Crypto News

Datavault AI said it has been unable to withdraw Bitcoin from the Biconomy exchange since requesting a transfer in June, prompting accounting revisions and renewed concern over the company’s liquidity. In an October 26 SEC filing, the Nasdaq-listed firm said four previously filed financial reports should no longer be relied upon because Bitcoin received through a $150 million Scilex equity deal did not qualify as an asset Datavault owned. The company plans to restate the reports, reduce reported assets by $8.1 million to $92.2 million across affected dates, and reverse previously recorded crypto gains and losses. Datavault said it received 1,309.04 BTC after 19.39 BTC was deducted for prior cash advances. It later returned 491.431 BTC to Scilex for about $40.5 million, while the remaining Bitcoin stayed in a Biconomy off-chain account. A proposed $50 million Scilex purchase of the remaining 837 BTC is subject to a definitive agreement. Datavault said collecting outstanding payments from Scilex and accessing the Bitcoin are uncertain, and management is reassessing whether the company can continue as a going concern. It has not provided a timetable for filing the restated statements and warned of possible further reporting delays. Datavault AI shares fell about 50% around the disclosure, closing at $0.067 on October 28 after reaching an intraday low of $0.060. The episode highlights company-specific custody, accounting and liquidity risks for Bitcoin treasury firms; it does not, on its own, signal a broader change in Bitcoin market conditions.

Switzerland’s financial regulator FINMA approved the country’s first Swiss-law retail Bitcoin ETF on 20 October 2026. The fund invests directly in BTC and is structured under Swiss collective investment fund rules, rather than as a debt security. FINMA classified it as an alternative investment product with specific risks and allowed an exemption from standard diversification requirements, citing Bitcoin’s trading history and liquidity. The approval extends regulated crypto access beyond Switzerland’s 2021 crypto-basket fund for qualified investors. Supervised institutions must manage custody and operational risks under FINMA guidance issued in January 2026. The Bitcoin ETF could make it easier for retail investors, advisers and wealth managers to add BTC exposure through familiar investment channels, without handling wallets or private keys. However, Bitcoin remains highly volatile, and the approval does not guarantee investor protection, liquidity, fund inflows or a price rise. Launch terms, fees and custody arrangements have not been specified, leaving traders to watch for implementation details and signs of actual demand.

Bitwise Asset Management’s long-term Bitcoin forecast sets a base-case target of $1.6 million by 2036, implying annualised returns of about 34.3%. The model assumes Bitcoin captures 25% of a projected $109.8 trillion gold-and-Bitcoin store-of-value market. Bitwise also points to institutional demand, including potential portfolio allocations of 1% to 5%, and expects growing institutional participation to weaken Bitcoin’s traditional four-year cycle. Its scenarios range from $130,686 in a bear case to $3.67 million in a bull case. The firm cautions that regulation, quantum computing and AI advances pose risks, and that major drawdowns remain possible. The long-term Bitcoin outlook contrasts with a weak near-term technical picture. Bitcoin recently traded near $81,360, around its 50-day moving average, during its weakest October in six years. RSI stood at 45 and MACD was below its signal line. Traders are watching the 200-day moving average near $76,000; a daily close below it could put $65,000 in view, while a break above resistance at $85,000 and then $87,000 would support a recovery case. No bottom is confirmed, with a Federal Reserve decision approaching. Market positioning offers some counterpoints: Bitcoin held above its 50-week moving average for several weeks, open interest partly recovered, and positive funding rates suggested complacency. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $300 million in net inflows after two weeks of outflows. Ethereum continued to lag Bitcoin, with spot Ethereum ETFs posting a fourth consecutive week of net outflows. Bitwise’s Bitcoin forecast is a long-term model, not a near-term trading signal; volatility and macroeconomic risks remain important.

