JPMorgan Asset Management outlined three potential Bitcoin price paths over the next decade in its 2027 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions released on Oct. 19. The base case projects an annualized return of 10%, implying a price of roughly $215,300 from the report’s $83,000 reference value. A bullish scenario assumes 16.6% annual returns, taking Bitcoin toward $385,500, while the bearish case projects 11.2% annual losses, reducing its value to about $25,300. The firm’s first long-term Bitcoin analysis in its 31-year outlook history assigns 65% of its weighting to supply growth relative to US dollar and global money supply expansion, and 30% to competition with gold as a store of value. Only 5% reflects network adoption, which under the base scenario yields a -3.2% annualized return. Annualized volatility is estimated at 55%, more than three times the 18% projected for US equities. JPMorgan considers these estimates illustrative of possible outcomes rather than definitive forecasts for portfolio construction. The report notes Bitcoin’s historical correlation with US large-cap equities at 0.33 and with gold at 0.10, relationships it describes as too unpredictable to support a dependable diversification role. Despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s repeated criticism of cryptocurrency as a fraud and speculative asset, the bank confirmed in May 2025 that it would allow clients to purchase Bitcoin and display those holdings on account statements, though it initially avoids custody services. Portfolio managers Sheena Shah and Dennis Cristallo noted that declining volatility, more consistent correlations, deeper liquidity and improved price discovery could strengthen Bitcoin’s suitability for strategic investment. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan highlighted the contrast between Dimon’s public stance and the firm’s institutional engagement, observing that Bitcoin’s growing acceptance reflects rising customer demand for cryptocurrency exposure and supporting infrastructure.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, regulation, and the forces moving digital assets.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission unveiled its agenda for a new series of meetings called the Frontier Forum, scheduled for October 28. The event, organized by the agency's Innovation Task Force, will examine how artificial intelligence might reshape derivatives markets, particularly in areas such as price discovery and risk management. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig described the initiative as an effort to explore how 'super intelligence' could influence financial markets, using terminology associated with President Donald Trump's administration. The forum will feature discussions with executives from firms including Ornn, Architect and Liquid Compute, as well as sessions on how AI-driven trading agents might operate within existing regulatory frameworks. The agency emphasized that the conversation will center on technical and operational implications rather than speculative outcomes.
Microsoft, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs have added their names to a growing list of companies opposing the launch of tokenized stock trading on the OKX-ICE platform.
The objections were filed in a joint venture notice dated Oct. 19, which identified seven new issuers that had submitted formal objections to the proposed venue. The newly listed firms include Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s and Western Digital, alongside the three technology and finance giants. With these additions, the total number of companies that have objected to the platform’s tokenized stock offerings has risen to 16, up from nine reported the previous week.
OKX-ICE, a collaboration between crypto exchange OKX and the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company Intercontinental Exchange, plans to offer 24‑hour, stablecoin‑settled trading of tokens that represent one‑for‑one ownership of underlying shares and carry equivalent dividend and voting rights. The initiative is being pursued under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s five‑year “Innovation Exemption,” which permits qualifying venues to operate tokenized U.S. stocks through automated market makers and liquidity pools while allowing issuers to raise objections.
The SEC’s framework, introduced last month, seeks to bring tokenized securities into a regulated environment, but the mounting opposition illustrates a significant hurdle. Earlier objectors such as Broadcom, Verizon, UnitedHealth, CoreWeave, AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab and Applied Optoelectronics have also signaled concerns, though the specific reasons for their objections have not been disclosed in the public notice.
The updated notice does not provide detailed explanations for each objection, nor does it indicate when the filings were made. It also notes that Cerebras Systems was among the original objectors but was not part of the initial proposed trading roster. The growing tally of dissenting issuers underscores the challenges regulators and industry participants face as they experiment with blockchain‑based approaches to traditional equity markets.
While the platform remains in the planning stages, the objections highlight the need for clearer guidance and potentially revised regulatory pathways to accommodate emerging financial technologies without compromising market integrity.
Bitcoin recovered from early losses to trade near $82,500, up 0.7% over the past 24 hours, as equity markets showed modest gains and oil prices fluctuated. The cryptocurrency had dipped alongside traditional markets earlier in the session but found support as U.S. stocks edged higher and crude oil retreated from overnight peaks above $101 per barrel to around $98.15. This rebound coincided with a 0.25% rise in the Nasdaq and a 0.4% increase in the S&P 500.
The movement followed a volatile day for energy markets triggered by conflicting reports about diplomatic progress in Iran. Initial claims of a potential peace proposal between Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan briefly sent oil prices tumbling $3 per barrel before the report was clarified, leaving prices down just 1% at $97.60 per barrel. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later described growing economic pressure in Iran, noting its currency collapse and warning of potential non-linear economic consequences, while asserting that U.S. conditions remain largely stable outside of energy price volatility.
Meanwhile, SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue of $14.58 billion, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $12.87 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $8.81 billion also surpassing forecasts. The company maintained $51.29 billion in cash equivalents at quarter-end, though this fell short of projected $91.2 billion. Bitcoin's valuation on SpaceX's balance sheet stood at $1.57 billion, supporting a post-earnings valuation near $2 trillion.
In corporate developments, Anthropic disclosed $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026, up from $1.1 billion year-over-year, with $9 billion allocated to compute capacity expansion. The company plans to invest approximately $450 billion over the next 7-10 years under existing agreements, though it reported a net loss exceeding $80 billion during the same period. Amazon was noted to be storing billions of dollars worth of Nvidia hardware in warehouses due to delays in data center construction, with plans to receive $3 billion worth of GPUs monthly.
Housing market indicators showed continued weakness, with pending home sales falling 7.3% in September—the steepest decline in 25 years—far exceeding the forecasted 0.5% drop. New home sales also missed expectations, while French bond spreads widened to 153 basis points, the highest level since 2011, prompting ECB official Olli Rehn to call for deficit reductions across eurozone nations.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks showed mixed movement, with Coinbase up 1.7%, Robinhood up 2.3%, and Strategy up 6.3% in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq gained 0.25% and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while Bitcoin's correlation with traditional markets appeared to strengthen amid the broader market reversal.
