News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily Report: Bitcoin treasury company Strategy is considering issuing preferred stock to finance additional Bitcoin purchases. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the company can create up to $30 billion in digital credit based on its existing balance sheet, without issuing additional common stock or requiring Bitcoin's price to continue rising.CEO Phong Le said that issuing digital credit will be Strategy's primary method for acquiring more Bitcoin; if the company raises $1 billion to $2 billion through STRC in a month, part of the funds could be allocated to USD reserves, with the remainder used to purchase Bitcoin.Strategy reported third-quarter net income of $19.53 billion, primarily driven by a $20.91 billion increase in the value of digital assets. As of October 25, the company held 848,517 Bitcoin, up 26% year-to-date. The $30 billion figure represents potential financing capacity, not a publicly announced fundraising target. (Cointelegraph)
the Bank of England (BoE) has opened a consultation on central counterparties (CCPs) accepting digital representations of eligible collateral, and stated that current rules already permit the use of such assets when they meet clearing standards. The proposed supervisory statement will clarify what CCPs need to address when submitting applications under the existing approval process, without creating new regulatory obligations.The Bank of England stated that tokenized collateral must remain capable of valuation, transfer, and liquidation under stress scenarios, and that faster cross-jurisdictional asset transfers could help firms meet margin requirements. The consultation will close on February 12, 2027, and the central bank expects to publish its policy response and related rules later this quarter. (Cointelegraph)
Luxor Technology, a full-stack hashrate services provider, has completed a $16 million strategic funding round led by CMT Digital, with participation from Canaan, MicroBT, Halo, Steelhead, and several angel investors. Luxor plans to use the funds to expand its agent cloud platform, AI hardware business, and hashrate derivatives trading capabilities, as well as to grow its team. The company originally served Bitcoin mining companies and is now expanding into GPU and AI server procurement, targeting opportunities arising from the convergence of the Bitcoin mining and AI compute markets. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Asset management firm Bitwise Asset Management and the Hyperliquid Policy Center submitted comment letters to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, calling for changes to proposed crypto rules to clarify token classification, airdrops, and secondary market trading rules.The SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets would establish exemptions for qualifying crypto fundraising and provide a conditional safe harbor for tokens related to investment contracts. Bitwise is asking for clear standards by which investment managers can determine whether a token is subject to securities laws.The Hyperliquid Policy Center is asking for an expansion of the safe harbor's scope and for clear rules on airdrops that reward network participants and on token buybacks. The organization also wants the SEC to clarify whether unregistered intermediaries can facilitate token trading, and whether tokens can be freely traded through on-chain protocols.Former SEC enforcement official John Reed Stark and Duke University finance scholar Lee Reiners, meanwhile, are calling for the proposal to be withdrawn, arguing that it exceeds the SEC's statutory authority and weakens investor protection. The SEC will decide whether to revise, adopt, or withdraw the rule after the public comment period ends, and the final rule must take effect after a Commission vote. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Crypto researcher Stacy Muur has compiled a list of 82 digital asset projects and protocols said to have shut down in 2026, including Balancer, Radiant Capital, Neon EVM, Step Finance, and others, spanning DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and Web3 gaming.The shutdowns were driven by declining revenue, exhausted funding, and security incidents. Earlier this year, Bitcoin's price briefly fell below $60,000, retreating from an all-time high of over $126,000 in October 2025, adding financial pressure on projects.When Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast announced its shutdown, it stated that the project had no "credible path to economic viability." Step Finance shut down following a major treasury exploit, while Radiant Capital announced the end of operations after failing to recover from a 2024 exploit.An August study by DeFiLlama showed that 100 crypto projects had announced shutdowns in 2026, 40 of which occurred in the preceding 90 days; the most common reason was product-market mismatch, followed by exhausted funding, insufficient revenue, and pivots to other products. The projects involved raised a combined total of approximately $1 billion and generated $250 million in cumulative fees, with 9 individual projects each raising over $50 million. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen stated that overall bitcoin purchasing by treasury companies slowed in Q3 2026. Strategy net acquired 1,666 BTC during the quarter, down from 83,901 BTC in Q2, while other listed companies net acquired 5,617 BTC, down from 45,725 BTC in the previous quarter. He expects corporate bitcoin buying to accelerate again as early as this year. Bitfinex Head of Derivatives Jag Kooner noted that if the premium of treasury companies' stock prices over their bitcoin holdings recovers, it may reignite equity-funded bitcoin purchases, but “a return to the indiscriminate funding frenzy of last year is unlikely,” with capital flowing preferentially to mature companies that possess scale, liquidity, and an established track record.
