The Binance theft underscores the vulnerability of digital assets, prompting urgent calls for enhanced security measures and regulatory oversight.

The post Ari Redbord calls Binance theft the largest bank robbery in history appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Blockstream's BTC deposit narrows Liquid's reserve gap, highlighting ongoing challenges in restoring full trust and functionality.

The post Blockstream moves 300 BTC into Liquid, cutting reserve shortfall to 250 BTC appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

AMD's Q3 results will be pivotal in gauging AI-driven growth potential amid sector volatility, influencing broader chip market sentiment.

The post AMD set to report Q3 results as AI hopes collide with a chip selloff appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Strive's Bitcoin-backed credit instruments could bridge digital assets with traditional finance, potentially unlocking vast institutional capital.

The post Strive’s Jeff Walton says Bitcoin-backed credit can absorb volatility appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Aehr's revenue surge highlights the growing demand for AI processors, underscoring potential risks of customer concentration and margin sustainability.

The post Aehr Test Systems revenue triples to $33M as AI orders pile up appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Nvidia, Nike Join 50 Companies Blocking OKX–ICE Stock Token Push

Fifty public companies have now objected to having their shares tokenized on OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), as the venue’s first 30-day notice window closes Tuesday.

The venue’s Oct. 30 notice added 12 objectors, including Nvidia, Costco, Nike, Micron and Reddit. They join Microsoft, Alphabet, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, Broadcom, Verizon and Intel, among others. Of the 62 companies OKXICE initially proposed to tokenize, 43, or about 69%, have objected, according to a CoinDesk tally.

The list has grown fast: nine objectors on Oct. 15, 16 on Oct. 19, 38 on Oct. 28 and 50 two days later.

How the opt-out works

The objections stem from the SEC’s five-year “Innovation Exemption,” issued Sept. 17, which lets tokenized securities venues (TSVs) trade blockchain versions of U.S. stocks through automated market makers without registering as exchanges. When an unaffiliated third party tokenizes a company’s stock, the venue must notify the issuer, which then has 30 days to object in writing. Silence counts as consent, and the order offers no way to object after the window closes.

OKXICE plans 24/7 trading of tokens backed one-for-one by shares, paired against stablecoins such as USDC in permissioned pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain.

The objecting companies have not given reasons. JPMorgan said it remains encouraged by tokenization but wants to be thoughtful about how its shares are represented and traded. “Given how easy the opt-out is, the list of objectors is likely to keep growing,” Olivia Vande Woude, head of tokenization at Ava Labs, said.

Nasdaq’s role

The fight has also taken on a competitive edge. An executive at a Nasdaq-listed company told Crypto in America that a Nasdaq representative urged the company to object and offered a call to explain why. Nasdaq declined to comment on the claim but reiterated that TSVs are not the best path to tokenization.

Nasdaq argues that venues outside the National Market System could fragment liquidity and lack real-time best-price display and consolidated-tape reporting. It is building its own issuer-centric Nasdaq Equity Token with Kraken, targeted for the second quarter of 2027.

A full-page Wall Street Journal ad urging CEOs to opt out, headlined “YOUR STOCK. THEIR TOKENS. YOUR PROBLEM.,” linked to Nasdaq’s FAQ via QR code. Conservative-leaning nonprofit Common Sense Leadership Fund paid for it. Nasdaq said it had no connection to the ad and never funded the group.

OKXICE co-chair and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called the objections a “natural response.” 

“We are at the very beginning of the rollout of fundamentally different market structure,” he said last week.

For context, a tokenized stock is a blockchain token backed one-for-one by a real share, which a third party holds. OKXICE lets it trade around the clock against stablecoins like USDC. Under the SEC’s Innovation Exemption, the venue can list these tokens without the issuing company’s consent, unless the company objects within 30 days.

This post Nvidia, Nike Join 50 Companies Blocking OKX–ICE Stock Token Push first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin Freezes Deposits and Withdrawals Due to Ongoing Security Incident, Losses Estimated Near $40 Million

Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange kept deposits and withdrawals suspended on Monday after a security incident in one of its systems. The shutdown left customers unable to send funds into or out of the platform while the company worked to restore operations.

Mercado Bitcoin said in a statement posted to X that it had identified and contained the incident. The company said customers suffered no losses and that no data had leaked. It described the suspension as a precaution. Its teams are investigating, tracing assets and coordinating with authorities, the company said. According to Bloomberg, the company said it would absorb all losses.

The company has not said which system was breached, how much was taken or when it will reopen. Its current statements gave no total loss figure and no timetable.

Mercado Bitcoin has since published destination addresses tied to transactions from the incident, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum-compatible networks, Solana, Stellar and Tron. It said it shared the addresses for identification and tracking purposes. Blockchain security firm Hypernative has put preliminary estimates of suspicious transfers above $40 million across several blockchains. The exchange has not confirmed that figure.

Other analysts are citing higher figures and that the sweeping is ongoing.

Stablecoin issuer Tether has entered the response. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on X at 10:06 a.m. ET that the company had frozen more than 4.5 million USDT linked to the incident. Tether invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin back in July, when it said the exchange served 4.5 million users.

A rough week for Mercado and other exchanges

The incident comes days after one of the largest crypto thefts in recent memory. On Oct. 29, attackers reached $6.3 billion in assets at Binance after compromising an engineer’s laptop and gaining access to internal systems used to process withdrawals. 

Binance said it found no evidence that private keys were exposed. By Nov. 1, it had replaced 95 percent of the stolen assets and begun restoring withdrawals in phases.

On the law enforcement front, the FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea, and the U.S. Secret Service is working with Circle to trace and freeze funds. Tether reported about $1.57 billion in USDT frozen, and Circle said it had frozen more than $800 million in USDC in coordination with authorities. 

Binance has said it found additional points of breach beyond the initial compromise, which it originally attributed to a single engineer’s laptop. The exchange has not yet published a full post-mortem explaining how the attackers prepared and executed the operation, which some estimates suggest took at least 36 hours of groundwork. 

The destination of roughly $3.3 billion in stolen funds that were not frozen has also not been fully explained, and the exchange has not detailed what it expects to recover from that pool. Investigators continue to track wallet activity across ten blockchains.

This post Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin Freezes Deposits and Withdrawals Due to Ongoing Security Incident, Losses Estimated Near $40 Million first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Binance Reopens Withdrawals as Hack Recovery Enters Second Week 

Binance restarted customer withdrawals on Sunday, four days after hackers drained roughly $6.3 billion from its hot wallets in the largest crypto theft on record. 

The exchange reopened in stages over the weekend, starting with bitcoin and expanding to 15 networks. The move marked the first real test of whether the platform could absorb a loss of that size without freezing its customers out for longer.

The recovery push began Saturday. In its third recovery update, Binance said it had replenished 90% of the impacted amount with company funds. The exchange drew on part of its Secure Asset Fund for Users, a portion of its futures insurance fund and its corporate treasury to buy replacement tokens. 

The futures fund contribution drew particular attention, since Binance described the remaining balance as a regulatory requirement. Binance also published a new proof-of-reserves snapshot dated October 31, giving users a baseline to check their balances against.

Sunday’s reopening began at 06:00 UTC with BTC. Binance then added ETH, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Tron, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Zcash, TON and Sui. Between 06:00 and 15:30 UTC, the exchange processed about $4.65 billion in withdrawals against roughly $1.01 billion in deposits. 

That produced a net outflow near $3.64 billion, equal to about 2.1% of the $171 billion in assets Binance reported in its late-October proof of reserves.

Deposits stayed open throughout the rollout, and the exchange said temporary delays were possible during the initial surge in volume.

Binance said its Sunday update raised coverage to 95% of the impacted amount. The remaining 5% sits in less liquid tokens outside the top ten assets on its proof-of-reserves list. Sourcing those tokens at the required scale takes more time, and the exchange said it is working with industry partners and over-the-counter desks to complete the purchases. Binance has committed to covering the full amount, and it has repeated that users will not bear the financial impact of the theft.

On Monday, Binance said the full zero-knowledge proof for the October 31 snapshot is complete. Users holding BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD or ZEC can run the exchange’s verifier to confirm their balances are backed at least 1:1. 

