Compiled by ChainCatcher
The last 24 hours brought a fresh round of developments across crypto regulation, macro markets, tokenization, venture capital and onchain security.
Charles Edwards says a quantum computing roadmap could become a Bitcoin catalyst
According to ChainCatcher, Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine that Bitcoin will likely need a meaningful change to break above its all-time high. In his view, possible catalysts include substantial progress in quantum computing, a shift in Federal Reserve policy, direct Bitcoin purchases by the U.S. government, or another round of stimulus.
Edwards also said institutional buying through ETFs is still providing strong support for the market. He added that AI-driven unemployment could alter the Fed’s policy path and in turn affect Bitcoin, while rising hashrate is producing a bullish signal in the Hash Ribbons indicator. He also discussed whether this mining cycle is different in the AI era.
Beyond that, he assessed whether Bitcoin remains undervalued from the angles of production cost, energy value and MVRV, and discussed the unknown territory Bitcoin is facing in a world of global liquidity and 5% interest rates.
On quantum computing specifically, Edwards said a clear roadmap for the technology could actually act as an upside catalyst for Bitcoin. He also discussed crypto security risks tied to AI superintelligence and what could trigger Bitcoin’s next move to a record high.
Patrick Witt leaves the White House as Clarity Act efforts face obstacles
According to The Block, Patrick Witt has ended his term as the White House’s top adviser on digital asset regulation. A White House official said in an email sent to The Block on Wednesday that Witt’s “detail assignment had expired,” adding that the White House appreciated his work for the Trump administration and wished him well.
Crypto In America reporter Eleanor Terrett had previously reported that Witt is a U.S. Department of Defense employee and that his role on the White House crypto council was temporary. As executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, Witt led Washington’s push for broad crypto legislation through the Clarity Act. The House version passed more than a year ago, and he had since been coordinating Senate talks.
The Senate version, however, has run into several barriers, including disagreements between banks and the crypto industry over how stablecoin rewards should be treated, as well as how to address conflict-of-interest concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s large crypto holdings. The latter was the main reason the bill failed its first procedural vote last month. Democrats argued that because enforcement decisions involving the president would fall to the Department of Justice rather than the states, the relevant provisions would not be enforceable in practice.
Witt is the third senior crypto official to leave the White House. David Sacks, who oversaw crypto and AI matters, left in March after saying his 130-day term as a special government employee had ended. Witt’s deputy, Harry Jung, also left in July.
Firelight adds $30.5 million in onchain coverage for a Kraken USDC vault
According to The Defiant, Firelight, an onchain protection protocol built on Flare, said on Oct. 15 that its coverage has gone live for the Protected Strategies USDC vault on Kraken DeFi Earn. The product is designed to provide collateral-backed payouts for certain protocol failures.
The coverage was purchased by Sentora, the vault’s independent manager, not by Kraken itself. Depositors do not need to opt in, but there are limits. Kraken disclosed that each deposit address is capped at $100,000 in payouts per coverage period, and total payouts are also constrained by the vault’s overall limit and available capital. Sentora would make eligible payouts in USDC to qualifying wallets. Kraken provides no funding and no guarantee.
Firelight listed six categories of failures that can trigger payouts: smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, governance attacks, and bad debt, depegs or redemption failures caused by protocol design breakdowns. Coverage applies only to markets and positions recorded during the coverage period. Normal market moves, ordinary liquidations, depegs that operate as designed during redemption, and withdrawal delays caused by organically high utilization are excluded. Insider theft, stolen private keys, phishing and regulatory actions are also excluded.
A redemption failure is triggered if a covered position cannot be withdrawn for more than 72 consecutive hours, or if the amount returned after disclosed fees falls below 90% of fair value. Depositors do not file claims themselves. A five-member risk committee determines eligibility by a three-fifths majority vote. Onchain records show the pool labeled “Kraken DeFi Protected” stands at $30.5 million.
Chip stocks slide on AI funding worries and rate-hike concerns
According to Gate market data cited by ChainCatcher, global technology hardware shares kept falling as expectations for further Fed tightening combined with concern over AI financing. Samsung Electronics dropped more than 7% and SK Hynix more than 8% in South Korea, dragging the KOSPI down by more than 6% at one point. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 3% intraday.
