AI data centers' impact on electricity costs may drive legislative changes, influencing utility regulations and political strategies nationwide.

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Democratic control of Congress may hinder Trump's agenda, increase scrutiny on crypto, but macro factors will likely drive Bitcoin's future.

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Render Network's growth highlights the increasing reliance on decentralized computing for creative industries, boosting token value and innovation.

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OpenAI's potential family plan could reshape subscription models, addressing shared access demands and reducing unauthorized account sharing.

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Druckenmiller's investment may accelerate blockchain integration into U.S. markets, potentially reshaping the crypto derivatives landscape.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin CEO Says, 50,000 More Than Its Reserve Report Shows

Tether holds about 150,000 bitcoin, worth some $11.5 billion at current prices, CEO Paolo Ardoino said, a figure that exceeds the holdings implied by the company’s latest reserve attestation by roughly 50,000 coins.

“We have give or take 150,000 bitcoin ourselves. It’s not much, but it’s honest work,” Ardoino said during his keynote at the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano, Switzerland, the city where Tether has run a bitcoin and stablecoin adoption program since 2022.

At that size the stack would rank Tether among the largest corporate holders of bitcoin, behind Strategy’s 848,517 BTC (as of Q3) and ahead of most public miners and treasury companies. 

Ardoino did not say where the additional coins sit, when they were bought or whether they belong to the stablecoin issuer or to Tether Investments, the arm that holds the group’s venture and equity positions. The remark does not indicate a new 50,000 BTC purchase.

Tether International’s third-quarter reserve report, published Oct. 30 with an attestation from BDO, lists $8.37 billion in bitcoin valued at $83,621.23 per coin as of Sept. 30. That implies about 100,060 BTC, up around 1,130 from the roughly 98,930 held at the end of June. Most of the quarter’s $2.57 billion rise in the bitcoin line came from price, not purchases.

The gap between the report and Ardoino’s figure has a plausible home. Tether has said the investments it makes from profits are kept apart from the reserves backing USDT, so coins held by Tether Investments would not appear in the attestation. 

Tether’s bitcoin exposure extends past its own wallets. It took full control of Twenty One Capital in May after buying out SoftBank, backs Adecoagro’s mining in Brazil, and runs mining and energy ventures in Latin America. Whether any of those positions sit inside the 150,000 figure is unclear.

Tether’s buffer built on bitcoin and gold

The disclosure lands as Tether’s balance sheet grows more dependent on the two assets. The Q3 report shows $191.45 billion in reserve assets against $183.50 billion in liabilities, an excess of $7.95 billion, up from $4.11 billion in June when the cushion had halved. 

Bitcoin at $8.37 billion and gold at about $19.1 billion together exceed that buffer several times over, so a sharp drop in either would eat into it. Treasury bills remain the bulk of reserves at about $132.4 billion.

Tether earned about $1.5 billion in the quarter and $4.5 billion in the first nine months. In August it completed its first independent audit with KPMG, ending years of reliance on attestations alone. Ardoino said at the forum that USDT has more than 730 million users and is adding about 30 million wallets a quarter.

Bitcoin traded near $77,600 Tuesday, which puts Tether’s stated holdings at $11.6 billion and its attested holdings at about $7.8 billion, below the Sept. 30 mark. The company has not said whether it plans to publish a breakdown of the coins held outside the reserve.

This post Tether Holds 150,000 Bitcoin CEO Says, 50,000 More Than Its Reserve Report Shows first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

TD Cowen: Democratic Congress Would Sink CLARITY Act for Two Years

A Democratic sweep of Congress would end the CLARITY Act’s chances for the next two years and sour the political climate for crypto, TD Cowen’s Washington analyst Jaret Seiberg wrote to Bitcoin Magazine and clients in an election-day note.

Seiberg wrote that TD Cowen agrees with polls and prediction markets that Democrats are likely to take both chambers, with the caveat that polls taken a month out, which were more mixed, tend to beat those taken on the eve of a vote. 

His conclusion for crypto is blunt: “Democrats will likely investigate Trump including his crypto entanglements. We see this as souring the political environment for crypto, which is why we do not expect the Clarity Act to pass over the next two years.”

The market structure bill passed the House 294-134 in July 2025 and failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 on Sept. 15. If it does not pass before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, it dies and must be reintroduced. 

Seiberg added that crypto’s influence may shrink further in Congress if Sherrod Brown wins his Ohio Senate race, a contest the industry spent to lose.

In Congress, the Senate is the lever

The note treats Senate control as the bigger prize. A Democratic majority could block Trump’s nominees and use that power to force him to fill Democratic seats on the FDIC, SEC and CFTC, the three agencies at the center of crypto policy. 

It could pressure the White House to drop its effort to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve board. Trump could answer with acting chiefs, Seiberg wrote, but that risks handing authority to career staff, an outcome “Team Trump” does not want.

Senate control would elevate Sen. Elizabeth Warren to chair the Banking Committee. Seiberg sees room for populist bills such as interest rate caps, limits on bank buybacks and a government credit score, and he thinks Warren and Trump could find common ground on some of them.

Rep. Maxine Waters would take House Financial Services, with a focus on housing and tighter scrutiny of the FHFA.

“That means a focus on housing though we are dubious that she will find GOP support for down payment help and public housing renovations. FHFA scrutiny will increase,” the note read.

For banks, the note says the election changes little: regulators will keep easing capital, liquidity and tiering rules whichever party wins. Divided government does raise the odds of a shutdown or a debt-ceiling standoff, since Trump is expected to reject spending conditions Democrats attach.

Bitcoin on election day

Bitcoin traded near $77,500 Tuesday afternoon eastern time, up from a dip to $76,300 in the morning and about $2,000 below where it opened the month. The price has absorbed a record $6.34 billion Binance hack, two days of spot ETF outflows and a Fed that is leaning toward a December hike. 

Prediction markets on Kalshi give Democrats a 94% chance at the House and 74% at the Senate, so much of Seiberg’s scenario is in the price.

What is not priced is the lame-duck session. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a CLARITY negotiator, has said the bill could pass before January even if a Democratic Congress would not make it a priority after. That said, if it fails during that window, she doubts a Democratic-controlled Congress will make it a priority in the future.

According to various reports, crypto groups have spent more than $200 million on the cycle to avoid the outcome Seiberg now expects. The CFTC, for its part, moved without Congress on Tuesday, clearing equity perpetual futures for U.S. exchanges. If the Senate and Congress flips, that agency-by-agency approach, and who sits on those agencies, becomes the whole game.

This post TD Cowen: Democratic Congress Would Sink CLARITY Act for Two Years first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Binance Says $6.34 Billion Hack Began With Fake Job Interview 

The $6.34 billion theft from Binance began with a fake job interview and ran for five months before a single coin moved, the exchange said Tuesday in its first public account of the Oct. 29 attack.

Another initial incident report from Binance, released alongside a media briefing by co-CEO Richard Teng and chief security officer Jimmy Su, describes a campaign that combined a poisoned software download, a staged recruitment process, malware that evaded endpoint detection and an internal AI tool the attackers turned against the company’s own wallet engineers. 

Binance said it has frozen or intercepted about $2.85 billion of the stolen assets and replenished 98% of affected tokens from its own funds, with the balance being bought on the open market.

“This wasn’t one mistake or one breach — it was a months-long campaign,” Teng wrote on X. “We’re publishing the full report because the lessons go far beyond Binance.”

The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea. Binance’s report cites that finding but stops short of its own attribution. Pyongyang rejected the claim Monday, with Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, calling it a “grave political provocation” through state media.

The Binance hack had five months of preparation

According to Binance, the first foothold for this hack came in June. A wallet DevOps engineer searched for a popular AI coding tool and downloaded a tampered Homebrew installer. 

Binance’s security team caught the anomaly, replaced the device and rotated credentials, but the episode exposed the engineer’s role and the names of colleagues on the wallet infrastructure team.

In September, a second engineer was approached on a legitimate job platform by someone posing as a project director. A video interview with a purported HR representative followed, with the interviewer sharing a personal social media account to build trust. A second interview with a supposed CEO ended with an “assignment”: a code repository the engineer was told to install on his work machine. 

The repository replaced a legitimate pyenv component with a malicious version and opened a channel to an attacker-controlled server. Binance said the zero-day malware was not flagged by its endpoint tools at the time.

On Oct. 20, the attackers used that machine and an internal AI tool to reach two more wallet engineers, one of whom held a container deployment token. On Oct. 29, between 17:15 and 19:56 UTC, they logged into a third engineer’s computer, deployed a container with the stolen credentials and launched the drain. Binance said it blocked 57 other suspected North Korea-linked attempts this year using similar lures.

Four hours to contain

The money left fast. Between 20:05 and 20:09 UTC, five hot wallets sent 233.46 million XRP to an attacker address. Wallets on Solana and Optimism followed with about 970,500 SOL and 44.2 million OP. A Binance hot wallet then sent 18,270 BTC. 

The attacker used the compromised signing service to invoke Ethereum’s EIP-7702, which lets an account delegate execution rights to a smart contract without exposing its key, and gave an attacker-controlled contract partial control of a Binance hot wallet.

Suspending withdrawals did not stop that last channel. The attackers had submitted 50 signing transactions to establish on-chain delegations that operated outside Binance’s withdrawal infrastructure. Because the wallet used multi-party computation, no single key existed to revoke them, and the team had to build a procedure on the spot. The final unauthorized transfer, 2,961.9 ETH, settled at 23:56 UTC. 

Binance cleared the delegation at 00:10 UTC on Oct. 30.

The report acknowledges the gap. “These challenges extended the time required to fully contain the unauthorized asset movements,” it says, adding that the company is reviewing its signing policy coverage and hot wallet controls.

Customers withdrew $10.97 billion in the 46 hours after withdrawals reopened Sunday, with net outflows of $5.28 billion, according todata Teng shared Tuesday. By 03:00 UTC hourly deposits exceeded withdrawals, a shift Teng called a sign of stabilization. Binance reopened withdrawals for dozens more assets across nine networks on Tuesday.

