Crypto News

Robinhood received Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) authorization on October 22 to offer trading and custody across 10 asset classes, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, equities, ETFs and investment tokens. The company plans to launch in the Middle East in 2027 and establish its regional headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Salah Kaddoura will lead Robinhood MENA as senior executive officer and president while the company builds its local team. The authorization covers digital-asset custody and trading, but does not mean every product will be available to all residents across the region. Robinhood has not confirmed which countries it will serve, customer eligibility, pricing or product terms. Access will also depend on local permissions and practical arrangements such as deposits, withdrawals, currency conversion, custody and fees. The service will not be available until launch and final product details are disclosed. The move extends Robinhood’s international expansion, following its entry into the UK and EU, in-principle approval for brokerage services in Singapore and its acquisition of Canadian crypto platform WonderFi. Robinhood says it has more than one million customers outside the US. For crypto traders, the Dubai approval marks a potential new route to Bitcoin and other digital-asset services, but its market impact will depend on the scale and terms of the eventual rollout.

Two reports point to increased bearish exposure in Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives, though they concern traders with different reported profit totals. On October 20, an address with more than $126 million in cumulative profits added about $4.63 million to its BTC short, taking the position’s value from roughly $32.79 million to $37.5 million. On October 26, a trader with about $22.56 million in cumulative profits opened a separate $10.05 million BTC short covering 125 BTC, at an average entry price of about $80,374.64, according to Odaily monitoring. These BTC short positions may weigh on sentiment or add to selling pressure if other traders follow, but isolated whale trades do not establish a broader market trend. Traders can monitor BTC price action, funding rates and open interest for signs of wider positioning changes.

Bitcoin has weakened from around $81,800 to near $80,500, failing to hold its rebound above resistance. The latest price action adds downside risk to the earlier range-bound outlook: sellers are capping recovery attempts at $81,000–$81,500, and BTC has fallen below a four-hour trendline. The $80,000 level is now key support. A break below it and the recent low near $79,200 could trigger liquidation-driven selling toward $78,500–$79,000, with the $75,000–$78,000 area in focus. Earlier analysis also identified $75,500 as a possible downside target if support failed. For a recovery, Bitcoin needs to reclaim $81,500; resistance then lies around $82,500–$84,000, including the earlier $83,500 breakout threshold. Technical signals were mixed, with BTC below key Ichimoku lines and the 14-day RSI under 50, while the projected cloud remained green. Traders are likely to watch support breaks and trading volume for confirmation, as the price could remain volatile until BTC clears resistance or loses support.

Strive CEO Matt Cole posted a chart of the company’s Bitcoin holdings on X, saying it was “stacking sats with double the horsepower.” The post may hint that Strive will disclose additional BTC purchases next week and echoes the public accumulation updates associated with Strategy founder Michael Saylor. Strive has not confirmed a disclosure date, new purchases or revised holdings. For traders, the post may renew attention on corporate Bitcoin demand, but it is not confirmation of buying and does not establish a clear price catalyst.

Robinhood says Bitcoin, gold and crude oil prediction contracts are among its fastest-growing products, though sports remains its largest event-contract category. At a September conference, the company said the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision was its biggest event contract that month, exceeding any single sporting event. Robinhood offers event contracts through Kalshi, and some Bitcoin prediction markets now settle in as little as 15 minutes, compared with settlement periods of a week or a day previously. Faster Bitcoin prediction markets create more opportunities for short-term speculation, but can also magnify losses and make liquidity and spreads more important. In the second quarter of 2026, event contracts generated $156 million in revenue, above equity trading at $129 million and cryptocurrency transactions at $100 million. Customers traded about 13.6 billion contracts, more than ten times the year-earlier total. Robinhood says prediction markets can bring customers into its other products, including crypto, while legal challenges to sports contracts may make financial markets a growth avenue. It has not disclosed separate volumes or growth rates for individual financial contracts, or how much prediction-market users contribute to other businesses.

