Bitcoin surged past $85,000 following $647.9 million in short liquidations, having previously closed above its 50-week moving average at $81,159. S&P Global acquired smart-contract security firm OpenZeppelin, while Hana Bank launched South Korea's first $100 million digital bond on Euroclear. Additionally, Apple is hiring a financial strategy lead with stablecoin expertise.
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Bitcoin Reaches $85,000 as Short Squeeze Triggers $648 Million Liquidations
Rebuilding open interest immediately after liquidations while paying high perpetual funding rates leaves crypto markets vulnerable to leverage-driven cascades rather than spot accumulation.
rose above $85,000 during Monday's session as a forced the liquidation of $647.9 million in bearish bets. The token traded at $84,984, extending gains past its previous September high of $82,284 amid a broader wave of $746 million in total 24-hour liquidations. Open interest across the market climbed 7.59% to reach $156 billion, indicating that traders quickly replaced closed positions rather than exiting the market. The advance unfolded even as the U.S. Senate blocked the Clarity Act last week, leaving regulatory oversight divided between the SEC and the CFTC. Meanwhile, annualized perpetual funding rates approached 60%, signaling crowded long positioning that leaves markets vulnerable to sudden .
Hana Bank Taps Euroclear Blockchain for $100M Bond Issuance
Allowing Korean issuers to clear digital debt through conventional Euroclear accounts eliminates the fragmented infrastructure that previously capped international institutional demand for Asia's tokenized bonds.
Hana Bank issued South Korea's first digital worth $100 million using Euroclear's platform. The transaction settled on the issuance date, replacing the three to five business days required by conventional systems. Euroclear handled the issuance, registration, and settlement through its Digital Financial Market Infrastructure. Standard Chartered acted as the sole lead manager for the five-year foreign-currency bond. The deal allows institutional investors to trade the through existing Euroclear accounts without installing separate infrastructure.
Apple Crypto Hiring Fuels Stablecoin Product Speculation
Integrating stablecoins into Apple Pay positions iOS to bypass traditional card networks entirely, leveraging device-level distribution to capture payment rail economics directly.
Apple posted a job listing for an Apple Pay Financial Product Strategy Lead with a base-pay range of $149,700 to $280,000, requiring familiarity with , tokenized , and technology. The role covers strategy for Apple Card, Apple Cash, peer-to-peer transfers, and consumer financial products in Cupertino and New York. The posting does not confirm a planned cryptocurrency product or stablecoin issuance. Google is similarly recruiting an Industry Principal Architect in Hong Kong to support institutional digital- and tokenization projects across Asia-Pacific.
Bitcoin Reclaims Key 50-Week Moving Average Technical Level
Sustaining a close above the long-term moving average validates the post-liquidation leverage reset, transforming a technical rebound into a structural regime shift that lowers downside tail risk.
closed above its 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks, reaching $81,159 on Coinbase on Sunday. The weekly close clears a technical level that analysts at Galaxy Research note has historically served as a ceiling during bear markets. In 11 of 13 previous instances where Bitcoin crossed back above the average, the avoided setting a new cycle low. Bitget chief analyst Ryan Lee noted that the move followed recent liquidations that cleared out excess market . Bitcoin must now maintain its position above the moving average to confirm the shift in momentum.
S&P Global Acquires OpenZeppelin to Expand Tokenized Finance Risk Capabilities
Integrating smart-contract code auditing into traditional ratings frameworks establishes software security as a baseline prerequisite for institutional underwriting of tokenized financial assets.
Global agreed to acquire OpenZeppelin on September 20, 2026, bringing the smart-contract security firm into its ratings business as a standalone unit. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. OpenZeppelin's open-source code libraries have supported contracts involved in more than $37 trillion in cumulative transferred value. The gives S&P Global direct technical capabilities to assess technology risk in tokenized and onchain credit markets. OpenZeppelin Chief Executive Officer Demian Brener will remain in his position, reporting to Yann Le Pallec, president of S&P Global Ratings. S&P Global stated that the transaction will not have a material effect on its financial results. The deal closes a gap for traditional institutions moving financial activity onto blockchain networks by pairing code auditing directly with financial data.
Cybercrime Gangs Clash on Dark Web as Group Hijacks Rival's Website
Rivalries over zero-day exploits disrupt dark-web extortion infrastructures, creating unpredictable delays in how cybercrime syndicates monetize compromised corporate data.
According to channelnewsasia.com, digital extortion group ShinyHunters hijacked the dark web site of rival cybercrime gang cl0p after exploiting a vulnerability in cl0p's software infrastructure. The breach rendered cl0p's site unreachable and displayed a seizure notice on Saturday, marking a rare direct clash between major criminal syndicates. The dispute stems from a disagreement over an Oracle E-Business Suite zero day exploit used by cl0p last year to compromise more than 100 companies. Cl0p previously targeted MOVEit file management software in 2023 to steal data from over 600 companies and nearly 50 companies last month, while ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for data thefts involving Rockstar Games and education tool Canvas.
Concentrated voting control by the Winklevoss twins means an acquisition for Gemini's U.S. regulatory licenses depends entirely on founder buyout consent rather than market activist pressure.
coindesk.com reports that Gemini shares have fallen roughly 80 percent from their public debut, shrinking the platform's to $753 million from a peak of about $4 billion. The decline stems from a 38 percent drop in second-quarter exchange to $12.5 million, a 66 percent plunge in spot trading volume to $3.8 billion, and a drop in platform to $8.4 billion from $18.2 billion. The lower has revived speculation that the company could become an target for firms seeking its U.S. regulatory licenses, customer base, and custody infrastructure. Lorenzo Valente of ARK Invest previously suggested that Hyperliquid could acquire the platform as a regulated U.S. gateway, though no active bid exists. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss control 94.5 percent of the company's voting power, which removes the possibility of a hostile takeover but concentrates sale decisions in two hands.
Gemini Financial Metrics ($M)
Exchange revenue and platform assets have declined sharply from prior levels
Traditional finance giants are rapidly embedding blockchain infrastructure into credit ratings, corporate debt, and mainstream payment apps. Whether Apple and S&P Global can successfully commercialize these digital asset capabilities under evolving global regulations remains unresolved.
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