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Russia Says Investors Will Bear Losses From Foreign Stablecoin Freezes; Crypto Holdings Reach $44B

According to TASS, Russia has around 20 million crypto users with total holdings estimated at RUB 3.7 trillion ($44 billion), while daily crypto transaction volume stands at roughly RUB 50 billion ($595 million), Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said.

Chebeskov said Russian tax residents will be required to report crypto transactions conducted outside the country’s regulated framework to the Federal Tax Service. If foreign issuers freeze assets such as USDT or USDC for reasons beyond the control of Russian depositories, investors will bear the resulting losses. — link

21Shares Launches Europe's First Zcash ETP Alongside ETHFI Product on Euronext

Asset manager 21Shares has launched the region’s first exchange-traded product tied to Zcash, listing the physically backed ETP on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam alongside a physically backed product tracking Etherfi's governance token, ETHFI. Both exchange-traded products carry an annual management fee of 2.5% and offer regulated exposure via traditional brokerage accounts without direct token custody. The European debut follows Grayscale's launch of its spot Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca in the United States. — link

CryptoQuant Founder: Bitcoin Bull Cycle Expected to Yield 3–5x

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju stated that he expects the current Bitcoin bull market to deliver a 3x to 5x advance rather than a parabolic 10x+ surge, followed by a markedly milder bear market. Ju noted that while earlier retail-driven, low-liquidity cycles saw hot money fuel explosive vertical rallies alongside 80% drawdowns, growing institutional ownership and an expanded market capitalization are structurally dampening volatility on both ends.

Highlighting on-chain indicators, he pointed out that MVRV has never dipped below 1 this cycle, while realized cap is climbing with fresh capital, early "OG" whales have halted distributions, futures whales loaded aggressive long exposure near cycle lows, and the 365-day moving average of CryptoQuant’s PnL Index is printing a meaningful inflection point. — link

BlackRock: Blockchains Will Evolve from Speculative Rails into Decentralized Value Settlement Networks for AI Agents

In a research whitepaper on AI and digital assets, global asset manager BlackRock highlights an unprecedented convergence between artificial intelligence and digital assets, noting that an autonomous AI agent economy urgently requires machine-native financial settlement rails. The whitepaper outlines three core intersection scenarios: first, high-frequency, automated machine-to-machine micropayments, where autonomous AI agents can settle natively in fiat-backed stablecoins without human intervention via protocols such as x402, Stripe and Tempo’s MPP, and OpenAI’s ACP.

Second, the programmable interaction of tokenized financial assets, allowing AI systems to execute trades and manage funds directly via smart contracts across tokenized real-world assets (RWAs); and third, the financialization and collateralization of computer resources as digital assets. BlackRock emphasizes that against the backdrop of adjusted stablecoin transaction volumes surpassing $11 trillion in 2025 and emerging regulatory clarity across the US, Europe, and APAC, the blockchain layer is fundamentally evolving from a vehicle for human speculation into the decentralized value settlement network powering an autonomous machine economy. — link

Highlight Clip: Coinbase's Early Days: 5 Employees Faced Nearly 20,000 Support Tickets

Coinbase's Early Days: 5 Employees Faced Nearly 20,000 Support Tickets

On September 15, 2026, during an interview with Bonnie Blockchain, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recalled an operational crisis in the company's early days, when a website bug caused some users' account balances to be displayed incorrectly. With a team of only about five people, unread support tickets quickly piled up to between 10,000 and 20,000, triggering a wave of complaints on social media. Armstrong said his personal phone number was later posted online, leading to a flood of calls, while the team worked through the night for several days to fix the problem. — link

CME Group to Launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap Futures on October 19, Pending Regulatory Review

CME Group announced plans to launch Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Uniswap (UNI) futures on October 19, subject to regulatory review. Both products will offer standard and micro contracts: 250 BCH and 25 BCH for Bitcoin Cash, and 10,000 UNI and 1,000 UNI for Uniswap. The expansion aims to meet institutional demand for crypto risk management tools. CME's existing single-asset cryptocurrency futures lineup includes BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA, LINK, XLM, AVAX, and SUI. In the first half of 2026, its cryptocurrency futures and options recorded average daily trading volume of 279,800 contracts, representing approximately $8.3 billion in notional value. — link

Tether CEO Says Company Refused to Apply for EU MiCA License Over Stablecoin Reserve Rule

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company refused to apply for an EU MiCA license because of the rule requiring major stablecoin issuers to hold at least 60% of their reserves in commercial bank deposits. The remarks follow a proposal by the European Central Bank and other EU central banks to remove the requirement, citing the risk that volatile stablecoin deposits could expose banks to sudden withdrawals. The central banks instead recommend liquidity requirements based on assets maturing within one to five working days. The proposed change has not yet been adopted. — link

Binance Research: RWA-Linked Perpetuals Capture Trading Demand Outside Regular U.S. Market Hours

Binance Research said RWA-linked perpetuals are capturing trading demand around macro events and individual stocks outside regular U.S. market hours. Following the FOMC decision, the median equity-linked perpetual captured 97% of the subsequent U.S. market opening gap across 16 names, with $1.02 billion traded outside regular hours. During the market closure surrounding the S&P rebalance, 198 TradFi-linked perpetuals recorded $7.25 billion in trading volume. — link

Just In: Binance Invests $100 Million in Circle as the Two Expand Their Five-Year USDC Partnership

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) disclosed in a September 22 Form 8-K that its subsidiaries entered into a new five-year agreement with Binance on September 17 to expand USDC adoption, replacing agreements signed in November 2024 and August 2025. Circle will pay Binance monthly incentive fees based on a percentage of USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, while Binance will undertake additional USDC promotional activities on its platform. On the same day, Binance purchased 1,237,011 shares of Circle’s Class A common stock at a discounted price of $80.84 per share, for a total of $100 million. The transaction has closed. The shares are generally subject to a two-year transfer restriction, with certain early termination provisions and exceptions. — link

Upbit Flags SOPH for Review as Binance Drops Seven USDC Spot Pairs

South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit designated Sophon (SOPH) as a trading-warning asset and suspended deposits, citing concerns over disclosure, token-circulation plan changes and the transparency of related procedures; the review could ultimately lead to delisting if issues are not resolved.

