Crypto News

BTC slipped below the closely watched $80,000 level in both reported market updates. The earlier OKX snapshot showed BTC at 79,990.4 USDT, down 0.79% over 24 hours; the later update put it at 79,993.4 USDT, with the 24-hour loss widening to 1.17%. The price edged up slightly between snapshots, but BTC remained below the threshold. The reports provide no explanation for the move or wider market context.

Crypto sectors were mixed on 29 October, with most tracked segments rising over 24 hours while AI tokens continued to fall sharply. The Meme sector gained 2.97%, led by PEPE, up 14.98%, and PONS, up 11.28%. NFT rose 2.56%, including a 36.62% gain for MPLX. CeFi, Layer 1, DeFi and PayFi rose between 0.87% and 1.43%. By contrast, Layer 2 slipped 0.65%, and the AI sector fell 8.51%. AKE dropped 30.15% for a second consecutive day, while Q fell 67.22%. Index data also showed declines in the ssiDePIN and ssiAI indices. The figures point to uneven, sector-specific trading rather than a broad market move; the AI sector’s sharp losses contrast with gains in Meme and several other crypto sectors.

A wallet suspected of exiting its XAUt position deposited 2,000 XAUt, worth about $8.08 million, to Binance over 18 hours, according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi. If the tokens are sold at current prices, the wallet would incur an estimated loss of $144,000. The deposit may signal potential selling pressure on XAUt, but the report does not confirm that a sale has taken place.

Coinbase is due to report third-quarter results after US markets close on Thursday, with analysts divided over whether crypto trading activity has recovered. The uncertainty grew after Robinhood reported a 55% year-on-year fall in crypto trading revenue and a 38% drop in crypto trading volume. Analyst estimates for Coinbase’s quarterly trading volume range from $141 billion to $173 billion, a gap of more than 20%. Estimated trading revenue ranges from $578 million to $694 million, while total revenue forecasts span $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion. Barclays said a September spot-trading rebound lost momentum in early October; Oppenheimer cut its volume estimate by about 20%. Stablecoin revenue and derivatives are key factors for Coinbase. JPMorgan estimates stablecoin-related revenue at about $320 million, but falling interest rates could reduce returns on USDC reserves. Deribit’s addition is helping offset softer spot activity: combined options and futures volume rose 2% quarter on quarter, despite a 12% decline in Coinbase International futures volume. Traders will focus on Coinbase’s fourth-quarter guidance, USDC reserve income and evidence of renewed trading demand. The results could move COIN shares sharply, while offering a read on retail crypto activity and exchange revenues more broadly.

Strategy shareholders approved daily dividends for preferred stocks STRF, STRC, STRK and STRD, with 99.3% of votes cast in favor. Dividends will accrue every calendar day, including weekends and holidays, but payments will be made on business days. The change affects payment timing, not annualized rates or total dividend income, which remain roughly 8% to 12%. STRC is scheduled to begin daily payments on November 2; STRF, STRK and STRD are due to follow on January 4, 2027. Strategy says daily dividends could support liquidity and price stability by shortening the wait between accrual and payment. The move comes as Bitcoin treasury firm Strive competes for income-focused investors with its SATS preferred stock, which offers a 15% annualized rate and plans to start daily payments on November 9. Strategy recently repurchased $204.9 million of STRC as it traded just below its $100 par value, while pausing Bitcoin purchases. Traders will watch whether daily dividends help the preferred shares narrow their discounts to par and reduce future funding costs for Bitcoin purchases. The impact is uncertain and may be offset by competition and potential MSCI index-removal risk for Strategy.

