TREE NEWS update: Dragonfly partner Haseeb Qureshi disputed DFINITY founder Dominic Williams’ claim that NEAR Intents used threshold ECDSA signature technology without authorization, noting the patent was only granted in late July this year and was pending before that. NEAR Intents changed the algorithm in September, so any alleged infringement would span about one month, Qureshi said, adding the algorithm first appeared in an academic paper under a CC BY license that NEAR cited.
TREE NEWS update: India’s CoinDCX said it will bear the full 15.99 million USDT loss tied to a transfer on Oct. 21 from a wallet generated in January 2025 and abandoned after a July security breach. The exchange said a failed auto-sweep service let user deposits accumulate at the compromised address, but all affected deposits were credited, active wallets were untouched and customer assets remain in separate cold storage.
TREE NEWS update: Tether blacklisted nine addresses linked to the CoinDCX incident, freezing 2,212,850.30 USDT (about $2.21 million), with the freeze taking effect at 22:45:39 UTC on Oct. 22. Security firm Salus said its investigators had traced an anomalous transfer of roughly 15.99 million USDT and tracked how the funds were split and moved to exchange deposit addresses. Salus cited transfers from proof-of-reserves addresses and TRX distribution patterns as on-chain evidence supporting the freeze.
TREE NEWS reports: Some Chinese mutual fund companies are winding down QDII segregated account products as they adjust the proportion of QDII investment quotas allocated to public versus segregated accounts, a fund industry source said. Early this year, several fund firms were notified to cap QDII quota used for segregated accounts at 20% by the end of 2027. The adjustment is accelerating across the industry.
TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s presidential office has postponed the cryptocurrency income tax scheduled to take effect on January 1 next year. The tax, set when the government amended the Income Tax Act in 2020, has now been delayed three times. Under the revised law, annual gains from virtual asset transfers and lending are taxed at a combined 22% rate, including other and local income taxes, after a 2.5 million won basic deduction.
TREE NEWS update: Chinese national Zheng Zhao was extradited from the Netherlands to the United States and appeared in the Central District of California court on October 23 over an investment fraud and money laundering case involving 174 US victims and more than $36.9 million. The DOJ said the scheme was run from scam centers in Cambodia. Prosecutors said over $36.9 million was moved through accounts controlled by co-conspirators to a Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas, converted to USDT and sent to Cambodian digital asset wallets. Eight co-defendants have pleaded guilty; Zhao faces money laundering conspiracy charges carrying up to 20 years in prison.
TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment is seeking public feedback until Oct. 31 on a draft plan for managing key groundwater pollution control zones. The plan sets interim goals: an initial management system with risks under preliminary control by 2028, and full implementation of the control system by 2030. New projects that could pollute groundwater would be strictly limited in these zones.
TREE NEWS update: Sweden’s Government Offices will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers from Monday, leaving Microsoft Copilot as the only AI tool approved for civil servants after passing its security review. The move restricts OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s chatbots for government employees while allowing Copilot to remain in use.
TREE NEWS reports: Major US banks including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Bank of America are drafting contingency plans for serious AI-related incidents to protect accounts, restore customer access and keep operations running after a potential shock. The banks are restricting third-party AI agents’ access and adjusting related rules, concerned that agents given login credentials could act without explicit user approval. Banks said they have found no evidence of runaway agents or hacks affecting customer funds or accounts.
TREE NEWS reports: Hyperliquid’s Yan and CME’s Duffy are split over who should bear US compliance obligations, with Yan favoring oversight of market deployers rather than the blockchain itself. Hyperliquid’s interface still bars US-based users, and VPN circumvention remains a workaround. The disagreement centers on where regulatory responsibility should sit in decentralized market structures.
TREE NEWS update: The AIGC Era Internet Advertising Governance Blue Book was released during the 33rd China International Advertising Festival. The report warns that AI-generated content lets bad actors mass-produce highly realistic ad materials and fake authority endorsements, making manual review inadequate. It proposes governance across the full ad delivery process, classifying risks into content violations, technical countermeasures, transaction chains and new scenarios, with recommendations across eight areas.
TREE NEWS update: The UK Financial Conduct Authority said crypto apps that select or adjust trade routes based on price, liquidity, speed or cost may fall outside its “pure technology service” exemption. 21. The test is whether a provider materially takes part in trading decisions, not whether it uses algorithms, the FCA said. Interfaces that execute only on user instructions and preset objective rules may still qualify. The consultation closes Nov. 18 and is not yet in force; the new UK crypto regime takes effect Oct. 25, 2027.
TREE NEWS update: Eight Chinese internet companies, including Douyin owner Jiliang Engine, Baidu, Tencent, Kuaishou, JD.com, Meituan, 360 Group and Phoenix Net, signed a self-discipline convention on internet marketing and advertising at the opening of the 33rd China International Advertising Festival in Beijing’s Haidian district on Oct. 23. The companies pledged to standardize marketing practices and uphold authenticity and compliance.
TREE NEWS update: China’s Commerce Ministry said on October 23 it strongly opposes a new US Treasury proposed rule expanding outbound investment restrictions on China, calling it a discriminatory broadening of curbs that overgeneralizes national security. The ministry said it will closely monitor the rule, which is open for public comment, and reserves the right to take corresponding measures. It urged Washington to stop politicizing trade and create a sound environment for bilateral economic cooperation.
TREE NEWS update: HTX has added Russia to its list of countries and regions where use of its services is prohibited. The restriction applies to individuals residing or located in Russia and to companies registered or primarily operating there. HTX may limit access to platform services, suspend withdrawals and close accounts, and reserves the right to change the list without notice. No effective date or withdrawal arrangements were disclosed.
TREE NEWS reports: US politicians from both parties view AI leaders as a growing political liability and want them to focus on building products while ensuring safety. Lawmakers and congressional staff say AI founders have failed to promote the technology’s benefits and instead warn of existential threats, turning a complex regulatory debate into a moral panic.
TREE NEWS update: Argentine President Javier Milei responded to a judicial ruling that dismissed the criminal case against him and his sister Karina Milei over the $LIBRA cryptocurrency, asking who would compensate him for reputational damage suffered over ‘one year, eight months and nine days’ from lies, slander and insults. He said the judiciary had ‘righted itself’ and exposed a ‘huge political and media operation’ aimed at harming the presidency for ‘coup-style’ political ends, naming several journalists in his criticism. A court had earlier revoked the LIBRA criminal investigation into the president and his sister.
TREE NEWS update: An Argentine judge dismissed the criminal investigation into Javier Milei over the LIBRA token scandal, prompting the president to publish a lengthy post on X asking who will compensate him for “one year, eight months and nine days” of damage from what he called lies and slander. Milei said the judiciary had exposed a massive political and media operation aimed at a political coup, and accused opponents of using the case to extort the government over tax liabilities.
TREE NEWS update: Argentine federal judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi dismissed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal, court records show, ruling that the reported events did not constitute a statutory crime and that no criminally significant deception was proven. Milei promoted LIBRA on X in February 2025, saying it would fund small businesses and startups; the token surged, then crashed after he deleted the post hours later, with most investors losing most of their money.
TREE NEWS update: Ren Zeping’s WeChat public account has been restricted from gaining new followers for violating platform rules, the account’s follow function was disabled. The restriction bars new users from subscribing to the account, which is run by the economist and former Evergrande chief economist. No specific rule violation or duration for the ban was disclosed.