Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly: ETH Breaks Above $2,500 as PONS Surges Over 500% in 7 Days

Reporting Period: August 29 – September 4, 2026

Data as of: September 4, 2026

Market Overview: Fed Rate Hike Expectations Cool, BTC, ETH and BNB Gain More Than 5% in 24 Hours

This week, expectations surrounding a potential Federal Reserve rate hike remained a key driver of cryptocurrency market sentiment. According to CME data, as of September 3, the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike had fallen to around 50%, down significantly from approximately 70% on September 2. Several Federal Reserve officials had previously made public remarks aimed at easing market expectations that a rate hike was already a foregone conclusion. At the same time, the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike in September on Polymarket also fell to 49%, down around 10 percentage points over 24 hours. In addition, the latest U.S. private-sector employment data came in below expectations, with ADP reporting an increase of just 38,000 jobs in August, the smallest monthly gain since January. The weaker employment data further reduced expectations for a Fed rate hike.

As expectations for a rate hike cooled, confidence across global capital markets improved, supporting a recovery in risk appetite. Against this backdrop, major crypto assets moved higher together. BTC, ETH, and BNB all began accelerating around 12:00 UTC on September 3, each gaining more than 5% over the following 24 hours as market risk appetite strengthened.

The Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly continues to track the performance of the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on the Bitunix exchange, while also monitoring major U.S. stock perpetual contracts to provide investors with market insights and potential strategy references.

Crypto Market Performance: Market Divergence Widens as More Than 55% of Tokens Decline This Week

Macroeconomic policy tailwinds are typically reflected first in large-cap cryptocurrencies. These assets can be accessed by traditional financial institutions through multiple channels, including ETFs and crypto treasury companies, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates, liquidity, and macroeconomic policy. BTC has recovered to above $81,000, while ETH has broken above the key $2,500 level. By comparison, small-cap tokens tend to be less directly affected by macro policy developments, resulting in a clear divergence in market performance. More than 55% of tokens declined this week, while the median 7-day performance of the Top 300 tokens tracked by Bitunix stood at -0.11%. This suggests that the broader market rebound remains concentrated primarily on large-cap assets such as BTC and ETH.

Top Crypto Gainers This Week: PONS Enters the Top 100 by Market Cap After Surging More Than 500%

Although the altcoin market did not experience a broad-based rally this week, several small-cap tokens delivered outstanding gains. PONS surged more than 500% over the past seven days, pushing its market capitalization into the Top 100 cryptocurrencies. HNT also performed strongly, gaining more than 200% over the same period. From a sector perspective, DeFi remained one of the strongest narratives this week. Several DeFi tokens, including UNI, LIT, and CAKE, gained more than 10%, making the sector one of the better-performing segments of the altcoin market.

Data Source: Bitunix

Note: Price and performance data were recorded at 00:30 UTC.

Top Crypto Losers This Week: Solana Memecoins Remain Weak as FARTCOIN Falls More Than 20%

None of the tokens on this week's top losers list declined by more than 30%. Most declining tokens also staged relatively strong rebounds over the past 24 hours, suggesting that short-term selling pressure has eased somewhat. In contrast, the Solana memecoin sector remained weak throughout the week, with FARTCOIN, PUMP, TRUMP, and PENGU all falling more than 10%.

The weakness in Solana memecoins may be partly related to the growing popularity of the Robinhood on-chain ecosystem. Several high-performing memecoins, including tokens launched through the PONS launchpad, have gained significant traction on Robinhood Chain, attracting liquidity and trading activity that could be diverting some market attention and capital away from existing Solana-based memecoins.

Data Source: Bitunix Note: Price and performance data were recorded at 00:30 UTC.

PONS Analysis: The Token Launchpad Powering the Robinhood On-Chain Ecosystem

PONS is a token launchpad within the Robinhood on-chain ecosystem, primarily designed to facilitate the creation and issuance of new crypto tokens while providing projects with a more accessible way to launch on-chain. As Robinhood accelerates its expansion into on-chain finance, PONS has gradually emerged as one of the newer memecoin launchpads attracting market attention. Recently, several tokens launched through PONS have recorded rapid price increases, with some gaining hundreds of percent and significantly boosting trading activity on the platform. However, newly launched tokens typically carry substantial price volatility and liquidity risks. Short-term price appreciation should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence of long-term value.

PONS Technical Analysis: Up More Than 15x Since Launch After Two Major Corrections

PONS has gained more than 15x since its launch, while experiencing two significant A-shaped price movements during this period, with each rally followed by a correction of more than 50%. The first major correction occurred from July 30 to August 6, when the PONS price fell from $0.047 to $0.017, representing a decline of approximately 63%. The second occurred from August 12 to August 19, when the price dropped from $0.051 to $0.025, again falling by more than 50%.

