This summer, the ocean sent us another warning. In August, global sea-surface temperatures reached their highest level on record. Days later, the most comprehensive assessment of coral reefs ever published showed that increasingly frequent marine heatwaves are leaving reefs less time to recover between bleaching events. Global hard coral cover has declined by 9.5% compared with the 1980-2009 average, driven primarily by human-induced climate change.

For me, this is deeply concerning, but also a reason to act. I come from Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands off the coast of East Africa where the ocean is inseparable from our lives, livelihoods, and future. It supports the food we eat, the jobs people depend on, and the resilience of our economy.

Bitcoin is entering what on-chain analysts describe as its “next real test” near the $90,000 mark, with traders potentially taking profits as price approaches a cluster of supply from investors who bought BTC one to three months earlier. While CryptoQuant frames the move as a pause inside a broader uptrend, the $88,000–$90,000 zone is now viewed as the clearest near-term resistance to clear.

CryptoQuant’s latest weekly research also points to stabilizing profitability signals in 2026 and highlights a shift in the market structure—especially the growing role of institutional participation—that, according to CEO Ki Young Ju, may dampen the depth of future cycle extremes.

Key takeaways

• CryptoQuant expects higher odds of profit-taking if Bitcoin trades into the $88,000–$90,000 area, described as the next resistance cluster.
• Traders’ realized price is cited around $64,300, with an “upper band” near $90,300 that could stretch profit margins and trigger selling.
• CryptoQuant says the path from roughly $86,000 to the profit-taking zone is “largely clear” and does not imply a return to bear-market conditions.
• Ki Young Ju argues institutional ownership can make future cycle tops and bottoms “shallower,” reducing both upside and downside extremes.
• CoinShares data cited by Cointelegraph previously—and CryptoQuant’s own framing—tie the current bull-case to profitability metrics like MVRV stabilizing through 2026.

Why $90,000 is now the “profit-taking” checkpoint

In a weekly report released Tuesday, CryptoQuant warned that Bitcoin’s trading zone around $90,000 could face increased selling pressure if price reaches it. The reasoning centers on realized profitability—how much profit or loss current market participants are sitting on based on when they last acquired BTC on-chain.

CryptoQuant uses “realized price” as the average acquisition price of coins last moved between one and three months ago. The analytics firm places this realized price around $64,300, and highlights upper and lower bands around that level to show where profit or loss margins may widen for this cohort of supply.

According to CryptoQuant, the upper “profit-taking” band sits near $90,300—roughly 40% above the realized price. The report links that band with an on-chain supply cluster formed between $88,000 and $90,000, calling it the next resistance investors must absorb.

“The upper band coincides with the $88K–$90K on-chain supply cluster, making it the next resistance to clear. Historically, as price approaches the upper band, trader profit margins stretch and selling can intensify — a natural pause point within an uptrend, not a reversal,” CryptoQuant analysts wrote.

Importantly for market participants, CryptoQuant describes the route from the current spot level near $86,000 to the profit-taking zone as “largely clear.” The firm also says there are no signs that price action is dragging the market back toward bear-market conditions. In other words, the $90,000 test is framed more as a liquidity and positioning hurdle than as an immediate thesis break.

From “bear market” to “bull confirmation,” according to CryptoQuant

Alongside the profit-taking analysis, CryptoQuant reiterates its broader bullish assessment. The firm states that technical, valuation, and on-chain indicators now align in favor of an uptrend, echoing earlier comments made by CEO Ki Young Ju.

Ki has argued previously that the market’s structure is changing, which can influence how sharply price responds during cycle transitions. In a recent post on X, he suggested that both future cycle tops and bottoms may look less extreme than in prior eras because institutional ownership has increased relative to retail participation.

“Today, a much larger market and growing institutional ownership are dampening both extremes. The same forces that limit the upside also soften the downside,” Ki Young Ju wrote.

That framing matters for traders because a market dominated more by institutional allocation may react differently to liquidity shocks than one driven primarily by retail leverage. While CryptoQuant’s latest report does not claim that volatility disappears, it suggests the distribution of risk and selling pressure may be less binary than in earlier cycles.

