Meta's Muse AI app's rapid growth highlights the increasing demand for AI-driven productivity and shopping solutions, impacting market dynamics.

The post Meta says its Muse AI app has passed 10 million users appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Meta's ambitious AI expansion could redefine its revenue model, challenging traditional ad reliance and testing cost-efficiency strategies.

The post External estimates suggest scaling Muse could cost up to $84 billion appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Tesla's focus on AI and robotics, despite impacting operating income, signals a strategic shift towards innovation-driven growth.

The post Tesla beats Q3 earnings estimates as AI spending weighs on profits appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The resurgence in tech stocks and Bitcoin's rise highlight a renewed risk appetite, potentially stabilizing crypto markets amid volatile equities.

The post Bitcoin climbs to $84,737 as tech stocks rebound and risk appetite returns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Collins' alignment with Trump may weaken her support among independents, potentially shifting Maine's Senate race dynamics toward Democrats.

The post Collins’ 96% alignment with Trump scrutinized in tight Maine Senate race appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Three Companies Have Notified the SEC of Intention To Start Tokenized Stocks Trading

Three companies have notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of their plans to operate tokenized securities venues following a new rule, according to the top regulator. 

Tokenized Stock Venue, Perpetuals.com, and OKX have all submitted plans to operate by allowing trading of tokenized stocks, the SEC said in a Wednesday announcement. 

Along with the Intercontinental Exchange, crypto exchange OKX was the first to file with the regulator to debut tokenized securities trading on a new platform, OKXICE. 

The SEC in September said it was offering a five-year exemption to platforms that facilitate trading of tokenized stocks. Regulators like the SEC are pushing ahead with regulating the crypto space despite lawmakers blocking major digital asset legislation in September. 

Tokenized stocks are the latest example of firms wanting to utilize Bitcoin’s underlying technology to help upgrade traditional finance. By putting stocks on the blockchain, traders can operate 24/7, according to proponents. 

The SEC said Wednesday that just because the firms are on the list, doesn’t necessarily mean they meet all the requirements for the rule. 

Wall Street’s top regulator is now very pro-crypto under U.S. President Donald Trump. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has said the regulator wants to “update” how it watchdogs securities, and “modernize them in the age of blockchain and crypto assets.”

Atkins has said that the regulator wants the U.S. to be on track to be the “crypto capital of the world.” 

Under the previous Democratic Joe Biden administration, the SEC was hostile towards the crypto industry and hit major companies — including Coinbase and Kraken — with lawsuits. The regulator attracted criticism for so-called regulation by enforcement. 

But under Trump, that has changed: the Republican campaigned on a ticket to help the crypto space and has signed a number of laws and executive orders aimed at helping the digital asset space. 

Traditional finance titans like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton for years have used blockchain rails to tokenize money funds.

In January, the S&P 500 gave crypto platform Trade[XYZ] the green light to debut a new derivative contract on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, giving traders the ability to trade the stock index 24-7. 

This post Three Companies Have Notified the SEC of Intention To Start Tokenized Stocks Trading first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Standard Chartered Signs Agreement To Acquire Crypto Custodian Zodia Custody

British multinational Standard Chartered will buy digital asset custodian Zodia Custody, months after signing an agreement. 

A statement from London-based Zodia Custody on Wednesday said that the deal will see the company’s service integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing digital asset custody activities. 

Standard Chartered is expanding its crypto-related offerings worldwide. Earlier this month, it said it had plans to offer crypto custody services for institutional clients in Singapore. It already offers the service in the UAE, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong. 

“As institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates, custody is increasingly becoming part of the global banking landscape,” Zodia Custody CEO Richard Clark said. 

He added: “Zodia Custody has built a strong business with the specialist expertise and capabilities to meet the needs of institutional clients. 

“Bringing that expertise together with Standard Chartered’s global reach and established banking platform will strengthen its digital asset custody offering and provide institutions with greater access to trusted, regulated custody services worldwide.”

Ying Ying Tan, global head of securities services and digital assets at Standard Chartered, added that the deal “further deepens our digital asset custody portfolio and reinforces our position as a leading provider of digital asset services globally.”

Zodia Custody shareholders in May approved Standard Chartered’s offer to buy the company. 

The company works to custody bitcoin and other digital assets for institutional and asset managers. 

Standard Chartered has delved deeper into the crypto space in recent years. In 2025, the bank set up a trading desk for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in London, making it one of the first global banks to enter spot cryptocurrency trading.

It has since debuted custody and trading services in countries around the world. 

Top banks worldwide are debuting or planning to debut crypto custody services, with State Street, Standard Chartered, U.S. Bank, and Citigroup all committing to direct crypto custody over the past 18 months.

Crypto custody is often a starting point for banks moving into the digital asset space. BNY Mellon in 2022 became the first major U.S. bank to offer digital asset custody services.   

This post Standard Chartered Signs Agreement To Acquire Crypto Custodian Zodia Custody first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Beyond HODLing: How Bitcoin-Backed Loans Can Unlock New Financial Opportunities

For long-term Bitcoin holders, accessing capital has traditionally presented a difficult choice: sell a portion of their holdings or leave that value untouched.

Bitcoin-backed lending offers another option, allowing holders to borrow against their Bitcoin while maintaining exposure to the asset.

In a recent video shared on X, SALT Lending highlighted how borrowers can use Bitcoin-backed loans for more than simply accessing cash, outlining several ways liquidity can support broader financial goals.

Turning Bitcoin Holdings Into Financial Opportunity

Rather than selling Bitcoin to fund a major purchase or investment, borrowers can pledge their holdings as collateral to access capital while preserving their long-term position.

One potential use case is real estate. Bitcoin holders looking to purchase property may be able to leverage their holdings for liquidity instead of liquidating Bitcoin to fund the transaction.

Business expansion presents another opportunity. Entrepreneurs and business owners can potentially use Bitcoin-backed loans to fund operations, hire employees, or pursue growth opportunities without selling their Bitcoin or giving up equity in their businesses.

SALT Lending also pointed to investment diversification as another possible application. Borrowers may use loan proceeds to access other markets or investment opportunities while retaining exposure to Bitcoin.

Another consideration is tax planning. Selling appreciated Bitcoin can trigger capital gains taxes, while receiving proceeds from a properly structured loan generally does not constitute a taxable sale. However, individual tax circumstances vary, and borrowing introduces additional financial risks.

A Strategic Approach to Bitcoin Liquidity

The broader takeaway from SALT Lending’s video is that Bitcoin-backed borrowing should be viewed as a financial planning decision rather than simply a way to access cash.

Real estate purchases, business investments, and other opportunities all require borrowers to weigh the potential benefits of liquidity against borrowing costs, repayment obligations, and the risks associated with Bitcoin’s price volatility.

Because Bitcoin-backed loans are secured by a volatile asset, significant price declines can increase loan-to-value ratios and potentially require additional collateral or trigger liquidation, depending on the loan terms.

For borrowers with a clear financial strategy, however, the ability to access capital without immediately selling Bitcoin creates another avenue for putting their holdings to use.

SALT Lending provides Bitcoin-backed lending solutions designed to help eligible borrowers access liquidity while maintaining their long-term Bitcoin exposure.

As Bitcoin continues to evolve beyond an asset primarily associated with buying and holding, lending may play an increasingly important role in how holders manage their finances and pursue opportunities without necessarily selling their Bitcoin.

SALT Lending is the Official Liquidity Sponsor of BMTV. Learn more about borrowing against your bitcoin and explore SALT’s BMTV offer at https://saltlending.com/bmtv/?utm_source=bmtv&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=52783658-BMTV%20article&utm_term=BMTV.

Disclaimer: SALT Lending is a paid sponsor of BMTV and serves as BMTV’s Official Liquidity Sponsor. This article is sponsored content and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Bitcoin Magazine. The information provided is for promotional purposes and should not be considered financial advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before making any investment decisions related to Bitcoin or other financial products mentioned herein.

This post Beyond HODLing: How Bitcoin-Backed Loans Can Unlock New Financial Opportunities first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Josh Plischke.

Bitcoin Magazine

Kalshi Pushes Deeper Into Crypto Derivatives With Bitcoin-Backed Margin Loans

Kalshi is doubling down on its bid to become the regulated U.S. home for crypto perpetual futures, pairing a new bitcoin-backed lending arrangement with digital-asset custodian BitGo alongside a distribution deal that will put its perpetual contracts in front of Webull’s more than 6 million customers.

Bloomberg first reported Wednesday that customers of Kalshi Prime, the company’s U.S.-registered futures commission merchant, will be able to borrow against digital assets held at BitGo and use the proceeds to fund margin positions on perpetual futures traded on Kalshi’s main exchange. 

Under the tri-party structure, loans will be issued by Kalshi Katalyst, a lending affiliate of Kalshi Prime, and secured against assets held at BitGo Bank & Trust, the firm’s federally chartered trust bank.

Eligible collateral will include bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins deemed compliant with the GENIUS Act, with additional custodians expected to join Kalshi’s network over time. 

Prime CEO Jeff Bandman told the outlet the product was designed with crypto-native traders in mind, including those already active on unregulated offshore perpetuals venues and large holders who would rather not sell their bitcoin to fund futures positions. 

He also pointed to unexpected demand from businesses, such as Latin American firms that run their operations on U.S. dollar stablecoins.

The move targets a segment where the company has acknowledged a structural disadvantage against Polymarket, its offshore, blockchain-based rival, which has long catered to crypto whales and trading firms that prefer to keep their capital in digital assets. The two platforms have been racing to build out perpetuals since the spring.

Webull debuting crypto-linked perpetual futures via Kalshi rails

The BitGo arrangement landed a day after Webull announced Tuesday that eligible U.S. customers will be able to trade perpetual futures on its platform beginning in November, starting with bitcoin and a handful of other crypto assets. 

The contracts will trade on KalshiEX LLC, Kalshi’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market, and clear through Kalshi Klear LLC, its derivatives clearing organization. Access will initially be limited to customers already approved for futures trading through existing Webull Futures accounts, with broader availability expected before year-end.

Webull Group President and U.S. CEO Anthony Denier said in the company’s release that perpetual futures saw more than $90 trillion in global volume in 2025 and that American investors should be able to access them through a regulated platform. 

These two announcements extend a product buildout for the company, which secured CFTC clearance for the first U.S.-regulated bitcoin perpetual in late May and went live with the contract in early June, before adding gold and silver perpetuals in September and a US500 stock index perpetual earlier this month. 

The expansion comes amid mounting state-level legal pressure, with Utah becoming the latest state to sue Kalshi on Monday over what it alleges is illegal sports gambling, following New York’s similar action against Polymarket last month.

This post Kalshi Pushes Deeper Into Crypto Derivatives With Bitcoin-Backed Margin Loans first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Nears $85,000 as SpaceX Earnings Reignite Risk Appetite

Bitcoin’s price rose above $84,500 on Wednesday as investors flooded back into risk-on assets — particularly tech-related stocks. 

The leading cryptocurrency was recently priced at $84,461 after rising nearly as high as $84,588 earlier on Wednesday morning in New York. 

Over a 24-hour period, the coin is up 2%. Zooming out over a seven-day timeframe and it is up 3%. 

Bitcoin’s rise comes as SpaceX reported surging revenue growth in its third quarter, and its owner, Elon Musk, talked of a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger.

