Key Overnight and Morning News (October 28–29)

Binance unveils PREDICT airdrop claim plan: claim immediately for only 35%, stake for one year for the full amount

Predict (PREDICT) is about to launch. Users holding Predict Points (PP Points) must submit a form by 17:00 (UTC+8) on November 26 to choose their claim method; those who fail to submit by the deadline will be handled under Option B by default. Option A is to receive 35% of tokens immediately, with the remaining 65% automatically forfeited and unrecoverable. Option B is to receive 100% of tokens after the project completes one year of staking. Users who choose A and submit before 17:00 (UTC+8) on October 29 will receive tokens on the launch day; those who submit later will receive them in batches on November 6, 13, 20 or 27. Each user may submit only once, and submissions cannot be modified.

MARA Holdings transferred 1,000 BTC to BitGo about 9 hours ago

Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings again transferred 1,000 BTC, worth about $80.66 million, to BitGo about 9 hours ago.

Initia Foundation approves capital injection, fully restoring the peg of assets affected by the October 23 security incident

The Initia Foundation has approved a capital injection to fully restore the 1:1 peg of Noble USDC, WETH and AUSD0 serving as collateral for iUSD. These assets were affected by the October 23 security incident. The injection will cover verified shortfalls, capped at 1.08 million USDC, 105 ETH and 1.4 million AUSD0, and is subject to completion of reconciliation and final transfer approval. Initia said the peg will be fully restored when the chain resumes operation. Initia previously disclosed that a security fix for the vulnerability has been drafted and is being audited by a security partner.

Brazil's largest bank Itaú Unibanco becomes first to formally offer crypto trading and custody under new central bank rules

Itaú Unibanco, Brazil's largest bank, has become the first bank to formally conduct cryptocurrency trading and custody business under the Brazilian central bank's new rules. The bank notified the central bank of the relevant business on Tuesday, ahead of the October 30 deadline.

Unitree Technology: Q3 2026 net profit 113 million yuan, down 17.37% year-on-year

Unitree Technology announced that its operating revenue in the third quarter of 2026 was 665 million yuan, up 69.93% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 113 million yuan, down 17.37% year-on-year; net profit after deducting non-recurring items was 105 million yuan, down 17.42% year-on-year. For the first three quarters of 2026, operating revenue was 1.817 billion yuan, up 55.71% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 387 million yuan, up 270.54% year-on-year; net profit after deducting non-recurring items was 349 million yuan, down 18.78% year-on-year.

Google launches multi-party computation crypto asset custody service, plans commercial launch in early 2027

Google will showcase Google Multi-Party Compute (MPC) at the first Digital Assets Symposium in New York, a secure custody service for crypto assets and tokenized assets aimed at banks and other financial institutions. The product is currently in private preview, with several financial institutions already testing it, and parent company Alphabet has used it to protect its own digital assets on Ethereum and Solana. Google plans a formal commercial launch in early 2027, with pricing not yet announced. The system stores private key shards with Google Cloud, institutions' own hardware and other cloud providers, and verifies transactions before signing against rules such as transfer limits, destination addresses and multi-department approvals, supporting signature thresholds such as 2-of-3 and 5-of-7. At commercial launch it will support ECDSA and Ed25519 signature algorithms, with the ability to upgrade to post-quantum cryptography later. The service will compete with specialized providers such as Fireblocks, Fordefi and BitGo.

DTCC tokenization service goes live, initially supporting 34 securities

According to the DTCC website, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced that its DTCC Tokenization Service is live, with 34 securities initially eligible for tokenization. The tokens are backed 1:1 by securities held in custody at DTC, and holders enjoy the same legal and economic rights as the underlying securities. Traditional markets and on-chain use the same CUSIP codes, and DTC-registered wallets can transfer to each other 24/7 on a peer-to-peer basis. The service has built-in compliance controls and near-real-time ownership tracking. The first batch of wallet and application partners includes BitGo, Blockdaemon, Fireblocks, HashKey, Kaleido, Prometheum, Talos, Temple and Tradeweb. DTC holds roughly $30 trillion in assets.

Binance applies for regulatory authorization in Brazil while restricting 8 services and delisting 22 tokens for Brazilian users

Binance has submitted an authorization application to Brazilian regulators ahead of the October 30 deadline. To comply with the Brazilian central bank's new rules, Binance will restrict 8 services for Brazilian users and delist 22 tokens.

AI cloud security company Upwind raises $400 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners

AI cloud security company Upwind announced it has completed a $400 million funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors including Greylock Partners and Craft Ventures, at a valuation of $3.8 billion. Upwind mainly provides security protection for enterprise cloud infrastructure, detecting malware and suspicious activity, and this year expanded its platform to address AI-related security risks. The new funds are intended for engineering R&D and for building out sales and marketing teams.

Coinbase supports RLUSD transfers on Base, Ethereum and XRPL

Users can now send and receive RLUSD across the Base, Ethereum and XRPL chains on coinbase.com and in the Coinbase iOS and Android apps in supported regions.

