Bitcoin traded in a narrow band around $83,000 on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, ahead of the release of September U.S. consumer price data that will influence Federal Reserve policy expectations. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams stated he sees room for one additional rate hike this year but does not anticipate further hikes in 2027, a position that contrasts with current market pricing of 50 basis points of tightening next year. His comments came as traders reduced expectations for an October rate increase to 23% probability, with the two-year Treasury yield holding near 4.797%.

Bitwise Asset Management reported that cryptocurrency markets appear to be entering a new growth phase, citing $6 billion in net inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds during the third quarter of 2026 and a 65.5% increase in tokenized stock values to $3.2 billion. The firm projects billions more in tokenized assets will enter markets as new U.S. regulations take effect, with decentralized perpetual futures exchanges reaching a record $26 billion in open interest.

Strategy's perpetual preferred stock (STRC) touched $99.90 on Monday, its highest level since May, before settling at $99.83. The company has repurchased approximately $1.65 billion of STRC through October 11, with $354.8 million remaining under its repurchase program. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned during the bank's earnings call that artificial intelligence agents pose liability risks to customers and financial institutions, stating the bank will restrict external AI access to protect against misuse.

Metaplanet announced plans to issue $328.5 million in zero-coupon convertible bonds due 2031, with proceeds allocated to repay $149.4 million in Bitcoin-backed debt and fund share buybacks. The company held 44,000 BTC at the end of September and $649.5 million in Bitcoin-backed borrowings, equivalent to 17.7% of its net asset value. Trezor revealed it will reduce its authorized reseller network following a Ledger hardware wallet supply-chain breach, though it confirmed no Trezor devices were compromised.

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf reported strong consumer spending and low loan delinquencies in the third quarter, though the bank's revenue fell short of expectations. Cipher Digital's shares declined 13% in pre-market trading after announcing an $850 million convertible debt offering. Arthur Hayes, former BitMEX CEO, questioned the profitability of tokenization, noting that while improved bookkeeping is valuable, generating sustainable returns remains uncertain. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped to 57, remaining in "greed" territory but marking its lowest level since September 18. Bitcoin's price briefly dipped to $81,000 before rebounding to $83,500, with technical analysts noting buying pressure near the 50-day moving average.

Solana plans to replace its consensus mechanism on October 21, targeting a reduction in transaction finality time to roughly 150 milliseconds. The announcement came from Anza, the core development team behind the Solana network, on October 13, setting a specific activation date for what the company describes as one of the most substantial infrastructure changes in the blockchain's history. The upgrade, called Alpenglow, will supplant the current TowerBFT system, which requires approximately 12.8 seconds to confirm that a transaction is irreversible. If the transition proceeds as intended, finality could improve by nearly 99%, enabling faster settlement for applications that rely on immediate transaction confirmation.

The change follows a recent adjustment that shortened Solana's block production interval to about 200 milliseconds, another effort to enhance processing speed. However, Alpenglow focuses on a different bottleneck: the interval between transaction processing and network-wide agreement that the transaction is final. Under the existing design, validators signal consensus by submitting votes as blockchain transactions, with finality emerging only after multiple blocks accumulate votes. Alpenglow introduces a new approach called Votor, allowing validators to exchange votes directly and aggregate them into cryptographic certificates. This method permits blocks to achieve finality after just one or two voting rounds, cutting down the time needed for network agreement.

The Solana Foundation notes that the improvement could support financial use cases where delayed settlement poses operational risk, such as payment processors that must verify fund availability before releasing transfers, or trading platforms that execute downstream actions only after confirming transaction irreversibility. Enhanced settlement speed may also benefit tokenized asset issuance and stablecoin transfers, where reliable finality is critical for moving value between institutions and applications. The 150-millisecond target remains a performance benchmark rather than a guaranteed outcome; actual finality times will vary based on network load, validator participation, and the number of voting rounds required. Importantly, transaction execution logic will remain unchanged, so existing applications should continue operating without code modifications.

