PA Daily on Oct. 1 pulled together a broad set of crypto and macro developments, led by fresh signals on U.S. monetary policy, OpenAI’s latest fundraising plan, Bitcoin’s retreat after the latest PCE data, and a string of updates across stablecoins, tokenized securities, and on-chain flows.
Macro and regulatory developments
Goldman Sachs shifts its next Fed hike call to December
After the latest PCE release, Goldman Sachs dropped its call for a Federal Reserve rate hike in October and now sees the next possible move in December. The bank had previously expected a 25-basis-point increase in October. It cited softer-than-expected recent inflation data.
Goldman said that if inflation continues to cool, the Fed could ultimately decide that no further hikes are needed. If energy prices, demand, or other factors push inflation pressure back up, the policy path could still change.
South Korea moves to widen the scope of tokenized securities
According to Yonhap, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission published a notice on revisions to subordinate rules tied to the institutionalization of security tokens. The proposal would broaden the pool of assets eligible for tokenization to include traditional securities such as stocks, bonds, and funds, while also setting distributed-ledger requirements.
The draft would allow securities issuers to become “issuer account management institutions,” provided they meet conditions including minimum equity capital of 40 billion won. For circulation, the plan would establish an over-the-counter trading framework, with annual net purchase limits for retail investors at 100 million won across each OTC venue. The rules are expected to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027.
Six AI companies sign White House voluntary safety agreement
According to CoinDesk, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia, and xAI signed a White House AI safety agreement on Sept. 29. The companies committed to monitoring frontier-model risks in cybersecurity, biosecurity, and chemical threats, having internal teams inspect and fix problems, bringing in independent outside groups to assess safety controls, and putting oversight under independent board committees.
The agreement is voluntary. It does not set an implementation deadline or penalties for non-compliance, and the companies can choose their own auditors.
Cross-border digital yuan cooperation expands
Xinhua reported that after an initial batch of 26 financial institutions signed on, another 39 domestic and overseas institutions had applied by the end of September to join the CBETS cross-border settlement integrated service platform as direct participants.
The digital yuan international operations center said it has kept improving CBETS this year. The platform supports bilateral links with overseas monetary authority payment systems and central bank digital currency systems, and it also allows direct access for overseas financial institutions.
Kashkari sees one more hike this year and another in 2027
Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari said he expects one more Fed rate hike this year and another in 2027. He also said the Fed balance sheet works best when rates are close to zero, adding that it is reasonable to reassess balance-sheet strategy.
Kashkari said he is optimistic about artificial intelligence while also weighing the associated risks.
EU asks Binance to explain why it is still operating
The Financial Times reported that European Union authorities are asking Binance why it continues to operate after previously being told to halt related business. Regulators are focused on the platform’s operations under those restrictions and have asked the company to explain why services are still being provided.
Bank of England governor warns about AI-driven market shocks
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said artificial intelligence could trigger shocks in financial markets and that the U.K. needs to be prepared. The central bank is watching the large amounts of money going into AI “very closely.”
Asked whether an AI bubble could burst, Bailey said asset prices could see some degree of correction at some point. He said AI has strong potential to lift economic growth, but it also carries major risks. He added that AI can “speed up the work of supporting the Monetary Policy Committee,” but it will not make decisions for policymakers.
Project and product updates
Binance and OKX add new perpetual contracts
According to an official announcement, Binance will launch the CTUSDT U-margined perpetual contract at 15:45 Beijing time on Oct. 1, 2026, with leverage of up to 20x.
OKX said it will list the QUANTUSDT perpetual contract at 16:00 UTC+8 on Oct. 1, 2026, across web, app, and API. The exchange said Quant Network is building programmable money infrastructure through Overledger and QuantNet, linking banks, blockchains, tokenized deposits, and traditional payment rails so value can move and settle automatically across networks.
Hut 8-linked bid for Poolin Texas mining assets returns to auction
TheEnergyMag reported that a U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey approved the reopening of the bidding process for Poolin’s Texas Bitcoin mining assets. An affiliate of Hut 8 remains the stalking-horse buyer.
The deal value could reach as much as $180 million, including $100 million payable at closing and up to $80 million in milestone payments tied to a future data center transaction. Those payments are linked to development projects involving AI, high-performance computing, cloud computing, and hosting facilities. A public auction is set for Oct. 2, and other bidders must submit offers by Oct. 1.
Drift gives update on stolen funds recovery
The Drift Foundation released a progress update on the roughly $295.4 million stolen on April 1. About $9.2 million tied to the case has been frozen so far, though recovery still depends on law-enforcement procedures.
According to the foundation, the stolen funds were bridged to Ethereum, with about 130,259 ETH spread across four wallets. Roughly 107,165 ETH held in three of those wallets has not moved. A fourth wallet sent about 23,094 ETH to Tornado Cash on July 23. Mandiant identified the attacker as the North Korea-linked threat group UNC6862.
