Crypto News

An 80-page SSRN paper by Columbia University researchers finds that wash trading may account for up to 60% of Polymarket’s trading volume between July 2024 and April 2025. The study estimates wash trades represent 25% of the platform’s total three-year volume and notes a rebound to around 20% by October 2025. Researchers blame Polymarket’s operational structure for enabling manipulative self-trades and collusion without net position changes. As a leading decentralized prediction market preparing a US relaunch after a no-action letter from the CFTC, Polymarket faces possible regulatory scrutiny, damaged market integrity, and eroded trader confidence. Traders should monitor wash trading risks, liquidity shifts, and platform trust amid transparency concerns in blockchain-based prediction markets.

Coinbase has added Aster Token to its listing roadmap, kicking off technical and compliance reviews. Aster Token (ASTER) is a BNB Chain–based decentralized derivatives token offering up to 100× leverage on perpetual futures, staking rewards and governance. The announcement drove a 3.5% price jump amid whale accumulation and rising transaction volumes on-chain. Historically, assets listed on major exchanges see 20–50% gains post-listing. The process may take weeks to months while Coinbase Markets finalizes liquidity, security audits and integration. Traders should watch for the official trading date and adjust positions, as a successful listing could boost liquidity, expand trading pairs and attract institutional interest.

Robinhood is weighing the addition of Bitcoin to its corporate treasury after reporting a 339% year-on-year surge in Q3 digital assets revenue, which reached $268 million and accounted for 20% of its $1.27 billion total revenue. Transaction-based crypto revenue rose 129% to $730 million, driven by higher trading volumes on its platform. Treasurer Shiv Verma and CEO Vladimir Tenev continue discussions on timing and capital allocation, noting retail investors can already buy BTC directly. Robinhood’s consideration of a Bitcoin treasury position comes amid early rollout of its three-phase tokenized stocks plan, with upcoming stages targeting secondary trading on Bitstamp and eventual DeFi integration. Despite a broader crypto market downturn—spurred by US economic data, trade tensions, and a prolonged government shutdown—Robinhood shares dropped over 10%. As other companies like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet hold significant bitcoin reserves, this debate reflects a larger trend of corporate bitcoin treasury adoption as an inflation hedge and currency risk safeguard.

Ripple has closed a $500 million strategic financing round at a $40 billion valuation. The round was led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities with participation from Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace. Investors targeted Ripple’s 34.8 billion XRP treasury, securing tokens likely at a discount. This financing cements a benchmark XRP price and restricts open-market sales, boosting XRP liquidity. Founded in 2012, Ripple shifted focus to compliance and institutional finance after its SEC lawsuit. In 2024, the firm launched RLUSD, a US dollar–anchored stablecoin for cross-border payments. RLUSD now has a $1 billion market cap following integrations with Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini. Ripple Payments processed $95 billion in transactions. The company repurchased 25% of outstanding shares and holds 75 regulatory licenses. Ripple has also strengthened its infrastructure with six acquisitions over two years: Metaco for custody, Rail for stablecoin issuance and Hidden Road for settlement networks. Ripple Prime, the institutional arm, has tripled its activity. These moves underline Ripple’s evolution into an institutional-grade financial platform. They reinforce its Internet of Value vision.

Keonne Rodriguez, 37, co-founder of the Bitcoin mixing platform Samourai Wallet, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $400,000 after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. As part of the plea deal, authorities seized $237 million in illicit funds linked to dark-web markets, fraud and cyber intrusions between 2015 and 2024. Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill also admitted failing to register with FinCEN and bypassing AML and KYC controls. The case underscores escalating regulatory scrutiny on crypto privacy services. Judges imposed the statutory maximum sentence amid concerns that Samourai’s tools obscured stolen funds and enabled money laundering. Hill faces sentencing on November 19 under the same conspiracy charges. This verdict has reignited the crypto privacy debate. Advocates argue for user confidentiality while regulators stress anti-money laundering compliance. The ruling signals potential US action against unlicensed privacy wallets and Bitcoin mixers, heightening legal risks for traders and service providers.

