Saudi Arabia's central bank has ended its participation in mBridge, a China-backed initiative building shared infrastructure for cross-border central bank transactions using digital currencies. The Financial Times reported that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) joined as a full participant in June 2024, completed a proof of concept, and formally exited on May 13, 2025. Citing SAMA, the paper said the central bank had intended to conclude its involvement once the proof-of-concept phase was finished. SAMA's departure underscores a recurring feature of CBDC pilots: central bank involvement is often limited to tightly scoped trials shaped by governance requirements and policy risk controls. It also comes as cross-border digital currency networks face growing geopolitical attention. mBridge was launched in 2021 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub working with central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. The project aims to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper by allowing participating central banks to issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger, rather than relying on a single stablecoin. Development continued under the BIS until October 2024, when the BIS transferred the project to participating central banks after it reached what the BIS described as a "minimum viable product" stage. The BIS has said its exit was not politically motivated, with then BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens previously warning against reading political meaning into the BIS role in such initiatives. In the US, policymakers have flagged potential strategic implications. A 2024 report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said mBridge could eventually offer an alternative cross-border settlement channel for countries seeking to evade US sanctions. Alongside the mBridge debate, China has been sharpening its stance on stablecoins used in cross-border payments. In June, People's Bank of China Research Bureau director general Wang Xin called for closer monitoring of stablecoins and CBDCs in cross-border payments and for stronger international coordination, according to Cointelegraph. The comments followed Chinese restrictions targeting unauthorized issuance of renminbi-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, including those issued by foreign entities. What comes next will hinge on whether remaining central bank participants expand mBridge beyond trials, and how US scrutiny and China's evolving monitoring agenda shape the path of cross-border digital settlement infrastructure.

CoinMarketCap data show Venice AI's native token, VVV, has notched a fresh all-time high as attention shifts from pure price momentum to product utility and supply dynamics. On Sept. 21, VVV climbed to an intraday peak of $34.51, up about 17% over the prior 24 hours and more than 35 times above its December 2024 low. The token's market capitalization is now roughly $1.6 billion, ranking it among the three largest AI-linked crypto assets by market cap, behind only Near and TAO. Unlike many narrative-driven tokens, VVV is embedded in Venice AI's usage ecosystem. The platform, founded by ShapeShift creator Erik Voorhees, focuses on privacy-oriented chat and image generation. VVV functions primarily as an access credential rather than a conventional payment token: users can pay in fiat for services, or participate by holding and staking VVV. Venice has also introduced a second token, DIEM. When users stake VVV, the system mints DIEM, and holders receive $1 worth of API credits per day. The project says the goal is to tie token value to real platform usage rather than secondary-market speculation. Supply-side measures are also in focus. Venice plans to allocate part of platform revenue to buy back and burn VVV on the open market, a mechanism that could reduce circulating supply as the business scales. Privacy messaging has been a key catalyst. Venice positions itself as a privacy-first alternative, claiming it does not store chat logs, does not require registration, and does not filter prompts that other mainstream chatbots often restrict. That stance has resurfaced in market conversation after a public dispute earlier this month over attribution of AI research spread across social platforms, renewing scrutiny around whether AI platforms may read or absorb user prompts and ideas. Venice used the moment to reinforce its claim that it "does not read user content," and VVV rallied as the discussion intensified. Business metrics have added support. Venice disclosed that in August its annualized revenue run rate exceeded $100 million, up from $70 million the prior month. In July, the company closed a $65 million Series A round at a $1 billion valuation led by crypto fund Dragonfly. Token issuance is being dialed down. Initial annual issuance was 14 million tokens; as of Sept. 1, it has been cut to 2.5 million per year, with a further reduction to 2 million per year planned for October. Traders have largely zeroed in on two drivers: falling issuance expectations and rising platform revenue. Risks remain, particularly around token concentration. The report notes Venice does not train its own cutting-edge models, instead routing requests to open-source models such as Llama and DeepSeek. More immediately, market data indicate the top 100 addresses control about 98% of VVV supply, leaving price action highly sensitive to large holders and limiting the influence of retail demand. For now, VVV is being supported by three pillars: AI application narratives, deflation expectations, and revenue growth. Its highly concentrated ownership structure, though, keeps volatility risk elevated.

