Crypto News

The Zcash Foundation has released Zebra 7.0.0, the node software required for Zcash’s NU7 mainnet upgrade. Operators must upgrade before block 3,543,405, expected around Nov. 5, to remain on the network’s consensus chain; Zebra 6.4.x is expected to stop operating around Nov. 2. The release also improves syncing near the chain tip and addresses security advisories, though the summaries differ on the number fixed: one reports five and the other seven. NU7 cuts Zcash’s target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds without changing scheduled daily ZEC issuance, the four-year halving schedule or the 21 million ZEC supply cap. Under its Network Sustainability Mechanism, 60% of transaction fees will be reserved for potential future mining rewards, while miners receive 40%. Reserve-funded rewards are scheduled to begin at block 8,939,664, expected around February 2031. NU7 changes protocol compatibility and disables version 4 transactions. Holders with funds in the Sprout pool must move them before activation to retain the ability to spend them afterward. Zebra 7.0.0 also migrates the node database automatically; reverting to Zebra 6.x requires a full resync. Faster blocks may reduce payment and exchange-deposit waiting times, but the upgrade does not alter scheduled issuance or directly signal a ZEC price move. The Foundation has not said how many operators still need to upgrade.

Brent crude oil rose from $112.03 in an earlier update to $114.03 a barrel, according to Gate data. The latest price was up 3.5% over 24 hours; the earlier report had described a 0.1% rise. No cause for the increase was reported. Higher Brent crude prices can influence crypto market sentiment indirectly by affecting inflation expectations and broader risk appetite, but neither update reported a direct impact on digital assets.

Monero (XMR) climbed about 20% in a week to just below $650 on October 22, its highest level since January. The rally included a 12.17% daily gain as XMR broke above the $600–$620 resistance zone, while trading volume rose nearly 40% to about $251 million. Bitcoin gained only 0.26% over the same 24-hour period, highlighting XMR’s relative strength. The move followed a recovery from around $550 on October 15. Monero’s GUI v0.18.5.4 update included bug fixes and reopened testnet and stagenet wallets, but it has not been confirmed as the rally’s sole catalyst. The longer-term FCMP++ privacy upgrade remains part of the project’s development outlook. Analysts cited potential targets of $750 and, more speculatively, near $1,000. A sustained breakout above $630–$640 and a successful retest could support further gains, while traders are watching resistance around $650–$660. Derivatives activity has also increased: Santiment put open interest at about $198 million on October 20, its fifth-highest daily close in the past year, with outstanding contracts measured in XMR up about 22% over five days. The figure was not a record and remained below earlier September peaks. Risks are building alongside the bullish momentum. CoinGlass data showed recent exchange inflows exceeding outflows, which may add selling pressure, and XMR’s RSI was near 70, a level often associated with overbought conditions. A failure to hold the breakout could put support near $620 and $600 in focus, followed by roughly $570 and $540–$550. Traders are weighing Monero’s strong price momentum against rising correction risk.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) urged users to be cautious online after two critical PHP vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, were disclosed on October 21. Known as PHP2Shell, the flaws each have a severity score of 9.2 and could let attackers run code on vulnerable servers without authentication. Attacks were reportedly observed after disclosure. PHP powers 70.5% of websites with a known server-side language, and affected applications include WordPress, Magento and phpMyAdmin. Administrators should update to patched PHP versions, monitor for suspicious command-shell activity and take affected systems offline if they cannot patch. PHP 8.1 and earlier have no official fix. Cloudflare said it enabled firewall protections before public disclosure. BNB Chain, PancakeSwap and Trust Wallet said their technology stacks do not use PHP, but compromised third-party websites could still expose crypto users to fake wallet-connection prompts, malicious signing requests or stolen credentials and API keys. No exchange or wallet losses linked to PHP2Shell have been reported. The vulnerability is a website-security risk, not a reported compromise of crypto networks or funds. Major cryptocurrencies were down about 1.5% over 24 hours, but the article attributed the move to oil prices and Iran-related headlines rather than PHP2Shell. Traders should use bookmarked links and carefully review wallet signatures.

