Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Bitcoin miners fell sharply on Wednesday as hotter-than-expected US inflation triggered Wall Street’s steepest selloff since July. TeraWulf dropped 12.64%, while Core Scientific, Cipher Mining and IREN each lost more than 12%. Riot Platforms, Bitdeer, MARA and CleanSpark also declined. The pullback came as many miners’ shares are exposed to AI infrastructure investment and financing conditions. Higher interest rates could raise borrowing costs for companies expanding data centers. September US consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year, above economists’ 3.6% forecast and the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Markets briefly priced in more than a 50% chance of an October rate hike, although San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said there was no urgency to act this month. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9%. The selloff shows how inflation and rate expectations can pressure Bitcoin miners and related tech stocks, though the article did not report a direct move in Bitcoin’s price.

Uniswap has launched its v4 VolatilePair dynamic-fee Hook on Ethereum mainnet, initially for the ETH/USDC trading pair. The Uniswap dynamic-fee Hook adjusts buy and sell fees according to recent price movements, recalculating them with every trade to improve liquidity management in volatile markets. Uniswap governance can update the fee logic and pool parameters without requiring liquidity providers to migrate funds.

Bitcoin has revisited the $81,000 support area three times, on 9, 12 and 15 October, according to analyst Murphy. The latest decline came as hotter-than-expected US inflation, concerns about tighter Federal Reserve policy and weaker US stocks weighed on risk assets. On-chain realised-loss data showed smaller losses on the second and third tests than on 9 October, suggesting that short-term, price-sensitive holders are gradually exiting rather than the market experiencing broad panic selling. However, the share of short-term holders in loss is still about 31%, below the historical average of 42.7%. Murphy said this may mean that Bitcoin’s sell-off is not yet complete and further volatility or selling remains possible. Traders are watching whether realised losses continue to contract. If Bitcoin holds near $81,000 and losses ease, forced selling may be fading and the pullback could be nearing an end. A renewed increase in realised losses would point to further position turnover and downside pressure.

Bithumb suspended MAPO deposits and withdrawals at 11:40 (UTC+8) on 15 October after the Map Protocol network stopped producing blocks. The exchange said services will resume once the network is stable. MAPO trading remains available, but Bithumb warned users about price volatility. The incident creates a temporary deposit and withdrawal risk for MAPO holders, while trading on the exchange is unaffected.

Aptos has made Block-STM v2 its default parallel transaction execution engine, activating the upgrade across its Layer-1 network. Aptos Block-STM v2 processes transactions speculatively across multiple threads and re-executes only transactions that conflict, while preserving deterministic results. Developers and users do not need to make changes to benefit. The upgrade targets improved multi-core scaling, including performance across up to 256 cores, and is intended to better handle demanding DeFi activity such as trading and liquidations. Aptos announced the upgrade in October 2025; 2026 updates confirmed it was enabled by default alongside other performance and consistency improvements. The article cites historical 2022 benchmarks of the original Block-STM, which reached about 170,000 transactions per second and ran 17 times faster than sequential execution with 32 threads. Those figures are not Block-STM v2 results, and live-network performance may differ. The change could improve Aptos’s capacity under heavy activity, but validator hardware requirements and real-world results remain key factors.

Barclays says Tesla and SpaceX could announce merger plans before December, potentially combining their artificial intelligence capabilities. The companies are both led by Elon Musk, and any deal would have significant public-market implications. The report follows SpaceX’s reported $75 billion IPO. Prediction-market pricing puts the chance of an announcement by 31 December at 25%, rising to 61.5% by the end of 2027. Barclays highlights shareholder approval and strategic AI integration as key factors. Traders will watch for company statements, regulatory filings and Tesla’s annual meeting, expected by early December. The Tesla-SpaceX merger remains speculative, and no formal agreement is confirmed.

ZKsync says its Airbender Prime prover can keep pace with Ethereum blocks using a single NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPU. In tests across 7,200 Ethereum mainnet blocks, it proved 99% in under 10 seconds, with every block completed within 12 seconds. The system topped the ETHproofs.org leaderboard for proving speed, GPU efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Airbender uses open-source components, RISC-V and hash-based STARKs. ZKsync says the prover is already running across its supported chains. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin praised the performance milestone, but said the next priorities should be verifying zkEVM correctness against Ethereum’s specifications and setting bounds on prover costs relative to gas fees. For traders, the announcement is a technical milestone for ZKsync and Ethereum scaling, rather than an immediate market catalyst. Longer-term, lower-cost proving could support more efficient rollups, while security verification and sustainable prover economics remain important risks to monitor.

