Crypto News

Ethena Pay has launched Earn+, a feature offering users up to 12% yield on dollar deposits. Initially available to Pro and VIP users, Earn+ is expected to roll out to all Ethena Pay users over the coming days. Deposits will go to an Upshift vault curated by SteakhouseFi, which runs strategies through Aave V4 on Avalanche. The advertised yield may attract users and deposits, but actual returns and risks are not detailed in the announcement. Ethena Pay’s launch is a product update; its broader market impact will likely depend on adoption and how users assess the vault’s risks.

Casap, an AI-powered bank dispute and chargeback startup, has raised $56 million, according to Fortune. The funding will support its work tackling first-party fraud, in which customers make false claims about purchases they made. The article estimates this type of fraud costs the financial sector $100 billion a year and can account for 30–50% of fraud losses at some institutions. Founded in 2023 by former Robinhood and Chime employees, Casap says its platform can automate up to 80% of payment disputes. At Chartway Federal Credit Union, reported resolution times fell from three months to 12 days, while per-claim costs declined by about 90% and chargeback win rates rose 95%. The company previously raised an $8.5 million seed round and a $25 million Series A. Its latest reported $56 million raise is distinct from the roughly $33.5 million it had raised before this round. Casap says it serves about 45 financial institutions and recorded 642% year-over-year growth by mid-2026. The deal highlights investor interest in AI fraud prevention and financial-services infrastructure, but has no direct cryptocurrency-market impact.

Stellar Meridian 2026 opened in Lisbon on October 28, bringing institutional finance, payments and developer tools into focus. The two-day conference, hosted by the Stellar Development Foundation, runs through October 29 at Convento do Beato. Speakers include SDF chief Denelle Dixon, DTCC Digital Assets’ Nadine Chakar, SkyBridge’s Anthony Scaramucci, and representatives from US Bank and Fireblocks. Sessions cover tokenization, network scaling, block production speed and quantum readiness. Ahead of the event, the HackMeridian hackathon ran from October 25 to 26, offering up to $30,000 in XLM prizes. Developer passes cost $49 and general admission tickets $299. Previous Meridian events attracted more than 1,000 participants. Stellar Meridian 2026 puts the network’s institutional and payments use cases in the spotlight, but the article reports no new product launch or immediate market catalyst.

Bitcoin climbed from below $79,500 to $81,700 in the 24 hours before the Federal Reserve’s FOMC decision, but analyst Ali Martinez warned that the move could reverse. He said Bitcoin has often moved less than 1% in the first hour after past FOMC decisions, with a clearer trend emerging over the following 24 hours. Martinez cited several bearish signals: large holders reportedly reduced their balances by more than 8,160 BTC in 24 hours, worth about $664 million, while whales had taken more than $150 million in profits over several days. The Coinbase Premium Index also fell to a monthly low of -0.17, suggesting weak US buying pressure. Bitcoin is trading above support near $81,000. A decisive break below it could expose prices to $77,000 or, in a deeper decline, $67,000. On the upside, a move above $84,500 would weaken the bearish outlook and could open a path towards $92,000 and $104,000. Markets generally expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged. However, Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks may influence Bitcoin’s direction, particularly amid persistent inflation and speculation about a possible rate hike later in the year. Traders will be watching the Fed decision, price levels and follow-through in buying or selling activity.

BetFury’s Birthday 007 campaign marks the crypto casino’s seventh anniversary with a guaranteed $2 million prize pool. The main event runs from October 30 to November 14, 2026, following a four-day announcement phase that began October 26. The promotions include a $100,000 birthday raffle paid entirely in BFG tokens, a $1 million progressive Birthday Battles pool and a $400,000 Grand Tournament. Other activities include rank-based Agent Missions, daily bonus spins, game prize drops, sports predictions and free FunFury battles. BetFury says the raffle will pay 300 winners, while its $10,000 prediction pool covers football, basketball and other sports.

Bitcoin mining technology company UE Crypto has raised $16 million in a strategic funding round led by CMT Digital to expand its artificial intelligence and high-performance computing business. The funding follows the September launch of UE Crypto AI, a division focused on applying the company’s expertise in energy, hardware and financial services to AI computing. UE Crypto plans to expand its AI cloud platform, grow its hardware trading business, invest in computing derivatives and market-making, and hire more staff. The company says its mining hardware brokerage has facilitated $1 billion in transactions, its energy division manages more than 75 megawatts of power load, and its AI cloud platform processed about 1.8 million workloads year to date as of September. The raise comes amid a broader shift by Bitcoin mining companies towards AI infrastructure as they seek revenue beyond cryptocurrency mining. Unlike operators focused on converting large mining sites into data centres, UE Crypto says it aims to serve both Bitcoin mining and AI computing through hardware, software, energy and financial services.