The breach has become a talking point in Washington. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the hack “proves our exact point” about the need for a federal registration path for offshore exchanges, and on Tuesday the agency cleared equity perpetual futures for U.S.-regulated venues, extending the onshoring push it began with Kalshi’s bitcoin perp in May.

Binance said it has rebuilt the wallet system and the internal AI tool in new environments, replaced affected devices, revoked the engineers’ credentials and expanded behavioral anomaly detection. 

It is commissioning an independent review, raising spending on endpoint and developer-environment security and planning a research fund on AI security with outside firms. Some technical details, the report says, will stay private. 

This post Binance Says $6.34 Billion Hack Began With Fake Job Interview  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Andrew Hohns: Why Bitcoin Can Fix America’s Debt Spiral

U.S. federal debt has grown 40x in 45 years, from $1 trillion in 1981 to over $40 trillion. Andrew Hohns, founder and CEO of Battery Finance, explains why he doesn’t expect tax hikes or spending cuts to fix it, and how a strategic Bitcoin reserve could help defease the national debt. He also makes the case for the Treasury to pilot BitBonds.

Chapters:
00:00 Andrew Hohns on Bitcoin and the Midterms
00:47 Bond Market Volatility and America’s Fiscal Outlook
01:22 40x Federal Debt Growth in 45 Years
02:55 A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to Defease the Debt
03:20 Why BitBonds Haven’t Come to Market Yet
05:12 Higher Borrowing Costs and the Digital Credit Boom
06:15 Battery Finance’s Bitcoin-Backed Real Estate Loans
07:03 The $2 Trillion Real Estate Refinancing Wall
08:52 How Battery’s Loans Avoid Margin Calls
11:03 Which Property Types Are Under Pressure
13:34 The Future of Bitcoin and Real Estate Financing
16:25 Digital Credit and Institutional Bitcoin Adoption

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

This post Andrew Hohns: Why Bitcoin Can Fix America’s Debt Spiral first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

Bitcoin Magazine

CFTC Opens U.S. Stock Market to Equity Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures on individual stocks can begin trading on U.S.-regulated exchanges for the first time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday, extending a product that was confined to offshore crypto venues a year ago into the equity market.

In a statement, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the contracts, which he called “Equity Perps,” were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products. 

They may list on exchanges that hold a CFTC designated contract market registration and a notice registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a national securities exchange for security futures.

“This expansion marks a significant step towards allowing U.S. market participants, consistent with applicable law, to avail themselves of the advantages of perpetual futures,” Selig said. He said bringing the products inside the agency’s framework means Americans no longer need to “turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues.”

The contracts fall under the Commodity Exchange Act, federal securities law and the rulebooks of both agencies. The statement names no exchange, lists no contracts and sets no launch date. 

Those details are expected to come from the designated contract markets themselves.

CFTC: From bitcoin perps to stock perps in five months

Perpetual futures have no expiration date. Instead of settling on a fixed day, longs and shorts exchange periodic funding payments that keep the contract price tied to spot. The structure has dominated crypto derivatives for years, with most volume on platforms outside U.S. jurisdiction.

The CFTC approved the first U.S.-listed bitcoin perpetual, Kalshi’s BTCPERP, on May 29, and Kalshi went live with the product soon after. The same day, staff granted no-action relief that lets Coinbase Financial Markets route U.S. clients into offshore perp and options liquidity. Kalshi added gold and silver perpetuals in September. 

In his statement Tuesday, Selig described the equity contracts as an extension of that May decision “beyond digital commodities and into traditional securities.”

The legal basis is older. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 created a joint CFTC-SEC regime for security futures products, and the two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11 to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement. 

Selig cited both, and repeated SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins’s description of security futures as stranded in a regulatory “no man’s land” for lack of harmonization. The agencies had set out a joint crypto asset taxonomy earlier in the year.

Not everyone accepts the CFTC’s reading. CME Grou  sued the agency in June over the Kalshi approval, arguing that a contract built on exchanged funding payments is a swap under Dodd-Frank, not a future. 

That case is pending. An equity version adds the SEC’s jurisdiction to the mix and may draw a new set of objections from securities-side participants.

The onshoring argument after Binance

The approval lands five days after the largest theft in crypto’s history. On Oct. 29, attackers that TRM Labs and Chainalysis link to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group drained about $6.3 billion from Binance’s hot wallets in roughly 20 minutes. 

Binance reopened withdrawals on Sunday and says it has replenished about 95% of affected assets.

Selig used the breach to press the case he made in Tuesday’s statement. 

“The real issue here is that these are unregulated offshore exchanges, and they don’t have the same sorts of safeguards that we have in our financial markets here in the United States,” he told CNBC on Oct. 30. 

He said the hack “proves our exact point” about the agency’s October proposal, an advance notice of rulemaking that would create a voluntary federal registration path for crypto exchanges with cybersecurity, proof-of-reserves and custody requirements. Selig has said the CFTC cannot make that registration mandatory without Congress.

The equity perp approval works from the same premise. Perpetuals built the offshore derivatives business; moving them onto dual-registered U.S. exchanges puts the margin, clearing and surveillance rules of two federal agencies around them. 

Selig framed it as a choice between regulated access and “being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues.”

This post CFTC Opens U.S. Stock Market to Equity Perpetual Futures first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

SideSwap reports full L-BTC backing, while customer payouts still depend on its own Bitcoin wallet and manual refills.

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Justin Sun accused the President Donald Trump-backed crypto firm World Liberty Financial of concealing UAE citizenship to escape his federal lawsuit. The Tron founder said on Nov. 3 that his lawyers had requested sanctions against World Liberty Financial and its attorneys after the company disclosed foreign ownership connections months into litigation over his $45 million…

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Binance said it thwarted 57 suspected North Korea-linked cyber threats in 2026, yet a fake interview compromised one of its engineers. The disclosure, in the exchange's Nov. 3 security report, reveals how attackers used a recruitment scam involving staged interviews, fabricated identities, and malicious software to access systems involved in the $6.34 billion cryptocurrency theft…

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At the November 2 close, an independent comparison narrows XRP’s Coinbase discount from 0.168% to 0.006% after converting USDT into dollars.

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Hackers exploited Binance's internal artificial intelligence tools to compromise engineers before stealing $6.34 billion in cryptocurrency, the exchange disclosed. In its Nov. 3 security report, Binance said attackers used a compromised employee computer and an internal AI tool on Oct. 20 to take control of two engineers responsible for its wallet infrastructure. The attackers subsequently…

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November has started the way October ended for the US spot Bitcoin ETFs: with money leaving. Three sessions in a row, more than a billion dollars out, and BlackRock's IBIT doing most of the selling. Meanwhile $Bitcoin is trying to hold the $76,000 to $77,000 zone after the Democrats swept the midterms. Here is what the flows are telling us.

What happened to the Bitcoin ETF flows this week?

According to SoSoValue, the spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded three consecutive days of net outflows:

• 30 October: $643.3 million, the largest single-day exit since late June. This was the first trading session after Binance confirmed its $6.3 billion hack.
• 2 November: $398.6 million, the first outflow day of the new month.
• 3 November: $115.6 million, a much smaller figure, but still negative.

That adds up to roughly $1.16 billion in three sessions. The Ethereum ETFs added to the pain with another $139.8 million of outflows on 2 November alone.

Who is selling Bitcoin ETFs?

Almost entirely BlackRock's IBIT. The fund lost $233.7 million on 30 October, $405.3 million on 2 November (more than the entire group's net figure that day) and about $95 million on 3 November. Fidelity's FBTC flipped from a $201.4 million outflow on 30 October to small inflows this week, and Bitwise's BITB actually attracted $21.9 million on 3 November.

In other words: one very large allocator is cutting exposure, while the smaller funds are quietly buying the dip. The total net assets of the spot Bitcoin ETFs now sit at about $99.2 billion, roughly 6.3 percent of Bitcoin's market cap, with cumulative inflows since launch still above $56 billion.

Why are Bitcoin ETFs seeing outflows now?

Three things hit at once:

1. The Binance hack. The biggest theft in crypto history triggered a wave of de-risking on the Friday after the breach, and ETF investors were part of it.
2. The midterms. Markets had priced a Republican-friendly, light-touch regulatory path for crypto. A Democratic House and Senate changes that calculation, and institutions hate uncertainty.
3. Underwater holders. Bitcoin is down roughly 12 percent year to date and many ETF buyers from the first half of the year are sitting on losses, which makes every bounce a selling opportunity for them.

Is the Bitcoin ETF selling slowing down?

The trend in the numbers says yes: $643 million, then $399 million, then $116 million. The pace is clearly fading, and the inflows into BITB and FBTC show that not everyone is heading for the exit. But one shrinking outflow day is not a reversal. What would flip the picture is a string of green days above $200 million, something we have not seen since the second half of October.

Bitcoin price prediction: what do the flows mean for BTC?

Bitcoin dipped to about $75,700 during the election count and has since bounced back above $77,000. The zone between $75,500 and $76,500 is the support that matters now. Hold it, and a relief rally toward $80,000 is on the table, especially if the ETF flows turn positive. Lose it, and the 200-day average near $73,000 becomes the next target, roughly 5 percent lower.

You can follow the live price on our Bitcoin price page and the broader market metrics, including liquidations and the Fear and Greed Index, on our charts page.

As a retail client in Germany, you can trade crypto futures legally on six large exchanges that hold an EU licence as an investment firm or trading venue: Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, Gemini, Robinhood and One Trading. All six cap retail leverage on Bitcoin at 10x. The differences lie in contract design, fees, the currency in which you post collateral and the regulator responsible for your money. This comparison reflects the position as of November 4, 2026.

