Gate Research Institute: The crypto market encounters another "plummet" | BTC once fell below 109,000 USD

Crypto Market Overview

• BTC (-3.51% | Current Price 109,577 USDT): BTC has recently peaked and retreated, currently stabilizing slightly at 109,577 USDT. The short-term moving averages are intertwined and consolidating, with an overall bearish sentiment prevailing and trading volume increasing. If it fails to break through 110,000 USDT, it may maintain a weak oscillating trend in the short term, paying attention to the support levels of 109,000–108,600 USDT, with a breach possibly testing the previous low of 108,615.8 USDT.
• ETH (-5.18% | Current price 3,918 USDT): ETH continues to decline, currently stabilizing around 3,870 USD. The short-term moving averages are operating in a bearish range, with increased trading volume. If it cannot hold above 3,950 USD, it may continue to test the support at 3,800 USD, and if it breaks below, pay attention to 3,700 USD. A breakthrough above 4,050 USD may lead to a recovery trend.
• Altcoins: Most mainstream altcoins are overall weak/slightly down today, as market sentiment turns cautious—affected by significant deleveraging and capital outflows this week, the global crypto market capitalization has declined by about 2–3% in the last 24 hours, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both experiencing a pullback, leading to overall pressure on altcoin performance. The current Crypto Fear & Greed Index is 28 (Fear/恐惧), indicating that market sentiment is leaning towards fear.
• Macro: On September 25, the S&P 500 index fell by 0.50% to 6,604.72 points; the Dow Jones index decreased by 0.38% to 45,947.32 points; the Nasdaq index dropped by 0.50% to 22,384.70 points. As of September 26, 10:00 AM (UTC+8), the spot gold price per ounce is temporarily reported at 3,755 USD, with limited fluctuations within 24H.

Trending Tokens on Juejin

XPL Plasma (+178%, market cap 2.29 billion USD)

According to Gate's market data, the current price of the XPL token is 0.89 USD, with a 178% increase in the last 24 hours. Plasma is a high-performance first-layer blockchain designed specifically for stablecoins, dedicated to serving the stablecoin market, which has surpassed a total issuance of 275 billion USD and a monthly trading volume of several trillion USD. Its core advantages include zero-fee USDT transfers, customizable Gas tokens, and convenient encryption payments, while its outstanding throughput provides solid support for global trading circulation.

Recently, the rise of XPL has been primarily driven by technological advancements and market demand. The introduction of Plasma's zero-fee USDT transfer feature and customizable Gas tokens has significantly enhanced its competitiveness in the stablecoin space. Additionally, the high throughput capabilities offered by Plasma meet the demand for large-scale transaction circulation globally, attracting more projects and users. As the stablecoin market continues to expand, Plasma's role as a key infrastructure becomes increasingly important, and the market's expectations for its long-term development prospects have further pushed up token prices.

SQD Subsquid (+65.61%, circulating market cap 18.46 million USD)

According to Gate market data, the current price of the SQD token is 0.1251 USD, with an increase of 65.61% in the last 24 hours. Subsquid Network is a highly scalable data access layer designed to support decentralized applications (dApp), capable of providing the key data required by the blockchain to optimize the user experience. As an indexing protocol, Subsquid's core advantage lies in its extremely efficient data access capabilities, helping developers simplify the development work of blockchain applications.

Recently, Subsquid completed the Full Solana History Integration, allowing developers to access decades of blockchain data from Solana. In addition, the team is expanding the network scale, planning to increase the number of working nodes to 4,500 and optimizing the reward mechanism to maintain a balance between decentralization and incentives. In the future, a low-latency "Spray" service will be launched to further enhance the performance of data query services. The project's positioning is also gradually transforming, moving from infrastructure tools to a developer-friendly decentralized data access layer. It has already connected with over 200 EVM and Substrate networks, with Solana support still in beta. To enhance long-term value, Subsquid is also adjusting the reward mechanism, planning to set the reward target at 7% APY to further attract investors.

SKX SKPANAX (+25.8%, circulating market cap 220 million USD)

According to Gate.io market data, the current price of the SKX token is $2.20, having increased by 25.8% in the last 24 hours. The SKX token represents a new vision for the Web 3.0 ecosystem, with the team building an online platform and a token ecosystem for actual use in offline operational stores, aimed at supporting small businesses in their brand promotion and marketing efforts, and helping them realize the vision of Web 3.0.

