Today's news tips:
Digital RMB International Operations Center officially opens in Shanghai
ETH price hits BitMNR cost line, $400 away from SharpLink cost line of $3603
Trump aides' involvement in massive chip and cryptocurrency transactions sparks ethics scrutiny
Based on: Hyperliquid's first Launchpad was oversubscribed 110 times, raising $73 million
A whale withdrew 26 million ASTER from Gate, bringing its total holdings to $115.5 million.
ETH fell below $4,000, down 4.12% on the day
ETH price hits BitMNR cost line, $400 away from SharpLink cost line of $3603
Macro
Trump aides' involvement in massive chip and cryptocurrency transactions sparks ethics scrutiny
According to the New York Times, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin have written to the State Department and Commerce Department Inspector General to investigate whether Trump administration officials violated ethical standards in two multi-billion dollar deals involving the UAE. One of the deals benefited US President Trump and the family of his advisor Steve Witkoff, while the other, an AI chip export agreement, raised national security concerns. The investigation is focusing on potential conflicts of interest involving Witkoff, the president's special envoy to the Middle East. While Witkoff was promoting the export of AI chips to the UAE, World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company co-founded by his family and the Trump family, received a $2 billion investment from the UAE sovereign fund. According to disclosure documents, the Witkoff family holds 3.75 billion WLFI tokens of the company, valued at approximately $800 million at market price. Federal law explicitly prohibits officials from participating in decision-making on matters related to their financial interests.
Digital RMB International Operations Center officially opens in Shanghai
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Digital RMB International Operations Center has officially begun operations in Shanghai and launched three business platforms: a cross-border digital payment platform for digital RMB, a blockchain service platform, and a digital asset platform. The cross-border digital payment platform aims to address the pain points of traditional cross-border payments; the blockchain service platform provides standardized cross-chain transaction information transfer and on-chain payment services; and the digital asset platform supports the expansion of existing financial infrastructure into on-chain businesses. In June of this year, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, announced the establishment of the center at the Lujiazui Forum to promote the international operation of the digital RMB and digital financial innovation. At the launch conference on the 24th, Lu Lei, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, pointed out that the three principles of "losslessness, compliance, and interoperability" have become the basic principles for the construction of cross-border infrastructure for legal digital currencies, and that the cross-border financial infrastructure system for the digital RMB has been initially established. In the future, the Digital RMB International Operations Center will provide important support for the facilitation of cross-border trade, investment, and financing. Earlier news reported that the second half of the work meeting of the People's Bank of China's Shanghai headquarters focused on the application of digital RMB.
AnchorX: AxCNH is issued under Kazakhstan’s AFSA stablecoin license
Fintech company AnchorX has clarified false media reports regarding its Hong Kong license and operations. The company stated that it holds a stablecoin issuance license issued by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in Kazakhstan, pursuant to which it launched AxCNH. AnchorX emphasized its commitment to continued compliance with local regulatory requirements and providing transparent and reliable information to stakeholders. Yesterday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stated that no offshore RMB stablecoins are currently being issued in Hong Kong, urging caution against fake news.
Nine European banks plan to jointly launch MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin
According to CoinDesk, nine European banks—ING, Banca Sella, KBC, Danske Bank, DekaBank, UniCredit, SEB, CaixaBank, and Raiffeisen Bank International—have announced the formation of a new company with plans to issue a Euro-denominated stablecoin regulated by MiCA in the second half of 2026. The company will apply for an electronic money institution license from the Dutch central bank, aiming to establish itself as the European digital payments standard and open it up to more banks. The stablecoin will support low-cost, near-real-time cross-border payments and digital asset settlement.
The IRS amends Form W-9 to strengthen digital asset compliance requirements
According to Crowdfund Insider, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a draft of the 2026 version of Form W-9, adding new digital asset compliance provisions. These new provisions require U.S. brokers to collect and verify client Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) when trading digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs to enhance tax reporting. The draft also provides specific guidance for sole proprietors and disregarded entities when filling out their TINs, mitigating the risk of backup withholding due to incorrect TIN information. The new regulations will take effect in January 2026, requiring businesses to update their compliance processes and individuals and businesses to ensure accurate TIN information.
V3 pool transfer. No official announcement has been released yet.
Australia releases draft regulation for crypto asset platforms
According to Decrypt, the Australian government has released draft regulations for cryptoasset platforms, proposing to extend financial services laws to the crypto industry. The draft requires operators to obtain an Australian Financial Services License and establish both digital asset platforms and custodial platforms. These regulations will include managing conflicts of interest, providing dispute resolution mechanisms, and meeting custody and settlement standards. The new regulations cover wrapped tokens, public token infrastructure, and staking services, granting regulators flexibility. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has already implemented a licensing exemption for stablecoin intermediaries, and the relevant legislation is currently under public comment.
