Crypto News

Coinbase Institutional Co-CEO Brett Tejpaul says a second wave of institutional interest in Bitcoin and crypto is emerging, with activity shifting beyond spot Bitcoin ETFs towards stablecoin payments and blockchain infrastructure. Tejpaul said seven of the world’s largest banks use Coinbase infrastructure. He described stablecoin transfers between bank and corporate accounts as a major opportunity, citing flows of about $400 million an hour. He also said stablecoins remain a small part of the payments market, with payment providers likely to adopt them before banks expand their use. On Bitcoin, Tejpaul said the macroeconomic backdrop is favourable but its performance has disappointed. He said institutions still tend to treat Bitcoin as a technology trade rather than a distinct asset class. The discussion also cited Coinbase’s role in US fund custody and its connection to Deribit’s options market. The comments point to growing crypto infrastructure adoption, but do not establish that institutions are making new Bitcoin purchases.

AAA data cited in the report puts average US gasoline prices during Donald Trump’s second term at about $3.472 per gallon, marginally above the $3.471 average reported for Joe Biden’s presidency. The figures suggest gas prices have edged higher, though the difference is only one-tenth of a cent per gallon. The article says fuel costs could influence voter sentiment ahead of Senate elections and notes mixed prediction-market odds for Republican control under different oil-price scenarios. For crypto traders, the figures are indirect macroeconomic context: sustained fuel-price increases could feed inflation concerns, but the report provides no direct evidence of an effect on digital-asset prices.

TSMC is reportedly considering CoWoS price increases of 10% to 20%, with further hikes under discussion for 2026. CoWoS price hikes reflect persistent shortages in advanced packaging, a key component for AI accelerators used by customers such as NVIDIA and AMD. TSMC’s CoWoS capacity is projected to reach 120,000–130,000 wafers a month by late 2026, but demand could still exceed supply by 10% to 20%. The bottleneck may persist until at least 2028. A reported $2 billion, five-year agreement will see GlobalFoundries produce silicon interposers in New York, with production targeted to begin in 2028. Packaging costs could add about 2% to 4.5% to AI accelerator bills of materials.

DeFi Development Corp, the world’s second-largest Solana treasury company, has added 5,346 SOL to its holdings, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Its total SOL treasury now stands at 2.595 million SOL. The purchase expands the company’s exposure to SOL, though the report does not give the acquisition cost or indicate whether the tokens were bought on the open market.

NEAR Protocol 2.14.0 is a major protocol and database upgrade, moving the network from protocol version 86 to 88. The release adds on-chain verification of FIPS 204 ML-DSA-65 post-quantum signatures, SHA-3 host functions and a stabilized universal-account scheme. It also removes gas rewards for contract calls and changes chunk-producer assignments to replace underperforming producers earlier within an epoch. The upgrade includes transaction-validation changes, storage-proof limits and database migrations. Node operators must upgrade before voting for protocol version 87 begins on November 4; voting for version 88 is scheduled to begin on November 6. Successful upgrades are expected to activate 7–14 hours after the relevant voting epoch ends. For traders, the NEAR upgrade is primarily a network infrastructure and developer update. It may affect node operations and contract compatibility, but the release itself does not announce a token supply change or a direct trading catalyst.

Analyst Ali Martinez warned that AI altcoins Venice Token (VVV), OriginTrail (TRAC) and AI Rig Complex (ARC) are showing bearish chart signals, with key support levels at risk. Martinez said VVV could fall to $13 or $11 if it closes a four-hour candle below the roughly $21 neckline of a potential head-and-shoulders pattern. TRAC was trading near $0.36, already below the $0.38 floor of a descending triangle; Martinez identified $0.26 as a possible downside target if the breakdown holds. ARC was near $0.06, where a rejection could send it back toward $0.03. A daily close below that support could expose lower targets of $0.014 and $0.0075. VVV had fallen more than 18% over 30 days, while TRAC was down 9.5% in a week and its daily trading volume had declined about 41% to $6.5 million. ARC gained 44.5% over the week but remained 14.5% lower over the past month. The warning comes amid broader market weakness: Bitcoin recently touched a five-week low of $79,100 before rebounding to about $81,000, and total crypto market capitalisation fell below $2.7 trillion. These AI altcoin levels are technical risk markers, not guaranteed price targets.

