ChainCatcher

According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, Italy's second-largest bank, UniCredit, is considering expanding its digital asset services, including cryptocurrency custody. Headquartered in Milan, UniCredit is selecting technology providers to build the infrastructure needed to hold digital assets and support their buying and selling.The report states that tokenized investment products, fixed-income securities, the use of stablecoins, and exposure to cryptocurrencies are all under consideration. Meanwhile, other banks in Europe are also expanding their crypto services: Spain's BBVA has launched Bitcoin trading and custody for all customers through its app, and Santander's Openbank has also introduced trading services; Germany's Deutsche Bank is collaborating with Bitpanda's technology department to build a custody business.The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) provides a legal definition, regulatory bodies, and a familiar obligation framework for banks to launch crypto services. Additionally, UniCredit is one of 37 banks from 15 European countries that are jointly creating a company called Qivalis, aimed at issuing a euro stablecoin. Last year, the bank also offered structured products linked to the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to professional clients, providing full loss protection.

According to a report by CNBC citing the latest financial disclosure documents, Kevin Hassett, the Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the White House, holds between $1 million and $5 million in Coinbase stock as of the end of 2025. Previously, Hassett served as an advisor to Coinbase from 2021 until January 2025, before joining the White House. Since the disclosure documents only cover holdings up to the end of 2025, it cannot be confirmed whether he still holds these shares.This investment has raised concerns because the NEC plays an important role in the cryptocurrency agenda of the Trump administration. Three days after Trump returned to the White House, a digital asset market working group was established within the NEC, responsible for developing regulatory, banking, stablecoin, and tax proposals for cryptocurrencies. Hassett stated that he has avoided cryptocurrency-related matters after consulting with government ethics officials, and the White House claimed he "has always and continues to fully comply with all ethical requirements." However, former SEC ethics lawyer Kantor pointed out that this holding constitutes a "significant conflict of interest" or at least presents the appearance of a conflict. Coinbase spent millions of dollars in the 2024 U.S. elections, and its CEO maintains direct contact with Trump and senior officials.

The wealthiest state in India, Maharashtra, is formulating policies to tokenize state government assets (including power transmission infrastructure), with the funds raised to be used for constructing new transmission lines and energy storage facilities. The Chief Minister's Chief Economic Advisor and CEO of the Maharashtra Transformation Institute (MITRA), Praveen Pardeshi, introduced this plan at an invitation-only event called "The Box Launch," hosted by the real estate tokenization company RealX and MST Blockchain at the Mumbai World Trade Center.Pardeshi stated that transmission lines could be partially tokenized, for example, 40% to 50%, allowing investors holding tokens to receive a portion of the revenue from Maharashtra Transco. The new funds generated from token sales could be used to build more transmission lines and solar energy storage centers. He pointed out that the state currently has a significant surplus of solar power but lacks the grid capacity to deliver it to where it is needed; distribution companies must pay high prices of 16 to 18 rupees per unit during peak hours, while the price during surplus periods on the power exchange is only 2 paise per unit.He also illustrated the practice of real estate tokenization with the example of the Mumbai Express Towers commercial building tokenized under a REIT structure, emphasizing that tokenization does not equate to privatization but rather allows more citizens to participate in the development activities of public asset creation. Additionally, the state is drafting the Maharashtra Digital and Land Token Asset Trading Act (DELTA Act), which, if passed, will make it the first state in India to legislate for blockchain-based property tokenization.

Bonk Guy posted on the X platform stating that if a prediction must be made, PONS may ultimately become the first practical token in this cycle to surpass a market capitalization of 1 billion dollars, while USELESS may become the first meme coin in this cycle to surpass a market capitalization of 1 billion dollars.

According to the official page, Robinhood Crypto has launched INDEX and COOPERATIVE.

Circle announced that it will stop supporting USDC and CCTP V1 on the Noble blockchain, and Noble will not connect to CCTP V2. Starting from October 13, 2026, Circle Mint will cease minting new USDC on Noble, while redemptions will remain open until January 12, 2027.Thereafter, the USDC contracts and CCTP routing on Noble will be fully suspended. Circle advises users to migrate their USDC on Noble to other supported networks before the deadline and will take a snapshot of the remaining balances at the time of suspension, initiating a manual redemption process on January 13, 2027.

Renowned trader Bonk Guy responded to recent doubts from the STONK community regarding his purchase of EMBER, stating that some community members believe his acquisition of another Launchpad token implies an attempt to challenge STONK's industry position. This reaction is "very exaggerated." The second-largest holder of STONK previously bought EMBER with a market value of 2.8 million dollars and continued to hold it for many days without facing any scrutiny; however, after Bonk Guy purchased EMBER at a valuation approximately six times his buying price, he was viewed as the "villain," clearly indicating a double standard.Bonk Guy emphasized that he remains optimistic about STONK, noting that he has primarily traded low market cap projects for a long time because he believes these assets have a higher risk-reward ratio. He rarely buys large market cap tokens, even if he is optimistic about their future performance. He also stated that his purchase of EMBER had no "PvP" (player versus player competition) intentions, asserting that STONK and EMBER can both succeed simultaneously. He believes that the notion that "there can only be one winner in a race" contradicts the essence of the cryptocurrency industry.

The founder of Liebit Mining Pool, Jiang Zhuoer, stated that he has sold 100% of his BTC position at the price of $77,226.

The seasonally unadjusted CPI in the United States for August recorded a monthly rate of 0.4%, the highest since June of this year, in line with expectations, with the previous value being 0.1%. The seasonally unadjusted CPI year-on-year for August recorded 3.4%, meeting expectations and unchanged from the previous value.