Investor confidence remained under pressure even after strong earnings from Samsung and ASML. CoreWeave shares plunged, and bond prices pointed to financial strain. U.S. September CPI posted its biggest rise in five months, adding to rate-hike expectations.
Pear VC unveils its fifth fund at $333 million
According to ChainCatcher, early-stage venture firm Pear VC co-founders Pejman Nozad and Mar announced Pear Fund V on Oct. 14, 2026, with $333 million in capital, bringing assets under management above $1.1 billion. Arash Afrakhteh, Ajay Kamat and Shravan Reddy were also named general partners.
The two founders had discussed starting a venture firm about 13 years ago at Coupa Café in Palo Alto, built around the idea of meeting founders before the rest of the market recognizes them. Pear has backed DoorDash, Gusto, Guardant Health, Vanta and Listen Labs. The firm says it sees thousands of opportunities each year across pre-seed and seed, and operates PearX, a university program, hackathons, a founder community, two studios, an engineering team and a founder services team.
Afrakhteh joined in 2020 and invests in enterprise and B2B categories including AI, machine learning, cloud and data infrastructure. He previously co-founded Cariden Technologies, which Cisco acquired in 2012.
Kamat joined in 2015 and focuses on consumer, fintech and healthcare. He previously co-founded Wedding Party and served as its CEO. The company was backed by Pear and later acquired by Instacart.
Thailand’s Bitcoin ETF rules take effect on Oct. 16
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized rules for Bitcoin ETFs, with the framework taking effect on Oct. 16. Bitcoin has been included in the first phase of eligible assets.
Under the rules, relevant funds must maintain average net exposure of at least 80% of net asset value in each accounting year. Custodians must be licensed by the Thai SEC. Fund units may trade only on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and securities firms may not provide margin financing.
Thai mutual funds and private funds will be allowed to invest in locally listed crypto ETFs, but depository receipts linked to overseas crypto ETFs cannot be issued or offered in the initial stage.
Analysts say Fed hikes just before U.S. midterms are unusual, focus turns to Kevin Warsh
U.S. September CPI rose 3.7% year over year and 0.6% month over month, while core CPI rose 2.6% year over year and 0.3% month over month, all above market expectations, according to ChainCatcher. After the data, market pricing for a 25-basis-point Fed hike in October climbed to about 40%, up from roughly 20% the previous day. The Fed had already raised rates by 25 basis points last month, its first increase since 2023.
The next rate decision is due on Oct. 28, just six days before the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. Inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target and economic activity has stayed resilient, offering support for another hike. Economists at Jefferies and Nationwide said the data support hikes in both October and December.
Other analysts expect the Fed may decide to wait until December given the election timing and possible economic fragility. Historically, rate hikes in October or November ahead of midterm elections have not been common. Markets are now watching comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh before the pre-meeting blackout period begins.
South Korea plans tighter cyber rules after review finds deficiencies at 130 firms
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said it plans stricter cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after investigating 16 companies hit by earlier security incidents, including crypto exchanges. In a broader industry review covering 555 financial companies, the FSC found cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of them and said about 100,000 customer records had been exposed, including names, contact details and identification numbers.
The affected firms include Streami, the operator of Gopax, and crypto trading platform Prabang, which had previously disclosed that a hack on Oct. 2 led to the leakage of some customer personal information. The FSC said it is still investigating whether AI was involved in the incidents or whether the attacks were linked to the same group.
Under the proposed reforms, larger financial institutions would undergo at least two vulnerability assessments each year. Regulators also plan to improve information-sharing systems and are considering using AI for security monitoring at smaller firms. The FSC is also weighing whether to allow extra cybersecurity inspections outside the normal schedule when urgent threats appear.
Coinbase joins London operation targeting West African scam networks
Coinbase said it has joined Tech Against Scams and worked with the UK National Crime Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice Scam Center Strike Force and other international law-enforcement partners during a joint action week in London from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9. The effort focused on real-time intelligence sharing and coordinated action against criminal scam networks operating from West Africa.
Coinbase said the networks operate across platforms, identify victims through social media, build trust through messaging apps and then use digital infrastructure and financial services to move stolen funds. As law enforcement and industry pressure increases on scam compounds in Southeast Asia, the company said these networks are expanding into other regions including West Africa.
