Olivia Capozzalo & Denis Omelchenko
September 15, 2025

Happy Monday, Defiers!

Today’s big story:

Crypto markets are slumping ahead of the much-anticipated Fed meeting on Wednesday

In other news:

Polymarket integrates Chainlink
Ethena deploys its stablecoins on Avalanche
DATs reach “critical inflection point”: Coinbase
DeFi diehards unite in their disdain for corp chains [FEATURE]
What is Whisk? Exploring the Stellar Network’s latest protocol 23 upgrade [SPONSORED]
Treehouse Finance: Bringing fixed income infrastructure to DeFi [SPONSORED]

Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.

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We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today

📈 Markets in the Last 24 Hours

TICKER	VALUE	24H
Bitcoin	$115,053	-0.25 %
Ethereum	$4,540.08	-1.76 %
XRP	$3.03	-0.57 %
BNB	$922.12	-1.04 %
Solana	$236.56	-3.48 %

Today’s Big Story

Heading into Fed Week, Crypto Markets Soften While Altcoin Season Still in Play

gm Defiers!

The cryptocurrency market edged lower on Monday but remained above the $4 trillion mark, with nearly 90% of Polymarket bettors still expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting this week. A decision from the Fed is expected on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading just above $115,000, flat on the day, while Ethereum (ETH) dipped almost 2%, but remains above $4,500. Total crypto market capitalization is holding out at around $4.09 trillion, down 1% over the last 24 hours.

Among the top 20 tokens by market cap, all are flat or mildly in the red on the day. The exception is Dogecoin (DOGE), which is correcting from its extended rally last week, with a sharp drop earlier today from around $0.28 to $0.26.

DOGE is down about 7% over the past 24 hours, but still remains up 12% on the weekly timeframe. As we reported at the end of last week, the first U.S. DOGE ETF is expected imminently, but has been delayed multiple times.

Alt Season?

Nonetheless, despite the broad declines, Coinglass’ Altcoin Season Index reached 80 today — the highest level yet this year — after a rally that began in early August, reinforcing the view that the market is entering an altcoin season. Bitcoin dominance is at about 56%, per CoinGecko data.

Altcoin Season Index. Source: Coinglass

As Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz explained in a recent CNBC interview, Bitcoin is consolidating right now as altcoin treasury firms “take their shot.”

However, as The Defiant reported on Friday, the easy gains for crypto treasury companies, aka DATs, appear to be over, with Coinbase analysts warning that only those with strategic discipline are likely to survive the new competitive phase. Still, the Galaxy Digital CEO expects Bitcoin to stage another “big surge up” later this year as the Fed begins its rate-cutting cycle.

On the ETF side, spot Ethereum ETFs saw $637.7 million in net inflows last week, reversing the $787 million outflow the week prior, though still well below the $2.85 billion weekly record inflows set in mid-August.

Weekly flows for ETH ETFs. Source: SoSoValue

Spot Bitcoin ETFs had a strong week, attracting $2.34 billion in net inflows, the strongest weekly intake since mid-July, according to SoSoValue.

Investors are buckling up for the Sept. 16-17 FOMC meeting, where 89% of Polymarket bettors expect the Fed to cut rates by 25 bps, while 9% still see a chance of a bigger 50 bps move. The CME’s FedWatch tool shows traders see a 96.2% chance of the 25 bps cut, and no chance that rates stay the same.

Meanwhile, President Trump said today that he is expecting The Fed to make a “big cut.”

As analysts at Keyrock explained in their weekly overview, published today, Bitcoin’s consolidation near all-time highs “signals it is positioning as the high-beta proxy for U.S. monetary easing,” adding that “Markets are now pricing in 75bps of rate cuts by year-end.”

All eyes on The Fed as we head into the week.

Stay safe out there,

Denis Omelchenko, staff reporter at The Defiant

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🎬WATCH

JPMorgan’s Nightmare: How Stablecoins Let You Be Your Own Bank | Reeve Collins

On the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, Vinny sat down with down with Reeve Collins, co-founder of Tether, co-founder of WeFi, and chairman at STBL, to explore the groundbreaking evolution of stablecoins.

From their early days as a simple payment solution to their role in reshaping global finance, Reeve shares insider insights on how stablecoins are building trust, driving financial inclusion, and securing the future of money.

Top News in the Past 24 Hours

Polymarket Taps Chainlink to Settle Price BetsBlockchain oracle Chainlink’s data standard will be integrated into Polymarket’s resolution process in order to provide “near-instant” settlement and ensure accuracy standards. Why it matters: Currently, Polymarket resolutions can take hours depending on the circumstances.
Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe Go Live on Avalanche in Major Cross-Chain Push Ethena Labs has launched its synthetic dollar USDe and staked USDe (sUSDe) on Layer 1 blockchain Avalanche, marking a major cross-chain expansion for the project. Why it matters: The move makes Ethena assets available across major Avalanche-based lending and trading dApps. It includes a partnership with Pendle, introducing yield markets for USDe on Avalanche.
Easy Gains Vanish for DATs as They Face 'Critical Inflection Point': Coinbase According a new report from Coinbase Institutional, the digital asset treasury game is now entering a competitive "player-versus-player" phase, as "the DAT phenomenon has reached a critical inflection point." Why it matters: DATs for BTC and altcoins have become a major trend this year, with an estimated $100 billion in crypto held by publicly traded firms, as of the end of Q2.
Feature: Decentralization Diehards Unite in Their Critique of Corporate L1s Like Tempo The new wave of so-called corp chains from Stripe, Circle, Google and others is seeing a wave of criticism from crypto veterans and decentralization diehards