Bitnomial, a Chicago-based CFTC-regulated exchange, has become the first US-registered derivatives clearing organization to accept RLUSD stablecoin collateral for futures, perpetuals and options. Bitnomial’s support for RLUSD stablecoin collateral enables institutional traders to post RLUSD directly, cutting conversion fees and settlement delays. In addition, high-liquidity XRP is now accepted as margin collateral, offering fast on-chain settlement and low fees for rapid adjustments. Both assets enhance capital efficiency and broaden crypto asset utilization within a regulated framework. Retail traders will access these options via Bitnomial’s Botanical platform. Backed by rigorous audits and a $1 billion market cap, RLUSD’s dollar peg ensures price stability, while XRP’s liquidity boosts trading flexibility. This move underscores growing regulatory acceptance and may drive other CFTC-regulated platforms to enable stablecoin and crypto collateral.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has trimmed her 2030 Bitcoin forecast to $1.2 million, down $300,000 from her initial $1.5 million target and well below the $2.4 million projection she raised in April. The revised Bitcoin forecast highlights the rapid adoption of dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC in emerging markets as a key factor reshaping demand. A Standard Chartered report warns that stablecoins could siphon over $1 trillion from traditional banks in developing regions by 2028. In Venezuela, where annual inflation has hit 269%, USDT is widely used as a hedge. Combined USDT and USDC supply now totals nearly $260 billion. Despite the forecast adjustment, Wood remains bullish on Bitcoin as “digital gold” and notes institutional adoption is still in its early stages. Traders should monitor stablecoin liquidity and emerging-market flows to gauge potential impacts on Bitcoin demand and price dynamics.

Google Finance has rolled out an AI update that integrates real-time prediction market data from Kalshi and Polymarket. The feature embeds crowd-sourced odds on macro events, interest rates, political outcomes and market volatility into search results. Initially available to Google Labs users, it will expand across 8.5 billion daily searches. Traders can view live market positions, historical trend charts and technical analysis tools alongside probability-based forecasts. Polymarket recorded 477,850 active users and a $9 billion valuation after ICE’s stake. Kalshi raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation. By blending crowd forecasts with institutional analytics, Google Finance aims to boost transparency and user engagement. This AI-driven update offers crypto traders faster, data-driven insights for refined market strategies.

Coinbase has urged the U.S. Treasury to implement the GENIUS Act in line with congressional intent, focusing regulation solely on stablecoin issuers. The exchange warns broad application of the GENIUS Act to non-financial software, blockchain validators or open-source protocols could stifle digital finance innovation. Since the Act’s July 2025 enactment, all stablecoins must maintain full asset backing and undergo annual audits. Clear GENIUS Act guidance would also help traders and issuers assess compliance risks more accurately. Coinbase recommends excluding non-financial software developers, blockchain validators and open protocols from compliance, limiting the ban on interest payments to stablecoin issuers only, and treating payment stablecoins as cash equivalents for tax and accounting purposes. It cautions that an overly broad definition of “interest” risks distorting legislative intent and weakening U.S. competitiveness in the global stablecoin market.

On November 6, 2025, the White House confirmed its controversial Zhao pardon, granting full clemency to Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, after a comprehensive DOJ review and counsel evaluation. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision aimed to correct what the administration described as overly aggressive crypto regulation under the previous government. Critics allege political favoritism, while supporters see the executive clemency as a reset for cryptocurrency market rules. Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti-money laundering failures and served part of a four-month sentence, which the pardon commuted. For traders, the Zhao pardon signals reduced legal uncertainty for major crypto firms, potentially stabilizing market sentiment. Long-term, this shift could influence future enforcement strategies and compliance policies in the cryptocurrency sector.

Galaxy Digital’s research team, led by Alex Thorn, has cut its 2025 Bitcoin price forecast from $185,000 to $120,000. The revised Bitcoin price forecast follows a sharp correction below $100,000 driven by ETF outflows, heavy whale selling, more than $1.3 billion in leveraged liquidations, and a major October 10 leverage unwind that drained market liquidity. Roughly 470,000 BTC shifted from long-term wallets to institutions, tightening supply and creating resistance at key levels. Additional headwinds include capital rotation into AI stocks and gold—both outperforming Bitcoin year-to-date—stablecoin growth, underperformance of Bitcoin treasury firms, and waning retail interest. Traders are advised to watch for liquidity events, policy updates, and institutional flows. While analysts caution that holding the $100,000 support level is vital to maintaining the multi-year bull run, they note that Bitcoin’s maturation, network security, and rising institutional adoption support a long-term bullish outlook despite a slower rally pace.

