Bitcoin Approaches $126,000 Amid 'Uptober' Rally
yyc trader & Denis Omelchenko
October 06, 2025
gm Defiers!
Today’s big story:
- DefiLlama has delisted Aster from its perpetuals rankings after questioning the validity of its volume data.
In other news:
- BTC hits new all-time high
- Stablecoin sector surpasses $300 billion
- Galaxy Digital launches retail-focused platform
- Who Really Controls Your Blockchain? [SPONSORED]
- 1inch Unveils Rebrand as 'Next Chapter of DeFi' Begins [SPONSORED]
Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.
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Bitcoin has MicroStrategy. Ethereum has no whale — until now. Michael Saylor turned his company into Bitcoin’s giga-whale, stacking billions through corporate debt and creating a new Wall Street narrative. But Ethereum, despite powering DeFi, stablecoins, NFTs, and restaking, has lacked an equivalent story of large-scale accumulation.
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Learn how Rezerve is turning MicroStrategy into a DeFi protocol.
We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today
📈 Markets in the Past 24 Hours
| TICKER | VALUE | 24H | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitcoin | $125,401 | 1.91 % |
 | Ethereum | $4,700.65 | 4.20 % |
 | XRP | $3.04 | 2.04 % |
 | BNB | $1,219.33 | 5.11 % |
 | Solana | $236.49 | 3.60 % |
Today’s Big Story
DeFiLlama Delists Aster
Decentralized perpetuals exchange Aster’s meteoric rise is under a microscope after its trading volumes began tracking Binance almost exactly, prompting DefiLlama to stop displaying the DEX’s perp data and sparking questions about whether the activity on the platform is real or manufactured.
On Sunday, Oct. 5, DefiLlama’s pseudonymous founder 0xngmi published charts on X showing near-one-to-one volume correlations between Aster and Binance for pairs such as XRP — a pattern 0xngmi said didn’t appear on rival perp DEX Hyperliquid — and announced that Aster’s perpetuals would be delisted.
“Aster doesn't make it possible to get lower-level data such as who is making and filling orders, so until we can get that data to verify if there's washtrading, Aster perp volumes will be delisted,” 0xngmi wrote.
According to 0xngmi, the move to delist Aster from its perpetuals ratings is about data integrity rather than market positioning.
Following the removal, Ethereum-based decentralized perpetuals exchange Lighter, which recently debuted its public mainnet, has become the top platform in the category by trading volume.
The delisting comes after ASTER’s meteoric rise drew widespread attention. According to CoinGecko data, the token climbed from $0.56 to over $2 in just one week, and the platform briefly topped DefiLlama’s leaderboard for daily fees and volume across perpetual DEXs.
However, the correlation with Binance volumes has now raised doubts about whether that growth reflects genuine demand or inflated metrics.
Rumors about a connection between Aster and Binance have been circulating for quite some time now. While Binance founder Changpeng Zhao calls himself an “advisor” to the project, Binance-tied YZi Labs is listed as the platform’s backer on Aster’s X profile, and some social posts imply that Aster’s API looks almost identical to Binance’s.
At the time of writing, neither Aster nor Binance have publicly addressed the delisting or the wash-trading allegations.
Denis, staff reporter at The Defiant
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🎬WATCH
StarkWare Bets on Becoming Bitcoin's Execution Layer, Not on Attracting Corporate Chains
On the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, Cami sat down with Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare. Ben-Sasson details StarkWare's latest bet on Bitcoin: Adding BTC staking and lending/borrowing to the Ethereum Layer 2 (coupled with 100M in STRK incentives) in its bid to become Bitcoin's execution layer.
StarkWare is focusing on BTC while much of competitors' attention has gone to lure large fintech and TradFi names on-chain. Ben Sasson says he couldn't care less because "corporate chain and decentralized chain is a contradiction."
Top News in the Past 24 Hours
- Bitcoin Surges Above $125,000 as ‘Uptober’ Rally Continues for Sixth Day Crypto markets kicked off the new week up 2%, with the total market capitalization approaching $4.4 trillion for the first time. Why it matters: Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high of $125,500 while major altcoins like ETH, SOL and BNB posted solid gains.
- Stablecoin Market Cap Surpasses $300 Billion as New Entrants Challenge Tether’s Dominance The stablecoin sector has grown significantly over the past year, with analytics platforms now indicating that there are nearly 300 separate stablecoin projects across various chains. Why it matters: The sector has been boosted by institutional adoption after the passage of the GENIUS Act earlier this year.
- GLXY Jumps 8% as Galaxy Digital Launches Retail Platform Crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital has launched GalaxyOne – a new platform that allows U.S. investors to earn interest on cash and trade crypto and stocks in one place. Why it matters: The launch marks Galaxy’s move into the retail market, expanding beyond its base of institutional clients to reach everyday investors who want access to both traditional and digital assets.
Trending on The Defiant
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- Bitcoin Hits $124,000 Despite U.S. Shutdown and Geopolitical Tensions
- Perpetual DEX Trading Volume Tops $1 Trillion in September
- Avalanche Treasury Co. Plans $675 Million Merger With Mountain Lake Acquisition
- SoFi Doubles Down on Crypto Plans, Reveals Stablecoin Details
That’s it for today — if you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends! https://thedefiant.io/subscribe
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