Crypto News

Zama has acquired KKRT Labs, a zero-knowledge proof R&D firm backed by Vitalik Buterin, StarkWare and others. The deal accelerates Zama Protocol’s ZK rollups scalability to over 10,000 confidential transactions per second on Ethereum and Solana. KKRT Labs brings expertise in high-performance proving architectures and modular ZK rollups. The acquisition deepens Zama’s technical capabilities in blockchain scalability and privacy. It also paves the way for confidential stablecoin payments, private DeFi and on-chain asset management. Vitalik Buterin’s work on agentic AI risks and the GKR protocol underscores the critical role of secure, high-speed ZK proof systems in next-generation blockchain applications. This ZK rollups expansion positions Zama at the forefront of scalable, privacy-focused blockchain solutions.

On November 5, 2025, Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team filed an SBF appeal at the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, challenging his 2023 fraud conviction and 25-year sentence. The lawyers argue Judge Lewis Kaplan exhibited judicial bias by pressuring jurors into a quick verdict, ridiculing SBF’s testimony and blocking key defense evidence—particularly proof that FTX held sufficient assets to cover customer losses. They contend that prosecutors, media and FTX’s new management presumed guilt before trial, denying a fair defense. The appeal, supported by the SBF appeal team, seeks to vacate the conviction or secure a new trial before a different judge. Meanwhile, SBF is pursuing a presidential pardon after former President Trump granted clemency to Binance co-founder Zhao “CZ” Changpeng. His team maintains that FTX experienced a liquidity crisis, not bankruptcy, and that he never intended to defraud users. This SBF appeal underscores ongoing legal risks in the crypto sector and may influence market sentiment around FTX-related assets.

Ripple has launched its spot prime brokerage in the US after acquiring Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. The spot prime brokerage offers institutional services including OTC spot trading, custody, settlement, and credit facilities. US clients can execute cross-margin OTC spot trades with CME futures and options. This integrated platform delivers deep liquidity, 24/7 trading, instant confirmations, and real-time reporting. It consolidates licenses, technology, and infrastructure into a single clearing, financing, and execution system. The launch complements Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity solution and follows other strategic moves like the GTreasury acquisition and XRP reserve raise. Ripple aims to boost ecosystem liquidity, support on-chain payments, and capture more market share in the regulated US market.

OpenAI’s $38B AWS cloud deal secures dedicated cloud computing services over seven years, with capacity deployed by end-2026 and expanded into 2027. The AWS cloud deal shifts OpenAI beyond Microsoft, ensuring Nvidia GB200 and GB300 GPUs in low-latency EC2 UltraServer clusters for training and ChatGPT inference. This partnership accelerates agentic AI workloads and ties AWS more closely into OpenAI’s Stargate initiative to build 30GW of AI compute with $400B in planned investments. The move also sets a new benchmark for computing costs, highlights surging demand for AI infrastructure, and could fuel emerging AI-driven crypto applications. Traders should watch major cloud providers and GPU hardware stocks for broader market implications.

Strategy has filed to issue 3.5 million Euro STRE Preferred Stock shares at €100 each, offering a 10% annual cumulative dividend, payable quarterly from December 31, 2025. The euro-denominated STRE perpetual preferred shares rank junior to the firm’s €8.25B existing debt and sit below its STRF and STRC securities. Net proceeds will fund general corporate purposes and expand the Bitcoin treasury. Dividends will be financed through future capital raises and at-the-market offerings; unpaid dividends accrue interest at 11%, rising 1% per quarter to 18%. The offering targets professional and qualified investors in the EEA and UK, excluding retail. Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Moelis act as joint bookrunners. The Euro STRE Preferred Stock reflects growing demand for Bitcoin-backed securities in Europe and diversifies corporate funding channels.

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.

At Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters forecast that cash will vanish and all currencies will exist as digital currency processed on a blockchain settlement layer. He praised Hong Kong regulators for balancing innovation with compliance. Blockchain will underpin every transaction in his vision of global financial infrastructure. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery outlined a $13.6 billion plan to privatize Hang Seng Bank and invest in education and research through partnerships with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po emphasised the city’s role as a gateway to mainland China and a hub for cross-border wealth management. Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed intentions to build his entire startup process on blockchain. These developments highlight growing institutional adoption of blockchain and digital currency, reinforcing Hong Kong’s status as a leading fintech hub. Crypto traders should watch regulatory frameworks and institutional flows, as increased participation may spur liquidity and bullish momentum across major tokens.

