Reporting Period: September 4–17, 2026
Data as of: September 17, 2026
Market Overview: Regulatory Setback and Fed Rate Hike Weigh on Crypto Market
The cryptocurrency market experienced a notable pullback over the past two weeks after trading at elevated levels in the previous period. Policy optimism that had supported the market was hit by a major setback after the U.S. CLARITY Act failed to clear the 60-vote threshold in a procedural vote in the Senate. The bill had been closely watched as a potential nationwide regulatory framework designed to clarify the respective jurisdictions of the SEC and CFTC. Its failure to advance has renewed concerns over regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. crypto market, weighing on crypto-related equities as well as major assets such as BTC and ETH.
On the macro front, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points at its September 16 meeting, bringing the federal funds target range to 3.75%–4.00%. This marked the Fed’s first rate hike since 2023. With inflation remaining elevated, newly appointed Fed Chair Warsh and other Fed officials signaled a strong commitment to containing price pressures. Following the rate decision, U.S. Treasury yields moved higher while the three major U.S. stock indexes declined, pointing to tighter financial conditions. With regulatory optimism fading and monetary policy turning more restrictive, the crypto market faced a combination of risk-off sentiment and deleveraging pressure.
The Bitunix Blue-Chip Assets Biweekly Report focuses on major crypto assets including BTC, ETH, and HYPE, examining price performance, on-chain activity, and capital flows to provide a broader view of market trends.
BTC Price Performance: Bitcoin Tests $75,000 Support
The failure of the CLARITY Act to advance triggered an immediate reaction across the crypto market. BTC fell from around $78,000 to $75,000 on the day of the vote. However, the regulatory setback did not lead to sustained selling pressure, and BTC subsequently found support around the $75,000 level. The Federal Reserve’s rate hike also failed to trigger a second major sell-off, as the market had already largely priced in the decision. BTC therefore stabilized around $76,000 and entered a relatively narrow consolidation phase.
Data source: Bitunix
BTC Spot ETF Flows: Large Net Outflows Signal Reduced Institutional Demand
From August 31 to September 4, crypto-friendly policies recently introduced by the U.S. government continued to provide some support for market sentiment, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs maintaining overall net inflows. On September 3, daily net inflows reached $730 million, marking a recent local high.
However, as expectations grew that the CLARITY Act would fail to advance and expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike increased, capital began shifting toward more defensive positions. From September 8 to September 17, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded overall net outflows, with withdrawals becoming increasingly pronounced. Net outflows accelerated on September 15 and 16, reaching a combined $749 million over the two days. The move suggests that traditional financial institutions reduced their allocation to Bitcoin during the period.
Data source: Farside Investors
BTC Treasury Holdings: Strategy Pauses Bitcoin Purchases as Cash Reserves Fall to $6.398 Billion
On September 14, Strategy disclosed its latest weekly 8-K filing. The company did not purchase additional BTC during the past two weeks, leaving its total Bitcoin holdings unchanged at 845,050 BTC. At the same time, Strategy spent approximately $139 million repurchasing STRC, reducing its cash and cash-equivalent reserves to $6.398 billion. STRC is a perpetual preferred stock issued by Strategy and differs from its common stock, MSTR. Strategy can raise capital by issuing preferred shares, while STRC holders have priority over common shareholders with respect to dividends and liquidation proceeds.
Data source: Strategy
BTC On-Chain Spot Activity: Average Cost Basis Rises to $63,331, Leaving Around 20% in Unrealized Gains
According to BTC on-chain transaction data, the average cost basis of addresses currently holding Bitcoin increased slightly to $63,331, showing little change compared with two weeks earlier. This suggests that on-chain holders did not significantly increase their positions during BTC’s recent rally, keeping the overall cost basis relatively stable. With BTC trading at around $76,000, on-chain holders remain at approximately 20% unrealized gains relative to their average cost basis. This provides existing holders with a degree of cost-basis protection even after BTC pulled back from its recent highs.
Data source: CryptoQuant
BTC On-Chain Futures Activity: Longs and Shorts Remain Split 60:40
Hyperliquid is one of the largest decentralized futures trading platforms in the market, making its on-chain data a useful indicator of leverage sentiment and long-short positioning. As of September 17, BTC long positions on Hyperliquid had a notional value of approximately $1.28 billion, compared with $842 million in short positions, putting the long-short ratio at roughly 60:40.
Data source: Hyperstats
The most notable development over the past two weeks was profit-taking among several of the top 10 whales by notional BTC futures exposure. Wallet 0x92ea1, which is labeled as belonging to long-term BTC investor and X (formerly Twitter) KOL Garrett Bullish, previously held BTC futures positions with a notional value of as much as $121 million. The position was fully closed on September 7, generating approximately $2.77 million in realized profit.
Data source: Hyperstats
ETH Price Performance: Limited Upside Momentum but Strong Downside Support
Compared with BTC, ETH experienced a relatively muted reaction to the CLARITY Act setback and the Federal Reserve rate hike. Policy developments had a more limited impact on ETH, which remains range-bound between approximately $2,300 and $2,500. While upside momentum remains limited, ETH continues to show relatively strong support on the downside. Unless a major positive catalyst emerges for the Ethereum ecosystem in the near term, ETH may continue to trade within this range.
