SEC approves Nasdaq Texas crypto ETF expansion, XRP named as digital commodity

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant rally on Friday, September 4, 2026, as a major short squeeze unfolded and key regulatory news broke from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Data from CoinGlass indicated that 105,019 traders saw positions worth $566.90 million liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $478.91 million of these from short positions. The total crypto market capitalization reached $2.711 trillion, expanding to $2.82 trillion when derivatives are included.

Regulatory action reshapes crypto landscape

The SEC issued Order No. 34-106268, granting Nasdaq Texas, LLC accelerated approval to amend Rule 5711(d) to define “digital commodity” in its rules, legalize actively managed crypto strategies, and permit ETFs to hold up to 15% of their net asset value in instruments that initially do not meet strict eligibility criteria.

In the order, the SEC named Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP as digital commodities that currently qualify for inclusion in these products. This represents a formal acknowledgment within the exchange’s governance framework, though it does not carry the force of law nationwide.

The SEC’s move follows a wave of decisions from 2025 and 2026, including the September 2025 reduction of crypto ETP approval times from 240 days to 75 days and a March 2026 joint SEC and CFTC interpretation that classified a group of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, AVAX, DOGE, SHIB, and LINK, as commodities.

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In June, regulators cleared T. Rowe Price’s multi-asset crypto ETF, TKNZ, which can flexibly rotate holdings among these coins.

Despite this momentum, legal certainty remains pending. The Senate will hold a vote on the CLARITY Act on September 15, while the House of Representatives has signaled potential delays after canceling its September legislative sessions. The National Sheriffs’ Association, in a recent letter, withdrew objections to DeFi, adopting a neutral position and reducing some lobbying pressure. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented, “Making America the crypto capital of the world is within reach — let’s finish the job.”

Making America the crypto capital of the world is within reach — let’s finish the job.

Market rally driven by economic data and ETFs

The rally followed comments by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who pointed to ongoing disinflation and supported stable interest rates at the Fed’s upcoming meeting. This calmed some market tensions, while the Japanese yen strengthened 2% amid speculation about a rate hike from Japan’s central bank.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $730.87 million in daily inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT contributing $454 million and pushing total BTC fund assets above $103.34 billion—equivalent to 6.32% of all Bitcoin in circulation. Ethereum ETFs gained $141.24 million, leading to $115.08 million in ETH short liquidations.

Zcash soars 2,300% on AI privacy demand and ETF inclusion

Zcash (ZEC) climbed 94% over the last 30 days and more than 2,300% in the past year, driven by a sharp short squeeze and renewed privacy concerns as artificial intelligence technology advances. CoinGlass reported $36.46 million in forced ZEC liquidations, nearly all from short positions, with open interest reaching $2.3 billion.

The introduction of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model, which scored 98.6% on the ARC-AGI-3 benchmark and enables fully autonomous computer operation, sparked further investor attention. After AI agents were found to have made over 15,000 unauthorized edits to the DseWiki database in Germany, privacy-focused investors looked to Zcash’s zero-knowledge technology as a protective measure against automated surveillance.

In parallel, Nasdaq’s new 15% net asset value buffer rule allowed asset managers to buy ZEC for regulated multi-asset funds, further fueling the short squeeze.

Mini dictionary: Zero-knowledge technology refers to cryptographic protocols that allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement itself. Zcash employs this technology to provide enhanced privacy for blockchain transactions.

Institutional flows and industry restructuring

Spot XRP ETFs continued their inflow streak to 11 sessions, accumulating a total of $1.68 billion, with $6.14 million added in a single day. Daily liquidations for XRP stayed modest at $11.39 million. RLUSD stablecoin supply on the XRP Ledger surpassed $1 billion, and the network received approval from the Bank for International Settlements to record official statistics.

On-chain data revealed large-scale Ethereum sales, with one institution selling 29,735 ETH valued at $72.1 million. Abraxas Capital maintained a $291.4 million short hedge on Hyperliquid, and Multicoin Capital transferred 150,000 HYPE tokens, worth $12.8 million, to Coinbase.

The sector also saw ongoing risk management and listing adjustments. After a $1.7 million exploit at Notional Finance, Binance placed AVA, GNS, SCR, and TOWNS under a Monitoring Tag, and announced the listing of MarsCoin (MARSCOIN) with a Seed Tag. KuCoin and Kraken are set to follow with their own reviews on September 7 and 11, respectively.

This period of explosive growth represents a shift toward maturity as major crypto assets like BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP channel liquidity through regulated ETF products.

The bitcoin-to-gold ratio climbed above 18, its highest level since January, though analysts noted that historic ETF inflows often precede local corrections. September seasonality—dubbed “Rektember” by traders—is considered a significant risk ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and the Senate’s CLARITY Act vote, both scheduled for the middle of the month.