The verifier is open source, and the exchange has pointed users to a step-by-step guide. 

The exchange plans another snapshot covering more tokens on November 4, with a proof expected to take 40 to 50 hours to generate. A further withdrawal phase is scheduled for Tuesday, and the exchange said it would share details once the rollout is ready.

Binance hack background

On the law enforcement front, the FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea, and the U.S. Secret Service is working with Circle to trace and freeze funds. Tether reported about $1.57 billion in USDT frozen, and Circle said it had frozen more than $800 million in USDC in coordination with authorities. 

The market reacted sharply to the breach. Bitcoin fell about 5% to below $77,000 in the hours after the attack, and shares of Coinbase,Robinhood, Strategy, and Strive all declined as investors weighed the risk of exchange-level losses across the sector.

Binance has said it found additional points of breach beyond the initial compromise, which it originally attributed to a single engineer’s laptop. The exchange has not yet published a full post-mortem explaining how the attackers prepared and executed the operation, which some estimates suggest took at least 36 hours of groundwork. 

The destination of roughly $3.3 billion in stolen funds that were not frozen has also not been fully explained, and the exchange has not detailed what it expects to recover from that pool. Investigators continue to track wallet activity across ten blockchains.

This post Binance Reopens Withdrawals as Hack Recovery Enters Second Week  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Bitwise’s André Dragosch: Bitcoin’s “Fair Value” of $197,000

Bitwise’s André Dragosch joins Spencer Nichols to explain why Bitcoin tends to move before shifts in global liquidity, acting as the canary in the liquidity coal mine, and why his global money supply model puts Bitcoin’s fair value at $197,000 today. They also dig into recession risk, the Fed’s next move, and how capital rotating out of precious metals could help Bitcoin catch up to the money supply.

Host: Spencer Nichols — Bitcoin Magazine
André Dragosch — Bitwise Director, Head of Research – Europe

Chapters:
00:00 Why French Bond Yields Are Rising
03:13 Tightening Financial Conditions Go Global
08:04 What the Dollar and an AI Bubble Mean for Bitcoin
12:45 Contagion Risk in the AI Credit Complex
17:23 Bitcoin, the Canary in the Liquidity Coal Mine
21:21 The Fed’s Dilemma and the Debt Burden
25:42 China’s Slowdown and Recession Risk
30:18 Will Bitcoin Decouple From Stocks?
33:47 Bitcoin’s $197K Fair Value
37:43 Bretton Woods III and Bitcoin as Global Money
42:07 Bitcoin’s Reserve Currency Call Option
46:48 Bitcoin-Backed Credit and Strategy as a Bank

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 Bitwise’s André Dragosch: Bitcoin’s “Fair Value” of $197,000 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mark Mason.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Adam Back: Pension Funds Are Bitcoin’s “Third Wave” of Adoption

The first wave of Bitcoin adoption was individuals. The second was the ETFs. Adam Back, CEO & Co-Founder of Blockstream, explains why the third wave of model portfolios, managed funds and pension funds is still largely to come, and how Swiss banks are getting ready for it.

Chapters:
00:00 Why Blockstream Opened an Office in Lugano
01:20 Why Blockstream Started Offering Consulting
02:01 Swiss Banks Want Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Custody
03:04 Tokenized Money Market Funds vs. Stablecoins
04:13 Tokenized Shares on Liquid and Blockstream AMP
05:55 Where Institutions Still Get Stuck
07:00 Build In-House or Use a Custodian?
08:01 How Regulation Shapes Bitcoin Custody
10:01 Basel Rules and the Cost of Holding Bitcoin
10:40 The Three Waves of 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 Adam Back: Pension Funds Are Bitcoin’s “Third Wave” of Adoption first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mark Mason.

Strategy‘s deployable USD Cash fell 45.3% during the week ended Nov. 1, from $242 million to $133 million, as preferred-stock buybacks exceeded its Bitcoin purchases. That balance is available for broader treasury uses. Strategy also held a separate $4.79 billion USD Reserve intended for preferred-stock dividends and debt interest. The company bought 811 Bitcoin between…

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Retaining local code can reduce repeated website delivery while leaving package updates, signatures and submission as separate trust decisions.

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His proposed dollar-settled contracts track a FLOP-priced benchmark, leaving inference buyers to match token, model and rollover exposure.

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Treasury’s November financing decisions will test whether a possible cash drawdown can ease funding conditions while debt issuance competes for cash.

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BNB exchange-traded funds (ETFs) led October inflows among US-listed spot crypto ETFs tracked by SoSoValue, with the largest allocation arriving weeks before Binance suffered a record $6.3 billion cryptocurrency hack. The US-listed VanEck BNB ETF attracted $99 million during the month, ahead of $35 million for NEAR and $19 million for XRP, according to SoSoValue…

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Worldcoin is trading at around $0.41 on Friday afternoon. That means the token has lost 22.5 percent over the past seven days; on October 23 it still stood at $0.55. The trigger is not just the weak overall market. In the same week, several large addresses that had not moved for months or years deposited WLD on crypto exchanges. This article explains what that means for the price and for your custody.

Worldcoin stands at $0.41, 22.5 percent below the start of the week

According to CoinGecko, the price is $0.4115, down 5.5 percent in 24 hours and 22.5 percent over the week. The daily low was $0.3631, which is also this week's lowest level, because the price has closed lower than the previous day on every day since October 23. WLD recovered from the low to above $0.41 by the afternoon, with a daily high of $0.4333.

For a sense of scale: Worldcoin ranks 61st among crypto assets by market capitalization, with around $1.54 billion. Tokens worth about $496 million changed hands in 24 hours. Trading volume therefore equals almost a third of the entire market capitalization, a figure that points to nervous reshuffling rather than calm holding. WLD is far from its high of $11.74, reached on March 9, 2024.

9.57 million WLD leave a team-linked address after three years of inactivity

The most striking move of the week concerns a single address. According to the on-chain analyst Ai Yi, cited by the industry outlet PANews on October 29, an address with the identifier 0xEa3…Fef6A moved its entire holding of 9.57 million WLD. At the price at the time, that was around $14.45 million. According to the same observation, 6.5 million of these tokens went to several exchanges via an intermediate address.

Two things matter about this report, and both belong together. First, according to the observer, the address received the tokens about three years ago directly from the orbit of the Worldcoin team and had been dormant ever since. Second, the "team-linked" attribution comes from on-chain analysts, not from Worldcoin itself. According to the available reports, the project has not commented on this address. Anyone who turns this into a sale by the team goes beyond what the data shows.

The timing is notable from the holder's perspective. Measured against the price when the tokens arrived, which the observation gives as $1.51, the package lost around 71 percent of its dollar value before the move. The move therefore fell in one of the weakest weeks of the year, not in a phase of strength.

Two more large addresses send WLD to exchanges

The case is not isolated. In the same week, the on-chain service Lookonchain reported two further moves of similar size. One large address deposited 45.17 million WLD worth around $21.4 million over five days, along with 152,000 AAVE worth about $21.3 million, on several exchanges. A second address, which according to the service had been inactive for more than a year, moved 19.74 million WLD worth about $10.04 million, also together with AAVE holdings.

These three observations come from different sources and concern different addresses and periods. A total is deliberately not given here: the amounts overlap in their time windows, and none of the sources reports an aggregate figure. What can be established is the pattern. In the week in which WLD lost a good fifth of its value, at least three long-dormant addresses moved holdings to where tokens can be sold.

What an exchange deposit proves and what it does not

This is the most important section of the article, because this is where most false conclusions arise. A deposit on an exchange is a transfer from a self-custodied address to an address owned by the exchange. It is a sale in preparation, but it is not a sale. Between deposit and sale lies a decision that nobody can see from the outside.

There are several harmless reasons for a deposit. A holder may hand tokens to a service provider for custody, pledge them as collateral for a loan, move them into an exchange staking product, or migrate from an old wallet to a new one, using the exchange as a stopover. Only when a sale takes place does it appear in the order book, and there it can no longer be attributed to an address.

Definition of on-chain observation: an on-chain observation is the analysis of a blockchain's publicly visible transactions, in which addresses are attributed to actors on the basis of earlier payment flows. The transaction itself is established; the attribution of the address to an actor is an inference.