Robinhood reported record revenue of $1.42 billion, slightly below forecasts, while earnings per share of $0.51 also missed estimates. Crypto revenue rose 20% from the previous quarter to $120 million, although it remained well below the year-earlier level. On the earnings call, CEO Vlad Tenev said Robinhood Chain had outpaced expectations and the company would increase investment. His comments helped lift several tokens linked to the ecosystem. Crypto markets rose ahead of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC decision. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $176 million in net inflows, while spot Ether ETFs saw $60 million in outflows. Ripple received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank, and Google previewed a crypto custody service for banks, with commercial availability targeted for 2027. Other developments included Robinhood adding Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and Circle piloting USDC settlement in Colombia’s instant-payments network. Meanwhile, 26 companies have objected to tokenized versions of their shares on an OKX-ICE venue, and Bithumb disclosed a data breach. The news points to growing institutional and onchain activity, but mixed ETF flows and regulatory and security concerns remain relevant risks for crypto traders.

Investors who may struggle to access Anthropic’s planned IPO are turning to crypto derivatives for indirect exposure. OKX and Binance have launched perpetual contracts tied to the AI company’s valuation, while contracts on Hyperliquid’s EntropyIO platform briefly implied a valuation of about $1.88 trillion. Anthropic’s potential IPO valuation has been reported at up to $1.5 trillion. These contracts offer a way to trade expectations around the Anthropic IPO, but they do not represent direct ownership of the company. Traders should also weigh uncertainty over profitability, high AI investment costs and competition in the sector. The derivatives may be volatile and can be influenced by factors beyond Anthropic’s business prospects.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its target interest rate at 3.75%–4.00% after its two-day policy meeting, but officials disagree over whether financial conditions are tight enough to bring down inflation. Some policymakers say rising Treasury yields have not offset strength in stocks, credit availability and business investment, leaving overall financial conditions too loose. Others favor waiting for more economic data before changing rates. Investors are watching for a possible rate increase at the Fed’s 8–9 December meeting. The debate over financial conditions and the Fed rate outlook could shape expectations for borrowing costs and risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Spanish lawyer Miriam González Durántez has launched Democracia21, a new centrist party seeking votes in Spain’s upcoming general election. The party is focusing on constituencies in Madrid and Barcelona, where its appeal could affect support for the leading People’s Party (PP) and Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE). Democracia21’s ability to draw centrist voters remains uncertain. The article says prediction-market pricing currently favors the PP, while the election race remains competitive. The party’s impact will depend on whether it gains traction in polling and during the campaign.

A New York Times poll shows Democrat Peggy Flanagan leading Republican Michele Tafoya by 14 points in Minnesota’s open US Senate race. Flanagan has 54% support, compared with Tafoya’s 40%. The result is a wider margin than in earlier nonpartisan polls, which had shown Flanagan ahead by only a few points. The seat is open after Democratic Senator Tina Smith decided not to seek re-election. A Polymarket contract listed the probability of a Democratic victory at about 89.5%. For traders, the poll may strengthen confidence in that outcome, but further polling and campaign developments could shift prediction-market pricing.

Bitcoin climbed back above $81,000 as a rally in Asian chip stocks lifted risk appetite. South Korea’s Kospi rose 6.6%, while SK Hynix gained about 11% after reporting a sevenfold increase in profit. Ether also advanced, and Pepe rose 9.4% after Arkham Intelligence reported that wallets linked to Tron founder Justin Sun hold about $51 million in PEPE. Bitcoin’s recovery was supported by a second consecutive day of inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which added $176 million on Tuesday. However, derivatives data showed only a modest rise in open interest, suggesting the price move was not driven by a large increase in leveraged positions. Liquidations rose 38% to $183.6 million. Traders were watching the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments for clues on future policy. The overall picture was positive for Bitcoin in the short term, but upcoming macroeconomic signals could still drive volatility.

Toobit has introduced a separate isolated margin mode for futures trading, allowing traders to hold multiple positions in the same direction on one trading pair. Each opening order creates an independent position with its own margin, liquidation price, and take-profit or stop-loss settings. The new Toobit isolated margin feature lets traders manage staggered entries, different exposure levels, and separate exit plans without merging positions. Liquidation of one position does not automatically affect the others. The launch comes amid high derivatives activity: the article reports $3.40 trillion in derivatives volume in August, or 79.3% of combined spot and derivatives trading, and $73.35 billion in derivatives liquidations during the first half of 2026.