Recovered funds will go into the DFX compensation pool. Drift and Bybit have also launched a bounty program offering a 10% reward on successfully recovered funds.
Apple plans smart home hub launch on Oct. 13
Bloomberg reported that Apple plans to launch a smart home hub, code-named J490, on Oct. 13. The device is said to have a roughly 6-inch square display and can be mounted on a wall or placed on a table.
The company is also expected to update the HomePod mini for the first time since 2020 and release its first new Apple TV since 2022. The launch will mark the first major product test for CEO John Ternus, who took the role on Sept. 1. The products are expected to highlight a large-model-powered Siri assistant that can identify multiple household members and display personalized content.
Base rolls out the Cobalt upgrade
Base, the Layer 2 network backed by Coinbase, said its third network upgrade of 2026, Cobalt, has gone live on mainnet with Validity Transactions and several enhancements for the B20 token standard.
Validity Transactions let users submit condition-based transactions that remain private until the requirements are met, after which they execute automatically. Cobalt also adds three B20 upgrades: Composite Policies, which combine whitelist and blacklist rules through OR/AND logic; Schedule Multiplier Updates, which support advance scheduling of corporate actions such as stock splits; and seizeWithMemo, which lets authorized administrators reassign holder balances through transfers while recording a memo.
OUSD stablecoin launches across four chains
The dollar stablecoin OUSD from Open Standard has officially launched on Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo. The project said it is backed by support from more than 100 companies including Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard, and businesses can access it through channels such as Visa and Stripe.
Coinbase is set to add support on Oct. 1, including free 1:1 minting and redemption in U.S. dollars. OUSD is issued by Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary, and reserves are held by BlackRock, Lead Bank, and BNY Mellon. Visa, Stripe, BVNK, Coinbase, and Shopify have committed to mint a combined roughly $1 billion in OUSD.
Lido says MetaMask Staking will exit validator operations
Lido said MetaMask Staking is taking precautionary action after investigating an infrastructure compromise and will exit the Ethereum validator nodes it operates within the Lido protocol. The process could mean forfeiting part of the staking rewards and may result in downtime penalties.
The validators have already started the exit process and are expected to complete it by no later than Oct. 7, 2026. ETH is expected to return to the protocol gradually over about 45 days after validator exit, withdrawal, and re-entry into the staking cycle. Lido said the staking service is non-custodial and stETH holders do not need to do anything. It added that its diversified node operator set and a temporary reserve fund of more than 6,750 stETH are intended to reduce the impact.
Robinhood executive explains tokenized stock structure
Johann Kerbrat, head of Robinhood Crypto, said during Korea Blockchain Week that tokenized stocks traded on Robinhood are backed by real shares rather than being derivatives tied only to price moves.
He said Robinhood buys the corresponding company shares and holds them in custody for the tokenized stock product.
Funding and venture activity
OpenAI seeks $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation
OpenAI is seeking at least $30 billion in a new funding round at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion, excluding the fresh capital being raised. The report said the company is replenishing its cash position after delaying its planned 2026 IPO until after 2027.
OpenAI’s annualized revenue topped $40 billion this summer and has risen about 70% since July. The company recently introduced a persistent AI agent called Dots and launched a $500-a-month premium subscription tier. In March, OpenAI completed a $122 billion financing round at a post-money valuation of about $852 billion.
Rival Anthropic has already filed for an IPO. It plans to spend about $518 billion on cloud computing and infrastructure after listing, and its potential valuation could exceed $2 trillion.
SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI reaches $64.6 billion
SoftBank Group, through Vision Fund 2, completed its third and final follow-on investment in OpenAI, adding $10 billion and bringing the full $30 billion follow-on commitment to completion.
After this round, SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI stands at $64.6 billion, with its stake at about 13%. The funding came from foreign-currency-denominated senior bonds that SoftBank announced on Sept. 24.
GMI Cloud raises $668 million
Straitstimes reported that AI-native cloud platform GMI Cloud completed a $668 million financing round, including $223 million in Series B equity financing and $445 million in credit financing. ARCHIV led the round, and Nvidia participated.
The company said its inference platform processes about 4 trillion tokens per week. Customers include Fireworks, Nous Research, OpenRouter, and Trend Micro.
Market moves and analyst views
Bitcoin fails to hold above $85,000 after favorable PCE data
After U.S. August PCE inflation data came in below expectations, Bitcoin briefly climbed above $85,000 and touched $85,500 before giving back the gains as Treasury yields stayed elevated. By Thursday’s Asia trading session, BTC was around $83,700, up 0.4% over 24 hours.
Over the same period, HYPE rose about 3% to $89, DOGE gained nearly 2% to $0.1, and SOL slipped nearly 1% to $119. Analysts said the cooler-than-expected PCE print reduced expectations for an October hike, but with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield around 5.28%, inflation improvement alone was not enough to keep Bitcoin above $85,000.