The x402 payment standard is designed for fast, low-cost payments by AI agents, but it does not provide a standard process for disputes or refunds when a buyer receives faulty or missing services. Visa, Mastercard and American Express are among the 17 members of the x402 Foundation’s top governance group, despite the protocol’s lack of card-like consumer protections. A 2026 security study by EPFL and Zhejiang University found that all 15 tested x402 payment facilitators violated at least one of eight security rules. On Base, about 2% of settlement attempts reportedly failed and were rolled back near the end of 2025. The study also found that all seven Coinbase seller examples lacked a way to reverse server-side actions when payment settlement failed. The larger concern is that payment finality does not guarantee commercial delivery: blockchain records can confirm that funds moved, but not that data or services were correct. Around 97% of observed x402 transactions reportedly ran on Base and Solana, where confirmed stablecoin payments are generally irreversible. The article argues that x402’s future adoption will depend on whether its governance develops machine-readable remedies and dispute processes before transaction volumes grow.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates at 3.75%–4% in a 10–2 vote, while two officials backed a 25-basis-point increase. The decision leaves future tightening uncertain, keeping inflation and Fed policy central to crypto market sentiment. Bitcoin and Ether edged higher over 24 hours, while PEPE gained more than 10%. Other key crypto developments included DTCC launching a tokenisation service for 34 securities, with assets backed 1:1 by securities held in custody. Strategy shareholders approved daily dividend accrual for four preferred-stock classes with 99.3% support. Meanwhile, the CFTC and Utah authorities are in a dispute over Kalshi’s event contracts, highlighting regulatory uncertainty for prediction markets. Pump.fun added access to more than 300 Hyperliquid perpetual markets, and Ripple USD received Moody’s A2 long-term and P-1 short-term deposit ratings. Bitcoin Core also disclosed three vulnerabilities, including one that could remotely crash certain nodes. Together, the news underscores how Fed policy, crypto regulation, tokenisation and platform security may shape trading sentiment.

SOL was reported below the 100 USDT mark at 99.99 USDT in OKX market data. The earlier report, dated 27 October 2026, showed a 1.53% 24-hour decline; the later report, dated 29 October, put the loss at 1.71%, suggesting a larger daily drop in the newer update. The move below this psychological price level may keep traders focused on whether SOL can reclaim 100 USDT or face further short-term selling. Neither report identified a reason for the decline.

South Korean crypto exchange Prabang suspended services after detecting unauthorised withdrawals from its hot wallet. The exchange said it discovered the activity on 24 October and reported the security breach to authorities on 26 October. The initial loss estimate is about 100 million won, or roughly $70,000. Prabang said it would compensate customers in full from company funds once the losses are verified. The incident highlights hot-wallet security risks at crypto exchanges.

ING analysts say persistent inflation and the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates make the current US policy outlook less protective than markets might hope. That hawkish tilt helps justify the 10-year Treasury yield moving back above 5%. The analysts add that European Central Bank rate guidance may draw less attention than developments in France and possible changes to minimum reserve requirements. Higher Treasury yields can affect global risk appetite, including demand for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin held above $81,000 and Ethereum traded above $2,350 after the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.75%–4.00%. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10–2 to leave rates unchanged, as expected; two members favored a 0.25 percentage-point increase. Chair Kevin Warsh said future decisions would depend on incoming data. US stocks rose for a third consecutive session, while crypto price swings narrowed. Bitcoin traded between $80,397 and $81,823 over 24 hours; Ethereum ranged from $2,323 to $2,392. Solana gained 0.56% to $101.82, while XRP fell 0.63% to $1.3204. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index was unchanged at 51, in neutral territory. Bitcoin’s daily RSI was neutral at 47.6, while Ethereum’s reading of 38.9 pointed to weaker momentum. Both remained below their 20- and 50-day moving averages but above their 200-day averages. Traders are watching the Fed’s December meeting and major technology company earnings for fresh catalysts. Near-term crypto trading is expected to remain range-bound.

