Crypto News

Footage shared by Hong Kong hardware outlet HKEPC on 23 October shows batches of new Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics cards being dismantled and rebuilt as two-slot blower cards for AI servers. Workers remove the original coolers and transfer the GPUs and memory to new circuit boards, then test the finished cards. The thinner design exhausts heat out of the server and allows more cards to fit side by side. The video does not confirm where the factory is or how the cards reached it. Reports have pointed to China, where the full RTX 5090 is barred from sale under US export controls; the article says the footage alone does not establish how the cards were sourced. Nvidia executive Jeff Fisher denied on 16 October that the RTX 5090 had been discontinued, but acknowledged supply constraints without giving a timeline for improvement. US retailer listings cited in the article put many RTX 5090 cards above $9,300, compared with a $1,999 suggested retail price. The RTX 5090 conversion highlights strong AI-server demand and tight GPU supply, but its scale and effect on consumer availability remain unclear.

China’s third-quarter real GDP growth came in at the high end of economists’ expectations, but other indicators point to ongoing weakness. The Shenzhen A Share index, a benchmark for mainland Chinese stocks, is down 26% from its peak earlier this year. Household spending also remains a much smaller share of GDP than in many other parts of the world. The article briefly mentions AI developer DeepSeek, but the supplied text provides no further details. Overall, China’s economy is showing a gap between headline growth and subdued equity-market performance and domestic consumption.

The University of Michigan’s final Consumer Sentiment Index reading fell to 48.0 in October, a five-month low and a 0.1-point decrease from September. The Current Economic Conditions Index dropped 8.3% to 46.7, while the Consumer Expectations Index rose 5.4% to 48.8. Year-ahead inflation expectations edged up from 4.6% to 4.7%. The figures show weak consumer sentiment overall, with a mixed outlook on current conditions and future expectations.

Kalshi and Polymarket recorded a combined $2.7 billion in weekly crypto prediction-market volume in mid-October 2026, a record driven mainly by short-term Bitcoin price bets. Bitcoin contracts on Kalshi alone generated more than $2 billion, led by its 15-minute up-or-down product. Polymarket’s US arm recorded about $92 million to $101 million in 15-minute Bitcoin volume in its first full week. Crypto became the second most traded category on both platforms, behind sports. The figure represents notional contract volume, not money flowing into spot Bitcoin. The surge highlights growing demand for rapid, speculative exposure to Bitcoin price moves as spot trading volumes decline and platforms expand into prediction markets.

US margin debt reached $1.48 trillion in September, up 1.8% from August and 31.4% from a year earlier. After adjusting for inflation, margin debt rose 2.6% month over month and 26.7% year over year. The figures point to increased borrowing by investors to finance securities purchases, which can signal stronger risk appetite but may also amplify losses if markets fall. The report also puts US investor credit balances at $1,046.1 billion.

Bitcoin fell to $80,400 after its rally toward $85,000 was rejected, leaving the largest cryptocurrency down about 1% on the day. The pullback may be connected to recent comments by US President Donald Trump about the war with Iran, although the article does not establish a direct cause. Bitcoin’s market capitalisation slipped to $1.62 trillion, while its dominance remained around 60%. Bitcoin’s decline coincided with losses across the altcoin market. Ether fell below $2,400, XRP dropped below the $1.30 support level, and Solana approached $100. WLD recorded the steepest decline among the listed tokens, while M rose about 10% against the broader trend. The total crypto market capitalisation fell more than 1% to $2.7 trillion. Traders will be watching whether Bitcoin can hold above $80,000 and whether key altcoin support levels give way.

Oil prices rose as Middle East tensions added to market uncertainty, while US stocks ended a highly volatile week with mixed results. Concerns over how companies are financing artificial intelligence infrastructure also weighed on sentiment. The Federal Reserve is due to decide its interest-rate direction next week, and about one-third of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report earnings. Higher oil prices and uncertainty over interest rates could shape risk appetite across financial markets.