Meanwhile, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, will remove seven USDC spot pairs — AIXBT, DOLO, ENJ, HUMA, SXT, TNSR and TURTLE — on Sept. 25, citing liquidity and trading-volume considerations, while the underlying tokens will remain listed through other pairs. — link

Binance Research: RWA-Linked Perpetuals Capture Trading Demand Outside Regular U.S. Market Hours

Binance Research said RWA-linked perpetuals are capturing trading demand around macro events and individual stocks outside regular U.S. market hours. Following the FOMC decision, the median equity-linked perpetual captured 97% of the subsequent U.S. market opening gap across 16 names, with $1.02 billion traded outside regular hours. During the market closure surrounding the S&P rebalance, 198 TradFi-linked perpetuals recorded $7.25 billion in trading volume. — link

Tether CEO Says Company Refused to Apply for EU MiCA License Over Stablecoin Reserve Rule

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company refused to apply for an EU MiCA license because of the rule requiring major stablecoin issuers to hold at least 60% of their reserves in commercial bank deposits. The remarks follow a proposal by the European Central Bank and other EU central banks to remove the requirement, citing the risk that volatile stablecoin deposits could expose banks to sudden withdrawals. The central banks instead recommend liquidity requirements based on assets maturing within one to five working days. The proposed change has not yet been adopted. — link

CME Group to Launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap Futures on October 19, Pending Regulatory Review

CME Group announced plans to launch Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Uniswap (UNI) futures on October 19, subject to regulatory review. Both products will offer standard and micro contracts: 250 BCH and 25 BCH for Bitcoin Cash, and 10,000 UNI and 1,000 UNI for Uniswap. The expansion aims to meet institutional demand for crypto risk management tools. CME's existing single-asset cryptocurrency futures lineup includes BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA, LINK, XLM, AVAX, and SUI. In the first half of 2026, its cryptocurrency futures and options recorded average daily trading volume of 279,800 contracts, representing approximately $8.3 billion in notional value. — link

*CME GROUP TO LAUNCH BITCOIN CASH, UNISWAP FUTURES ON OCT. 19: BBG

Just In: Binance Invests $100 Million in Circle as the Two Expand Their Five-Year USDC Partnership

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) disclosed in a September 22 Form 8-K that its subsidiaries entered into a new five-year agreement with Binance on September 17 to expand USDC adoption, replacing agreements signed in November 2024 and August 2025. Circle will pay Binance monthly incentive fees based on a percentage of USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure service, while Binance will undertake additional USDC promotional activities on its platform. On the same day, Binance purchased 1,237,011 shares of Circle’s Class A common stock at a discounted price of $80.84 per share, for a total of $100 million. The transaction has closed. The shares are generally subject to a two-year transfer restriction, with certain early termination provisions and exceptions. — link

Binance Invests $100M In Circle Equity: Filing

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Upbit Flags SOPH for Review as Binance Drops Seven USDC Spot Pairs

South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit designated Sophon (SOPH) as a trading-warning asset and suspended deposits, citing concerns over disclosure, token-circulation plan changes and the transparency of related procedures; the review could ultimately lead to delisting if issues are not resolved.

Meanwhile, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, will remove seven USDC spot pairs — AIXBT, DOLO, ENJ, HUMA, SXT, TNSR and TURTLE — on Sept. 25, citing liquidity and trading-volume considerations, while the underlying tokens will remain listed through other pairs. — link

Ethena’s USDe Briefly Plunges to $0.92 on Binance Before Rapid Recovery

Ethena’s synthetic dollar USDe briefly fell as low as 0.9202 USDT on Binance’s USDE/USDT spot pair at around 1 p.m. on Sept. 22 before quickly recovering to about 0.9996 USDT.

The move came shortly before Binance began a scheduled infrastructure wallet upgrade at 2 p.m., during which deposits and withdrawals across all networks were suspended for about an hour, while a broader system-maintenance window runs through 5 p.m.; spot and futures trading remain unaffected. There is currently no evidence linking the USDe price dislocation to Binance’s maintenance. — link

Highlight Clip: Coinbase CEO Responds to Stablecoin Rewards and Banking Regulation Debate

Coinbase CEO Responds to Stablecoin Rewards and Banking Regulation Debate

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong addressed questions about how USDC rewards differ from bank interest and whether Coinbase should face bank capital and liquidity requirements in a September 19 interview with MoneyRehabPodcast.

Armstrong said the rewards pass on part of the returns from underlying short-term U.S. Treasuries and are legally distinguished from deposit interest. He emphasized that Coinbase does not issue stablecoins or engage in fractional-reserve lending, while stablecoin issuers maintain full reserves. He also criticized some major banks for allegedly using government intervention to restrict competition. — link

US spot Bitcoin ETFs see $999M net inflows, Ether ETFs add $270M

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $999 million in net inflows on Sept. 21, according to SoSoValue, led by BlackRock’s IBIT with $381 million. Spot Ether ETFs added another $270 million, with BlackRock’s ETHA attracting $110 million. — link