Hong Kong authorities have charged 16 individuals in the JPEX crypto fraud that siphoned HK$1.616 billion (US$205.8 million) from over 2,600 investors. The suspects, including former barrister Joseph Lam Chok and seven promoters, face charges of money laundering, fraud and operating an unlicensed money service. Since the scheme was exposed in September 2023, 80 arrests have been made, HK$228 million in assets—including HK$14.5 million in cryptocurrency—have been frozen, and Interpol red notices have been issued for three key suspects at large. The SFC asserts promoters falsely claimed licensing approval and has since published guidance on authorized platforms while boosting investor education. Eleven platforms now hold retail licences; Bybit and Crypto.com remain pending. Traders should monitor this JPEX crypto fraud case as regulatory scrutiny intensifies, potentially affecting market confidence and compliance demands.

The European Commission plans to centralize EU crypto regulation by expanding ESMA’s direct oversight over major stock exchanges, clearing houses, post-trade infrastructure and crypto service providers. A draft framework due in December will mirror the US SEC model, creating a single rulebook across member states and building on MiCA effective December 2024. Proponents, including ECB’s Christine Lagarde and Mario Draghi, say this unified EU crypto regulation will enhance consistency in licensing, cybersecurity, custody and cross-border approvals to advance the capital markets union. Critics warn that centralizing crypto oversight risks slower decision-making, higher compliance costs for smaller nations and could stifle innovation among fintech and emerging crypto firms. The final impact will depend on the implementation details, resource allocation and collaboration with national regulators.

Elon Musk has launched X Chat, an ad-free encrypted messenger now in beta for Premium X users. The app uses Bitcoin-style peer-to-peer end-to-end encryption, linking messages to X handles instead of phone numbers. X Chat supports text, file sharing, photos, GIFs and media attachments, with audio and video calls planned at full release. By removing ads and metadata collection, X Chat enhances digital privacy and security, positioning itself against WhatsApp and Telegram. The encryption relies on public key cryptography similar to Bitcoin, though full documentation and security audits are pending. Musk also hinted at future integration with bitcoin-based payroll systems, reflecting decentralization and blockchain ideals. Available within the X platform and as a standalone app, X Chat promises seamless, secure communication across devices. Crypto traders should monitor user adoption and potential on-chain integrations that could impact BTC utility and broader market sentiment.

AMINA’s Austrian arm has secured a full MiCA license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority, allowing it to offer regulated crypto trading, custody, staking and portfolio management services to professional investors across the European Economic Area. Issued under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the license also covers crypto-to-fiat exchange. Austria was chosen for its robust regulatory framework and strong investor protections. AMINA has notified regulators in 13 other EU member states, positioning itself for swift market entry. With MiCA compliance mandatory by July 2026, the bank—with existing licenses in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi—is poised for growth. The move could drive up to 40% trading-volume growth, potentially exceeding $2.3 trillion, and boost institutional confidence in digital assets across the single market.

Evgeny Gaevoy, founder of Wintermute, has dismissed all speculation of a Binance lawsuit over the October 10–11 flash crash, calling the rumours “baseless”. Changpeng Zhao echoed this denial by quote-tweeting Gaevoy. Wintermute, Binance’s largest market maker, never intended litigation and remains fully operational. During the crash, Binance activated its auto-deleveraging (ADL) mechanism, spent $188 million from its insurance fund and issued $283 million in refunds, excluding ADL losses. On-chain data shows Wintermute’s portfolio fell 12 % from $637 million to $572 million after a 1,000 BTC inflow days earlier. While on-chain liquidations reached $19 billion and briefly wiped $600 billion off crypto market cap, analysts estimate actual trader losses were closer to 5 %–15 %. Bitcoin futures open interest plunged over 30 % before BTC rebounded to around $114,000. The firm’s refutation of any Binance lawsuit removes a key legal overhang but highlights ongoing structural risks in derivatives and potential rate-cut expectations.

