According to Fixygen, the cryptocurrency market ended the week of September 19–25 with significant gains: Bitcoin rose to approximately $84,000, Ethereum to $2,670, and the total market capitalization of digital assets approached $3 trillion. At the same time, one of the week’s major developments was the sharp return of institutional capital to U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, while U.S. regulators accelerated the development of rules for stablecoins and tokenized securities.
According to CoinGecko data as of September 25, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $84,000–84,400, having gained about 10% over seven days. Ethereum hovered around $2,670 and rose by approximately 9% over the week. The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market was about $2.97–2.98 trillion, with a daily trading volume of about $107 billion. Bitcoin accounted for about 56.8% of the market capitalization, while Ethereum accounted for about 11%.
For comparison: in Fixygen’s previous weekly review dated September 18, Bitcoin was trading at around $78,1 thousand, Ethereum at around $2,51 thousand, and the market capitalization was estimated at approximately $2.77 trillion. Thus, the market gained about $200 billion in market capitalization over the week.
At the start of the current period, Bitcoin was trading at around $80,000–$81,000, but on September 21–22, it accelerated its growth and briefly rose above $87,000. According to CoinGecko, on September 21, the price reached approximately $86,600, and on September 22, it was around $86,200. Subsequently, the market partially corrected and moved into a consolidation phase near $84,000.
One of the key drivers was U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Monday, September 21, they recorded $998.95 million in net inflows—the highest daily figure in nearly 11 months. BlackRock’s IBIT attracted $381.4 million, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB—$289.1 million, and Fidelity’s FBTC—$238.8 million.
This result stands in stark contrast to the previous week, when Bitcoin ETFs ended the week with a symbolic positive balance of $6.2 million, thanks solely to an inflow of $433 million during the final trading session. Ethereum ETFs, on the other hand, recorded a net outflow of about $140 million, ending a four-week streak of inflows.
The growth occurred despite tight monetary policy. On September 16, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 3.75–4%. However, the market reacted less negatively to the Fed’s forecast of further rate hikes than investors had feared, and by September 18, Bitcoin had rebounded above $80,000.
Among the major altcoins, XRP and Solana continued to show strong momentum. During this period, XRP rose from approximately $1.40 on September 18 to $1.53–1.54 as of September 25, while Solana, after surging above $110, ended the period at $117. At its peak on September 21–22, SOL approached $119.
Just as important as price movements was the acceleration of the industry’s institutionalization. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a five-year pilot program called the Innovation Exemption, which allows for the trading of tokenized U.S. stocks directly through blockchain infrastructure, provided certain requirements are met. A tokenized stock must grant the investor the same rights as the corresponding traditional security, including the right to dividends and voting.
The next regulatory step was the Federal Reserve’s publication on September 24 of two proposed rules for issuers of payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. One of the drafts requires stablecoins to be fully backed by eligible highly liquid assets, including short-term U.S. Treasury securities, as well as capital and risk management requirements. The second draft establishes the procedure for banks to obtain authorization to issue payment stablecoins.
On the same day, the CFTC clarified the rules for the use of blockchain by regulated participants in the U.S. derivatives market. The updated guidance permits the use of tokenized forms of eligible assets and blockchain technologies to meet certain record-keeping requirements.
Traditional exchange infrastructure also continues to expand its work with digital assets. On September 22, the CME Group announced its intention to launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures, including standard and Micro contracts, starting October 19. In the first half of 2026, the average daily trading volume of CME cryptocurrency futures and options was 279,800 contracts with a notional value of approximately $8.3 billion per day.
Another structural trend is the growing use of stablecoins beyond speculative trading. According to a new Chainalysis study published on September 23, the global volume of measurable cryptoeconomic activity for the 12 months ending in June 2026 declined by only 1.6%, to approximately $9.4 trillion, despite a significantly steeper decline in market capitalization during that period. Cross-border stablecoin flows, according to the company’s estimates, rose by 77.5% to $220.3 billion. In its new Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, Chainalysis also ranks Ukraine among the countries with the highest levels of digital asset adoption.
On certain blockchains, payments in stablecoins have already reached the scale of traditional payment infrastructure. Recently, approximately $150–190 billion in stablecoin transfers have been flowing through the Tron network each week, and the number of transactions is approaching 100 million per week.
At the same time, the week ended with a reminder of the technological risks that persist in the crypto industry. The Bitget exchange reported an attack that resulted in the withdrawal of approximately $351.6 million from its “hot” and “warm” wallets. According to CEO Gracy Chen, the private keys were not compromised: the attackers interfered with the backend infrastructure and used forged transaction data. The exchange stated that its cold wallets remained secure.
Regulatory risks have not gone away either. On September 24, New York state authorities filed a lawsuit against Polymarket’s U.S. division, accusing the prediction markets platform of conducting unlicensed gambling activities.
Thus, according to Fixygen’s assessment, the main outcome of the week was the market’s shift from simple price stabilization to a broader recovery in institutional demand. Bitcoin rose in price by approximately 10% over seven days, market capitalization once again approached $3 trillion, and nearly $1 billion in daily inflows into the Bitcoin ETF served as the strongest signal of large capital’s return in recent months.
At the same time, the very structure of the crypto industry continues to evolve: tokenized stocks are being regulated in the U.S., the Fed is moving toward the practical implementation of legislation regarding stablecoins, the CME is expanding its lineup of regulated crypto derivatives, and stablecoins are increasingly being used as a standalone payment infrastructure.
In the coming week, the main factors driving the market will remain the stability of capital inflows into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the dynamics of U.S. Treasury yields, the market’s continued reaction to the Fed’s rate hike, Bitcoin’s movement near the $84,000–87,000 range, as well as developments in regulatory initiatives by the SEC, CFTC, and the Federal Reserve.
