# Bitcoin ETFs Turn Positive for 2026, Bitget Loses $387 Million, and ASIC's Crypto Deadline Hits This Week

> Bitcoin ETFs turn positive for the year, Bitget confirms a $387.5M hack, ASIC's licensing deadline hits September 30, and October rate-hike odds keep climbing.

**Published:** 2026-09-27  
**Category:** News  
**Author:** XBTFX Research  
**Canonical:** https://xbtfx.com/blog/bitcoin-etfs-turn-positive-for-2026-bitget-loses/

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Bitcoin cleared $87K Monday before slipping back to ~$84,000 by *Saturday. What's changed underneath is the flow picture: spot ETFs just logged their biggest weekly inflow since last October, enough to flip 2026 back to net positive for the year.*

*The rest of the week was messier. Bitget confirmed a $387.5M hot-wallet hack on September 24, custody risk never fully goes away. In Australia, a licensing deadline that's been ticking since last October runs out September 30. And in Washington, Fed funds futures are now pricing in more tightening than they were a week ago.*

### **Key Takeaways**

- US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $2.4B for the week ending September 25, their strongest since October, flipping 2026 net flows positive after being roughly $5.8B in the red as of mid-July
- Ether ETFs added $690M the same week, reversing the prior week's $140M outflow
- Bitget confirmed a $387.5M hot-wallet breach on September 24; Circle and Tether froze $318K in USDC/USDT tied to the attacker within days
- Australia's ASIC gives digital asset firms until September 30 to complete AFS licensing or face penalties up to 10% of annual turnover
- Fed funds futures now price meaningfully higher odds of an October hike than a week ago, pressuring risk assets

## **Bitcoin ETFs Just Erased a Year of Outflows in One Week**

For most of 2026, the [Bitcoin ETF story was a slow bleed](https://xbtfx.com/blog/weekly-market-outlook-bitcoin-breaks-62k/). January opened with $1.61 billion in outflows, May added another $2.43 billion, and June alone shed $4.51 billion, the worst month of the year. By mid-July, cumulative year-to-date flows sat roughly $5.8 billion underwater.

![](https://ghost.xbtfx.com/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-bd60ad18-d8a9-402f-ba9f-758ec7c7bc6f.png)

August flipped the script, pulling in $3.52 billion, the strongest month of 2026, and cutting that outflow figure by two-thirds to around $1.77 billion. September wobbled early, with a $236 million outflow day reversing a brief inflow streak.

![](https://ghost.xbtfx.com/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-5bd16969-0224-4f58-9a4a-d69ce61023e1.png)

Then came this past week: $2.4 billion into Bitcoin ETFs alone, [according to The Block](https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-09-26-bitcoin-etfs-turn-positive-for-2026-with-2-4-billion-weekly-inflow-their-largest-since-october-416944), enough on its own to push the full-year number back above zero for the first time since the outflows began.

| Milestone | Net Flow / Status |
| --- | --- |
| Mid-July 2026 | ~-$5.8 billion YTD |
| End of August 2026 | ~-$1.77 billion YTD |
| Week ending Sept 25, 2026 | +2.4B(BTC), + 690M (ETH); YTD flips positive |

BlackRock's IBIT has carried most of this recovery on its back, and Ether funds are telling a similar story, five straight positive sessions and a full reversal of the prior week's outflow. Whether this holds past one strong week is the actual question, not the headline number itself.

![](https://ghost.xbtfx.com/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-9d6e8976-2ce0-4f59-a349-579c760532ea.png)
💡Traders can track BTC, ETH and the rest of the majors in real time through [XBTFX's crypto CFDs](https://xbtfx.com/page/xbtfx-crypto-trading/).

## **Bitget Confirms a $387.5 Million Breach, and the Industry Rallies Around It**

Bitget's security team [detected unauthorized transfers](https://www.bitget.com/support/articles/12560603896024) from a limited number of hot wallets at 18:31 UTC on September 24. Withdrawals were suspended while the exchange investigated, and the company later confirmed losses of approximately $387.5 million based on on-chain tracing.

The response from the rest of the industry was fast and, for crypto, unusually cooperative. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao posted publicly:

> Tough day for Bitget. I expect and know [@Binance](https://x.com/binance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), the [@BNBCHAIN](https://x.com/BNBCHAIN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ecosystem, and the community will do everything we can to help. Stay SAFU! 🙏 [pic.twitter.com/cyAEHdSi1S](https://t.co/cyAEHdSi1S)— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) [September 25, 2026](https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2103498836656463912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Bybit, MEXC and CoinDCX executives offered similar public support. [Circle and Tether moved quickly too](http://e), freezing a combined $318,000 in USDC and USDT linked to the attacker's wallets, a small figure against the total loss but a real demonstration of how fast centralized stablecoin issuers can act when they choose to.

Bybit separately published an expanded Restricted Counterparty List naming known bad actors including the Lazarus Group, Garantex and Bitzlato.

