Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $79,000 early on Tuesday after the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike rose to around 60% following Friday’s jobs data. Some analysts believe the flagship cryptocurrency will remain under $82,000 until the Fed decides on interest rates.

BTC fell 1.55% on Monday and closed at $79,091. It slipped further during the ongoing session and is down nearly 1% at $78,364.

Bitcoin (BTC) Decline Continues

BTC’s latest rally took the price past $82,000 on Friday, reaching an intraday high of $82,282 before losing momentum thanks to substantial selling pressure above $82,000. However, price action wavered following Friday’s jobs report. The report revealed the US added 162,000 jobs in August against the expected 55,000, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%. CME’s FedWatch tool increased the likelihood of a 25 bps interest rate hike to 60% following the report.

The US Dollar and Treasury yields also rose following the report, pressuring BTC and other rate-sensitive assets. LMAX Group Market Strategist Joel Kruger believes BTC and the broader cryptocurrency market were displaying considerable resistance, stating in comments to The Block,

“The crypto market continues to display exceptional resilience despite having been presented with plenty of reasons to correct. Bitcoin is holding near $80,000 following an aggressive August rally that pushed momentum into overbought territory.”

Kruger also highlighted that crypto had faced substantial headwinds, including US-Iran tensions, rising oil prices, and higher Treasury yields.

“What stands out is that crypto has absorbed these headwinds without suffering meaningful technical damage.”

Bitcoin (BTC) Could Remain Muted Until Fed Decision

Bitfinex analysts believe BTC is consolidating with an upside bias, not a confirmed breakout. For the moment, sustained ETF demand is absorbing the pressure from the Treasury yield increase and possible interest rate hike. BTC’s latest decline comes after another attempt to reclaim $80,000, as selling pressure pushed the price lower following Friday’s move to $82,282.

Meanwhile, analysts at CoinEx believe BTC will remain pinned under $82,000 until the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates. Jeff Ko, the chief analyst at CoinEx, stated,

“I expect compression into a tight range, capped around $82,000 with support at $78,000–$79,000.”

Ko added that if BTC loses the lower end of its support range, it could slip towards $77,000, a level also flagged by Bitfinex analysts. BTC must decisively clear $80,000 before it can retest the $82,000 resistance. However, this could be difficult. The recent August rally took BTC past $79,000. Technical indicators such as the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) have reached overbought territory, while waning momentum and upper-level resistance increase the likelihood of a pullback.

Upcoming CPI And PPI Decisions Could Dictate Bitcoin Price Action

The biggest test for Bitcoin ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is the interest rate decision. The odds of a 25 basis point hike have increased following Friday’s employment figures, which strengthened the argument for tighter policy. Manufacturing also expanded, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index reaching 54.6. However, elevated input costs suggest inflationary risk remains elevated. The Producer Price Index (PPI) is expected on September 10, followed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on September 11. The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on interest rates on September 16. Ko stated,

“A hot print that pushes yields and the dollar sharply higher would be the cleanest test of Bitcoin’s resilience.”

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Help BTC Remain Near $80,000

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs extended the weekly inflow streak, recording $986.9 million in net inflows for the week ending September 4. The latest figures have taken the three-week inflows to $3.8 billion. Sustained ETF inflows have helped the flagship cryptocurrency remain near $80,000 despite rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar, and expectations of an interest rate hike.

However, Ko cautioned that the inflows do not confirm an accumulation phase.

“The $986.9 million of inflows brought the three-week total to roughly $3.8 billion, which is clearly constructive. But I would still like to see another few weeks of sustained net inflows, particularly if Bitcoin turns boring and trades sideways, before calling this a genuine accumulation phase.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said on Sept. 7 that initial public offerings “will move on chain,” as regulated exchanges and blockchain companies expand infrastructure for tokenized securities.

Zhao offered no timeline, proposed structure or potential issuer in his brief statement. His comment was therefore a prediction rather than an announcement involving Binance or a confirmed offering.

Parts of the infrastructure needed to conduct an on-chain IPO are already operating. France completed a fully tokenized public offering in April, while Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have established rules for trading eligible securities in tokenized form.