AML Software sues Athena Bitcoin and others for allegedly stealing Bitcoin ATM source code
According to Bloomberg, AML Software has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Athena Bitcoin, Taproot Acquisition Enterprises, PSBC, and Jordan Mirch, accusing them of fraudulently stealing nearly 3,000 Bitcoin ATMs and their proprietary computer source code. The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and the distribution of infringing software throughout Florida. AML Software seeks an injunction and compensatory damages.
U.S. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated on "Mornings with Maria" that the SEC is working closely with the CFTC to advance market structure legislation, including joint roundtable discussions and future joint rulemaking. He emphasized the need for a clear regulatory framework for the cryptoasset market and the need for innovative exemptions to support the development of on-chain capital markets. Furthermore, the SEC will review IPO reporting requirements and diversify opportunities for retail investors to participate in private markets.
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Releases List of Participants for Crypto Tax Hearing
According to Eleanor Terrett, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on crypto taxation on October 1. Witnesses include Jason Somensatto, Policy Director of Coin Center, Andrea S. Kramer, founding member of ASKramer Law, Lawrence Zlatkin, Vice President of Tax at Coinbase, and Annette Nellen, Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Digital Asset Taxation Task Force.
Viewpoint
NBA player Tristan Thompson revealed in an interview that he plans to launch an on-chain basketball project, "Basketball.f Fund," before the start of the new season. The project combines fantasy basketball and prediction markets to enhance player valuation through fan interaction. He also shared his Bitcoin price prediction, predicting it could reach $150,000 by the end of 2025. He stated that if this goal is achieved, it would drive a surge in the altcoin market, resulting in substantial year-end returns for investors. Tristan stated that he has been in the crypto space for over a year and is focused on long-term development, refusing to launch a personal token project. He is committed to financial education and investment innovation. He hopes to assume an executive position at a top crypto company within the next six months, where he will contribute full-time to drive industry change and achieve mass user adoption. Earlier news broke that NBA player Tristan Thompson will launch the Web3 project basketball.fun to tokenize NBA players.
Project News
Binance Alpha to Launch LIGHT and GOATED Projects on September 27th
According to Binance’s official news, Binance Alpha will launch the Bitlight Labs (LIGHT) and GOAT Network (GOATED) projects on September 27.
POPCAT to be listed on Bithumb Korean Won Market
According to Bithumb’s official announcement, Solana’s ecosystem project POPCAT (POPCAT) will be listed on the Korean won trading market.
Binance Alpha and Futures will list Bitlight (LIGHT)
Binance will open Bitlight (LIGHT) trading on Binance Alpha at 11:00 AM (UTC) on September 27th, and will launch LIGHTUSDT perpetual contracts with up to 50x leverage at 11:30 AM. Bitlight Labs is a Bitcoin and Lightning Network infrastructure company, primarily contributing to the RGB protocol. The contract supports a multi-asset model, allowing the use of BTC and other collateral. Users can participate in the LIGHT airdrop using Binance Alpha Points from 11:00 AM (UTC) on September 27th to 11:00 AM (UTC) on September 28th.
Users holding at least 200 Binance Alpha Points can claim an airdrop of 250 COAI tokens.
Binance announced that Alpha trading for ChainOpera AI (COAI) will begin at 15:00 (UTC+8) on September 25, 2025. After trading begins, users holding at least 200 Binance Alpha Points will be eligible to claim an airdrop of 250 COAI tokens. This airdrop will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The minimum score will automatically decrease by 15 points every hour until the event ends. Please note that claiming the airdrop will cost 15 Binance Alpha Points. Users must confirm their claim within 24 hours on the Alpha event page; otherwise, they will forfeit the airdrop.
UXLINK announces new contract and token migration compensation plan
UXLINK released an update stating that it has completed the deployment of new smart contracts and submitted an incident report and migration plan to DAXA and major exchanges. Legally circulating tokens will be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio, with a total circulating supply of 479,713,462 tokens. Illegally issued and stolen tokens will not be redeemed, and some have been suspended from circulation. The official on-chain exchange portal will be launched within five business days. A compensation program will be implemented based on recovered assets, and the company is working with regulators in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan to freeze wallets associated with the hack.