The operation, hosted by the UK National Crime Agency, brought together technology, telecom and financial companies to target the infrastructure, accounts and payment rails supporting scams. Coinbase Vice President Leah Bressack said earlier crackdowns on scam compounds in Southeast Asia showed that coordinated industry and law-enforcement action can work. As networks try to rebuild in Africa, Coinbase’s global intelligence team is tracking funds, freezing assets and sharing intelligence in real time, she said.
The operation covered tactics including fraudulent crypto investment schemes, impersonation of law-enforcement officials and fake video calls used to pressure victims into sending funds. Coinbase said it will continue working with Tech Against Scams and law-enforcement partners.
Bitwise says it is working with more than 20 wealth platforms on crypto ETP approvals
Bitwise analyst Ishmael Asad said in a post on X that the firm is currently working with more than 20 wealth management platforms whose combined assets under management total about $24 trillion. Bitwise is pushing to have those platforms approve crypto exchange-traded products so their advisers can offer clients access to crypto allocations.
Among institutions working with Bitwise, 17 have approved crypto equity-theme ETPs, 11 have approved Bitcoin ETPs, six have approved Ether ETPs, six have approved top-10 crypto basket ETPs, two have approved Solana ETPs, and one each has approved a Bitcoin-and-gold product and an XRP ETP.
Asad said cumulative net inflows into crypto ETPs have reached about $77 billion since the first spot crypto ETFs launched in January 2024.
There are now more than 50 spot crypto ETPs in the U.S. market, and the list is still growing, covering BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, LINK, XRP, ZEC, HYPE and diversified crypto baskets. Interest from wealth managers is also expanding from ETPs into trading and custody, payments and tokenization, he said.
EQX to open first 11 tokenized U.S. stock markets on Hyperliquid
EQX Labs said it is launching EQX, a native issuance framework for tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Hyperliquid’s HyperCore using HIP-1 tokens. The first 11 markets are set to open for 24/7 trading on Hyperliquid’s public order book, with permissionless trading.
The tokens are issued by EQX SPC Ltd., a segregated portfolio company in the British Virgin Islands, and are structured as stock-backed limited recourse notes. Each ticker corresponds to a separate portfolio. Authorized participants can convert between shares and tokens, and the issuer charges no fees for that process. Backing assets are held 1:1 by custodians connected to DTC, including Alpaca, StoneX and Clear Street.
Pending-delivery shares will be shown separately as in transit and are expected to settle on the next U.S. business day. The issuer is owned by the Cayman purpose trust EQX STAR Trust, and EQX Labs does not own the issuing entity. Holders can submit voting instructions through onchain signatures. Dividends, after withholding, are automatically reinvested into the same stock, and stock splits are reflected in the backing shares.
Once the proposed HIP-1 extension goes live on Hyperliquid, EQX plans to switch to direct dividend distributions into holder accounts. The issuer charges no fees for creation, redemption or holding. Trading uses only Hyperliquid’s standard spot trading fee schedule, and the business is supported by fee sharing from Hyperliquid to HIP-1 deployers.
Fission raises $10 million in Series A
According to Fortune, tokenized fund liquidity platform Fission has raised a $10 million Series A led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures, Borderless Capital and Ari Rubenstein.
The round closed in September, and the company did not disclose a valuation. Fission is trying to address the illiquidity of tokenized fund shares. It acts as a buyer so investors can sell positions without waiting for a fund to process redemptions. Users connect a digital wallet and submit a sale request, while Fission handles the legal and transaction workflow in the background.
CEO Jonathan Shaffer said products that usually take about 200 days to sell can instead be sold immediately for a fee, with settlement completed in 90 seconds or less. Fission was founded in 2024 by a team that includes former employees of Point72 and Securitize.
Its current clients are primarily institutions and organizations holding onchain assets, including hedge funds holding tokenized private credit or equity, crypto firms managing treasury assets, and stablecoin issuers allocating reserves to yield-bearing tokenized investment products.
SEC approves exchange listing of binary options tied to issuer-reported KPI data
SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins said in a statement on Oct. 13 that the commission voted that day to approve a proposed rule change by a securities exchange allowing the listing of binary options tied to certain reported key performance indicators from some stock issuers.
