already added to the bitcoin ETFs in early Q4, Hougan said inflows are on track to set a new annual watermark — "and then some."
Trump memecoin issuer pursues $200 million funding to build digital asset treasury
Fight Fight Fight LLC, the issuer of Donald Trump's memecoin, is seeking to raise at least $200 million to build a digital asset treasury company, Bloomberg reported.
- The planned DAT firm could accumulate the Official Trump memecoin as part of its strategy, with ambitions that could extend to as much as $1 billion, although the deal remains in development.
- The move follows Alt5 Sigma's creation of a $1.3 billion World Liberty Financial token treasury, underscoring growing efforts to institutionalize Trump-linked crypto ventures.
In the next 24 hours
- U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. U.S. FOMC members Michelle Bowman and Mary Daly are due to follow at 3:45 p.m. and 9:40 p.m., respectively.
- Movement and Axie Infinity are set for token unlocks.
- The North American Blockchain Summit gets underway in Dallas.
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