Crypto News

EtherFi’s ETHFI buyback program is spending less than initially indicated, while many of the tokens it buys are distributed back to users and later sold. Since the week of 7 September, EtherFi Labs has sent $1.48 million to its Foundation for buybacks. By 18 October, the Foundation had purchased 1.81 million ETHFI at an average price of $0.692. The current pace of $225,000 a week equates to about $975,000 a month—roughly 27% below the initial monthly guidance of $1.33 million. The buybacks have not increased alongside EtherFi Cash spending, which rose from $27.6 million to $31 million a week over eight weeks. In addition, nearly all purchased ETHFI has reportedly gone to cash-back distributions. Over six weeks, the distribution contract paid out 1.83 million ETHFI, close to the amount bought back; recipients moved about 70% of those tokens out of Cash accounts. Weekly outflows exceeded buybacks by 7% in the week of 12 October. Unlike buy-and-burn programs or buybacks that remove tokens from circulation, EtherFi’s approach mainly rewards users and supports customer growth. A further potential revenue source for buybacks is tied to Cash loans on EtherFi’s Aave V4 instance reaching $50 million. Loans currently stand at $42.1 million, while borrowing revenue remains about $31,000 a week. Traders will be watching whether buyback spending rises, how the program is funded, and whether loan growth adds meaningful support for ETHFI.

Michael Saylor did not publish Strategy’s usual Bitcoin Tracker update over the weekend, potentially signaling that the company paused Bitcoin purchases last week. Strategy typically discloses a Bitcoin acquisition the day after the related Tracker information is posted. The absence of an update is not confirmation that buying stopped, and no purchase figures were provided.

California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has urged the SEC to revise its proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets,” warning it could weaken investor protection and limit state oversight of token offerings. DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni said California opposes reducing state-level regulatory authority. The proposal would allow eligible issuers to raise up to $5 million over four years under a startup exemption, or up to $75 million in 12 months under a separate crypto fundraising exemption. Issuers would face disclosure requirements, and some would also need to provide financial statements and ongoing reports. Federal law would still let states pursue securities fraud and illegal broker or dealer activity. Ripple, Coinbase and Nasdaq support changes to the proposal. DFPI said its scam-tracking list has added nearly 200 crypto-related scams, up 30% from the previous year. The dispute could shape future US crypto regulation, but does not itself change the rules or directly affect trading.

The gold price fell 0.4% to $3,984.66 an ounce, while silver declined 0.18% to $53.84. The gold price move came alongside mixed performance across other markets: WTI crude fell 0.54% to $102.58 a barrel, and Brent crude dropped 0.29% to $115.31. European markets were mostly lower, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.03%. The US dollar rose slightly against the offshore yuan and the yen. The figures were reported by Gate, which offers trading in traditional financial products alongside crypto assets.

Bitcoin briefly fell below the key $80,000 level early on October 26, touching lows of about $79,700–$79,800 before quickly rebounding. It was trading near $80,067 at around 8:16 a.m. Taipei time, down about 0.8% over 24 hours. The fast recovery suggests buyers are defending the $80,000 support zone, but Bitcoin’s repeated tests show that downside risks remain. Ether also weakened, reaching roughly $2,310–$2,315, but stayed above $2,300 and recovered to around $2,330. The latest dip was shallower than the weekend low of about $79,280 for Bitcoin, when roughly $436 million in crypto positions were liquidated, including about $404 million in long positions. Liquidations have since eased: CoinGlass recorded about $118 million in liquidations over the latest 24 hours, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 50, indicating neutral sentiment. Traders are watching whether Bitcoin can hold above $80,000 and Ether can defend $2,300, alongside US market moves and spot Bitcoin ETF flows. These support levels may shape near-term risk appetite across crypto markets.

StandX has launched an airdrop checker, allowing users to see whether they qualify for the airdrop and check their allocation. The announcement was posted on X. StandX did not provide further details in the report about the claim date or token distribution.

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.

