**Stacks (STX)**, a **Bitcoin layer-2 solution**, experienced a **significant surge of 14%** in the last 24 hours, becoming the fourth-highest gainer in the market. It **surpassed major cryptocurrencies** like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB. The **trading volume** of STX also **spiked by 177%** to $224 million, indicating strong demand. This rally was sparked by an **uptick in Bitcoin's price** and a **positive response on social media**, with an 86% increase in social interactions and a 40% rise in social posts. STX is the **native coin** of Stacks, which facilitates the development of **decentralized applications** on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Stacks (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/stx/usd">STX</a>), the cryptocurrency associated with a Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) layer-2 solution, spiked dramatically on Monday, surpassing many market heavyweights on the way.
What Happened: STX was the market&#039;s fourth-highest gainer in the last 24 hours, with gains of more than 14%. In doing so, it beat large-cap currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>), and BNB (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/bnb/usd">BNB</a>).
STX&#039;s trading volume jumped 177% to $224 million in the last 24 hours, reflecting robust demand for the asset.&nbsp;
Why It Matters: STX is the native ...<a href=https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/24/06/39175989/this-bitcoin-layer-2-coin-surged-13-after-king-cryptos-rally-goes-viral-on-social-media alt=This Bitcoin Layer-2 Coin Surged 13% After King Crypto&#039;s Rally, Goes Viral On Social Media>Full story available on Benzinga.com</a>

Loading...Loading...Stacks STX/USD, the cryptocurrency associated with a Bitcoin BTC/USD layer-2 solution, spiked dramatically on Monday, surpassing many market heavyweights on the way.What Happened: STX was the market's fourth-highest gainer in the last 24 hours, with gains of more than 14%. In doing so, it beat large-cap currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum ETH/USD, and BNB BNB/USD.STX's trading volume jumped 177% to $224 million in the last 24 hours, reflecting robust demand for the asset. Why It Matters: STX is the native coin of Stacks, a layer-2 solution that helps the development of decentralized applications on the Bitcoin blockchain. As of this writing, Stacks has total deposits of more than $124 million, according to DeFiLlama.Interestingly, the rally comes following an uptick in Bitcoin's price which moved on favorable macroeconomic data. The surge caused the coin to trend on social media. Social analytics firm LunarCrush noted an 86% jump in social interactions and a nearly 40% jump in social posts for STX. Price Action: At the time of writing, STX was exchanging hands at $2.21, rising 13.73% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.Photo by Igor Faun on ShutterstockRead Next: Dogecoin Whales Load Additional 200M DOGE In 4 Days: ‘Breakout Ready To Occur Any Day,’ Trader PredictsMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

This Bitcoin Layer-2 Coin Surged 13% After King Crypto's Rally, Goes Viral On Social Media

**Stacks Surges 14% Outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum, Goes Viral on Social Media

## Bitcoin's Unexpected Decoupling from Nasdaq

**Amid a week where major assets, including Gold and the Nasdaq 100, posted gains, Bitcoin lagged significantly.** The recent Bitcoin decoupling suggests the asset is neither a risk-on nor a safe-haven asset.

According to Coingecko, Bitcoin’s price has declined by approximately **2.09% over the past seven days**. This occurred while safe-haven gold surged **4.85%** and the risk-on Nasdaq 100 Index climbed **1.34%**.

## What Caused the BTC-Nasdaq Decoupling?

For much of the year, Bitcoin has maintained a **high correlation with the Nasdaq 100**, generally rising and falling in tandem. This relationship held early last week.

The mood was positive through Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a potential **interest rate cut** at the October FOMC meeting and a possible end to **Quantitative Tightening (QT)**. These statements led to minor gains for both the Nasdaq and Bitcoin.

However, the correlation began to break sharply starting at 9 am UTC on October 15. From that point, the Nasdaq 100 finished the week up **0.44%**, while Bitcoin plunged **3.71%**.

## Leverage Washout Cited as Primary Cause

On-chain analysts point to the massive crypto crash on October 10—an event that saw over **$19 billion in liquidations** and injected fear into the market—as the likely culprit.

TeddyVision, an analyst at CryptoQuant, highlighted two distinct trends between August 1 and mid-October. Analyzing the 30-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of stablecoin net inflows to exchanges, he found that **USDC inflows to spot exchanges** (typically used for spot buying) declined.