AI financing is emerging as a key constraint on the data-centre boom, as rising borrowing costs challenge plans for further expansion. Goldman Sachs estimates that hyperscalers’ capital spending could reach $1.2 trillion in 2027, exceeding their projected $1.1 trillion in operating cash flow. At least 35% of that spending may need to be funded through debt, or more than $400 billion in new bonds. The strain is already visible in credit markets. CoreWeave shares fell more than 15% in a day, while its unsecured bonds traded below 80 cents on the dollar and its five-year credit default swap (CDS) rose to 881 basis points. The article also reports record-high CDS levels for Broadcom and Oracle. Higher US Treasury yields—whose 10-year benchmark briefly topped 5.3%—and increased government borrowing are adding to competition for capital. The financing pressure could delay data-centre projects and prevent planned AI demand from becoming actual equipment orders. Goldman Sachs warns that semiconductor suppliers could face an “order air pocket” in 2027–28 if projects are postponed. The central question for investors is whether AI returns will justify the rising cost of financing the infrastructure boom.

Economist Jason Schenker says the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by 50 basis points in December if inflation remains persistent after its September rate hike. He expects the Fed to hold rates at its October meeting, arguing that officials need more evidence of how the September move has affected the economy. Traders are currently pricing in a 25bp Fed rate hike in December. The latest CPI reading came in above expectations, partly because of higher fuel costs, but Schenker says the data largely predates the September increase and is not enough to justify another move in October. Officials will receive two jobs reports and another CPI report before the December meeting. Schenker says a 50bp Fed rate hike in December could be followed by a pause early next year. A 25bp increase, by contrast, could leave further tightening in the first quarter more likely. The policy outlook remains dependent on incoming inflation and employment data.

US CPI rose to 3.7% year over year in September, above the 3.6% forecast and August’s 3.4%. Core CPI increased to 2.6%, also beating expectations. The hotter US CPI data lifted Treasury yields and the dollar, while global risk assets fell. Bitcoin dropped below $82,000 and touched $80,200, down about 3% over 24 hours; it was later trading near $81,100. US stocks also declined, led by technology and semiconductor shares. Markets raised bets on further Federal Reserve tightening, but traders still largely expect rates to remain unchanged in October. Polymarket put the odds of a 25-basis-point October rate hike at 23%, against 77% for no change. Higher gasoline prices contributed significantly to inflation, while housing and several other categories also rose. Weak employment data may give the Fed reason to wait for more evidence before acting. For crypto traders, the key issue is whether inflation stays elevated and changes the Fed’s policy path. Persistent inflation could keep yields and the dollar firm, pressuring Bitcoin and other risk assets. The article also notes that higher energy costs are creating political pressure ahead of the US midterm elections.

YouTube Music has introduced three AI labels to show how much generative AI contributed to a song: fully generated, partly generated or not generated with AI. Labels appear below song titles, with a panel explaining AI’s role, such as in composition or vocals. Record labels and distributors can declare a song’s AI use, while YouTube also uses its own detection tools. The company has not disclosed their accuracy. YouTube Music listeners cannot currently filter out AI tracks, and labelled songs remain eligible for monetisation. The labels are expected to reach YouTube’s main app later, but no timeline has been announced. The move comes as AI music uploads surge. Deezer reported nearly 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks arriving daily in July 2026, while Apple Music said in April that more than a third of monthly uploads were fully AI-generated. Despite the volume, AI tracks account for only 1–3% of Deezer streams and less than 0.5% on Apple Music. Deezer and TIDAL restrict some AI tracks’ recommendations or royalty eligibility; YouTube Music is taking a disclosure-first approach.

An Seeking Alpha analysis rates Vera Bradley (VRA) a Buy after stronger-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings and a positive full-year outlook. The analyst points to a debt-free balance sheet, rising cash and improving working capital. Growth in direct sales, supported by heritage collections and collaborations, has helped stabilise gross margins as indirect-channel sales decline. Vera Bradley trades at 0.6 times forward sales, a 31% discount to the sector median, according to the analysis. Third-quarter earnings and potential share buybacks are identified as possible catalysts. The article’s bullish valuation view is the author’s opinion, not a company announcement.