Profitability signals: what CryptoQuant says changed in 2026

CryptoQuant’s research also highlights a profitability stability theme during 2026. In particular, Ki Young Ju pointed to the market value to realized value (MVRV) ratio, saying that during the 2026 bear market it did not fall below the breakeven level of 1 at any point. In his view, that indicates the broader investor base remained in aggregate profit rather than shifting into a fully drawdown-driven state.

This contrasts with earlier macro downtrends—periods when MVRV breached its breakeven threshold and helped signal widespread unrealized losses. According to the approach popularized by CryptoQuant, staying above breakeven can reduce the likelihood of forced selling across large investor cohorts.

Cointelegraph previously reported that MVRV has crossed above its 365-day moving average—a milestone the publication tied to the end of the 2018 and 2022 bear markets. While that earlier coverage focused on the MVRV crossing itself, CryptoQuant’s latest angle connects the metric back to the broader idea of a market that is holding profitability rather than collapsing it.

ETFs add demand pressure as traders watch the resistance zone

Beyond on-chain supply and realized pricing, CryptoQuant’s outlook is being tested against real-time demand signals. Cointelegraph noted that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US have seen net inflows this month. In the most recent week being cited, the first two days recorded $1.7 billion in net inflows, with Monday alone bringing $999 million in inflows.

Those numbers were attributed to Farside Investors data, referenced in the reporting. While ETF flows do not remove on-chain resistance by themselves, consistent inflows can change the balance between new demand and profit-taking supply—particularly near psychologically important price levels like $90,000.

For traders, the practical takeaway is that the next resistance is being measured not only by price-based technical levels, but by where recently acquired coins become profitable enough to encourage selling. If ETF demand remains strong, it could help absorb that supply cluster; if it fades, profit-taking dynamics may dominate more quickly.

Going forward, the key question is whether Bitcoin can clear the $88,000–$90,000 band without triggering a larger wave of realized selling. CryptoQuant’s framework suggests a “natural pause” is plausible inside an uptrend, but investors will likely watch ETF flow persistence alongside on-chain realized profit bands to judge whether the $90,000 test turns into a brief slowdown or a more durable ceiling.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) options worth $18.1 billion will expire on Friday. According to Coinbase, Bitcoin’s open-interest put/call ratio is 0.66, with the 24-hour volume ratio at 0.37, while Ethereum’s put/call ratio is 0.61 and its 24-hour volume ratio is 0.55.

Coinbase identified $90,000 and $100,000 as key levels around which Bitcoin call open interest is concentrated, while Ethereum call interest is concentrated between $3,000 and $4,000.

$90,000 And $100,000 In Focus For Bitcoin

Coinbase highlighted $90,000 and $100,000 as key levels where Bitcoin call open interest is clustered. BTC is currently trading around $85,830, putting the $90,000 level about 4% higher and the $100,000 level about 16% higher. However, the concentrations do not mean that BTC will reach either level before expiry. Open interest does not reveal if individual traders bought or sold the call, and many positions are part of larger spreads, hedges, and market-making strategies.

Meanwhile, a put/call ratio below 1 means calls outnumber puts. The 0.37 ratio for BTC options volume suggests a substantial tilt toward calls rather than puts. Meanwhile, BTC has registered a sharp increase in the past few days. The flagship cryptocurrency rose 5.93% on Friday, crossing $80,000 and closing at $80,875. It rose 0.44% on Saturday before marginally declining to $81,159 on Sunday. Upward momentum resumed on Monday as the price rose nearly 7%, crossing $86,000 and closing at $86,594. BTC dropped to a low of $85,059 on Tuesday before settling at $86,198, and is down 0.58% during the ongoing session.

$3,000 And $4,000 Key Levels For Ethereum

Ethereum’s options are also call-heavy, although the order book is substantially smaller. Data from Deribit shows $1.34 billion in ETH call options open interest, against $820 million in puts, with call interest clustered between $3,000 and $4,000. ETH is currently trading around $2,729, down 0.49% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. Like BTC, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency has reported a substantial jump since last week. ETH traded around $2,416 on September 16, but pushed higher in subsequent sessions to cross $2,800 on September 21. A Reuters report said ETH had crossed a technical resistance level near $2,661, and identified $3,050 as a potential upside if bullish momentum persisted, with extended targets of $3,395 and $3,445.