Meanwhile, **USDT inflows to derivatives exchanges** (often used for collateral) increased. This suggests that capital used for actual asset purchases decreased. Meanwhile, liquidity supporting leveraged derivatives, such as futures and perpetual contracts, surged.

## The Role of Synthetic Demand

According to this analysis, it might not have been **organic spot demand** which have driven the recent price appreciation. Instead, it was likely caused by **speculative leverage** and **synthetic exposure** linked to derivatives and ETF-related capital rotation.

The October 10 crash may have instantly evaporated the market’s **speculative buying pressure**, explaining why Bitcoin failed to rally alongside the recovering Nasdaq 100.

## Geopolitical Hopes and Altcoin Strength

Bitcoin showed a slight rebound on Sunday, crossing the **$108,000 mark** for the first time since the drop. For Bitcoin to successfully chase the Nasdaq’s recovery this week, attention must shift back to the potential de-escalation of the **US-China tariff war**, which initially caused the price to plummet from the $122,000 level to $100,000.

The atmosphere appears tentatively optimistic. In a Friday interview, President Donald Trump indicated that he does not believe the **100% tariff on China** is “sustainable,” suggesting that the high tariff was merely a negotiating tactic to gain concessions on rare earth exports.

Treasury Secretary Scott Besent is scheduled to hold working-level talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week in Malaysia. These discussions aim to set the stage for a potential **US-China summit** at the APEC meeting on October 31 in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Despite Bitcoin’s two-week slump, **investor sentiment remains resilient**. The rapid recovery of altcoins evidences this. While BTC fell approximately 2%, **ETH rose 5.96%** and **SOL gained 7.12%** over the same period, signaling that lower-cap altcoins are recovering faster than the benchmark asset.

## Looking Ahead: Macro Indicators and Earnings

This week, we will also see the release of crucial **macroeconomic indicators**, including the delayed **CPI data** on Friday due to the shutdown of the US government. Manufacturing and service PMI figures and the University of Michigan Inflation Expectations will be released concurrently.

Bitcoin lagged the Nasdaq last week due to a leverage washout. Analysts point to speculative demand. US-China talks & CPI are now in focus.

Bitcoin's Shocking Nasdaq Breakup: The Hidden Leverage Crisis No One Predicted

## Ethereum Leads Crypto's Q3 Rally as Capital Flees Bitcoin

**Ethereum (ETH)** emerged as the frontrunner in crypto’s third-quarter recovery, leaving **Bitcoin (BTC)** behind as capital flowed into **altcoins**, **DeFi protocols**, and a new wave of **tokenized assets**, a report by **CoinGecko** found.

The broader market added over **$500 billion** in value, its second straight quarter of meaningful growth, but this time, it wasn't Bitcoin leading the charge. Instead, investors looked to **Ethereum** and other large-cap tokens to carry momentum forward.

At the start of July, it looked like Bitcoin would again set the pace. Its price hit new highs early in the quarter, buoyed by retail interest and institutional inflows through **spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs)**.

But by September, the narrative had changed. While Bitcoin cooled off, **Ether caught fire**.

A combination of **ETF demand**, growing interest in **tokenized real-world assets**, and renewed attention from **corporate treasuries** helped ETH hit a fresh all-time high before settling back.

That shift in focus was one of the quarter’s **defining trends**, analysts at CoinGecko wrote.

Trading activity, which had fallen for two straight quarters, snapped back with strength. **Spot volumes surged** across centralized and decentralized exchanges. But the story wasn’t just about volume, it was about where that volume was going.

**Meme coins**, long considered fringe, made a dramatic return with tokens like M climbing the charts. **Stablecoins** like USDe gained ground, and lesser-known altcoins entered the top 30 by market cap. **DeFi**, which had faded from the spotlight in late 2024, mounted a comeback as **total value locked** in lending and staking protocols climbed alongside Ethereum’s rise, according to the report.

## A Shift in Investor Appetite

Behind the scenes, **structural shifts** were taking shape.

Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market declined, a sign that investor appetite had moved toward other narratives. Ethereum gained ground, but so did categories that had struggled to break through in previous years, particularly **tokenized assets**.

A new generation of **on-chain stocks and bonds** began to take hold, and protocols like **Ondo** and **Backed Finance** gained traction with investors looking to bridge traditional and decentralized finance.