SK Hynix reported record third-quarter revenue of 104.6 trillion won, up 328% year on year, and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, up 632%. Its 80% operating margin exceeded expectations, although net income fell 58% from the previous quarter to 39.8 trillion won, partly due to currency and investment valuation losses. The chipmaker says DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity is effectively sold out through 2029, with demand for HBM more than twice current supply. Long-term agreements with 14 major customers cover over half of planned production in 2027 and 2028. SK Hynix expects AI infrastructure demand to offset weaker PC and smartphone sales, and forecasts supply shortages could persist into 2030. The results helped lift South Korea’s KOSPI by 6.6%, with SK Hynix shares up 11% and Samsung Electronics up 9%. SK Hynix also announced 34 trillion won in third-quarter dividends and share buybacks, and expects shareholder returns of about 100 trillion won this year. Bitcoin briefly rose to around $81,700 as risk appetite improved, but its gain was modest compared with semiconductor stocks. For crypto traders, SK Hynix’s results reinforce the strength of AI infrastructure investment, while competition for memory, advanced packaging and electricity could raise costs for miners. The news is only a limited risk-on signal and does not directly indicate a change in crypto demand or market liquidity.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% to 4% in a 10-2 vote. Governors Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented, favoring a 0.25 percentage-point increase. The Fed described economic activity as strong and said it would assess incoming data. Markets are watching for the possibility of a December rate hike, with inflation, oil prices and Treasury yields among the factors shaping expectations. Bitcoin briefly climbed to about $81,700 after the decision, then fell below $80,500 before recovering towards $81,000. The move was limited overall, as traders had largely expected rates to remain unchanged. Bitcoin is still below the $81,000-$82,500 resistance range, while $80,000 is a key near-term support level. A break below it could add to selling pressure. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $110 million on October 26 and $176 million on October 27, though some large holders reportedly sold into strength. Higher Treasury yields can make non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin less attractive, and leveraged trading may amplify price swings around economic data. Traders are also tracking US jobs and inflation reports ahead of the Fed’s December 8-9 meeting. Separately, the crypto industry reportedly spent about $176 million across more than 100 US midterm races, with Fairshake leading the effort; the election is scheduled for November 3.

An Ipsos survey found that 22% of U.S. adults have ever owned or used cryptocurrency, up from 18% in 2025. However, active crypto use in the past year remained at 13%, while the share likely to use it in the future edged up only slightly, from 16% to 17%. The growth in past ownership largely reflects people who have since stopped using crypto, indicating that broader exposure has not yet led to sustained adoption. Trust and familiarity remain obstacles to crypto adoption. Only 4% said they highly trust crypto exchanges, and just 5% expressed high trust in decentralized platforms, compared with 42% for large banks and 48% for credit unions. Only 9% felt highly familiar with crypto, and 2% were very familiar with decentralized finance (DeFi). Still, 40% said they might try DeFi, including for saving, earning interest or sending money. The survey also found that 63% believe the financial system needs an upgrade to address risks such as cybercrime and AI, and 74% value financial privacy. Yet support for candidates promoting financial innovation fell from 35% when described broadly to 13% when crypto, blockchain and DeFi were specified. For traders, the findings suggest potential for future user growth, but weak retention and low confidence in crypto platforms remain headwinds. Active-use rates, future-user intent and trust are key indicators to monitor.

Solidus Labs reported that two accounts placed and quickly canceled more than $170 million in oil-linked perpetual futures orders on Hyperliquid between March 8 and 10, during volatile energy trading. The activity was concentrated in Brent crude, with additional orders in WTI crude and natural gas. The accounts reportedly placed large orders on one side of the book while trading on the other. Solidus estimated about $119,000 in profit and said canceled order value was roughly 30 times the value of opposite-side executions. One example involved about $17 million in canceled sell orders and $425,000 in completed buys. The accounts had recorded $93 billion in lifetime notional volume on Hyperliquid. Solidus said the pattern was consistent with spoofing, but the trader’s identity and intent have not been established, and the report does not determine that a regulatory violation occurred. Hyperliquid says orders, cancellations and trades are recorded on a public blockchain; Trade.xyz says it uses order limits, external price feeds and market monitoring. The allegations add to calls by traditional exchanges, including CME Group and ICE, for greater US regulatory scrutiny. For traders, the case raises questions about order-book liquidity and execution quality in round-the-clock energy perpetuals, particularly when traditional markets are closed. It may also increase attention on Hyperliquid’s market surveillance and regulatory risks.

