Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly Report: Ethereum Ecosystem Gains Momentum as NEAR Rallies 33%

Reporting Period: September 12–18, 2026

Data as of: September 18, 2026

Market Overview: CLARITY Act Fails to Advance as SEC Introduces Innovation Exemption for Tokenized Securities

U.S. crypto regulation took divergent paths this week. On September 15, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, which received only 49 votes in a procedural vote, falling short of the 60-vote threshold required to move the legislation forward. The setback temporarily stalled efforts to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the digital asset market, shifting market attention back toward the existing regulatory authority of the SEC and CFTC and the possibility that administrative measures could fill some of the gaps left by the legislative process.

Shortly after the CLARITY Act stalled, the SEC introduced its Innovation Exemption on September 17. The exemption provides eligible trading platforms for tokenized securities with a temporary, conditional exemption of up to five years, allowing them to facilitate trading of tokenized NMS stocks through permitted automated market makers (AMMs) and liquidity pools. Certain liquidity providers may also qualify for an exemption from dealer registration requirements. Under the framework, eligible tokens must provide holders with the same economic and governance rights as traditional shares, including dividend and voting rights. Synthetic tokens that merely track stock prices without representing actual equity ownership are excluded. When tokenization is conducted by a third party, the issuer must also receive prior notice and an opportunity to object.

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. Despite the rate increase, major crypto assets with market capitalizations above $100 billion, including BTC, ETH, and BNB, did not experience a sharp sell-off after the decision. Instead, following a brief pullback, the market quickly staged a notable rebound.

The Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly Report tracks the performance of the top 300 tokens by market capitalization on Bitunix, while also monitoring major U.S. stock futures markets to provide investors with broader market insights and trading reference points.

Crypto Market Performance: Crypto Rebounds Despite Multiple Negative Catalysts

The CLARITY Act setback and the Federal Reserve rate hike initially weighed on the market, with BTC, ETH, and SOL recording modest declines on September 15. However, market resilience remained relatively strong, and major crypto assets rebounded after a period of consolidation. More than 65% of tokens recorded weekly gains, while the median return of the Bitunix Top 300 was +1.67%. Among major assets, BNB, SOL, and HYPE outperformed the broader market.

Top Gainers This Week: NEAR Gains 25% in 24 Hours as Ethereum Ecosystem Tokens Rally

A clear market theme emerged this week. The SEC's Innovation Exemption for tokenized securities provided a fresh catalyst for the DeFi and RWA sectors. Ethereum remains one of the most active ecosystems for both DeFi and RWA applications, making Ethereum-related tokens particularly sensitive to developments in tokenization and on-chain financial infrastructure. Against this backdrop, several Ethereum ecosystem tokens posted strong gains. ARB, NEAR, and UNI all gained more than 30% over the past seven days. Popular projects on Robinhood Chain, including CASHCAT and PONS, also staged notable rebounds during the week.

Data source: Bitunix Note: Price and performance data were recorded at 2:00 a.m. UK time (UTC+0).

Top Losers This Week: Independent Layer-1s Underperform as Liquidity Rotates Toward Major Ecosystems

Independent Layer-1 networks broadly underperformed this week. With relatively less-developed DeFi infrastructure, some of these ecosystems were less able to benefit directly from the SEC's Innovation Exemption for tokenized securities. Governance tokens associated with several independent blockchains, including Stable, Aptos, and Cosmos, experienced notable pullbacks. One factor was the rotation of market liquidity toward major ecosystems such as Ethereum, BNB, and Robinhood Chain. Without equally strong fundamental catalysts, smaller independent chains faced greater selling pressure.

Data source: Bitunix Note: Price and performance data were recorded at 2:00 a.m. UK time (UTC+0).

