Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and other cryptocurrencies were down to end the trading week on Sept. 11 as the odds of an interest rate hike in the U.S. continued to rise. Futures markets now see a greater than 70% chance that the U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 25-basis points at its meeting on Sept. 16.
Markets ratcheted up their expectations for higher interest rates following a hot U.S. inflation report for August, and as crude oil hovers near $100 U.S. a barrel for the first time since May of this year. Higher interest rates are negative for risk assets such as crypto. As a result, Bitcoin was trading at $77,500 U.S. at week’s end, down from a recent high of $82,000 U.S.
Other digital assets were also under pressure, with Ethereum’s (CRYPTO: $ETH) price right around $2,500 U.S. Despite the pullback, crypto prices remain sharply higher than where they were a month ago, when Bitcoin was trading below $65,000 U.S. BTC peaked at an all-time high of $126,198.07 U.S. on Oct. 6 of last year.
Here’s what else happened with cryptocurrencies over the past week…
Strategy Holds Off On Bitcoin Purchases: Strategy (NASDAQ: $MSTR) did not buy or sell any Bitcoin over the last week. Instead, the company focused on repurchasing 1.81 million shares of its preferred stock (NASDAQ: $STRC) for $176.3 million U.S. Strategy also increased the total allowable repurchase amount of its preferred stock to $2 billion U.S. from $1 billion U.S. The serial crypto acquirer kept its holdings of Bitcoin unchanged at 845,050 BTC.
U.S. Bancorp To Launch Stablecoin: U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: $USB), the fifth largest lender in America, is preparing to launch its own stablecoin. The bank said that it has completed a live cross-border payment via the new stablecoin and is now weighing broader uses across its payments business. The stablecoin is called USBDC (CRYPTO: $USBDC) and is pegged one-for-one to the U.S. dollar. The move by U.S. Bancorp comes as stablecoins tied to fiat money grow in popularity among financial institutions.
Ethereum To Be ‘Quantum Resistant’ By 2029: The Ethereum Foundation (CRYPTO: $ETH) has set itself the goal of making its blockchain and related infrastructure resistant to quantum computer attacks by 2029. The move comes as a growing number of analysts predict that powerful quantum computers will be able to break today's cryptography by 2030. The Ethereum Foundation said that it is taking the threat of quantum computers serious and has locked in 2029 as its goal to make the Ethereum blockchain resistant to such attacks.
Coinbase CEO Says Bitcoin Has Bottomed: Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: $COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong said that he believes Bitcoin has bottomed and expects it to move higher over the next two years. “I personally think we've seen the bottom of the Bitcoin price in this cycle,” said Armstrong in a media interview. Armstrong, who runs the Coinbase crypto exchange, added that he doesn’t anticipate another downturn in Bitcoin’s price until the next halving event that’s expected in about two years time.
Bybit To Launch European Super App: Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit plans to launch a new super app in Europe that will offer both a regular bank account and stock and crypto trading. The privately held Dubai-based firm, which claims to have more than 80 million users worldwide, will launch the new super app for the European market. It will provide European users with traditional bank accounts as well as the ability to trade derivatives, tokenized stocks, and digital assets such as Bitcoin.
Nasdaq Invests $100 Million In Kraken: Nasdaq (NASDAQ: $NDAQ) has invested $100 million U.S. in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The investment by Nasdaq was part of a new funding round that valued Payward at $21 billion U.S. Nasdaq’s investment also comes as the exchange known for listing technology stocks develops tokenized market infrastructure and prepares for around the clock trading. As part of the funding agreement, Kraken will distribute Nasdaq’s tokenized stocks on its platform.
Polymarket Hires First Chief Financial Officer: Polymarket has appointed its first chief financial officer (CFO). The privately held company said that it has hired veteran executive Warren Jenson, who previously served as CFO at Amazon (NASDAQ: $AMZN), to be its first-ever chief financial officer. Jenson will oversee Polymarket’s financial operations and capital strategy. He will also have responsibility for the company’s long-term planning. The CFO appointment comes a Polymarket prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) that could take place within a year or two.
Bitwise Closes Dogecoin ETF After 10 Months: Bitwise Asset Management is liquidating and closing its Dogecoin (CRYPTO: $DOGE) exchange-traded fund (ETF) after 10 months of trading. Bitwise has set Oct. 14 as the expected final trading session for the ETF on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors in the crypto ETF can sell their positions up until that time, when they will be automatically sold and proceeds returned to them. The Dogecoin fund generated $3 million U.S. in trading volumes during its first week. However, daily trading activity failed to return to that initial level in the following months.
Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals To U.S. Supreme Court: Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his fraud conviction. Bankman-Fried, who co-founded and led former cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is serving a 25-year prison term after being convicted on seven counts of fraud and money laundering. FTX filed for bankruptcy in 2022 with $9 billion U.S. in liabilities. Previous appeals of Bankman-Fried’s conviction stressed that all of FTX’s customers have been repaid with interest and no money lost because of the exchange’s collapse.
Crypto Platforms Lose $3.63 Billion To Cyberattacks: Cryptocurrency platforms around the world lost nearly $4 billion U.S. over an 18-month period due to cyberattacks. A new report from CoinGecko says that between January 2025 and July 2026, crypto platforms lost a combined $3.63 billion U.S. due to a variety of cyberattacks. Stolen passkeys were among the most common ways that crypto companies were hacked by criminals and funds stolen, states the report. The biggest cyberattack involved crypto exchange Bybit, which lost $1.4 billion U.S. in a February 2025 breach.
