Morning Report | Analysis: It is uncommon for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in October or November before the midterm elections; Market pays attention to Waller's speech; Opinion: The Bitcoin super cycle has begun

Compiled by: ChainCatcher

What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?

Founder of Capriole Investments: Quantum Computing Roadmap May Catalyze Bitcoin Surge

According to ChainCatcher, Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, stated in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine that for Bitcoin to break its historical high, substantial changes are needed. Possible catalysts include significant advancements in quantum computing, a shift in Federal Reserve policy, direct purchases of Bitcoin by the U.S. government, or a new round of stimulus events.

He also pointed out that institutional buying through ETFs continues to provide strong support for the market. Edwards mentioned that AI-driven unemployment could alter the Federal Reserve's policy path, thereby affecting Bitcoin's trajectory; the continuous rise in computing power constitutes a bullish signal on the Hash Ribbons indicator, and he discussed whether this computing cycle differs in the AI era.

Additionally, he assessed whether Bitcoin is still undervalued from the perspectives of production costs, energy value, and MVRV, and talked about global liquidity and the unknown territory Bitcoin occupies in a 5% interest rate environment.

Regarding quantum computing, Edwards believes that a clear quantum computing roadmap could instead become an upward catalyst for Bitcoin. He also discussed the crypto security risks posed by AI superintelligence and what factors might trigger the next historical high for Bitcoin.

White House Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt Resigns, Clarity Act Legislation Stalled

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that there has been another personnel change at the White House regarding digital asset regulation, with Patrick Witt ending his term as the White House Chief Crypto Advisor. A White House official stated in an email to The Block on Wednesday that Witt's "detail has expired," and expressed gratitude for his work during the Trump administration, wishing him success in the future.

Previously, Crypto In America reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that Witt was an employee of the U.S. Department of Defense and held a temporary position on the White House Crypto Council. Witt led the push for comprehensive crypto legislation, the Clarity Act, as the Executive Director of the President's Advisory Council on Digital Assets. The House version of the bill was passed over a year ago, and he was responsible for coordinating negotiations in the Senate.

However, the Senate version faces multiple obstacles, including disagreements between the banking and crypto industries on the treatment of stablecoin rewards, as well as how to address the conflicts of interest arising from President Trump's substantial crypto assets. The latter became the main reason the bill failed to pass its first procedural vote last month, with Democrats concerned that the relevant provisions would not be enforceable since decisions on whether to take enforcement action against the president would be made by the Department of Justice rather than the states.

Witt is the third high-level crypto official to leave the White House. David Sacks, head of crypto and AI affairs at the White House, resigned in March, stating that his 130-day term as a special government employee had ended; Witt's deputy, Harry Jung, also left in July.

Firelight Adds $30.5 Million On-Chain Coverage for Kraken USDC Vault

According to ChainCatcher, The Defiant reported that Firelight, an on-chain coverage protocol based on the Flare network, announced on October 15 that its on-chain coverage has gone live for Kraken DeFi Earn's Protected Strategies USDC vault, providing a collateral-backed compensation mechanism for specific protocol failures.

The vault's independent manager, Sentora, insures the vault rather than Kraken itself. Depositors do not need to actively choose to join, but coverage comes with conditions: Kraken disclosed that the compensation limit for each deposit address during each coverage period is $100,000, and the total compensation amount is also constrained by the vault's overall limit and available capital. Compensation is issued by Sentora in USDC to eligible wallets, with Kraken providing no funds or guarantees.

Firelight lists six types of failures eligible for compensation: smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, governance attacks, and bad debts, depegging, or redemption failures caused by protocol mechanism failures. Coverage only applies to markets and positions recorded during the coverage period. Normal fluctuations, normal liquidations, depegging that operates as designed during redemptions, and withdrawal delays caused by organic high utilization are excluded; internal theft, stolen private keys, phishing, and regulatory actions are also not covered.

The trigger conditions for redemption failures are if the insured position cannot be withdrawn for more than 72 consecutive hours, or if the amount returned after deducting disclosed fees is less than 90% of fair value. Compensation does not require depositors to file claims themselves, as it is determined by a five-member risk committee with a three-fifths majority vote. On-chain records indicate that the coverage labeled "Kraken DeFi Protected" amounts to $30.5 million.

AI Financing Risks and Interest Rate Hikes Weigh on Chip Stocks

According to ChainCatcher, data from Gate shows that global tech hardware stocks continue to decline due to expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and challenges in AI financing. South Korea's Samsung Electronics fell over 7%, and SK Hynix dropped over 8%, dragging the KOSPI index down by more than 6% at one point. The Nikkei 225 index fell over 3% during trading. Despite strong earnings reports from Samsung and ASML, investor confidence remains pressured. CoreWeave's stock plummeted, with bond prices reflecting financial distress. The U.S. September CPI increase reached a five-month high, intensifying expectations for rate hikes.

Early Venture Capital Pear VC Announces Fifth Fund, Size $333 Million

According to ChainCatcher, Pear VC, an early-stage venture capital firm, co-founders Pejman Nozad and Mar announced on October 14, 2026, the launch of their fifth fund, Pear Fund V, with a size of $333 million, bringing Pear's managed assets to over $1.1 billion. Arash Afrakhteh, Ajay Kamat, and Shravan Reddy have also been appointed as general partners.

