Crypto News

Nscale plans to proceed with an IPO targeting a $30bn valuation, down from an earlier reported ceiling of $35bn. The AI data-centre developer says it has signed $103bn in contracts, and CEO Josh Payne has described demand as strong and the company’s capital structure as robust. But delivery remains a concern: by August 2026, Nscale had delivered 55 megawatts of computing capacity against potential demand of 10 gigawatts, while its flagship 30-megawatt project was reported to be about six months behind schedule. Site inspections identified 10 safety violations, including ungrounded high-voltage components; reports also cited a liquid-cooling leak and transformer fire. Nscale relies heavily on capacity leased from other operators, and Microsoft and Anthropic account for about 85% of its contracted business. It has not yet secured the financing or long-term chip supply needed for a reported $44.6bn Anthropic commitment at its West Virginia campus. Microsoft has also withdrawn from a UK data-centre project. The gap between Nscale’s contract claims and delivered capacity could test investor confidence in its IPO and the wider AI infrastructure sector. Nscale’s Bitcoin-mining origins provide a crypto connection, but the story does not indicate a direct impact on Bitcoin prices.

Moonshot AI and DeepSeek reportedly used outputs from OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra to help train new models released in October. DeepSeek launched its open-weight V4.1-Flash-1017 model on October 17, while Moonshot released Kimi K3.1 Pro on October 23. Kimi K3.1 Pro has about 2.8 trillion parameters and scored 55 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, placing fourth overall. It also outperformed GPT-6 Astra on some agentic coding benchmarks. The reported use of GPT-6 Astra outputs has renewed debate over model distillation, a technique that trains one AI system using another model’s responses. The claims could draw scrutiny from investors. Moonshot is reportedly valued at about $50 billion ahead of a planned Hong Kong IPO, while questions about training data could also test confidence in DeepSeek’s low-cost model. OpenAI has not been reported as making a public accusation. The story concerns the AI sector and has no direct cryptocurrency market catalyst.

Barack Obama has endorsed Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in the 2026 Georgia governor race, where she faces Republican Rick Jackson. The endorsement brings national attention to Bottoms’ campaign ahead of the November 4 election. Recent polls reportedly show Jackson narrowly ahead, while a Polymarket contract put the market-implied chance of a Georgia governor race victory at 62% for one outcome; the article does not identify that outcome in its table. Traders may watch for updated polling and prediction-market odds, but the endorsement has no direct link to cryptocurrency prices.

Bitcoin faces fresh pressure after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75%–4% but maintained a hawkish stance on inflation. The 10-2 vote included two officials who preferred a quarter-point rate increase. CME FedWatch data put the chance of a quarter-point hike by December at 78.4%, and the chance of at least one hike by March at 67.3%. Higher rates can weigh on Bitcoin by making lower-risk assets more attractive. Analysts say Bitcoin’s near-term direction may also depend on Treasury yields, the US dollar and broader risk sentiment. Thursday’s US PCE inflation report and earnings from major technology companies are key upcoming signals for markets.

Alipay says it does not support cryptocurrency trading or related services. The company called Peer’s claim that users can buy and sell USDC through Alipay false and unauthorized, and urged users to protect their funds and accounts. The warning highlights the risks of using unverified payment channels for stablecoin transactions.

The Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 3.75%–4% in a 10–2 vote at its October 28 meeting. The decision leaves borrowing costs unchanged for now, while officials’ year-end rate projections range from 4.1% to 4.4%. Markets are pricing in one more 25-basis-point rate hike in 2026, with further increases extending into 2027. The Fed’s interest rate outlook matters to crypto traders because higher rates can tighten financial conditions and reduce demand for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Samsung Electronics reported estimated high-bandwidth memory (HBM) revenue of about $8.7 billion in Q3 2026, up 33% from the previous quarter and ahead of SK hynix’s estimated $7.6 billion. Strong demand for HBM4, particularly for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI accelerators, drove the increase. This marks the first time in the current AI growth cycle that Samsung has led SK hynix in HBM revenue. Samsung’s preliminary Q3 results also showed operating profit of KRW 107.4 trillion (about $81 billion), a 782.5% increase year over year. Full results and a detailed segment breakdown are pending. Traders will be watching whether HBM4 exceeds 60% of Samsung’s HBM revenue in the second half of 2026 and how both companies progress in qualifying HBM4E. The development highlights intensifying competition in AI memory, but has no direct effect on cryptocurrency fundamentals.