Webull plans to offer Kalshi Bitcoin perpetual futures to eligible U.S. customers from November 2026, with wider access expected before year-end. Announced on October 20, the rollout will initially be limited to customers approved for futures trading through Webull Futures accounts. The contracts will be listed on KalshiEX and cleared by Kalshi Klear. Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures, approved by the CFTC on May 29 and launched in June, have no fixed expiry and are cash-settled, giving traders Bitcoin price exposure without delivering BTC. Positions are subject to margin requirements, liquidation risk and periodic funding payments; Kalshi says funding is adjusted three times a day. Webull has not disclosed its exact launch date, fees, margin schedule or whether it will offer other cryptocurrencies. The brokerage channel could broaden access to regulated Bitcoin derivatives, but does not ensure better liquidity or lower costs. Funding charges and leverage can increase risk, so the launch alone is not a clear signal for Bitcoin’s price.

Dogecoin Labs, formed with the Dogecoin Foundation, is bringing together Dogecoin products and development teams to expand DOGE use beyond holding and trading. Led by MyDoge and DogeOS founder Jordan Jefferson, it will develop MyDoge, the DogeOS app platform and Such App, alongside teams linked to the Foundation and House of Doge. The focus includes payments, commerce, DeFi, gaming, AI and social apps. DogeOS has opened an EVM-compatible public testnet, MyDoge reports more than 500,000 users, and Such App’s beta supports DOGE invoices and in-person QR payments. The Foundation will continue its open-source and community work, while Dogecoin Labs focuses on products. Earlier coverage cited DOGE at about $0.084, well below its 2021 peak; a later snapshot showed a 2.6% 24-hour decline, suggesting little immediate response to the launch. Analyst Ali Martinez identified $0.081 as support and reported accumulation of 600 million DOGE since October 12, saying a sustained close above support could put $0.16–$0.17 in view. The Dogecoin Labs initiative may improve DOGE’s longer-term utility, but it has yet to establish a clear short-term price catalyst.

Meme coins saw active but uneven trading across Solana, BNB Chain, Robinhood Chain and Base in the 24 hours covered by reports dated 17 and 22 October 2026. The later report added Base and showed Solana’s top 10 meme coins at about $100 million in volume, up from $93.7 million in the earlier report; ZEC led the latest figures with $37.8 million. Individual tokens made extreme moves: CYBER surged 9,686.3% and Kimchi fell 41% on Solana. BNB Chain’s top-10 volume rose from $17.9 million to about $32.2 million, with PANGEA and BINA posting steep gains while .ai dropped 69.1%. Robinhood Chain volume was about $37.3 million in the later report, with PANGEA sharply higher; its earlier leaders included PONS, AI and CASHCAT. On Base, top-10 volume reached about $35.1 million, led by AXIS, while AIPOP also rose. Earlier reports also highlighted FTR’s 30.9% drop and Froggie’s 4,238.7% surge. These volatile, token-specific swings point to speculative trading and rapidly rotating attention, not a broad market trend. Meme coins remain highly risky, and traders should use caution.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has criticised the OCC’s final rules under the GENIUS Act, warning that they could leave a loophole in the ban on stablecoin issuers paying yield. The OCC dropped a proposed presumption that arrangements involving affiliates, exchanges or other partners would breach the ban. ABA argues issuers could use such arrangements to offer yield indirectly and draw deposits away from banks, although the report cites no evidence of actual outflows. The Blockchain Association supports the change, saying it better reflects the law. The stablecoin yield debate is expected to continue as the Federal Reserve and Treasury develop related rules. The GENIUS Act rules are due to take effect on 18 January 2027, leaving policy uncertainty in place until implementation.

US President Donald Trump is expected to highlight a federal crackdown on overseas crypto scams at a White House cybercrime event. Authorities say they have frozen about $833 million in cryptocurrency linked to fraud, seized 503 scam websites and warned nearly 9,000 Americans who may have been targeted. The schemes include romance scams, phishing and ransomware, with operations linked to criminal groups in Burma, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines. The announcement puts crypto scams and enforcement in the spotlight, while scrutiny of Trump’s crypto ties and alleged conflicts of interest is growing ahead of the US midterm elections. The action signals increased law-enforcement attention, but no specific cryptocurrency or direct market effect was identified.