The shift also removes validator voting activity from the main transaction stream, potentially freeing capacity for user transactions, though this could manifest as a temporary dip in reported transaction volume. A secondary component of Alpenglow, named Rotor, will reconfigure block propagation across the network and is slated for a later rollout. Migrating to a new consensus system while the chain remains live presents technical and operational challenges. Activation is scheduled to begin around 15:00 UTC on October 21, coinciding with the start of epoch 1064. During the transition, the network will continue using TowerBFT for approximately 5,000 slots—about 18 minutes—before attempting to switch to Votor. Successful migration requires signatures from validators controlling at least 82% of staked SOL to endorse a genesis certificate that establishes a shared starting state for the new system.

During the handover, user transactions will be temporarily excluded from block inclusion, with normal processing expected to resume once Votor assumes control. Validator operators must install software based on Agave 4.3.0 to participate; clients such as Firedancer and Frankendancer will not be supported during the migration window. Additionally, validators must maintain a minimum of 0.8 SOL above their rent-exempt balance to cover a new participation fee, with those failing to meet the threshold barred from voting or block production in the subsequent epoch. Alpenglow has already been deployed on Solana's testnet and devnet, offering limited real-world testing opportunities that may surface issues before mainnet deployment. While these rehearsals provide useful feedback, they do not ensure identical behavior under production conditions. The October 21 migration will therefore serve as the first live evaluation of whether Solana can execute a seamless consensus upgrade and consistently achieve finality near the targeted 150-millisecond threshold.

Federal and local authorities have disabled 241 websites tied to an alleged Eastern European crypto scam network that targeted Russian-speaking Americans with fake investment and recovery schemes. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the FBI executed search warrants across three time zones last week, seizing 112 servers that hosted the operation’s infrastructure, including victim data and management software. Prosecutors said the network stole tens of millions of dollars over several years, with about $300,000 in stolen funds already recovered. No arrests were made during the action, which followed a three-year investigation. The seized systems had enabled replacement websites to appear quickly after prior domains were taken down, prompting investigators to target underlying servers to prevent rapid reconstitution. Assistant District Attorney Alona Katz, who led the probe, said the operation disabled the back end of the scheme. The scam typically began with Russian-language Facebook ads promising crypto investment opportunities. Responders received Russian-speaking advisers who guided them to transfer funds to fraudulent platforms. When victims later sought withdrawals, they were locked out or asked to pay additional fees under false pretenses of tax or recovery costs. Prosecutors noted that victims were recontacted weeks after the initial loss with offers to recover their assets, which were also fraudulent. In a related case, a Brooklyn man was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for impersonating Coinbase and stealing nearly $16 million from about 100 users through similar tactics. The investigation used blockchain records and digital evidence to trace the scheme. Separately, Coinbase disclosed its role in a West African scam takedown involving the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force and the UK’s National Crime Agency, where investigators froze assets and shared intelligence. U.S. agencies have also moved to strengthen crypto fraud response, including a proposed Justice Department task force legislation aimed at improving cross-agency coordination and victim support. The FBI reported that American losses to crypto fraud reached $11.4 billion in 2025, a 22% increase from the prior year. For certain past schemes like OneCoin, the Justice Department has used forfeited assets to compensate eligible victims through a formal remission program, though participation requires filing a petition and does not guarantee payment. Authorities continue to emphasize blockchain analysis and interagency collaboration to address evolving cross-border crypto fraud operations.

EasyA, a platform that enables developers to build blockchain and artificial intelligence applications, has been valued at $1.1 billion ahead of a planned public listing in the first half of next year. The valuation, determined by an independent third party using audited financial statements, operating performance, growth plans and comparisons with publicly traded companies, was disclosed in a draft registration filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, founded by brothers Philip and Dominic Kwok, intends to pursue a direct listing, allowing existing shareholders to sell shares without raising new capital through a traditional initial public offering. EasyA has completed two years of audits by PKF and says its app serves more than 1.3 million users, including software developers and AI tool users. The firm is exploring tokenized shares for its offering and expanding into tokenization projects and AI agent applications through EasyA Labs. It has partnered with companies such as Ripple and Solana to introduce their technology to developers via educational programs and hackathons. The listing would provide public-market access to infrastructure and services supporting blockchain and AI industries, rather than direct exposure to cryptocurrencies or AI models. Tokenized equities are gaining attention from major financial firms, with Robinhood building a blockchain for tokenized stocks and analysts anticipating regulatory developments that could benefit brokers and custodians. EasyA has not yet disclosed details of how its tokenized shares would be issued or traded.

