Key takeaways

• Bittensor trades higher on Monday, extending its five-day gain to approximately 25%.
• TAO’s social dominance has increased amid renewed interest in AI tokens and the launch of the Buttensor meme coin on Solana.
• TAO open interest reached a three-month high of $428.57 million, indicating growing derivatives activity.

Bittensor (TAO) trades in positive territory on Monday, extending its steady five-day rally to approximately 25%.

The artificial intelligence-focused token gained 16% last week before rising another 12% on Sunday. TAO has now reached a two-month high as buyers target a breakout above the psychological resistance at $300.

Social activity surrounding Bittensor is also increasing, supported by renewed interest in AI-related cryptocurrencies and the launch of a similarly named meme coin on Solana.

Bittensor meme coin drives attention toward TAO

A Bittensor parody token named Buttensor (BUTT) launched on Raydium, a Solana-based decentralized exchange, on Monday.

The meme coin’s debut followed Raydium’s official launch of TAO trading on the platform a day earlier. BUTT was subsequently paired with TAO.

The meme coin’s tokenomics direct transaction fees toward automatically purchasing TAO and distributing the acquired tokens to BUTT holders. The arrangement connects speculative activity around the meme coin with demand for Bittensor’s native token.

However, the sustainability of this buying pressure will depend on continued trading activity and retail interest in BUTT.

The release of ChatGPT-6 Astra has also coincided with renewed demand for AI-focused cryptocurrencies.

Santiment data shows that TAO’s social dominance climbed to 0.05% on Thursday following Astra’s release. The metric has since risen to 0.12%, with the launch of Buttensor contributing to the increase in online discussion.

Social dominance measures an asset’s share of cryptocurrency-related conversations. A rising reading can indicate growing investor interest, although elevated social activity can also accompany speculative price movements.

Activity in Bittensor’s derivatives market has strengthened alongside the price rally. CoinGlass data shows that TAO open interest reached a three-month high of $428.57 million on Monday. 

The increase indicates that traders are adding positions rather than simply closing existing contracts during the rally.

Rising open interest alongside an advancing price generally supports a bullish outlook. However, a large buildup in leveraged positions could increase volatility and liquidation risk if TAO suddenly reverses.

TAO momentum strengthens near $300

Bittensor trades comfortably above its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages, which are clustered between approximately $220 and $236.

Its position above these major indicators confirms the strength of the current uptrend and provides several potential support levels during a correction.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator remains above its signal line in positive territory, suggesting upside momentum is intact.

However, the Relative Strength Index has reached 70 on the daily chart. This reading places TAO at the threshold of overbought conditions and warns that the rally could temporarily cool as traders take profits.

The psychological $300 level represents TAO’s immediate resistance. A confirmed daily close above $300 would reinforce the bullish outlook and could open the path toward $369, a high recorded on Sept. 13, 2025.

Conversely, rejection from $300 could trigger a pullback toward the 200-day EMA near $236. If that support fails, the 100-day EMA at $222 and the 50-day EMA around $220 form a deeper demand zone.

TAO’s outlook remains bullish while it trades above the moving-average cluster, but overbought conditions leave the token vulnerable to a short-term correction before another breakout attempt.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas proposed a 12-month suspension of new payment-system operator registrations while introducing tighter controls for payment arrangements involving virtual asset service providers.

Under its proposed circular, the BSP would temporarily stop accepting and processing applications to register as an operator of a payment system, or OPS.

The central bank said the pause would support a “holistic review” of its OPS taxonomy, registration process and licensing framework. The proposal remains an exposure draft and does not impose an immediate suspension.

Applications submitted before the pause begins could continue through the BSP’s evaluation process. However, the regulator would neither approve nor deny those applications until the 12-month period ends.

Applicants would also be prohibited from starting activities that require OPS registration during the freeze unless the BSP provides separate authorization. Existing registered operators are not ordered to stop operating under the draft.

