Bitcoin rose above $85,000 following $800 million in short liquidations, supported by continued treasury buying from Strategy. Mainstream financial and tech companies are expanding into the sector, with S&P Global acquiring OpenZeppelin and Apple recruiting a stablecoin specialist. However, regulatory pressure remains a factor as Binance faces a new federal investigation over potential Iran sanction violations.
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Bitcoin Reaches $85,000 as Short Squeeze Triggers $648 Million Liquidations
surged past $85,000 on Monday morning for the first time since late January, driven by falling oil prices and a broader return of risk appetite to global markets. The token climbed nearly 6 percent to trade above $85,000 as slipped below $92 per following signals of potential diplomatic negotiations regarding the US-Iran conflict. The wider rose to approximately $2.8 trillion, accompanied by substantial liquidations across platforms. Short positions bore the brunt of the , triggering hundreds of millions of dollars in forced liquidations within a 24-hour window. Meanwhile, open interest on Deribit showed heavy concentration in call , reflecting an influx of bullish positioning as traders rotated away from downside protection.
S&P Global Acquires OpenZeppelin to Expand Tokenized Finance Risk Capabilities
Global agreed to acquire OpenZeppelin on September 17, 2026, bringing a smart contract security firm whose open-source libraries have supported more than $37 trillion in cumulative transferred value into the ratings giant. OpenZeppelin will operate as a standalone business unit within S&P Global, retaining its name and its existing operating structure under Chief Executive Officer Demian Brener, who will report to S&P Global Ratings President Yann Le Pallec. Financial terms were not disclosed, and S&P Global stated that it does not expect the transaction to have a material effect on its financial results. Founded in 2015, OpenZeppelin has conducted more than 900 security engagements, including a late-2021 review of Convex Finance that identified and resolved a vulnerability protecting about $15 billion in . The combines OpenZeppelin's smart contract security expertise with S&P Global's existing data, benchmarks, and risk analysis capabilities as financial institutions and issuers expand their onchain activity. Jefferies advised S&P Global on the financial aspects of the transaction, with Clifford Chance serving as legal counsel, while FT Partners and Cooley advised OpenZeppelin.
Binance Probed by US Prosecutors Over Potential Iran Sanctions Violations
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether Binance knowingly permitted trading activity that breached US sanctions against Iran. The Manhattan US Attorney is leading the inquiry alongside the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington. Authorities are examining whether the exchange failed to prevent transactions linked to the sanctioned nation. Binance stated that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations and cooperates with law enforcement. The exchange previously reached a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023 after pleading guilty to anti-money laundering violations, which led to the departure of former chief Changpeng Zhao.
ZetaChain Holders Approve Plan to Wind Down L1 and Move ZETA to Solana
ZetaChain tokenholders approved a plan Sunday to wind down the project's layer-1 and migrate its native ZETA token to Solana. Governance proposal 68 passed with 99.4% support and 58% participation, clearing the network's 40% quorum requirement. Under the proposal, ZETA will become a Solana SPL token through a 1:1 conversion, maintaining its ticker and total supply while shifting decimal precision from 18 to 9. The vote does not immediately trigger the network shutdown. Core contributors will submit a second proposal detailing the snapshot block height, shutdown timetable, token claim process, and exchange conversion period. Validators will continue operating and rewards will remain active during the transition. ZetaChain stated that maintaining its Cosmos SDK-based layer 1 no longer supports its focus on Anuma, a private application launched in February 2026 that has attracted over 300,000 users. The migration allows the project to redirect resources from blockchain maintenance to Anuma and its Private Memory Layer. ZetaChain was founded in 2021 as an interoperability network and raised $27 million in 2023 from investors including Blockchain.com and Jane Street to develop its layer-1 network. The current proposal explicitly excludes tokens held on Ethereum and BNB Chain from the one-for-one conversion.
Strategy Firm Buys Additional $75 Million in Bitcoin
Strategy acquired 950 for $75.7 million last week at an average price of $79,670 per coin. The purchase raised the company's holdings to 846,000 Bitcoin, acquired for about $63.8 billion at an average cost of $75,416 per Bitcoin. Shares of Strategy rose 7.4% to $165.2 in pre-market trading on Monday. Strategy also repurchased about 1.77 million shares of its perpetual , STRC, for $174 million during the same week. The company spent $57.4 million from its USD reserve to pay preferred-stock and interest. Strategy's USD cash balance fell nearly 20% to $1.05 billion from $1.30 billion a week earlier. The company reported $875.1 million remaining under its preferred-stock repurchase program and $1 billion available under its MSTR share repurchase program.
Strategy USD Cash Balance ($B)
Strategy's USD cash balance fell nearly 20% to $1.05 billion.
Apple Crypto Hiring Fuels Stablecoin Product Speculation
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.
Eugene Investment Securities and Bitoz Sign MoU for Tokenized Securities Settlement
Eugene Investment Securities signed a memorandum of understanding with firm Bitoz on September 21 to validate settlement for tokenized securities subscriptions. Current tokenized security systems record ownership changes on-chain while subscription payments flow through conventional bank accounts, creating a dual-path structure. The partners will conduct proof-of-concept testing to move payment settlement onto blockchain infrastructure so subscription, payment, and settlement execute as a single on-chain transaction. Eugene built its tokenized securities platform in 2024, participated in a Korea Securities Depository pilot in 2025, and currently participates in Hana Financial Group's won stablecoin consortium. The trial precedes South Korea's regulated tokenized securities framework, scheduled to take effect when amendments to the Electronic Registration Act begin on February 4, 2027.
Institutional adoption is accelerating into mainstream finance through strategic corporate acquisitions and stablecoin payment integration. Whether ongoing regulatory enforcement against major crypto exchanges will disrupt this corporate momentum stays open to debate.
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