XRPL developers propose enabling wallets with zero XRP, with sponsors paying the reserve

XRP Ledger developers are testing a new transaction type, SponsoredAccountCreate. Under the design, an existing account can create a new account and pay its reserve on its behalf, so the new wallet's XRP balance can be zero. The sponsor can also pay transaction fees but does not control the user's private keys. Currently each account must lock at least 1 XRP as a reserve. The relevant code was submitted on October 15 and is still under review, and depends on a sponsorship amendment that has not yet been activated on mainnet. As of October 19, the amendment had 11 validator votes, with 29 needed for passage. Ripple previously partnered with Stripe's Privy to introduce embedded wallets for XRP Ledger apps, supporting RLUSD and AI agent payments.

South Korea fines Apple and Google a combined $47.5 million over app store payment issues

After years of investigation, South Korea's broadcasting and media communications commission fined Apple and Google over their app store practices, with Apple fined $15.5 million and Google $32 million. A law passed by South Korea in 2021 stipulates that app stores may not prevent developers from using third-party payment systems. The regulator found that the two companies nominally allowed third-party payments but charged excessively high fees, effectively discouraging developers from adopting them. The regulator also found that both companies delayed app reviews. Under the ruling, the two companies must allow external payment links within apps and improve their review processes. The UK previously rejected Apple's appeal against a $2 billion App Store fine.

US pre-market highlights: Fed to announce rate decision at 2 a.m

According to Cailian Press, the key US stock market news investors should watch is as follows:

1. US stock index futures edged higher. Dow futures rose 0.04%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.23% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.42%.

2. International oil prices rose across the board. WTI crude futures rose 1.91% to $101.808 per barrel; Brent crude futures rose 1.69% to $111.260 per barrel.

3. Spot gold and silver both fell. Spot gold fell 0.11% to $4,055.75 per ounce; spot silver fell 0.61% to $54.06 per ounce.

4. Europe's three main stock indices were mixed. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.09%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.07% and Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.28%.

5. Nvidia announced plans to expand Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) superclusters to multi-gigawatt scale based on NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 systems.

6. Tesla plans to use Optimus humanoid robots to plug and unplug charging cables for its Robotaxi vehicles, a stopgap before the fully automatic wireless charging system is officially deployed.

7. Google's DeepMind officially announced its latest-generation world model, Genie 4, calling it "the most realistic and interactive world model to date." The model enables highly realistic real-time interactive simulation.

8. OpenAI plans to purchase Google's tensor processing unit (TPU) chips; the transaction amount and specific purchase scale have not been disclosed. OpenAI had previously begun renting Google TPUs.

9. Benefiting from the continued AI infrastructure wave, US liquid cooling leader Vertiv beat market expectations on both third-quarter revenue and fourth-quarter guidance, and its shares surged nearly 17% pre-market.

10. Qualcomm plans to hold the global debut of a 6G terminal prototype at the 9th China International Import Expo. Its booth will also showcase a range of smart devices including AI PCs, smart glasses, cars and robots.

11. SK Hynix's CEO said DRAM and HBM capacity is "nearly sold out" for the next three years, and orders under negotiation have a high probability of being finalized.

12. The Fed will announce its rate decision at 2 p.m. US Eastern Time (2 a.m. Beijing time on October 29). Market pricing shows only about a 7% to 10% probability of a hike this time.

Perpetual DEX open interest up 76% to about $24 billion in Q3, with Hyperliquid holding about 53% share

In the third quarter of 2026, perpetual contract DEX open interest (OI) rose about 76% quarter-on-quarter to about $24 billion, while trading volume fell about 16% to about $1.4 trillion over the same period. Hyperliquid's open interest more than doubled to about $13 billion, giving it a market share of about 53%. HIP-3 deployer trade[xyz] had open interest of about $3.9 billion, while Variational, Lighter and Aster saw open interest rise about 78%, 107% and 66% respectively. The data shows the growth came mainly from the launch of new markets.

Russia requires Apple and Microsoft to store user data for three years and provide it to security services on demand

Russia requires Apple and Microsoft to store user data for three years and provide it when security services request it. Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has added both companies to its register of "organizers of information dissemination." If the two companies refuse to cooperate with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), they may face large fines and ultimately be blocked within Russia.

Thailand's Supreme Court: Bitcoin qualifies as "property" under criminal law

The plenary session of Thailand's Supreme Court issued judgment No. 4929/2569, holding that Bitcoin qualifies as "property" and that cases involving Bitcoin can constitute property crimes. The case was brought by prosecutors in Koh Samui against a defendant referred to as "Mr. A" (นาย อ.). In the case, the victim exchanged $50,000 (about 1.878 million baht at the exchange rate at the time) into Bitcoin and then transferred it to the criminal gang.

The court held that Bitcoin has market value, can be exchanged for cash and can be held, so its value is no less than the amount paid at the time of exchange. The ruling also cited the Bank of Thailand's view that the fact that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender for debt settlement is a separate question from whether they can be recognized as property. The judgment cited Article 137 of the Civil and Commercial Code and Articles 309 and 340 of the Criminal Code, among other provisions.