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced plans to acquire Lithuania-based Saldo Bank, a move that would grant it a European Union banking license. The transaction, valued at an undisclosed amount, is pending regulatory approval and is projected to close in 2027. If completed, it would represent the first instance of a cryptocurrency firm purchasing a European bank.

Saldo Bank, which held 163.9 million euros ($180 million) in assets at the end of 2025, reported a 22.7% year-over-year increase in assets. The bank operates under licenses in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, and holds a passport enabling services across the Netherlands. Its offerings include deposits, consumer and business loans, and payment services.

The acquisition aligns with Payward's broader strategy to expand beyond cryptocurrency trading into traditional financial services. The company aims to provide European customers with interest-bearing deposits, loans, card services, and euro payment solutions. Payward's banking arm already holds a Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account and an electronic money institution license in Ireland, and it has originated over $2 billion in loans.

Arjun Sethi, Payward's co-CEO, stated that a regulated EU bank enables the firm to serve European clients as a primary financial institution, offering a single platform for holding, moving, and deploying assets. The deal remains subject to regulatory clearance, and Payward has not yet provided further details on the acquisition amount following a request from CoinDesk.

Kraken had previously pursued a banking license in Lithuania, as reported by CoinDesk in July. The acquisition would position Payward alongside other crypto firms seeking to compete with traditional lenders by leveraging regulated banking infrastructure.

The KOSPI index dropped 5.5% on Tuesday, pushing it roughly 38% below its June peak, while bitcoin climbed from about $58,000 to $87,000 in the same period. The two assets have shown a moderately negative 20‑week rolling correlation of -0.41, indicating that movements in South Korean stocks and the cryptocurrency have tended to move in opposite directions.

The selloff followed remarks by Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan, who likened speculative artificial‑intelligence investing to gambling in a casino, according to the Financial Times. His warning heightened concerns that the rapid influx of capital into AI projects may not deliver the expected returns, prompting investors to reassess exposure to related equities.

At the same time, Chinese memory‑chip maker CXMT announced a breakthrough in memory‑chip technology, a development highlighted by Bloomberg. The news added to worries about competitive pressure on established chip manufacturers. As a result, shares of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell about 10% and 7%, respectively, while U.S. premarket trading saw declines of roughly 3% for Micron Technology and SanDisk.

Bitcoin’s price swing reflects a broader shift in investor sentiment, as some market participants appear to be reallocating capital away from AI‑related stocks toward assets perceived as less correlated with that sector. The divergence underscores how different segments of the financial market can respond distinctively to technological hype and macroeconomic signals.

Strive, a company that holds bitcoin as a core treasury asset, announced on Tuesday that it plans to raise $500 million through a new perpetual preferred stock offering under the ticker SATS. The offering will consist of 5 million shares priced at $100 each, with the capital earmarked for bitcoin purchases, acquisition of income-generating assets, or share repurchases. Dividends on SATS will be paid daily at a fixed 15% rate, and the company intends to set aside funds covering the first 18 months of dividend obligations at the time of closing. The new shares will rank below Strive’s existing perpetual preferred series, SATA, which currently offers a variable dividend near 13%. Unlike many peers in the bitcoin treasury space, including the larger Strategy, Strive has recently expanded its bitcoin holdings significantly, adding 3,311 coins in the past week to bring its total to 32,773 BTC, valued at approximately $2.7 billion. Three months prior, its holdings were under 20,000 coins.

Payward Inc., the parent of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, announced on October 14 that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company that owns Lithuania-based Saldo Bank. The deal would transfer control of a licensed European bank holding approximately €163 million in assets, including deposits, lending and payment services across several markets. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close in 2027 pending regulatory approval. The acquisition reflects Payward's effort to build a financial platform that can manage both digital and traditional assets while reducing reliance on external banking partners.