Meta AI has outlined a highly speculative scenario in which Sui (SUI) could reach $28–$50, with a stretch target above $75, by 1 January 2027. The scenario depends on major enterprise technology and data companies adopting Sui’s object-centric blockchain for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and enterprise data coordination. The article stresses that this is an unlikely hypothetical, not a base-case forecast or confirmed adoption plan. SUI was consolidating around $0.92–$0.95, with support near $0.90–$0.92 and $0.85–$0.88, and resistance around $1.00–$1.10. A sustained move above $1.30–$1.50 would signal stronger intermediate momentum, according to the article. A broader crypto bull market, easier central-bank policy, institutional inflows and growth in RWA tokenization could support SUI, but the proposed price targets would require exceptional adoption and favorable market conditions.

Bitcoin recovered to about $81,000 on October 28, but market-cycle analyst Bob Loukas warned that the BTC rebound could stall unless buying momentum strengthens. He has flagged $79,600 as a level that would make him more cautious; Bitcoin briefly dipped below it before recovering. Analyst forecasts diverge. Coinbase sees $80,000–$82,000 as a key support zone and says a sustained break could raise the risk of a retest at $73,000–$75,000. Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts, meanwhile, said a break above $85,000–$86,000 could open a path toward $100,000. Coinbase also highlighted potential selling pressure from roughly 2.1 million BTC last moved at $87,500–$91,700. Coinbase reported that Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $6.4 billion since August, while corporate treasury purchases totalled $1.5 billion. Traders are watching whether BTC can reclaim $82,000 and then clear resistance, or instead lose support near $79,600. The Federal Reserve’s October 28 decision adds uncertainty for risk assets.

Hong Kong Fintech Week 2026 will take place from 2 to 6 November under the theme “Fintech Hub: Connecting the World, Building the Future”. The event will be held jointly with StartmeupHK Festival, with its main forum scheduled for 2–3 November at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The announcement followed the sixth meeting of Hong Kong’s Fintech Taskforce, chaired by Financial Secretary Christopher Hui. Officials discussed proposed rules for virtual-asset trading, custody, advisory and management services. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also briefed the group on Project Ensemble and quantum readiness in the banking sector. Hong Kong Fintech Week will bring these financial technology and regulatory developments into focus.

GMO Group refused to pay a cryptocurrency ransom after unauthorized access to its cloud desktop service potentially affected 26,739 servers. The attackers initially demanded $50 million in BTC and ETH, later reducing the amount to $1 million. They also threatened abnormal transactions in affected accounts and the release of user data. GMO Group representative Masatoshi Kumagai said the company would not compromise. GMO Coin, the group’s crypto exchange, reported no unusual activity in customer accounts. The attackers published some data and threatened daily updates, but the website hosting the leaked information was shut down on October 28. The GMO Group cyberattack has not, according to the report, resulted in abnormal activity at its exchange.

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded to about $81,400 after briefly falling below $80,000, while Ether (ETH) also rose as markets awaited the Federal Reserve’s rate decision. CME FedWatch showed a roughly 92% chance that rates would remain unchanged. Traders are watching Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for clues about the possibility of future rate hikes. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $176 million in net inflows on Tuesday, marking a second consecutive day of inflows. Crypto futures trading volume rose 7.5% to $163.2 billion over 24 hours, while open interest increased just 1.3%. Liquidations climbed 38% to $183.6 million. BTC gained 2.3% even as its open interest edged down 0.1%, suggesting the rebound was not driven by a major build-up in leverage. ETH rose 2.7%, with open interest up 1.7%. ZEC open interest jumped 14%, outpacing its 6.3% price gain. Deribit data showed the one-week BTC put-call skew fell from nearly 10% a week earlier to below 1%, indicating weaker demand for near-term downside protection. However, one-, three- and six-month options remained tilted toward puts. The signals are mixed as traders weigh ETF inflows, derivatives positioning and the Fed outlook.

