Crypto Briefs
Short updates on stories reported by a single outlet so far — summarized in a few sentences, always linking the original reporting. Stories picked up by more publications get full articles.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Bitcoin Hashrate Recovers Above One Zettahash
Bitcoin's seven-day average hashrate has rebounded above one zettahash, signaling renewed mining competition despite recent high-profile miner exits. The recovery suggests that individual company departures do not necessarily indicate declining overall network security or hash commitment.
Read the original at NewsBTCBitcoin Hashrate Climbs Back Above One Zettahash
Bitcoin's seven-day average hashrate has reclaimed the one-zettahash threshold, signaling renewed mining competition despite recent mining company exits. The rebound demonstrates that individual miner departures do not necessarily indicate a broader contraction in the network's computational power.
Read the original at NewsBTCQCP Capital flags macro risks from AI credit stress, oil prices
QCP Capital has identified a concerning macro environment for risk assets including Bitcoin, citing AI credit stress and elevated oil prices as pressure points that could drive Bitcoin's next significant price move. The analysis suggests macro factors beyond crypto-specific developments may be the primary driver of near-term Bitcoin direction.
Read the original at CryptoPotatoFundstrat Analyst Farrell Projects Bitcoin $95K–$100K by Year End
Fundstrat analyst Sean Farrell projects Bitcoin could reach $95,000–$100,000 by year-end, citing bond volatility impacts and a broader regime shift as drivers. The analysis also addresses MicroStrategy's exclusion from the MSCI index, though details on the connection remain limited in the summary.
Read the original at Bitcoin MagazineARB Hits Four-Week Low as Arbitrum Underperforms BTC, ETH
Arbitrum's ARB token touched a four-week low, underperforming both Bitcoin and Ether over the same period. Optimism (OP) and Polygon (POL) similarly declined over 25% in their respective four-week windows, though Arbitrum One's active-address count increased despite the price weakness.
Read the original at The DefiantCapital Research Raises Metaplanet Voting Stake To 11.11%
Capital Research increased its voting stake in Metaplanet to 11.11%, crossing the 10% threshold. The stake change was partly driven by the company's October share buyback, which affected shareholding calculations.
Read the original at NewsBTCCircle Removes USDC Redemption Surcharges for Standard Tier
Circle eliminated redemption surcharges on USDC for its standard Mint tier customers, while Express tier maintains a 0.05% fee before conditional credits. Existing Mint customers transition at their next billing period on or after the announced date. The move simplifies pricing for standard redemptions.
Read the original at CryptoSlateCysic Bridge Exploit Mints 10M Unauthorized Tokens, $727K Moves to Ethereum
Cysic suspended its cross-chain bridge after an attacker minted 10 million unauthorized CYS tokens on BNB Chain and sold approximately 7.2 million of them for 306.6 ETH ($727,000). On-chain analysis traced the stolen funds moving toward Ethereum, prompting the protocol to halt bridge operations.
Read the original at BitcoinistStrategy and Strive Balance Bitcoin Purchases Against Dividend Payments
Strategy and Strive, which have financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin through preferred stock issuances, face a balancing act between continued bitcoin acquisition and dividend obligations to shareholders. Analysts view the preferred stock securities channel as a potential complement to the larger spot bitcoin ETF market for funding large-scale bitcoin holdings.
Read the original at CoinDeskBitcoin slides below $80k amid U.S. Middle East tensions
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in over one month, dropping below $80,000 amid reports of U.S. Middle East evacuations. The decline reflects broader market pressure over the weekend as geopolitical uncertainty weighed on cryptocurrency prices.
Read the original at CoinDeskEther Falls Below $2,300 as 28-Day Loss Hits 14.7%
Ether dropped below $2,300 on Oct. 22 as its 28-day loss reached 14.7%, underperforming bitcoin by 9.15 percentage points over the same period. US ether spot ETFs recorded outflows on the same day, reflecting reduced institutional demand for the asset.
Read the original at The DefiantSygnum Launches Bitcoin Loans With Distributed Collateral Keys
Sygnum, a cryptocurrency bank, introduced MultiSYG, a lending service that distributes Bitcoin collateral keys among clients, the bank, and independent institutional key holders. The multi-party key arrangement aims to reduce counterparty risk in collateralized cryptocurrency loans.
Read the original at NewsBTCIRS Launches Voluntary Disclosure Program for Crypto Tax Issues
The IRS is establishing a voluntary disclosure program to address cryptocurrency tax compliance issues, according to Crypto Briefing. The initiative aims to ease regulatory burdens on crypto holders and may increase market confidence in the asset class.
Read the original at Crypto BriefingAster, Telcoin lead altcoin declines in market downturn
Aster (ASTER) and Telcoin (TEL) posted double-digit losses over 24 hours, leading declines among altcoins as the broader cryptocurrency market weakened alongside Bitcoin price declines. The losses reflect investor risk aversion across top altcoins amid broader market volatility.
Read the original at CoinJournalMajor firms decline early tokenized securities venue listing
McDonald's, Microsoft, and Google declined to list on the first SEC-approved tokenized securities trading venue operating under the regulator's innovation exemption. Industry observers suggest the refusals reflect corporate caution about emerging technology rather than fundamental opposition to tokenization, with early adoption likely limited to more risk-tolerant issuers.