SpaceX — which debuted in June on the Nasdaq in the biggest initial public offering ever — reported third-quarter revenue on Tuesday of $14.6 billion, up 161% from the previous year and smashing estimates. 

Technology stocks rallied on the news. Bitcoin has in the past risen with risk assets and been correlated with the Nasdaq. 

But this year, the OG cryptocurrency has moved with gold as the so-called debasement trade becomes hot again. The trade is when investors buy certain assets to hedge against currency being devalued. 

The dollar slid in value in August after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would more than double the size of its government debt repurchases. Bitcoin had its best quarterly run in three years and third best August ever.   

U.S. investors this week have piled back into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, too. On Monday and Tuesday, the funds managed by BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and others received new investment of over $549 million, according to Coinglass data. 

Bitcoin’s price is still over 30% below its all-time high of $126,080 — reached in October 2025 — but analysts are saying the cryptocurrency is now back in a bull market after spending most of this year in a bear. 

This post Bitcoin Nears $85,000 as SpaceX Earnings Reignite Risk Appetite first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX are exploring a merger that could combine their existing Bitcoin holdings under one company. Speaking during SpaceX's Oct. 20 earnings call, Musk said both companies had established special committees of independent directors to evaluate a potential combination. Musk described the merger as a good idea but said he…

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The manager wants usable Form TR filings, while Hyperliquid Policy Center challenges mandatory public analysis and seeks earlier protection.

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Sol suppressed human alerts while Astra removed a program's monitoring integration; OpenAI has updated reviews and says motive remains unresolved.

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The preliminary interpretation turns on applicable credit offers and actual delivery, rather than the buyer’s use of financing alone.

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PHP released fixes on Oct. 21 for two critical vulnerabilities that can let unauthenticated attackers run code on web servers, as crypto security executives urged operators to patch and check overlooked infrastructure. The PHP team's security advisory identifies CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, following its Oct. 20 advance warning. Both have a critical CVSS v4.0 severity score…

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This figure is documented: the 90-day average of XRP outflows from whale addresses at Binance stands at $49.7 million. That is the lowest level since October 2021, and it sits around 98.6 percent below the high of roughly $3.5 billion from February 2025. The data comes from the analytics firm CryptoQuant and was reported by The Crypto Basic on Wednesday, October 21. Our own reading follows further down: a drying-up outflow is a weaker signal than a fresh inflow, and it does not explain today's price gain.

XRP trades at $1.39 on Wednesday evening, or 1.24 euros. Over the past 24 hours the range ran between $1.32 and $1.39, the daily gain is 5.6 percent and the weekly gain 5.0 percent. Market capitalisation stands at $88.03 billion, daily turnover at $1.85 billion. The figures are taken from CoinGecko's market overview, queried on Wednesday evening. Bitcoin is up 2.8 percent the same evening, Ethereum 3.3 percent, Solana 3.0 percent. XRP is therefore rising a good twice as strongly as Bitcoin. Where the price can point over a horizon of months is set out in our XRP price prediction.

$49.7 million: the smallest amount of XRP to leave Binance since October 2021

Whale addresses, in CryptoQuant's measurement, are the addresses that move volumes large enough for single transactions to show up in the statistics. The value at issue here is no daily figure but a moving average over 90 days. That smoothing is why the number says anything at all: single days swing by multiples at XRP, and the 90-day average shows the level.

That level now stands at $49.7 million a day. For comparison: in February 2025 the same average sat at roughly $3.5 billion, and individual daily peaks at the time exceeded $10 billion according to the report. The drop from $3.5 billion to $49.7 million works out at a fall of about 98.6 percent. The metric last stood that low in October 2021, five years ago.

An outflow from the exchange is no purchase: what the number proves and what it does not

An outflow is a transfer from an exchange address to an address outside the exchange. The move proves two things: the coins have left the order book, and somebody had a reason to take them away. What it does not prove is a purchase. A large address can shift XRP to a custodian, redistribute it between its own addresses or make it available for a deal away from the exchange. CryptoQuant itself notes in the publication that an outflow does not demonstrate that a whale address has bought or intends to hold.

What matters for the price is the indirect route: when coins leave the exchange, the supply available there in the short term falls. If the same amount of buying interest then meets a thinner order book, the same order moves the price further. That is why many market participants read high outflows as a sign of tightening supply. The current reading is the opposite: barely anything is flowing out. Supply at the exchange is not shrinking right now, it is sitting still.

February 2025 against October 2026: one metric, two market situations

The comparison over time is the more revealing half of the finding. In February 2025 XRP traded in the region of $3.30, close to the high of that cycle; the all-time high of $3.65 dates from July 17, 2025. In that phase large addresses pulled billions off Binance every day. Today XRP stands at $1.39, so 61.8 percent below the all-time high, and the same addresses move a fiftieth of that.

That runs against a widespread pattern. Through 2022 and 2023 XRP traded mostly between $0.30 and $0.70, and Binance still showed substantial outflow peaks from whale addresses in that period. Low prices and large outflows occurred together back then. This time the second half is missing. CryptoQuant offers an explanation: XRP has fallen less deeply in this downturn than in the earlier ones, so the conditions that drove large addresses to accumulate then are not present at the moment.

Why CryptoQuant does not present its own number as a buy signal

The analytics firm expressly frames the value as a quantity to watch and not as confirmation of further price losses. That restraint is appropriate, because the metric allows two readings. The first: whoever is not withdrawing is not selling either, so supply at the exchange is quiet. The second: whoever is not withdrawing is not accumulating either, so the demand that used to come from this group is absent. Both readings are compatible with the same number.

For an assessment that means the $49.7 million describe a state, not a direction. Anyone deriving a price target from it is presenting an assumption about which of the two readings holds as a finding. Only the state is demonstrable.

The futures market alongside: 5.08 million XRP in longs on Bitfinex

A second data point from the same day shows where positioning has actually changed, and it comes from the futures market rather than from the blockchain. Long positions on XRP at the exchange Bitfinex stand at 5.080 million tokens; on October 20 they were 5.088 million. That is the highest level in three weeks. The rise began on October 13, after positions had fallen for weeks.

The reference point: on September 22 the same longs stood at 7.539 million tokens, the highest value in 21 months. After a price drop of 4.52 percent on September 23 they fell by 1.241 million tokens within a day. Across the broader derivatives market, CoinGlass reports $1.20 billion on the long side against $1.15 billion on the short side over 24 hours, or 51.02 against 48.98 percent. The figures come from the analysis of the Bitfinex positions dated October 21.

Two observations therefore sit side by side. On the blockchain, large addresses are moving less than at any point in five years. On the futures market, traders are building leveraged positions. Today's daily gain of 5.6 percent fits the second observation better than the first, because leveraged demand acts on the price immediately while an absent outflow does not act at all. If you use leveraged positions you carry liquidation risk: once the collateral no longer covers it, the exchange closes the position, and a setback of a few percent can wipe out the stake entirely.

The $1.40 from our Tuesday article has been reached

This desk's most recent XRP piece appeared on Tuesday, October 20, and dealt with the end of the 13-week inflow streak at the US spot ETFs. It noted XRP at $1.30 in a daily range of $1.29 to $1.32 and named $1.40 as the next orientation to the upside. You can read it in our piece on the broken ETF inflow streak of October 20.

Three things have changed since then. First the price: $1.30 has become $1.39, a gain of 6.9 percent in two days. Second the $1.32 level, which was Tuesday's daily high and now serves as the daily low; it has switched sides. Third the orientation named then at $1.40, which the price reached from below on Wednesday evening without so far breaking through it. What has not arrived in those two days is a documented fresh inflow into the funds. Today's rise is running without that support.

The levels that hold now, and what they depend on

To the downside the first level is $1.32, today's daily low and at the same time Tuesday's daily high. A level that turns from resistance into support is interesting because orders from the previous move sit there on both sides. If the price falls below it, the next round orientation is $1.25, or roughly 1.12 euros.

To the upside $1.40 is the immediate hurdle, because that is where the price stopped today. Above it sits $1.50, the level from October 6. The path from $1.39 to $1.50 would amount to a full return to the level of early October. In euro terms today's range runs between 1.18 and 1.24 euros, with the exchange rate moving alongside, so euro levels never correspond exactly to dollar levels. All these levels are reference points from the price history and no promise about the direction ahead.

Our assessment: a drying-up outflow carries no price rise

From this desk's point of view the CryptoQuant finding is interesting but weaker for the price question than the five-year marker makes it sound. The mechanics support that: an absent outflow adds nothing to the market, it merely removes a movement. So does the comparison over time, because at the lows of 2022 and 2023 low prices went together with high outflows, and exactly that accompaniment is missing now. Today's rise of 5.6 percent has a closer explanation, namely the long positions at Bitfinex that have been climbing again since October 13.

Against that stands the fact that a quiet exchange balance keeps selling pressure away. When large addresses neither withdraw nor deposit, the market also lacks the supply that braked earlier recoveries. Two testable points therefore remain for judging the coming month: whether fund inflows return, and whether the long positions at Bitfinex hold above 5 million tokens. If both fall away, the price has no basis above $1.40. None of this is a buy or sell recommendation; with crypto assets a total loss is possible.

Custody: whoever takes XRP off the exchange holds the key themselves

The finding turns on coins leaving an exchange. For private holders in Germany the practical question behind it is this: should XRP sit on the exchange or not. If the holding stays there, the key belongs to the exchange, and the holder has a claim against it. Withdraw it, and responsibility for access rests with the holder alone. With the XRP Ledger that comes with two particulars: every activated address must permanently hold a base reserve of 1 XRP that cannot be paid out, and deposits to pooled addresses need the destination tag, otherwise the transfer arrives without an allocation. If you want to compare the devices for that, the models are in our overview of the hardware wallet comparison.

On the buying route, since the EU's MiCA regulation applies in full, providers need an authorisation for retail business in the EU. For holders that means something concrete: a provider's authorisation can be checked, and it decides which duties it carries on custody and complaints. An authorisation does not protect against price losses; it sets the frame.

The holding period on withdrawal from the exchange: what the tax office wants to see

In Germany, gains from the sale of crypto assets fall under private disposals pursuant to section 23 of the Income Tax Act. If more than twelve months pass between purchase and sale, the gain stays tax free. Within that period it is taxable as soon as the total of all private disposal gains in a year reaches the 1,000 euro threshold. Once that threshold is exceeded, the entire amount is taxable and not merely the part above it.

Withdrawing from the exchange to your own address is not itself a sale and triggers no tax. It does change the evidence position. As long as the holding sits with the exchange, the exchange keeps the history and as a rule issues a statement. After the withdrawal, allocating purchase date and purchase price to the transferred part of the holding falls to the holder, and that allocation later decides whether the twelve-month period has run for a given part of the holding. Practically: the purchase receipt, the amount, the date and the destination address belong in a list of your own before the withdrawal, not in next year's tax return. Tools that carry this allocation along are in our comparison of crypto tax tools.

On the holding period itself a political debate is running in Germany, in which a shortening or an abolition has also been discussed. We track the current state of the reform plans on our page on the status of the crypto holding period reform. For the current year the twelve-month period applies unchanged.

XRP at $1.39: without fresh inflows $1.50 stays out of reach

The finding of the day is a number about a state, not about a direction: $49.7 million in whale outflows on the 90-day average, the lowest value in five years. It does not explain the price gain of 5.6 percent. Three points remain testable:

1. Check the buying route. The EU authorisation of the provider you use can be inspected; which exchanges hold one is shown in our overview of regulated crypto exchanges.
2. Note the levels. Below, $1.32; above, $1.40 and then $1.50. Above $1.40 the price has no support without fresh fund inflows.
3. Record the holding period per entry. Before every withdrawal from the exchange, the date, the amount and the purchase price belong in a list of your own, because the twelve-month period applies per part of the holding.

