The Daily: CryptoQuant warns of bitcoin correction in early phase of bull market, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! Bitcoin is trading around $83,600. CryptoQuant says the market remains in an early bull phase, but a near-term correction could be coming.

Also in today's newsletter, Coinbase receives CFTC approval completing its derivatives stack, a Senate report puts Tether's USDT at the center of Iran's shadow banking network, Aztec relaunches zk.money, and more.

Meanwhile, Ondo Perps CEO sees a "huge opportunity" for perpetual futures in the U.S., and Bitwise launches the first U.S. spot NEAR ETF with staking rewards.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Latent, our new sister website covering AI. Get The Latent Daily here and all other The Block newsletters here.

CryptoQuant says bitcoin correction could be near as traders' unrealized profit margins hit 21-month high

CryptoQuant said bitcoin remains in a bull market, but a near-term correction could be coming as profit-taking increases and demand cools.

• Bitcoin's close above its 365-day moving average last week confirmed a new bull market, according to CryptoQuant's Julio Moreno, while the firm's Bitcoin Bull Score Index stands at an "extremely bullish" 90 out of 100.
• Short-term traders' onchain unrealized profit margin has climbed to 33%, its highest level since December 2024, which Moreno said has historically encouraged traders to take profits.
• Bitcoin holders realized 25,700 BTC in profit on Sept. 22, the largest single day of 2026, with Moreno saying such profit-taking after a strong rally has historically preceded local market tops.
• Meanwhile, apparent spot demand contracted by 170,000 BTC over the past 30 days, while speculative futures demand growth slowed from 164,000 BTC on Sept. 14 to 16,000 BTC on Sept. 29.
• If bitcoin corrects, Moreno sees the 365-day moving average near $80,000 as the first support level, followed by the 200-day moving average near $71,000 and the trader onchain realized price around $67,000.

Coinbase receives CFTC approval, completing full derivatives stack

Coinbase received CFTC approval to register Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organization, completing its stack of regulated derivatives infrastructure.

• Alongside Coinbase's existing futures commission merchant and designated contract market registrations, the approval allows it to list, broker and clear fully collateralized products in-house.
• Coinbase Clearing is permitted to clear only fully collateralized futures, options on futures and swaps, while leveraged products will continue to use outside clearing partners.
• Coinbase said it will continue using existing partners for certain products, including its margined derivatives business and upcoming single-stock perpetuals.

Senate report says Tether's USDT is at center of Iran's shadow banking network

A new Senate investigation led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tether and USDT have become central to Iran's "shadow banking system" and the financing activities of terrorist groups.

• Democratic investigators analyzed blockchain transaction data from 846 crypto wallets that had been sanctioned or otherwise blocked because of their association with Iran.
• The report said 87% of 757 wallets "implicated in Iranian terrorism financing" had predominantly transacted in USDT, while investigators also accused Tether of repeatedly failing to freeze and block wallets.
• Tether said separately on Monday that it had helped freeze $550 million in USDT linked to Iran over the past year, with CEO Paolo Ardoino saying USDT is "not a haven for sanctioned actors, terrorist organizations or criminal networks."

Aztec relaunches zk.money privacy wallet on its Ethereum Layer 2

Aztec Labs has relaunched zk.money, a self-custodial wallet for private crypto payments, three years after discontinuing the original product.

• The new version runs on Aztec Network and does not publish users' balances, payment amounts or counterparties on a public ledger, Aztec said.
• Users can claim readable handles such as bob.zk.money and send or request payments through links, while funds can also be sent from Ethereum-based exchanges directly to a zk.money handle.
• Aztec is working with potential partners on DeFi integrations expected in Q4, while a mobile app is also planned for Q4, though there is no set launch date yet.

Comer presses Crypto.com, Hyperliquid and PredictIt on suspicious trades

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer asked Crypto.com, Hyperliquid and PredictIt for records on how they verify users and detect suspicious trading.

• Comer sought details on trades potentially involving nonpublic information and referrals made to regulators or law enforcement.
• The requests expand a probe launched in May involving Kalshi and Polymarket, focused on insider trading concerns and potential trading by government officials.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. ADP employment, second-quarter GDP and August PCE inflation data are due Wednesday, with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari scheduled to speak.
• The ECB holds a non-monetary policy meeting Wednesday, with Executive Board members Frank Elderson and Isabel Schnabel scheduled to speak.
• Korea Blockchain Week's main conference begins Wednesday in Seoul and runs through Thursday.
• Kamino (KMNO) and Gunz (GUN) are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks Wednesday.

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