Bitcoin also became less tied to legacy markets. Its price movement **decoupled from the S&P 500** for the first time in over a year. That could be read as a positive, the report stated, and proof that crypto is becoming a more **independent asset class**. But it also reflects how investor attention has fragmented, the report stated.

Even the mining sector reflected this changing dynamic. Bitcoin’s **hashrate hit record highs**, and miner-focused ETFs posted strong returns.

However, the spotlight was elsewhere: on **emerging tokens**, Ethereum’s momentum, and the **rebirth of DeFi**, the report found.

![ETH closed 2025 Q3 at $4,215, representing a +68.5% increase within the quarter. (CoinGecko)](https://www.coindesk.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fs3y3vcno%2Fproduction%2F81f9ef09b5ec5fb5c758552f1e2f07c0b949bd00-1338x770.png%3Fauto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75)

ETH hit fresh highs while bitcoin cooled, as investors chased DeFi, altcoins, and tokenized assets. CoinGecko calls it a defining market shift.

Ethereum's Q3 Explosion: How ETH Stole the Spotlight from Bitcoin in a Major Market Shift

## The Hidden Danger in Your Neighborhood

There’s a remarkable new report from the CNN Investigates team about **crypto ATMs** – devices that may be at your corner store and allow people to exchange money for cryptocurrency such as **Bitcoin**.

[A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.](https://www.cnn.com/newsletters/what-matters?source=nl-acq_article)

[See the full investigation, with videos and visualizations.](https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2025/10/us/crypto-atm-scams-companies-profit-invs-vis/)

### One Machine, Dozen Frauds

I was struck by the detail that CNN documented **at least a dozen potential fraud cases tied to a single ATM**. That’s an indication not just that one ATM has a problem, but that these cases of fraud are **rampant in the US**.

Shame at being duped may keep many people from reporting that they’ve fallen victim to fraud, and when they do, authorities are frequently at a loss to help. But now, by using crypto ATMS – there’s probably one near your house – scammers have changed the way things work. And **companies that operate the machines are profiting from it**.

The companies behind these crypto ATMs strongly disputed allegations that they profit from scams and listed various efforts to protect consumers. There’s more about all of that in the story.

### Behind the Investigation

I talked to three of the CNN reporters who worked on the investigation, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Curt Devine, and Majlie de Puy Kamp. They answered my questions by email. Our conversation is below:

**What made you realize these crypto ATMS were a story? Was it something specific?**

We previously wrote about state attorneys general attending lavish foreign trips paid for by the industries they oversee, including a [luxury trip to Rome](https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/politics/attorneys-general-luxury-trips-lobbyists-rome-invs) earlier this year. Our colleagues traveled to Italy to document the trip and noticed someone stand out among the attendees. This person appeared younger than other attendees and was not a recognizable official or lobbyist. This turned out to be **Ben Weiss, the CEO of CoinFlip**, a crypto ATM company that had been sued by the state of Iowa for allegedly profiting from scams (which the company disputes). We didn’t know much about crypto ATM companies at the time, but we realized this was an industry that was both gaining influence among government officials and coming under scrutiny.

**These scams seem to go by a script where the victim is intimidated by a threatening phone call and an urgent demand for money. What have the crypto ATMs changed?**

Crypto ATMs have made it easier to quickly send **large volumes of currency to places out of reach of US law enforcement**. Rather than sending victims to buy a bunch of gift cards for $500 each, for example, scammers can send them to one machine to deposit thousands of dollars at one time and then funnel the currency overseas.

Scammers also prey on the average person’s lack of knowledge about the machines themselves. From our experience reporting this story, many people aren’t familiar with crypto ATMs or how they work. Scammers tend to exploit this, especially when they are pretending to be law enforcement or government officials. They send often elderly victims to these machines under the assumption that the crypto ATM is a legitimate way to pay off (made up!) fines, fees, or debts to companies or the government. In one incident, a scammer referenced the **Strategic Bitcoin Reserve** that President Donald Trump established to make a victim more comfortable with stuffing cash into ones of these machines.

**So many people – including me – have gotten these phishing calls from people who have personal information about you. They’re scary. Many people probably figure out it’s a scam before handing over money. How often are the calls successful?**

That is difficult to answer, but given how prevalent these scam texts are, we have to assume they are lucrative for criminals. The **FBI told us Americans lost around $240 million to crypto ATM scams in the first half of this year**. What’s interesting is that we’ve seen people from all walks of life fall for these scams, including doctors and CEOs.

