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.
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
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