Saldo Bank, though modest in size, has expanded its operations in recent years. Its audited financial statements for 2025 show assets of €162.9 million, up from €133.6 million in 2024, with a net loan portfolio rising to €113.5 million from €95.4 million and retail deposits increasing 24% to €136.9 million. The bank reported its first annual profit of about €962,000 in 2025, reversing a €2.4 million loss the prior year. Operating profit before impairment losses reached €10.4 million, though most of it was offset by credit impairment charges. These figures indicate an operational lending business with a stable deposit base, though its balance sheet remains smaller than those of major European institutions.

Saldo operates in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, and holds authorization to expand into the Netherlands. It offers retail term deposits across its markets, consumer lending in three countries and business loans in Lithuania and Finland. The acquisition would allow Payward to leverage Saldo's infrastructure for expanding its financial products in Europe without establishing a new bank from scratch. Payward plans to introduce interest-bearing deposits, business and consumer lending, card issuance and SEPA payment services for European customers. The move could also support a broader banking-as-a-service model, enabling other fintech firms to access regulated financial infrastructure through Payward.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the transaction as part of a strategy to deepen financial relationships with customers. He stated, “We believe whoever owns that relationship earns the right to serve everything around it.” The acquisition builds on Payward's prior efforts to gain greater control over financial infrastructure, including securing a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account in March and holding an electronic money institution license from Ireland's Central Bank. Its existing banking operations have originated over $2 billion in loans, and in July it acquired Reap, a stablecoin-focused firm specializing in card issuance and cross-border transactions.

The Saldo acquisition would extend Payward's capabilities into regulated European deposit-taking and lending, potentially enabling a unified platform for banking, cryptocurrency trading and payment services. The company emphasized that the goal is not to become a traditional bank but to acquire infrastructure that allows European clients to hold assets, move them freely and deploy them effectively through a single entity. Regulatory approval from European authorities remains a critical step, as Saldo operates under Lithuanian banking rules that permit deposit-taking and lending but restrict certain investment activities. Ownership of Saldo would not automatically permit integration of all cryptocurrency or investment products into the bank.

The transaction will also require scrutiny of Payward's financial condition, management structure and compliance systems. Saldo's 2025 financial statements show total equity of €16.3 million, with a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 14.9% and a total capital adequacy ratio of 19.8%. These capital metrics are relevant as Payward considers expanding the bank's loan portfolio and other services post-acquisition.