Cost-basis structure for Bitcoin holders remains stable
Crypto analyst Axel Adler said Bitcoin is trading around $83,700, about 14% above the short-term holder cost basis. Over the past week, the short-term holder cost basis rose 1.2% to $73,700, leaving that cohort with unrealized profit of about 13.7%.
The long-term holder cost basis slipped from $48,900 to $48,800, putting Bitcoin roughly 72% above that level. Adler said that if the weekly change in the long-term holder cost basis returns to zero, it could suggest the indicator is stabilizing.
Analyst says Bitcoin apparent demand is still negative
Crypto analyst Darkfost said Bitcoin’s “apparent demand” is currently negative 112,500 BTC, signaling weak spot-market demand. That is an improvement from negative 207,000 BTC on Sept. 20, during which period Bitcoin ETFs absorbed about 28,000 BTC.
Darkfost said that in the current setup, Bitcoin could still see a modest pullback to find real buying demand. The metric compares newly issued supply with changes in supply that has not moved for more than one year.
Higher long-end Treasury yields intensify competition for capital
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said rising long-term bond yields are increasing competition for capital, with some investors leaning toward safer U.S. Treasuries.
Using a starting yield of about 5.3%, she said a 100-basis-point rise in yields would produce a total loss of roughly 1.5%, while a 100-basis-point decline could generate a return close to 13% including coupon income.
Binance co-CEO sees room for tokenized stocks to expand
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said tokenization could change how global investors access stock markets, though the process will not happen overnight.
Citing Binance Research, he said the tokenized stock market grew 390% in 2026 but still accounts for only 0.0029% of the $151.9 trillion global listed equities market. Under a base-case scenario, the market could grow from about $4.43 billion now to roughly $349 billion by 2030.
Cooling inflation eases hike pressure, but yields remain a headwind
The Block reported that the U.S. August headline PCE price index rose 0.3% month on month and 3.4% year on year, while core PCE rose 0.2% month on month and 3.0% year on year, both below market expectations. That reduced the likelihood of another Fed hike in October.
Brendan Ma, head of investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, said the 0.2% monthly rise in core PCE was a positive sign. Martin Lee, head of market insights at DWF Labs, said the mild inflation data could lower the risk of another hike. Nexo Dispatch analysts, however, said seven-day altcoin inflows to exchanges have climbed to their highest level since October 2025. The report also said Treasury yields remain a hurdle for risk assets.
On-chain and market data
Whale and institutional wallet activity
Lookonchain said one whale withdrew 5,000 ETH worth $13.43 million from Binance after five months of inactivity.
On-chain analyst Ember reported that an address tied to an institution that sold 172,500 ETH in early September withdrew 3.125 million UNI from centralized exchanges between Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 at an average price of $7.7, worth $24.21 million.
Analyst Ai Yi said address 0xE1A…c1691 built another 5,000 ETH position worth $13.43 million. The same address had traded 6,899 ETH on March 3 and ended that round with a loss of $195,000.
Ai Yi also said another address bought 1,486.37 ETH on-chain at 3 a.m. at a price of $2,710.23, spending $4.028 million, and is now down $33,000.
Ripple unlocks 1 billion XRP
Onchain Lens said Ripple unlocked a total of 1 billion XRP from escrow through four transactions worth about $1.49 billion. The releases involved 400 million, 300 million, 200 million, and 100 million XRP, all completed within minutes.
The report noted that Ripple usually releases escrowed XRP according to a preset schedule, and some of the unlocked tokens may be used for ecosystem development and operating funds.
Historical October returns for BTC and ETH
Coinglass data showed that Ethereum has posted gains in six of its 10 October trading periods since 2016, with four declines. Its biggest October gain came in October 2021 at 42.92%, and its largest October drop came in October 2016 at 16.83%. Since 2016, Ethereum’s average October return has been 3.29% and the median is 0.36%. Ethereum’s return in September 2026 reached 8.77%, the second-highest September reading on record after September 2016 at 14.53%.
Bitcoin has risen in 10 of its 13 October trading periods since 2013, with three declines. Its largest October gain came in October 2013 at 60.79%, and its biggest October drop came in October 2014 at 12.95%. Since 2013, Bitcoin’s average October return has been 18.52% and the median is 12.73%. Bitcoin’s return in September 2026 was 6.33%, the second-highest September result on record after October 2024 at 7.29%.
Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin holdings top 10,000 BTC
Arkham data showed that Morgan Stanley kept adding Bitcoin last week through its spot Bitcoin ETF, MSBT. Its total holdings have now crossed 10,000 BTC for the first time, reaching 10,436 BTC worth about $875 million.
Micron plans to step up share repurchases
Micron CFO Mark Murphy said on the company’s earnings call that the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 generated $44 billion in operating cash flow and $33.2 billion in free cash flow, and that the company plans to return 100% of excess cash to shareholders.
He said Micron intends to increase capital returns starting Dec. 9, 2026, mainly through share buybacks.