The BSP already maintains an OPS registration system under the National Payment Systems Act. Its official guidance says registration creates a baseline inventory that the regulator uses to assess payment-system activities, participants and systemic risks.

Crypto payment arrangements face direct-merchant rules

The proposed Philippines payment rules would require BSP-supervised institutions providing merchant acquisition services to deal directly with regulated VASPs rather than place them behind layered payment facilitators.

A direct merchant arrangement means the acquiring institution holds the contractual relationship with the merchant. This structure gives the institution direct access to information needed for onboarding, transaction monitoring and settlement controls.

The requirement would cover virtual asset businesses that must hold a license, registration or authorization from the BSP, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission or another relevant authority.

VASPs appear in the draft alongside casinos, gaming operators, adult-oriented businesses and money-service businesses. The grouping reflects the regulator’s assessment that these sectors need stronger controls. It does not mean the BSP considers their underlying activities identical.

Institutions dealing with covered firms would need enhanced due diligence, closer transaction monitoring and risk-based limits. Those limits could apply to transaction values, settlement schedules and total exposure.

The proposal builds on earlier BSP measures. As previously reported, the central bank tightened token listing and monitoring requirements for licensed VASPs in June. Those rules require continuing reviews and defined suspension or delisting triggers.

Existing layered arrangements would face review

BSP-supervised institutions would need to identify existing payment arrangements involving covered merchants. Layered structures would face an assessment to determine whether they comply with the proposed direct-merchant requirement.

Institutions would reportedly receive six months to complete that review and another six months to address identified weaknesses. Required changes could include restructuring contracts, imposing limits or ending arrangements that exceed the institution’s risk tolerance.

The draft would also strengthen merchant identification. The BSP plans a centralized National QR Code Merchant Database intended to help institutions identify fraudulent, prohibited or problematic merchants across payment networks.

These requirements could affect banks, electronic-money issuers, merchant acquirers and payment facilitators connecting virtual asset platforms to local payment channels. The operational burden will depend on how the BSP defines covered arrangements in the final circular.

The licensing distinction has already affected international crypto companies. Crypto.news previously reported that Binance and BlockShoals lacked BSP-issued VASP licenses, despite participating in the SEC’s StratBox sandbox program.

The SEC later approved BlockShoals to begin sandbox testing, but that sandbox approval preserved separate BSP licensing requirements. The proposed payment rules would add another compliance layer for institutions serving similar arrangements.

BSP will review feedback before finalizing the rules

The BSP is accepting written comments through its policy exposure draft portal. The regulator says stakeholders should submit feedback to the policy officers identified alongside each draft.

The central bank may revise the suspension, implementation periods or covered arrangements after reviewing industry responses. No registration freeze begins solely because the draft has been published for consultation.

If adopted in its current form, the circular would take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. The 12-month pause would begin according to the effective provisions of the final document.

Payment companies should therefore monitor the final text, particularly its treatment of pending applications and existing relationships with VASPs. Regulated crypto firms may also need to establish direct arrangements with acquiring institutions before continuing access to some Philippine payment channels.

Japan’s changing crypto framework has strengthened Shiba Inu’s position in the country, but as of September 7 no regulator, exchange or asset manager has filed for or approved a Japanese SHIB exchange-traded fund.

Japan’s parliament passed legislation on July 15 that brings crypto assets closer to the regulatory system used for financial products. The official legislative record shows that the upper house approved the bill that day. The government promulgated it as Law No. 64 on July 23.

The legislation strengthens disclosure, trading and intermediary rules under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. It provides a possible legal foundation for regulated crypto funds. However, it does not approve an ETF for Bitcoin, Shiba Inu or any other individual asset.

The distinction matters because an ETF also requires detailed regulations, an eligible structure, an asset manager, an exchange listing process and regulatory clearance. None of those steps has been announced for SHIB.

