The UK is moving to put stablecoins at the center of a new Bank of England mandate aimed at supporting innovation in digital payments.

The government plans to give the Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, a secondary objective to support innovation in payment systems and emerging forms of digital money, HM Treasury announced on Thursday.

The mandate will cover payment systems that use digital settlement assets such as stablecoins, while financial stability will remain the BoE’s primary objective.

The proposal comes as the UK steps up its work on stablecoins through regulatory changes, payment experiments and closer coordination with the US.

BoE innovation mandate faces September debate

The new responsibility would extend an existing approach used to regulate central counterparties (CCPs) and central securities depositories (CSDs), which help clear, hold and settle financial assets.

Under the proposed change, the central bank would report annually to Parliament on its progress toward the payments innovation objective.

“Developments in digital payments technology, including tokenisation and DLT [distributed ledger technology], have the potential to transform financial markets across the globe,” City Minister Lucy Rigby said.

The government expects to implement the objective through amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is scheduled for further debate in the House of Lords on Sept. 7 and 9.

Stablecoin rules still face industry concerns

The new mandate’s impact may depend on how BoE uses its annual reporting requirement, Maksym Sakharov, co-founder and CEO of on-chain banking infrastructure provider WeFi, told Cointelegraph.

“The objective is secondary to financial stability, so it overrides nothing, but the bank will have to publish an annual account of its innovation efforts in payments and digital money,” Sakharov said. This requirement could put greater public scrutiny on stablecoin rules the central bank finalized in June.

Related: Binance to plan UK relaunch with FCA license application: Report

Sakharov pointed to requirements for systemic stablecoin issuers to hold at least 30% of their backing assets in non-interest-bearing deposits at the central bank.

“The reserve split is the first thing to fix,” he said, adding that the requirement could determine whether a stablecoin business is commercially viable.

UK steps up stablecoin push

The new mandate follows increasing UK efforts involving stablecoins, or crypto assets designed to maintain a stable value by tracking assets such as the US dollar.

In August, a group participating in the Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab began testing whether a stablecoin and a simulated digital British pound could work together in a cross-border trade payment. The experimental platform does not use real customers or money.

Related: Revolut rolls out euro stablecoin in 3 European markets

In mid-July, the UK and US published a joint statement on stablecoins, with the governments saying they “intend to enable the use of stablecoins in cross-border finance” and calling for greater alignment of their regulatory frameworks.

BoE also previously dropped plans to limit stablecoin holdings to 20,000 British pounds for individuals and 10 million pounds for businesses, replacing them with a temporary 40 billion pound ($52.9 billion) issuance cap for each systemic stablecoin.

Magazine: MiCA cracks down on USDT in Europe… but no one else cares

BlockFi founder Zac Prince has announced a new crypto loan program to attract more assets with promises of interest-only loans, waived origination fees, and other promotional offers.

Meanwhile, members of a BlockFi class action who secured a court-ordered payout in their lawsuit against Prince, still haven’t actually received any money from that $13.25 million settlement.

Prince was a defendant in this litigation, settling allegations that he violated US securities laws by selling BlockFi Interest Accounts without adequate disclosures.

A judge has ordered that insurance companies backing him and his executive team at BlockFi must pay $13.25 million for this class of BlockFi customers.

Today, anyone who decides to trust Prince’s new product, a so-called “crypto portfolio line of credit” by GalaxyOne, are able to entrust as many digital assets with Prince’s new employer as they desire.

Eager to amass as much capital as possible, Galaxy is extending customers fee waivers and interest-only payment options to make sure depositors can maximize their financial leverage.

From 2018-2022, BlockFi amassed digital assets in its own way, paying up to 9.5% APY to incentivize inbound deposits. These APYs were obviously unsustainable, and the company went bankrupt in November 2022.

Prince, now a managing director of GalaxyOne, described his company’s newest crypto promo, saying, “We’re excited to bring a competitive crypto-backed borrowing product to market.”

He emphasized its “competitive” fees.

Ethereum price held above $2,500 on Aug. 27 after strong US spot ETF inflows, improving global liquidity conditions, and a historic short squeeze supported its weekly breakout.