Cardano’s community treasury is voting on a Toto Finance proposal to allocate 22 million ADA, worth about $5 million, to a strategic copper reserve. The Cardano treasury proposal would spend about 14.72 million ADA on exchange-grade copper, with the remainder covering storage, insurance, audits and administration. The copper would be tokenized as CuTT and held for 18 to 24 months. Toto estimates a purchase price of $6.73 per pound and a sale price of about $10.06; if ADA’s dollar value remains unchanged, copper would need to rise roughly 49.4% for the project to recoup its full cost. Toto would retain legal title under proposed safeguards and could receive up to about 3.36 million ADA in fees and operating payments, while keeping commercial rights and income from its separately funded CuTT business. The vote closes on November 15, and no withdrawal has been approved. With 457.4 million ADA already used from a 500 million ADA withdrawal allowance, approval would use about 51.6% of the remaining capacity, raising concerns about treasury risk and funding available for other projects.

Chinese national Zheng Zhao was extradited from the Netherlands to the US and appeared in a California federal court on 23 October, where he was ordered detained. He faces a money-laundering conspiracy charge tied to an alleged Cambodia-based investment and crypto scam that targeted 174 Americans and moved more than $36.9 million. Prosecutors say funds passed through accounts in the US and a Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas, were converted into Tether (USDT), and sent to wallets in Cambodia. The US Department of Justice says scam centres in Cambodia operated the scheme. Eight alleged co-conspirators have pleaded guilty; two received prison sentences of 51 and 46 months, with restitution orders of about $26.9 million in each case. Zhao is scheduled for arraignment on 30 November and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is presumed innocent. The case highlights the alleged use of stablecoins and cross-border transfers in crypto fraud, but does not point to a flaw in USDT or a broader market risk.

Heatbit has introduced Bitwater, a Bitcoin-mining element designed to replace the lower heating element in compatible 30- to 80-gallon electric water heaters in the US and Canada. It uses 20 Bitmain BM1370 chips to deliver up to 34 TH/s at a maximum draw of 600 watts. Water cools the chips, and the company says the device runs without fans or noise. Users can track temperature, hashrate and earnings in an app, and choose solo mining or a pool. The first refundable preorder batch costs $899; later batches could reach $1,299. Shipments are expected in the first quarter of 2027. Heatbit has not issued its own earnings forecast. Estimates cited in the reports suggest full operation could generate about $1.25 in Bitcoin per day, or around $455 a year; at an assumed 80% operating rate, that falls to about $365 annually. Those figures imply roughly a 2.5-year payback on the first batch before electricity, maintenance, changing mining difficulty, Bitcoin prices or the product’s one-year warranty are considered. The next Bitcoin halving, estimated around April 2028, could also reduce mining revenue. Bitwater heats water more slowly than a typical 4,500-watt element, with the tank’s upper element available as backup. Its economics make most sense when the electricity is already needed for household water heating. Used solely for mining, it would consume about 14.4 kWh daily, costing an estimated $2.71 at the cited US average residential rate—more than the estimated Bitcoin income. Heat-pump water heaters may use two to three times less energy than resistance heaters, potentially offering comparable or greater savings. Solo mining offers a chance at a full block reward, but the odds are extremely low. Bitwater combines home heating and Bitcoin mining, but profitability depends on household use, energy costs and volatile mining conditions.

South Korea plans to revise its Foreign Exchange Transactions Act this year, bringing stablecoins used for payments under formal reporting and oversight rules, including for cross-border transactions. This would give payment stablecoins clearer legal status than previously outlined, although specific requirements and implementation details have not been provided. The Bank of Korea is coordinating with the government on virtual-asset monitoring and cross-border transaction oversight, and plans to develop an international framework to combat illicit activity. Separately, the government’s Digital Asset Basic Act, covering exchange licensing and stablecoin issuance, is reportedly close to completion, with officials aiming to introduce it as soon as possible. The proposals could provide clearer rules for stablecoin payments and cross-border crypto activity, but remain a longer-term regulatory development rather than an immediate market catalyst for traders.