Bitcoin And Ethereum Options To Settle At 8:00 UTC

The options expiry is part of Deribit’s quarterly expiry cycles, with the Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiring on the last Friday of March, June, September, and December at 8:00 UTC. Settlements use the relevant Deribit index, with delivery prices based on the relevant index’s time-weighted average between 7:30 UTC and 8:00 UTC. Traders and market makers adjust hedges based on the expiry size as prices move closer to key strike levels.

Deribit handles around 85% of Bitcoin and Ethereum options, making its quarterly expiries a substantial chunk of the crypto derivatives market. The platform reported $56.13 billion in Bitcoin options turnover and $7.14 billion in Ethereum options turnover during August.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Wall Street’s benchmark equity index S&P 500 is near record highs, but the index’s internals look weak. The crypto market, meanwhile, looks relatively better.

The internals here are represented by breadth, or the number of index stocks trading above a specific level, in this case the 200-day average, a widely followed measure of long-term momentum. As CNBC noted recently, a growing share of stocks falling below that level can signal that strength in the headline index is deteriorating.

As of Wednesday, 257 out of the 500 stocks traded below their 200-day MAs. In other words, breadth was bearish.

Compared with that, the crypto market looks healthier. Out of the top 100 tokens by market value, 88, including bitcoin and ether, trade above their 200-day SMAs. Most trade above their 50-, 100- and 200-day averages, a bullish configuration. (We’re focusing only on the top 100 because coins beyond that list tend to have smaller market caps, low liquidity and erratic price moves.)

And the icing on the cake: Bitcoin, ether, XRP, SOL and most others are still well below their record highs. In other words, they look inexpensive relative to stocks.

Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), the Austrian banking group with a footprint across Central and Eastern Europe, is stepping up its cryptocurrency ambitions by tying up with Bitpanda at a group level. The partnership is designed to give RBI’s network banks access to crypto infrastructure, enabling them to roll out digital-asset services in line with local rules.

According to a joint announcement by RBI and Bitpanda, the arrangement could eventually place crypto brokerage capabilities within reach of as many as 18 million customers. The banks themselves will decide which products to offer and how quickly to launch, depending on market conditions and regulatory requirements.

Key takeaways

• RBI is partnering with Bitpanda to provide group-wide access to crypto infrastructure through “Bitpanda Enterprise.”
• Individual network banks will control the timing and scope of crypto services based on local market and regulatory constraints.
• The partnership could potentially reach around 18 million customers, but rollout is expected to be gradual.
• The move follows an earlier Bitpanda integration involving Austria’s Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, launched in 2024.
• Bitpanda says it remains in ongoing discussions with financial institutions, while declining to comment on confidential talks.

What RBI and Bitpanda are launching

The agreement centers on Bitpanda’s enterprise-grade infrastructure, which RBI’s network banks can use to introduce crypto services. While the group-level partnership establishes the technical and operational foundation, the announcement emphasizes that each bank will tailor offerings to its own operating environment.

That approach matters for investors and customers because crypto rollouts in the EU often depend heavily on jurisdiction-specific licensing, compliance processes, and product constraints. Instead of a single, simultaneous product launch across all markets, the structure allows institutions to move at different speeds—reducing regulatory exposure while still creating a pathway to expand.

RBI CEO Michael Höllerer said the bank is responding to “growing demand for crypto assets” across its markets. In his remarks, Höllerer framed the partnership as part of a customer-focused effort to meet client needs in a responsible way.

Why “group-wide infrastructure” is a strategic shift

Large banking groups typically face a familiar challenge when entering crypto: coordination. Even when the strategic direction is clear, each subsidiary or network bank can encounter different regulator expectations, banking relationships, and compliance requirements. By working with Bitpanda Enterprise, RBI is effectively standardizing the crypto plumbing at the network level—while keeping local decision-making intact.

