Cryptoccino — Thursday 17 September 2026

Bitcoin’s correlation with US equities and the dollar index broke ahead of the Fed. In the hours before the rate decision, Bitcoin decoupled from its usual macro proxies, trading sideways while stocks slid and the DXY moved independently. Post-decision, the pair reconnected sharply on the downside before BTC stabilised near $76,000. Analysts remain split on whether the decoupling was a genuine regime shift or just pre-event positioning noise. coindesk decrypt

Tether has become a major bullion lender, extending around $1.5 billion to a top US gold dealer. The loans are backed by Tether’s growing physical gold holdings, which the firm has been accumulating to a scale that puts it among the larger private hoards globally. The arrangement deepens Tether’s exposure to commodities beyond its stablecoin reserves and raises questions about counterparty concentration. bloomberg_crypto

Payward is bringing onchain perpetual futures to US clients via Hyperliquid. The Kraken parent plans to route US retail and institutional clients into Hyperliquid’s onchain perps infrastructure, a notable shift given the regulatory scrutiny that has historically kept domestic platforms away from perpetuals. No launch date was given, and the structure will depend on how the SEC and CFTC’s forthcoming rulemaking lands. coindesk

Two Robinhood engineers are facing insider trading charges tied to Hyperliquid perpetuals. The DOJ alleges the pair traded on non-public information about upcoming Robinhood token listings by opening positions in perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid before announcements. The case is notable as one of the first insider trading prosecutions to centre on onchain derivatives rather than spot markets. coindesk

Circle’s Arc mainnet is live, with BlackRock, DTCC, and Visa among its permissioned validators. Circle completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens at launch, though the company has not committed to a public token distribution. Chainalysis has already added automatic monitoring support for the EVM-compatible chain, which is positioned as purpose-built stablecoin infrastructure. Jeremy Allaire called it more consequential than USDC, which sets a high bar for a network whose validator set is not yet open. theblock decrypt coindesk chainalysis

Deutsche Bank is formally launching digital asset custody for European institutional clients. The service initially covers bitcoin, ether, and select stablecoins, making Deutsche Bank one of the largest European banks to move from exploratory programmes to a live custody offering. The timing is notable given that the US regulatory environment just became more uncertain, potentially accelerating institutional flows toward jurisdictions with clearer frameworks. bloomberg_crypto theblock coindesk

Celsius’s bankruptcy estate is suing BitMEX for $495 million over 2020 liquidations. The claim alleges BitMEX’s conduct during the March 2020 market crash contributed to cascading liquidations that damaged Celsius’s position. The suit is one of the larger recovery actions still working through the Celsius estate and could resurface uncomfortable questions about how BitMEX managed its order books during that period. coindesk

CoinEx is shutting down after nine years, giving users until December to withdraw funds. The Hong Kong-founded exchange cited a prolonged market downturn and mounting compliance costs as the reasons for closure, ending a run that started in December 2017. Users have roughly three months to move assets before the platform winds down completely. decrypt

Revolut breach extortion: hackers demanding $3 million in Monero or they sell customer data. The threat actors are leveraging privacy coin payment demands specifically to complicate any fund-tracing effort. Revolut has not confirmed the scope of the data involved. The privacy angle is worth flagging for any firm holding customer data that interacts with Revolut’s ecosystem. coindesk

HBO Max’s Reddit account hijacked to run crypto-stealing malware ads. Attackers pushed 108 malicious advertisements through the verified streaming account, directing users toward fake software downloads designed to drain wallets. The vector highlights how verified social accounts remain high-value targets for distribution, regardless of the underlying brand’s crypto relevance. decrypt

Hamas donor guidance in DOJ filing names Bybit and OKX as preferred Binance alternatives. A new DOJ filing shows the Hamas military wing internally advised donors to avoid sending crypto directly from Binance and to route funds through competing exchanges instead. The disclosure is likely to invite further scrutiny of those platforms’ compliance frameworks, even though the guidance reflects donor behaviour rather than any exchange fault. coindesk

Clarity Act is stalled but not buried, with SEC and CFTC moving to fill the vacuum fast. CFTC Chair Mike Selig said his agency is ready to ship rules now, and Bernstein expects both the SEC and CFTC to move aggressively given the time lost in legislative negotiations. JPMorgan called the bill’s passage this Congress extremely narrow, while Senator Gillibrand said Democrats remain committed and a lame-duck attempt is being discussed. The practical result is that industry should model for agency rulemaking rather than a statute in the near term. theblock theblock theblock cointelegraph_regulation cointelegraph_regulation decrypt

House Ways and Means passed a federal crypto tax framework 38 to 5, one day after the Senate setback. The bill reshapes tax treatment for stablecoins, staking, lending, and on-chain transactions, including an exemption for qualifying fees from gain-or-loss calculations. Coin Center has flagged that the bill mishandles the tax treatment of block rewards, perpetuating an IRS framing it considers legally incorrect. The bill now goes to the full House. theblock cointelegraph_regulation coindesk decrypt coincenter

House committee advances a bill to codify Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The American Reserve Modernization Act moved to committee markup, aiming to give the administration’s informal executive order a statutory basis. Passage would make the reserve permanent and harder for a future administration to unwind without congressional action. theblock cryptobriefing

UK FCA published crypto authorisation guidance two weeks before the application window opens. The guidance clarifies which activities require registration and explicitly extends the requirement to overseas firms serving UK retail customers. Firms that want to operate from October must apply now, but no trading under the new rules begins until October 2027, giving a one-year transition runway. UK banks are still broadly blocking crypto payments in the interim. cointelegraph_regulation decrypt cryptobriefing

What else is grinding?

• Bitcoin Core 32 has entered final testing, bringing faster block validation, fee estimation changes, and several security fixes ahead of an expected October release. coindesk decrypt
• Zcash holders voted overwhelmingly to adopt faster transaction finality and a Bitcoin-style halving schedule, signalling a community willing to make structural changes to stay competitive. coindesk
• Ethereum and Base abandoned efforts to agree on a shared wallet standard after months of talks, leaving wallet fragmentation across the ecosystem unresolved. coindesk
• Underdog has sued Connecticut to block the state’s cease-and-desist orders against sports prediction market platforms, a list that also includes Polymarket and Coinbase. theblock
• The SEC proposed rescinding Rule 14a-8, which governs shareholder proposals, arguing the existing rule exceeds the commission’s statutory authority and intrudes on state corporate law. sec_press
• Ethena’s CEO outlined a shift for USDe collateral toward AAA-rated assets, a move aimed at institutional adoption that trades some yield headroom for perceived stability. cryptobriefing

Last sip. Goldman’s October hike forecast landed before markets had finished pricing in today’s one. The next FOMC window is already casting a shadow.