Nasdaq has issued a warning to TON Strategy after it completed a $558 million PIPE financing on August 7 with Kingsway Capital and used nearly half the proceeds to buy Toncoin without securing required shareholder approval under Nasdaq rules. The breach, detailed in an SEC 8-K, stemmed from issuing ordinary shares exceeding the 20% threshold without consent. Nasdaq deemed the violation unintentional and halted short of delisting, but formally censured the firm. The 8-K also revealed a leadership reshuffle: former TON Foundation chair Manuel Stotz was appointed executive chairman. CEO Veronika Kapustina, who has previously cautioned against asset treasury bubbles in digital assets, remains at the helm. TON Strategy’s share price surged from $9 to $22 in late summer before plunging to $4.14—a near 80% drop. Traders should monitor regulatory compliance, governance risks, and crypto treasury management trends to gauge the impact on Toncoin and related token markets.

Ethereum Foundation grant program has been relaunched through the Ecosystem Support Program (ESP). The new Ethereum Foundation grant program format offers two funding paths: a high-level Wishlist and targeted Requests for Proposals (RFPs). The grant program paused applications earlier this year to align resources with strategic priorities. The Wishlist invites proposals on cryptography, privacy, security, application development, and community growth. RFPs define clear deliverables, timelines, and evaluation criteria for specific technical challenges. Since 2018, ESP has funded over 500 projects, boosting developer tools, infrastructure, research, and education across the ecosystem. Applicants can submit proposals on the ESP website and attend Office Hours for guidance. This refreshed grant program aims to drive long-term innovation, sustain decentralization, and strengthen network security.

Zerohash has secured an EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto, stablecoin and tokenization services across the 30-member EEA. As a Netherlands-registered Crypto-Asset Service Provider, it gains full regulatory clarity under the upcoming June 2024 stablecoin rules. This EU MiCA license builds on its existing licenses in the US, Canada, Latin America, Bermuda and Australia. Zerohash’s API-first platform streamlines custody and on-chain transfers within a bankruptcy-remote trust architecture, de-risking operations for banks, fintechs and payment platforms. Industry sources report Mastercard is in talks to acquire Zerohash for $1.5–2 billion, aligning with its stablecoin strategy after USDC and EURC settlement tests in the Middle East and Africa. This regulatory milestone signals stronger institutional adoption of stablecoins like USDC and EURC, boosting liquidity and settlement efficiency in Europe’s crypto markets. Traders should watch for enhanced market depth and potential price moves from increased stablecoin flows.

Changpeng Zhao deleted his post on X denying involvement in Bereket Bank after Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov claimed Zhao proposed the private crypto bank. Bereket Bank, approved by the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan and founded by Nurdoolot Japarov and Marat Sultanov, aims to attract foreign investment under Kyrgyzstan’s crypto strategy. Zhao had earlier refuted the reports, stating he supports crypto banking but has no interest in running a private crypto bank. During his May visit to Bishkek, he met President Japarov, served as strategic adviser to the National Council for Blockchain Development, and facilitated partnerships like Binance Academy’s ties with universities. Following his visit, Kyrgyzstan launched the KGST stablecoin on BNB Chain and outlined plans for a digital som CBDC by 2026. Law amendments are also underway to establish a state-backed crypto reserve and a centralized regulator. Traders may view this as a bullish signal for BNB, reflecting Binance’s regional expansion and growing crypto adoption.

Solana Foundation executive Vibhu Norby publicly challenged XRP proponents to prove their bullish claims with on-chain metrics. In the Solana XRP debate, he cited data from XRPScan and independent dashboards showing the XRP Ledger has about 25,000 daily active accounts over three years, while Solana averages 2.5 million. He contrasted XRP’s 1–1.5 million daily transactions (about 17 TPS) with Solana’s 100 million daily transactions (over 1,000 TPS). In October, Solana’s stablecoin transfer volume neared $2 trillion, versus $50–60 billion for XRP. Rejecting bot and fee-structure arguments, Norby attributed Solana’s lead to superior technology and dismissed RippleNet’s off-chain adoption as irrelevant. He proposed a live debate to settle the Solana XRP on-chain activity dispute and advised XRP holders to reassess the timeline for on-chain growth. At press time, XRP traded at $2.40.