Analysts have warned that Bitcoin remains vulnerable to a further selloff if the upcoming U.S. Consumer Price Index report shows inflation running hotter than expected. Bitget Research’s briefing noted that an $811 million wave of crypto liquidations in the 24 hours before the CPI release left market-wide open interest at $140.9 billion, a modest 2% decline. Nansen data showed $175.7 million in Bitcoin exchange‑traded fund inflows on October 13, following a period of withdrawals. Bitget Wallet research lead Lacie Zhang highlighted sticky core inflation as a risk that could pressure Federal Reserve policy expectations. She identified $81,000–$82,000 as a key support zone and a sustained breakout above $84,500–$85,000 as a level to watch. Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, said the recent forced selling may have removed some vulnerable positions but had not fully cleared the leverage that could fuel another decline. He added that elevated open interest after a selloff suggests substantial leveraged exposure remains ahead of the CPI data. Lee warned that an inflation surprise could trigger another round of liquidations as traders reassess Treasury yields and Fed policy. The briefing placed the 10‑year Treasury yield around 5.20% and said hotter‑than‑expected inflation could spark further adjustments. Lee also noted that the earlier liquidation wave may have cleared some of the most exposed positions, potentially limiting subsequent selling pressure. Conversely, softer inflation could prompt a sharp rebound if traders rebuild risk exposure and short positions come under pressure. A similar two‑way scenario was discussed on October 12, when BTSE Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mei said stronger inflation could push Bitcoin below $80,000, while a softer reading might support a recovery toward $86,000 or higher. Zhang warned that persistent core inflation, driven by energy spillovers, tariffs or sustained demand, could keep price pressures elevated. She estimated a roughly 77% probability of an October Fed hold and projected headline CPI at 0.5%–0.6% month‑on‑month and 3.6%–3.7% year‑on‑year, with core inflation near 0.2% monthly and 2.4%–2.5% annually. Retail sales excluding autos and gasoline rose 0.28% month‑on‑month and 4.05% year‑on‑year, according to Zhang. She also cited New York Fed President John Williams’ view that further rate increases may not be necessary in 2027. Bitfinex analysts linked inflation readings to the December policy outlook, saying softer core inflation would weaken the case for another rate increase, while firm spending and persistent core inflation would strengthen it. ETF buying has recovered faster than on‑chain demand, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, senior research analyst at Nansen. He noted that Bitcoin ETFs attracted $175.7 million on October 13 after $678.9 million in withdrawals from October 5–9 and a $65.4 million outflow on October 12. Earlier reports documented $484.9 million in withdrawals on October 7, with BlackRock’s IBIT losing $207.7 million, Fidelity’s FBTC shedding $105.1 million and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB recording $101.7 million in redemptions. Across seven days, Solana inflows of about $555,000 and Ethereum inflows of $22,000 remained in net outflow, while Bitcoin‑linked wallets showed mixed flows without clear signs of widespread accumulation. Sondergaard described the activity as “some selective positioning” rather than a market‑wide expression of confidence, and put annual consensus expectations at 3.6% for headline inflation and 2.5% for core CPI. Zhang’s pre‑CPI assessment placed Bitcoin trading around $83,400–$83,500, with initial support at $81,000–$82,000 and a downside reference near the recent $80,400 low. Resistance was seen at $84,000–$84,500, followed by $85,000–$87,000. She said bulls would regain clearer control through a sustained move above $84,500–$85,000 on solid volume, supported by renewed inflows, and that core inflation at or below roughly 0.2% month‑on‑month and easing expectations for further rate increases would be needed for that scenario. The market is watching for the CPI release to determine whether leveraged exposure will be cleared or whether another adjustment will be required.

Bitcoin slipped under $82,000 on October 14 after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 0.6% in September, pushing annual headline inflation to 3.7%. The figure exceeded the 3.6% forecast and marked an increase from 3.4% the previous month. Gasoline prices contributed more than half of the monthly rise, climbing 9.1% over the same period. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, advanced 0.3% month‑over‑month and 2.6% year‑over‑year. The stronger‑than‑expected inflation reading lifted the two‑year Treasury yield to about 4.9% and the ten‑year yield to roughly 5.3%, while CME FedWatch placed the probability of an October interest‑rate hike between 44% and 49%, up from 22% before the data.

The price drop coincided with a retreat from a daily high above $84,100. TradingView’s daily chart for Binance BTC/USDT recorded Bitcoin at $81,830.60, down 1.61% from the session’s opening price of $83,169.01. The day’s range stretched from $81,588.88 to $84,146.72, with the low touching near $81,589. On the weekly timeframe, Bitcoin stood at $81,910.01, a 2.22% decline from the weekly opening level.

Technical indicators placed Bitcoin below its daily Supertrend line, which sat at $79,663.52. The Supertrend remained beneath the market price, but Aroon readings showed downward momentum: Aroon Down registered 57.14% while Aroon Up was 14.29%, indicating that the most recent 14‑period low occurred more recently than the latest high. The daily session high of $84,146.72 fell within a resistance zone identified by trader Lennart Snyder, who linked the decline to the inflation release and opened a short position near $82,800 shortly after the 9:30 a.m. market open.

Snyder projected downside targets of $81,400 and $80,300 for his short trade, noting that a decisive move above $84,000 or a drop below $80,000 would be required before he considered new long entries. He warned that if Bitcoin fell beneath $80,000, additional support could emerge around $77,000, which he described as a final take‑profit zone for part of the short position.