Luganodes announced on October 14 that it is providing RPC access for TRON, Ethereum, and Bitcoin through a single API key, offering new users 25 million free compute units each month. The free allowance is consumed by each request according to a published cost per method, and service stops once the quota is exhausted. Paid subscriptions begin at $49 per month, with no payment card required for the free tier. Dedicated deployments separate full and archive nodes from shared plans, and the company lists itself as a TRON Super Representative active since July 2022. TRON’s network documentation identifies 27 elected Super Representatives responsible for production. The launch page extends the first‑month free allocation to 100 million compute units for sign‑ups before October 20, while other limits remain unchanged. Luganodes describes its standard subscriptions as shared infrastructure and offers separate dedicated options. Third‑party providers listed for TRON include Ankr, GetBlock, QuickNode, NOWNodes, Chainstack, TronQL, and Alchemy, each with varying node models such as shared, dedicated, or API‑key‑protected services. Chainstack also covers the Nile testnet alongside mainnet, and developers are directed to verify current coverage for specific networks like Shasta for testing and Nile for upcoming features. Hosted services are presented as an alternative to running a full node, which requires hardware, bandwidth, and operational effort. The TRON RPC provider guide advises checking request allowances, peak rates, supported interfaces, node locations, and historical‑state access, and specifically notes the need for support of TRON‑specific calls such as account‑resource queries. TronGrid, the network’s hosted node service, provides FullNode, SolidityNode, JSON‑RPC, and gRPC access across mainnet, Shasta, and Nile, requiring an API key for production traffic. Ethereum development tools can reuse JSON‑RPC for some TRON functions, though the documentation cautions that not all Ethereum methods have direct equivalents and that native HTTP or gRPC may be required for additional capabilities. Transaction submission follows an HTTP process that builds an unsigned transaction, signs it locally, and broadcasts the signed result. Operators running their own nodes have HTTP and gRPC enabled by default, while JSON‑RPC must be manually activated. Indexed services from TronGrid expose account histories, token‑transfer histories, and contract events, while Tronscan offers a separate explorer interface. Stablecoin activity on TRON reached $2.2126 trillion in settlement during the third quarter, with approximately 1.10 billion transactions and $701.4 million in network fees; combined USDT and USDD supply stood at $93.88 billion at quarter‑end. Messari’s second‑quarter data reported $2.1 trillion in USDT transfers and a $89.2 billion TRON‑based stablecoin capitalization, with USDT accounting for $87.9 billion of that total. On September 24, MeshWallet disclosed a $10 million private funding round to expand its TRON‑based USDT wallet, describing the product as self‑custodial and planning new features for retail and business users. Bitcoin’s price movement is noted separately in a related report.
Bitcoin traded near $82,000 on Oct. 20 after U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $526.7 million in daily inflows, the largest single-day amount since March. Murad, a memecoin investor, said the crypto bull cycle had not yet begun, without specifying a timeline or price target. His Oct. 20 post on X, viewed about 66,000 times and liked 1,500 times, declared that the market’s main advance remained ahead. Bitcoin had slipped from nearly $83,000 to $81,730.70 earlier that day, down 1.2% over 24 hours. Glassnode’s Market Pulse indicated that selling pressure had eased during the week ending Oct. 18, while spot and ETF demand stayed weak. Futures open interest declined slightly from $36.5 billion to $36.4 billion, and long-side funding payments rose from $1.1 million to $1.6 million, suggesting renewed willingness to pay for bullish exposure. Perpetual futures cumulative volume delta improved from negative $891.1 million to negative $562.7 million, though aggressive sellers still outnumbered buyers. Spot cumulative volume delta fell from negative $67 million to negative $83.6 million, which Glassnode described as continued aggressive selling on centralized exchanges. On-chain fees and transfer volume each dropped about 10%, while active addresses remained stable. Options positioning showed growing demand for downside protection, with 25-delta skew rising and implied volatility exceeding realized volatility. Binance Research examined seven historical Bitcoin rebounds between 2011 and 2023 in which prices were at least 40% above cycle lows but at least 25% below previous records. Four of those rebounds eventually broke prior lows within 43 days, while three held. The two rebounds that later reached new highs followed deeper declines of 75.5% in April 2019 and 67.1% in January 2023. Binance cautioned that the sample size was too small to form a reliable forecasting model, calling the findings a “base rate rather than a forecast.” Fidelity had warned in September that Bitcoin’s August rally might represent either a lasting recovery or a temporary advance within a continuing bear market, leaving open the possibility of further declines later in the year. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju projected a full-cycle gain of three to five times, citing higher institutional ownership and a larger market as factors that could reduce past extremes. The same day, Farside Investors’ daily table showed $526.7 million in net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, offsetting $228.4 million in net withdrawals over the previous five trading sessions. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $665.2 million of the inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC lost $83.6 million and Grayscale’s GBTC recorded $54.9 million in withdrawals. October’s cumulative net withdrawals had reached $614.7 million through Oct. 16, and Monday’s inflow reduced the shortfall to $88 million through Oct. 19. IBIT’s subscriptions exceeded the combined net inflow because redemptions at FBTC and GBTC absorbed part of the money entering the fund group. Glassnode’s data indicated that selling pressure persisted despite the ETF inflow, with futures open interest slipping and spot volume delta remaining negative. The market’s technical indicators identified $82,587 and $83,457 as potential recovery levels on the 4-hour chart, with support at $81,144 and $80,000. No official timeline or price target for the start of a bull cycle was provided by any participant.
Zodl has launched a waitlist for its macOS Vault application, planning to grant beta access in batches of 100 users. The product aims to enable long-term self-custody of shielded Zcash (ZEC). Beta enrollment began with groups of 100 people, and an earlier update had recorded over 4,100 signups. The official waitlist page does not specify a public launch date or detailed criteria for selecting testers. Prospective participants can register using an email address and will receive access through a staged rollout, as stated on the signup page. ZecHub mentioned in its October 14 newsletter that Vault is a desktop application for long-term self-custody of shielded ZEC, introduced on October 7, and linked the announcement to Zodl’s official account. The October 18 ZecHub ecosystem digest referenced the Zodl update and the 4,100 signups, noting these were registrations reported prior to the digest rather than current active users. The waitlist page indicates each admission batch contains 100 users but does not clarify how many batches will be released or when full access will begin. Zodl’s macOS listing does not confirm plans for versions on other operating systems. The October 14 ZecHub description referred to invitations being issued in batches, and the signup page explains how access will be granted without confirming the number of invitations already sent. Zodl’s mobile wallet previously supported hardware signing, allowing users to connect a Keystone device and manage funds through the app, with transaction approvals handled on the hardware. The mobile app accepts transparent ZEC and prompts users to shield incoming balances, after which funds can be used for private payments. For cross-chain transfers, Zodl describes CrossPay as a method to send shielded ZEC while recipients may receive other assets such as Bitcoin or stablecoins. Swaps between ZEC and other supported cryptocurrencies use NEAR Intents. These features apply to the existing mobile application. The Vault registration page does not currently list payment, swap, or hardware-signing capabilities. On February 17, crypto.news reported that Zodl rebranded its Zashi wallet after leaving Electric Coin Company; the February 16 statement indicated the name change would occur via an app update without altering wallet functionality, security, or user data. According to Zcash Stats, shielded pool balances reached 4.96 million ZEC on October 18, up from 4.91 million ZEC 28 days earlier. The proportion of shielded coins in circulation was approximately 29.2%. These figures reflect network-level data and do not identify individual holders or transaction amounts. Developer Adam Tucker, in an October 19 account of a privacy proposal by Zakura, highlighted risks of exposing swap addresses on NEAR’s public blockchain, noting that future quantum computers could potentially recover viewing keys and reveal payment histories. His suggested design would limit exposure to a single swap while preserving the existing spending key. Zakura indicated that software wallets using its libraries might integrate this feature in the coming weeks, with hardware wallet support to follow later. Read more: Hyperliquid Policy Center urges CFTC to allow AI compute perpetuals
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown announced a civil lawsuit targeting Kalshi, its affiliated entities and two Susquehanna Trading Company subsidiaries, alleging illegal sports betting operations within the state since 2024. The complaint seeks court orders compelling the defendants to disgorge an estimated $30 million to $60 million in profits derived from contracts deemed unlawful under Utah statutes. Brown asserted that the platform had served over 32,000 Utah residents, resulting in measurable financial harm to participants. He characterized the activity as a "significant and substantial ongoing harm" requiring judicial intervention to halt all sports, election, political and cultural wagering conducted through the service within Utah's borders.