Chainlink launched Chainlink 24/7 on October 29, extending its earlier 24/5 pricing service to weekends and holidays. The Chainlink 24/7 feeds cover equities, commodities and other real-world assets (RWAs). Aave is the first partner, using them on its Horizon institutional lending platform to value eligible collateral, initially including tokenized US stocks. Chainlink says the earlier weekday service supports more than $1.6 billion in tokenized stocks. During traditional market closures, the feeds derive reference prices from several perpetual-futures venues and apply stale-data filters and outlier controls. The Chainlink 24/7 feeds could help support round-the-clock onchain lending and trading, including more timely collateral risk management. However, a quoted price does not guarantee redemption at that price, and derivatives-based references may diverge from cash-market prices when exchanges reopen. Adoption, asset coverage and performance during thin liquidity remain uncertain. Traders will watch Aave’s handling of off-hours liquidations and whether usage becomes sustained activity or revenue. The launch is an infrastructure development, not proof of a mature secondary market or increased demand for LINK or AAVE.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde plans to leave on 7 February 2027, about eight months before her term ends. No successor has been announced; the European Council will appoint one after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB. During her tenure, Lagarde repeatedly criticized Bitcoin and other crypto assets, calling Bitcoin highly speculative and saying crypto assets lack an underlying anchor of safety. She opposed central banks holding Bitcoin, including after a 2025 proposal to study it for the Czech Republic’s reserves. She has distinguished distributed-ledger technology, which she describes as innovative, from speculative cryptocurrencies. The ECB has also advanced work on a digital euro and launched Pontes, a system for settling wholesale tokenised-asset transactions in central bank money. These initiatives offer regulated alternatives to stablecoin-based settlement. Lagarde’s departure may fuel debate over the ECB’s approach to Bitcoin, stablecoins and digital finance, but no immediate policy change is indicated. For Bitcoin traders, the leadership change is a source of longer-term policy uncertainty, not a direct market catalyst.

Crypto political spending has grown from an estimate of $176 million across more than 100 U.S. midterm races through October 20 to more than $200 million for the 2026 election cycle, according to newer figures from Public Citizen. The estimates use different scopes and should not be treated as directly comparable. Fairshake and its affiliates accounted for about $150.8 million in the earlier estimate; the group now says it backs 33 House candidates and has spent $55 million opposing Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s Senate race against crypto-supportive incumbent Jon Husted. Coinbase and Ripple each donated $25 million to Fairshake’s midterm efforts in 2025, while Coinbase-backed Stand With Crypto endorsed 45 candidates. The spending aims to elect lawmakers receptive to digital assets and advance market-structure legislation. The CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate after a September 15 procedural vote failed 49–50 to advance a motion to proceed; that was not a final passage vote. Democrats have also argued the bill does not adequately prevent senior government officials from profiting from crypto businesses. Fairshake previously reported that 53 of 58 candidates it backed in primaries or special elections won, but campaign spending and election results do not guarantee support for any particular bill. The 2026 midterm results could shape the prospects for U.S. crypto regulation. If lawmakers do not advance legislation by year-end, the next Congress would need to restart the process. Coinbase executive Ryan VanGrack expects greater regulatory clarity regardless of the election outcome, but passage remains uncertain. Traders will be watching the November 3 results and subsequent Senate negotiations for signals about the long-term regulatory environment; political spending alone is not a direct price catalyst.