SEC staff guidance published on October 20 says tokenised stock venues relying on the agency’s conditional innovation exemption must give the public at least 30 calendar days’ notice before starting operations. The notice must describe production-ready operations and access standards, and venues must keep it accurate as details change. Tokenised stock venues also cannot offer third-party tokenised shares while a relevant issuer objection period is still open. The guidance is staff interpretation of a limited conditional order, not a generally applicable new rule. It clarifies the preparation and disclosure expected as US regulators test blockchain-based securities trading.

XRP price fell 2.83% over 24 hours to around $1.28 after closing below daily support at $1.29391, underperforming the broader crypto market. The decline comes amid a risk-off mood linked to Bitcoin ETF outflows and weakness in technology stocks. Traders are watching the $1.28–$1.25 support zone. A sustained break below it could expose the October low near $1.256 and the $1.20 level. Analyst EGRAG Crypto identifies $1.24–$1.25 as a key structural support area, citing defended price wicks and a bullish cross between the 100-day and 200-day exponential moving averages. He sees potential for a range-bound recovery towards $1.45–$1.47 if support holds, but warns that a daily close below $1.24 could lead to months of consolidation. The technical outlook remains weak: XRP is below the Ichimoku cloud, with resistance near $1.3277 and the cloud spanning roughly $1.3683–$1.4524. Its RSI is 37.49, below neutral but not yet oversold. Reclaiming $1.3277 with stronger volume would help ease selling pressure. Until then, XRP price action remains vulnerable to further downside.

Solana-based LAUNCH is scheduled to begin spot trading in MEXC’s Meme+ Trading Zone on October 26, 2026, at 12:10 UTC. Withdrawals are due to open at 18:10 UTC, and spot grid trading is planned to start one hour after spot trading. The listing gives traders access through MEXC without needing a separate Web3 wallet. MEXC identifies the token by contract address AhBidGAgv6QbKSWfrSCegGrzFLcBx4E5FNYTKHNQQj6C. LAUNCH also says it plans to move future token launches away from Stonkfun and build its own infrastructure, including bonding curves and direct LAUNCH trading pairs. The project has proposed a 3% launch fee, divided equally among LAUNCH buybacks and burns, support for launched tokens, and platform development. These plans are not yet demonstrated in practice, so traders will be watching for the rollout and verifiable fee and buyback records. The MEXC listing may improve access and short-term trading activity, but it does not guarantee sustained demand.

Anthropic’s S-1 filing reports year-over-year revenue growth of 1,300%, the standout figure highlighted in the article. The filing arrives amid rising public opposition to AI and ahead of a consequential US election, putting the company’s exceptional growth in a politically sensitive spotlight. The available article excerpt does not provide further financial details. Anthropic’s S-1 may shape investor views of AI-sector growth, but it offers no direct information about cryptocurrency markets.

Sui’s devnet v1.83.0 release introduces protocol version 140, new bulk vector operations for Move, and changes to transaction execution and consensus. On mainnet, withdrawals exceeding available object-fund balances will now fail during execution with a specific Move abort. Transaction effects will also stop reporting dependency data, while keeping object version and previous-transaction metadata unchanged. The Sui upgrade includes node performance and transaction-handling changes, plus improvements to gRPC and GraphQL APIs. These address issues such as pagination, subscriptions, and requests for data beyond a node’s indexed or retained range. The release also adds optional progress updates for filtered GraphQL subscriptions and improves checkpoint gap-filling for indexers.

Microsoft and Alphabet earnings previews highlight continued investment in AI infrastructure. Technology infrastructure spending is expected to grow this year and next, although the article provides no specific capital expenditure forecasts. Expectations for Q1 revenue have remained stable, supported by a resilient outlook for Microsoft’s business. Alphabet shares have underperformed the S&P 500 this year and fell 7.3% after its April earnings release. Microsoft and Alphabet earnings could draw investor attention to AI spending plans, revenue resilience and the returns from infrastructure investment.