Lattice Semiconductor is being positioned as a potential beneficiary of rising AI data center demand. The investment analysis initiates a Buy rating, citing higher FPGA adoption and selling prices, along with the planned AMI acquisition, which is expected to double the company’s serviceable addressable market and broaden its platform capabilities. Lattice’s Industrial and Communications segment grew 36% year over year as it recovered from customer destocking. Edge AI applications could provide additional growth. The analysis points to a roughly $1 billion revenue run rate and a targeted revenue compound annual growth rate of more than 40% through 2030. It argues that these prospects may support the stock’s premium valuation of 46.1 times estimated fiscal 2026 earnings, while noting that consensus forecasts may be conservative. These are analyst views, not reported company guidance.

Bitcoin fell towards $80,500, while Ethereum traded near $2,375, below the $2,400 level. The declines came amid cautious sentiment following losses on US markets and rising oil prices linked to renewed Middle East tensions. CoinGlass data showed about $315 million in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, including roughly $248 million in long positions. Ethereum led token-specific liquidations at about $61.2 million, followed by Bitcoin at $52.4 million. Solana and XRP also fell. Bitcoin’s daily close was below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, with bearish MACD readings. Its Bollinger lower band near $79,889 is a key support to watch. Ethereum also remained below its 20-day and 50-day averages, and its RSI of 38.5 indicated weaker momentum. Traders are monitoring the $80,000 Bitcoin level, Middle East developments, Federal Reserve policy and upcoming economic data. The Fear and Greed Index edged up to 51, within neutral territory.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named tokenized securities as an emerging market risk in its fiscal 2027 examination priorities for the first time. The agency will also focus on quantum computing, extended trading hours and other developments affecting market infrastructure. Tokenized securities have also been added to the review list for clearing agencies, where the SEC will examine areas including operational risk and the handling of tokenized assets. Crypto assets were not listed as a standalone category for a second consecutive year, after having their own section in the 2025 priorities. The shift suggests the SEC is assessing new technologies within its broader market oversight rather than treating crypto as a separate examination area. The announcement comes as traditional finance firms advance tokenized stock products. OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, have sought SEC approval for a platform covering more than 60 US-listed stocks. An ARK DeFi report cited in the article said decentralised exchange trading volume for tokenized stocks rose from about $5.5 billion to $50 billion year on year, nearly ninefold. For traders, the priorities signal closer scrutiny of tokenized securities and their market infrastructure, but do not announce a ban or new trading restrictions.

US Treasury yields remained elevated on October 23, 2026. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.00%, while the 2-year yield ended at 4.69%. Freddie Mac’s latest survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.32%, slightly lower than the previous week. Federal Reserve policy continues to influence Treasury yields and broader market activity. The report provides a snapshot of bond performance but does not identify a specific policy announcement or market-moving event.

Microduck preorders surged after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang demonstrated four of the small robots at the GTC event in Berlin on 21 October. More than 4,000 orders came in during the following 24 hours, bringing cumulative preorders close to 20,000, according to Hugging Face chief executive Clem Delangue. Developed by Pollen Robotics, a French company owned by Hugging Face, Microduck stands 25 centimetres tall and has 15 motors. It is priced at $399 before tax and shipping. Strong demand has pushed estimated delivery for new orders beyond Christmas 2026, while the company says its Reachy Mini robot may be an alternative for buyers seeking a Christmas delivery. Pollen Robotics also warns customers to order only through its official website amid reports of scam sites.

Ledger has outlined the security architecture of Ledger Atom, a connected signer designed to keep sensitive crypto operations isolated from everyday apps. The device uses two environments: Standard Mode runs on a separate Qualcomm chip for connectivity and apps, while Secure Mode runs Ledger OS on a Common Criteria EAL6+ certified Secure Element to protect keys, PINs and transaction signing. An FPGA physically controls access to the display and touch input. When Secure Mode is active, it blocks Standard Mode from controlling the screen, and a Ledger OS-controlled Secure Bar indicates which mode is running. Ledger says this design is intended to preserve transaction approvals even if Standard Mode is compromised. A physical switch can also cut power to the camera and microphone. Ledger says AI agents can propose transactions through Ledger Agent Intent, but users must approve sensitive actions with a physical tap in Secure Mode. The feature is in beta on compatible signers. Ledger Atom’s full-system CSPN evaluation is planned; the company also describes reviews by Ledger Donjon and external auditors, with audit findings intended for publication after launch. The announcement is a product and security update, not a change to crypto assets or trading rules.

