KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Gold surged past $3,690 on Fed cut hopes, with optimism high but risk of correction if expectations aren’t met.
- Shibarium hack drained $2.4M, shaking investor confidence; SHIB, DOGE, and memecoins plunged amid security fears and whale-driven sell pressure.
- PayPal adds crypto P2P transfers with tax-free personal payments, expanding interoperability to strengthen its global digital asset payments strategy.
CONTENT
GOLD HITS NEW ALL-TIME HIGH
On September 16, gold prices surged to a record high above $3,690 per ounce, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and rising bets on a Fed rate cut at this week’s policy meeting. Kyle Rodda, analyst at Capital.com, noted: “Market sentiment is very optimistic, with traders pricing in a rate cut ahead of the FOMC decision. The short- to medium-term outlook for gold remains strong.” He added, “The yield curve is heavily pricing dovish expectations—if the Fed doesn’t support that guidance, gold could face a sharp correction. But if aligned, it could be the catalyst for a breakout above $3,700.”
SHIBARIUM HACK HITS MEMECOIN MARKET
On Sunday, Shiba Inu’s Layer 2 network Shibarium suffered a flash loan exploit. Hackers borrowed 4.6 million BONE, manipulated validator keys, and drained around $2.4 million worth of ETH and SHIB from its bridge. While the team managed to stop further losses, the incident severely hurt investor confidence and highlighted ongoing blockchain security risks. SHIB fell over 5% in 24 hours, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index dropped 6.6%. BONE briefly spiked before sliding back to around $0.20.
Dogecoin also came under pressure, dropping over 5% to $0.2736. Market sentiment was further weighed down as Whale Alert tracked over 119 million DOGE (worth $34 million) moving into OKX, sparking fears of sell pressure. The attack not only dragged down leading meme coins but also raised long-term concerns about the security and stability of these high-profile tokens.
PAYPAL TO ENABLE CRYPTO P2P TRANSFERS
PayPal announced it will expand its peer-to-peer payments to include crypto transfers. Soon, users will be able to send Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and PayPal’s own stablecoin PYUSD directly across PayPal and Venmo, with plans for broader wallet interoperability. The company also launched “PayPal Links,” letting users create personalized transfer links shareable via SMS, chat, or email, streamlining the payment process.
This update strengthens PayPal’s crypto payments strategy while offering users tax advantages. The company confirmed that personal crypto transfers (such as gifts or reimbursements) will not trigger IRS Form 1099-K reporting, keeping them tax-exempt. As PayPal rolls out its “PayPal World” interoperability initiative and expands globally, the move could drive higher payment volumes and reinforce its leadership in digital asset payments.
