Crypto News Today: Treasury Sanctions Iranian Exchange as Market Rallies and Hyperliquid Hits New High

Last Updated: September 18, 2026

Crypto markets extended their recovery on September 18, 2026, with Bitcoin clearing $78,000 and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token setting a fresh all-time high above $90, even as the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a Tehran-based exchange over a bitcoin toll scheme tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned BitBank, a Tehran exchange accused of moving hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard through a Strait of Hormuz crypto toll scheme running since around June.
• Hyperliquid’s HYPE token surged past $90 to a new all-time high, with ecosystem tokens PURR and JOFF jumping more than 20% and 17% alongside record platform derivatives activity.
• Zcash’s core development organizations reached unanimous agreement on a concrete NU7 upgrade timeline, helping extend ZEC’s rally to over 26% for the week, the best performance among major assets by a wide margin.
• The SEC convened a roundtable with BlackRock, Nasdaq, and other major firms to discuss moving stock trading on-chain, naming Ethereum and Solana as the leading infrastructure contenders.
• Nearly every major asset traded higher today as the broader market continued digesting Wednesday’s Fed rate hike, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Zcash, Cardano, Monero, Chainlink, and Solana all posting gains.

Today’s Top Stories

Treasury sanctions BitBank over Iran crypto toll scheme. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned BitBank, a Tehran-based exchange, for allegedly funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The flows are tied to a system charging oil tankers roughly $1 per barrel in crypto to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions carry real extraterritorial risk, foreign exchanges or banks processing BitBank’s flows can themselves lose access to the U.S. financial system. Full coverage is on Bitcoin News Today.

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token hits a new all-time high. HYPE surged past $90 today, surpassing its previous June 2026 peak, driven by record derivatives platform activity and its deflationary token-buyback mechanism. Ecosystem tokens PURR and JOFF jumped over 20% and 17% respectively alongside the move, while Hyperliquid Strategies Inc., the entity managing HYPE’s treasury, rose in pre-market trading. See crypto market today for the full market picture.

Zcash’s NU7 timeline agreement extends its remarkable rally. Zcash Foundation, Project Tachyon, Valar Group, ZODL, Shielded Labs, and other ecosystem organizations reached unanimous agreement on a concrete NU7 upgrade timeline, outlining testnet work in October and a possible mainnet window in November. ZEC remains up more than 26% for the week, extending a run that has taken it from roughly $486 to well above $1,400 in under two weeks. Full details are on Zcash News Today.

SEC roundtable weighs on-chain stock trading. The SEC met today with BlackRock, Nasdaq, and other major firms to discuss moving stock trading on-chain, naming Ethereum and Solana as the leading infrastructure contenders. Ethereum holds stronger existing institutional ties, while Solana currently leads in actual tokenized equity trading volume. See Ethereum News Today for more on today’s DeFi sector strength.

What This Means for the Days Ahead

With Bitcoin holding above its reclaimed $77,370 level and Hyperliquid’s fresh all-time high drawing renewed attention to derivatives platforms, today’s broad rally looks more durable than a single-asset-driven move. On the regulatory side, the BitBank sanctions extend a pattern of increasingly aggressive U.S. enforcement against crypto rails tied to sanctioned states, while the SEC’s on-chain trading roundtable adds a genuinely new institutional thread to watch alongside the still-unresolved CLARITY Act. For live prices and the fuller market snapshot, see crypto market today.

Compare Crypto Prices Today

Asset	Price Page
Bitcoin	Bitcoin Price
Ethereum	Ethereum Price
XRP	XRP Price
Solana	Solana Price
BNB	BNB Price
TRON	TRON Price

Where to Buy Crypto

Cryptocurrencies can be bought on major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, KuCoin, Gate.io, OKX, and Bybit.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; always do your own research before investing.