Author: John Smith

Anchorage Digital has reportedly cut 17% of its workforce after securing a $100 million Tether investment earlier this year. Summary CEO Nathan McCauley reportedly informed employees of the workforce reduction this week. A 17% cut would equal about 68 jobs if February’s headcount remained unchanged. Tether announced its $100 million strategic equity investment in Anchorage on Feb. 5. Recent expansions include cross-chain stablecoin infrastructure and custody support for tokenized uranium. The Information reported on Oct. 2, citing people familiar with the matter, that McCauley had told employees about the layoffs during the week. The report placed the reduction against a…

Kraken parent Payward has entered talks with BNY over a potential partnership covering six areas, including crypto custody, trading and payments, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Summary BNY and Payward are discussing crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and infrastructure. The talks remain ongoing, with no guarantee that the companies will reach an agreement. Nasdaq Ventures agreed in September to invest $100 million in Payward at a reported $21 billion valuation. Payward has completed acquisitions adding regulated U.S. derivatives and stablecoin payment services to its operations. Two people familiar with the matter said the proposed arrangement…

Blast has announced plans to shut down its Layer 2 network, giving users until Oct. 26, 2026, to withdraw through its normal interface. Summary Oct. 26 is the deadline for withdrawals through the regular Blast interface. Blast says network maintenance costs exceed revenue, leaving no credible path to sustainable operations. Withdrawals will pause for approximately one week while the team withdraws Blast’s Lido assets. Assets will remain withdrawable after the deadline through bridge contracts on Ethereum mainnet. Blast, in an Oct. 2 announcement on X, asked users to move their assets to Ethereum mainnet, including any balances held in the…

Bitcoin could get more room to recover after U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by just 29,000 in September, well below forecasts, adding to expectations that the Federal Reserve may hold interest rates steady at its October meeting. Summary US nonfarm payrolls rose by just 29,000 in September, well below forecasts, while unemployment edged up to 4.2%. The weak jobs report strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could pause rate hikes in October, with Treasury yields remaining a key factor for Bitcoin. Bitcoin was trading near $86,000 around the payroll release after recovering from roughly $83,000, putting the $87,000 to $87,500 resistance…

Forward Industries has increased its SOL and SOL-equivalent holdings by 948,601 tokens during fiscal Q4, taking its total to 8.501 million as of Sept. 30, 2026. Summary Forward Industries added nearly 949,000 SOL, lifting total holdings to 8.501 million during fiscal Q4. The company valued its SOL treasury at $1.004 billion using a September 30 price reference. SOL per fully diluted share rose 10.4% quarter-over-quarter to 0.0806, according to Forward Industries’ update. Forward closed a $25 million stock offering in September, with proceeds intended partly for SOL. Solana traded near $122 on October 2, up roughly 4% over the previous…

Robinhood’s stock token trading volume has already reached levels that could run into limits under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new innovation exemption for tokenized equities, according to the company’s crypto chief. Summary Robinhood says its stock token volume is already high enough to potentially run into trading limits under the SEC’s new five year tokenization exemption. The SEC framework limits both the number of eligible tokenized stocks and their trading volume, with thresholds varying depending on the underlying asset. Robinhood plans to add voting rights and in kind redemption to its stock tokens as it continues working toward…

South Korean crypto exchange operating profits have fallen 78% to KRW81.6 billion in the first half of 2026 as trading volume, customer deposits and the value of crypto held domestically all dropped sharply. Summary South Korean crypto exchange operating profits fell 78% to KRW81.6 billion during 2026’s first half. Average daily crypto trading volume dropped 44% to KRW3.1 trillion from KRW5.4 trillion previously nationwide. Won deposits fell 35% to KRW5.2 trillion, while tradable accounts edged 0.4% higher overall nationwide. Crypto market value held domestically dropped 33% to KRW58.9 trillion by June’s end, KoFIU reported. External crypto transfers fell 41%, with…

South Korea has proposed detailed rules for bringing tokenized securities into its regulated capital markets from Feb. 4, 2027, including a KRW100 million annual retail purchase cap on each licensed over-the-counter exchange. Summary South Korea will let stocks, bonds and funds enter its tokenized securities framework in 2027. Retail investors face a KRW100 million annual net purchase limit on each licensed OTC exchange. Issuers managing customer accounts need KRW4 billion capital plus dedicated compliance and technology staff members. Distributed ledgers must involve two account managers plus Korea Securities Depository under proposed rules framework. Public comments run through November 11 before…

The Congressional Research Service has identified 11 categories of crypto activities that the Senate-reported CLARITY Act would permit for U.S. banking organizations and credit unions, including digital asset underwriting and dealing. Summary 11 crypto activity categories would become permissible under the Senate-reported text, according to CRS. The report says proposed underwriting permissions exceed banks’ authority in comparable traditional securities markets. Banking associations have opposed stablecoin rewards they believe could draw deposits away from lenders. Federal Reserve stablecoin rulemaking has continued under the GENIUS Act despite the stalled CLARITY legislation. The Congressional Research Service published its analysis, “Crypto and Bank-Permissible Activities,”…

The Drift Foundation has opened DFX recovery claims and redemptions for victims of its April 1 exploit, with roughly 3.11 million USDT available and initial payouts near 1% of verified losses. Summary Eligible wallets receive one DFX token for each USDT of verified losses from the exploit. Initial redemptions pay about 0.0104 USDT per DFX, with redeemed tokens permanently burned. Recovery funding includes Velocity revenue, Tether support, partner capital, and any recovered stolen assets. The claim window closes on Jan. 1, 2028, when unclaimed DFX tokens will be burned. The Drift Foundation announced on Oct. 1 that affected users can…