Read the original at CoinDeskBitcoin Holders Increasingly Use Loans and Yield Strategies
Wealthy bitcoin holders are shifting toward borrowing against their BTC and earning yield to expand their holdings, according to Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca. The trend reflects maturing investment behavior among long-term bitcoin investors seeking to optimize their asset positions through financial products.
Read the original at CoinDeskBitcoin Core accelerates security patch backports as majority of nodes lag
Bitcoin Core merged a policy change on October 22 allowing developers to backport security fixes for easily rediscovered vulnerabilities across all maintained release lines with published advisories. A network survey from October 18 found that 43.6% of 8,422 self-reported Bitcoin Core peers ran end-of-life versions, highlighting widespread adoption delays that the policy aims to address.
Read the original at CryptoSlateX100 Exploit Drains 4.85M USDT After Governance Takeover
X100 protocol suffered an exploit in which attackers converted treasury tokens and liquidity positions into 4.85 million USDT across two transactions on Ethereum. Blockaid flagged the attack as ongoing at the time of reporting, indicating an active governance compromise at the protocol level.
Read the original at The DefiantShaw publishes Daos.fun reconstruction code, reports critical flaw
Security researcher Shaw has published a reconstructed version of the Daos.fun codebase and claims to have identified a critical flaw, with matching captured and rebuilt binaries reported in the repository. Daos.fun stated it no longer maintains the platform, though tokens remain tradable on the site.
Read the original at The DefiantHyperliquid, CME Officials Clash Over US Crypto Compliance
Hyperliquid founder Yan and CME's Duffy disagreed on regulatory responsibility, with Yan arguing market deployers—not blockchain infrastructure—should face US oversight. Hyperliquid currently blocks US users and VPN access at its interface layer, reflecting the broader tension over where compliance obligations should rest in decentralized trading systems.
Read the original at The DefiantFranklin Files Bitcoin DRIP ETFs Combining Equities With Crypto
Franklin Templeton has filed two ETFs that pair US equity holdings with Bitcoin allocations, funded through dividend reinvestment mechanisms. The products offer investors an alternative route to cryptocurrency exposure within a traditional equity wrapper, pending Nasdaq listing approval.
Read the original at NewsBTCBitcoin Drops Below $80K Amid $670M in Liquidations
Bitcoin fell below $80,000 as cryptocurrency markets experienced sharp declines, with liquidations reaching $670 million. Ethereum moved away from $2,400, Solana dipped below $100, and Zcash declined over 7%, signaling broad-based selling pressure across major digital assets.
Read the original at CryptoPotatoVitalik Tests Ethereum Proof Cost Limits Amid Fast Block Plans
Ethereum developers are examining cost constraints for faster proofs as the network explores sampled block validation. Current CPU gas analysis does not account for proof generation burden, raising questions about feasibility and resource requirements for the approach.
Read the original at CryptoSlateTHORChain Halts ZEC Swaps Following Vault Bug, 140 RUNE Slashed
THORChain has kept Zcash (ZEC) swaps paused after a bug triggered slashing of approximately 140 RUNE across 18 node operator accounts, according to onchain records. The protocol plans to address the issue through a v3.21 upgrade scheduled around October 23.
Read the original at The DefiantEthereum sees largest exchange withdrawal in four months
Approximately 169,770 ETH withdrew from centralized exchanges in a single day on October 23, marking the largest daily net outflow in over four months and valued at roughly $407 million at a $2,400 price point, according to Santiment data. The withdrawal comes as Ethereum spot ETF losses have exceeded $1 billion in October.
Read the original at CryptoSlateCoinShares BTF Fund Liquidation Sets Cash Payout, Options Expiry
CoinShares has established a fixed cash value for its BTF fund liquidation and accelerated the settlement timeline for remaining options positions. The fund closure details specify cash distributions to holders and an earlier expiration date for outstanding derivative contracts, affecting shareholders and option holders.
Read the original at NewsBTCHyperliquid founder advocates US regulatory focus on market operators
Hyperliquid's founder has called for US regulators to prioritize oversight of market operators rather than individual market participants, arguing this approach could streamline compliance and improve market access in decentralized finance. The shift in regulatory strategy could reshape how DeFi platforms structure their operations and interact with US regulators.
Read the original at Crypto BriefingBloomberg Adds Basel Crypto Exposure Classification for Banks
Bloomberg has expanded its crypto analytics platform to classify bank and asset manager exposure to digital assets under Basel regulatory standards, including indirect holdings embedded in funds, derivatives, and corporate securities. The tool aims to surface hidden crypto exposure that may not be immediately apparent in traditional reporting frameworks.
Read the original at NewsBTCEthereum Staking Demand Rises Despite Yield Decline to 2.5%
Ethereum staking deposits are increasing even as annual yields fall toward 2.5%, according to CryptoPotato's analysis. The trend suggests sustained institutional and retail interest in locking ETH for validation rewards despite diminishing returns, possibly driven by long-term conviction or yield-farming strategies.
Read the original at CryptoPotatoIRS Plans Penalty Cuts and Faster Crypto Tax Disclosures
The Internal Revenue Service is moving to streamline its crypto tax disclosure process by reducing penalties and accelerating filing timelines. The initiative aims to improve compliance rates, reduce legal ambiguity, and bring digital-asset taxation more closely in line with traditional asset treatment. The changes may lower barriers to voluntary disclosure for crypto holders.
Read the original at Crypto Briefing