Institutional Fiat Settlement and Ethereum Liquidity

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that USDT will return to the Bitcoin blockchain in the coming weeks, utilizing Utexo and the RGB protocol. This move could significantly boost liquidity in crypto markets and strengthen Bitcoin's position as a foundational layer for stablecoin operations.

A long-dormant Ethereum whale transferred 13,330 ETH, valued at approximately $36.37 million, to Coinbase. This transfer is suspected to be a sale, yielding an estimated profit of $36.21 million with an ROI of 23,402%.

CoinGecko reports that Ethereum's price surged 70% in Q3, outperforming Bitcoin, while ETH's market depth significantly contracted. Between July 6 and September 30, ETH's median daily market depth was only 35% to 45% of Bitcoin's, a notable decrease from the previous year.

The penultimate test run for the Ethereum 'Glamsterdam' upgrade is scheduled for October 6 on the Sepolia testnet. This upgrade aims to introduce dynamically adjusted fees for lower costs and prepare the network for higher capacities, with a potential mainnet deployment in 2026.

Bitcoin briefly rose to just under $87,000 early on October 5, before falling back below $86,000 during Asian morning hours. This surge followed weaker US labor market data, which eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

On October 2, 2026, the hacker responsible for the NEAR Intents exploit on October 1 returned the stolen $3.8 million in USDT. The return occurred before the expiration of a 48-hour ultimatum issued by Alex Shevchenko, CEO of NEAR Intents, who claimed to have identified the attacker.