News linked to both this project and an event.
According to BeInCrypto, Chainalysis data shows that over the year ending June 2026, the South African crypto economy expanded by 52% to $39.3 billion, with increases across all tracked activity categories. Commercial payments, including those from South African merchants and P2P traders, reached $8.34 billion, outpacing institutional activity ($1.29 billion in inflows); stablecoin inflows through Sub-Saharan African P2P channels totaled $14.6 billion, on par with Bitcoin. A draft regulatory framework for crypto asset management released by the South African Treasury and Reserve Bank (SARB) on August 3 would stipulate that individuals may only transfer crypto assets abroad through authorized local service providers within existing foreign exchange limits, while businesses are prohibited from cross-border transfers of crypto assets. As of March 31, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) had issued licenses to 310 crypto asset service providers, though these entities must still secure separate authorization from the SARB. On October 21, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that after receiving thousands of public submissions, the Treasury will aim to release a revised second draft, with no timeline currently announced.
Odaily reports: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that regardless of whether Congress takes action, the U.S. Treasury will push to bridge the cryptocurrency regulatory gap between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This statement indicates that even if relevant legislation stalls at the congressional level, the Treasury still plans to promote coordination of the two regulators' regulatory frameworks.
According to a press release from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr. Joseph Sung, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, chaired the sixth meeting of the Executive Steering Committee on Fintech Projects, exchanging views on various aspects of fintech, including the proposed regulatory regime for virtual asset trading, custody, advisory and management services. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also reported on the Ensemble project and the quantum readiness of Hong Kong's banking sector.
Odaily reports: The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has finalized implementation rules for the GENIUS Act, applicable to permitted payment stablecoin issuers, foreign issuers under OCC jurisdiction, and certain custodial activities of regulated entities, covering reserve backing, redemption, and risk management. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the legislation a "watershed moment for American finance," likening it to the National Currency Act of 1863. The final rules did not incorporate Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, or OFAC sanctions provisions; these matters will be addressed through subsequent rules coordinated with the Treasury Department. The GENIUS Act was signed into law in July 2025, and regulators failed to finalize rules before the July 18, 2026 deadline; the Federal Reserve proposed two related rules in September 2026. Both the GENIUS Act and the OCC's final rules are set to take effect on January 18, 2027, and the OCC has not yet announced a timeline for accepting issuer applications and exemption requests.
Odaily Report: Investment management firm CMCC Global plans to tokenize its two digital asset funds, Crest and the Liberty Bitcoin Accumulation Fund (LBAF), issuing and managing tokens through Tether's Hadron infrastructure, with distribution by Bitfinex Securities under El Salvador's digital asset framework. Both funds adopt a fund-of-funds structure: Crest is denominated in USD and aims to outperform U.S. Treasury yields; LBAF is denominated in Bitcoin and targets an annualized net return of 8% to 12% (in Bitcoin terms), with no guaranteed payments. The tokens represent economic rights to the underlying fund shares, are minted in proportion to the corresponding shares, and are burned upon redemption; issuance requires identity verification and anti-money laundering review, and is restricted to whitelisted addresses only. BTCS S.A. has agreed in principle to provide a three-digit Bitcoin-anchored allocation, with the specific size undisclosed; Crest is priced at $10 per token, and LBAF is priced at 0.0001 BTC per token.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its inspection priorities for Fiscal Year 2027, continuing to conduct risk-based examinations of over 34,000 registered entities, focusing on investment advisers, funds, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and other market participants. The SEC noted that Fiscal Year 2027 will emphasize investment adviser fiduciary duty and conflicts of interest, retail investor protection, private funds and private credit, broker anti-money laundering and trade surveillance, operational resilience, and cybersecurity. Emerging technologies and market infrastructure are also identified as key priorities. In particular, the SEC will monitor the impact of advanced technologies, including "superintelligence," on market operations, compliance, fraud prevention, and investor protection, while concurrently evaluating the risks associated with Treasury clearing reforms, tokenization, and related market structural changes.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued proposed rules to implement the COINS Act, aiming to further expand U.S. outbound investment restrictions in certain sensitive technology sectors targeting "countries of concern." The existing regime primarily targets entities related to China, while the proposed rules seek to further tighten restrictions on AI and semiconductors on that basis, extending the regulatory framework to encompass additional sensitive technologies and jurisdictions. In the AI sector, certain investments that remain permissible post-filing under current rules will be converted to outright prohibitions; regarding semiconductors, high bandwidth memory, photonic chips, and radiation-hardened chips will also be subject to stricter restrictions. Meanwhile, biotechnology has been added as a priority regulatory domain, covering areas such as brain-computer interfaces and automated laboratory software.