Ripple expects annualized product revenue of $900 million by the end of 2026

Ripple announced it expects to end 2026 with $900 million in annualized product revenue, with growth coming from payments, custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage and treasury businesses. The number of customers and partners using multiple Ripple products has tripled this year. Ripple expects cumulative transaction volume on its payments network to approach $150 billion by year-end, and its stablecoin RLUSD has reached a market capitalization of $2.6 billion. On Monday, Ripple received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, and expanded its tokenized trade finance cooperation with BNY on the XRP Ledger. XRP has fallen nearly 30% this year and has a market capitalization of $83 billion.

SKHY shares up 10.15% intraday, now at $159.88

According to Binance market data, SKHY shares rose 10.15% intraday and are now at $159.88.

Tether joins forces with multiple institutions to establish the FASE Foundation, planning stablecoin-based humanitarian aid pilots

Tether announced the establishment of the Swiss nonprofit foundation FASE (Financial Access and Systemic Empowerment). The foundation focuses on four areas: financial security, financial inclusion, access to resources, and responsible AI and robotics. Founding members include Kraken, Bybit, Chainalysis, Anchorage Digital and the Solana Foundation, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as a strategic partner. There are two initial projects. The first is a partnership with Goodwall to provide anti-fraud education to up to 10 million young people. The second is a pilot with Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps) to distribute humanitarian aid in stablecoins, initially reaching up to 1 million people.

Earlier news: the Circle Foundation is exploring stablecoin payments for humanitarian aid, providing grants to the United Nations Development Programme and the World Food Programme.

Hyperliquid unstakes 180,000 HYPE today for distribution to team members

Hyperliquid unstaked 180,000 HYPE today for the team's monthly unlock, while the identity of buyers in the prior over-the-counter (OTC) trades remains a mystery.

Russian President Putin praises Musk as "a real genius"

At the Russia-Africa summit held in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk as "a real genius" and highlighted SpaceX's achievements in satellite communications. Putin said Russia is in contact with Musk and has begun deploying its domestic satellite network "Rassvet," intended to replace SpaceX's Starlink. He acknowledged that Russia still lags far behind SpaceX in satellite communications, with the latter having launched thousands of satellites into orbit.

Circle submits comment letter to SEC, proposing compliant payment stablecoins be treated as "cash" with broker haircut cut to zero

According to Circle's official blog, Circle recently submitted a comment letter on the SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. Circle recommends aligning the rule with the GENIUS Act and asks the SEC to clarify that payment stablecoins complying with the GENIUS Act constitute "cash" under proposed rule 302(b), are denominated in US dollars, and receive corresponding accounting and customer reserve treatment. Circle also recommends reducing the 2% haircut on brokers holding such stablecoins to zero, provided objective safeguards are in place. In addition, Circle asks the SEC to clarify that technical services after a network goes live, including maintaining a known validator set, do not constitute "critical management efforts," and to establish a safe harbor for technical roadmaps.

US Treasury sanctions 10 individuals and 1 entity targeting North Korean IT worker fraud and crypto money laundering networks

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on 10 individuals and 1 entity. The targets are involved in North Korean IT workers defrauding US companies, with proceeds funding North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. Sanctioned Russian national Ilya Boykov has exchanged about $3.5 million in cryptocurrency for North Korea's Alis since 2024. Russian national Vitold Obertas has completed nearly $2 million in crypto exchanges for North Korean officials since January 2025. Also sanctioned were North Korea-controlled, Russia-based entity FFTDC and its 6 IT workers, who have generated more than $750,000 in revenue since 2025. Australia and the European Union took similar sanctions actions this month.

US midterms may push Congress toward tighter crypto regulation, making the Clarity Act hard to advance

US midterm elections take place next week. Kalshi data shows Democrats have a 64% probability of winning the Senate and a 90% probability of winning the House. If Congress changes hands, the crypto agenda could shift from advancing legislation to tightening regulation, and the Clarity Act is unlikely to move forward. Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks said a Democrat-controlled Congress would not prioritize the bill. If Democrats win the Senate, Warren will become chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Wintermute policy chief Ron Hammond expects Warren to use subpoena power and focus on reviewing the OCC's approvals of new bank charters for Ripple, Coinbase and World Liberty Financial.

Strategy's daily dividend amendment approved by shareholders, with 99.3% in favor in preliminary count

Company shareholders have approved the "daily dividend" amendment. Preliminary vote counts show 99.3% in favor. The amendment allows the four preferred stocks STRF, STRC, STRK and STRD to accrue dividends on each calendar day; each calendar day is a dividend record date, with dividends paid on the next business day. For STRC, the first record date and payment date are November 1 and November 2 respectively, while the other three preferred stocks have January 1 and January 4 respectively.

IMF proposes appointing Vice Finance Minister Liao Min as Deputy Managing Director, succeeding Li Bo

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced that Deputy Managing Director Li Bo will step down when his term ends on November 30, 2026, and proposed that Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min succeed him, effective December 1. Liao Min was born in 1968 and has served as Vice Minister of Finance since May 2018, concurrently serving as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China since 2023. He has worked at the People's Bank of China, China Everbright Group and Bank of China, and also served as Director of the General Office of the former China Banking Regulatory Commission and Director of the Shanghai Banking Regulatory Bureau. Li Bo became IMF Deputy Managing Director in August 2021, overseeing work related to about 90 member countries and leading work on digital currencies, cross-border payments, stablecoin regulation and artificial intelligence.

