Market Daily: Bitget freezes withdrawals after US$351.6m incident as stablecoin proposals advance

The day ahead

A serious exchange-security incident and a new stage in US stablecoin regulation lead today’s briefing. Bitget says unauthorised transfers affected approximately US$351.6 million in parts of its hot and warm wallet systems. It temporarily suspended withdrawals while deposits and trading remained operational. The exchange had not published its promised root-cause report by the cut-off.

Separately, the Federal Reserve has proposed two frameworks for payment stablecoin issuers supervised by its Board. These are consultation proposals, not rules already in force. They cover reserve assets, capital, risk management, safekeeping and the application process for supervised banks seeking to issue payment stablecoins.

Costco reported higher quarterly sales and profit, although US$0.15 of diluted earnings per share came from a non-recurring tariff-refund benefit. The US-China summit also completed a watch item from yesterday’s edition, but Reuters reported that the meeting did not produce a durable settlement of the principal tariff, rare-earth and technology disputes. The previous US session ended with higher Treasury yields and Brent above US$100; a UK confidence survey and a major Akamai–Anthropic cloud agreement add domestic and technology context.

The original edition’s news cut-off was 5:10:25am UTC, or 6:10:25am British Summer Time, on 25 September 2026. The developments added in the dated update below were public before that cut-off. The selected cryptocurrency observations were last updated at approximately 5:08:20am UTC and retrieved at 5:10:25am UTC. Crypto trades continuously, so those figures are not synchronised with traditional-market closing levels.

UK Market Update

UK consumer confidence improves before the London open

GfK’s September UK Consumer Confidence Barometer rose one point to −13, its highest reading since August 2024, according to Reuters reporting published at 11:04pm UTC on 24 September. A Reuters poll had pointed to −16. The improvement is relevant to retailers and consumer-facing companies, but a confidence survey measures sentiment rather than completed spending or company sales. It was available before this edition’s early cut-off; the usual 7am London company announcements were not.

Costco and trade policy offer indirect UK context

Two international developments have practical consequences for UK investors, although neither provides a direct measure of domestic company performance.

Costco’s results announcement says the group operates 29 warehouses in the United Kingdom. Its published sales figures are group and regional totals rather than a separate UK performance measure, so the reported group growth should not be treated as proof that UK sales grew at the same rate.

The unresolved US-China trade dispute matters to UK companies that source goods, electronics or industrial inputs through international supply chains. Reuters reported that the summit left tariffs, Chinese purchases, rare-earth supplies and technology restrictions for further negotiation. The extension announced before the summit gives more negotiating time, not permanent certainty about costs or market access.

The edition’s early cut-off also preceded the customary 7am London announcement period. Investors following UK companies should therefore check subsequent regulated announcements rather than treating the position at 6:10am British Summer Time as a description of the whole trading day.

US Market Update

US shares close mixed as Treasury yields rise

At the 24 September US close, the S&P 500 slipped to 7,704.13, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 51,349.98 and the Nasdaq Composite edged up to 26,939.37, according to Associated Press market reporting. The same report put the US 10-year Treasury yield at 5.20%, up from 5.11% late Wednesday. Those are prior-session closing observations, not live Friday prices. Higher yields can raise financing costs and change how investors value future earnings; these figures do not establish what moved Costco shares.

Costco’s sales rise, but part of the earnings gain was non-recurring

Costco reported net sales of US$93.9 billion for the 16 weeks ended 30 August 2026, an increase of 11.2% from US$84.4 billion a year earlier. Quarterly net income rose to US$2.998 billion, or US$6.75 per diluted share, from US$2.610 billion, or US$5.87 per diluted share. The company filed the completed results with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 24 September.

The distinction between recurring and non-recurring earnings is important. Costco said the latest quarter benefited by US$0.15 per diluted share from refunds of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, after part of those refunds was reinvested in increased value for members. That disclosed contribution should not be assumed to recur in a future quarter.

Comparable sales excluding changes in petrol prices and foreign-exchange rates increased 6.7% across the group. Digitally enabled comparable sales rose 19.8% on the same adjusted basis. Comparable sales measure performance from an established base and are not the same as total sales growth, which can also reflect new warehouses.

The practical question is whether customer activity, membership income and merchandise margins can sustain growth without another tariff refund. These results establish what happened in the completed quarter, not what the next quarter will deliver.

Global Markets

The US-China summit leaves major trade disputes unresolved

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on 24 September, completing an event that was still ahead at the previous edition’s cut-off. The two-month extension of the existing trade truce had already been announced on 23 September, before the meeting. An attributable Reuters report said the summit produced no durable settlement of the central disputes over tariffs, purchases, rare-earth supplies and technology restrictions.

The earlier extension moved the truce’s previous 10 November expiry to 10 January 2027. It gave manufacturers, retailers and technology companies more negotiating time, but no durable answer about future tariffs, export restrictions or supply conditions.