That does not change the fact that such moves shift the price, because the market trades the possibility. But it does change how you should read such a report. If you want to look at these moves yourself rather than relying on summaries, the transactions of every address are freely visible in any block explorer, and specialist analytics services continuously track the payment flows of large addresses.

World ID for banks: the October 18 catalyst no longer supports the price

Ten days before these outflows, Worldcoin was cast as a winner. At the Money20/20 trade fair in Las Vegas, the project presented a version of its World ID identity credential for banks and financial service providers, unveiled by co-founder Alex Blania. The package bundles the World ID app, World ID for Zoom and World ID for AI agents; the Zoom version has been generally available since then. The price rose at the time. We broke down what this step involves in a separate article on the World ID offering for banks.

By the end of October, however, according to the available reports, no major international bank and no payment network had announced an integration. The project names partners from the financial sector involved in the design without identifying them. A product launch without a named customer rarely supports a price for more than a week. That is exactly what can be seen here: the rise of October 19 has been given back in full.

Worldcoin against the market: firmer on Friday, weaker over the week

The week was tough for the entire crypto market, because the attack on a major trading platform on October 29 pulled capital out of risky positions. Bitcoin lost just over five percent in 24 hours, ether about six percent. At minus 5.5 percent in 24 hours, WLD sits within that range, but at 22.5 percent over the week it is well below.

That gap is the real finding. When a token loses two or three times as much as the large assets in a market downturn, additional supply is at work that does not stem from general sentiment. The deposits described above are the obvious explanation, even if their share cannot be quantified.

3.73 billion tokens in circulation: why dilution is part of the picture

The supply side belongs to the picture. According to CoinGecko, around 3.73 billion WLD are in circulation. The cap is 10 billion tokens. So only just over 37 percent of the possible supply is on the market, and the rest will be added over time under the project's rules.

Definition of dilution: dilution means that the share of a single token in the total supply falls because new tokens enter circulation. With demand unchanged, this weighs on the price per token.

For you as a holder, this structure means that demand for WLD has to work not only against selling pressure from dormant holdings, but also against supply that grows according to plan. Anyone valuing WLD is therefore better off using the fully diluted valuation than today's market capitalization.

Levels up and down: $0.36 and $0.45

As observation points, not price targets, this week's price data yields three zones. On the downside, the weekly low of $0.3631 is the first level; below that lies the round number of $0.35, which has not been tested so far this week. On the upside, the daily high of $0.4333 comes first, followed by the round number of $0.45. The start-of-week level of $0.55 is the mark that decides whether this week's losses have been recovered.

Such levels say nothing about where the price will go. They tell you where you can read a reaction. If the low holds on a retest, the week's supply has been absorbed. If it breaks, more supply is coming.

Buying in Germany: what MiCA changes for you when trading WLD

Since July 1, 2026, providers of crypto services in the European Union need a licence under the MiCA regulation, granted and supervised in Germany by BaFin. In practical terms, this means you check before buying whether the platform has this licence. A licensed provider must hold client funds separately from its own assets and inform you about risks. A licence is no guarantee against price losses and no protection against an attack on the platform, but it is the minimum condition for considering a provider at all. You will find the differences in fees, trading pairs and withdrawal options in our comparison of crypto exchanges for investors in Germany.

Check the depth of the WLD order book

A second point concerns market depth. WLD trades with almost half a billion dollars in daily volume, which is respectable for a token ranked 61st. However, that volume is distributed very unevenly across trading venues. If you move larger sums, it is worth looking at the order book of the platform you trade on rather than at the total across all exchanges.

Custody: a balance on an exchange is a claim, not a coin

This week demonstrated in another case why this difference matters. If your tokens sit on an exchange, you hold a claim against that company. The keys that can move the tokens on the blockchain are held by the exchange. You need the exchange to trade, not to hold.

WLD on Ethereum and World Chain: which networks the wallets cover

For holdings you plan to keep for months, self-custody is therefore the norm, not the exception. WLD runs on Ethereum and on the project's own World Chain; both networks are supported by the common hardware wallets. Which device covers which networks and what setup costs is set out in our overview of hardware wallets and self-custody. The risk merely shifts, though: with the keys, you take on responsibility for securing them, and a lost recovery phrase is final.

Leverage and liquidation: the two numbers behind every WLD position

A token that loses a good 22 percent in seven days and runs through a range of $0.3631 to $0.4333 within a single day is a different proposition with leverage than without. That range equals around 19 percent between low and high. At five times leverage, a move of about 20 percent against your position is enough to wipe out the capital you put in.

Two numbers therefore belong on the table before every position: the liquidation price, the price at which the platform forcibly closes the position, and the funding rate. Definition of funding rate: the funding rate is the payment that flows regularly between the long and short sides of a perpetual futures contract so that the contract price does not drift away from the spot price. It is the ongoing cost of keeping a leveraged position open, and it rises sharply when positioning is one-sided.

Holding period and loss offsetting when selling WLD

For tax purposes, crypto assets in Germany are still governed by Section 23 of the Income Tax Act. If you sell WLD at a profit within one year of buying it, the gain is taxable once all private disposal gains for the year together reach the €1,000 exemption limit. After a holding period of one year, the gain is tax-free. A draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Finance would abolish this holding period for future purchases; it has not been passed, and the existing rule applies for the 2026 tax year.

Offsetting losses within the one-year period

In a week like this, the other direction is more relevant. If you sell at a loss within the year, that loss can be offset against gains from other private disposals in the same year, for example from earlier crypto sales. For this you need a complete record of all purchases and sales with date and price; with several exchanges and wallets, there is no way around it.

Worldcoin: without new demand, the weekly low remains the level to watch

The situation translates into three steps you can work through today.

1. Check your provider. Find out whether the platform holding your WLD has a MiCA licence and how it holds client assets. Our overview of regulated crypto exchanges shows which providers can prove they are licensed.
2. Sort your records. Gather your purchase and sale data for WLD and check which tranches have already passed the one-year mark. The tax and portfolio tools import transactions from the common exchanges directly.
3. Track the moves yourself. Instead of waiting for the next report about a large address, you can follow inflows to exchange addresses continuously. Which analytics platforms cover this is set out in our comparison.

As for the price itself: as long as long-dormant holdings keep moving towards exchanges and no named customer for World ID emerges, the weekly low of $0.3631 is the level at which the balance of power can be read. The evidence for the moves described here is in the PANews report on the address movement; Worldcoin publishes its World ID announcements on its own announcements blog.

(As of October 30, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Storing crypto safely has, since October 29, 2026, mainly meant one thing: knowing who holds the keys to your coins. That evening, according to the exchange, around $6.3 billion flowed out of Binance; Chainalysis counts $6.4 billion. It is the biggest crypto hack in history, and the trail leads to North Korea. Binance is covering its customers' losses. If you hold your coins yourself, you do not depend on such promises, but you bear the responsibility yourself. This is how to secure your cryptocurrencies: with a hardware wallet, a wallet scanner and the right settings on your exchange account.

Key points at a glance

• Binance hack: around $6.3 billion according to Binance, $6.4 billion according to Chainalysis, drained on the evening of October 29, 2026.
• Scale: more than three times what North Korea's hackers stole in the whole of 2025, namely $2.02 billion according to Chainalysis.
• Hardware wallet: from €59 (Ledger Nano S Plus, Trezor Safe 3) or $59.90 (Tangem with two cards), manufacturer prices as of October 16, 2026.
• Wallet scanner: MetaMask checks transactions and signatures with security alerts by default, Revoke.cash shows old approvals.
• Exchange account: two-factor protection via an app or security key instead of SMS, plus a withdrawal whitelist.
• Tactics: North Korea's hackers gain access through fake job offers and recruitment tests, according to Chainalysis in its report of December 18, 2025.

How to store crypto safely: what the Binance hack means for you

The key lesson from the Binance hack is that a balance on an exchange is a claim against the exchange, not a coin in your own hands. As long as the exchange can and will pay, you notice nothing. Binance has promised to cover all losses from its own funds and its SAFU emergency fund.

