Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Crypto VC funding: HIFI raises $37M, Atum secures $13.5M

Crypto and blockchain companies announced more than $104.2 million across eight disclosed financings from Sep. 19 to Sep. 25, 2026.　　SummaryEight disclosed transactions brought in more than $104.2 million, including $25 million from a public stock offering.HIFI raised $37 million in a Series A led by Left Lane Capital.Forward Industries completed a $25 million registered direct offering for its Solana treasury strategy.Atum launched with $13.5 million from investors including Variant and PayPal Ventures.Stablecoin payments accounted for several of the largest private financings.　　HIFI‘s $37 million Series A was the largest venture round. The total also includes Forward Industries’ $25 million registered direct stock offering, which is public-company financing rather than venture capital.　　Atum‘s $13.5 million raise and MeshWallet’s $10 million private round put payment infrastructure among the weeks largest deals. The total is a floor because infiniFi described its new round as more than $3 million. Two other tracked investments had no disclosed amount.　　The inventory draws on DropsTab‘s funding table and DefiLlama’s raises database, with material deals checked against company announcements, filings, and crypto.news coverage. The total counts new financing announced during the reporting period. It excludes acquisitions, older rounds, and valuations.　　You might also like:　　Crypto VC funding: Kaiko leads $180M week　　HIFI raises $37

09-26Industry

SEC staff clarifies when staking tokens may avoid securities rules

SEC staff has clarified when staking receipt tokens may be treated as digital tools rather than securities under U.S. law, alongside new answers on wrapped assets, token buybacks, and functional crypto networks.　　The Securities and Exchange Commission‘s Division of Corporation Finance issued the FAQs on Sep. 25 to explain parts of the agency’s March interpretation of federal securities law. The answers describe how the staff would classify certain tokens and assess an issuers promises to buyers; they are neither a new rule nor a Commission decision.　　For staking receipts, the staff focused on what the token gives its holder. If it serves as proof of ownership of an underlying digital commodity that is not subject to an investment contract, the receipt is a digital tool under the circumstances set out in the March interpretation.　　A receipt issued by a protocol-based liquid staking provider may also be classified as a digital commodity when its value is linked to the operation of a functional crypto system and market supply and demand.　　When SEC staff treats a staking token as a receipt　　In the FAQs, staff described a receipt as proof that a stated amount of an asset has been deposited while the holder retains ownership. It does

09-26Industry

EU faces September 30 clock to decide future of DeFi loans

The European Banking Authority has asked the European Commission to examine new MiCA rules for crypto firms that connect customers to DeFi loans.　　Its September 24 response calls for a cost-benefit analysis of possible duties for intermediated borrowing and lending, and for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) that give clients access to DeFi lending through interfaces or products.　　A loan can run on an on-chain protocol while a company supplies the app that brings a customer to it. The EBA‘s recommendation puts that company-controlled route within the Commission’s review, and it is a request to assess legislation, so the EBAs response itself changes no lending rule.　　The regulator said consumer risks prompted its call to examine the issue.　　The EBAs MiCA review maps potential CASP roles in DeFi lending, while direct smart-contract use remains unresolved and no new rule is enacted.　　The EBA identified two possible changes. The first would add intermediating crypto borrowing and lending to MiCAs list of CASP services, while the second would set requirements for CASPs facilitating access to DeFi lending protocols, whether through an interface or a product offering exposure to DeFi.　　The Commission would need to weigh the scale of these activities, retail participation and the seriousness of the risks before

