Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Blockchain.com has applied to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for Designated Contract Market and Futures Commission Merchant licenses, seeking to offer event contracts and crypto derivatives to U.S. users. CEO Peter Smith said the company wants users to manage digital assets, trade derivatives and take part in real-world event prediction on one platform. Blockchain.com currently offers prediction markets to some international users via partner Polymarket and perpetual futures through Hyperliquid.

TREE NEWS update: The UK government has sanctioned five crypto and payment platforms, including Cryptomus and TokenSpot, in a new Russia sanctions package. Two of the five platforms handled transactions with Russia’s A7 network, the government said. The designations target firms accused of facilitating Russian financial activity.

TREE NEWS update: Kraken said it is investigating an issue affecting some users on its app and web platform who may be seeing incorrect margin data. The crypto exchange has not disclosed how many accounts are impacted or when the problem will be fixed. No further details on the cause or the scope of the glitch were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: Trader AguilaTrades (0x1f25…f925) was forced to stop out a BTC short at a $250,000 loss as bitcoin rebounded above $83,000, on-chain analyst Yu Jin monitored. The trader had not opened a position for 14 months; after returning, a long lost $300,000 on the previous day and the short lost a further $250,000, cutting $700,000 in capital to $150,000 in one day and bringing total losses to $38.16 million.

TREE NEWS update: According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, trader AguilaTrades (0x1f25…f925) was forced to stop out of a BTC short with a $250,000 loss as bitcoin recovered above $83,000. This trader had not opened any positions for 14 months; after returning, a long position lost $300,000 the previous day and the short continued to lose another $250,000, shrinking $700,000 in capital to $150,000 in just one day and bringing total losses to $38.16 million.

TREE NEWS reports: CrowdStrike found attackers had embedded agentic AI into their pipeline during an investigation into attacks on South Korean financial institutions in early October, using DeepSeek, GLM and Grok models for penetration testing and attack execution. Anthropic’s September threat intelligence report said multi-agent frameworks have been used for reconnaissance, exploitation and data theft. On September 13, Vitalik Buterin proposed adversarial governance mechanism design as a possible AI safety application.

TREE NEWS reports: The Zcash development team plans to introduce quantum-resistant signature opcodes in January 2027, enabling hash-based signature verification of transactions to reduce quantum-computing risks to wallet key security, though activation timing is not yet fixed. Engineer Roman Akhtariev said the mechanism will focus on Zcash’s transparent transaction system. As of Thursday, about 11.96 million ZEC — roughly 70% of the 16.98 million in circulation — sat in the transparent pool.

TREE NEWS reports: Hyperliquid’s largest long position holder holds $320 million in long positions across 10 addresses, with an unrealized gain of $8.77 million. The positions comprise 1,400 BTC and 82,000 ETH, with BTC opened at an average of $75,967 and ETH at $2,493. The trader has booked $117 million in cumulative profit this year from multiple long rounds.

TREE NEWS reports: Crypto majors are sliding, souring the seasonal ‘Uptober’ rally as traders weigh whether the move marks the start of a deeper selloff with the anniversary of the 10/10 event approaching, or just a leverage flush before the next leg up. No specific price levels or asset names were given.

TREE NEWS update: Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has issued rules permitting crypto ETFs limited to bitcoin and ether, with the framework taking effect Oct. 16. The rules cover custody, exposure and trading requirements for the new products. Only bitcoin and ether qualify under the initial scope set by the regulator.

TREE NEWS update: The UK has sanctioned three crypto exchanges and payment processors, citing links to thousands of Russian entities and the sanctioned HTX exchange. The designations target firms accused of facilitating illicit Russian funds. The action follows the UK’s broader sanctions push against crypto channels used to evade restrictions.

TREE NEWS update: Meanwhile, a bitcoin life insurer backed by Sam Altman, has raised $37.5 million in a round led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from existing investors. The raise brings the company’s total funding to more than $180 million.

TREE NEWS update: The XRP Ledger’s PermissionDelegationV1_1 amendment went live on Oct. 8, enabling account delegation on the network. Official guidance says users should not delegate one permission until a separate token-minting fix activates, which is currently two validator votes short of approval.

TREE NEWS update: Senate subcommittee ranking member Richard Blumenthal sent Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick 13 requests for records concerning the firm’s Tether stake and custody role, with responses due October 23. The demands center on the brokerage’s financial ties to the stablecoin issuer.

TREE NEWS update: Pyth DAO has approved a “100% Rule” that directs the protocol’s share of product revenue into PYTH buybacks, replacing monthly votes with a single standing authorization. The change follows a decline in monthly purchases from about 2.75 million PYTH in March to 669,662 in August.

TREE NEWS reports: The U.S. government transferred 12,267 BTC, worth about $1 billion, out of a wallet holding coins seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack on Thursday. The bitcoin went to unlabeled wallets, and no exchange deposit was recorded. The coins stem from the 2016 Bitfinex breach, which the U.S. later seized and has been liquidating.

TREE NEWS update: The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued an opinion telling national regulators that crypto platforms must wind down all services tied to stablecoins not authorized under MiCA, with a three-month limit for clearing existing exposure. The guidance covers every crypto service linked to unauthorized stablecoins and gives firms a deadline to unwind outstanding positions.

TREE NEWS update: France’s Finance Committee approved taxes on stablecoin swaps as part of the country’s 2027 budget bill. The committee also backed taxing unrealized crypto gains when households holding more than 800,000 euros move abroad. The measures now advance in the legislative process for the 2027 budget.

TREE NEWS update: WEEX served as a platinum sponsor at TOKEN2049 Singapore 2026, held October 7-8 at Marina Bay Sands, where it demonstrated AI trading tools and ran a live link to its Dubai team’s planned Trading House. The exchange says it now serves over 10 million users across 170+ countries, offering 2,700+ tradable markets spanning crypto spot and derivatives plus 400+ TradFi products including stocks, ETFs, gold and crude oil.