News linked to both this project and an event.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has officially approved applications related to Ripple National Trust Bank. This approval will provide Ripple with a platform to operate under the federal regulatory framework, allowing it to support its US dollar stablecoin RLUSD and offer digital asset custody services to corporate clients. Garlinghouse stated that this move reflects the integration of the crypto industry with the traditional banking system, emphasizing the importance of innovation, accountability, and federal oversight.
Odaily reports: Blockchain security firm CertiK stated that although Google, Apple, and Microsoft have blocked 8 affected certificates issued by Indian digital certificate authority eMudhra, crypto trading bots and exchange applications may still be exposed to related vulnerability risks, as browser remediation measures may not cover software that uses independent security systems.Peiyu Wang, Senior Director of Digital Asset Security at CertiK, noted that attackers could exploit compromised certificates to impersonate exchanges, wallet interfaces, and APIs, replace deposit addresses, or trick users into approving malicious transactions. However, such attacks would also require intercepting or redirecting network traffic, and the compromised certificate authority keys alone cannot expose wallet private keys. Crypto service operators should update their software and certificate trust stores, and confirm that their applications reject the affected certificates. (Cointelegraph)
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court in Kazakhstan has issued an injunction against cryptocurrency platforms offering digital asset services without authorization, prohibiting Coinbase, BingX, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Bitcoin.com, and WEEX from operating within its jurisdiction, and extending the restrictions to block access to their apps on Google and Apple app stores.
Senior officials from South Korea's finance ministry plan to hold consultations with major cryptocurrency exchanges on Tuesday, with participants including representatives from Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX, Gopax, and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA). Yoo Young-jun, Director General of the Digital Finance Policy Bureau at South Korea's Financial Services Commission, will attend the meeting.South Korea has postponed the crypto tax three times, most recently pushing the implementation date to 2027. Exchanges say that applicable rules for different transaction types have not yet been determined and that infrastructure preparation time is limited, with the industry broadly supporting a further delay of the tax.South Korean Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu recently proposed a bill that would set the tax start date as January 1 of the second year after South Korea begins sharing data under the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). If the first data exchange takes place in 2027, the tax would begin in 2029. (Cointelegraph)
Gerald Podobnik stated Deutsche Bank will launch its first digital asset service within weeks. In the first phase, it will roll out crypto custody in Germany, supporting major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and will subsequently add mainstream stablecoin redemption services. The bank plans to expand its custody platform to Asian financial hubs next year and offer tokenized deposit services, helping clients issue digital bonds and other blockchain-based securities.
Odaily News: The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a report on "debanking," stating that some banks have used public and non-public policies to restrict financial services for multiple industries, including crude oil, natural gas, tobacco, firearms, and digital assets. The report notes that some institutions restricted digital asset businesses, including issuers, exchanges, and managers, often citing financial crime concerns as the reason.The OCC stated that the report was prepared in accordance with an executive order signed by Donald Trump in August 2025, which aims to prevent what it calls "illegal debanking." The report reviewed 9 major banks but did not list specific cases related to digital asset businesses, nor did it comprehensively quantify the scope of debanking or related allegations.OCC head Jonathan Gould said that some debanking decisions related to coal and firearms were not based on financial risk, with banks citing reputational risks from negative news, public protests, and support for related industries. In November 2024, more than 30 tech and crypto industry executives said they were unable to access banking services. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Fairshake-affiliated entities Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have spent a combined $2.7 million to support Democratic and Republican candidates running for U.S. House seats in 2026. The spending comes 22 days before the U.S. midterm elections.The expenditures include over $76,000 in supportive advertising for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson; California Representative Pete Aguilar and New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer received $512,000 and $500,000 in support, respectively.Fairshake announced days ago that it plans to support 32 additional House candidates in 2026, with 6 of them each receiving $1 million in supportive media placements. As of August, Fairshake held $122 million in cash and planned to allocate at least $30 million in media spending to oppose Sherrod Brown's run for the Ohio Senate seat.All of the aforementioned candidates voted in 2025 to support the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill aims to establish market structure rules for cryptocurrencies and expand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) regulatory enforcement authority, but it failed a Senate procedural vote in September. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, stated that by 2030, the market size of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) will reach $3 trillion to $10 trillion, a prediction she said is "without a doubt." She noted that industry growth drivers are mutually reinforcing, institutional investors' attention to and participation in related sectors continues to increase, and a clear sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) has emerged in the institutional market. Morgan Stanley previously expected to begin supporting tokenized stock trading on its alternative trading system (ATS) in the first quarter of 2027, a delay from its previously announced plan for the second half of 2026.
According to reports from South Korean media outlet Dailian, the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA) released the "2026 Digital Asset Policy Compilation." Professor Jo Jae-woo of Seoul National University pointed out that since the 2017 ICO ban, domestic crypto projects in South Korea have continuously relocated their issuing entities and operational foundations overseas due to regulatory gaps. Token issuance for Klaytn is handled by a Singaporean legal entity, while WEMIX under Wemade similarly uses a Singaporean corporation as its issuer. Subsequently, Metabora relocated to Dubai and NeoFin moved its foundation to Abu Dhabi, further exacerbating the trend of industry outflow. Experts highlighted that the regulatory disparity between domestic and foreign issuers, along with difficulties in opening corporate bank accounts, are key obstacles. They emphasized that "South Korea does not need more relaxed regulation, but clearer rules," calling on the Digital Asset Basic Act to clarify licensing standards for services such as issuance, custody, and verification, and to establish special procedures for repatriating core functions from overseas back to the country.
