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According to Bloomberg, Absa Bank in Johannesburg, South Africa, has become the first bank in Africa to offer Bitcoin custody services, primarily targeting institutional clients, and will also provide custody services for other digital assets. Rob Downes, the head of digital assets at Absa's Corporate and Investment Banking division, stated that Bitcoin is the largest asset under custody at the bank, with plans to include more asset classes in the future. Absa did not immediately respond to Bitcoin Magazine's request for comment.Many banks around the world are gradually integrating or launching Bitcoin-related products and services. Some banks in the United States and Europe have begun offering crypto asset custody for institutional clients. In 2022, BNY Mellon became the first large bank in the United States to offer digital asset custody services; this month, Deutsche Bank announced plans to launch Bitcoin custody services for European businesses and institutional clients later in 2026.Africa has a large base of crypto-native users. A report by Chainalysis in 2025 shows that South Africa's on-chain value reached $36 billion, ranking second in Sub-Saharan Africa, only behind Nigeria's $92.1 billion; South Africa ranks 30th in the global crypto adoption index. Unlike Nigeria, the South African market is characterized by more institutional features, with a relatively clear regulatory framework that has issued hundreds of licenses to virtual asset service providers, attracting professional investors and traditional financial institutions.

David Hoffman, the founder of the crypto media Bankless, stated in a post on X that if Bitcoin's daily closing price surpasses 86,600 USD, it will release a strong signal; if it further surpasses 87,400 USD, it will be an extremely bullish signal.

The Bank of Montreal has lowered the target price for SpaceX (SPCX.O) from $280 to $250.

According to The Block, the European Central Bank has proposed three models for introducing central bank digital currency on the blockchain, including direct issuance, establishing bridging mechanisms, and implementation through private intermediaries.These models can provide settlement support for transactions such as tokenized securities, bank deposits, and stablecoins on distributed ledger technology networks.

The yield spread between 10-year government bonds in France and Germany has risen to its highest level since 2012, continuing the significant widening trend observed on Thursday. Strategists at Commerzbank noted that the widening spread has spread to high-debt countries such as Italy, Belgium, and Greece. The spread between French 10-year government bonds and German government bonds once reached 149.17 basis points.

Payment giant Fiserv announced that its digital asset platform has officially launched for financial institution clients, with the first case being the dollar-backed stablecoin Roughrider Coin introduced by a bank in North Dakota.VersaBank is responsible for issuing, custody, and reserve asset management, while Fireblocks provides digital asset infrastructure and tokenization services, with transactions processed through the Solana blockchain.Roughrider Coin will connect to Fiserv's Commercial Center system, providing interbank fund transfer services for over 90 participating banks and credit unions in North Dakota.The platform also supports applications such as stablecoin cards, cross-border payments, programmable commerce, fund management automation, and tokenized deposits.

Bitcoin News posted on platform X stating that the Congressional Research Service pointed out in a new report that since 2017, with changes in presidential administrations, federal regulators have repeatedly changed their stance on whether banks can engage in cryptocurrency activities.The report states that Congress could clarify through legislation to explicitly allow or restrict specific activities to reduce the frequent adjustments in regulatory positions. The report mentions the CLARITY Act: the version passed by the House of Representatives would allow banks to use digital assets or blockchain for activities already permitted by current law; the version reported by the Senate committee would explicitly allow 11 types of cryptocurrency activities, including allowing banks to underwrite and trade digital assets more broadly.

Japanese licensed cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank announced that SBI Holdings has completed its full subsidiary acquisition. Along with Bitbank repurchasing shares from MIXI and Ceres, all previously planned transactions have been realized, making Bitbank a 100% indirectly held subsidiary of SBI Holdings. The total consideration for the share acquisition and capital increase disclosed by SBI earlier is approximately 46.7 billion yen.Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirose will remain in position. The company stated that existing exchange services will not be affected by this transaction, and it will further expand its digital asset business relying on SBI's financial capabilities, customer base, and resources.

The Central Bank of the Philippines has implemented partial suspension measures on DCPay Philippines, the electronic money operating entity behind Coins.ph, prohibiting it from receiving external transfers through InstaPay and PESONet. This restriction targets DCPay's peso payment and settlement operations.The cryptocurrency trading business of Coins.ph is operated by another licensed entity, Betur Inc., which has not been directly suspended, but user deposits through local banks will be affected.The regulatory directive still allows DCPay to conduct outward transfers and QRPh merchant payments. The status page of Coins.ph shows that the related deposit services are under maintenance, while withdrawals are functioning normally.

SoftBank Group announced the completion of its third and final additional investment in OpenAI through the SoftBank Vision Fund 2, amounting to 10 billion USD. As a result, SoftBank's total investment in OpenAI has reached 64.6 billion USD, with an ownership stake of approximately 13%.

Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed their first stablecoin settlement test, settling a total of $750,000 in Visa payment obligations using USDC within 7 days, with funds arriving in as little as one hour.

According to a report by Sina Finance, Bank of England Governor Bailey warned that artificial intelligence could trigger shocks in financial markets, and the UK needs to be prepared for this. The Bank of England is "watching very closely" the massive investments being made in the AI sector.When asked if he thinks an AI bubble might burst, Bailey stated, "At some point in the future, asset prices may experience a certain degree of correction." He believes this technology "has enormous potential to enhance our economic growth, but it also comes with significant risks, so we must fully understand both aspects at the same time." Bailey remarked, "Currently, every company is seen as a winner in pricing, but not everyone is a winner." However, Bailey noted that a significant potential benefit of AI is its ability to "accelerate the work that supports the Monetary Policy Committee," adding, "It won't make decisions for us, but it is a tool in the hands of policymakers, which is a good thing."