Kraken has launched crypto-collateral futures for EU traders under the MiFID II and MiCA frameworks. Effective November 3, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and major stablecoins can serve as margin collateral on Kraken Pro across more than 150 perpetual futures markets, with up to 10× leverage. Margin is calculated in USD. Volatility-based haircuts discount riskier assets and may trigger liquidations if equity falls below maintenance levels. The crypto-collateral futures offering boosts capital efficiency, speeds liquidity and lowers transaction costs by eliminating fiat conversions. This compliant roll-out follows Kraken’s February 2025 acquisition of a Cyprus investment firm to secure MiFID II licensing, complementing MiCA approval from the Central Bank of Ireland. Q3 2025 revenue hit $648 million, up 50% QoQ and 114% YoY, underlining strong institutional demand for regulated leveraged trading in Europe.

FTSE Russell and Chainlink have launched onchain equity data feeds via Chainlink DataLink. This FTSE Russell Chainlink partnership brings Russell 1000, Russell 2000, Russell 3000 and FTSE 100 onchain across 60+ blockchains. The FTSE Russell Chainlink initiative also publishes crypto benchmarks onchain. The feeds deliver real-time, tamper-proof equity data and crypto index values. Covering over $18 trillion in managed assets, the integration addresses data silos, cuts settlement times and lowers operational costs. Traders can embed this onchain equity data into algorithmic strategies, DeFi protocols, tokenized assets, collateralized lending and potential onchain ETFs. This move signals growing institutional adoption of blockchain oracles and boosts market liquidity and efficiency.

In Q2 2026, Chainlink and Chainalysis will launch an Automated Compliance Engine that integrates Chainalysis’s real-time KYT risk intelligence with Chainlink oracles. This cross-chain solution lets institutions define policy rules—such as whitelist controls, transfer limits and transaction halts—that ACE enforces automatically on any blockchain. When KYT flags a suspicious address, ACE pauses transfers or blocks withdrawals in real time, replacing manual reviews and fragmented setups. The Automated Compliance framework features a “build once, enforce everywhere” model using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token Compliance Extension and unified identity layer. A Monitoring and Reporting Manager delivers auditable logs and alerts, while the combined system reduces operational overhead. By automating compliance, the partnership lowers barriers for banks and asset managers, enhances transparency and boosts DeFi and tokenized asset liquidity. Market analysts predict this regulatory highway will accelerate institutional adoption and drive long-term growth in decentralized finance.

Tharimmune has raised $540 million in a private placement to launch its crypto treasury strategy by acquiring Canton Coin (CC). This crypto treasury strategy is one of the largest corporate investments in tokenized assets to date. Led by DRW and Liberty City Ventures, the round saw participation from ARK Invest, Polychain Capital and Kraken. Tharimmune will allocate funds to purchase CC tokens, support operations and expand as a super validator on the Canton Network. By running additional nodes, Tharimmune aims to earn CC rewards and boost network performance. Its Nasdaq stock jumped 14% intraday and closed 8.4% higher. Canton Network is a permissioned enterprise blockchain backed by Goldman Sachs, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Paxos, Deutsche Bank and Cboe. The move highlights growing institutional demand for tokenized assets and real-world assets, which now exceed $34.6 billion on-chain.

Ripple has launched Ripple Prime in the US, its new institutional digital asset prime brokerage. Ripple Prime integrates over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading, cross-margining and cleared derivatives—including swaps and CME futures—for major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins such as XRP and RLUSD. The platform follows Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, consolidating FX, futures, swaps and fixed income infrastructures in one system. This unified setup delivers deeper liquidity, professional-grade settlement and risk management, bridging traditional trading desks and crypto markets. Concurrently, Ripple’s US dollar–backed stablecoin RLUSD surpassed a $1 billion market cap within a year of launch. RLUSD supports compliant institutional settlements and faster cross-border payments. These developments strengthen Ripple Prime’s prime brokerage offering and reinforce institutional access to crypto trading, potentially boosting market liquidity and adoption.

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.

