Bitcoin rejected at $67K and corrected to $64K; BitMEX announced closure while SEC settled with Coinbase and EU imposed sanctions on Russian crypto operators.
Regulation & Gov ·
Bitcoin climbed to $67,000 during the week before retreating to $64,000, leaving the asset up roughly 2% across the seven-day period. The pullback came after initial momentum from fresh exchange-traded fund inflows and institutional accumulation. Ethereum and the privacy-focused XMR coin posted comparable weekly gains, though Bitcoin's share of total cryptocurrency market value fell below 56%.
Three major industry developments unfolded alongside price moves. BitMEX, a derivatives platform that had operated for nearly a decade, announced it will cease operations on September 23, prompting users to withdraw funds before that date. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with Coinbase over a lawsuit tied to recordkeeping and agreed to cover $150,000 in legal costs while pledging to review internal processes, though the SEC made no admission of fault. Separately, the European Union approved its 21st sanctions package targeting Russia, designating 11 cryptocurrency operators and 94 financial institutions to restrict sanctions circumvention.
The week also saw three cryptocurrency protocols exploited within 24 hours, with attackers removing approximately $35 million across the incidents. It remained unclear whether the regulatory actions and exchange closures would further reshape market structure or sentiment in coming weeks.