Binance describes how it happened in an announcement of October 30. The entry point was probably the compromised laptop of a DevOps engineer, through which the attackers reached a service container and withdrawals. Binance sees no leak of private wallet keys, and around $3 billion has been frozen on the blockchain. TRM Labs and Chainalysis attribute the attack to the North Korean group TraderTraitor; the full background is in our overview of whether North Korea is behind the Binance hack.

What counts for you as an investor is the scale. According to the Chainalysis annual report, North Korea's hackers stole at least $2.02 billion in the whole of 2025, more than ever before. The Binance hack alone is more than three times as large. Binance can absorb such a loss: according to DefiLlama, the exchange's known wallets held almost $145 billion before the hack, not counting its own tokens such as BNB. At FTX, the outflow on the day of its insolvency in November 2022 ended differently, and customers there waited years for their money. We collect all cases in our crypto hacks and security section.

What you can do with your Binance account after the hack is covered in our article Binance puts the hack at $6.3 billion, and whether the exchange could fail because of it in How much would it take to bankrupt Binance? The following steps apply to every exchange and every wallet.

Exchange, software wallet or hardware wallet: where your crypto is safest

Crypto is safest on a hardware wallet whose recovery phrase only you know. For money you trade with, a regulated exchange is the more convenient place. A software wallet on your phone or computer sits in between: you hold the keys yourself, but on a device that is constantly online.

A proven split: what you actively trade sits on an exchange licensed under the EU's MiCA regulation; we compare providers under regulated crypto exchanges. What you hold for the long term moves to a hardware wallet. That way, an exchange hack hits at most the smaller part.

Hardware wallet: the safest way to store crypto

A hardware wallet generates the private key on the device and never releases it. You confirm every transfer there, not on your computer. A laptop infected with malware, the entry point in the Binance hack, is then not enough to move your coins. Even the best hardware wallet has one limit, though: it protects the key, not every signature. Whatever you confirm on the device is valid, which is why a wallet scanner belongs alongside it.

Tangem is a card the size of a bank card, with no battery and no cable. To confirm, you hold it against your smartphone, and the key sits in a secure element rated EAL6+. By default, Tangem works without a seed phrase; the backup is the second and third card in the set. For anyone withdrawing coins from an exchange for the first time, it is the simplest route. Our link to the Tangem shop carries the code CRYPTOTICKER (affiliate link). Cost, security and everyday use are covered in our review Tangem Wallet: cost and security.

Ledger and Trezor work with a display and cable. You see the recipient address and amount on the device before you confirm, and you secure the wallet with a recovery phrase of 12 or 24 words. Trezor makes its firmware open source.

Buy a hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer and never second-hand. In October 2026, Ledger confirmed an implant in tampered devices that read the recovery phrase during setup and sent it to attackers via mobile network; MediaMarkt and Saturn then pulled Ledger from sale. The background is in our report on the Ledger hack. Never use a phrase that comes enclosed or pre-filled. We compare all models with prices and features in our hardware wallet comparison.

Wallet scanner: how to check transactions before you sign

A wallet scanner checks a transaction or signature before you confirm it and warns you about known fraud patterns, much like a virus scanner. Many retail investors lose their coins not through a cracked key but through a single signature on a fake website. That is exactly where the scanner comes in.

MetaMask Security Alerts

MetaMask has such a scanner built in. According to the MetaMask help pages, security alerts are switched on by default in the browser extension and the app. They check transactions and signature requests using data from Blockaid and other providers, and have two levels: a warning when there is a possible risk and a prominent alert when a request is classified as malicious. The warning blocks nothing, and you could still confirm. In that case, cancel. More on the wallet is in our MetaMask review.

Revoke.cash: find and revoke old approvals

Every approval you have ever granted to an app remains in place until you revoke it. Revoke.cash shows all open token approvals for an address across many blockchains. Your address is enough to view them; to revoke, you connect your wallet and pay only the network fee. How to do this step by step is explained in Revoking token approvals on Ethereum, and how to recognise a dangerous signature in our guide to wallet drainers. You can find an overview of all software wallets in our software wallet comparison.

Storing crypto safely on an exchange: the settings that protect your account

If part of your coins sits on an exchange, five settings decide whether an attacker can do anything with your password alone.

• Two-factor protection via app or security key: an authenticator app, passkey or hardware key instead of SMS. SMS codes can be intercepted through SIM swapping, as described in our guide to SIM swapping protection.
• Withdrawal whitelist: withdrawals only go to addresses you have saved in advance. At many exchanges, a new address comes with a waiting period during which you can spot an attack.
• Anti-phishing code: a word of your choice that appears in every genuine email from the exchange. If it is missing, the email did not come from the exchange.
• Dedicated email address: an address used only for exchange accounts that you give out nowhere else.
• Licensed exchange: providers with a MiCA licence must hold client funds separately from their own assets and are under supervision.

How Binance performs on security, fees and licences is set out in our Binance review.

How to store your seed phrase safely: the backup decides

Whoever knows a wallet's recovery phrase owns the coins. The rule is therefore: never photograph it, never store it in a cloud or notes app, never type it into a website. Write it on paper or, better, on a steel plate, keep it in a place that fire and water cannot reach, and store a second copy somewhere else. No wallet or exchange support team will ever ask for your phrase.

How long paper lasts, what a passphrase adds as a 25th word and when multisig is worthwhile are covered in our guide How to store your seed phrase safely. If you would rather not manage a word list at all, use a card wallet such as Tangem with backup cards.

How North Korea's hackers operate and how to recognise their tactics

North Korea's hackers mainly target people, not technology. According to Chainalysis, they place IT workers as employees in crypto firms and increasingly pose as recruiters for well-known Web3 and AI companies. At the end of a supposed recruitment process comes a "technical test" that harvests credentials and access to the candidate's current employer. Executives receive approaches from supposed investors or buyers asking about systems and access.

For retail investors this means: do not install software sent to you by a recruiter, an investor or a contact from Telegram or LinkedIn, and do not open a coding task on the computer that runs your wallet. A dedicated computer, or at least a separate user account just for crypto, lowers the risk considerably. How one such campaign emptied thousands of wallets is described in our report on North Korean hackers and job offers.

Checklist: how to store crypto safely in seven steps

1. Split your holdings: trading money on an exchange with a MiCA licence, the rest on a hardware wallet.
2. Buy correctly: hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer, check the packaging, generate the phrase yourself.
3. Offline backup: recovery phrase on paper or steel, two locations, never digital.
4. Harden your exchange account: two-factor protection via app or security key, withdrawal whitelist, anti-phishing code.
5. Leave the scanner on: keep MetaMask Security Alerts switched on and take every warning seriously.
6. Clean up approvals: check with Revoke.cash once a month and revoke anything unnecessary.
7. Act fast in an emergency: move any remaining balance immediately to a new wallet with a new phrase, revoke approvals, and inform the exchange and the police.

The Binance hack shows how much money can vanish in a single evening. Binance can cover the loss. With a hardware wallet and these seven steps, you do not have to rely on that in the first place.

Analysis: bitcoin is trading at $77,626 on Friday morning, 3.2 percent below its level 24 hours earlier (CoinGecko, 11:43 a.m. German time). What is established: the daily low was $76,330, exactly $295 above the average of the last 100 daily closes, which by our calculation stands at $76,035. Our assessment follows further down. The next four trading days, with the US midterm elections on November 3, will decide whether this touch turns into a reversal or a breakdown.

Where things stand: $77,626 four days before the US election

October ends today, and it ends in the red. Bitcoin opened the month on October 1 at $83,565, peaked at $87,229 and fell as low as $76,330 on Friday morning. That makes a monthly loss of 7.1 percent. It is the fifth losing month of 2026, after January, February, May and June, and the first since June. All figures in this paragraph come from the daily candles of the Kraken exchange for the XBT/USD pair.

The range for the year is wide: bitcoin stood at $97,900 in January and at $57,740 in July. If you are looking for the longer arc, you will find it in our bitcoin price prediction, which sets out scenarios over months rather than days. For the next few days, something else counts: two numbers that have nothing to do with sentiment and everything to do with the average of recent months.

