“We expect this to serve as an opportunity to strengthen the policy foundation for overall women’s health, including pregnancy, childbirth, and contraception,” Won said.

Before the 2019 ruling, abortion was strictly banned save for a few exceptions, including for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Estimates from South Korea’s Institute for Health and Social Affairs suggest that the number of abortions in the country had fallen from an estimated 241,411 in 2008 to just 32,063 in 2020, the last year for which statistics are available. In 2011, the health ministry director at the time attributed the downward trend to “a combination of factors including easier accessibility and use of contraceptives, broadening anti-abortion campaigns, and an improved social environment for childbirth and childcare.”

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook responded to critics and conservatives who are against the abortion medication plan, saying the government is also taking “concerns regarding the value of life” seriously. “This measure is aimed at protecting the people’s health rather than encouraging abortion,” Han said. 

Ethereum Institutional signaled support for Ethlabs’ motion to reduce block times and create a faster Ethereum to address increasing competition from other networks.

“Make Ethereum faster,” wrote the non-profit organization in a Friday X post, arguing that reducing block times is needed as “more institutional activity moves onchain.” 

On Thursday, Ethlabs published an article quoting 20 decentralized finance (DeFi) founders showing broad support for EIP-8198, also known as “Quick Slots,” which seeks to initially reduce Ethereum block times to 10 seconds from 12 seconds.

Other blockchain networks are also working on similar block time reduction initiatives. On Monday, the majority of Zcash token holders backed cutting the network’s target block time to 25 seconds, down from 75 seconds.

In August, Solana reduced its slot time from 400 milliseconds to 350ms. In June, the Solana Foundation shared plans to reduce slot times from 400ms to 200ms, arguing that it would improve latency and accelerate confirmations on the blockchain network. 

EIP-8198 was authored in March and was proposed for inclusion in the Hegotá upgrade at the Ethereum core developers meeting on Aug. 6. Ethlabs said it was merging the proposal’s specifications with the main codebase and investigating potential downstream dependencies to help it “meaningfully enter Hegotá’s scope.” 

Ethereum developers could begin implementing Hegotá in late 2026 following Glamsterdam, arguably one of the most consequential upgrades of the year, designed to improve scalability and harden the mainnet.

Related: Dragonfly’s Qureshi calls for end to Zcash dev fund after 2028

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.

Real world asset futures have reached $107.6 billion in monthly trading volume, putting contracts tied to equities, commodities and private companies roughly level with crypto futures after a 142 fold increase in nine months.

According to a joint report from OKX and Token Terminal shared with crypto.news, RWA futures generated $107.6 billion in trading volume in July 2026, up from $760 million in October 2025, while crypto futures recorded $105.7 billion during the same month.

The expansion came even as overall onchain derivatives activity cooled sharply. Quarterly derivatives volume fell by more than half from its peak, while open interest dropped to a one year low of $8.76 billion, according to the report.

RWA contracts moved in the opposite direction. Open interest across the category rose 167 fold in nine months to $1.72 billion, leaving the contracts with a growing share of an otherwise weaker derivatives market.

RWA futures have caught up with crypto contracts

OKX and Token Terminal traced the change in trading behavior to the crypto market selloff on Oct. 10, 2025, when more than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated.

Before the event, crypto futures accounted for nearly all onchain derivatives volume. Trading in contracts linked to real world assets remained limited, with the category generating $760 million in monthly volume.

By July, the composition had changed. RWA contracts reached $107.6 billion in monthly trading volume, roughly matching the $105.7 billion recorded by crypto contracts.

Open interest showed a similar divergence. Crypto futures open interest fell from $9.1 billion to $7.1 billion over the nine month period, while RWA open interest climbed from $10.3 million to $1.72 billion.

The report said commodities accounted for 14% of RWA open interest by July, with equities representing 83% and pre IPO contracts making up most of the remaining share.

Activity in related markets has been growing outside the futures segment as well. crypto.news previously reported that the tokenized RWA market had expanded 589% since early 2025, with tokenized stocks recording some of the fastest growth.

Tokenized equity activity accelerated again in August. Monthly transfer volume reached $29.5 billion during the 30 days ending Aug. 29, an increase of more than 415%, while monthly active addresses climbed 209% to 1.3 million.