The AI trade is under pressure as investors reassess the cost of financing a rapid expansion in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Meta narrowed its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $135 billion-$145 billion and expects fourth-quarter spending of $49 billion-$59 billion. The company has warned that it may need to raise hundreds of billions of dollars, prompting concerns that a wave of borrowing by AI firms could overwhelm bond-market demand and push financing costs higher. Credit stress is increasingly concentrated among weaker borrowers. US high-yield bond spreads reached a 17-month high, while CCC-rated yields rose to 15.85%, their highest since 2020. Hedge funds have also been cutting leverage, and crowded AI-related equity positions have suffered sharp losses. Goldman Sachs data showed its AI-related long-short basket had fallen about 55% from its June peak, wiping out its gains for the year. The pressure is not uniform. Barclays estimates AI-related credit assets total about $680 billion, and says spreads between issuers have widened as investors distinguish companies by funding needs and balance-sheet strength. Oracle, Meta, SpaceX and several data-centre operators have seen spreads widen more than the broader index, while shorter-dated bonds from Microsoft, Google and Amazon have been relatively resilient. For traders, the AI trade’s recovery depends not only on earnings but also on whether markets can absorb heavy bond issuance without further widening credit spreads. Higher borrowing costs and risk aversion could constrain AI-sector valuations and weigh on broader risk assets; continued differentiation among issuers may create opportunities as well as volatility.

SpaceX’s latest updates point to rapid AI growth but rising financial risks. An earlier update cited $7.6 billion in Super Intelligence revenue, compute investments with payback periods under a year, first-quarter revenue guidance of $33 billion to $37 billion and a $63 billion backlog. Starlink revenue rose 69% to $5.2 billion, with 13.6 million subscribers, while possible fourth-quarter capital spending of $40 billion added to investor concerns.

Ariel Investments said its international and global equity portfolios underperformed their benchmarks in the third quarter of 2026. Information technology was the biggest drag, as memory-related stocks retreated from strong second-quarter gains. The portfolios also suffered from not holding energy producers and, in the global portfolio, from an overweight to oil-importing Asian markets. Ariel remains selective on AI investment, favouring suppliers such as semiconductor and power-equipment companies that benefit from demand without funding the full infrastructure buildout. It estimates infrastructure hosts have committed more than $1 trillion, while returns are still developing. The firm said GPU rental prices had risen about 32% year to date and token consumption had increased roughly 27 times year over year, indicators it sees as evidence that demand is absorbing available capacity. During the quarter, Ariel initiated a position in Qualcomm in its global portfolio, citing the potential for more AI processing on smartphones and other devices. It also highlighted new positions in Dynatrace, Sunny Optical and Komatsu. Looking ahead, the firm expects AI companies that turn investment into durable profits to outperform those whose valuations rely mainly on spending and expectations.

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.

Asian stocks opened lower on Monday, 26 October. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 35.95 points, or 0.65%, to 5,514.35. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 281.18 points, or 0.45%, to 62,411.98. The declines point to a weaker start for Asian stocks, but the report provides no evidence of a direct connection to cryptocurrency markets.

Solana’s euro stablecoin supply rose by $22 million in the week ending October 25, 2026, more than the combined growth recorded on other blockchains tracked by Token Terminal. The increase equals about 2.4%–2.6% of the estimated $835 million–$916 million euro stablecoin market. Solana now holds an estimated 13.7%–14.8% of euro stablecoins, making it the second-largest network behind Ethereum. Its broader stablecoin value exceeds $15 billion, and more than 14 million addresses hold stablecoins on the network, up from fewer than 4 million in late 2024. Issuers on Solana include Circle’s EURC, Société Générale Forge’s EURCV and AllUnity’s EURAU. Their MiCA-compliant offerings, low transaction costs and payment integrations are supporting euro stablecoin activity. The rapid increase signals growing use of Solana for euro-denominated transfers and trading, though market-share estimates vary and supply remains sensitive to large mints or redemptions by a small number of issuers.