Ethereum price holds its weekly breakout

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price traded near $2,507 at the time of writing, up about 7.8% from its Aug. 21 opening price of $2,326. The token briefly reached a weekly high near $2,566 before settling into a narrow range around the psychological $2,500 level.

The move followed a sharp breakout from the $1,875–$1,950 range that had contained ETH for much of August. Buyers pushed the price above its February-to-May resistance area and have so far prevented a deeper return to the former range.

Ethereum’s daily chart shows the price trading almost exactly at the $2,500 Murrey Math resistance. Chaikin Money Flow stood at 0.24, remaining well above zero and showing that buying pressure continued to outweigh selling pressure.

Holding above $2,500 would turn the former resistance into support and strengthen the case for another leg higher. A rejection, however, could leave the breakout vulnerable because ETH has moved more than 30% from its pre-rally consolidation zone without a major correction.

Why is Ethereum price up?

Ethereum’s rally began after the US Treasury announced that it would at least double the maximum size of its long-end liquidity-support bond buybacks from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation beginning Sept. 9. The increase covers nominal Treasury securities in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors. The Treasury announced the change on Aug. 19.

Market participants treated the decision as supportive of liquidity-sensitive assets. Bond buybacks can improve trading conditions in older Treasury securities, while lower long-term yields generally make risk assets such as cryptocurrencies more attractive relative to fixed-income investments.

A record derivatives squeeze amplified the initial move. Nearly $3 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with bearish positions accounting for about 92% of the total. Ethereum jumped roughly 18% during the event as short sellers were forced to close positions in a rising market. crypto.news reported that it was the largest concentrated short squeeze since November 2021.

US institutional demand then helped ETH retain those gains. Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $697.2 million in net inflows during the week ending Aug. 21, their strongest weekly performance of 2026. The inflows formed part of a combined $2.6 billion entering US-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum funds.

ETF demand provided a spot-market foundation after the liquidation-driven rally. It also helped offset isolated negative developments in decentralized finance, including the estimated $8.5 million loss connected to the Term Finance governance attack.

Ethereum faces a liquidity test at $2,550

The 4-hour chart shows ETH consolidating in the upper half of its Bollinger Bands. Price stood above the indicator’s $2,477 midpoint, while the upper and lower bands were positioned near $2,514 and $2,441.

A 4-hour close above the upper band would indicate that buyers have regained short-term control. The Awesome Oscillator remained positive at 32.22 and had started printing green bars again, suggesting that momentum was attempting to recover after weakening during the consolidation.

The three-day CoinGlass liquidation heatmap identifies the largest nearby liquidity concentration around $2,545–$2,555. Price often moves toward areas containing dense leveraged positions, making that region the immediate target if ETH continues higher.

Clearing $2,550 could expose thinner liquidity between approximately $2,575 and $2,600. The daily chart identifies $2,656 as the next major technical target, followed by $2,812 if momentum expands.

Leverage also creates downside risk. The heatmap shows a large liquidation cluster near $2,410–$2,420, while the 4-hour Bollinger Band provides nearer support at $2,477 and $2,441. Losing those levels could pull ETH toward the larger liquidity pool below.

Broader daily support sits at $2,343, followed by the $2,187 pivot. A decline below $2,343 would place the latest breakout at risk and increase the chance of a return toward the previous trading range.

Analysts watch the weekly close above $2,550

Crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades said ETH was consolidating above its previous resistance but needed to extend the rally soon to avoid falling back below the breakout level.

“Otherwise you risk deviating back below the resistance and for this to turn into a big liquidity grab,” the analyst wrote.

The trader said bulls should push Ethereum to new local highs by the end of the week. Failure to do so could produce a rejection wick, weakening the apparent breakout.

Analyst Ted Pillows also identified $2,550 as Ethereum’s decisive resistance zone. According to his weekly chart, a close above that level could open a move toward $3,000. The chart places the first major support near $2,180 and a lower support area around $1,950.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has reportedly secured its first-instance court wins in two lawsuits seeking to recover proceeds from users who sold Bitcoin that the exchange mistakenly credited to their accounts. The rulings come as regulators continue to scrutinize the earlier operational lapse and Bithumb works to contain the financial impact.