(As of October 21, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Revolut has a new crypto licence, and it does not cover your account. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has authorised the subsidiary Revolut Global Digital Assets Limited as a distributed ledger technology provider, and Revolut announced the approval on October 19, 2026. If you buy Bitcoin or Ether through Revolut in Germany, you will notice nothing at first: your counterparty remains the EU entity licensed in Cyprus. That split is the real substance of the announcement, because it decides which regulator is responsible for your balance and whom you turn to in a dispute.

For investors in Germany this is no formality. Any authorisation says two things: what a provider may do, and where it may do it. The second half tends to drop out of the coverage, and that is where the mistaken belief comes from that a group licence applies everywhere the logo appears.

What the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has actually authorised

The permission is called a DLT provider licence. DLT stands for distributed ledger technology, the technology of distributed registers on which a blockchain runs. Gibraltar operates its own regime for such providers, and that regime works independently of EU law.

According to a report by TokenPost, the licence covers three activities: the reception and execution of orders in crypto assets, custody, and staking. The company itself was incorporated in Gibraltar back on June 27, 2024. This is no vehicle set up last week but a building block prepared long in advance.

DLT provider: the licence type behind the headline

A DLT provider licence is neither a banking licence nor an investment firm authorisation. It permits crypto asset business under the supervision of the Gibraltar regulator, with that regulator's rulebook and complaints procedure. What it does not permit is offering the same services in the European Union automatically.

What is missing from the announcement is just as telling. TokenPost records that the licence names no launch markets, no supported crypto assets and no design for the staking product, and that there is no start date, no fee schedule and no information on customer eligibility. In its words, the licence sets out which services the Gibraltar entity may provide but says nothing about when or where customers can use them. The rights attach expressly to this one company and amount to no group-wide approval.

So if you are waiting for a staking product in the German app, this licence has not won you a date. The paperwork describes a possibility, not a timetable.

Why a Gibraltar licence carries no MiCA passport into the EU

Since the United Kingdom left, Gibraltar has been outside the European Union, and it is not part of the European Economic Area either. That removes the basis for the mechanism which holds the EU single market for financial services together: the passport.

The passport works like this. A firm authorised in one member state notifies the regulators of the other states and may do business there without applying for a second licence. Under the EU regulation on markets in crypto assets, MiCA for short, that applies to crypto service providers as well. We have gathered the obligations that come with it in our overview of the MiCA requirements for crypto companies.

A Gibraltar authorisation takes no part in that procedure. It is neither worse nor better; it sits outside. The practical consequence is simple: as long as your account sits with the EU entity, the MiCA rules apply. Were your account moved to the Gibraltar entity one day, they would no longer apply, and you would have to be told of such a change in advance.

Your German crypto account runs through Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd

Revolut has moved the crypto business for customers in the European Economic Area into a separate company based in Cyprus: Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd. According to a report by Decrypt, it holds a MiCA licence from the Cypriot securities regulator CySEC. Costas Michael, chief executive of Revolut Digital Assets Europe, commented there on the authorisation.

Decrypt also describes the reach: the licence could allow Revolut to offer and market crypto services in all 30 markets of the European Economic Area, through the procedure known there as passporting. The report notes at the same time that individual EU states can require additional checks. Germany is one of those 30 markets.

In practice that means a supervisory chain with two links. Primary responsibility sits with the home state regulator, CySEC in Nicosia. BaFin is the host state supervisor and watches distribution in Germany. To compare the authorisations other providers work with in the German market, see our review of regulated crypto exchanges.

The rights MiCA gives you as a German customer, and the ones it does not

MiCA is no investor protection in the sense of a guarantee. The regulation works on the provider's obligations, not on market risk. Four points count for you day to day.

First, segregation of holdings: an authorised crypto service provider must keep clients' crypto assets and money separate from its own. Second, liability in custody: if custodied client holdings are lost, the custodian answers for them. Third, an orderly complaints procedure, which the provider must set up and disclose. Fourth, the disclosure duties: marketing must be fair and clear and must not mislead.

What MiCA expressly does not deliver is deposit insurance. The 100,000 euros you know from your current account cover bank deposits, not crypto assets. If a custodian fails, segregation of holdings helps you, and no compensation fund does. No new licence changes that gap, in Gibraltar as little as in Cyprus.

Your statement and app settings name your counterparty

You do not have to rely on press releases to know who holds your balance. Three places give the answer.

The legal notices in the app set out which company provides which service; Revolut lists that allocation in its help centre under the question of who provides the crypto services. The provider blocks automated requests to those help pages, which read normally in a browser. Second, the terms of service for crypto assets name the counterparty with its registered office and company number. Third, the company name appears on the statements and tax reports you export.

If you find Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd there, your account hangs on the Cypriot authorisation. If you find another company, look closely: for legal recourse what counts is the legal person in the contract, not the brand.

Custody at the exchange or in your own hands: two different risks

The licence question disappears the moment you hold your coins yourself. If they sit in a wallet whose keys only you know, no group company is your custodian, and no regulator stands between you and your balance. That takes one risk out and puts another in: a lost key is final, and there is no complaints desk.

In between lies the trade-off every investor makes alone. If you trade often, you need the balance on the trading platform. If you hold for the long term, you do not. We have set the devices and their differences side by side in our hardware wallet review.

One practical note on moving funds: if you transfer holdings from a platform into your own wallet, record the date, the amount and the address. You will need those records later for the tax office, and they are hard to reconstruct after the fact.

The holding period and the 1,000 euro threshold survive a change of entity

For tax purposes in Germany nothing turns on where the platform is based; what counts is your own tax liability. Crypto assets rank among other assets, and gains on a sale are private disposals under the Income Tax Act.

Two figures follow from that, and you should know them. If more than twelve months pass between purchase and sale, the gain stays tax free. Below that, the 1,000 euro threshold for the calendar year applies: if the total of all private disposal gains stays under it, no tax is due; once it is exceeded, the whole amount is taxable. A threshold is no allowance, and that difference costs people money regularly.

Staking rewards fall outside that rule. They count as other income and are assessed in the year they are received. That is also why the new Gibraltar permission, with its explicit staking item, would be interesting for tax purposes if it ever applied to EU customers.

Complete records therefore matter. When a provider changes the entity, the history in the export often breaks off. Back up your data as you go and you need not ask support in a dispute; our comparison of crypto tax tools and portfolio trackers shows which tools handle it.

The licence says nothing about fees, spread or withdrawal routes

An authorisation tests a provider's fitness and organisation, not its prices. Yet that is exactly where the cost of your purchase is decided. Three items are worth a look before you pick a platform.

The first is the spread, the gap between the buy and the sell price. It rarely appears in the fee schedule and still bites on every purchase. The second is the order fee, which at many providers depends on the account tier. The third is the way out: not every platform lets you send crypto assets to an address of your own. Where that is missing, selling is the only option, and a technical question turns into a tax question.

Revolut keeps building out its crypto offering for Europe, as its own euro stablecoin showed most recently; we set out separately what that launch in three markets means for customers.

The next dates in Revolut's crypto business

One question above all stays open after this licence: which countries the Gibraltar entity will serve. As long as Revolut names no launch markets, any allocation is speculation, and we make none here.

Concrete things can be watched instead. First, the legal notices in the app: a change of counterparty becomes visible there before it reaches a press release. Second, the notifications Revolut has to send when its terms of service change. Third, the registers of the supervisory authorities, which list authorisations and the services they cover.

Until then the sober reading holds: a subsidiary in Gibraltar may now execute orders, provide custody and offer staking. Whether and when anyone can use that offering is undecided.

Revolut's Gibraltar licence: Cyprus still governs your portfolio

The announcement leaves your balance unchanged. It is a good occasion to look up three things that are due anyway.

1. Identify your counterparty. Open the legal notices in the app and the terms of service for crypto assets, and note the company and its registered office. What the authorisations of other providers in the German market look like is set out in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.
2. Decide on custody. Set out which part of your holdings stays on the platform and which moves into your own custody; the hardware wallet comparison names the differences between the devices.
3. Secure your records. Export transactions and statements for the current year before anything changes at the entity level; the right tax tools and portfolio trackers handle that continuously.

(As of October 21, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Hyperliquid is a trading platform for crypto assets that keeps its order book not on a company server but on its own layer-1 blockchain. Every order, every cancellation, every fill and every liquidation is recorded there as a transaction in a block. The matching token is called HYPE and stood at $81.42 around midday on October 21, 2026, which puts Hyperliquid 11th among all crypto assets with a market value of $18.12 billion. For how the price has moved since, see our Hyperliquid price prediction.

This profile answers four questions: what the platform is technically, what the HYPE token does, what trading costs, and what applies to access from Germany. All figures are as of October 21, 2026 and come from Hyperliquid's developer documentation, from the publicly available data of the blockchain itself, and from price services. Where two sources give different values, the range appears in the text rather than the more convenient number.

What is Hyperliquid? An order-book exchange on its own layer-1 blockchain

A layer-1 blockchain is a standalone blockchain with its own consensus mechanism that does not sit on top of another one. Hyperliquid runs such a blockchain and places on it what other venues keep inside closed software: the order book. An order book is the continuously maintained list of all buy and sell offers for a trading pair, sorted by price.

The focus is on perpetual futures. These are futures contracts on a price without an expiry date, in which a settlement payment between buyers and sellers, the funding rate, holds the contract price close to the spot price. How funding rate, leverage and liquidation work together is set out in detail in our article perp DEX explained; this profile takes the mechanics as given and describes the platform instead.

Alongside the futures contracts runs a spot market on which tokens are swapped directly. Both markets share the same blockchain and the same liquidity. That bundling is exactly why market overviews often list Hyperliquid separately from decentralised exchanges, which work with liquidity pools rather than order books.

HyperCore and HyperEVM: two systems on the same blockchain

The platform consists of two parts that the developer documentation describes explicitly as separate. HyperCore runs the order books for futures contracts and for spot trading. Everything there is built for speed and strict sequencing: an order is queued, processed and final after a single block.

HyperEVM is the second part, an environment for smart contracts that is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. A smart contract is a program that sits on a blockchain and executes by itself once certain conditions are met. Anyone who has developed on Ethereum can move their code to HyperEVM with little effort. The practical gain is that these programs can reach the liquidity and the prices held in HyperCore without fetching them across a bridge from an outside network.

HyperBFT: where the figure of 200,000 orders per second comes from

The consensus mechanism is called HyperBFT. Consensus mechanism is the term for the rules by which the operators of a blockchain agree on the valid order of transactions. According to the developers, HyperBFT draws on HotStuff and its successors, a line of protocols from research into byzantine fault tolerance, and was built together with its networking layer for the platform's own requirements.

The developer documentation cites a capacity of 200,000 orders per second for HyperCore and states that this figure is set to rise further. Two qualifications belong with it: this is a vendor figure for capacity, not a measured sustained load, and an order is not the same thing as a fill. A large share of the load in any order book comes from offers that are placed and withdrawn again shortly afterwards.

The second figure from the same source is more tangible for investors: Hyperliquid describes finality of one block. Finality is the point from which a transaction can no longer be reversed. In a liquidation, that decides whether a position is already closed or still hanging in an intermediate state.