The legal action stems from Utah's 2024 legislative response to prediction market platforms that facilitate event-based contracts. State officials had previously petitioned courts to compel compliance with state gambling regulations, culminating in a February 2024 lawsuit filed by Kalshi against Utah over the classification of its markets. A district court ruled in August that federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations did not preempt Utah's gambling statutes, a decision upheld by an appellate court in September when it denied Kalshi's request for an emergency injunction to resume operations during appeal proceedings.
Kalshi maintains its position as a federally regulated derivatives exchange operating under CFTC oversight, with spokesperson Jacki McGavick stating the company enables peer-to-peer trading where users determine market prices. The firm argues its national regulatory framework renders state-level restrictions invalid, asserting that no single jurisdiction should impede its federal compliance obligations. This stance conflicts with ongoing litigation in multiple states, including Arizona's criminal investigation and civil actions in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New York targeting similar prediction market services.
The Utah case intersects with a pending U.S. Supreme Court petition concerning New Jersey's challenge to Kalshi's sports betting operations. That case questions whether state authorities or the CFTC possess exclusive jurisdiction over prediction market contracts, a determination that could establish nationwide regulatory parameters for the industry. Meanwhile, Kalshi continues operating within federal parameters while contesting state-level enforcement actions through its existing federal litigation.
The legal dispute reflects broader tensions between state gambling regulations and federally sanctioned financial exchange models, with implications for how event-based prediction markets navigate overlapping regulatory jurisdictions across the United States.
Strive, a Bitcoin-focused treasury company headed by chairman and CEO Matt Cole, completed an upsized initial public offering of SATS preferred stock on Oct. 20, raising $630 million in gross proceeds, according to the company's announcement. The filing did not disclose how much of the capital would be directed toward Bitcoin purchases. The offering sold 7 million shares at $90 per share, yielding estimated net proceeds of $608.15 million after underwriting fees, commissions and other expenses, as reported by BitcoinTreasuries.net. In an SEC filing, Strive outlined plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes, including Bitcoin acquisitions, working capital, income-generating assets, capital expenditures, share repurchases and acquisitions. SATS carries a 15% annual dividend on its $100 stated value, equating to $15 per share annually if fully paid. At the $90 IPO price, the implied dividend yield rises to 16.67% of the purchase price. If allocated entirely to Bitcoin at an illustrative price of $82,500, the net proceeds could acquire approximately 7,372 BTC, potentially increasing Strive's existing holdings of 36,818 BTC to around 44,190 BTC, which would exceed Metaplanet's reported 44,000 BTC. Dividend payments are scheduled to begin on Nov. 9, subject to board declaration, with the first payment including accrued amounts from the closing date. Chief risk officer Jeff Walton stated the company holds no debt or maturities and is focused solely on fulfilling its dividend obligation. The offering occurred amid broader scrutiny of crypto-related financial instruments, including recent legislative proposals affecting tax treatment of digital assets.
Bitget has confirmed plans to acquire Thailand-based digital asset platform GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, a move that would extend the exchange’s presence in Southeast Asia. The agreement was disclosed in a filing by GMO Internet on September 24, with completion targeted for October 31 pending regulatory approval. Bitget said the transaction involves BTGT Management (Thailand), a company in which it holds an unspecified interest. The acquisition would enable Bitget to launch its trading platform for Thai users, according to statements attributed to CEO Gracy Chen. Chen described Thailand as a key component of the region’s digital asset ecosystem and said the deal would allow the company to establish local operations in a growing market. GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics operates the Z.com EX exchange, which began offering services in February 2021. The firm is listed by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission as a licensed digital asset exchange operator. The proposed deal follows a security incident on September 24 in which attackers exploited a vulnerability in a third-party security product to issue fraudulent withdrawal commands affecting approximately $388 million in hot and warm wallet holdings. Bitget stated that customer balances were not impacted and that withdrawals were restored in phases by October 2. The company also announced on October 17 that it would discontinue services for certain users, characterizing the action as a one-time adjustment. Updated terms of use released on October 16 designate Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Thailand as prohibited jurisdictions for direct service. While Thailand appears on the list, the acquisition could allow Bitget to serve Thai customers through a locally licensed entity. The transaction remains subject to regulatory clearance and additional conditions outlined in the filing.
BlackRock filed on Monday to register a bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund that aims to limit investor losses while still capturing upside price movement.
BlackRock filed on Monday to register a bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund that aims to limit investor losses while still capturing upside price movement. The move comes after Calamos Investments reported that its own protected bitcoin fund lost only 1% during a period when the broader cryptocurrency market fell more than 50% from its peak.
The filing describes the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF as a vehicle that would give holders exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust and similar bitcoin products, while incorporating a mechanism designed to curb downside risk. BlackRock did not specify the exact level of protection or the cap on gains in the filing.
Calamos, based in Naperville, Illinois, introduced a series of structured products in early 2025 that allocate roughly 90% of assets to U.S. Treasury securities and use the remainder to purchase bitcoin-linked options. Those funds are intended to let investors benefit from price increases up to a predetermined ceiling while restricting losses over a set timeframe. According to a company spokesperson, the October 2025 protection period for one of those funds saw a decline of just 1% despite bitcoin’s 52% drop from its record high near $126,000.
The filing follows BlackRock’s earlier launch of the Bitcoin Premium Income Fund (BITA) in June, which combines bitcoin holdings with shares of its flagship spot bitcoin ETF and sells call options on a portion of the portfolio to generate monthly income. Executives have said the strategy appeals to investors seeking both exposure to digital assets and a source of regular cash flow.
No timeline for regulatory approval or market launch was provided in the filing. The proposal reflects a broader trend among traditional asset managers to develop structured products that address the volatility of cryptocurrency markets while integrating with established financial infrastructure.
Elon Musk announced plans to allocate approximately $10.5 billion in SpaceX equity to American children by issuing one share to each child in 2027, potentially adding 72 million new shareholders to the company's capital base. The proposal, revealed on October 19, draws on Musk's existing holdings of roughly 4.8 billion shares, with beneficial ownership reaching 6.4 billion when including unvested awards and options. Distributing 72 million shares would reduce his direct stake by about 1.5%, allowing the donation to occur without issuing new stock or diluting other investors. The initiative leverages Treasury regulations from September that permit qualifying publicly traded shares to be transferred into Trump Accounts, a federal program designed to help minors build long-term investment accounts. Eligibility requires a Social Security number, and Musk has not yet detailed how accounts will be assigned or managed for all children covered by the pledge. At SpaceX's October 16 closing price of $146.03, the proposed distribution represents roughly $10.5 billion in equity, marking one of the largest individual philanthropic commitments in recent years. Musk described the move as the first in a series of planned giveaways, encouraging other companies to distribute shares directly to the public before making similar announcements. The proposal follows AI developer Anthropic's announcement that it would dedicate 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund, contingent on shareholder approval. With Anthropic valued at approximately $2 trillion, the fund would initially hold around $100 billion, potentially expanding by two percentage points for every 50% increase in valuation above a set threshold. The company intends to use the fund for charitable donations, targeted distributions, and programs addressing AI-related job displacement, with about 20% of its equity estimated to be allocated to public benefit when including existing employee and founder pledges. Financial analysts have noted that a single SpaceX share could grow significantly over time under sustained appreciation. Nick Percoco of Kraken estimated that a $146 share might reach $1,800, $3,900, or $8,100 over 18 years at annual growth rates of 15%, 20%, or 25%, respectively, assuming uninterrupted performance. At a $50 trillion market cap, the share could rise to about $3,700, and $7,400 at a $100 trillion valuation, both requiring substantial appreciation from current levels. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has supported the approach, arguing that direct equity distribution could help narrow wealth disparities and engage younger Americans in financial markets. He has previously advocated using Trump Accounts to distribute shares held by wealthy investors, emphasizing that concentrated corporate ownership among affluent households makes such transfers especially impactful for lower-income families. The broader context involves growing attention to how AI-driven productivity gains may exacerbate economic divides, with technology firms poised to generate significant shareholder wealth even as automation reshapes labor markets. Distributing equity could offer households a direct stake in AI-driven growth, though actual returns depend on long-term company performance and market conditions.