Huoxing Finance News — Key market and policy updates: 1) Fed's Musalem said interest rates may need to move higher to contain inflation driven by both demand and supply, adding that hikes should ideally be "early and gradual." 2) Donald Trump said the U.S. will stay cautious on artificial intelligence and impose restrictions when necessary, while maintaining an overall stance of "encouraging" AI development. 3) EU member states agreed to extend sanctions on Russia, prolonging the measures for another three years. 4) Bank of Canada Governor said updated inflation forecasts will shape the October policy decision, as officials assess whether further rate increases are needed to return CPI to 2%. 5) U.S. equities opened higher and extended gains into the close: Nasdaq +2.26%, S&P 500 +1.49%, Dow +0.71%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 4.29%, its best one-day advance since Aug. 4. Several chip names including ARM and Intel jumped more than 10%. AMD rose about 10% to a fresh high; its market cap topped $1 trillion for the first time, making it the world's 16th-largest publicly traded company and the fourth U.S. chipmaker in the "trillion-dollar club." Major European benchmarks also ended higher, with Germany's DAX 30 up 1.07%. 6) Crude oil futures settled sharply lower: October WTI -4.51%, November Brent -3.4%. 7) Metals fell: COMEX gold -0.99% to $4,381/oz; COMEX silver -0.92% to $66.53/oz. 8) SpaceX AI officially launched the Grok 4.7 model, pricing input tokens at $2 per million and output tokens at $6 per million. 9) OpenAI is reportedly developing new features to compete with xAI's Grok and weighing how to respond to Meta's newly launched Muse. 10) Paramount Sky reached settlements with 12 U.S. states over its acquisition of Warner Bros. 11) NVIDIA plans to add $1.5 billion to its investment in SB Energy, lifting total committed funding to $3 billion. 12) Meta said the Petal subsea cable linking France and the U.S. is expected to come online by 2029, with capacity doubling to the petabit level. 13) Amazon said it will deploy 5,000 smart-glasses devices this year and aims to exceed 20,000 units by end-2027. 14) Qualcomm announced a partnership with Google to bring the Snapdragon X Elite platform to the first Google Book laptops. 15) Optical communications player Coherent said it is expanding its pluggable optical line system portfolio, introducing a compact QSFP-packaged system featuring full C-band high-power variable-gain amplification. 16) Novo Nordisk's CEO said that by 2030 the company's production capacity will meet demand for 5 million patients using oral Wegovy. 17) U.S. telecom giant T-Mobile said customers can now use standalone 5G roaming internationally. 18) Trump said he will hold a meeting on Iran today. 19) Israeli forces said they came under attack near the "Yellow Line" and carried out retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets. 20) UK Prime Minister Burnham said the UK agreed to Saudi Arabia's request for limited-duration defensive aerial refueling to help stabilize the region. 21) Reports said the Trump administration proposed allocating $5 billion to launch an investment fund aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. 22) Russia will extend its diesel export ban beyond the end of September. (Caixin Global)

Aster_DEX has removed approximately 26.5 million ASTER tokens from circulation since June following the rollout of its upgraded tokenomics. At current prices, the burn is valued at about $19.6 million. The tokens were taken from the Aster team's allocation, including roughly 4.2 million ASTER burned over the past week.

Breaking: Fear of missing out in Bitcoin has climbed to its highest level since 2024, as crypto sentiment swings sharply into celebration. Bullish chatter about Bitcoin and crypto going "higher" has surged well beyond bearish language while $BTC advanced toward $87,000, powered in part by a major short squeeze. The rally is being reinforced by forced buying. About $648 million in bearish crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, and total crypto trading volume rose 39%. That wave of liquidations helped accelerate prices and pulled in late entrants chasing momentum. With optimism becoming increasingly one-sided, risk management matters more. Even after shorts were cleared out, open interest still rose 7.6% to about $156 billion, indicating traders are rebuilding exposure with fresh leverage rather than stepping back. Crypto markets often punish crowded positioning. Extreme fear can show up near exhaustion lows, while synchronized confidence that prices are "higher from here" can emerge close to local peaks. The current sentiment spike doesn't ensure an immediate reversal, but the risk-reward looks less compelling than it did when the market was fearful last week. Live Dashboard:

X has begun allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies directly from their timeline.

GoldNews reported that Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holders returned to profitability on Sept. 22. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote on X that a Monday morning rally in New York pushed the average investor's cost basis—about $81,700—back into profit territory for the first time since January. Bitcoin climbed above $86,000 despite recent headwinds, including setbacks for the crypto-related Clarity Act and last week's Federal Reserve rate hikes. The token touched an intraday high of $86,800 and was recently trading around $86,800, still more than 30% below last year's all-time high of $126,000. On flows, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs run by major firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and Morgan Stanley logged more than $60 million in net inflows last week. Investors added nearly $593 million on Thursday and Friday alone. Coinglass data show total assets under management for these ETFs at $98.8 billion. Bitcoin's latest advance began in August after the U.S. Treasury said it would at least double the size of its long-term bond buybacks, helping drive its best weekly performance since 2023. Prices went on to set a new all-time high in October before retreating at month-end amid what was described as the largest liquidation event in crypto history, with more than $19 billion in positions wiped out. Even as the Fed turned more hawkish, inflows continued as investors leaned into what many view as a "currency debasement trade," supporting the rebound.

X has introduced live stock and cryptocurrency tickers featuring a dedicated "Trade" button. The trading link connects users to Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, Moomoo and Interactive Brokers.

RT Strategy reports that $MSTR has gained $32B in market capitalization over the past three months, an increase of 80%.