Ariel Focused Value returned 2.06% gross and 1.96% net in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, sharply trailing the Russell 1000 Value Index’s 13.87% gain and the S&P 500’s 15.20% rise. The concentrated value strategy said its limited technology exposure was the main reason for the gap as AI-related chipmakers surged. Micron rose 242% and Intel gained 216% during the quarter. Ariel Focused Value held only 1.6% in a single technology stock, Oracle, and said it remains wary of semiconductor companies’ cyclical, capital-intensive business models and high valuations. Its energy holdings fell 17%, while Lockheed Martin, Mosaic and Prestige Consumer Healthcare also declined. Generac and several other holdings gained, supported by company-specific factors. The firm said it added to FactSet and Bio-Rad, bought dental-equipment maker DENTSPLY Sirona, and sold J.M. Smucker. It argued that parts of the Russell 1000 Value Index have become exposed to the AI infrastructure trade, and presented Ariel Focused Value as a diversifying alternative focused on undervalued, cash-generative businesses. Ariel expects inflation and higher interest rates to favor hard assets and value stocks over time, while warning that market concentration has hurt near-term performance.

Ducat has introduced Turbo UNIT, a Cashu ecash version of its Bitcoin-backed UNIT stablecoin. Users deposit UNIT into Ducat’s Cashu mint and receive Turbo UNIT, which can be sent peer-to-peer via messages or QR codes without recording each payment on Bitcoin’s public ledger. Cashu uses blind signatures to make transactions harder to link to users’ identities and payment histories. UNIT’s issuance and Bitcoin collateral remain on Bitcoin, while the Cashu mint provides the off-chain payment layer. UNIT is a soft-pegged stablecoin issued using the Runes standard. Ducat requires at least 160% collateralization and sets liquidation at 135%. The token has typically traded between $1.01 and $1.04. Ducat says its closed mainnet alpha has processed more than 4 million transactions, vaulted over $700 million in Bitcoin, and issued more than $300 million in UNIT. The integration adds a private, potentially lower-cost payment use case, but users must trust the Cashu mint to redeem Turbo UNIT for UNIT. The mint’s redemption risk is distinct from the non-custodial vaults holding the underlying Bitcoin collateral.

Democrats are scaling back advertising in several Republican-leaning US House districts as fundraising challenges limit their ability to match Republican spending. House Majority PAC has cut advertising funds, suggesting a shift in campaign resources even as national polling averages show a slight Democratic advantage. Prediction markets currently favor Republicans in Kentucky’s 6th District, with a 53% probability of a Republican win, and Pennsylvania’s 1st District, at 55.5%. The article also points to close contests in Colorado’s 5th and Kansas’ 2nd Districts. These odds reflect market expectations, not confirmed election outcomes, and the article provides no trading-volume data.

Reports highlight leveraged HYPE long activity on Hyperliquid, though the figures appear to describe different accounts or snapshots. An earlier report said trader 0x666 held a 10x-leveraged HYPE position valued at $35.31 million, opened at $39.81, with the mark price at $78.46 and unrealised profit of $17.4 million. The trader had not reduced the position, which was the account’s only open trade; the account was valued at $27.47 million. A later Onchain Lens report described an unidentified trader holding 26,000 HYPE in a 10x long worth about $1.99 million, with buy orders for another 23,500 HYPE, worth roughly $1.7 million. That account had $3.94 million in cumulative profits, but was down about $3,800 on unrealised trades and $370,900 over the previous 30 days. The markedly different position sizes and performance figures are not directly reconcilable from the reports. Together, they show individual traders taking leveraged bullish exposure to HYPE, but do not establish a broader market trend or reliable price signal.

Circle Match connects institutions with opposing USDC minting and redemption needs, allowing matched minting orders to receive fees paid by matched redemptions. But the service’s funding rules create a trade-off for treasury desks. Redeemers reserve USDC in a standard Circle Mint wallet. Mint-side participants must wire dollars that become restricted Match-only USDC, which cannot be sent directly on-chain. If an order fills, the institution receives regular USDC; unused restricted funds can be returned only through redemption to dollars by wire. Canceling an order therefore may not make funds immediately available for on-chain use. For traders and institutions, the value of Circle Match depends on more than the quoted fee rebate. They must weigh the likelihood of execution, time spent waiting, fallback costs and the opportunity cost of tying up liquidity. Order and execution records are needed to distinguish rolled orders from separate completed transactions and assess realized results. The update describes an operational change, not a change to USDC itself, and provides no transaction-volume or performance figures.