Animoca Brands has agreed to a non-binding term sheet with Nasdaq-listed Currenc Group to pursue an Animoca Brands Nasdaq listing via reverse merger by 2026. Under the proposed deal, Currenc will issue new shares to acquire 100% of Animoca Brands’ equity, with Animoca shareholders retaining roughly 95% of the combined group and Currenc’s existing investors holding 5%. Currenc plans to divest non-core AI and digital remittance units before closing. The transaction remains subject to due diligence, shareholder and regulatory approvals. The listing aims to transition Animoca Brands from private fundraising to a liquid U.S. public market, broadening its investor base to include institutional players and retirement funds. Chairman Yat Siu says the merger will create the first publicly-listed digital assets conglomerate spanning DeFi, AI, NFTs, blockchain gaming and DeSci. CEO Alexander Kong adds it will unlock significant shareholder value and streamline access to U.S. capital markets. The proposed Animoca Brands Nasdaq listing follows an earlier plan for a New York listing, leveraging a pro-crypto U.S. policy environment. Key challenges include market volatility and macroeconomic headwinds.

Nvidia’s reported China policy requires cloud and data-centre partners using its chips to sell at least 51% of their computing services to customers outside China for future business. Existing contracts are reportedly exempt, and the Financial Times says the requirement has been conveyed verbally, with no written policy issued. The report extends scrutiny from advanced GPU exports to cloud-computing customers, as Chinese AI firms have accessed high-end chips remotely through data centres in Southeast Asia. Nvidia had tightened reviews of some Asian chip buyers in July. The company neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying US-chip-powered data centres help American developers compete globally; China’s Foreign Ministry called for a fair and non-discriminatory business environment. The Nvidia China policy could constrain some providers that depend on Chinese demand and affect AI infrastructure growth, but it signals no direct change to cryptocurrency markets or digital-asset trading.

North Korea has denied involvement in the reported $6.4 billion Binance hack, calling US accusations fabricated and politically motivated. On 2 November, Kim Yo Jong, a senior ruling-party official, also accused the US of damaging North Korea’s image by blaming it for cybercrime, including the 2025 Bybit hack, and said Pyongyang was monitoring US actions. The denial followed an FBI alert attributing the 29 October theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean-linked operation, and urging exchanges and blockchain services to block transactions involving identified wallets. Chainalysis and TRM Labs have also linked the attack to TraderTraitor, while other investigators have associated it with Lazarus Group. Elliptic traced funds across thousands of wallets and reported signs of automated laundering, but found no evidence that AI agents directed the transfers. The competing claims leave the attribution unresolved. For traders, the Binance hack keeps exchange security, stolen-fund tracking and possible wallet restrictions in focus, but the denial itself does not establish a change to Binance’s security status or the theft’s reported scale.

The 2026 US midterm elections could add volatility to Bitcoin and other risk assets. Prediction markets put the chance of Democrats winning both chambers of Congress at about 76%. A Democratic sweep could increase scrutiny of technology and AI companies, slow financial deregulation and complicate crypto legislation, although President Donald Trump retains veto power. A Republican win could give Trump more scope to advance his agenda.

The NYSE has added Broadridge Financial Solutions to its planned tokenized stocks venue, where it will provide onchain shareholder voting and digital transfer-agent services. Shareholders are expected to vote through supported wallets, brokers or Broadridge’s ProxyVote platform, with smart contracts recording voting rules and results. Broadridge previously processed Galaxy Digital shareholder votes on Avalanche. The NYSE has also named Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate as transfer-agent partners, alongside Securitize and tZERO. It says Broadridge, Computershare and Equiniti collectively maintain records for nearly 5,000 public companies, including about 99% of S&P 500 constituents. Broadridge says it processes more than $360 billion in assets daily. First outlined in January 2026, the tokenized stocks platform is designed for 24/7 trading, stablecoin funding and onchain settlement across multiple blockchains. It has not launched and remains subject to regulatory approval. The expanded roster adds established market infrastructure, but is not yet a live-market catalyst; the news has no clear direct price implication for Avalanche or other crypto assets.

According to Lookonchain, trader AguilaTrades has reopened a 40x leveraged Bitcoin short after cumulative losses of more than $38 million and multiple liquidations. The position is 93.67 BTC, worth about $7.19 million, with an estimated entry price of around $76,760 and a liquidation price of $77,435.21—less than 1% above entry. The Bitcoin short carries substantial liquidation risk, but one trader’s position does not establish a broader market trend.

Trezor has raised the passphrase limit on most of its hardware wallets from 50 to 128 characters. The change was first reported in an October update and confirmed in a November 1 release; users need the latest Trezor Suite and compatible device firmware. Model One remains capped at 50 characters. The Trezor passphrase update followed a Coldcard firmware flaw that weakened the randomness of some wallet recovery phrases. Initial reports cited about 594 BTC stolen from roughly 500 wallets, while later estimates from Galaxy Research put losses at around 1,596 BTC across 7,300 addresses, worth more than $100 million. A strong, unique passphrase can provide an additional safeguard if a recovery phrase is exposed, but Trezor warns that forgetting or mistyping it can permanently block access to funds. Separately, Trezor advised customers who bought devices through CryptoBilis from March 2026 onward to move funds to new wallets with fresh recovery phrases after suspected hardware tampering; no related losses had been confirmed.