Meme coin trading was active across Solana, Base, BNB Chain and Robinhood Chain over the past 24 hours, with sharp differences in turnover and token performance. Solana’s top 10 meme coins recorded $96.484 million in turnover. ZEC led with $46.229 million, followed by YMB and TRUTH. YMB surged 10,900.9%, while Moustache also posted a notable gain. Base-chain top 10 turnover reached $80.128 million, with AXIS accounting for $79.113 million. BNB Chain turnover was $34.262 million; BNCB led at $20.191 million, while Charity Dog rose 10,210.8%. Robinhood Chain turnover totalled $27.364 million, led by PONS at $11.089 million. The figures point to concentrated activity and extreme volatility in meme coin markets, rather than a broad signal for the wider crypto market. Traders should verify token liquidity and price data independently and account for the risks of rapid reversals.

Pump.fun’s promotion of trader and influencer Kimchi has drawn scrutiny after two related meme coins surged and then crashed, raising concerns about insider access and risks to retail traders. On 20 October, a wallet created the KIMCHI token on Pump.fun and used 87 SOL to buy 79.3% of its supply. Within a minute, Pump.fun posted promotional images, and 750 million tokens were moved to an address its profile identified as Kimchi. The platform’s co-founder, Alon, later described Kimchi as a creative partner. KIMCHI’s creator fees were directed to the identified wallet, while the token’s market value briefly reached an estimated $35 million–$40 million. Two days later, a second token, project kimchi, rose to an estimated $10 million–$15 million market value after Kimchi and Alon shared promotional material. Both later deleted their posts. The token fell by 98% to below $300,000. The original KIMCHI also dropped 49% after the episode and was reported at $12.71 million, around 70% below its peak. The article says three early buyers made about $100,000 in nine minutes. It also reports that the wallet identified as Kimchi held 75.32% of KIMCHI, had received more than 900 SOL in creator fees, and was sent 1.35 billion PUMP tokens from Binance and OKX hot wallets. Pump.fun recorded $1.61 million in revenue on 20 October. The sharp reversals highlight the risks of promotional token launches, concentrated ownership and thin liquidity for meme-coin traders.

A ChainFeeds research roundup highlights four developments relevant to crypto traders: security vulnerabilities, prediction markets, Bitcoin’s potential quantum threat and Solana DEX activity. PHP and Node.js issued security updates addressing serious vulnerabilities, while cloud platform Railway said attackers may have accessed some customers’ environment variables. Crypto developers using Railway were advised to rotate stored credentials, including exchange API keys and wallet-related secrets. The disclosures point to operational security risks for trading bots and other crypto services, but do not confirm widespread losses. A Tiger Research report argues prediction markets can provide real-time probability estimates for events ranging from interest-rate decisions to elections. It cites research suggesting Kalshi forecasts performed well against some conventional economic indicators, while noting that market liquidity and forecast accuracy matter. Coinbase outlined a possible five-stage path for Bitcoin to adopt quantum-resistant security. Options include flexible address designs, post-quantum signatures and gradual migration from vulnerable addresses. No final approach has been selected. Larger signatures could raise fees or reduce transaction capacity, and the treatment of long-dormant BTC remains contentious. On Solana, Meteora’s weekly trading volume reportedly recovered to about $1.5 billion. Meme coins generated more than 90% of its revenue despite contributing less than half of trading volume in most weeks. Meteora also routed about 30% of Fomo’s Solana meme-coin volume, illustrating the importance of liquidity and transaction fees in the DEX market.

SlowMist’s Cosine has urged iPhone and iPad users to update their operating systems and watch for apps infected with the DarkSword malware. The malware reportedly targets selected iPhone crypto users in attempts to steal digital assets. By exploiting iOS vulnerabilities to escape the app sandbox, DarkSword can access sensitive data, including Keychain passwords, locally stored wallet private keys and notes. Crypto users should update their devices and treat potentially compromised apps and stored wallet data with caution.