On the weekly chart, TradingView’s Murrey Math indicator highlighted $75,000 as a strong pivot and $87,500 as the lower boundary of a labeled trading range. Bitcoin’s weekly price of $81,910.01 rested about 9.2% above $75,000 and 6.4% below $87,500. The weekly ADX read 27.16, suggesting moderate trend strength, while the price range over the week extended from $81,033.66 to $84,352.

CoinGlass’s one‑week liquidation heatmap showed concentrated liquidation bands near $84,400–$84,700, above both the current price and the $84,000 resistance level discussed by Snyder. Lower bands appeared around $81,500, $81,000, and $80,300–$80,500, with additional clusters near $79,700–$80,000. Earlier price action had briefly dipped toward $80,300 and $81,000 before rebounding.

The latest decline returned Bitcoin to the upper‑$81,000 region, a level that aligns with several estimated liquidation zones. While overhead clusters remain brighter than the nearby lower bands, Snyder’s $80,300 target sits close to a lower concentration on the heatmap, whereas his $84,000 recovery threshold stays below the brightest overhead cluster.

The article does not constitute investment advice; it is provided for educational purposes only.

Strive, a company that holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet, announced on Oct. 13 that it will issue five million shares of a new perpetual preferred security called SATS. Each share carries a fixed 15% annual dividend and a $100 stated value, allowing the firm to raise $500 million for additional Bitcoin purchases. The offering follows the growth of its earlier SATA preferred stock, which has expanded from $200 million at its November 2025 launch to roughly $1.4 billion in outstanding amount. Strive's Bitcoin holdings have risen from 7,627 BTC at the start of 2026 to 35,595 BTC as of Oct. 14. The new product is intended to bypass limits on SATA issuance that have constrained the company's ability to raise capital. Management said it wants to accelerate Bitcoin acquisitions while prices remain below $100,000, but the additional financing would increase annual preferred‑dividend obligations to about $257 million. SATS will pay a fixed 15% dividend on a $100 stated amount, compared with SATA's variable 13%. Dividend payments are scheduled every business day beginning Nov. 9, subject to board approval and available funds. Unlike SATA, which targets a trading price around $100, SATS does not include a comparable price‑stability mechanism. The new shares rank below SATA in Strive's capital structure but above common equity. CEO Matt Cole said the company created SATS after recognizing demand from investors who want predictable income and greater potential for capital appreciation. Some existing SATA holders expressed concern that the variable dividend might be reduced, while institutional investors sought more exposure to price appreciation. The structure also addresses a constraint on Strive's ability to raise capital. According to Cole, SATA and Strategy's comparable STRC preferred stock have traded at or above their $100 stated amounts on fewer than 25% of trading days since their launches. With Strive maintaining a policy against issuing SATA below $100, those trading patterns limit its ability to raise additional capital through the security. Cole said the company needs “substantially more access to digital credit now” to expand its Bitcoin holdings at current prices. SATS would let Strive pursue additional financing without SATA's issuance‑price restriction, though the amount it can raise would still depend on investor demand. The company projects that the $500 million SATS financing could add nearly 4,700 Bitcoin to its treasury. It plans to use the additional financing capacity to accelerate Bitcoin accumulation and increase potential returns for common shareholders. Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton said the firm intends to achieve this through greater Bitcoin amplification, which measures outstanding preferred equity and debt at stated value relative to the market value of its Bitcoin holdings. Strive is targeting an amplification ratio of 60% to 70% after the SATS launch, giving common shareholders greater exposure to Bitcoin price movements. To illustrate the potential expansion, Strive's investor presentation models a $500 million SATS financing, with $387.5 million allocated to Bitcoin purchases and $112.5 million designated for an 18‑month dividend reserve. At an assumed Bitcoin price of $82,500, the purchases would add about 4,697 BTC to the company's treasury, bringing total holdings to about 40,000 BTC. The company's preliminary prospectus states that it would fund the dividend reserve with existing cash and securities. Strive has also retained flexibility to direct offering proceeds toward income‑generating assets, acquisitions, working capital, and share repurchases. The strategy hinges on Bitcoin's appreciation exceeding the cost of preferred capital. Strive's internal model assumes the cryptocurrency will compound at 50% annually through 2030, compared with SATS's fixed 15% dividend. However, the additional preferred capital would also magnify pressure on common shareholders during a sustained Bitcoin downturn, while dividend obligations continued to accumulate. A five‑million‑share SATS issuance would add $75 million in annual dividends. Combined with existing SATA payments, Strive's model puts the total at approximately $257.4 million a year, assuming SATA's variable rate remains at 13%. Management plans to maintain approximately $386 million in cash and marketable securities as dividend reserves following the offering, enough to cover about 18 months of combined payments. Chief Investment Officer Ben Werkman said the hypothetical post‑offering balance sheet would contain approximately $3.56 billion in assets against $1.9 billion in preferred stated amounts. The additional financing would increase asset coverage for senior SATA shares from 2.18 times to 2.54 times, while combined coverage for the two securities would stand at 1.87 times. Strive's stress tests also show Bitcoin could fall to approximately $38,200 before its modeled total assets equaled the stated amount of outstanding preferred shares. Werkman pointed to the company's lack of outstanding debt and its unencumbered Bitcoin holdings as protections against forced asset sales during market downturns. Bitcoin generates no recurring income, leaving Strive dependent on its cash reserves, asset sales, or fresh financing to sustain distributions. The company acknowledges in its prospectus that it expects to fund cash dividends beyond the initial 18‑month reserve period primarily through additional capital raising, including at‑the‑market securities offerings. A prolonged Bitcoin decline could complicate that strategy by weakening demand for Strive's preferred and common shares just as its dividend obligations continue accumulating. Missed preferred dividends would not automatically trigger a debt default, but unpaid amounts would accumulate and restrict distributions to junior shareholders.

