Geopolitics

According to Daily An, South Korea's ruling People Power Party pushed on September 21 to further delay or scrap virtual asset taxation scheduled for January 2027, citing incomplete regulatory infrastructure. The party held a policy consultation meeting with the Digital Asset Exchange Association

The global stablecoin market has consolidated around dollar-pegged assets, with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reporting a market capitalization of $320 billion as of May end and annual trading volume of $28 trillion last year, according to data released on the 21st. Dollar-linked stab

According to ChainCatcher, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed the modified H.R. 8957 American Reserves Modernization Act today with a 28-21 vote, establishing a federal strategic bitcoin and digital asset reserve program. The bill mandates that legally held federal bitcoin be

According to Financial Times on September 20, Saudi Arabia withdrew from mBridge, a digital payment platform led by China, last May. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) stated the withdrawal was a planned decision following the successful completion of the platform's proof-of-concept (PoC) phase, not

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its weekend rebound, trading at around $81,880 on September 21. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis revealed that the CLARITY Act required crypto projects that raised more than $25 million from the public to undergo audits. The Central Bank of Russia proposed setting banks’ crypto exposure cap at 1% of their own capital. Macro Events & Crypto Market Highlights U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis posted that Democrats had previously required crypto projects that raised more than $25 milli

South Korean cryptocurrency stocks surged on the 21st morning as Bitcoin reclaimed the $80,000 level, with Woori Technology Investment rising 11.97% to 6,080 won as of 9:21 AM according to Korea Exchange data. The rally followed Bitcoin's recovery after the US Senate's CLARITY Act failed a

The UK Financial Times reported on September 20 that the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) had withdrawn from mBridge, a cross-border central bank digital currency platform jointly developed by multiple central banks—a move that had not previously been made public. SAMA explained that it joined as an observer in 2023, ceased to be a member after completing the proof-of-concept phase on May 13, 2025, and said the withdrawal was “proceeding as planned,” denying that it was related to U.S. pressure. Timeli

According to CryptoSlate, Russia's central bank on September 21 proposed a draft regulation requiring commercial banks to limit their cryptocurrency and related digital asset exposure to no more than 1% of their own capital. The regulation covers direct holdings, derivatives, loans, and bonds

From 00:00 to 00:15 on September 21, 2026 (UTC), BTC edged higher over the 15-minute period, with a Return % of +0.60%, a price range of 81172.6–81711.0 USDT, and an amplitude of 0.66%. The overall market remained in a low-volatility state, with a Filled Amount of only around 202 BTC, indicating limited participation. However, the Order Book showed signs of bid dominance, with a bid-to-ask depth ratio of 6.13, suggesting that short-term bullish sentiment had strengthened slightly. The move was p

Bitcoin recovered to 111 million won on May 21 at 8:10 AM on Bithumb exchange, marking a 0.42% increase from 24 hours prior, after briefly falling to 103 million won following the rejection of the US Clarity Act and interest rate increases. The recovery was driven by US financial regulators

According to Odaily, Russia's central bank released a draft framework on September 18 to regulate banks' cryptocurrency asset risks through two ratios—N31 and N32—measuring exposures against individual credit institutions' capital and consolidated banking group capital. The framework covers direct i

On Tuesday, the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, a landmark crypto market structure bill, in a 49-50 vote. All Democrats voted against the measure, joined by three Republicans: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Jerry Moran (R-KS). The vote fell short of the 60 votes

Hong Kong is advancing stablecoin and tokenization pilots, according to reports from CryptoTwitter commentator @WuBlockchain. The regulatory authority aims to foster innovation while ensuring financial stability, positioning Hong Kong as a crypto hub. This development is part of broader regulatory m

On September 17, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an administrative order called the “Innovation Exemption,” opening a temporary compliance pathway for trading tokenized U.S. stocks. Notably, this action came just two days after the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act. SEC Chair Paul Atkins explicitly stated that, regardless of the congressional legislative process, the SEC would “act decisively within the scope of its statutory authority.” On the same day, the U.S. Com

According to Guru Club and CoinGlass data, the crypto market experienced a sharp selloff on September 20, with 101,300 traders liquidated and $240 million in total losses over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin and BNB fell over 1%, Ethereum declined over 2%, XRP and Solana dropped over 3%, while ZEC fell o

According to the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia's central bank (SAMA) exited the mBridge cross-border central bank digital currency platform after completing its proof-of-concept in May 2025, a move previously undisclosed. SAMA joined as an observer in 2023 and participated in minimum viable

The months-long US-Iran military standoff saw a subtle diplomatic shift between September 19 and 20, 2026. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, publicly stated on the evening of September 19 local time that Iran had conveyed the 7 conditions required to begin negotiations to the US government through mediators including Qatar and Pakistan, and was currently awaiting a US response. Meanwhile, an unnamed senior Iranian source said that mediators had informed Iran t

According to ChainCatcher, citing Financial Times, Saudi Arabia has exited mBridge, a digital currency platform led by China aimed at developing an alternative cross-border payment system to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. The mBridge platform, which uses blockchain technology to enable direct t

President Donald Trump signed H.R. 5334 into law on September 18, establishing a 30-day period to determine tariffs that could disrupt trade in Russian energy and affect inflation, Treasury yields, and the dollar exchange rate—all factors relevant to bitcoin, as tighter financial conditions have historically weighed on crypto markets. The law requires tariffs on all Russian goods imported into the United States, including oil, natural gas, and petroleum products, to be increased by up to 500%. T

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Japan’s National Police Agency, and five other major agencies jointly released a nine-page alert on September 20, stating that the North Korea-linked hacker group WaterPlum attacked IT developers worldwide through fake job offers from December 2025 to July 2026, successfully infecting 30,000 devices and stealing data from 7,000 crypto wallets. At least $10.71 million in related funds flowed into wallets controlled by the attackers. WaterPlum’s Attack Sca