Bitpanda’s spokesperson, speaking to Cointelegraph, said the rollout is currently at an early stage and will proceed gradually. The spokesperson added that further details will be released as individual markets confirm their plans. That staged model also suggests RBI and Bitpanda are working through implementation steps bank-by-bank, rather than committing to a one-size-fits-all timetable.

For market participants, the significance is less about a single product headline and more about distribution. If multiple network banks adopt crypto services using the same underlying infrastructure, it could accelerate adoption compared with isolated, one-off integrations—assuming regulators and compliance teams can scale alongside the deployment.

Building on an earlier Austrian integration

This partnership is not RBI’s first foray into Bitpanda-linked crypto capabilities. The new announcement builds on a crypto integration launched in 2024 between Bitpanda and Austria’s Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, according to Bitpanda’s earlier coverage.

That earlier step is important because it indicates the relationship between the parties already had a working basis before being expanded across the RBI group. Rather than introducing crypto from scratch, RBI appears to be extending an existing integration pathway to additional banks—an evolution that can reduce implementation risk and speed up learning.

Still, the current plans remain conditional: the scope and timing of customer-facing crypto services will vary by local market, and the early-stage nature of the rollout means investors should expect updates to be incremental rather than immediate.

Regulatory context and Bitpanda’s position in the EU

Bitpanda is authorized under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA), according to information cited in the original announcement. MiCA is designed to bring greater regulatory consistency across EU crypto activities, which has been a key prerequisite for banks and other traditional finance players assessing how to offer digital asset products.

The operational advantage for RBI’s network banks is that they can partner with a provider operating within the MiCA framework, potentially simplifying certain compliance elements. Even then, each bank still bears responsibility for how it structures offerings for its customers and how it implements internal controls.

Bitpanda also told Cointelegraph that it is regularly in discussions with banks and other financial institutions exploring crypto brokerage services. However, it declined to comment on any specific confidential talks beyond the partnership with RBI, reinforcing that many institution-level explorations may be ongoing without public timelines.

Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted that banks are doubling down on the EU’s MiCA crypto provider list, reflecting broader industry momentum toward regulated crypto infrastructure rather than ad hoc services.

What to watch next

Readers should expect the next signals to come from individual RBI network banks as they confirm launch readiness, product choices, and the jurisdictions where services will first become available. The headline “up to 18 million customers” frames the potential scale, but the real test will be how quickly real-world crypto offerings roll out across different regulatory environments—and how effectively banks translate infrastructure access into compliant, customer-facing products.

Bitcoin Cash jumped 28% to nearly $349 over 24 hours, the largest move among sizeable tokens, after CME Group said on Monday it will list Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures from Oct. 19.

Futures on a regulated U.S. exchange give funds a way to take a position without holding the coin, which matters for institutions whose mandates bar them from custodying crypto directly. It also gives market makers a hedging venue, which usually tightens spot pricing.

Bitcoin itself is trading around $85,800, down under 1% over 24 hours after matching Monday’s intraday high near $87,300 and meeting the same selling into it. ZEC rose 9% to just above $1,646 and XRP 3% to nearly $1.59, while TRX fell 2%.

“Optimism in the altcoin market and in equities suggests that we are witnessing a temporary shift of speculative capital from the leading cryptocurrency into altcoins,” Alex Kuptsikevich, senior analyst at FxPro, said in an email to CoinDesk. “Many investors had parked their cryptocurrency-allocated capital in the most liquid asset class and are now seeking more profitable opportunities.”

“In such situations, there has previously been a slowdown but not a reversal in BTC, as price pullbacks have attracted new buyers who had previously kept their money out of the risky crypto market,” he added.

On BCH specifically, the note pointed out the token has only climbed back to levels last seen in the second half of May, after reversing near $660 in early January and falling to $190.

A continued bid would put $450 in range, where buyers were active between October 2025 and this May.

The US CFTC is signaling that regulators may have to rethink how markets function as tokenization spreads beyond crypto-native assets and into traditional finance. In remarks delivered Tuesday at the US Treasury Market Conference, CFTC Chair Michael Selig argued that “mass tokenization” could become a foundation for a more efficient financial system, driven by existing regulatory frameworks being adapted for blockchain-based settlement, collateral flows, and onchain market infrastructure.

