Trump Weighs New CFTC Leadership After Quintenz Nomination Stalls
Reports suggest that former President Donald Trump is exploring fresh candidates for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair after Brian Quintenz’s nomination stalled. Among the names considered are Michael Selig and Tyler Williams. Selig currently serves as chief counsel to the SEC’s crypto task force and has a background as an asset management lawyer. Williams, meanwhile, is the Treasury’s advisor on digital asset policy and has previously held a role at Galaxy Digital.
Quintenz’s nomination hit roadblocks back in July after Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, urged Trump to stop the process due to frustrations with the Biden administration’s crackdown on Gemini. At the time, Winklevoss remarked,
“Seven years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.”
Following his comments, the White House asked the Senate to put the confirmation vote on hold. Analysts have described the situation as the Winklevoss twins “flexing their Washington muscle” after contributing millions in donations to Trump’s campaign.
S&P Climbs After Nvidia’s Big Intel Bet
US equity markets advanced on Thursday morning after Nvidia made a significant investment in Intel. This move pushed the S&P 500 past $6,600 with a 0.4% gain. The Nasdaq Composite also opened strong, up 0.8%. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 37 points.
Markets overall showed little reaction to the Federal Reserve’s 25 basis points interest rate cut. Still, the Fed hinted that another cut might be possible in 2025. Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, pointed to high inflation concerns and a weakening labor market, which kept bullish traders cautious.
Despite Powell’s cautious stance, investor outlook remains largely positive. Experts suggest that risk assets may continue to gain momentum, with the S&P 500 potentially pushing past the 6,700 level for the first time.
SEC Grants Approval for First Multi-Asset Crypto ETP in the US
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved its first-ever multi-asset cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP), allowing Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund to be listed. This product will give investors exposure to leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Cardano (ADA).
This approval represents a key milestone for the crypto industry, following the massive success of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. The multi-asset ETP provides a simple way for investors to gain diversified exposure to major crypto assets without relying on exchanges.
With rising expectations of an upcoming altcoin season, this approval comes at a critical time. David Duong, Global Head of Research at Coinbase Institutional, noted,
“We think current market conditions now suggest a potential shift towards a full-scale altcoin season as we approach September.”
The ETP was given the green light under the SEC’s new generic listing framework, designed to streamline approvals of spot crypto ETFs across exchanges like Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe BZX. Grayscale’s CEO, Peter Mintzberg, commented,
“Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund $GDLC was just approved for trading along with the Generic Listing Standards. Our team is working quickly to launch the FIRST multi-crypto asset ETP featuring Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.”
ASIC Relaxes Licensing Rules for Stablecoin Issuers
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has rolled out new exemptions for stablecoin distributors. Under the ASIC (Stablecoin Distribution Exemption) Instrument 2025/631, intermediaries distributing stablecoins that are issued by licensed Australian Financial Service (AFS) providers will not need separate AFS, market, or clearing settlement facility licenses.
ASIC emphasized,
“ASIC is committed to supporting responsible innovation in the rapidly evolving digital assets space, while ensuring important consumer protections are in place by having eligible stablecoins issued under an AFS licence.”
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis
Bitcoin is slightly lower in the current session, trading close to $117,061. BTC’s price movement showed little enthusiasm for the Fed’s 25 bps rate cut. After climbing earlier this week, BTC dipped to $114,724 on Wednesday post-FOMC meeting, eventually settling at $116,484. On Thursday, the coin managed to rebound 0.54% to $116,954, but has since slipped again.
According to CryptoQuant, BTC still has room to grow above $117,000. Their NVT-GC (network value to transaction golden cross) indicator shows the asset is nowhere near overheated. Historically, negative readings under -1.6 often precede bullish runs, while values above 2.2 signal potential downturns. The indicator last showed a strong bullish signal in July at -2.8, later rebounding to 0.3. CryptoQuant analysts summarized:
“This suggests the market is neither highly overvalued nor undervalued, but instead in a healthy uptrend. Short-term: With the metric still neutral, Bitcoin is far from bubble territory and has scope for expansion.”
Other indicators echo the bullish case. July also flashed a buy signal on MACD. Some analysts expect BTC to re-enter price discovery by October. One noted,
“BTC price sits just above STH Realized Price, setting the stage for 1–2 weeks of consolidation with a potential push to ATH.”
Still, not all outlooks are optimistic. Benjamin Cowen of Into The Cryptoverse has warned that BTC could eventually face a 70% pullback in the next bear cycle. He remarked,
“I would say maybe a 70% drawdown from whatever the all-time high ends up. Does it have to happen? No, but history at least warns us to consider it.”
On the flip side, Bitcoin bulls like Arthur Hayes believe the coin could climb to $250,000 by year-end, though such a move would make a subsequent 70% decline devastating, pulling BTC down to around $75,000.