This week’s crypto news roundup covers shifting regulation, institutional activity and market risks. Gold fell below $4,000 an ounce, while a16z expanded its crypto fund into a broader Frontier strategy focused on AI and cryptography. The roundup also tracks the end of the SEC’s consultation on proposed crypto rules and new US stablecoin regulations that bar issuers from paying interest directly, while leaving some third-party rewards possible. On-chain and sector data highlighted mixed adoption. Circle reported about $1.4 billion in first-half revenue and more than $36 trillion in USDC settlement volume, but its net margin was around 7%. A separate review found $2.61 billion stranded across more than six million wallets, much of it potentially recoverable. Meanwhile, 343 of 588 tracked chains had less than $1 million in total value locked, underscoring intense competition among blockchains. Other developments included Aave’s planned tokenomics changes, including buybacks and burns; tokenized stocks and ETFs recording more than $37 billion in Q3 on-chain trading; and new platforms connecting tokenized pre-IPO assets with crypto trading. The collection also flags risks from concentrated token ownership, thin liquidity, security incidents and uncertain demand. For traders, the week’s crypto headlines point to continued regulatory and infrastructure change, but offer no single clear directional signal for prices.

The US has removed tariffs on selected Canadian goods, including plywood, some paper products and machinery, while adding duties on carpets and certain valves. The tariff changes, signed by President Donald Trump, are due to take effect on October 30 and do not resolve the broader US-Canada trade dispute. The revised tariffs could affect trade costs and inflation, factors the Bank of Canada may consider at its October 28 rate decision. The article cites market pricing that puts the probability of a 25-basis-point rate increase at about 79%. The tariff changes and interest-rate outlook may influence economic sentiment, but the article reports no direct effect on cryptocurrency markets.

Revolut has expanded its PRAGMA foundation model from research into production systems for real-time banking services, including recurring-payment detection, instant credit decisions and in-app recommendations. The model was developed with NVIDIA and trained on 26 million anonymised user histories. At NVIDIA GTC Berlin, Revolut executives Anton Repushko and Amey Baokar described the infrastructure behind deployment. The platform pre-processes and tokenises customer activity outside the decision-making request path, and serves an initial base of 80 million customers. It is designed to scale threefold and support up to 10,000 events per customer. Revolut targets a double-digit millisecond p99 data-read time within a sub-second end-to-end inference budget. For efficient GPU use, Revolut keeps a shared model backbone resident and swaps in task-specific LoRA adapters, which adjust 2–4% of core parameters. It also uses dynamic batching to process multiple users together. The company says immutable data pipelines, versioned tokenisers and audit trails support regulatory requirements. Revolut pairs PRAGMA’s event-sequence modelling with STRIDER, a tabular foundation model, for cases such as applicants with limited transaction histories or external credit data. The announcement highlights the growing use of AI infrastructure in financial services, but does not report new cryptocurrency products, trading activity or performance results that would directly affect crypto markets.

Sui is adding an opt-in object tombstone pipeline to improve how its key-value storage handles deleted and wrapped objects. The Sui object tombstones record an object’s removal status and version, preventing reads from incorrectly returning an older live version. New readers can retrieve an object at a specified version or list live object versions while excluding tombstones. The change includes tests for object creation, mutation, wrapping, unwrapping and deletion. Operators must deploy a compatible kv-rpc build before enabling the pipeline; once the backfill begins, rolling back to an older build is not supported.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to launch a revised Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) by the end of November, according to Jarod Koopman, head of the agency’s criminal investigation division. The changes aim to cut case-processing times to no more than 120 days after taxpayers submit complete documentation, reduce penalties and potentially allow instalment payments. The revised voluntary disclosure program will not have a separate pathway for crypto assets. The IRS says digital assets will be treated like other taxable income and handled through its general VDP process.

CME Group chief executive Terry Duffy says Hyperliquid may struggle to enter the US market without addressing Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. Speaking on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, he argued that a derivatives platform cannot avoid regulatory responsibilities simply by providing infrastructure. Hyperliquid offers leveraged trading and automated liquidations, but currently does not require identity verification and is not registered with US regulators, according to the article. The comments highlight a potential compliance barrier to US expansion. Traders will be watching for changes to Hyperliquid’s KYC policies, partnerships or regulatory approach. No specific regulatory action or token price move was reported.