NFT sales rose 24.57% to $47.14 million in the week to Oct. 17, according to CryptoSlam. Ethereum led blockchain sales at $19.59 million, while Bitcoin sales more than doubled to $8.25 million. Buyer and seller address counts climbed sharply, although transactions fell 32.35%; wallet counts do not necessarily represent unique people. Courtyard was the top collection, and one $2.97 million BRC-20 NFT sale accounted for about 36% of Bitcoin’s weekly NFT sales. In the following week, to Oct. 24, NFT sales accelerated, rising 66.58% to $76.56 million. Buyers increased to 156,715 and transactions rose 35.05% to 764,169. Bitcoin moved into the lead with $31.07 million in sales, up 268.06% and roughly 41% of the total, while Ethereum reached $24.64 million. The $X@AGI BRC-20 collection generated $25.09 million in just three transactions, showing that a substantial share of the latest NFT sales surge came from a handful of trades. Polygon ranked third, but reported wash-trading volume exceeded its sales figure. The data shows a sharp rebound in NFT market activity and a shift in weekly blockchain rankings, but concentrated high-value sales and wash-trading figures are important caveats. NFT sales do not, by themselves, signal a broad change in cryptocurrency prices.

Swell has paused deposits and withdrawals for swETH and rswETH while it corrects their reported net asset values (NAVs). The protocol has not said when services will resume. It says user funds are safe, and no ETH has left the tokens’ deposit or withdrawal contracts. Each token had about $29 million in reported value at the time of the reports. On-chain contract rates were about 1.203 ETH per swETH and 1.138 ETH per rswETH—roughly 6% and 5% above rates researchers considered reliable. Decentralised exchanges priced swETH near 1.089 WETH and rswETH near 1.029 WETH, highlighting a gap that may increase volatility and liquidity risks while redemptions are paused. Spreek said the tokens’ administrator keys may have been compromised on 21 October, potentially allowing reported NAVs to rise by up to 1% per hour without asset backing. Four suspected malicious upgrade contracts could reportedly have withdrawn about 2,513 ETH, but the transaction did not pass Swell’s multisignature queue. Phylax Systems founder Odysseus suggested possible misuse of a bot key. No losses have been confirmed, and a possible link to a Railway security incident remains unverified. Traders should watch for Swell updates and beware of phishing attempts.

DATA Foundation, formerly Story Protocol, will shut down its self-built Layer 1 and migrate to Sui after a $30 million investment from the Sui Foundation, which becomes DATA’s largest institutional shareholder. Existing investors, including a16z crypto, retain their stakes. The original chain will stay active until migration is complete, and DATA tokens are expected to move at a 1:1 ratio with holder rights and vesting schedules unchanged. DATA has shifted its focus from broad intellectual-property applications to Trace, a system that records the origin, contributor consent and licensing history of AI training data. Partner marketplace Kled reportedly adds 3 million to 4 million contribution records daily, but DATA says those records do not necessarily represent data generating licensing revenue. On Sui, DATA plans to use Walrus for file storage and Seal for access controls, allowing original files to be stored and restricted to authorised buyers. The move also removes the cost of maintaining a separate blockchain. For traders, the migration is an adoption signal for Sui, while DATA’s commercial traction remains unproven. Licensing revenue, migration progress, and DATA token liquidity and holder distribution on Sui are key indicators to monitor.