Bitwise raises 10-year Bitcoin price target to $1.6 million

Bitwise released its "2027 Bitcoin Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions" report, raising its 10-year Bitcoin price target from $1.3 million to $1.6 million (for 2036), corresponding to a compound annual growth rate of 34.3%, versus expected annualized returns of 6.7% for US equities and 10.8% for private equity over the same period. Bitwise expects institutions to allocate 1% to 5% of assets to Bitcoin over the next decade, corresponding to $1.5 trillion to $7 trillion in demand. The report also noted that Bitcoin's drawdown from its October 2025 high to its June 2026 low was about 50%, smaller than the 86%, 84% and 77% drawdowns in previous cycles. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said, "We are more bullish on Bitcoin now than we were last year."

Researchers disclose zero-click vulnerability in Telegram emoji stickers enabling code execution on iOS

Researchers disclosed at a security conference in Tokyo a zero-click vulnerability in Telegram's emoji sticker feature and demonstrated that an attacker could execute code on iOS devices without any user interaction. However, Telegram disputes the risk assessment of the vulnerability, and available information does not yet indicate the specific scope of impact or the status of fixes.

Note: A zero-click vulnerability is a high-risk flaw that can be triggered without the user clicking, opening or performing any action, solely through a device automatically processing malicious data; common entry points include voice calls, message previews, web page rendering, audio decoding and wireless debugging.

AI financing tide leader PIMCO takes profits, cutting Meta and Oracle positions by about half

With AI debt financing totaling about $500 billion, bond giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), which helped kick off the financing boom, has trimmed some of its largest holdings.

According to people familiar with the matter, PIMCO sometimes began reducing positions only months after buying. In addition to roughly $18 billion in Meta-related bonds in 2025 (when it became a cornerstone investor in a debt financing deal of about $18 billion that allowed Meta to build a large data center project in Louisiana without burdening its balance sheet), PIMCO funds also invested in a $10 billion Oracle-related transaction. Filings show the firm has now reduced its holdings in both investments by about 50%. PIMCO cut the positions when the bonds were trading at high prices.

Prince Group joint provisional liquidators: Chinese victims may be able to file claims, with over 90,000 BTC having flowed through affiliated entities

After Chen Zhi, the "head" of Cambodia's Prince Group, was apprehended, various jurisdictions began disposing of Prince Group-related assets. For the 30 British Virgin Islands (BVI) entities actually controlled by Chen Zhi, local courts appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPLs) to investigate and preserve the corresponding assets. BVI insolvency proceedings are collective in nature, and eligibility to file claims is not determined by nationality or jurisdiction, so potential victims in any jurisdiction can file claims, meaning victims of telecom fraud and online gambling from China may also be able to file claims at some future point.

It is understood that the liquidation list names 30 BVI companies including Prince Global Group Ltd, most of which are actually controlled by Chen Zhi, whereas the US Treasury's sanctions list names only 28 BVI companies. In addition, "the scope of liquidation is not determined solely by sanctions": two companies that were not sanctioned but appear on the liquidation list, Amber Hill Ventures Limited ("AHV") and Lateral Bridge Global Limited ("LBG"), are mentioned in US judicial proceedings as entities in a broad network linked to Prince Group and are alleged to have had no practical use other than money laundering.

Prosecutors say that of the more than 120,000 bitcoins seized in the United States, more than 90,000 flowed through AHV, LBG and another entity registered in the Cayman Islands, Future Technology Investment; AHV's chairman and shareholder is Fan Yang, and LBG's chairman and shareholder is Minyi Tang, referred to in the US indictment as Chen Zhi's "Co-conspirator 6" and "Co-conspirator 7."

As for claims by victims of telecom fraud and online gambling, no claims filing or distribution process has yet been established. If liquidation proceedings begin in the future and sufficient funds are available to distribute to creditors, the liquidators will establish a claims process, adjudicate claims and make distributions in accordance with BVI insolvency law.

Anthropic warns of Trump retaliation risk ahead of IPO: AI safety stance may invite targeted scrutiny

In its IPO-related filings, Anthropic warned that its public advocacy for AI safety regulation and related remarks by executives could expose the company to risks including government pressure and selective scrutiny.

Anthropic said that even if other similarly situated companies are not treated the same way, Anthropic may still become a focus of specific government departments, a risk tied to its multiple conflicts with the Trump administration, including a dispute over its demand to set safety restrictions on the US Department of Defense's use of its AI technology, and disagreements over the safety of the Mythos model and export controls.

Anthropic also warned that future government intervention, export restrictions and cybersecurity or biosecurity incidents involving AI models could affect its product deployment, international expansion and business growth, and that its advocated regulatory measures, if implemented, could increase compliance costs, restrict product development and releases, and slow its own growth.