Meta stock is rated Hold, with a 12-month price target of $760, close to its roughly $763 closing price on 13 October 2026. The valuation reflects an estimated 22 times 2027 earnings. Meta’s advertising revenue rose 28% in Q2 2026, but heavy AI investment has sharply reduced free cash flow. The company also faces an estimated $10 billion legal charge in Q3, uncertainty over 2027 capital spending and no share buybacks in Q2, raising questions about cash returns to investors. Meta’s Muse launch is a positive development, but its monetization and potential to generate material revenue remain unproven. The analysis concludes that the Muse rally may already reflect much of the good news ahead of Q3.

The iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYRI) advertises an 11.7% distribution rate, but much of the payout is return of capital rather than investment income, according to the article. The fund uses covered calls on large-cap REITs to earn option premiums estimated at about 4% to 5% annually. This strategy can provide cash flow in flat or falling real estate markets, but it limits potential gains during strong rallies. IYRI’s distributions have fallen by about 15% since early 2025. Its 0.68% expense ratio is also a continuing cost compared with the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ). The article gives IYRI a Hold rating, suggesting it may appeal to investors prioritizing cash flow but could lag in a rising REIT market. The discussion concerns real estate ETFs and does not report a direct cryptocurrency market development.

The gold price briefly rebounded above $4,150 per ounce, according to Gate data. XAUUSD was quoted at $4,153.62, down 0.2% over 24 hours. The move shows a modest recovery, while the gold price remained lower on the day. The update did not identify a specific catalyst.

Tether paid more than $6 million to Nxum, a consulting firm co-founded and partly owned by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. Hines reportedly discussed the GENIUS Act with Nxum partners over Signal while serving in government, despite having stepped back from the firm’s daily operations. The law was signed in July 2025. Hines left his White House role in August and became CEO of Tether’s US stablecoin business in September. The reported Tether-Nxum payments have not been shown to directly affect stablecoin operations or crypto markets, but the scrutiny could increase attention on regulation, lobbying and governance in the stablecoin sector.

An address with more than $26.51 million in cumulative contract profits added about $3.52 million to its ETH long position between 10:30 and 10:54 UTC+8 on 15 October, according to Odaily. The position’s reported value rose from about $16.94 million to $19.51 million. The move shows continued bullish exposure to ETH by a highly profitable trader, but one address’s leveraged position does not establish a broader market trend.

ByteDance is reportedly in talks to buy MediaTek AI chips for its data centres, but neither the negotiations nor any terms have been confirmed. ByteDance is seeking alternatives as US export restrictions limit its access to advanced Nvidia GPUs. The company has also explored chips from China’s Iluvatar CoreX and reportedly agreed to buy AI processors from Qualcomm. ByteDance expects to spend 160 billion to 200 billion yuan on AI infrastructure in 2026, with potentially half directed to processors. MediaTek is expanding into custom data-centre AI chips and targets $2 billion in AI ASIC revenue for 2026. Nvidia invested $3.5 billion in MediaTek to deepen their chip technology collaboration. Any ByteDance deal would remain subject to export-control rules.

Bitcoin fell below $81,000 on Oct. 8, its first move under that level since mid-September, and hit an intraday low of about $80,350–$80,500. More than $485 million in crypto positions were liquidated in one hour. Over 24 hours, liquidations exceeded $1 billion, with roughly $930 million to $1.05 billion coming from long positions. Ethereum liquidations reached an estimated $294 million to $333 million, while XRP, Solana and Dogecoin also declined. The sell-off came amid a 5.31% 10-year US Treasury yield, Brent crude near $105, US spot Bitcoin ETF outflows and transfers from US government-controlled wallets holding BTC. Elevated open interest, thin liquidity and crowded long positioning amplified the move. The liquidation total was significant but below the record $19 billion event in October 2025.