Initia halted its layer-1 mainnet and all associated rollups on 23 October after a security incident. Co-founder Ezaan Mangalji said an initial investigation points to a MoveVM vulnerability that may have enabled unauthorised token minting on Initia L1. He said the native INIT token was not affected, but Initia has not confirmed the exploit’s cause or final losses. Before the halt, the attacker reportedly bridged about $2.7 million in AUSD, ETH and USDC. A separate on-chain transfer of 1,135.5 ETH was reported after the halt; those funds remained at a new Ethereum address at the time of reporting. It is unclear whether that transfer represents an additional loss, and a final total has not been established. Agora disputed claims about AUSD, saying it had no smart contracts on Initia and that the incident involved a third-party product using the token. The shutdown left Initia rollups and applications unable to operate. Upbit and Bithumb suspended INIT deposits and withdrawals, while Initia has yet to announce a restart timeline. INIT traded between $0.114 and $0.156 over 24 hours and was at $0.138 at the time of reporting. Despite the team’s statement that INIT itself was unaffected, the outage, exchange restrictions and unresolved security investigation could keep INIT trading volatile.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for informatization sets 2030 as the target to largely complete a national blockchain network, connecting a central backbone with regional hubs and distributed digital identity services. It outlines blockchain uses in logistics, shipping, trade, finance, manufacturing, agriculture, government services, taxation and carbon reduction, while promoting privacy-preserving computing, data security and blockchain standards. The plan also covers the digital yuan and broader technology priorities, including computing infrastructure, 6G, satellite internet and artificial intelligence. However, it provides no transaction target or timetable for linking the digital yuan to the blockchain network, and announces no budget or annual construction schedule. It does not authorize token trading, specify a native cryptocurrency or explain investor access. The infrastructure push signals government support for blockchain development, but does not indicate a change in restrictions on crypto trading, yuan-pegged stablecoins or real-world asset tokenization.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) warned on 23 October that artificial intelligence could make phishing and social-engineering scams targeting Bitcoin users more convincing, especially when criminals exploit leaked personal data. He did not claim that AI had broken Bitcoin’s cryptography or recovered private keys. The later analysis also questioned claims that banks use weaker encryption than Bitcoin, noting that no specific algorithms, key sizes or banking systems were cited. It says cryptographic strength should be assessed by the methods and key sizes involved, rather than by broadly comparing Bitcoin with banks. Other examples underline operational risks: the FBI has warned about AI-generated text, images and cloned voices used in financial fraud; Coinbase said attackers bribed support staff to obtain customer information in 2025, while private keys and login credentials were not compromised; and Zscaler documented fake Ledger pages seeking wallet recovery phrases. Railway also reported the theft of environment variables that could expose API keys and database credentials. Coinbase separately opened access to AI-agent trading with order previews before execution. For traders, the developments highlight Bitcoin security, data protection and custody risks—not a newly identified flaw in Bitcoin itself. Users should protect personal information, verify contacts independently and never share wallet recovery phrases.

Aave V4 has launched three independently curated lending markets on Ethereum, managed by institutional DeFi platform Sentora and accessible through Aave Pro. Users can borrow RLUSD, PYUSD and OUSD against specified collateral: USDe, PRIME, mWIN and PST in the RLUSD and OUSD yield markets, and kBTC in the Bluechip market. Sentora sets collateral rules, interest rates, price oracles and liquidation parameters. Aave V4’s Hub-and-Spoke architecture separates shared liquidity from individual markets, allowing each to use distinct risk settings. Aave DAO retains control of the underlying contracts and asset listings, applies a 48-hour timelock to risk-increasing changes, and receives 50% of the instance’s revenue. Aave said V4 deposits exceeded $1 billion in September. The launch expands RLUSD’s use in Ethereum DeFi, but does not create new lending activity on the XRP Ledger or guarantee more demand for XRP. Trading impact will depend on market uptake, liquidity and risk management.

