Flash News

TREE NEWS update: The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a license permitting imports of Russian diesel, with the Trump administration allowing the “Russian diesel operation” to continue until April 2027. In a post on X, the Treasury said it would “immediately issue a temporary general license allowing the supply of Russian diesel to global markets.”

TREE NEWS update: Sen. Richard Blumenthal is pressing Cantor Fitzgerald to open its records on its business with Tether and on how much Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s family has earned from the deal. The request targets the Wall Street firm’s ties to the stablecoin issuer and the profits flowing to the Lutnick family.

TREE NEWS update: Philips Ultrasound has sent a letter to customers advising that all Lumify diagnostic ultrasound systems update their instructions for use, the FDA said. As of Sept. 29, Philips Ultrasound reported eight serious injuries and four deaths linked to issues with the diagnostic ultrasound systems. The FDA said it is aware of the customer letter.

TREE NEWS update: Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK issued a joint statement on the 9th expressing regret and strong opposition to US sanctions on the International Criminal Court, reaffirming support for the court’s independence and impartiality. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions the same day, and the ICC said the measures aim to disrupt its work and intimidate its cooperators, adding it will not yield to US pressure.

TREE NEWS update: Blockchain.com has filed for designated contract market and futures commission merchant licenses in the US, which would allow the crypto platform to operate its own regulated event-contract venue rather than relying on overseas partners. The application covers prediction markets and crypto derivatives. No timeline for a decision was given.

TREE NEWS update: The European Union’s technology chief said the bloc’s landmark rules leave it fully equipped to address runaway AI agents and other risks. The statement frames the EU’s regulatory framework as sufficient to cover emerging dangers from autonomous artificial intelligence.

TREE NEWS reports: Blockchain.com has applied for two licenses with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as it pursues entry into prediction markets, CNBC reported. The crypto company’s filing comes as courts weigh several cases involving prediction market platforms. No details on the specific license types or a timeline for the CFTC’s review were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: DWF Labs-linked firms have sued BitGo in London’s High Court for $141 million, alleging the custodian sold discounted Falcon Finance and ESPORTS tokens about two months before their lock-up expired. The early sales, the claimants say, cratered the value of their remaining holdings. The case is now before the High Court in London.

TREE NEWS update: Blockchain.com has applied to the CFTC for Designated Contract Market and Futures Commission Merchant licenses, which would let it offer US prediction markets and crypto derivatives trading. The application comes ahead of a planned $500 million IPO.

TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has added a crypto asset briefing to its national compliance outreach seminar for investment companies and investment advisers on November 19. Taylor Lindman, chief counsel of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, will speak, alongside staff from the Division of Examinations and the Division of Investment Management. The online seminar requires no advance registration.

TREE NEWS reports: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said he estimates spectrum transactions over the past two years have exceeded $100 billion. Carr added that “significantly more spectrum” is set to come to market. He also said he feels “good” about the current state of Disney’s litigation with the Trump administration.

TREE NEWS update: US Senator Cynthia Lummis said Democrats, who had previously demanded that chief compliance officers be barred from holding conflicting roles at affiliated crypto entities, now say the provision is not needed. The restriction had been written into the CLARITY Act. Lummis made the statement in a post on X on October 9.

TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to the Investment Company Act’s cross-trading rule, which allows transactions in securities between a registered fund and its affiliates under certain conditions. The proposal would expand the categories of securities eligible for such cross trades. The SEC announced the amendments on its website.

TREE NEWS update: Japan’s Financial Services Agency ordered local units of Prudential Financial to suspend sales of new insurance policies after regulators found repeated employee misconduct that caused customer losses. The insurers must submit a remediation plan by Nov. 30, with the FSA saying successive management teams failed to confront the risks and prioritized sales over risk handling. Prudential said it and its units will review reforms to prevent recurrence and restore trust, and expects the impact on pretax adjusted operating income to remain roughly unchanged through 2027.

TREE NEWS update: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States is targeting roughly $1 billion in crypto linked to Iran, adding “we know where it is.” The seizure plan follows months of US sanctions and asset freezes aimed at Iranian holdings. No timeline or specific assets were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Alex Mashinsky has accepted a lifetime ban from the crypto industry and up to $35 million in conditional payments under a New York settlement. The payments are tied to federal forfeiture and prison-sentence conditions, adding to existing FTC and CFTC restrictions on the Celsius founder.

TREE NEWS update: New York Attorney General Letitia James secured up to $35 million from former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, along with a permanent ban from the securities and crypto industries. The settlement follows the state’s case against Mashinsky over his role at the bankrupt crypto lender.

TREE NEWS update: The White House announced a committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations she made false statements in one or more mortgage-related documents. The panel, including the president’s economic policy assistant, the EEOC chair and the government ethics director, will hold an in-person hearing at the White House on November 5, 2026, lasting no more than four hours. Cook may submit written statements before and after the hearing, after which the committee will report findings to Trump and recommend whether grounds exist to remove her.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Commerce said it opposes using the so-called ‘structural overcapacity and overproduction’ issue as a pretext for trade protectionism, after the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said Washington convened 14 economies that signed a joint ministerial statement on the matter on Oct. 7. The ministry said China would make a necessary response if relevant economies take measures harming its interests.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic co-chaired the second meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism in Beijing on October 8-9, issuing a joint statement. The two sides reviewed progress across four working areas — trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property, and WTO reform — and held constructive discussions on key economic and trade issues.