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2026-09-26 · 8 high-impact headlines

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  1. SEC and CFTC Release Crypto FAQ Update: Token Buybacks and Network Upgrades Do Not Necessarily Constitute Securities, CFTC Allows On-Chain RecordkeepingBlockBeats news, September 26: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance released an updated set of frequently asked questions on September 25, clarifying that token buybacks, network upgrades, and marketing statements do not automatically make crypto assets securities. SEC staff pointed out that announcing a buyback plan for an already operational crypto network does not by itself make the related token constitute an investment contract, but if the network is not yet operational and the issuer promotes the buyback as a source of returns for holders, the situation may be different. The FAQ also clarified that once a crypto system is operational, services provided to secure, maintain, improve, or enhance the system or its functionality, or to promote network effects, do not constitute managerial efforts under the Howey test. Marketing the current use of a network also typically does not create an expectation of profit, and the same applies to statements about future functionality, provided that profit potential is not promoted. The update reiterated that conclusions will still depend heavily on specific facts and circumstances and builds on the SEC's interpretive release issued in March of this year on the application of securities laws to crypto assets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission updated its crypto FAQ the same day, allowing futures commission merchants and clearinghouses to invest customer funds in tokenized versions of previously permitted assets, provided that investment and custody requirements are met. CFTC staff also said that regulated firms may use blockchain for recordkeeping, but must be able to produce records even if the blockchain or its block explorer is unavailable. The two updates come as the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate, with regulators continuing to push forward a crypto regulatory framework under existing law.
  2. Middle East Situation Tracker: Trump Rejects Seven-Day Ceasefire Proposal, Plans to Resume Bombing; Iranian President Makes Conciliatory Remarks, Willing to Push for NegotiationsBlockBeats news, September 26: The latest developments in the Middle East situation are as follows: Peace Negotiations: According to The Wall Street Journal: U.S. officials said that U.S. President Trump has rejected Iran's proposed seven-day ceasefire plan and told his aides that he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections. Officials familiar with the matter revealed that the United States has informed Iran and mediators that Trump has no intention of lifting the maritime embargo. Iranian Foreign Minister: Willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, but stated that relevant conditions must be met; after the U.S. side accepts the seven-day plan, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. U.S. officials: (Regarding the 7-day plan) The United States is conducting positive and constructive discussions with Iran through intermediaries, and both sides continue to communicate on the nuclear issue. Al Jazeera said that U.S.-Iran negotiations have entered the technical consultation stage, but Iranian media Fars News, citing Iranian sources, said the relevant reports are "untrue." Iranian President: Supports restoring the memorandum of understanding and will create conditions for substantive negotiations. Iranian President: Iran does not want to possess nuclear weapons and is willing to advance negotiations with the United States. Senior Iranian official: Even if the United States accepts Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will not make concessions on the nuclear program issue. Strait of Hormuz: Preliminary data show that commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to single digits. U.S. officials said the United States and Iran are holding positive discussions through mediators, with nearly 40 million barrels of crude oil passing through Hormuz. Pakistan's Prime Minister called for the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait to remain open.
  3. U.S. stocks closed higher with all three major indices up, Apple hit a record closing high again, while cryptocurrency-related stocks fell against the market trend.BlockBeats news, September 26, according to BIT(bit.com) market data, U.S. stocks closed with the Dow up 0.93%, the S&P 500 up 0.51%, and the Nasdaq up 0.48%. Semiconductor, storage, and optical communications sectors rose broadly, while crypto-related stocks fell broadly. Apple rose more than 1%, setting a new record closing high, with its total market capitalization approaching $5 trillion. Semiconductor and storage sectors rose broadly: Seagate Technology (STX) rose 1.20%; Western Digital (WDC) rose 1.44%; SanDisk (SNDK) rose 1.38%; Micron Technology (MU) rose 0.16%; NVIDIA (NVDA) rose 0.22%; Intel (INTC) fell 3.45%; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 0.22%; Crypto-related stocks fell broadly: Strategy (MSTR) fell 1.86%; Coinbase (COIN) fell 2.06%; Circle (CRCL) fell 4.30%; BitMine Immersion (BMNR) fell 1.68%; SharpLink Gaming (SBET) fell 3.22%. Optical communications-related stocks rose broadly: Pure Photonics ETF FOTO rose 1.57%; Marvell Technology (MRVL) rose 1.15%; AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics) rose 0.37%; LITE (Lumentum Holdings) rose 1.36%; COHR (Coherent Corp.) rose 1.80%; CIEN (Ciena Corporation) fell 0.42%; FN (Fabrinet) rose 4.78%; AXTI (AXT Inc.) rose 4.01%; NOK (Nokia) fell 0.38%.