Ripple and Swiss payments firm Arf are partnering to provide RLUSD-powered settlement financing for licensed cross-border payment companies on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Arf handles about $10 billion in annual settlement volume, and the short-term working capital is typically repaid within one to five days as transfers settle and funds are reused. Arf will initially make lending and borrower-assessment decisions. XRP is needed for XRPL network fees and applicable account reserves, but payment firms are not required to buy XRP. The partnership could increase RLUSD use in institutional payments, although the companies have not disclosed a funding allocation or expected transaction volume. A longer-term move to onchain lending depends on validator approval of XRPL proposals XLS-65 and XLS-66; a reported snapshot showed 19 validators in support, short of the 29 then required. As a result, the potential for more XRPL lending activity—and any effect on XRP demand—remains uncertain.

SHR Miner says it is marking its eighth anniversary with a promotion funded by 45% of its first-half profits. SHR Miner advertises a $20 registration bonus, $1 daily check-in rewards and referral commissions of 4% for direct referrals and 2% for second-tier referrals. The company says qualifying single deposits of at least $1,000 can earn a 1% rebate, rising to 10% for deposits of $300,000 or more. Cumulative contract purchases may also qualify for gifts, including a Porsche for purchases totalling $1 million. SHR Miner advises eligible users to contact customer service from November 1 to 5 to claim gifts after the promotion ends, but the article gives no year or promotion dates. These are promotional claims, not independently verified returns or guarantees. No cryptocurrency is named, and the article provides no details on contract terms, withdrawals or platform risks. The offers do not establish a change in crypto prices or market fundamentals; traders should assess SHR Miner independently before depositing funds.

Meta plans to distribute one publicly listed, non-voting C-class share for each existing Class A or Class B share. The one-for-one distribution is expected to have a price effect similar to a two-for-one stock split, but will not change shareholders’ voting rights or create value by itself. Meta’s amended charter is scheduled to take effect on 19 January 2027; the distribution and trading dates, record date and C-class ticker have not been announced. Meta says C-class shares could be used for future fundraising, employee compensation, acquisitions and other corporate needs, including AI infrastructure. An earlier SEC filing cited management forecasts indicating a potential need to raise hundreds of billions of dollars over several years. Advisers estimated Meta could raise about $700 billion in equity before Mark Zuckerberg’s voting stake fell below 50%. As of 1 October, Zuckerberg held about 60.6% of voting power and a 13.4% economic interest. CFO Susan Li said the financing figure was a theoretical maximum, not a statement of current plans; Meta has announced no specific share sale. The financing option comes amid substantial investment needs: in the third quarter, capital expenditure of $34.91 billion exceeded operating cash flow of $32.79 billion, leaving free cash flow at negative $2.12 billion. Any future C-class issuance could dilute shareholders’ economic interests, while its non-voting structure would preserve existing voting rights. For crypto traders, the Meta C-class share plan has no direct effect on cryptocurrency supply or market structure. Its relevance is indirect, as a signal about corporate financing and AI investment that could influence broader market sentiment.

The Commodity Markets Council (CMC), whose members include CME Group, NYMEX and ICE Futures U.S., has urged the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to reject Kalshi’s proposed WTI crude oil perpetual futures contract, citing risks to market integrity. Kalshi filed for the WTIPERP contract on October 20, 2026; the CFTC’s initial review period is 45 days and may be extended to 90 days. The contract has not been approved. Unlike monthly WTI futures, the proposed cash-settled product would offer continuous oil-price exposure. Each contract represents 100 barrels and uses daily funding payments to track a reference price based on nearby NYMEX crude futures. Kalshi already offers a long-dated WTI contract with weekday trading and reportedly about $57 million in daily volume and leverage of up to 5.9x. The CMC has also called for regulators to work with foreign authorities to curb US retail traders’ access to offshore derivatives platforms through VPNs. The CFTC review could affect competition and access in oil derivatives, with potential implications for liquidity and volatility in those markets. Kalshi is also expanding perpetual products linked to BTC, ETH, XRP and HYPE, while facing separate state-level legal challenges over whether its event contracts are regulated derivatives or illegal gambling. Those cases concern prediction-market oversight, not the distinct CFTC review of Kalshi oil futures.

