The cryptocurrency market entered an upward trend by the evening of October 2, 2026, influenced by weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data. Non-farm payrolls rose by just 29,000 in September, falling short of the anticipated increase ranging between 84,000 and 90,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%. The overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies hovered between $2.94 trillion and $3.03 trillion.
Bitcoin’s Rise and ETF Inflows Steal the Spotlight
In the wake of these macroeconomic figures, Bitcoin traded around $86,688.47, marking an increase of 3.38% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum also broke from its prolonged plateau, reaching $2,749.47 with a 1.69% daily uptick.
Institutional movements were noteworthy, as reported by SoSoValue. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced daily net inflows of $103 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust secured $196 million in inflows, while $61 million exited Fidelity’s FBTC fund. In contrast, daily net outflows from spot Ether ETFs were measured at $55 million. As a major asset management firm, BlackRock continues to play a pivotal role in the crypto ETF arena.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized that the cryptocurrency market is no longer a fringe interest but has matured into a trillion-dollar asset class.
Tether Plans to Reintroduce USDT on Bitcoin Network
One of the developments capturing market attention was Tether-backed Utexo’s plan to reintroduce USDT on the Bitcoin network. Following a $7.5 million seed round, the firm announced plans to launch USDT on Bitcoin utilizing RGB and Lightning technology. Tether, Portal Ventures, and Big Brain Holdings co-led the funding round.
Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, expressed unequivocal support for the initiative, describing the move as a “homecoming.”
Paolo Ardoino described USDT’s return to Bitcoin as a “homecoming.”
Utexo co-founder Viktor Ignatyuk revealed that the company is engaged in strategic talks in Washington with Morgan Stanley representatives to integrate their infrastructure with custodial banking services in the U.S. and Europe. Significant interest from exchanges and wallet providers has been noted.
Regulatory Moves and M&A Make Headlines
In Washington, regulatory developments were also in the spotlight. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, along with SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda, proposed changes to digital asset custody rules. The draft allows investment advisors and funds to work with state-licensed trust companies under stringent cybersecurity requirements, permitting limited self-custody. It was also revealed that the SEC and CFTC are collaborating on joint rules to replace the stalled CLARITY Act.
On the mergers and acquisitions front, Armada Acquisition Corp. II shareholders approved a merger with Evernorth. The shares of the combined entity are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN on October 8. The company’s balance sheet will include 473 million XRP, valued at approximately $730 million. Following these developments, XRP rose to $1.5444, posting a gain of 3.57%.
Solana Sees RWA Record, Derivatives Market Tension
The RWA (Real World Asset) sector, which focuses on the on-chain representation of tangible assets, reached a new peak on the Solana network. According to Token Terminal, the count of unique wallets holding tokenized shares surpassed 1.2 million. With 775,000 new addresses onboarded in September, Solana’s on-chain activity share in this domain expanded to 95%. The price of SOL also climbed to $122.62, marking a gain of 4.18%.
In the derivatives market, the liquidation of short positions accelerated the upward momentum. CoinGlass data indicates that total liquidations reached $362.77 million in the last 24 hours, with $269.87 million from short positions and $92.90 million from long ones. The number of liquidated investors was recorded at 79,443. Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 59.10%, while open interest amounted to 653,000 BTC, roughly equivalent to $56 billion.
