The global payments sector saw several major shifts during the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, with stablecoins, bank charters, cross-border settlement rails and dealmaking all moving at once. A group of 21 financial institutions, including 17 global systemically important banks, said they would form a joint stablecoin company in the second half of 2026 and issue a U.S. dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027, with a euro version to follow. In the U.S., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional preliminary approval on the same day to Revolut and Andreessen Horowitz-backed OpenReserve, and both outlined plans tied to issuing or distributing stablecoins. Bloomberg also reported that total stablecoin supply has fallen by roughly $15 billion from its mid-May peak, even as capital keeps flowing into payment and banking infrastructure. Elsewhere, Citi, FAB, OCBC and DBS completed live transactions on Swift’s blockchain-based shared ledger, including a weekend tokenized deposit payment from Singapore to New York that settled in minutes. The week’s developments pointed to a market where public-chain stablecoins, bank-led stablecoins and tokenized deposits are all competing for a larger role in payments and settlement.

Robinhood Chain, which switched on July 1, is already generating more chain fee revenue than both Ethereum and Base on the latest 30-day and 24-hour readings cited by Decrypt’s Morning Minute. The newsletter said the network brought in $3.13 million over the past 30 days, versus $2.89 million for Base and $2.47 million for Ethereum, while its one-day take widened to $495,477 against $71,703 and $25,746, respectively. Apps on Robinhood Chain also earned $1.84 million in the past 24 hours, ahead of Ethereum’s $1.14 million, though Ethereum still leads on a 30-day basis. The report tied that rise to a broader jump in network activity. Total value locked reached $727.15 million, bridged assets hit $2.32 billion, stablecoin supply climbed to $769.44 million, and 24-hour DEX volume rose to $1.19 billion. Pons was singled out as one of the biggest drivers of that growth, with $208.82 million in 30-day DEX volume and a record $690,000 in revenue on Saturday, followed by a new $950,000 revenue high on Sunday. Its token was also listed on Hyperliquid perpetuals. The same newsletter also ran through a wider market check: major cryptocurrencies were slightly lower after renewed U.S.-Iran strikes, Solana validators passed a disinflation vote by 0.33 points, Avicie lost about $1.1 million in a hack tied to an outdated Rain card contract, and Cronos halted its blockchain after a roughly $75 million exploit at Tectonic.

Bitcoin held near $78,000 during the Asian session on the last trading day of August even as macro pressure built, with oil prices rising on an escalation in the Iran situation and hawkish remarks from Waller reviving bets on a September rate hike. From its roughly $62,900 close at the end of July, BTC was still up more than 24%, but attention has shifted to the 50-week moving average near $81,000, a level that has historically marked either the end of a bear market or the point where rallies failed and rolled over. Traders cited $76,800 to $77,000 as key support, with downside targets around $75,500 and $74,300 if that band breaks. Resistance is clustered at $78,400, $79,400 to $80,800, while a move back above $82,000 to $83,000 is seen as necessary to reopen upside. Several market commentators flagged historical seasonality and technical signals as reasons for caution in September, while others argued Bitcoin may already be in a “soft bull market.” The report also tracked spot ETF inflows, token unlocks, U.S. equity moves, weakness in crypto-linked stocks and miners, and a packed macro and earnings calendar heading into early September.

On Aug. 24, SoSoValue data showed the crypto market moving sideways, while the NFT sector stood out with a 4.93% gain over the past 24 hours. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) rose 12.28% and SuperVerse (SUPER) gained 10.12%, while ApeCoin (APE) fell 1.09%. Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 0.03% and broke below $78,000, while Ethereum (ETH) rose 0.43% and stayed above $2,400. Other stronger areas included RWA, Layer2 and DeFi, with sector indexes for ssiNFT, ssiRWA and ssiAI also higher.

On Aug. 11, crypto markets underwent a broad sector-wide correction, pulling Bitcoin and Ethereum below key thresholds, according to SoSoValue data reported by Odaily Planet Daily. The NFT sector suffered the steepest decline, falling 25.62% in 24 hours, with Audiera (BEAT) plunging 55.02%. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 1.85% to slip below $65,000, while Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.44% to trade under $1,900. DeFi and Layer2 were the only sectors to hold firm, gaining 1.11% and 2.01% respectively. In the DeFi segment, Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose 1.76% and Ethena (ENA) climbed 3.56%; in Layer2, Arbitrum (ARB) advanced 3.44% and Mantle (MNT) added 5.48%. Other sectors were mostly in the red: Layer1 fell 0.54% with Cardano (ADA) down 3.19%; CeFi slipped 0.63% while Bitget Token (BGB) rose 1.65%; PayFi dropped 1.53% with Telcoin (TEL) down 6.77%; and the Meme sector lost 1.98%, although Pump.fun (PUMP) posted a counter-trend gain of 4.74%. Historical sector indices were firmer, with ssiLayer2, ssiDeFi and ssiGameFi up 2.43%, 1.22% and 0.07% respectively.

Bybit, Mantle and Byreal have launched Mantle Super Portal, enabling MNT to move between Ethereum and Solana, access Byreal’s DeFi liquidity pools, and connect with trading and incentive programs on Bybit Alpha.

Crypto market cap dropped 1.2% to $2.73T on May 8, with BTC and ETH declining. Gainers include Nillion (+68%), dYdX (+33%), Siren (+21%), Ondo (+9%), and WLFI (+8%). Fear & Greed Index fell to 38 (Fear). Institutional moves: Tether blacklisted 384 addresses, Block raised guidance, 21Shares Canton ETF launched.

Santiment data shows whale transactions above $100,000 in Lighter and Mantle climbed to six-month highs, with 86 such transfers for Lighter and 37 for Mantle as large investors turned more active.