> Bybit Publishes Restricted Counterparty List Covering Multiple Crypto Platforms and Entities Including Lazarus Group Bybit has published a Restricted Counterparty List that includes Garantex, Bitzlato, EXMO, Payeer, Nobitex, Bitpapa, Chatex, Cryptex, Grinex, Rapira, WhiteBird,… [pic.twitter.com/7yQpxA1vdt](https://t.co/7yQpxA1vdt)— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) [September 25, 2026](https://x.com/WuBlockchain/status/2103543631491858706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

| Breach Detail | Figure |
| --- | --- |
| Detection time | Sept 24, 2026, 18:31 UTC |
| Estimated loss | ~$387.5 million |
| Stablecoins frozen (Circle + Tether) | $318,000 |
| Withdrawal status | Temporarily suspended, then restored |

## **Australia's Crypto Licensing Grace Period Ends September 30**

[Australia's ASIC](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/final-call-for-firms-to-act-before-asic-s-digital-asset-licensing-deadline) has been running a sector-wide "no-action" position for digital asset businesses since late 2025, effectively a grace period while firms worked out whether their activities counted as regulated financial products. That grace period ends this week.

![](https://ghost.xbtfx.com/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-3632c88a-42f4-47d2-8df1-f065d703bd9b.png)

Firms relying on the relief must have lodged an [Australian Financial Services Licence application](https://www.gtlaw.com.au/insights/key-topics/regulation-in-motion/asic-issues-reminder-after-extending-class-no-action-letter-for-digital-asset-businesses), or a variation to an existing one, by September 30. Those needing a market licence or a clearing and settlement facility licence must have notified ASIC and held a pre-application meeting by the same date. Miss it, and from October 1 a firm risks operating in breach of financial services law, with fines that can reach 10% of annual turnover.

[ASIC says more than 45 licence applications](https://de.tradingview.com/news/financemagnates:dc17f4bb2094b:0-asic-crypto-license-applications-pass-45-before-september-deadline/) have come in since it updated its guidance last October, up from roughly 30 as of the June extension. The regulator has been explicit that the relief itself is not a licence and not a legal exemption, just time.

| ASIC Deadline Detail | Figure |
| --- | --- |
| Original relief introduced | October 2025 |
| Deadline extended to | September 30, 2026 |
| Applications received (June 2026) | ~30 |
| Applications received (late Sept 2026) | 45+ |
| Maximum penalty for non-compliance | 10% of annual turnover |
| Australia's full Digital Assets Framework | Commences April 9, 2027 |

This is the kind of deadline that rarely makes front-page headlines outside Australia, but it's a preview of where most developed markets are heading, provisional tolerance for crypto businesses giving way to hard licensing requirements with real financial teeth.

## **The Fed Is Pricing In More Tightening, Not Less**

Away from crypto entirely, the macro backdrop that's been shadowing every risk asset all year just [got a bit more hawkish](https://xbtfx.com/blog/hawkish-vs-dovish-meaning/). [Market-implied odds](https://www.investing.com/analysis/bitcoins-biggest-regime-shift-yet-from-fed-beta-to-treasury-hedge-200688233) of a further Fed rate hike at the October meeting have climbed meaningfully over the past week, part of the same repricing that's been pushing [Treasury yields](https://xbtfx.com/blog/us-treasury-auction-results/) higher and pressuring assets that don't pay a yield, gold, silver, and by extension, risk-on crypto.

![](https://ghost.xbtfx.com/content/images/2026/09/data-src-image-509d956e-2bd0-495a-a2de-6dd8774244f1.png)

This isn't a crypto story on its own, but it's the backdrop every crypto story this month has played out against. Higher hike odds mean a stronger dollar case, and a stronger dollar has been the headwind sitting behind gold, silver and Bitcoin's shakier sessions alike.

💡Track USD strength, Treasury-sensitive pairs and major indices side by side through [XBTFX's Forex trading](https://xbtfx.com/page/xbtfx-forex-trading/).

## **Conclusion**

Four stories, one thread: capital is getting pickier about where it sits. It poured into regulated ETFs this week while fleeing an exchange that just proved its hot wallets weren't safe enough. It's moving toward jurisdictions that finished their licensing homework, away from ones still running on borrowed time. And all of it's happening against a Fed leaning further from a cut, not closer to one.

None of this resolves by next week. But it's a better map of where the money's actually going than the price chart alone.

💡XBTFX covers these shifts alongside daily market analysis across [crypto, Forex and metals](https://xbtfx.com/blog/).[Try Free Demo](https://portal.xbtfx.com/signup)

## **FAQ**

**Did Bitcoin ETFs really turn positive for 2026?**

Yes. A $2.4 billion inflow week pushed year-to-date flows back above zero after sitting roughly $5.8 billion negative in mid-July.

**How much did Bitget lose in the hack?**

Roughly $387.5 million, based on the exchange's own on-chain tracing.

**What happens if a crypto firm misses ASIC's September 30 deadline?**

It risks operating in breach of Australian law from October 1, with fines up to 10% of annual turnover.

**Why does a Fed rate hike matter for crypto prices?**

Higher rates raise the cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin and tend to strengthen the dollar, both a drag on crypto and metals alike.

*Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Trading financial markets involves significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making any trading decisions.*