Shiba Inu’s Green List status covers exchange reviews

Shiba Inu does appear on the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association’s official Green List. The list identifies crypto assets that are widely handled by the association’s Japanese members and satisfy four stated conditions.

Those conditions include handling by at least three member companies and a trading history of at least six months. The asset must also have no special conditions imposed by the association or another reason making its inclusion unsuitable.

The September 1 list shows nine member companies handling SHIB. That compares with 29 for Bitcoin, 28 for Ether and 19 for XRP. Green List inclusion can simplify parts of an exchange’s review process, but it does not create automatic ETF eligibility.

A community commentator described the designation as giving SHIB a “head start.” That remains an interpretation rather than a conclusion published by the Financial Services Agency or JVCEA.

Japan has a massive ETF market, just no crypto ETF yet.

The door did open though: on July 15 the Diet moved crypto under the FIEA, the same law as stocks.

That’s the reclassification an ETF needs. FSA rulemaking still has to happen, so first listings are 2027 at the earliest… pic.twitter.com/4VSzyIfIw5

Advertisement

— Mazrael.shib (@Mazrael_shib) September 7, 2026

Mercari expanded retail access to SHIB in June

Mercari subsidiary Mercoin officially added access to SHIB and 11 other assets on June 8. The service allows eligible customers to trade the assets with Coincheck through the Mercari application, according to the company’s announcement.

Mercoin said its crypto service had passed four million cumulative account openings by March 2026. About 90% of surveyed users had no previous crypto-trading experience, although that figure covers Mercoin’s broader customer base rather than SHIB buyers specifically.

The integration therefore expands SHIB’s retail availability in Japan. It does not mean Mercari has issued an investment fund, applied for an ETF or endorsed a future SHIB product.

Japan still needs ETF and tax implementation rules

Japan’s legislation advances a regulatory process that began with Financial Services Agency discussions about moving crypto toward securities-style oversight. As crypto.news previously reported, earlier policy discussions focused primarily on Bitcoin and Ether as potential initial ETF assets.

A Japanese SHIB ETF would require an identifiable sponsor to submit a product, regulators to establish listing and custody requirements, and an exchange to accept the fund. No such application appears in the official materials reviewed for this report.

Tax reform also remains incomplete. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that the proposed 20% separate tax rate is targeted for 2028. It is not currently available merely because an asset appears on the Green List.

The next confirmed step is regulatory implementation of the amended legislation. Claims that Japanese crypto ETFs could arrive in 2027 remain forecasts. SHIB has gained broader regulated exchange access, but its ETF prospects remain unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, SHIB traded at $0.0000055 at press time, indicating a 8% increase in in the past 7 days and 17% in the past month.

Singapore-based financial services group DBS and American financial services giant Citi completed the first weekend tokenized cross-border payment between Singapore and the US on Saturday.

The two companies executed the transaction using tokenized deposits via the Swift Digital Ledger to bypass the constraints of traditional banking hours, DBS announced on Monday.

The deposit was finalized in minutes, which DBS called a “significant improvement” from the industry norm of as long as two business days for traditional cross-border transfers.

The transaction demonstrates how traditional banks are exploring blockchain rails for more efficient cross-border transactions while aiming to keep deposits inside banking channels. Standard Chartered and HSBC were the first to complete a tokenized cross-border transaction on Swift’s blockchain ledger in August.

In July, Swift, the world’s largest financial messaging network, said that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use and that it was preparing to pilot tokenized cross-border payments with 17 major banks, including Citi and DBS, as well as HSBC, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ and Standard Chartered.

Citi is also one of a group of the largest US banks that plan to launch a separate tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027 operated by The Clearing House, David Watson, CEO of the bank-owned payments operator, told The Wall Street Journal in June.

In November 2025, DBS and JPMorgan revealed plans to develop a blockchain-based tokenization framework to enable onchain transfers between their deposit token ecosystems, aiming to set an industry standard for cross-bank payments.

