Cointelegraph

Elon Musk said he likes the idea of merging Tesla with SpaceX in a potential move that would create a roughly $3.5 trillion technology giant combining AI, space exploration and electric vehicle manufacturing.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said of the potential merger during a SpaceX Q3 earnings call on Tuesday.
Musk said that both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees of independent directors to discuss the idea at the request of shareholders, though he isn’t able to take part in the discussions due to being a conflicted party.
A merger would bring Tesla into the same corporate group as Grok developer SpaceXAI (formerly xAI) and social media platform X, which SpaceX acquired in February. The talks also come as SpaceX’s AI business became its largest revenue segment in Q3, underscoring how central artificial intelligence has become to Musk’s expanding technology empire.
“There’s a lot to be gained from cooperating on developing superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab, obviously, robotics, mass to orbit with the Starmind constellation. Connectivity,” said Musk.
However, Musk tempered expectations of whether a merger will ultimately come through.
“Some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it,” he said, adding that the special committees have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction and there is no guarantee that they will.
“At the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this and particularly on Tesla’s side we’ll need a 50% vote of all shares, not just those who vote, but of all shareholders. And that’s quite a high hurdle to try to achieve.”
SpaceX Q3 earnings show huge AI revenue gains
Musk’s comments followed SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings report, which showed revenue rising 161% year over year to $14.6 billion, driven largely by its “Super Intelligence” AI segment.
SpaceX’s Super Intelligence segment generated $7.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, an 830% increase from a year earlier, making it the company’s largest revenue contributor.
SpaceX said the growth was driven by the activation of new cloud services agreements, the acquisition of Cursor and increased adoption of its agentic AI model Grok across enterprise and consumers.
Combined Bitcoin holdings would exceed 30,000 BTC
A Tesla–SpaceX merger could also bring two sizable corporate Bitcoin treasuries under one roof. SpaceX reported holding 18,712 Bitcoin as of June 30, while Tesla held 11,509 BTC on the same date, according to their respective quarterly filings.
Based on those disclosures, a combined company would hold 30,221 BTC, which would make it the sixth-largest public Bitcoin treasury company, beating crypto exchange Bullish.
Magazine: Agents can trade 24/7 — but Yat Siu warns you could lose access at any time

Layer-1 blockchain Qubic has restarted its network and launched a recovery process after a wallet seed vulnerability allowed an attacker to drain roughly $1.4 million in QU tokens from 1,404 accounts, according to the project’s latest update.
Qubic’s blockchain explorer shows the network resumed processing ticks 8:00 pm on Oct. 19, advancing beyond tick 85,371,949, where it was halted on Sunday.
Qubic said its network validators, known as Computors, had approved a recovery plan and that the project had launched a claims platform for affected wallet holders.
Affected users can check their address and submit a claim through Qubic’s reclaim platform. Affected users have until May 1, 2027, to submit claims, according to Qubic.
The network was halted Sunday to prevent further movement of stolen funds after attackers exploited predictable wallet seeds generated by vulnerable wallet software.
The vulnerability affected wallet seeds generated using Qubic’s web wallet on certain Apple devices and browsers, where an insecure random-number generator could produce predictable seeds. Qubic on Sunday said it had fixed the seed-generation flaw in the latest version of its web wallet.
“If you created your wallet with the Qubic web wallet before version 4.26.4 (released 19 October), treat it as insecure, even if your funds were never touched,” said Qubic on Tuesday.
“Update to web wallet 4.26.4 or later, then create a new wallet,” said the team. “Move your funds to the new wallet as soon as you can, and never use the old one again.”

