Finance & Tech Briefing — 2026-09-04

Stock markets rebound on Fed rate freeze hopes while Bitcoin hovers around $76,000 amid September slump fears. In South Korea's banking sector, time deposit balances have surpassed 1,000 trillion won due to an 'reverse money move' away from the stock market, prompting major banks to raise deposit rates. Meanwhile, the tech sector kicks off 'Techtember' with over 20 smartphone launches this month, heating up the foldable phone competition led by models like the Xiaomi 18 Fold.

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Bitcoin Caught Between ETF Inflows and Rate Uncertainty Amid September Slump Fears

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Markets, Crypto & Exchange Rates

• U.S. Stock Market Rebound: U.S. equities edged higher on September 3 as investors held out hope that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates steady this month, signaling a potential recovery from recent weakness.
• Bitcoin Price and Market Sentiment: Bitcoin (BTC) faced downward pressure, trading around $76,409.62 as of September 2, mirroring the broader weakness in U.S. equities and a rebound in the dollar index.
• Bitcoin September Seasonality Warning: Historically, years where Bitcoin posted gains in August since 2020 have been followed by a downturn in September. After surging 24% in August 2026 to hit an all-time high of $81,428, Bitcoin has since pulled back to the $78,000 range.
• Bitcoin ETFs and Reserves: Binance's Bitcoin reserves hit a yearly high of 687,000 BTC by the end of August, driven by surging demand for spot ETFs, which pulled in $3.5 billion in inflows over the course of the month.
• Fed Rate Hike Concerns: While some experts warn that raising rates would be a mistake, markets remain exposed to rate hike bets, placing joint downward pressure on Bitcoin, gold, and equities.

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Deposits & Banking Products

• Top 5 Domestic Banks' Time Deposits Exceed 1,000 Trillion Won: Amid prolonged expectations of a stagnant local stock market (Boxpi), a "reverse money move" is accelerating as capital shifts into bank deposits. Over the past two months, 56 trillion won has flowed into time deposits across the top five commercial banks.
• Shinhan Bank Raises Base Deposit Rates: Pressured by rising market interest rates and fierce competition to attract customer funds, Shinhan Bank has raised the base rates on major deposit and savings products by up to 0.3 percentage points.
• IBK Offers Special Rates on Small and Medium Enterprise Finance Bonds: Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is applying special preferential interest rates to its small and medium enterprise finance bonds, offering rates in the upper 3% range as part of the ongoing race to raise retail funding rates.

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Tech New Products

• Xiaomi 18 Fold Launch Scheduled: Xiaomi is set to officially unveil its latest foldable flagship smartphone, the 'Xiaomi 18 Fold', during its autumn launch event on September 7.
• Explosion of September Smartphone Launches (Techtember): Over 20 smartphones are slated for release throughout September, including Apple's iPhone 18 series and iPhone Fold, alongside the Oppo Find X10, Honor Magic9, and Huawei Mate 90. Major staging grounds include the IFA exhibition, Apple events, and the Snapdragon Summit.
• High Expectations for Apple iPhone 18 Series: Apple is expected to unveil several models, including the next-generation iPhone 18 series, to headline September and provide fresh options across both premium and mid-tier markets.