Commodity trading responds to events outside crypto

The report found that RWA futures activity was increasingly tied to developments in the markets represented by the contracts instead of movements in cryptocurrencies.

Oil provided one example. Following strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, trading volume in an onchain West Texas Intermediate contract increased 149 fold within nine days to $1.69 billion.

Bitcoin volume remained broadly flat during the same period, even as oil trading accelerated. The report linked the difference to traders responding directly to events affecting crude prices.

Silver showed another pattern. Onchain silver trading reached a record $17.3 billion in February as the metal hit a record price, before volume declined during the following months as the price eased.

Equity contracts responded to scheduled market events. Trading in an onchain S&P 500 contract peaked at $735 million on July 29, the day of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, before reaching $751 million the following day.

Liquidity in some tokenized stock markets has already moved closer to levels found in established crypto markets. A June analysis found that Nvidia linked perpetuals on Bitget had reached around $4.1 million in liquidity depth, equivalent to roughly 75% of the exchange’s Bitcoin spot market.

Pre IPO contracts have created another RWA trading market

Contracts tracking private companies have developed alongside commodities and public equities, with traders using them to gain price exposure before a company reaches the public market.

The report highlighted SpaceX and Cerebras as examples.

Open interest in a pre IPO SpaceX contract peaked at $976 million on June 11, one day before its June 12 listing. Monthly volume reached $10.9 billion within three months of the contract’s introduction.

Trading continued after the listing. The SpaceX contract traded around 28% above its offer price before the event and remained roughly 16% below that level seven weeks later, according to the report.

Cerebras contracts recorded a different pattern. Open interest more than tripled to $28.5 million around the company’s May 14 listing, while its contract traded at $289 before listing against a $185 offer price. Cerebras stock opened at $350.

OKX and Token Terminal said pre IPO contracts can establish a market price for a company before its shares begin public trading, with the contracts incorporating expectations around the eventual listing price.

Tokenized securities infrastructure has continued to develop alongside these derivative products. Ondo Finance, for example, has been exploring an acquisition valued between $250 million and $500 million after its broker dealer subsidiary received additional FINRA authorizations covering tokenized corporate equities, exchange traded funds and other investment products.

Retail and institutional traders use RWA markets differently

Trading patterns in the report varied depending on the underlying asset and type of participant.

Retail traders were more active in highly volatile markets. Short positions in the silver contract reached an average of 4.3 times the size of long positions when silver peaked in February, while retail activity declined as volatility fell.

Pre IPO SpaceX contracts produced the opposite positioning around the June listing. Short side traders roughly tripled afterward, taking the long to short ratio to 4.2 times.

Institutional accounts generally held larger positions for longer periods. Before the SpaceX listing, their average short position was around $1.1 million, compared with roughly $1,000 for retail traders, while institutional accounts recorded average holding periods of 12,046 minutes against 60 minutes for retail participants.

The report found that market structure varied across asset classes as well. Equity contracts accounted for 83% of RWA open interest in July, yet generated 72% of single name equity trading volume. Commodities represented a smaller share of open interest but reacted more sharply to changes in the prices of the assets they tracked.

A separate gap remains between RWA issuance and use inside decentralized finance. Data published in September showed that only $3.79 billion of the $34.6 billion tokenized RWA market had been deployed in protocols, leaving roughly 89% of issued value outside DeFi applications.

Binance has kept its European licensing plans open after declining to address a report that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened in its failed Greek MiCA application.

According to a Sept. 18 Wall Street Journal report, a vice chair of Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission told Binance that Lagarde had asked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve the exchange’s application. The account has not been publicly confirmed by Lagarde, the ECB or the Greek regulator.

“We will not comment on speculation,” a Binance spokesperson said in response to the report. The exchange maintained that it remains committed to securing authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, or MiCA.

“In Europe, Binance remains committed to operating on a long-term, compliant basis under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation,” the spokesperson said.

Binance Greek MiCA bid was reportedly close to approval

Greek officials had informed the European Securities and Markets Authority in early June that the HCMC intended to approve Binance’s application, according to the Wall Street Journal. The exchange had been preparing for approval weeks earlier and drafted an announcement describing the expected authorization as a major milestone.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng was expected to travel to Athens for a meeting and photograph with Mitsotakis as part of the planned announcement, the newspaper reported. Approval from Greece would have given the exchange a regulatory route to provide covered crypto services across the EU through MiCA’s passporting system.