Crypto traders can put AI agents to work around the clock, but Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu warns that users risk building their trading routine around a service they don’t control.
An agent can keep searching for new information and alert its user to developments they might otherwise miss, Siu tells Cointelegraph on the sidelines of Token2049 Singapore.
He uses conference planning as an example. A chatbot could supply a list of events when asked, but an autonomous agent would be on the lookout for new announcements and suggest attendance when a worthy event popped up.
But the technology still has teething problems. Siu’s own agent became so focused on crypto trading and investment management that it tried to interpret unrelated questions as being about crypto. The solution is to run multiple, specialized agents instead.
In a 2025 survey, 14.5% of respondents said they would let AI agents manage their entire crypto portfolio. Source: CoinGecko
“If you have one agent that handles your personal schedule, that handles your family schedule, that handles your trips … and on top of it gives you advice on your crypto, that’s not just going to be confusing for the agent. It’s going to be confusing for you,” Siu says.
The questions that set trading strategies apart
It’s also worth noting that running an agent won’t necessarily give you edge. A thousand people asking AI about the same trade could receive roughly the same answer, Siu says.
Regulators have taken note of the possibility that AI-driven traders can pile into the same positions. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee warned in April 2025 that widespread use of similar models could lead investors to take related positions during periods of stress and amplify market shocks.
Responses diverge when users ask follow-up questions rooted in their own knowledge and concerns.
“Suddenly you query and you ask, and then your taste or your ideas or your thinking starts forming into it,” he says.
Over time, an agent can learn what its user prefers and begin trading along those lines. Those inputs help shape personalized crypto trading strategies.
AI agents receive wallets and trading tools
Crypto firms are already giving AI agents the tools to handle money alongside information.
Coinbase introduced Agentic Wallets in February, allowing agents to spend and trade crypto within limits set by users. Binance launched AI Agent Skills in March to give agents access to live market data and the ability to place and manage spot orders.
Such tools allow users to delegate to agents more of the work required to follow markets 24/7 and potentially capture opportunities during the wee hours, without compromising sleep.
Siu sees human input continuing through the ideas and questions that guide an agent. AI can learn a user’s preferences over time, he says.
“By human input, I don’t mean human in the loop that approves it,” he says. “But the human is the one that ultimately is going to say, ‘Wait, you should look at this.’”
The privacy cost of an AI that knows you
Siu suggests treating an AI assistant like a third-party adviser. He says that before handing over a document, consider what information the agent needs to answer the question and what can be left out.
“What about your personal finances, what income you make, who your closest friends are?” Siu asks. “These are small little details that they don’t know about you, and now they have permission to know that about you.”
A trader might spend months teaching an agent which markets to follow and what information to digest before making a decision. An agent can remember the conversations to save the user from having to explain the same preferences over and over again.
Some 71% of US adults believe increased AI use will make their personal information less secure, according to a 2026 survey. Source: Pew Research Center
The danger is that the company running that service would still control access and an account suspension could interrupt everything you’re doing all at once.
Siu asks users to imagine an assistant that has learned about them over years, only to disappear one morning.
“At minimum, you have the right to download your data so that you can basically transfer it somewhere else so that another agent might be able to take over,” Siu says.
Magazine: Capital starting to rotate back to crypto from AI: Raoul Pal

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown announced a lawsuit against Kalshi, its affiliates and two Susquehanna trading companies, alleging that the prediction markets platform had been facilitating illegal betting in the US state since 2024.
In a Tuesday press briefing, Brown said Utah officials had petitioned a court to compel the companies to return about $30 million to $60 million in profits they made through allegedly illegal event contracts. The Utah attorney general alleged that Kalshi illegally offered its services to more than 32,000 users in the state, resulting in significant losses.
“Under Utah law, I have determined that this operation is causing a significant and substantial ongoing harm to a significant number of Utahns,” said Brown. “And so today, we are asking the court to stop sports, elections, politics, culture and mention bets here in Utah.”
Kalshi sued Utah in February after lawmakers passed a bill on betting on prediction markets as gambling under state law. In August, a judge ruled in favor of Utah officials, saying federal laws under the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) do not preempt state gambling laws. An appellate court also denied Kalshi’s request for an injunction in September, blocking the platform from operating during its appeal.
Cointelegraph reached out to Kalshi for comment on the lawsuit but did not receive an immediate response.
Ongoing legal battles across the US
The civil lawsuit is one of many filed by US state authorities against prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket over alleged violations of state gambling laws, many involving sports betting. Officials in Arizona remain the only ones in the US pursuing criminal charges against Kalshi, but other states, including Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New York, have filed civil suits against one or more prediction market companies.
The Utah lawsuit comes as the US Supreme Court considers whether to accept a petition to weigh in on New Jersey’s own case against Kalshi over allegedly illegal sports bets. The case, if accepted by the high court, could potentially resolve whether the purview of prediction market companies falls under state authorities or the CFTC, which claims “exclusive jurisdiction” over the platforms’ event contracts.
Magazine: Agents can trade 24/7 — but Yat Siu warns you could lose access at any time