The 100-day line at $76,035 and the $295 above it

A moving average is simply the mean of the most recent closing prices. By our calculation from daily closes up to October 29, bitcoin's 100-day line stands at $76,035 and the 200-day line at $73,101. Above, the shorter lines sit well over the price: the 50-day average is at $81,878 and the 20-day average at $81,597. Bitcoin is therefore trading below its short-term averages and above its long-term ones, which is the technical shorthand for a correction within an uptrend that is still intact.

Friday's daily low makes the situation especially sharp. $76,330 against $76,035 is a gap of $295, or 0.39 percent. Selling pressure touched the line but did not break it. As long as the daily close stays above $76,035, that counts as support held; a close below would be the first since August 19 on which bitcoin has fallen back beneath this average.

290 days below the 200-day line: what our measurement shows

We counted for ourselves how rare such a drop is. The basis is 721 daily candles from Kraken, from November 9, 2024 to October 30, 2026. From these, we can say for every day from May 28, 2025 whether the close was above or below its own 200-day line. The result: 293 of 520 daily closes were below it, or 56 percent. These days cluster, however, rather than being spread out.

The finding in one sentence: over the past two years, bitcoin was either below the 200-day line for months or above it for months, with only one brief interlude. That makes $73,101 the real dividing line for the medium term and $76,035 the outpost that falls first. Anyone looking for a prediction over weeks therefore should not measure against today's close, but against which of the two lines breaks first in the coming trading days.

What has changed since Thursday's prediction

On Thursday afternoon, in our prediction on the monthly expiry, we pointed to today's expiry date in the futures market and flagged the risk of a setback. At that point, at 15:15 UTC, bitcoin was trading at around $81,100. It has fallen 4.3 percent since then. The setback has therefore happened, and it was sharper than the range of the previous days.

Two levels from that article are now history. $79,121, the previous week's low, was breached on Thursday evening. $81,287, the start of the week, is now 4.7 percent above the price. New to the picture is the 100-day line, which on Thursday was still a good 6 percent away and has now moved to within 0.4 percent. That is the difference between a warning and a test.

The Fed holds at 3.75 to 4.00 percent, December is 82.6 percent priced in

The second reason for the weakness lies not in the blockchain but in Washington. On October 28, the US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee decided to hold the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75 to 4.00 percent. The Federal Reserve statement says the committee decided to maintain the target range. The decision was taken by 10 votes to 2; Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissented because they wanted a quarter-point increase.

What matters for the prediction is not this decision but the next one. According to the CME FedWatch futures market indicator, the probability of a 25 basis point hike in December rose to 82.6 percent, while 16.9 percent expect a hold. A market that expects a further tightening by four-fifths is reluctant to pay premiums for assets without interest income. That is exactly the mechanism through which bitcoin depends on rate decisions: it is not the level of the rate that matters, but its expected direction.

On top of that, the September hike was the first since 2023. The rate cycle has therefore changed direction, in a year in which bitcoin is already trading 38 percent below its all-time high of $126,080. If you trade with leverage in this environment, you should know your liquidation threshold before the December meeting gets closer; our overview of the best crypto brokers shows which providers set which collateral requirements.

The November 3 midterms and the failed Clarity Act

On November 3, the United States elects a new House of Representatives and part of the Senate. For bitcoin itself an election changes nothing; for the rules around it, a great deal. The Clarity Act, which was meant to give digital assets a firm legal framework in the US, failed in the Senate on September 15 by 49 votes to 50; 60 votes were needed even to open debate. Since then, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have been working with the powers they have without new legislation. The CFTC's comment period runs for 60 days from publication in the Federal Register on October 13, so it ends around mid-December.

Adam Lynch, Director of Equity Research at Charles Schwab, put it this way in a piece published by finanzen.net on October 22. He calls the current administration probably the most crypto-friendly so far and sees a shift in the majorities in Congress as a possible brake, but remains cautiously optimistic that a cross-party agreement is still possible. He expects progress on the regulatory side, not on legislation before the election. In the same piece he points out that bitcoin ETFs have taken in almost $60 billion since January 2024, but saw outflows in the month before his interview.

That is an assessment, not a price target, and it remains one. We report it because it explains the timing. Before November 3 there will be no decision that clarifies the legal framework, and after November 3 a count begins whose result may shape bitcoin's daily range for weeks.

How a moving average really works in trading

A line on a chart has no power of its own. What matters are the orders placed around it. Large addresses and automated trading systems place stop and buy levels where many others expect them too, and the 100-day average is one of those widely known places. That is why both directions converge on it at once: buyers betting on a reversal, and sellers whose hedges only trigger below it.

In practice this means two things. First, such lines often produce a move that dips briefly below and immediately returns, the so-called false breakout. A daily close therefore counts for more than an intraday low. Second, a genuine break accelerates the move, because the hedges are staggered. On Thursday evening this could be seen in the opposite direction: in the hour from 20:00 UTC, bitcoin fell from $80,744 to a low of $78,200, a drop of $2,544 in sixty minutes.

Three levels up and down, each with its rationale

For the coming trading days, this produces levels that come not from a model but from measured prices and averages. On the downside: $76,035 as the 100-day line, $76,330 as Friday's daily low and $73,101 as the 200-day line. On the upside: $78,667 as Friday's daily high, $81,287 as the start of the week and $81,878 as the 50-day line.

The order is the real clue. Between the daily low and the 100-day line lie $295, between the 100-day line and the 200-day line $2,934, or 3.9 percent. The first break would therefore be tight, the second would have room. If you translate levels into an order, you should know this gap, because it decides how far a stop needs to be from the entry so as not to trigger at the tight spot.

Our assessment: the test is open, the environment argues against a quick recovery

In the editorial team's view, the December rate expectation weighs more heavily than the chart. In favour of that: an 82.6 percent probability of a hike according to CME FedWatch, two dissenting votes on the committee that wanted to raise rates already, and an October in which ETF flows reversed, according to Charles Schwab. Against it: the 100-day line is holding so far, the price is 6.2 percent above the 200-day line, and the 72 daily closes since August 19 have all been above it without interruption.

What follows from this: we consider a daily close below $76,035 in the coming trading days the more likely of the two tight scenarios, but see no evidence of a drop to $73,101 before election day. That is an assessment of the situation, not a recommendation to buy or sell. Bitcoin can lose every euro invested, and an assessment is no substitute for your own review.

Holding period and loss offsetting: what depends on the purchase date

For investors in Germany, a month like this has a side that does not show up on the chart. Private sales of crypto assets fall under private disposal transactions under Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act. What matters there is the holding period. If more than one year passes between purchase and sale, the gain is tax-free and a loss has no tax value. Within one year, the opposite applies: the gain is taxable and the loss can be offset against gains from other private disposals in the same year. We keep track of the status of the planned reform of this rule on our page on the crypto holding period.

This leads to a check that anyone can carry out today and that has nothing to do with a prediction. If you bought bitcoin in 2026 and are now in the red, you hold a loss that can still be offset in the current year. If you bought before November 2025, you hold coins whose gain or loss no longer counts for tax purposes. The purchase date is in your exchange's statement, not in your wallet, and it decides more money than a two percent price move.

One note for completeness: the exemption limit for private disposal transactions is €1,000 a year, and it is a threshold, not an allowance. If you exceed it by one euro, the entire gain is taxed. With several exchanges and wallets, a clean statement is therefore worthwhile before your tax return is due.

Bitcoin at $77,626: below $76,035 the recovery tips over

The situation translates into three steps to work through today.

1. Find the purchase date. Download your exchange statements for 2025 and 2026 and mark every position that is less than a year old. Only those losses can be offset. Which platform provides which statement is shown in our comparison of the best crypto exchanges.
2. Note the daily close, not the low. In Europe, bitcoin closes the UTC day at 1:00 a.m. That value is what counts for $76,035, not the low around midday. If you want to watch fund flows in parallel, you will find the context in our guide to bitcoin ETFs for investors in Germany.
3. Prepare the offsetting. Set your 2026 gains and losses against each other before the Fed's December meeting brings the next push. We compare tools that read this from exchange statements in our overview of crypto tax tools.

(As of October 30, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Polymarket temporarily halted trading on its international platform on October 29, 2026, after users reported unauthorized withdrawals. The attack ran through an external service provider that gave the attackers a way into accounts. The platform's trading contracts themselves were not affected. The company reopened trading the same day and promised full reimbursement to everyone affected.