Andrew Cuomo, co-chairman of the OKX-ICE joint venture and board member of OKX, characterized the growing number of corporate objections to tokenized stock trading as a predictable and reasonable reaction to the new market structure. Sixteen companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Western Digital, Broadcom, Verizon and UnitedHealth, have formally objected to the proposed venue under the SEC’s Innovation Exemption framework. Their concerns focus on unresolved questions about pricing mechanisms, investor protections, custody arrangements, and shareholder rights as the industry tests blockchain-based trading platforms.
The objections emerged after the SEC published a public notice revealing the list of companies that had submitted formal objections during the 30-day window following the framework’s launch. The exemption allows select venues to experiment with automated market makers and liquidity pools for tokenized securities, while requiring issuers to approve participation in the testing phase. Cuomo emphasized that the sandbox-like design intentionally limits participation to a small group of stocks and trading volumes, making early resistance expected.
Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, noted that issuers’ questions about operational details are part of a necessary learning curve as the market evolves. He stated that companies should be aware of multiple pathways to engage with tokenization, including issuer-led offerings. Securitize had previously announced plans to list 12 tokenized stocks on OKXICE, including shares of Microsoft and Alphabet, though these offerings remain separate from the objections raised by those companies.
Dave Hendricks, CEO of Vertalo, highlighted that the objections reflect the framework’s intended function, enabling issuers to voice concerns before infrastructure gaps are addressed. He pointed to the lack of standardized systems connecting traditional exchanges with tokenized securities venues as a key factor driving early resistance. Hendricks suggested that companies may reconsider their positions once interoperability solutions are implemented.
The situation underscores broader challenges in integrating blockchain-based trading with established financial infrastructure, as regulators and industry participants navigate the technical and regulatory complexities of tokenized securities.
The National Assembly voted on October 16 to adopt amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget, bringing crypto-to-stablecoin transactions closer to taxation under France's 31.4% capital gains levy. The proposal, previously cleared by the finance committee, would eliminate tax deferral for exchanges into e-money tokens defined by the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, effective January 1, 2027. Taxable gains on private investments currently face a default rate of 31.4%, though investors may opt for the progressive income-tax scale. The amendment would replace France's portfolio-wide capital-gains calculation with one based on the acquisition cost of sold assets, using a weighted average for units of the same cryptocurrency purchased at different prices. Public Accounts Minister David Amiel raised concerns about implementation during parliamentary debate, stating that stablecoins must first be defined and monitored before such measures can proceed. Regional sales director François Volpoet of Chainalysis warned that the levy could drive investors toward decentralized finance platforms, peer-to-peer transactions, and offshore exchanges outside international tax-reporting arrangements. The finance committee's rapporteur general, Philippe Juvin, expressed support for maintaining the deferral amid crypto's volatility. The measure remains subject to further parliamentary stages and potential amendments before becoming law.
The BNB Chain executed its 37th quarterly token burn on October 19, retiring 1,646,196.44 BNB tokens valued at approximately $1.197 billion. This marked a 1.9% increase in the number of tokens destroyed compared to the July 15 burn, which retired 1,615,827.795 BNB worth about $931.7 million. While the token count rose modestly, the dollar valuation attached to the October burn grew by 28.5%, reflecting a higher per-token valuation rather than a significant change in supply reduction. The implied value per BNB increased from $576.61 to $727.34, a 26.1% rise, indicating that market conditions influenced the reported dollar figures more than the actual volume of tokens removed. The burn process, governed by Binance’s Auto-Burn mechanism, calculates the amount of BNB to retire based on quarterly price data and network activity, including block production on the BNB Smart Chain. Unlike direct market purchases, the burned tokens are sourced from existing supply, and the methodology does not require evidence of open-market acquisition. The burn reduces circulating supply by sending tokens to a designated dead address, though it does not quantify how many of the retired coins were previously in circulation or available for sale. October’s announcement noted a remaining total supply of 131,512,085 BNB and reaffirmed the long-term goal of reducing supply to 100 million BNB. The burn also coincided with ongoing adjustments to the BEP-95 fee-burning mechanism, which allocates a portion of gas fees to permanent destruction, though the scale of its impact varies with network usage. While the latest burn contributed to incremental supply reduction, the relationship between token valuation, burn volume, and broader market dynamics remains subject to interpretation without deeper transparency into execution details.
Bitcoin briefly rose above $83,000 on Tuesday before slipping back toward $82,600, tracking a broader rally in U.S. equities and a decline in oil prices. The cryptocurrency’s move followed gains across risk assets, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.70% to 7,744.72 and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.59% to 26,585.47. Healthcare stocks led the index, reaching a record high as crude oil retreated.
Trader Ardi had previously identified $84,200 as the level Bitcoin needed to clear to break its recent bearish structure, a threshold that would represent a 1.14% increase from the $83,249.46 daily high recorded on CoinGecko. From the $82,601.56 price point observed later in the session, reaching that level would require a 1.94% gain. The figure was cited in an Oct. 16 assessment that referenced a CoinGlass liquidation heatmap showing concentrations near $83,300–$83,700 and $84,300–$84,700, though those levels were described as historical estimates rather than confirmed outcomes.
Glassnode’s Oct. 19 Market Pulse noted a reduction in selling pressure from the early October decline, though fresh demand had not yet emerged. Perpetual futures traders remained net sellers, but outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds narrowed to about $230 million. On-chain activity showed mixed signals: cumulative volume delta turned negative $83.6 million, up from negative $67 million the prior week, while active addresses remained stable and transfer volume declined roughly 10%.
Ether also advanced, rising 1.6% to $2,437.55 on CoinGecko, with a 24-hour range of $2,374.52 to $2,471.63. The second-largest cryptocurrency traded below its session peak despite the broader market movement.
Analysts offered differing views on the sustainability of the rebound. Naeem Aslam of Zaye Capital Markets attributed the recent gains to improved liquidity expectations and reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike, but cautioned that elevated inflation, tighter borrowing conditions, and policy uncertainty continued to weigh on demand for risk-sensitive assets. Barron’s noted that the rally had not yet established a sustained reversal.
Earlier technical analyses had placed Bitcoin near its 50-day moving average of $81,279 and above a Supertrend line of $79,663.52, though daily MACD remained in bearish territory on some charts. A separate assessment from ViaBTC and Bitget Wallet had highlighted $82,000 as a critical support level, with a break below it potentially accelerating declines toward $80,000. That scenario would depend on institutional buying absorbing sales from long-term holders and miners.
The market’s near-term trajectory appears tied to both macroeconomic developments and on-chain dynamics, with traders monitoring resistance levels and liquidation patterns for signs of a more durable shift in momentum.