Bitwise Asset Management and the Hyperliquid Policy Center are pressing the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise its proposed crypto rules, seeking clearer guidance on token classifications, airdrops and secondary-market trading in comment letters submitted Monday.
The requests come as the SEC closes public comments Tuesday on its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which would create exemptions for qualifying crypto fundraising and a conditional safe harbor for tokens associated with investment contracts.
In an Oct. 19 comment letter, Bitwise Asset Management urged the SEC to clarify how investment managers should determine whether a crypto asset is subject to securities laws, arguing that managers need a standard they can apply using “publicly available information.”
The firm also sought clearer rules on when managers can rely on an issuer’s proposed Form TR filing, which would certify that an investment contract has ceased to exist, and how they should assess tokens when no such filing exists.
Source: US Securities and Exchange Commission
In a separate submission, the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged the SEC to broaden its proposed safe harbor, arguing that it could come too late in a project’s development. The group called for clearer protections for airdrops that reward network participation, as well as guidance on token buybacks.
Hyperliquid also warned that the proposal “fails to provide clarity” on whether unregistered intermediaries can facilitate token trading or whether tokens can trade freely through onchain protocols. It urged the SEC to address secondary-market transactions directly rather than leaving exchanges and decentralized trading venues facing regulatory uncertainty.
Related: House Finance panel chair says regulator actions on crypto ‘fall short’ of CLARITY bill
SEC proposal faces legal and investor protection objections
While industry participants sought changes to the proposed rules, former SEC enforcement official John Reed Stark and Duke University finance scholar Lee Reiners took a different position altogether. In an Oct. 16 comment letter, they urged the commission to withdraw the proposal entirely, arguing that it exceeds the agency’s statutory authority and would weaken investor protections.
Stark and Reiners said that existing securities laws and the Supreme Court’s Howey test already provide a framework for regulating crypto offerings. They argued that the fundraising exemptions would weaken investor protections, while the proposed safe harbor would allow issuers to effectively remove their tokens from securities oversight through self-certification.
The two also warned that adopting the rules in substantially their current form would invite an immediate legal challenge, potentially resulting in the framework being struck down.
With the public comment period closing Tuesday, the SEC will review the submissions before deciding whether to revise, adopt or withdraw the proposed rules. The commission has not announced a timetable for a final decision, and any final rule would require a commission vote before taking effect.
Magazine: Can the SEC and CFTC’s pro-crypto rules be overturned? Legal opinion

Crypto researcher Stacy Muur has identified 82 digital asset projects and protocols that have reportedly shut down in 2026, raising questions about the financial sustainability of businesses across decentralized finance, blockchain infrastructure and Web3 gaming.
The list, published on X on Tuesday, includes Balancer, Radiant Capital, Neon EVM and Step Finance, among dozens of others. Muur described the number of closures as unlike anything she had previously witnessed.
The shutdowns follow a prolonged bear market, with Bitcoin (BTC) retreating from its October 2025 record high above $126,000 to below $60,000 earlier this year, adding to the financial strain on projects already struggling to attract users and generate revenue.
Source: Stacy Muur
Ethereum layer-2 network Blast is among the most prominent casualties. As Cointelegraph reported, the project announced its shutdown earlier this month, citing no “credible path” to economic viability. The decision marked a sharp reversal for a network that once attracted more than $2 billion in deposits.
Other projects have encountered different problems. In February, Step Finance shut down following a major treasury breach, while Radiant Capital announced in June that it would wind down operations after failing to recover from a 2024 exploit. Meanwhile, Coinbase-backed Satori Finance ceased operations after concluding that its revenue could no longer support the business.
Why are so many crypto projects shutting down?
Research published by DeFiLlama in August identified 100 crypto projects that had announced shutdowns in 2026, including 40 in the preceding 90 days. The findings suggest that many projects struggled to attract enough users or generate sufficient revenue to sustain operations.
The most commonly cited reason was a lack of product-market fit, followed by depleted funding, insufficient revenue and decisions to pivot to other products.
Collectively, the projects raised approximately $1 billion and generated $250 million in cumulative fees. Nine raised more than $50 million each, suggesting that substantial financial backing offered little assurance of long-term survival.
The most commonly cited reasons for crypto project shutdowns in 2026. Source: DeFiLlama
The closures come as crypto investment becomes increasingly concentrated. According to DeFiLlama, venture funding rose in the first half of 2026 compared with the previous year, even as the number of deals fell 80%. Meanwhile, mergers and acquisitions totaled 87 transactions at the time of the report, already 65% higher than the previous year.

