Daily Links — Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Tuesday is a full-court press on the dinar redenomination: Iraq revives the plan to remove three zeros and prepares new banknotes, even as the Finance Committee recommends postponing the vote and a lawmaker notes the law still awaits approval — with a Kurdistan 24 report citing U.S. pressure on Baghdad to speed the move to trap smuggled funds. Erbil and Baghdad also agreed on key points to unify customs rules. On the wider board, the White House's 'economic D-Day' against Iran goes live — Bessent dropping sanctions on dozens of Chinese firms while sparing big banks, Iran's economy buckling under hyperinflation — plus a Korean bank dropping SWIFT for Ripple Pay and Washington leaning on stablecoin issuers to backstop U.S. debt. Here's everything on the desk.
Iraq & the Dinar
- Iraq revives plans to remove zeros from the dinar — Channel 8
- Iraq to introduce new banknotes with three zeros removed — Iraqi News
- Iraq's Finance Committee recommends postponing the dinar redenomination vote — Channel 8
- Lawmaker: Iraq plans dinar redenomination, but the law still awaits approval — Channel 8
- Erbil and Baghdad agree on key points to unify customs rules — Kurdistan 24
- Special to Kurdistan 24: U.S. pressure on Baghdad to speed up removing the dinar's zeros to trap smuggled funds — Kurdistan 24 (Arabic)
- Dinar-community back-and-forth referencing 'Militia Man' — X
Money & Markets
- A Korean bank drops SWIFT for Ripple Pay — KuCoin
- As foreign investors dump $29 billion in Treasury bills, Washington pivots to stablecoin issuers to back U.S. debt — CryptoSlate
- Markets now face two wars and two economic wars — ZeroHedge
Around the World
- White House declares 'economic D-Day' against Iran at dawn — Kurdistan 24
- Bessent drops the Iran sanctions hammer on dozens of Chinese firms, spares big banks as Beijing threatens retaliation — ZeroHedge
- Bessent unveils a new round of Iran sanctions, warns China on Iran ties — The Epoch Times
- Iran's economy on the ropes amid hyperinflation and widespread gas shortages as the Trump blockade bites — ZeroHedge
- Iran airs a video claiming Barron Trump is being spied on, offers a $10 million bounty — ZeroHedge
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