Bitcoin tops $87K, Fed drafts stablecoin rules, Bitget hit by $351M hack

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Bitcoin reached an eight-month high above $87,000 before pulling back, the Federal Reserve proposed rules for U.S. stablecoin issuers, and Bitget suspended withdrawals after a $351.6 million wallet breach. The developments led to a week that also brought a major USDC agreement, new uses for bank-issued stablecoins, and a New York lawsuit against Polymarket.

Bitcoin reaches $87,000 as ETF buying returns

• Bitcoin climbed past $87,000 after clearing resistance near $82,000. HashKey Group researcher Tim Sun linked the move to easing oil and Treasury yields, short covering, and stronger U.S. spot ETF demand. He said the ETF inflows followed the initial breakout rather than starting it.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs then took in about $999 million on Sep. 21 and $714.7 million on Sep. 22. Bitcoin later retreated toward $84,000 despite continued inflows. According to crypto.news market coverage, futures traders added more than $2 billion in positions during the advance, raising the amount of leverage behind the rally.

Fed proposes stablecoin reserve and bank approval rules

• The Federal Reserve released two proposed GENIUS Act rules on Sep. 24. One would require payment stablecoins issued by firms under its supervision to be fully backed by permitted assets, including short-term U.S. Treasury bills and other highly liquid holdings. It would also set capital and risk-control requirements.
• The second proposal sets out how an insured state member bank would seek Fed approval for a stablecoin-issuing subsidiary. Both drafts remain open to change. A 60-day public comment period will begin after their publication in the Federal Register.

Bitget suspends withdrawals after $351.6 million breach

• Bitget reported unauthorized wallet transfers on Sep. 24 affecting an estimated $351.6 million in assets. The exchange suspended withdrawals while allowing deposits and trading to continue during its investigation and system repairs.
• Bitget said its preliminary findings pointed to a breach of backend systems rather than a private-key leak. Blockchain tracker Lookonchain estimated that 102.93 million XRP, worth about $157.48 million, made up the largest portion of the stolen assets. The exchange had not confirmed who carried out the attack.

Binance buys $100 million Circle stake in USDC deal

• Binance purchased about $100 million in Circle shares through a private placement completed on Sep. 17 and reported this week. The purchase covered approximately 1.24 million shares.
• Under a new five-year agreement, Binance will promote USDC across its platform, while Circle will pay monthly incentives tied to qualifying USDC balances. The agreement replaces earlier arrangements between the companies. Binance is restricted from selling, transferring, or hedging the shares for up to two years, though it retains voting rights.

SoFi puts SoFiUSD into Mastercard card settlement

• SoFi and Mastercard said on Sep. 22 that transactions in SoFi Bank’s $25 billion card program are now settling using SoFiUSD. The bank-issued stablecoin operates within Mastercard’s payment network, while merchants can receive funds without holding the token themselves.
• The companies are also examining SoFiUSD for merchant settlement, cross-border payments, and remittances. The announcement marks a live use of a U.S. bank-issued stablecoin in card infrastructure, rather than a proposed payment trial.

New York sues Polymarket over alleged illegal gambling

• New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket on Sep. 24, alleging that it offered event contracts to state residents without a gambling license and allowed people under 21 to use the platform. The state is seeking an end to the alleged unlicensed activity, restitution, fines, and forfeiture of gains it says were earned illegally.
• The case adds to New York’s actions involving Kalshi, Coinbase Financial Markets, and Gemini Titan. It came a day after all 11 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee called for a public hearing on prediction markets.

Strategy resumes Bitcoin purchases with 950 BTC

• Strategy bought 950 BTC for $75.7 million between Sep. 14 and Sep. 20, ending a two-week pause. Its Sep. 21 SEC filing put its total holdings at 846,000 BTC, purchased for about $63.8 billion.
• During the same period, the company spent about $174 million repurchasing STRC preferred shares. It reported no sales under its at-the-market share programs for the week, while its deployable U.S. dollar cash balance fell to about $1.05 billion.

ARK Invest tokenizes venture fund interests

• ARK Invest and Securitize announced tokenized interests in the ARK Venture Fund, beginning on Ethereum. Eligible investors can hold a blockchain-based interest in the fund, whose portfolio includes OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe, and Databricks.
• The tokens represent fund interests rather than direct ownership of those portfolio companies. A Sep. 21 SEC order permits ARK to offer the tokenized share class under specified conditions, making the regulatory terms part of the U.S. rollout.

Canada’s six largest banks test tokenized deposits

• Canada’s Big Six banks formed a joint project to explore transfers of tokenized Canadian-dollar deposits. Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD are participating.
• The first phase will focus on transfers between regulated institutions. The proposed tokens would remain liabilities of the issuing banks, which distinguishes them from separately issued stablecoins backed by reserve assets. The banks have described wider payment uses as a later possibility rather than a live service.

ECB asks EU to change MiCA stablecoin reserve floors

• The European Central Bank and the EU’s national central banks asked for changes to MiCA’s stablecoin reserve rules. Current rules require issuers to keep at least 30% of reserves in commercial bank deposits, rising to 60% for stablecoins classed as significant.
• The central banks proposed liquidity requirements based on asset maturity instead. They warned that heavy redemptions from a large stablecoin could put pressure on banks holding its deposits. Their request is a recommendation; it has not changed MiCA’s existing requirements.

KelpDAO and LayerZero dispute responsibility for $292 million exploit

• KelpDAO sued LayerZero and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino in British Columbia over an April attack that drained approximately 116,500 rsETH, valued at $292 million. KelpDAO alleges that LayerZero failed to disclose risks and secure infrastructure used in the transfer.
• LayerZero disputes the claim. It says KelpDAO’s verifier setup created the single point of failure that allowed forged cross-chain messages. Pellegrino called the lawsuit meritless and said he would defend the case.

Cosmos Hub secures 1.23 million ATOM after Neutron attack

• Cosmos Hub validators moved 1,227,121 ATOM linked to a Neutron governance attack into a recovery wallet after halting the network for about 24.5 hours. Roughly 1.73 million stolen ATOM had reached Cosmos Hub from Neutron.
• The recovery wallet requires four of six signers to approve a transfer. A Cosmos Hub governance vote is required before the secured tokens can be returned. Another 168,990.9 ATOM reached the attacker after the restart and was moved to Osmosis and sold.