Strive, the Bitcoin treasury company led by chairman and CEO Matt Cole, closed its upsized initial public offering of SATS preferred stock on Oct. 20, raising $630 million gross, according to the company’s announcement.
The company has not specified how much of the proceeds it will use to buy Bitcoin (BTC).
Strive sold 7 million shares at $90 each. The company estimated net proceeds of $608.15 million after underwriting discounts, commissions and expenses, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. In an SEC filing, Strive said it intended to use the funds for general corporate purposes, including Bitcoin purchases, working capital, income-generating assets, capital expenditures, share repurchases and acquisitions.
SATS carries a 15% annual dividend on its $100 stated amount, equivalent to $15 per share annually if paid in full. Dividends are cumulative and payable when declared by Strive’s board. At the $90 IPO price, the stated dividend represents an annualized amount equal to 16.67% of the purchase price.
At an illustrative Bitcoin price of $82,500, Strive’s estimated $608.15 million in net proceeds could purchase approximately 7,372 BTC before fees. If fully allocated to BTC, the purchase would increase Strive’s reported holdings from 36,818 BTC to roughly 44,190 BTC, potentially surpassing Metaplanet’s reported 44,000 BTC.
SATS dividends are scheduled to be payable each business day beginning Nov. 9, subject to declaration. The first payment, if declared in full, will include accruals dating from the Oct. 20 closing.
Strive chief risk officer Jeff Walton said the company has no debt or maturities and is focused on a single obligation: paying dividends.
Magazine: Made an ‘honest’ mistake with crypto taxes? New bill offers way out

Blockchain network Injective has entered into a memorandum of understanding with South Korean digital asset custodian BDACS to bring a won-backed stablecoin to its tokenized asset markets, potentially allowing institutions to settle transactions without relying on US dollar stablecoins.
According to a Tuesday announcement, BDACS’s KRW1 stablecoin would serve as the exclusive won-denominated settlement asset for real-world assets (RWAs) on Injective, allowing institutions to trade and settle tokenized assets directly in Korean won.
BDACS says KRW1 is fully backed by Korean won reserves. Minting and redemption would initially be limited to approved institutional partners, subject to regulatory approval.
The agreement comes as South Korea develops rules for won-backed stablecoins under its proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, which the government aims to finalize by the end of 2026. In the meantime, the country’s five largest crypto exchanges recorded net stablecoin outflows for 18 consecutive months through June, according to industry data cited by Cointelegraph.
Injective is a layer-1 blockchain that has increasingly focused on tokenized assets. In August, its institutional services arm registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a transfer agent, allowing it to maintain ownership records and facilitate securities transfers. Injective’s native token has a market capitalization of roughly $887 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.
South Korea moves toward won-backed stablecoin regulation
South Korea is still debating who can issue won-backed stablecoins as lawmakers work on the Digital Asset Basic Act.
A July policy report by Hashed Open Research and the Solana Policy Institute called for greater flexibility in stablecoin issuance and interim licensing guidance while the legislation is being developed. The proposed law would establish a broader framework for digital assets, covering stablecoin issuance, disclosures and market rules.
South Korea’s efforts follow the passage of the US GENIUS Act, which established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which includes rules governing stablecoin issuers.
Industry data shows the stablecoin market remains overwhelmingly dollar-denominated, with US dollar-backed tokens accounting for more than 99% of the total supply.

Stablecoins moved more than $400 million an hour in adjusted transfer volume during the third quarter of 2026, as quarterly activity reached $891 billion, more than quadrupling since early 2023, according to a new report commissioned by Coinbase.
The report found that 73% of screened stablecoin transfer volume occurred outside US banking hours, including nights, weekends and holidays.
Distribution of stablecoin transfer volume by time of day. Source: Coinbase and The Block Research, via Dune Analytics
Seven of the 10 largest US banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settlement, while 30% of mid-market companies conducting cross-border business are using or piloting stablecoins, up from 10% in 2024. Business-to-business payment volume also rose 36% year over year.
Conducted by The Block Research, the findings identified 293 million blockchain addresses holding stablecoins, exceeding the combined number of cards issued by American Express and Discover, though researchers cautioned that addresses do not necessarily represent individual users.
The report also estimated that moving 80% of international transactions onto stablecoin networks could add $155 billion to global GDP annually and free up roughly $3 trillion in liquidity currently held by banks to support cross-border payments.
Those projections are based on hypothetical adoption scenarios rather than observed economic gains. Researchers also acknowledged that widespread stablecoin adoption could reduce bank lending, potentially offsetting some of the benefits of faster and cheaper payments.
Survey finds growing demand for crypto services at US banks
A separate survey released Monday by the National Cryptocurrency Association found that 42% of US adults, representing approximately 112 million people, would be more likely to open an account with a bank offering crypto services or use that institution for more of their financial needs.
The survey found that 18% of US adults would like to buy or use stablecoins through their primary bank or financial institution. However, 64% said their bank, credit union or financial advisor had never raised the topic of cryptocurrency, while 43% did not know whether their bank offered crypto services.
Americans’ interest in crypto banking services by demographic group.
Source: National Cryptocurrency Association, 2026 Crypto at the Bank Report
Stablecoin market cap remains flat despite rising transaction volumes
Despite increasing transaction activity, the stablecoin market capitalization stood at $301.42 billion on Tuesday, a decline of about 0.6% from $303.14 billion on Oct. 20, 2025, according to DefiLlama data.
Last week, Standard Chartered pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030, citing slower supply growth. Citi, meanwhile, has projected a $1.9 trillion market by 2030 in its base case, with a bullish scenario reaching $4 trillion.
Magazine: Agents can trade 24/7 — but Yat Siu warns you could lose access at any time