Bithumb is investigating a possible customer data leak after hackers accessed its internal mobile groupware system. The exchange discovered the breach on Tuesday and notified South Korea’s internet security and personal information authorities. It is checking whether member data was exposed; an industry source told Yonhap that some customer information may have leaked. Bithumb said the affected system is separate from its trading platform, so the incident does not provide access to customer crypto assets. The investigation comes amid a wider wave of cyberattacks against South Korean financial firms: the Financial Supervisory Service said 16 firms had been targeted as of Oct. 14. Daishin Securities reported leaked personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers, while Mirae Asset Global Investments said it blocked abnormal access and found no impact on investor information. For crypto traders, the immediate concern is potential phishing and other account-targeted scams, alongside reputational and regulatory risks for Bithumb—not a confirmed threat to exchange funds or a direct signal for crypto prices.

Trust Wallet 4.8.7 adds stricter security checks for encrypted keystores and support for viewing Sui address balances under SIP-58. The update requires scrypt key derivation to use a 32-byte derived key and validates scrypt parameters when keystores are parsed and encrypted. The earlier 4.8.6 summary described the same core changes; the later release notes identify the update as version 4.8.7 and credit Sergei Boiko for the keystore changes and newcomer tw-a-viter for the Sui feature. This Trust Wallet software update improves wallet security and SUI balance visibility, but does not announce changes to trading functionality or token economics.

XRP Ledger developers are reviewing SponsoredAccountCreate, a proposal that would let apps open wallets with no initial XRP balance while a sponsor covers the required 1 XRP reserve. The reserve would remain locked, but users would not need to pre-fund accounts and sponsors would not control wallet keys. Creating 100,000 accounts currently ties up 100,000 XRP in reserves, so sponsored accounts could lower onboarding costs for payment apps, RLUSD distribution and AI agents. The proposal depends on the broader SponsorV1_1 amendment, which had about 10–11 of the 35 validator votes needed to reach the 29-vote activation threshold as of October 19. A wider fee-sponsorship mechanism could also let applications cover users’ transaction fees. Ripple’s partnership with wallet provider Privy points to growing demand for embedded programmable wallets, but the feature is not live on mainnet and still faces a significant approval hurdle.

PEPE rose about 17% in 24 hours to around $0.000005, lifting its market capitalisation above $2 billion and outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP. An earlier report put the gain above 14% and estimated that addresses linked to TRON founder Justin Sun had received about $48.76 million in PEPE since 17 October, at an average price near $0.000004115. It estimated unrealised profits of $9.62 million and a position equal to roughly 2.86% of PEPE’s total supply. The later report, citing Arkham Intelligence, identified 11.85 trillion PEPE tokens worth more than $51.2 million, or about 2.82% of circulating supply. Most reportedly came from two Poloniex withdrawals. Because Poloniex is linked to Sun, the transfers may have been internal movements rather than fresh purchases; on-chain data also cannot confirm personal ownership. Sun has not commented, and the reported gains do not show that the tokens have been sold. Analysts offered mixed technical outlooks. Altcoin Sherpa said PEPE could move towards $0.00007 if it breaks higher while Bitcoin remains stable. Crypto With Gopal flagged resistance near $0.0000051 and said a confirmed breakout could open a path to $0.0000085–$0.0000090; without a breakout, PEPE may remain range-bound. Sweep also saw scope for the rally to continue. Separately, a social media account claimed that a wallet which bought 2.5 trillion PEPE for $27 in April 2023 was blacklisted by the token’s developers eight minutes later, preventing it from selling. The claim is unverified. For traders, PEPE’s momentum and whale-related attention are potential supports, but resistance, uncertain transfer ownership and concentrated holdings are important risks.

Solflare has suspended staking rewards after a security incident involving keys held by its third-party staking provider disrupted its Solana validator. About 1.56 million SOL is delegated to the validator, which was marked delinquent and recorded no vote credits in epoch 1070. Solflare says users’ funds remain safe: delegated SOL stays in users’ accounts and is controlled by their keys, with no reported losses or unauthorised transfers. The company plans to move staking to a replacement validator and provide an in-app migration guide. Rewards will resume only after delegations become active on the new validator. Solflare is developing compensation for users who migrate, but has not announced terms or a migration date. The incident affects SOL staking yields, not reported ownership or custody of the tokens.