Related: VARA, Securitize sign MoU for tokenization innovation in Dubai

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Citi and DBS completed a tokenized U.S. dollar payment between Singapore and New York on Sept. 5, processing the weekend transaction within minutes through Swift’s blockchain-based ledger.

DBS announced the transaction on Monday, describing it as the first successful weekend U.S. dollar payment between Singapore and the United States using Swift’s Digital Ledger.

The payment connected DBS with Citi’s New York office. Neither bank disclosed the transaction’s value, participating customer or applicable fees. The lack of those details limits comparisons with existing cross-border payment products.

DBS said the transaction took minutes, compared with an industry norm of up to two business days. That comparison is the bank’s assessment. Processing times for conventional payments vary by corridor, participating institutions, compliance checks and payment method.

The Saturday transfer demonstrated that participating banks can coordinate tokenized deposit instructions outside conventional operating hours. It did not establish that the service is broadly available to corporate customers across every market.

Swift’s ledger coordinates separate bank systems

Tokenized deposits represent claims against commercial banks. They remain bank liabilities rather than privately issued stablecoins backed by separate reserve portfolios.

Swift’s ledger acts as an orchestration layer between deposits issued on participating banks’ own systems. It records, sequences and validates payment obligations while applying transaction rules through smart contracts.

Final settlement still occurs through established banking systems. The design therefore uses blockchain to coordinate value between institutions without placing every part of the transaction or final conventional settlement onchain.

As crypto.news previously explained, the platform coordinates bank-issued money rather than public stablecoins. This distinction allows banks to preserve existing compliance, credit and risk controls while extending payment availability beyond normal cut-off times.

The Citi-DBS payment followed the first live interbank transaction between HSBC and Standard Chartered in August. That transaction also connected independently operated tokenized deposit systems through Swift’s shared ledger.

Citi expands its live Swift payment tests

Citi had already completed live transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Singapore-based OCBC before working with DBS. The bank said it became the first U.S. bank to conduct live native transactions on Swift’s ledger.

Citi expected to conduct additional transactions with DBS and United Overseas Bank during September. The completed weekend payment confirms the DBS portion of that schedule.

The tests complement Citi’s existing digital payment services. The bank said Citi Token Services processes approximately $1 billion in transactions through its blockchain platform, while its round-the-clock dollar clearing service supports more than 300 banking clients.

Those figures come from Citi and have not been independently audited within the transaction announcement. Citi also did not provide a commercial launch date for customer access to Swift’s ledger.

Citi is separately involved in a bank-owned U.S. tokenized deposit project. As previously reported, major U.S. banks are targeting a 2027 network launch through The Clearing House.

DBS and Swift prepare for wider deployment

DBS introduced its own blockchain-powered Token Services platform in 2024. Its products include Treasury Tokens, which support programmable transfers and liquidity management on the bank’s permissioned blockchain.

The bank is also the only Asian-headquartered institution in Swift’s 12-member core design group. Rachel Chew, DBS’s group chief operating officer and co-head of digital assets, said the transaction showed tokenized money moving from experimentation toward “real-world adoption.” Wider adoption, however, will require more corridors, banks and production customers.

Swift opened its ledger for initial use in July after developing the first version in nine months. Seventeen banks across six continents joined the initial live transaction program.

The participating institutions include Citi, DBS, HSBC, BNP Paribas, BNY, Standard Chartered, UBS, Wells Fargo, ANZ and MUFG. Crypto.news reported at the time that Swift’s initial rollout targeted continuous cross-border payments.

The next test is whether banks can move beyond controlled institutional transactions to recurring customer payments at commercial scale. Swift and the participating banks have not disclosed a full production timetable, pricing model or expected transaction capacity.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed a temporary pause on new registrations for payment-system operators as part of a broader effort to tighten integrity and risk controls around payments connected to virtual asset service providers (VASPs). In a draft circular released for consultation, the central bank also outlined stricter requirements for BSP-supervised institutions when merchant acquisition involves regulated crypto-related businesses.