The two discussed founding a venture capital firm about 13 years ago at Coupa Café in Palo Alto, believing in meeting founders before they are recognized as exceptional by the outside world. Pear has supported DoorDash, Gusto, Guardant Health, Vanta, and Listen Labs, seeing thousands of opportunities each year through pre-seed and seed-stage businesses, and has established PearX, university programs, hackathons, founder communities, two studios, engineering teams, and founder service teams.

Arash Afrakhteh joined in 2020, investing in enterprises and B2B, covering AI, machine learning, cloud, and data infrastructure, and co-founded Cariden Technologies, which was acquired by Cisco in 2012.

Ajay Kamat joined in 2015, investing in consumer, fintech, and healthcare, and co-founded Wedding Party, serving as CEO. The company received support from Pear and was later acquired by Instacart.

Thailand's Bitcoin ETF Rules to Take Effect on October 16, Funds Must Have Average Net Exposure of 80%

According to ChainCatcher, the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission has completed the formulation of Bitcoin ETF rules, which will take effect on October 16, with Bitcoin listed as a qualified asset in the first phase.

According to the rules, the average net exposure of the relevant funds for each accounting year must reach at least 80% of the net asset value, custodians must be licensed by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission, and fund shares can only be traded on the Thailand Stock Exchange, with securities companies prohibited from providing guaranteed financing.

Thai mutual funds and private funds will be allowed to invest in locally listed cryptocurrency ETFs, but initially prohibited from issuing and providing depositary receipts related to overseas cryptocurrency ETFs.

Analysis: Fed Rate Hikes in October or November Before Midterm Elections Are Rare, Market Focuses on Waller's Speech

According to ChainCatcher, the U.S. September CPI rose 3.7% year-on-year and 0.6% month-on-month, while core CPI rose 2.6% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month, all exceeding market expectations. Following the data release, the market's bets on a 25 basis point rate hike by the Federal Reserve in October rose to about 40%, up from about 20% the previous day. The Federal Reserve had just raised rates by 25 basis points last month, marking its first rate hike of 2023.

The next interest rate decision will be announced on October 28, just six days before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. With inflation consistently above the Federal Reserve's 2% target and economic activity remaining resilient, further rate hikes are justified. Economists from institutions like Jefferies and Nationwide believe that data supports rate hikes in both October and December.

Some analysts also expect that the Federal Reserve may consider the timing of the elections and potential economic vulnerabilities, opting to delay until December. Historical data shows that the Federal Reserve rarely raises rates in October or November before midterm elections, and the market will focus on Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Waller's remarks before entering the pre-meeting quiet period.

South Korea Plans to Tighten Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Institutions, 130 Companies Have Security Flaws

According to ChainCatcher, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea stated that after investigating 16 companies (including cryptocurrency exchanges) involved in previous security incidents, it plans to implement stricter cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions. The agency reported that in an industry review covering 555 financial companies, 130 companies were found to have cybersecurity flaws, with approximately 100,000 pieces of customer information leaked, including names, contact information, and identification numbers.

Affected companies include Streami, the operator of Gopax, and the cryptocurrency trading platform Prabang, which previously disclosed that a hacker attack on October 2 led to the leakage of some customer personal information. The FSC stated that it is still investigating whether these incidents involved the use of AI or were related to the same group of attackers.

Under the proposed reforms, larger financial institutions will be required to undergo at least two vulnerability assessments per year. The regulatory agency also plans to improve information-sharing systems and consider using AI for security monitoring of small businesses. Additionally, the FSC is considering allowing additional cybersecurity checks outside the regular assessment schedule in the event of an emergency threat to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Coinbase Participates in London Joint Operation to Combat West African Scam Networks

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase announced its participation in Tech Against Scams and is collaborating with the UK's National Crime Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice Scam Center Strike Force, and international law enforcement partners to launch a joint crackdown week in London from October 6 to 9, sharing intelligence in real-time and coordinating actions against West African crime fraud networks.

Coinbase stated that the relevant fraud networks operate across platforms, seeking potential victims through social media, establishing trust via instant messaging, and using digital infrastructure and financial services to transfer illicit funds. As law enforcement and the industry intensify their crackdown on Southeast Asian fraud hubs, criminal networks are expanding into other regions, including West Africa.

This operation is hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency, bringing together technology, telecommunications, and financial companies to target the infrastructure, accounts, and payment systems that support fraud. Coinbase Vice President Leah Bressack stated: "The earlier crackdown on Southeast Asian fraud hubs this year demonstrated that coordinated actions between the industry and law enforcement are effective; as criminal networks attempt to rebuild in Africa, Coinbase's global intelligence team is tracking funds, freezing assets, and sharing intelligence in real-time."

The targeted tactics include fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scams, impersonating law enforcement officials, and using fake video calls to implement "arrests" to pressure transfers. Coinbase stated it will continue to collaborate with Tech Against Scams and law enforcement partners.

Bitwise: Promoting Approval of Crypto ETPs by Over 20 Wealth Management Platforms

ChainCatcher news, Bitwise analyst Ishmael Asad posted on the X platform stating that Bitwise is currently working with over 20 wealth management platforms, with a total asset management scale of approximately $24 trillion. Bitwise is also pushing for the approval of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) on these platforms so that their investment advisors can provide clients with cryptocurrency allocation channels.

