Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Bitcoin Price Surges Over $81,000

Bitcoins price on Friday shot above $81,000 — despite a week of setbacks for the crypto industry.　　The biggest coin was recently trading for $80,982, after jumping as high as $81,055 at one point Friday morning in New York. Over the past 24 hours, it has risen by nearly 6%.　　Its surge comes after lawmakers on Tuesday blocked long-awaited crypto legislation, the Clarity Act, and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates.　　Digital asset industry bigwigs had long called for clear rules to regulate the crypto space and the Clarity Act — which wants to divide oversight between regulators — aimed to do that. But lawmakers blocked the landmark digital asset market structure bill in a procedural vote.　　And the Federal Reserve increased borrowing costs for the first time due to skyrocketing inflation in the U.S. The central bank‘s chair, Kevin Warsh, said that price stability in the U.S. was the Fed’s number one priority.　　“The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long,” Warsh said. “This summers inflation readings do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved.”　　Bitcoin has in the past done well in a low interest rate environment because it means there is more

09-19Industry

Fake AI Bot Tutorials Tricked 224 Victims Into Deploying Their Own Drainers

Fake YouTube tutorials promising AI-built crypto arbitrage bots led 224 victims to deploy and fund their own malicious smart contracts, draining 274.60 ETH between Feb. 12 and Aug. 11, TRM Labs said in a Sept. 14 analysis.　　The blockchain intelligence firm said it found 234 victim-deployed contracts feeding six operator-controlled collection addresses. It valued the stolen ETH at about $517,205 at the time of the transfers and put the median loss at 1 ETH.　　Discover more　　Machine Learning Claude was used only to market the scheme.　　One compiler site tried to extract a second payment after the initial drain by displaying an invented “gas nonce liquidity” error and telling the victim to add another 50% of the original deposit, up to 1 ETH. TRM said the term is not an Ethereum concept and the message was designed to prompt another transfer.　　The nine videos remained online as of September and had accumulated 310,474 views, according to TRM. The firm also identified earlier versions of the scheme that used ChatGPT as the lure in 2025, showing how operators could change the AI branding without changing the underlying theft mechanism.

09-19Industry

Why is Litecoin rising？

Litecoin (LTC) extends its gains on Friday, exchanging hands at $55.00. The 28th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $4.3 billion, has notched a third straight session of recovery from the critical $50.00 support zone.　　Continued momentum here could pave the way for a decisive breakout above $60.00, reinforced by a strong cluster of moving averages.　　Retail demand props Litecoin gains　　Litecoin derivatives market remains steady, attracting 7.5 million LTC in perpetual futures Open Interest (OI) on Friday, up from 7.4 million LTC the day before. More broadly, the metric has steadily recovered in recent months, underscoring growing appetite for risk assets.　　LTC Futures OI | Source: CoinGlass　　Moreover, Litecoin OI-weighted funding rate remains positive, indicating bulls are willing to pay a premium in fees to keep their long positions open, anticipating a potential move above $60.00.　　LTC OI-Weighted Funding Rate | Source: CoinGlassTechnical analysis: Litecoin bulls tighten grip as price ticks up　　Litecoin trades at $55.00, maintaining a constructive bullish bias as price stays above key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs). The 50-day EMA at $50.18, the 100-day EMA at $49.49 and the 200-day EMA at $53.52 all sit below spot, suggesting an underlying supportive trend structure.　　Still, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is turning negative and

09-19Industry

BlackRocks Ethereum ETF is down nearly 27% since launch as it prepares for a reverse stock split

As BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) prepares for a 1-for-3 reverse share split, during the second week of October 2026, its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has fallen nearly 27% since its inception through September 18.　　On Friday, BlackRocks ETHA traded at about $19.47. As such, ETHA has tumbled 26.78% from its debut price of $26.59 on July 23, 2024.　　Discover more　　Economics　　Digital Currencies　　Merchant Services & Payment Systems　　ETHAs all-time chart. Source: TradingView　　BlackRocks ETHA has followed Ethereum (ETH) price action since its launch as designed. However, ETH price has toppled 25.76% during this period, signaling that ETHA has slightly higher volatility.　　ETH/USD chart since ETHA launched. Source: TradingView　　On October 6, 2026, BlackRock expects to split its ETHA via a 1-for-3 reverse share split. This fund manager is making this move to reduce trading friction, narrow bid-ask spreads for market makers, and lower overall execution costs for investors by elevating the funds nominal share price.　　With ETHA having a reported 467,680,000 shares outstanding, BlackRock plans to reduce this to roughly 155,893,333 shares. Consequently, ETHA holders will see their holdings decline by a third, but the value will remain unchanged.　　BlackRocks Ethereum ETF holdings　　At the time of reporting, BlackRocks ETHA has a total of 3,510,369 ETH, valued at around $8.6

09-19Industry

SUI Price Prediction: Sub-Dollar Coil Ready to Snap — $0.84 or Bust

Terrill Dicki　　Sep 18, 2026 09:55　　SUI surged 7.93% to $0.78 as smart money stacks longs and the 200-day SMA at $0.84 looms as the definitive make-or-break level; a clean break above $0.81 opens a near-term shot at $0.84–$1.00, but …　　SUIs 8% Surge Is Real — But the Actual Test Starts Now　　Todays 7.93% move is not noise. After weeks of grinding along sub-$0.75 compression territory, SUI has reclaimed its short-term moving averages in a single session, clocking $0.78 against a 24-hour low of $0.72. Thats a clean sweep of the 7-day, 20-day, and 50-day simple moving averages in one burst — the kind of price action that shifts market structure from drift to directional intent.　　Context matters here. SUI has been bleeding out below its 200-day SMA sitting at $0.84, a level that has capped every meaningful rally attempt for months. The broader Layer-1 and DeFi token landscape has been stuck in exactly the same trap: structurally interesting fundamentals crushed under a macro crypto environment that‘s still waiting for Bitcoin to make a decisive move. SUI trades with tight BTC correlation, and any sustained Bitcoin strength becomes a direct wind at SUI’s back. That‘s not a soft thesis — it’s how this market

09-19Industry

Researchers Earned $6,500 Breaching OpenAI With Anthropic's Claude

A rival‘s own AI model ended up doing the heavy lifting in a breach against OpenAI. Researchers at Hacktron AI used Anthropic’s Claude to write working exploit code.　　The entire intrusion took under 72 hours. OpenAI ultimately paid a $6,500 bounty once the team proved they had reached its private source code.　　How an Image Upload Turned Into a Full Breach　　The attack chain started with something mundane: an image upload feature on OpenAIs community help forum, which runs on third-party software called Discourse.　　A safety filter was supposed to screen uploaded files. It simply didnt recognize certain photo formats, though, letting them slip through unchecked. Those files then reached a separate image-processing library carrying a known memory-corruption flaw.　　Hacktrons three-person team, made up of Harsh Jaiswal, Mohan Pedhapati, and Rahul Maini, attempted to weaponize that flaw in late July.　　Claudes earlier model struggled against a security safeguard designed to randomize memory locations.　　Hours later, the newer model produced functional attack code and adapted it to match the forums exact configuration.　　Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens.　　How Claude Helped Researchers Earn $6,500 Breaching OpenAI. Source: Hacktron AI　　That alone granted access only to the forum‘s servers, not to OpenAI itself. A second, unrelated

