Author: John Smith

Sberbank has secured the Bank of Russia’s approval to provide cryptocurrency exchange services, joining nine registered operators ahead of its planned Dec. 1 product launch. Summary Nine organizations now appear in Russia’s cryptocurrency exchange register, including Sberbank, VTB and T-Invest Lab. Sberbank plans to offer its first crypto products on Dec. 1 through existing customer platforms. Registered firms must follow transaction rules immediately and meet remaining requirements by Sept. 1, 2027. U.S. Treasury sanctions rules cover cryptocurrency transactions involving blocked Russian institutions as well as fiat transfers. The Bank of Russia has added Sberbank to its register of organizations authorized…

CoinShares has outlined an integration with Safe Labs and Railnet to offer stablecoin yield strategies through Safe’s Earn widget while keeping users’ investment positions in self-custody, according to a press release dated Oct. 14. Summary CoinShares will design the stablecoin strategies and oversee their risk selection without holding users’ assets. Safe users will access the strategies through the Earn widget and can request withdrawals at any time. Railnet will supply the vault infrastructure connecting CoinShares’ strategies with the Safe wallet interface. The release lists jurisdiction and eligibility limits, including an exclusion for US persons, and warns yields vary. CoinShares, in…

A UK High Court ruling has placed claims over more than 61,000 Bitcoin under Chinese law, putting potential gains for about 16,000 fraud victims at risk, according to Caixin. Summary More than 61,000 Bitcoin are involved in the recovery dispute linked to a Chinese investment fraud. About 16,000 victims have joined the UK recovery process, according to Caixin’s report. Chinese law will determine the ownership rights underlying investors’ claims, the High Court ruled. The court has left the substance of Chinese law and individual claims for later proceedings. Caixin reported that an Oct. 12 judgment from the High Court of…

Bitcoin has rebounded above $83,000, according to ViaBTC’s Jeff Ko, as analysts have identified a drop below $80,000 or a recovery toward $86,000 as possible outcomes of this week’s U.S. inflation report. Summary BTSE’s Jeff Mei says hotter inflation could push Bitcoin below $80,000, while softer data could lift it above $86,000. ViaBTC’s Jeff Ko remains constructive but wants U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF flows to recover. Bitget Wallet’s Lacie Zhang sees resilience against oil pressure, although sustained buying remains essential. Zhang says expected Strategy purchases may offer only modest support because investors already anticipate its accumulation. Jeff Mei, chief operating…

Australia’s securities regulator has proposed bringing certain crypto settled derivatives under existing retail trading safeguards after reporting more than $458 million in losses among contracts for difference traders. Summary Australia’s securities regulator has proposed bringing certain crypto settled derivatives under existing CFD rules, including leverage limits and retail investor safeguards. ASIC is seeking a 10 year renewal of its CFD protections after 68% of retail traders recorded net losses totaling more than $458 million in 2023–24. The proposed changes would clarify margin requirements, restrict netting of opposing positions and cover qualifying contracts settled through digital asset transfers. The regulator is…

LayerZero (ZRO) has surged nearly 15% to $2.37 on October 12, 2026, as increased trading activity has pushed the cryptocurrency toward the $2.50 resistance level. Summary LayerZero traded near $2.37 on October 12, gaining 14.91% over the previous 24 hour period. ZRO gained 23.80% over seven days, while its market capitalization approached $940 million on Monday. Trading volume reached roughly $158 million, indicating increased market activity during the latest price rally. Technical analyst Crypto With Gopal identified $2.50 resistance and warned of potential downside below $2.00. LayerZero announced Blockaid security integration on October 8, introducing additional verification for cross chain…

Standard Chartered has launched institutional custody services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger on October 12, while preparing a separate arrangement with Ripple and LMAX Group that would allow clients to use the digital asset as trading collateral without moving it from the bank. Summary Standard Chartered launched institutional custody for Ripple USD on XRP Ledger through its Dubai branch. Ripple and LMAX plan to let clients use RLUSD as collateral without transferring underlying tokens. The collateral arrangement remains subject to testing, final documents, internal approval, and applicable regulatory requirements. Ripple agreed to provide LMAX Group $150 million…

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has surged 12.58% to approximately $5.85 on October 12, approaching the $6 resistance level as futures open interest climbed 19.16% to $1.95 billion and trading activity increased across exchanges. Summary NEAR traded near $5.85 on October 12, gaining 12.58% daily and 16.37% over seven days. CoinGlass data placed NEAR futures open interest at $1.95 billion, up 19.16% during the period. Crypto analyst Rekt Capital identified a weekly close above $5.97 as an important breakout condition. Giannis Andreou projected potential resistance near $6.30, with higher targets dependent on a confirmed breakout. NEAR’s daily RSI reached 65.85, while price…

French lawmakers have approved a proposal requiring individuals holding at least €100,000 ($112,000) in self custody cryptocurrencies to declare their assets to tax authorities or risk fines of up to €10,000. Summary French lawmakers have backed a proposal requiring individuals with at least €100,000 in self custody crypto holdings to declare their assets annually. Failure to report qualifying cryptocurrency holdings could result in fines of up to €10,000 under the proposed amendment. Lawmakers cited concerns over tax evasion after a parliamentary inquiry found a large gap between crypto capital gains and declared holdings in 2021. The Finance Committee approved five…

The XRP Ledger has fixed a critical security flaw dating back to 2015 that could have allowed attackers to create approximately 18 trillion XRP through a single specially designed transaction, with more than 80% of trusted validators installing the emergency update on September 25. Summary XRPL developers fixed a critical payment bug that could create spendable XRP beyond its supply. Researcher Cayden Liao demonstrated approximately 18 trillion XRP could be minted through one crafted transaction. The security team found no evidence that the overflow flaw was exploited on public networks. More than 80% of default validators upgraded to xrpld 3.4.1…