Bitcoin started the September 7–13 week at around $79,800. Last Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. employment report strengthened expectations for an interest rate hike, while a security incident involving 4,000 BTC on Liquid Network became the first major crypto risk of the week.
According to the official report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. A Reuters poll had expected an increase of only 56,000 jobs, while markets pushed the probability of a September rate hike to around 60% after the data.
Liquid Network halted after 4,000 BTC was withdrawn
Around 4,000 BTC was withdrawn from the federation wallet of Bitcoin-based Liquid Network on September 6 by individuals describing themselves as “white hats.” At Bitcoin’s current price, the assets are worth roughly $320 million.
Liquid said the transactions were carried out through SideSwap’s Peg-out Authorization Key and stated that the relevant key had not been compromised. The network halted new transactions and asked exchanges to suspend L-BTC deposits and withdrawals.
There is still no confirmed timeline for the funds to be returned or for the network to restart. L-BTC reserves, exchange responses and the on-chain movement of the funds will therefore remain under close watch throughout the week.
The incident did not affect the Bitcoin mainnet. The risk is concentrated in Liquid’s federation-managed BTC deposit and withdrawal mechanism.
U.S. inflation could influence the Fed’s September decision
U.S. producer prices will be released on Thursday, September 10 at 3:30 p.m. Turkey time. The BLS calendar confirms that the report will cover August.
Producer prices were unchanged on a monthly basis in July, while annual PPI declined to 4.7%. The recent increase in oil and refined fuel costs makes energy components particularly important in the August report.
Consumer prices will be released on Friday, September 11 at 3:30 p.m. Turkey time. A Reuters survey expects headline CPI to rise 0.4% month over month, while the core index excluding food and energy is expected to increase 0.2%.
Annual headline inflation is expected at 3.4%. A separate model estimate from the Cleveland Fed puts August inflation at 3.38% and core inflation at 2.38%.
Fed officials have entered the blackout period ahead of the September 15–16 meeting. As a result, markets will focus on PPI, CPI and weekly jobless claims rather than new guidance from policymakers.
ECB expected to raise rates by 25 basis points
The European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday, September 10 at 3:15 p.m. Turkey time. ECB President Christine Lagarde’s press conference will begin at 3:45 p.m., while new economic projections will be published at 4:45 p.m.
The ECB’s official schedule shows that the meeting will take place in Berlin. All 65 economists surveyed by Reuters expect the deposit rate to be increased by 25 basis points to 2.50%.
Eurozone inflation rose to 3.3% in August. The ECB’s messaging will be important in determining whether the hike is viewed as a one-off move and how higher energy prices are reflected in its 2027 projections.
Oil prices approach $97
Brent crude started the week at around $96.85, while U.S. crude traded near $92.10. Iran’s plan to establish a restricted maritime zone around the Strait of Hormuz and renewed attacks in the region have increased the risk premium surrounding energy supplies.
Market assessments indicate that elevated diesel and oil prices are once again putting pressure on the global inflation outlook. Persistently high energy costs could strengthen the case for tighter monetary policy from both the Fed and the ECB.
China’s August foreign trade data will be released on September 8. A Reuters poll expects exports to increase 25% year over year, imports to rise 30% and the trade surplus to reach $119.05 billion.
Harmony considers migrating to Ethereum
The Harmony team has proposed shutting down its independent layer-1 network and continuing the ONE token as an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum. The proposal has not yet passed a binding on-chain vote, and a final block date has not been confirmed.
According to the published plan, users are being asked to exit liquidity pools and other smart contracts by September 10. Contracts that cannot be migrated directly, multisig wallets and decentralized applications could face risks.
Validators will be able to begin shutting down their nodes from 5:00 p.m. Turkey time on September 10. The proposal calls for ONE balances to be recorded at the final block, with new Ethereum-based tokens distributed to the same addresses.
There is no separate binding, high-impact DAO vote with a confirmed deadline this week. Harmony’s proposal therefore stands out as the main governance-related development.
MultiversX to activate Supernova upgrade
MultiversX will activate its Supernova mainnet upgrade on September 10 at around 9:05 p.m. Turkey time. The exact timing could shift by several minutes depending on block and round production.
According to the project’s technical schedule, the upgrade will activate at round 32,157,661. Block time will fall from six seconds to 600 milliseconds, while the network will separate consensus from transaction execution.
Fractal Bitcoin’s first halving is expected around September 9. The block reward will fall from 25 FB to 12.5 FB, while the project also plans to permanently burn 4.1 million unused FB.
Upbit and Bitget to implement delisting decisions
Upbit will end BONK/KRW and BONK/USDT trading on September 7 at 9:00 a.m. Turkey time. According to the exchange’s official announcement, open orders will be canceled, while withdrawals will remain available until October 7.