The dYdX Treasury SubDAO has completed its seventh regular staking plan review, adjusting approximately 25.87 million DYDX this round. Approximately 10.72 million DYDX tokens previously purchased through the buyback program but not yet staked are being delegated for the first time, increasing the Treasury SubDAO's total delegated amount from roughly 90.04 million to approximately 101 million. Additionally, about 15.15 million staked tokens were reallocated.
Odaily reports: Blockchain asset management firm CMCC Global has announced the tokenization of its Crest Fund (Crest) and Liberty Bitcoin Accumulation Fund (LBAF), calling them the first tokenized fund-of-funds products issued under El Salvador's digital asset legal framework. The two funds will be issued using Tether's Hadron tokenization platform and will raise capital from qualified investors through the regulated Bitfinex Securities platform, with the subscription period running until October 30, 2026.Both funds are multi-manager quantitative hedge funds investing in digital asset market-neutral strategies, including funding rate arbitrage, cross-exchange and volatility arbitrage, market making, and DeFi strategies. Crest is denominated in USD and targets returns above U.S. Treasury yields; LBAF is denominated in Bitcoin and targets a net annualized return of 8%–12%. BTCS S.A., a digital asset treasury company listed in Poland and Frankfurt, has agreed to serve as cornerstone investor and plans to allocate a three-digit number of Bitcoin to LBAF, with the specific amount not yet disclosed. The token issuance prices are $10 per CREST token and 0.0001 BTC per LBAF token, with a minimum subscription of one token; eligible holders can also conduct round-the-clock secondary market trading through Bitfinex Securities. (PRNewswire)
Odaily reports: The GENIUS Act took effect on July 18, 2025, with the general applicability date being 18 months after enactment, or 120 days after the primary federal payment stablecoin regulator issues final implementing rules, whichever is earlier. The U.S. Treasury Department expects the general effective date to be January 18, 2027, with certain issuance and sales restrictions taking effect on July 18, 2028.The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published its primary implementation proposal in February 2026, and the Federal Reserve proposed rules on September 24, 2026 covering regulated issuers, reserves, capital, risk management, custody, and application procedures. An interim final rule effective September 30, 2026 has established the forms and procedures for certification of state regulatory regimes.Stablecoin issuers need to assess approval, prudential supervision, reserve, and redemption requirements; distributors and intermediaries need to analyze exchange, transfer, custody, and related financial services obligations. Companies holding stablecoins also need to review redemption channels, reserve arrangements, custody, freezing, and counterparty risks, and those accepting stablecoin payments need to distinguish between receiving payments for their own goods or services and transferring funds on behalf of others.Prospective issuers may choose the path of an approved subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federal qualified issuer, or a state qualified issuer; state qualified issuers that meet the conditions and have outstanding issuance of no more than $10 billion may opt for state supervision. Payment stablecoin reserves must cover outstanding tokens at least one-to-one, and companies also need to map out fund flows, customer rights, compliance responsibilities, and product yield arrangements. Relevant issuers may not pay interest or yield solely by virtue of holding, using, or retaining payment stablecoins. (Bitcoin.com News)
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)
The Blockchain Association posted on X, stating that it has submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Treasury (@USTreasury) regarding the proposed implementing regulations for Section 3 of the GENIUS Act. Section 3 addresses who may issue, offer, and sell payment stablecoins in the United States. The association expressed appreciation for the Treasury's implementation efforts but emphasized its hope that the final rules will remain consistent with the original intent of congressional legislation. The association put forth the following key recommendations: 1. Definition of "Digital Asset Service Provider": This definition should apply to client-facing businesses, exclude core infrastructure such as self-custody software and validator nodes, and should not encompass entities that merely trade their own assets. 