While the proposal is still subject to feedback and finalization, it signals the regulator’s intent to slow down parts of the payment authorization pipeline and to tighten how regulated VASPs are routed into payments and settlement processes in the Philippines.

Key takeaways

• The BSP proposes suspending acceptance and processing of new applications for operators of payment systems for 12 months, pending a “holistic review” of its licensing framework.
• Applications already submitted before the suspension would continue to be assessed, but BSP would not approve or deny them until the pause ends.
• BSP-supervised merchants and acquiring services would need to structure arrangements with regulated VASPs through direct merchant relationships subject to enhanced due diligence and monitoring.
• The draft expands the control net to VASPs that are licensed, registered, or authorized by the BSP, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or another competent authority.
• If finalized, the draft circular would take effect 15 days after publication, though the BSP is currently collecting public comments.

12-month pause on new payment-system operator registrations

In the draft circular, the BSP states that it will suspend acceptance and processing of applications from entities seeking to operate payment systems. The regulator said the move is intended to allow a “holistic review” of its taxonomy and licensing framework for payment-system oversight.

Importantly, the suspension would not necessarily erase earlier applications. According to the draft, applications submitted before the pause could still be evaluated, but the BSP would delay any approval or denial decision until the 12-month review period concludes.

The proposal also introduces a practical constraint for market participants: entities would be barred from beginning activities that require payment-system operator registration unless the BSP authorizes them through other channels. That means applicants and related service providers may face timing uncertainty even if they have already passed initial steps in the process.

Merchant acquisition rules tightened when VASPs are involved

Beyond the operator-registration pause, the BSP’s draft circular focuses on how payments are structured when BSP-supervised institutions offer merchant acquisition services that involve VASPs. The central bank proposes that such relationships must be handled through direct merchant arrangements with regulated VASPs.

Under the draft, these arrangements would come with enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring obligations. The BSP also points to additional risk-based controls, including transaction and settlement limits, aimed at reducing exposure in payment flows linked to virtual asset activity.

For investors, traders, and payment-adjacent businesses, this shift matters because it targets the mechanics of how crypto-related counterparties enter payment rails—not just licensing status. If implemented as drafted, it could affect onboarding processes for merchants, payment service providers, and any intermediary layers that currently sit between VASPs and merchants.

Which crypto firms are covered by the controls

The BSP’s enhanced requirements would apply to VASPs, but the draft clarifies that the obligation is tied to entities that are licensed, registered, or authorized by the BSP, the Philippine SEC, or another authority. In other words, the rules appear designed for counterparties that have already obtained some form of regulatory recognition, rather than treating all crypto activity as equivalent.

The circular also places VASPs in the broader category of businesses subject to scrutiny under the BSP’s integrity and control approach. The draft lists VASPs alongside other sectors such as gambling businesses, gaming providers, adult-oriented businesses, and money service businesses—suggesting a risk-assessment framework that groups activities by perceived operational and compliance sensitivity rather than by industry alone.

The classification has implications for compliance programs: institutions providing merchant acquisition will likely need to revisit their vendor and counterparty screening policies and ensure they can demonstrate heightened controls for the relevant categories.

Timing, consultation, and what to watch next

The draft circular would take effect 15 days after publication if finalized. The BSP is currently accepting feedback, and Cointelegraph reported reaching out to the BSP for more information without receiving a response before publication.

Readers and market participants should watch for two outcomes as the consultation progresses. First, whether the BSP’s 12-month pause remains unchanged in scope or duration, and whether it introduces clarifications on how pending applications will be handled during the review window. Second, how the final text implements the direct merchant-arrangement requirement and what “enhanced due diligence,” monitoring, and limits will look like in practice for BSP-supervised institutions working with regulated VASPs.