gm 26/09

Summary
gm, The crypto market saw significant volatility with widespread liquidations exceeding $1 billion, primarily affecting long positions as Bitcoin dropped to $109,000 and Ethereum fell below $4,000. Notable institutional developments include Coinbase Ventures leading a $14.6 million investment in Bastion for white-label stablecoin issuance, and nine European banks collaborating to launch a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin by 2026. Asia-Pacific emerged as the global hub for grassroots crypto activity, with Chainalysis reporting a 68% growth in transaction volume to $2.36 trillion, while Circle's exploration of "reversible" USDC transactions and Australia's draft legislation to regulate crypto platforms under financial services laws signal important regulatory shifts in the ecosystem.

News Headlines
💻 Naver Acquires Upbit, South Korea's Largest Crypto Exchange

• Korean internet giant Naver has completed a stock swap to acquire Upbit through NAVER Financial, with plans to launch a Korean won-backed stablecoin and expand digital finance initiatives.
• This acquisition positions Naver as a comprehensive super app by incorporating cryptocurrency trading via Upbit, which has a significant market share of about 69% in Korea's crypto exchange sector.

🔍 Ethereum Layer-2 Rollups Misprice Small Transactions, Study Warns

• Research from zkSecurity, Prooflab, and Imperial College London indicates that Ethereum layer-2 rollups like Polygon zkEVM, zkSync, and Arbitrum are mispricing small transactions, potentially leading to increased costs and vulnerability to DoS attacks.
• The current fee models collapse multiple cost components into a single pricing formula, with researchers suggesting 'multidimensional' pricing that separately accounts for computation, data availability, and proof costs.

🤖 Google Acquires 5.4% Stake in Bitcoin Miner Cipher Mining in $3B AI Deal

• Google has acquired a 5.4% stake in Bitcoin mining company Cipher Mining as part of a $3 billion multi-year data center deal with Fluidstack, backing $1.4 billion of Fluidstack's obligations in exchange for warrants.
• This marks Google's second major investment in crypto mining infrastructure, following its previous investment in TeraWulf, highlighting the growing intersection between Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure development.

🚀 Centrifuge Launches First Licensed S&P 500 Index Fund on Blockchain

• Centrifuge has launched SPXA, the first licensed S&P 500 index fund on blockchain, allowing 24/7 trading of one of the world's most recognized equity benchmarks on Coinbase's Base network.
• Managed by Janus Henderson and Centrifuge's Anemoy, the fund provides transparent holdings and direct access to the S&P 500, with plans to expand to other blockchains through Wormhole.

💱 Stablecoin Market Could Reach $4 Trillion by 2030, Citi Predicts

• Citi has revised its forecast for the stablecoin market, projecting growth from approximately $200 billion to between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030, with potential transaction support reaching $200 trillion.
• The report suggests bank tokens might surpass stablecoins in transaction volume due to corporate demands for regulatory compliance, though the U.S. dollar will likely remain dominant in the digital currency ecosystem.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. RedotPay (Strategic, $47M) - Digital currency wallets and payment solutions
2. Divine (Seed, $6.6M) - Automated, undercollateralized lending system built on stablecoins
3. Falcon Finance (Public Token Sale, $4M) - Synthetic dollar protocol that enables users to mint USDf

Regulatory
🌏 South Korea's Ruling Party Forms Digital Asset Task Force

• South Korea's ruling Democratic Party has established a Digital Asset Task Force to draft comprehensive legislation on stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, aiming for enactment by year's end.
• The initiative responds to significant capital flight, with over $40.6 billion in digital assets transferred abroad in the first quarter of 2025, half attributed to stablecoins.

🔎 Interpol Seizes $97 Million in Crypto During Multinational Operation

• Interpol, working with law enforcement agencies from 40 countries, has seized $97 million in cryptocurrencies as part of Operation HAECHI VI targeting cybercrime and financial fraud.
• Authorities froze over 400 cryptocurrency wallets and blocked more than 68,000 bank accounts, recovering $16 million from digital assets during the operation.

⚖️ Senators Block Market Structure Bill Over Foreign Crypto Deals Concerns

• Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Elissa Slotkin have expressed opposition to upcoming market structure legislation unless an investigation is conducted into White House officials' involvement in a $2-billion Binance deal.
• The senators argue that politically connected crypto interests could potentially impact national security and are demanding clarity before supporting the bill.

🚨 Hong Kong Monetary Authority Warns Against Unregulated Stablecoin Issuers

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued a warning that it has not approved any stablecoin issuers in the region, branding such marketing as illegal.
• The advisory follows the announcement by local firm AnchorX introducing AxCNH, a stablecoin pegged to the offshore Chinese yuan.

💰 KuCoin Hit With Record $14 Million Anti-Money Laundering Penalty in Canada

• Crypto exchange KuCoin has been fined $14 million by Canada's Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) for failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
• Violations included not registering as a foreign money services business, neglecting to report large virtual currency transactions above $10,000 CAD, and failing to submit suspicious transaction reports.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin has broken the rising trend channel in the short term and reacted strongly down. For the time being, it is difficult to say anything about the future trend direction. The currency has support at points 107700 and resistance at points 117600. Volume tops and volume bottoms correspond well with tops and bottoms in the price. This weakens the trend break. RSI is below 30 after the falling prices of the past weeks. The currency has strong negative momentum and further decline is indicated. However, particularly in big stocks, low RSI may be a sign that the stock is oversold and that there is a chance for a reaction upwards. The currency is overall assessed as technically neutral for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken down from an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term after investors have sold at ever lower prices. A negative signal has been triggered and further decline for the currency is indicated. It also gave a negative signal from the double top formation at the break down through the support at 4298. Further fall to 3878 or lower is signaled. The currency is testing support at points 3880. This could give a positive reaction, but a downward breakthrough of points 3880 means a negative signal. RSI below 30 shows that the momentum of the currency is strongly negative in the short term. Investor have steadily reduced the price to sell the currency, which indicates increasing pessimism and continued falling prices. However, particularly in big stocks, low RSI may be a sign that the stock is oversold and that there is a chance for a reaction upwards. The RSI curve shows a falling trend, which could be an early signal of the start of a falling trend for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.