Selig’s comments landed amid ongoing legislative uncertainty around crypto regulation, and alongside parallel efforts by the SEC to create regulated pathways for tokenized securities trading. Together, the two agencies’ messaging suggests US regulators are converging on the idea that tokenized markets will expand regardless of the pace of broader statutory reform.

Key takeaways

• CFTC Chair Michael Selig said financial markets should prepare for “mass tokenization,” with regulators updating existing frameworks for onchain finance.
• Selig framed tokenization of real-world assets as a potential shift toward near-instant settlement and real-time collateral movement across market participants.
• The CFTC’s latest crypto regulatory filing for White House review is still at the “prerule” stage and does not yet specify proposed rules.
• On the SEC side, tokenized US stock trading has advanced via a temporary “Innovation Exemption,” reflecting a step-by-step regulatory approach.

CFTC prepares for tokenized finance across asset classes

At the Treasury Market Conference, Selig drew an analogy between earlier market modernization—moving from “hand signals to electronic trading”—and the potential of tokenization to accelerate processing across asset classes. He said tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) could support a more efficient system by enabling near-instant settlement and real-time collateral transfer between clearinghouses, intermediaries, and end users.

Importantly, Selig also described the CFTC’s regulatory posture as “principles-based.” That signals an approach focused on outcomes and risk controls rather than prescriptive technology rules, a stance that matters for builders because it may allow multiple tokenization architectures to fit within a common regulatory logic—as long as market conduct and compliance expectations are met.

Legislation stalled, but regulators keep moving

Selig’s remarks come after the CFTC had indicated it could proceed with crypto-related rulemaking under its existing authority if Congress did not enact the CLARITY Act. According to earlier coverage referenced in the article, the Senate failed to advance the bill on Sept. 15, leaving the question of comprehensive statutory clarity unresolved.

Since then, the CFTC continued its process. On Sept. 17, the CFTC submitted a regulatory action covering crypto asset transactions and markets for White House review, according to the filing described in earlier reporting. The filing is reportedly still at the “prerule” stage, meaning it does not yet detail the specific regulations the CFTC intends to pursue.

For market participants, the key takeaway is that regulatory work is progressing even without final legislative momentum. However, the lack of detail in the “prerule” stage also implies that traders, exchanges, custodians, and tokenization providers should expect ongoing uncertainty as proposals are drafted and reviewed.

SEC also pushes tokenized market infrastructure

While the CFTC is discussing tokenization in the context of a broader shift in market plumbing, the SEC has been taking steps focused on securities trading. The article notes that Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, told Bloomberg TV that tokenization and crypto have recently become politicized, but that they are “not naturally a politicized function.” Selway also argued that US success in developing these markets should receive bipartisan support.

The agency’s practical pathway has included temporary regulatory allowances. On Sept. 17, the SEC granted a temporary “Innovation Exemption” for tokenized US stock trading. As described in the source, the exemption allows certain platforms to trade digital versions of US-listed stocks under specified conditions.

This matters because it represents a concrete mechanism for compliance testing—allowing limited market activity while longer-term rules are developed. It also reflects the SEC’s preference for incremental regulatory frameworks that can be refined based on observed market behavior and risk outcomes.

What to watch: convergence, but not synchronization

Taken together, the CFTC’s “mass tokenization” framing and the SEC’s temporary securities trading exemption point to a shared view: tokenization is likely to move from experimentation toward mainstream market infrastructure. Yet the agencies are not necessarily moving in lockstep. The CFTC’s position is rooted in adapting existing authority and establishing principles-based rules as onchain markets evolve, while the SEC’s approach—at least in the securities segment cited here—has emphasized targeted exemptions to manage regulatory transition.

Readers should watch for what emerges once the CFTC’s “prerule” filing advances beyond White House review and begins to outline more concrete rulemaking goals. At the same time, attention will likely remain on whether the SEC’s Innovation Exemption becomes a template for broader or longer-lasting tokenized securities permissions, and what conditions regulators ultimately consider essential for investor protection and market integrity.