Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Prediction market Kalshi has filed a rule-change request with the US SEC and an application with the CFTC to launch perpetual contracts tied to US individual stocks. The proposed contracts would carry no set expiry date and settle through periodic funding rates between long and short positions to keep prices aligned with the underlying shares. Kalshi said the contracts would be treated as security futures and cleared through its CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.

TREE NEWS update: A joint advisory from the FBI, Japan’s National Police Agency and other agencies says North Korea-linked group WaterPlum, also known as Contagious Interview, used fake job offers at AI, crypto and NFT companies to infect more than 30,000 devices across over 100 countries between December 2025 and July 2026. The attackers contacted job seekers on social media and recruiting platforms, luring them into downloading malicious files via technical interviews or coding tests, and stole data from more than 7,000 crypto wallets. At least $10.71 million flowed into wallets controlled by the attackers.

TREE NEWS update: Australian Prime Minister met Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple headquarters today to discuss child online safety. The meeting was confirmed by the Prime Minister, who said the talks focused on protecting children online. No further details or outcomes were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Guangzhou medical-insurance authorities, working with public security organs, dismantled a criminal gang that bought and resold recycled prescription drugs, with semaglutide the largest-value drug in the cases. Using a drug-traceability-code big-data warning model to flag suspicious patient visit patterns, investigators raided multiple storage sites and seized more than 8,000 boxes of drugs on the spot. CCTV reported that many drugs sold on online pharmacy platforms at prices far below physical stores carry recycled-drug risks.

TREE NEWS update: Turkish authorities detained several prominent finance executives on Saturday as part of an investigation into a Ponzi-like fund scheme. Those held include Tera Holding chairman Emre Tezmen and board members Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin. A detention order was previously issued for Pusula Holding chairman Serdar Turhan, while Destek Holding chairman Altunc Kumova was formally arrested after being detained on September 17.

TREE NEWS update: The Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate, leaving crypto regulation in the hands of the SEC and CFTC. The bill’s defeat shifts the industry’s focus to a new wave of agency action. No further details were provided on the timing or scope of that expected action.

TREE NEWS reports: Visa is moving to close a memecoin rewards loophole tied to Crossmint, with its grace period expected to end next week. The Crossmint-powered memecoin sales remain live on both apps for now. The change follows an investigation into how the rewards mechanism was being used.

TREE NEWS update: Jito Labs chief operating officer and chief legal officer Rebecca Rettig said banks can operate compliantly on permissionless blockchains, arguing in an a16z crypto piece that the Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions rules require risk-proportionate controls rather than zero risk or control of underlying infrastructure. She noted the OCC confirmed in November 2025 that banks may pay network fees on blockchains and hold related crypto assets, and said zero-knowledge proofs and confidential transfers let institutions prove compliance without disclosing client positions.

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Wright ordered the continued operation of two coal-fired power plants in Indiana, directing Nipsco, CenterPoint Energy and MISO to take action. The order keeps the plants running rather than retiring them.

TREE NEWS update: The United States signed the Graham Sanctions Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on September 18, strengthening sanctions on Russia, extending Iran-related measures, and allowing secondary tariffs of up to 100% on third countries that import Russian oil or gas. China’s Commerce Ministry said it opposes unilateral sanctions lacking UN authorization and will reserve the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and the legitimate rights of Chinese firms.

TREE NEWS update: The General Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People’s Government issued the region’s 15th Five-Year Plan for financial sector development, encouraging listed companies to pursue M&A and refinancing and to develop new quality productive forces. The plan calls for cross-departmental mechanisms to identify and cultivate quality enterprises and listing candidates, and urges listed firms to pay more cash dividends.

TREE NEWS update: The General Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People’s Government issued the region’s 15th Five-Year Plan for the financial sector, targeting a marked strengthening of overall financial strength by 2030. The plan calls for fully upgrading the financial opening gateway to ASEAN, deepening integration of AI with finance, and building a modern financial system aligned with the region’s “one zone, two places, one park, one corridor” positioning.

TREE NEWS update: Bastion Platforms National Trust Company has received conditional approval from the OCC for a national trust bank charter. The federally regulated entity will offer stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label issuance from a single charter. The approval is conditional, meaning Bastion must still meet the regulator’s requirements before fully operating.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment and related departments held a national meeting in Beijing on the 18th to advance a deeper crackdown on fraud by ecological and environmental monitoring institutions. The meeting called for strict punishment of monitoring data falsification to support continued improvement in environmental quality.

TREE NEWS update: Vietnam plans to issue its first licenses to crypto asset service providers in 2026 under a pilot legal framework, allowing the first digital asset platforms to begin operating. Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi met Austria’s FMA executive director Mariana Kuhnel in Vienna on Sept. 15 to discuss bilateral cooperation and regulatory experience. State Securities Commission chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong said the regime will cover service providers and investor trading, focusing on risk management, investor asset protection and anti-money laundering.

TREE NEWS update: A former Hong Kong banking official has been sentenced to four years in prison over false letters of credit worth $1.6 billion and for accepting $470,000 in cryptocurrency bribes, a court ruling showed. The case involved the issuance of fraudulent credit instruments alongside crypto-linked payments to the former banker.

TREE NEWS update: Argentina has agreed to implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), joining 77 jurisdictions and planning automatic exchange of crypto transaction data by 2029. It will share user identity information, fiat-crypto purchases and sales, digital asset exchanges, crypto payments and transactions with external addresses, while receiving information on overseas transactions. Argentina must enact domestic rules by 2028 requiring virtual asset service providers to report data to tax authorities.

TREE NEWS update: Stablecoin infrastructure provider Bastion has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to convert its New York state trust charter into a national trust bank charter. The federal charter lets Bastion offer stablecoin custody, wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label issuance — including minting, redemption and fiat conversion — to large enterprises and financial institutions, without taking deposits or gaining FDIC insurance. Bastion has partnered with Sony Bank, and its investors include Coinbase Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and Samsung Next.