A crypto future is a derivatives contract on the price of a cryptocurrency: you use leverage to bet on rising or falling prices without buying the coins themselves. The most common form is the perpetual future, or perp, a future with no expiry date that a regular balancing payment keeps close to the spot price. How these contracts work in detail is explained in our guide Crypto futures trading: perpetual futures explained. This piece deals with the next question: on which exchange do you trade them, and what does it cost?

Crypto futures in the EU: who may onboard retail clients in Germany

A licence under the MiCA crypto regulation is not enough for crypto futures. MiCA covers buying, exchanging and holding crypto assets. Futures and perpetuals, by contrast, are derivatives and therefore financial instruments under the MiFID II directive. An exchange offering you futures in Germany therefore needs a second authorisation, as an investment firm or as the operator of a trading venue. What the requirements of a MiCA licence look like and which obligations crypto companies must meet by the end of 2026 is set out in our overview of the obligations under the MiCA licence.

Almost all large providers have set up or acquired separate entities in an EU country for their derivatives business. Cyprus and Malta are popular, as their regulators CySEC and MFSA supervise numerous investment firms from the forex and CFD business. With this licence, the entities may offer their services across all member states via the EU passport, Germany included. BaFin is not the primary supervisor for these providers, but it does oversee the rules on distribution to German retail clients.

For you, the licence has three practical consequences. The exchange must assess your knowledge before you are allowed to trade, and it must hold client money separately from its own assets. And in a dispute, there is a regulator and an ombudsman in the EU you can turn to. At exchanges without an EU licence, none of this applies.

The six exchanges with an EU licence for crypto futures at a glance

The table summarises what the providers state in their product pages, help articles and announcements. Leverage here means the highest leverage a retail client in the EU gets on Bitcoin.

The two oldest offerings come from Kraken and One Trading, both dating from spring 2025. Kraken bought a Cypriot investment firm for the purpose and has offered perpetuals and fixed-expiry futures to clients in the European Economic Area since May 2025. One Trading, the former exchange from the Bitpanda orbit, runs its own trading venue in the Netherlands and opened it to retail clients from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands in May 2025. One particular feature: One Trading's contracts are denominated in euros, so you do not have to calculate in dollars or stablecoins.

Coinbase and OKX joined in 2026, both with the same structure: the two exchanges' contracts formally run for five years and are kept in line with the spot price through a funding rate. In trading, they behave like perpetuals. Gemini launched perpetuals in USDC in September 2025, Robinhood in summer 2025 with initially 3x leverage; the company now lists up to 10x on its EU product page. Since June 2026, OKX has also offered contracts on large US equities, gold, silver and oil, while Robinhood announced contracts on ETFs, commodities and currencies in July 2026.

Leverage for retail clients: why almost everyone stops at 10x

Anyone familiar with the big international exchanges is used to 50x or 100x leverage. In the EU, the retail limit at all six providers is 10x. Gemini's announcement does mention up to 100x, but that offer is aimed at experienced and professional investors; according to its help page, the standard for EU retail clients is 10x.

The reason is regulatory. In a public statement on February 24, 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA, said that derivatives marketed as perpetual futures are likely to fall under the national measures for contracts for difference. A contract for difference, or CFD, is a bet on the price difference of an underlying asset with no expiry date, settled in cash. Since 2018, CFDs on crypto assets have been subject to a maximum retail leverage of 2:1. On top of that come a forced close-out as soon as collateral falls to half the required minimum margin, protection against losing more than the account balance, and a mandatory risk warning. How this classification came about and what the industry argues against it is covered in our analysis Perpetual futures and the CFD rules.

According to their own product pages, all six exchanges continue to offer retail clients up to 10x leverage. The 10x cap is self-imposed and sits well below what platforms outside the EU offer. Whether it holds for good depends on how national regulators implement the ESMA statement.

Perpetual or five-year future: contract design decides whether CFD rules apply

This is where the providers part ways. Kraken, Gemini, Robinhood and One Trading list genuine perpetuals with no expiry date. Coinbase and OKX rely on futures with a five-year term. For you as a trader, the difference is barely noticeable day to day, since a position will long have been closed before five years are up. Legally, it matters a great deal: a future with a fixed expiry date is not a contract for difference, so the CFD requirements, and with them the 2:1 cap, do not apply.

OKX openly justifies the design by saying that pure perpetuals are not readily permissible under MiFID II. On the X-Perps product page, the exchange lists leverage of up to 10x, fees from 0.02 percent for makers and 0.05 percent for takers, and collateral in Bitcoin, Ether, Solana or stablecoins. Coinbase settles the funding rate on its five-year futures hourly and marks gains and losses to market once a day.

A residual risk remains for providers of genuine perpetuals: if regulators follow the ESMA line strictly, they could have to limit retail clients to 2x leverage. If you are choosing an exchange today, you should know that. Low-leverage traders will notice little; anyone who relies on 10x should keep an eye on contract design.

Crypto futures fees: what a €10,000 trade costs

With futures, you pay two kinds of costs: the trading fee for opening and closing, and the funding rate for as long as the position is open. The trading fee depends on whether you place an order in the order book as a maker or take an existing order as a taker. Takers pay more, and anyone placing a market order is always a taker.

The providers' fee schedules for the lowest volume tier:

• Kraken: 0.02 percent maker, 0.05 percent taker, falling with trading volume over the past 30 days. According to Kraken, new futures clients in the EEA at times get 30 days without trading fees.
• OKX: 0.02 percent maker, 0.05 percent taker as the standard for X-Perps.
• One Trading: The fee page lists 0.10 percent maker and 0.20 percent taker for futures in the lowest tier, while help articles cite considerably lower rates for perpetuals. There is also a 3 percent liquidation fee on positions closed out by force.
• Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood: The rates are in the fee schedules and are shown in the app before every order.

A worked example shows why the differences matter. You post €1,000 in margin and open a €10,000 position with 10x leverage, both as a taker. At 0.05 percent, you pay €5 to open and roughly another €5 to close, €10 in total, or 1 percent of your margin. At 0.20 percent, it is €20 each way, €40 in total, or 4 percent of your margin, before the price has moved at all. Frequent traders will see this gap in their account within a few weeks.

The funding rate comes on top. According to its documentation, One Trading exchanges it between the long and short sides every four hours, Coinbase every hour. In calm markets, long positions usually pay. For a position held for several weeks, that can cost more than the trading fee.

Margin, collateral and settlement in euros, USDC or crypto

Margin is the collateral you post for a futures position. The ratio of position value to margin gives the leverage. If losses push the margin below the maintenance margin, the exchange closes the position by force: that is liquidation. At 10x leverage, a counter-move of just under 10 percent is enough; with Bitcoin, that can happen in a single day in volatile weeks.

The currency in which you post collateral differs markedly between providers. One Trading settles in euros, which saves you the detour via stablecoins and the exchange-rate risk against the dollar. Gemini settles its perpetuals in USDC. OKX accepts several assets as collateral, including Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoins. Kraken also allows several types of collateral but then charges conversion fees and, for losses not covered in dollars, hourly costs.

Crypto as collateral sounds convenient but has a catch: if the price falls, your collateral loses value at the same time as a long position. Liquidation then comes sooner than a calculation with fixed leverage would suggest. For beginners, collateral in euros or a stablecoin is therefore usually the calmer choice.

Appropriateness assessment: what exchanges ask before your first futures trade

Before you may trade futures on any of the six exchanges, you have to fill in a questionnaire. For complex financial instruments, MiFID II requires an appropriateness assessment: the exchange must establish whether you have enough knowledge and experience to understand the risks. Typical questions cover how often you have traded derivatives in recent years, whether you can explain leverage and liquidation, and your occupation or education.

If the result is negative, the exchange may in many cases still open trading to you, but it must warn you explicitly. Some providers block access entirely or initially enable only low leverage. Gemini also distinguishes between retail and professional clients; as a professional client you get more leverage but lose parts of investor protection. Switching only makes sense if you genuinely meet the requirements and understand the consequences.

Bybit, Backpack and perp DEXs: where a futures licence is missing or pending

Some well-known names are missing from the comparison. Bybit EU holds its MiCA licence in Austria, but only applied for a MiFID II licence for derivatives in September 2025. Until it is granted, the EU entity may not distribute futures to retail clients in the EU. Backpack EU, the successor to FTX EU, holds a licence from Cyprus's CySEC and has offered more than 40 perpetuals with up to 10x leverage since September 2025. Backpack does not publish a list of permitted countries; whether you can trade from Germany only becomes clear when you sign up.

There are also decentralised exchanges for perpetuals, so-called perp DEXs such as Hyperliquid. There you trade directly from your own wallet, without an account and usually without identity verification, often with considerably more leverage. These platforms have no EU licence: there is no leverage cap under EU law, no negative balance protection and no regulator you can turn to. They also bring risks of their own, such as smart contract bugs.

If you are looking for futures with a fixed expiry date, there is a third route: the futures exchanges. Eurex in Frankfurt lists futures on Bitcoin and Ether, the CME in Chicago micro contracts on Bitcoin. They are accessible through a broker with futures trading; our crypto broker comparison shows which providers offer this.

Tax on crypto futures in Germany: 25 percent with no holding period

For tax purposes, futures and perpetuals are forward transactions under section 20(2) of the German Income Tax Act, because you receive a cash settlement rather than coins. You pay 25 percent flat-rate withholding tax on gains, plus solidarity surcharge and church tax where applicable. The one-year period after which gains on coins held become tax-free does not apply to futures. Funding payments are part of the position's result.

None of the six exchanges is based in Germany, so none withholds tax for you. You enter gains and losses yourself in the Anlage KAP form and need a clean record of all trades to do so. What applies to loss offsetting and documentation is explained in our guide to crypto futures tax. This section is not tax advice.

Crypto futures: six exchanges, one leverage cap of 10x

When trading crypto futures from Germany, the order matters: licence first, then fees, and only then leverage. The six providers in the comparison differ less on leverage than on contract design, settlement currency and costs.