A recent report from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency examined how financial institutions have restricted services for certain sectors, including digital asset firms.

The agency noted that some banks have adopted policies that limit access to banking services for industries such as oil and gas, tobacco, firearms and cryptocurrency. These restrictions were described as being influenced by reputational risks rather than direct financial threats.

Jonathan Gould, head of the OCC, stated that decisions to limit services for coal‑related and firearms businesses were not rooted in risk assessments but were instead driven by concerns over public perception and potential protests.

The report, spanning 47 pages, did not provide concrete instances of debanking specifically tied to crypto activities. It indicated that a review of nine major banks could not fully measure the scope of such actions.

In late 2024, more than 30 technology and crypto executives reported being denied banking services, a development that some industry observers linked to a contemporary of the earlier “Operation Chokepoint” initiative aimed at curbing fraud and money‑laundering through financial institutions.

The findings come as regulators and lawmakers continue to assess the relationship between banks and digital asset firms, with ongoing discussions about how oversight might evolve in the coming months.

Starknet, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has introduced a wallet privacy function that enables users to engage with decentralized finance applications without publicly associating their activities with primary wallet addresses. The feature, called Shadow Accounts, generates distinct, persistent addresses for each application. Users can fund these accounts using shielded balances stored in the network’s STRK20 privacy pool. This setup allows individuals to sustain lending, trading or other DeFi positions under separate onchain identities. The privacy mechanism conceals the link between the shadow account and the funding wallet. Nevertheless, balances, transactions and positions of these shadow accounts remain publicly viewable onchain, as noted by Starknet. After a DeFi platform integrates the capability, users can connect their wallets, toggle between public and private modes and deposit assets into a vault. Their Shadow Accounts then preserve positions until funds are withdrawn back into a shielded balance. StarkWare indicated that the functionality may later expand to include liquidity provision, lending, borrowing, staking, derivatives trading, prediction markets and NFT marketplaces. The rollout follows the company’s broader initiative to enhance blockchain privacy. In June, StarkWare unveiled its STRK20 privacy framework, which supports private transfers and shielded token balances on Starknet. The same month, the firm demonstrated a Private Know Your Customer system that permitted users to confirm personal information without disclosing full identity documents. Related: StarkWare unveils Starknet quantum roadmap, says industry has no excuseCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.