Crypto Briefs

Bitwise has rolled out Parrot, a model portfolio product for crypto exposure, within retail investment apps hosting over $200 million in assets. The move reflects issuers' strategy to expand beyond direct ticker selection by offering curated, algorithm-driven crypto allocations to retail investors.

Major altcoins maintained stability as Bitcoin held its ground near the $64,000 level amid geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. The market showed resilience despite broader macro uncertainty, with most cryptocurrencies avoiding significant losses during the period.

U.S. crypto industry organizations are urging Congress to pass H.R. 9175, which would allow miners and stakers to defer taxes on rewards until the underlying assets are sold, rather than paying tax at the time of receipt. The bill represents an attempt to address perceived inequities in how crypto income is taxed compared to other asset classes.

Bitcoin network activity hit its highest level since 2024, with daily transactions exceeding 800,000, according to CryptoQuant data cited by Bitcoin Magazine. The surge is driven primarily by low-value protocol activity including Ordinals, Runes, and BRC-20 transactions rather than underlying economic demand.

JaredFromSubway, a prominent Ethereum MEV bot, suffered a $7.5 million loss over the weekend after a series of transactions exposed flaws in its trading logic. The bot operator has threatened legal action in response to the incident.

IBM has linked 17 banks to a SWIFT ledger system using Digital Asset Haven's ISO 20022 adapter for tokenized-deposit instructions, while final settlement continues through existing infrastructure. The development highlights ongoing integration of blockchain-adjacent systems into traditional banking rails, though cloud infrastructure risks remain unresolved.

The Clearing House has selected Quant to build the interoperability layer for its On-Chain Money Initiative, which will enable financial institutions to clear and settle tokenized deposits while connecting to existing RTP and CHIPS payment rails. The network is designed to support corporate treasury, liquidity management, and cross-border payments, with participating institutions expected to gain access in the first half of 2027.

EIP-4444 optimizations have reduced Ethereum node synchronization time to under half a day, according to Crypto Briefing. The improvement lowers barriers for node operators and supports network decentralization by making it faster and easier for participants to run full nodes.

The Bank of England removed individual stablecoin holding caps in favor of a £40 billion per-coin issuance limit, according to Decrypt. The central bank will also permit issuers to hold larger portions of reserves in government debt, easing previous restrictions on collateral composition.

Ethereum Foundation co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang announced her departure, reigniting community discussion about the foundation's leadership and direction. The departure adds to recent staff turnover at the organization that stewards the Ethereum protocol.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted nearly $2.8 billion in inflows over a six-day period, extending a winning streak for the products. The sustained buying pressure signals continued institutional and retail demand for regulated bitcoin exposure through traditional market vehicles.

AlphaFi is reportedly shutting down following a misconfiguration, with the SUI Foundation's involvement in the incident remaining unclear. The incident underscores risks around misreporting in decentralized finance and the importance of transparency to maintain user trust and market stability.

Anchorage, a crypto bank, has introduced a new platform designed to enable financial institutions to offer 24/7 payments and settlement capabilities using tokenized deposits without requiring changes to their existing core banking systems. The solution aims to bridge traditional banking infrastructure with blockchain-based transaction rails.

River reports that 81% of Bitcoin's circulating supply has remained dormant for at least six months, indicating long-term holders are restricting market supply. The analysis suggests reduced liquidity could amplify price volatility and encourage speculative trading behavior as fewer coins remain actively traded.

Bitget increased its reported loss from a recent security breach by $36 million, citing previously uncounted assets from the same incident. The exchange said it would announce a withdrawal recovery plan by September 26 and offered a bounty for recovery of the stolen cryptocurrency.

Kamino has opened a lending market for tGBP, a British-pound stablecoin issued by BCP Technologies, allowing users to supply or borrow the asset against collateral including USDC, cbBTC, and JitoSOL. The market, curated by Steakhouse Financial, expands sterling-denominated credit options on Solana, where dollar stablecoins have historically dominated DeFi lending.

A dormant wallet that received Bitcoin in April 2022 transferred $380 million worth of holdings on September 25, according to CryptoSlate. The destination wallet retained the full balance as of the time of reporting, leaving unclear whether the move presages a market sale or wallet consolidation.

HIFI closed a $37 million Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital to build settlement infrastructure for tokenized money. The capital will support expansion of regulatory licenses, card products, and capital markets infrastructure.

TALIS deployed an onchain structured markets protocol on Robinhood Chain designed to facilitate tokenized stock trading. The protocol aims to expand access to complex financial instruments and increase participation in tokenized asset markets globally.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen disclosed an $80,000 loss from a social engineering attack involving a fraudulent interview, with the incident attributed to the Lazarus Group. The case highlights vulnerabilities in human-layer security within the cryptocurrency industry and underscores the need for enhanced protective measures against sophisticated scams targeting executives.

Circle's cirBTC wrapped Bitcoin token has surpassed 5,000 issued tokens, up from approximately 40 in mid-August, driven by institutional DeFi demand. The rapid growth demonstrates increasing adoption of Circle's tokenized Bitcoin offering among institutional participants in decentralized finance.

Real-world asset perpetual futures have seen a significant shift toward onchain trading, with 86% of volume now occurring on distributed ledgers according to Crypto Briefing. The trend reflects growing adoption of decentralized derivatives markets and represents a structural challenge to traditional finance infrastructure for trading RWA derivatives.

Crypto exchange Bitget released details on Thursday regarding a hack attributed to North Korean threat actors, resulting in $388 million in stolen assets. The CEO's disclosure marks an escalation in attribution statements surrounding the incident, though additional specifics on the hack's mechanics and recovery efforts were not detailed in the available excerpt.

The Blockchain Association announced a leadership transition, with Summer Mersinger departing and original CEO Kristin Smith returning to lead the trade group. The shift follows an extended congressional effort involving the crypto Clarity Act, which did not advance. The change marks a notable transition for the industry advocacy organization during a period of active legislative engagement.

The European Banking Authority has floated potential regulatory restrictions on stablecoin lending for EU cryptocurrency firms, according to The Defiant. Proposed measures under consideration include leverage caps and mandatory certification of lending protocols, as regulators examine rules governing decentralized finance gateways operating in the EU.

Federal prosecutors have filed claims seeking $84.2 million from a Montana payments firm and Caribbean bank allegedly involved in unlicensed money movement. The action targets entities accused of facilitating transactions connected to Tether, the stablecoin issuer.

A Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel determined that prediction market provider Kalshi's sports-related event contracts are not swaps and therefore fall outside federal regulatory oversight. The ruling suggests such contracts remain subject to state regulations rather than federal commodity or derivatives frameworks, marking another legal setback for Kalshi's business model.

Bitcoin remained near $84,000 as US Treasury yields spiked to their highest levels since 2007, with the 10-year yield climbing to 5.22% and the 30-year reaching a 22-year high of 5.52%. Traders liquidated $1.7 billion in leverage amid the broader bond market selloff.

Zano, a privacy-focused blockchain, suspended economic activity after discovering an inflation bug and announced plans for a rollback to address the vulnerability. The incident raises concerns about blockchain security practices and their potential impact on market confidence in privacy coins.

The SEC staff published new frequently asked questions addressing the regulatory treatment of staking receipts and token buybacks. The guidance clarifies that qualifying staking receipts fall outside security classification, while reaffirming prior positions on how maintenance and development funding affects token characterization.