Bitcoin whales moved two large amounts of long-dormant BTC in October, with no confirmed exchange deposits. On 12 October, a wallet inactive since 2020 transferred 4,582 BTC, worth about $378 million, across five addresses. The coins had been valued at roughly $40.8 million when received in March 2020, but that increase represents estimated value, not confirmed profit. No exchange transfer was identified, and there is no evidence this wallet shares an owner with the other address movements. On 18 October, a separate Bitcoin whale moved 411.45 BTC, worth about $34 million, from a legacy address to a native SegWit address. The coins had reportedly remained in the wallet since 2013. Their estimated value rose from about $54,000, though the owner’s actual cost basis is unknown. No transfer to a known exchange or subsequent outgoing transaction had been identified at the time of reporting. These Bitcoin whale transfers may lead traders to monitor on-chain exchange inflows, but neither movement confirms an intention to sell. Separately, about 34.2% of measured Bitcoin supply—around 6.88 million BTC—had not moved for at least five years. The available evidence points to notable dormant-wallet activity, not a confirmed broader sell-off.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded $665.16 million in net inflows on October 19, 2026, its largest single-day intake since October 7, 2025, when it reportedly received $899.4 million. The Block separately reported $526.6 million in combined inflows for US spot Bitcoin ETFs that day—less than IBIT’s individual figure. Reports do not explain the discrepancy, so the figures should be treated as separate data points. An earlier October report also cited a $29.86 million IBIT inflow on a different trading day. IBIT had $66.37 billion in net assets as of October 20, 2026, and has drawn more than $65 billion in cumulative net inflows since its January 2024 launch. It represented about 62% of US spot Bitcoin ETF assets in mid-October, when total assets were estimated at $105 billion to $107 billion. Bitcoin traded between $78,700 and $85,000 in early to mid-October. The latest IBIT inflow points to strong investor demand, but one day of ETF flows does not establish a lasting trend or guarantee a move in Bitcoin’s price.

Zcash (ZEC) fell nearly 13% on October 15, dropping below the $1,115 support area as about $20.09 million in futures positions were liquidated. Nearly 89% of those liquidations were leveraged longs. The decline followed a rally from below $500 in August to around $1,650–$1,700 in late September, and coincided with broader market weakness, including Bitcoin and Ethereum losses. Traders watched $1,050 and $1,000 as downside levels, with $1,242–$1,264 as a recovery zone. A reported $3.68 million Grayscale Zcash ETF inflow on October 14 did not halt the selloff. By October 21, ZEC had rebounded about 6% to roughly $1,260–$1,285 after nearing $1,040 on October 19. The later update cited about $115.5 million in ZCSH redemptions across 13 October trading sessions, while noting this was not a reconciled monthly net-flow figure and that asset values can change with ZEC’s price. ETF flows were mixed: trackers reported withdrawals on October 15 and 19, followed by about $1.6 million in inflows on October 20. Around $11.74 million in ZEC futures positions were liquidated over 24 hours during the rebound, with shorts accounting for about 82.8%. Traders are now watching resistance at $1,300–$1,350; a sustained break could put $1,400 in focus. A drop below $1,200 may expose $1,100 and the recent $1,040 low. The proposed NU7 upgrade, intended to speed block production and make other protocol changes, remains a potential longer-term catalyst, subject to developer readiness. High leverage and volatile ETF flows leave ZEC vulnerable to sharp moves.

The CFTC says CME Group has not shown concrete or imminent harm from the approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract and is asking a federal court to dismiss CME’s challenge for lack of standing. CME is seeking to overturn the May 29, 2026 approval, arguing that contracts without an expiry date should be regulated as swaps, not futures, under the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC disputes CME’s competition claims, citing CME’s statements that customer demand for perpetuals was limited and that its own crypto-futures volume grew more than sevenfold in three years. CME counters that regulated US Bitcoin perpetual futures could compete with its dated contracts. It also says Kalshi self-certified more than a dozen additional crypto perpetuals, with trading across the products exceeding $1 billion by the time CME filed suit. The CFTC’s approval applies to a specific contract, not all perpetual futures. The court’s decision could affect US oversight and availability of crypto derivatives. As trading in the products grows, reversing their market development could become more difficult, but the case’s immediate effect on Bitcoin’s price is uncertain.

