Author: James Wilson

France has proposed making regulated cryptocurrency platforms responsible for certain losses suffered by customers accessing decentralized finance protocols through their services, as part of proposed changes to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. Summary France has proposed holding regulated crypto platforms liable for certain DeFi security incidents if they fail to assess protocols properly or ignore known risks. Under the proposed MiCA changes, crypto platforms would have to conduct security checks before offering access to DeFi protocols and continue monitoring them for vulnerabilities. The proposal would leave self custody wallet developers outside mandatory certification requirements while allowing voluntary certification…

Tether has led a $15 million Series A funding round for New York-based Mural, supporting the financial technology company’s development of payment infrastructure for businesses and artificial intelligence agents. Summary Tether led Mural’s $15 million Series A, bringing the New York startup’s total funding to $28 million. North Island Ventures and existing investors participated, with proceeds allocated to payment infrastructure and international expansion. Mural has processed $2.1 billion in payments across 128 countries since launching its API in 2025. The platform connects traditional banking, stablecoins and compliance tools to support payments authorized for AI agents. Tether recently backed AIsa and…

Ripple has expanded its institutional brokerage business into 24/7 stock and commodity derivatives trading, but HSBC has warned that limited market liquidity could prevent large investors from making extensive use of the service. Summary Ripple Prime has introduced 24/7 perpetual swaps linked to more than 100 stock, commodity and currency markets. HSBC has warned that limited liquidity could restrict participation from larger institutions, particularly when traders need to enter or exit substantial positions over the weekend. Trading firm Virtu is already using the service, while Ripple Prime allows institutional clients to use RLUSD as collateral and manage risk across supported…

Crypto exchange MEXC has announced plans to discontinue services for users in Russia and Belarus, with affected customers set to receive individual instructions for closing positions and withdrawing their funds. Summary MEXC has announced plans to discontinue services for users located in Russia and Belarus. Affected customers will receive individual instructions for closing trading positions and withdrawing their assets. The exchange has not published a common withdrawal deadline or disclosed how many accounts are affected. Bitget updated its restricted-jurisdiction list on October 16 to include Russia and Belarus. MEXC had already restricted selected futures trading pairs in both countries in…

Ripple has urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, arguing that clearer rules could prevent cryptocurrency companies from facing costly legal disputes over whether their tokens fall under securities laws. Summary Ripple filed a 20-page comment letter on October 20 supporting the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. The company argues that an investment contract can be a security without making the associated cryptocurrency a security itself. Ripple wants the SEC to judge when investment contracts end using an issuer’s promises, not a general decentralization test. The filing seeks additional clarity on Form…

Memecoin investor Murad has said the crypto bull cycle has yet to begin, with Bitcoin trading near $82,000 after U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $526.7 million in daily inflows. Summary Murad said crypto’s bull cycle has not begun, without giving a timeline or price target. Bitcoin ETFs drew $526.7 million on Oct. 19, reducing October’s net outflows to $88 million. Glassnode’s preceding weekly data showed continued selling despite stronger demand for bullish futures exposure. Binance’s historical study found four of five rebounds following shallow drawdowns later broke their previous lows. Murad’s Oct. 20 X post declared that the market’s…

Fidelity Digital Assets says perpetual preferred stock has financed purchases of 135,979 Bitcoin, making the funding model used by treasury companies another source of demand for the cryptocurrency. Summary Preferred-stock issuance financed 135,979 BTC in purchases through Oct. 5, Fidelity said. The funding model depends on Bitcoin’s gains exceeding the cost of dividend payments. Preferred shareholders face issuer, liquidity and interest-rate risks alongside Bitcoin exposure. An Oct. 20 report by research analyst Zack Wainwright said the purchases represented more than 0.5% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply as of Oct. 5. The report names Strategy and draws on filings from Strive. Companies…

Bitcoin has climbed back above $83,000 during Tuesday’s recovery in U.S. stocks before retreating toward $82,600, as falling oil prices accompanied gains across risk assets. Summary Bitcoin briefly topped $83,000 before pulling back toward $82,600. U.S. stocks rose as oil prices eased, with healthcare shares reaching a record high. Trader Ardi identified $84,200 as the threshold for breaking Bitcoin’s local bearish structure. Glassnode found easing selling pressure but weak spot and ETF demand ahead of Tuesday’s rebound. CoinGecko recorded Bitcoin at $82,601.56 in the latest reporting snapshot, up 0.8% over 24 hours, with a daily range of $81,155.23 to $83,249.46.…

Luganodes has opened RPC access to TRON developers as part of a three-network service with a standard free allowance of 25 million compute units a month. Summary Luganodes launched RPC access for TRON, Ethereum, and Bitcoin using one API key. Developers receive 25 million free compute units monthly, with paid plans starting at $49. Free accounts stop serving requests once their monthly allowance runs out. Dedicated deployments offer full and archive nodes separately from shared subscriptions. Luganodes announced the service on Oct. 14, listing TRON, Ethereum, and Bitcoin mainnet access through one API key. Paid subscriptions start at $49 a…

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has said Alpenglow could have shipped in half the time through a simpler vote-program change, ahead of the Oct. 21 consensus migration that will remove validator vote transactions from blocks. Summary Yakovenko said a simpler vote-program change could have halved Alpenglow’s development time. Removing validator vote transactions will lower headline TPS counts without necessarily changing user activity. A burned 0.8 SOL admission fee per epoch will replace individual voting fees. Some RPC nodes may receive finality updates later than Alpenglow’s 150-millisecond target. Yakovenko, in an Oct. 21 X post, made the remark while quoting a comment…