For users in Germany, the incident shifts the question. The key issue is not whether a trading contract on the blockchain has been cleanly programmed. What matters more is how many outside services run on a trading site and what happens if one of them is taken over.

What happened at Polymarket: a compromised provider, not a code bug

Polymarket is a prediction market, a trading platform on which users buy and sell shares in the outcome of future events, with prices reflecting the estimated probability. Settlement runs through smart contracts, programs on a blockchain that execute stakes and payouts without an administering body.

According to the company, those programs were not the problem. Instead, attackers gained access to a provider whose code the platform had embedded in its website. Whoever controls such a service can change what the user sees and confirms in the browser without touching a single line of the trading contract.

The company has not named the provider. Citing an unnamed source, the news agency Reuters names a service for monitoring website speed; Forbes describes it as a website performance monitoring platform. Polymarket has not confirmed this attribution, and until it does, it remains second-hand information.

Around $2.65 million in POL: the range of loss estimates

There is no official figure. Polymarket itself has published neither the size of the loss nor the number of affected accounts. Observers' figures diverge, and they are presented here as a range.

Analyses by the research firm Arkham, cited by several trade outlets, put the figure at around $2.65 million, drained in POL, the token of the Polygon network on which Polymarket settles. The data service DeFiLlama lists just under $2.7 million. Crypto Economy reports $2.65 million and the resumption of trading.

The figures on the number of victims diverge even further. One report speaks of around $2.6 million across almost 1,000 accounts, another of about $3 million from fewer than 15 accounts. Both cannot be true at once, and each points to a different interpretation. A broad outflow across hundreds of accounts suggests a manipulated interface for all visitors, a narrow one suggests a few large accounts. Which reading holds is still open on the morning of October 30.

Cancel-only mode: how trading was temporarily narrowed

Polymarket put trading into a state in which no new orders could be placed, but existing ones could be cancelled. It was therefore not a complete shutdown. This cancel-only mode is the standard tool at exchanges during a disruption: it freezes the inflow while letting anyone out who wants out.

Reports of how long it lasted vary, from about half an hour to a longer interruption in the afternoon. What is certain is that the platform was running again the same day and the company reported all systems operational while the investigation continues.

Reimbursement and prosecution: what the company has promised

Polymarket has said it has fixed the problem and will fully reimburse all affected traders. According to Reuters, as reported by Forbes, the company has handed the case to UK law enforcement.

A promise is not yet a payment. If you are affected, you have no claim against a platform without a licence in the European Union that a German regulator would enforce. The only reliable evidence remains your own records: the time of the unauthorized withdrawal, the transaction ID on the blockchain and your correspondence with the provider.

The third incident since the spring: a pattern in the access layers

The case is not an isolated one. On June 28, 2026, cryptoticker.io reported on an incident at the same platform in which, as things stood then, around $3.1 million was drained; our assessment at the time is in our report on the Polymarket hack and the security risk of prediction markets. There too, a supplier was the starting point.

That is the real finding. For months, the attacks have come through the access points around the platform, not through its core. Interface, API and embedded third-party services are the soft layer on top of hard settlement.

Third-party providers as a gateway: why outside code runs on a trading site

Almost every major trading site embeds services it does not operate itself: error logging, load-time measurement, usage statistics, chat windows, payment modules. Each of these services delivers code that runs in the user's browser with the same rights as the site itself.

This attack route has a name: a supply chain attack, an attack not on the target but on one of its suppliers. It is attractive because a single compromised provider gives the attacker access to dozens of sites at once, and it is practically invisible to the user, since the address bar, certificate and branding remain unchanged.

A parallel from our own coverage is close at hand. In a data leak at a Coinbase service provider at the end of October 2026, balances were not affected; what leaked were contact details that could then be used for phishing. The pattern is the same: it was the exchange's supplier that was attacked.

Prediction markets and EU licensing: the framework for users in Germany

In Europe, prediction markets operate in an unsettled area. Depending on their design, they fall under financial instruments, under gambling or under neither category, and that classification decides which supervisor would be responsible at all. A licence under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, MiCA for short, covers trading in crypto assets, not automatically bets on events.

In practice this means that anyone trading through a platform not licensed in the EU bears the default risk themselves. The deposit protection of up to €100,000 that applies at a bank does not exist here, and a complaint to BaFin against a provider without a German licence leads to no enforceable result. Trading through a provider licensed in the EU instead at least puts a supervisor behind you in a dispute.

Balances on a platform: custody and a trading account are not the same

In a case like this, the difference determines the damage. If a balance sits in a trading account, the provider holds the keys and keeps an internal record of your claim. If it sits in your own wallet, a program or device that stores the private key itself, control stays with the owner.

At Polymarket, users typically connect their own wallet to the platform. That is the better route, but it is not the safe route, because a connection is a permission. Once granted, it allows an application to dispose of your funds to a certain extent, and that permission is exactly the target when the interface is manipulated. The hardware wallet comparison shows which devices keep the key outside the browser and what they cost.

Wallet connection permissions: where a third-party provider gets in

In practice, a wallet connection covers more than displaying a balance. It includes approvals for individual tokens, which allow a contract to move a certain amount of a token, often with no upper limit and no expiry date.

An unlimited approval granted last year is still active today. The most important step after an incident like this is therefore to revoke old approvals, even before withdrawing your balance. If you have never done this, you are usually carrying around a dozen open permissions, most of which you have forgotten.

Leverage and liquidation: what a trading halt means for open positions

A leveraged trade means that a trader holds a larger position with borrowed money than their stake covers; if the price moves past a certain threshold, the position is forcibly closed. That point is called liquidation.

A trading halt hits twice here. If you cannot add margin or sell while the market moves, you lose control over your own stake. On prediction markets, positions usually run without leverage. At derivatives exchanges it is different, and there a cancel-only mode is the difference between limiting a loss and a forced close at the worst price. If you trade with leverage, you should know which outage rules your provider has set out in writing for disruptions.

Holding period and tax: what a reimbursement payment triggers in Germany

For tax purposes the case is awkward, because it mixes several transactions. Under the prevailing view, a theft of crypto assets is not a sale and therefore does not trigger a taxable gain; whether a loss can be claimed is disputed and depends on the individual case.

A reimbursement paid voluntarily by a provider, on the other hand, may be treated as a return of funds, and if it is paid in a different token from the one lost, that constitutes an exchange with its own holding period. The one-year holding period for private disposals starts afresh for the amount received. For your records, that means documenting the date and amount of the outflow and the date and form of the reimbursement separately. This is not tax advice, and for larger amounts the matter belongs in expert hands.

Polymarket: reimbursement promised, the risk remains in the access layer

The platform is trading again, and the promise of full reimbursement is more than users get after many incidents of this kind. Even so, the incident has shown where the weak point lies, and it is not where most people assume. Three things make sense now:

1. Revoke approvals. Withdraw old, unlimited token approvals for trading platforms, including platforms you no longer use. The software wallet comparison shows which wallets have this overview built in.
2. Separate trading balances from holdings. Leave only the amount you actively trade on the platform and move the rest into your own custody. A regulated exchange does not replace your own wallet; it is simply the route with a supervisor behind it.
3. Record what happened. Save transaction IDs, timestamps and correspondence before any reimbursement arrives, because the tax treatment needs both. A tax tool with a portfolio overview keeps the timestamps traceable.

(As of October 30, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Canton Coin faces its first practical test on Monday, and this time it involves real stocks rather than an announcement. From November 2, the common shares of Canton Strategic Holdings (Nasdaq: CNTN) are due to become tradable as tokens on the Canton Network, the very network whose unit, CC, many German investors hold in their portfolios. For you in Germany, everything hinges on one distinction. The ordinary Nasdaq stock is available through your broker, while the tokenized version runs on an American trading venue with access controls. This article separates the two, sets out the limits the US regulator has imposed and explains what changes with the tax office.

What launches on the Canton Network on November 2

Canton Strategic Holdings announced on October 29 that its common stock is to become tradable as a token on the Canton Network. Trading will be handled by TSV LLC, a venue for tokenized securities. The tokens themselves are issued by Fairmint TA LLC, a subsidiary of the transfer agent Fairmint, which is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Trading runs through the Tradecraft protocol, an automated market maker from Obsidian Software LLC.