The HYPE token: gas, staking and a fee discount in one

HYPE serves three purposes on the platform. First, the token pays for computation on HyperEVM, which other networks call gas. Second, HYPE can be delegated to validators and earns a reward for doing so. Third, a staked balance lowers trading fees, on a fixed scale.

That scale is unusually flat at the entry level and steep at the top. From ten staked HYPE, trading fees fall by 5 percent, from 100 by 10 percent, from 1,000 by 15 percent, from 10,000 by 20 percent, from 100,000 by 30 percent and from 500,000 by 40 percent. Ten HYPE came to roughly $814 on October 21, while 500,000 HYPE came to a good $40 million. The first discount step is therefore within reach for private investors; the highest one is aimed at trading firms.

What HYPE explicitly is not: a claim on payouts. The staking reward comes from a reserve of the network set aside for that purpose, not from a profit that a company distributes. Confusing the two means expecting a dividend where an issuance stands.

Supply and circulating supply: why two sources say 222 and 302 million

The maximum supply of HYPE is one billion tokens. On circulating supply the sources diverge, and the gap is wider than a rounding difference. Price services put roughly 222.4 million HYPE in circulation on October 21, 2026. The blockchain itself reports 302.0 million in its data set for the token. The same source gives total supply as 998.8 million, plus 410.6 million tokens still earmarked as future releases.

Both numbers are correct and measure different things. A circulating supply strips out locked and not yet distributed holdings, and where that line falls is decided by whoever is counting. In practice that means every metric built on circulating supply depends on that decision. The market value of $18.12 billion rests on the smaller number. Anyone using 302.0 million arrives at roughly $24.6 billion at the same price.

How the holdings were distributed at issuance

HYPE came to market on November 29, 2024 in a genesis event. Around 310 million tokens, or 31 percent of maximum supply, went out as a distribution to users who had traded on the platform beforehand. The largest single position, just under 38.9 percent, is earmarked for future emissions and community rewards; 23.8 percent went to the core team and 6 percent to the foundation's budget.

According to the announcement, the core team's shares were placed under a lock-up and unwind over years. That puts the same underlying pattern behind HYPE as behind many young tokens: a substantial part of the supply is not yet in the market and arrives on a schedule. How strongly such a release lands was calculated for a single date in our article on HYPE's circulating supply and unlocks of September 29, 2026.

The Assistance Fund: 48.17 million HYPE from trading fees

Part of the trading fees flows to an address that Hyperliquid calls the Assistance Fund. That fund uses the revenue to buy HYPE on the market on an ongoing basis. The developer documentation describes the process as removing the acquired tokens permanently from circulating and total supply.

On October 21, 2026 this address held 48.17 million HYPE. The reported cost basis of that holding was roughly $1.38 billion, its market value at the same day's price just under $3.9 billion. Against a total supply of 998.8 million tokens, the fund's holding amounts to 4.8 percent.

A close reading pays off here. The tokens demonstrably sit at an address from which they do not return to trading, and they are therefore economically out of the market. Technically destroyed they are not: the total supply of 998.8 million reported by the blockchain itself sits only 1.2 million tokens below maximum supply, not 48 million below it. Treating the fund as a buyback program is closer to the facts than calling it a burn.

Staking: roughly 2.3 percent a year and a seven-day queue

Holders of HYPE can delegate their balance to one or more validators. According to Hyperliquid's staking documentation, the reward is inversely proportional to the square root of the total amount staked; at 400 million HYPE staked, the documentation gives roughly 2.37 percent a year.

On October 21, 2026, 442.4 million HYPE were delegated across all validators. By the stated formula that works out to roughly 2.25 percent a year. The order of magnitude itself is striking: the staked amount exceeds every reported circulating supply, because holdings that price services do not count as circulating are delegated too.

Three deadlines matter more in staking than the yield does. A delegation is locked for one day, after which it can be undone in full or in part at any time. The route back from the staking account to the spot account takes seven days, and the platform accepts no more than five simultaneous withdrawals per address. Rewards are accrued by the minute, paid out daily and automatically redelegated, so they compound.

Trading fees: 0.045 percent for takers, a discount from ten staked HYPE

Base fees on perpetual futures are 0.045 percent for the taking side and 0.015 percent for the making side. The taking side, taker in market jargon, is whoever accepts an existing offer; the making side, maker, is whoever puts an offer into the book. In spot trading the figures are 0.070 and 0.040 percent.

Above that sits a scale based on trading volume over the past 14 days. From $5 million, the taker fee on futures contracts falls to 0.040 percent, from $500 million to 0.028 percent with zero for the making side, and from $7 billion to 0.024 percent. Spot volume counts double towards the tier. Above certain shares of maker volume there are rebates of up to 0.003 percent.

Where the fees go is the notable part. According to the documentation they flow entirely to HLP, the platform's community liquidity provider, to the Assistance Fund, and to whoever has set up a market. Anyone who establishes a spot market or a futures market under the HIP-3 standard may keep up to 50 percent of the trading fees arising there. A company collecting fees as revenue does not appear in that list.

Validators: 27 active operators and no automatic slashing

The blockchain is run by validators. On October 21, 2026 the network listed 35 validators, 27 of them in an active state. Becoming a validator requires self-delegating 10,000 of one's own HYPE, and that self-delegation is locked for a year. If the balance falls below it, the validator moves into a state in which its delegations can only decrease.

One point from the documentation is decisive for assessing the risk: automatic slashing is not currently implemented. Slashing is the penalty under which a validator loses part of its staked balance for misbehaviour. Hyperliquid works with jailing instead, meaning exclusion from consensus; delegations are left untouched by it but earn nothing.

For delegators that cuts both ways. The risk of losing a balance through a validator's misbehaviour does not exist in this form. At the same time, the economic pressure that enforces clean operation in other networks is absent. And 27 active operators is a modest figure set beside established networks with validator counts in the thousands or tens of thousands.

MiCA and BaFin: why perpetual futures fall outside the crypto regulation

For access from Germany the most important point is a legal one, and it is often presented wrongly. The European regulation on markets in crypto assets, MiCA for short, governs crypto assets and services in them. Perpetual futures, on the prevailing classification, are derivatives and therefore financial instruments. Financial instruments are not covered by MiCA but by the framework around the MiFID II directive. A MiCA authorisation would thus be the wrong permit for this business, and its absence does not answer the licensing question.

What can be stated is the verifiable single fact: Hyperliquid is not entered in any EU register as an authorised provider of crypto-asset services. What a MiCA authorisation requires and who needs one is covered in our overview of MiCA obligations for crypto companies. What the absence of such an entry means in practice for balances, keys and records was broken down in our article using Hyperliquid from Germany of September 15, 2026.

Whether a provider based outside the European Union may approach German customers, and which permission it needs to do so, is decided by BaFin on the circumstances of the individual case. No public decision by the supervisor on Hyperliquid exists. For practical purposes one thing follows above all: anyone trading there has neither deposit protection nor a German complaints body behind them, and enforcing their own claims would have to be attempted at the provider's place of business.

On top of that, access runs through the user's own wallet. There is no account with a username that can be reset after the login details are lost. The key to the wallet is the access to the balance, and whoever loses it loses the holding.

Tax in Germany: what separates perpetual futures from selling a coin

For tax, the platform's two markets follow different rules, and the distinction costs money in case of doubt. Spot trading in tokens follows the rules for private disposals under section 23 of the German Income Tax Act: after a holding period of one year a gain remains tax-free, while within the year it is captured at the personal tax rate.

Gains from futures transactions, by contrast, are regularly treated as investment income, at the flat withholding tax rate and with no holding period at all. Losses from futures transactions were also subject in recent years to special offsetting restrictions whose application has been the subject of legislative changes and case law. Anyone moving meaningful amounts should have this checked for their own assessment year rather than relying on a blanket statement.

Regardless of the classification, the burden of proof applies. A platform without German authorisation supplies no tax report that fits the local return, and reports nothing to the tax office. The transactions sit in the blockchain, readable and complete, but not in a form that fills in an Anlage SO. Anyone trading regularly needs their own records for that; an overview of suitable tools is in our comparison of crypto tax tools and portfolio trackers.

The four risks a profile has to name

First, custody risk. The holding sits in a self-managed wallet whose key nobody can replace. Second, leverage risk: perpetual futures are traded with leverage, and a liquidation can consume a position's margin entirely, within minutes when prices jump hard.

Third, supply risk. 410.6 million HYPE are earmarked as future releases, more than twice the circulating supply reported by price services. Each of those releases increases the supply, and what that can do to a price is visible in the moves around individual dates in the past.

Fourth, legal risk. The legal framework for crypto derivatives in the European Union is in motion; the European Commission's review of MiCA was still running in 2026. A change in the rules can make access easier or harder for investors in Germany, and neither can be predicted today. A total loss of the amount committed is possible under each of the four points.

Hyperliquid: 11th by market value, with no entry in the EU register

The situation can be summed up in one sentence: a technically self-contained trading platform with a substantial market value, whose fees flow back to the user community, without authorisation in the European Union and with a supply of which the larger part is still to come. Three steps help in placing it.

1. Measure the need against an authorised provider. Anyone who does not need futures contracts can get spot trading at providers with a European permission, a deposit regime and a German-language complaints route. Our overview of regulated crypto exchanges ranks providers by authorisation.
2. Measure the futures platforms against each other. Fees, leverage limits and liquidation rules differ considerably, and the base fee says the least about them. The perp DEX comparison sets the terms side by side.
3. Settle custody before the first amount moves. Without a user account, everything hangs on the key. Which devices qualify and what they do is in the hardware wallet comparison.

(As of October 21, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Here is what is documented: four versions of the Fearless Wallet browser extension sent a copy of the private key to a server belonging to an attacker whenever the wallet was unlocked. Eight users have reported unauthorised transfers so far, totalling 17,286 DOT. Our assessment follows further below: the number of reported cases is the smaller part of the problem.

The notice is dated October 21, 2026. The product affected is a third-party one, not the network's official software: Fearless Wallet was never an official Polkadot wallet. In concrete terms it still means this: if that extension sat on your machine at any point since February 2025, every account created with it counts as exposed, whether or not anything has drained from it so far.

What the Polkadot Community Foundation reported on October 21

The security notice describes neither an attack on the blockchain nor a flaw in the network itself. At its centre is a browser extension that did something other than what it claimed to its users. On unlocking the wallet, the extension sent the private key to an external address on the network. The key is the master key to an account: whoever holds it can sign any transfer without knowing the password and without needing access to the machine.

Among others, Cryptobriefing covered the notice the same day, and the report ran in parallel across several industry outlets. The foundation's recommendation fits in one sentence: anyone who used the affected extension since February 2025 should treat all accounts connected to it as compromised, generate fresh keys in a different wallet and send the balance there. The foundation names Nova Wallet as the destination.

These four versions of the extension are affected

The notice names four releases: 3.0.1, 3.0.3, 3.0.4 and 3.0.5. You will find the version number of a Chrome extension in the browser's extensions overview, reachable from the address bar with chrome://extensions and listed there under the wallet's entry. It does not appear inside the wallet itself. Anyone who has since deleted the extension will no longer find the number there. In that case the same rule applies as to everyone else in doubt: take February 2025 as the cut-off date and assume an exposed key.

