TREE NEWS update: Phantom has rolled out Kalshi prediction markets to its US users, with trades funded via CASH stablecoins. Market restrictions apply in Michigan, Nevada and Washington. The wallet provider said it is “confident and comfortable” launching the product amid state lawsuits against prediction markets.
TREE NEWS update: New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $1.37 billion from the founders of NovaTech following an August 2025 default judgment in the state’s Ponzi scheme case. The office also announced nearly $6 million in settlements with four promoters of the scheme.
TREE NEWS update: China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange released a draft notice for public comment that would allow capital account income to be converted and paid directly, a move aimed at improving foreign investment efficiency. The draft also simplifies outbound direct investment procedures, including easing petty cash remittances and removing duplicate documentation requirements for outbound fund transfers.
TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) held a roundtable on international cooperation in the auto industry on Oct. 21 during the 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference, chaired by Vice Minister Xin Guobin. Xin said intelligent connected vehicles are reshaping vehicle forms, energy consumption and mobility, and called for stronger dialogue, policy coordination and practical cooperation to build an inclusive, shared industry ecosystem.
TREE NEWS update: A conference on developing the information technology industry and strengthening advanced manufacturing was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, calling for information technology to drive high-quality growth in advanced manufacturing. The meeting urged coordinated deployment of software, hardware, standards and patents, high-quality construction of China’s open-source system, stronger open-source infrastructure, and development of a first-edition software system.
TREE NEWS update: Senate investigations subcommittee ranking member Richard Blumenthal has given Tether and Nxum until early November to hand over contracts, payment records and messages tied to Nxum, the consulting firm co-founded by Tether’s U.S. chief, Bo Hines. The demand covers every payment between the stablecoin issuer and the firm.
TREE NEWS update: China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing met Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan and Securities and Futures Commission CEO Julia Leung on Oct. 23, 2026. The two sides exchanged views on supporting Hong Kong’s implementation of its first five-year plan, deepening practical cooperation between the two capital markets, promoting coordinated development and consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center.
TREE NEWS update: New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that four promoters of the NovaTech and AWS Mining crypto pyramid scheme will pay a combined nearly $6 million in disgorgement to compensate victims and are permanently barred from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. The scheme targeted Haitian and other immigrant communities through prayer groups, social media and WhatsApp, defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide, including over 11,000 New Yorkers.
TREE NEWS update: China’s National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Administrative Measures for Medium- and Long-Term Energy Supply Contracts (Trial),” effective December 1, 2026. The rules place medium- and long-term contracts for thermal coal, electricity and natural gas under a single institutional framework, the NDRC said. The move is intended to raise the institutional, legal and standardized level of such supply contracts.
TREE NEWS update: China’s National Development and Reform Commission issued trial measures for medium- and long-term energy supply contracts, stating in Article 24 that prices in intra-provincial contracts must be set by suppliers and buyers through market trading. The rules encourage both sides to build price-fluctuation mechanisms linked to power market supply and demand, user affordability and fuel costs, and bar local authorities from forcing fixed prices.
TREE NEWS update: A former Circle engineer has filed a derivative lawsuit accusing President Trump of accepting foreign emoluments through World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture tied to his family. Circle says it did not authorize the suit filed on its behalf. The complaint centers on payments from Emirati interests to the Trump-linked platform.
TREE NEWS update: New York is seeking more than $1.3 billion from the founders of NovaTech, whose platform took in $1.16 billion but traded only a fraction of it. The action follows the couple’s flight from the United States.
TREE NEWS update: The Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission issued China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Informatization, calling for the development of high-performance AI chips and a high-availability basic software stack. The plan also covers intelligent phones, computers and wearables, embodied intelligence such as unmanned vehicles and humanoid robots, and R&D in quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum precision measurement. It further promotes quantum-safe protection technology and post-quantum cryptography research, along with brain-computer interface systems for signal acquisition, neural decoding, disease diagnosis and virtual-real control.
TREE NEWS update: China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission issued the National Informatization 14th Five-Year Plan, calling for a national blockchain network project to strengthen the value internet and an integrated national computing power network coordinating computing, power and network resources. The plan also covers optimizing general, intelligent and supercomputing capacity, exploring space-based computing, and building data circulation infrastructure.
TREE NEWS update: China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission issued the national informatization plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, calling for the full build-out of next-generation communications networks by 2030 and the timely launch of sixth-generation mobile communications (6G) commercial services. The plan also sets a goal of basically completing the national blockchain network and accelerating the layout of the intelligent internet.
TREE NEWS update: Ding Xiangqun, Party Secretary and Director of China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration, met with Standard Chartered Group Chairman Maria Ramos and her delegation on October 20. The two sides exchanged views on the international economic and financial situation, China’s high-level opening-up of its financial sector, and Standard Chartered’s operations in China.
TREE NEWS reports: South Korea is amending its foreign exchange law to regulate stablecoins as payment instruments, alongside drafting the Digital Asset Basic Act, a comprehensive crypto framework. The move would bring stablecoins under the country’s forex rules while establishing broader digital asset legislation.
TREE NEWS update: Bybit has obtained the first full Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) license for spot trading services in Dubai. The exchange must still complete additional regulatory requirements before launching the service. The approval makes Bybit the first crypto exchange to hold a full Dubai license covering spot trading.
TREE NEWS update: The Blockchain Association sent a letter to the four party leaders in Congress urging them to pass crypto tax rules, laying out 10 principles. The trade group asked for a de minimis exemption, wash sale rules for crypto and no tax on transfers between a holder’s own wallets.
TREE NEWS update: Four Chinese government departments issued a notice to prevent poor-quality intermediaries from influencing the certification of high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises, calling for stronger data verification. SME authorities will coordinate with intellectual property and tax departments to cross-check key data. A patent pre-screening mechanism will be studied, using local IP expertise to flag abnormal patents and assess patent quality during the certification of specialized and innovative SMEs and “little giant” firms.