Important data
ETH price hits BitMNR cost line, $400 away from SharpLink cost line of $3603
According to Ember's monitoring, the ETH price has now reached BitMNR's cost line of 2.416 million ETH (worth $9.7 billion), while it is still $400 away from SharpLink Gaming's cost line of 838,000 ETH (worth $3.36 billion) (cost price of $3,603).
According to Lookonchain monitoring, 11 wallets have received 295,861 $ETH ($1.19 billion) from Kraken, Galaxy Digital OTC, BitGo and FalconX today.
ETH fell below $4,000, down 4.12% on the day
OKX market data shows that ETH has just fallen below $4,000 and is currently trading at $3,994.26 per coin, down 4.12% on the day.
Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $241 million yesterday, with IBIT leading the way.
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (September 24th, US Eastern Time), Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $241 million. BlackRock's IBIT saw a single-day net inflow of $129 million, bringing its total net inflow to $60.776 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares' ARKB saw a net inflow of $37.7217 million, bringing its total net inflow to $2.184 billion. As of now, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $149.736 billion, representing 6.62% of Bitcoin's total market capitalization, with cumulative net inflows of $57.492 billion.
Binance Alpha's new token, Griffin AI (GAIN), launched last evening, experienced a unilateral decline this morning, dropping nearly 95% within an hour to a low of $0.004185. It has since rebounded slightly to $0.02, bringing its BSC market capitalization to less than $5 million. BscScan data shows that GAIN, originally planned for a total supply of 1 billion (with 235 million in circulation), has been increased to 5.298 billion. The largest holder holds 4.852 billion, or 91.58% of the total supply.
Aster increases the holding time RH points to 5 times
Aster announced that it will increase the "holding time score" (Rh points) by five times, effectively rewarding traders for long-term holding. Officials stated that the longer a position is held, the more Rh points will be earned.
A whale withdrew 26 million ASTER from Gate, bringing its total holdings to $115.5 million.
According to Onchain Lens, a whale address withdrew 26 million ASTER tokens worth $59 million from Gate. The address currently holds a total of 50 million ASTER tokens, with a total value of approximately $115.5 million, and has realized a profit of $9.92 million.
Based on: Hyperliquid's first Launchpad was oversubscribed 110 times, raising $73 million
Based, an omnichannel trading platform, announced on Twitter that the Hyperliquid platform's first Launchpad sale has concluded, with the public sale oversubscribed 110 times and raising a total of $73 million. The company also announced that $UPHL will be listed on HyperCore at 4:00 UTC on September 26th. Users can claim the tokens after listing, and an airdrop will open at 6:00 UTC, allowing users to claim them immediately or lock up their holdings for higher rewards.
Financing/Acquisition
Stablecoin payment company RedotPay completes $47 million financing, led by Coinbase Ventures
Stablecoin payment company RedotPay has secured $47 million in strategic funding, pushing its valuation past $1 billion and officially becoming a fintech unicorn. This round was led by Coinbase Ventures, with continued support from Galaxy Ventures and Vertex Ventures, as well as participation from an undisclosed global tech entrepreneur. Founded in April 2023, RedotPay provides stablecoin payment cards, multi-currency wallets, and global payment services. To date, the company has over 5 million users and has achieved $10 billion in total payment volume. Its global payment service, launched in June of this year, has gained traction in underdeveloped regions such as Latin America, allowing direct transfers of cryptocurrencies to local bank accounts or e-wallets. RedotPay is currently headquartered in Hong Kong, with branches in Europe and Argentina. Having obtained licenses in relevant regions, RedotPay plans to further expand its global business channels, deepen collaborations with banks and payment networks, and prioritize global licensing and regulatory compliance. Previously, RedotPay secured a $40 million Series A funding round in March of this year, led by Lightspeed and participated by HSG and Galaxy Ventures.
According to Chosun, Naver Financial, a subsidiary of South Korean search engine giant Naver, has reached a full equity exchange agreement with Dunamu, the operator of the virtual asset exchange Upbit. The two parties will complete the acquisition through a share swap. Naver will leverage this opportunity to expand into the digital finance sector, focusing on its stablecoin business pegged to the Korean won, and plans to jointly expand into overseas markets. Naver Financial's annual payment volume reaches 8 trillion won, while Upbit is the largest virtual asset exchange in South Korea and the fourth largest globally. This partnership will expand Naver's reach into everyday scenarios such as shopping, finance, and cryptocurrency trading.