According to Bitcoin News on X, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed updating digital asset custody rules to allow investment advisers to self-custody when no qualified custodian is willing to custody specific assets, provided they meet requirements such as written assessment, multi-party authorization for transfers, wallet segregation, and security reviews. The proposal also seeks to allow qualifying state-chartered trust companies to serve as qualified custodians for digital assets such as Bitcoin. The proposal does not yet specify approval of any particular digital asset for investment adviser custody; if ultimately passed, Bitcoin could benefit due to its relatively mature existing institutional custody infrastructure.
According to Cointelegraph, the crypto political action committee Fairshake, backed by Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz, announced it will fund 32 House candidates in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, including 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats. As an initial round, Fairshake will contribute $1 million each to the campaigns of six of these candidates, totaling $6 million. All 32 candidates previously voted in 2025 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill had earlier failed to pass a crucial procedural vote in the Senate, and its subsequent progress remains uncertain.
According to an official announcement from Plume, the network has officially launched nBND, an on-chain vault product backed by the Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND). FBND is an actively managed ETF that primarily invests in investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds, and emerging market debt. Prior on-chain investment solutions had largely focused on short-duration treasuries, and the launch of nBND marks an extension into longer-duration, actively managed products for institutional-grade assets on-chain. Cynthia Lo Bessette, Head of Digital Asset Management at Fidelity, and Plume co-founder Teddy Pornprinya engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding these investment solutions.
The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with the retirement of key lawmakers making it impossible to revive this 635-page bill, backed by both Wall Street and the crypto industry, before the end of the year, leaving the crypto regulatory framework facing a complete reset.
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)
BlackRock stated in its report "The Machine-Native Economy" that AI and digital assets are accelerating their convergence: AI can enable machine-native intelligence, while digital assets can provide machine-native currency. As AI agents autonomously purchase services and initiate financial transactions, blockchain can provide machine-readable assets and programmable settlement infrastructure; stablecoins may be the first to become the primary transaction tool for agent-based commercial activity.BlackRock noted that as of September 2026, stablecoin circulating market capitalization exceeded $300 billion, with adjusted transaction volume surpassing $11 trillion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 80% from 2020 to 2025. In addition, compute usage rights could in the future be standardized and tokenized for transfer, collateralization, and programmable settlement, while compute futures may also support price discovery and risk hedging.
Odaily News: Circle Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Circle Internet Group, has announced the launch of two grant programs in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to explore the use of regulated stablecoins and digital financial infrastructure for international development and humanitarian aid payments.Circle Foundation will fund UNDP in establishing a Digital Asset Innovation Pool to support its country offices in scaling regulated stablecoin payments from local pilots to full project delivery. The mechanism is designed to complement traditional banking systems.Another grant awarded to World Food Program USA will support WFP in building governance, risk, compliance, and fund reconciliation frameworks for digital asset distribution. WFP plans to test stablecoin payment channels in 2 to 3 countries over the next three years and conduct independent research to establish benchmarks for speed, efficiency, and cost. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to a Fox Business crypto reporter on X, SEC staff has released a new FAQ explaining how the Commission's March digital asset interpretive guidance applies to token functionality, staking receipt tokens, and investment contracts.The guidance states that once a network is functional, services provided to maintain, improve, or develop the network generally do not constitute "essential managerial efforts" under the Howey Test. The FAQ reflects only staff views and does not carry the force of law.
Circle Foundation announced its support for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to advance digital payment infrastructure, exploring how to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and financial accessibility of funding disbursement for development projects and humanitarian aid through regulated stablecoins. Specifically, Circle Foundation will fund UNDP’s establishment and operation of the Digital Asset Innovation Pool, facilitating the deployment of regulated payment stablecoins from pilot projects into standard programs. Previously, UNDP has tested solutions such as digital cash payments, fund disbursement in low-connectivity environments, and mobile wallets in locations including Aleppo, Syria; Haiti; Guatemala; and Gambia. Circle Foundation will also provide an additional grant to World Food Program USA to support WFP in building the governance, risk management, fund management, reconciliation, and compliance systems required for stablecoin payments, alongside integration into local fintech and mobile payment networks. Over the next three years, WFP plans to pilot stablecoin payments across payment channels in two to three countries to evaluate their costs, speed, transparency, and operational feasibility.
former New York Governor and OKX board member Andrew Cuomo stated that tokenization of US financial markets is accelerating, and the regulatory system needs to keep pace with technological and market developments. On September 17, the SEC introduced a five-year interim "innovation exemption" framework, allowing eligible on-chain trading platforms to trade tokenized stocks of certain US-listed companies under specific conditions.The framework requires trading platform participants to obtain licenses. Tokenized stocks grant investors the same rights and benefits as traditional stocks, with smart contracts audited and deployed on public chains; when the underlying stock is suspended from trading, the corresponding tokenized stock must also cease trading. On September 15, the US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Structure Act, and comprehensive digital asset regulatory legislation remains contentious.
Odaily reports: IBM has announced the launch of a new ISO 20022 message adapter, enabling financial institutions to instruct tokenized deposits through standard payment messages; financial institutions participating in the Swift project have already used Digital Asset Haven to test tokenized deposits.The Swift shared ledger supports banks in issuing tokenized deposits and enables participating institutions to conduct 24/7 digital asset transfers and final settlement. IBM has also launched a beta version of an on-premises deployment of Digital Asset Haven that can run on IBM Z and LinuxONE, allowing customers to manage stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and other digital assets without relying on public clouds. The key management layer runs in the customer's own environment and is protected by IBM Crypto Express hardware security modules.