More companies are formally objecting to having tokenized versions of their shares available on the stock platform proposed by cryptocurrency exchange OKX and the New York Stock Exchange’s parent, the Intercontinental Exchange.
In a notice updated Monday, the joint venture between OKX and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), called OKXICE, reported receiving 16 notices of issuer objection from companies including Microsoft, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Goldman Sachs. The objections did not include specific reasons for the notice to OKX, but one expert told Cointelegraph that they could relate to “not knowing what happens to their price” on the proposed platform.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on Tuesday, OKXICE co-chair and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that these notices were “not objections,” citing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “opening up to a global 24/7 marketplace.” He characterized objections as some companies standing on the side of a pool while letting others jump in and test the waters for OKXICE’s tokenized stock model.
Cuomo added:
“There are going to be a lot of companies that say ‘we don’t want to be the first, we wanna see how it goes’ [...] that is 100% to be expected, and there will be more.”
Cuomo said earlier this month, when OKX and ICE filed with the SEC, that the proposed tokenized stock trading platform would offer shares for more than 60 companies listed on US exchanges. Of the 62 proposed companies, about 25% have issued objections.
According to OKXICE, the proposed platform would operate 24/7 using permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on XLayer. Each tokenized stock would be paired with one of three payment stablecoins: Tether’s USDt (USDT), Circle’s USDC (USDC) or Global Dollar (USDG).

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved what it said is the country’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests directly in Bitcoin and is accessible to retail investors.
The financial regulator’s Tuesday announcement cited a “growing interest” in cryptocurrency investments, particularly Bitcoin (BTC).
While no fund issuer was identified by the regulator, it said multiple providers have submitted or announced Bitcoin ETF applications.
SIX Swiss Exchange announced in August 2025 that iShares would begin trading a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, fully backed by BTC held in cold storage by Coinbase Custody International Limited.
The approval clears a significant regulatory hurdle for the launch of Switzerland’s first retail-accessible ETF that invests directly in Bitcoin. The announcement did not specify a launch date.
In 2021, FINMA first authorized a fund for qualified investors that invests primarily in a basket of cryptocurrencies. The regulator said it granted an exemption from standard risk-diversification requirements, citing Bitcoin’s “long trading history and a particularly high trading volume” compared with other digital assets.
Still, the regulator emphasized that BTC investments carry market risks, such as the possibility of the invested capital losing a significant amount of its value, citing the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.
Switzerland is regarded as one of the most crypto-friendly European countries. In 2023, the Swiss city of Lugano adopted Bitcoin and Tether USDt (USDT) payments for all municipal fees, one of the world’s first city administrations to do so.

A wallet linked to the Drift Protocol hack sent about $61 million in Ether (ETH) to Tornado Cash, a service that obscures transaction trails.
The wallet deposited 25,700 ETH to the cryptocurrency mixer over two hours on Tuesday after two months of inactivity, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain said in an X post.
The exploiter’s addresses held about 81,454 Ether, worth roughly $194 million, according to Arkham. Crypto mixers pool funds from multiple addresses and obscure fund trails, making tracing harder.
Drift, a Solana-based decentralized exchange, reported about $295 million in losses from the April 1 hack. Drift said in June that a forensic investigation by cybersecurity firm Mandiant attributed the attack to UNC6862, a North Korean threat group.
Drift opened claims and redemptions for DFX recovery tokens on Oct. 1. The tokens give affected users a claim on a recovery pool, which held about $3.1 million at launch and receives exchange revenue and any recovered funds.
Drift exploit ranks as the third-largest crypto hack of 2026, according to DefiLlama. Other notable exploits include the $387 million Bitget hack and the $320 million Liquid Network exploit.