ZeroBeta and Lynq announced an integration on October 27 that connects tokenized U.S. Treasury collateral with institutional lending and margin workflows on Avalanche. Eligible Treasury holdings can be pledged for secured borrowing and digital-asset trading while continuing to earn interest, although pledged assets are not freely available to their owners. ZeroBeta’s BlueShift platform sets risk terms and monitors margin requirements. Lynq’s settlement network holds collateral in escrow and carries out pledge or release instructions, linking risk calculations with control of the assets. Lynq says its platform holds more than $89 million in assets and has onboarded over 40 institutional digital-asset firms. The companies did not identify initial users or disclose completed transactions, loan rates, collateral thresholds, pledged amounts, transaction volumes or client net returns. The tokenized Treasury collateral integration could support institutional adoption of on-chain financing, but its trading significance remains uncertain until recurring usage and transaction volumes emerge.

Arthur Hayes says the FLOP Devnet is now open to developers, providing an early testing environment with a block explorer, test-token faucet, API, MCP interface, SDK and documentation. Builders can browse blocks, obtain test FLOP tokens and use AI agents to access verified inference services. Hayes cautioned that the FLOP Devnet tokens have no monetary value, offer no rewards or airdrop eligibility, and that the network may be reset. No tradable FLOP token has been issued, so the launch does not confirm future token incentives.

Cipher Digital reported third-quarter net income of $31.6 million, but revenue fell 63% year over year to $26.7 million, including a 71% drop in bitcoin mining revenue to $20.8 million. Its profit was driven largely by a $127.2 million non-cash gain tied to Google warrants, while the company recorded a $71.9 million operating loss and a $10 million adjusted EBITDA loss. Cipher Digital is shifting capacity from bitcoin mining to AI data-center leasing. Its Texas Black Pearl site generated $5.9 million in its first quarter of operations after opening its initial phase in August. The company also extended its Barber Lake data-center lease to 20 years, bringing contracted revenue there to about $9.1 billion. For crypto traders, the results show mounting pressure on Cipher Digital’s mining business alongside progress in its AI infrastructure transition. The accounting gain is not cash income, while the expanded data-center contracts may support longer-term revenue diversification.

China’s Communist Party has called for tougher action against corruption involving virtual currencies, blockchain and cross-border fund transfers. A decision adopted on 29 October and published by Xinhua on 1 November also highlights concealed methods such as nominee holdings and intermediaries. The focus is on tracing illicit money linked to public officials, not introducing a new crypto trading ban. The decision sets no new rules for Bitcoin, mining, stablecoins or individual investors. China has already imposed sweeping restrictions on cryptocurrency activity, including measures introduced in 2013, 2017 and 2021. For crypto traders, the latest policy reinforces scrutiny of digital assets in anti-corruption investigations but does not itself change existing market rules or create an immediate new trading requirement.

On October 29, two Ripple-labeled wallets still held 1 billion XRP released from escrow earlier that month, with another 1 billion XRP due to become eligible for release on November 1. Ripple then released the tokens and re-locked 700 million XRP, leaving a net 300 million XRP outside escrow. The returned tokens are scheduled for release in 2029: 600 million on June 1 and 100 million on July 1. The 300 million XRP is not proof of a sale or exchange deposit. Over the past 12 monthly cycles, Ripple released 12 billion XRP and re-escrowed 8.4 billion, a 70% return rate. About 31.1 billion XRP remains locked in 99 Ripple-owned escrow contracts. XRP traded near $1.26 amid a broader market downturn. Traders may watch ledger activity, exchange balances and the next monthly escrow release for evidence of actual selling pressure.