Anthropic is in advanced talks with Blackstone-managed funds over part of a proposed $60 billion debt package to lease about 1.5 gigawatts of Google-designed TPU capacity. The package includes $42 billion in senior debt guaranteed by Broadcom and $18 billion in subordinated loans. Blackstone funds have been offered about $9 billion of the junior debt at a 10% coupon—up from 8.5% on Anthropic’s earlier Project Big Sky financing, completed in June 2026. The higher rate points to greater lender caution over AI infrastructure costs and risk. Anthropic’s credit rating is one notch below investment grade, potentially limiting the pool of buyers. The funding is expected to be drawn by 2027, with the debt potentially trading in the institutional 144A market, but the talks have not been reported as finalized. The Anthropic financing highlights rising debt use and refinancing risks in AI computing; it has no direct catalyst for cryptocurrency prices.

Super League Enterprise shareholders approved proposals for Metaplanet’s planned investment, clearing a key hurdle but not completing the deal. At closing, Metaplanet is expected to contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash. Super League valued the Bitcoin at about $132.1 million using an August 14, 2026 reference price, though its value may change with BTC’s market price before closing. In exchange, Metaplanet is scheduled to receive 44,859,400 Super League common shares priced at $3 each, along with preferred stock and warrants. If the transaction closes, Super League plans to rename itself Superplanet and adopt the ticker SUPA. The company’s advertising and media operations are expected to remain a separate business segment. Closing is still subject to customary conditions and regulatory filings, including Nasdaq-related requirements; the companies are targeting the fourth quarter. For crypto traders, the vote is a corporate milestone, not a completed Bitcoin purchase: the 2,100 BTC has not yet been added to Super League’s balance sheet. The proposed treasury investment may draw attention to corporate Bitcoin adoption, but its direct effect on BTC prices is likely limited unless the deal closes or encourages similar investments.

Tether led a $15 million Series A round for Mural, bringing the New York fintech company’s total funding to $28 million. North Island Ventures and existing investors also participated. Founded by former Palantir engineers, Mural builds financial infrastructure connecting traditional banking, payment networks and stablecoins. Its customers include Deel and Opera. Mural plans to use the funding to expand internationally and develop payment, banking and compliance services for businesses and AI agents. Companies can set spending limits, approve recipient lists and require additional authorization for selected transactions. These controls are designed for agentic finance, in which AI systems make payments on behalf of people or businesses. Mural says it has processed $2.1 billion in payments across 128 countries since launching its API in 2025, with payment volume so far in 2026 nearing six times its 2025 total. Tether cited Mural’s links between enterprise software and stablecoin payment services as a reason for investing, adding to its investments in AI companies AIsa and Tenstorrent. Mural’s valuation was not disclosed, and no integration between the companies has been announced. The deal signals continued investment in AI-enabled stablecoin payment infrastructure, but does not by itself establish a new product or direct change to stablecoin markets.

US spot ZEC ETF and NEAR ETF flows reversed between 19 and 20 October, according to SoSoValue. On 19 October, ZEC ETFs recorded $10.45 million in net outflows, while NEAR ETFs attracted $5.42 million. On 20 October, ZEC ETFs posted a $1.6074 million net inflow and NEAR ETFs saw a $2.5389 million net outflow. The latest daily flows were entirely attributed to ZCSH for ZEC and NRR for NEAR. The 20 October report put ZEC ETF cumulative net inflows at $154 million and total net assets at $650 million, or 3.08% of ZEC’s market cap. For NEAR ETFs, it reported $85.93 million in cumulative net inflows and $83.02 million in assets, equal to 1.27% of NEAR’s market cap. The changing ZEC ETF and NEAR ETF flows suggest shifting investor demand, but two days of data do not confirm a sustained trend.