Reuters reported that US officials considered China behind on a pledge to buy US agricultural goods other than soybeans and said rare-earth deliveries were falling short. Those are reported US assessments rather than independently established measurements in this edition. They nevertheless identify the areas where later purchasing records, shipment data or formal policy documents could demonstrate whether the meeting produced practical progress.

The leaders also expressed different positions on artificial-intelligence governance rather than announcing a joint policy. Investors should distinguish diplomatic statements from implemented export controls, procurement rules or technical standards.

What the summit added

• The summit is now a completed event rather than a scheduled negotiation.
• No durable settlement of the central tariff, rare-earth or technology disputes was reported.
• The next useful evidence will be a dated policy document, purchasing record or export-control change.

Bonds, Currencies and Commodities

Treasury yields climb while Brent settles above US$100

The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury rose to 5.20% from 5.11% late Wednesday, according to Associated Press reporting on the 24 September close. Brent crude settled at US$100.22 a barrel, up 2.1% from the previous day. These dated, differently measured bond and oil observations describe Thursday’s market backdrop, not prices at this edition’s Friday morning cut-off. Rising yields generally make borrowing more expensive and can weigh on valuations, while oil-price changes can affect inflation and business costs. Neither single move proves the cause of a particular share-price change.

Stablecoin reserves could connect digital payments with Treasury markets

The Federal Reserve’s stablecoin proposals also have a potential connection to short-term government-bond demand. The GENIUS Act provides the statutory framework; the Board’s proposals would implement parts of it for Board-supervised issuers. The first proposal would require Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to back their tokens fully with specified reserve assets, including short-term US Treasury bills and certain other high-quality liquid assets.

If the proposal becomes a final rule and supervised stablecoin issuance grows, reserve requirements could add demand for short-dated government securities. That is a conditional structural implication, not a forecast for Treasury prices or yields. The effect would depend on the final framework, the scale of approved issuance and the reserve assets chosen by issuers.

The proposal would also establish standard capital requirements for certain credit and operational risks, risk-management standards and rules for firms safeguarding reserve assets. These details matter because maintaining a stablecoin’s intended value depends not only on the nominal amount of reserves but also on their liquidity, custody and availability when holders request redemption.

No comparable dated gold or copper quote is included. The unresolved rare-earth issue in the US-China negotiations remains relevant to industrial supply chains, but rare earths are a group of materials rather than a single quoted instrument.

Crypto

Bitget suspends withdrawals after unauthorised wallet transfers

Bitget says its security systems detected unauthorised transfers from some exchange hot wallets at 6:31pm UTC on 24 September. A hot wallet is connected to operational systems so an exchange can process transactions promptly. That convenience gives it a different exposure from cold storage kept offline.

In its security notice, Bitget estimated that approximately US$351.6 million was affected. It said the incident was confined to part of its hot and warm wallet layers and that its cold wallets remained secure. The exchange also said the loss was covered by its User Protection Fund, which it valued at more than US$464 million.

These are company statements, not an independent audit of the loss, the protection fund’s immediately available assets or the eventual customer outcome. The stated fund value exceeds the estimated incident amount, but that comparison alone does not establish liquidity, claim priority or when affected users will regain access.

Bitget temporarily suspended withdrawals pending a security review. Its separate service notice said deposits and trading remained operational and promised a full incident report, including root-cause analysis and corrective actions, within 24 hours. The service notice did not state when its 24-hour period began, so the article cannot calculate an exact report deadline from the 6:31pm UTC detection time. No completed investigation was available at the cut-off.

The combination of open trading and closed withdrawals requires particular care. Trades may still execute and an account balance may still be visible while a user cannot transfer assets away from the venue. Affected users should rely on official status and support routes, preserve account and transaction records, and avoid impostor support accounts or unsolicited transfer instructions.

Four questions for exchange users

1. Which wallet systems, assets and networks were affected?
2. When will withdrawals resume for each asset and network?
3. What does the promised report establish about the cause and corrective action?
4. How will the protection-fund commitment translate into customer access or reimbursement?

The Federal Reserve opens consultation on stablecoin frameworks

The Federal Reserve requested public comment on two proposals for payment stablecoin issuers supervised by its Board. The first concerns reserves, capital, risk management, reserve custody and the permissibility of related activities for supervised banks. The second would create an application process for supervised banks seeking approval for a subsidiary to issue payment stablecoins.

Applicants would have to submit a business plan and financial information. The proposal also covers appeals, hearings and final determinations. The comment period will close 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, so the exact deadline should be taken from that publication rather than calculated from the press-release date.

This is not a general approval of every stablecoin, and the proposed requirements are not yet binding. Its significance is that broad legislation is being translated into proposed operating conditions. Investors and users should watch the final definition of permissible reserve assets, the redemption arrangements and the legal entity responsible for each token.

CFTC staff updates guidance for regulated market infrastructure

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said its staff had updated frequently asked questions concerning crypto assets and distributed-ledger technology. The CFTC announcement says the changes address tokenised forms of permitted investments for customer funds and the use of blockchain technology to satisfy record-keeping requirements.