The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark federal funds rate at 3.75%–4.00% on October 28, 2026, following a 10–2 FOMC vote. Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack dissented, favoring a 25-basis-point increase amid persistent inflation and solid economic growth. The Federal Reserve said further rate rises remain possible if inflation does not cool, including at its December meeting. Bitcoin traded around $81,000 after briefly falling below $80,000 earlier in the week. Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows showed signs of stabilizing, with more than $286 million in net inflows over two days. The relatively hawkish stance may keep pressure on crypto assets, as traditional dollar yields remain competitive with digital-asset staking returns.

A solo Bitcoin miner using a device with about 6.5 TH/s of computing power reportedly won a 3.14 BTC block reward, worth just over $250,000 at the time. The block was mined on 27 October through CKPool. The device may have been a Canaan Avalon Nano 3S, though that identification is an estimate. The win highlights the lottery-like nature of solo Bitcoin mining, not a reliable way to earn income. Based on the article’s estimate of network hash rate, a 6.5 TH/s machine has roughly a 1-in-2,900 chance of finding a block in a year. Pool mining would bring in about $0.23 a day at the cited rates, versus an estimated $0.34 in electricity costs. Small home miners are instead marketed for hobbyist participation and as space heaters, where the heat may offset some electricity costs. Meanwhile, larger Bitcoin mining companies face lower mining revenue and rising costs, with some shifting power capacity to AI computing. The win is unlikely to change Bitcoin’s market fundamentals, but it has renewed attention on solo Bitcoin mining and small-scale mining hardware.

ZEC spot ETFs recorded total net inflows of $2.0735 million on October 28, according to SoSoValue data. The entire daily inflow went to the Zcash ETF (ZCSH). Cumulative historical net inflows for ZEC spot ETFs reached $211 million. Their total net assets stood at $757 million, equal to 3.43% of ZEC’s net asset value. The inflow points to continued investor demand for ZEC-linked ETF exposure, but the report provides no information about ZEC’s price reaction.

The AI token rose 25% after trader @Salem1299534 (wallet 0xb8f...04eA) bought 7.445 million AI tokens, worth about $612,000, according to on-chain analyst Ember. The purchase was made roughly five hours before the report. The AI token’s sharp move may draw short-term trader attention, though the report does not establish whether the purchase alone caused the price increase.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.75%-4% in a 10-2 vote. At the press conference, Kevin Warsh said inflation remains too high, while the FOMC broadly believes its policy “medicine” is beginning to work. The report says a December rate hike appears likely, which would lift the target range to 4.00%-4.25%, although officials offered no clear forward guidance. The lack of clarity weighed on short-dated interest rates and the US dollar. For traders, the Fed rate decision signals continued uncertainty about the path of monetary policy, with the prospect of tighter policy potentially affecting risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Microsoft expects second-quarter revenue of $96 billion to $97.1 billion, with capital expenditure above $50 billion. Azure revenue growth is forecast at 49%, while Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue is expected to rise about 19% on a constant-currency basis. The company projects roughly $170 billion in capital expenditure for the calendar year, with spending accelerating in the second half of fiscal 2027. Microsoft shares rose as much as 6% after hours.

CITIC Securities still expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in December, after leaving rates unchanged in October. The firm said the Fed’s statement sounded more optimistic about economic growth but more cautious about its policy outlook. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks were milder than in September, noting tighter credit conditions and improving inflation expectations. CITIC Securities said the rate-hiking cycle may be nearing its end, with the terminal rate potentially not far above current levels. It also warned that elevated oil prices could persist while uncertainty in the Middle East remains, and that improved dollar liquidity may require a new catalyst. The December Fed rate hike remains a forecast, not a confirmed policy decision.

