Falling oil eased inflation worries through the Asian session, while a bill to make the government's bitcoin stockpile permanent moved further through Congress than any before it.
The warning comes weeks after the CFTC fined a former White House teleprompter operator who made more than $107,000 trading prediction contracts tied to President Trump’s speeches.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an advisory concerning 'mention markets' on prediction platforms, highlighting their vulnerability to manipulation because they often depend on the conduct of specific individuals rather than independently verifiable outcomes. While not banning such markets, the agency suggests they should meet strict criteria, including external verifiability and public scrutiny, to mitigate manipulation risks. The CFTC noted examples such as bets related to statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and the former U.S. Representative George Santos, who was banned from trading after allegedly wagering on his own speech. The agency emphasizes that prediction platform operators should only trade in derivative contracts that are less susceptible to manipulation, considering factors like external barriers to gaming markets and monitoring for signs of manipulation.
Senator Cynthia Lummis expressed disappointment over the failure of a crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act, blaming Democrats for opposing it due to their hatred for Donald Trump, who had notable crypto gains in 2025. She stated that all Democrats voted against a procedural vote, which she attributed to political reasons linked to Trump's crypto ties, including his mid-year disclosure of $1.4 billion in crypto earnings. House members French Hill and Ritchie Torres acknowledged the bill's importance for providing regulatory certainty and suggested that bipartisan cooperation is essential for future legislation, especially considering Trump's influence on the political climate around crypto. The bill’s failure was seen by some as partly attributable to Trump's controversial memecoin.
Arch Lending plans to soon expand into providing loans backed by tokenized equities, which have seen rapid growth over the past year, expanding from about $630 million to approximately $3.15 billion in total value. The company’s co-founder, Himanshu Sahay, noted that lending against tokenized stocks remains limited, but expects more lenders to participate as the market develops, citing firms like Superstate, Robinhood, and Securitize as issuers. While Arch has already extended into loans backed by tokenized real-world assets such as Paxos Gold and Tether Gold, its current loan book remains predominantly crypto-focused, with Bitcoin accounting for over 80%. Other entities like Ondo Finance, Kraken, and Coinbase have already begun integrating tokenized stocks into lending and collateral markets, reflecting the growing use of these assets in decentralized finance.
Many Democrats have previously called for investigations into the Trump family’s crypto ventures, but now a Republican is asking for an inquiry based on ties to the presidency.
White House and U.S. Treasury officials agree that despite some hope that Congress' "lame duck" session could see the bill again, the work's in regulators' hands.
The country’s largest financial institutions are exploring tokenized deposits for interbank payments, just weeks after regulators clarified how they should be treated.\n
Canada's six largest banks (the Big Six) are working together to develop a shared Canadian-dollar tokenized deposit system aimed at facilitating faster and more efficient cross-bank payments. The project’s initial phase will test digital transfers of tokenized deposits, with future plans to connect to other digital asset initiatives, while maintaining customer funds within the regulated banking system. The banks stated that the system could enable around-the-clock, programmable payments that support financial stability and regulatory oversight. This initiative is part of a broader global trend where banks are exploring blockchain infrastructure for deposits, as seen in efforts in the U.S. and the test of tokenized bonds by the Bank of Canada and RBC.
21shares listed physically backed ZEC and ETHFI products on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam, as issuers broaden their offerings beyond major cryptocurrencies.\n
Control of the US House and Senate is up for grabs in 2026, and some advocates speculate that the crypto industry could ratchet up attempts to sway elections after the CLARITY vote.
The ECB and EU central banks want to replace MiCA’s stablecoin bank-deposit requirements with liquidity thresholds, warning that sudden withdrawals could strain lenders.
Taylor Lindman, chief counsel of the SEC's Crypto Task Force, discussed the agency's upcoming crypto custody rule, which is currently under White House review. The rule aims to clarify how crypto assets, both securities and non-securities, can be safely held and transacted within the existing securities infrastructure, allowing market participants to use blockchain more comfortably. Lindman explained that the SEC is working to integrate crypto custody regulations with current securities intermediaries and to establish clear guidelines for custodians, including state-chartered trusts. The agency's earlier efforts to develop a custody rule in 2023 were halted and replaced, with current proposals focusing on foundational frameworks to accommodate evolving crypto assets.
Central bankers argue that indirect yield structures blur the line between electronic payment tokens and commercial bank deposits, distorting financial system competition.
Researchers can trace an estimated 1.1 million BTC to a distinctive early mining operation. The harder question is whether that miner was actually Satoshi.
CoinDesk reports that a small number of recurring, fixed-dollar trades dominate the trading volume of Bitcoin and ether perpetual futures on Kalshi, accounting for over half of the traded value during a four-day period. The pattern is consistent with automated trading strategies executing predetermined dollar amounts, with trades clustering around specific target values that change over time. Kalshi's public data does not identify the traders behind these recurring trades or clarify the reasons for the fixed dollar targets, and the exchange did not respond to inquiries about potential market-making or ownership arrangements. Critics have accused Kalshi of inflating crypto volume, although the exchange states that its prediction markets and futures are subject to different incentive structures and regulatory filings.
Reap is preparing to add a Mexican peso stablecoin and is exploring Hong Kong dollar, euro, won and yen tokens for foreign exchange outside banking hours.
A $3.17 million butterfly options trade executed via Paradigm suggests traders are positioning for bitcoin to reach around $95,000 by the end of October, with the strategy benefiting most if bitcoin settles near this price. The trade involves specific calls at $90,000, $95,000, and $100,000 with a net payout that peaks at the $95,000 strike. Bitcoin's recent price action, which includes reclaiming long-term moving averages and exceeding previous resistance levels, supports a bullish outlook, with some market indicators pointing to potential moves toward $98,000. Additionally, traders are showing increased demand for upside exposure across different derivatives, reflecting a broader bullish sentiment.