Canadian lender APX Lending plans to launch Bitcoin-backed mortgages in early 2027, allowing homebuyers to borrow against Bitcoin instead of selling it. The Toronto-based company says the product would be the first of its kind from a regulated lender in Canada, but it has not yet disclosed interest rates, loan-to-value limits, repayment terms or liquidation rules. APX estimates that a buyer seeking a C$95,000 down payment on a C$475,000 home might need to pledge about US$190,000 worth of Bitcoin. The home would also serve as collateral. In APX’s existing crypto-backed lending products, rates are 9.99% to 11.49%, with a maximum 60% loan-to-value ratio and automatic partial liquidation if that ratio reaches 90%; the company says the mortgage will have separate terms. The Canadian Bitcoin-backed mortgage market remains tiny compared with C$1.75 trillion in outstanding residential mortgages. APX’s CEO estimates the niche market at US$44 million to US$73 million. The key risk is Bitcoin volatility: APX says a 40% Bitcoin price fall could push a loan that started at 50% loan-to-value to about 83%, bringing it closer to liquidation. Borrowers could face both Bitcoin sales and action against the property if they default. The product’s terms and regulatory framework will be important to assess before launch.

Former US senator John Sununu is stressing his independence from Donald Trump as he challenges Democratic Representative Chris Pappas for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat. The seat is being vacated by retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Recent Rasmussen and Saint Anselm polls give Pappas a mid-single-digit lead. The article says Sununu’s stance may be aimed at winning over moderate voters, amid low approval ratings for Trump in the state. Prediction-market pricing cited in the article puts the probability of a Democratic win at 92%, compared with 8.5% for a Republican win. Sununu’s strategy has not yet produced a clear shift in polling or market odds. For traders, the New Hampshire Senate race is a political indicator rather than a direct crypto-market catalyst. Any effect on digital assets would likely depend on broader policy developments, such as changes to crypto regulation, and is not established by this report.

Sui’s Move compiler update removes `acquires` as a reserved keyword, allowing developers to use it as an unescaped identifier. The old `acquires` annotation syntax is now a parse error. The compiler retains the `InvalidAcquiresItem` and `MissingAcquires` diagnostic codes to prevent later diagnostic codes from being renumbered. The change affects Move language parsing and developer tooling; it does not announce changes to Sui’s token or network economics.

US stocks closed higher, with the Dow up 0.19%, the S&P 500 rising 0.28% and the Nasdaq adding 0.27%. The VIX volatility index fell 3.48%. AI stocks led gains: Oracle rose 10.73%, CoreWeave gained 7.32%, Tempus AI climbed 6.18%, Micron advanced 5.86% and Arm added 4.1%. The move signals stronger sentiment towards AI and technology shares, but the article gives no specific catalyst. AI stocks may influence crypto trading indirectly through shifts in broader risk appetite; the report does not identify a direct crypto-market development.

Tether has joined several organisations to establish the FASE Foundation, which plans to pilot humanitarian aid using stablecoins. The initiative could expand real-world stablecoin use, though its market impact will depend on the pilot’s scale and adoption. Pump.fun has added perpetual futures trading through Hyperliquid, offering access to more than 300 markets. The integration expands Pump.fun’s trading features and could increase activity across both platforms, but it also brings added leverage and liquidation risks. Separately, Strategy shareholders approved a daily dividend proposal with 99.3% of votes. The roundup also reports that the Federal Reserve held rates steady, while two officials backed another increase. These developments may shape risk appetite, but the article provides no direct evidence of an immediate crypto-market move.

Nscale plans to proceed with an IPO targeting a $30bn valuation, down from an earlier reported ceiling of $35bn. The AI data-centre developer says it has signed $103bn in contracts, and CEO Josh Payne has described demand as strong and the company’s capital structure as robust. But delivery remains a concern: by August 2026, Nscale had delivered 55 megawatts of computing capacity against potential demand of 10 gigawatts, while its flagship 30-megawatt project was reported to be about six months behind schedule. Site inspections identified 10 safety violations, including ungrounded high-voltage components; reports also cited a liquid-cooling leak and transformer fire. Nscale relies heavily on capacity leased from other operators, and Microsoft and Anthropic account for about 85% of its contracted business. It has not yet secured the financing or long-term chip supply needed for a reported $44.6bn Anthropic commitment at its West Virginia campus. Microsoft has also withdrawn from a UK data-centre project. The gap between Nscale’s contract claims and delivered capacity could test investor confidence in its IPO and the wider AI infrastructure sector. Nscale’s Bitcoin-mining origins provide a crypto connection, but the story does not indicate a direct impact on Bitcoin prices.

