Crypto Craters as SEC Probes DATs Over Insider Trading
Olivia Capozzalo & Squiffs _
September 26, 2025
Happy Friday, Defiers!
Today’s big story:
- Altcoins plunge as U.S. regulators investigate potential insider trading at crypto treasury companies
In other news:
- Cloudflare launches stablecoin for the ‘AI-driven internet’
- Active users on BNB Chain reach all-time high
- Securitize expands tokenized RWA offerings to Sei
- 1inch leads the way for cross-chain DeFi [SPONSORED]
- ETHGas building critical infra for Ethereum blockspace [SPONSORED]
Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.
FAssets are LIVE on Flare mainnet!
Flare’s first FAsset, FXRP, is now live on mainnet, starting with FXRP, a 1:1 representation of XRP. The launch gives XRP holders access to DeFi tools, including lending, liquidity, and soon liquid staking. FXRP can be minted directly or swapped on SparkDEX, BlazeSwap, and Enosys, with incentives offering up to 50% APR. The protocol has undergone multiple audits, bug bounties, and continuous monitoring. FXRP marks the beginning of Flare’s XRPFi ecosystem and a new chapter for XRP utility
We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today
📈 Markets in the Past 24 Hours
| TICKER | VALUE | 24H | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitcoin | $109,042 | -2.25 % |
 | Ethereum | $3,947.25 | -1.76 % |
 | XRP | $2.71 | -4.77 % |
 | BNB | $939.67 | -5.67 % |
 | Solana | $194.4 | -4.33 % |
SEC’s DAT Probe Fuels ‘Cycle Top’ Fears
This week, investors and DAT companies were caught off guard as regulators swooped in to remind them that, despite the ongoing meme in 2025, crime is still very much illegal.
Amid an inexplicably abysmal week for crypto markets, news came out late Thursday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have reached out to more than 200 digital asset treasuries (DATs) regarding a potential investigation into insider trading.
Tokens favored by DATS, such as ETH, SOL, and AVAX, were battered this week
ETH, SOL, AVAX vs BTC
The probes appear to be focused specifically on stocks with higher-than-average trading volumes leading up to the initial DAT announcements, implying that insiders were accumulating these stocks prior to the news going public.
To make matters even stickier, some traders suggest that insiders who knew about the impending SEC probes were aggressively selling off their crypto ahead of the news - meaning that entities were insider trading the news that the SEC was probing DATs for insider trading.
While that can’t be confirmed or denied, it is a possible explanation for crypto’s harsh selloff this week. Despite a strong post-Fed rally, BTC couldn’t catch a bid over the last five days, while traditionally correlated high-risk equities, such as robotics and quantum computing stocks, soared.
Looking ahead, many crypto holders are wary of potential downside catalysts. Those who are devout four-year cycle believers know that we’re due for “the cycle top” over the coming months, and now must consider whether SEC scrutiny on DATs could turn any of these companies into forced sellers.
While most DAT structures are built to avoid selling of the underlying cryptocurrency they allocate to, a domino effect is always possible, and perhaps the uncertainty surrounding potential enforcement actions is worse than any actual moves, as holders feel the pressure to “derisk” and frontrun DATs to the downside, the same way they did to the upside.
Despite the bear thesis looking a little frightening, analysts remain positive. Vincent Liu, the CIO at Kronos Research, told The Defiant, “DAT investigations are unlikely to halt the bull run outright. They may thin liquidity and widen spreads in the near term, adding volatility, but the structural drivers of this cycle will remain intact. Ultimately, this is more about pace and sentiment than a reversal of trend.”
The development leaves the market in a precarious spot, with the bears’ four-year cycle top and DAT unwind narrative set to square off against the bulls’ “Uptober” seasonality narrative.
Squiffs, resident degen at The Defiant
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🎬WATCH
$100 Million DeFi DAT Chooses ETH | Ryan Zurrer
On the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, Vinny sat down with crypto pioneer Ryan Zurrer to explore the strategy behind Game Square, the Jerry Jones-backed media powerhouse that bet $100 million on Ethereum instead of Bitcoin.
Ryan, who co-wrote the MakerDAO whitepaper and now leads Dialectic, shares why Ethereum dominates 5 out of 6 real-world crypto use cases, from stablecoins to DeFi, and how it’s emerging as the financial substrate of the future. The conversation dives deep into the evolution of DeFi, the lessons learned from past crypto cycles, and the importance of decentralization and fair launches in building sustainable ecosystems.
Top News in the Past 24 Hours
- Cloudflare to Launch ‘NET Dollar’ Stablecoin Cloudflare, the cloud connectivity and security provider, announced the launch of its own native USD-pegged stablecoin today, dubbed NET Dollar. Why it matters: Cloudflare says its stablecoin is designed for the future of the agentic web, enabling secure and instant transactions between AI agents.
- BNB Chain Active Users Reach All-Time High Between new token launches, such as STBL and ASTER, as well as a whirlwind airdrop campaign on the Aster DEX, BSC — the EVM chain of the BNB Chain ecosystem — is booming as traders pour onto the chain. Why it matters: The surge in BSC-based DEX volumes over the last two weeks can be attributed to the rise of Aster, which has processed just over $4 billion in volume since CZ promoted it last week, becoming the top perp DEX by 24-hour volumes.
- BlackRock-Backed Tokenization Firm Securitize Expands to Sei Securitize, a platform focused on tokenizing real-world assets, has expanded its offerings to the Sei blockchain, launching the Apollo Diversified Credit Fund (ACRED) as its inaugural tokenized product on the network. Why it matters: With the launch, Sei becomes the seventh network where Securitize has rolled out a tokenized version of ACRED, and the fourth-largest by token supply, after Ethereum, Solana, and Aptos.
- Feature: UNI Holders Slam Lack of Rev Share as Uniswap Sees Record Volumes Uniswap, the second-largest DEX by trading volume, is nearing $1 trillion in yearly volumes, but holders of the platform’s UNI token are not reaping the benefits of its success.
Trending on The Defiant
- Aster Token Hits All-Time High Amid Layer 1 Plans
- Franklin Templeton Expands Benji Tokenization Platform to BNB Chain
- USDe Deposits on Binance Hit $734 Million as Ethena TVL Tops $16 Billion
- Base Activity Hits All-Time High on Airdrop Speculation
- Swarm to Launch Tokenized Stocks on Plasma Mainnet
- Crypto Markets Recover Slightly as Signs Point to Late Cycle Phase
That’s it for today — if you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends! https://thedefiant.io/subscribe
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