Data source: Bitunix
ETH Spot ETF Flows: 12-Day Inflow Streak Ends as Rate Hike Weighs on Institutional Demand
Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded 12 consecutive trading days of net inflows toward the end of August, with sustained institutional demand helping support ETH prices. However, institutional capital tends to be more sensitive to changes in monetary policy. Following the Federal Reserve’s rate hike, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a single-day net outflow of $224 million. The policy shift could weigh on ETF inflows and new institutional positioning in the short term.
Data source: Farside Investors
ETH Treasury Holdings: Bitmine Continues to Accumulate ETH, Closing in on Its 5% Target
Bitmine is currently the world’s largest ETH treasury company. Between September 4 and September 17, the company added approximately 55,200 ETH, bringing its total crypto holdings to 5,956,378 ETH. Unlike Strategy’s decision to pause additional BTC purchases, Bitmine has continued accumulating ETH at a steady pace. Its ETH holdings now account for approximately 4.88% of the total circulating supply, putting the company close to its strategic target of owning 5% of all ETH.
Data source: SEC
ETH On-Chain Spot Activity: Whale Cost Bases Rise as Large Holders Continue Accumulating
According to CryptoQuant data, ETH has been consolidating around $2,400. Notably, the aggregate cost basis of wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH has risen significantly, suggesting that some of the largest ETH holders have continued to add exposure and view the current price range as an attractive accumulation zone.
Addresses holding more than 100,000 ETH: average cost basis of $1,765
Addresses holding 10,000–100,000 ETH: average cost basis of $2,128
Addresses holding 1,000–10,000 ETH: average cost basis of $2,295
Addresses holding 100–1,000 ETH: average cost basis of $2,377
Data source: CryptoQuant
ETH On-Chain Futures Activity: Longs Remain Dominant
As of September 17, ETH long positions on Hyperliquid had a notional value of approximately $1.08 billion, compared with $460 million in shorts, putting the long-short ratio at roughly 70:30. Compared with the more divided positioning among BTC futures whales, ETH futures whales appear more aligned. Nine of the top 10 addresses by notional ETH futures exposure were holding long positions. Wallet 0x0392a has remained the largest on-chain holder of ETH futures exposure on Hyperliquid for several consecutive weeks and is currently sitting on an unrealized loss of approximately $1.9 million.
Data source: Hyperstats
BNB Market Performance: Lower Volatility and Converging Short- and Medium-Term Moving Averages
BNB has historically been one of the less volatile major crypto assets. During the rally that began on August 20, BNB climbed from approximately $575 to $766, before pulling back to around $724, representing a correction of roughly 5%. BNB’s 12-day and 26-day moving averages are currently converging, suggesting that the average cost bases of market participants are becoming increasingly aligned.
Data source: Bitunix
BNB Treasury Holdings: CEA Industries Holds 515,000 BNB
CEA Industries is currently the world’s largest BNB treasury company, holding approximately 515,544 BNB, equivalent to around 0.38% of the total BNB supply. Unlike BTC and ETH, where Strategy and Bitmine have accumulated holdings approaching 5% of their respective circulating supplies, BNB currently lacks a corporate treasury with a comparable level of market concentration and potential influence over the asset and its ecosystem.
Data source: CEA Industries
BNB Holder Structure: Token Supply Remains Highly Concentrated Among Binance-Related Addresses
Compared with the more decentralized ownership structures of BTC and ETH, BNB is an exchange-linked asset, and many of its largest holding addresses are closely associated with Binance. This helps explain why external capital from corporate treasuries and ETFs may have a more limited influence on BNB’s price compared with BTC and ETH. Exchange tokens such as BNB, OKB, and BGB can also exhibit price movements that diverge from the broader crypto market. BNB’s performance remains closely linked to the operating activity of Binance and the level of activity across the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem.
Data source: Arkham
BNB On-Chain Futures Activity: Limited Participation on Hyperliquid, With Shorts in Control
As of September 17, BNB long positions on Hyperliquid had a notional value of approximately $7.64 million, compared with around $11.17 million in shorts, putting the long-short ratio at roughly 40:60 and giving short positions a clear advantage. Overall trading activity for BNB on Hyperliquid remains relatively limited. One possible explanation is that some BNB futures traders may prefer Aster, a futures trading platform backed by Binance.
Data source: Hyperstats
Blue-Chip Assets: Biweekly Summary
The crypto market came under short-term pressure as the CLARITY Act failed to advance and the Federal Reserve resumed rate hikes. Spot Bitcoin ETFs shifted to significant net outflows, while major crypto assets largely entered range-bound trading.
Institutional and whale positioning also diverged during the period. Strategy paused additional BTC purchases, while several major BTC futures whales took profits. By contrast, Bitmine continued to accumulate ETH aggressively, bringing its holdings close to its 5% target, while large ETH holders also continued to add exposure on-chain.
On-chain spot positions in both BTC and ETH continue to maintain a meaningful cushion relative to their average cost bases. BNB, meanwhile, remains structurally different from BTC and ETH due to the high concentration of its token holdings among Binance-related addresses. With moving averages converging and relatively limited treasury and ETF participation, BNB may continue to exhibit price dynamics that are more closely tied to the Binance and BNB Smart Chain ecosystems.