Currently, among the institutions collaborating with Bitwise, 17 have approved crypto-themed stock ETPs, 11 have approved Bitcoin ETPs, 6 have approved Ethereum ETPs, 6 have approved top ten cryptocurrency portfolio ETPs, and 2 have approved Solana ETPs, with 1 approving a Bitcoin and gold combination and XRP ETP.

Asad stated that since the first batch of spot crypto ETFs was listed in January 2024, the cumulative net inflow into crypto ETPs has been approximately $77 billion.

Currently, there are over 50 spot crypto ETPs in the U.S. market, and the number continues to increase, covering BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, LINK, XRP, ZEC, HYPE, cryptocurrency portfolios, and more. Additionally, wealth management institutions' interest in cryptocurrency assets is also growing, with related demand extending from ETPs to crypto trading and custody, payments, and tokenization.

Tokenized U.S. Stock Issuer EQX to Open First 11 Markets on Hyperliquid

ChainCatcher news, tokenized U.S. stock issuer EQX Labs announced the launch of EQX, which will natively issue tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in the form of HIP-1 tokens on Hyperliquid's HyperCore. The first 11 markets will soon open for 24/7 trading on Hyperliquid's public order book, and tokens can be traded without permission.

The EQX token is issued by EQX SPC Ltd., an independent portfolio company in the British Virgin Islands, and is classified as limited recourse notes backed by stocks, with each code corresponding to an independent portfolio. Authorized participants can exchange between shares and tokens, and the issuer does not charge related fees. Supported assets are held on a 1:1 basis by custodians connected to DTC, currently including Alpaca, StoneX, and Clear Street.

Pending delivery shares will be displayed separately as in transit and should be settled on the next U.S. business day. The issuer is held by the Cayman purpose trust EQX STAR Trust, and EQX Labs does not hold this issuing entity. Holders can submit voting instructions via on-chain signatures, and dividends will be automatically reinvested in the same stock after withholding tax deductions, with stock splits reflected in the supported shares.

Once Hyperliquid's proposed HIP-1 expansion goes live, EQX plans to directly allocate dividends to holders' accounts. There are no issuer fees for creation, redemption, and holding, and trading is subject only to Hyperliquid's standard spot trading fees, supported by transaction fees shared by Hyperliquid with HIP-1 deployers.

Tokenized Fund Liquidity Platform Fission Announces Completion of $10 Million Series A Financing, Led by Pantera Capital

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, tokenized fund liquidity platform Fission announced the completion of a $10 million Series A financing, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures, Borderless Capital, and Ari Rubenstein.

This round of financing was completed in September, and the company did not disclose its valuation. Fission aims to address the issue of tokenized fund shares being difficult to liquidate quickly. The platform acts as a buyer, allowing investors to sell shares without waiting for the fund to process redemptions. Users connect their digital wallets and submit sale requests, with Fission handling the backend legal and transaction processes.

CEO Jonathan Shaffer stated that for products that typically take about 200 days to sell, investors can pay a fee to sell immediately and complete settlement in 90 seconds or less. Fission was founded in 2024, and the founding team includes former employees from Point72 and Securitize.

Current clients are primarily institutional investors and organizations holding on-chain assets, including hedge funds holding tokenized private credit or equity assets, crypto institutions managing treasury, and stablecoin issuers allocating reserves to interest-bearing tokenized investment products.

SEC Approves Exchange Listing of Binary Options Based on KPI

ChainCatcher news, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated on October 13 that the commission voted that day to approve a proposed rule change by a securities exchange, allowing the listing of binary options based on specific key performance indicators (KPIs) reported

ChainCatcher reports that Jakub Rusiecki, founder of Social Graph Ventures, announced on X that he has joined Colosseum as Principal. He stated that he first met Clay Robbins in January 2024, during the launch of Colosseum and the upcoming fundraising for its first fund.

Rusiecki mentioned that he has been following Clay Robbins, Matty Tay, and Nate Levine from the beginning and has continuously observed the team's efforts to transform the Solana hackathon into a company incubation pipeline. Over the past year, both parties have frequently favored the same early-stage projects and have aligned in their early investment judgments.

Rusiecki also noted that most crypto venture capital is currently flowing into later rounds, while the next batch of companies often starts as two-person teams and hackathon projects, typically earlier than the investment timing of traditional funds. Colosseum attracts developers through hackathons, supports founders from the idea stage through accelerators, and continues to support breakthrough projects and other companies within the accelerator with its fund. He will review hackathon submissions and plans to attend the London Breakpoint.

Bill Gates: AI is Humanity's Most Dangerous Invention, Cybersecurity May Face Numerous Negative Events in the Coming Year

ChainCatcher reports that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stated in a television interview on the 11th that AI is the most dangerous technology ever invented by humanity, with risks exceeding those of cars, airplanes, and pharmaceuticals. He claimed that the real threat is not AI going out of control, which is still years away from becoming a reality, but rather criminals using AI for extortion, stock market manipulation, and other crimes.

Gates indicated that as criminals crack and bypass the latest AI model security protections, there will be numerous negative events primarily in the cybersecurity field in the coming year. He also mentioned concerns about biosecurity, stating that AI has significant implications for fields like healthcare, but the potential risks still outweigh those in traditional industries that are already strictly regulated. Currently, there is no effective regulatory framework globally, and industry governance will have to move beyond relying solely on self-regulation in the coming year, while existing resource investments are far from sufficient.