Google Cloud is testing a preview-stage multi-party computation (MPC) custody service for institutions, adding a new option for securing Bitcoin and other digital assets. MPC distributes transaction-signing authority across separate environments, so no single participant holds the complete private key. Institutions can also set transaction limits, restrict destinations and require multiple approvals. Google says it is already using the technology to secure unspecified assets on Ethereum and Solana, while its latest documentation highlights Bitcoin support and rules for checking transaction amounts, destination address types and change outputs. The service is provided as is, with potentially limited support; Google has not confirmed a full launch date or pricing. Earlier plans targeted commercial availability in early 2027, but the preview documentation does not establish whether that timeline has changed. Google has not named its financial-institution testers. The update came ahead of its 28 October 2026 MPC Symposium in New York, where speakers are expected from Morgan Stanley, Citi, Wells Fargo and OKX. The service would place Google Cloud in competition with institutional custody providers such as Fireblocks, Fordefi and BitGo. MPC can reduce reliance on a single private key, but it does not eliminate risks from compromised key shares, administrator access or recovery procedures. For Bitcoin traders, the development may support confidence in institutional custody over the longer term, but the preview-stage rollout and lack of confirmed adoption make any near-term price effect uncertain.

Coinbase has set October 30, 2026, as the deadline for EEA retail customers to withdraw stablecoins affected by its MiCA-related restrictions. The policy applies to customers of Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. and follows the end of the EU stablecoin issuer transition period on July 1, 2026. Coinbase previously restricted six stablecoins in 2024; its current affected list has expanded to 14. Trading and conversions for the affected stablecoins are restricted on Coinbase, but supported withdrawals remain available before the deadline. Named assets include USDT, PYUSD, USD1, USDS, DAI, PAX and GUSD. After October 30, Coinbase says it will convert remaining balances at prevailing market rates into USDC where suitable, or another supported crypto asset or currency. Proceeds may differ from the tokens’ face value. Deposits made after the deadline may not be credited or recoverable. The restrictions apply to EEA retail accounts, not all Coinbase users worldwide, and do not change the tokens’ underlying contracts. Traders should check Coinbase’s official notice and consider withdrawal, conversion and liquidity risks. The Coinbase MiCA policy could affect access to the named stablecoins on the exchange, but the announcement alone does not establish a wider market or price impact.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Treasury will work more closely with the SEC and CFTC on crypto regulation after the CLARITY Act failed to advance in a 49–50 Senate procedural vote on September 15. The agencies may coordinate under their existing powers, but their actions cannot replace legislation. The division of digital-asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC therefore remains unresolved, leaving crypto businesses facing uncertainty. Bessent also described dollar-pegged stablecoins as potential sources of demand for US Treasuries; more than 90% of stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, and some issuers hold Treasuries as reserves. Ripple cited institutional developments at its Swell event, including expanded relationships with Robinhood and BNY and final approval for a national trust bank charter. For traders, closer agency coordination signals ongoing regulatory engagement, but no immediate change to market rules. Watch for details of agency action and renewed congressional efforts, which could shift expectations for US crypto regulation.

Ripple and C2FO plan to use the XRP Ledger and RLUSD to settle accelerated payments for approved supplier invoices through C2FO Instant Pay. Participating capital providers would fund early payments, with RLUSD transfers settling on the XRP Ledger, typically within three to five seconds. Invoice terms will remain unchanged. C2FO is inviting firms to join a waitlist ahead of a limited rollout in the coming months; transaction volumes, fees and broad availability have not been disclosed. C2FO says its existing Early Pay programmes have enabled more than $520 billion in accelerated working capital. That figure is not Instant Pay usage or evidence of payments already made on the XRP Ledger. Ripple says RLUSD has a market capitalisation above $2.5 billion, with more than $1 billion issued on the XRP Ledger. The partnership could support institutional use of RLUSD and blockchain-based invoice financing, but there is not yet evidence of significant adoption or a direct increase in XRP demand.

Anthropic has reportedly filed to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, potentially becoming the first major US company focused mainly on advanced AI models to go public. The Anthropic IPO follows a sharp rise in Claude revenue: the company reported $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026, up 14-fold year over year, alongside a substantial net loss. Its last private valuation was reported at about $965 billion, while later estimates put its potential public valuation at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. The listing could test investor demand for frontier AI companies and the economics of developing advanced models. For crypto traders, the Anthropic IPO has no direct cryptocurrency catalyst, though its reception could offer a broader signal about risk appetite for high-growth technology stocks.