09-26Industry

Polygon price rises 12% since 100M POL burn—can it hold above $0.11？

Polygons POL token has gained nearly 12%since the network permanently removed 100 million tokensfrom circulation on September 23.　　The price has climbed to around $0.113, but its next challenge is holding above the $0.11price level and overcoming resistance near the $0.115price area.　　Polygon permanently removes 100M POL　　Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal confirmed that the network had completed the burn, which removed about 1% of POLs total supply.　　The on-chain transaction shows that 100 million POL, worth around $10.22 millionat the time, was destroyed on September 23.　　When there is a burn, it permanently removes crypto from circulation. The idea is that if the available supply is reduced, the remaining tokens will become more scarce, but this is if demand is steady or increases.　　The tokens that were burned were from network fees that had accumulated inside Polygons fee-collection system.　　The burn also introduces a process that allows the community to trigger future fee-funded burns. This connects the amount removed from circulation more closely to activity on the Polygon network.　　POL approaches an important price barrier　　POL was trading near the $0.113price area at the time of this writing. It was up by about 11.6%from its level around the burn date.　　It briefly reached the $0.11497 price area during the

09-26Industry

Brazil targets self-custody crypto with $10K reporting rule, 24-hour transfer delay

Brazil crypto rules are set to get tougher in Q4 2025 and get even stricter from next year.　　The Central Bank of Brazils order this week formally expands reporting requirements for crypto transfers above $10K across self-custody wallets.　　Here, its worth noting that the new reporting regime is not strictly on crypto transfers. Any payments or funds transfers via foreign exchange or local cash above R$50,000.00 (about $10K) must be reported.　　In the statement, the Central Bank of Brazil said the move is aimed at “preventing the use of the financial system for money laundering, concealment of assets or financing of terrorism.” The rule will be effective from 1st October.　　However, the scrutiny over crypto assets has intensified.　　Brazil imposes 24-hour delay for crypto transfers　　Last month, Brazil imposed a mandatory 24-hour delay for crypto transfers. According to the countrys central bank, the move is aimed at minimizing harm to victims of fraud, while also helping law enforcement rein in anti-money laundering (AML) or illicit flows.　　It argued that the instant settlement nature of crypto transfers makes it challenging to catch fraudsters and block illicit flows in time. The rule will go into effect in January 2027.　　The surprising part, however, is the countrys plan to integrate with

09-26Industry

Galaxy Digital Puts $100M of sUSDS Into Corporate Treasury

Key TakeawaysGalaxy put $100M of Skys sUSDS into its treasury and approved it as institutional loan collateral.The move brings DeFi yield into a $1.4B loan book, expanding sUSDS as institutional infrastructure.Sky must show sUSDS can scale with public-company treasuries as supply tops $5.52B.　　Galaxy Puts DeFi Yield on Its Balance Sheet　　Galaxy Digital is putting real treasury capital behind one of DeFis largest savings products.　　The Nasdaq-listed digital-asset firm has added $100 million of sUSDS, Sky Protocols yield-bearing savings token, to its corporate treasury. Galaxy also approved sUSDS as eligible collateral across its institutional trading business, which serves more than 1,600 counterparties.　　Galaxy funded the position using its own balance sheet. It also acquired an undisclosed amount of SKY, the governance token of Sky Protocol, according to the announcement.　　The deal is significant because it moves sUSDS beyond crypto-native savings and into the treasury operations of a public company.　　Galaxy Turns sUSDS Into Institutional Collateral　　Under the arrangement, Galaxy clients can post sUSDS against loans while continuing to earn the Sky Savings Rate on the full amount for the duration of the loan.　　That creates a potentially more efficient use of capital. Instead of choosing between earning yield and using an asset as collateral, institutional clients can do

09-26Industry

Swiss bank shields Bitget institutions while retail funds freeze

Bitget says about $387.5 million in assets was transferred to attacker-controlled addresses during a Sept. 24 wallet breach. Its withdrawals remained suspended in notices issued through Sept. 25, even as deposits and trading continued.　　Related Company Bitget Trading platform for crypto products　　On the day of the breach, Sygnum announced that Bitgets institutional clients could trade against collateral held at the Swiss bank instead of placing that collateral in Bitgets wallets.　　The juxtaposition puts a question behind the promise of off-exchange custody: which assets sit beyond an exchange wallet breach, and what still depends on the exchange when trading or withdrawals are disrupted？　　Sygnums route is for eligible institutional clients who onboard with its bank. The companies have not disclosed how many Bitget clients use it or whether any Sygnum-held collateral was connected to this incident.　　A breach alongside a new custody route　　Bitget said its systems detected unauthorized transfers at 18:31 UTC on Sept. 24. Its initial notice placed the affected funds at about $351.6 million and said the breach reached portions of its hot and warm wallet layers, while cold wallets remained secure.　　In a Sept. 25 update, Bitget raised the estimated assets transferred to attacker-controlled addresses to about $387.5 million after including Zcash and

