Crypto News

Coinbase INTX has launched options trading, according to Greeks.live researcher Adam. Its USDC options share liquidity with Deribit, potentially giving traders access to a broader pool of counterparties. The platform’s interface is designed in a style familiar to users of traditional stock-trading software. Coinbase INTX options remain invitation-only, however, and some features are not fully available. Adam said the platform is not yet as complete as Deribit. The launch adds another venue for crypto options trading, but its near-term impact will depend on wider access, product readiness and trading volumes.

Taipei’s mayoral race is emerging as a close contest between incumbent Chiang Wan-an of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Puma Shen, a prominent critic of China who has President Lai Ching-te’s support. Recent polls are mixed: some show Shen ahead, while others point to a tight race. The Taipei mayoral race could affect Chiang’s standing as a potential future presidential candidate and strengthen Lai’s influence within the DPP. Prediction-market pricing indicates a competitive contest, but the article does not specify which candidate corresponds to each quoted probability. The election is scheduled for November 2026.

Bitcoin and broader crypto markets face mixed signals in this 28–29 October news roundup. Glassnode says Bitcoin volatility has fallen to levels last seen in summer 2023, while ETF inflows have slowed to about $67 million over two weeks. It identifies $85,000 as a key recovery threshold and roughly $77,900 as an important support level. CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju expects bullish momentum could return if US election uncertainty fades and ETF inflows recover. Bitwise raised its 10-year Bitcoin price target to $1.6 million, citing potential institutional allocations. Regulatory and infrastructure developments are also in focus. DTCC launched a tokenisation service for 34 securities, while Google is testing an MPC-based digital-asset custody product ahead of a planned 2027 launch. The US Federal Reserve held rates at 3.75%–4.00%, with two officials favouring a hike. Separately, the CFTC plans a discussion on 24/7 derivatives trading, and Circle urged the SEC to treat compliant payment stablecoins as cash. Trading risks include a reported suspected spoofing episode in Hyperliquid oil markets and newly disclosed Bitcoin Core vulnerabilities, for which fixes have been released. Overall, Bitcoin’s near-term direction may hinge on ETF flows, key price levels and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Pendle’s Q3 report, citing Alea Research, says real-world assets (RWA) made up 82% of the protocol’s total value locked (TVL). TVL rose 43% in the quarter even as incentives were cut by more than half. Revenue per dollar of TVL increased about 76% year on year, while token buybacks reached 3.2 times the amount of token emissions. Principal token (PT) collateral across Morpho, Aave and Euler doubled to $497 million. The Pendle Q3 report points to stronger capital efficiency, growing RWA activity and increased use of PT as collateral, though the figures alone do not establish future token-price performance.

The ETH price fell below the closely watched 2,300 USDT level, with OKX market data showing ETH at 2,299.46 USDT in the earlier report and 2,299.57 USDT in the later update. Despite the slight price uptick between reports, its 24-hour loss widened from 1.43% to 2.52%. Traders may watch whether ETH can regain 2,300 USDT or faces further weakness; the reports cited no cause for the decline.

The crypto market faces mixed signals from a new research roundup covering meme-coin trading, AI infrastructure and token launches. On Pump.fun, an on-chain investigation identified a network of 43 wallets that allegedly launched more than 6,855 meme coins since January 2026, bundled buys and sold developer holdings within seconds. Profits were routed to a wallet holding about $1.03 million in USDC, highlighting risks for traders chasing new launches. AI-focused Layer 1 Ritual launched its mainnet and RITUAL token on 26 October. The token fell from an early high of $0.08 to about $0.0226, with a reported fully diluted valuation of roughly $220 million. Its initial supply is 10 billion, and 18% unlocked at launch; emissions, future unlocks and whether network fees can support demand remain key factors. Predict.fun announced tokenomics for its PREDICT token: a fixed supply of 1 billion, with 16% circulating at launch. Season 1 users were allocated 70 million tokens, but can claim only 35% immediately or receive the full allocation through 12-month linear vesting. The platform reported $4.01 billion in 30-day trading volume and $10.17 million in TVL as of 28 October. Separately, 29 user accounts reportedly lost about $397,000 in USDT in an incident under investigation. The roundup also warns that AI data-centre investment could outpace real demand, creating financing and valuation risks for GPU suppliers and customers. Together, these developments leave the crypto market sensitive to token unlocks, security concerns, speculative trading and signs of sustainable demand.

Samsung is increasing its foundry investment in the US and South Korea to expand capacity for AI and high-performance computing chips. In Texas, its $37 billion Taylor complex is set to begin operations in late 2026. The first fab will use a 2nm process and aims to produce 20,000 wafers a month by the second half of 2027, with additional equipment adding capacity for about 6,000 wafers monthly. Construction of a second Taylor fab is expected to begin soon, with mass production targeted for 2030. Samsung also plans two fabs in Gwangju as part of a 400 trillion won (about $290 billion) commitment. The expansion supports Samsung’s effort to grow advanced-node production and improve foundry profitability. The Samsung foundry investment may benefit semiconductor supply for AI, but the article identifies no direct implications for cryptocurrency markets.

Pendle’s total value locked (TVL) rose 43% quarter over quarter to $1.16 billion in Q3 2026, its first quarterly increase since September 2025. The gain came despite a roughly 58% reduction in PENDLE incentives, suggesting growth was not solely driven by token rewards. Real-world assets (RWAs) accounted for 82% of Pendle TVL at quarter-end. RWA-backed tokenized dollars added $395 million to reach $949 million, and made up 85% of the protocol’s 50 largest markets. PT collateral use also expanded, more than doubling to about $497 million through integrations with Morpho and Aave. Pendle increased buybacks to 3.2 tokens for every PENDLE distributed as incentives, with 80% of retained fees directed to buybacks. However, V2 revenue fell to $2 million as trading fees declined. Traders should also monitor a large maturity schedule: about $1.06 billion, or 91% of quarter-end TVL, is due by December 17. The RWA-led TVL rebound is a positive adoption signal, but concentration, maturities and weaker fee revenue remain risks.

Ripple and DriveWealth announced plans on October 14 to add RLUSD settlement and digital-asset services to DriveWealth’s global brokerage infrastructure. The initial focus is Europe, with a possible US expansion. The companies also plan to integrate Ripple Payments for cross-border funding and are exploring Ripple custody services in Europe and equity financing through Ripple Prime. RLUSD settlement is planned on the XRP Ledger and could help address delays caused by banking cutoffs, improving cash management if it reaches production. DriveWealth supports investment services for more than 100 partners, but has not said how many will adopt the new services. No launch dates, transaction volumes or revenue figures were disclosed, and customer access is not immediate. Traders should watch for rollout details, named partners, actual transaction activity and realised costs; adoption and market effects remain unproven.

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.

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.