Real-world asset (RWA) platform tx has launched USTX, a dollar stablecoin for its wallet and planned marketplace for tokenized stocks.
Users will need USDC to mint USTX, which can also be redeemed for USDC, the company said in a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The platform accepts deposits from eight blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana and Base.
“It is not a USDC-backed wrapper or synthetic representation of USDC,” Ashley Ebersole, tx’s co-founder and chief legal officer, told Cointelegraph. USDC provides a way to mint USTX, which has its own 1:1 reserve structure through Brale, he said.
Fintech platform Brale issues USTX, manages its reserves and facilitates minting and redemption. According to tx, each token is backed by $1 in assets, including cash, bank deposits, government money market funds and short-term US Treasury bills.
Brale said in June that it was working with Visa to improve the speed and programmability of blockchain-based stablecoin settlement in environments where privacy, compliance, and operational control are essential.
Blockchain networks and trading platforms are launching their own dollar stablecoins through outside providers that handle issuance and reserve management. Native stablecoins provide a common dollar balance for buying assets, settling trades and posting collateral across a network.
Some stablecoin providers also share reserve earnings with clients. Eligible USTX users may also receive rewards through tx’s wallet programs.
The GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying holders interest or yield solely for holding, using or retaining a payment stablecoin.
“The overall rewards program was designed based on legal advice to ensure it falls within what’s permissible under the law,” Ebersole said when asked how the rewards comply with the restriction.

Some of the biggest banks in the United Kingdom are facing fresh scrutiny over cryptocurrency transfer restrictions after thousands of customers reported difficulties moving money to crypto platforms.
Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto said 9,803 people submitted 10,092 complaints to UK banks over restrictions on transfers to crypto platforms during a 90-day period between May and August 2026. The complaints were submitted through the group’s online tool, according to a report reviewed by Cointelegraph on Tuesday.
Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest banking groups, received the most complaints at 2,297, followed by Barclays with 1,569 and NatWest Group with 1,278, the report found.
The complaints raise questions about access to crypto services in the UK as the country prepares to introduce a new regulatory regime for digital assets in 2027.
UK banks differ on crypto transfer limits
Barclays and HSBC UK were listed as limiting crypto transfers to 2,500 British pounds ($3,300) per transaction and 10,000 pounds ($13,300) over 30 days.
Six banks, including Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK, were listed as banning crypto-related transfers entirely.
Source: Stand With Crypto
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group and Revolut were classified as having no published crypto transfer restrictions, despite receiving customer complaints.
Revolut’s official support page, however, states that transfers to “some cryptocurrency exchanges” are unsupported. A Stand With Crypto spokesperson said this appeared to be a technical issue rather than a stated policy.
Banking restrictions threaten UK crypto hub ambitions
Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, told Cointelegraph that banking restrictions are a common problem among UK crypto founders and could undermine the country’s ambitions to become a global crypto hub.
“This issue of restricted access to banking services needs to be urgently addressed in order for UK crypto firms to have a level playing field where they can grow and scale,” Jones said.
Jones also warned that the UK’s incoming crypto regulatory regime may not resolve the problem. Although companies are preparing for mandatory Financial Conduct Authority approval in October 2027, access to a business bank account falls outside that framework, he said.
Without coordinated action, companies could obtain full authorization yet remain unable to open a UK business bank account, Jones added.
Magazine: Made an ‘honest’ mistake with crypto taxes? New bill offers way out

Former FTX COO Constance Wang said she was upset by the upcoming Netflix drama’s depiction of the collapse of the exchange and its portrayal of some of the top executives.
“The first 30 seconds were enough to upset me,” so “I stopped watching,” Wang told Cointelegraph during an episode of the Chain Reaction X spaces show published on Monday.
Wang said the Netflix trailer’s depiction of some former FTX executives made her “feel physically upset,” adding that the portrayal of Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison didn’t match her personal experience. She explained that former FTX co-founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was also more “socially awkward” than his Netflix portrayal.
Wang served as COO of FTX, which grew into one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges before collapsing in November 2022 due to customer fund misappropriation, causing an $8.9 billion shortfall in customer funds. FTX’s sister company, quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, used FTX customer funds that Bankman-Fried transferred without consent to fund Alameda’s trading losses, now referred to as the Alameda gap.
Netflix released the trailer for the eight-episode series about FTX’s collapse in early October. The drama series, titled The Altruists, will premiere globally on Nov. 19, 2026, according to the streaming platform’s announcement.
Source: Cointelegraph
Wang bootstrapped AI-crypto venture following FTX collapse
Following FTX’s collapse, Wang in early 2025 founded Pacifica, a crypto trading platform initially launched as a Solana-based perpetual futures decentralized exchange.
She plans to add artificial intelligence capabilities to transform the platform into an intelligent trading infrastructure with strategic tools for investors.
“For Pacifica, we didn’t raise any funds, it’s completely bootstrapped,” said Wang, adding that some institutional investors faced compliance restrictions when speaking to former FTX personnel while the bankruptcy proceedings were still ongoing.
Bankman-Fried and Ellison were indicted in December 2022 following the exchange’s collapse and bankruptcy.
Ellison accepted a plea deal to testify against Bankman-Fried and was released from prison in January, after serving 440 days of a two-year sentence.
Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony counts and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024, with a scheduled release in 2044. In September, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers reportedly asked the Supreme Court to overturn his fraud conviction. He has also applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
Magazine: Why Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund walked away from an Ether treasury bet