Notably, after the second correction ended, PONS climbed from around $0.04 to $0.68 without experiencing another correction of more than 50%. This suggests that buying pressure has remained relatively strong in the recent market. From a short-term technical perspective, the 15-minute RSI remains relatively strong, indicating that PONS could continue to attract significant trading activity and market attention in the near term.

Data Source: Bitunix

PONS Product Analysis: 784 Tokens Have Graduated, While Microduck Surpasses $30 Million in Market Cap

As a memecoin launchpad on Robinhood Chain, PONS operates under a model broadly similar to earlier platforms such as Pump.fun, Moonshot, and Letsbonk.fun. However, its token purchase mechanism introduces a relatively uncommon model for Solana-based memecoin platforms: users can swap tokenized stocks directly for memecoins.

Users can use tokenized versions of stocks such as NVIDIA, SanDisk, and SpaceX to purchase PONS, HMM, microduck, and other memecoins. This mechanism lowers the operational barrier for converting traditional financial assets into crypto assets. Users do not need to first convert their tokenized stocks into stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies before participating in memecoin trading. By creating a more direct connection between tokenized equities and on-chain assets, this mechanism could help bring liquidity from traditional financial markets into the crypto ecosystem. It has also contributed to PONS' trading depth and sources of liquidity, while helping several memecoins on the platform reach market capitalizations of more than $10 million.

Data Source: pons.family

PONS Fundamental Analysis: Daily Protocol Revenue Surpasses $4 Million as 29% of Tokens Are Burned

On September 2, data released by Bubblemaps showed that PONS generated approximately $4.73 million in fees in a single day. Based on DApp fee revenue, PONS generated more revenue over the previous 24 hours than the combined fee revenue of Hyperliquid, Polymarket, and Fomo. Under the tokenomics design of the Pons protocol, 80% of protocol fees are continuously used to buy back PONS tokens. This creates a token value capture mechanism in which higher platform revenue can translate into increased demand for token buybacks. As of now, 29.34% of the total PONS token supply has been burned. The continued reduction in circulating supply has also become an important factor behind growing market attention toward PONS fundamentals.

Data Source: X

PONS Holder Analysis: Uniswap Dominates PONS Token Trading

From a token holder and liquidity perspective, PONS has not yet been listed on major centralized exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, or OKX. As a result, off-chain trading is currently dominated by exchanges including Gate, KuCoin, and MEXC. Over the past 24 hours, the combined trading volume of these three exchanges accounted for approximately 40% of PONS's total trading volume. However, overall price action continues to be driven primarily by on-chain trading activity.

On-chain, trading volume on Uniswap V3 and Uniswap V4 on Robinhood Chain accounted for approximately 53% of PONS's total trading volume, making Uniswap the largest source of trading liquidity for the token. Notably, Uniswap Labs also holds PONS tokens, further strengthening the market relationship between Uniswap and the PONS ecosystem. This makes Uniswap an important platform to monitor when assessing PONS's on-chain liquidity and price movements.

Data Source: CoinMarketCap

PONS Smart Money Analysis: Unipcs Holds 10.9 Million PONS With $7.45 Million in Unrealized Profit

As of the early hours of September 4 (UTC+0), data tracked by Lookonchain showed that crypto KOL Unipcs's portfolio increased in value by approximately $6.3 million in a single day. Unipcs previously spent just $67,700 to purchase 10.9 million PONS tokens and has yet to sell any of the holdings. The position is currently worth approximately $7.52 million, representing an unrealized profit of around $7.45 million and a return of more than 110x.

Data Source: X

Can You Still Buy PONS?

Compared with tokens such as RAVE, BEAT, and DEXE, which previously experienced sharp rallies followed by significant corrections, PONS has a relatively complete tokenomics model. Under its current mechanism, 80% of protocol revenue is used to buy back and burn PONS tokens, creating a relatively clear token value capture mechanism. PONS protocol revenue is still growing rapidly, with daily revenue recently surpassing $4 million.

Using a comparable valuation approach and Pump.fun as a reference among similar token launchpads, PUMP generated approximately $1.5 million to $2 million in daily protocol revenue in September, while its fully diluted market capitalization stood at around $4.1 billion. By comparison, despite PONS having already risen several times in the short term, its current market capitalization remains at approximately $700 million. Based on the protocol revenue-to-market-cap ratio, PONS still appears to have a valuation advantage over its competitor PUMP.

However, PONS's high protocol revenue ultimately depends on the strong liquidity and market attention currently surrounding Robinhood Chain. If trading activity on Robinhood Chain declines, PONS's platform revenue could also come under pressure. Therefore, for PONS, the level of on-chain activity and market interest on Robinhood Chain will remain among the most important indicators to monitor when assessing whether its strong price momentum can continue.