Houthi attacks and threats against Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport have raised concerns about Saudi airspace security and disrupted Gulf aviation. The later report says 86% of scheduled flights were cancelled from 8 to 25 October, with some services subsequently resuming. An earlier report said an October 10 strike temporarily closed the airport, killing 13 people and injuring more than 300; Saudi authorities had not confirmed recent attacks. The continuing Houthi threat suggests an ongoing security risk, not just a one-off disruption. Prediction-market odds in the later report put the chance of a full Saudi airspace closure at 0.5% by 1 November 2026 and 13% by 1 January 2027, compared with an earlier 20% estimate for closure by the start of 2027. The earlier report also put the chance of a Saudi-Houthi ceasefire by 1 November at 3%. Traders may watch for updates from Saudi aviation authorities, the FAA and EASA, as well as diplomatic or military developments. The Houthi attacks add geopolitical risk but no direct catalyst for cryptocurrency prices or trading has been reported.

Chainalysis disclosed a cyberattack on October 30, in which an external attacker accessed some customer records. Exposed information included names, email addresses, user IDs and organizational roles; the number of affected users and organizations has not been disclosed. The company said investigation materials, transaction and query results, passwords, multi-factor authentication secrets and active session tokens were not accessed. Chainalysis described the intrusion as involving “offensive agentic techniques” but has not released technical details. Its investigation is ongoing, with outside cybersecurity specialists assisting as the firm assesses the breach and strengthens its systems. Chainalysis says it will provide affected customers with individual assessments. No cryptocurrency theft was reported, but the exposed contact details could enable targeted phishing. The Chainalysis cyberattack has no stated direct effect on crypto prices, though customers should be alert to suspicious password resets and authentication prompts and use two-factor authentication.

Curve Finance has launched an audited version of Curve StableSwap on Stellar’s Soroban smart-contract platform, marking its first native deployment beyond EVM-compatible networks. The beta interface lets users swap tokens, provide liquidity and create pools permissionlessly. Rebuilt for Soroban, Curve StableSwap retains its underlying mathematics and is designed to reduce slippage when trading similarly priced assets, such as stablecoins. Curve says institutional demand and support from the Stellar Development Foundation helped drive the launch. Stellar already hosts payment services and tokenized financial products, which could create demand for deeper liquidity. Curve’s FXSwap product, intended for assets such as dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoins, is nearing completion and will be audited before launch; no release date has been announced. Curve’s TVL is about $1.27 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Traders can monitor Stellar pool deposits and trading volume to assess adoption, but the launch’s market impact depends on whether users and institutions bring meaningful liquidity.

Canton Strategic Holdings (Nasdaq: CNTN) plans to tokenize its common shares for trading on TSV LLC’s Canton venue, potentially as early as Nov. 2, 2026. This would bring tokenized CNTN shares onto the Canton Network, with an automated market maker offering 24/7 trading and immediate onchain settlement. Trading has not begun and depends on meeting the conditions of the SEC’s Sept. 17 Innovation Exemption for certain permissioned venues trading tokenized US stocks. SEC-registered transfer agent Fairmint is expected to issue the tokens, maintain the official ownership record and oversee transfer compliance. The shares are intended to carry the same shareholder rights as CNTN stock listed on Nasdaq. TSV says approved participants would face identity and sanctions screening, volume limits and other risk controls. Canton Strategic shifted its focus to digital assets in 2025 and holds Canton Coin while supporting projects on the network. The proposed tokenized share trading is a test of regulated onchain equity markets, not a direct cryptocurrency launch. Its implications for Canton Coin and wider market adoption remain uncertain; the announcement does not establish trading demand.

KuCoin has immediately ended all products and services for users in Russia and Belarus, citing legal and regulatory requirements without naming a specific rule. The exchange has not announced a single account-closure or withdrawal deadline, nor disclosed how many users or assets are affected. Instead, KuCoin says affected customers will receive individual instructions and deadlines to close positions and withdraw funds. Users who have not received a notice need not act for now, and KuCoin urges customers to use official support channels to avoid phishing scams. The KuCoin exit follows service restrictions announced by MEXC and Bitget this month, reducing offshore crypto exchange options for traders in the two countries. The announcements point to a broader compliance shift, but the exchanges have not linked their decisions to a specific sanctions measure. Separately, the Bank of Russia says registered crypto exchange operators and digital depositories have 90 days to join a self-regulatory organization; it has not been stated that this requirement prompted KuCoin’s move.