Flash News

TREE NEWS update: The IMF completed its second and third reviews of El Salvador’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility and approved an immediate disbursement of about $138 million under the $1.4 billion program. Despite missed performance criteria, the Fund granted waivers based on corrective actions and renewed commitments. El Salvador will continue reducing state involvement in bitcoin-related activities, strengthen crypto regulation and transparency of public-sector crypto holdings, and not accumulate more bitcoin beyond recorded donations. Majority equity and operational control of the government’s Chivo bitcoin wallet have been transferred to a private operator.

TREE NEWS update: El Salvador has received $138 million from the International Monetary Fund after being granted waivers tied to Bitcoin, the IMF said. The fund said efforts will continue to reduce the state’s involvement in Bitcoin-related activities and to strengthen crypto-asset regulation and governance.

TREE NEWS update: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the 4th ordered authorities to treat a recent series of personal information leaks at financial and public institutions with the utmost seriousness, conduct a thorough investigation and draw up full response measures. The directive follows multiple data breach incidents at South Korean financial and public bodies.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Finance Ministry said on Friday that some of its employees received their salaries in digital rubles for the first time. The ministry did not disclose how many staff were paid this way or the total amount. It said roughly 16 million digital rubles (about $192,245) had already been disbursed in a 2025 federal budget spending pilot, and the central bank is working with the ministry to bring the digital ruble into budget payment flows.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Finance Ministry has made its first wage payments in digital rubles, with the Bank of Russia working alongside the ministry to bring the central bank digital currency into the budget process. The pilot marks the first use of the digital ruble for state salary payments.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House’s head of artificial intelligence affairs, US officials said on the 3rd. Clayton will lead a “Superintelligence Task Force” tasked with delivering a report on AI risks and opportunities within 120 days. Under an executive order Trump signed on September 29, federal departments and agencies will refer to artificial intelligence as “superintelligence.”

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has ordered financial institutions to complete internal security checks and report results to regulators after a series of cyberattacks caused personal data leaks across the sector. FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon said after an emergency meeting with industry executives that initial investigations show some attacks targeted poorly monitored external websites and servers used by loan agents and employees, and that regulators cannot rule out the use of AI in the attacks.

TREE NEWS update: Brazil holds its presidential election on October 4, with the outcome set to shape crypto policy in the world’s top-ranked country for adoption. Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president. A Lula win is expected to bring tighter regulation and compliance, with the central bank already intensifying exchange oversight and a possible tax on stablecoin transactions that was shelved during the campaign.

TREE NEWS update: G20 trade ministers meeting in Milwaukee from Sept 30 to Oct 1 reached a joint statement on opposing the weaponization of food, but produced no outcome documents on overcapacity, forced labor or adjusting the most-favored-nation principle, China’s Commerce Ministry said. Most members opposed the MFN proposal, calling the principle the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system. China said it played a constructive, consensus-building role.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC is proposing a new rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that would allow investment advisers to hold bitcoin and other digital assets directly when no qualified custodian is willing to take them. The agency said traditional custodians typically refuse to custody such assets, leaving a compliance gap in the existing framework. The proposal will open a 60-day public comment period once published in the Federal Register.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Oct. 3 rejected a US House select committee’s claim that Starbucks’ plan to open stores in Xinjiang is ‘morally bankrupt,’ calling allegations of ‘genocide’ in the region an outright lie. Guo said the committee’s accusations are baseless and politically motivated, and that Xinjiang remains stable with economic growth and religious harmony. He added China will keep expanding high-level opening-up and offer more opportunities to foreign firms.

TREE NEWS update: Greek police dismantled a crypto investment fraud ring and arrested 17 people, nine of them military personnel. Investigators say about 10,000 investors put in an average of roughly €800 each, with losses estimated at over €8 million. The scheme ran on a pyramid-style referral model, froze withdrawals and promised investors double their money back within 50 days. Police seized about €280,000; the investigation continues.

TREE NEWS update: A community banking group has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its approval of trust bank charters for crypto firms, arguing the agency exceeded the mandate granted to it by Congress. The lawsuit challenges the OCC’s authority to grant such charters to digital asset companies.

TREE NEWS reports: Negotiations between the United States and Russia over Ukraine include an oil agreement. The reported inclusion of an oil component marks an economic dimension to the talks, which have centered on ending the war. No further details on the terms or participants were provided.

TREE NEWS update: US Attorney General Blanche said the Department of Justice will not reopen a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The statement, reported on October 3, closes off the prospect of renewed federal scrutiny of the former central bank chief. No further details on the scope or origin of the earlier probe were given.

TREE NEWS reports: President Donald Trump is expected to appoint Jay Clayton, the current US intelligence chief, as the administration’s new AI czar. Clayton may be asked to oversee AI innovation and development alongside a policy of “self-policing” by technology CEOs. No formal announcement or start date has been confirmed.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Oct. 3 that it has launched an anti-dumping investigation into p-nitrotoluene imported from the European Union. The dumping investigation period runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, while the injury investigation period covers Jan. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026. The probe covers p-nitrotoluene originating in the EU.

TREE NEWS update: G20 trade ministers met in Milwaukee from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, agreeing a joint statement on food security but issuing no outcome document on other agenda items, including overcapacity, forced labour and most-favoured-nation reform. China’s international trade representative and Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang attended, calling on members to uphold multilateralism and the WTO-centred trading system and to safeguard the MFN principle.

TREE NEWS update: A federal judge ruled that Illinois state licensing rules likely conflict with federal derivatives law in the case brought by Kalshi and Coinbase over sports event contracts. The court left the question of transaction fees unresolved and ordered the parties to propose injunction terms.