Elon Musk says he plans to give one SpaceX share to every US child next year, potentially reaching about 72 million children. At the reported closing price of $146.03 per share, the gift would be worth roughly $10.5 billion. President Donald Trump said the shares would be distributed through Trump Accounts, but eligibility, delivery and regulatory details have not been finalised. The SpaceX stock gift remains a pledge, not a completed transfer. The proposal adds to debate over wealth distribution as artificial intelligence reshapes jobs and raises concerns about job displacement. Anthropic has proposed directing 5% of its shares to a public-benefit entity, while Sam Altman has advocated sharing company equity and cash more broadly. The summaries also cite mixed results from past universal basic income trials, an estimated annual cost of $3.1 trillion for a US payment of $1,000 a month, and Alaska’s dividend programme as an alternative funded by oil revenues and investment returns. The clearest crypto connection is World, which uses iris verification to distribute WLD tokens to verified users. For crypto traders, the SpaceX stock gift and wider AI-era wealth-sharing debate are long-term themes, not an immediate trading catalyst. WLD’s near-term price impact is likely limited; World’s regulatory outlook and the plan’s implementation are developments to monitor.

Pump.fun meme coins face growing risks from coordinated launches and fake trading volume, making genuine demand harder for Solana traders to assess. Bitquery analyzed 8.2 million tokens issued between October 2025 and October 2026 and found developer-linked wallets participated in bundled launches for 21% of tokens, with a median holding of 10% of supply. Developers and associated wallets reportedly made $579 million, and 65% of developers began selling within the first minute after launch. In a June 2026 example, four wallets bought 79% of a token’s supply for about $6,000, then reportedly sold for $121,000 after 1,138 wallets entered over 18 minutes. Separately, Bitquery classified $117.7 billion, or 58%, of $201.4 billion in Solana DEX volume over a 30-day period as non-organic. Solidus Labs estimated that 98.6% of Pump.fun tokens in its research showed pump-and-dump characteristics. The findings highlight why Pump.fun meme coin traders should not rely on headline volume, holder counts or social-media buzz as proof of demand. Checking wallet links, funding sources, token distribution and early-holder selling may help identify risks, but on-chain analysis cannot catch every coordinated scheme. Concentrated ownership and rapid exits can leave late buyers exposed to steep losses, particularly in low-liquidity tokens.

Circle reported about $1.4 billion in revenue from USDC in the first half of 2026. It said roughly $819 million, or 58.5% of revenue, went to distribution partners and transaction costs, while about $473 million was invested in infrastructure, technology, security and regulatory compliance. Net income was approximately $108 million, a 7.7% margin. Circle also reported more than $36 trillion in USDC onchain settlement during the period. USDC accounted for about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume in June, up from 60% a year earlier, while more than $315 billion of USDC was minted and redeemed in the first half. These figures are Circle’s own reports. Circle says standard bank-channel USDC redemptions are free and generally settle within two business days. Eligible customers using its payment network or Circle Platform can access free, near-real-time settlement; fees may apply to some rapid withdrawals outside banking hours. Circle argues that partner revenue sharing and investment in compliance, liquidity and payment infrastructure support USDC adoption. For traders, the data point to expanding USDC usage, but are not by themselves a direct catalyst for its price, which is intended to remain pegged to the US dollar.

MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank have completed a proof of concept for a jointly issued yen stablecoin, testing issuance, transfers and redemption for cross-border corporate payments. The trial simulated payments between Mitsubishi Corporation’s Japanese and overseas operations. MUFG Trust and Banking managed the trust assets, while TIS supported blockchain and wallet integration. The yen stablecoin is designed around trust-beneficiary rights under Japan’s Payment Services Act, with bank deposits backing the trust assets. The banks say the test demonstrated technical and operational feasibility, including compliance and anti-money-laundering procedures. They aim to start commercial transactions during Japan’s 2026 fiscal year, which ends in March 2027, but have not disclosed a launch date, issuance volume or fees. Any rollout remains subject to regulatory and asset-backing requirements. A shared yen stablecoin could help businesses streamline some group treasury and cross-border payments through common standards. Its practical value will depend on adoption, integration with corporate finance systems, compliance processes and fiat on- and off-ramps. It would not eliminate foreign-exchange risk for payments involving other currencies. Dollar stablecoins still dominate the market, so the project is a notable institutional step for yen-based digital settlement, not evidence of a live product or an immediate catalyst for broader crypto prices.

Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is scheduled to activate on the Hoodi testnet on October 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264. At activation, Hoodi’s gas limit will rise to 200 million. The upgrade follows its October 6 rollout on Sepolia and includes enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS), block-level access lists to support parallel processing and validation, and revised gas accounting for state creation and access. Hoodi validators and node operators will need compatible execution and consensus clients. The 200-million gas limit is a testnet milestone, not a confirmed increase to Ethereum mainnet capacity; no mainnet activation date has been announced. For ETH traders, the Glamsterdam test is a technical development to monitor, but its testnet status limits the immediate case for a major price reaction. Watch for test results, bug reports and a confirmed mainnet timeline.

A West Africa scam crackdown has led to 28 arrests in Ghana and Nigeria, with investigators identifying more than $11 million in funds that may be eligible for freezing. Authorities have not confirmed that the funds were seized or returned to victims. Ghanaian police arrested 19 people near Accra and seized 303 electronic devices; Nigerian authorities arrested nine suspects. Investigators identified 117 people believed to have been trafficked and forced to work for scam groups, while 89 suspected fraud victims reported losses of about $8.3 million. During Joint Disruption Week, held in London in the week beginning October 6, Binance, Coinbase and other technology and blockchain analytics firms shared intelligence to disrupt scam networks. Coinbase said it helped identify more than 65 people being targeted and prevented over $415,000 in potential losses. Meta removed more than 3.7 million suspicious accounts, pages and groups linked to West African fraud networks. The West Africa scam crackdown underscores growing cooperation between exchanges, analytics firms and law enforcement, but does not show that every suspect used cryptocurrency. It has no clear direct price catalyst for crypto traders; the value of any separately seized crypto and any victim repayments remain undisclosed.

Crypto hacks caused $1.18 billion in losses across 107 incidents in Q3 2026, up 55% from Q2, according to Hacken. The newer report says smart-contract exploits accounted for 48% of losses, compared with 12% in the previous quarter, while access-control and operational failures represented 40%, down from 88%. Hacken also linked about $906.8 million in losses to compromised suppliers or development tools, known but unpatched vulnerabilities, and components missing from recent security audits. The largest reported incident was the Bitget attack, which caused at least $352 million in losses after a flaw in a third-party security product exposed withdrawal infrastructure. Hacken warned that audits often focus on core contracts while overlooking keys, wallets, signers, deployment systems and third-party software. It also flagged weak key management at some derivatives and prediction-market platforms, without identifying active exploits there. The findings underline that crypto hacks can result from weaknesses beyond smart-contract code. Traders assessing project risk should look at audit coverage and recency, as well as ongoing vulnerability management and operational security.

Saudi Arabia has extended the suspension of flights at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, with the latest report saying the suspension is indefinite amid continued Houthi missile and drone threats. Repeated airport closures have heightened concern about wider disruption, but Saudi airspace has not been reported closed. Prediction-market estimates vary: an earlier report put the chance of a nationwide airspace closure by 1 November at 7.5% and by 1 January 2027 at 17.5%; the later report cited a 4.5% chance of closure by 1 November and a 5.5% chance of a Saudi-Houthi ceasefire by that date. Crypto traders should monitor security updates, aviation notices and mediation efforts. The Riyadh airport suspension adds to regional geopolitical risk, but neither report identifies a direct cryptocurrency-market impact.

Chainalysis estimates North America’s crypto economy at $3.02 trillion in the 12 months to 1 July 2026, keeping it among the world’s most influential crypto markets. The US accounted for $2.78 trillion, although its activity fell 2.2% year on year. Canada’s crypto economy grew 2.3% to more than $247.7 billion. The latest findings add detail on the region’s role in building crypto infrastructure. Base processed more than 138 million x402 transactions, up from about 1,500 at the start of the period; the protocol supports automated, low-value payments between software agents. The US accounted for 30% of agent-to-service transactions. Repeat wallet funding also increased: 89.3% of wallets first funded in Q2 2026 received another top-up within 30 days, compared with 70.6% for wallets first funded in Q3 2025. Tokenized assets reached an estimated $36.07 billion at the end of Q2, including $15.42 billion in tokenized US Treasuries, while US holders represented 11.7% of global tokenized real-world asset holders. Dollar-pegged stablecoins made up 99.1% of stablecoin order-book volume. Canada ranked first globally in cross-border stablecoin flows, with transfers to India, China and the Philippines reaching $2.36 billion, up 141% year on year. The report also says the US became a net importer of bitcoin for the first time since 2022. Overall, North America’s crypto economy remains a major source of payment and tokenization infrastructure, even as users and demand increasingly extend beyond the region.