  4. Privacy narrative meme coin MASK market cap breaks through $31 million, hitting an all-time high, up over 3x in 24 hours.BlockBeats news, September 26, according to GMGN data, the market value of Solana chain privacy narrative Meme token MASK surpassed $31 million this morning, hitting a historic high, with a 24-hour increase of over 3 times. Its current market value is $20 million, with a trading volume of $4.1 million during the same period. The Meme token MASK uses ZEC as the base pool pairing, providing liquidity through the ZEC/MASK trading pair. Additionally, note that its transfer tax is as high as 3%. BlockBeats reminds users that Meme coins often lack practical use cases, and their prices are highly volatile, so investment requires caution.
  5. Hack VC partner Hsin-Ju's cause of death ruled suicide, investigation ongoingBlockBeats news, September 26: Autopsy records from the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office show that the death of former Hack VC partner and platform head Hsin-Ju has been ruled a suicide. The California Highway Patrol said the investigation into the related circumstances is still ongoing. Earlier reports stated that former Hack VC partner and platform head Hsin-Ju was found dead on August 24 near an Interstate 15 off-ramp in the Mojave Desert in California at the age of 37, with the time of death falling on the day after she claimed she would expose Hack VC. Investigators said at the time that the cause of death was still under investigation, and it was not yet clear whether heat, a sudden illness, mechanical failure, or other causes led to her death. Earlier, on August 23 local time, Hsin-Ju tweeted that she had rejected Hack VC's settlement offer and would publicly release relevant evidence from her time at Hack VC on August 26. Hsin-Ju previously said she had been required to continue working during a medical emergency while employed and was threatened by the company that if she resigned early before an event was completed, she would be blacklisted in the industry. After the incident, she accused the company of problems in handling her health insurance after her departure and of continuing to pressure her during legal negotiations. She has now dismissed her lawyer and said she would rather forgo settlement money and make the matter public. Hack VC subsequently tweeted that it had noticed the tweet and was deeply concerned about Hsin-Ju's health. It also said there was a major discrepancy between its understanding of the events and the content posted by Hsin-Ju, but that out of respect for privacy, it did not wish to publicly discuss the details at this time.
  6. Trump rejects Iran's 7-day plan, considers resuming bombing after midterm electionsBlockBeats news, September 26, according to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials said President Trump has rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire plan and told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections. Tehran's proposal was that if the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations. But privately, according to officials, Trump is skeptical that Iran will meet his demands and has told his staff he believes a new round of bombing is likely. It is not yet possible to determine the scale of the airstrikes Trump is considering. These officials said he is reluctant to restart large-scale combat operations, partly because the U.S. wants to save its dwindling munitions for other contingencies. One U.S. official said Washington and Tehran are still negotiating through mediators, including on nuclear issues. The official also said that the U.S.-led effort to ensure tankers can pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian threats has reduced the urgency of reaching a deal. Officials familiar with the matter revealed that the U.S. has told Iran and mediators that Trump has no intention of lifting the maritime embargo. The U.S. believes economic pressure will eventually force Tehran to sign an agreement favorable to Washington and the Arab states along the Persian Gulf.
  7. Codex has resumed operations and reset quotas for affected paid users.Tibo, head of OpenAI Codex, stated that Codex has resumed normal operations. Due to this brief disruption, the usage limits for all paid users of Codex and ChatGPT will be reset. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, OpenAI is still investigating the scope of abnormal activity by its AI agents. Sources said that after continuously reviewing internal logs, the number of issues OpenAI has discovered is still increasing, and the entire investigation is expected to last for months. OpenAI stated that its agents recently leaked 53 ChatGPT user images and has notified dozens of related third parties. It also accessed public information from government websites including the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of the leaked images have now been deleted, and OpenAI is pushing hosting providers to remove the remaining content. According to sources, as of mid-September, OpenAI had discovered about 24 abnormal agent incidents, as well as other unauthorized activity. Some incidents were discovered by external researchers rather than identified proactively by OpenAI.
  8. Vitalik: Ethereum nodes can now sync in half a day, Glamsterdam upgrade will further improveBlockBeats news, September 26: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum nodes can currently complete synchronization within half a day, and with aggressive configurations, disk usage can be reduced to below 0.5 TB, mainly thanks to EIP-4444 and continuous optimizations of snapshot synchronization by client teams. The future Glamsterdam upgrade will further improve node synchronization, and Nimbus's new synchronization protocol has already adopted related mechanisms. Vitalik also stated that users can point their wallet's Remote Procedure Call (RPC) to a local node, but must correctly configure the node's RPC functionality; some in-browser decentralized applications may not effectively support local RPC, while other applications have fixed RPC to their own servers. Next, the Kohaku command-line tool will further integrate privacy protocols, with some early development already completed.