It’s easy to blame the scam victim for falling for the ruse, but the fact of the matter is, if the scam is targeted right, you will probably fall for it too. And these days there is so much information on people available online that it doesn’t take much for a scam to be targeted enough to be believable.

**Is there evidence that there is an organized effort behind these? What do we know about the people doing the targeting?**

In most local cases we reviewed, the scammer’s identity remains a mystery. But in some cases, specific people have been charged – like a citizen of India [indicted](https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/participants-tech-support-scheme-charged-conspiracy-launder-fraudulent-proceeds) last year, who prosecutors called “a high-level member of a sophisticated, organized, transnational fraud ring.” That case remains pending and much of it is sealed. Some Americans have also been [charged](https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/georgia-inmate-and-associate-indicted-conspiracy-commit-wire-fraud-jury-duty-scam). We also know there are [scam compounds](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/asia/myanmar-thailand-scam-power-cuts-intl-hnk) in places like Myanmar, where thousands of people are held against their will and forced to work for low wages to carry out financial scams that target Americans. So it’s certainly possible that some of the scammers who try to push people in the US to transfer them cash through crypto ATMs are themselves victims of crimes.

**You tied multiple scams to a single ATM. How long did that process take? Is there a way for people to figure out if ATMs near them have been used in scams?**

We requested records from police departments, the Federal Trade Commission and state offices across the country and went through each incident report to log the details in a spreadsheet. It took us about **four months to receive the records and log more than 700 cases**. It was in that process of manually reading through every report that we started to notice recurring addresses for the same location or store. Once we put everything together, the spreadsheet became a trove of information allowing us to see how much money people had lost, what sort of scam had targeted them and which ATMs they used.

It would be time-consuming to replicate that process, and the point is not whether a particular crypto ATM has been repeatedly used by scammers. The point is that these scams are now rampant, so if someone says you need to deposit money into one of these machines to pay a fine or avoid a penalty, that’s almost certainly a scam.

**The crypto ATM owners say most of the transactions are legitimate. Is there any data to back up that claim?**

That is a great question, with a bit of a convoluted answer. Some of the companies have pointed to a [report](https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/illicit-activity-involving-crypto-atms-is-double-that-of-overall-crypto-industry) by the analytics group TRM Labs, which found that **1.2% of cash-to-crypto transactions were illicit in 2023**. That’s a relatively small figure.

But some law enforcement investigations that have obtained data from particular crypto ATM companies and interviewed customers have alleged scams account for much higher percentages of those companies’ business. The **DC attorney general alleged that more than 90% of deposits in one company’s ATMs came from fraud** over the span of months, which that company disputes.

**One thing that sticks out is that there appears to be little law enforcement can do after a person uploads cash to the crypto ATM. What are the roadblocks to recovering money?**

Once you insert cash into a crypto ATM, that currency can rapidly be transferred just about anywhere in the world. The problem with recovering the money afterward is that scammers often direct the funds to **cryptocurrency exchanges outside of US jurisdiction** that are less likely to cooperate with US law enforcement.

**Are lawmakers talking about some kind of regulation? What are some of the remedies being discussed?**

More than a dozen states have passed laws that seek to blunt crypto ATM scams. They impose requirements like **daily transaction limits on the machines**, which seek to reduce what scam victims may lose. As lawmakers have sought to crack down, crypto ATM companies have hired lobbyists across the country and have even pushed their own model legislation with fewer protections. In Missouri, for example, legislators passed regulations this year that matched model legislation passed along by CoinFlip in another state nearly word-for-word, with no transaction limits. Some federal lawmakers have pushed for tighter rules, but remember, the Trump administration has [relaxed](https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1395781/dl?inline) oversight of the crypto industry. So these regulation debates may play out for years to come.

There’s a remarkable new report from the CNN Investigates team about how crypto ATMs, devices that may be at your corner store and which allow people to exchange money for cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Stacks Surges 14% Outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum, Goes Viral on Social Media

Summary:

Stacks (STX) jumped over 14% in the last 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB.

STX's trading volume surged 177% to $224 million, showcasing robust demand.

The rally followed an uptick in Bitcoin's price and positive social media buzz.

STX is the native coin of Stacks, a layer-2 solution for Bitcoin.

Stacks has over $124 million in total deposits, highlighting its growing popularity.

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