Flash News

TREE NEWS update: USDC issuer Circle is pressing the European Union to replace requirements that stablecoin reserves be held as bank deposits, and to preserve cross-border co-issuance and create a recognition route for foreign stablecoins. Central banks are pushing back, demanding stronger safeguards for the sector. The proposal is part of the EU’s work on stablecoin rules.

TREE NEWS reports: Chainalysis has attributed the $387 million Bitget hack to North Korea, saying the theft pushed North Korea-linked crypto thefts above $1 billion in 2026. Onchain records show the stolen XRP was swapped through THORChain.

TREE NEWS update: G20 trade ministers met in Milwaukee from September 30 to October 1, with members and guest country Poland attending. Participants exchanged views on topics including opposing the weaponization of food, addressing overcapacity, eliminating forced labor, and adjusting most-favored-nation principles. The meeting produced a joint statement on food but no outcome document on other issues. China’s international trade representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang attended and spoke.

TREE NEWS update: The Federal Reserve Board issued an enforcement action against Ontario Bancorporation, Inc., the central bank announced. The Board did not disclose the specific grounds, penalties or terms of the action in its notice. Ontario Bancorporation is a bank holding company; the Fed’s enforcement actions typically address violations of banking law, unsafe practices or compliance failures.

TREE NEWS reports: European stablecoin issuers are arguing that euro-denominated tokens alone are insufficient and that Europe must also offer dollar stablecoins, as businesses demand USD liquidity for global payments and settlement. The issuers say that demand cannot be ignored if Europe wants to stay competitive in digital asset markets.

TREE NEWS reports: BitGo CEO Mike Belshe warned that Clarity’s failure left capital markets exposed to systemic risk potentially worse than Lehman, pointing to the concentration of exchange, brokerage and custody functions inside a single firm. Belshe said the collapse shows how intertwined those roles become when one company controls them all.

TREE NEWS update: Circle is calling on the European Union to replace mandatory minimum bank-deposit requirements for stablecoin issuers with more flexible liquidity rules, and to preserve cross-border issuance rights, as part of the bloc’s MiCA review. The USDC issuer argues the current reserve framework should be revised rather than kept as is.

TREE NEWS update: The US Treasury designated Russia’s A7 Network as a transnational criminal organization and proposed a rule to cut its front companies off from US finance, including crypto. A7’s ruble-backed token processed $179 billion. The action targets the network’s access to dollar-denominated payment rails and digital asset infrastructure.

TREE NEWS reports: Microsoft’s and Amazon’s cloud businesses are set to face stricter scrutiny from the European Union. The two US technology giants, whose cloud units include Azure and AWS, would come under tighter EU oversight. No further details on the scope or timing of the review were immediately available.

TREE NEWS update: Aave founder Stani Kulechov said he is disappointed with the European Central Bank and European Banking Authority’s responses to the MiCA consultation, which propose banning yield on stablecoin payments and restricting crypto asset service providers from offering users DeFi access. The proposals would also use suitability tests to limit which users can access DeFi and consider a certification regime for DeFi lending protocols without specifying an enforcement framework. Kulechov said regulators deciding which protocols suit European users could create closed ecosystems and weaken liquidity and network effects.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC has proposed a 760-page rule that would allow advisers and funds to hold client crypto directly when no qualified custodian is available. The proposal would also let state trust companies serve as crypto custodians. Public comments will be open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

TREE NEWS update: Spanish police have arrested a 16-year-old accused of running the KillSec ransomware group, with a second suspect now facing extradition to Puerto Rico. Investigators are tracing the proceeds of ransoms the group demanded in cryptocurrency. No further details on the amounts involved or the timing of the arrests were released.

TREE NEWS update: SMBC Nikko Securities and Nethermind have signed a memorandum of understanding with Uniswap Labs, Base and the Nyx Foundation to build compliance hooks for Uniswap pools, targeting a Japan-focused DeFi gateway to be completed by mid-2027. The MOU covers compliance tooling for the automated market maker’s liquidity pools.

TREE NEWS update: The SEC has proposed a rule change aimed at removing custody requirements that have kept some investment advisers from offering certain crypto assets to clients. The proposal could clear a regulatory hurdle that currently restricts advisers’ ability to hold digital assets on behalf of clients. No effective date or further details were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Singapore’s crypto economy grew 55%, while South Korea is set to make crypto market makers legal and China’s spy ministry warned would-be foreign spies that it is watching the blockchain. The three developments span Asia’s fastest-growing digital asset hub, a regulatory shift in Seoul and Beijing’s use of on-chain surveillance in counterintelligence.