US Representatives Greg Casar and Maxine Waters have introduced a non-binding resolution urging Congress to oppose federal bailouts and exceptional regulatory support for AI companies that become insolvent during a market downturn. The measure says struggling firms should instead use ordinary bankruptcy procedures, which it argues protect workers, consumers, pension holders and competition, while holding executives accountable for excessive risk-taking. The proposal comes amid concern about borrowing by major technology companies and Wall Street to finance the AI boom, and warnings of a potential AI bubble. More than two-thirds of Americans reportedly support letting failing AI companies go through regular bankruptcy rather than receive government assistance. The resolution does not have the force of law and would not require approval from the Senate or the President. For crypto traders, the proposal has no direct effect on digital assets. Its relevance is indirect: AI-sector stress or tighter expectations around public support could affect technology shares, risk appetite and broader market sentiment, potentially feeding into crypto volatility.

US stablecoin rules took a major step forward as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalised the first rules under the GENIUS Act. Taking effect on 18 January 2027, the framework covers reserves, redemptions, custody and capital for banks and approved issuers. The stablecoin rules arrive as JPMorgan brings its JPM Coin deposit token to Ethereum for institutional clients, while HSBC launches the Hong Kong dollar-backed RedCoin for PayMe users and more than 100,000 merchants. Bitcoin fell for a third consecutive week, losing about 2% to around $80,000 amid rising oil prices and renewed concerns about Big Tech’s AI spending. US spot Bitcoin ETFs nevertheless recorded $301.2 million in net inflows for the week, led by $565.7 million into BlackRock’s IBIT. Ethereum ETFs saw $220.7 million in outflows. More than $400 million in mostly long positions was liquidated over four hours on Saturday. Network developments were mixed: Solana activated its Alpenglow upgrade, reducing transaction finality time from about 12.8 seconds to roughly 150 milliseconds. Ethereum developers postponed a key Glamsterdam test after security concerns emerged, with no new date announced. Overall, institutional token launches and clearer stablecoin rules point to deeper links between crypto and traditional finance, while macroeconomic pressure continues to weigh on Bitcoin.

AI inference markets are emerging as a practical link between crypto and AI, offering cheaper access to models and computing power. Three projects take different approaches. Orbio, on Robinhood Chain, focuses on AI agents. Its CREDIT token represents $1 of inference credit, while its market price was recently about $0.47. This discount can make computing cheaper for agents, but on-chain data indicates that most issued CREDIT has not been used, raising questions about the model’s sustainability. Surplus Intelligence, on Base, aggregates model APIs and lets providers compete on price. Users can pay by card or USDC, and the platform says many requests cost less than one cent. It has the strongest reported usage of the three, but the SURPLUS token currently has no direct role in payments, routing or revenue sharing. Antseed operates an open, peer-to-peer compute discovery network. Buyers choose providers directly, while ANTS is designed around staking and reputation. Its rewards currently come from treasury funds, so a direct link between growing inference demand and token value remains unproven. The comparison highlights three distinct AI inference market strategies: agent-focused credits, low-cost API aggregation and open compute markets. Adoption, token utility and sustainable incentives are key factors for traders to monitor.

Fiduciary Management’s Q3 2026 outlook says AI spending is driving unusually concentrated gains in US equities, while creating selective opportunities among stocks punished for perceived AI disruption. The Russell 2000 fell 7.23% during the quarter, as higher borrowing costs pressured smaller companies. The S&P 500 gained 2.30%. The article also flags elevated investor optimism and warns that market returns and valuations may be difficult to sustain. AI is central to the earnings outlook: consensus forecasts put S&P 500 operating earnings growth at about 28% in 2026, with AI investment gains potentially lifting it to around 33%. NVIDIA and Micron are projected to contribute more than a third of the index’s growth, while AI-linked companies account for roughly 45% of its market value. The article cites estimates that major cloud companies will spend about $800 billion on capital expenditure in 2026. Fiduciary Management argues that broad selling of companies seen as vulnerable to AI has created potential value opportunities. It highlights Jack Henry, CDW and RELX, saying their established customer relationships, specialized data or services, and adoption of AI may make them more resilient than investors expect. The firm says it has increased positions in these companies during share-price weakness. These are the asset manager’s views, not guaranteed outcomes or investment advice.