Alpha Growth has outlined a plan to help DeFi protocols attract and retain institutional liquidity as token incentives fade. Founder Bryan Colligan says institutional deals should be structured as financial products, assessed on chain security, collateral, risk-adjusted yield, commitment duration and capacity. The firm says its Cardano PRIME work helped bring more than $20 million in external assets to the ecosystem. Its proposed approach combines curated lending markets, structured vaults targeting 5%–10% net APR on stablecoin reserves, and token sinks designed to create lasting demand. Alpha Growth also says DAOs could borrow USDC against native-token treasuries to fund operations, potentially extending runway by 18 to 36 months without selling tokens. The announcement is a company blueprint, not a report of newly secured capital or a guaranteed return. For traders, its focus on sustainable DeFi TVL and institutional liquidity highlights efforts to reduce reliance on short-lived emissions, though execution and risk controls remain key.

The stablecoin market reached about $300.1 billion on October 26, according to DefiLlama, as dollar-backed tokens expand into payments and financial services. Tether’s USDT led with roughly $182.3 billion, or 60.7% of the market, while Circle’s USDC ranked second at about $71.7 billion. Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire told Reuters that the company plans to expand USDC into around 40 emerging and developing markets. The move aims to reach users seeking dollar access, international transfers and alternatives to limited banking services, and could intensify competition with Tether. The stablecoin market has eased slightly: total capitalization fell about 0.9% over the past 30 days, while USDC supply declined close to 5% and USDT less than 1%. Despite the pullback, stablecoins are increasingly used for remittances, corporate settlement, payments, trading and DeFi collateral. Circle’s expansion could broaden USDC’s reach, but adoption will depend on distribution, regulation and liquidity.

Stablecoins are entering a new competitive phase as platforms seek a greater share of the income generated by their reserves. On Hyperliquid, USDC balances reached about $5–6 billion by September 2025, implying more than $200 million in annualized reserve yield, up from roughly $77 million in January. Native Markets won the USDH governance process with a plan to direct half of reserve yield to HYPE buybacks and ecosystem development. The stablecoin market remains overwhelmingly dollar-based: more than 99% of supply is denominated in US dollars. Stablecoin flows in 2024 amounted to nearly 8% of GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, and more than 6% in Africa and the Middle East. These flows can give people and businesses an alternative to local currencies, while raising concerns about monetary sovereignty. The research also points to potential growth in non-dollar and asset-backed stablecoins. Stablecoins may also support machine-to-machine commerce. Agent-related projects rose from 5% of crypto AI deals in the second half of 2023 to 36% in the first half of 2025. Projects and firms including Payman.ai, Catena Labs, Coinbase and Google are exploring infrastructure or standards for agentic payments. Overall, the article highlights competition over stablecoin reserve revenue, the global reach of dollar stablecoins, and the possible role of stablecoins in automated payments.

Outlier Ventures’ October 2025 essay describes the agentic layer as a new internet stack where AI agents interpret goals and act across decentralised systems. Unlike fixed-rule bots, these adaptive agents could manage assets, sign transactions and interact with smart contracts. The article calls them “smart agents” and says on-chain specifications could set their goals and limits, while on-chain verification would make their actions auditable. It also highlights open standards such as MCP, A2A, x402 and ACP as potential tools for interoperability. The agentic layer could enable new applications, including automated portfolio management and DAO governance, but the essay presents a technology vision rather than a specific product launch or market event.

Crypto wallets are evolving from tools for storing keys and signing transactions into hubs for digital identity, asset management and AI agents, according to an essay based on Outlier Ventures’ 2025 Post Web Thesis. These smart wallets could hold verifiable credentials, manage access to data and computing resources, and set permissions for agents that transact on a user’s behalf. The essay describes zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation and trusted execution environments as tools for improving privacy and security. It cites Safe as an example of a smart wallet that supports automated transactions, spending limits and whitelists. As users move from manually approving transactions to expressing goals, smart wallets may route and verify actions across protocols. The article discusses a potential shift in crypto infrastructure, not a new product launch or market-moving event.