XRP inflows to exchanges have hit seven-month highs as more than 6 billion tokens were deposited in the last 30 days.
Key points:
Rolling 30-day inflows to exchanges hit 6 billion XRP on Oct. 19, their highest value in seven months.
The 90-day moving average of whale outflows fell to $49.7 million, its lowest levels in five years, as analysts see a lack of interest in the XRP/USDT pair.
The realized profit/loss ratio has dropped 41% in October as rangebound trading conditions return.
XRP whale interest absent as exchange inflows climb: Analysis
New research from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant reveals that on a rolling 30-day basis, XRP exchange inflows are at their highest since March.
In the 30 days to Oct. 19, inflows totaled 6.05 billion XRP and have doubled since mid-August. During this time, XRP/USD increased from around $1 to a maximum of $1.70 before correcting to the current levels around $1.30.
“The rise in total inflows to more than 6 billion XRP, reaching a seven-month high, signals a clear shift in asset movement toward exchanges. This could reflect increased trading activity and liquidity on these platforms, or a rise in the movement of XRP between wallets and exchanges,” CryptoQuant commented.
XRP exchange inflows (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
Further analysis covering exchange withdrawals from whales shows that XRP is “attracting less and less attention.” CryptoQuant suggests that large-volume investors may be waiting for more advantageous prices before increasing exposure.
The 90-day moving average of whale outflows hit a high of $3.5 billion in February 2025, shortly after XRP’s all-time high at $3.40. Since then, whale outflows are down 98.6% and the 90-day moving average currently stands at $49.7 million. This is its lowest value since October 2021.
“From a long-term perspective, this suggests XRP could lack buying volume without whale support,” CryptoQuant commented while acknowledging XRP’s “notable resilience” during the 2026 crypto bear market.
XRP whale exchange outflows (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
Bitcoin rangebound price action eases profit-taking
Onchain data confirms that Bitcoin investors also stepped back in October as BTC/USD traded within a range between $80,000 and $87,000.
In its latest Market Pulse bulletin released on Monday, crypto analytics platform Glassnode reported reduced profit-taking across the Bitcoin investor base. The realized profit/loss ratio dropped from 0.8 to 0.4, a decrease of 50%, over the past week.
“This contrast demonstrates that profit realized activity cooled relative to loss realization onchain, highlighting a transition toward more subdued sentiment and diminished aggressive spending by market participants,” Glassnode summarized.
Bitcoin realized profit/loss ratio (screenshot). Source: Glassnode