In August, the seasonally adjusted core CPI in the United States recorded a month-on-month increase of 0.3%, the highest since May of this year, exceeding market expectations of 0.2%, with the previous value being 0.2%. The year-on-year unadjusted core CPI in the United States for August fell to 2.4%, declining for three consecutive months, reaching the lowest level since April 2021, in line with expectations, with the previous value being 2.5%.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced on Thursday that three issuers raised a total of 102.5 million rupees (approximately 10.72 million USD) through its Demat 2 pilot program by issuing tokenized corporate bonds. This pilot utilizes distributed ledger technology to issue, hold, and settle corporate bonds.REC Ltd. was the first to issue on September 7, raising 50 million rupees (approximately 5.23 million USD) from 18 investors; L&T Ltd. raised a similar amount from 4 investors on September 9, and IIFL raised 25 million rupees (approximately 2.6 million USD) from 1 investor on the same day. SEBI stated that the pilot infrastructure records corporate bonds in the form of native digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the depository and achieves atomic settlement of bonds and funds through a unified market interface connected to the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency.This mechanism can reduce settlement risks arising from the separation of securities and funds transfer, allowing issuers to receive funds on the same day as the bidding, whereas the existing process typically takes two to three days. The regulator noted that the information of bondholders on the shared ledger is instantly visible to all authorized entities, and at maturity, e₹ payments will go directly into the bondholders' central bank digital currency wallets. SEBI clarified that this pilot does not create a new category of corporate bonds; tokenized bonds retain the same ISIN, issuer obligations, coupon, maturity, covenants, ratings, and investor rights as traditional paperless bonds. The pilot will be implemented in three phases, with the first phase covering institutional issuance, while secondary trading and retail access will be conducted in subsequent phases within SEBI's regulatory sandbox.

Japan-listed Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet announced the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary, Metaplanet Asset Management Asia Limited, as the group's trading execution and asset management hub in the Asia region, with an initial investment of 1 million USD, expected to be established in September 2026.The company will operate in coordination with Metaplanet Asset Management Inc. (MAM), which was previously established in Miami, USA, primarily responsible for trading execution and risk management operations such as position and market dynamics monitoring during the Asian trading hours, focusing on investment targets including Bitcoin, Bitcoin-related stocks, and preferred securities issued by Bitcoin treasury companies. This move is part of Metaplanet's strategy to advance the "Project Nova" Bitcoin financial platform, and the company expects this matter to have a slight impact on the consolidated performance for the period ending December 2026.

According to a report by Reuters, artificial intelligence company Zhipu has launched a Hong Kong stock placement of approximately 2 billion USD and a convertible bond issuance of about 3 billion USD, totaling a financing scale of around 5 billion USD. Zhipu will issue 21.97 million new shares at a placement price of 714 HKD per share, which is about a 10% discount compared to the closing price of 793 HKD; at the same time, it will issue 20.14 billion RMB (approximately 3 billion USD) zero-coupon convertible bonds, maturing in September 2027. The issuance price of the convertible bonds is 100% to 100.5% of face value, corresponding to a yield of -0.5% to 0%, with an initial conversion price of 892.5 HKD, which is a 25% premium over the placement price.The proceeds from the financing will mainly be used for research and development, computing power resources, and related infrastructure, as well as for business expansion, strategic investments, potential mergers and acquisitions, working capital, and other corporate purposes. This stock placement and convertible bond issuance will occur simultaneously, but the settlement of the two transactions is not interdependent.

Cryptocurrency trader Bonk Guy stated that a few days ago he posted to explain his shift towards a positive outlook on the Solana ecosystem, as he observed relevant leaders making cultural changes that he believes are beneficial for the long-term development of the ecosystem. Therefore, he bought the first Solana ecosystem token in a long time, and his next significant bet is on EMBER and its ecosystem.

Simply relying on narrative to elevate FDV has become a difficult path to pursue.

From the flourishing of a hundred flowers to collective shutdowns, the rise and fall of established Layer 1/2 is a microcosm of the development of the cryptocurrency industry over the past decade.

Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl stated that the U.S. CLARITY Act, aimed at establishing comprehensive rules for the cryptocurrency market, will face a procedural vote in the Senate on September 15, requiring 60 votes in support. With the Republican Party currently holding 53 seats, the advancement of this bill still requires Democratic support, and market predictions indicate a low probability of its passage by 2026.However, Grayscale believes that even if the CLARITY Act fails to pass within the year, progress in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation will not stagnate. Regulatory frameworks in areas such as stablecoins, token issuance, tokenized securities, and perpetual futures have gradually become clearer. Among them, the GENIUS Act has established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, the proposed rules by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may provide a clearer path for token financing, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also opened regulated channels for perpetual futures through Kalshi and Coinbase.

The top three issuers in the tokenized asset market account for 72%, with trading volume concentrated in a few venues such as Binance, and competition is shifting from the number of products to real liquidity and repeat trading.

According to informed sources, Chinese venture capital firm 5Y Capital is seeking to raise a new fund with a target size of approximately $600 million, aiming to complete the fundraising by early 2027, with the fundraising efforts set to begin later this year.5Y Capital is an early investor in Chinese tech companies such as Moonshot AI and Xiaomi. This fundraising will place it among a group of fund managers focusing on the Chinese market, introducing new startup investment opportunities to investors. The informed sources requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the information.

Chinese artificial intelligence company Moonshot AI aims to increase its annualized revenue to $2 billion by the end of this year, intensifying competition against rivals like Anthropic and Z.AI with breakthroughs from the Kimi K3 model.Insiders say the company recently informed investors that its annual recurring revenue exceeded $1 billion in August, up from $300 million in June. This leap was driven by the large-scale Kimi K3 model released in July, which ranked highly in performance benchmarks and is significantly cheaper than major competitors in the United States.