The Qubic network resumed operation on October 19, advancing its blockchain beyond tick 85,371,949 for the first time since a security breach halted activity on Sunday. The restart followed approval of a recovery plan by the project's validators, known as Computors, and the launch of a claims platform for users whose wallets were compromised.
According to the project's update, roughly $1.4 million in QU tokens was drained from 1,404 accounts after an attacker exploited predictable wallet seeds generated by a vulnerable web wallet. The flaw, tied to an insecure random-number generator in versions prior to 4.26.4, affected seed creation on certain Apple devices and browsers. Qubic confirmed the vulnerability was patched in the updated web wallet released on October 19.
Affected users can verify their addresses and submit claims through the reclaim platform, with a deadline of May 1, 2027, to file. The project emphasized that anyone who created a wallet using the vulnerable version must treat it as compromised and migrate funds to a new wallet generated by version 4.26.4 or later. The warning was issued without assigning blame to specific parties, focusing instead on technical remediation steps.
The incident underscores ongoing challenges in blockchain security, particularly around wallet implementation and cryptographic randomness. While the network has restarted and recovery mechanisms are now accessible, the episode highlights the importance of timely software updates and rigorous security audits in decentralized systems.
A policy research group has formally requested that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission permit the creation of perpetual derivatives linked to GPU rental rates and the operating costs of artificial‑intelligence workloads. In a letter dated Oct. 20, Hyperliquid Policy Center argued that such contracts would give data‑center operators, lenders and AI developers a mechanism to hedge the price volatility of compute resources. The submission outlined a set of safeguards, including limits on leverage, caps on funding‑rate fluctuations and requirements for transparent pricing benchmarks. It also called for the regulator to consider both dated futures — contracts tied to scheduled expenses such as planned AI training runs — and perpetuals that have no fixed expiration. The organization emphasized that the exposure to compute‑price risk is continuous and lacks a predetermined end point, making traditional hedging tools inadequate. According to the letter, perpetual contracts could align recurring funding payments between buyers and sellers, thereby matching the ongoing costs and revenues of GPU‑hour usage. A data‑center operator could use such a contract to protect against declining rental income, while an AI platform could lock in a cost ceiling for future compute purchases. Lenders financing hardware would also benefit, as stable cash flows would reduce the risk of collateral devaluation. The policy center proposes two distinct contract types: one that tracks the rental price of specific GPU hardware and another that references the cost of processing a defined volume of AI‑model tokens. It notes that GPU‑hour contracts would provide an imperfect hedge for inference‑related expenses, which depend on both hardware pricing and model efficiency. Benchmark selection, the group argues, must incorporate detailed specifications such as chip model, geographic location, rental window, cluster size and service terms, as well as rules governing provider interruption rights. To mitigate manipulation risks in thin markets, the submission recommends independent price contributors, statistical filters to exclude outliers, position limits and mechanisms for sharing price information across venues. Funding‑rate caps or longer‑term calculations are suggested for perpetuals to prevent abrupt cost spikes during periods of hardware scarcity or model releases. The organization also addresses the transition to new chip generations, proposing advance notice and phased replacements similar to practices used in existing oil perpetual markets. Customer‑protection measures include leverage caps, open‑interest thresholds and disclosures that translate funding costs into dollar amounts over various holding periods. The CFTC’s review of compute‑derivatives follows an earlier consultation launched on Aug. 19, in which the agency sought public comment on issues such as market liquidity, manipulation prevention and investor protection. Chairman Michael Selig described a robust derivatives market for compute as essential to U.S. ambitions in artificial intelligence. Hyperliquid Policy Center’s letter is presented as a policy recommendation rather than an indication that any specific contract will launch imminently or that the regulator has signaled approval. The group continues to advocate for a regulatory framework that accommodates both on‑chain and traditional compute‑linked derivatives while addressing the unique challenges posed by rapidly evolving hardware and AI workloads.
Bitcoin options skew climbed to 8.6% from 5.2% within a week, according to a Glassnode report published Oct. 19. The metric, which compares the cost of downside-protecting put options to equivalent upside calls, showed growing premium for protection against further losses. This shift occurred alongside a 49.4% jump in aggregate funding payments for perpetual futures longs, which rose to $1.6 million. The increase in funding costs came despite Bitcoin trading near $81,300, a level more than 2% below the prior week's price.
The divergence between defensive options positioning and continued bullish exposure in futures markets highlights a fragmented market structure. While spot trading showed signs of deterioration, with the spot cumulative volume delta widening from -$67 million to -$83.6 million, perpetual futures funding payments indicated sustained demand for leveraged long positions. Open interest in Bitcoin options increased 3.1% to $38.6 billion, suggesting expanding derivative market participation even as spot market momentum stalled.
Volatility dynamics reinforced the defensive posture. The implied-versus-realized volatility spread shifted from -3.8% to +2.1%, meaning options prices began exceeding recent realized volatility. This change reflected a market willing to pay a premium for exposure to potential price swings despite relatively subdued recent trading ranges. The 25-delta skew's 3.4 percentage point rise confirmed put options grew relatively more expensive than calls, though the reading remained below historical extremes.
On-chain data revealed additional fragility. The short-term to long-term holder supply ratio rose to 14.7%, surpassing its historical upper band, while the share of supply held by newer, more price-sensitive investors held steady at 20.3%. Profitability weakened as Bitcoin's supply in profit declined from 70.1% to 68.2%, and the realized profit-to-loss ratio fell from 0.8 to 0.4. These trends left more price-sensitive capital exposed to downside risk.
The immediate focus remains Bitcoin's ability to defend the $80,000 level, which has historically attracted buying interest. A sustained break below this threshold could trigger leveraged long reductions, potentially amplifying volatility. The Federal Reserve's Oct. 27–28 policy meeting looms as a potential catalyst, with investors assessing whether inflation trends may prompt further monetary tightening. The current market structure features defensive options positioning, weakening spot demand, and persistent futures exposure, creating conditions where renewed selling pressure could emerge if key support levels fail.
A report by the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto documented 9,803 individual complaints from 10,092 submissions made to UK banks between May and August 2026 concerning restrictions on transfers to cryptocurrency platforms. The complaints were filed through the group’s online portal and reviewed by Cointelegraph.
Lloyds Banking Group received the highest number of complaints at 2,297, followed by Barclays with 1,569 and NatWest Group with 1,278. The findings highlight growing concerns about access to crypto services as the UK prepares to implement a new regulatory framework for digital assets in 2027.
Barclays and HSBC UK were noted for imposing transfer caps of 2,500 pounds ($3,300) per transaction and 10,000 pounds ($13,300) over a 30-day period. Six additional banks, including Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK, were reported to prohibit crypto-related transfers entirely. In contrast, Lloyds Banking Group and Revolut were listed as having no publicly disclosed transfer limits, though Revolut’s support page indicated that transfers to certain exchanges are unsupported.
Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, told Cointelegraph that restricted banking access is a recurring obstacle for UK crypto firms and could weaken the nation’s goal of becoming a global crypto hub. He emphasized the need for urgent resolution to ensure a fair environment for growth and scaling. Jones also cautioned that the upcoming regulatory regime, overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority and set to take effect in October 2027, may not address banking access challenges. He noted that while firms may meet regulatory requirements, they could still be unable to secure business bank accounts in the UK.
The report underscores ongoing tensions between financial institutions and the crypto sector as the UK navigates the integration of digital assets into its financial infrastructure.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed a preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday for a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund that pairs exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF with limited downside protection.
