Is interest in BTC, ETH ETFs fading?

September 29, 2025

 

Reading time: 5 minutes

Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs see biggest weekly withdrawals yet

Key points:

  • Ethereum Spot ETFs saw $800 million in outflows last week, with Fidelity’s FETH ETF driving 51% of that.

  • Bitcoin Spot ETFs bled even more, clocking 1.4× the outflows of Ethereum ETFs.

News - As Q4 looms, crypto ETFs are bleeding capital.

Ethereum Spot ETFs posted a record $800 million in outflows last week, with Fidelity’s FETH ETF alone accounting for $408 million. What's more, Bitcoin Spot ETFs saw even larger outflows, totaling roughly $1.12 billion.

In total, crypto spot ETFs saw roughly $1.93 billion exit, with Bitcoin taking the heavier hit. With both high-cap coins trading well below recent highs and the usual “dip” buying absent, there is a pertinent question that needs to be asked.

Are institutional investors turning defensive? - According to SoSoValue, spot Ethereum ETF outflows this week surpassed the previous record of $787.7 million, marking ETH’s largest weekly outflow to date. 

This is a sign of a clear shift in institutional sentiment.

With Bitcoin investors stepping back amid unclear macro conditions, the usual rotation into Ethereum isn’t playing out. This was supported by the ETH/BTC ratio closing the week 4.28% down, with Ethereum dominance (ETH.D) retreating to its early August levels.

Rotation towards alternative crypto ETFs - September has been a tough month for Ethereum, with a -6.45% net loss, ending its two-month streak of bullish Septembers. 

Despite this, the market is still showing Altcoin Season dynamics, with the Altcoin Season Index at 76 at press time. This means that capital is rotating into altcoins, but Ethereum is being bypassed. 

For example, Ripple (XRP) delivered a 3.24% monthly ROI, highlighting strong investor interest. Part of this momentum is being driven by the newly launched REX-Osprey XRP ETF which pulled in almost $38 million in inflows on its first day.

Implications - According to AMBCrypto, these trends highlight a notable divergence in institutional behavior. 

While Bitcoin and Ethereum are seeing outflows and fading relative traction, investors are increasingly exploring alternative crypto ETFs. In turn, this could mean a more selective, rotation-driven approach to crypto allocation ahead of Q4.

Firedancer devs unveil plan to make Solana the fastest blockchain

Key points:

  • Firedancer plans to remove Solana’s fixed block limit, which could dramatically increase transaction speed.

  • Validators with stronger hardware could get an advantage.

News - Solana continues to push the limits of Layer 1 performance. 

According to Chainspect data, Solana’s throughput is approximately 40 times higher than Ethereum’s, largely due to its block time being 96.7% shorter. Simply put, Solana can confirm and finalize transactions far more quickly, giving it a structural advantage.

Building on this advantage, the Firedancer team at Jump Crypto is now working on upgrades to make Solana even faster. And given how quickly we’re transforming into a Web3 space, this development is likely to keep its Layer 1 rivals and investors on edge.

The SIMD-0370 proposal - In a recent proposal, Jump Crypto’s Firedancer team introduced a major change to Solana’s architecture. This change is technically called the ‘SIMD-0370 proposal.’

Currently, all Solana blocks are the same size, meaning each block can only handle a fixed number of compute units. However, the new proposal aims to remove this 60 million compute unit limit.

Basically, block size would scale based on each validator’s hardware. So a validator with stronger hardware could process a bigger block and handle more transactions, letting the network push more throughput overall.

Market reacts with mixed signals- Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade, which cut transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to 150ms, got nearly unanimous support, with 99% backing from validators.

Firedancer’s new SIMD-0370 proposal, however, has stirred mixed reactions. 

On one hand, supporters like Solana research firm Anza call it a performance flywheel. On the other hand, some in the GitHub community worry about centralization. Engineer Akhilesh Singhania said,

“Another type of centralization that we might see is that if the bigger validators keep upgrading to more expensive hardware, the smaller ones who cannot afford to upgrade would be forced to drop out. So as a result, we might end up with fewer big validators.”

Either way, Firedancer’s SIMD-0370 proposal is a big moment for Solana. It could make the network much faster, but it also raises concerns about centralization. The coming months will show how Solana balances speed with fairness.

Polkadot’s pUSD - Why this DOT-backed stablecoin could power its DeFi comeback

Key points:

  • Polkadot is launching pUSD, its first native stablecoin, fully backed by DOT tokens. 

  • Supporters expect pUSD to unlock liquidity and boost Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem.

News - Q3 has marked a turnaround for Polkadot (DOT). The token has posted an average 3.5% QoQ growth after a tough first half, where Q1–Q2 averaged -27%.

Riding this momentum, devs are gearing up to launch pUSD, Polkadot’s first native stablecoin backed by DOT. The goal here is clear - Unlock locked-up liquidity on the network, giving the ecosystem a real shot at picking up speed.

At the same time, this isn’t uncharted territory in crypto. Over the past few years, several blockchains have launched their own stablecoins. Ethena’s USDe is a solid reference point. The key question now is whether Polkadot has sufficient capital depth to replicate the success of these established stablecoins.

RFC-155 overview - RFC-155, authored by Bryan Chen, proposes pUSD. It will use the Honzon protocol, which was previously used for Acala’s aUSD, adapted for DOT-only collateral on Polkadot Hub.