According to reports cited by Financial Associated Press, Ken McCallum, director of the UK’s MI5, stated in the annual threat assessment that AI is exacerbating the cyber offense-defense game and may change the risk landscape of biological weapons. MI5 has announced the establishment of an AI threat assessment center.

Additionally, reports indicate that executives from labs like OpenAI and Anthropic have recently privately simulated disaster response plans, believing that a likely scenario is a cyberattack impacting financial services, internet connectivity, or water and electricity supply.

Opinion: The Bitcoin Supercycle Has Begun

ChainCatcher reports that according to Bitcoin Magazine, James Thorne, chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, stated in a conversation with Grace Remington and Sean Hagan that Bitcoin is entering a "generational supercycle," and that "the next round of Bitcoin will go down in history."

He combined his research experience on commodity supercycles, believing that changes in the current market structure make this round of market conditions different from previous ones, and judged that Bitcoin's traditional four-year cycle has ended.

Thorne also discussed the Federal Reserve's policy path and the phenomenon of hedge funds changing roles in the bond market, exploring whether artificial intelligence could bring about a market environment similar to the Greenspan moment.

He believes Bitcoin solves the settlement problem and analyzed the harvesting around strategy, quality collateral, and Bitcoin volatility. He further mentioned that tokenization will end the situation of innovation delays and discussed whether Bitcoin's market capitalization could surpass that of gold. James Thorne is currently the chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth.

JPMorgan Warns AI Stocks May Not Replicate July Rebound, Leverage Risks Rising

ChainCatcher reports that JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou pointed out that the October AI stock sell-off may be difficult to replicate the rapid rebound seen in July. Compared to before, the current market's willingness to buy on dips has weakened, short positions are insufficient to provide potential buyback support, corporate buyback funds are also decreasing, and leverage exposure in ETFs is being re-accumulated, which may further amplify market volatility.

JPMorgan believes that based on investor positions and fund flows, AI infrastructure stocks do not yet appear to be in an oversold state. This round of sell-off has spread from South Korean memory chip stocks to the U.S. semiconductor sector. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have both seen their stock prices drop nearly one-third in the past month, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen 10% over the past five trading days.

In addition, the combined $40 billion stock buyback plan announced by the two companies was completed ahead of schedule in mid-October, which may have caused the market to lose some buyback support. Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned that if the U.S. halts data center construction, the economy could fall into recession.

He stated that a significant portion of U.S. economic growth is related to capital expenditures in AI infrastructure. As market doubts about AI investment returns and corporate profitability deepen, price adjustments in the AI supply chain could also affect data center construction, energy infrastructure, and related employment sectors.

U.S. September PPI Data to Be Released Tonight at 20:30, Will Affect Federal Reserve Rate Hike Expectations

ChainCatcher reports that at 20:30 Beijing time tonight, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the September PPI (Producer Price Index). The current market expects an overall PPI month-on-month increase of +0.5% and a core PPI month-on-month increase of +0.3%. If the data exceeds expectations, it will boost market pricing for continued rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, suppressing U.S. stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other risk assets; if it falls below expectations, it will cool tightening expectations, benefiting the performance of risk assets. Previous CPI data has already shown inflation resilience, and this PPI will further verify the persistence of inflation.

U.S. OCC Releases De-Banking Report, Crypto Activities Listed Among Banking Restrictions

ChainCatcher reports that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a de-banking report on Wednesday, indicating that some banks have established "public and non-public policies" restricting services to several industries, including oil and gas, tobacco, firearms, and digital assets. The report was issued based on an executive order signed by President Trump in August 2025, aimed at preventing what it calls "illegal de-banking" practices.

The OCC stated that many institutions have also imposed restrictions on digital asset businesses, involving issuers, exchanges, or management entities, often citing financial crime considerations as the reason. However, this 47-page report did not provide specific de-banking cases related to digital asset activities.

The OCC stated that based on a review of nine large banks, it "cannot fully quantify the overall scale of de-banking or alleged de-banking behaviors." The agency's head, Jonathan Gould, mainly discussed claims of de-banking related to coal and firearms. Gould stated that these decisions were not based on financial risks; banks cited concerns over negative news, public protests, and the potential reputational consequences of supporting related industries.

In November 2024, more than 30 executives from the technology and crypto industries claimed they were denied banking services, informally referring to it as "Operation Chokepoint 2." Trump's executive order in 2025 came after industry-related calls, following accusations that the Biden administration might influence financial institutions to cut off certain services to crypto companies.

Nasdaq-Listed Solana Reserve Company DeFi Development Raises CHAD Dividend Rate to 14%

ChainCatcher reports that according to The Block, Nasdaq-listed Solana reserve company DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) announced that it will raise the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. Based on a par value of $10 per CHAD share, the annual dividend will increase from $1.30 to $1.40 per share, paid once every business day upon announcement by the company's board.

The company stated that future funds raised from CHAD issuance will be used to expand its Solana reserves, which generate income through staking and validating nodes. CEO Joseph Onorati stated that raising the dividend rate to 14% will help expand investor participation and grow the scale of CHAD.

He noted that CHAD's appeal lies in providing double-digit dividend income through Nasdaq-listed preferred securities, with daily payouts, while the issuer holds income-generating SOL reserves. The company aims to establish CHAD as a leading digital credit tool, enhancing the ability to accumulate SOL, adding value for common stock shareholders while maintaining prudent capital management.

