BTCC Evening News Highlights (September 13)

1. Anthropic Calls for Slower AI Model Development as Altman and Musk Back the Proposal

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called over the weekend for leading AI companies to temporarily slow advances in frontier model capabilities to allow time for independent safety evaluations and common industry standards. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk both expressed support for the proposal, making AI safety one of the technology sector’s biggest weekend topics.

2. Trump Opposes Slowing AI Development, Says US Cannot Give Up Its Lead Over China

President Trump said in Ireland on Sunday that he does not support slowing US AI development because of risk warnings, arguing that some concerns have been exaggerated by “very negative forces.” He stressed that the US must maintain its technological lead over China, putting him at odds with recent calls from Anthropic, OpenAI and others for a slower pace of AI development.

3. Altman Says OpenAI Will Not IPO This Year, Calls AI Extinction Risk “Unacceptable”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said over the weekend that the company will not pursue an IPO in 2026 and that even a 10% probability of AI causing human extinction would be an “unacceptable” risk. Altman also expressed openness to slowing some frontier model development, pushing the AI safety debate beyond technical issues into capital markets and regulation.

4. Nasdaq 100 Futures Fall 1.1% as US Stocks Face Pressure at Weekly Open

Nasdaq 100 futures fell around 1.1% during Asian trading, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.5% and Dow futures slipped about 0.3%.

5. Brent Crude Reclaims $107, WTI Tops $102

Brent crude rose around 2.8% in early Asian trading to $107.51 per barrel, while WTI gained about 2.3% to $102.32. Fresh drone and vessel attacks in the Middle East, together with the shutdown of a key Saudi oil pipeline, extended last week’s sharp rally in crude prices.

6. Key Saudi Oil Pipeline Shut Down, Potentially Affecting 4% of Global Supply

Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline was shut after a drone attack. The route is designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and transport crude to Red Sea ports. If operations cannot be restored quickly, markets estimate that supply equivalent to as much as 4% of global oil consumption could be affected.

7. Probability of Fed Rate Hike This Week Rises to 86%

Following the release of US August CPI data, markets now price around an 86% probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike on Wednesday. If delivered, it would be the Federal Reserve’s first rate increase since mid-2023, with high energy prices and renewed inflation pressures driving the policy shift.

8. JPMorgan Expects Fed to Raise Rates in Both September and December

JPMorgan chief US economist Michael Feroli now expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates once in September and again in December. He argued that after inflation accelerated again, a failure by policymakers to follow through on their recent hawkish rhetoric could undermine the central bank’s credibility.

9. US 10-Year Treasury Yield Nears 5% as 30-Year Breaks Above 5.35%

The US 10-year Treasury yield was last around 4.97%, having risen roughly 19 basis points last week alone. The 30-year yield previously moved above 5.35%, reaching its highest level since 2007. Elevated interest rates are becoming an increasingly important drag on global equity valuations.

10. Trump Says US Interest Rates Should Be the Lowest in the World

President Trump said Sunday that the United States should not have higher interest rates than other countries regardless of economic data, again calling for lower policy rates. His remarks come as markets heavily price a Fed rate hike this week, creating a sharp contrast with current monetary policy expectations.

11. Probability of BOJ Rate Hike This Week Stands at Around 76%

Interest-rate markets price around a 76% probability that the Bank of Japan will raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% on Friday. If delivered, the Fed and BOJ could tighten policy in the same week, adding further valuation pressure to global bonds and growth stocks.

12. Korea Exchange Officially Launches Real-Time After-Hours Trading

The Korea Exchange launched its new after-hours market today, allowing regular equities to continue trading in real time from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. after the normal market close. The system replaces parts of the previous single-price after-hours matching mechanism as South Korea gradually extends trading hours to attract more global investors.

13. Bitcoin Falls Toward $76,700, Continues Testing Near-Term Support

Bitcoin was last trading around $76,745, remaining below its previous consolidation range near $80,000. Surging Middle East oil prices, US Treasury yields approaching 5%, and an 86% implied probability of a Fed rate hike kept risk appetite cautious over the weekend.

14. Total Crypto Market Cap Falls to $2.62 Trillion, Down 1.02% in 24 Hours

Latest CoinMarketCap data showed total crypto market capitalization at around $2.62 trillion, down 1.02% over the past 24 hours. Trading volume was around $49.9 billion, up approximately 20.6% year-on-year. Bitcoin dominance rose to 58.86%, up roughly 0.15 percentage points from the previous day.

15. SOL Falls Below $100 as ZEC Retreats Toward $1,063

CoinMarketCap data showed ETH trading around $2,480, while SOL fell to about $99.5, down roughly 2.6% over 24 hours. ZEC traded around $1,063, down about 5.7%, as higher-volatility assets that had rallied sharply recently continued to see deeper corrections.

16. CryptoQuant Says Bitcoin Must Break $81,700 to Confirm a New Bull Market

CryptoQuant said the 365-day moving average near $81,700 is an important level for confirming a new Bitcoin bull market. Dense supply remains between $77,100 and $80,200, while the 200-day moving average sits near $70,000.

17. Survey Shows 67% of Wealth Managers Still Have No Crypto Allocation

A latest Bitwise Research survey showed that 67% of wealth management firms still have not allocated cryptocurrency to client portfolios. Despite continued growth in institutional-grade products, crypto penetration across traditional wealth management channels remains relatively low.

18. SEC Chair to Deliver Keynote at Solana Summit Today

According to the SEC’s official website, Chair Paul Atkins will deliver a keynote address at Solana Summit: Washington x Wall Street at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 14. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce will also participate in a fireside chat.

19. CLARITY Act Faces Senate Procedural Vote on September 15

The US crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, is scheduled for a Senate procedural vote on September 15 to determine whether it advances to formal floor debate. The vote is viewed as an important milestone in the current round of US digital asset legislation.

20. Bitcoin Network Sees Single-Block Reorganization, Third in Four Weeks

Galaxy Research recorded a single-block reorganization at Bitcoin block height 966500. Spiderpool and Antpool produced valid blocks almost simultaneously, but Antpool’s chain ultimately became the main chain because it accumulated more proof-of-work. It was the third recorded single-block reorganization in the past four weeks.