The recent increase in SKX is primarily driven by multiple factors, including ProBit Global's relisting of the SKX/USDT trading pair, which significantly enhanced market liquidity and investor confidence. In addition, the market sentiment for SKX is high, with the RSI reaching 94.08, indicating strong buying sentiment. The lower supply has also exacerbated price volatility, further propelling the increase. Finally, SKX is expanding its ecosystem through SKX Mall and attracting more participants through user reward mechanisms, enhancing the token's practical applications and market demand.

Alpha Interpretation

Plasma mainnet is live, XPL engine has been activated.

The Plasma blockchain mainnet Beta has officially launched, accompanied by the simultaneous launch of the XPL token on multiple exchanges. On its first day of trading, the market capitalization of XPL briefly surpassed 2.4 billion USD, with a price surge of over 50%. It is worth noting that all users who participated in the pre-storage plan received an airdrop of 9,304 XPL tokens, which is approximately 8,390 USD based on the current price, even if they did not actually purchase XPL during the ICO. This generous distribution model significantly boosted community engagement and garnered strong attention for Plasma right at the launch phase. In addition, Plasma has also launched the Plasma One stablecoin native banking and card services, supporting zero-fee USDT transfers (limited to basic stablecoin transfers), enhancing payment and usage scenarios.

With the support of Tether's funds and ecosystem, Plasma starts off with a large scale and liquidity, naturally appealing to DeFi projects. The generosity of the airdrop enhances the earnings experience for early users and strengthens community cohesion. In the short term, XPL is expected to become a hotspot for capital chasing; in the long term, it depends on whether Plasma can form differentiated advantages in cross-chain payments, stablecoin settlements, and community governance.

crypto market experiences another "waterfall" trend, BTC temporarily drops below 109,000 USD.

On September 26, the crypto market saw another "waterfall" trend, with BTC briefly falling below $109,000, a 24-hour drop of over 4%, and ETH's 7-day decline exceeding 14%. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has fallen back to $3.823 trillion, evaporating more than 4% in 24 hours. Altcoins are also struggling to escape the wave of sell-offs, with the TOTAL3 index (the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies excluding BTC and ETH) dropping 9.30% in the last 7 days. The ongoing market correction combined with macroeconomic headwinds is a significant driver behind this round of declines. This morning, Trump announced a new round of tariff measures: imposing a 25% tariff on imported heavy trucks, a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and related products, a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, and a 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals from companies that have not commenced construction of drug manufacturing plants in the U.S. All measures will officially take effect on October 1.

The high tariff policy has once again strengthened the market's concerns about the rising global supply chain and consumption costs, putting pressure on both the stock market and crypto assets. In the short term, the sentiment in the crypto market may continue to lean towards caution, with funds possibly waiting on the sidelines or even withdrawing from risk assets. However, if BTC can stabilize in the range of $108,000 to $110,000, it may still have the technical conditions for a rebound.

Regulatory agencies target encryption strategic reserve companies, possibly involved in insider trading.

On September 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are investigating some publicly listed companies that have adopted a "crypto market strategic reserve." Regulators have noticed that these companies experienced abnormal increases in stock prices and trading volumes in the days leading up to the announcement, suspected of insider trading under conditions of information asymmetry.

This survey indicates that regulators are highly vigilant regarding the "stock companies' hoarding of coins". In recent months, there has been a growing number of companies mimicking the MicroStrategy model to purchase Bitcoin, but some companies may use this information as a tool for capital operations, even creating stock price fluctuations. In the short term, such surveys may suppress the hype effect brought by companies announcing their "hoarding" plans, and the market's reaction to related news will become more rational. In the long term, if the SEC establishes clearer disclosure norms and constraint mechanisms, it may actually provide a clearer path for companies to comply with coin purchases, reducing gray areas.
References:

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• BlockBeats, https://www.theblockbeats.info/flash/313963
• BlockBeats, https://www.theblockbeats.info/flash/313960
• Coingecoko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap

Disclaimer Investing in the crypto market involves high risks, and users are advised to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products they purchase before making any investment decisions. Gate does not bear any responsibility for losses or damages resulting from such investment decisions.