1. Check the licence: Only trade on an exchange licensed in the EU as an investment firm or trading venue for derivatives. Which exchanges hold a MiCA licence for spot trading is shown in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.
2. Compare costs: Scale the taker fee and funding rate up to your typical position size. If you deliberately want to trade outside the EU rules, you will find the fees and risks of the decentralised alternatives in our perp DEX comparison.
3. Prepare for tax: Export your trades from the start, because you report futures gains yourself. Suitable tools are in our crypto tax software comparison.

Futures and perpetuals are complex leveraged products. A total loss of your stake is possible, and most retail clients lose money with leveraged products.

(As of November 4, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

The options market expects XRP to swing by about 8.7 percent in either direction through Sunday, November 8. Measured from the Wednesday morning price, that gives a range of roughly $1.16 to $1.38. What is established: the figure comes from Coinbase Markets data, and no other large coin carries such a high premium relative to its usual weekly move. Our assessment follows further down. For months, the premium has been the rule for XRP, so the edges of the range work better as alarm levels than as price targets.

Where the price could head over a horizon of months is covered in our XRP price prediction. This piece is about the next four days: the week after the US election, as Washington reorganises and a fix may go live on the XRP Ledger.

XRP after US election night: $1.27 on Wednesday morning

At around 7:40 a.m. German time on Wednesday, XRP traded at $1.274, or €1.135, on the Kraken exchange. Over 24 hours, the low was $1.240 and the high $1.289. The price therefore came through election night with a pullback of a little over three percent and then drifted back to the middle of the daily range.

Bitcoin set the pace. According to CryptoPotato, the oldest cryptocurrency fell from around $77,970 to $75,740 between 21:45 and 03:10 UTC as projections handed the Democrats majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. By the morning, Bitcoin was back at $77,815 on Kraken. The same report put the total market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies down about 2.9 percent over 24 hours, at roughly $2.58 trillion.

XRP thus moved in step with the market, with no weakness of its own but no momentum of its own either. That is exactly the kind of situation in which the derivatives market is worth a look: it shows how much movement traders are pricing in for the coming days before it shows up in the spot price.

Implied volatility: how the options market arrives at 8.7 percent

An option is the right to buy (call) or sell (put) a coin at a fixed price up to a set date. Its price depends above all on how much the market expects the price to fluctuate. Implied volatility is the range of fluctuation that can be backed out of traded option prices; it is quoted as an annual figure.

Coinbase Markets translated this metric, using market data from November 1, into an expected move through November 8. The basis is at-the-money options, meaning those with a strike price close to the current price. For XRP, the result was about 8.7 percent, as The Crypto Basic reported on November 3. Historically, the median realised move over seven days has been 4.9 percent. The options market is therefore charging 1.76 times what XRP delivers in a typical week.

Annualised, 8.7 percent in seven days corresponds to an implied volatility of a little over 60 percent; that is our own conversion using the square root of time. One point matters for interpretation: under the standard option pricing model, such a range describes roughly one standard deviation. By that model, about two weeks in three end inside the range and one in three outside it.

Why options are almost always more expensive than reality

Anyone who sells an option takes on the risk of a large swing and expects to be paid for it. That mark-up is called the volatility premium. It is positive in almost every asset class, because buyers of protection are willing to pay more than the fluctuation costs on average. So the question is not whether a premium exists, but how large it is by comparison.

XRP vs Bitcoin, Ether and Solana: the highest premium among the majors

The figures come from Coinbase Markets, with data as of November 1, analysed by The Crypto Basic. Solana and XRP carry the same absolute expectation of 8.7 percent. Solana, however, moves more anyway, so its premium is considerably smaller. XRP shows the widest gap between what traders pay and what the price normally delivers: 3.8 percentage points.

The pattern is not new. Back in September 2026, according to the same source, XRP options priced a weekly move of 8.9 percent against a historical average of around five percent. A high premium is simply the normal state for XRP. A single reading of 8.7 percent is not a warning sign in itself.

Since our ledger fix piece: the $1.2646 level broke overnight

On Tuesday afternoon, in our analysis of the ledger fix backed by 33 of 35 validators, we described a price of $1.28 and named $1.2646 as the lower level, with $1.30 and $1.3343 above. Since then, the picture has shifted in one respect: on election night XRP fell as low as $1.240, undercutting the lower level by about two percent. It did not hold.

The way back is worth noting. In the morning, at $1.274, XRP was again just under one percent above that level. The $1.30 mark, by contrast, was not reached at any point overnight; the daily high stayed at $1.289. The timetable for the fixCleanup3_4_0 fix is also still open: as of Tuesday, it could go live on Wednesday at around 15:46 German time, provided validator support stays above the threshold until then.

Two pieces of news from Ripple's orbit have also arrived since Monday. According to the industry outlet GN Crypto, Ripple minted 110.57 million units of its RLUSD stablecoin in a single transaction on the XRP Ledger on Monday evening, taking RLUSD's market capitalisation to around $2.55 billion. Binance reopened withdrawals via the XRP Ledger on Tuesday. Both raise activity on the blockchain, but neither triggered a direct price move.

Range for the XRP price prediction: $1.16 at the bottom, $1.38 at the top

Applying the 8.7 percent to the Wednesday morning price produces the following grid. The values are arithmetic edges derived from the options metric, not an analyst's price targets.

Two points on the grid coincide with levels the price already knows. The upper edge of a typical week, at $1.336, sits almost exactly on the $1.3343 level where XRP was already rejected last week. On the downside, the overnight low of $1.240 lies between the price and the lower weekly edge. The Crypto Basic gives its own reference points of $1.36 on the upside and $1.14 on the downside, calculated from a starting price of around $1.25; these are explicitly not Coinbase targets.

For interpretation, this means a close above $1.3343 would be the first breakout from the band in which XRP has been oscillating since slipping below $1.30 at the end of October. A drop below the overnight low of $1.240 would open the options range to the downside, with its edge at around $1.16.

Our assessment: the premium points to hedging rather than panic

In our view, the high XRP premium this week is above all a price for uncertainty about dates, not for an expected direction. One argument for this is that the ratio of 1.76 is barely above the September reading, when a similar amount was priced in with no election and no fix. Another is that XRP gave up only about as much as Bitcoin on election night. Against this reading: two triggers coincide this week that rarely arrive together for XRP, the reshuffle in Washington and a rule change on the ledger. If the price does not move after the fix, the premium is likely to melt away by Sunday. We do not derive a buy or sell recommendation from this; a total loss remains possible with any cryptocurrency.

XRP leverage and liquidation: 10x leverage ends at the edge of the range

For investors in Germany who trade XRP not as an option but as a leveraged perpetual future, the range is a sober piece of arithmetic. A perpetual future is a futures contract with no expiry date whose price is tied to the spot price through a regular funding payment. Liquidation is the forced closure of a position as soon as the posted collateral no longer covers the losses.

At 10x leverage, the liquidation price sits roughly nine to ten percent from the entry, depending on the exchange and the maintenance margin. A long entered at $1.274 would therefore be force-closed at around $1.15 to $1.16, a short at around $1.39 to $1.40. Both values sit almost exactly on the edges of the options range. Put differently, the market sees a move that would wipe out a 10x position this week as an event with roughly a one-in-three probability, both directions combined.

At 5x leverage, the distance grows to about 19 to 20 percent, and at 3x to around 32 percent. If you use leveraged products, you will find providers' terms, including fees and margin rules, in our perp DEX comparison. What matters is the distance to liquidation, not the leverage alone: a stop-loss below the overnight low of $1.240 limits the loss before the exchange closes the position itself.

CLARITY Act after the midterms: why the tailwind from Washington is fading

The CLARITY Act, a market structure bill, was meant to divide responsibilities between the securities regulator, the SEC, and the derivatives regulator, the CFTC, and give coins such as XRP a clear status. It failed in the Senate on September 15 by 49 votes to 50. According to election night projections, the Democrats now hold the majority in both chambers. One analyst quoted by CryptoPotato therefore does not expect the CLARITY Act to pass within the next two years.

For XRP, this is a delay rather than a break. Ripple has put its legal dispute with the SEC behind it, and the coin has long been traded in the US. What is missing is an additional boost from legislation, which part of the market had been betting on until the election. Final results in some states were still outstanding on Wednesday morning.

Holding period and buying under MiCA: holding and buying XRP in Germany

For tax purposes in Germany, what counts is not the week but the year. Gains from selling XRP are tax-free after a holding period of more than twelve months. Within that period, an exemption limit of €1,000 a year applies to all private disposal gains combined; if it is exceeded, the entire gain is taxable. If you sell XRP at a loss within the period, you can offset the loss against other private disposal gains. Gains from derivatives such as options and futures follow different rules, and the holding period does not apply there. Our page on the crypto holding period reform sums up where the debate stands.

In a week with an expected swing in particular, it pays to check your purchase dates: if a holding is just short of the one-year mark, selling a few days later can make the difference between taxable and tax-free. The holding period of each purchase can be read out on a first-in, first-out basis with crypto tax software.

For the purchase itself, since the end of the transition period, providers that broker or hold crypto assets in Germany need authorisation under the EU's MiCA regulation. Whether an exchange has it is shown in the register of the European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA. Our overview of the best crypto exchanges compares fees, spreads and withdrawal options for XRP.

XRP options: the $1.16 to $1.38 range is the yardstick until November 8

The options metric does not give a direction, but it does give a yardstick. As long as XRP oscillates between the overnight low of $1.240 and the $1.3343 level, the price is moving within the bounds of an ordinary week. Only beyond that does the territory begin that the options market is paying its premium for.