North Korean-linked crypto theft has been tied to 37 incidents from 2017 to 2026, with estimated losses of about $11.8 billion, according to the earlier report. A later review of 12 major cases from 2022 to 2026 put losses at about $9.74 billion, using valuations at the time of each incident and covering only selected cases. The figures reflect different scopes rather than a clear change in the overall estimate. The later review counted roughly $6.3 billion in losses tied to Binance—about 65% of its selected-case total—and cited major incidents involving Bybit ($1.5 billion), Ronin/Axie Infinity ($620 million), Bitget ($388 million), DMM Bitcoin ($308 million), WazirX ($235 million), Harmony Horizon ($100 million) and Atomic Wallet ($100 million). US authorities attributed the Binance, Bybit and DMM Bitcoin incidents to the TraderTraitor group; most of the other cases were linked to the Lazarus network. The earlier report also described a Binance hot-wallet breach affecting nine chains and more than $6.26 billion in transfers, as well as social engineering, compromised devices, insider access and the alleged use of false identities and AI-assisted tools. For traders, the reports underline persistent crypto exchange and wallet security risks. Further disclosures or evidence of compromised infrastructure could weigh on exchange-linked tokens and market sentiment, although the figures alone do not establish losses for any specific token. Traders may monitor exchange statements, security measures and related on-chain activity.

Meme coin trading was volatile across Solana, BNB Chain, Robinhood Chain and Base, with the later report for the 24 hours to 3 November 2026 showing lower activity on several chains than the earlier report for 29 October. Solana’s top 10 meme coins recorded $42.243 million in volume, down from $44.5 million; STONK led at $7.449 million, while MAMESUKE gained 41,477.7%, CAPY rose 6,367.7% and Anakin fell 54.2%. The earlier report had STONK at $14.7 million and cited huge gains for HOUSECOIN and Grokbot, alongside a 30% fall in BTC. BNB Chain volume declined from $33.7 million to $30.11 million. BNCB remained the leader, though its volume fell from $20.9 million to $12.507 million. XFS surged 242,808% in the later report, while JAGENT fell 56.4%; the earlier report had JAGENT up 6,802% and GANG down 36.6%. Robinhood Chain volume fell from $44.4 million to $23.557 million, with PONS leading the later period at $9.697 million; the earlier report highlighted PIZZA’s 21,667.2% rise. Base saw the sharpest reported volume drop, from $90.4 million to $6.822 million. AXIS accounted for most activity in both reports, but its volume fell from $89.1 million to $5.831 million; it was also down 35.5% in the earlier report. Overall, meme coin volume and leadership changed quickly, and trading was concentrated in a few tokens. The extreme, token-specific moves do not establish sustained demand or a market-wide trend. Traders should verify liquidity and data, and account for the risk of abrupt reversals.

Sherrod Brown’s return to Ohio’s Senate race has drawn heavy spending from crypto-backed political groups seeking to support Republican incumbent Jon Husted. Fairshake and affiliated groups have spent nearly $56 million, while a committee backed by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss added about $7.2 million. The roughly $63 million spent in the current race brings crypto-related spending against Brown across the 2024 and current elections to more than $100 million. Brown lost his Senate seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024, when crypto groups spent about $40 million opposing him. As Senate Banking Committee chair, Brown criticised crypto risks and advocated consumer protections, though he was also open to discussing stablecoin and digital-asset market rules. The industry viewed his influence over legislation as an obstacle. Recent polls show Brown narrowly ahead of Husted, with results close to the margin of error. Prediction markets put Brown’s win probability above 70%, an update from an earlier estimate of 68%. The race underscores crypto’s growing role in US politics and debate over whether targeting a prominent Democrat could weaken bipartisan support for digital-asset legislation. Its outcome may shape the regulatory debate, but will not by itself determine the fate of crypto market-structure bills.

Fundstrat research head and BitMine chairman Tom Lee says AI stocks may be nearing a bottom, but warns that prices could fall further. He argues that strong demand for AI infrastructure still exceeds supply, with component shortages and limits on capital spending slowing growth rather than signaling that the AI boom is over. Intel illustrates the strain: its data centre and AI revenue rose 78% year over year to $7.3 billion in the third quarter, yet a weaker fourth-quarter outlook and component shortages weighed on its shares. Intel fell 28.6% on October 30 and another 8.8% on November 2. Lee also sees the crypto market’s response to a reported $6.3 billion Binance incident as a possible sign that some risk-asset selling has been absorbed. Binance said it froze about $3 billion in affected assets and would use emergency reserves and company funds to cover losses. During the sell-off, Bitcoin fell about 4% to around $76,400, more than $1.3 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, and US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $643.2 million in net outflows—their largest daily outflow in October. By November 3, Bitcoin was around $76,852 after briefly touching about $76,000. The signal remains tentative: Lee says further downside is possible, and the ETF outflows and liquidations show substantial market stress. For crypto traders, Bitcoin’s recovery may indicate that selling pressure is easing, but it does not confirm a reversal; broader risk appetite, market liquidity and the response to the Binance incident remain important drivers.