The update concerns registered intermediaries and market entities. It is staff guidance, not a new Act or permission to use every crypto asset as collateral. Its practical importance lies in the gradual connection between tokenised assets and regulated trading, clearing and record-keeping systems.

The fixed crypto snapshot shows a divided sample

At approximately 5:08:20am UTC on 25 September, while crypto markets were continuously open, Bitcoin was US$84,156 and 0.18% lower over its rolling 24-hour comparison. Ethereum was US$2,677.44, down 0.75%. XRP was US$1.53, up 1.04%; Solana was US$116.29, up 0.33%; and Chainlink was US$13.35, up 7.16%.

Chainlink had the largest move in this five-asset sample, but the observations do not establish why it moved and do not represent the whole cryptocurrency market. A rolling comparison changes continuously as its starting point moves. The provider’s Bitcoin-focused Fear and Greed Index recorded 71, classified as “Greed”, for 25 September at 00:00 UTC, unchanged from the preceding daily reading. Sentiment classifications summarise selected inputs and are not forecasts.

AI, Technology and Investor Tools

Akamai signs a seven-year cloud agreement with Anthropic

Akamai announced at 4:01pm US Eastern time on 24 September that Anthropic had committed to buy US$11.6 billion of Akamai cloud services over seven years to support its growing computing workloads. Akamai said the relationship could expand by up to another US$9 billion, but that additional amount is conditional rather than contracted today. It also issued Anthropic a warrant that could represent up to approximately 5% of Akamai’s common stock if the relationship expands as described. Akamai estimates about US$5.5 billion of capital expenditure related to the initial commitment. The scale shows how AI demand is translating into long-term infrastructure spending, while the capital cost and conditional expansion matter when assessing the economic benefit. This is a company announcement, not evidence that the contract has already generated its full value.

Check service status before attempting an exchange transfer

The Bitget incident demonstrates why an exchange’s trading screen is not a complete operational-status tool. Trading, deposits and withdrawals can have different availability. Before attempting a transfer after an incident, check the provider’s dated security notice and withdrawal-status page separately. A successful trade does not establish that an asset can leave the platform.

Record the notice time, affected service, promised update time, asset and network. If withdrawals reopen, confirm that the destination supports the same asset on the same network. A small test transfer can reduce address and network risk, although it cannot remove provider, blockchain or price risk. Cristoniq’s first-transfer runbook provides a sequence for an ordinary direct transfer.

A blockchain explorer can show whether a particular transaction was broadcast and recorded. It cannot establish that an exchange is solvent or that a protection fund will meet every claim. An artificial-intelligence summary can organise dated notices, but it should not turn an exchange’s assertion into an independently verified conclusion. For a material custody decision, open the cited notice and separate confirmed service status, company commitments and unanswered questions.

Regulatory documents need status and scope checks

The Federal Reserve and CFTC developments illustrate a useful document-checking workflow. Begin by identifying whether a document is a proposal, final rule, staff guidance or enforcement action. Then identify the entities it covers and whether an effective date has been set.

Here, the Federal Reserve proposals concern Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers and supervised banks. The CFTC update concerns registrants and registered entities. Keeping those scopes visible prevents a specialised document from being misrepresented as a universal rule for every wallet, exchange or token.

A practical source-checking sequence

1. Record the event date and the source-publication date separately.
2. Classify the document as a proposal, rule, guidance, filing or completed action.
3. Identify the entities and activities actually covered.
4. Check every deadline against the document that legally starts the period.
5. Open the cited passage before relying on a search or AI-generated summary.

What to Watch Next

• On 25 September: Bitget’s withdrawal-service notice promises a full incident report within 24 hours, without specifying when that period begins. Check the official notice and any report for a publication time, cause, affected assets, corrective actions and a withdrawal-restoration timetable. Do not treat 6:31pm UTC as an established deadline.
• Ongoing from 25 September: monitor Bitget’s official withdrawal notice asset by asset. Available deposits or trading do not prove that withdrawals have resumed.
• After Federal Register publication: confirm the closing date for comments on the Federal Reserve’s stablecoin proposals. The stated period is 60 days after publication, not necessarily 60 days after the 24 September announcement.
• During the next US-China negotiations: look for dated changes to tariffs, purchasing commitments, rare-earth deliveries or technology restrictions. The summit ended without a reported durable settlement.
• In Costco’s next reporting period: separate underlying sales and membership performance from the US$0.15 per-share tariff-refund benefit disclosed for the latest quarter.
• Later on 25 September: review UK regulated announcements released after this edition’s early cut-off rather than assuming the pre-7am position describes the full London session.

Update, 25 September 2026: Corrected the US-China truce chronology and removed an unsupported exact deadline for Bitget’s promised incident report. Aligned Bitcoin’s rounded 24-hour change with the fixed table. Added pre-cut-off UK confidence, US bond and market-close, Brent, and Akamai–Anthropic developments. The original publication date and fixed market observation time are unchanged.

This briefing provides educational information, not personalised investment, trading, tax or legal advice.