Mt. Gox pushed its creditor repayment deadline to October 2027, marking the sixth extension since 2023 as the collapsed crypto exchange continues working to settle outstanding claims.
Rehabilitation trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi said on Friday that the Tokyo District Court approved moving the deadline for base, early lump-sum and intermediate payments from Oct. 31, 2026 to Oct. 31, 2027.
Kobayashi said repayments for creditors who finished the required procedures without complications were largely complete, except for certain payment types. However, he said many creditors remain unpaid because they have yet to complete the procedures, while others encountered issues in processing.
The latest postponement is the fourth extension since September 2023, following two shorter extensions earlier that year. Mt. Gox started repaying creditors in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in July 2024, and said in March 2025 that more than 19,500 creditors had received their repayments.
The latest trustee notice did not disclose how many creditors remain unpaid or how much Bitcoin remains to be distributed.
Wallets attributed to Mt. Gox still hold approximately 34,400 BTC, worth about $2.8 billion, as of Tuesday, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Crypto exchange Bitget has announced plans to acquire Thailand’s GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, seeking to expand its Southeast Asia footprint weeks after a major hack impacting its hot and warm wallets.
The proposed transaction involves BTGT Management (Thailand), a company in which Bitget says it holds an interest, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The acquisition will allow Bitget to introduce its trading platform to Thai users.
“Thailand is an important part of Southeast Asia’s digital asset landscape, and this acquisition gives us a great opportunity to establish local operations in a thriving country,” said Bitget CEO Gracy Chen.
GMO Internet disclosed the proposed sale to BTGT Management in a Sept. 24 filing, targeting completion for Oct. 31. Bitget’s announcement identifies its involvement in the transaction.
The company declined to comment on how much interest in BTGT Management the company holds and the financial and ownership terms of the proposed acquisition.
GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics operates Z.com EX, which launched in February 2021. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission lists the company among its licensed digital asset exchange operators.
Completion remains subject to regulatory approval and other conditions.
Thai expansion comes weeks after hack
The proposed deal follows a Sept. 24 attack on Bitget’s hot and warm wallet infrastructure. In its account of the breach, Bitget said approximately $388 million was affected after attackers exploited a vulnerability in a third-party security product and issued fraudulent withdrawal commands.
Bitget said customer account balances were unaffected and that it completed the phased restoration of withdrawals on Oct. 2.
On Oct. 17, Bitget also announced plans to discontinue services for certain users, describing the move as a “one-off exercise.”
Bitget’s terms of use, updated Oct. 16, list Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan among its prohibited jurisdictions. Thailand is also listed as a prohibited jurisdiction, although the proposed acquisition could provide Bitget with a route to serving the market through a locally licensed operator.
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JPMorgan Asset Management projects Bitcoin (BTC) will outperform stocks and gold over the next decade, but cautions that its volatility makes it unsuitable for diversifying portfolios for now.
On Monday, JPMorgan published its 2027 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions report, projecting a 10% annualized return for Bitcoin, compared with 7.5% for large-cap US stocks and 5.5% for gold.
The projections are part of JPMorgan’s annual outlook covering more than 200 assets to help investors plan their portfolios.
“At the moment, we do not make a case for Bitcoin as a diversifier in portfolios due to its unstable market correlations,” the report said. “We see Bitcoin as a speculative asset and a hedge against monetary easing.”
JPMorgan’s projected Bitcoin returns compared with traditional assets. Source: JPMorgan
JPMorgan projects double-digit Bitcoin gains or losses
JPMorgan’s bull case puts Bitcoin’s annualized return at 16.6%, while its bear case projects an annualized loss of 11.2%. The calculations considered BTC supply growth relative to money supply, its potential role alongside gold and network adoption.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan welcomed Bitcoin’s inclusion in the report.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight at you, then they add you to their Long-Term Capital Markets Assumptions paper and predict you’ll be the best-performing asset of the next decade,” he wrote on X.
Hougan’s firm has published a more bullish forecast. In August 2025, Bitwise projected Bitcoin could reach $1.3 million by 2035 with a base-case annualized return of 28.3%.
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BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is looking to expand its crypto fund lineup with a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that offers limited downside protection in exchange for capped gains.
The world’s largest asset manager on Monday filed a preliminary prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF (PBIT).
The proposed ETF would use options linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) rather than holding Bitcoin (BTC) directly, according to the preliminary prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
IBIT is the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets. It holds Bitcoin directly and gives investors exposure through brokerage accounts. The fund had $65.7 billion in net assets as of Monday, according to BlackRock.
BlackRock also runs the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), a spot Ether fund with $8 billion in net assets. The asset manager has yet to launch US spot ETFs tracking other cryptocurrencies such as Solana or XRP.
ETF Store president Nate Geraci questioned BlackRock’s continued absence from the market for spot ETFs tracking other cryptocurrencies.
“Still shocked they’re sitting out on spot ETFs for SOL, XRP, HYPE, etc,” Geraci wrote on X on Monday. “BlackRock clearly has high conviction in only sticking [with] BTC [and] ETH. For now,” he added.
BlackRock adds ETF strategies instead of new crypto assets
BlackRock entered the US spot Bitcoin ETF market in January 2024 with the launch of IBIT, followed by the ETHA in July that year.
In March 2026, its offerings expanded with the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), which offers exposure to Ether and staking rewards. It was followed by the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) in June, designed to generate income through options trading.
BlackRock’s crypto ETF lineup includes two Bitcoin funds and two Ether funds. Source: BlackRock
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said that PBIT would mark BlackRock’s third Bitcoin ETF filing, although similar “buffered” Bitcoin funds already exist from Calamos, First Trust and Innovator.
PBIT would use three overlapping sets of options contracts, typically replacing one each month, to seek downside protection while limiting potential gains.
Each options tranche would initially target a maximum loss exposure of about 10% to the underlying Bitcoin-linked asset, before fees and expenses. BlackRock cautioned that the fund “does not provide a fixed Tranche Protection Start Value, Floor or Tranche Cap Value,” implying investors could face greater losses.
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