2. Criminal Liability Standard: Under the proposed rules, routine market-making activities for "newly issued" stablecoins could be construed as "knowing participation" in an illegal issuance. The association recommends restricting liability to cases involving "actual knowledge" and providing "substantial assistance" in coordination with the issuer. 3. Foreign-Issued Stablecoins: The proposed rules require open-ended due diligence on foreign issuers, despite many exchanges having no business relationship with them. The association recommends allowing firms to rely on publicly available lists of registered issuers and trading restrictions already established by Congress. 4. Determination of User Location: On permissionless protocols, companies typically only see wallet addresses. The association proposes replacing the "reasonable belief" standard with "actual knowledge supplemented by information gathered in the ordinary course of business." 5. Other Recommendations: Eliminate open-ended "functional equivalence" tests regarding monetary value, reassess cost estimates, and align the effective date with the GENIUS Act
According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Congress is advancing the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357). Section 502 of the bill mandates that the U.S. Department of the Treasury establish a "Digital Asset Voluntary Disclosure Program" within 12 months of enactment, allowing compliant taxpayers to rectify past digital asset tax non-compliance by filing amended returns, paying back taxes and interest, and receiving penalty relief.
Odaily Report: Bitcoin News posted on X that Bitcoin rose about 2.4%, hitting a five-day high near $82,830 and rebounding from a low near $80,600 caused by weekend selling. Market expectations for another Fed rate hike have declined significantly, with traders now pricing in about a 12% probability that the Fed will raise rates at its October 28 meeting. Higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data last week had briefly sparked concerns about further monetary tightening; meanwhile, falling oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields improved investor sentiment.
A working paper from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), based on weekly U.S. data from January 2019 to June 2025, found that when bank deposit rates rise, the growth rate of the stablecoin market slows. The paper's authors include BIS economist Iñaki Aldasoro and Rashad Ahmed of the Andersen Institute for Finance and Economics.In the sample, stablecoin market capitalization grew by about 15% over a typical 10-week period. Baseline estimates show that after a one-basis-point increase in deposit rates, that growth rate falls to about 12%; an alternative method used to identify causality shows the growth rate falling to about 6%, though the stablecoin market still continued to grow.The correlation is stronger for Circle-issued USDC than for Tether-issued USDT, which the authors attribute to USDC's closer ties to U.S. users. The paper notes that banks can influence the pace of stablecoin adoption through deposit pricing, and recommends that regulators assess whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to pay yield to holders and whether issuers should be required to hold a portion of their reserves in bank deposits.The working paper represents only the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the BIS; the sample covers a single high-interest-rate cycle, during which stablecoins paid no interest to holders. The U.S. Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are drafting implementation rules for the GENIUS Act, which takes effect next January and sets out rules for the issuance, use, and custody of stablecoins. (Decrypt)
market analysts are divided on whether Bitcoin can return to $100,000 before the end of 2026.Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at crypto asset management firm Bitwise, believes that factors such as institutional demand through ETFs and corporate Bitcoin purchases, concerns over inflation and government debt, and an improving regulatory environment are expected to push Bitcoin to higher levels by year-end, potentially even breaking through $100,000.Adam Morgan McCarthy, Head of Research at London-based crypto trading and market data firm LO:TECH, expects Bitcoin to trade mainly in the $85,000 to $95,000 range through year-end. He noted that inflation pressures and the possibility of further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will continue to weigh on Bitcoin's performance. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.6% month-over-month in September, with core CPI up 0.3% month-over-month, complicating the outlook for monetary policy.Luca Invernizzi, Senior Derivatives Trader at Nomura's crypto unit Laser Digital, said Bitcoin will remain primarily driven by macroeconomic factors and U.S. long-term Treasury yields in the near term. However, market leverage has been largely flushed out, and if Bitcoin effectively breaks above $90,000, it could trigger a new round of short-covering. James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, also believes that the contradiction between inflation and a weakening job market will influence the Fed's subsequent policy decisions and Bitcoin's trajectory. (CoinDesk)