The process changed course before the authorization was issued. The Wall Street Journal reported that Lagarde raised concerns about Binance’s compliance history, including the exchange’s 2023 guilty plea in the United States over anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Binance agreed to pay roughly $4.3 billion as part of its settlement with U.S. authorities.

Concerns around stablecoins were part of the discussions as well, according to the newspaper. Lagarde has pushed for a stronger European payments system as the ECB develops the digital euro, while dollar denominated stablecoins remain dominant in global crypto markets.

The reported intervention came despite licensing authority under the existing MiCA framework resting with national regulators. Once a crypto asset service provider receives authorization from a competent authority in one member state, the license can be used to provide covered services elsewhere in the bloc.

Binance withdrew its Greek application before the MiCA deadline

Questions around the application had surfaced publicly by mid-June. As crypto.news reported at the time, Binance faced a potential rejection of its Greek application even as the exchange maintained that it had received no formal indication from the HCMC that approval would be denied.

Binance said at the time that it had worked with regulators for around 18 months and submitted what it considered a complete application. Its understanding was that the HCMC had completed its review and considered the filing compliant with MiCA requirements, while the application had undergone review at the ESMA level.

Reports of Lagarde’s involvement emerged soon afterward. The exchange’s Greek licensing route stalled as the July 1 deadline approached, leaving little time to obtain authorization before national transition arrangements expired.

Binance formally withdrew the application on June 24. The company said the decision followed a review of the status and timing of the Greek process and confirmed that it would pursue authorization in another EU member state. It did not identify the jurisdiction.

The exchange told users that their assets would remain safe and accessible while warning that services available to some customers could change depending on their country and account status. Binance continued to say that its long term plan was to secure a MiCA license and maintain operations in Europe.

The withdrawal came days before the July 1 deadline, when crypto firms that had relied on national registrations during MiCA’s transition period needed authorization to continue providing regulated services under the new framework. Binance subsequently suspended several EU services after failing to secure a license in time.

Binance remains without MiCA authorization

The licensing issue has continued beyond the July deadline. Binance was still opening and verifying some European customer accounts more than seven weeks later despite remaining absent from ESMA’s register of authorized crypto providers, according to tests conducted in August.

Some restrictions remained in place during those tests. One account opened through Austria using a Spanish identity document could not deposit euros through bank transfer after a third party provider flagged an address mismatch, although cryptocurrency deposits remained available.

By early September, Binance was continuing to serve some EU customers through regulatory provisions including reverse solicitation, which can permit services when customers approach an overseas provider on their own initiative. Some activity was being routed through an Abu Dhabi entity while the exchange continued seeking European authorization. Binance’s EU operations remained under regulatory attention, with ESMA seeking confirmation that the company was properly winding down activities requiring MiCA authorization.

Binance has not announced a new MiCA authorization since withdrawing its Greek application. Its June 24 update said another member state would be named when the company was ready to disclose its next licensing route.

Police in the United Arab Emirates and Sweden have arrested seven people after investigators traced cryptocurrency transactions through an international money laundering network that allegedly handled 70 million Swedish krona ($7.1 million) and had financial links to organized crime and contract killings.

According to the UAE Ministry of Interior, the suspected leader was arrested in the Emirates while six other alleged members of the network were detained simultaneously in Sweden following coordinated investigations between authorities in both countries.

The suspected leader, a Swedish national, had fled Sweden and was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice. UAE authorities tracked his location after what the ministry described as extensive searches, investigations and monitoring carried out through intelligence sharing with Swedish police.

Investigators said the network moved roughly 70 million Swedish krona over a 10 month period. Cash generated from criminal activity was allegedly collected and redirected to other criminal groups, while cryptocurrencies were used to transfer and move the value of some of the funds.

Crypto transactions exposed links to other crimes

Tracing the network’s cryptocurrency transactions became part of the investigation into where the money was moving and who was connected to it.

The Ministry of Interior said analysis of the crypto transfers and other digital evidence helped investigators identify financial connections with other alleged criminal activity, including organized crime and contract killings. Authorities did not identify the cryptocurrencies involved or disclose the wallets, exchanges or transaction amounts traced during the investigation.

