29th September 2026
By Anjali Kochhar
The crypto market is heading into the final week of September with security breaches, large wallet movements, stablecoin concerns and regulatory developments dominating headlines. The biggest story remains the Bitget hack, where attackers stole hundreds of millions of dollars before Circle and Tether managed to freeze a small portion of the funds.
At the same time, 1,700 Bitcoin worth about $142 million moved from Coinbase Institutional to an unidentified wallet, while South Korean regulators are considering changes to crypto market-making rules after a yen-backed stablecoin briefly traded several times above its intended value.
Here are the top crypto updates to watch.
Bitget hack expands to $387.5 million
Crypto exchange Bitget has raised its estimate of the assets affected in its September 24 security breach from approximately $351.6 million to $387.5 million. The revised figure includes additional assets transferred during the attack, including Zcash and TRON-related movements.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the breach affected parts of the exchange’s hot and warm wallet infrastructure, while its cold wallets and customer funds remained secure. The exchange said its user protection fund held more than $464 million and would be used to cover the losses.
According to Bitget, the attackers compromised a backend system, manipulated transaction data and triggered authorization procedures that allowed the unauthorized transfers. The company has said the incident was not caused by a private-key compromise.
The attack has also been linked by various reports to North Korean hacking groups, although attribution remains a matter of investigation rather than an established fact.
Circle and Tether freeze only $318,000
Circle and Tether were able to stop a small portion of the stolen funds by blacklisting a wallet associated with the attacker.
The wallet, identified as “Bitget Exploiter 8” on Etherscan, contained around 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC, worth approximately $318,000 combined. Circle blacklisted the address first, followed by Tether several hours later. The incident highlights an important distinction between different crypto assets. USDC and USDT have issuer-level controls that allow Circle and Tether to blacklist specific addresses. Ether, however, does not have a central issuer with the ability to freeze individual coins.
The same wallet also held roughly 170 ETH, while other addresses connected to the exploit reportedly held more than 63,000 ETH. Those assets cannot simply be frozen by Circle or Tether.The hacker has also continued moving stolen XRP. Around $83 million worth of XRP was moved from three wallets, while roughly $75 million remained across the original holding accounts as of September 26. Ripple cannot directly freeze XRP because it is the native asset of the XRP Ledger.
Bitget has said customer balances remain unaffected and that withdrawals are being restored in stages beginning September 28, with different assets scheduled to return over the following days.
$142 million Bitcoin moves from Coinbase Institutional
Another major transaction has caught the attention of crypto trackers.
Approximately 1,700 BTC, valued at around $142 million, was transferred from Coinbase Institutional to an unidentified wallet. The transaction was flagged by blockchain tracker Whale Alert.
Large transfers from institutional platforms can have several explanations. They can involve movement into private or cold storage, internal custody arrangements, portfolio rebalancing or preparations for over-the-counter transactions.
Therefore, the transfer alone does not establish whether the Bitcoin was being sold or accumulated.
The movement comes after Bitcoin recently climbed above $86,000 earlier in September. On September 28, Bitcoin was trading around the $84,000 area, while Ether was near $2,674, according to market reporting. Around $187 million in crypto positions had been liquidated over a 24-hour period.
South Korea considers crypto market-making changes
South Korea is also reviewing its approach to crypto market makers following an unusual price move involving JPYC, a yen-backed stablecoin.
JPYC, which is designed to maintain a value linked to the Japanese yen, surged dramatically after being listed on Upbit earlier this month. Reports said it briefly traded at around 37.6 Korean won, compared with an intended value of roughly 12 won, representing a price several times above its expected level.
The sharp move has renewed questions about liquidity on crypto exchanges and the role of professional market makers.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is considering a market-making system for digital assets. Industry participants have also called for stronger liquidity safeguards covering areas such as initial circulation, redemptions, secondary-market liquidity and disclosures when stablecoins move significantly away from their intended values.
The JPYC episode has therefore become part of a broader discussion around how stablecoins should be introduced and traded in local markets.
Binance invests $100 million in Circle
Stablecoins are also attracting major institutional interest.
Binance announced on September 22 that it had invested $100 million in Circle, the company behind USDC. The two companies also expanded and renewed their strategic partnership for five years.
Under the expanded arrangement, Binance plans to promote USDC across its global platform, particularly in emerging markets, while Circle will continue providing infrastructure supporting the stablecoin.
The deal comes as competition between major dollar-backed stablecoins continues to grow and exchanges increasingly look at stablecoins as a key part of trading, payments and financial products.
Crypto regulation faces another setback in the US
Meanwhile, the US crypto industry is dealing with uncertainty after the Clarity Act, a major proposed digital-asset market structure bill, failed to secure enough support in the Senate.
A Wall Street Journal report described a dispute involving Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and lawmakers during negotiations over the legislation. The bill had been intended to establish a broader regulatory framework for digital assets but faced disagreements involving crypto companies, banks and lawmakers. The setback leaves the US crypto sector waiting for greater clarity over how different digital assets and businesses will be regulated.
For the crypto market, the final days of September are therefore being shaped by two very different developments: institutional money continues moving through the ecosystem, while major hacks and regulatory disputes are highlighting the risks and unresolved questions surrounding digital assets.
