Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Coinbase added short-dated up-or-down contracts on bitcoin, ether and eight other tokens to its prediction markets on Tuesday. Kalshi lists the contracts and already runs the same 15-minute markets on its own exchange.

TREE NEWS update: Conduit has filed a lawsuit against Tether alleging the stablecoin issuer froze $2.8 million in USDt held in a Conduit wallet without explanation. The frozen funds were tied to an investigation launched by Brazilian authorities in 2024.

TREE NEWS update: A Winklevoss-backed Zcash ETF has filed with the SEC for a Nasdaq listing, the proposed fund would hold ZEC directly. Gemini Trust would serve as custodian, and Winklevoss Capital affiliates are eyeing up to a $100 million investment in the fund.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC has approved Cboe BZX to list a 3x Bitcoin ETF from Volatility Shares, which tracks three times the daily move of a Bitcoin futures benchmark. The fund targets a 3% gain before fees when Bitcoin futures rise 1%, and a 3% loss when they fall 1%. The ETF holds Bitcoin futures, not spot Bitcoin, and cannot trade until its registration statement takes effect.

TREE NEWS update: Abstract, the Ethereum layer-2 network backed by Pudgy Penguins, will shut down on Dec. 15 after losing tens of millions, the project said. Users must bridge their assets off the chain before that date. No further details on the wind-down were given.

TREE NEWS reports: Two Hyperliquid wallets tied to London investment firm Abraxas Capital Management hold roughly $1.58 billion in net short exposure, including about $948 million in bitcoin and ether positions. As of 2:55 p.m. ET on October 6, the wallets held shorts of about 189,400 ETH and 5,120 BTC, with unrealized losses near $115 million. Nansen and Arkham Intelligence tag the addresses as Abraxas-linked, with Arkham showing a Heka Funds connection; the wallets also short SOL, HYPE, ENA, XRP, SUI and PUMP, while large spot holdings may hedge part of the exposure.

TREE NEWS update: Ethereum Layer 2 network Abstract, launched by the Pudgy Penguins team, will halt operations on Dec 15, 2026, after which unbridged funds become inaccessible. Users can exit via the official migration hub or native bridge, which carries roughly a three-hour delay. Abstract said a consumer-focused chain is not sustainable as a standalone model, citing a limited DeFi ecosystem and thin on-chain liquidity. The network drew over 400,000 users and more than 144 deployed apps, and warned users to beware of fake migration sites.

TREE NEWS update: Ethereum Layer 2 network Abstract, built by the Pudgy Penguins team, said it will wind down and halt operations on Dec 15, 2026, after which unbridged funds will be inaccessible. Users can move assets via the official migration hub at migrate.abs.xyz or the native bridge at native-bridge.abs.xyz, which carries about a three-hour delay. Abstract cited limited DeFi activity and thin on-chain liquidity for stalled growth, and warned users about fake migration sites. The network had drawn over 400,000 users and more than 144 deployed apps.

TREE NEWS reports: Goldman Sachs and Man Group have been caught up in a data breach at Ernst & Young. The incident involves the accounting and consulting firm’s data, with both financial institutions named among those affected. No details on the scope of the compromised data or the number of parties impacted were immediately provided.

TREE NEWS update: Vgain Compute launched the Vgain Compute AI Token platform, the company said. The platform supports the Kimi, Qwen, GPT and Meta LLAMA models. No pricing, launch date or further technical details were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: A payments firm has sued Tether, alleging the stablecoin issuer froze its treasury wallet on its own initiative over a Brazilian investigation the firm says it has no connection to. The plaintiff claims Tether has profited from the reserves backing the $2.76 million while refusing to release the funds for more than a year.

TREE NEWS reports: Bryan Johnson, the tech entrepreneur behind the “Don’t Die” anti-aging movement, now says a photo filter is more effective than his therapies for looking young. Johnson, who has spent millions on his longevity regimen, credits retouching for his appearance, and his transformation over the summer may explain why.

TREE NEWS update: BTCPay Server released version 2.4.5, tightening Lightning and LNURL security and improving invoice generation performance. The update makes Tor optional in Docker deployments, narrows exposure of the public Lightning API, and removes several deprecated or unmaintained integrations, with server administrators advised to update. The Plugin Builder, previously suspended after a server breach, has reopened with builds running in an ephemeral isolated sandbox plus build-output validation and admin audit logs.

TREE NEWS update: The Winklevoss twins have filed for a new Zcash exchange-traded fund that would hold ZEC directly and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “WINK,” with Gemini serving as custodian. The proposed fund adds the twins to a wave of institutional interest in the privacy coin.

TREE NEWS reports: Russia’s digital ruble drew more than 220,000 accounts in its first month, nearly four times the central bank’s forecast. The early uptake comes as BRICS nations explore linking their digital currencies for cross-border trade and payments.

TREE NEWS reports: Ethereum’s active validator count has fallen to 863,000 while the total amount of staked ETH edges higher. The decline follows Pectra, which lets operators combine validator balances, cutting network overhead without requiring them to withdraw their ETH. Fewer validators now secure the same or greater stake.

TREE NEWS update: Conduit has filed suit against Tether in New York federal court, alleging the USDT issuer froze $2.76 million of its funds for more than a year without explanation. The plaintiff argues Tether has “no legal entitlement” to the money. The case challenges the stablecoin issuer’s ability to unilaterally block customer funds.

TREE NEWS update: Firelight has begun writing DeFi cover, with its first positions placed on two Sentora vaults and payouts backed by 50.2 million XRP staked on Flare. Claims will be decided by a five-firm consortium on a three-of-five vote. Audits of the coverage contracts are listed as coming soon.

TREE NEWS reports: Most affluent investors across seven countries already own crypto and are increasing their exposure, even as financial advisers remain overly cautious about digital assets, a survey found. The findings point to a widening gap between retail-wealth demand for crypto and the advice being offered by professional advisers.