The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a proposed framework that would allow investment advisers and regulated funds to hold crypto assets through conditional self-custody or state trust companies. The rules seek to bridge the gap between legacy federal investment laws and the realities of modern digital asset markets.
Quant surged 158.3% this week, headlining a volatile market shift as investors react to new institutional infrastructure deals and smart contract expansions. While Bitcoin held steady near $84,600, other assets faced sharp corrections, with Lighter dropping 28.7% following shifts in the competitive landscape for U.S. crypto derivatives.
Microsoft regained control of its official X account Thursday after unauthorized users seized the profile to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency named CLIPPY. The attackers replaced the company's branding with the legacy office assistant and pushed unverified claims that the token was backed by Microsoft’s own corporate stock.
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin has unveiled a roadmap of 13 potential applications for the blockchain ecosystem, ranging from AI-driven digital pets to private OTC trading marketplaces. The proposal targets the next phase of development, shifting focus from core infrastructure to product distribution and user-centric utility.
A sharp cooling of investor appetite defined the latest trading week for US crypto-linked ETFs, as Bitcoin products managed a modest $82.9 million in net inflows while Ethereum funds suffered a significant reversal, shedding $118 million in assets between September 28 and October 2, according to data from Farside Investors.
A 23% decline in weekly NFT sales to $40.9 million masks a significant surge in user participation, as buyer addresses jumped nearly 29% to 206,788. Despite the drop in total dollar volume, the ecosystem saw heightened transactional engagement across multiple blockchain networks for the period ending October 3.
Venture funding in the digital asset space reached $178.6 million between September 26 and October 2, anchored by a massive $110 million equity round for the Miami-based payments firm Jeeves. The week underscored a shift toward stablecoin-integrated business infrastructure and strategic private token placements.
The collapse of the CLARITY Act in the Senate on September 15 triggered an unexpected rally across the digital asset sector. Bitwise Asset Management argues that while the industry traded away long-term legal certainty, the failed bill preserved critical business advantages for established exchanges and stablecoin platforms.
Johannesburg-based Absa has officially become the first bank on the African continent to offer institutional Bitcoin custody services. The platform, which launched on September 21 using Ripple technology, currently prioritizes Bitcoin as the primary asset held for a diverse range of corporate and investment banking clients.
Seventy-one percent of senior financial executives in the United Kingdom now view tokenization as the primary catalyst for reshaping the nation's financial services. According to the latest Lloyds Banking Group survey, institutions are prioritizing the technology to accelerate payment settlements and unlock capital currently trapped in traditional clearing cycles.
Anchorage Digital has initiated a 17% reduction in its global workforce, a move arriving just months after the firm secured a $100 million strategic investment from Tether. CEO Nathan McCauley communicated the layoffs this week, citing the persistent downturn in crypto markets as the primary driver for the decision.
Bitcoin has pulled back toward $84,000 after hitting a session peak of $87,220, leaving traders to watch a critical concentration of overhead supply. Analysts at Bitfinex suggest that sustained market momentum now hinges on whether buying pressure can push the price decisively above the $86,500 threshold.
Edwin Mata, the CEO of Barcelona-based tokenization firm Brickken, warns that fragmented access to advanced AI tools like OpenAI’s products is forcing European startups to outsource their growth. He argues that even if companies keep their headquarters in the region, the most vital jobs and investments are increasingly migrating abroad.
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has entered preliminary discussions with BNY to build a strategic partnership. The potential deal spans six key areas, including institutional crypto custody, payment rails, wealth management, and infrastructure services, according to sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations.
Tether-backed Utexo is preparing an October mainnet launch to bring USDT back to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Utilizing the RGB protocol, the platform aims to enable private stablecoin transfers, direct BTC swaps, and Bitcoin-backed lending, marking a significant evolution in how assets interact with the primary blockchain ledger.