Ledger has warned customers who bought hardware wallets through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis to stop using them. The confirmed cases involved devices sold by CryptoBilis, with investigators linking the incident to estimated losses of $86 million to $93 million across hundreds of wallets. Bitcoin, Ethereum and TRON wallets were affected, though the final loss total and number of compromised devices remain uncertain. Investigators, including SlowMist, suspect an unauthorized hardware module captured recovery phrases during setup. Ledger confirmed at least one affected device contained an unauthorized LTE-enabled microcontroller with eSIM capability; suspected models include the Nano X and Flex. CryptoBilis, which operates in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, has suspended hardware-wallet sales. Ledger says its own systems and official direct-sales channels were not affected and that it is working with law enforcement. Ledger advises customers with unused devices to leave them uninitialized. Anyone who has already set up or used a CryptoBilis device should move funds to a new wallet on hardware obtained through an official channel, using a newly generated recovery phrase. Users should never share their 24-word recovery phrase, including in response to unsolicited calls or messages.

TSMC will report its third-quarter 2026 results on 15 October, with investors focused on margins, fourth-quarter guidance and capital spending rather than revenue. Monthly figures show quarterly revenue reached NT$1.494 trillion, up 50.9% year on year and 17.6% from the previous quarter. At the company’s guidance exchange rate, that is about US$46.7 billion, roughly US$900 million above the top of its US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion forecast. The key question is whether TSMC can maintain profitability as it ramps up 2-nanometre production. Management previously forecast third-quarter gross margin of 65% to 67%, below the second quarter’s 67.7%, partly because of ramp-up costs. Analysts cited by Reuters expect net profit to rise 64% year on year to NT$740.8 billion. Traders will also watch fourth-quarter revenue guidance and capital expenditure. TSMC raised its 2026 capital-spending budget in July to US$60 billion–US$64 billion and expects full-year revenue growth slightly above 40%. Its comments on AI demand, advanced packaging capacity and investment are closely watched as indicators for Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, amid recent concerns about AI infrastructure financing. Ahead of the report, TSMC’s US-listed ADR closed down 1.98% on 12 October. A MEXC TSM/USDT perpetual-contract snapshot on 13 October showed a price of US$441.10, near the bottom of its 24-hour range, while funding was close to zero. The report may influence round-the-clock contract trading, although prices can diverge from the stock’s next exchange open.

An analyst says the $75,000–$80,000 range could be a potential buying zone for Bitcoin, describing a move into that area as a normal pullback in a broader uptrend. The view follows renewed spot ETF inflows on 13 October: Bitcoin ETFs recorded $176 million in net inflows, while Ether ETFs took in $24.8 million, ending a 10-day outflow streak. The analyst says these flows may limit the depth of a further correction, although they do not rule out more volatility. Macroeconomic risks remain a headwind for Bitcoin. September inflation readings were above expectations, and traders were watching US retail sales, producer-price data and a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Warsh for further signals. The article also cites rising oil prices and elevated expectations of rate increases as factors that could weigh on crypto and equities. Hotter-than-expected data could prolong pressure on BTC.

Crypto liquidations reached $476 million in the hour to 10:35 on 15 October, according to CoinGlass. Long positions accounted for $457 million, or more than 95% of the total, indicating sharp downside pressure and widespread forced selling. Binance recorded about $292 million in liquidations, around 62% of the market total. Bybit and Hyperliquid followed with $63.34 million and $33.56 million. ETH liquidations were about $199 million, while BTC liquidations reached $110 million; together, the two assets made up more than 60% of the total. At the time of the report, BTC was trading near $81,000, down 2.58% over 24 hours, while ETH was around $2,362, down 5.54%. Across the full 24-hour period, 174,600 traders were liquidated for a combined $922 million. The largest single liquidation was a $12.03 million BTCUSDT position on Binance.

Gold has remained above $4,000 an ounce despite a stronger US dollar, rising real yields and the Federal Reserve’s first rate increase since 2023. Morgan Stanley says the metal has outperformed what its recent relationship with real yields would imply: that pattern suggested gold could be below $3,000, about 28% under current levels. Strong central-bank buying and exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows have helped support gold. Central banks bought 289 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, an annualised pace of 1,155 tonnes. Global gold ETFs recorded a record $31bn of inflows in the third quarter, even as US rates rose. Morgan Stanley says these sources of demand are making gold less sensitive to traditional interest-rate pressures. The bank identifies lower yields as the clearest upside catalyst, but says rising long-term yields may not hurt gold if they reflect concerns about government debt sustainability and sovereign risk. Higher oil prices could weigh on gold initially by increasing rate expectations, though prolonged strength may raise stagflation concerns and support the metal. Morgan Stanley names gold its preferred commodity and sets a target of $5,000 an ounce by the second quarter of 2027. Key risks include further Fed tightening, a stronger dollar, central-bank selling and technical-driven liquidations.