Under the approval order, the binary KPI options will trade on a securities exchange, be cash-settled, European-style and standardized, and will be treated as NMS securities protected under securities laws. Their listing and trading framework will generally resemble that of existing standardized non-binary options, with exchange rules covering customer accounts, margin, trading halts, auction mechanisms, market-maker obligations, order types, time in force and instructions.
The order applies only to these specific binary option contracts listed and traded on securities exchanges that comply with securities laws and list standardized securities options. It does not extend to similarly referenced products with different structures. The statement also said the order neither addresses nor excludes possible jurisdiction by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over contracts tied to the same KPIs but structured to fall under CFTC oversight.
ASIC seeks feedback on capital, custody and trading rules for crypto platforms
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched a public consultation on proposed capital, custody and trading requirements for crypto platforms. The rules are intended to work alongside digital asset legislation passed in April and broaden industry oversight. The proposal includes three capital models, restrictions on proprietary trading by platforms and quarterly reporting on wallets holding customer assets.
ASIC is also considering allowing offshore custody and is seeking views on safeguards if an overseas parent company or affiliate fails. One model would require platforms that do not use a qualified third-party custody arrangement to hold at least A$14 million, roughly $9.7 million, in net tangible assets, or 10% of average revenue, whichever is higher.
Feedback is due by Nov. 27. ASIC plans to publish final standards and guidance in March 2027. The relevant law will take effect on April 8, 2027. Operators must apply for a license by Oct. 7 that year and may continue operating while ASIC reviews their applications.
Murphy says Bitcoin has tested the $81,000 area three times
Analyst Murphy said on X that as of Oct. 15, 2026, Bitcoin had fallen back to around $81,000 on Oct. 9, Oct. 12 and Oct. 15, repeatedly testing the same support area. The latest decline came alongside stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation, renewed concern over further Fed tightening and weakness in U.S. equities, putting pressure on risk assets broadly.
Using entity-adjusted realized loss data, Murphy said the scale of losses tied to the three tests showed a declining pattern. The losses on Oct. 12 were smaller than those on Oct. 9, and while losses on Oct. 15 were larger than on Oct. 12, they were still below the Oct. 9 level.
He said Oct. 9 looked more like the peak exit point for short-term, price-sensitive coins. On the second retest, the market was more hesitant and selling intent did not look strong. The third drop, under macro pressure, forced another batch of weaker hands out. In his reading, the market looks closer to a gradual clearing of swing supply than to broad panic selling.
If the share of short-term holders in loss is still about 31%, below the historical cumulative average of 42.7%, that would suggest the washout may not be complete, leaving room for more volatility and selling pressure. The next thing to watch, he said, is whether realized losses continue to narrow. If price holds near the current support area and loss realization keeps fading, passive selling may be easing and the pullback could be nearing its end. If realized losses expand sharply again, more turnover may still be needed.
Gamdom reportedly hit for about $4.208 million
Onchain investigator vxdb said crypto betting platform Gamdom appears to have been hacked, with total affected assets worth about $4.208 million.
By chain, losses were about $2.2 million on EVM networks including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum and Optimism, about $965,000 on Solana, about $375,000 on TRON and about $668,000 on Bitcoin.
Onchain tracking showed that part of the stolen funds had already moved through bridges and token swaps to platforms including Hyperliquid and THORChain.
Jakub Rusiecki joins Colosseum as principal
Social Graph Ventures founder Jakub Rusiecki said on X that he has joined Colosseum as a principal. He said he first met Clay Robbins in January 2024 when Colosseum was just getting started and preparing to raise its first fund.
Rusiecki said he has been following Robbins, Matty Tay and Nate Levine from the outset and watching how the team turned Solana hackathons into a company incubation pipeline. Over the past year, both sides repeatedly found themselves backing the same early-stage projects and reaching similar conclusions on early investment calls.
He added that most crypto venture money is currently flowing to later-stage rounds, while the next wave of companies often starts as two-person teams and hackathon projects, usually before typical funds are ready to invest. Colosseum uses hackathons to attract developers, supports founders from the idea stage through an accelerator, and then backs breakout accelerator projects and other companies through its fund. Rusiecki said he will review hackathon submissions and plans to attend Breakpoint in London.
