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Crypto exchange Binance announced the "Together Initiative," committing an additional $400 million to reimburse traders and institutional investors affected by a recent market crash that caused a record $19 billion in liquidations. This new funding brings the total compensation earmarked by Binance and other BNB ecosystem partners to over $700 million, following a prior commitment of $283 million. Former CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao emphasized the protective measure, stating, "$283 million compensation on Binance, $45 million recovery airdrop on BNB Chain and Four Meme, another $400 million recovery airdrop on Binance. Protect users." The exchange is taking steps to support its users who experienced significant losses during the volatile period.
The distribution of the latest $400 million involves setting aside $300 million for users who faced forced liquidations between October 10 and 11, with individual amounts ranging from $4 to $6,000 for those with losses of at least $50. These amounts will be determined based on an assessment of each user's loss amount and ratio, with distributions starting soon. The remaining $100 million of the initiative is designated for ecosystem traders and institutional investors severely impacted, which Binance will use to create a low-interest loan to help them resume trading. Furthermore, BNB Chain and token launchpad Four Meme announced a separate $45 million "reload airdrop" for up to 160,000 wallets that had traded meme coins on the network, which had seen rapid crashes after a brief rally. Source
According to a Q3 Corporate Bitcoin Adoption report by Bitwise, corporate acquisition of Bitcoin is accelerating, with 48 new companies entering the digital asset treasury space between July and September, bringing the total number of corporate holders to 172. This 38% rise in new public companies accumulating Bitcoin suggests that major investors are increasing their commitment to the asset for the long term, rather than seeking short-term gains. The total value of these corporate holdings has risen over 28% quarter-over-quarter to $117 billion, and the total number of Bitcoin held by these firms now surpasses one million coins, representing nearly 5% of the total supply. Analysts view this sustained accumulation as a sign of deepening institutional adoption that helps legitimize crypto as a mainstream asset class.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy holds the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury with 640,250 tokens, followed by MARA Holdings. This institutional accumulation is typically conducted over-the-counter, which avoids immediate volatility and direct spot market impact, but the overall surge in corporate interest is expected to eventually cause a demand and supply imbalance that should place upward pressure on the asset's price in the medium to long term. Furthermore, the increasing availability of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is expanding exposure for traditional investors through familiar, regulated vehicles, which is further demonstrated by recent strong inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting a significant and maturing shift in the market. Source
Japanese regulators are planning to ban insider trading of cryptocurrencies, a significant move for a country that was an early adopter of digital assets. This initiative, reported by The Nikkei, involves the Financial Services Agency and its primary watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. The new rules are necessary because insider trading laws previously did not cover digital assets. Once authorized, the SESC will gain the authority to investigate suspected violations of the new prohibition on trading based on undisclosed information, which could lead to criminal referrals or surcharge recommendations.
The FSA is currently discussing the details of the new regulations with the goal of passing new laws in 2026. The initial step will be to explicitly state that trading cryptocurrencies using non-public information is forbidden, followed by drafting more specific rules. Insider trading is defined as using confidential, non-public information for the profitable buying or selling of an asset, as demonstrated by the 2022 case in the U.S. involving a former Coinbase product manager. While Japan has a long history as a crypto hub, dating back to the Mt. Gox exchange, this new regulatory effort aims to increase oversight and address market integrity concerns. Source
A US Representative has introduced a bill to codify, or make into law, an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that would allow alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies, to be included in 401(k) retirement accounts. The executive order, issued on August 7, states that Americans preparing for retirement should have access to funds that incorporate “alternative assets” when appropriate, which are defined to include digital assets held through actively managed investment vehicles, along with private market investments, real estate, and commodities. This bill, introduced by Republican Representative Troy Downing in the House Financial Services Committee, would grant the executive order the full force of a statute, which is necessary as an executive order sets government priorities but can be reversed by a subsequent president or the courts.