Market data also show growing demand for blockchain-based equities. Tokenized stocks currently represent about $2.9 billion in distributed value, according to the RWA.xyz dashboard. That figure was roughly 14% higher over the preceding month when Zhao made his statement.

Capital inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $986.9 million in the week ending 5 September 2026. Over the past three weeks, cumulative inflows have totalled $3.8 billion, marking the strongest three-week performance for these funds in 2026. Over the same period, spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $218.4 million, down from $824.4 million the previous week, representing a roughly 74% decline in inflows.

Against this backdrop, Ethereum continues to prepare for the Gl Amsterdam upgrade, which is expected to launch on the mainnet in Q4 2026, although an exact date has yet to be confirmed. The upgrade is aimed at further scaling the network and improving the efficiency of transaction and data processing. These factors provide the fundamental backdrop for ETH following its strong rally in the second half of August.

Technical Analysis of ETH/USD

The four-hour ETH/USD chart shows a pronounced uptrend that began with a sharp impulse on volume significantly above the average levels seen in previous weeks. An ascending wedge formed near the top of this move, with price fluctuations gradually narrowing to create a classic pattern. At the end of August, the price attempted to break out of the wedge to the downside, but the breakout failed to develop, with the market returning to the boundaries of the developing market profile.

Trading within the current boundaries has continued for a relatively long period, which could indicate that energy is building ahead of the next significant move. The price is currently moving between the Point of Control (POC) at $2,484 and the upper boundary of the profile at $2,521.

Above the current market profile, near the top of the trend, there is a red resistance area around $2,566. Below it lies a green support area at $2,368, which would only become accessible if the price first breaks through the lower boundary of the profile at $2,428.

The RSI + MAs indicator is showing readings of 53, 55 and 53. The oscillator and both moving averages are holding below the upper boundary of the neutral zone and are attempting to move higher, while the moving-average lines are green.

Key Takeaways

The prolonged consolidation following the failed downside wedge breakout has yet to determine the pair’s next direction, while the RSI + MAs readings add to the potential recovery scenario. The flow of capital into spot Ethereum ETFs remains an additional point of reference for Ethereum.

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HashKey Cloud said on Sept. 7 that it had joined Stacks as a launch partner for self-custodial Bitcoin staking.

The agreement gives the infrastructure provider two roles: participating in the inaugural Genesis Bond and joining the signer network securing sBTC.

HashKey Cloud operates under HashKey Holding Limited. Stacks founder Muneeb Ali presented the collaboration during the HashKey Cloud and Cactus Custody “Yield on Trust” event in Hong Kong.

The company says its node and staking infrastructure covers more than 40 blockchain networks. Stacks reported that HashKey Cloud manages about HK$29 billion in staked assets. These figures come from the companies and were not independently audited for the partnership announcement.

Spain’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me has launched a separate company to help courts, police and financial institutions trace, seize, store and liquidate cryptocurrency linked to investigations.

According to a statement from Bit2Me, the new unit, Bit2Shield, has been legally registered as CryptoShield S.L. and will provide forensic and operational services covering digital assets from the point they are identified during an investigation through their eventual sale when ordered by authorities.

The company will assist investigators during searches and seizures by extracting information from wallets, locating cryptocurrency and preparing digitally signed forensic reports that can be submitted in court. Its work will extend to fraud investigations, source-of-funds certification and training for police officers, judges and financial institutions.

Bit2Shield formalizes services that Bit2Me had already been providing to government agencies. During 2025, the exchange processed €1.5 million ($1.74 million) in seized cryptocurrency for authorities including Interpol, Europol and Spanish police, according to the company.

Blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis was used to trace the assets before Bit2Me converted the cryptocurrency into euros for the state.

Bit2Shield will manage crypto from seizure to sale

Once digital assets have been located and seized, Bit2Shield will arrange their storage in cold wallets protected by a multi-signature setup, Bit2Me said. The assets can remain under custody until authorities issue instructions for their disposal.