Bill Gates says AI could drive many negative cybersecurity events over the next year
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a television interview on the 11th that AI is the most dangerous technology humans have invented, carrying more risk than cars, airplanes and pharmaceuticals. He said the more immediate threat is not runaway AI, which he argued is still years away, but criminals using AI for extortion, stock manipulation and other offenses.
Gates said many negative events are likely to emerge over the next year, mainly in cybersecurity, as bad actors learn to break through and bypass the safeguards of newer AI models. He also mentioned biosecurity concerns and said AI could be highly important for medicine and other sectors, but the risks are greater than in traditional industries already subject to strict regulation. He said the world still lacks an effective regulatory framework, and that over the next year governance will have to move beyond self-regulation even though current resources are far from sufficient.
ChainCatcher also cited Caixin coverage referencing remarks from MI5 Director General Ken McCallum in an annual threat assessment. McCallum said AI is intensifying cyber offense and defense and could alter the risk profile around biological weapons. MI5 has announced an AI threat assessment center.
Other reports said executives from labs including OpenAI and Anthropic recently held private scenario exercises on catastrophic events, with cyberattacks hitting financial services, internet connectivity or water and power systems seen as more plausible scenarios.
James Thorne says a Bitcoin supercycle has begun
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Wellington-Altus Private Wealth chief market strategist James Thorne said in a conversation with Grace Remington and Sean Hagan that Bitcoin is entering a “generational supercycle” and that “Bitcoin’s next run will be one for the history books.”
Drawing on his work on commodity supercycles, Thorne argued that structural shifts in the market make this cycle different from prior ones and that Bitcoin’s traditional four-year cycle has ended.
He also discussed the Fed’s policy path, the changing role of hedge funds in the bond market, and whether AI could create a market environment similar to a Greenspan moment.
Thorne said Bitcoin solves the settlement problem, and he examined Strategy, high-quality collateral and the harvesting of Bitcoin volatility. He also said tokenization would end innovation delays and discussed whether Bitcoin’s market capitalization could eventually surpass gold.
JPMorgan says October’s AI stock selloff may not rebound like July
JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said the October selloff in AI stocks may struggle to repeat the quick rebound seen in July. Compared with the earlier episode, dip-buying appetite is weaker, short positioning is not large enough to create strong covering demand, corporate buyback support is shrinking, and leveraged ETF exposure has built back up, all of which could amplify volatility.
JPMorgan said positioning and fund-flow data suggest AI infrastructure names do not yet look oversold. The current selloff has spread from Korean memory-chip names to U.S. semiconductors. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have each dropped close to one-third over the past month, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down 10% over the past five trading days.
The bank also noted that previously announced stock buyback programs totaling $40 billion at the two companies were completed early in mid-October, potentially removing part of the buy-side support that had come from repurchases. At the same time, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned that if the U.S. pauses data-center construction, the economy could fall into recession.
He said a meaningful share of U.S. economic growth is tied to AI infrastructure capex. As doubts rise over AI investment returns and corporate profitability, the correction in AI supply-chain stocks could also weigh on data-center construction, energy infrastructure and related employment.
U.S. September PPI was due at 20:30 Beijing time and seen as key for rate expectations
ChainCatcher said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was due to release September PPI at 20:30 Beijing time. Market expectations stood at +0.5% month over month for headline PPI and +0.3% for core PPI. A stronger-than-expected reading was expected to lift pricing for further Fed tightening and weigh on risk assets including U.S. equities and crypto, while a softer reading was seen as likely to cool tightening expectations. After a sticky CPI report, the PPI release was being watched as another test of inflation persistence.
OCC report says some banks restricted digital asset activity
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a report on debanking on Wednesday saying some banks had adopted “public and non-public policies” restricting services to sectors including oil and gas, tobacco, firearms and digital assets. The report was issued under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in August 2025 aimed at preventing what the administration described as illegal debanking.
The OCC said many institutions also imposed restrictions on digital asset businesses involving issuers, exchanges or managers, often citing financial crime concerns. The 47-page report, however, did not provide specific examples of debanking tied to digital asset activity.
Based on its review of nine large banks, the OCC said it “could not comprehensively quantify the overall scale” of debanking or alleged debanking. OCC head Jonathan Gould mostly discussed claims involving coal and firearms. He said those decisions were not based on financial risk, but on concerns around negative press, public protests and possible reputational consequences of supporting those sectors.
