Markets and regulation shared the spotlight today as Greece recorded its first entries in the EU’s MiCA registry, Bitcoin pushed toward a September high amid liquidity events and ETF inflows, and new spot and staking products for NEAR and TRX arrived on US exchanges.
Greece logs first MiCA registrations; Binance withdraws application
Greece has registered its first providers in ESMA’s MiCA registry. BCash, Xenios Blockchain Group, Capital Wallet Greece and Piraeus Bank are the country’s initial licensed entities under the framework. The slot might have gone to Binance, but the exchange withdrew its application on June 24 before an official decision was issued. Separately, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) denied a Wall Street Journal report that said ECB President Christine Lagarde intervened to block Binance’s license.
Bitcoin rises toward September high amid ETF inflows and liquidations
Bitcoin has risen 7.33% for September, marginally exceeding its 2024 record, following a streak of $2.98 billion in ETF inflows and a rally to $87,354, the highest level since January. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant flagged that unrealized profit for short-term holders reached 33%, the highest in 21 months, alongside a record single-day liquidation of 25,700 BTC. Analyst Julio Moreno said Bitcoin remains in a bull market but noted indicators pointing to a potential correction, citing support around $80,000.
Bitwise launches first US spot ETF for NEAR; fund to stake tokens
Bitwise has launched the first US-based spot ETF for NEAR, trading under ticker NRR on NYSE Arca with a 0.75% fee. The fund will stake its NEAR holdings and is targeting a yield of about 5%. The launch follows a near threefold price surge for NEAR since August to roughly $5, and coincides with activity on NEAR Intents reaching $32 billion in total volume, up from under $1 billion a year earlier. Matt Hougan linked NEAR to work on AI agents in public comments accompanying the product.
First staked TRX ETF debuts; Tron DAO rings Cboe bell
Tron DAO marked the US market debut of the Canary Staked TRX ETF, ticker TRXS, by ringing the Cboe closing bell at an event in Chicago. The product is described as the first staked-TRX ETF to enter US markets and was celebrated by the Tron community at the exchange event.
Ethereum testnet upgrade scheduled for Oct. 6
Ethereum developers set an activation date of October 6 for the 'Glamsterdam' upgrade on the Sepolia testnet. The upgrade will introduce proposer-builder separation and per-block access lists, and will modify gas pricing; node operators must update their software before activation. No mainnet deployment date has been announced; the next named upgrade mentioned in the roadmap is 'Hegotá', targeting 2027.
zk.money returns on Aztec’s L2 with private payments
Aztec Labs has relaunched the privacy wallet zk.money on its own Layer 2 Aztec Network, three years after the original product shut down. The revived zk.money enables private payments using readable tags such as bob.zk.money. Deposits from Ethereum remain public, while payments within zk.money are fully hidden during the Alpha, which includes a $2,500-per-transaction limit. The original zk.money had seen over 75,000 wallets and $100 million in volume before closing in 2023.
Day in brief: regulatory moves and product launches shape the market
The day combined regulatory milestones in Europe with notable product launches in the US and Layer 2 activity. Greece’s first MiCA registrations underscore ongoing regulatory developments on the continent, while Bitcoin’s near-record levels and attendant liquidation events highlight market sensitivity to flows and sentiment. Meanwhile, new ETFs for NEAR and staked TRX, an Ethereum testnet upgrade and the return of a privacy wallet illustrate continuing product innovation across the ecosystem.