WuBlockchain’s Sept. 18 roundup pulled together a mix of crypto policy, market structure, and macro developments, led by a Japanese law enforcement report on North Korean cyber activity, a new U.S. sanctions action, and product updates from Hyperliquid.
Japan says North Korea-linked hackers stole more than 7,000 wallet records
Japan’s National Police Agency, together with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, released a report saying the North Korea-linked hacking group WaterPlum infected more than 30,000 devices across over 100 countries and regions between December 2025 and July 2026. Authorities said the group stole more than 7,000 pieces of crypto wallet information, and wallets controlled by the group received at least about $10.71 million in crypto assets.
According to Japanese police, WaterPlum carried out the attacks by posing as recruiters from crypto companies and inducing job seekers to run malicious code. Police in Japan also said they had, for the first time, uncovered a domestic 「laptop farm」 used to support remote work by North Korean IT personnel. They also disclosed that a suspected North Korean IT worker had applied for an engineer role at bitFlyer but was not hired.
Hyperliquid rolls out manual lending
Hyperliquid said it has launched a manual lending function that allows users to post HYPE and BTC as collateral and borrow quote assets including USDC and USDT.
Borrowed assets carry interest costs, while supplying quote assets earns interest, with rates determined by utilization. The feature shares HyperCore infrastructure with portfolio margin, and the platform said lending assets had reached $269 million as of today.
Hyperliquid co-founder Jeff Yan said the platform uses a modular design: it first builds a standalone lending protocol on HyperCore, then integrates lending with perpetuals, spot trading, and trading outcomes through the portfolio margin system. He said that setup allows lending risk to be managed independently, lets idle stablecoin collateral earn interest income, and makes it easier to analyze risk across the broader system.
U.S. Treasury sanctions Iran-based BitBank
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, announced sanctions on Iranian digital asset platform BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three related individuals.
Treasury said BitBank is controlled by previously sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani and forms part of his digital asset sanctions-evasion network. Treasury also said that between June and July 2026, Zanjani used BitBank to transfer bitcoin worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority also used the platform to move funds, according to the announcement.
Assets of the designated persons and entities that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, will be frozen. Entities owned directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50% or more by the sanctioned parties will also be blocked.
Yuan rises past 6.7 against the U.S. dollar
On Sept. 18, both the onshore and offshore yuan moved past 6.7 against the U.S. dollar, each reaching the strongest level since January 2023.
TradingView data showed the offshore yuan at 6.69682 per dollar and the onshore yuan at 6.6978.
Bank of Japan raises rates by 25 basis points
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points, taking it from 1.0% to 1.25%. The decision passed by a 7-2 vote.
The central bank said Japan’s economy is recovering moderately, even as factors including the Middle East situation have caused some economic softness. It added that underlying inflation is gradually moving closer to its 2% price stability target. The BOJ also said it will continue to raise the policy rate and adjust the degree of monetary easing if the outlook for the economy and prices is realized.
NYSE eyes 24/7 on-chain trading through ATS platform
Avalanche said in a post on X that the New York Stock Exchange plans to enable round-the-clock on-chain trading through an alternative trading system, or ATS, platform now under development.
Michael Blaugrund, an executive at Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, said Avalanche met multiple requirements during the platform evaluation process and that the two sides are in close cooperation.