DeFi Development recently increased its holdings by approximately 22,070 SOL and equivalent assets, raising its total holdings to about 2.59 million SOL; the company stated that CHAD reached a new trading price high that week and recently approved a buyback plan to repurchase up to all issued CHAD shares.

New York City Comptroller Calls for Anthropic to Delay IPO

ChainCatcher reports that according to Bloomberg, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine sent a letter on Wednesday to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, urging the company to delay its IPO until it adequately addresses risks related to AI safety, governance, and development speed, prioritizing the risks posed by the technology. Levine oversees public pensions with assets exceeding $325 billion.

He believes that the ethical safety agreements reached between the Trump administration and AI companies, including Anthropic, are still insufficient. He urged Anthropic to establish corresponding governance mechanisms, specifically disclosing how it will implement appropriate auditing and control measures, the scope of those measures, and the expected timeline, as well as explaining whether and how these measures can respond to Amodei's previous call to slow the development speed of AI model capabilities.

Anthropic plans to go public as early as next month, with fundraising potentially reaching or exceeding SpaceX's previous record IPO. The company met with some investors at its headquarters on Wednesday and disclosed that its revenue for the third quarter of this year was $16.8 billion. Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Inflationary Pressures Continue to Rise, U.S. September PPI Data Surges

ChainCatcher reports that due to rising energy costs, the U.S. September Producer Price Index exceeded expectations across the board, indicating that the impact of rising energy prices is being transmitted to various sectors of the U.S. economy. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed that the September Producer Price Index rose 1.3% month-on-month and 6.3% year-on-year.

Excluding food and energy, the core PPI rose by 0.7% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year. The report shows that while fuel prices are rising, underlying inflation pressures in the United States remain stubborn. With only a few weeks left until the midterm elections in November, the burden of living costs has become a core issue in the election.

This data may also prompt Federal Reserve officials to continue raising interest rates in the coming months, especially as another report released on Wednesday showed that a key consumer price index in the U.S. rose more than expected in September. The report also indicated that price pressures are expected to remain high in the coming months. The indicator measuring input price expectations for the next six months has risen to its highest level since 2022.

Data: $1.18 billion in losses from crypto hacks in Q3 2026, 77% related to developer tools being compromised

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Cointelegraph, security company Hacken disclosed that there were a total of 107 crypto hacks in the third quarter of 2026, resulting in total losses of $1.18 billion. Approximately $906 million (about 77%) of this was related to compromised vendor and developer tools, disclosed but undeployed fixes, and infrastructure outside of audit scope.

The losses were mainly concentrated in four incidents: Bitget lost $387 million, Liquid Network lost $320 million, Tectonic lost $120 million, and Coldcard firmware vulnerabilities resulted in losses of about $115 million, collectively accounting for about 80%. The remaining 98 incidents each had losses below $10 million, with a median of $670,000.

Smart contract attacks were the most common, totaling 71 incidents with losses of $228 million. This quarter marked the worst losses since Q1 2025. In terms of recovery, about $387 million was returned or reversed, accounting for approximately 33% of gross losses; operators also bore $410 million in user losses, with about $384 million still unrecovered.

Citigroup: Institutional-level tokenization is shifting from pilot to production infrastructure

According to ChainCatcher, Citigroup stated in its official insights report "Digital Frontier: Collateral in a Tokenized World" that as financial markets accelerate towards continuous, round-the-clock operations, collateral management is undergoing a structural evolution. Institutional-level tokenization is moving beyond isolated proof of concepts to establish scalable operational tracks on global banking, custody, and market infrastructure, making collateral a continuous liquidity and optimization engine.

Citigroup noted that combining tokenized assets with regulated on-chain settlement currencies can achieve instant atomic currency exchanges, eliminating multi-day gap risks, and expanding the range of eligible collateral to include tokenized money market funds and other instruments.

Global asset managers and asset owners will unify traditional and digital collateral into a single, continuously optimized inventory over years of hybrid operating models, covering counterparties, custodians, and settlement venues.

Perpetual contract platform StandX announces gradual shutdown and a one-time DUSD airdrop for the community

According to ChainCatcher, the perpetual contract platform StandX announced a one-time DUSD airdrop to the community, where users can claim the full amount without lock-up. Distribution criteria include pre-deposits, Alpha, mainnet transactions, market making, and referrals, with all amounts subject to anti-sybil and volume screening; amounts for abnormal accounts may be adjusted or canceled. StandX also stated that it has decided not to issue tokens, with the airdrop funds coming from the project's remaining revenue and additional contributions from the team.

StandX stated that since the mainnet went live in November 2025, it has served over 237,000 users, with a peak TVL exceeding $200 million, and no security incidents during its operation. Airdrop inquiries will open on October 26 at 00:00 (UTC), with the claiming period from November 1 at 00:00 to December 31 at 08:00 (UTC); unclaimed amounts after the deadline will be considered forfeited.

Users must use the BNB Chain or Solana wallet address used on StandX to claim. StandX also announced that it will gradually cease operations after assessing business and market conditions.