SkyAI has raised its proposed cash tender offer to about $214.3 million after reaching a settlement with major shareholder Bastion Trading. The revised offer includes all eligible pre-funded warrants and adds cash stapled warrants, while the common-share tender price remains $3.00. The deadline is now November 12. Bastion agreed to tender its SkyAI securities and observe a three-year standstill, ending a dispute over the offer price. SkyAI said it sold roughly 2 million SOL at an average net price of $107.20 per token and now holds about $223 million in cash. The company does not plan to buy Solana again after the tender closes. SkyAI shares closed at $2.91 on October 27, below the $3.00 tender price. The expanded SkyAI tender offer is a corporate transaction rather than a direct change to Solana’s network or token fundamentals, though the completed treasury sale removes a company-held source of SOL demand.

Ripple and Robinhood have announced a strategic partnership covering RLUSD, treasury management and institutional financing. The deal goes beyond a potential retail token listing: Robinhood plans to use RLUSD on the XRP Ledger for institutional settlement, while integrating Ripple Treasury for cash positioning, forecasting, payments, liquidity management and intercompany netting. RLUSD is available on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp by Robinhood, but its launch in the main Robinhood app is expected later in 2026. Ripple Prime already provides Bitstamp with financing across about 20 digital assets, with perpetual-futures support planned later this year. The partnership could connect stablecoin settlement, corporate treasury tools and institutional trading services. However, the announcement does not confirm increased XRP demand, specific revenue or broad customer access. Traders should watch for the app rollout, implementation details and evidence of actual transaction volume before treating the deal as a sign of adoption or a price catalyst.

Bitcoin came under renewed pressure, briefly falling to about $79,280 before recovering above $80,000. The move followed an earlier drop to around $81,000 and rebound to $83,635. In the later sell-off, crypto markets recorded $436.44 million in liquidations over four hours, including $404.15 million in long positions. More than 90% of liquidations in Bitcoin and Ether were longs. Earlier figures showed $820.84 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with longs accounting for $689.11 million; Bitcoin and Ether led losses, and Binance represented 50.6% of the total. A subsequent short squeeze may have supported the rebound, but liquidations alone do not confirm a market bottom. Bitcoin ETF flows were mixed. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $679 million in outflows from October 5 to 9, followed by another $65.40 million on October 12. Later, they recorded $773 million in combined outflows on Thursday and Friday, while still ending that week with $304.73 million in net inflows. The withdrawals coincided with price weakness but do not prove its cause. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said he had closed Maelstrom’s directional trading book and taken profits on some tokens, citing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. For Bitcoin traders, the immediate test is whether BTC can hold above $80,000. Derivatives open interest, ETF flows, and upcoming U.S. inflation data may help gauge whether selling pressure is easing. Earlier technical levels put support at $80,660, with $74,340 as a lower level to watch, and resistance at $84,000 and $87,145. The sharp Bitcoin long liquidations highlight near-term leverage risk, but do not by themselves establish a lasting trend reversal.

Faroo, Pharos’ native liquid staking protocol, has launched stPROS, a liquid staking token for PROS holders. Users can stake PROS through Binance Web3 Wallet and OKX Web3 Wallet, while stPROS remains transferable and usable in decentralised finance (DeFi). Its exchange-rate model keeps token balances fixed as the amount of redeemable PROS grows with staking rewards. Faroo also offers fast withdrawals when new deposits can cover pending requests. The project was selected as the first initiative in Pharos’ $10 million incubation programme and is built using Bifrost’s SLPx technology. Faroo plans to launch tbPROS, a real-world asset yield product, and Faroo Points by late November 2026. The stPROS launch expands Pharos’ staking and DeFi infrastructure, though its market impact will depend on adoption and demand for PROS.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened consultations on how its forthcoming cryptoasset regime will apply to decentralised finance (DeFi) and which activities may be exempt from authorisation. The regime is scheduled to take effect on October 25, 2027. The proposed DeFi guidance says using smart contracts or decentralised protocols does not automatically put a service outside regulation. Regulated firms may remain responsible for operational resilience and financial crime controls when relying on external blockchains, protocols or infrastructure. The FCA says firms should assess risks including smart contract exploits, network outages and limited counterparty visibility, and may need stronger due diligence, transaction monitoring and blockchain analytics. A separate consultation considers possible authorisation exemptions for some stablecoin payment arrangements, proprietary trading and technical services that only enable access to other services or protocols. Responses to both consultations are due by November 18, with final DeFi guidance expected in January 2027. Existing UK crypto businesses are scheduled to apply for authorisation from September 30, 2026, to February 28, 2027; eligible applicants may continue covered services while applications are assessed, but approval is not guaranteed. For crypto traders, the proposals signal closer scrutiny of UK-facing DeFi businesses and greater clarity on regulatory boundaries. They do not impose a direct market-wide restriction or establish a direct price catalyst for cryptoassets.