Automated market maker means there is no classic order book in which buy and sell orders meet. Instead, capital sits in a pool, and an algorithm sets the price from the ratio of the deposited amounts. The same principle has underpinned the large decentralized trading venues in the crypto market for years.

The company stresses in its own text that trading is to begin "as early as Monday, November 2". That is a target date, not a commitment. In the same breath, the announcement lists regulatory halts, maintenance windows, risk controls and volume limits as reasons why trading may pause. If you read a headline about "24/7 trading" on Monday morning, read that caveat along with it.

One more point that has been missing from German reports so far: Canton Strategic Holdings is not the developer of the Canton Network. The network comes from Digital Asset, and the company states explicitly in its own text that Digital Asset is not affiliated with it and does not support its business operations. Until February 2026 Canton Strategic was called Tharimmune and was a biotech company; in November 2025 it raised $545 million to build a business around Canton Coin.

TSV LLC is an access-restricted venue for tokenized NMS stocks

The term that matters is NMS stock. NMS stands for National Market System, the framework that links the regulated US equity markets. A stock listed on Nasdaq is an NMS stock. That is exactly the class TSV may trade in tokenized form, and only that class.

TSV is not an open exchange where you open an account and get started. The company describes the platform as a place with "vetted access for institutional and retail investors". The same text sets out the condition: participants and their wallets must be approved before their first trade, including identity verification and sanctions screening. A wallet that nobody has approved can neither receive nor pass on the tokens.

For context, this is the most important sentence in the entire announcement. A blockchain does not automatically make a trading venue open. Here an approval body decides who takes part, and it decides under American law. How narrow such doors are in practice is something we have already measured elsewhere: in the access rules for tokenized stocks, providers routinely distinguish between professional and retail clients, in some cases with wealth thresholds in the six figures.

The SEC exemption of September 17 covers the launch until 2031

Legally, Monday rests on a single basis: the SEC's so-called innovation exemption, issued on September 17, 2026 as Release No. 34-106402. The exemption runs for five years, until September 17, 2031, and it is temporary transitional relief, not a permanent right. What the exemption allows in principle is something we analysed in September, at a time when there was not a single use case.

The exemption relieves two groups of obligations that would otherwise apply. The venue itself is not treated as an "exchange" under US securities exchange law and therefore does not have to register as a national securities exchange. Anyone who puts their own capital into the automated market maker's pools is not treated as a "dealer" and needs no dealer registration. Both are exemptions from registration requirements, not a free pass. Anti-money laundering rules, sanctions law and securities law continue to apply unchanged, and the venue must keep its books and records in the United States.

Tier 2: 250 symbols and 2.5 percent of daily volume as a cap

The exemption imposes hard quantity limits, and they explain why this launch is smaller than the headlines suggest. The regulator divides the eligible securities into two tiers. Tier one essentially comprises the heavyweights of the S&P 500 and Russell 1000; a venue may list at most 75 of them and trade at most 0.25 percent of the previous month's average daily volume per security. Tier two covers all other NMS stocks: at most 250 securities, but up to 2.5 percent of average daily volume.

With a market capitalization of around $170 million, CNTN is a tier-two security. With average daily turnover of just over 757,000 shares, as reported by Yahoo Finance, the cap comes to just under 19,000 shares a day. At a price of around $2.13, that is roughly $40,000 in turnover that tokenized trading may absorb each day. It is a premiere with symbolic value, not a new marketplace for the broad public.

The limits also have teeth. There is no grace period for the number of symbols: anyone who exceeds it can no longer rely on the exemption. For the volume cap, a first breach only requires a return to compliance, while every further breach forces a three-month pause in that particular security. There is also a pairing rule. A tokenized NMS stock may only be traded against another tokenized NMS stock, a crypto asset that is not a security, or a tokenized money market fund. An initial issuance of new shares through the venue is ruled out.

Issuer-sponsored: no 30-day window for an objection

One detail explains why this case can move so quickly. The SEC exemption provides for two routes. If a third-party provider tokenizes a company's stock, the venue must notify the company in writing at the address of its principal executive office. Trading may begin no earlier than 30 calendar days after the notice is received, and the company may object until the 30th day. A timely objection bars the venue from trading that security, and the venue must disclose the objection publicly. After the 30 days have passed, the exemption provides no way to object retroactively.

Here, the company is tokenizing its own stock. That removes the notification and the waiting period entirely. This is precisely why the launch can follow only days after the announcement, while other projects are still in the notice period. For you as a reader, this detail explains the pace.

The second advantage of the issuer route concerns rights. The company states that holders of the tokenized shares will have the same rights and privileges as shareholders who hold the stock through Nasdaq. That includes shareholder status with everything attached to it. Many of the "tokenized stocks" offered in Europe work differently. There, a provider tracks the price through a claim against itself, there are no voting rights, and dividends may differ or not be paid at all.

Atomic settlement means stock and cash change hands together

The technical promise behind the launch is atomic settlement. This means that both sides of a trade are transferred together or not at all. There is no intermediate state in which the money has already gone and the stock has not yet arrived. In conventional settlement, one to two business days pass between execution and transfer, during which exactly this risk exists and is borne by clearing houses.

For the Canton Network this is not a new promise, but for the first time it applies to listed US stocks with full shareholder rights. The path to this point is documented in our archive. In October, Canton is carrying the tokenization of the US securities depository DTCC, and in the same month network participants approved the Universal Burn for CC. November 2 is the link between institutional settlement and a market in which retail investors appear at all.

Who counts as a shareholder is decided by the transfer agent's register

In the United States, a transfer agent is the body that keeps a company's share register. It records who owns which shares, it processes transfers, and it is the point of contact for dividends and votes. Fairmint TA LLC takes on this role here and keeps the register directly on the blockchain. The company describes this as the firm managing compliance with the requirements on every transfer.

This leads to something that runs against the usual crypto intuition. It is not possession of private keys that makes you a shareholder here, but the entry in the register. The wallet is the place where the token sits, and it is only usable if the approval body knows it. How far this question reaches is something we have covered in detail elsewhere: who owns the stock when the register runs on the blockchain.

In practice, this means that if you lose access to your wallet, the register entry is not affected. That is an advantage over a bearer token. Conversely, you cannot simply send the token to any address you like, because an address that has not been approved will not accept it.

For German investors, the accessible route is the Nasdaq stock

Now to the question that matters for you in Germany. CNTN itself is an ordinary Nasdaq stock and can be reached through German brokers and trading venues under WKN A3EKUG and ISIN US4327053090. At the end of October the stock traded at around $2.13, far below its high for the year of $6.89. If you want to bet on the company, you need neither a token nor a wallet. A custodian bank that carries US stocks is enough.

The tokenized version is a different matter, on a point that has to be stated plainly: the announcement names no country restriction. The text speaks of vetted access for institutional and retail investors and is silent on which countries those investors may come from. Under the terms of the exemption, the venue must itself be a US person and must put its participants through an approval process. Whether a retail investor resident in Germany can pass that process is not stated in any of the published documents.

As long as that remains the case, the sober reading applies. Rely on what is documented. What is documented is access via the Nasdaq stock. Anything else would be an assumption, and assumptions about access rights are a poor guide where money is concerned. If you want to know for sure, ask the venue before November 2 whether participants from the European Economic Area will be approved at all.

Tokenized stocks are MiFID instruments and fall outside the MiCA regulation

A widespread misconception needs to be cleared up at this point. The MiCA regulation governs crypto assets, and it expressly excludes financial instruments from its scope. A tokenized stock remains a stock and therefore a financial instrument under the EU's MiFID II directive and the German Securities Trading Act. Securities supervision law applies to it, not crypto supervision law.

The practical consequence is inconvenient. A MiCA licence says nothing about such a product. If a provider advertises its licence and shows you tokenized stocks in the same breath, check the two things separately. The licence is meaningful for the crypto part of its offering, and our overview of regulated crypto exchanges shows where to look it up. For the equity part, what counts is an authorization to provide investment services, and a public offering in the EU requires a securities prospectus approved by the competent authority rather than a crypto white paper.