The push to include alternative assets like crypto in US retirement accounts follows previous developments, such as the Department of Labor withdrawing a Biden-era guidance that cautioned fiduciaries about adding crypto to 401(k) plans. Shortly after the executive order was signed, nine US lawmakers wrote to the SEC Chair to urge the acceleration of the order's implementation to benefit the 90 million Americans they claim are restricted from investing in alternative assets, with over nine trillion dollars held in 401(k) accounts as of June 2025. While some experts view adding crypto to these retirement plans as risky, others in the crypto community believe this move could significantly boost Bitcoin adoption and attract billions in new capital. Source
Bitcoin recently hit a new all-time high of over $126,000 before plunging under $110,000 following a sudden threat of new tariffs on China from President Trump, which caused over $19 billion in leveraged crypto futures positions to be liquidated in a single day. This flash crash occurred even as gold simultaneously soared to a new record of $4,099 an ounce, prompting questions about whether Bitcoin still serves as a reliable asset for the "debasement trade," which involves investors buying assets like gold, stocks, and digital coins to hedge against concerns over excessive government debt and money printing. Despite the recent volatility, experts maintain that the debasement trade narrative for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies remains valid, with one director claiming the trade could persist for another decade due to global inflation making U.S. dollars and long-date treasuries riskier.
Experts suggest the positive momentum for Bitcoin, driven by its role as a hedge against currency debasement, will continue unless there are significant, sustained rises in real interest rates, a return to fiscal discipline, or a clear institutional outflow from the market. While Bitcoin has only partially recovered and remains 10% below its recent high, and other major altcoins like Solana and XRP have suffered steeper drops, analysts believe these dips are temporary, predicting that many tokens are still on a path to reach new highs if the overarching debasement trade continues to drive market behaviour. Source
Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade has been activated on the Sepolia testnet, marking the second phase of a three-step roadmap aimed at significantly improving the network's scalability and performance. This deployment follows the initial Holesky testnet activation and precedes the final trial on the Hoodi testnet set for later this month, with the mainnet launch anticipated in December. A key component of the Fusaka rollout is the introduction of a new suite of performance and consensus improvements, most notably an increase to Ethereum's block gas limit to 60 million. This higher limit is intended to allow blocks to process a greater number of transactions and more complex smart-contract activity, requiring developers to ensure node stability can be maintained at this higher capacity.
To manage the increased data resulting from larger blocks, the upgrade is also stress-testing Peer Data Availability Sampling, or PeerDAS. This new system allows Ethereum validators to efficiently verify transaction data by sampling small pieces from various peers, instead of requiring them to download and store all network data. Core developers emphasize that PeerDAS is a fundamental change to how data availability is handled, enabling scaling beyond previous limits and significantly reducing the data burden on nodes while maintaining decentralization. This upgrade continues the network's history of major improvements since its 2015 launch, following recent updates like the Pectra upgrade in May and the Dencun upgrade in March, which reduced gas fees, and the foundational Merge and Shanghai upgrades. Source
Markethive is transforming digital commerce by pioneering a holistic market network model that seamlessly integrates social interaction and business exchange, moving beyond the limitations of earlier incentive-based programs like PayPal's original referral system. The platform distinguishes itself by not only attracting new users but also by cultivating deep, lasting relationships, providing referrers with ongoing access to their connections, and integrating blockchain technology with its native Hivecoin (HVC) token. This approach fundamentally redefines Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), which is typically a traditional metric focused on individual transactions. Markethive, instead, achieves a more comprehensive and dynamic understanding of customer value by integrating formerly separate business classifications, creating a network where a single connection can simultaneously be a social contact, a valuable lead, and a long-term, high-value customer.
The core of Markethive's innovation is a sustainable, multi-faceted revenue model where the value of a new lead is estimated to be high due to the exclusivity and richness of the data, network connection, and engagement within its ecosystem. This intrinsic value goes far beyond a one-time transaction, representing a continuous revenue stream driven by the financial velocity of the HVC token, supported by strategic incentives like micropayments and airdrops. This revolutionary model significantly extends the traditional CLV, pushing it beyond a ten-year horizon while maintaining a low Cost of Acquisition, thanks to its attractive referral and airdrop strategies. By providing entrepreneurs with integrated tools for lead generation, nurturing, and conversion, Markethive is an entrepreneurial ecosystem designed to facilitate continuous growth and the creation of lasting wealth, empowering users to build and scale their businesses successfully. Source
Bridge, the stablecoin arm of Stripe, has submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank under the GENIUS Act. This move aims to place its stablecoin issuance and reserves under a unified federal regulatory framework, bypassing the need for various state-level money-transmitter licenses. The proposed charter would enable Bridge to issue, redeem, and custody stablecoins, a necessary structure for its goal of tokenizing trillions of dollars. Stripe acquired Bridge last year as part of its strategy to integrate blockchain-based payments into its global merchant network, and this application follows the recent passage of the GENIUS Act which created a new charter category for regulated stablecoin issuers.