The proposed iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF, referred to as PBIT, would use options linked to BlackRock’s existing spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, rather than holding Bitcoin directly. IBIT, which holds Bitcoin in custody and trades on brokerage platforms, held $65.7 billion in net assets as of Monday, according to BlackRock’s filing.
PBIT would employ three overlapping tranches of options contracts that are periodically replaced to maintain exposure while capping potential gains and limiting losses. Each tranche initially targets a maximum loss exposure of about 10% to the underlying Bitcoin-linked asset before fees and expenses, though the fund does not guarantee a fixed floor or cap value, meaning losses could exceed the stated threshold.
The filing marks BlackRock’s third Bitcoin ETF submission. Earlier offerings include the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, launched in June 2026, and the iShares Staked Ether Trust ETF, introduced in March 2026. The company also operates the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, which held $8 billion in assets as of the filing date.
BlackRock has not pursued spot ETFs for cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, such as Solana or XRP. Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, noted the firm’s focus appears confined to BTC and ETH, a stance he highlighted on social media.
The move reflects growing institutional interest in structured crypto products that balance risk and return, though regulators have yet to approve direct spot ETFs for alternative digital assets.
Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority announced on Oct. 20 that it will seek court orders compelling Apple and Google to block access to six cryptocurrency platforms within the country. The regulator cited enforcement against unauthorized digital-asset services operating in or targeting users in the Astana International Financial Centre, a special economic zone. The September 18 variation order names BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX as the platforms affected. A prior default judgment issued on Sept. 15 had already required compliance, and the later variation removed LBank after its operator confirmed that the service had been blocked independently. The authority emphasized that the orders extend to any provision, marketing or distribution of unlicensed digital-asset services, including through mobile applications. Once served, Apple and Google would be bound by the orders as if they were parties to the case, though they retain the right to request modifications or dismissal after acknowledging service. The move reflects a broader effort to restrict app-based access to crypto services that lack authorization in the jurisdiction. AFSA noted that nine other platforms had previously restricted access voluntarily, prompting the agency to withdraw related claims. Seven additional exchanges have indicated intentions to pursue formal licensing. The enforcement action follows warnings issued to more than 20 platforms earlier in the year and ongoing litigation initiated in early 2026. Coinbase experienced access limitations in Kazakhstan in November 2023, and the current measures expand the scope of enforcement to include distribution channels controlled by major app-store operators. The practical impact on users will depend on how the restrictions are implemented and whether technical controls are applied at the jurisdictional level.
A court in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has issued injunctions that prevent Coinbase and five other cryptocurrency exchanges from providing unlicensed digital asset services to users located within the AIFC. The ruling, handed down on October 20, 2026, targets BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX, prohibiting them from marketing or distributing mobile applications for such services inside the financial hub. The measures are limited to the AIFC and do not constitute a ban on the firms’ activities elsewhere in Kazakhstan. Justice Sir Stephen Richards clarified that the injunctions apply only to users physically present in the AIFC, leaving the rest of the country unaffected.
The orders also extend to Apple and Google as operators of the app stores that host the exchanges’ mobile applications, though the court declined to issue a separate injunction against the tech giants, pending further discussion with the regulator. LBank, initially named in the proceedings, was removed after it complied with the Astana Financial Services Authority’s (AFSA) concerns by restricting access to its services for users in Kazakhstan. The regulator noted that the platform had responded to inquiries within the required timeframe, prompting the court to enter judgment by default against the remaining non‑responding entities.
AFSA’s enforcement campaign began in 2025, when it issued warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms operating in the region. After initial warnings went unheeded, the authority pursued court action in early 2026. Coinbase had previously encountered regulatory obstacles in Kazakhstan, including a 2023 website blockage over alleged violations of the nation’s digital asset law. The regulator reached out to all affected platforms for comment, but received no response before publishing the findings.
The AIFC operates under its own legal framework and requires crypto firms to obtain a license before offering services to participants within its jurisdiction. The recent injunctions underscore the authority’s intent to enforce licensing requirements rigorously, while emphasizing that the restrictions are not a blanket prohibition across the entire country. This development reflects a broader trend of emerging markets tightening oversight of digital asset platforms to align with local regulatory standards.
Bitcoin slipped to approximately $81,400 during Asian trading hours, marking a 0.5% decline since midnight UTC, even as U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their largest single-day inflow in nearly a month with $526.6 million in net purchases. The price movement occurred against a backdrop of broader market weakness, as South Korea’s Kospi index fell 3.73% to its lowest closing level since April 7, driven by declines in semiconductor stocks SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics amid concerns over sustained AI investment levels. Derivatives data from Deribit indicated that put options were trading at more than twice the volume of call options over the preceding 24 hours, with the October 30 $80,000 strike put emerging as the most actively traded contract. Out-of-the-money put contracts were priced 2.5 to 4 volatility points above equivalent call options across various expiries, reflecting heightened demand for downside protection despite open interest remaining tilted toward call positions at higher strike levels near $90,000 and $100,000. CoinGlass reported $155.1 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with approximately 69% of those involving long positions, though this marked a 54.7% decrease from the previous day’s liquidation volume. Bitcoin’s open interest on Coinalyze declined slightly to $27.4 billion, down 0.6% in the same period, while the aggregate funding rate stood at roughly 8.8% annualized. Ether’s funding rate of about 3.9% annualized suggested a modestly bullish bias among traders, though the broader CoinDesk DeFi index (DFX) fell 1.2%, underperforming other benchmarks. Ether (ETH) traded near $2,385, down 0.9%, while the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) index, which weights bitcoin more heavily, declined 0.34% compared to a 0.33% drop in the bitcoin-specific CoinDesk 5 (CD5) index. Brent crude prices hovered near $110 per barrel amid ongoing concerns over supply disruptions following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Approximately 70 S&P 500 companies were scheduled to report earnings later in the week, including General Motors before the market open and United Airlines following the close. In the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, Celestia (TIA) rose 2.2% to about $0.63, becoming the top performer on the CoinDesk 100 Index (CD100), extending a monthly gain of roughly 42%. This coincided with the network’s October 1 benchmark showing its Fibre scaling system processing an average of 3.07 terabits per second, and Derive’s integration of Celestia as a data availability layer in its V3 release. A significant token unlock of 5.58 million TIA is scheduled for October 31, according to Tokenomist. Conversely, Sandbox’s SAND token declined 4.5% to approximately $0.057, giving back part of a prior 30% monthly gain that began after South Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone eased trading restrictions following a bridge exploit incident. Layer-2 network tokens also weakened, with Arbitrum (ARB) down 3.6% to $0.1906 and Starknet (STRK) falling 3.2% to $0.05656, though Starknet remains up about 29% over the month following its October 9 and 10 surge after announcing plans to explore quantum-resistant layer-1 architecture by 2027. Uniswap (UNI) slipped 2.3% to $7.14, continuing a roughly 20% monthly decline despite reporting a record $14.81 million in protocol revenue for September, its strongest month since implementing fee retention mechanisms. Ethena (ENA) dropped 1.9%, extending a roughly 30% drop from its late-September peak near $0.29, as USDe supply contracted to about $4.7 billion from a peak near $15 billion, still below the $7.5 billion threshold required to trigger automated buyback activity.
An Ethereum address linked to the April 1 breach of the Drift trading platform transferred nearly $63 million in digital assets through the privacy-focused mixer Tornado Cash, according to on-chain data.