Glassnode: Bitcoin volatility falls to summer 2023 levels, Fed decision may spark next move

Glassnode's latest report notes that Bitcoin has fallen back below the $84,000–$85,000 range, which has capped price gains four times this year. Inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs have cooled notably, with only about $67 million in net inflows over the past two weeks; the main buy-side support on Binance's spot order book has also moved down to $78,000–$79,000, at about $42 million in size.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's one-month realized volatility has fallen to about 25%, back to summer 2023 levels; since August, realized losses triggered by each decline have continued to narrow, indicating some easing of selling pressure. Glassnode believes Bitcoin is currently range-bound with weak demand and limited selling pressure, and the market is focused on the Fed's October 28 rate decision. A daily close back above $85,000 could be an initial signal of further upside; if price falls below the active investors' average cost of about $77,900, attention should turn to short-term holder cost support around $75,800.

Bloomberg: Trump family-linked crypto firms pre-emptively build legal defenses; Democrats may launch investigations if they win midterms

Crypto, venture capital and prediction market companies tied to Trump and his family are stepping up hiring of lawyers and lobbyists to prepare for possible congressional investigations. It is understood that Democratic lawmakers have asked World Liberty Financial and 1789 Capital to provide information, focusing on whether the companies obtained government contracts or favorable policy treatment and whether there were conflicts of interest.

Analysts believe, however, that even if Democrats win a majority in Congress in the midterms, investigations could face obstacles, including difficulty compelling foreign individuals to provide testimony or documents and uncertainty over whether federal agencies such as the Justice Department will take further action. The companies and the Trump family insist their business activities comply with the law.

Hong Kong IFEC flags risks of buying and selling tokenized funds on the secondary market

Hong Kong's Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) published an article flagging the risks of buying and selling tokenized funds on the secondary market, including price discrepancy/trading risk, liquidity risk, price fragmentation risk and reliance on market makers.

The IFEC noted that investors should thoroughly understand the underlying fund, including its investment objectives, strategy, features, operation and related investment risks, as well as the tokenization arrangements, including whether trades are ultimately settled on-chain or off-chain and the associated risks; and should pay attention to information on the trading channel, market maker arrangements, applicable fees, possible suspension of trading, secondary market trading risks, the option to subscribe for or redeem tokenized fund units at net asset value, and the related implications.

Analysis: Bitcoin's push toward $100,000 stalls as investors sell into strength, creating overhead pressure

After its summer rebound, Bitcoin's rally has gradually faded and it has fallen back to around $80,000, with investors facing persistent selling pressure as it attempts to breach the $100,000 mark. Investors who bought Bitcoin over the past two years have cost bases concentrated at $87,000 and above; selling pressure to break even near that level has capped Bitcoin's rebound twice this year, with price subsequently seeing drawdowns of at least 25%. In addition, the average cost basis of Bitcoin ETF holders is about $81,500; if price keeps closing below that level, ETF holders on average could turn to unrealized losses, weakening recent on-chain support.

Macro factors are also weighing on Bitcoin. AI-themed stocks have been weak this month, and analysts believe Bitcoin remains highly correlated with tech stocks, with AI valuation concerns and debt risks pressuring it. The market has not yet confirmed the start of a new bull run, and the path ahead still depends on the macro environment and sustained buying.

Bloomberg: Anthropic IPO's high participation bar draws attention as Asian investors turn to indirect routes such as crypto derivatives

Anthropic's planned IPO could value the company at up to $1.5 trillion, and it plans to invest about $800 billion in computing infrastructure, with TSMC, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics set to benefit. Due to strong subscription demand and related restrictions, Asian investors face difficulty participating directly in the IPO and are turning to indirect channels such as crypto derivatives.

It is understood that OKX and Binance have launched perpetual contracts linked to Anthropic's valuation, and the related perpetual contract on Hyperliquid's EntropyIO platform at one point implied a valuation of about $1.88 trillion. However, Anthropic still faces risks including an uncertain path to profitability, high capital spending on AI projects and intense industry competition, and related "proxy" investments may also be affected by other industry factors.

Bloomberg: trader suspected of manipulating oil prices on Hyperliquid, with anomalous orders exceeding $170 million

Market surveillance firm Solidus Labs found that during the sharp swings in international oil prices between March 8 and 10, a trader placed more than $170 million in anomalous orders through two accounts on Hyperliquid, suspected of using "spoofing" to influence market prices. The accounts placed large orders on one side of the order book and then quickly canceled them while executing trades on the other side. Solidus said the trader made about $119,000 in profit during the period, but his true identity and intent to manipulate the market have not been established.

In one case, the trader quickly canceled about $17 million in sell orders while executing about $425,000 in buy orders. Solidus data shows that the Brent crude perpetual contract price moved notably around the cancellations. Hyperliquid Labs stressed that all orders, cancellations and trades on the platform are publicly recorded on-chain and can be reviewed in real time; the related contract issuer Trade.xyz also said the platform has order limits and continuous monitoring mechanisms in place. The incident has once again raised market attention to oversight of trading on crypto derivatives platforms and their potential impact on traditional commodity markets.

US CFTC to hold December 15 roundtable on 24/7 trading in derivatives markets

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced it will hold an industry roundtable on December 15 to discuss the feasibility of implementing round-the-clock (24/7) trading in derivatives markets. The meeting will follow the CFTC's work this summer seeking public comment on extending trading hours for standard futures contracts and introducing perpetual contract mechanisms.