Featured Token: NEAR — A High-Performance Blockchain Connected to Ethereum

NEAR Protocol has established itself as a high-performance blockchain infrastructure layer within the Web3 ecosystem, supported by its sharding architecture and scalability. As a strategic complement to the Ethereum ecosystem, NEAR enables cross-chain interoperability between Ethereum and other networks, facilitating the movement of assets and data. Its NEAR Data Availability (NEAR DA) solution also provides Ethereum Rollups and Layer 2 networks with an alternative data availability layer designed to reduce transaction costs while supporting high throughput and security. In addition, NEAR has incorporated technologies such as Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and zero-knowledge proofs, expanding privacy and user control in cross-chain transactions. Together, these technologies position NEAR around three key themes: scalability, data availability, and privacy-focused cross-chain infrastructure.

NEAR Technical Analysis: A Stair-Step Rally Could Extend the Current Uptrend

NEAR began its latest rally on September 17. From a technical perspective, the token has formed a relatively clear stair-step pattern: after four to five consecutive bullish candles, the market has typically seen one to two bearish candles before resuming its upward move. These pullbacks have allowed some short-term profit-taking to be absorbed without disrupting the broader trend.

Because the price has advanced at a relatively steady pace rather than through a sudden vertical move, common indicators such as MACD, KDJ, and RSI did not provide an obvious early warning of an overheated rally. The orderly structure of the move could allow the current uptrend to extend over the coming days, although its sustainability will depend on whether trading volume and fundamental catalysts continue to support the move.

Data source: Bitunix

NEAR Fundamental Analysis: Surging Protocol Revenue Highlights the Core Catalyst Behind the Rally

On September 9, an unusually large on-chain transaction highlighted NEAR's role in cross-chain liquidity routing. A previously dormant wallet that had been inactive for roughly six months suddenly became active. After purchasing a large amount of ETH through CowSwap, the wallet used NEAR Intents, NEAR's intent-based routing protocol, to swap 2,500 ETH, worth approximately $8.21 million, into 6,601.37 ZEC through a cross-chain transaction.

The transaction generated a service fee of 16.75 ETH, which was recognized as revenue for the NEAR protocol. The unusually large fee immediately boosted NEAR's on-chain revenue metrics and highlighted the role of NEAR Intents as a routing layer for large cross-chain transactions involving privacy-focused assets.

The broader catalyst behind the surge in activity was the launch of Grayscale's ZEC spot ETF (ZCSH.US), which attracted institutional interest and helped push the price of ZEC above the $1,200 level. As capital flowed into the ZEC ecosystem, NEAR Intents became an important infrastructure layer for users seeking to move assets across chains and execute cross-chain swaps involving ZEC.

This increase in transaction activity directly contributed to a sharp rise in NEAR protocol revenue in early September. As a result, NEAR's role in cross-chain liquidity routing has emerged as one of the key fundamental narratives supporting its latest price rally.

Data Source: Artemis

NEAR Smart Money Analysis: Hyperliquid Whale Generates More Than $7.9 Million in Unrealized Gains

NEAR's on-chain token distribution is relatively dispersed, and dashboard data does not show any large address holding more than $50,000 worth of NEAR that accumulated a significant position ahead of the latest rally. The picture is different in on-chain futures markets. On Hyperliquid, whale address 0x30af demonstrated notably well-timed positioning by opening a 10x leveraged long position when NEAR was trading near its recent low of $1.95. The position has since generated more than $7.9 million in unrealized gains, making the address the most profitable on-chain holder of NEAR futures positions based on current unrealized PnL.

Data source: Hyperdash

Is It Too Late to Buy NEAR?

NEAR's recent price action has maintained a relatively orderly stair-step structure. The token has gradually moved higher without experiencing an extreme one-day surge, suggesting that buying interest has remained relatively steady throughout the move. At the fundamental level, NEAR's privacy-related cross-chain activity generated a sharp increase in protocol revenue in September, providing an additional fundamental catalyst for the token's recent performance.

However, NEAR still faces potential selling pressure from historical holders with higher cost bases. The token previously experienced significant trading and accumulation activity around $16, while its current price is only around $3.30. If the rebound continues, some investors who accumulated during previous market cycles may look to exit their positions as the price approaches those historical levels.

As a result, NEAR's recent price performance and improving fundamentals remain important developments to monitor, while investors should also consider the potential resistance from historical supply and the risk of a pullback following a rapid price increase.