09-19Industry

Ethereum Gets Cheaper: Network Fees Collapse Over 85% as ETH Price Rebounds

Lower Ethereum fees are removing a major cost barrier, as Fusaka, higher blob throughput, and Layer 2s reshape network usage.　　ETH witnessed a notable recovery after briefly plunging near $2,350 this week. The leading altcoin has since climbed over $2,480. At the same time, its transaction fees have fallen sharply, making the network cheaper to use.　　The average cost per ETH transfer has dropped to around $0.095 from this year‘s peak of $0.72 on April 21, according to Santiment’s findings.　　Ethereum Gets Cheaper　　The decline comes as mainnet demand softened during the bearish summer. However, network upgrades have also increased Ethereum‘s capacity. Fusaka, higher blob throughput, and a 60 million gas limit have helped the network handle more activity. At the same time, Layer 2 solutions are processing large amounts of transactions that previously competed for Ethereum’s mainnet blockspace.　　Lower fees could make Ethereum more accessible for users and developers, according to Santiment. Swaps, transfers, DeFi activity, stablecoin movements, and ERC-20 transactions can now be completed at a lower cost.　　The analytics platform said that cheap transactions do not necessarily mean demand is recovering. But it is important to note that lower costs remove one of Ethereums long-standing barriers. With ETH prices having recovered, cheaper network

09-19Industry

XRP Surges 6.9% as Bitcoin Rebound Reopens Door to Golden Cross

In briefXRP jumped 6.93% on the day, opening at $1.2964 and topping out at $1.4028 before settling near $1.3863—one of its sharpest single-day moves in weeks.The gap between XRPs 50-day and 200-day EMAs on the daily chart has narrowed to its tightest point since August 2024, and a golden cross could form as soon as mid-October if the current pace holds.That same crossover already happened on the noisier 4-hour chart back on August 21—but the gap has been closing instead of widening since then, a warning sign the daily golden cross isnt a lock.　　Crypto traders are breathing a little easier today. After a rough stretch defined by a Federal Reserve rate hike, the Senates 49-50 vote against advancing the Clarity Act, and a surprise rate hike from the Bank of Japan, Bitcoin has clawed its way back above $80,000.　　That recovery is showing up clearest in the altcoin space: Bitcoins dominance, or its share of total crypto market value, slipped from 64% to 59%, a sign that traders are rotating profits into smaller tokens.　　Myriad: Where does XRP go next？ Click to make your prediction.　　XRP, the cryptocurrency created by the co-founders of payments company Ripple, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of

09-19Industry

CLARITY Act failure could rebuild crypto middlemen: GenLayer CEO

A 50–49 Senate vote that stalled the CLARITY Act has raised the risk that crypto companies will rely on more custodians and permissioned systems, according to GenLayer Labs CEO Albert Castellana.　　SummaryThe Senate vote fell 10 votes short of the 60 needed to begin debate.Castellana said unclear rules could push companies toward custodians, restricted frontends and administrator keys.The GENIUS Act covers stablecoin issuance but leaves questions involving DeFi, wallets and trading.Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called the failed vote “a speed bump, not a roadblock.”　　GenLayer Labs CEO and co-founder Albert Castellana told crypto.news that the Senate result was disappointing because the proposal had been moving toward a principle he considers important: regulation should follow control.　　Entities that hold customer funds, decide who may transact, or stand between two parties perform a different role from developers who publish software or users who join an open network, according to Castellana.　　Without rules that recognize the difference, he said companies may respond by adding custodians, restricting access or placing another intermediary between users and blockchain applications.　　“Every one of those decisions can look reasonable on its own. But you do that enough times, and suddenly youve rebuilt most of the intermediaries crypto was supposed to get rid of.”　　You

09-19Industry

CFTC Kicks Off Crypto Rulemaking, Bypassing a Stalled Congress

In briefThe CFTC sent a prerule titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the White Houses OIRA for review.As an early-stage prerule, the text isnt public yet, but the move signals the CFTC intends to regulate crypto derivatives without waiting for Congress, days after the Clarity Act failed its Senate cloture vote.Both the CFTC and SEC are pressing ahead: The SEC issued a new tokenized-stock “innovation exemption” and the CFTC released no-action relief for crypto trading apps.　　The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is pushing ahead with its own crypto rulebook, sending a pair of digital-asset rulemakings to the White House for review just days after the Clarity Act collapsed in the Senate.　　According to a filing posted this week, the CFTC submitted a prerule titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the White House office that vets federal rules before agencies release them.　　Myriad: Will Congress pass the Clarity Act？ Click to make your prediction.　　As a prerule, the filing marks an early phase in the rulemaking process rather than a finished regulation, and OIRA review is a procedural step that precedes public release. The agency has not yet

09-19Industry

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