Etherscan identifies the wallet as “Drift Exploiter 5.” It held roughly 3.98 ETH on October 20 before initiating a series of 258 deposits into the Tornado Cash protocol over a two‑hour and 13‑minute window. The deposits consisted of 257 transfers of 100 ETH each, followed by a final transfer of 10 ETH, totaling 25,710 ETH. The first transaction was recorded at 07:08:35 UTC in block 26,232,203; the last appeared at 09:21:35 UTC in block 26,232,865.
At the time of the transfers, Ethereum was trading near $2,450, giving the moved funds an approximate value of $63.1 million. The activity occurred more than six months after the initial $280 million withdrawal reported by Drift in its April 2 disclosure.
Investigators have attributed the breach to a North Korean threat actor, UNC6862, based on a Mandiant report commissioned by Drift. The exploit leveraged pre‑signed transactions and delayed execution to obtain unauthorized approvals, without exploiting a smart‑contract vulnerability, according to the platform’s June 4 update.
Recovered assets are intended to flow into Drift’s Recovery Pool, which aggregates funds from freezes, bounties, or law‑enforcement seizures, as well as a share of the platform’s net protocol revenue. Users can submit DFX tokens representing verified losses, with each token corresponding to one USDT of claimed value. Redemption exchanges the tokens for USDT at a rate set at the time of claim; as of October 4, the rate stood at roughly 0.0104 USDT per DFX, or just over one cent per dollar lost.
Drift had previously outlined a recovery proposal that included up to $127.5 million from Tether and $20 million from other partners, structured around a revenue‑linked credit facility, ecosystem grants, and market‑maker loans. The recent movement of ETH through Tornado Cash illustrates the pathway of stolen funds but does not resolve the broader question of how much will ultimately be returned to affected users.
Fidelity Digital Assets disclosed that perpetual preferred stock issuances have financed the acquisition of 135,979 Bitcoin, marking a new channel of demand for the cryptocurrency. The funding mechanism relies on Bitcoin’s price appreciation outpacing dividend costs, according to a report released on October 5. Analyst Zack Wainwright noted that the purchases accounted for more than 0.5% of Bitcoin’s capped supply as of that date. Companies have issued dividend-paying preferred shares to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases, aligning with an investment thesis that the asset’s scarcity could safeguard value amid declining fiat currency purchasing power. The model’s viability hinges on asset appreciation exceeding yield expenses, as stated in the analysis. Preferred shareholders assume issuer, liquidity and interest-rate risks in addition to Bitcoin exposure, with risk profiles distinct from direct cryptocurrency holders. Fidelity’s investor guidance clarifies that preferred securities blend equity and debt characteristics, featuring variable terms such as perpetual structures without maturity dates or payment deferral options. In the event of default, preferred claims rank above common equity but below senior debt. Inflation risk emerges for preferred investors, as rising prices may erode dividend purchasing power, while elevated market rates typically depress preferred-security valuations and limited market depth can compel sales below face value. The report connects the preferred-stock approach’s success to both Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory and the financial health of issuing entities. No additional agreements or outcomes were indicated in the disclosure.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a directive on October 20 requiring federal civilian agencies to eliminate DeepSeek technology from their information technology systems and to bar future purchases of the company's products. The order, signed by Secretary Markwayne Mullin on July 24 under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, gives agencies 60 days to request exemptions while they work toward compliance. Homeland Security cited national security concerns, noting that DeepSeek's operations in China could expose sensitive government data to foreign servers and that the technology might contain vulnerabilities exploitable for intelligence gathering. The directive also extends to software and services built using DeepSeek implementations, affecting American technology contractors that have integrated the company's models into their offerings. Earlier actions by the Commerce Department, the US Navy and several state governments had already limited the use of DeepSeek within government networks. China criticized the move as politicization of technology and a barrier to commercial cooperation between the United States and China. The order creates new compliance obligations for federal technology suppliers, who must determine whether products incorporating DeepSeek components can continue serving government customers. Affected contractors may need to replace those components or seek exemptions, potentially benefiting competing AI providers. In a separate development, DeepSeek announced on October 20 that it had open-sourced DeepInfer, the inference framework that powers its large-scale artificial intelligence services, granting developers access to technology previously used internally. The release includes optimized computing kernels, distributed inference capabilities, speculative decoding and processing tools designed to improve throughput and reduce the computing resources required to generate AI responses. DeepSeek also made available deepseek-recipe, a collection of software components that handle token encoding, prompt formatting and API request processing, enabling independent developers to reproduce key elements of the company's API behavior when running its models. “We are releasing DeepInfer, deepseek-recipe, and other vital components for serving DeepSeek models,” company engineer Cui Tianyi said, adding that the goal was to enable more businesses and organizations worldwide to deploy and profit from the technology. The move expands DeepSeek's open-source strategy beyond publishing model weights, giving developers greater control over the infrastructure they use to run AI systems. That could strengthen the company's appeal among businesses seeking to reduce reliance on proprietary AI services from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, whose flagship production-serving infrastructure remains largely closed. The initial release supports DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, a 552-billion-parameter model introduced in September that activates only a fraction of its parameters for individual tasks. The model's architecture requires substantially less memory and storage for inference caching, allowing providers to process more requests using fewer computing resources. DeepInfer is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, permitting commercial modification and redistribution, and supports Nvidia SM100 graphics processors and Huawei Ascend 950 chips, giving developers options across American and Chinese computing hardware. The compatibility with Huawei's processors could also support Chinese efforts to develop domestic AI infrastructure amid US restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports. The initial release provides offline inference capabilities, although operators must still supply components such as cache management and load balancing to build a complete production service. Ultimately, the release allows cloud providers and businesses outside the US federal market to run DeepSeek models on their own infrastructure, tailor the technology to their needs and reduce AI operating costs. However, hosting DeepSeek technology on private infrastructure would not automatically exempt a product from the federal order, which expressly covers third-party implementations.
LayerZero has set November 30 as the launch date for its Zero mainnet and the ATLAS trading infrastructure, according to the company's announcement. The rollout will begin with Open ATLAS, which is designed to support more than a dozen trading venues at launch, with additional venues expected before the end of the year. ATLAS functions as a backend system that handles trading and settlement for third-party platforms, without operating a consumer-facing application of its own. Open ATLAS plans to allocate 75% of trading fees remaining after venue rebates toward purchasing and burning ZRO tokens. LayerZero projects an initial capacity of 200,000 transactions per second for ATLAS, with performance metrics reported by the company showing median latency below one millisecond and higher percentile latencies of 1.418 milliseconds at the 95th percentile and 2.641 milliseconds at the 99th percentile in a public deployment environment. The schedule follows an August introduction of ATLAS, when the company outlined a backend that integrates order matching, clearing, settlement and risk management. At that time, LayerZero indicated a launch window later in the year, and a October 6 report noted that the timetable remained distinct from analyst expectations of a near-term release. ATLAS operates as a headless exchange, meaning it does not provide its own trading interface; instead, users access the system through third-party venues that manage distribution and user interaction. The architecture separates three functional roles: trading venues provide market access, market creators define tradable products, and market makers supply liquidity. Product categories listed include spot assets, perpetual contracts, stocks, commodities, bonds and prediction markets. Open ATLAS targets crypto-native applications and teams building open financial products, allowing operators to connect interfaces, select or create markets and leverage the underlying trading engine without building full exchange infrastructure. Institutional ATLAS uses the same engine but permits institutions to define rules for their markets. Fee distribution details specify that venues receive rebates ranging from 20% to 65% based on ZRO stake, trading volume or both, with the remaining fees split 25% to market creators and 75% toward ZRO purchases and burns after rebate deductions. Hypothetical calculations illustrate this split using $100 in fees, though the company emphasizes these figures are illustrative and not forecasts. LayerZero has previously used revenue from Stargate for ZRO buybacks, with its June token update stating all Stargate revenue funded purchases since April 2026. Technically, Zero separates transaction execution from verification through zero-knowledge proofs, with block producers performing computation and validators checking proofs. The network organizes activity into concurrent environments called Zones, with ATLAS operating within its own Zone to isolate its workload from payments and general applications. The company's roadmap targets 2 million transactions per second per Zone, though the initial provisioning for ATLAS is set at 200,000 transactions per second. Anchorage Digital has partnered with LayerZero to enable stablecoin transfers across chains using the Omnichain Fungible Token standard, with Tether's USAT identified as the first stablecoin to launch via this integration. Anchorage's issuance platform serves institutions including Tether, Western Union, OSL Group and Falcon Finance.