Unlike USDT or USDC, it won’t rely on external reserves. Users would be able to borrow pUSD against their DOT and use it directly across Polkadot’s ecosystem.

Polkadot DeFi as a solid use case - Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem remains limited.

According to DeFiLlama, the network hosts less than $100 million in stablecoin assets. To put that into perspective, that’s a fraction of the liquidity available on Ethereum and Solana.

In this context, a native pUSD could unlock liquidity within Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem. It would allow users to borrow, trade, and transact without leaving the network. This, in turn, could help its DeFi protocols grow closer to the scale seen on competing Layer-1 blockchains.

According to Gavin Wood, Polkadot’s co-founder,

“Polkadot needs to deploy DOT-backed stablecoin as soon as possible to unlock the network’s financial potential, or we could lose benefits, liquidity, and security.”

Hyperliquid unveils 4,600 Hypurr NFTs, but $400K hack plays spoilsport

Key points:

  • Hypurr NFTs launched on HyperEVM with a $68,900 floor price.

  • The 4,600 NFTs reward early Hyperliquid supporters, with no guaranteed utility.

News - On 28 September, the Hyper Foundation announced on X that 4,600 NFTs were launched on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Layer 1 platform. The foundation said,

“The goal of the Hypurr NFT collection was to share a memento with those who believed in and contributed early on to Hyperliquid’s growth. Each NFT is unique and captures the different moods, hobbies, tastes, and quirks of the Hyperliquid community, as depicted by Hypurr.”

Floor price and high value sales - Demand for Hypurr NFTs was strong, even before the official launch. 

Certain NFTs sold for as much as $88,000 via OTC desks earlier this month. However, the hype surged after launch. For instance, Hypurr 21, which features the rare “Knight Ghost Armor” and “Knight Helm Ghost” traits went for 9,999 HYPE ($467,000).

In fact, in the first 24 hours, OpenSea data revealed 952,000 HYPE ($44.6 million) being traded.

However, amid the buying frenzy, a wallet exposed a security lapse, highlighting risks that NFT collectors should be aware of.

Inside the $400K hack - The rollout faced a setback after blockchain researcher ZachXBT flagged that eight NFTs from compromised wallets were stolen shortly after the drop, netting the attacker around $400,000.  

At press time, the Hyper Foundation had not publicly addressed the breach or detailed measures to prevent future incidents. Nevertheless, the theft underscores the importance of securing digital wallets and exercising caution when participating in NFT airdrops.

Did you know?

  • On 17 August 2025, Solana briefly processed 107,540 transactions per second (TPS) on its mainnet during a stress test, announced by Helius co-founder Mert Mumtaz. The test was run by a validator called ‘Cavey Cool.’

  • The global stablecoin market recently surpassed $250 billion, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in crypto. Over 85% of stablecoins in circulation are USDT (Tether) and USDC - A sign of how concentrated the market is.

  • Over $1.5 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in September 2025, causing Ethereum to drop by 9% and Bitcoin to dip. It marked the largest sell-off in the crypto market since March this year.

Top 3 coins of the day

MYX Finance (MYX)

Key points:

  • MYX’s technicals seemed overextended.

  • At press time, the altcoin was hitting its $15 resistance.

What you should know:

Q3 has been a bullish period for MYX, but most of its gains came in September alone. As a result, the coin might be overextended. In this context, holding support is now crucial for sustaining the rally. 

However, MYX could be on shaky ground. Despite 17% gains over 24 hours, its daily chart revealed an erratic structure. Since hitting a mid-September ATH of $19, the altcoin has posted three lower highs and two lower lows.

In other words, bulls have twice failed to hold the support. Against this backdrop, MYX remains a risky trade. If selling pressure mounts at the $15-resistance, a deeper drop below $8 could occur.

Key points:

  • After breaking $60, ZEC has officially recovered all of its losses for the year.

  • If history is any guide, caution is warranted for ZEC traders.

What you should know:

ZEC bulls have been showing strength. The token started the week near $60 and then, surged by 12% and broke past its late-December resistance. This move means ZEC has recovered all of its 2025 losses. Its quarterly gains of 80% are evidence of strong momentum, with FOMO building among traders too.

FOMO is important to watch. Historically, ZEC’s mid-December peak of $80 came with an overheated RSI, which led to a 56% pullback by early April. Right now, the RSI is already above 70, signaling overbought conditions. According to the daily chart though, the bulls have held strong. Especially since they’ve pushed back bearish pressure three times in September alone.

This could mean that the underlying bid is holding, confirmed by a bullish MACD signal. If this trend continues, ZEC could challenge $80 and have a strong Q4.

Cardano (ADA)

Key points:

  • On the weekly charts, ADA confirmed $0.80 as strong support.

  • A key resistance level is still limiting Cardano’s breakout potential.

What you should know:

Cardano has once again confirmed the strength of its $0.80 support. For the first time since 10 August, ADA tested this level, resulting in four days of sideways trading. Historically, a similar support rebound pushed ADA up to $0.98 within a week. What this means is that this consolidation could be setting up for a bullish accumulation phase.

In fact, ADA gained by 3.55% in 24 hours, making it one of the market’s top performers. Structurally, the token might be repeating its early-August rebound too.

However, the slow rise has not triggered FOMO so far. ADA is still down 2.23% for the month and has not broken the $0.98 resistance. A clear breakout is needed before a bullish Q4 can be expected.

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