Bitcoin fell about 3.27% over the week, sliding from a high of $86,974 to $80,329, as hawkish Federal Reserve minutes and rising Treasury yields pressured crypto markets. The Fed minutes indicated that most officials saw another rate rise before year-end as appropriate. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 5.36%, its highest level since 2002. The sell-off triggered more than $1.1 billion in crypto liquidations in 24 hours, including about $1.05 billion in long positions. Bitcoin and Ethereum funds recorded roughly $1.22 billion in combined outflows, while Solana ETFs ended a 14-week inflow streak. Bitcoin held near $80,000, and the Fear & Greed Index did not enter fear territory, suggesting a leverage flush rather than broad panic. Ledger also warned that a hardware wallet sold by Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis contained an unauthorised implant. On-chain researchers estimate the resulting losses exceeded $93 million. Ledger urged affected customers to transfer funds to a new device purchased directly from the company and use a fresh recovery phrase. Other developments included Strategy’s purchase of 250 BTC, bringing its holdings to 848,250 BTC, and Securitize’s launch of tokenised US stocks on Solana. For traders, the Fed’s rate outlook, September inflation data, ETF flows and Bitcoin’s ability to hold $80,000 remain key market signals.

VanEck has withdrawn its proposed Lido stETH ETF, the first US ETF application based on Lido’s liquid-staking token. In a Form RW filing on 14 October, the firm said the registration statement had never become effective and no shares had been issued or sold; it gave no reason. The proposal was designed to offer brokerage-account exposure to stETH, but the VanEck Lido stETH ETF never reached launch.

Netflix plans to cut about 6% of its workforce, affecting roughly 1,000 jobs worldwide. The job cuts, its largest since 2022, will mainly affect product, technology, legal and human resources teams. Co-chief executives Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos said the company would continue investing in high-impact areas while making more focused choices about resources. They said Netflix’s business remains healthy and that its full-year outlook is unchanged. The cuts come as Netflix faces questions about future growth. Viewing time rose only 2% year on year in the first half of the year, while movie viewing fell 3.1%. Competition for audiences’ time is intensifying from YouTube, TikTok and short-drama apps, prompting Netflix to expand into live sports, video podcasts and creator-led programming. Despite a low US monthly cancellation rate of about 2%, Netflix shares have fallen more than 40% over the past 12 months. Investors are looking for new growth drivers, including faster advertising growth and greater engagement from live programming. Netflix is due to report third-quarter results on 20 October, with investors also watching how it plans to use resources freed by the job cuts.

Polygon Labs has completed its acquisition of Coinme, finalising a deal announced in January worth more than $250 million that also included wallet infrastructure provider Sequence. The acquisition gives Polygon’s US payments business 37 money transmitter licences, 11 state-level exemptions and FinCEN registration, enabling fiat-to-digital-asset services in 48 states. Coinme, which had more than one million users when the deal was announced, brings a retail network of 50,000 locations offering cash and crypto services. Under Polygon’s Open Money Stack brand, the companies aim to help businesses convert between stablecoins and local currencies, including for cross-border payments. The deal strengthens Polygon’s regulated US payments infrastructure and its move beyond blockchain development. Its commercial impact will depend on transaction volumes and adoption by businesses. The acquisition does not in itself guarantee greater use of Polygon’s network or POL, and no direct price impact was reported.

BlackRock reported $205 billion in net inflows for the third quarter, while revenue grew 19% year over year. Its operating margin expanded to 47.8%, and adjusted earnings per share rose 38%, reflecting cost control and effective asset management. The company also reported $139 billion in private-markets dry powder, supporting its expansion in alternative investments. However, long-term organic asset growth slowed modestly, and rising yields pose a potential risk. The article says BlackRock’s valuation remains historically subdued and points to increased share buybacks as a sign of management confidence. For traders, the results show strong business performance, but interest-rate trends and the pace of organic growth remain important factors to monitor.