1. Recalculate the distance to liquidation: If the liquidation price of a leveraged position lies within $1.16 to $1.38, it is at serious risk this week by the options yardstick. Providers' margin rules are in the perp DEX comparison.
2. Read out the holding period of each purchase: Sell holdings that are close to the end of the one-year period only once it has passed, if circumstances allow. Purchase dates come from tax software with FIFO reporting.
3. Check the exchange for MiCA authorisation: Before buying or adding, look it up in the ESMA register and compare fees, for example in the overview of crypto exchanges.

(As of November 4, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

At 09:12 CET, Pete Ricketts led Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate race by 41,003 votes, 50.1 to 43.9 percent with 81.5 percent of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News, based on AP data. No winner has been called. Before this race, an independent last won a Senate race in Nebraska in 1936, and Republicans last lost one in 2006. Dan Osborn, a former union president, runs as an independent, and he has no Democratic opponent: the Nebraska Democratic Party backs him, and its nominee, Cindy Burbank, withdrew in July. Republican Senator Pete Ricketts seeks his first full term after being appointed in 2023 and winning the shortened term in 2024. In the table and charts below, D+ stands for a lead for Osborn in 2026 and for Kamala Harris in the 2024 comparison.

Nebraska Senate race: the key facts

• Status (09:12 CET): Ricketts 334,511 votes (50.1 percent), Osborn 293,508 (43.9 percent), 81.5 percent counted.
• Governor: NBC News projects Jim Pillen as the winner over Lynne Walz, 50.4 to 42.6 percent with 82 percent counted.
• 2024: Donald Trump won Nebraska in 2024 with 564,816 votes to 369,995 for Kamala Harris, a margin of 20.5 points.
• Crypto money: $13,476,276 spent against Osborn in the general election by Defend American Jobs, according to Tech Influence Watch.
• Prediction market: Osborn 0.1 percent, Ricketts 100.0 percent on Polymarket (09:12 CET).

Nebraska election results: read the count with care

We estimate about 146,000 votes are still out, most of them in Lancaster, Douglas, Sarpy. Counties report at different speeds, so a lead at this stage can still move in either direction until the race is called.

Nebraska 2024 vs 2026: where the counties moved

Douglas County, home to Omaha, went from D+10.1 in the 2024 presidential race to D+20.7 now, with 87 percent counted. Lancaster County, home to Lincoln, went from D+4.3 in the 2024 presidential race to D+25.1 now, with 59 percent counted. Sarpy County, in the Omaha suburbs, went from R+11.6 in the 2024 presidential race to D+4.4 now, with 85 percent counted. Across the larger areas with at least half of the count in, the margin moved 16.3 points toward Osborn on average. These figures compare a partial Senate count with a full presidential count, so the final swing can still change. The 2026 figure measures Osborn's lead or deficit against Ricketts, the 2024 figure measures Harris against Trump, so the table shows how far the same counties moved between an independent's campaign and a Democratic presidential one.

Who are Dan Osborn and Pete Ricketts?

Osborn is the former president of a union local and ran as an independent against Republican Deb Fischer in 2024, losing by fewer than seven points. His platform this year includes a ban on corporate PAC donations and a stock-trading ban for members of Congress, and he is a critic of AI data centers. Ricketts, who supports building them, won the Republican nomination in May with 81.5 percent. Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank withdrew in July, so no Democrat is on the ballot. Three other candidates are: Chuck Conboy of the America First Party, Robin Richards of the Nebraska Working People Party and Mike Marvin of Legal Marijuana NOW, who has withdrawn and endorsed Osborn but remains on the ballot.

Nebraska governor's race: Jim Pillen vs Lynne Walz

Republican Jim Pillen seeks a second term as governor. Lynne Walz, a Democrat and former state senator, challenges him, and Democrats had last won the governor's office in Nebraska in 1994 before this race. Brett Lindstrom of the America First Party and Rick Beard of Legal Marijuana NOW are on the ballot as well.

Nebraska and crypto: $13.5 million against Osborn

Compared with Alaska, Iowa and Kansas, Nebraska is where the crypto and AI committees spent by far the most. Tech Influence Watch, the tracker formerly known as Follow the Crypto, lists $14.4 million of committee spending in Nebraska, against $508,000 in Alaska, $972,000 in Iowa and $81,000 in Kansas. In the Senate race, Defend American Jobs, the crypto committee in the Fairshake network, spent $13,476,276 against Osborn in the general election. In the Republican primary, Fellowship PAC, another crypto committee, and Defending Our Values, an AI committee, spent $612,625 for Ricketts. Andreessen Horowitz, Donald Wilson, Google and 11 other companies or their executives added $186,500 in direct support for Ricketts.

The advocacy group Stand With Crypto scores Ricketts 100 and Osborn 75. The seat counts for the next attempt at a market structure law: the Senate did not take up the CLARITY Act on 15 September, as the vote to begin debate failed 49 to 50, with no Democrat voting yes, and it needed 60 votes. Whoever holds the Nebraska seat in January votes on the next attempt. Where the bill stands is in our CLARITY Act explainer.

What Nebraska means for the Senate

Republicans went into the night with 53 seats, so Democrats needed a net gain of four for the majority, and Ricketts' seat was one of the Republican 53. NBC News projects Democrats to control the Senate, with 54 seats for Democrats and 43 for Republicans at 09:12 CET. With the majority decided, the races still open decide the size of the margin, not who controls the chamber. All calls and the full Senate table are in our midterm results live ticker. More from the states: the Iowa Senate race, Kansas and crypto's $50 million bet against Sherrod Brown.

What Polymarket says about Nebraska

Traders put Osborn at 0.1 percent and Ricketts at 100.0 percent at 09:12 CET, on a market with $4.3 million in volume. That shows what the market expects. Prediction markets can move quickly on early counts. The market has one outcome for the independent candidate, Osborn, and calls it "Independent". If you hold coins through a week like this, compare regulated crypto exchanges and crypto brokers first. This article is not investment advice.

NBC News, based on AP data, projects Adam Hamilton as the winner of the Kansas Senate race against Roger Marshall. At 09:07 CET the count stood at 50.9 to 46.1 percent with 95.6 percent counted. It is the first Democratic Senate win in Kansas since 1932. Adam Hamilton, a Democratic pastor, ran against Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who won the seat in 2020. Kansas also elected a governor because Democrat Laura Kelly is term-limited. It is one of five Democratic-held governorships up for election in a state Trump won in 2024, and the only one of them where Trump's margin was in double digits.

Kansas Senate race: the key facts

• Status (09:07 CET): Hamilton 556,414 votes (50.9 percent), Marshall 503,230 (46.1 percent), 95.6 percent counted.
• Governor: Cindy Holscher leads Ty Masterson 50.3 to 49.7 percent with 95 percent counted.
• 2024: Donald Trump won Kansas in 2024 with 758,802 votes to 544,853 for Kamala Harris, a margin of 16.1 points.
• Crypto and AI money: $80,832 from an AI committee for Marshall, plus $51,000 in direct contributions, according to Tech Influence Watch.
• Prediction market: the race is called; see Polymarket for the settled market.

Kansas election results: read the count with care

We estimate about 14,000 votes are still out, most of them in Douglas, Ellis, Finney. With the race called, the remaining votes only change the final margin.

Kansas 2024 vs 2026: where the counties moved

Johnson County, in the Kansas City suburbs, went from D+8.5 in the 2024 presidential race to D+28.0 now, with 95 percent counted. Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, went from R+13.8 in the 2024 presidential race to D+7.5 now, with 93 percent counted. Wyandotte County, home to Kansas City, Kansas, went from D+23.9 in the 2024 presidential race to D+48.7 now, with 99 percent counted. Shawnee County, home to Topeka, went from D+0.5 in the 2024 presidential race to D+18.2 now, with 95 percent counted. Across the larger areas with at least half of the count in, the margin moved 20.4 points toward Democrats on average. These figures compare a partial Senate count with a full presidential count, so the final swing can still change. Trump voters who stayed home and Republicans who split their ticket look the same in this table.

Who are Adam Hamilton and Roger Marshall?

Hamilton is the founder and senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. In the August primary he won the Democratic nomination with about 35 percent in a large field, according to Wikipedia's race summary. Marshall, a Republican, won his Senate seat in 2020 with 53.2 percent and took this year's Republican nomination with about 80 percent. David Graham is on the ballot for the Libertarian Party.

Kansas governor's race: Cindy Holscher vs Ty Masterson

Cindy Holscher, a Democratic state senator, runs against Ty Masterson, a Republican who is president of the Kansas Senate. Kansas has a long tradition of ticket-splitting in governor's races: it votes Republican for president, yet Democrats have won the governor's office in most years since the late 1960s.

Kansas and crypto: the money behind Marshall

The money in this race ran one way. Tech Influence Watch, the tracker formerly known as Follow the Crypto, lists $80,832 from the AI committee Alliance for a Better Future in support of Marshall in the general election, plus $51,000 in direct support from Winklevoss Capital Management, Distributed Capital Partners, Microsoft and three other companies or their executives. The tracker's Senate entry for Kansas lists support for Marshall only.

The advocacy group Stand With Crypto scores Marshall 99 and shows no rating for Hamilton. The seat counts for the next attempt at a market structure law: the Senate did not take up the CLARITY Act on 15 September, as the vote to begin debate failed 49 to 50, with no Democrat voting yes, and it needed 60 votes. Whoever holds the Kansas seat in January votes on the next attempt. Where the bill stands is in our CLARITY Act explainer.

What Kansas means for the Senate

Republicans went into the night with 53 seats, so Democrats needed a net gain of four for the majority, and Marshall's seat was one of the Republican 53. NBC News projects Democrats to control the Senate, with 54 seats for Democrats and 43 for Republicans at 09:07 CET. With the majority decided, the races still open decide the size of the margin, not who controls the chamber. All calls and the full Senate table are in our midterm results live ticker. More from the states: the Iowa Senate race, Nebraska and the $13.5 million against Dan Osborn and Texas and the Bitcoin reserve.

What Polymarket says about Kansas

With the race called, the prediction market has little left to price. The open question for traders is the balance of power in Washington. If you hold coins through a week like this, compare regulated crypto exchanges and crypto brokers first. This article is not investment advice.

