Thahbib Rahman
Research Analyst
Last Updated:
September 19, 2025
•
7 min read
New ETFs Fuel Demand
UK retail sales rose 0.7% YoY in August, slightly easing from July but outperforming forecasts, while three-month activity slipped 0.1% as volumes remain 2.1% below pre-pandemic levels. The Bank of Japan kept rates at 0.5%, the highest since 2008, amid political and trade risks, as inflation cooled to 2.7%, its lowest since October 2024. In the U.S., spot ETFs for XRP and Dogecoin debuted with strong volumes, while BTC ETFs continued steady inflows and ETH funds posted $213.1M in a single day. On the corporate side, Caliber acquired $6.5M in Chainlink under its treasury strategy, and PayPal USD expanded to seven additional networks. Meanwhile, Brera Holdings rebranded as Solmate, securing $300M to build Solana-focused infrastructure.
Find out our latest reports in partnership with Bybit, listed below:
- Bybit x Block Scholes Quarterly Report: What will drive crypto in Q3 2025?
- Bybit x Block Scholes July Volatility Review
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Daily Updates:
- Retail sales in the United Kingdom grew by 0.7% year-on-year in August 2025, easing from the revised 0.8% increase in July but exceeding market expectations of a 0.6% rise. On a monthly basis, sales volumes advanced 0.5%, matching July’s revised growth rate and coming in ahead of the 0.3% forecast.
- Over the three months to August, retail activity slipped 0.1%, marking a slower decline compared with the 0.6% contraction recorded in the three months to July. On an annual basis, sales growth moderated to 0.7% in August from 1.8% in July. Compared with the same three-month period in 2024, sales were up 0.8%, though volumes remain 2.1% below pre-pandemic levels.
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) left its benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.5% in September 2025, keeping borrowing costs at their highest level since 2008 and in line with market expectations. The decision, approved by a 7–2 majority, reflected ongoing concerns over political uncertainty in Japan and the potential economic fallout from new U.S. tariffs. It also followed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first rate cut since December.
- The move came against a backdrop of moderating inflation, with Japan’s annual rate easing to 2.7% in August 2025 from 3.1% in July, the lowest reading since October 2024. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices, also stood at 2.7%, matching market expectations and marking a nine-month low. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1%, maintaining a steady pace for the third consecutive month.
- The first U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) providing spot exposure to XRP and Dogecoin began trading on Thursday, marking a notable milestone in the crypto investment space.
- The REX-Osprey XRP ETF (XRPR) recorded $37.7M in trading volume on its debut, the largest first-day volume of the year among 710 ETF launches, according to Bloomberg. The REX-Osprey Dogecoin ETF (DOJE) saw approximately $17M in volume, placing it among the top five launches of the year.
- In early trading, XRPR traded $24M in the first 90 minutes, five times the volume of any XRP futures ETF, according to Balchunas. DOJE traded nearly $6M in its first hour, underscoring strong initial investor interest.
- BTC ETFs inflows continued a strong run since the beginning of September, despite recording their first net outflow since Sep 5, 2025 with a loss of $51.3M on Sep 17, 2025.
- ETH products recorded a very healthy $213.1M inflow yesterday, indicating that new ETF products are not yet drawing interest and capital away from incumbents.
- Front-end volatility has continued its sharp drop lower following the resolution of the FOMC risk event mid-week. But that drop in volatility has been exacerbated further by the approach of the weekend, in which crypto-assets have come to trade with far lower levels of realized volatility.
- Real estate and digital asset management platform Caliber (NASDAQ: CWD) has acquired 278,011 Chainlink (LINK) tokens at an average price of $23.38 per token, representing a purchase of approximately $6.5M.
- This marks the company’s first major transaction under its Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) Strategy, bringing its total LINK holdings to $6.7M.
- Caliber is financing these purchases through its shelf registration, cash reserves, and equity-based securities.
- This news comes alongside the official Chainlink Reserve increasing their holdings by 43,067 LINK, totalling 323,116 LINK.
- Stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD) is expanding to seven networks - Abstract, Aptos, Avalanche, Ink, Sei, Stable, and Tron. This adds to its current availability on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum and Stellar.
- Through LayerZero’s Stargate Hydra bridge, the permissionless “PYUSD0” will launch on the new networks and remain fully interchangeable with native PYUSD, redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars across supported chains.
- Sports management and investment company Brera Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: BREA) will rebrand as Solmate, a Solana-focused digital asset treasury and crypto infrastructure firm.
- Solmate plans to generate value by accumulating and staking $SOL while building out “next-generation Solana infrastructure.” The company is also pursuing a dual Nasdaq-UAE listing.
- An initial $300M in capital has been raised with support from investors including UAE-based Pulsar Group, RockawayX, and ARK Invest.
This Week’s Calendar:
Charts of the Day:
Free
PREMIUM
Institutional
Markets at Record Highs
U.S. equities remain near record highs, with the S&P 500 closing at 6,693, while crypto assets lag, as Bitcoin and Ethereum post modest gains following recent declines. Gold hit all-time highs, with futures reaching $3,800, reflecting continued risk-on sentiment and safe-haven demand. Bitcoin and Ethereum implied volatilities have eased, with BTC’s 30-day ATM at 32% and ETH’s 3-day ATM at 57%, signaling calmer short-term expectations. Fed Governor Miran highlighted that policy is already restrictive, advocating lower rates, while the White House pushes a comprehensive crypto regulatory bill, and industry players like World Liberty Financial and CleanSpark expand operations.
Free
PREMIUM
Institutional
Markets Digest Fed Action
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $112,400, down ~2.35% over 24 hours, while Ethereum (ETH) fell 6% to $4,100. XRP and SOL declined 5.4% and nearly 7%, respectively. ETH one-week implied volatility spiked to 67%, with BTC’s at 33%, and short-term option skew turned bearish—5% in favor of BTC puts and 6.5% for ETH. MetaMask’s stablecoin mUSD grew to $65M in circulation within a week, up from $15M at launch. Japanese firm Metaplanet acquired 5,419 BTC at an average of $116,724, bringing its total holdings to 25,555 BTC at an average cost of ~$106,065 per coin. BitGo reported $4.2B revenue H1 2025 (vs $1.1B prior year) but net income fell to $12.6M from $30.9M.
Free
PREMIUM
Institutional
Fed Economic Outlook
US economic momentum is moderating, with H1 GDP growth at ~1.5%, below last year’s 2.5%, while consumer spending and business activity remain subdued. Labor market indicators are softening, as unemployment rose to 4.3% and payroll gains slowed to 29k/month over the summer, though broader labor demand remains stable. Inflation progress has slowed, with PCE up 2.7% y/y and core PCE 2.9%, partly driven by tariffs, while services and housing show continued disinflation. The Fed’s 25bps rate cut moves policy toward neutral, but Powell emphasized a data-driven approach to balance inflation control with labor market risks. Manufacturing shows divergent trends: US PMI remains expansionary at 52 but softening, whereas UK PMI contracts at 46.2, signaling the steepest decline since April.