As reported by Cointelegraph, enterprise-grade AI agent infrastructure company AIsa has completed a seed round extension financing, with Tether and HIVEN joining as strategic investors, bringing its cumulative funding to over $9 million. Previous investors also include Alibaba, Tribe Capital, Sumitomo Corporation, Draper Associates, and Saison Capital.
Enterprise AI agent infrastructure company AIsa has announced the completion of a seed extension round, with stablecoin issuer Tether and HIVEN joining as strategic investors. This round brings its cumulative funding to over $9 million.Tether and HIVEN join the existing investor lineup that includes Alibaba, Tribe Capital, Sumitomo Corporation, Draper Associates, and Saison Capital. AIsa founder and CEO Jordan Liu stated that the company will build infrastructure to support global discovery, access, and payment for resources by AI agents.AIsa's network integrates resource discovery, access, and transactions, connecting enterprise AI agents with external data, AI search, models, APIs, software tools, and industry services, while providing permission management, usage metering, billing, and settlement. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies are expected to need approximately $50 billion to complete their planned AI infrastructure projects, with IREN, Riot Platforms, and HIVE Digital facing funding gaps of approximately $21.1 billion, $7.2 billion, and $4.6 billion, respectively.As Bitcoin mining companies expand into AI and high-performance computing, borrowing costs vary depending on clients, contracts, and project completion pathways. IREN secured $3.65 billion in GPU financing in June at a blended interest rate of 6%; in August, it obtained an additional $2.4 billion in fixed-rate financing at a 9% interest rate.Financing arrangements may also include costs beyond interest. In one Cipher Digital deal, Google agreed to backstop $1.4 billion in lease obligations and received warrants representing 5.4% equity in Cipher; if the warrants are exercised, existing shareholders' ownership stakes could be diluted.According to VanEck data, at the Bitcoin bull market peak last October, mining companies' debt had grown by approximately 500% compared to the second quarter of 2024. Despite a weakening Bitcoin market, capital demand continues to rise as mining companies pivot to AI businesses. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Bitcoin life insurance company Meanwhile has announced the completion of a $37.5 million funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital, among others. The company's cumulative funding has now exceeded $180 million.Meanwhile is headquartered in Bermuda and is licensed to conduct insurance business entirely in Bitcoin. The company stated that an unstable macroeconomic environment has driven increased demand for Bitcoin life insurance policies in markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.In early 2026, Meanwhile launched BTC Life 1-Pay, a single-premium whole life insurance product, for high-net-worth clients outside the United States, following the earlier launch of BTC 10-Pay for U.S. taxpayers. Policies can be held by individuals, trusts, or corporations for inheritance and estate planning purposes. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, Bermuda-headquartered Bitcoin life insurance provider Meanwhile has announced $37.5 million in new funding, bringing its total capital raised past $180 million. The round was led by Bain Capital Crypto, which will enable the company to expand into overseas markets such as Asia and Europe.
Odaily report: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has completed the drafting of relevant rules to allow cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be listed and traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, initially limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rules will take effect on October 16, 2026.Initially, products such as depositary receipts linked to overseas cryptocurrency ETFs will not be permitted, and Thai brokerages will still not be allowed to assist retail investors in investing in overseas cryptocurrency ETFs. Institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals are not subject to this restriction. Mutual funds and private funds may invest in cryptocurrency ETFs established in Thailand.The relevant ETFs must adopt a passive investment approach, tracking the prices of the underlying crypto assets, and must maintain an average net exposure to any single cryptocurrency of at least 80% of net asset value during each fiscal year. Brokerages may not provide margin financing, and fund assets must be custodied by digital asset custodians regulated by the SEC. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Members of the European Parliament are calling on the European Commission to include corruption risks related to crypto assets, opaque ownership structures, and digital tools in its upcoming anti-corruption strategy. The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday outlining policy priorities for the strategy.Lawmakers also called for strengthened tracking, freezing, confiscation, and recovery of criminal proceeds, as well as improved rules on public procurement, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and political financing, along with enhanced protections for whistleblowers and investigative journalists.The European Commission plans to adopt its first anti-corruption strategy by the end of 2026. The strategy will complement the EU Anti-Corruption Directive that took effect in May, which harmonized the definition of corruption offenses and minimum penalty standards across member states. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Nonprofit financial reform advocacy group Better Markets stated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s plan to bring certain cryptocurrency trading and exchanges under its regulatory purview could give retail investors weaker protections than those under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CFTC has solicited public comments on a framework for margin, leverage, or financing in retail crypto trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, noted that the CFTC lacks an investor protection mandate, and its statutory authority was originally designed to address fraud in leveraged precious metals trading, which does not justify making it the primary regulator of retail crypto trading. He also said the proposed framework could allow the kind of interrelated market participants that were seen as contributing to FTX's collapse.After the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress, the CFTC and SEC have continued to advance crypto policy under existing law. The CFTC plans to establish a new federal category to bring qualifying crypto trading platforms directly under regulation; the SEC, meanwhile, has proposed relaxing certain investment adviser custody rules, allowing limited tokenized trading of U.S. equities, and issuing new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the second and third reviews of El Salvador's 40-month Extended Fund Facility, approving an immediate disbursement of approximately $138 million under the $1.4 billion financing program. Despite some performance criteria not being met, the IMF granted waivers based on corrective measures and recommitments.The IMF stated that El Salvador will continue to reduce state involvement in Bitcoin-related activities, strengthen crypto asset regulation, governance, and transparency of public sector crypto asset holdings, and will not accumulate additional Bitcoin beyond already recorded donations. The majority stake and operational control of the government's Chivo Bitcoin wallet have been transferred to a private operator. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: U.S. digital asset bank Anchorage Digital has reportedly laid off approximately 17% of its workforce. The company was valued at $4.2 billion earlier this year; if its global headcount remains at around 400 as it was in February, this round of layoffs would affect roughly 68 positions. CEO Nathan McCauley informed employees of the layoff arrangements this week.In recent years, Anchorage Digital has expanded its regulated crypto business and entered stablecoin issuance, including participating in Tether's newly launched USD stablecoin USAT. The company also received a $100 million strategic investment from Tether earlier this year. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard, stated that other treasury companies focused on buying Bitcoin as their core business may struggle to compete with Strategy, noting there is currently no sufficient reason to choose alternative Bitcoin treasury firms over Strategy. Ammous pointed out that Strategy's larger Bitcoin holdings enable it to secure financing at a lower cost, and the company maintains approximately $5.02 billion in cash reserves, which can be used to pay preferred stock dividends and interest on its debt, providing a financial buffer even if Bitcoin experiences a sharper drawdown. However, he also emphasized that investing in Strategy still entails risks, and personally favors holding Bitcoin directly.
According to Cointelegraph, BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes said during Blockchain Week Korea that U.S. policymakers may need to expand the money supply to support AI data center construction and government debt financing, with the resulting increase in liquidity potentially driving crypto asset prices higher. Hayes noted that AI companies require trillions of dollars in funding to build data centers, and as prices for related services continue to drop, this could ultimately push policymakers to adopt a more accommodating monetary stance. He also highlighted that China's monetary policy may shift from relatively tight conditions to larger-scale stimulus, which he believes could reignite market demand for scarce assets.
Arthur Hayes stated that U.S. policymakers may support the AI industry and government debt financing through money printing, driving cryptocurrency prices higher; if China shifts from limited tightening to large-scale monetary stimulus, it could also boost demand for scarce assets. He is also monitoring financial stress in France, including BNP Paribas-related credit default swaps and French government bond spreads.Catrina Wang, General Partner at Portal Ventures, said that banks and asset management companies have advantages in on-chain financial markets thanks to their existing client relationships. Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, pointed out that public blockchains can help institutions reach clients beyond their own networks; Justin Kugel, Executive Vice President of Growth at World Liberty Financial, said that user demand for asset management and investment evaluation still leaves room for intermediaries.Chetan Karkhanis, Senior Vice President of Digital Asset Client Relationships at Franklin Templeton, said the company has no intention of issuing its own stablecoin and hopes tokenized money market funds will provide investment returns. Haonan Li, co-founder and CEO of Codex, said that trade routes connecting Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia are driving demand for stablecoin payments; buyers pay eastward for goods, while manufactured products flow westward.Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, said that before allocating to crypto assets, companies need to confirm they have long-term idle funds that will not affect daily operations. Michael Camarda, Chief Development Officer of Ethereum treasury company SharpLink, said that both buying back shares and increasing ETH holdings can raise ETH per share; the company has adopted both methods to meet the preferences of institutional and retail investors. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service provider Blockchain.com plans to raise approximately $500 million this year through an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion, and may scale back the offering size if necessary to complete the listing.Blockchain.com reached a $14 billion valuation in 2022 and confidentially filed IPO registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May of this year. Recently listed Gemini, BitGo, and eToro have seen their share prices drop approximately 50% to 80% from post-listing highs. (Cointelegraph)