When the warning went out, an affected release was still available for download in the Chrome Web Store. The listing showed around 6,000 users. That figure is not a count of victims but a count of installations, and precisely there lies the gap between eight reported cases and what is actually exposed.

How the malicious code entered the project in February 2025

The route in is unusually well documented. The code entered the project on February 19, 2025 through a pull request, that is, a proposed change submitted on GitHub of the kind any outsider can send to an open project. The proposal was tied to the orbit of the TON ecosystem. It was accepted like an ordinary extension of the feature set.

This design of attack does not hit the blockchain but the software supply chain ahead of it. It works because the malicious part only takes effect after the build and release, and because nothing looks different to the user. According to the foundation, the leak ran intermittently, and at least until October 10, 2026. More than 19 months therefore lie between the insertion and the last documented outflow.

A second point belongs here, uncomfortable as it is: complaints with the same pattern, money gone after an update, were already being described in the network's public forums in October 2025. The detailed technical explanation came a year later. That gap between the first signals and the full account is the part of the episode that counts beyond this single case.

Why an update or a reinstall rescues nothing

This is the point at which most of those affected take the wrong turn. A private key is not a set of login credentials that can be swapped out. It is the mathematical basis of the account itself. Whoever obtains it once keeps a working copy, even if the extension is deleted, reinstalled or updated to a clean version. A new password protects only the local vault on your own machine, not the account on the blockchain.

That leaves exactly one effective step: generate a new key pair in a different wallet and transfer the balance there. The old address stays unsafe for good, even if nothing happens for months. An attacker holding a copy of the key can wait until the grab is worth making, and that waiting is exactly why eight reported cases against roughly 6,000 installations are no all-clear.

The notice also refers explicitly to mobile devices. The malicious code was not found there. Anyone who once imported the same private key into the browser extension must nonetheless treat it as exposed, wherever else it sits. For long-term custody of larger holdings, a device that never passes the key to a browser in the first place remains the sensible choice. Which models cost what and which blockchains they support is set out in the hardware wallet comparison.

Staked and locked DOT: a 28-day unbonding period stands in the way

Moving out is simple as long as the balance is freely available. With Polkadot it often is not. Anyone who has staked their DOT cannot reach them at once: between unbonding and free availability lies the 28-day unlocking period that we broke down on October 11 in our calculation of the staking yield. During that time the balance sits at an address whose key may be in someone else's hands.

The foundation concedes that locked and staked holdings require additional steps, and for certain cases it points to tools such as PAPI Rescue. In practice that means moving the freely available holdings first, starting the unbonding from staking in parallel, and putting the day the period expires in the calendar. Postponing the unbonding only extends the window in which someone else's key stays usable. How other networks set their lock-up periods is shown in the staking provider comparison.

The DOT price sits at $1.16, and the report barely moves it

DOT traded at around $1.16 on Wednesday afternoon, down about 1.8 percent within 24 hours according to CoinGecko data. The daily high was $1.18 and the daily low $1.14. Market value stands just under $2 billion, which corresponds to rank 51.

On October 17, when we wrote about the cap of 2.1 billion DOT, the price stood at $1.18. Little has moved since then, and Wednesday's report has not changed that so far. There is an explanation: 17,286 DOT equal around $20,000 at today's price. Against a daily trading volume of some $139 million, that quantity goes unnoticed on the market.

The levels that count today are therefore the same as before the report. On the downside, the daily low at $1.14 is the first line, below it the monthly low of October 9 at just under $1.09. On the upside stands the daily high at $1.18, and only above that does the area around $1.24 come back into view, where the price last sat on October 11 and 12.

Holding period and tax: moving to your own new wallet is not a sale

Many hesitate over the move because they fear a taxable event. Under the German Federal Ministry of Finance's guidance on crypto assets, a transfer between two of your own wallets is not a disposal: the place of storage changes, not the owner. The one-year holding period pursuant to Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act therefore continues to run; it does not start afresh.

Documentation does matter, though. Record the date, the amount, the sending and receiving addresses and the transaction receipt, so that acquisition dates can be matched up later. Anyone who has received staking rewards keeps those items separate. What is currently moving politically on these deadlines we track continuously in the status of the holding period reform.

Recovery fraud: the second wave after every leak

In the same notice the foundation warns of a follow-on phenomenon that appears after every major incident: people posing as helpers who promise, against payment up front, to recover lost holdings. Technically that is ruled out. A confirmed transfer on a blockchain cannot be reversed, and nobody can undo one without holding the recipient's key.

Anyone who is approached should know the rule: legitimate bodies never demand an advance payment for a recovery and never ask for the recovery words. If the seed phrase is requested, the matter is settled. The incident belongs instead in a report to the local police, and the transaction receipts belong secured before the old wallet is deleted.

Our assessment: the number of reports is no measure

From the newsroom's point of view, the loss of 17,286 DOT is not the story. Three things are documented that together weigh more heavily: a span of more than 19 months between the insertion in February 2025 and the last documented outflow on October 10, 2026; roughly 6,000 installations in the Chrome Web Store when the warning appeared; and first public complaints with the same pattern as early as October 2025. Concluding from eight reports that this is the extent of it confuses reported with affected.

A serious qualification speaks against that: nobody knows how many of the 6,000 installations held any balance at all, and many extensions sit unused in the browser after being tried once. An extrapolation would therefore be unsound. Only the direction is reliable, and it reads: the number of exposed keys is higher than the number of emptied accounts, and it stays that way as long as those keys are not replaced.

For the network itself, nothing follows from this about the technology. The blockchain did what it is supposed to do and executed validly signed transfers. The problem sat in the software ahead of it, and it sat there for a year and a half. That is exactly why the question of how long an exposed extension stays up in a browser vendor's store is the more interesting issue than the price on this Wednesday.

The Fearless Wallet leak: old keys stay exposed for good

Three steps order the rest:

1. Check in your browser's extensions overview whether one of the versions 3.0.1, 3.0.3, 3.0.4 or 3.0.5 was installed. For permanent custody afterwards, the hardware wallet comparison lists the devices that never hand the key to a browser.
2. Generate a fresh key pair in a different wallet and transfer all freely available DOT there. Where holdings are staked, also start the unbonding and factor in the 28 days that the staking provider comparison lists for Polkadot.
3. Document every transfer with the date, the amount and both addresses, so that the holding period demonstrably continues. You can follow the current state of the law through the holding period report.

Further reports on the notice and on the timeline have been collected by PANews.

(As of October 21, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Here is what is documented: on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Elon Musk confirmed on SpaceX's quarterly call that SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a merger. Both companies have set up special committees of independent directors for the purpose, and nothing has been agreed on the terms of a transaction. Our assessment follows further below: the combined holding of 30,221 bitcoin is a side effect of that review, not its trigger.

The case is still interesting for holders, because it makes visible a question that usually stays in the background: how much bitcoin actually sits inside a share, and how much of it reaches you? At the price of $83,820 that CoinGecko reports for Bitcoin, the two companies together stand behind around $2.53 billion in bitcoin. That sounds like a lot. Measured against the size of both groups it is a marginal position, and that is exactly what decides whether a share works as a detour to the coin.

What Musk confirmed on the SpaceX quarterly call

The talks are not market speculation but confirmed by the chief executive himself. Musk said on the call: “Do I think it would be a good idea, yes. But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this.” The order within that sentence is the important information. Musk considers the merger sensible; others will decide.

On the process itself he was unusually candid. He described his own role as “an odd kabuki dance where two groups of people are talking, and I can't be in the conversation”. On the state of the negotiations, the CoinDesk report records that the special committees have not agreed on the terms of a transaction.

The occasion for the call was the third quarter, and it came out better than expected. Revenue and earnings per share beat estimates, and the SpaceX share rose around nine percent to $161 in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Tesla's figures were still outstanding at the time this article was published; they are expected after the closing bell on Wednesday.

30,221 bitcoin: how the holding splits between the two companies

A treasury holding is the part of a company's cash that sits not in euros or dollars but in another asset, here in bitcoin. The two positions come from separate disclosures and differ in size.

• SpaceX: 18,712 BTC, or 61.9 percent of the combined holding, worth around $1.57 billion at the price quoted above.
• Tesla: 11,509 BTC, or 38.1 percent, around $0.96 billion.
• Together: 30,221 BTC, around $2.53 billion.

The figure of 30,221 is the addition of two disclosures, not a joint treasury. As long as no merger has closed, the holdings stay where they sit today, on two separate balance sheets with two separate shareholder bases. Only a completed transaction turns two positions into one.

To put the size in context: the Bitcoin protocol caps the total supply at 21 million units. At 30,221 BTC that is 0.144 percent of it. A combined holding of that size would be a visible corporate position, but not a figure that moves the market as long as it only changes which balance sheet it sits on.

Two special committees, no Musk: where the negotiations stand

A special committee is a body of independent directors that reviews a transaction in which the main actor has a conflict of interest. That is precisely the situation here: Musk holds a leading stake in both SpaceX and Tesla, so a merger of the two firms would be a deal with himself. That is why two committees are negotiating, and why Musk cannot sit at the table.

In practice that means three things. There is no exchange ratio, so no number saying how many shares of one company a share of the other would be worth. There is no timetable. And there is no assurance that anything will come of it at all; Musk himself warned against treating a merger as settled.

Reading the news as a price driver skips that part. Between confirmed talks and a completed merger lie valuation opinions, shareholder votes and, at companies of this size, antitrust proceedings as well. The current Bitcoin price with ETF inflows and the upcoming Fed meeting explains the move of the past 24 hours considerably better than a merger report without terms.

Bitcoin per share: why a merger does not enlarge the holding

Bitcoin per share describes a company's holding divided by the number of its shares. That ratio is the only honest measure of how much bitcoin a shareholder co-owns, and it explains why a merger does not automatically improve the holding for everyone involved.

In a merger, two holdings are added together and so are two shareholder bases. 18,712 plus 11,509 BTC become 30,221 BTC, but the shares of both companies are exchanged against each other. Whether a shareholder ends up holding more or less bitcoin per share depends solely on the exchange ratio, and that has not been negotiated yet. Not a single bitcoin is bought. For the market that means no fresh demand impulse, only a different allocation of the same quantity.

That sets the case apart from the reports that usually bring movement into the price. A company that buys takes supply off the market. A company that merges shifts ownership within the balance sheet. The two often sit side by side in headlines looking much the same, yet they act on the market in entirely different ways.

Treasury companies as a Bitcoin detour: the difference from holding the coin

Investors repeatedly buy shares in companies with a bitcoin holding, expecting bitcoin-like performance without having to handle custody themselves. At SpaceX and Tesla that calculation works particularly badly, and the reason sits in the figures above. Around $2.53 billion in bitcoin stands against two companies whose value derives from spaceflight, satellite communications, vehicle manufacturing and energy storage. The bitcoin share is a marginal position there.

What moves the share price is therefore quarterly figures, launch cadence, delivery numbers and interest rate decisions, not the Bitcoin price. Tuesday showed that directly: the share jumped on a set of figures and on the merger news, not on a move in Bitcoin. Anyone who wants bitcoin gets mostly corporate risk through these shares, with a small bitcoin component on top.

There is also a difference that weighs more in everyday use than any ratio. A share sits in the securities account of your bank or broker, and you cannot hold it in your own custody. Bitcoin you can buy from a provider licensed under MiCA and then take into your own custody. Which providers are licensed in the EU and how they differ is set out in our overview of regulated crypto exchanges.