Bitget will close spot margin trading for FIDA, ALT, SATS, BLAST, BLUR, WAVES, BAN, AIXBT, RUNE, EGLD, LPT and GRT on September 10 at 6:00 a.m. Turkey time. Open positions and outstanding liabilities may be automatically liquidated by the exchange.
The main spot delisting will take place on September 11 at 1:00 p.m. Turkey time. Bitget’s announcement includes 19 pairs involving VIC, CESS, MAK, VERT, JELLYJELLY, FIDA, BROCCOLI, ALT, SATS, FTT, BLAST, BLUR, WAVES, BAN, AIXBT, RUNE, EGLD, LPT and GRT.
Withdrawals for these assets will remain open until December 11 at 1:00 p.m. Turkey time. There is no confirmed high-profile new spot token launch on a major exchange this week.
NAME, PUMP and UP supply increases stand out
The largest proportional token unlock of the week will take place for NAME. Tokens worth around $55.67 million will be released on September 9 at 3:00 a.m. Turkey time, equivalent to 74.54% of the token’s current market capitalization.
The STABLE unlock, scheduled for around 3:00 a.m. on September 8, will add approximately $24.9 million worth of tokens to supply. PUMP will see around $34.68 million worth of tokens become available on September 12 at 9:00 a.m.
Unitas Labs will unlock approximately $11.78 million worth of UP on September 13 at 3:00 a.m. Turkey time. The amount represents 18.62% of the token’s current market capitalization.
Aptos is scheduled to release 14.36 million APT on September 12 at 3:00 a.m. According to allocation data, 43.6% of the tokens are assigned to the community, 27.6% to insiders, 19.6% to investors and 9.3% to the foundation.
Approximate dollar values for the token unlocks were calculated using current spot prices and will change as prices fluctuate. The weekly calendar also includes around $3.49 million worth of DOS, $3.49 million worth of HOLO and $1.39 million worth of NRS unlocks.
Four crypto conferences scheduled
Boston Blockchain Week will take place from September 8–10 at the Marriott Boston Quincy. The program focuses on blockchain infrastructure, artificial intelligence and security.
Stablecon USA will be held on September 9–10 at National Harbor in the Washington area, bringing together stablecoin issuers, banks and regulators. Stablecoin payments, institutional integration and regulation are among the main topics on the agenda.
Crypto Expo Dubai will take place on September 9–10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The organizer’s website indicates that the event is proceeding as planned, although regional security developments and flight conditions will remain under close watch.
Web3 Warsaw will be held in Warsaw on September 10. The official program includes sessions covering blockchain, gaming, NFTs and artificial intelligence.
Robinhood executives will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 9 at 8:50 p.m. Turkey time. The company’s investor calendar will provide a live webcast of the presentation.
There are no confirmed earnings releases this week from Coinbase, Circle or major publicly traded crypto miners. Robinhood’s presentation will therefore be the main corporate event involving a listed crypto-linked company.
Crypto calendar: 30 developments to watch this week
September 7: U.S. markets closed for Labor Day.
September 7, 9:00 a.m. Turkey time: Upbit ends BONK trading.
September 8, around 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $24.9 million worth of STABLE tokens unlock.
September 8: China releases August foreign trade data.
September 8–10: Boston Blockchain Week.
September 9, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $55.67 million worth of NAME tokens unlock.
September 9, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $1.46 million worth of MOVE tokens unlock.
Around September 9: Fractal Bitcoin’s first halving.
September 9–10: Stablecon USA.
September 9–10: Crypto Expo Dubai.
September 10: Web3 Warsaw.
September 9, 8:50 p.m.: Robinhood presents at the Goldman Sachs conference.
September 10, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $3.49 million worth of DOS tokens unlock.
September 10, 6:00 a.m.: Bitget closes 12 spot margin pairs.
September 10, 3:15 p.m.: ECB interest rate decision; press conference at 3:45 p.m.
September 10, 3:30 p.m.: U.S. August producer prices.
September 10, 3:30 p.m.: U.S. weekly jobless claims.
September 10, 5:00 p.m.: SEC meeting on preparations for 24-hour trading.
September 10, 3:00 p.m.: Approximately $2.18 million worth of LINEA tokens unlock.
September 10, 5:00 p.m.: Planned start of Harmony validator shutdowns.
September 10, around 9:05 p.m.: MultiversX Supernova upgrade.
September 11, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $3.49 million worth of HOLO tokens unlock.
September 11, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $1.39 million worth of NRS tokens unlock.
September 11, 1:00 p.m.: Bitget removes 19 spot trading pairs.
September 11, 9:00 a.m.: U.K. July GDP, industrial production and trade data.
September 11, 3:30 p.m.: U.S. August consumer inflation.
September 11, 5:00 p.m.: Preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment data.
September 12, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately 14.36 million APT tokens unlock.
September 12, 9:00 a.m.: Approximately $34.68 million worth of PUMP tokens unlock.
September 13, 3:00 a.m.: Approximately $11.78 million worth of UP tokens unlock.