Hardhat v3.21.1 is a bug-fix release that removes the scheduled Amsterdam hardfork activation from the Hoodi testnet after the upgrade was postponed without a new date. The release also upgrades EDR to v0.25.0 and fixes issues involving forked-chain gas limits, transaction tracing, Solidity test isolation, gas reporting and local account signing. The Hardhat update primarily improves Ethereum development and testing reliability; it does not announce a change to Ethereum’s mainnet schedule.

Hardhat Utils 5.1.1 fixes two bugs in hex utilities. The `hexStringToBytes` function now converts `0x` and empty strings to empty byte arrays, rather than a zero byte. The `setLengthLeft` function now returns `0x` when truncating a hex string to length zero. The release notes also mention that the Nomic Foundation is hiring. These are developer-tool updates; the announcement does not describe changes to a cryptocurrency protocol or token.

The Dogecoin Foundation has ended its exclusive commercial partnership with Nasdaq-listed House of Doge, effective October 19. An October 23 SEC filing says House of Doge must pay $400,000 and give up its exclusive licensing rights. It can retain a limited, non-exclusive license for certain existing investment products, including 21Shares Dogecoin offerings, but must stop calling itself the Foundation’s official commercial partner. The Foundation has named Dogecoin Labs, which brings together MyDoge, Such App and DogeOS, as its new official commercial partner. House of Doge has also agreed to transfer selected Such App assets to Dogecoin Labs for shares valued at about $4 million, subject to closing conditions and lender approvals. The agreement changes the commercial structure around Dogecoin, but does not itself establish new demand for DOGE. House of Doge is shifting toward tokenized alternative investments and sports-related assets. Its planned acquisition of a tokenization platform remains subject to a definitive agreement.

A 2026 crypto presale guide compares MemeToro ($MT), Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), Maxi Doge ($MAXI), LiquidChain ($LIQUID) and SUBBD ($SUBBD), focusing on audits, tokenomics, team transparency and product progress. It stresses that presales are high-risk and that buyers can lose their entire investment. MemeToro is the only project in the comparison with open-source code under an MIT license and a live BNB Chain testnet round. Its token audits are attributed to Coinsult, SolidProof and BlockSAFU. The project says 71% of its 1.2 billion token supply is allocated to public sale and 2% to the team. Its launch contracts remain in development, and its team is pseudonymous. The other projects make audit claims, but the guide says reports or team details were not linked or confirmed in the cited listings. Product status, bridge custody and launch plans also require independent verification. The guide recommends checking audit reports against contract addresses, reviewing supply allocations, verifying team accountability and testing products before buying. It warns against guaranteed-return claims and pressure tactics. The article is partner content, not financial advice. Crypto presales may never list or deliver tokens, and prices and audit status can change.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, has endorsed Democratic nominee Amy Acton for governor, ending its previous neutral stance. The decision follows controversy over a campaign ad by Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy that featured criticism of Acton from her estranged mother. Governor Mike DeWine criticized the ad, while President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended it. Recent polls cited in the article show Acton leading Ramaswamy, though the race remains competitive. With the election scheduled for November 3, attention is on whether the endorsement or further campaign developments will affect polling and voter turnout. The article does not report a direct cryptocurrency market development.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has demanded testimony from Anthropic executives as it expands an inquiry into AI safety, consumer harm and potentially unfair practices. Anthropic, maker of Claude, is under scrutiny alongside OpenAI. The FTC has not announced enforcement action. The probe adds regulatory uncertainty for AI companies, and the article says market pricing reflects concern that scrutiny could weigh on Anthropic’s investor confidence and valuation prospects. Traders will watch for developments in the investigation and any effects on the company’s funding or partnerships.

An investor article argues that Intel (INTC) may be undervalued as demand for CPUs rises alongside agentic AI. It rates the stock a Buy at $85–86, citing stronger data-centre and AI (DCAI) performance and signs of progress in Intel’s foundry business. DCAI operating margins reportedly climbed from 16% to 39.5% year over year, which the article attributes to CPU shortages and improved pricing power. Intel’s foundry losses are said to be narrowing as yields and cost trends for its 18A process improve. The author also points to potential Apple and Tesla business pipelines as signals of strategic progress; the article does not provide confirmed contracts. For Intel’s Q3 results, the author highlights DCAI margins near 40%, foundry losses below $1.8 billion, and Q4 revenue guidance above $17.06 billion as figures that could support a share-price re-rating. These are targets to watch, not reported results. The article reflects the author’s positive investment view and long position in INTC.