In November 2024, more than 30 technology and crypto executives said they had been denied banking services, and some in the crypto industry informally referred to the issue as “Operation Chokepoint 2.” Trump’s 2025 executive order followed those calls from the industry and earlier accusations that the Biden administration may have influenced financial institutions to cut off some services to crypto companies.
DeFi Development raises CHAD dividend rate to 14%
According to The Block, Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) said it will raise the annualized dividend rate on its CHAD preferred shares from 13% to 14%, effective Nov. 2. Based on CHAD’s $10 par value, the annual dividend rises from $1.3 per share to $1.4 per share, payable each business day if declared by the board.
The company said future proceeds from CHAD issuance will be used to expand its Solana treasury, which earns yield through staking and validator operations. CEO Joseph Onorati said the higher dividend rate should broaden investor participation and help scale CHAD.
He said CHAD’s appeal lies in offering double-digit dividend income through a Nasdaq-listed preferred security with daily payments, while the issuer holds yield-generating SOL reserves. The company wants to build CHAD into a leading digital credit instrument that strengthens its ability to accumulate SOL, create value for common shareholders and maintain disciplined capital management.
DeFi Development added about 22,070 SOL and equivalent assets last week, bringing total holdings to about 2.59 million SOL. The company also said CHAD hit a new trading-price high that week and that it recently approved a repurchase plan covering up to all outstanding CHAD shares.
New York City comptroller urges Anthropic to delay its IPO
Bloomberg reported that New York City Comptroller Mark Levine sent a letter on Wednesday to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging the company to delay its IPO until it has adequately addressed risks tied to AI safety, governance and development speed. Levine oversees public pension assets of more than $325 billion.
He argued that the morally binding AI safety agreements reached by the Trump administration and companies including Anthropic are not enough. He urged Anthropic to establish governance mechanisms, disclose how it plans to implement audits and controls, explain the scope and timeline of those measures, and address whether and how they respond to Amodei’s earlier call to slow the pace of AI model capability development.
Anthropic may go public as soon as next month, with fundraising that could match or exceed the record IPO previously set by SpaceX, according to the report. The company met with some investors at its headquarters on Wednesday and disclosed third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion. Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. September PPI came in well above expectations
According to ChainCatcher, U.S. producer prices broadly exceeded expectations in September as rising energy costs spread through more parts of the economy. Data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed producer prices rose 1.3% month over month and 6.3% year over year.
Excluding food and energy, core PPI rose 0.7% from a month earlier and 5% from a year earlier. The report pointed to stubborn underlying inflation even as fuel prices climbed. With only weeks left before the November midterm elections, the cost of living has become a central political issue.
The data could also push Fed officials toward further rate hikes in coming months, especially after another report released Wednesday showed that a key U.S. consumer inflation gauge also rose more than expected in September. The report further showed that price pressures are expected to stay elevated over the coming months. A measure of expected input prices over the next six months rose to its highest level since 2022.
Hacken says Q3 2026 crypto hack losses reached $1.18 billion
According to Cointelegraph, security firm Hacken said the crypto sector suffered 107 hacks in the third quarter of 2026, with total losses of $1.18 billion. About $906 million, roughly 77%, was tied to compromised vendors and developer tools, disclosed but unapplied fixes, and infrastructure that fell outside audit scope.
Losses were concentrated in four incidents: Bitget at $387 million, Liquid Network at $320 million, Tectonic at $120 million and a Coldcard firmware vulnerability at about $115 million. Together they accounted for about 80% of the total. The other 98 incidents were all below $10 million each, with a median of $670,000.
Smart contract attacks were the most common attack type, with 71 incidents causing $228 million in losses. It was the worst quarter for losses since the first quarter of 2025. On recoveries, about $387 million was returned or reversed, equal to roughly 33% of gross losses. Operators separately absorbed $410 million in user losses, leaving about $384 million unrecovered.
Citi says institutional tokenization is moving from pilots to production infrastructure
In an insight article on its website titled “Digital Frontiers: Collateral in a Tokenized World,” Citi said collateral management is undergoing a structural shift as financial markets move toward continuous, around-the-clock operation. Institutional tokenization, it said, is moving beyond isolated proofs of concept and building scalable operational rails across global banking, custody and market infrastructure, turning collateral into a persistent engine for liquidity and optimization.