The Initia exploit stemmed from a MoveVM script-caching flaw that let an attacker bypass security checks and fabricate balances in WETH, iUSD and USDC, without changing the total supply of those tokens or INIT. Before Initia paused its Layer 1 network and rollups on October 23, about $2.7 million in assets—including 105 WETH, roughly 1.4 million AUSD0 and about 1.08 million USDC—was transferred across bridges. The attacker later swapped the assets for 1,135.52 ETH, which Initia says is held at an Ethereum address. Initia has prepared a security patch for partner review and audit, and is working to recover the funds. The team plans to publish a post-mortem; the network is to resume after the fix is reviewed. The Initia exploit may weigh on confidence in the ecosystem until operations restart, although the reported lack of impact on INIT supply limits direct token-supply concerns.

A DBS-commissioned EY survey found that 88% of 422 large-company finance leaders across 11 markets said their firms are using or testing tokenized money. All represented companies generate more than $500 million in annual revenue. Adoption ranges from scaled deployments (24%) and limited live use (43%) to pilots or proofs of concept (21%). Stablecoins are the most widely used or planned instrument (63%), ahead of tokenized deposits (53%) and tokenized money market funds (52%). Some 71% of respondents said real-time cross-border payments have improved or are expected to improve within two years, while respondents also see potential benefits for treasury liquidity management. A reported DBS-Citi weekend dollar transfer settled in minutes, illustrating the use case. Regulatory uncertainty, security concerns and integration challenges remain barriers, and 64% want banks to offer a single access point to tokenized money services. The findings point to growing corporate interest in tokenized money, but do not identify a direct price catalyst for any specific cryptocurrency.

Crypto-linked political groups spent about $176 million across more than 100 U.S. midterm races through October 20, according to Reuters. Fairshake and its affiliates accounted for roughly $150.8 million; Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz were among the major backers. Fairshake says 53 of the 58 candidates it supported in primaries or special elections won, including a slate with 32 House incumbents who had backed the CLARITY Act. The spending is intended to build political support for digital assets, but does not guarantee votes for specific legislation. The CLARITY Act, which would define digital-asset market rules and divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC, stalled after a September 15 procedural vote failed 49–50, short of the usual 60-vote threshold. The 2025 GENIUS Act has already established a federal stablecoin framework. Reuters’ spending estimate spans multiple races and committees, and transfers between Fairshake and affiliates may be counted more than once. Public support for crypto also appears limited: an Ipsos survey found 22% had owned or used crypto, while 13% said crypto-related issues mattered when choosing a candidate. Traders will be watching the November 3 election results and subsequent Senate negotiations. Crypto PAC spending could improve the industry’s access to policymakers, but it offers no clear near-term price signal; regulation remains uncertain.

Binance has set the claim rules for eligible PREDICT airdrop recipients holding Predict Points (PP). Users must submit a one-time, non-editable choice by November 26 at 17:00 UTC+8; those who miss the deadline will default to Option B. Option A gives users 35% of their allocation, while the remaining 65% is forfeited. Users who choose Option B must stake for one year to receive their full allocation. Option A applicants who submit by October 29 at 17:00 UTC+8 are scheduled to receive tokens on listing day; later applications will be distributed in weekly batches on November 6, 13, 20 or 27. PP earned through Binance Prediction will be credited to Binance Alpha accounts, while points held through Binance Wallet will be paid to those wallets. Final eligibility and distribution remain subject to verification by the PREDICT project. The PREDICT airdrop’s staggered claims and staking terms could shape initial circulating supply and trading activity.

Anchorage Digital Bank has expanded its partnership with Bitso to custody MXNB, Bitso’s Mexican peso stablecoin, across Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche and Arc. The six-chain expansion broadens MXNB’s onchain reach and could support its use in the US-Mexico remittance corridor, which handles tens of billions of dollars annually. Bitso says about 15% of transfers along the corridor already use its infrastructure. Bitso has also listed USDPT, a US dollar stablecoin from Western Union, and Tether’s USAT; both are issued and custodied by Anchorage Digital Bank, according to the supplied reports. Mexican users can buy and sell USDPT with pesos through the Bitso app, while eligible Western Union agents can exchange it for supported assets. The partnership strengthens regulated stablecoin payment and custody infrastructure, as competition grows in Latin America. It does not, by itself, signal an immediate price catalyst for the associated crypto assets.