The NEAR-ICP dispute escalated on 21–23 October after DFINITY founder Dominic Williams criticised NEAR Intents’ privacy design and alleged that NEAR used DFINITY-developed cryptographic techniques without permission. He also raised concerns about former employees and NEAR’s early validator setup. These are allegations from Williams; the article does not report a court ruling or independently verified evidence of infringement. NEAR’s response, as described in the article, is that Confidential Intents is an optional feature and its permissioned validator shard and trusted execution environment (TEE) design are publicly documented. NEAR also said its mainnet multiparty computation network had grown to 17 independent operators, with an 11-of-17 signing threshold. The dispute highlights competition between ICP’s cryptography-focused Chain Fusion approach and NEAR’s product-led chain abstraction and intent-routing strategy. The article cites NEAR Intents transaction volume of $35.6 billion, but provides no independent verification of that figure. For traders, the exchange is mainly a source of short-term narrative and reputational risk. Any lasting market effect is likely to depend on evidence, legal developments, security performance and adoption—not the public dispute alone.

INPEX’s 2026 Investor Day, held on October 20, opened with discussions on the company’s growth strategy amid changes in the global energy market. The agenda included a session titled “The World Post Closure of Hormuz Strait” and coverage of INPEX’s growth potential, investment plans and shareholder returns, followed by a question-and-answer session. CEO and President Takayuki Ueda and other senior executives were among the company participants. The transcript excerpt outlines the event’s topics but does not report specific decisions, financial figures or business outcomes.

OpenAI researchers uncovered a critical Brotli vulnerability, CVE-2026-111497, also known as Node2Shell. The flaw is an out-of-bounds write in the compression library’s decoder that could let an unauthenticated attacker execute code using maliciously crafted compressed data. It has a CVSS score of 9.2 and may affect both client- and server-side applications. The Brotli vulnerability has prompted security updates across Node.js, Bun, Envoy and several Python packages. Node.js users should upgrade to versions 22.23.4, 24.22.1 or 26.12.1; Bun versions before 1.4.4 are affected. Proof-of-concept code has emerged, and Imperva researchers demonstrated reliable exploitation against affected Node.js builds, although there was no public evidence of widespread attacks as of October 23, 2026. Crypto traders are not directly affected by the software flaw, but exchanges, wallet services and other crypto platforms should check for vulnerable Brotli components, especially where they process untrusted compressed data. The incident highlights the cybersecurity risks facing software infrastructure used across the digital asset sector.

Delphi Digital markets head Jason Pagoulatos said Papertrade was right to worry that freely transferable PAPER tokens could be targeted by price-manipulation attacks. But he called the project’s decision to rule out transfers after users deposited roughly $140 million “a bad look,” saying it changed the terms after users had committed funds. Papertrade, a high-leverage trading venue on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM, launched on Oct. 10. Its initial plan listed token transfers as a later phase, but the team said on Oct. 19 it had no current plans to allow off-contract transfers. Users earn PAPER when they lose money and can stake the token to receive a share of fees. Pagoulatos said transferable PAPER could make coordinated attacks profitable, and noted that the team had already blocked positions linked to large Hyperliquid orders that moved ether’s price on launch day. He also said limiting leverage or pool size could undermine the platform’s appeal. Papertrade had distributed about $57 million to PAPER stakers through Oct. 21, according to DefiLlama. Pagoulatos said recent activity appeared more organic, but warned that retaining users who had hoped to farm and sell the token would be difficult.

Papertrade XYZ says it will offer up to 1,000x leverage with no conventional trading fees. Instead of routing trades to the open market, it matches users against an internal liquidity pool, where losing traders’ funds pay winning traders. This setup may attract users, but it makes the platform a counterparty and raises the risk that payouts could be delayed if the pool lacks funds. Traders are also watching the project’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) after launch. Polymarket odds put the chance of Papertrade XYZ exceeding a $25 million FDV threshold at about 52%. The launch, trading volumes, technical performance, token transferability and liquidity pool health are key factors to monitor. The article does not identify a launch date or a token ticker.

Papertrade is facing criticism for keeping transfer restrictions on its PAPER token, despite attracting about $140 million in deposits. Delphi Digital analyst Jason Pagoulatos said making the token freely tradable could expose it to manipulation, since perpetual markets can be created quickly. He also called the decision to change the restrictions a “bad look.” Prediction-market odds of Papertrade’s fully diluted valuation exceeding $25 million one day after launch fell to about 52% YES, from 95% a week earlier. The debate over PAPER token security, transferability and governance may affect confidence in the project. Traders are watching for changes to restrictions, exchange listings and liquidity developments; the odds reflect market expectations, not a confirmed valuation.