News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily reports: Block, the fintech company under Jack Dorsey, has announced it will push its crypto and payment platform Cash App to transform into a comprehensive digital bank, aiming to boost user engagement and customer retention through products including stock, ETF, and Bitcoin trading, short-term loans, high-yield savings, and custom debit cards. Currently, Cash App has 9.4 million users who use it as their primary banking tool, up 17% year-over-year. However, it still faces stagnant user growth and regulatory pressure, as some users primarily use Cash App for occasional transfers rather than everyday banking, investing, and spending services. (Bloomberg)
Odaily reports: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah seeking to block Utah from taking action against prediction markets. A week earlier, Utah officials sued prediction market platform Kalshi and its affiliates, seeking to recover up to $60 million in profits allegedly obtained illegally through event contracts.The CFTC stated that Utah is attempting to circumvent congressional intent and restrict the operations of exchanges registered by the agency. The complaint notes that the relevant event contracts qualify as swaps under the federal Commodity Exchange Act, and exchanges offering trading in such contracts are subject to CFTC regulation; Utah's actions infringe on federal regulatory authority over commodity derivatives markets.This lawsuit is yet another dispute between federal and state governments over jurisdiction concerning prediction markets. New Jersey officials in September of last year asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case against Kalshi, and similar lawsuits have been filed in Michigan, Ohio, and other states; as of Tuesday, the Supreme Court had not announced whether it would accept the case. (Cointelegraph)
According to The Block, BlackRock Financial Management Company, BlackRock Japan, Japanese financial group SBI Holdings, and Startale Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore linking tokenized money market funds (MMFs) with the Japanese yen stablecoin JPYSC, and will research related technological infrastructure, business models, distribution channels, and regulatory requirements.
Odaily reports: Crypto wallet Phantom began rolling out Kalshi prediction market services to U.S. users on October 23, allowing users to trade event contracts directly within the app, with availability set to gradually expand over the coming weeks. Users must complete Kalshi's KYC verification and can fund trades through a Phantom Cash account using CASH, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. Due to lawsuits in various states, Phantom will temporarily restrict sports, election, political, and certain other category markets in some states.Kevin Jacobs, Phantom's general counsel, said the company believes the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has clear jurisdiction over such products and will comply with state restrictions during the litigation. (The Block)
According to The Block, the Ethereum Foundation announced a delay of the Glamsterdam upgrade, originally scheduled for October 26 on the Hoodi testnet, to allow for further review of EIP-8037's interaction with mainnet smart contracts. A new activation date has not yet been announced. Hoodi is one of Ethereum's test networks, primarily used to validate network upgrades before they go live on the mainnet.
via The Block on X that, according to the New York Post, prediction market platform Polymarket has fired its Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber, who was closely associated with Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan.According to reports, the dismissal followed an internal investigation. The investigation was launched earlier this year, prompted by a series of incidents that raised concerns among the company's investors.
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in Wednesday's report that recent actions by U.S. regulators are partially offsetting the adverse impact of the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act, but until a crypto market structure bill is enacted, the political and legal risk premium will persist. Analysts note that regulator-driven measures could encourage institutional participation in the short term, but only legislation can ensure a more durable regulatory framework. If the Democratic Party wins the White House, existing regulatory measures could be overturned within as little as two years. The bill is unlikely to pass this year and may instead be put back on the agenda in 2027.
Odaily reports: Katie Harries, Head of European Policy at Coinbase, wrote that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)'s proposed crypto asset regulatory rules could require regulated platforms to execute client orders only on FCA-authorized trading venues, thereby restricting users from accessing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols through compliant platforms. Since decentralized protocols typically have no entity that can apply for regulatory authorization, the proposed rules could prevent regulated platforms from offering DeFi access services, constituting a de facto ban. The relevant crypto regulatory regime is expected to take effect on October 25, 2027.Harries argues that a blanket restriction on DeFi access will not eliminate the activity but may instead push more transactions into channels that regulators cannot effectively monitor. She calls on the FCA to adopt an approach of "regulating the access point, not blocking the technology," allowing compliant platforms to offer DeFi access services provided they clearly disclose risks to users, obtain user consent, and assess protocol operational and governance risks. She also noted that the EU and the US are exploring the integration of traditional finance with DeFi infrastructure, and the UK should also preserve space for such innovation. (Cointelegraph)
According to The Block, Lee Eog-weon, Chairman of the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), stated at a National Assembly hearing that government consultations on the Digital Assets Basic Act have entered the final stage, and the government will push for the bill's prompt enactment. The legislation aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, covering licensing systems for cryptocurrency exchanges, stablecoin issuance rules, and related legal definitions.