Analysts at the Bank of Montreal pointed out that the annual benchmark revision by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator was revised down more than expected. The core PCE in August rose less than expected, with a year-on-year growth rate slowing to 3%, below the market expectation of 3.3%. Analysts believe this alleviates the urgency for another rate hike in October.

Swift CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso stated at Sibos 2026 that Swift's blockchain-based ledger is now live and being used by some of the world's major financial institutions.By the end of this year, at least 19 banks are expected to use this ledger, enabling round-the-clock payments through tokenized deposits covering five major currencies. Swift announced the development of this ledger at last year's Sibos conference.

According to the official announcement from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will acquire all shares of Japan Digital Asset Trust Establishment Co., Ltd. (JADAT) held by Bitbank on October 1, 2026, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.The Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group has identified the digital asset market as an important growth area, believing that highly reliable asset management and custody functions are highly compatible with its trust business. After becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary, JADAT will accelerate the procedures for management trust registration, striving to officially launch digital asset-related businesses as soon as possible.

According to CBS Atlanta, a 35-year-old woman from Stone Mountain, Georgia, named Mercedes Henry, a former universal bank employee at Ameris Bank, has been accused of unauthorized linking of six customers' bank accounts to the cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase between September and November 2021, and in collusion with others, transferring approximately $931,000 into a Coinbase account under her control.A federal grand jury has charged her with multiple counts of bank fraud, access device fraud, and bribery. Henry was arrested on September 25 and appeared in court, and the case is still under investigation by the FBI.

According to a research report released by Geoff Kendrick, the Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered has officially launched coverage research on Ethena (ENA), predicting that the ENA token will rise to $2 by the end of 2028.The report points out that Ethena is currently the fourth largest stablecoin issuer in the world (after Tether, Circle, and Sky), and its stablecoin USDe quickly became the fastest stablecoin to surpass a market capitalization of $10 billion after its launch at the end of 2023. Currently, yield-bearing stablecoins account for about 5% of the overall stablecoin market, and this proportion is expected to continue to expand as user demand for yield grows.In terms of sources of yield, USDe has gradually diversified from its early reliance on crypto basis trading (which once provided over 20% annualized yield) to include real-world assets (RWA) and stock perpetual contract basis. Standard Chartered predicts that the on-chain RWA scale will grow from the current approximately $40 billion to $2 trillion by the end of 2028, providing support for ENA's buyback plan and price increase.

Jeeves announced the completion of a $110 million equity financing. This round of financing was led by CoinFund, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, AllianceBernstein, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and Y Combinator.

According to BBX data, yesterday global publicly listed companies in the US stock market and well-known Web3 infrastructure providers disclosed the latest developments on expansion in the Asia-Pacific hub, institutional collaborations, and brand strategy restructuring. The core information is as follows:MoonPay established a subsidiary in South Korea as the Asia-Pacific hub, partnering with KakaoBank, Woori Bank, and KB Financial Group: Global cryptocurrency payment infrastructure giant MoonPay officially announced the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in South Korea, planning to make it a comprehensive expansion center for the group in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, MoonPay has reached deep strategic cooperation with South Korea's three major mainstream financial institutions—KakaoBank, Woori Bank, and KB Financial Group. The scope of cooperation includes cross-border payment clearing, localization distribution of the Korean won stablecoin, digital wallet technology integration, and the establishment of compliant cryptocurrency fiat withdrawal and recharge channels, aiming to build a high-speed network for the flow of funds between South Korea and the global Web3.CEA Industries officially renamed to "BNB Standard," Nasdaq trading code changed to "BNC": Nasdaq-listed company CEA Industries, focusing on BNB reserve strategies, announced the completion of its brand transformation and strategic renaming, with the company name officially changed to BNB Standard. After the renaming, the company's common stock will continue to be traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and the securities trading code will be officially changed to "BNC." This renaming aims to directly highlight its strategic positioning of using BNB as a core treasury asset and promoting decentralized ecological investment.

Cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay announced the establishment of MoonPay Korea and is collaborating with South Korea's digital bank KakaoBank, commercial bank Woori Bank, and KB Financial Group to expand stablecoin payments and digital asset services in South Korea. MoonPay Korea will be responsible for local service development and will serve as the company's base for expansion in Asia. MoonPay's Asia-Pacific head Bugeon Lee stated that the stablecoin backed by the Korean won is expected to expand the coverage of South Korean financial institutions and provide new cross-border transaction methods for businesses, as the company hopes to build relevant infrastructure in South Korea with banking partners.The collaboration with KakaoBank focuses on blockchain-based overseas remittances, cross-border payments, and multi-currency stablecoin services. The two parties plan to initially conduct a proof of concept aimed at international students, testing the complete process of initiating transfers from South Korea, transferring via stablecoin, and converting to US dollars for deposit into a US bank account. The collaboration also covers the issuance and distribution of won-pegged stablecoins, payment settlements, as well as trading, custody, and conversion of stablecoins denominated in won, US dollars, yen, and others, with access to MoonPay's global distribution and payment network supported by assets and regions.MoonPay will collaborate with Woori Bank to provide global distribution for future won-pegged stablecoins and validate the cross-border payment settlement model for local businesses based on stablecoins. The partnership with KB Financial Group will explore card payments, global remittances, wallet custody, and stablecoin usage for individuals, institutions, and foreigners in South Korea. Founded in 2019, MoonPay claims to serve over 30 million customers in approximately 180 countries and supports more than 1,700 business clients.