Holding period versus flat-rate tax: the tax dividing line in Germany

For tax purposes, bitcoin and shares are two different worlds in Germany, and that is the most concrete difference between the coin and the detour through a share.

Bitcoin counts as another asset. Gains from a sale fall under private disposal transactions pursuant to Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act: after a holding period of one year the gain stays tax-free, within the year it is charged at your personal income tax rate, and an exemption limit of 1,000 euros a year applies to all private disposal transactions taken together. If the exemption limit is exceeded, the entire gain becomes taxable, not only the part above it.

Shares follow a different rule. Gains count as investment income and are charged the flat-rate withholding tax of 25 percent plus the solidarity surcharge and, where applicable, church tax, regardless of how long you have held them. In return there is the saver's allowance of 1,000 euros per person. A holding period after which a gain on shares becomes tax-free does not exist.

The consequence is awkward for the detour idea: anyone wanting to track bitcoin through a share gives up the holding period that makes buying directly attractive for long-term investors in tax terms. Which route is cheaper in your case depends on holding period, income tax rate and allowances already used. That is a calculation that only works with your own numbers, and one for a tax adviser rather than an article.

MiCA and custody: where the differences show up in everyday use

Since the EU's MiCA regulation applies in full, providers that hold or exchange crypto assets in the EU need an authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider. For a direct purchase that means you can see who is regulated, and you decide after buying whether the provider holds your coins or you transfer them to a wallet of your own.

With a share, that choice does not exist. Custody sits with the depository bank, and the bitcoin behind the company is held by the company, not by you. Whether it uses a dedicated custodian, to what extent the holdings are insured and when they are disclosed is set out in the company filings and changes with every quarterly report. Control over the keys is not something a share delivers.

The sensible approach is therefore not to play the two routes against each other but to treat them as different products: the share is a stake in a company that happens to hold bitcoin as well. The coin is the asset itself.

Our assessment: the holding is a side effect, not the occasion

From the newsroom's point of view, the bitcoin figure is the smallest of the quantities involved in this report. Three documented points speak for that: no bitcoin is being bought, only added up. The special committees have not agreed on a single term, so there is neither an exchange ratio nor a date. And the roughly nine percent jump in the SpaceX share coincided with a quarterly report above expectations, not with a move in Bitcoin.

One argument speaks against that view, and we will not talk it down: a combined holding of 30,221 BTC inside a company that is also publicly traded raises the visibility of bitcoin in conventional portfolios. Funds not permitted to buy a coin would come into indirect contact with it through such a share. That is an effect over years, not days, and it depends on the merger happening at all. We derive no price target from it, and no purchase or sale follows from it; with crypto assets a total loss is possible.

A merger with 30,221 bitcoin: shareholders first, then the balance sheet

The news changes nothing about your holding today. It is a good occasion, though, to hold your own setup against the differences described above.

1. Separate share and coin in your overview. Anyone holding both easily counts the bitcoin behind a share twice. A portfolio tracker separates the positions and shows the tax treatment per position; the tools for that are in our comparison of crypto tax software and portfolio trackers.
2. Check where your coins sit. The custody question is decided not by a merger report but at your key. Which device makes sense for which sum is covered in the hardware wallet comparison.
3. Settle your buying route before you need it. A licensed provider, the fee model and the withdrawal route belong fixed in advance, not improvised. The routes and their costs are set out under buying Bitcoin.

The next hard data will come not from the merger talks but from Tesla's quarterly figures and from whatever the special committees finally put forward. Until then it remains a confirmed review with two separate balance sheets.

(As of October 21, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Nvidia's OpenShell Reference Architecture pairs a software sandbox on Vera CPUs with Sentry monitoring on BlueField-4 chips, aiming to let companies run autonomous agents while enforcing limits agents cannot reach.

OpenAI says its models found PHP2Shell and led a two-month coalition to fix it. It's the same AI that broke into Hugging Face and an Australian government portal this year.

Both boards are now studying a tie-up that would put Grok, X, Starlink, orbital data centers, a chip megafactory and Optimus robots under one roof—and under one man's control.

Bitcoin is back near $84,500 as XRP and Zcash lead a broad crypto rebound from October's slide, putting "Uptober" back on the table.

Formed with the Dogecoin Foundation and led by MyDoge founder Jordan Jefferson, the new company consolidates the MyDoge wallet, DogeOS app platform, and Such App to build an economy around DOGE.

Legendary trader John Bollinger has discovered a hidden Bitcoin-themed arcade game on CoinMarketCap that challenges players to navigate BTC's historical price movements while staying within his famous Bollinger Bands.

Cardano has achieved a major real-world adoption milestone, with 100,000 Indian farms now registered on its blockchain.

Ripple's prime brokerage platform has expanded its services to institutional clients following the launch of 24/7 stock trading.

Official Dogecoin X account sets social networks on alert by backing a massive new ecosystem consolidation project under 'Dogecoin Labs' monicker.

Cryptocurrency giant Binance has announced a massive giveaway of 600,000 XRP for users holding Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, with weekly airdrops starting October 30 and bonus multipliers of up to 1.3x for eligible participants.

TLDR

• QuantumScape shares surge 13.57% after unveiling its new 100 MWh battery plan.
• Muehlbauer joins QuantumScape to develop automated battery assembly equipment.
• QuantumScape targets 2028 to begin cell production at its planned 100 MWh line.
• The Eagle Line pilot facility provides a foundation for larger battery output.
• AI data centers, aerospace and defense drive QuantumScape’s expansion plans.

QuantumScape Corporation (QS) announced plans for a 100 megawatt-hour solid-state battery production line, targeting operations in 2028. The announcement sent QuantumScape stock surging 13.57% to $4.52, gaining $0.54 during after-hours trading. The company also partnered with Germany’s Muehlbauer Group to develop manufacturing equipment for large-scale battery production.

QuantumScape Corporation, QS

QuantumScape Expands Solid-State Battery Manufacturing Plans

QuantumScape’s latest announcement marks another step in its efforts to establish large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing. The planned facility will produce lithium-metal battery cells for several industrial markets beyond conventional electric vehicles. These markets include artificial intelligence data centers, aerospace operations, and defense applications requiring advanced energy storage systems.

The expansion builds on QuantumScape’s existing technology development and manufacturing activities in San Jose, California. The company has focused on developing solid-state batteries that offer advantages over conventional lithium-ion technology. Its approach uses solid electrolytes instead of traditional liquid materials to support improved energy storage performance.

QuantumScape aims to establish manufacturing processes that can support commercial production across multiple industries. The project will combine automated production systems with engineering improvements from its existing pilot operations. This approach supports the company’s broader effort to move solid-state battery technology toward high-volume manufacturing.

QuantumScape Partners With Muehlbauer Group for 100 MWh Battery Production Line

QuantumScape selected Germany-based Muehlbauer Group to provide specialized equipment and manufacturing expertise for its planned production line. The partnership will focus on developing automated cell assembly systems that support higher production volumes. Additionally, both companies will build on manufacturing processes already demonstrated at QuantumScape’s San Jose facility.

The company’s Eagle Line pilot facility currently demonstrates automated production processes for its solid-state battery cells. Muehlbauer examined these processes and identified engineering improvements that could support larger manufacturing operations. As a result, both companies have started developing equipment and processes capable of handling greater production volumes.

Muehlbauer brings extensive experience in industrial automation, equipment engineering, and manufacturing system integration. Its involvement will help QuantumScape develop production systems for the planned 100 MWh manufacturing capacity. Meanwhile, the companies will continue engineering work before the targeted production launch in 2028.

QuantumScape Targets 2028 Production as Solid-State Battery Applications Expand

QuantumScape expects its planned production line to serve markets beyond the electric vehicle industry. AI data centers represent one potential market because operators need dependable energy storage for demanding computing infrastructure. Similarly, aerospace and defense applications create opportunities for advanced batteries with demanding performance requirements.

The 100 MWh project represents another step toward QuantumScape’s broader goal of gigawatt-hour-scale battery manufacturing. Its existing Eagle Line provides the technical foundation for developing more efficient automated production systems. The Muehlbauer partnership adds manufacturing expertise as QuantumScape works to increase production capacity.

QuantumScape has not announced a specific commissioning date beyond its 2028 production target. The company also has not disclosed the project’s total investment cost or expected commercial revenue. The manufacturing plan establishes a defined capacity target and expands its industrial partnership network ahead of production.

The post QuantumScape (QS) Stock: Surges 13.57% on 100 MWh Solid-State Battery Production Plan for 2028 appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Tesla stock gains 3.41% to $386.47 despite a 56% drop in Q3 operating profit.
• Tesla Q3 revenue holds near $28B, but operating earnings plunge 56% year over year.
• Tesla’s cash reserves reach $45.4B after generating $1.5B in free cash flow.
• Vehicle deliveries slip 2% in Q3 as Tesla faces continued battery supply limits.
• Tesla FSD subscriptions surge 67% as Cybercab begins Robotaxi rides in Austin.

Tesla reported a sharp decline in third-quarter operating profit despite maintaining revenue above $28 billion and expanding its cash reserves. The electric vehicle maker also increased production, although deliveries fell and battery shortages limited further growth. Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) stock surged 3.41% to $386.47, gaining $12.76, before rising another 1.07% to $390.61 after hours.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

Tesla Q3 Revenue Reaches $28 Billion as Operating Profit Falls 56%

Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $28.046 billion, compared with $28.095 billion during the same period last year. However, operating income dropped 56% to $718 million, reducing its operating margin to 2.6%. GAAP diluted earnings per share also declined to $0.22 from $0.39 a year earlier.

Despite weaker earnings, Tesla increased gross profit to $5.494 billion from $5.054 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, research and development spending climbed to $2.761 billion as the company expanded artificial intelligence and robotics projects. Total operating expenses reached $4.776 billion, compared with $3.430 billion in the third quarter of 2025.

Tesla generated $6.3 billion in operating cash flow and recorded $1.5 billion in free cash flow. Consequently, cash and short-term investments increased by $1.9 billion sequentially to $45.4 billion. Services and other revenue also grew to $4.605 billion, helping offset weaker automotive and energy revenue.

Tesla Vehicle Deliveries Decline as FSD Subscriptions Jump 67%

Tesla produced 464,391 vehicles during the quarter, representing a 4% increase from the previous year. However, deliveries declined 2% to 486,532 vehicles, despite strong demand across several markets. The company attributed its limited vehicle volume growth partly to battery availability constraints.

Model 3 and Model Y deliveries reached 478,237 units, while other models contributed 8,295 deliveries. Meanwhile, active Full Self-Driving subscriptions and upfront purchases increased 67% annually to 1.74 million. Tesla also reported an FSD attach rate exceeding 75% among new vehicle deliveries in North America.

The company expanded its autonomous driving operations by introducing Cybercab rides in Austin on September 3.  Cumulative unsupervised Robotaxi miles increased eightfold compared with the previous quarter. Tesla also completed its 10 millionth vehicle milestone and reported record production at Gigafactory Berlin.

Tesla Expands Energy Storage and Robotics Operations

Tesla deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage during the quarter, marking a 10% annual increase. Meanwhile, Megafactory Texas began production with planned annual manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh. The company also reported record energy storage orders and backlog amid growing demand from data centers.

Tesla continued expanding its manufacturing operations while preparing new products for commercial production. The company began Tesla Semi production in Nevada and Optimus robot production in Fremont. Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster on October 15 as part of its broader product expansion.