Sony-backed Ethereum Layer 2 network Soneium plans to issue a native SONEIUM token and expand into tokenized entertainment intellectual property (IP) and financing. No launch date, tokenomics, supply, distribution or detailed value-accrual model has been announced, and Soneium says no token has been issued yet. Soneium is developing products including IP Tokens, a royalty-focused IP Vault and IP Bonds backed by entertainment businesses. Its first Tokenized IP project will feature Moriusa, a character owned by Tokyo-based Super State Holdings. The network is also working with South Korea’s DayOneDream on bringing K-pop concert royalties onchain. A planned Soneium Portal will help users discover and finance projects. Its Onchain IP Architecture is intended to record ownership and relationships between creative works and use smart contracts to manage licensing payments and revenue distributions. Soneium also plans an IP Vault giving eligible users access to a royalty fund managed by Partners Group. The fund is reported to hold $549 million in assets, including royalties from The Weeknd’s music and Discovery content, with a projected annual yield of 7% to 9%; these figures and access terms should be verified by investors. The latest update adds signs of weaker network activity: DeFi total value locked reportedly fell from about $203 million in May 2025 to roughly $9.4 million by 26 October 2026, while daily activity stood at around 160,000 transactions and 4,000 active addresses. Soneium says it supports more than 250 applications. For traders, the planned SONEIUM token is a potential future catalyst, not an active market event. The entertainment-finance strategy could create new use cases, but adoption, rights, investment risks and exit options remain uncertain; longer-term prospects depend on real usage and successful partnerships.

An on-chain investigation alleges that a network of 43 wallets has launched more than 6,855 meme coins on Pump.fun since January 2026, using coordinated same-block buys and rapid sell-offs. The alleged network comprises 32 token-issuing wallets, eight intermediaries and three bundling wallets, with proceeds routed through two treasuries to a final collection wallet. Among 160 launches reviewed, the investigator identified 461 bundled buys, all in the launch block; 90% followed the creation transaction within the next three transaction positions. In 88% of 693 launches linked to one active developer wallet, tokens were fully sold within five seconds, with a three-second median sell time. The investigation also traced SOL transfers from 36 wallets and a $71,874 USDC transfer to a dormant wallet. The final collection wallet has reportedly received about $1.03 million in USDC and has never initiated a transaction. The findings suggest an automated trading operation that could expose buyers of newly launched Pump.fun tokens to fast dumps. The network is said to remain active, but its controllers have not been identified. The claims are based on the investigator’s on-chain analysis and have not been independently verified.

Hyperliquid is advancing its US expansion through a proposed partnership with Payward, Kraken’s parent company. Payward plans to become the first operator to deploy a CFTC-regulated perpetual futures market using Hyperliquid’s HIP-3* framework. Hyperliquid would provide its blockchain and on-chain order book, while licensed entities handle market operations, clearing and customer accounts. Payward subsidiary Bitnomial is expected to manage trading, clearing and settlement, with NinjaTrader Clearing overseeing customer accounts. US users would need an eligible futures account to trade; the arrangement would not open all of Hyperliquid to US customers. The optional HIP-3* feature for on-chain access lists is still being tested and requires a future network upgrade for full support. The proposed service also needs CFTC approval, and its launch date and contract list have not been announced. Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets require HYPE staking, which could support token demand if institutional use grows. DeFiLlama data put Hyperliquid’s perpetuals volume at about $204.7 billion and open interest at $7.55 billion in the 30 days to 27 October. The partnership has lifted expectations for Hyperliquid’s US growth, and HYPE rose above $80. However, Payward has not disclosed trading targets or specific staking plans. Any lasting effect on HYPE will depend on regulatory approval, market selection, liquidity, trading costs and user experience; the deal is not yet evidence of higher revenue or a sustained price recovery.

Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe has proposed ending the automatic allocation of 8% of the block subsidy to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) and directing future funds to the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The draft has no activation date, would require a network upgrade and would not reclaim ZEC already held by ZCG. Miners’ 80% share and the separate 12% coinholder-controlled allocation would remain unchanged. The proposal does not reduce the overall block subsidy or alter Zcash’s 21 million ZEC supply cap. The 8% stream amounts to about 144 ZEC a day, or 52,560 a year. Bowe says ZCG holds 91,452.98 ZEC and about $8.8 million in cash, with roughly $2.4 million in outstanding grant commitments. Depending on ZEC’s price, he estimates the assets at about $52.1 million to $125.3 million; at an illustrative $1,300 per ZEC, the value after liabilities is about $125.3 million. ZCG’s reported first-quarter 2026 expenses were $1.53 million. One proposal would also move ZCG’s existing treasury to the NSM, while Bowe’s draft addresses future allocations; under the described mechanism, redirected funds would be held outside circulation for potential future block rewards, with distributions expected to begin in 2031. The plan has drawn differing views. ZODL founder Josh Swihart wants both funding streams redirected, while cryptographer Ian Miers supports limits on grants but warns the NSM could become another development fund or indirectly benefit miners. Bowe argues the NSM already exists and newly issued ZEC must be allocated somewhere. For ZEC traders, this is a governance and ecosystem-funding debate rather than an immediate supply cut or confirmed price catalyst. It is separate from the upcoming NU7 upgrade, and market impact will depend on governance outcomes and broader ZEC market conditions.

AI financing is expanding private credit beyond traditional corporate lending, as lenders fund data centres, land, power, chips and computing hardware. The five largest US hyperscalers and AI cloud firms such as CoreWeave could spend nearly $1 trillion on infrastructure by 2027, using operating cash flow, debt and structures such as joint ventures and special-purpose vehicles. Moody’s warns that loans maturing in 2027–2029 could be harder to refinance if interest rates remain high or financing conditions tighten. About 17% of the 607 borrowers it tracks use payment-in-kind interest, which defers cash payments and adds unpaid interest to principal. It also flags circular financing among technology firms, chipmakers and AI developers. OpenAI and CoreWeave have drawn market attention, but the summaries provide no specific Moody’s assessment of their financial health. For crypto traders, the report is not a direct signal about any token and does not forecast a crypto-market crash. However, refinancing stress in private credit could weaken risk appetite and reduce marginal flows into speculative crypto assets. The scale of AI financing and borrowers’ ability to refinance are key trends to monitor.

Bitcoin traded near $80,500 on Tuesday, up about 0.3% in 24 hours after recently testing the $80,000 support level. It moved between roughly $79,400 and $80,800, but remains about 30% below its October 2025 record near $126,000. Earlier pressure included a roughly 2% decline, around $635 million in spot Bitcoin ETF outflows on October 22, and about $800 million in long liquidations after a brief drop below $80,000. Traders are watching the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting and Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments for clues about a possible December rate increase. Higher rates could reduce liquidity and weigh on Bitcoin, while a hold or more dovish signals may help the price recover toward $88,000. Geopolitical tensions, rising oil prices and inflation concerns add to the risk-off backdrop, although US stocks rose ahead of major technology earnings and the Fed decision. Political developments are another source of uncertainty. The CLARITY Act, a proposed crypto market-structure bill, has stalled over ethics rules and stablecoin yields. TD Cowen analysts say the November 3 US midterm election results could delay the legislation for as long as two years; a Democratic-controlled Congress is seen as a potential headwind for crypto policy. Bitcoin’s near-term direction therefore hinges on Fed signals, ETF flows and political developments.

USDC has overtaken USDT in euro-denominated stablecoin trading, reaching a 56% share, up from 10% in January 2024, according to Kaiko. Its euro order-book depth is now about 40% greater than USDT’s, giving traders more liquidity when converting between euros and dollar-pegged stablecoins. The shift accelerated after some European Economic Area exchanges restricted USDT trading under the EU’s MiCA rules. The European Banking Authority has also designated USDC a significant e-money token, placing it under direct supervision. USDT remains larger by global circulation, at about 2.5 times USDC’s supply. In the US, the GENIUS Act may encourage platforms to favor approved stablecoins, with restrictions on non-approved stablecoins due from July 2028. Tether has launched USAT for the US market. For traders, the developments underline how regulation and exchange access can shape stablecoin liquidity and market share, even as USDC and USDT remain designed to hold a one-dollar peg.