The meeting will be held at the CFTC's headquarters in Washington and live-streamed to the public. The specific agenda, speakers and registration information will be announced later. The discussion will cover overnight trading, asset tokenization, infrastructure, staffing and operational readiness, and how to protect market participants while promoting financial innovation and maintaining the integrity and resilience of US derivatives markets.

CFTC Chair Selig said the regulator will not take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to 24/7 trading, but hopes to hear from all sides of the industry to promote prudent and responsible development of trading mechanisms across asset classes.

Google releases frontier model Gemini 4 Carbon, ranking first on intelligence index

According to Google's official blog, Google released a new-generation frontier model, Gemini 4 Carbon, calling it its strongest model to date, with industry-leading capabilities in cybersecurity and long-horizon tasks. The model ranks first with a score of 59 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (v5.0) and scores 88.2% on the vulnerability discovery benchmark SEC-bench Pro. Gemini 4 Carbon will first be made available to select cybersecurity defenders this week, then gradually expanded to trusted partners through the Fairwind program, with broader releases to developers, enterprises and consumers to follow soon. Initial API pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, adjusted to $4 and $20 after the initial period. The model comes just two weeks after the release of Gemini 4 Argon.

Ripple CEO responds to rumors of abandoning XRP: We will never give up on XRP

At the opening of the Swell 2026 conference, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse responded to market rumors that Ripple would scale back support for XRP and focus instead on its stablecoin RLUSD, saying "we will never give up on XRP," and that Ripple would never do anything it believes would harm the XRP ecosystem. Garlinghouse described XRP's momentum as "profound," with RLUSD one of the drivers of that momentum; the two are complementary.

Fed holds rates at 3.75%–4.00%, two members favored a hike

According to the Fed's official statement, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced it will keep the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.75%–4.00%, in line with market expectations. The decision passed 10 votes to 2, with Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of a 25 basis point hike. The statement said economic activity is expanding at a strong pace and inflation remains elevated. Fed Chair Warsh will hold a press conference at 02:30 Beijing time.

Warsh: Fed to hold fewer policy meetings, only 6 rate decisions in 2028

Fed Chair Warsh said at the post-meeting press conference that the Fed will adjust its policy meeting schedule in phases starting next year. Warsh said eight meetings a year is the appropriate number for the FOMC, but one of the eight meetings in 2027 will be converted into a strategic discussion session without a rate vote, rising to two in 2028, when the number of meetings with rate decisions will fall to six a year. Warsh first proposed reducing the number of policy meetings at the July meeting so that more data could accumulate between meetings. Previously, the Fed voted 10-2 to keep rates unchanged. Bloomberg also reported that bond traders are currently betting on about a 90% probability of a Fed rate hike in December.

US DOJ inquires about Nvidia's $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face

The US Department of Justice is inquiring into Nvidia's $12.93 billion acquisition of open-source AI platform Hugging Face, focusing on the deal's impact on competition in the AI industry and whether Nvidia could use it to control critical AI distribution channels and suppress competitors. The inquiry is part of the DOJ's multi-year conduct investigation into Nvidia's acquisitions, investments and sales practices, which also covers Nvidia's acquisition of SchedMD and Run:ai and a technology licensing deal with Groq. Nvidia expects the acquisition to close in the first half of 2027. Nvidia and the DOJ declined to comment.

Pump.fun app launches Hyperliquid perpetual contract trading

Pump.fun posted on X that its app has launched Hyperliquid perpetual contract trading, allowing users to trade more than 300 markets on Hyperliquid covering cryptocurrencies, stocks and commodities directly using their in-app USDC or SOL balances without bridging. For leverage, BTC offers up to 40x, ETH up to 25x, stocks such as TSLA and NVDA up to 20x, and the S&P 500 up to 50x, with isolated margin and take-profit/stop-loss orders supported. Pump.fun subsequently announced that its app now supports the Arbitrum network, allowing users to trade any token on Arbitrum using their USDC balance.

OpenAI lets users assign tasks to personal agent Dot via text message

ChatGPT posted on X that users can now interact with their personal agent Dot via iMessage or RCS text messages, assigning tasks by text, image or voice memo, and Dot will also proactively text to update them on progress. The feature only covers messages between the user and their own Dot; it will not let Dot or OpenAI access a user's other text conversations. The feature is currently rolling out in preview to Pro users in the US. OpenAI launched the Dot personal agent in late September.

Microsoft Q1 revenue $92.3 billion, Azure revenue up 48% year-on-year

Microsoft's first quarter of fiscal 2027 (ended September 30, 2026) revenue was $92.3 billion, up 19% year-on-year; net income was $36.6 billion, up 32%; non-GAAP earnings per share were $4.89, up 18%. Azure revenue rose 48% year-on-year; Microsoft Cloud revenue was $63.9 billion, up 30%; and commercial remaining performance obligations rose 73% to $677 billion. Capital spending on property and equipment for the quarter was $39.4 billion. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said revenue, operating income and earnings per share all exceeded expectations.