Starting October 15, all types of earnings will stop, and new deposits to the treasury will be closed. From October 20, perpetual contracts will enter a mode of only reducing positions. On January 15, 2027, all remaining positions will be liquidated at the marked price, and January 31, 2027, will be the deadline for DUSD redemption and asset withdrawals. The official reminder is to claim the airdrop only through standx.com.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN market data, as of October 16 at 08:00,

The top five popular tokens on Solana in the past 24 hours are: 1. DOPE, Dacity, FTR, Nihilism

The top five popular tokens on ETH in the past 24 hours are: ZC, GROKLET, cirBTC, DOPE, SPCXon

The top five popular tokens on Base in the past 24 hours are: bit, Basecat, boar, Surplus, SPIKE

What are the noteworthy articles to read in the past 24 hours?

Inflation exceeds expectations, Bitcoin retraces to the $80,000 mark, is interest rate hike far off?

In terms of incremental funds, Standard Chartered's global digital asset research head Geoffrey Kendrick pointed out that the stablecoin supply has been hovering between $300 billion and $320 billion over the past 12 months, currently around $309 billion. The bank has pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030.

Regarding the upcoming trends, Glassnode provided two observation signals. If Bitcoin's daily close recovers $88,000, accompanied by ETF fund inflows, it indicates that demand is digesting the selling pressure above. If it falls below the $80,000 buy zone and ETF cost line, the real market average price of about $78,000 will come into view.

Bitwise CIO: Choose your own adventure, all paths lead to Bitcoin

This does not constitute investment advice; risk of loss: Before making any investment decisions, each investor must conduct their own independent review and investigation, including the pros and cons and risks involved in the investment, and must make investment decisions based on that review and investigation, including assessing whether the investment is suitable for that investor. Crypto assets are digital representations of value that can serve as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, but do not have legal tender status.

Crypto assets can sometimes be exchanged for dollars or other currencies globally, but are currently not supported or endorsed by any government or central bank. Their value is entirely determined by market supply and demand forces, making them more volatile than traditional currencies, stocks, or bonds. Trading in crypto assets carries significant risks, including severe market price fluctuations or flash crashes, market manipulation, cybersecurity risks, and the risk of losing principal or all investments. Furthermore, the regulatory controls or customer protection measures for crypto asset markets and exchanges differ from those for stocks…

Anthropic's revenue surged 46% but infrastructure anxiety remains: The brutal game between AI bubble and macro high interest rates

Anthropic's reported $16.8 billion mirrors the 1.88% drop in Nasdaq. On one side is the astonishing commercialization expansion of cutting-edge large model companies, with revenue jumping from $4.7 billion to $16.8 billion in six months, achieving underlying profitability and cash flow crossing the breakeven point. This proves that the willingness of enterprises to pay for advanced intelligent tools is real, and the direction of technological advancement has not changed.

On the other side is the rational restructuring of capital markets, with $518 billion in irrevocable purchase guarantees soaring to nearly 881 basis points in debt default insurance, approaching 15% borrowing costs for computing power intermediaries, repeatedly postponed listings of data center assets, and pushing benchmark government bond yields to 5.2%.

Revenue proves that demand is indeed exploding. However, the capital system is voting with its feet, reflecting the real cost required to support this future.

Crypto capital splurges £10 million: Is UK politics becoming "Americanized"?

He may need to run again for the parliamentary seat in the Clacton constituency. Reports indicate that the parliamentary commissioner's investigation report will be released soon, and if the conclusion is unfavorable to him, a recall petition will be initiated. Farage would have to run for the same seat for the third time. If he wins, a daunting task lies ahead: convincing voters across the UK that he and the Reform Party are ready to govern.

"There is no doubt that these scandals have damaged his image," said podcast host and former Prime Minister Blair's press secretary Alastair Campbell. "But he hopes to be like Trump: everyone has already accepted that such things exist. People will think, 'Yes, Nigel is that kind of person, but to be honest, all politicians are not clean.'"

Goldman Sachs interpretation: Interest rate cuts are expected in the second half of 2027, how long will high rates last?

Secondly, long-term interest rates need to fall from current levels. This is an important assumption in Goldman Sachs' estimates of moderate growth drag. If long-term interest rates remain high, even if policy rates are no longer continuously raised, financing costs may still continue to suppress demand.

From an asset pricing perspective, this requires investors to separately assess the policy shift and improvement in the financing environment. Stopping interest rate hikes can alleviate concerns about further tightening, but whether growth pressures can ease still depends on whether actual borrowing costs decline. The variables to observe going forward are therefore clearer: whether core inflation continues to slow, whether long-term interest rates fall, and whether housing, investment, and employment begin to show more significant pressures.

Goldman Sachs' projected 0.2 percentage point growth drag is a result of the scenario where interest rates subsequently decline. If inflation stickiness forces financing costs to remain high for a longer time, the cost that the U.S. economy needs to pay may be significantly higher than this baseline.

“Japan's barrier is not culture, but local investment” Huobi co-founder Du Jun talks regulation, stablecoins, and Asian layout

The core issue is whether you truly have the willingness to invest in this land. Investment is not just about money, but genuinely integrating with the local market: Do you have local shareholder relationships? Are local financial compliance policies and market strategies developed locally?

Or are you just directly transplanting the strategies from your group's globalization and mature markets? Have you truly invested 100%, or even 200% of your energy, time, cost, and attention into managing? If you have done so, I believe there is no particularly difficult market to conquer in the world.

Japan has a very mature capital market. Compared to English-speaking countries or more inclusive nations, it can indeed be more challenging, but that is not the core issue. The core issue lies within yourself. Whether it is policies and regulations or users, do you really have a thorough understanding of the local market? And what value have you actually created? If you just want to "give it a try," the chances of success are low.