Arthur Hayes received $49.24 million in USDC after recent token sales, according to Onchain Lens. Galaxy Digital recently transferred $23.07 million to Hayes, contributing to the total USDC he received from trading desks and exchanges. The report does not identify the tokens sold or explain how Hayes may use the funds.

AI agents helped Ethereum researchers identify vulnerabilities in the planned Glamsterdam hard fork. The second Hoodi testnet rehearsal was cancelled after ChainSecurity found issues linked to EIPs 8037 and 8038 that could disrupt at least 13 DeFi contracts. Researchers from Eth Labs and the Ethereum Foundation coordinated AI agents through a GitHub message board to assess potential contract failures. A separate board is examining EIP-8198 for a future upgrade. Solana’s Alpenglow consensus upgrade went live on mainnet. Developer Anza said transaction finality fell from about 12.8 seconds to roughly 150 milliseconds, while the upgrade’s first phase changes validator voting and finalization. DeFi activity had not yet shown a clear response. Other developments included Starknet governance backing research into a possible post-quantum layer-1 network, with 93.52% of voting power supporting the proposal. Tether also faced a US Senate information request over a reported $6.3 million marketing deal. In weekly market performance, BTC fell 1.2% and ETH lost 1.9%, while STRK dropped 24.9%. The stories highlight AI-assisted crypto security, major network upgrades and ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

Pump.fun’s mobile app sharply narrowed its daily active trader gap with Fomo, a social trading platform on Solana. After Fomo recorded 105,727 daily active users on October 17, compared with 26,515 for Pump.fun, activity on both apps moved closer to 48,000–52,000 wallets in late October. Pump.fun reportedly led for four consecutive days, although figures for October 25 showed Fomo ahead, with 52,300 daily active wallets versus Pump.fun’s 48,400. The user-count gains have not translated into comparable trading activity. From October 21 to 24, Pump.fun’s volume was close to half of Fomo’s, while Fomo also maintained larger average swaps and higher overall volume. In September, Fomo’s daily revenue reached $1.76 million, compared with Pump.fun’s $1.1 million. Pump.fun is expanding its mobile trading app and plans to add perpetuals, gacha features and a cross-chain bridge. The rapid shift in Solana app usage suggests trader loyalty is fluid, but the volume gap indicates Pump.fun users may currently trade smaller amounts or less frequently.

Grayscale’s October 23 research note examines three crypto-AI infrastructure models: DATA for contributed training data, USD.AI for GPU-backed lending, and Pearl for AI computing linked to blockchain rewards. The report presents these as examples, not proof that the sector has achieved widespread adoption. The note highlights that AI tokens can represent very different business models and rights. For GPU lending, key risks include falling hardware values, concentrated borrowers and the ability to recover collateral after a default. For data networks, long-term viability depends on lawful, useful datasets and customers willing to keep paying. A functioning service does not automatically make its token valuable; holders need to understand whether a token provides governance, lending income or access to a service. Grayscale’s analysis suggests traders should assess AI tokens by their underlying customers, revenue, unit economics and enforceable claims—not by the AI label alone. Adoption and sustainable cash flows remain the key tests for these crypto-AI projects.

Lido says Ethereum ETP staking yields depend on how much ETH a product stakes, its fees and its liquidity arrangements. In a hypothetical example, a 100 ETH product with a 20 ETH unstaked buffer would earn staking rewards on only 80 ETH. At a 3% annual reward rate, that portion would generate 2.4 ETH before fees and other adjustments; these figures are illustrative, not a product forecast. An unstaked buffer can help an ETP meet redemptions, but it may reduce the ETH earning staking rewards. Native validator withdrawals rely on Ethereum’s network processes and queues, which can take time. Liquid staking tokens such as stETH offer a possible market exit without waiting for validators to withdraw, but selling depends on market depth and may involve price slippage, especially during periods of stress. Lido cites WisdomTree’s stETH-backed product while promoting liquid staking, so its comparison reflects a commercial interest. The note highlights why traders should compare Ethereum ETPs by staking allocation, net reward sharing, fees, liquidity and redemption terms—not headline yield alone.