Tesla plans to increase factory utilization while securing additional battery supplies to support production growth. The company also expects software, autonomous driving, and robotics operations to contribute more to future profitability. However, its latest results highlight a widening gap between revenue stability and operating earnings despite stronger cash generation.

The post Tesla (TSLA) Stock: Surges 3.41% as Q3 Revenue Hits $28 Billion Despite 56% Profit Drop appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Netflix stock plunges 5.12% to $65.17 as weak Q4 guidance rattles Wall Street.
• Netflix cuts its 2026 advertising revenue outlook from $3 billion to $2.7 billion.
• Wall Street analysts slash Netflix price targets as revenue growth concerns deepen.
• Netflix posts $12.87 billion in Q3 revenue, but its Q4 outlook misses estimates.
• Netflix cuts 1,000 jobs and names Peter Rice content chief amid fierce competition.

Netflix dropped 5.12% to $65.17 on Wednesday, losing $3.52 as disappointing revenue guidance intensified selling pressure. Shares reached their lowest level in over two years after the streaming company reported weaker fourth-quarter growth expectation. Reduced advertising revenue forecasts and analyst downgrades added pressure despite third-quarter earnings beating Wall Street estimates.

Netflix, Inc., NFLX

Netflix Stock Slides as Q4 Revenue Forecast Misses Estimates

Netflix expects fourth-quarter revenue of $13.44 billion, below the $13.51 billion consensus forecast from Wall Street analysts. The $70 million shortfall raised questions about future growth despite continued demand for the company’s streaming services worldwide. The weaker outlook followed several quarters of slowing revenue growth and growing competition across the entertainment industry.

The streaming company reported third-quarter revenue of $12.87 billion, broadly matching market expectations and reflecting approximately 12% annual growth. Earnings reached $0.87 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $0.82 and showing stronger profitability during the quarter. The positive earnings performance failed to offset concerns about the company’s revenue outlook and advertising business.

Netflix also projected fourth-quarter earnings of $0.67 per share, below Wall Street expectations of approximately $0.73 per share. The company expects annual revenue of approximately $51.1 billion, representing growth of about 13% compared with 2025. The latest projections highlighted slower expansion as streaming competition and changing viewing patterns continued reshaping the market.

Netflix Cuts 2026 Advertising Revenue Forecast to $2.7 Billion

Netflix reduced its 2026 advertising revenue forecast from $3 billion to $2.7 billion following delays in product development. The company attributed the adjustment to slower implementation of certain advertising capabilities across its streaming platform. The $300 million reduction raised questions about the speed of its advertising business expansion.

Netflix introduced its advertising-supported subscription model to attract price-sensitive customers and expand revenue beyond traditional membership fees. The strategy also allows advertisers to reach streaming audiences through targeted campaigns across supported markets. Advertising technology development remains important as the company works to increase commercial opportunities from its growing audience.

Wall Street analysts responded to the earnings report by revising their expectations for Netflix’s financial performance. Bernstein lowered its price target to $80, while MoffettNathanson reduced its target to $90 following the results. Needham analyst Laura Martin downgraded Netflix from Buy to Hold, citing stronger competition and potential margin pressure.

Netflix Restructures Leadership as Streaming Competition Intensifies

Netflix recently announced plans to eliminate approximately 1,000 positions, representing about 6% of its global workforce. The reduction marks its largest workforce restructuring since 2022 and follows efforts to improve operational efficiency. The company continues reviewing spending priorities while strengthening its entertainment offerings and pursuing sustainable business growth.

The company also appointed former Disney executive Peter Rice as its next chief content officer. Rice replaces Bela Bajaria, who led Netflix’s content operations after serving the company for nearly a decade. The leadership transition comes as Netflix seeks stronger audience engagement and improved programming performance across major markets.

Competition from YouTube, TikTok, and rival streaming platforms continues changing how audiences consume television and digital entertainment. Netflix management maintains that domestic engagement remains solid, although the company sees opportunities to improve viewing activity. The company plans to strengthen its content strategy while expanding advertising capabilities and protecting profitability amid slower revenue growth.

The post Netflix (NFLX) Stock: Sinks to Two-Year Low as Slowing Growth Raises Wall Street Concerns appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• FreeCast wins 2026 Streaming Technology Platform Company of the Year award.
• FreeCast secures a second 2026 honor for its home streaming platform offering.
• SmartGuide brings free, paid and local TV discovery into one connected service.
• Enterprise PaaS lets telecom and broadband partners offer branded streaming tools.
• FreeCast targets subscription, advertising and commerce revenue through partners.

FreeCast shares traded at $1.025, up 1.49%, at 1:24 p.m. EDT on October 21. Media & Entertainment Business Review named FreeCast its 2026 Streaming Technology Platform Company of the Year. The publisher also named FreeCast its Home Streaming Solution Company of the Year, highlighting its enterprise software strategy.

FreeCast, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CAST

The Orlando-based media company has spent years developing guides that connect viewers to programming across multiple digital sources. Its strategy differs from subscription streaming operators because FreeCast sells software infrastructure rather than competing through exclusive shows. This approach serves both consumers seeking simpler navigation and enterprises seeking branded entertainment services.

FreeCast Wins Dual 2026 Streaming Industry Honors

The award highlights a company that builds shared streaming infrastructure rather than competing mainly for exclusive television programming. Its platform connects free channels, paid services, local broadcasts, and digital content through a common technology system. FreeCast markets its software to both households and organizations that already serve established customer groups.

The publisher featured FreeCast in its October–November 2026 edition and examined its role in simplifying television distribution. Its company profile discussed the costs and inconvenience consumers face when they manage entertainment across many separate services. The publication also placed FreeCast on its home streaming provider page, recognizing the company’s approach to content access.

Founder and Chief Executive William Mobley has positioned FreeCast as a technology supplier for the broader media industry. Under that model, content owners can maintain control of their programming while distribution partners keep existing customer relationships. The software connects discovery, subscriptions, and commercial activity without requiring every partner to build separate systems.

FreeCast Expands Unified Streaming and Enterprise PaaS

FreeCast’s SmartGuide helps users search for and discover programming across supported free and paid entertainment sources. The service also brings local television and other programming into an interface designed to reduce repeated application switching. Alongside that guide, YouBundle helps customers choose and organize subscription packages based on their viewing needs.

MediaPay supports payments and subscription management, giving the platform a commercial function beyond entertainment discovery. FreeCast offers advertising and transaction tools that can support revenue for participating companies. These services form part of its Platform-as-a-Service offering, which businesses can present through their own brands.

The company targets telecommunications operators, internet providers, broadcasters, satellite groups, and businesses serving residential or commercial audiences. Through its business-to-business-to-consumer model, partners can add streaming features while continuing to manage their own customers. As a result, FreeCast seeks wider distribution through existing business networks instead of relying only on direct subscriptions.

FreeCast Stock and Media Monetization Strategy

The recognition arrives as FreeCast pursues commercial deployments and additional ways to earn revenue from media activity. Its fiscal 2026 report recorded approximately $711,000 in revenue, including about $386,000 from advertising operations. The company also reported financing transactions after fiscal year-end that generated approximately $23.7 million in gross proceeds.

FreeCast has described partnerships and initiatives involving DIRECTV, telecommunications providers, satellite services, and international television distribution. Those arrangements support its goal of reaching audiences through companies with established service relationships and customer bases. Announced relationships alone do not establish how many viewers use the platform or how much revenue deployments generate.

FreeCast calls its potential audience through business relationships Partner-Enabled Addressable Customers, or PEAC, as a distribution planning measure. That figure does not represent active subscribers, completed transactions, or revenue already recorded in company financial statements. For FreeCast, the 2026 awards provide industry exposure while its operating results measure progress in converting partners into customers.

The post FreeCast (CAST) Stock: Wins 2026 Streaming Technology Platform Company of the Year Award appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• NVIDIA stock climbs 2.23% to $221.30 after recovering from a midday selloff
• Data Center revenue reaches $89 billion as NVIDIA reports record AI demand
• NVIDIA’s quarterly revenue hits $96.2 billion, surging 106% year over year
• NVIDIA projects $108 billion in next-quarter sales amid strong AI spending
• BYD, Geely, Isuzu and Nissan adopt NVIDIA’s DRIVE Hyperion vehicle platform

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) stock climbed 2.23% to $221.30, gaining $4.83 as strong demand for AI computing supported market momentum. The shares recovered from an intraday decline near $218 and moved above $221 during the session. NVIDIA’s strong earnings and expanding data center business highlighted its position in the AI semiconductor market.

NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA

NVIDIA’s Data Center Revenue Surges as AI Demand Expands

NVIDIA reported fiscal second-quarter 2027 revenue of $96.2 billion, representing a 106% increase from the previous year. Its Data Center division generated $89 billion, accounting for most of the company’s quarterly revenue. This performance reflected continued spending on computing infrastructure and advanced processors across the technology industry.

NVIDIA’s operating income increased 124% to $63.7 billion as sales growth strengthened profitability. The company also reported a gross margin of 75%, highlighting strong earnings from its semiconductor operations. Additionally, NVIDIA projected third-quarter revenue of approximately $108 billion, with a possible variation of 2%.

The company’s first-half operating cash flow reached $74.4 billion, supporting its expanding business operations. However, NVIDIA reported $279 billion in supply and capacity commitments, compared with $119 billion in the previous quarter. These commitments support production capacity and future deliveries, while increasing the company’s financial obligations.

NVIDIA Expands Autonomous Driving Technology Partnerships

Beyond data centers, NVIDIA continues expanding its presence in automotive computing and autonomous driving technology. The company supplies processors and software platforms that support vehicle automation, sensor processing, and driving systems. Its DRIVE Hyperion platform provides computing technology for manufacturers developing advanced vehicle capabilities.

In March, NVIDIA identified BYD, Geely, Isuzu, and Nissan as adopters of its DRIVE Hyperion platform. These partnerships extend the company’s automotive technology network across several major vehicle manufacturers. Moreover, the platform supports computing tasks required for autonomous navigation and vehicle system development.

NVIDIA’s automotive operations remain substantially smaller than its established Data Center business. The company’s financial performance therefore continues to depend primarily on demand for AI processors and computing infrastructure. Meanwhile, automotive partnerships provide additional commercial opportunities as manufacturers develop more advanced driving technology.

NVIDIA Stock Valuation Reflects Strong Earnings Growth

NVIDIA traded at 28.51 times trailing earnings and approximately 24.88 times forward earnings. Its forward earnings multiple remained above the technology-sector median of 21.01. However, the company’s expanding earnings have reduced its valuation multiple compared with earlier periods.

On July 31, 2025, NVIDIA’s forward earnings multiple stood at 39.84, compared with 22.88 in July 2026. Separately, hedge fund ownership increased from 275 funds in the first quarter to 285 in the second quarter. Their combined holdings rose from $83.89 billion to $94.67 billion, reflecting increased institutional exposure.

NVIDIA’s earnings growth continues to draw support from expanding demand for advanced AI computing products. Its strong margins, cash generation, and revenue expansion demonstrate the financial scale of its semiconductor business. Meanwhile, autonomous driving partnerships broaden its operations beyond data centers and strengthen its presence across emerging computing markets.

The post NVIDIA (NVDA) Stock: Hits $221 as AI Demand Supports Strong Earnings appeared first on Blockonomi.

President Donald Trump will use a White House event on Wednesday to spotlight his administration’s efforts against foreign criminal networks that lure Americans into fraudulent crypto investments, a White House official told Reuters.

