Ethereum Exchange Reserves Plunge to Multi-Year Low
Ethereum’s supply on cryptocurrency exchanges has fallen to a fresh multi-year low as the altcoin’s price continues to strengthen against Bitcoin. According to CryptoQuant data, the total supply of Ethereum on all exchanges stood at approximately 14.88 million ETH as of Tuesday, down from around 21.30 million ETH on July 1, 2025. This represents a net withdrawal of over 6.4 million ETH over the past 14 months. Reserves on Binance, the world’s largest exchange, have also slipped to about 3.74 million ETH, the lowest level in three months.
Liquid Sidechain Recovers 3,400 BTC After Reserve Drain
Bitcoin’s Liquid sidechain received 3,400 BTC back into its federation wallet on September 7, following a reserve drain incident. The partial recovery restores assets backing L-BTC, the sidechain’s Bitcoin-linked token, although withdrawal access remains disrupted and public bridge nodes are still listed as experiencing a major outage. The transaction was confirmed in Bitcoin block 965950, and Blockstream’s status page continued to report an active security incident as of September 8. The self-described white-hat hackers had previously left an on-chain message asking, “Is that ok?” before returning the funds.
Visa’s Stablecoin Settlement Volume Exceeds $20 Billion Annualized
Visa has announced that its stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing a more than 15-fold increase year over year. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs are now live globally in Visa’s fiscal second quarter, with payment volume on those programs jumping nearly 200% compared to the previous year. Visa noted that this growth is creating a working-capital requirement for card issuers, who must fund daily settlement obligations before collecting payments from cardholders. Some early-stage programs require only a few million dollars and settle daily, making traditional warehouse facilities less economical.
Ethereum’s Hegota Upgrade: FOCIL Gets Top Priority
The Ethereum Foundation’s protocol team has published its first unified technical priority list for the upcoming Hegota upgrade, classifying 62 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Around 60 researchers and engineers across nine teams participated in the evaluation. Notably, EIP-7805, also known as FOCIL (Fork-Choice Inclusion Lists), received the only unanimous ‘S’ rating, the highest tier of commitment for mandatory deployment. FOCIL will allow users to guarantee the inclusion of valid transactions without relying on centralized block builders, mitigating censorship risks at the consensus layer. The Hegota upgrade also lays the groundwork for native private transaction integration and quantum resistance preparation by late 2029.
Fractal Bitcoin Halving: Block Reward Reduced to 6.25 FB
Fractal Bitcoin has successfully completed its first halving, reducing the block reward from 25 FB to 12.5 FB. The milestone, activated on September 8 via the FIP-102 consensus upgrade, also brought forward the network’s second halving, cutting the reward further to 6.25 FB. According to a post on X, network nodes and indexing services operated normally during the first 10 minutes after activation. The proposal does not increase FB’s total supply or create a separate supply for tokens distributed through Bitcoin.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much Ethereum is currently held on exchanges?
CryptoQuant data places Ethereum exchange reserves at about 14.88 million ETH, down from roughly 21.30 million ETH in July 2025.
2. How much Bitcoin did Liquid recover?
Liquid received 3,400 BTC back into its federation wallet on September 7, partially restoring reserves behind L-BTC, though bridge services remain disrupted.
3. How large is Visa’s stablecoin settlement business?
Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, with over 160 stablecoin-linked card programs live globally.
4. What is FOCIL in Ethereum’s Hegota upgrade?
FOCIL, or EIP-7805, is designed to improve transaction inclusion and reduce reliance on centralized block builders. It received the only unanimous top-tier rating in the Hegota technical review.
5. What happened to Fractal Bitcoin’s block reward?
Fractal Bitcoin’s FIP-102 upgrade reduced the block reward from 25 FB to 12.5 FB and brought forward another reduction to 6.25 FB, without increasing the token’s total supply.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are risky and may result in loss of capital. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.