Blockchain transaction trails have increasingly been used in international investigations involving illicit financial networks. In July, crypto.news previously reported that an INTERPOL led operation spanning 97 countries and territories resulted in 5,811 arrests and the interception of $293 million in illicit assets.

Operation First Light, which ran from Jan. 15 through April 30, targeted social engineering scams and the laundering infrastructure supporting them. Authorities identified more than 142,000 victims, blocked over 31,000 bank accounts and used INTERPOL’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism to freeze suspicious fiat and cryptocurrency transfers.

One investigation uncovered during the operation involved Thai police tracing a suspected cryptocurrency laundering network that allegedly moved romance scam proceeds through several digital assets and cross chain swaps. A wallet belonging to one suspect had processed more than $122.5 million during a 10 month period, according to INTERPOL.

Another international operation announced in August produced 58 arrests and identified 263 suspects after investigators examined the financial systems used by West African organized crime groups. The eight month operation involved authorities from 22 countries, including the UAE, and focused on bank accounts, digital wallets, shell companies and other infrastructure used to move proceeds from fraud.

Sweden has stepped up crypto seizures

Swedish authorities have already been increasing efforts to identify and seize digital assets linked to suspected criminal activity.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called for more aggressive enforcement against cryptocurrency connected to criminal networks in 2025, asking police, the Swedish Tax Agency and the Enforcement Authority to increase their use of asset seizure powers.

Sweden’s approach followed changes that allowed authorities to seize property when ownership cannot be reasonably explained, even without establishing a direct connection between the property and a specific offense. By mid 2025, authorities had seized 80 million Swedish krona, then worth around $8.4 million, under the rules.

Strömmer specifically called for agencies to improve coordination when targeting high value assets such as cryptocurrency and said it was “time to turn up the pressure.” A 2024 assessment by the Swedish Police Authority and Financial Intelligence Unit had identified some crypto exchanges as services used to move proceeds from drugs, fraud and other criminal activity. Sweden’s crypto crackdown followed recommendations for law enforcement to increase its presence on cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Swedish police have separately documented the use of young recruits in gang violence and contract killings. In May, police said 23 bystanders had been killed and another 30 wounded in gang related shootings over the previous three years, according to the information cited by the UAE ministry.

Criminal groups have used social media and encrypted messaging services to recruit paid killers, including teenagers below the age of criminal responsibility, Swedish authorities said.

UAE and Sweden coordinated simultaneous arrests

Authorities carried out the seven arrests at the same time after investigators established the suspected leader’s location in the UAE.

Brigadier Abdulaziz Al Ahmad, director general of the Federal Criminal Police at the UAE Ministry of Interior, said authorities would “continue to track criminal networks, disrupt their sources of financing, and take legal action against anyone seeking to exploit the country’s territory for criminal activities.”

Cross border cooperation has become a recurring part of investigations involving cryptocurrency and organized financial crime. In May, police from China, the United States and the UAE conducted their first joint crackdown against telecom and online fraud operations in Dubai.

Chinese authorities said the operation dismantled nine fraud sites and resulted in 276 arrests. Investigators said suspects had used social media to establish fake romantic relationships before directing victims toward purported high return cryptocurrency investments.

In the latest Sweden UAE investigation, Anders Wiberg, police commissioner and head of the Swedish Police Authority’s international division, described cooperation with the Emirates as “a key factor in achieving the successful outcome of this case.”

Legal proceedings have been opened against all seven suspects following the coordinated arrests. Authorities have not publicly named the alleged leader or the six people detained in Sweden, nor have they disclosed the specific charges each suspect faces.

Ethereum price recovered toward $2,500 on Sep. 18 as buyers defended support near $2,400, but daily and 4-hour charts show that the $2,550 area remains the main barrier to a larger breakout.

Ethereum (ETH) price traded around $2,500 at the time of writing, up nearly 3% over the previous 24 hours. Its intraday range stretched from approximately $2,427 to $2,518.

The rebound followed a decline toward $2,385 earlier in the week. Buyers have since pushed ETH back above $2,500, but the move has not produced a confirmed breakout from the range that has controlled price since late August.

US macro and regulatory conditions also remain mixed. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points this week amid persistent inflation concerns, while the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act.