Bitwise Asset Management and the Hyperliquid Policy Center submitted comment letters on Monday urging the US Securities and Exchange Commission to revise its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. The firms seek clearer guidance on how tokens are classified, how airdrops are treated, and how secondary‑market trading should be overseen.
The SEC is closing the public comment period on Tuesday. Its proposal would create exemptions for certain crypto fundraising activities and offer a conditional safe harbor for tokens that meet investment‑contract criteria.
In its letter, Bitwise argued that investment managers need a concrete standard to assess whether a crypto asset falls under securities law, suggesting they rely on publicly available information. The firm also asked for clarification on when managers may rely on an issuer’s Form TR filing, which certifies that an investment contract has ended, and how to proceed when such a filing is absent.
Hyperliquid’s submission called for an expanded safe harbor that would protect airdrops rewarding network participation and provide guidance on token buybacks. It warned that the current draft fails to address whether unregistered intermediaries can facilitate token trades or whether tokens can move freely through on‑chain protocols, leaving exchanges and decentralized platforms in regulatory limbo.
Former SEC enforcement official John Reed Stark and Duke University finance scholar Lee Reiners submitted a contrasting view, urging the commission to withdraw the proposal entirely. They contend that the rules exceed the agency’s statutory authority and would erode investor protections, pointing out that existing securities laws and the Supreme Court’s Howey test already govern crypto offerings. They also warned that adopting the rules as written could invite swift legal challenges that might invalidate the framework.
With the comment deadline passing Tuesday, the SEC will now review all submissions before deciding whether to amend, adopt, or abandon the proposal. No timeline for a final decision has been announced, and any eventual rule would require a commission vote to take effect.
A court in Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre has issued injunctions that block six cryptocurrency platforms from offering digital‑asset services without proper licensing. The ruling, announced by the Astana Financial Services Authority, follows a lawsuit filed by the regulator against firms that had been operating in the country without authorization. The order, originally dated September 15, named BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global, BitMart, Coinbase and LBank; a subsequent amendment three days later removed LBank after its operator restricted access in Kazakhstan. Google and Apple are also subject to the geographic restrictions because they host the apps in their stores. The authority said users of these unlicensed platforms forfeit safeguards such as asset protection, disclosure requirements, complaint handling and dispute‑resolution mechanisms that licensed providers must meet. While the National Bank of Kazakhstan oversees digital‑asset service providers outside the AIFC, the court’s decision reflects a broader effort to enforce licensing rules across the market. AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova said the judgment results from sustained supervision and enforcement actions targeting platforms that advertised and offered crypto services without permission. In 2025 the authority warned more than 20 platforms about AIFC regulations; nine chose to limit app access voluntarily, and seven indicated plans to seek licenses. The regulator withdrew claims against those nine, while the injunctions will remain in force against the remaining six. Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency had blocked access in 2023 to nearly 1,000 crypto exchanges serving local users without proper registration. The move underscores the government’s push to bring crypto activity under a regulated framework while maintaining oversight of both licensed and unlicensed operators.
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, stated that the Alpenglow consensus upgrade could have been completed in half the time if developers had modified the vote program rather than undertaking a more complex redesign. His comment came ahead of the planned migration scheduled for October 21, which will eliminate validator vote transactions from blocks. Yakovenko made the observation in an X post responding to a thread that highlighted criticism of Solana's transaction throughput metrics. He noted that removing vote transactions from blocks would reduce headline TPS counts without altering actual user activity levels. The migration will replace per-vote fees with a flat 0.8 SOL charge paid per epoch, with the entire amount burned from the vote account. This change aims to streamline fee collection and reduce on-chain complexity. The transition will occur during epoch 1064, expected to begin around 13:20 UTC, with the migration boundary falling 5,000 slots after activation. During the transition period, blocks will temporarily carry only vote transactions while validators complete the handoff. The Solana Foundation has instructed analytics services and explorers to reset transaction-count baselines and TPS measurements, as vote transactions will no longer appear in blocks. Services tracking validator participation must shift from reading vote program instructions to interpreting certificate data in block footers. The Foundation noted that Yellowstone's gRPC footer message does not yet forward these certificates. Developers gained access to the modified behavior when Alpenglow reached devnet in September, following the testnet transition. Anza's documentation specifies that explorers must maintain competing candidate blocks separately until confirmation, retaining only the selected block. Agave 4.3 introduces an optional block-footer notification that services must enable to receive footer data, preserving message ordering relative to entry notifications. The chain's clock format and whole-second precision will remain unchanged, with timestamp estimates treated as approximate during transaction execution. Validator fees will transition from per-vote charges to a flat epoch-based admission fee. The 0.8 SOL fee will be drawn from the vote account, replacing the identity account as the payment source, and must be held above the account's rent-exempt minimum. Payments are made one epoch in advance, with the first charge covering participation in epoch 1065. The Foundation confirmed BLS public-key registration became available on mainnet July 8, with the admission feature activating July 22, though these changes preceded Alpenglow consensus activation. Prior to migration, validators must run version 4.3.2 of Agave, Jito-Solana, or Harmonic Salsa, with Firedancer and Frankendancer excluded from support during the handoff. Two voting paths will replace TowerBFT: one finalizes blocks in a single round with 80% stake response, while the second uses two rounds with 60% thresholds. Votes will become direct messages signed with BLS cryptography, enabling compact certificate formation through multiple signatures. Anza's design allows validators to use timers to detect unresponsive leaders and skip them via voting. The SIMD-0326 proposal details alternatives considered, including a design with 33% Byzantine fault tolerance that offered simpler operation but worse latency and lower crash resilience. Another variant explored a directed acyclic graph structure for potential bandwidth savings, though its authors noted latency and bandwidth utilization challenges. The proposal limits admission to 2,000 validators, prioritizing highest-staked operators to maintain certificate size for single UDP messages while supporting reward distribution for active voting. Governance approval for the proposal occurred in September 2025, with 98.27% support among votes cast representing 52% of total stake. Finality timing may vary across the network, with nodes outside the admitted validator set potentially experiencing delays of up to one block interval in receiving confirmation. Direct communication between admitted validators and partners can reduce latency, though fallback to later block footers occurs if partners become unreachable. The migration follows broader efforts to refine Solana's consensus mechanism and transaction accounting practices.