Zcash Light Client Kit 4.0.0 restores shielded voting support for the NU6.3 “Ironwood” network upgrade and adds the consensus branch identifier to its SDK. The release also introduces typed voting inputs, vote-recovery tools and clearer error handling. Apps integrating voting must manage randomly generated hotkey secrets, protect voting databases and account for direct network connections that bypass the SDK’s Tor client. The SDK’s maintainers say this is the final Zcash Light Client Kit release. Support will end when NU7 activates, while development continues in the ZODL Swift Wallet SDK. Version 4.0.0 also updates Rust TLS dependencies to address compromised certificate authorities and restores compatibility with Xcode 15. For ZEC traders, the update is primarily a wallet-developer and security change, not a direct change to Zcash’s token economics.

House Democrats say they may pursue the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if they win control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats filed impeachment articles against Hegseth in April and could reintroduce them during the lame-duck session if they secure a majority. The prospect of Hegseth impeachment adds uncertainty to the election outlook, but the article provides no specific polling data linking the issue to voters’ choices. Its prediction-market discussion suggests political developments may affect Republican House odds, though the listed figures are limited and do not establish a clear market reaction.

xStocks, the tokenized-stock platform owned by Kraken parent Payward, says its onchain market capitalization has reached $1 billion, with the headline reporting an 802.5% annual increase. However, figures in the article put its market cap at about $886 million on October 25, 2026, so the reported milestone and the detailed figures do not fully align. Launched in June 2025 with about 60 US stocks and ETFs, xStocks had expanded to more than 1,300 assets across over 11 blockchains by October 2026. The tokens are tracker certificates backed 1:1 by shares held in custody, rather than direct ownership of the underlying stocks. The platform has recorded more than $40 billion in cumulative trading volume, and its onchain decentralised-exchange activity exceeded $1 billion in September. The broader tokenized-equity market is growing, but access and custody risks remain. xStocks is unavailable to US persons, and holders depend on the issuer and custodian to maintain the backing. The expansion signals increasing demand for tokenized stocks and round-the-clock trading, while regulatory uncertainty and reliance on a small number of providers remain important risks.

JPMorgan expects Bitcoin (BTC) to outperform large-cap stocks, REITs and gold over the next 10–15 years, projecting a 10% annual compounded return. The bank cautions that Bitcoin could remain highly volatile. The forecast marks a contrast with CEO Jamie Dimon’s past criticism of Bitcoin, which he called a “fraud,” “worthless” and a “decentralized Ponzi scheme.” Meanwhile, JPMorgan has expanded its crypto and blockchain business: institutional clients can use BTC and Ether (ETH) as loan collateral, and the bank has developed tokenized products and JPM Coin (JPMD) across public blockchains including Ethereum and Base. The long-term outlook adds to institutional recognition of Bitcoin, but does not guarantee near-term price gains.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has extended voting in the presidential runoff until 7 p.m., following requests from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and challenger Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The move is intended to give more voters time to cast ballots amid a close race. In Amazonas, prediction-market pricing cited in the report showed Lula at 85% and Bolsonaro at 16%, although the article’s table lists a separate figure of 84.5% for one contract. The Brazil presidential runoff could prompt further changes in election-related market prices as turnout and official results emerge. The news has no direct cryptocurrency catalyst, but traders may monitor broader political risk and any volatility in prediction markets.

Lido has launched its permissionless 0x02 Community Staking Module (CSM), expanding Ethereum staking options for independent operators. Under the module, validators can eventually reach an effective balance of up to 2,048 ETH, enabled by Ethereum’s EIP-7251. Operators provide a bond of 32 ETH for their first key and 30 ETH for each additional key, while Lido supplies the staking capital in stages: each new key first receives a 32 ETH deposit, with further funds distributed through a separate top-up queue. The initial allocation is capped at 0.01% of Lido Core’s total value locked, with 32 top-up seats. Expansion depends on governance and available protocol inflows, and existing 0x01 operators can continue using their current module. The 2,048 ETH balance is therefore a potential maximum, not an immediate or guaranteed allocation. Traders can track activated keys, top-ups and governance decisions to assess Lido adoption and the module’s effect on staking decentralization.