Policy Regulation

Robinhood

2026-10-04 03:30:57

Robinhood says SEC innovation exemption could cap tokenized stock volumes

Robinhood executive Johann Kerbrat said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new innovation exemption for tokenized stocks may create a practical ceiling for the company’s push into the U.S. market. Speaking at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul, Kerbrat said the volume cap built into the SEC framework is high, but still close enough to Robinhood’s existing offshore tokenized stock activity that it could become a real constraint. He said the company is still reviewing the lengthy order, which sets rules on eligible assets and trading limits. The SEC’s five-year exemption, issued on Sept. 17, allows compliant U.S. venues to trade tokenized U.S. equities without registering as exchanges, but only under strict conditions. Tokens must carry the same rights as the underlying shares, including voting rights. Trading venues must notify listed companies, and issuers have the right to object. That creates a mismatch with Robinhood’s current Stock Tokens product, which is issued in bond form by a Jersey entity and offered through Robinhood Wallet in more than 120 countries, excluding U.S. users. Those tokens track U.S. stocks but do not include voting rights or in-kind redemption. Kerbrat and CEO Vlad Tenev have said Robinhood plans to add both features.

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DOJ

2026-10-04 03:01:37

DOJ will not reopen criminal probe into Powell as Trump calls for Fed board resignation

The U.S. Department of Justice will not reopen its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an exclusive Bloomberg interview on Oct. 2 Eastern Time. The decision follows a Sept. 30 report from the Federal Reserve’s Office of Inspector General, which said it found no reasonable basis to conclude that federal criminal violations occurred in connection with the renovation of the Eccles Building and 1951 Constitution Avenue. The report also said it found no administrative misconduct. That did not amount to a clean bill of health for the project. The watchdog said construction costs rose from $921 million in February 2020 to $2.018 billion in the 2024 renovation budget, while the total project cost reached about $2.4 billion, roughly $1 billion over budget. It attributed the overruns to weak oversight, including failures in managing the construction manager at-risk contract, repeated departures from contractual cost-control provisions, and the absence of a guaranteed maximum price structure. Blanche said questions about accountability are separate from whether a crime occurred, and left open the possibility of future action if an independent audit uncovers criminal evidence. On the same day the inspector general’s report was released, Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Powell should at least be forced to resign from the Federal Reserve Board.

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Scam Sniffer

2026-10-04 03:02:34

Scam Sniffer says Ethereum user lost about $167,000 in phishing attack

Scam Sniffer reported that a user on Ethereum was hit by a phishing attack and lost about $167,000. The monitoring update said the approval tied to the incident can be traced back to a signature made on Aug. 18, 2025. No other details were provided in the source note. The disclosure was shared through Scam Sniffer’s published monitoring information, with the original source link pointing to its post on X. The case adds to the stream of wallet security incidents tracked through on-chain monitoring, though the source entry here only states the loss amount, the network involved, and the date tied to the approval signature.

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BlackRock

2026-10-03 16:00:09

BlackRock says the Fed’s first rate hike in years does not automatically spell trouble for stocks and bonds

The Federal Reserve raised its target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00% at its September meeting, marking the first hike since July 2023. In a report by Kristy Akullian, head of iShares Investment Strategy for the Americas at BlackRock, the firm argues that the market impact of an initial rate hike is often less straightforward than investors assume. BlackRock says the move reflects still-elevated inflation, renewed pressure from energy prices, and a U.S. labor market that has yet to show clear deterioration. Looking at seven Fed hiking cycles since 1983, BlackRock found that in the 12 months following the first hike, U.S. equities rose an average of 4.7%, U.S. bonds gained 3.07%, and high-yield bonds returned 4.68%. The report says the key issue is not simply whether rates are high, but whether they become unstable. On fixed income, BlackRock favors higher-quality credit and coupon income over aggressive duration bets, while noting that 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities now offer real yields above 3%. On equities, it remains relatively constructive on large, profitable dividend-paying companies, while warning that the traditional stock-bond diversification model has weakened as correlation has turned positive since 2020.

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Hong Kong

2026-10-04 02:35:47

Hong Kong woman reports crypto investment scam involving about HK$21.5 million

A 60-year-old woman in Hong Kong has reported a suspected cryptocurrency investment scam, according to ChainCatcher. The woman told police she had earlier met a fraudster on an online platform who claimed to be an investment expert and later persuaded her to invest in cryptocurrency through a fake website. Between April 14 and Sept. 22, she made multiple transfers to designated investment accounts, totaling about HK$21.5 million. The platform later asked her to pay a margin deposit to prove that the investment account had not been used for money laundering. Police have initially classified the case as obtaining property by deception. The investigation is being handled by the fourth team of the Sau Mau Ping district crime squad, and no arrests had been made at the time of the report.

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Philippines

2026-10-04 01:43:37

Philippine court freezes 25 crypto wallets tied to lawmaker graft probe

The Philippines' Anti-Money Laundering Council said the Court of Appeals has frozen 25 virtual asset wallets linked to a member of Congress, along with related individuals and entities. The order also covers 86 bank accounts, four investment accounts, and one insurance policy. According to the AMLC, the assets are tied to an investigation into alleged corruption and misappropriation of public funds connected to flood control projects. The agency said the funds under review were moved through virtual asset service providers and multiple virtual asset wallets, which made tracing more difficult. It added that the freeze order is a preservation measure issued during the investigation stage and does not mean the people involved have been convicted. The Philippine Star was cited as the source of the report.

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TRUMP meme co

2026-10-04 01:40:56

TRUMP meme coin sets third holder dinner, with top 185 invited to dine with Trump in November

TRUMP meme coin’s official X account said the project will hold its third holder dinner on Nov. 22 at Trump National in Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The event is open to the top 185 registered holders, with rankings determined by a time-weighted formula that rewards both larger balances and longer holding periods between Sept. 30 and Nov. 12. A final snapshot is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 12, and wallets must hold at least 1 TRUMP to qualify for the leaderboard. The top 29 holders will receive access to a VIP reception and front-row seating, while the top four will also receive an 18K gold Trump watch. The event page states that prizes will only be distributed in person, attendance is required, invitations are non-transferable, and VIP benefits will be revoked if holdings fall below snapshot levels after the cutoff. The page also says twice that no private meeting with the president will be arranged. According to Decrypt, the event page is operated by Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company behind the TRUMP meme coin.

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Philippines

2026-10-04 01:54:01

Philippine court grants freeze order covering more than 100 accounts and crypto wallets

The Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines has secured a court-issued freeze order covering more than 100 financial accounts and other assets tied to a lawmaker, along with multiple individuals and entities. The case involves alleged corruption, plunder, and irregularities linked to flood control projects. Assets covered by the order include 86 bank accounts, four investment accounts, one insurance policy, and 25 virtual asset wallets. The council said the funds moved through multiple virtual asset service providers and several virtual asset wallets, making them harder to trace. It did not disclose the identity of the lawmaker or the other parties involved.

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