Bankers sue to overturn OCC trust-bank rule used by crypto firms
The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC in federal court in Washington on Oct. 2, two weeks after the agency approved Agora National Trust Bank, Catena Trust Bank and Bastion Platforms. American Banker reported that the complaint asked…
Hedge funds built a $1.2 trillion Treasury trade on money they have to keep borrowing
Companies can own a mountain of US government debt without betting that bond prices will rise. Hedge funds buy Treasury securities and sell futures against them to collect a small pricing gap, borrowing most of the purchase money to make the return…
ESMA proposes ending EU custody and transfer services for non-compliant stablecoins
The European Securities and Markets Authority wants to extend Europe’s restrictions on non-compliant stablecoins beyond trading to the services that let customers keep and move them. If adopted as proposed, the change would remove the option of leaving…
Leveraged funds’ Bitcoin futures shorts fall by 5,300 BTC-equivalent as longs shrink
Leveraged funds’ reported Bitcoin futures shorts fell by about 5,300 BTC-equivalent in the week to Sept. 29, narrowing their net short even as their aggregate long exposure shrank. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s latest futures-only figures,…
New SEC crypto rules threaten small advisers, but big firms win
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed crypto custody fallback could broaden investment choices while making them easier for larger advisers to offer. The agency’s economic analysis says the expense of safeguarding assets and arranging…
Blast shuts down $20M layer-2 network, forcing Oct. 26 exit deadline
Ethereum layer-2 network built around native yield Blast said on Oct. 2 that it will shut down because maintaining the chain costs more than it earns. The project asked users to move their assets to Ethereum mainnet by Oct. 26 to withdraw through its…
Stablecoin issuers have replaced 40% of China’s lost US Treasury demand
Stablecoin issuers are emerging as a new source of demand for US government debt as foreign official holdings lose ground. Tether and Circle have increased their Treasury securities and repurchase-agreement holdings by about $200 billion over the past…
Crypto hackers exploit third-party Aave tool to steal 114 ETH
A third-party lending adapter built on Aave was exploited to steal about 114 ETH, worth over $300,000, while the protocol itself remained unaffected. On Oct. 2, blockchain security firm SlowMist said the attacker compromised two Safe multisig wallets…
Bitget restores $300M fund after absorbing $388M security breach
Bitget said on Sept. 30 that it had restored its Protection Fund to more than $300 million after absorbing the Sept. 24 security breach’s financial impact. The exchange describes the fund as an additional safeguard for customers, separate from…
Crypto hackers have taken $2.7 billion in 2026 and the losses are alarmingly concentrated
Crypto firms and users have lost nearly $2.7 billion to security incidents this year, with North Korea-linked thefts exceeding $1 billion. Blockchain security firm CertiK recorded 658 incidents through September, with about $420.4 million of stolen…