Daily Briefing
The market this morning
Bitcoin reclaims its 50-week average and clears $81,000 as Korean banks push settlement onto blockchain
Good morning. Bitcoin traded at $81,670, up 1.61756% over 24 hours and 5% over seven days, with a market capitalisation of $1,640,871,152,847. CoinDesk reported the price rose above $81,000 through the Asian session. Both CoinDesk and Cointelegraph flagged the same technical event: Bitcoin has cleared its 50-week moving average. CoinDesk described it as topping the average for the first time in 45 weeks and called it a major bullish signal. Cointelegraph reported the move has historically marked the end of bear markets, but added that analysts say one weekly close is not enough to confirm a new bull run. The two readings are best held side by side.
Away from price, Korean institutions moved settlement onto blockchain. Cointelegraph reported the Bank of Korea launched a 24-hour won settlement pilot letting foreign investors settle won transactions during business hours in their home countries. Cointelegraph, citing a report, also said Hana Bank used Euroclear's blockchain infrastructure for a $100 million, five-year digital bond that reportedly shortened settlement from three to five business days to the same day.
Elsewhere, The Block reported ZetaChain voted to shut down its Layer 1 network and move ZETA to Solana, with the team planning to focus on its private AI app Anuma; one more vote is still required. CoinDesk reported NEAR jumped 23% on Zcash swap traffic. Ether traded at $2,663.52, up 3.48453% over 24 hours; XRP was at $1.44, up 3.92359%; BNB at $772.75.
On risk, Cointelegraph reported North Korean group WaterPlum used fake recruiter jobs to infect at least 30,000 devices across more than 100 countries and steal $10.7 million in crypto. CoinDesk reported Kalshi responded to "fake crypto volume" allegations after a critic flagged identical $5,500 trades, saying its headline volume reflects an industry convention tracking maximum potential payouts rather than cash spent. In Cointelegraph's Hodler's Digest, Standard Chartered says Arbitrum's price could increase 70 times by 2030.
What to watch: whether Bitcoin holds the 50-week level into a second weekly close, and the outstanding ZetaChain migration vote.
Zoom out: On a day of rising prices, CoinDesk reported that regional equities and U.S. stock futures also rose on progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
The market at a glance
BTC $81,670 (+1.62%) · ETH $2,663.52 (+3.48%) · USDT $1.00 (+0.02%) · BNB $772.75 (+2.79%) · XRP $1.44 (+3.92%)
Taken from coingecko at 2026-09-21T06:50:10.000Z.
What we're tracking
Sources
- Bank of Korea launches 24-hour won settlement pilot for foreign investors Cointelegraph
- Kalshi faces ‘fake crypto volume’ allegations as critic flags identical $5,500 trades CoinDesk
- ZetaChain votes to shut down Layer 1 network and move ZETA to Solana The Block
- Bitcoin reclaims 50-week moving average: Is the bear market over? Cointelegraph
- Hana Bank taps Euroclear blockchain for $100M bond issuance: Report Cointelegraph
- Bitcoin rises above $81,000, while NEAR jumps 23% on Zcash swap traffic CoinDesk
- Bitcoin’s price has cleared a key hurdle that has historically preceded major bull runs CoinDesk
- North Korean fake recruiters infect 30K devices, steal $10.7M in crypto Cointelegraph
- Who needs CLARITY anyway? ARB could see 70X increase: Hodler’s Digest Cointelegraph