Qubic halted its layer-1 blockchain after attackers exploited a weak seed-generation process in some older wallets, stealing about 2.94 trillion QUBIC from 1,404 wallets. The theft took place on 17 October and was completed in about 104 minutes; estimates put the stolen tokens’ value at $1.3 million to $1.4 million. Qubic said the issue affected certain wallets created through Apple browsers or an early iOS app, but did not indicate a general vulnerability in Apple devices or other crypto wallets. Qubic paused the network to restrict further transfers. About 87.1% of the stolen tokens remained on-chain when the chain was halted, while the portion sent to MEXC was frozen. The reports also said exchanges including MEXC, Bitget and XT suspended some QUBIC deposits or withdrawals; XT also paused KASPLEX transfers. Frozen funds have not necessarily been recovered, and compensation arrangements remain unresolved. Qubic has not announced a restart date, with recovery decisions awaiting network operators known as Computors. Qubic released wallet version 4.26.4 with a revised random-number process. Updating the software does not secure old seed phrases, so users with potentially affected wallets may need to create new wallets and move assets once the network resumes. QUBIC fell about 10.42% on 18 October as the theft and network halt weighed on sentiment. Traders are watching for a safe restart, clearer guidance for affected users, and decisions on recovery or compensation.

MSCI’s proposed index rules could put five companies, including Bitcoin-focused Strategy and Metaplanet and Solana-focused Upexi, at risk of removal from its global investable market indexes. The framework looks beyond digital-asset holdings, assessing operating assets, expenses, cash flow, fair-value changes and reliance on external financing. Companies that fail an operating-asset screen could be excluded if they meet at least four of five additional criteria. MSCI has also placed 17 companies under observation, 11 of them crypto-related; these firms have not met the removal threshold. A final decision on the five potential removals is expected on 11 November, with any changes taking effect after the market close on 30 November. Index removal could prompt benchmark-tracking funds to sell affected shares. JPMorgan previously estimated Strategy could face about $2.8 billion in outflows if removed, potentially rising to $8.8 billion if other major index providers follow. Strategy argues that its Bitcoin activities constitute an operating business. MSCI’s framework does not automatically exclude companies for holding crypto or require them to sell tokens, but weaker passive-investment support could weigh on treasury firms’ share valuations and ability to raise capital for crypto purchases.

Morgan Stanley estimates AI capital spending will reach $1.58 trillion in 2027, up from about $980 billion in 2026, before rising to $1.81 trillion in 2028. The bank warns that the four largest hyperscalers could face a cumulative funding shortfall of roughly $600 billion through 2028, as investment outpaces operating cash flow. Their free-cash-flow pressure and borrowing needs are expected to peak in 2027. By mid-October 2026, hyperscalers had issued about $255 billion in unsecured bonds. The latest analysis estimates that 2027 AI capital spending could generate around $1.7 trillion in supplier revenue, including about $1.03 trillion for S&P 500 companies. Nvidia could capture roughly $690 billion, or 67% of that index-linked revenue; the other 499 companies would share about $340 billion. Morgan Stanley also counts $195 billion in lease commitments as 2027 spending and says hyperscalers have disclosed more than $1.1 trillion in signed leases yet to commence. It forecasts AI capital-spending growth slowing from about 60% in 2027 to 14% in 2028. High-rated borrowers such as Amazon and Google may retain access to debt markets, while lower-rated providers could face tighter financing. Power constraints, falling equipment prices and weaker-than-expected demand pose risks to suppliers. For traders, AI capital spending points to concentrated exposure in Nvidia and data-centre infrastructure, alongside rising credit and execution risks. Bond issuance, borrowing costs and AI-stock volatility are key indicators to monitor; the developments have no direct price implication for a specific cryptocurrency.