The ChatGPT maker says future facilities could ease pressure on power grids by cutting demand during emergencies.

Paolo Ardoino told the Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano the company owns “give or take 150,000 Bitcoin,” but its Q3 reserve report implies just 100,060.

Claude's prices are falling, but Anthropic's computing expenses grew faster than sales in the latest quarter—a tricky equation ahead of its IPO.

CrowdStrike's new kill switch lets security teams cut off unauthorized AI agents through a gateway, while its planned Fiddler acquisition aims to make autonomous software easier to monitor and audit.

Tron founder Justin Sun said he has asked a federal court to sanction World Liberty Financial, alleging the Trump family-backed venture delayed disclosing UAE ties that could defeat federal jurisdiction over his lawsuit.

The hacker behind the massive $6.3 billion Binance security breach continues aggressively accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) by converting stolen Solana (SOL) tokens through a complex series of cross-chain transactions.

Crypto markets are bleeding as Zcash, Cardano, Near Protocol and XRP all trade under pressure, with key support levels now in focus.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has pushed back against concerns that the company’s growing focus on its RLUSD stablecoin could undermine XRP, insisting that the two assets are complementary rather than competitive.

Tesla, Amazon, Netflix and three other major companies have dealt another blow to OKX’s stock tokenization ambitions.

Fresh SEC documents show an ex-XRP treasury divesting its $5 million stake in Ripple following a private $300 share buyback deal.

TLDR:

• Hackers compromised two Binance engineers through a tampered tool in an ad and a fake job interview. 
• Attackers moved 233.46 million XRP from five hot wallets in four minutes on October 29, Binance said. 
• Binance froze about $2.85 billion, yet transfers continued nearly four hours after the attack began. 
• Binance is repaying customers and investing in AI-enabled detection and a security research fund.

Binance hack details have emerged after the exchange published its initial security report on Tuesday. Attackers used a fake job interview and tampered software to compromise engineer computers.

They then drained crypto worth $6.3 billion on October 29. The FBI has blamed a North Korean hacking group, while Pyongyang rejects the claim.

Binance has said it is repaying all customers whose funds were stolen. The report traces the breach back to June.

How the Attack Began in June

The Binance hack started in June, according to the exchange’s report. An employee on the wallet developer team downloaded a tool that hackers had tampered with.

Binance detected the problem afterward, replaced the device, and changed credentials. However, the employee’s role and those of other wallet team members stayed exposed. The report describes a multi-stage operation that built up over several months.

A person familiar with the incident said the malicious version sat inside an advertisement. As a result, it appeared higher in search results than the real tool.

Meanwhile, Michael Barnhart, a researcher at cybersecurity firm DTEX, said fake job interviews are a well-known hacking technique.

In September, a second software engineer downloaded a malicious code repository after a job interview. The candidate believed the role was legitimate. The interview included a virtual meeting with the CEO of a fictitious company.

From Compromised Computers to the Theft

On October 20, the attacker used the compromised computer and an internal AI tool. This gave control over the wallet developer’s system and that of a second wallet developer.

Nine days later, the attacker used the second developer’s computer. Stolen credentials from the first developer helped trigger a malicious script.

The attack unfolded quickly on October 29. Attackers moved 233.46 million XRP from five hot wallets to an attacker-controlled address within four minutes. They later withdrew other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

Few engineers at the company have direct access to wallets, according to a person familiar with the Binance hack. Binance said the attackers used 50 signing transactions to manipulate the account.

Binance Response and Next Steps

Binance received an internal alert about large transfers and began investigating. The exchange suspended withdrawals, froze affected tokens, and removed unauthorised permissions.

These steps left about $2.85 billion in frozen assets. However, suspending withdrawals alone could not stop every unauthorised movement.

Binance also had to build new procedures to revoke authorisations, which slowed its response. Meanwhile, the final unauthorised transfer took place at 2356 GMT, nearly four hours after the attack began.

Following the Binance hack, the exchange apologised to users, partners, and the wider industry. In its report, Binance stated, “This should not have happened.”

The exchange also said it prevented 57 suspected North Korea-linked cyberthreats in 2026. Barnhart said Binance is “just getting barraged.”

Binance said it is increasing investment in AI-enabled detection. It is also working on a security research fund and targeted initiatives with leading AI companies.

The post Binance Hack: How Fake Job Interview and Tampered Software Led to $6.3 Billion Crypto Theft appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Bullish named Solana, Aptos and Ethereum as initial network partners for equity tokenization services. 
• Bullish and Equiniti transferred 61 million tokenized reserved shares on Solana in a matter of seconds. 
• Issuers can reward tokenized shareholders onchain by sending a digital Consensus pass to their wallets. 
• Official ownership records stay with the transfer agent while issuers reach investors on many networks.

Tokenized shares from Bullish will be available on Solana, Aptos, and Ethereum, the NYSE-listed platform announced on November 3. The company named the three networks as initial partners for its equity tokenization services.

Bullish and Equiniti Transfer 61 Million Tokenized Shares

Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) is an institutionally focused platform that provides regulated market infrastructure and information services.

It already works with Solana and plans to add Aptos and Ethereum. Issuers will then choose among networks for their issuer-sponsored tokenized shares.

The announcement follows an event Bullish and Equiniti hosted at the New York Stock Exchange on October 27. Bullish CEO Tom Farley and Equiniti CEO Dan Kramer demonstrated the transfer of 61 million tokenized reserved shares. The transfer ran on Solana, and Equiniti administered it. It completed in seconds.

Farley also showed a reward method for shareholders. Issuers can distribute a digital Consensus pass directly to a shareholder’s wallet.

The method offers a new way to engage holders. Bullish intends to offer the same capabilities on Aptos, Ethereum, and other networks over time.

In May, Bullish agreed to acquire Equiniti. It also became the first NYSE-listed firm to tokenize its full equity cap table on Solana. Tokenized BLSH shares later began trading on Bullish Exchange.

This week’s tokenization of 61 million reserved shares serves another purpose. Bullish has earmarked sufficient shares for closing the acquisition.

The final amount will follow the merger agreement. Remaining regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions still apply.

Why Multi-Network Support Matters for Issuers

Bullish describes multi-network support as the next step in bringing public equities onchain. Investors and liquidity are spread across several public blockchains. Tokenization infrastructure for capital markets therefore needs to work across them.

Support for Aptos and Ethereum alongside Solana lets issuers reach investors on networks they already use. As a result, issuers do not need to move investors to a single chain. Meanwhile, the official record of ownership stays with the transfer agent.

Tokenized shares can enable capabilities the current post-trade system was not designed to support. These include round-the-clock markets, near-instant settlement, and programmable corporate actions. They also include real-time visibility into share ownership and new ways to reward shareholders.

Thomas Cowan, Head of Tokenization at Bullish, said the company wants issuer tokens “available on key blockchains for our investors.” He added, “Solana gave us the foundation to tokenize our own shares.”

According to Cowan, the NYSE event “showed issuers what that looks like in practice.” He also said, “Supporting Aptos and Ethereum is the logical next step to meet the market and continue strong industry growth.”

Separately, Bullish and EQ convened the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition, a non-exclusive industry working group.

The post Bullish Picks Solana, Aptos and Ethereum for Tokenized Share Rollout appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• SMCI revenue jumps 298% year over year to $19.9 billion in fiscal Q1 2027.
• Super Micro Computer net income surges 849% to $1.594 billion in Q1 2027.
• SMCI shares climb 5.96% after hours as quarterly earnings beat prior-year levels.
• Super Micro reports $1.75 diluted EPS as quarterly revenue reaches $19.9 billion.
• SMCI cash reaches $6.9 billion, while debt and convertible notes total $8.6 billion.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) reported a sharp increase in first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue and net income. The company generated $19.9 billion in sales, while net income reached $1.594 billion. Meanwhile, SMCI shares gained 3.12% to close at $31.39 before advancing 5.96% to $33.26 after hours. The financial results covered the three months ended September 30, 2026, and reflected substantial growth against the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the company reported higher earnings per share and improved gross margins year over year. However, quarterly gross margin declined compared with the preceding quarter.

Super Micro Computer, Inc., SMCI

Super Micro Computer Revenue Climbs to $19.9 Billion in Q1 Fiscal 2027

Super Micro Computer recorded $19.9 billion in first-quarter revenue, compared with $11.1 billion in Q4 fiscal 2026. The latest figure also represented substantial growth from the $5 billion reported during Q1 fiscal 2026. Consequently, quarterly sales increased approximately 298% year over year, highlighting the expansion in the company’s business.

The company’s gross margin reached 12.7%, compared with 17.5% in the previous quarter. However, this represented an improvement from the 9.3% gross margin recorded during the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin reached 12.8%, compared with 9.5% in Q1 fiscal 2026.

These results reflected continued demand across Supermicro’s artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure business. The company supplies enterprise computing, storage, and networking solutions alongside its AI infrastructure products. Furthermore, its Data Center Building Block Solutions platform supports deployments ranging from large data centers to smaller container-based systems.

Super Micro Computer Net Income Rises to $1.59 Billion

Super Micro Computer reported first-quarter net income of $1.594 billion, compared with $1.178 billion in Q4 fiscal 2026. The company had recorded net income of $168 million during Q1 fiscal 2026. Therefore, quarterly net income increased approximately 849% compared with the corresponding period last year.

Diluted net income per common share reached $1.75, compared with $1.62 in the previous quarter. The figure also increased significantly from $0.26 during Q1 fiscal 2026. Meanwhile, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share reached $1.81, compared with $0.35 in the year-earlier quarter.

The company reported $8 million in stock-based compensation adjustments when calculating its non-GAAP gross margin. Additionally, operating activities used $434 million in cash during the quarter. Capital expenditures and investments accounted for another $47 million during the reporting period.