Polymarket traders initially assigned a 70% probability to Anthropic publicly releasing a qualifying Fable model by October 17, 2026. In the later update, the odds of a qualifying release by the end of October had fallen to 38%, down 30% over 24 hours. The summaries cite different deadlines, so the figures refer to their respective market updates. Under the later contract’s rules, Anthropic must make a model named “Fable” and numbered 5.2 or higher publicly available before the deadline. A public beta or an open waitlist qualifies, while private testing and internal access do not. The Polymarket prediction market tracks expectations for an AI launch; it does not directly signal a change in cryptocurrency prices or broader crypto-market conditions.

Italian authorities have arrested 30 people in a probe into an alleged mafia-linked crypto-laundering network operating from a car-rental business near Milan. Sixteen suspects were taken into custody and 14 placed under house arrest, with arrests also made in Spain and Switzerland. Police seized assets worth €21 million, including cryptocurrency, cash, bank balances, boats, jewellery and luxury watches. Prosecutors allege the network used shell companies and more than €110 million in false invoices to help clients evade tax. After clients paid by bank transfer, couriers allegedly returned equivalent cash for fees of 2% to 5%. Investigators say the group moved about €68 million abroad through banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany, then converted some funds into cryptocurrency via exchanges and stored it in wallets under its control. The alleged operation, active in Lombardy for about three years, also handled proceeds from drug trafficking and online investment scams, including for the ’Ndrangheta and Camorra. A financial police inspector is accused of taking a €3,000 bribe and leaking confidential information; a court employee and a lawyer are also implicated. The allegations remain subject to court proceedings. The case highlights crypto-laundering risks, but does not identify a specific cryptocurrency, exchange or protocol, and the alleged laundering chain also relied heavily on cash, shell firms and bank transfers.

OpenAI is reportedly seeking nearly $30 billion in new funding, with a valuation above $1.4 trillion, according to sources cited by Reuters. A later report said the company was negotiating a round at about $1.25 trillion, but the figures have not been confirmed by OpenAI. The talks follow a March financing that valued OpenAI at $852 billion and come as its IPO plans are deferred. The fundraising could help OpenAI compete with Anthropic, which is reportedly preparing a confidential IPO filing at a potential valuation of about $1.5 trillion. For crypto traders, the OpenAI funding news has no direct effect on digital-asset prices, though it may influence sentiment around AI tokens. Watch for confirmation of the funding, investor details and changes to either company’s IPO plans.

Grayscale has expanded in-kind subscriptions to 10 crypto investment products, allowing eligible investors to contribute tokens directly in exchange for fund shares rather than selling crypto for cash first. The products cover Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Avalanche, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Hyperliquid, Sui and Zcash, including spot and staking-focused offerings. The latest details put minimum contributions at about $80,300 for Solana, $95,550 for Dogecoin, $257,000 for XRP and $364,800 for Bitcoin. Minimums are based on token prices and product terms and can change. Investors must transact through authorized participants or approved intermediaries, so the service is not an unrestricted retail option. Grayscale says in-kind subscriptions may simplify operations and reduce trading costs, while giving investors access to fund shares through brokerage or retirement accounts. Shares are not direct ownership of crypto and can trade at premiums or discounts to net asset value. Fees, slippage, taxes and operational or counterparty risks remain. The expansion adds another route into crypto investment products, but does not by itself guarantee new demand, lower token supply or higher prices.

Tether led an undisclosed pre-seed investment in Bolivian fintech Peso to expand USDT payments in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. The funding will support local-currency on- and off-ramps, merchant services and account infrastructure. Peso connects USDT balances with local banking and payment services, including virtual accounts, QR payments and point-of-sale transactions. In Bolivia, customers can already pay for Yango food deliveries with USDT. The initiative aims to make USDT payments more practical for everyday purchases and transfers, not just savings or crypto trading. Tether and Peso did not disclose the investment amount, customer usage, merchant transaction volumes or full payment costs. The scale of real-world adoption therefore remains unclear.

