The euro enters this week’s ECB meeting (September 9–10) with genuine hawkish backing, having already been told by insiders that policymakers are prepared to raise rates again to counter the inflationary side-effects of the Middle East conflict, even as they signal little appetite for tightening beyond that. July’s hold at 2.25% came with Lagarde explicitly warning that renewed hostilities and the resulting oil price rebound pose upside risks to the inflation outlook, keeping the door firmly open to a move back to 2.50% this week.

The Aussie, meanwhile, is riding one of its strongest stretches in months, hitting a fresh three-month high after Q2 GDP beat expectations at 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, reinforcing bets that the RBA could resume tightening this month. Markets now price a 50–58% chance of a September hike, with a November move seen as effectively locked in, while commodity strength and Australia’s growing role in the AI infrastructure boom add further structural support to the currency.

The result: two hawkish central banks converging on rate decisions within days of each other, leaving EUR/AUD’s next move to hinge on whether Frankfurt or Canberra delivers the more convincing signal.

Technical Analysis of EUR/AUD

As the EUR/AUD chart shows, the pair has been trading within a steep descending trendline since mid-August’s highs near 1.6441, with price now testing the confluence of this trendline and the 0 Fibonacci level near 1.6086. Adding intrigue to the setup, the RSI is forming a bullish divergence, printing higher lows even as price carved a fresh low this week.

Bullish Scenario

Should buyers break above the descending trendline, the divergence would gain real technical credibility, opening the path towards the 0.382 retracement near 1.6222, with a stronger move potentially targeting the 0.5 level around 1.6264.

Bearish Scenario

Conversely, a continued rejection at the trendline would keep sellers in control, invalidating the divergence and exposing fresh lows below the 1.6086 level, with the broader downtrend from August’s highs remaining firmly intact.

With price testing a fresh low right at the trendline while the RSI quietly hints at fading downside momentum, EUR/AUD looks poised for a decisive reaction. Will the ECB’s hawkish stance finally show up on the chart, or will the RBA’s own tightening momentum keep this downtrend alive?

Trade over 50 forex markets 24 hours a day with FXOpen. Take advantage of low commissions, deep liquidity, and spreads from 0.0 pips (additional fees may apply). Open your FXOpen account now or learn more about trading forex with FXOpen.

This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Visa said on Sept. 8 that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating globally during its fiscal second quarter of 2026, while their payment volume increased nearly 200% year over year.

The payments company also reported that its stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate. That represents growth of more than 15 times from the corresponding period one year earlier.

Visa disclosed the figures while announcing expanded work with Credit Coop. The companies are using stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facilities to help card programs finance daily settlement obligations.

The statistics come from Visa and Credit Coop rather than independently audited transaction reports. An annualized run rate also projects recent activity over a full year. It does not mean Visa has already processed $20 billion in stablecoin settlement during 2026.

Visa stablecoin cards reach 160 live programs

Stablecoin-linked cards connect a customer’s crypto wallet or stablecoin account with Visa’s existing merchant network. The digital assets are converted or used to fund the transaction while the merchant receives payment through familiar card infrastructure.

Visa said payment volume across these programs grew nearly 200% year over year. The company did not publish the underlying dollar value, regional breakdown or transaction count in its announcement.

The latest disclosure updates figures Visa presented in June. At the time, it said more than 160 programs were either live or in development and that stablecoin settlement had reached a $7 billion annualized rate as of March.

The latest $20 billion figure suggests the settlement run rate has nearly tripled since March. However, the two figures cover Visa’s stablecoin settlement activity, not necessarily consumer purchases made through stablecoin-linked cards alone.

Card payment volume and settlement volume measure different processes. Payment volume covers purchases initiated by cardholders. Settlement volume covers money transferred between Visa and participating financial institutions or program operators. Visa previously placed its stablecoin settlement run rate near $7 billion while expanding pilots across more regions, blockchains and currencies.

Credit Coop finances the daily settlement gap

Visa’s announcement focused on a working-capital problem facing new stablecoin card programs. Operators must fund settlement obligations before receiving all corresponding payments from cardholders.

Large, established card portfolios can use warehouse credit lines or securitizations. Smaller programs may need only several million dollars, drawn and repaid daily. Legal and administrative costs can make conventional facilities uneconomical at that scale.