According to a report by Chosun Biz, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in Bithumb’s favor in two of four unjust enrichment cases filed against users. The lawsuits involved different amounts: one ruling concerned a claim of 194 million won (about $140,000), while the other related to 5 million won (about $3,600). Two additional cases—seeking roughly 14.8 million won (about $10,700) and 500 million won (about $362,000)—remain pending, the report said.

Key takeaways

• Bithumb has won first-instance rulings in two of four unjust enrichment lawsuits tied to a February Bitcoin crediting error.
• The court decisions cover claims of 194 million won and 5 million won, while two other claims are still awaiting outcomes.
• The lawsuits proceeded via service by public notice because standard delivery methods for court documents failed for the defendants.
• The legal push targets proceeds from users who sold Bitcoin credited by mistake before affected accounts were frozen.

How the court cases connect to Bithumb’s February mistake

The underlying dispute traces back to an event on Feb. 6, 2026, during which Bithumb intended to distribute rewards denominated in Korean won. As described in earlier coverage by Cointelegraph, Bithumb said the error happened during a promotional activity: an employee allegedly selected Bitcoin as the payment unit instead of the intended fiat currency.

Rather than crediting the planned reward amount in won to 249 users, the exchange reportedly credited customer accounts with 620,000 BTC. At the time of the incident, that volume was valued at more than $40 billion, according to the reporting that followed the episode. Bithumb later stated that it recovered the vast majority of the mistakenly credited amount—618,212 BTC—leaving only a small residual shortfall.

However, the problem was not purely theoretical. Some users had reportedly already sold 1,788 BTC worth of the credited balances before Bithumb moved to freeze the affected accounts. It is those early sales that became the focus of Bithumb’s March litigation strategy.

What Bithumb is trying to recover through unjust enrichment suits

As reported by Cointelegraph, Bithumb filed four unjust enrichment lawsuits in March against users who sold the mistakenly credited Bitcoin and did not return the proceeds. The exchange’s approach, as characterized in that earlier reporting, was to seek monetary recovery from the sale proceeds rather than compel users to return Bitcoin itself.

The newly reported first-instance rulings therefore represent more than symbolic legal progress: they support Bithumb’s argument that users who benefited from the mistaken credits should compensate the exchange to the extent of the sold proceeds. Still, with half of the cases remaining pending, the broader extent of Bithumb’s ultimate recovery is not yet fully determined.

For users, the developments also underscore a practical risk in operational error scenarios. Even when a credit is unintended, actions taken immediately after the balance appears—such as trading or exchanging the credited asset—can later become a subject of legal dispute if the credit is subsequently reversed or invalidated.

Service by public notice highlights delivery hurdles in the lawsuits

Chosun Biz also noted that both of the cases that reached rulings advanced through service by public notice. The court reportedly used this method because it could not deliver the necessary documents to the defendants through ordinary channels.

That procedural detail matters because it can affect how quickly cases move and how defendants participate. While service by public notice is not unusual in certain jurisdictions when direct service fails, it can raise questions about whether defendants were fully informed in time to respond through standard procedures. The reported decisions, however, indicate the court proceeded to judgment nonetheless.

Regulatory pressure continues alongside the litigation

While the lawsuits play out in civil court, Bithumb is also facing ongoing regulatory scrutiny related to the February error. South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) reportedly investigated the incident, focusing on how the exchange could credit customers with Bitcoin it did not hold.

Cointelegraph previously reported that the regulator sent Bithumb an inspection opinion in early August, which marked the formal start of sanctions proceedings, though no final penalty had been announced at the time of that reporting. In the same earlier coverage, Cointelegraph said it reached out to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for an update but did not receive a response by publication.

Separately, Bithumb has faced other legal and compliance challenges this year. South Korean police reportedly raided its offices in June as part of an investigation unrelated to the Bitcoin crediting error, involving allegations of favoritism related to lawmaker Kim Byung-ki. The company is also contesting a separate six-month partial business suspension over alleged Anti-Money Laundering violations; Cointelegraph reported that a Seoul court stayed the suspension in April pending the outcome of Bithumb’s challenge.

