Flash News

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s financial authorities have asked domestic banks to refrain from competitive bond issuance. The guidance is aimed at preventing lenders from crowding into the debt market at the same time, though the material did not specify the regulator involved, the timing of the request or any issuance caps. Further details were not disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Payment institutions in China began clearing dormant accounts in the first three quarters of 2026 as part of an industry-wide push to improve quality and efficiency, with leading firms updating user agreement terms to tighten control over existing accounts. The cleanup has become routine as payment firms use it to guard against fraud and money-laundering risks linked to legacy accounts.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s Economic Daily said equal consultation is the only proper way to resolve China-EU trade frictions, rejecting claims that EU pressure on China over hybrid vehicle talks has worked. The paper criticized the EU’s “dual-track” approach, floated at a recent EU summit, of continuing intensive consultations while stepping up restrictions on China, including possible use of the “anti-coercion” instrument, saying it misreads the basis of the two sides’ understanding and undermines mutual trust.

TREE NEWS update: A food import company sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over 50% tariffs imposed on a range of Canadian goods, arguing the president lacks authority to invoke a previously unused U.S. legal provision to levy the duties. The suit, filed amid an ongoing U.S.-Canada trade dispute, alleges the move reflects a pattern of allegedly unlawful tariff actions and that Trump is trying to exercise Congress’s taxing power to advance his trade agenda.

TREE NEWS update: People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said on Oct. 19 at the 2026 Financial Street Forum that the central bank will study switching the tenor of its main open-market operation to overnight, making the overnight repo rate the primary policy rate. Experts said the move resolves the maturity mismatch between the policy rate and the operating target and better conveys the monetary policy stance, adding that it is a rate-framework reform, not a rate cut.

TREE NEWS update: Utah Attorney General Derek Brown has sued prediction market company Kalshi, calling it a “public nuisance” that was “causing a significant and substantial ongoing harm” to state residents. The suit seeks to pursue profits from the company. No further details were immediately available.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump will sign several legislative bills into law today, the White House said. The statement did not specify which bills or their subject matter. No further details on the legislation or timing were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Bitwise and Hyperliquid have filed requests with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking clearer rules on how crypto assets are classified and how secondary-market trading and airdrops should be treated. The filings come as the SEC’s public comment period closes. The firms are asking the agency for guidance that would resolve open questions about token trading and distribution.

TREE NEWS update: Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has approved the country’s first retail fund that holds bitcoin directly. FINMA waived the diversification rules for the fund, but imposed strict custody and investor-protection safeguards. The approval opens direct bitcoin exposure to retail investors under Swiss regulation.

TREE NEWS update: Digital asset firms and Wall Street institutions have urged the SEC to revise its Regulation Crypto Assets proposal as the public comment period closed. The push comes as the agency weighs feedback on the crypto rulemaking, with both industry and traditional finance lobbying for changes before the proposal advances.

TREE NEWS update: Utah has filed a lawsuit against prediction-market platform Kalshi, likening it to a “back-alley gambling den,” and naming Susquehanna-affiliated firms in the action. The state is seeking to recover alleged gambling profits and to block Kalshi’s bets across sports, politics and culture. The suit adds to mounting legal pressure on event-contract venues over whether their products constitute regulated gambling.

TREE NEWS update: Utah Attorney General Derek Brown sued prediction-market platform Kalshi and two Susquehanna-affiliated trading firms in the state’s Third District Court, alleging they kept offering sports and event contracts to Utah residents after a federal court confirmed the state’s authority to enforce its gambling ban. The suit seeks to block resident access, restitution, disgorgement of profits and a public-nuisance finding. Utah estimates Kalshi collected $30.6 million to $61.2 million in fees from state accounts, with over 32,000 Kalshi accounts registered to Utah residents.

TREE NEWS update: Utah has sued Kalshi and Susquehanna-affiliated market makers, seeking injunctions, restitution and profits, alleging they helped sustain wagering despite Kalshi’s federal court defeat. The state’s action targets the prediction market and the firms it says kept the betting going after the court ruling.

TREE NEWS update: OKX debuted OKX Shield in the U.S. on Tuesday, a new protection plan the exchange says is designed to bolster user trust. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the launch is a sign of trust. The company did not disclose further details on the plan’s coverage or terms in the announcement.

TREE NEWS update: A food importer has filed suit against the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade over the 50% tariffs imposed on Canadian products. The legal challenge targets the duties on Canadian goods, with the company asking the court to weigh in on the tariff policy.

TREE NEWS update: Blockworks has asked the SEC to require token projects to disclose market-maker deals and promoter payments as part of its Regulation Crypto Assets rulemaking. In a comment letter, the firm said it wants line items from its own disclosure framework written into the rules, along with a new kind of SEC-recognized filing agent. The proposal targets payments that token issuers make to market makers and promoters.

TREE NEWS update: OKX has extended its Shield program to U.S. users, offering customers in its upper VIP tiers reimbursements of up to $500,000. The exchange’s terms describe Shield as a discretionary goodwill program rather than insurance, meaning payouts are not guaranteed. The program’s expansion gives high-volume U.S. traders a new layer of protection against losses.

TREE NEWS update: A federal judge in Mississippi on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to dismiss a civil rights group’s lawsuit accusing Elon Musk’s xAI of violating environmental laws to power its AI data center. District Judge Debra Brown said the EPA may intervene in the case but cannot unilaterally terminate it under the Clean Air Act once it joins.

TREE NEWS update: US Director of National Intelligence and AI affairs chief Jay Clayton said the artificial intelligence working group’s recommendations on responsible AI development will be published “very soon.” Asked in an interview when the proposals would be issued, Clayton said they would be released gradually but declined to commit to a specific date.