PayPal’s stablecoin expands to 9 new blockchains

Perpetual futures open interest for Bitcoin increased from 304,000 BTC to 310,000 BTC on Monday as the cryptocurrency's price briefly touched $90,000, signaling renewed interest in leveraged long positions ahead of year-end trading according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode. This 2% increase in open interest accompanying price appreciation suggests fresh capital entering leveraged positions rather than mere price-driven expansion, potentially contradicting earlier narratives about muted year-end activity while raising questions about whether building leverage creates vulnerability for the exact Q1 2026 crash scenarios that Anthony Pompliano suggested Bitcoin might avoid.

PANews reported on September 18th that CryptoQuant analyst CryptoOnchain reported that the unrealized profits of medium-sized whales holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH in Ethereum wallets have climbed to levels last seen in November 2021, when ETH hit its all-time high. This suggests these whales are currently holding significant paper gains, similar to the situation at the previous market peak. Historical data shows that such high levels of unrealized profits are often accompanied by increased selling pressure or profit-taking, potentially influencing price trends. While this may not necessarily trigger an immediate market correction, investor psychology and whale behavior at this stage could have a significant impact on price fluctuations.

Palmer Luckey has raised $350 million for Erebor, valuing the digital bank at approximately $4.3 billion as it moves toward launch with FDIC approval, according to Axios. The Oculus founder and defense tech entrepreneur's entry into fintech represents remarkable valuation for pre-launch bank and raises questions about whether investors are backing genuinely innovative banking model or simply betting on Luckey's track record of building billion-dollar companies, while the timing amid regional banking stress and cryptocurrency integration ambitions creates both opportunity and scrutiny.