Taken together, the court rulings and the regulator’s continuing work indicate that Bithumb’s February incident is being treated as both a financial and governance issue—not merely a one-off operational glitch. For investors and market participants, the key question is whether Bithumb’s internal controls reforms and compliance measures will satisfy regulators after a mispayment of this magnitude.

What to watch next

With two remaining unjust enrichment lawsuits still pending, the next development will likely be whether Bithumb’s legal strategy yields further first-instance judgments and how those cases ultimately resolve. At the same time, market observers will continue to watch for any FSS sanctions outcome, since regulatory findings could shape how exchanges in South Korea tighten operational controls to prevent similar crediting errors.

Key takeaways

• Ethereum has gained 27% in seven days after breaking above $2,000 and triggering substantial short liquidations.
• Proposed SEC crypto rules and planned Treasury bond buybacks have strengthened risk appetite.
• Ethereum ETFs attracted more than $1.2 billion in August, their highest monthly inflow since August 2025.

Ethereum rallies 27% after breaking above $2,000

Ethereum has climbed 27% over the past seven days after moving above the psychologically important $2,000 level. The breakout triggered substantial short liquidations, adding momentum to the rally.

Improving regulatory expectations in the United States also supported the broader cryptocurrency market. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed framework for crypto assets could give projects more flexibility to raise capital without following the traditional securities-listing process.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced plans to double its bond buybacks beginning in September. The program is expected to inject billions of dollars of liquidity into financial markets, potentially benefiting risk-sensitive assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Institutional demand has strengthened alongside the price recovery. Investors poured more than $1.2 billion into Ethereum-linked exchange-traded funds during August, according to SoSoValue.

That represents the strongest monthly inflow since August 2025, when ETH reached its latest record high.

Crypto market sentiment has also shifted sharply. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose from below 40, indicating fear, to 80, representing extreme greed. It is the index’s highest reading since December 2024, when Ethereum traded near $4,000.

The change suggests that investors have adopted a more aggressive, risk-on position. However, elevated optimism can also increase the possibility of a short-term correction.

Ethereum’s on-chain data supports the improving outlook, but a key volume signal has yet to be triggered.

The gap between Ethereum’s seven-day and 30-day trading-volume moving averages has narrowed following renewed buying activity and the recent short squeeze.

A crossover in which the seven-day average moves above the 30-day average would provide stronger confirmation of bullish momentum. According to the analysis, this signal has identified the beginning of Ethereum’s previous bullish cycles during the past three years.

Until that crossover occurs, the rally still lacks full volume-based confirmation.

The successful implementation of Ethereum’s planned Glamsterdam upgrade could become the market’s next major catalyst.

A smooth rollout may strengthen confidence in Ethereum’s development roadmap and network capabilities. The upgrade could have an effect similar to the Pectra upgrade in April 2025, which coincided with improving market momentum.

Its impact will depend on implementation, adoption and broader financial-market conditions.

ETH may retest $2,200 before advancing toward $2,800

The weekly Ethereum outlook has shifted from bearish to bullish, with a medium-term target of $2,800. The revised forecast follows an earlier bearish projection of $1,600 for the first half of 2026.

A confirmed break above $2,200 is viewed as a potential buy signal. Historical price action suggests ETH could then consolidate between $2,200 and $2,800, resembling the pattern seen at the beginning of the April–May 2025 rally.

Momentum indicators nevertheless point to the possibility of a near-term pullback. Ethereum’s weekly Relative Strength Index has reached 88, placing it deep in overbought territory.

A correction toward $2,200 would relieve some of that pressure and could establish a stronger base for another advance. Failure to hold that level, however, would weaken the current bullish setup.

If Ethereum holds above $2,200 and subsequently clears the $2,800 resistance level, historical patterns suggest a longer-term target near $5,400.

That projection remains conditional rather than guaranteed. Ethereum would need continued ETF demand, supportive liquidity conditions, successful network upgrades, and sustained trading momentum to maintain the rally.

For now, $2,200 is the most important support level, while $2,800 represents the next major resistance.