Moonshot AI and DeepSeek reportedly used outputs from OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra to help train new models released in October. DeepSeek launched its open-weight V4.1-Flash-1017 model on October 17, while Moonshot released Kimi K3.1 Pro on October 23. Kimi K3.1 Pro has about 2.8 trillion parameters and scored 55 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, placing fourth overall. It also outperformed GPT-6 Astra on some agentic coding benchmarks. The reported use of GPT-6 Astra outputs has renewed debate over model distillation, a technique that trains one AI system using another model’s responses. The claims could draw scrutiny from investors. Moonshot is reportedly valued at about $50 billion ahead of a planned Hong Kong IPO, while questions about training data could also test confidence in DeepSeek’s low-cost model. OpenAI has not been reported as making a public accusation. The story concerns the AI sector and has no direct cryptocurrency market catalyst.

Barack Obama has endorsed Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in the 2026 Georgia governor race, where she faces Republican Rick Jackson. The endorsement brings national attention to Bottoms’ campaign ahead of the November 4 election. Recent polls reportedly show Jackson narrowly ahead, while a Polymarket contract put the market-implied chance of a Georgia governor race victory at 62% for one outcome; the article does not identify that outcome in its table. Traders may watch for updated polling and prediction-market odds, but the endorsement has no direct link to cryptocurrency prices.

Bitcoin faces fresh pressure after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75%–4% but maintained a hawkish stance on inflation. The 10-2 vote included two officials who preferred a quarter-point rate increase. CME FedWatch data put the chance of a quarter-point hike by December at 78.4%, and the chance of at least one hike by March at 67.3%. Higher rates can weigh on Bitcoin by making lower-risk assets more attractive. Analysts say Bitcoin’s near-term direction may also depend on Treasury yields, the US dollar and broader risk sentiment. Thursday’s US PCE inflation report and earnings from major technology companies are key upcoming signals for markets.

The SEC’s crypto custody proposal, announced on October 1, could expand how investment advisers and registered funds hold digital assets. It would allow self-custody in specified circumstances, permit state trust companies to act as custodians, and amend requirements for adviser audits and broker-dealer custody. The SEC will accept public comments for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The crypto custody proposal is not final and does not give all firms blanket permission to self-custody. Its scope may change after feedback, and firms would still need safeguards for asset control and segregation, key security and recovery, valuation, cybersecurity and client protection. For traders, the proposal points to a possible longer-term expansion of regulated institutional custody options, but any effect on adoption, capital flows or token prices depends on the final rules and implementation. Watch for comments, revisions and compliance details; the proposal does not signal an immediate market or price change.

Alipay says it does not support cryptocurrency trading or related services. The company called Peer’s claim that users can buy and sell USDC through Alipay false and unauthorized, and urged users to protect their funds and accounts. The warning highlights the risks of using unverified payment channels for stablecoin transactions.

The Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 3.75%–4% in a 10–2 vote at its October 28 meeting. The decision leaves borrowing costs unchanged for now, while officials’ year-end rate projections range from 4.1% to 4.4%. Markets are pricing in one more 25-basis-point rate hike in 2026, with further increases extending into 2027. The Fed’s interest rate outlook matters to crypto traders because higher rates can tighten financial conditions and reduce demand for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi missile aimed at Saudi Arabia’s eastern region. An earlier report described three ballistic missiles, while the later account refers to one; it reported no casualties or damage. The incident adds to recent Houthi missile and drone activity, including reported attacks targeting Riyadh and Dhahran. Saudi forces have also targeted Houthi launch capabilities. Prediction-market odds for Saudi airspace closing were about 1.7% by November 1, 2026, and 18.5% by January 1, 2027; the earlier report also put the odds of Houthi military action against Israel by January 1 at 7.5%. The reports cite no direct effect on crypto markets. Traders can watch for further attacks and official updates, as well as possible effects on aviation and energy markets. The Houthi missile incident remains a regional security risk, but no direct cryptocurrency price impact is indicated.