Credit Coop’s structure uses a stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facility secured by settlement receivables. Borrowers draw from the facility to meet their daily Visa obligations and repay the credit line as cardholder proceeds arrive.

Incoming receivables pass through Credit Coop’s Spigot smart contract. The contract automatically directs part of the proceeds toward principal and interest before transferring the remaining funds to the borrower’s operating account.

The process resembles a controlled bank lockbox. The difference is that the routing and repayment instructions execute through smart contracts, creating publicly visible transaction records.

Visa said Credit Coop receives authorized programs’ daily settlement files through a secure data connection. Credit decisions, facility sizes and repayment checks can therefore use both Visa records and onchain transaction history.

According to Visa, stronger access to settlement data helped reduce borrowing costs for some participating programs by as much as 30%. The company did not disclose individual interest rates or identify every program that received lower pricing.

Rain provides the first operating case

Rain, a Visa principal member offering stablecoin card infrastructure, has used a Credit Coop revolving facility since August 2023. The facility finances Rain’s daily Visa settlement requirements.

Credit Coop transfers funds to Rain based on the relevant Visa settlement file. Rain then funds its settlement obligation. Cardholder payments subsequently pass through smart contracts that service interest and replenish the facility.

Visa said every settlement obligation covered by the facility had been funded on time. Credit Coop reported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financing since 2023, covering over 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events.

Credit Coop also reported zero defaults across the platform. Those performance figures are company claims and have not been supported by a published independent audit.

Rain accounted for approximately $2 billion of the reported cumulative settlement financing. Visa said the arrangement had processed more than 2,000 borrowing events and 7,000 repayment events for Rain, generating at least $1.58 million in interest.

Rain previously confirmed that it joined Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. The company said it settles Visa card obligations in USDC seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.

Visa has also described Rain’s use of USDC-backed receivables financing in its broader work on onchain credit. The structure is intended to reduce the need for issuers to hold idle settlement capital.

U.S. card programs test the financing route

Karta, a U.S.-issued premium Visa card operating under Rain’s bank identification number, also launched using Credit Coop financing while developing its performance record.

Visa said Karta later announced $140 million in financing in June 2026. The package included a $15 million Series A led by Galaxy Ventures and a $125 million institutional credit facility from Community Investment Management.

Visa presented Karta as an example of an early card program moving from a smaller revolving facility to institutional financing. The company said Karta’s daily settlement history contributed to the record available to larger lenders.

Moto and Xplace also use Credit Coop financing under Rain’s issuing infrastructure, according to the announcement. Visa did not disclose their facility sizes, borrowing costs or settlement volumes.

The partnership adds a credit layer to Visa’s wider stablecoin strategy. In March, Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge announced that their card programs were live in 18 countries and planned to reach more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

Bridge-enabled cards can be used through platforms including Phantom and MetaMask. Visa said customers could spend their balances across more than 175 million merchant locations, while merchants continue receiving conventional payments.

Visa linked cards and stablecoins with its wider programmable commerce strategy, including settlement pilots and payment tools for AI agents.

Visa plans just-in-time settlement funding

Visa and Credit Coop are now working toward just-in-time funding. Under the planned model, a program’s daily settlement file would trigger a stablecoin disbursement matching the exact net amount owed.

The funds would move directly to the relevant Visa settlement address. Programs would avoid drawing a full facility in advance and holding unused capital between settlement cycles.

Visa said this model could shorten borrowing periods from days to hours. Lenders could also align their exposure more closely with actual daily obligations instead of committing the entire credit line continuously.

The model remains dependent on accurate settlement data, reliable smart contracts and sufficient stablecoin liquidity. Operational failures could prevent a program from meeting a settlement deadline even when the credit facility remains adequately funded.

Credit Coop’s zero-default record does not guarantee future performance. Stablecoin depegging, contract vulnerabilities, borrower failures and changing regulations remain potential risks.

Visa has not announced a deadline for launching just-in-time funding across all 160 programs. It also has not disclosed which stablecoins or blockchains future facilities will support.

The next stage will involve extending the model to additional issuers and determining whether their onchain repayment records can support larger institutional facilities. Visa said it expects more programs to follow Karta’s path, but that remains a company forecast.

Bitcoiners are facing a renewed warning over an active social-engineering campaign that hijacks trusted Telegram accounts and funnels cryptocurrency professionals into fake Zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings. 