Super Micro Computer Cash Position and Data Center Expansion

Super Micro Computer held $6.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2026. However, its combined bank debt and convertible notes reached $8.6 billion. This placed total reported debt and convertible notes $1.7 billion above its cash balance.

The company continues to expand its position in AI infrastructure and enterprise computing markets. Its product portfolio includes data center systems, storage platforms, and 5G and edge computing solutions. Moreover, Supermicro highlighted enterprise partnerships and increased global production capacity as important parts of its business strategy.

The company also identified software, networking, and proactive services as areas supporting its broader infrastructure offering. These operations complement its hardware business and address different customer requirements. Meanwhile, the latest quarterly results showed substantial revenue and earnings growth alongside lower sequential gross margins.

The post Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Stock: Q1 Earnings Jump as Net Income Reaches $1.59B and Revenue Surges to $19.9B appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Keysight stock gains 2.35% as its new XR3 oscilloscope targets compact testing systems.
• Keysight launches a 14-bit XR3 oscilloscope with four analog and 16 digital channels.
• XR3 delivers up to 1 GHz bandwidth and supports over 100 synchronized channels.
• Keysight targets aerospace and manufacturing testing with its compact 1U oscilloscope.
• New XR3 combines 100 million memory points per channel with real-time analysis tools.

Keysight Technologies shares advanced 2.35% to $305.95, adding $7.01 during the trading session. The stock maintained an upward trend despite intraday fluctuations, while the company introduced its new XR3 oscilloscope. The launch expands Keysight’s measurement equipment portfolio with a compact instrument designed for increasingly complex automated testing environments.

Keysight Technologies, Inc., KEYS

Keysight Introduces XR3 Oscilloscope for High-Density Testing

Keysight Technologies introduced the XR3, a 14-bit oscilloscope designed for rack-based automated test systems. The instrument occupies one rack unit (1U) and combines four analog channels with 16 digital channels. Consequently, engineers can expand measurement capacity without installing several traditional bench instruments.

The XR3 addresses growing equipment demands across aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and physics applications. These industries increasingly require synchronized instruments to handle complex testing and measurement operations. However, conventional oscilloscopes often occupy significant rack space and require extensive cabling.

As test systems expand, additional instruments can also introduce signal skew and integration challenges. Engineers therefore face pressure to balance measurement performance with equipment size and system complexity. The XR3 addresses these requirements through a compact architecture that combines multiple measurement capabilities.

XR3 Delivers 14-Bit Performance and Synchronized Channel Capacity

Keysight built the XR3 around its MegaZoom 5 application-specific integrated circuit and a 14-bit analog-to-digital converter. The architecture delivers a 50-microvolt root mean square noise floor and supports 1.3 million waveforms per second. Additionally, each channel provides 100 million points of memory for capturing small signals and rare events.

The instrument offers selectable bandwidths ranging from 200 MHz to 1 GHz. This flexibility allows engineers to match measurement performance with specific testing requirements. Meanwhile, hardware-based zoom, filters, zone triggering, and color grading operate in real time without reducing waveform update rates.

The XR3 also supports synchronization across multiple instruments through an autosensing 10 MHz reference connection. This capability enables engineers to combine more than 100 time-correlated channels within one multi-blade system. Furthermore, automatic synchronization, discovery, and deskew simplify configuration across connected instruments.

Software Integration Expands XR3 Applications

Keysight included native software for protocol decoding, power supply testing, and jitter analysis. These tools support common debugging requirements and provide additional measurement capabilities within automated testing environments. Moreover, the Infiniium 2026 software can run on an external controller and manage multiple XR3 instruments.

The unified interface allows engineers to visualize and control several units from one screen. This approach reduces the need to manage separate instrument interfaces during complex testing operations. Additionally, the XR3 can work alongside Keysight’s next-generation XR8 oscilloscope.

The combination allows customers to add low-noise, cost-effective high-impedance channels without converting them into high-speed channels through adapters. Keysight Vice President of Product Management Jun Chie identified rack space and measurement performance as central engineering requirements. The company expects the XR3’s compact design and synchronized architecture to support larger testing systems.

The launch strengthens Keysight’s offering for engineers developing high-density measurement environments. Its combination of 14-bit resolution, flexible bandwidth, and synchronized channels targets demanding automated testing applications. The XR3’s rack-mounted design provides an alternative to conventional bench-based measurement configurations.

The post Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Stock: Rises as XR3 Launch Brings 14-Bit Oscilloscope Performance to Compact Systems appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Pfizer reports $16.6 billion in Q3 revenue as launched products deliver 32% growth.
• Pfizer raises its 2026 revenue guidance to $62 billion–$64 billion after strong results.
• Eliquis, Padcev and Lorbrena drive growth as Pfizer expands its medicine portfolio.
• Paxlovid revenue drops 63%, while Comirnaty sales decline 29% during the quarter.
• Pfizer maintains adjusted EPS at $0.87 and raises its full-year earnings outlook.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) stock declined 1.84% to $30.10, shedding $0.57 during the trading session. The decline came as the pharmaceutical company reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.6 billion. However, strong sales from recently launched and acquired products supported growth across its business. Pfizer also raised its full-year revenue and adjusted earnings guidance following its year-to-date performance.

Pfizer Inc., PFE

Pfizer Reports $16.6 Billion in Third-Quarter Revenue

Pfizer generated $16.583 billion in third-quarter revenue, compared with $16.654 billion during the same period in 2025. Revenue remained relatively flat year-over-year, reflecting weaker COVID-19 product sales and declines across several established treatments. However, the company recorded 7% operational revenue growth after excluding Comirnaty and Paxlovid contributions.

Additionally, launched and acquired products delivered 32% operational revenue growth during the quarter. These products supported commercial performance as Pfizer continued expanding its portfolio beyond COVID-19 treatments. The company also recorded $46.067 billion in revenue during the first nine months of 2026, representing 2% growth.

Pfizer’s reported diluted earnings per share reached $0.56, down 9% from $0.62 in 2025. Meanwhile, adjusted diluted EPS remained unchanged at $0.87 during the reporting period. Adjusted income increased 1% to $4.985 billion, while reported net income declined 8% to $3.242 billion.

Strong Product Sales Offset Declining COVID-19 Revenue

Several established medicines delivered higher sales and supported Pfizer’s third-quarter commercial performance. Eliquis generated an additional $513 million in revenue, representing 25% operational growth. Higher US pricing and stronger global demand contributed to the increase, although generic competition affected some international markets.

Padcev revenue increased 55% operationally to $255 million above the previous year’s level. The growth reflected stronger market share in first-line bladder cancer treatment and continued uptake across additional indications. Furthermore, the Vyndaqel family recorded 12% operational growth, supported by expanding market access and patient demand.

Nurtec ODT and Vydura delivered 33% operational revenue growth, while Lorbrena increased 43%. However, declining COVID-19 product sales continued to weigh on overall performance. Paxlovid revenue fell 63%, representing a $771 million operational decline, while Comirnaty revenue dropped 29%, or $339 million.

The Prevnar family also recorded a 10% operational revenue decline, reflecting weaker vaccination rates and market share erosion. These declines offset part of the growth generated by newer medicines. Nevertheless, Pfizer maintained relatively stable quarterly revenue through stronger performance across several non-COVID product categories.

Pfizer Raises 2026 Financial Guidance

Following its third-quarter performance, Pfizer increased its full-year 2026 revenue guidance. The company now expects revenue between $62 billion and $64 billion, compared with its previous $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion range. This adjustment represents a $1.5 billion increase at the midpoint.

Pfizer also raised and narrowed its adjusted diluted EPS guidance to 2.95–3.05. Previously, the company projected adjusted diluted EPS between $2.80 and $3.00. The revised outlook includes a one-time $650 million research and development charge tied to its Innovent Biologics collaboration.

The company expects adjusted research and development expenses between $10.8 billion and $11.8 billion. Meanwhile, adjusted selling, informational and administrative expenses should reach $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion. Pfizer also maintained an adjusted effective tax rate estimate of approximately 15%.

Research Investment and Capital Allocation Remain Priorities

Pfizer continued allocating substantial capital toward research, development and business expansion during 2026. The company invested $8.3 billion in internal research and development projects during the first nine months. Additionally, approximately $850 million supported business development transactions, primarily through its Innovent Biologics agreement.

Pfizer also returned $7.3 billion to shareholders through cash dividends during the same period. This represented $1.29 per common share, reinforcing its existing dividend commitment. However, the company completed no share repurchases during 2026 and retained $3.3 billion in authorization.

Meanwhile, Pfizer advanced its late-stage development pipeline through eight pivotal study starts, one pivotal readout and two regulatory decisions. Its research activities cover oncology, immunology, vaccines and obesity treatments. These developments provide additional opportunities to expand its medicine portfolio and support future commercial growth.

The post Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Stock: Q3 Revenue Hits $16.6B as Launched Products Drive 32% Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

Crypto analyst Bren expects Bitcoin to go back to its $56,000 bear-market low before it starts a stronger recovery, with the US midterm elections adding uncertainty to an already fragile market.

But despite his short-term caution, the trader believes 2027 could bring a new all-time high for the OG cryptocurrency, potentially after a bullish first and second quarter.

$56K a Likely Bear Market Bottom?

In a post on X on November 4, Bren explained that his immediate market outlook is bearish, with BTC not being able to sustain its recovery after hitting the $78,000 level, as well as a wedge/channel formation on the Ethereum chart making him reluctant to increase his exposure to riskier assets.

In a video accompanying the X post, the trader described the current correction as being in its last stages, which would put Bitcoin’s likely bear market bottom at $56,000. According to him, the price structure that has been developing since September is very likely to produce a higher low than another extended downturn.

However, for the analyst, early next year looks very bullish, especially Q1 and Q2, and at some point, he says BTC will register a new record.

“I think sometime in 2027 Bitcoin will make a new all-time high,” he said in the video.