Citi said combining tokenized assets with regulated onchain settlement money can enable instant atomic delivery-versus-payment, remove multiday gap risk and expand the pool of eligible collateral to instruments such as tokenized money market funds.
Global asset managers and asset owners, Citi said, are likely to unify traditional and digital collateral into a single continuously optimized inventory across counterparties, custodians and venues over a multiyear hybrid operating period.
StandX will shut down gradually and issue a one-time DUSD airdrop
Perpetual futures platform StandX said it will conduct a one-time DUSD airdrop to its community, with full unlock and no vesting. Allocations will be based on activities including pre-deposits, Alpha, mainnet trading, market making and referrals. All amounts will be screened for sybil behavior and wash trading, and abnormal accounts may see allocations adjusted or canceled. StandX also said it has decided not to launch a token, and that the airdrop pool will be funded by remaining project revenue and additional team contributions.
The platform said that since its mainnet launch in November 2025 it has served more than 237,000 users, reached more than $200 million in peak TVL and experienced no fund-security incidents during operations. Airdrop checking opens at 00:00 UTC on Oct. 26, while claiming runs from 00:00 UTC on Nov. 1 to 08:00 UTC on Dec. 31. Unclaimed allocations will be treated as forfeited.
Users must claim with the BNB Chain or Solana wallet address used on StandX. The team also said the business will wind down gradually after reviewing market and operating conditions.
All yield stops and new vault deposits close from Oct. 15. Perpetuals enter reduce-only mode on Oct. 20. All remaining positions will be closed at mark price on Jan. 15, 2027, and Jan. 31, 2027 is the deadline for DUSD redemption and asset withdrawals. The team said claims should be made only through standx.com.
Meme token leaderboard
According to GMGN data as of 08:00 on Oct. 16, the five most active Solana meme tokens over the past 24 hours were listed as DOPE, Dacity, FTR and Nihilism. On Ethereum, the top five were ZC, GROKLET, cirBTC, DOPE and SPCXon. On Base, the top five were bit, Basecat, boar, Surplus and SPIKE.
What the market was also reading
ChainCatcher’s roundup also highlighted a long list of widely read articles on inflation, Bitcoin, AI financing, political influence and public-chain durability.
One piece on inflation and Bitcoin’s pullback to the $80,000 area cited Standard Chartered’s global head of digital asset research Geoffrey Kendrick as saying stablecoin supply has stayed between $300 billion and $320 billion over the past 12 months and now stands at about $309 billion. The bank has pushed its forecast for the stablecoin market reaching $2 trillion back from 2028 to 2030. Glassnode, the piece said, offered two signals to watch: a daily reclaim of $88,000 with ETF inflows returning, or a break below the $80,000 bid zone and ETF cost basis that would bring the roughly $78,000 realized market mean into view.
A separate article carrying Bitwise CIO commentary included a risk disclaimer saying it was not investment advice and that investors should conduct their own independent review of the risks and merits of any investment. It described crypto assets as digital representations of value that can function as a medium of exchange, unit of account or store of value, but without legal tender status or government backing, and subject to high volatility, market manipulation, cybersecurity risk and the possibility of losing principal.
Another article on Anthropic said the company’s disclosed $16.8 billion in revenue stood in contrast with a 1.88% drop in the Nasdaq, reflecting both strong commercialization of frontier AI models and investor concerns about the true cost of building the infrastructure required in a high-rate environment.
The roundup also referenced commentary on UK politics and Nigel Farage, a Goldman Sachs interpretation on when rate cuts may begin, remarks from Huobi co-founder Du Jun on local commitment in Japan, analysis of AI equities under higher funding costs, a report that Anthropic posted third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion and turned profitable on an adjusted and cash-flow basis, commentary from the Real Vision founder on why most public chains disappear, and several pieces on inflation, Asian equity weakness, neobanks, Sun Yuchen, Solana’s activity in Shanghai, a16z’s view on AI pricing models, Bernstein’s read on AI data-center demand, and debate over Anthropic co-founder comments about RSI in 2027.