Odaily Report: Uniswap founder Hayden posted on X that the first UNI block trade executed through a regulated traditional finance channel has been completed, marking the first instance of a DeFi token executing a block trade through such a channel.
Standard Chartered has signed a final agreement to acquire 100% equity of crypto asset custody institution Zodia Custody, with the transaction still pending regulatory approval. Under the arrangement, Zodia Custody's custody business will be integrated into Standard Chartered, while its software business will be transferred to a standalone company backed by SC Ventures, the venture capital arm of Standard Chartered. (The Block)
According to The Block, Injective has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean digital asset custodian BDACS, planning to designate its KRW stablecoin KRW1 as the exclusive KRW settlement asset for RWA and tokenized asset activities on the Injective network. Both parties aim to enable tokenized assets to be traded and settled directly in KRW on Injective without routing through USD stablecoins. The minting and redemption of KRW1 will be exclusively available to approved institutional partners and will still require regulatory approval.
Odaily reports: The Blockchain Association has submitted comments on the U.S. Treasury Department's proposed implementation rules for Section 3 of the GENIUS Act. This provision primarily governs the eligibility of entities issuing and selling payment stablecoins within the United States.The Blockchain Association stated that it supports the core regulatory framework proposed by the Treasury Department in principle, but calls for further clarification of the definition of digital asset service providers, the criteria for determining "knowing participation" conduct, and the compliance requirements for foreign stablecoin issuers, in order to reduce uncertainty during the rule implementation process. (The Block)
According to The Block, Mastercard announced at Money20/20 USA the launch of its stablecoin risk intelligence service, Stablecoin Security. The service helps financial institutions assess stablecoin payment risks before funds are moved on-chain. The system traces fund origins, screens for potential links to fraud, scams, sanctions violations, and other financial crimes, and generates a risk score based on transaction context. Banks can integrate the scoring into their existing risk management and compliance systems via API. Borderless.xyz and Keyrails serve as the launch partners. The service will initially roll out in North America, with global commercial deployment expected in 2027. Citing research from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Mastercard noted that transactions on Ethereum in 2025 encompassed 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million transactions, with nearly 60% occurring within complex multi-step processes rather than simple one-to-one payments.
According to The Block, citing South Korean media outlet Digital Asset, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will investigate unfair trading practices involving crypto assets linked to token foundations, as well as other high-risk market activities.
According to The Block, Bitwise Chief Information Officer Matt Hougan stated that regardless of whether AI development drives economic prosperity, investment bubbles burst, or growth remains modest, Bitcoin will ultimately benefit. Hougan noted that if AI collapses, it may temporarily drag Bitcoin lower in the short term, but government bailouts and monetary expansion policies will ultimately drive a rebound in Bitcoin.
According to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank has pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach a $2 trillion scale from 2028 to 2030. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's Global Head of Digital Asset Research, stated that stablecoin supply has consistently hovered between $300 billion and $320 billion over the past 12 months, currently standing at approximately $309 billion. The stagnation in growth is viewed as a cyclical, rather than structural, issue. Despite the slowdown in supply growth, usage continues to climb—average monthly on-chain transfer volume neared $10 trillion in 2026, a significant increase from $4 trillion in 2025, with May alone recording a record-high $19 trillion in on-chain transfers. Stablecoin velocity has also doubled from 15x in 2025 to approximately 30x. Specifically, USDC velocity rose from 45x to 80x, primarily used for payments and AI agent-to-agent transactions; USDT velocity remains around 7x, mainly serving dollar savings demand in emerging markets. Kendrick noted that competition is most intense in mature market payments and traditional finance alternatives, with potential challengers including OUSD, stablecoin infrastructure provider M^0, and the multi-bank shared stablecoin network A+. On the regulatory front, the U.S. GENIUS Act is expected to take effect in January 2027, and its global rollout effectiveness will be a primary risk factor influencing the realization of the forecast.
According to The Block, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an early review of the online sports betting industry, focusing on alleged false or misleading advertising by betting companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings. Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are expected to fall outside the scope of this review.
Odaily News: CME Group CEO Terrence Duffy stated that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) attempt to expand its regulatory authority over prediction markets is "a bit of a stretch," and that the related regulatory dispute could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.Speaking at the DC Fintech Week event on Tuesday, Duffy said the battle over prediction market regulation could evolve into a legal showdown among state governments, tribal governments, and the federal government. "This is going to the Supreme Court, and I think the states and the tribes will prevail," he said. (The Block)
According to The Block, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has received final regulatory approval from Dubai and plans to officially launch exchange services in the UAE within the coming weeks. Kraken will offer spot and margin trading, staking, xStocks, and Krak transfers denominated in AED (UAE dirham), as well as institutional OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime services. The crypto derivatives business remains pending further regulatory approval.