Grok AI outlined a highly speculative scenario in which NEAR could reach $45–$80 by January 1, 2027, with a stretch target above $120. The scenario depends on major technology companies and AI research institutions choosing NEAR as infrastructure for a large decentralized AI agent network and data marketplace. The article says such coordination is currently highly unlikely; the forecast is not a base-case outlook. NEAR was described as consolidating around $4.40–$4.70, with resistance near $5.00–$5.50. A sustained move above $6–$7 could indicate stronger momentum, while support is cited around $4.20–$4.30 and $3.80–$4.00. The article also points to broader conditions—including crypto market liquidity, institutional adoption, and interest in AI-related blockchain projects—as potential influences. The NEAR price targets are scenario-based speculation, not a reliable prediction.

China AI stocks have lost about $480 billion in market value, with the STAR50 index falling roughly 40% in less than four months. The selloff reflects growing doubts about AI demand, corporate profits and high valuations. Despite the decline, the STAR50 trades at around 100 times trailing earnings, compared with about 30 times for the Nasdaq 100. The slump comes as Nvidia faces stronger competition in China. IDC data cited by Reuters puts Nvidia’s share of China’s data-centre AI accelerator market at 34% in the first half of 2026, while its shipments fell 44% year over year to about 678,000 units. US export controls and Beijing’s support for domestic suppliers, including Huawei, have helped local competitors gain ground. The losses are market-value declines, not an equivalent outflow of cash or a halt to AI investment. Still, lower valuations could make it harder for Chinese AI startups to raise capital. The story also highlights the tension between China AI stocks’ sharp correction and the continued global demand for AI infrastructure.

A wallet linked to the Ethereum Foundation sold 2,785 ETH for about $6.42 million on October 26, according to Lookonchain. The report revived concerns about selling pressure; a similar suspected Foundation-linked sale two weeks earlier was followed by a 9% ETH price decline. An early Ethereum investor also sold 1,500 ETH, while Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes said he had sold 6,400 ETH and other tokens, citing uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. The sales have weighed on sentiment, with ETH’s Fear and Greed Index falling to 31, a reading in fear territory. Selling can add to the available supply and unsettle investors, though it does not guarantee further price declines. Buying activity offers a counterpoint. BitMine added 10,452 ETH, bringing its reported holdings to 6,051,933 ETH, or about 4.95% of supply, close to its 5% target. Ethereum staking also increased by nearly 2 million ETH in the third quarter, taking the total to 43.8 million, despite the annualized yield slipping from 2.81% to 2.63%. For ETH traders, the near-term outlook may hinge on whether selling pressure outpaces demand and accumulation.

Foundation Devices says attackers used customer records left accessible in legacy database tables to launch more than 23,000 phishing email attempts targeting its hardware wallet customers. Investigators confirmed 19,057 emails were sent through Mailgun and 1,503 through Google Workspace; the number of affected customers is not yet known. The Foundation Devices phishing incident involved names, shipping details, refund records and abandoned checkout information left behind after a legacy WooCommerce database migration. Recent Shopify order information may also have been exposed. The company said it has found no evidence that Passport hardware wallets or private keys were compromised, and its investigation is ongoing. The Foundation Devices phishing campaign raises customer privacy and security concerns, but no wallet compromise has been confirmed.

A prediction market account identified as 0x6ac5bb06a9eb05641fd5e82640268b92f3ab4b6e bought $195,000 worth of shares backing T1 to beat CFO in the League of Legends S16 World Championship Swiss Stage. The position was opened at an average price of 86.5 cents per share, for a total of 226,173.3 shares. The match is part of the third Swiss Stage round, where games are played as best-of-one. The trade reflects a sizable prediction market position on the esports match outcome; it does not directly indicate a move in cryptocurrency prices.