When a court or another competent authority orders a sale, Bit2Shield will coordinate the process, while the actual crypto-to-euro conversion will be carried out through Bitcoinforme S.L., Bit2Me’s entity authorized by Spain’s securities regulator under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

Proceeds from the sale will then be transferred in euros to government bank accounts.

Bit2Me said Bit2Shield itself is not a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA because its activities center on investigations, digital forensics and training. Services that fall under the regulated conversion of cryptocurrency into fiat will remain with Bitcoinforme.

The distinction comes after the EU completed the final stage of its MiCA transition period on July 1. As crypto.news previously reported, only 281 of 1,343 crypto service providers operating across the European Economic Area had secured MiCA authorization by the deadline, leaving 1,062 without approval.

An Aug. 5 review of ESMA authorization data found that the regulator’s interim register is updated weekly and covers regulated activities including custody, crypto-to-fiat exchange, trading platforms, transfers, order execution and portfolio management. The data has since been made available through a searchable MiCA tracker for firms and compliance teams.

Bit2Me has expanded its work with banks

The new forensic unit follows Bit2Me’s expansion into infrastructure used by traditional financial institutions, alongside its retail cryptocurrency exchange business.

In June, Spanish banking group Cecabank launched a regulated crypto platform for financial institutions after securing authorization for crypto custody, transfers and the reception and transmission of orders.

Bit2Me handles trade execution, liquidity, market access and the exchange layer under that arrangement, while Cecabank provides institutional custody and banking infrastructure. Renta 4 Banco became one of the first financial institutions to use the platform as it developed crypto trading services for clients.

The project grew out of a partnership established in May 2024. The two companies initially announced the MiCA-ready infrastructure in May 2025 while they were waiting for regulatory approval, with Bit2Me assigned responsibility for trading and market access.

Cecabank later began the European passporting process to extend its authorized crypto services into Ireland, Portugal and Luxembourg.

Bit2Me’s shareholders and financial backers include companies from both banking and crypto. Tether acquired a minority interest in the Spanish exchange in 2025 and led a €30 million funding round intended to support its expansion in Europe and Latin America. The Tether investment followed Bit2Me’s receipt of authorization under MiCA, allowing it to operate across EU member states.

Bankinter, Unicaja, Cecabank and Telefónica are among the other companies that have backed Bit2Me.

Crypto seizures require specialized custody

Bit2Shield is entering a field where police agencies have increasingly turned to specialized crypto companies to manage digital assets after seizure.

South Korea’s National Police Agency, for example, awarded Upbit operator Dunamu a one-year contract in August to custody seized cryptocurrency after a public tender. Under that arrangement, confiscated assets are stored through Upbit Custody using offline cold wallets, with separate wallets for different types of assets and security based on multi-party computation, distributed key generation and multi-signature technology.

Spanish authorities have faced the same operational issue when cryptocurrency is recovered during criminal investigations. In April, National Police officers seized approximately €400,000 in crypto held in two cold wallets during an investigation into a manga piracy operation in Almería. The cold wallets were concealed inside a wall-mounted thermometer, according to police.

The case involved a Spanish-language manga piracy platform that authorities said had operated for roughly a decade and generated more than €4 million in advertising revenue since 2014. Three people were arrested during the operation.

Blockchain tracing can remain useful after investigators identify or recover digital assets because transactions leave records that can be followed across public networks. Chainalysis said in August that investigators can trace funds even in cases involving physical cryptocurrency theft, while its research documented more than $30 million stolen through successful kidnappings, home invasions and other violent attacks during the first half of 2026.

In a separate investigation disclosed in August, Chainalysis traced 29,120 cryptocurrency addresses and digital identifiers connected to more than 100 child sexual abuse material platforms, forums and distribution networks. The work generated 14,300 investigative leads and identified more than 7,700 suspect accounts across cryptocurrency exchanges and payment platforms.

Bit2Shield’s investigations will be led by Adrián Maroño, a former member of the Spanish Civil Guard’s Central Operational Unit, known as UCO. His responsibilities will cover the forensic and investigative work carried out by the new company for courts, law enforcement agencies and financial institutions.