An analysis of investment returns from 1971 to 2025 found that a portfolio combining U.S. equities with a 20%–30% gold allocation achieved better risk-adjusted returns without sacrificing overall returns. Treasuries reduced volatility but generally lowered returns, and the study found no consistently optimal bond allocation. In portfolios holding equities, bonds and gold, an allocation of about 20% to gold performed well across a wide range of equity weightings, while bonds could be adjusted to manage risk. The findings are partly influenced by the early 1970s, and the analysis found no reliable way to time either gold or bonds. It suggests periodically rebalancing, or rebalancing when allocations drift substantially from their targets. The historical results do not guarantee future performance and do not directly imply a specific move in cryptocurrency markets.

Bitget, Reality and Keyring have published a report examining an on-chain stock basis strategy that combines tokenized stocks, perpetual futures and decentralized lending. The partners plan to develop a stock basis index using Reality’s rTokens, with Keyring responsible for the index methodology and related lending market. A historical simulation covering 15 December 2025 to 19 October 2026 showed annualized net returns of about 7% in-sample and 4% out-of-sample. The reported gross funding-rate premium was approximately 11%–14%. The report cautions that financing costs, execution fees, liquidity and risk management could significantly affect actual returns. The proposed on-chain stock basis strategy aims to capture funding-rate and basis opportunities by pairing rToken holdings with hedged equity perpetual positions.

Binance Wallet has announced that each user can subscribe for up to 6 BNB in the Predict.fun (PREDICT) Prime Sale Pre-TGE event. The sale is scheduled for October 29, from 16:00 to 18:00 Beijing time, and eligible participants must use Binance Alpha Points to take part. After the Pre-TGE period ends, participants will receive a PREDICT Key on BNB Chain. PREDICT tokens are scheduled to be airdropped to users’ Binance Alpha accounts on the token generation event (TGE) day. The 6 BNB cap sets a clear limit for individual participation in the PREDICT Prime Sale.

The Cook Political Report has shifted its ratings for the Nebraska and Kansas governor races toward Democrats, signaling more competitive contests in traditionally Republican-leaning states. Nebraska moved from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican,” while Kansas shifted from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up.” In Nebraska, Republican incumbent Jim Pillen is running against Democrat Lynne Walz. A prediction market put the probability of a Democratic win at 16%, down from 19% a day earlier. The Kansas race has no clear front-runner, according to the new rating. Further polling, campaign events and voter turnout could affect both races and related market odds.

Stellar says its new fee-free network processed 7.02 million payments per second in an internal benchmark. The test used eight machines operating as a single validator, rather than multiple independent validators, and has not been published for independent review. The Stellar Foundation has not decided how the network will connect to the existing blockchain. Stellar’s mainnet, by comparison, processed about 14.16 million transactions on October 23, 2026—an average of roughly 164 transactions per second. Its existing fees were around $0.00012 during recent peak usage. The network has also seen quarterly stablecoin transfers reach $25.1 billion, while tokenized real-world assets were valued at a reported $3.4 billion to $4.1 billion. For XLM traders and Stellar developers, the benchmark signals potential capacity for high-volume payments, but its market significance remains uncertain. Verification across independent validators, a public benchmark and details on how a fee-free system would manage spam and network costs are key outstanding questions. The eventual relationship between the new network and Stellar’s mainnet will determine whether the benefits accrue to the existing ecosystem.

Bitcoin was down 3.3% by October 28, trading near $81,350 and heading for a second consecutive October loss. That contrasts with the average 18% October gain recorded from 2020 to 2024. The article says Bitcoin fell 3.8% in October 2025, breaking that positive run. Demand indicators have weakened alongside the price. CryptoQuant’s 30-day apparent demand measure was -76,000 BTC on October 25 and had remained negative since October 14. The Coinbase Premium was also negative throughout October, averaging -0.093 and reaching -0.146 on October 24, indicating weaker buying pressure on Coinbase than on Binance. Short-term traders’ paper profits fell from about 33% in September to 8%. CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index declined from 90 in late September and early October to 60 from October 19, although six of its ten components remained positive. The firm described conditions as “bullish, cooling”; a reading of 50 or below would signal a more pronounced loss of momentum. Traders are watching support near Bitcoin’s 365-day moving average at $77,585, the short-term trader cost basis at $74,041, and the 200-day moving average at $73,028. A sustained fall below these levels could put more recent buyers in a loss-making position.