Bridge is not alone in seeking federal approval, joining other major players in the stablecoin and crypto space like Circle, Paxos, Ripple, and Coinbase, who have also filed for national trust bank charters. The GENIUS Act requires stablecoin issuers to maintain one hundred percent reserves in cash or Treasuries, publish monthly disclosures, and prioritize token holder redemption rights, allowing the OCC to directly supervise nonbank issuers. If approved, Bridge’s license would be a significant development for the U.S. stablecoin sector, setting a precedent for federal recognition and oversight of digital dollar infrastructure. This trend is viewed as a positive step toward a layered system where regulated institutions and decentralized protocols can safely coexist. Source
The primary challenge facing the maturing crypto market is its reliance on speculation and sentiment, largely due to the lack of quantifiable value and traditional fundamentals like price-to-earnings ratios or cash flow seen in conventional stocks. Unlike assets such as Bitcoin, which has a finite supply and is increasingly dominated by institutional investors, most tokens are extremely difficult to predict and are driven by traders. This speculative nature is significantly amplified by the widespread availability of unlimited leverage on crypto exchanges, allowing retail investors to easily trade at 100x or more. This is a stark contrast to traditional finance, where leverage for retail accounts is strictly regulated and capped, such as the 2:1 limit on equities set by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
This freedom to employ extreme leverage creates a volatile house of cards, where shifts in sentiment trigger cascading liquidations that can instantly wipe billions of dollars in value from the market, as evidenced by events like the $1.8 billion and $19 billion leveraged position wipeouts witnessed in late September and early October 2025, respectively. These rapid market corrections hit crypto investors harder because of the lack of regulatory protections common in traditional finance. As the industry evolves with the entry of major asset managers and a more favorable global regulatory environment, it needs protections to prevent such enormous market events. The author, Lucas Kiely, urges every crypto investor to recognize this new reality and adopt a systematic, disciplined approach to trading, moving beyond the overconfidence and over-leverage that pose considerable risks to the now-mature market. Source
Public companies significantly increased their Bitcoin holdings in the third quarter of this year, with the number of firms accumulating the asset surging by nearly 40% to 172. These companies now collectively hold over 1.02 million Bitcoin, valued at approximately $117 billion, a figure that continues to rise. This accumulation signals a strategic shift by corporate treasuries, who are viewing digital assets not just as a hedge against inflation but as a core long-term reserve, according to industry experts. The aggressive accumulation by public companies, which added over 193,000 BTC, outpaced growth in other sectors like private companies and exchange-traded funds, with firms like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet leading the charge in increasing their balance sheet exposure.
The acceleration in corporate Bitcoin adoption is partly attributed to a more supportive regulatory environment, including recent accounting reforms and updated SEC listing standards. This institutional confidence is also reflected in the broader market, which saw digital asset investment products experience record inflows, pushing the year-to-date total to $48.7 billion. Analysts characterize recent market volatility as a temporary "recalibration" due to geopolitical tensions, affirming that the underlying bullish thesis and long-term accumulation trends by institutions remain strong. Looking forward, experts forecast that continued investment, driven by dedicated digital asset treasuries and ETF inflows, could potentially push Bitcoin's value toward $160,000 in the fourth quarter. Source
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink predicts that traditional financial assets will transition toward a tokenized format over the coming decades, viewing this shift as the next significant opportunity for the world's largest asset manager. During an interview, Fink stated that tokenizing assets like Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) would allow investors who start with crypto to eventually be onboarded into more traditional, long-term retirement products, integrating them into a digital ecosystem. BlackRock, which manages $13.5 trillion in assets and holds $104 billion in crypto assets, sees this move as its next major growth wave, focusing on digitally repotting conventional financial products.