The Cardano Foundation is urging the EU to apply MiCA and other financial rules according to crypto services’ functions and the degree of control they exercise over users’ assets, rather than imposing blanket rules on decentralised technology. Its legal team explained the position in an article published on October 21, following a submission to the European Commission’s MiCA review on September 30. The foundation says custodial services and intermediaries that exercise discretion over customer assets should be treated differently from non-custodial activities, such as delegating ADA to secure the Cardano network, or software that simply provides access to a public blockchain. It also calls for clearer rules on DeFi, staking, lending, stablecoins, hybrid tokens and overlaps between MiCA and other EU financial laws. The foundation argues that ADA delegation does not transfer custody or require holders to lock their tokens. The submission is a policy proposal, not an adopted law or binding exemption. It comes as the European Securities and Markets Authority considers possible safeguards for staking, lending and borrowing, alongside a regulated category for firms providing access to DeFi protocols. The outcome could affect compliance costs and how crypto services operate in Europe, with implications for Cardano’s staking model and permissionless infrastructure.

Four French authorities have proposed changes to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) that could make crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) responsible for some customer losses linked to DeFi security failures. The proposals, published on October 21, 2026, were submitted as part of the European Commission’s review of MiCA and are not yet law. Platforms that actively connect customers to DeFi services could be required to assess protocols, audit smart contracts and monitor for vulnerabilities and suspicious activity. Liability would not automatically apply to every exploit: it could arise if a platform fails to check a protocol adequately or ignores known risks. Requirements would be proportionate to provider size, with stricter duties for larger firms and some relief for smaller ones. France also supports possible certification for DeFi protocols and smart contracts, while allowing platforms to offer uncertified services with stronger safeguards and risk disclosures. Standard self-custody wallets would not face mandatory certification, although voluntary certification could be considered for advanced wallets with DeFi features. The authorities additionally called for direct ESMA supervision of major CASPs and a lower or broader threshold for identifying significant providers. The later proposal cites a current threshold of 15 million daily active users. France also called for a review of MiCA’s asset-referenced token category, noting that no tokens have been authorised under it, and suggested considering its removal and regulating multicurrency stablecoins as e-money tokens. The European Commission is expected to report to lawmakers by June 30, 2027. If adopted, the DeFi security rules could raise compliance costs for platforms while strengthening investor protections. For traders, the proposals signal possible future regulatory pressure on platforms offering DeFi access, but create no immediate obligations or direct price catalyst for any particular crypto asset.

Visa is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire digital-asset infrastructure firm Fireblocks for about $2.5 billion, according to Axios on October 22, 2026. Neither company has confirmed a deal, and negotiations could still change. Fireblocks provides institutional crypto custody, digital-asset transfer and management tools, as well as stablecoin payment infrastructure. Its platform reportedly processes more than $200 billion in stablecoin transactions each month; stablecoins accounted for 69% of its digital-asset transaction volume in the second quarter of 2026. A deal could strengthen Visa’s blockchain settlement and crypto custody capabilities. The companies also participate in the Open Standard stablecoin initiative. The reported price is about 69% below Fireblocks’ $8 billion valuation in a January 2022 funding round, though a private financing valuation is not directly comparable with a potential acquisition price. The talks follow Visa’s broader stablecoin expansion, including a partnership with Mesh and a stablecoin management platform launched in July. For crypto traders, the reported deal signals institutional interest in stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure, but it remains unconfirmed and does not by itself indicate a clear direction for token prices.

Gold prices fell below $4,100 per ounce on 22 October. An earlier Gate data update put gold at $4,097.45, down 0.5% over 24 hours; a later report cited a 1.9% decline to $4,045.13. The reports do not explain the drop or identify a direct link to cryptocurrency prices. For crypto traders, the gold price move is a traditional-market update, not a clear signal for digital assets.