Data Source: Defillama

PONS Recent Performance Summary

PONS has gained more than 15x since its launch and has maintained strong price momentum recently, supported by growing interest in Robinhood Chain and rapidly increasing trading activity on the platform. From a fundamental perspective, PONS's daily protocol revenue has surpassed $4 million, while 80% of protocol fees are used for token buybacks. Approximately 29.34% of the total token supply has already been burned, providing a potential source of support for the token price.

On-chain trading remains the primary source of liquidity for PONS, with Uniswap V3 and V4 together accounting for approximately 53% of total trading volume. At the same time, cases such as Unipcs generating millions of dollars in unrealized profits from PONS holdings have attracted additional attention from the market. In the short term, PONS remains in a high-interest and strong uptrend environment. However, its future performance is highly dependent on trading activity on Robinhood Chain. If on-chain activity cools, PONS could face significant downside and correction risks.

U.S. Stock Contract Performance This Week: Tesla Surges More Than 10% as U.S. Equities Strengthen

U.S. equities performed strongly overall this week. Although the market came under pressure at the beginning of the week amid rising oil prices and heightened geopolitical tensions, risk appetite recovered quickly as expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike cooled. On September 3, all three major U.S. stock indexes advanced, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.18%, 1.06%, and 1.40%, respectively. Growth and technology stocks were among the main drivers of the rally.

Among individual stocks, Tesla delivered the strongest performance this week, with its contract price rising 11.57%, driven primarily by the unveiling of its Cybercab autonomous robotaxi and growing market expectations for its autonomous driving business. Meanwhile, crypto-related stocks Circle (CRCL) and Strategy (MSTR) gained 9.57% and 5.10%, respectively. SpaceX contracts also rose 6.42% this week, while major technology stocks including SanDisk, NVIDIA, Amazon, and Alphabet posted more modest gains.

Featured Stock Contract Analysis: Tesla Rebounds Nearly 12%, Closing at $376 for a Recent High

Tesla (TSLA) delivered an outstanding performance this week, with its weekly closing price reaching $376 and its 7-day gain reaching 11.57%, significantly outperforming the broader market. The main catalyst behind the rally was strong market expectations surrounding the upcoming Cybercab autonomous robotaxi event in Austin, which attracted fresh buying interest and short covering. Tesla's second-quarter earnings also showed resilience, with revenue increasing 26% year over year.

As a global leader in electric vehicles and AI-powered autonomous driving, Tesla's latest rally has once again fueled debate around its high valuation and growth potential. If Cybercab commercialization and Full Self-Driving development continue to progress successfully, the market could view these developments as an important milestone in Tesla's transformation from a traditional automaker into an AI technology company.

Data Source: Bitunix

Commodity Contract Analysis: Brent Crude Rises as Gold Falls Below $4,500

Bitunix offers a range of commodity contracts, including Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas, providing users with more diversified cross-market trading options. This week, precious metals including gold, silver, and platinum generally edged lower, with gold falling below the key $4,500 level. In contrast, oil prices were supported by geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with Brent crude rising above $90 again this week. Overall, the commodity market showed a clear divergence this week, with precious metals coming under pressure while energy assets benefited from geopolitical risks.

Macro Catalyst: Key Focus for Next Week — U.S. August CPI YoY

Looking ahead to next week, market attention will center on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of August unadjusted CPI data on September 11. The market currently expects headline CPI to rise 3.40% year over year. CPI is one of the most important indicators of U.S. inflation and is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve when assessing price pressures and determining monetary policy. If August CPI comes in below expectations, it would suggest that inflation is cooling faster than anticipated, potentially strengthening expectations for Fed rate cuts. This could also push U.S. Treasury yields lower and create a more supportive liquidity environment for risk assets such as U.S. equities and cryptocurrencies. Conversely, if CPI exceeds the market's 3.40% expectation, it could indicate that inflation remains sticky, reducing expectations for Fed rate cuts or even pushing back the timing of future cuts. Such a scenario could place additional pressure on risk assets, including U.S. stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Conclusion

Global markets showed divergent performance this week. As expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike cooled, risk appetite across cryptocurrencies and U.S. equities improved significantly, with BTC and ETH recovering above key price levels while stocks such as Tesla and Circle posted strong gains. In the crypto market, the rebound remained concentrated in major assets, with more than 55% of tokens still declining and capital largely flowing toward high-interest assets such as BTC, ETH, and PONS, highlighting continued market divergence.

U.S. equities also strengthened broadly, supported by technology and growth stocks, while the commodity market moved in the opposite direction. Gold and other precious metals came under pressure, while Brent crude returned above $90 amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Looking ahead, the release of U.S. August CPI will be a key macro catalyst for Federal Reserve policy expectations and could have a significant impact on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies and U.S. equities.