According to him, if the primary crypto moves back above the $80,000 to $81,000 level, then it could make many market participants more risk-on and lead to them taking bigger altcoin positions, although he expects the buying to stay low until then.

Midterm Results and Bitcoin’s Price Backdrop

Bren’s outlook came against a rapidly changing political backdrop.

“Elections are always tough. Upsets are common,” the analyst wrote on X. “And the consensus result often produces an outcome that makes us go, ‘WTF?'”

Indeed, Democrats have reclaimed both chambers of Congress in the aftermath of the November 3 midterm elections, with projected results at the time of writing giving the party 255 House seats and 53 Senate seats.

As CryptoPotato reported before, midterms in the past have produced mixed implications for crypto investors, with Bitcoin falling more than 45% within 71 days of the 2014 polls and nearly 50% in 39 days after 2018’s. However, as trader Dealer.eth pointed out, those post-election lows went on to become the bear market bottoms of their cycles, with BTC gaining an average of 54% in the 12 months after the events.

At press time, the asset was within touching distance of $78,000 after gaining almost 2% in 24 hours. Nonetheless, that small pump was not enough to mitigate the drops across other timeframes, with BTC’s 7-day chart showing it almost 4% in the red, while across one month it was down over 9% and more than 27% lower than where it was one year ago.

The post Bitcoin to $56K Before a 2027 ATH? Analyst Shares His Forecast appeared first on CryptoPotato.

One analyst has said that XRP could reach $5 to $8 in 2027, although it may have to face further weakness before the end of this year.

The forecast is based on a long-term chart pattern that he says has repeatedly guided the Ripple token through major market cycles.

Another Reset Before a Recovery

In a recent series of posts on X, ChartNerd described the $5 to $8 range as “more than achievable” and identified 2027 as the target window. However, he first expects “Q4 turbulence” and is framing the market cycle as a peak, followed by a reset, then an expansion, with the whole setup repeating after that.

The chart accompanying his posts tracks XRP from 2014 into projected 2027 and 2028 price zones, with past cycle peaks identified near 2018, 2021, and the July 2025 all-time high of $3.65. These were followed by pullbacks toward a rising lower trend bar that ChartNerd is treating as a long-term support level that hasn’t failed ever in the chart’s history.

Back in June, with XRP about 70% below its ATH, the analyst suggested that a historical bottom could form in the following months, and now, he believes the asset is getting close to another such reset. However, he also warned of a so-called “Bart pattern” unfolding after the token lost the $1.30 support level, and in his opinion, unless the price goes back to that threshold, XRP could drop to between $1.16 and $1.04.

XRP Under Pressure

At the time of writing, XRP was trading near $1.25 per CoinGecko data, having changed very little in 24 hours but shaving off more than 3% of its value in seven days. It was also down more than 16% over one month, and about 48% lower than where it was a year ago, which has contributed to keeping it 65% below its record high.

Earlier, ChartNerd had shared some caveats on XRP’s long-term performance, arguing that it may have to revisit a historical demand zone against Bitcoin before it could start another period of outperformance. As he pointed out, XRP has underperformed BTC for at least 8 years, even after several catch-up rallies that came after the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency went back to the aforementioned zone.

Another popular analyst, EGRAG CRYPTO, has made even bolder claims, setting targets for the asset Ripple calls its “North Star” of $8, $13, and $30. However, he says the only way that outlook has a chance of ever becoming real is if XRP hits a monthly close above $1.65.

The post XRP Bull Eyes $5-$8 in 2027 Despite Short-Term Headwinds appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The Democratic Party has reclaimed both chambers of Congress following U.S. midterm elections, undoing the red wave that crypto leaders battled for during the 2024 presidential election. 

Bitcoin’s price fell to $76,700 in the aftermath, reflecting poor sentiment over a historically hostile party to the industry’s interests.

Democrats Back in Control

Projected results cited by NBC News late Tuesday showed Democrats winning 51 Senate seats, securing a majority, up from 45 (plus 2 independents caucused with Democrats) in the prior term. 

That includes a seat once belonging to Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) – one of the few Republicans who voted ‘no’ during the pivotal Clarity Act vote in September –  now won by Democrat Roy Cooper, who has previously supported the presence of “clear, stable regulations” in the space.

Likewise, Democrats are projected to flip 30 Republican seats in the House, securing another majority mandate, with the final tally at 244 blue, and 191 red.

Meanwhile, existing representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif) is now set to become chair of the House Oversight Committee. One of his stated objectives is to investigate “Trump family corruption,” in which he includes the family’s cryptocurrency ventures like TRUMP coin.

Daily Wire political commentator Matt Walsh viewed the election result as a backlash against President Donald Trump – even though his name wasn’t technically on tonight’s ballot. In a post to X on Tuesday, he wrote:

“Trump launched an unpopular and pointless war. Gas prices are too high. People can’t afford groceries. Trump abandoned the American First message. This is why Republicans are getting crushed. It’s very simple.”

Will Crypto Regulation Proceed?

Democrats voted unanimously to block the Clarity Act in September – a laboriously negotiated bill that sought to establish clear standards for how crypto companies operate, and how crypto assets are sorted between the “securities” and “commodities” categories.

Though perceived as a setback to the industry, several analysts acknowledge that practical “clarity” could still be provided with approvals and guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Both agencies can introduce and change rules, but neither has the power to pass laws – which are stickier between administrations.

“The first-order take on the Dem situation for crypto is not that bad,” said Decrypt’s Tyler D on the matter this week. “I think the crypto train is too big to stop at this point. I think the next two years are going to be fine no matter what.”

The post Democrats Sweep US Midterms as Bitcoin Falls Below $77k appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Mercado Bitcoin has assured customers they won’t lose any funds after the security incident that led it to suspend deposits and withdrawals on Monday.

The Brazilian crypto exchange has now put the value of the assets involved at around $38 million. Meanwhile, it had already blocked $11 million in coordination with Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1, and Chainalysis.

Recovery Efforts Continue

In its latest update, Mercado Bitcoin said other amounts eligible for blocking have also been identified, and containment efforts are continuing. The statement comes after an incident identified in one of the company’s systems during the early hours of Monday. The exchange temporarily suspended access to services as a preventive measure to protect customer assets. It said services would resume once full security conditions were in place.

The initial scale of the incident was reported by blockchain security firm Hypernative, which said more than $40 million had moved out of wallets tied to Mercado Bitcoin overnight. The firm’s preliminary estimate covered transfers across at least 10 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Tron. The exchange had previously said no customer data had leaked.

The first suspicious transfer was recorded at 2:15 UTC, while the largest movements took place between 6:19 and 6:53 UTC, when wallets linked to the exchange sent funds to newly created addresses. The transactions appeared to be ordinary signed transfers, meaning they were sent as though the source wallets had authorized them. Hypernative said it was still unclear how the attacker obtained the ability to sign those transactions.

More Exploits

The industry has had little breathing room, especially after the reported $6.3 billion Binance hack.

Meanwhile, ZachXBT flagged a separate suspected theft involving more than $133 million in withdrawals from centralized exchanges linked to an unnamed EU entity. The blockchain investigator identified an additional $27 million in withdrawals by the suspected illicit actor, which takes the total from the previously reported $106 million to more than $133 million.

The funds were withdrawn in USDC and USDT before the attacker began swapping USDC for ETH, routing transactions through instant exchanges such as WellWallet and Kyrrex, and converting funds into privacy-focused cryptocurrency XMR through Wagyu. The actor also bridged funds across multiple blockchains. ZachXBT said he was highly confident the activity was not linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, citing multiple laundering indicators.

He believes a large financial institution in Western Europe may have been exploited and suspects the incident is being covered up. ZachXBT also criticized the absence of a proper incident disclosure, while claiming that more than $30 million had already been laundered and could have been frozen by EU law enforcement.

The post Mercado Bitcoin Assures Users Won’t Lose Funds Following $38M Security Breach appeared first on CryptoPotato.

A proposal to gradually lower NEAR Protocol’s maximum annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% over 24 months has secured approval from the network’s House of Stake governance body.

The measure, outlined under HSP-029, aims to slow supply growth and limit long-term token dilution while preserving the existing reward structure. It retains the current allocation of newly issued tokens. 90% goes to staking participants, and the remaining 10% is directed to the protocol treasury.

Rather than introducing a new emissions framework or changing validator reward distribution, the measure focuses on adjusting a single protocol parameter.

HSP-029

The reduction will be introduced gradually across network epochs. The issuance ceiling will decline by approximately 3.75 basis points each month until it reaches the 1.6% target. According to estimates in the proposal, the revised schedule could prevent around 11.8 million NEAR from entering circulation over the first two years, with the cumulative reduction reaching 66.1 million over six years. This would leave the network’s supply approximately 4.36% lower than under the existing issuance model.

The change is also expected to affect staking returns. Based on the network’s September participation figures, gross staking yield is projected to fall from 5.268% to 3.372% once the new issuance rate is fully implemented.

The move comes amidst several discussions within the NEAR ecosystem about how to improve token economics without introducing discretionary funding mechanisms. Earlier proposals involving a treasury-backed fund raised concerns about placing validator support and capital allocation under human decision-making rather than predictable protocol rules. HSP-029 instead opts for a scheduled adjustment that requires no new administrator, price oracle, or spending program.

The change will not take effect immediately following the vote. It still requires a Security Council review, ratification, and a 90-day waiting period before validators adopt the necessary upgrade. Once implemented, the lower issuance rate will be introduced gradually over 24 months, while the existing token distribution remains unchanged.

Price Struggles

Near Protocol’s native token, NEAR, stayed in the red. It dropped 7% over the past 24 hours to trade around $3.84.

The decline comes as most large- and mid-cap altcoins posted relatively smaller losses on Tuesday, making it one of the weaker performers in the market.

The post NEAR Governance Approves Major Supply Cut – But Token Slides 7% appeared first on CryptoPotato.