NEAR Recent Performance Summary

NEAR has formed a stair-step uptrend, with short-term pullbacks following consecutive advances and the overall price progression remaining relatively orderly. From a fundamental perspective, cross-chain activity through NEAR Intents, particularly transactions involving privacy-focused assets, has driven a significant increase in protocol revenue in September and provided a clearer fundamental catalyst for the current rally. On-chain data also shows that Hyperliquid address 0x30af established its NEAR long position near $1.95 and is now sitting on more than $7.9 million in unrealized gains, highlighting the profitability of some early leveraged positions. However, historical supply around $16 remains a potential source of selling pressure. With NEAR currently trading near $3.30, the sustainability of the current rally will depend on the balance between continued buying interest, potential profit-taking, and broader market liquidity.

Stock Futures Weekly Performance: U.S. Equities Consolidate as Intel Extends Its Rally for a Second Week

U.S. stock remained relatively stable this week as markets had already partially priced in and absorbed the Federal Reserve's rate hike. The decision therefore did not trigger a significant sell-off, and overall volatility remained relatively contained. Among individual stocks, Intel (INTC) extended its strong performance from the previous week, gaining another 8%. The memory and storage sector, meanwhile, experienced a modest pullback, with sector leader SNDK declining more than 4%.

Featured Stock Futures Analysis: INTC Extends Its Rally With an 8% Weekly Gain

Intel (INTC) continued its strong momentum this week, gaining more than 8% and briefly breaking above the $110 level to reach its highest price in nearly two months. The market continues to price in the potential impact of Intel's reported plan to raise PC CPU prices by approximately 10% in early October as the company seeks to improve profitability. However, the latest catalyst behind the rally came from developments in Intel's foundry and AI businesses. Reports indicated that Intel was in discussions with memory giant SK hynix over potential production cooperation at its wafer fabrication facility in Ohio. The potential partnership has boosted market expectations for improved capacity utilization and an operational recovery in Intel's foundry business, making the company one of the semiconductor sector's most closely watched names in recent weeks.

Data source: Bitunix

Commodity Futures Analysis: Silver Gains More Than 4% as Brent Crude Pulls Back Toward $98

Bitunix offers futures contracts covering a range of commodities, including gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas, giving users access to a broader range of cross-market trading opportunities. Commodity markets were relatively stable overall this week, although silver stood out with a 4.51% gain over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, easing geopolitical tensions reduced some of the upside momentum that had previously supported crude oil prices. After initially moving higher, Brent crude pulled back toward the $98 level.

Data source: Bitunix

Macro Catalyst to Watch: Final September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Data

Looking ahead to next week, markets will focus on the final September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, scheduled for release on September 25. Investors will be watching closely for changes in consumer confidence and inflation expectations. The indicator provides insight into how U.S. households view the economic outlook and their personal financial conditions, while changes in sentiment can also influence expectations for consumer spending and economic growth. If the final reading comes significantly below expectations, it could indicate further weakness in consumer confidence and lead markets to reassess the outlook for economic growth. Such a result could also strengthen expectations for a more accommodative monetary policy environment, potentially providing some support for risk assets such as BTC, other cryptocurrencies, and technology stocks. Conversely, a stronger-than-expected reading could indicate that consumer demand remains resilient and reduce concerns over a sharp economic slowdown. At the same time, stronger consumer sentiment could reinforce expectations that interest rates may remain elevated for longer.

Conclusion

The crypto market demonstrated notable resilience this week despite the CLARITY Act setback and the Federal Reserve's rate hike. The median return of Bitunix's Top 300 tokens reached +1.67%, with the Ethereum ecosystem standing out and NEAR gaining 33.22% over the week. U.S. stock remained range-bound overall, while Intel extended its strong momentum with an 8% weekly gain. The memory sector, however, experienced a modest correction. Commodity markets were relatively stable, with silver gaining 4.51% over the past 24 hours, while Brent crude pulled back toward $98 as geopolitical tensions eased. Looking ahead to next week, markets will focus on the final September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, which could provide further clues about the U.S. economic outlook, expectations for monetary policy, and the direction of risk assets.