Alphabet Q3 revenue $127.6 billion, Google Cloud revenue up 103% year-on-year

Alphabet's third-quarter 2026 revenue was $127.6 billion, up 25% year-on-year, with Google Cloud revenue up 103% to $30.7 billion and Google Services revenue up 11% to $96.3 billion. Operating income for the quarter was $40.6 billion, up 30%, with an operating margin of 31.8%; net income attributable to common shareholders was $26.2 billion and earnings per share were $2.12, compared with $2.87 a year earlier. CEO Sundar Pichai said the Gemini app has surpassed 1 billion users, and first-party model APIs process nearly 32 billion tokens per minute.

Alphabet Q3 profit misses expectations, shares fall more than 6% after hours

Alphabet's third-quarter revenue and profit both fell short of market expectations, and the stock fell more than 6% at one point in after-hours US trading. According to Reuters, Alphabet's free cash flow for the quarter was -$9.07 billion, a record cash burn, versus analyst expectations of about -$36 million. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was $127.6 billion, net income was $26.2 billion and earnings per share were $2.12, about $0.90 below expectations; Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year-on-year to $30.7 billion, above the expected $29.6 billion.

Trump holds off on tariffs on robots and industrial machinery, directs negotiations with trading partners

US President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing the Commerce Department's Section 232 investigation finding that imports of robots, industrial machinery and parts "threaten to impair national security," but held off on imposing tariffs, instead directing the Commerce Secretary and the US Trade Representative to negotiate with trading partners and report on progress within 180 days. The proclamation said that if no agreement is reached within 180 days, or if agreements are not implemented or are ineffective, the president may consider imposing or adjusting tariffs, quotas, fees and other alternative measures, and may introduce programs to incentivize domestic production. Bloomberg said Trump delayed tariffs on robots and machinery to allow further negotiations.

Marvell said to be in talks to acquire Lumentum; Lumentum up about 17% after hours

People familiar with the matter said semiconductor company Marvell is in advanced talks to acquire data center optical communications equipment maker Lumentum, with a deal potentially announced as soon as next week. The two sides have not reached a final agreement, and details and timing could still change. Lumentum currently has a market capitalization of about $83 billion, while Marvell's is about $221 billion. Following the news, Marvell fell about 8% and Lumentum rose about 17% in after-hours US trading. Earlier this year, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Lumentum.

Microsoft took in $10 billion in revenue from OpenAI last quarter, about 11% of total revenue

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Microsoft disclosed that in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 ended September 30, it generated $10 billion in revenue from its commercial arrangements with OpenAI (including revenue sharing), accounting for about 11% of total quarterly revenue of $92.3 billion; for the full fiscal 2026 year, that revenue was $24.1 billion. As of the end of September, OpenAI owed Microsoft $7.2 billion, up from $6 billion at the end of June; Microsoft's stake in OpenAI fell to 24% from about 25% in June. In addition, Microsoft disclosed Azure revenue for the quarter at $33.2 billion, up 48% year-on-year.

UAE's SAC announces partnership with Coinbase to implement $1.5 billion Bitcoin and real estate investment strategy

UAE-based Standard Asset Company (SAC) has established its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and announced a $1.5 billion Bitcoin and real estate investment strategy. The company plans to acquire income-producing UAE real estate while building a Bitcoin reserve managed exclusively by Coinbase Asset Management. The strategy aims to generate income through real estate and earn additional returns from its managed Bitcoin holdings.

US CFTC to hold December 15 roundtable on 24/7 derivatives trading, including tokenization

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public roundtable on December 15 to discuss moving derivatives markets to 24/7 trading, with topics including overnight trading and tokenization. CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the agency "will not take a one-size-fits-all approach."

Grant Cardone proposes $1 million bet that BTC will reach or exceed $126,000 within two years

US real estate investor Grant Cardone has proposed a $1 million bet to angel investor and Bitcoin critic Jason Calacanis that Bitcoin will reach or exceed $126,210.50 before October 28, 2028.

Analyst: Bitcoin short-term holders still profitable, $76,500 cost basis provides support

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted that Bitcoin short-term holders (STH) have been in profit on average for nearly two months, with an estimated cost basis of $76,500 and an average profit margin of about 5.5%. That is a sharp narrowing from less than a month ago, when unrealized profits averaged as much as 20%. The last time short-term holders held such high profits was shortly before the October 2025 top, so the subsequent consolidation is not surprising. Darkfost believes short-term holder profits remain, and their $76,500 cost basis is still a support level worth watching, where short-term holders may step in to defend their average entry price.

Zhao Changpeng warns: do not click links in emails or download attachments

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng posted on X warning users not to click links in emails or download attachments. Even if a message comes from someone you trust, that person's computer may have been infected with a virus without their knowledge.

Three new vulnerabilities found in Bitcoin Core, fixes released in multiple versions

Three new vulnerabilities have been found in Bitcoin Core, one of which allows an attacker to remotely crash nodes. The first lets a malicious peer crash Bitcoin nodes running on Windows, macOS or BSD by exhausting memory; Linux nodes are unaffected. The second allows an attacker to gradually exhaust node memory, and the third could corrupt blockchain undo data. Two of the vulnerabilities were discovered by AI-driven Project Loupe at Spiral, and the other was identified independently by L0RINC. Fixed versions are available in Bitcoin Core 29.5, 30.4, 31.2 and 32.1, though some configurations remain affected by the third issue.