Fink acknowledged that the asset tokenization market, which includes real estate, equities, and bonds, is still in its nascent stages but expects it to grow substantially from its $2 trillion valuation in 2025 to over $13 trillion by 2030. BlackRock is already actively participating in this space, having launched the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) in March 2024, which is currently the largest tokenized cash market fund, valued at $2.8 billion. Fink, who has changed his long-held skeptical stance on crypto, now believes it plays a vital role in a diversified portfolio, similar to gold, and has teams across BlackRock actively exploring future tokenization options. Source
US crypto exchange Coinbase is making a new investment in the Indian exchange CoinDCX, building on prior investments and expanding its presence in emerging markets, specifically citing India and the Middle East as key drivers for future global crypto adoption. This deal, which values CoinDCX at $2.45 billion post-money, is seen as a strategic move by Coinbase to leverage CoinDCX's established regulatory relationships, rather than attempting direct market entry in complex regulatory environments. CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta emphasized the partnership's strategic alignment on a compliance-first approach, transparency, and trust, noting its strong focus on the dynamic Indian and Middle Eastern markets. Industry experts view this as a "partner to penetrate" strategy, enabling Coinbase to expand its international footprint following CoinDCX's impressive financial reporting, including $141 million in annualized revenue and $165 billion in annualized transaction volumes as of July 2025.
The investment creates a "regional corridor" connecting the large tech and user base in India with the capital and flexible regulation of the Gulf region, linking two of the fastest-growing crypto markets. This move comes months after CoinDCX successfully absorbed a $44.2 million hack in July from its treasury reserves, during which the exchange's CEO had dismissed earlier rumors of an acquisition by Coinbase. Experts believe that the foreign exchange's decision to invest directly simplifies their expansion compared to operating under India's stringent Financial Intelligence Unit regulations, and this collaboration may accelerate the development of clearer regulatory frameworks regarding foreign ownership, compliance, and interoperability with global crypto systems. Source
Fantasy sports crypto platform Sorare is migrating its ten-plus sports games and trading cards from Ethereum to Solana, a move CEO Nicolas Julia describes as an "upgrade" to better suit the platform's needs. The decision, announced last Thursday and expected to be complete by the end of the month, is driven by Solana's superior scalability and focus on consumer applications, which Julia says makes it the most viable chain for the fantasy sports vertical, leading in revenue, active addresses, and total value locked. Sorare, which currently boasts five million users and was valued at 4.3 billion dollars in 2021, is one of several large crypto protocols that have transitioned from their launch chain for growth, following in the footsteps of applications like 1inch and The Graph.
Despite the full migration of its core games, Julia emphasizes that Sorare remains "very bullish" on the Ethereum ecosystem, planning to continue supporting its users via an integration on the Base network and by still allowing Ether deposits. Sorare, a platform for buying, selling, and trading licensed digital player cards as non-fungible tokens, is focused on a multichain approach, stating it will also consider other high-speed chains like Sui and Aptos to maximize the scale of its trading cards. Furthermore, the company is not concerned about Solana's historical network outages, with Julia citing the network's recent stability and the team's ability to swiftly address any issues as reassurance. Source
Taiwanese stablecoin infrastructure firm OwlTing will begin trading its Class A common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market on Thursday, October 16, under the ticker symbol OWLS. This move makes OwlTing one of the first Asian blockchain companies to directly list on a major U.S. exchange. The company chose a direct listing to prioritize transparency and avoid diluting shareholder value, emphasizing its commitment to establishing itself as a regulated, institutional-grade partner in the stablecoin sector. This debut is timely, given the rapid expansion of the stablecoin industry, which is seeing growing institutional interest and new regulatory frameworks, such as the U.S. GENIUS Act, designed to enhance safety and transparency in digital currencies. OwlTing, headquartered in Taipei and founded in 2010, initially focused on e-commerce and hospitality before shifting its focus to blockchain-based payments infrastructure, specifically targeting regulated stablecoins to facilitate global cross-border transactions.
The company views the opportunity in the stablecoin market as "immense," anticipating that new global regulations are fostering a safer environment for broader adoption. OwlTing's payment division, OwlPay, is actively building infrastructure around these regulated stablecoins to capitalize on and help drive this growth, positioning them as a fundamental component of international payments. In 2024, the company reported $7.6 million in revenue, an 18% increase year-on-year, with its gross payment volume surging by 62% to $218 million. While net losses were recently impacted by one-time listing costs, OwlTing projects that its profitability will improve as its stablecoin infrastructure expands and its operating margins strengthen over time. Source
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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