Tether's U.S. Treasury Holdings Surge to $125 Billion, Ethereum Drops 10% Amid Whale Sell-Offs, Unstaked Raises $10.6 Million in Presale

The crypto market is experiencing a notable shift in momentum, with Tether solidifying its position as a key player in global finance. Tether now ranks among the top holders of U.S. government debt, holding approximately $125 billion in U.S. Treasuries. This makes it one of the largest holders of U.S. government debt globally, ranking 18th if it were a country. In 2024 alone, Tether became the fifth-largest buyer of Treasuries, underscoring its strategic importance in the financial landscape. Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, highlighted the company's mission to extend U.S. dollar access to underserved populations, particularly in growing markets, through its USDT stablecoin. This stablecoin acts as a bridge between decentralized assets and traditional banking, with the potential to serve up to 420 million people worldwide. Ardoino also expressed support for regulatory efforts like the GENIUS Act, which aims to bring clear legal frameworks to the stablecoin sector in the U.S., potentially unlocking further institutional adoption. Tether’s deepening involvement in traditional finance underscores its dominance in the stablecoin space and the broader integration of digital currencies into the global monetary system, despite ongoing regulatory challenges.

Meanwhile, Ethereum is facing significant selling pressure. A major whale sold $12.11 million worth of ETH, with $12 million still held. Another wallet reportedly deposited $28.9 million in ETH to Binance, suggesting more potential sell-offs ahead. During this period, Ethereum’s price dropped to $2,240, down 8% in 24 hours and 10% over the past week, making it one of the worst performers among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The sell-off triggered massive $300 million in ETH liquidations, mostly from long positions, contributing to the total $712 million in crypto liquidations in a single day. Additional whales have also panic-sold thousands of ETH, compounding market anxiety. Despite positive ETF inflows in the U.S., Ethereum continues to struggle for upward momentum, while Bitcoin’s market dominance climbs to new cycle highs. The altcoin weakness reinforces the narrative that capital is flowing toward Bitcoin during market stress, leaving ETH and others more exposed to volatility.

In contrast to both Tether’s institutional revolve and Ethereum’s retail capitulation, Unstaked is quietly building a presale success story rooted in utility and transparency. Now in Stage 22, the project has already raised over $10.6 million from early contributors, without celebrity promotions or speculative token drops. Priced at $0.012091, and targeting a launch price of $0.1819, Unstaked offers a rare and clearly framed 28x return window. What sets it apart isn’t just pricing mechanics, but architecture. Unstaked enables users to deploy autonomous AI agents that manage community engagement and growth across platforms like X (Twitter) and Telegram. These agents interact, optimize, and adapt based on performance, with every action logged via a verifiable Proof of Intelligence framework tied to the owner’s wallet. No agent equals no rewards, ensuring the system stays merit-based and transparent. Unlike other presales that reward idle holding, Unstaked prioritizes on-chain contribution. To jumpstart its ecosystem, the team has also launched a $1,000,000 giveaway campaign, where 20 winners will each receive $50,000 in $UNSD. Entry is based on completing simple tasks, making referrals, engaging socially, and purchasing at least $100 in tokens, all designed to reward active community building. With multiple exchange listings already confirmed and a product MVP nearing deployment, Unstaked isn’t trying to chase the next trend. It’s creating the infrastructure for decentralized engagement at scale, and inviting early contributors to share in its upside.

Tether is proving that stablecoins can be powerful geopolitical tools, not just crypto trading pairs. Ethereum, while still fundamentally strong, is currently caught in a technical and emotional downswing as whales flee and long positions get wiped out. These are two sides of a maturing but volatile market. Unstaked, meanwhile, is sidestepping the noise. It’s not waiting for regulatory green lights or market rotations, it’s executing. With Stage 22 in progress, $10.6M raised, a $1M rewards program live, and a 28x launch-to-presale upside, it offers a sharp contrast to the reactive strategies seen elsewhere. Cycles shift. Sentiment fades. But projects that ship, and reward contributors meaningfully, continue to gain ground. Unstaked is doing just that.