CryptoQuant founder: Bitcoin may resume its rally once US midterm uncertainty fades

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said the ETF engine has barely run this year, with net inflows near zero year-to-date, yet Bitcoin is down only 7%. With ETF demand weak but prices still holding up, large selling by OG whales or miners seems unlikely — those who wanted to sell may have already done so. Ki Young Ju expects bullish momentum to return once US midterm election uncertainty fades and ETF inflows recover.

HyperLabs applies to redeem 179,700 HYPE, expected to arrive November 4

Hyperliquid development team HyperLabs applied 10 hours ago to unstake 179,706 HYPE ($14.49 million), expected to arrive on the evening of November 4. The move follows the same process as previous team token unlocks: after exiting staking, tokens are first distributed to team members and then traded over the counter through market maker Flowdesk.

Ethereum liquid staking protocol Diva Staking announces gradual shutdown, saying funds ran out in 2024

Ethereum liquid staking protocol Diva Staking announced it will wind down gradually and will not launch on mainnet. Diva said the team ran out of money in mid-2024, after which three members continued development for about two and a half years without revenue or salary but ultimately could not sustain it. Users who made pre-deposits in the early staking vault can withdraw funds from Enzyme.

Diva said it launched on Hoodi this summer and ran for four months without incident, but no major participant was willing to help bootstrap the mainnet, and the team could not afford new audits or the cost of launching and maintaining a complex protocol. Diva worried that AI makes it easier to find vulnerabilities and that complex systems could bypass audits and put user funds at risk, so it chose not to take the chance of launching. Diva also said the market now favors compliance, ETFs and regulation, leaving decentralized protocols at a disadvantage.

Analysis: Bitcoin's October rally fails as US demand shrinks and profit buffers are exhausted

A CryptoQuant report notes that Bitcoin's return in October 2026 stands at -4.2% so far, far below the average +18.1% for October since 2020. Bitcoin closed September at $83,567 and fell to $80,051 on October 25, with 2026 potentially marking a second consecutive negative-return October. According to the report, Bitcoin spot demand has been negative daily since October 14, with 30-day cumulative apparent demand at -76,000 BTC as of October 25; US investors' willingness to buy is subdued, with the daily Coinbase premium falling to -0.146 on October 24, the lowest since June 30, and averaging -0.093 in October, three times the September level.

Trader profit margins fell from 33% to 8%, with much of the buffer provided by September's decline now exhausted. The bull market score index dropped from 90 to 60, entering a phase of marked slowdown, though 6 of the 10 indicators remain strong and have not yet turned weak. CryptoQuant notes support at $73,000 to $77,600, with the 365-day moving average, trader realized price and 200-day moving average all within 10% below the current price. The October 28 FOMC decision and the November 3 midterms are the next key catalysts.

Visa: annualized stablecoin settlement volume tops $25 billion, up 10x year-on-year

On its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings call, Visa disclosed that its annualized stablecoin settlement volume has topped $25 billion, up 10x year-on-year, with support for 10 blockchains and operations in all 5 regions. Visa's stablecoin platform is available in the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Switzerland and the UK, with more than 300 partners in the pipeline; Open USD launched on September 30 and had more than $800 million in circulating supply as of October 15. In addition, Visa has more than 225 stablecoin-linked card programs, up more than 70% year-on-year, with transaction volume up more than 150%, covering 5 million cards in more than 50 countries.

Peer announces "support for buying and selling USDC via Alipay"; Alipay responds: false and unauthorized

In response to P2P crypto trading platform Peer's announcement that the platform supports buying and selling USDC via Alipay, Alipay officially responded: "Alipay does not support virtual currency (crypto) trading or related services. Any claim that Alipay can be used to purchase cryptocurrencies on a third-party platform is false and unauthorized. Alipay reminds users to remain cautious and protect the safety of their funds and accounts."

Samsung Q3 net profit $56.1 billion, up 526% year-on-year

Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) today reported third-quarter 2026 results for the period ended September 30. Samsung's third-quarter revenue was 195.25 trillion won (about $145.6 billion), up 126.88% from 86.06 trillion won a year earlier; net profit attributable to shareholders of Samsung's parent company was 75.21 trillion won (about $56.1 billion), up 526.39% from 12 trillion won a year earlier.

This marks yet another quarter in which Samsung has benefited from the memory chip supercycle driven by AI. Over the past year, demand for large-model training and inference has pushed HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and DRAM prices steadily higher, and inventory clearing combined with price increases has sharply restored gross margins in Samsung's chip business. Revenue doubling and net profit rising more than sixfold is a pace of growth rarely seen in Samsung's recent financial reports. Another set of numbers shows the significance of this cycle: a year earlier, Samsung's net profit was still under $10 billion; a year later, single-quarter net profit is more than six times that level. Market analysts believe that as long as the trend of AI computing expansion continues, the memory price upcycle is still only midway, and Samsung's high earnings growth may continue.