Stablecoin startup Bastion completes $14.6 million in new funding round, led by Coinbase Ventures
According to Fortune magazine, stablecoin startup Bastion has completed a new round of funding, raising $14.6 million, led by Coinbase Ventures. Other investors include the venture capital arm of Japanese tech giant Sony, the venture capital arm of South Korean mobile phone manufacturer Samsung, the cryptocurrency arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and cryptocurrency venture capital firm Hashed. Bastion is a white-label stablecoin issuer, allowing businesses to more easily launch their own stablecoins without hiring lawyers to obtain regulatory approvals or software developers to write code. Bastion's differentiated advantage lies in its comprehensive stablecoin service offering, including a cryptocurrency wallet for clients to hold their tokens and access to cash-convertible stablecoins in 70 countries, including the United States.
Crypto development platform Crossmint receives strategic investment from Circle Ventures
Crossmint, a crypto development platform, announced a strategic investment from Circle Ventures (Circle's venture capital arm). Crossmint will collaborate with Circle to develop stablecoin payment solutions centered around USDC, covering wallets, API access, fund transfers, and AI-powered payment agents. As reported in March of this year, Crossmint secured $23.6 million in funding, led by Ribbit Capital .
Prediction market startup Melee has secured $3.5 million in funding from Variant, DBA, and angel investors to launch its first-of-its-kind “viral prediction market” platform.
Solana Ecosystem Perpetual Contract DEX BULK Completes $8 Million Seed Round
BULK, a perpetual contract DEX for the Solana ecosystem, has completed an $8 million seed round of funding, led by 6th Man Ventures and Robot Ventures, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, Wintermute, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. BULK aims to address issues such as surging priority fees and network congestion by integrating its execution layer directly into Solana's validator stack. BULK expects to launch a testnet in the coming weeks, with plans for a formal mainnet launch in Q4.
Digital asset infrastructure company Stablecorp completes $5 million in strategic financing
Stablecorp, a digital asset infrastructure provider, announced the completion of a $5 million CAD strategic round of financing led by FTP Ventures, with participation from existing shareholders and new investors. The company previously received investment from Coinbase Ventures, and the new funds will be used to expand its related digital currency infrastructure.
Institutional holdings
M2 Capital invests $20 million in Ethena governance token ENA
According to CoinDesk, UAE-based M2 Capital announced a $20 million investment in Ethena's governance token, ENA. The total locked-in value of Ethena's USDe and sUSDe products has exceeded $14 billion. M2 Global Wealth will integrate Ethena into its wealth management services, providing clients with compliant digital asset income channels.
Hong Kong-listed International Business Holdings (00147.HK) announced that its 70%-owned joint venture, Keen Golden, acquired 105.88972 Bitcoins on the open market for approximately US$12 million (HK$93.6 million). The acquisition was used to fulfill a purchase and sale agreement with Bitmain for cryptocurrency mining supercomputing servers. The Bitcoins will be pledged as collateral to pay for the equipment.
SUI Group disclosed that it holds over 105 million SUI tokens, worth nearly $360 million
According to Businesswire, SUI Group (NASDAQ: SUIG), the SUI treasury company, disclosed that it held 105,630,660 SUI tokens as of September 23rd, valued at approximately $359 million at a price of $3.40. Furthermore, the company announced that it had repurchased 276,296 shares of its common stock for approximately $1.2 million.
PANews reported on September 24th that on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa has monitored a suspected ENA treasury company that withdrew another 11.87 million ENA from Binance over the past three hours, valued at $7.2 million. The current holdings of ENA have grown to 104 million, with a total value of $63.67 million.
Fitell Corporation, a listed company, purchased 46,144 SOL tokens for approximately $10 million.
Fitell Corporation (FTEL), a Nasdaq-listed company, announced its initial purchase of 46,144 Sol (SOL) tokens for approximately $10 million, marking the company's first strategic acquisition under its previously announced Solana financial plan. This acquisition of SOL tokens follows the initial closing of the company's $100 million financing facility, and FTEL plans to use a significant portion of the net proceeds from the initial closing to make additional SOL acquisitions.
Brazilian firm OranjeBTC buys 3,650 Bitcoins for $385 million
According to Cryptobriefing, Brazilian Bitcoin financial company OranjeBTC purchased 3,650 Bitcoins for $385 million today as part of its strategic reserve accumulation before its planned listing.
SOL Strategies plans to raise US$25 million through a rights offering to boost its SOL reserve fund
According to Globenewswire, Solana treasury company SOL Strategies (NASDAQ: FTEL) announced that it has raised $25 million in private placement financing through the sale of the company's common shares and common share warrants pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption requirements of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Canaccord Genuity Corp. will serve as lead agent and sole bookrunner. The proceeds from the fundraising will be used for general corporate purposes and digital asset investments to drive the growth of SOL's treasury.