Samsung Electronics reported estimated high-bandwidth memory (HBM) revenue of about $8.7 billion in Q3 2026, up 33% from the previous quarter and ahead of SK hynix’s estimated $7.6 billion. Strong demand for HBM4, particularly for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI accelerators, drove the increase. This marks the first time in the current AI growth cycle that Samsung has led SK hynix in HBM revenue. Samsung’s preliminary Q3 results also showed operating profit of KRW 107.4 trillion (about $81 billion), a 782.5% increase year over year. Full results and a detailed segment breakdown are pending. Traders will be watching whether HBM4 exceeds 60% of Samsung’s HBM revenue in the second half of 2026 and how both companies progress in qualifying HBM4E. The development highlights intensifying competition in AI memory, but has no direct effect on cryptocurrency fundamentals.

The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark federal funds rate at 3.75%–4.00% on October 28, 2026, following a 10–2 FOMC vote. Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack dissented, favoring a 25-basis-point increase amid persistent inflation and solid economic growth. The Federal Reserve said further rate rises remain possible if inflation does not cool, including at its December meeting. Bitcoin traded around $81,000 after briefly falling below $80,000 earlier in the week. Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows showed signs of stabilizing, with more than $286 million in net inflows over two days. The relatively hawkish stance may keep pressure on crypto assets, as traditional dollar yields remain competitive with digital-asset staking returns.

A solo Bitcoin miner using a device with about 6.5 TH/s of computing power reportedly won a 3.14 BTC block reward, worth just over $250,000 at the time. The block was mined on 27 October through CKPool. The device may have been a Canaan Avalon Nano 3S, though that identification is an estimate. The win highlights the lottery-like nature of solo Bitcoin mining, not a reliable way to earn income. Based on the article’s estimate of network hash rate, a 6.5 TH/s machine has roughly a 1-in-2,900 chance of finding a block in a year. Pool mining would bring in about $0.23 a day at the cited rates, versus an estimated $0.34 in electricity costs. Small home miners are instead marketed for hobbyist participation and as space heaters, where the heat may offset some electricity costs. Meanwhile, larger Bitcoin mining companies face lower mining revenue and rising costs, with some shifting power capacity to AI computing. The win is unlikely to change Bitcoin’s market fundamentals, but it has renewed attention on solo Bitcoin mining and small-scale mining hardware.

ZEC spot ETFs recorded total net inflows of $2.0735 million on October 28, according to SoSoValue data. The entire daily inflow went to the Zcash ETF (ZCSH). Cumulative historical net inflows for ZEC spot ETFs reached $211 million. Their total net assets stood at $757 million, equal to 3.43% of ZEC’s net asset value. The inflow points to continued investor demand for ZEC-linked ETF exposure, but the report provides no information about ZEC’s price reaction.

US SOL spot ETFs recorded net outflows on two consecutive days, according to SoSoValue. On 27 October, withdrawals totalled $19.155 million, all from Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL). On 28 October, outflows eased to $5.66 million, with Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) accounting for the full amount. Across the two days, the flow data points to short-term pressure on sentiment around SOL spot ETFs, but does not by itself confirm a broader shift in demand. As of 28 October, cumulative net inflows across US SOL spot ETFs stood at $1.507 billion and total net assets were $1.558 billion; BSOL had accumulated $1.156 billion in net inflows. The earlier 27 October figures showed $1.513 billion in cumulative fund inflows and $1.544 billion in net assets.