Bitcoin and crypto-related stocks have nevertheless rebounded since the events, suggesting both outcomes were at least partly reflected in prices before the decisions. Ethereum’s next move may therefore depend more heavily on whether buyers can convert the latest bounce into a technical breakout.

Ethereum price approaches the upper Bollinger Band

The daily chart shows ETH rising from an opening price near $2,447 to approximately $2,505. The session recorded a high of $2,522 and a low of $2,437.

Ethereum is now trading above the Bollinger Band midpoint at $2,467. That level could serve as the first dynamic support if the recovery loses momentum.

The upper Bollinger Band stands at about $2,549, placing it close to the psychological $2,550 resistance. ETH has repeatedly struggled around this region since its sharp August advance.

A daily close above $2,550 would move price outside the upper part of its recent range. The next visible resistance sits around $2,600, followed by a broader supply zone between $2,700 and $2,800.

Failure to clear $2,550 would keep ETH inside its existing consolidation. Under that scenario, the Bollinger midpoint near $2,467 would become the first level to watch, followed by the lower band around $2,385.

Daily relative strength remains positive but is not overextended. The relative strength index stands at 58.35, while its signal line is slightly higher at 59.74. A reading above 50 points to stronger buying momentum, though the RSI’s position below its signal line shows that the breakout has not yet gained full confirmation.

4-hour momentum improves below $2,527

Ethereum’s 4-hour chart shows a recovery from the Sep. 16 sell-off, when price briefly moved below $2,400. ETH has since formed a series of higher short-term lows and returned to the upper end of its range.

The Bull Bear Power indicator has climbed to 85.09, reflecting renewed strength among buyers. Positive histogram bars have also expanded during the latest rebound.

The 4-hour Supertrend remains bearish, however, with its resistance line positioned at $2,526.61. Ethereum must close above that level before the indicator changes in favor of buyers.

A successful move above the Supertrend would place the daily Bollinger resistance near $2,549 within reach. Because the two levels sit only about $23 apart, the $2,527–$2,550 region represents a wider resistance zone rather than one precise price.

Support on the 4-hour chart has risen to approximately $2,442. A break below that level would weaken the higher-low structure and expose the $2,400–$2,385 area again.

ETH liquidation map points to $2,630–$2,650

CoinGlass’s one-week liquidation heatmap shows several leverage clusters surrounding Ethereum’s current price.

The closest liquidity is concentrated around $2,490–$2,520, matching the area where ETH is currently trading. Larger concentrations appear above price near $2,630 and $2,650, with the latter forming the brightest band on the chart.

Liquidation heatmaps indicate where leveraged positions may face forced closure, but they do not predict that price will reach those levels. If ETH breaks through $2,550, the overhead clusters could add volatility as short positions come under pressure.

Liquidity also appears below the market around $2,440 and $2,410. Those areas overlap with the 4-hour Supertrend support and the broader base formed during the past several sessions.

A rejection at $2,550 followed by a loss of $2,440 could therefore accelerate movement toward $2,400. Conversely, a confirmed breakout may open a path toward $2,600 and the larger liquidation pools above it.

Analysts watch $2,550 for a larger breakout

Pseudoanonymous trader Batman described Ethereum’s structure as a “rally-base-rally” setup, citing the consolidation that formed after ETH’s August advance. His chart places the base near $2,385 and the top of the range around $2,550–$2,600.

$ETH is forming a textbook price action.

The rally-base-rally.

The current base is very clean, with no massive sellers destroying the base.

With the market moving nicely, there’s a good chance buyers will break through the resistance. pic.twitter.com/fQtWEvn6o9

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— BATMAN ⚡ (@CryptosBatman) September 18, 2026

Analyst Ted Pillows also identified $2,550 as the immediate resistance. He argued that a weekly close above the level could support an advance toward $3,000, though his chart places another major resistance zone near $2,800.

Both outlooks depend on ETH closing above its current ceiling. Until then, price remains inside a range bounded by support around $2,385–$2,440 and resistance between $2,527 and $2,550.

The short-term setup favors buyers while ETH remains above $2,467. A close above $2,550 would strengthen the bullish case, while a reversal below $2,442 would shift attention back to $2,400 and $2,385.

Iran may have committed crimes against humanity in deadly crackdown