October 22, 2026 @ 11:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened two parallel consultations seeking industry input on decentralised finance (DeFi) and the boundaries of its forthcoming cryptoasset regime. The moves form part of the regulator’s ongoing preparation for the full crypto framework, which is scheduled to take… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 9:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tether, the issuer of stablecoin USDT, announced that it had led a pre-seed funding round for Peso, a Bolivian fintech startup focused on delivering payments, savings, and investment tools throughout Latin America. The capital injection is designed to broaden access to rapid and affordable stablecoin-based… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 9:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Cardano Foundation published details of its formal response to the European Commission’s public consultation on reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA, also referred to as MiCAR). In a 19-page submission dated 30 September 2026, the Swiss-based non-profit organization urged EU policymakers against creating… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On October 21, 2026, Solana completed one of the most significant protocol transitions in its history when Anza’s Alpenglow consensus system took over on mainnet-beta. The switch occurred around 14:00 UTC at slot 459,653,000, retiring the TowerBFT mechanism that had governed the network since its… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 4:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

EquityZen, a secondary marketplace for private securities, says trading on its platform rose 57.4% quarter over quarter, comparing Q3 2026 to the second quarter. The size of transactions also experienced growth, as the average purchase increased by 38% compared to the second quarter. The sell… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 3:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A Colombian cryptocurrency broker known by the alias “Rey” received a 160-month federal prison sentence this week for his central role in laundering roughly $14.5 million in drug-trafficking proceeds through Tether’s USDT stablecoin and for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Leonardo de… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 2:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Spanish banking group BBVA (BME: BBVA) has entered a collaboration with semiconductor leader Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) to examine ways of incorporating robust security and governance measures into artificial intelligence agents starting at the earliest stages of their development. The partnership focuses on assessing the potential… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 2:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese prosecutors have applied to seize roughly 61,896 Bitcoin and associated digital assets currently held by British authorities, linking them to a large-scale fundraising fraud. The Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court accepted the application in late September and issued a public notice in mid-October,… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) joined a small group of opponents of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. NASAA represents state securities regulators and other North American jurisdictions. Typically, the group lobbies to boost state oversight in the securities sector. In… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Zodia Custody. This step follows the earlier acceptance of the bank’s non-binding offer by Zodia Custody’s shareholders and noteholders. Completion remains conditional on regulatory approvals and standard closing requirements. Under the agreements,… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The PHP Foundation has acknowledged that indecision and limited resources led to a structural failure that delayed a fix for a critical security flaw first identified in 2024. The admission came in a detailed statement issued hours after the project released emergency patches for two… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 8:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of a rather significant and very recent coordinated effort against organized online crime, authorities in the United Arab Emirates have spearheaded a three-month international operation that identified more than $39 billion in funds and digital assets connected to fraudulent schemes. The initiative, known… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 3:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ripple announced on October 15, 2026, that its institutional prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, has begun supporting real-world asset perpetual swaps. These contracts give professional clients exposure to more than 100 reference markets covering equities, equity indices, exchange-traded funds, metals, energy products, and foreign exchange…. Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 2:23 am By Michael Wong  |  

Artificial intelligence is the top concern for chief executives in Asia-Pacific, with 94% describing it as a critical or existentially critical challenge, while regional leaders report greater preparedness for disruption than their global peers, a survey by leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder found. The survey… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 1:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto payments network Mesh announced a strategic collaboration with Visa that aims to let consumers spend cryptocurrency and stablecoin balances directly at Visa (NYSE: V) accepting merchants worldwide. The arrangement connects Mesh’s transaction orchestration capabilities with Visa’s acceptance network, which covers more than 175 million… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 12:50 am By Michael Wong  |  

Artificial intelligence investment is sustaining global demand, but central banks should not assume the technology has already raised productivity or changed the economic conditions that guide monetary policy, a senior Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) official said. Edward S. Robinson, MAS deputy managing director for… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 12:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Analysts on Wall Street are debating whether markets overreacted to CoreWeave’s (NASDAQ: CRWV) substantial borrowing after the AI infrastructure provider’s stock tumbled roughly a quarter of its value last week. The sharp decline reflected mounting worries that the company’s heavy reliance on debt to fund… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 12:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson revealed on October 18, 2026, that he is personally developing a new programming language intended for the Cardano blockchain. In a post on the social platform X, Hoskinson stated that the project is underway and that he is collaborating with another… Read More

October 21, 2026 @ 10:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Southeast Asia’s digital economy is projected to reach $368 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2026, growing 17% year-on-year despite macroeconomic pressures, as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption reshapes consumer behaviour and investment across the region, according to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain… Read More