His own family, meanwhile, is heavily involved in soliciting crypto investments.

Cabinet Officials Set to Attend Scam Event

Cybercrime prevention more broadly is the theme of the session, and the president and members of his cabinet are expected to point to the government’s seizure of fraudulent crypto investment websites, the official explained. Efforts to stop online impersonation scams are also on the agenda.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche are expected to attend, the official added.

According to an FBI report, Americans filed more than a million complaints about internet scams last year, a 17% increase from 2024. The same report noted that Americans who filed complaints reported the highest losses.

Trump’s family has gotten heavily tied to crypto, with the president’s annual financial disclosure showing that most of the $2.2 billion he made last year came from digital currencies. This includes about $600 million from World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and $636 million more from the sale of Trump-branded meme coins.

The president defended the earnings, saying there was nothing illegal or wrong about them, even as critics like political commentator John Oliver accused him of giving investors access to the White House in exchange for them putting money into his crypto businesses. The White House has said neither the president nor his family have engaged or will engage in conflicts of interest.

Investor Losses Tied to Family Crypto Venture

As CryptoPotato reported earlier, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen estimated that investors in crypto ventures tied to the president and his family are at least $4.7 billion underwater since 2022. Most of those losses remain unrealized, meaning investors still hold the assets and have not sold at a loss.

The TRUMP meme coin accounted for an estimated $3.2 billion of that figure, and the token has lost more than 97% of its value since hitting an all-time high of $73 in January 2025, although at the time of writing it had jumped more than 7% in 24 hours to take its price to around $1.82. WLFI investors are at least $1 billion underwater by the same estimate.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal asked SEC Chair Paul Atkins in August to investigate the meme coin. They suggested that it may have allowed fraud or unfairly enriched people at the expense of everyday investors.

Per Public Citizen’s report, the president continues to own and control his businesses. His stakes, including the meme coin and World Liberty Financial’s two tokens, sit in a revocable trust in which he is the sole donor and beneficiary, and his eldest son is the sole trustee.

The post Report: Trump to Address Foreign Crypto Scams at White House Event appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The crypto market is back in the green on Wednesday, as several major assets have posted gains.

According to Santiment, XRP and Dogecoin are showing potential buying opportunities.

Historically Favorable Zones

The latest 365-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) data puts DOGE at around 0.74, which suggests that holders who bought over the past year are sitting on significant unrealized losses. XRP is also in negative territory, as its MVRV hovers near 0.92. Santiment explained that both assets are in historically more favorable, lower-risk zones compared with periods when holders hold large profits.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Chainlink, however, tell a different story. The 365-day MVRV readings of these three tokens range from 0.97 to 1.04, which places average holders close to breakeven.

This points to a more neutral market position for the three assets. MVRV helps traders assess whether investors are sitting on profits or losses. High readings can indicate rising profit-taking risk, while low readings mean selling pressure is nearing exhaustion. However, these signals do not guarantee a price rebound.

Macro Headwinds

Despite the recent uptick, Bitcoin and the wider crypto market continue to face growing pressure from geopolitical tensions and interest-rate uncertainty. According to Bitunix, the standoff between Washington and Tehran has added fresh uncertainty over oil supplies, with the US midterm elections set for November 3.

Higher oil prices could keep inflation elevated and give the Federal Reserve less room to ease monetary policy. While economists expect rates to hold at 3.75%-4.00% at the October meeting, all 100 respondents in a Reuters poll expect another hike in December.

Markets are also showing mixed signals. The S&P 500 remains relatively close to its record high, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has dropped around 14% since October 6. For the crypto market, Bitunix said that the key test is whether energy costs, interest-rate expectations, and AI investment risks begin deteriorating at the same time.

“If they do, markets may need to reprice growth expectations, financing costs, and capital allocation, increasing the potential for volatility across risk assets.”

The post XRP and DOGE Look Undervalued by MVRV Measures, but Will Traders Take Notice? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Cardano’s ecosystem continues to evolve, with the team introducing several advancements that have drawn the crypto community’s attention.

ADA, the project’s native token, is up 4% on a daily basis, yet a combination of bearish factors suggests it may soon head south again.

The Latest Updates

Earlier this week, several sources revealed that Charles Hoskinson (Cardano’s founder) has started building a brand-new programming language for the protocol. According to X account BSCN, the language will be “the first of its kind, enabling intents and PCD via Groth16 proofs” and is co-developed by Input Output engineer Lucas Rosa.

TMA | The Money Ape also commented, claiming that the goal is to make transactions smarter, more secure, and verifiable without revealing private data.

Besides the new programming language, Hoskinson recently introduced Quinelings, an experimental project that turns programs into self-replicating digital creatures.

Each creature blends executable code with mathematics, making its calculations easy to inspect and reuse. They can tackle tasks such as finding roots or measuring water volume, with results that users can verify themselves. At this stage, Quinelings run only on local machines with simulated effects, and the package has not yet been released on npm.

Midnight’s Progress

Midnight is Cardano’s privacy-focused partner chain, designed to let users keep sensitive data private without sacrificing security or compliance. The network’s mainnet launched in March 2026, with NIGHT serving as its utility token.

Earlier this month, Hoskinson said that he’s working on a concept that only Midnight can bring to the cryptocurrency space that “solves most of the problems.”

“Almost have all of it designed conceptually. It’s the magnum opus of my career,” he added.

Several X users commented on the post, with one asking if Cardano is fully completed. Hoskinson said that after the Leios upgrade, the protocol has everything he wanted:

“Decentralized consensus, governance and development, EUTXO, plutus, infinitely scalable, secure, built with formal methods, multiple independent nodes, recursively self-improving, and millions of people hold ADA.”

Just recently, Hoskinson welcomed Tron to Midnight.

ADA Price Outlook

Cardano’s native cryptocurrency experienced substantial volatility over the past month, hovering between roughly $0.20 and nearly $0.28. It currently trades near $0.226, up 4.6% for the day.

Several hours ago, popular analyst Ali Martinez identified several worrying factors that could signal a potential pullback in the near future. First, he revealed that the total amount of coins held by whales has dropped from around 2.9 billion at the start of October to around 2.75 billion. He also noted that their total holdings have been relatively flat for the past 10 days, and so far these large investors aren’t showing a clear directional bias.

He then moved to ADA’s SuperTrend indicator, which has flipped bearish, and cautioned that this development has preceded a 46% correction in the past. Martinez described $0.21 as a level that could confirm a deeper decline, predicting that a daily close below it could trigger a crash to $0.17.

Shortly after, the analyst noted that ADA’s whale activity has increased, with transactions worth more than $1 million rising from 24 to 51. He said the spike coincided with the asset’s price uptick from $0.21 to nearly $0.23.

The post Important Cardano News and ADA Price Update: October 21 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The cryptocurrency market has staged an evident resurgence over the past 24 hours, with Zcash (ZEC) once again among the top performers.

Many analysts believe this marks the start of a major new rally, while some whales opened long positions worth millions of dollars.

Explosion to $2,000 Comes Next?

As of this writing, ZEC is worth just over $1,330 (per CoinGecko), up 13% for the day. By comparison, Bitcoin (BTC) has rebounded by 3%, while Ethereum (ETH) has risen by 4% within the same period. The privacy coin’s market capitalization stands at over $22 billion, solidifying its spot among the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies and widening the gap with Hyperliquid (HYPE), which ranks 11th.

The most likely catalyst for ZEC’s latest price increase is the green wave sweeping the sector, but there may be more to it. The X account BSCN revealed that Zcash plans to triple its block production speed, with developers targeting November 5 for the NU7 upgrade.

“The upgrade would cut block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. It would also temporarily remove 60% of transaction fees from circulation. The existing mining reward halving schedule would remain unchanged. The activation height still needs to be incorporated into node software before the upgrade can take effect,” the disclosure reads.

Besides gaining 13% on the day, ZEC has also climbed 22% from its local bottom of around $1,050, registered just a few days ago. On that note, X user Lucky said:

“ZEC is bouncing back beautifully. Tell me you bought the dip.”

Token Talk and Nehal also weighed in. The former argued that, to maintain its bullish structure, the price would need a healthy consolidation period instead of printing another candle straight to the upside. For his part, the latter predicted that ZEC is gearing up for an explosion toward $2,000.

The Whales’ Activity

Looknochain revealed that two major investors recently bet heavily on ZEC’s further upside. One opened an $18.6 million long position with 10x leverage, whereas the other entered an $18.9 million long under the same conditions.

Such a development is generally considered bullish because it shows strong conviction from large investors, which can encourage smaller players to jump on the bandwagon and distribute fresh capital into the ecosystem.

Nonetheless, heavy leverage also raises the risk of a long squeeze, and if ZEC suddenly reverses course, cascading liquidations of overly risky positions could intensify selling pressure and accelerate the decline.

The post Zcash (ZEC) Rises to a 9-Day High as Whales Bet on Further Gains: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin is pushing back toward $86K after buyers defended the $80K short-term demand zone once again, with BTC trading close to $85K. The rebound comes as markets price in roughly a 25% chance of another Fed hike at the late October meeting, following September’s quarter-point increase. Meanwhile, the NVM Ratio has climbed to its highest level since early 2026, indicating that BTC might be overvalued in terms of network activity.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

BTC continues to trade within the ascending channel that has defined the recovery from the late-June lows near $58K. The rally carried price into the $86K-$90K supply zone, where the February sell-off began. Two attempts to break through this area produced only wicks toward $87K, as the market was rejected to the downside.

The structure remains constructive as long as Bitcoin holds above the channel’s midpoint, currently near $80K. A decisive daily close above $86K would be needed to break into the supply zone and open the way toward $90K.

Losing the channel midline, however, would shift the focus to the $75K-$78K weekly order block, which was the base of the September rally. Below that, the lower channel boundary near $72K is the final structural support before the recovery channel would be invalidated.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows Bitcoin inside a rising short-term channel since the mid-September low near $75K. After the October 6 rejection from $86K, the price began forming lower highs. Each decline, however, has been absorbed by the $80K demand zone, which now converges with the channel’s lower trendline.

BTC is currently pressing against the 84K–84.3K supply zone, created by the October 12 lower high. A clean break above it would end the short-term sequence of lower highs and bring the 85.6K–86.6K zone, where the October 6 sell-off originated, into play.

A rejection from the $84K level would likely send the price back toward the same $80K demand area. Losing both this zone and the lower trendline would expose the $75K region, mentioned in the daily timeframe analysis. Still, with the price creating a higher low on the 4-hour chart, the market seems to have a valid chance to break above $84K.

On-Chain Analysis

The NVM Ratio on CryptoQuant compares Bitcoin’s market capitalization with the square of its daily active addresses. It is based on Metcalfe’s law, which holds that a network’s value grows with the square of its users. Active addresses act as a proxy for real economic usage, so a rising ratio suggests that valuation is outpacing that activity.

The 30-day EMA of the ratio peaked above 4.5 during Bitcoin’s 2025 run toward its all-time high. It climbed back toward 4.4 in January 2026, shortly before the February sell-off toward $65K. After falling to around 3.0 in August, the metric has rebounded to approximately 4.1, even though BTC still trades roughly a third below its peak.

This does not constitute a sell signal by itself, as ETFs and custodians move much of Bitcoin’s activity off-chain and likely push the ratio higher over time. Still, the elevated reading implies thinner valuation support from network usage, making the $80K demand zone even more important to hold in the short term.

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