According to information released by DTCC regarding its tokenization service, the platform will initially support 25 categories of tokenizable securities, backed by DTC-custodied securities worth approximately $30 trillion. Tokens maintain a strict 1:1 peg with their underlying securities, utilize the same CUSIP identifiers, and carry identical rights and investor protections as traditional book-entry instruments, with the official ledger remaining under DTC custody. Peer-to-peer transfers between DTC-registered wallets operate 24/7, subject to built-in compliance restrictions on token transfers. Participants may submit conversion orders via the UI and API during Eastern Time business hours from 2:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a target processing window of under 15 minutes. U.S. Treasury coupon distributions and maturity redemptions will be processed on-chain, with fiat proceeds disbursed directly to participants’ traditional banking accounts. The inaugural asset lineup comprises Russell 1000 constituents (initiating with select large-cap equities), select ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries. Initial network integrations feature Canton Network (CIP-56) and DTCC’s private Besu network (ERC-20), with Stellar (SEP-41) and Circle’s Arc (ERC-20) targeted for 2027 deployment. The extended roadmap encompasses broadening the universe of tokenizable securities, deploying governance controls such as single sign-on and maker-checker approvals, scaling corporate action capabilities for equities and ETFs, merging book-entry and on-chain position records, and enabling on-chain netting, collateral management, and number
Australia has released the draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026: Tax Information Reporting, with a public consultation period ending on October 28. The draft seeks to incorporate the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) into Australia's legal system and introduce a domestic crypto-asset reporting regime. The Australian government expects to commence international exchange of cryptocurrency tax information in 2028.
According to Trendfollowing Research, a Bank of America research report dated October 13, 2026 states that the October global fund manager survey shows cash levels at 3.9%, with 37% of investors indicating they would shift from equities to bonds once the 10-year US Treasury yield reaches 6.0%. The most crowded trades are long global semiconductors (45%) and short US Treasuries (27%). Meanwhile, 39% of respondents identify AI hyperscaler capital expenditures as the most likely source of credit events, and 76% expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady on October 28. Bank of America concludes that while the market is bullish, positioning is crowded, with bond yields and AI capital expenditures posing the greatest risks. For allocation strategy, they recommend contrarian trades: going long on bonds, REITs, and the consumer sector, while shorting equities, technology, banking, and emerging markets.
According to Newsfile, Zhibao Technology (NASDAQ: ZBAO) has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with multi-asset liquid restaking protocol Bedrock to jointly explore the following three areas: 1. On-chain stock tokenization: Exploring the native issuance of its SEC-registered Class A common shares on public blockchains at the transfer agent level as real-world asset (RWA) equity, while retaining full voting rights, dividend rights, and shareholder privileges; 2. Bitcoin treasury yield generation: Evaluating the partial deployment of the company's 2,380 BTC holdings into Bedrock's liquid restaking infrastructure (uniBTC), integrated with a Chainlink-compatible proof of reserves mechanism; 3. DeFi compliance integration: Developing a KYC/AML/sanctions screening framework to enable tokenized shares to interact with issuer-approved decentralized applications, achieving continuous 7×24-hour settlement. Additionally, Zhibao plans to leverage its AI-driven insurtech platform and reinsurance subsidiary to provide embedded insurance solutions for custody, smart contract, and oracle risks within the liquid restaking ecosystem. The framework agreement is currently non-binding, with a formal contract expected to be executed within the next 12 months. Final implementation remains contingent upon meeting compliance requirements from the US SEC, Nasdaq, and relevant Chinese regulatory authorities.