Lightning News raised the alarm on Aug. 7, citing recent accounts from Bitcoin community members. Independent security research confirms the core attack chain, though not every claim has been verified.

JUMPSEC said in July that it obtained source code from an active BlueNoroff phishing kit after exposed JavaScript source maps. The researchers found a victim-acquisition platform that abuses compromised Telegram contacts, profiles cryptocurrency wallets and delivers malware to selected targets on Windows and macOS systems. JUMPSEC said identified campaign infrastructure remained active as of July 22.

BlueNoroff turns trusted Telegram contacts into lures

The attack begins with trust rather than a blockchain vulnerability. JUMPSEC found operators using compromised Telegram accounts belonging to real industry contacts to invite targets to fake video meetings. Because messages arrive from genuine accounts and can reference existing relationships, sender recognition alone provides limited protection.

Google Mandiant independently documented a similar UNC1069 intrusion in February. A victim received messages from a compromised crypto executive’s Telegram account, scheduled a meeting and was redirected to a spoofed Zoom domain. The victim reported seeing what appeared to be an AI-generated video of another crypto executive during the staged call.

Attribution needs precision. Mandiant tracks the actor as UNC1069 and says it overlaps with BlueNoroff. U.S. Treasury has formally designated BlueNoroff, also known as APT38, as a North Korean state-sponsored group controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Security Alliance likewise attributes the fake-meeting campaign to UNC1069, or BlueNoroff.

Fake meetings push ClickFix commands and malware

JUMPSEC’s reconstructed kit shows a staged meeting interface asking for webcam access before an operator joins with prerecorded video. The victim then sees a supposed audio problem and a fake software update. The displayed troubleshooting text is deceptive: copying it places an attacker-controlled ClickFix command onto the clipboard.

On Windows, JUMPSEC observed PowerShell and VBScript components capable of disabling defenses, conducting reconnaissance and supporting follow-on access. On macOS, researchers found shell scripts and Mach-O payloads designed to steal credentials and other sensitive data. The kit also scans for browser wallet providers before malware delivery, helping operators identify valuable targets.

That means the claim that merely opening a meeting link automatically drains a wallet is too broad. In the documented chains, compromise requires another action, such as running a copied command or malicious update. However, once malware executes, Mandiant found tooling capable of stealing browser data, Keychain credentials and Telegram user data.

As previously reported, Martin Kuchař said his Telegram account was compromised and used in a similar attack. Earlier victim coverage also documented crypto executives being approached through trusted contacts before fake meeting prompts attempted to install malware.

Security researchers say the campaign remains broad

Security Alliance reported that it attributed 164 blocked domains to UNC1069 between Feb. 6 and April 7. Its advisory described multi-week social engineering through Telegram, LinkedIn and Slack before fraudulent Zoom or Teams links were delivered. JUMPSEC later expanded the infrastructure picture and said high- and medium-confidence infrastructure remained active in late July.

The FBI has warned separately that North Korean actors conduct highly tailored social engineering against cryptocurrency and DeFi employees. Its guidance specifically flags requests to execute code, install unfamiliar applications, run scripts to fix video calls or move conversations between communication platforms.

The FBI recommends verifying identities through an independent channel and keeping wallet credentials, seed phrases and private keys off internet-connected devices. Two-factor authentication remains useful, but infected devices can expose session data, so compromised sessions should also be revoked from a clean device.

What Bitcoin and crypto users should watch next

The most important correction to the Aug. 7 warning is that researchers have not established one universal method for the initial Telegram takeover. Claims that expired or temporary phone numbers are the main cause remain unverified in the material reviewed. Researchers confirm compromised accounts, but the takeover mechanism can vary.

In separate Telegram platform coverage, Apple briefly removed the messaging app from its App Store over a CSAM policy review before restoring it after Telegram removed the flagged content and banned the responsible user.

Users should treat unexpected meeting requests, domain changes, audio-fix prompts and requests to paste commands as high-risk signals. If suspicious code has already run, the FBI advises disconnecting the affected device from the internet while leaving it powered on for potential forensic recovery, then contacting incident-response specialists and law enforcement.

The campaign is therefore best described as an ongoing, North Korea-linked social-engineering operation targeting the human layer around crypto custody. Its effectiveness comes from exploiting trusted identities and familiar workplace tools, not from breaking Bitcoin itself.