US President Donald Trump has declared imported robotics and industrial machinery a national security risk, but has not imposed tariffs. A Section 232 proclamation signed on October 28 directs the Commerce secretary and US Trade Representative to negotiate with trading partners over import levels for 180 days. The review covers robotics, industrial machinery and parts, including CNC machines and metalworking tools. The Commerce Department found the US relies heavily on foreign supply, including equipment used in defence and infrastructure. US agencies have also raised concerns about cybersecurity risks tied to some advanced robots. After the negotiation period, the administration may consider tariffs, quotas or incentives for domestic investment. Any tighter import controls could raise costs or constrain supply for manufacturers. There is no immediate tariff change, but the robotics import review leaves future trade policy uncertain.

House Democrats are cautiously optimistic about gaining seats in the 2026 midterm elections, despite concerns that polling may be unreliable. National polling averages suggest a Democratic advantage, and some models project the party could win a House majority. However, Democrats are wary of polling errors, Republican campaign spending and tight races that could affect control of the House. A prediction market tracking Republican House prospects showed a 7% YES price at publication, though the article cites no major new development behind the market reading. Traders will be watching changes in polling, campaign news and key races for signs that could shift election-related market prices.

UC Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez says California’s proposed Proposition 40 billionaire tax could reduce wealth inequality and limit the political influence of the wealthy. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on the global assets of California billionaires, with most revenue earmarked for healthcare. Voters are due to decide on 3 November 2026, and the article describes public support as closely divided. A Polymarket contract put the chance of the tax passing at about 23%, reflecting uncertainty despite Saez’s support. Governor Gavin Newsom has raised concerns that the tax could drive wealthy residents and companies out of California. The debate over Proposition 40 may shift with new polls, political endorsements or efforts to block or amend the measure.

Datavault AI shares rose about 31% on Wednesday, despite the company’s disclosure that it cannot withdraw bitcoin held at Biconomy and will restate four sets of financial statements. The company said the bitcoin did not qualify for recognition as its digital assets and plans to record the purchase as a receivable from Scilex instead. The restatement removes all reported bitcoin from Datavault AI’s books, including 837 BTC that Scilex agreed in a June binding term sheet to buy for $50 million. The companies have not disclosed a definitive purchase agreement, and Datavault AI has not set a date for its restated filings. It expects the accounting change to reduce total assets by $92.2 million at the end of 2025 and $49 million at June 30, 2026. Datavault AI is also reassessing its ability to continue as a going concern, citing uncertainty about collecting amounts owed by Scilex. The unresolved access issue and financial restatement raise company-specific risks, even as the stock rebounded.

Grass founder Andrej Radonjic says the decentralized data network is saturated and needs 30 to 50 times its current infrastructure to meet demand from AI companies. The Grass network gathers public web data through opt-in residential internet connections, and reportedly has more than 8 million active nodes and has delivered over 1 billion GB of data. Demand comes from AI training datasets and real-time information used by models during inference. Grass reported about $17 million in revenue in 2025 and another $17 million in the first half of 2026. It projects $65 million to $75 million in full-year 2026 revenue from training data alone. The company has added data-center and GPU capacity, while reporting monthly operating expenses of $2 million to $3 million. The compute bottleneck could constrain Grass’s ability to convert rising AI demand into growth. Traders will be watching network expansion, revenue performance and progress in live data retrieval. The figures are company-reported, and the article does not establish a direct effect on the GRASS token price.

Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to $30.71 billion in Alphabet’s third quarter of 2026, beating analyst expectations. Microsoft Azure revenue rose 48% to about $33.17 billion in its fiscal first quarter of 2027. Microsoft also reported $10 billion in quarterly revenue tied to OpenAI. The cloud growth is being driven partly by AI companies that are also competitors. Anthropic has committed about $114.5 billion to Google, $110 billion to Amazon and $44.9 billion to Microsoft through long-term arrangements, while relying on all three providers for a substantial share of its revenue. Google and Microsoft also sell their own AI products, creating potential conflicts as they host or partner with rival AI labs. The spending required to support AI demand is significant. Alphabet reported $51.36 billion in AI-related capital expenditures and negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion for the quarter. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are projected to spend more than $700 billion combined on AI infrastructure in 2026. For traders, the figures highlight strong cloud demand but also raise questions about capital intensity, cash flow and the durability of AI returns.

Zilliqa CEO Alexander Zahnd has stepped down at his own request while the blockchain project investigates security incidents involving X-Bridge. The bridge remains suspended, and the board is managing the company until a permanent successor is appointed. No replacement has been named. Zilliqa said the incidents affected X-Bridge and some ZRC2 proxy contracts used by liquidity pools. It named zUSDT, SEED, kUSD and Zoge as affected tokens, but said native ZIL and the Zilliqa EVM network were not affected. The company has not disclosed total losses and urged users to avoid the bridge and affected pools while it replaces operational keys and works with exchanges and law enforcement. PlunderSwap separately estimated that about $800,000 was stolen from X-Bridge and said several bridged assets had lost their backing. ZIL traded at about $0.001999 on Oct. 28, roughly unchanged over 24 hours. The suspension follows an earlier X-Bridge exploit in February 2025 and adds to leadership and security concerns at Zilliqa.

PEPE rallied after reports that TRON founder Justin Sun holds about $51 million worth of the meme coin. It rose as much as 15% during Wednesday’s session, lifting its market value above $2 billion, and was recently trading near $0.0000049. PEPE is above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with support near $0.0000046 and resistance around $0.0000054. Its next move may show whether the rally can hold after the headline-driven buying fades. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have not followed. DOGE is down about 4% over the week and remains below both key moving averages; SHIB has lost roughly 17% over the past month and is also trading below them. The contrast suggests the current meme-coin rally is concentrated in PEPE rather than spreading across the sector. Traders are watching the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and Binance’s planned delisting of 10 margin and 12 spot trading pairs on Oct. 30. Changes in risk appetite and thinner liquidity could amplify short-term volatility. A break above PEPE’s resistance, alongside a DOGE recovery, would indicate broader meme-coin strength; a loss of PEPE’s support or a SHIB breakdown would point to a fading, narrow rally.

Solana has unveiled the BP Badge, a programmable hardware development kit for attendees at Breakpoint 2026 in London, running November 15–17. Built on an ESP32-C5 chip with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, a color display and a rechargeable battery, the badge lets users install apps, complete quests, trade digital cards nearby and earn in-game !LAMPs. Developers can also create and flash their own apps onto the device. Solana says no crypto tokens are currently directly tied to the badge’s game mechanics, so the launch has no clear direct impact on SOL trading. The conference will be held in Europe for the first time.

BitGo has added Jupiter as a Solana validator option for eligible institutional custody clients, allowing them to stake SOL directly from their BitGo accounts without transferring assets to an external provider. Jupiter is the fourth named validator partner, joining SOL Strategies, Helius and HashKey Cloud. Fees for the BitGo option have not been disclosed, and unstaking follows Solana’s standard deactivation period. Jupiter’s main validator held about 9.72 million SOL, worth roughly $993 million, and ranked fifth among approximately 660 active Solana validators. Jupiter charges a 5% commission on inflation rewards and takes no share of MEV tips. StakeWiz estimated its yield at 4.72%, compared with a 3.62% stake-weighted network average. BitGo said Jupiter operates the validator independently and that BitGo does not control its performance.

SKHYNIX rose 10.4% over 24 hours and was trading at 1,138.55 USDT, according to Gate data cited by Odaily. The report was published at 06:00 UTC+8 on 29 October 2026. The brief update provides no explanation for the move. SKHYNIX is the main asset reported, but the article does not establish whether its price action reflects broader crypto-market momentum.