CPI Ignites Sell-off, AI Market Begins to Face Financing Cost Tests

The energy market adds uncertainty to this situation. In addition to crude oil prices, the author focuses on diesel processing profits and tanker freight rates. If the pressure on transportation and refined oil continues and further transmits to end prices, it may become even more difficult for inflation to decline.

For AI companies that rely on financing for expansion, this means that interest rate pressures may not be alleviated quickly. Innes also discussed the possibility of government support for strategic technology companies in the future, but this is a scenario analysis and cannot be assumed that AI companies have already secured financing.

At present, investors still need to make judgments based on the financial capabilities of the companies themselves. The core question raised by this round of adjustments is: under higher capital costs, which companies can convert AI demand into sufficient cash flow to support expansion and fulfill debt commitments?

Report: Anthropic Q3 Revenue Reaches $16.8 Billion, Soaring 46% Quarter-on-Quarter, Adjusted Profit and Positive Cash Flow Achieved

In recent months, multiple incidents of AI models being hacked and exhibiting abnormal behavior have been exposed, coupled with ongoing warnings about the risks of AI technology in the industry, making investors more cautious when valuing companies. Intensifying competition and macro headwinds create dual pressures.

Market doubts about Anthropic extend beyond technical risks. Wall Street also needs to clarify a more fundamental business question: Can Anthropic maintain its current rapid growth pace in the face of ongoing pressure from competitors like OpenAI and Meta?

Meanwhile, rising interest rates and a tightening macroeconomic environment may constrain the company's infrastructure and computing power investment plans exceeding $500 billion over the next decade. On Wednesday, U.S. chip stocks experienced a significant decline due to dual impacts from inflation concerns and skepticism about the scale of debt financing for the AI boom, reflecting the fragility of market sentiment.

Real Vision Founder: Why Most Public Chains Struggle to Survive?

The growth in wallet numbers, the increase in on-chain transaction value, and developers entering the market first, with all these indicators still maintained during market pullbacks—this is what qualifies as a resilient asset. Only if this condition is met is it worth in-depth study; if not, what you hold is merely a commoditized token.

The S-curve growth of such assets may experience a 90% price pullback midway. However, a few surviving projects will achieve exponential growth over the long term, continuously setting new highs. After thousands of projects undergo a life-and-death selection, network effects take effect, and the entire ecosystem takes off.

Projects in the long-tail track will increase, with a large number of tokens issued in every cycle. Many people fantasize about finding a hundredfold coin among a vast number of long-tail projects, neglecting the mainline opportunities right in front of them. Focus on adoption rather than token price. The vast majority of projects will ultimately perish. The few that survive are the core of the entire game.

Inflation Rekindles Rate Hike Expectations, Asian Stock Markets Plunge, Nikkei Falls 4%, Korean Stocks Drop Over 7%, SK Hynix Plummets 10%

Skyler Weinand of Regan Capital stated: Inflation is stubborn and moving in the opposite direction, which could not be clearer. We expect the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes in October but anticipate a resumption of the rate hike cycle in December.

The 10-year yield fell 2 basis points overnight in New York to 5.19%, further declining 5 basis points during Thursday's Asian session to 5.137%. The dollar weakened, and gold prices fell for four consecutive days. In terms of exchange rates, the dollar showed weakness during Thursday's Asia-Pacific session, giving back some of the overnight gains, with the dollar index down 0.3%, the euro rising to 1.1195, and the yen slightly strengthening to 157.94 against the dollar.

In the commodities market, spot gold prices quickly rebounded 0.87% to around $4141 per ounce, but had previously fallen for four consecutive days, touching around $4100 overnight. WTI crude oil was reported at $94.70 per barrel…

Core Inflation Has Not Cooled as Expected, Does the Federal Reserve Still Have Reasons Not to Raise Rates?

It is also necessary to distinguish indicators here: The Federal Reserve measures its 2% inflation target using the PCE price index, and core CPI is an important reference that cannot be mechanically converted into the number of rate hikes based on its deviation from 2%.

For the meeting on October 27-28, the next observations need to focus on producer prices, inflation expectations, employment, and financial conditions. Among these, whether housing and non-housing services can slow down again will affect the Federal Reserve's judgment on the persistence of price pressures.

The September CPI has not made an October rate hike a certainty but has raised the evidence threshold required for pausing rate hikes. In the absence of expected cooling in core inflation, if the Federal Reserve chooses to continue waiting, it will need to find more convincing reasons from other data.

Rethinking Neobanks

At the start, rent what can be rented first; after scaling up, reclaim the parts that determine profits, data, and survival. When entering a new market, a new selection must be made. Agents have turned authorization into a new battleground: whoever holds the user's intent, payment credentials, and account relationships may become the new entry point between people and the financial system.

Rethinking neobanks, in the end, may even render the term obsolete. Ten years ago, it referred to a type of company: banks without branches, relying solely on apps. Today, creator platforms, social companies, payment companies, and even AI that spends money for people are doing what neobanks do. When every product with users can grow into a bank, neobanks are no longer an industry but a capability.

Everyone is a neobank, but ultimately, neobanks may disappear within products.

Podcast Notes | Conversation with Sun Yuchen: Extreme Loneliness is Also a Form of Freedom

Host: People think many of the things you do are brave actions, or they think you are doing marketing?