The Blast Layer 2 network has announced plans to wind down operations, citing an inability to achieve financial sustainability. Citing maintenance expenses that now exceed generated revenue, the team behind the project is urging users to migrate their assets to the Ethereum mainnet before the October 26, 2026, deadline.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by a meager 29,000 in September, significantly undershooting economist forecasts of 90,000. This cooling labor market has recalibrated expectations for Federal Reserve policy, fueling investor optimism that interest rate hikes may pause in October and providing fresh momentum for Bitcoin’s latest recovery.
Circle is lobbying the European Commission to dismantle mandatory bank deposit thresholds for stablecoin reserves, arguing that forcing issuers to park capital in commercial banks creates systemic credit risks rather than stability, a lesson learned during the $3.3 billion exposure to the failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Forward Industries added nearly 949,000 SOL to its treasury during the fiscal fourth quarter, bringing total holdings to 8.5 million tokens. The accumulation, bolstered by a $25 million stock offering, pushed the company’s SOL-per-share metric up 10.4% as management aggressively pursues a long-term Solana-centric investment strategy.
THORChain launched its Zcash liquidity pool on October 2, marking a significant step toward enabling native ZEC trading. Following a network-wide node churn, every node is now monitoring the Zcash chain, though the protocol has advised users to exercise caution due to currently shallow liquidity levels.
SMBC Nikko Securities is formalizing a path into decentralized finance, signing a memorandum of understanding with Uniswap Labs, Nethermind, Base, and the Nyx Foundation to build a regulated gateway for Japanese investors. The consortium aims to complete the infrastructure by mid-2027, integrating compliance controls directly into liquidity pools.
Bybit is mapping out a transition from a dedicated crypto exchange to a comprehensive financial super app in Türkiye. CEO Ben Zhou views the nation as a top-five global market, aiming to integrate traditional investment products, international transfers, and stablecoin payment services into the platform’s existing local infrastructure.
Robinhood’s trading volume for tokenized stocks is already approaching the strict caps set by the SEC’s new five-year innovation exemption. Despite the company’s push to bring traditional equities on-chain, senior crypto lead Johann Kerbrat confirmed the platform is currently navigating the regulatory parameters to avoid mandatory trading halts.
An elaborate digital impersonation scheme has drained €39.5 million from Fideuram, Italy’s premier private banking arm. Fraudsters utilized AI-cloned voices and forged executive documents to manipulate high-level staff into authorizing nearly €95 million in illicit international transfers, leaving investigators chasing a digital paper trail into the world of cryptocurrency.
South Korea’s two dominant cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb and Upbit, significantly expanded local access to AI-linked assets on October 2. Bithumb introduced Talus (US) to its won-denominated market, while Upbit launched Dolphin (POD) across its won, Bitcoin, and Tether trading pairs, deepening the region's exposure to decentralized AI infrastructure projects.
A federal judge in New York has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Meteora and its former CEO Benjamin Chow, effectively ending a high-stakes legal battle over the LIBRA and M3M3 memecoin launches. The court ruled that plaintiffs failed to substantiate claims of fraud, racketeering, and corporate liability.
Five days after a $387.5 million breach hit Bitget, investigators report that only $840,000 has been successfully frozen. The attackers bypassed internal security via compromised third-party software, rapidly converting stolen assets across multiple blockchains before funneling the bulk of the funds into Bitcoin through decentralized cross-chain protocols.
Operating profits for South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges plummeted 78% during the first half of 2026, falling to KRW81.6 billion. The downturn, documented by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, reflects a broader contraction in market participation as daily trading volumes and domestic crypto holdings retreated sharply across the board.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson has signaled that policymakers may delay further interest rate hikes, tempering market expectations for an October increase. As traders recalibrate their outlook, the potential cooling of U.S. Treasury yields offers a glimmer of hope for Bitcoin, which has struggled under the weight of tightening financial conditions.
Large investors have funneled $30.5 billion in stablecoins onto Binance over the last 30 days, a 40% jump that signals a rapid increase in deployable liquidity. While the influx suggests whales are positioning for market moves, the capital remains uncommitted as Bitcoin hovers near $84,700.