09-26Industry

Why is Backpack [BP] crypto up？ RWA rebound, 73x short liquidations & more…

Backpack [BP] rallied more than 43% in the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly gains above 121%. During this period, the price of BP went on to make a new peak value of about $1.3994.　　Even in trends, BP led all other coins in social sentiment. Other factors that contributed to this sharp uptick in price were volume and total assets deployed.　　Analyzing resurgence in RWA-themed coins　　First, there was a market-wide resurgence in the real-world asset (RWA) sector, with BP leading all in daily gains, according to CoinGecko. Other RWA-themed coins that came close were Ondo Finance [ONDO] and Quant [QNT], of which both grew over 25%.　　The uptrend was amplified by a spike in perpetual liquidations of shorts, which was 73 times bigger than that of longs.　　Further analysis of the protocol, which is built on Solana [SOL], unmasked more metrics.　　For instance, Total Assets deployed on BP reached a new high of $604.75 million. Over the past week, the average daily asset transfer count reached 1 million.　　As a result, asset holders surged by 204%, surpassing the 242K mark, as per Token Terminal.　　Additionally, the monthly token trading volume surged by 175%, to about $157 million. But from a daily perspective, the volume had quadrupled

09-26Industry

EBA Urges Crypto Lending Rules In MiCA Review

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has asked Brussels to strengthen its crypto rulebook, publishing its response to the European Commissions targeted consultation on the review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) on September 24. MiCA has been in full effect since December 30, 2024, but the regulator argues the sector is evolving too quickly for the framework to stand still, and it lists lending, stablecoins, asset classification and reporting among the areas that need work.　　Crypto lending and DeFi in scope　　The EBAs most concrete request is for the Commission to consider regulating crypto-asset lending, including where crypto-asset service providers give customers access to decentralised lending protocols. It frames the move as a consumer-protection measure, warning that lending risks currently sit outside the perimeter MiCA was designed to cover and that borrowers and lenders have little of the disclosure and safeguards applied elsewhere in the market.　　Multi-issuer stablecoins and reserve rules　　On stablecoins, the EBA points to third-country multi-issuer schemes as a source of significant to very significant risk and recommends regulatory changes to contain them. It also wants a fresh look at reserve requirements, in particular the minimum amount of reserves issuers must hold as bank deposits, while preserving effective risk management.

09-26Industry

ECB Seeks to Link TIPS Payment System With Brazil's Pix

Key TakeawaysThe ECB is exploring a link between TIPS and Brazils Pix to enable faster, cheaper EU-Brazil payments.Connecting the systems creates a low-cost alternative to SWIFT, reducing reliance on US dollar networks.The ECB plans further links with Indias UPI and Swiss networks to expand global euro payment reach.　　Europe to Test Interlinking Its Payment System With Brazils Pix　　The ECB is taking the first steps to expand its payments infrastructure by linking its systems to other international payment networks.　　On Thursday, the bank announced that it was evaluating the feasibility of interlinking the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform with Brazils Pix, a national rapid payment network, as part of the G20 cross-border payments roadmap. In a press release, the institution declared it would “explore the potential for interlinking TIPS and Pix by assessing technical, operational, legal, and business considerations”in close collaboration with the Central Bank of Brazil.　　As economic flows between the EU and Brazil grow, the ECB highlighted that this connection could enable faster, lower-cost instant payments for both retail and institutional users in the two regions. Brazil is the EUs tenth-largest partner, with over €87 billion (nearly $100 billion) in bilateral trade registered in 2025.　　While TIPS currently settles real-time payments in

09-26Industry

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