Guest: But in the end, for me, I just want these experiences, and these experiences are very important to me. As I become more famous, people start to assign a lot of meaning to what I do. But for me, this is my life, this is my experience, we decided to go directly after that, it's that simple.

Host: Aren't you excited? Guest: I am excited. I just think about everything I do, while also considering that I go to training school at night. If you say you go to training school at night, it must be a promotional move, why? It's quite interesting, right? So I think it's the same. Host: I really enjoyed this discussion, it was very touching and very engaging.

Solana Comes to Shanghai, What Business Does It Want to Do?

Returning to the initial question, what business does Solana want to do in Shanghai? In my view, it hopes that Chinese developers and entrepreneurial teams will build more products on its network and then bring these products to the global market. For a public chain, the ability to continuously attract teams to develop and retain users is essential for long-term competitiveness.

For Chinese entrepreneurs, there are opportunities worth participating in here. Using global technological tools to solve real customer problems, entering different markets, and implementing compliance requirements from various regions into products and operations are two separate matters that need to be understood distinctly.

What I would prefer to see is that after this excitement, some Chinese teams leverage new connections to truly sell products overseas and gain paying customers. For Solana and these entrepreneurs, this is what is truly worth taking seriously…

a16z: From Timely Billing to Result-Based Revenue Sharing, a Relay Race Worth Hundreds of Billions

It is still too early to judge which method will prevail, but we are confident that long-term operating agents will win in large-scale relay races and expand the AI addressable market from a part of labor budgets to a part of revenues.

The plaintiff's case preparation is just one example; we expect agents to drive results in other high-value journeys, such as mortgage issuance, insurance claims processing, complex enterprise sales, and countless other scenarios. If you are capturing this opportunity, we would love to hear from you!

Inflation Surpasses Expectations, U.S. September PPI Rises 6.3% Year-on-Year, Hitting a Four-Year High, Core Increase Expands to 5%

This structural pressure poses potential risks to corporate profit prospects, especially in energy-intensive and transportation-related industries. The expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes are further solidified. This PPI data, along with the previous day's CPI data, constitutes a dual pressure on the Federal Reserve's dovish stance.

According to Bloomberg, the report indicates that ahead of the midterm elections—where the cost of living has become a core political issue—inflation pressures remain stubborn, and the path for Federal Reserve officials to continue raising rates in the coming months is basically set.

Another piece of data released on the same day showed that the New York Fed's October manufacturing index surged 17.9 points to 25.5, exceeding the expectations of all economists surveyed by Bloomberg, marking the strongest growth in nearly five years, with significant expansions in new orders and shipments, indicating that real economic activity remains resilient, which provides additional support for the Federal Reserve to maintain a tightening stance.

Asian Tech Stocks Crash is Evolving into Full-Blown Panic

Crowded positions and a shaky AI narrative highlight the value of downside hedging. This round of systematic sell-off in Asian tech stocks reflects a deep reassessment of the AI investment theme by the market.

In the past year and more of the AI market, a large amount of capital has flowed into semiconductor and related tech stocks, creating highly crowded long positions. Once the narrative shows cracks, the speed of deleveraging often exceeds expectations—the sharp drop in KOSPI is a concentrated manifestation of this mechanism.

The Market Ear points out that although the long-term logic of AI-related assets in Taiwan may still hold, the tactical appeal of downside hedging is significantly rising in the current environment of extremely crowded positions and heightened market expectations. For investors, the most critical question now is no longer "Is AI long-term viable?" but rather "Who will be the next target for sell-off in the short term?"

Bernstein: The AI Data Center Gap and the Valuation Dispute of Celestica

Cisco and Corning face different concerns. Bernstein believes that Cisco's market expectations are low, and a slight beat could improve stock performance, but when breaking down the business, the valuation advantage is not as apparent as the surface numbers suggest. Corning's AI fiber business has growth opportunities, but the weakness in mobile and automotive sectors may still drag down overall performance, and expansion by other fiber manufacturers will also bring competition. Institutions maintain a "Market Perform" rating for both companies.

Disclaimer. This article is a compilation and interpretation of third-party brokerage research reports (Bernstein, October 14, 2026) by Chao Xiang Research, combined with publicly available market information. The ratings, target prices, earnings forecasts, and related judgments quoted in this article are the opinions of the brokerage analysts and only represent the positions of their respective institutions, not the views of Chao Xiang Research, and do not constitute any investment advice.

The market has risks, and decisions must be made independently. This article should not be considered as a buy or sell recommendation for any securities…

Breaking: Anthropic Co-Founder Changes Tune: RSI Moved Up to 2027, Humanity Only Has 6 Months Left

This is the root of the huge controversy surrounding 2027. We are creating an intelligence that may be better at creating intelligence than humans. Once this loop truly closes, humanity may lose its dominance over the pace of technological advancement for the first time. 2027 may not necessarily be the year the singularity arrives. But we may have already entered the most critical countdown before the singularity.

The eve of a new era. Jack Clark's statement, Musk's agreement. This is an alarm. In 2027, time is running out, and the RSI countdown begins.

We, this generation, are fortunate. We will witness the handover between carbon-based intelligence and silicon-based intelligence. We will see the most magnificent technological singularity in human history. We are also in danger. In the face of an unstoppable technological tide, the old rules will be ruthlessly crushed. Ahead lies an uncharted territory that humanity has never stepped into.