BTC’s recent trading history reflects this volatility. Last weekend, it touched $113,390 but couldn’t hold, dropping to $110,670. Sellers dominated Saturday, trimming another 0.41%, before BTC rebounded on Sunday with nearly 1% gains. The week saw consistent swings: climbing past $112,000 Monday, dipping Tuesday, then rallying above $113,000 midweek. Thursday pushed BTC past $115,000, and by Friday, it reached $116,106.
Over the weekend, price action turned weaker, losing ground Saturday and Sunday. Monday saw mixed trading before buyers regained control Tuesday with a strong push over $116,000. Wednesday brought a dip to $114,724 before rebounding, while Thursday ended with a close above $117,000. Currently, BTC is again slightly down at $116,916.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
Ethereum remains under pressure, down over 1% today at around $4,531. Earlier this week, ETH dipped to $4,429 before bouncing to $4,591, but has since lost steam.
The key resistance lies near $4,680. If ETH breaks through, it could test $4,750 and possibly aim for $5,000. Failure to do so could see ETH tumble back under $4,500. Behind the scenes, developers are preparing for the Fusaka hard fork, scheduled for December 3. The update will bring 12 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) focused on improving speed, scalability, security, and cost efficiency.
The upgrade includes blob capacity increases — one on December 17 and another on January 7, 2026 — both expected to double the network’s current blob space. The ethPandaOps team confirmed,
“The initial conclusion is that we can proceed with a Max blob count of 15 for BPO1 and 21 for BPO2. With 5 BPOs in total, we can scale Ethereum’s mainnet safely and significantly.”
ETH’s recent trading activity shows mixed results: it peaked at $4,493 last Friday, then slipped to $4,307. After small weekend fluctuations, ETH gained midweek momentum, climbing to $4,487 before settling at $4,348. Thursday added another 2.57% rally, with Friday nearly breaking $4,700 before closing at $4,315.
Momentum weakened again over the weekend, dropping over 1% on both Saturday and Sunday to $4,609. Monday added more selling pressure, dragging ETH to $4,527. Tuesday extended losses slightly, closing at $4,502. Despite this, Wednesday saw a rebound to $4,591, though the coin slipped again Thursday. Today, ETH is back down over 1%, trading near $4,524.
Solana (SOL) Price Analysis
Solana has once again fallen short of the $250 milestone, with Thursday’s rally running out of steam. Earlier this week, SOL gained over 1% Tuesday, closing at $236, and over 3% Wednesday, peaking at $253 before ending at $247.
Analysts remain bullish, eyeing $300 as a realistic target thanks to strong institutional support. Corporate adoption of SOL as a treasury asset has grown rapidly, with firms collectively holding more than 17 million SOL (worth $4.3B). Major holders include Forward Industries (FORD) with 6.82M SOL, Sharps Technology (STTS) with 2.14M, and both Defi Development Corp (DFDV) and Upexi Inc. (UPXI) with nearly 2M each.
Regulatory momentum is also adding optimism. The SEC recently unveiled new standards to speed up spot ETF approvals, with speculation growing around a Solana ETF launch.
Looking back, SOL traded positively over the weekend, closing at $203 Friday, dipping Saturday, then rising Sunday to $206. Gains continued Monday through Thursday, with consistent increases pushing SOL past $240 by Friday.
Over the weekend, volatility returned as SOL dipped to $236 Saturday before rebounding, then failed to hold $250 on Sunday. It slipped back to $240. Monday added more downside to $234. The token rebounded Tuesday to $236, then rallied Wednesday to $244. Thursday’s session touched $253 but ended at $247. Currently, SOL is down more than 2%, trading near $241.
Uniswap (UNI) Price Analysis
Uniswap began last week strong, climbing nearly 2% Monday to $9.55. It spiked to $9.92 Tuesday but slipped back to $9.53. Wednesday saw a 2% bounce to $9.74, followed by Thursday’s 2.41% rise to $9.97. By Friday, UNI pushed above $10, closing at $10.17.
The rally faded over the weekend. Saturday saw a small dip, but Sunday brought a sharper 7% drop to $9.02 before recovering slightly to $9.40. Monday continued the weakness, falling 2.44% to $9.17. UNI then bounced Tuesday to $9.32 and climbed again Wednesday to $9.55. Thursday showed only minor gains before today’s decline of nearly 3%, leaving UNI at $9.34.
Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Analysis
Dogecoin delivered strong performance earlier this month, jumping over 5% Monday (September 8) to $0.241. Tuesday’s trading was volatile, ending slightly down, before rebounding Wednesday to $0.246. Thursday added nearly 4%, pushing DOGE over $0.250 to $0.255. On Friday, the meme coin surged almost 8%, reaching $0.275.
The bullish streak continued Saturday, with DOGE peaking at $0.307 before closing at $0.288, still nearly 5% higher. Sunday brought selling pressure, knocking it down 3.67% to $0.278. Monday added more declines, sliding over 3% to $0.269. Tuesday saw only a marginal rise under pressure. By Wednesday, buyers stepped in, driving DOGE nearly 5% higher to $0.283. Thursday brought a 1.48% dip to $0.278. As of now, DOGE is down over 2%, trading near $0.272.
