Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Beijing Shijingshan police intercepted a cross-border telecom fraud ring, freezing 780,000 yuan and returning it to a victim. A 53-year-old man studying abroad was told by scammers posing as Chinese police that he was suspected of money laundering, and was induced to have his family transfer funds into two other Chinese students’ overseas accounts. Investigators found all three were victims of the same gang, which coerced them into converting funds to USDT to launder money.

TREE NEWS reports: The Trump administration is considering an overseas stablecoin initiative that could take the form of a joint venture with private companies, with the Treasury Department, State Department and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation potentially involved, to expand dollar use and support demand for U.S. Treasuries. No partnership with Tether has been established and the plan is not yet an official program. Tether’s latest reserve report shows it held $114.96 billion in direct U.S. Treasuries as of June 30, against $187.75 billion in total reserves, exceeding liabilities by $4.11 billion.

TREE NEWS update: A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Kalshi has not adequately shown its sports event contracts are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, delivering the prediction market a setback in its fight with Ohio and Tennessee sports betting laws. The decision widens a circuit split on whether such contracts fall under federal commodities law or state gambling rules.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said the United States will not “hit the brakes” on artificial intelligence, signaling continued support for the technology’s development. The remark, made without further policy detail, comes as Washington weighs how to approach AI regulation. No specific measures, agencies or timelines were announced.

TREE NEWS update: The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against prediction market Kalshi, siding with Ohio and Tennessee on regulating sports-event contracts under state laws. The decision sets up a potential Supreme Court case over whether state gaming regulators or the federal CFTC have authority over such contracts.

TREE NEWS update: Michael Saylor published a policy paper on Sept. 26 calling for bitcoin to be treated as “digital capital,” with banks permitted to custody BTC under clear rules and lend against it as collateral, and insurers given a path to hold it on their balance sheets. He noted the Basel Accords apply a 1,250% risk weight to some crypto exposures, a constraint on digital assets.

TREE NEWS reports: Galaxy Research said the CFTC’s new guidance this week on “mention markets” fails to address structural manipulation risk, because such contracts settle on a specific individual’s voluntary conduct. Unlike traditional event contracts such as whether the Fed raises rates at the next FOMC meeting, a mention market like whether Elon Musk says “bitcoin” on the next SpaceX earnings call depends on one person’s autonomous behavior, the firm said.

TREE NEWS update: Kazakhstan is drafting rules to let crypto miners generate their own electricity from associated gas produced during oil extraction, the country’s Energy Ministry said, noting 40 to 60 oilfields currently flare the gas. About 300-340 million cubic meters of associated petroleum gas was flared in 2024, which could yield roughly 1.2 to 1.3 terawatt-hours of power. The AI and Digital Development Ministry said a legal framework is being prepared to govern the model.

TREE NEWS update: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce will leave the agency on Oct. 2, ending roughly eight years at the regulator. Known as “Crypto Mom,” Peirce also served as director of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force. Her departure removes one of the commission’s most vocal advocates for clearer digital-asset rules.

TREE NEWS update: The CFTC has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Cash FX Group S.A., its CEO Huascar Jose Lopez Castillo, The Conversion Pros, Inc., its CEO Ronald Pope, and Justin Halladay, alleging they ran a multi-level marketing Ponzi scheme. The defendants are accused of fraudulently soliciting more than $950 million from the public under the guise of a pooled forex commodity trading operation, with participants losing at least $406 million.

TREE NEWS update: The CFTC has sued Cash FX, alleging a $950 million crypto-linked forex scheme in which the firm conducted minimal forex trading and misappropriated most participant funds. The regulator claims the operation was a fraud rather than a genuine trading program.

TREE NEWS update: Bitget said it has confirmed and fixed the vulnerability behind a Sept 24 security incident, with user account balances unaffected and its protection fund covering the financial impact. Withdrawals were paused only for security reasons while trading and deposits remain normal. The exchange will reopen BTC withdrawals on Sept 28 at 08:00 UTC, ETH on Sept 29, USDT on Sept 30, and other tokens, fiat and P2P from Oct 2.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance published an FAQ on how federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets, addressing functional networks, staking receipt tokens, token buybacks and marketing. The guidance, which is not formal rulemaking and carries no legal force, says buyback announcements by a functional network do not by themselves signal managerial efforts, while trading platforms count as promoters only under Securities Act Rule 405.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong SFC’s Christopher Dai Lin said PwC Hong Kong’s HK$1 billion settlement over Evergrande audit failures is not Evergrande property and does not alter creditor claim priorities. The settlement is intended to give affected independent minority shareholders immediate compensation, protecting minority interests. The no-admission-of-liability settlement is described as an innovative approach that delivers compensation faster than years of litigation.

TREE NEWS update: Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger will step down on Oct. 16, and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce will leave on Oct. 2, removing two prominent crypto policy voices from Washington. Both exits were announced 10 days after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act.

TREE NEWS update: A federal appeals court ruled that Kalshi has not shown its sports contracts are swaps, and that even if they were, federal law would not prevent Ohio and Tennessee from enforcing their gambling laws against the prediction market. The Sixth Circuit decision hands the states a win and marks another legal setback for Kalshi in its fight over event contracts.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued new FAQs stating that token buybacks are permitted on working networks, and that some liquid staking tokens can qualify as digital commodities. The guidance also says funding upgrades to a functioning network is not the kind of effort that turns a token into a security, while warning that unfinished networks still face securities risk.

TREE NEWS update: Federal prosecutors are seeking $84.2 million from a Montana payments firm and a Caribbean bank accused of moving money without a license, in a case tied to Tether. The action targets the two firms over alleged unlicensed money transmission.

TREE NEWS update: A US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that prediction market Kalshi’s sports event contracts are not swaps, making them subject to state gambling regulation rather than CFTC rules. The decision covers two suits Kalshi filed against regulators in Ohio and Tennessee. A federal court in Ohio denied Kalshi’s bid for an injunction, while a federal court in Tennessee granted it.

TREE NEWS update: Brazil’s government issued an executive order banning online betting operations within the country. The measure prohibits the activity nationwide, though the material did not specify an effective date, the agency enforcing it, or penalties. The order covers online gambling only, and no further details were immediately given.