The German Electronic Securities Act, or eWpG, does not help here either. It governs crypto securities under German law, meaning securities entered in a German crypto securities register. A US stock on an American register does not fall under it, even if the technology is the same.

For tax purposes the flat-rate withholding tax applies, not the one-year holding period

This is the most expensive mistake a crypto investor can make with this product. In crypto you know the one-year rule from Section 23 of the German Income Tax Act: hold for a year and the capital gain is tax-free. That provision applies to "other assets". A stock is not one of them, and a tokenized stock that gives you full shareholder rights remains a stock for tax purposes.

That puts you in the category of investment income under Section 20 of the Income Tax Act. The flat-rate withholding tax of 25 percent is due, plus solidarity surcharge and church tax where applicable, around 26.4 percent in total. The saver's allowance of €1,000 for single people and €2,000 for jointly assessed couples covers the first income. The holding period plays no role: even after five years, the gain remains taxable.

The second point concerns processing. A German broker acts as a domestic paying agent and withholds the tax directly. An American trading venue does not. In that case nothing is withheld, the transaction does not appear on any annual tax certificate, and the obligation to declare lies with you. The gains belong in Annex KAP of your income tax return. The obligation arises whether or not anyone reminds you. If you accumulate several sales over the year, it is best to keep the record up to date as you go.

Because the classification depends on the legal structure of each token, it is worth reading the issuer's documents before you buy. A token with full shareholder rights is treated differently from an instrument that merely tracks the price. When in doubt, your tax office decides, and a binding ruling costs less than a back payment with interest.

What the launch makes measurable for the Canton Coin price

That leaves the question of what all this means for CC itself. First, the situation: Canton Coin traded at about $0.091 on October 30 and ranked 35th by market capitalization, with just over $3.6 billion. The past week brought a loss of almost 11 percent, the month one of just over 25 percent; the price is around 53 percent below its high of $0.195 on February 3, 2026. At the end of October the market was in a broad sell-off that has nothing to do with this project.

There is no price forecast for November 2 here, and anyone who offers you one is guessing. What can be observed instead are metrics that a network either shows or does not:

• Does trading start on Monday at all? The date is subject to conditions. A launch that slips by weeks is the first and most important piece of news.
• How much volume arrives? The cap is just under 19,000 shares a day. What matters is how much of that is actually traded.
• How deep are the pools? An automated market maker without committed capital produces wide spreads between bid and ask, and wide spreads deter participants.
• Will other issuers follow? The route without a waiting period is open to any listed company that has its own stock tokenized. Second and third cases would be the real signal.

Incidentally, Monday changes nothing about the custody of your own CC. Custody remains your responsibility, and it remains the point where most money is lost in the crypto market.

Canton Coin: November 2 is a target date with conditions attached

All in all, Monday creates a very small, tightly limited market with a large precedent value. Three concrete steps follow from it:

1. Separate the two versions. If you want to bet on the company, buy the Nasdaq stock under WKN A3EKUG through a regular brokerage account. The broker comparison shows which providers offer US stocks and crypto under one roof.
2. Plan for the flat-rate withholding tax. Budget for 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge and record every sale for Annex KAP if no domestic agent withholds the tax. A tax tool with an annual report takes the collecting off your hands.
3. Secure your CC regardless of the date. If you hold Canton Coin for the longer term, do not leave custody in someone else's hands. The devices for this are in the hardware wallet comparison.

And if Monday passes without a price being set, that too is a result. A premiere capped at $40,000 in daily turnover carries its modesty in the rulebook itself.

Primary sources: the announcement by Canton Strategic Holdings of October 29, 2026 and the SEC order of September 17, 2026 (Release No. 34-106402).

(As of October 30, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Strive added 124 Bitcoin for about $10 million and now trails Twenty One Capital by 390 BTC for third place among Treasury companies.

Onchain investigator ZachXBT says an unidentified EU entity lost more than $106 million from centralized exchange accounts on Sunday,.

Anthropic says Claude wrote an attack that can take over a Linux server with no password. Red Hat patched on Sunday, but Ubuntu still has no fix.

The Fundstrat strategist says constraints on AI spending have slowed growth without ending the boom, while crypto’s response to the Binance hack suggests sellers may already be exhausted.

$2.85 billion of the $6.43 billion stolen from Binance has been frozen or seized, compared with about 3% in the Bybit hack, as North Korea’s automated laundering spans 12,000 wallets.

Veteran blockchain project Lisk has officially shut down its network after 10 years, announcing a 5.23 million LSK token burn as it shifts its focus to a new financial platform for businesses.

Following the $6.3 billion Binance hack, NEAR Intents' Alex Shevchenko names 3 critical rules to stop wallets from laundering stolen funds.

Ripple partner Mercado Bitcoin has temporarily suspended cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals after confirming a security breach, with blockchain investigators reporting more than $40 million in suspicious transactions.

Brazil's biggest crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin discloses the specific on-chain address holding 6.7 million stolen Stellar (XLM) after a $40 million hack.

Solana has officially reached 1,000 days without a network-wide outage, marking a major turnaround for a blockchain once notorious for frequent disruptions and highlighting significant improvements in network reliability.

TLDR

• American Express stock gains 2.79% as NBA and WNBA partnerships expand globally.
• AXP reaches $328.02 as expanded basketball deals bring new global fan experiences.
• American Express adds NBA Global Games and WNBA benefits to its sports partnership.
• NBA and WNBA expansion brings American Express cardholders exclusive ticket perks.
• American Express extends its basketball reach with NBA ID rewards and global events.

American Express (AXP) shares gained 2.79% to $328.02, adding $8.91 during the trading session. The stock maintained a strong upward trend as the company announced an expanded global partnership with the NBA and WNBA. The agreement introduces new international basketball experiences, ticket benefits and exclusive programs for eligible American Express Card Members.

American Express Company, AXP

American Express Expands Its Global NBA and WNBA Partnership

American Express, the NBA and WNBA announced an expanded partnership covering several basketball organizations and international events. The multiyear agreement builds on their longstanding relationship and strengthens the company’s position as the leagues’ Official Payments Partner. Additionally, the partnership introduces international activations across the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball.

The expanded agreement also covers the NBA G League and NBA Take-Two Media. American Express will become the Presenting Partner of selected NBA Houses during major international basketball events. These venues will offer viewing parties, interactive activities, player appearances, merchandise and opportunities to meet basketball legends.

American Express will also serve as an Associate Partner of selected NBA Global Games. The agreement includes three sold-out international games scheduled for the 2026-27 season. These events include the Mexico City game on November 7, followed by Paris on January 14 and Manchester on January 17.

American Express Adds International Basketball Events and Fan Benefits

The expanded partnership includes American Express’ continued involvement with NBA Tip-Off and selected basketball teams. The company maintains existing relationships with the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and New York Liberty. Consequently, the agreement extends its presence across professional basketball competitions and international markets.

American Express will also deepen its WNBA involvement and begin a new partnership with USA Basketball. Its role includes supporting the USA Basketball Showcase and the national 3×3 teams. Furthermore, eligible Card Members will receive access to presale tickets and customized premium event programs during selected basketball activities.

The company will continue providing ticket access and experiences connected to major WNBA events. These benefits include selected league activities and the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game. Meanwhile, American Express plans to connect its cardholders with additional basketball experiences through exclusive programming and event opportunities.

NBA ID Program Introduces More American Express Cardholder Rewards

American Express and the NBA will introduce a new program through NBA ID, the league’s free membership platform. Eligible Card Members will have the option to connect their American Express Cards to their NBA ID accounts. Through this connection, members can unlock special benefits and additional offers throughout the basketball season.

The companies will also provide ticketing and merchandise benefits across several major basketball events. Eligible Card Members can access presale or reserved tickets for NBA All-Star, the NBA Draft and the Emirates NBA Cup Championship. Additional opportunities will cover NBA Summer League, the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game and the USA Basketball Showcase, subject to availability.

Beyond ticket access, the agreement includes NBA 2K27 in-game benefits, merchandise releases and MyPLAYER rewards. American Express will also continue Jersey Assurance, which allows qualifying jersey buyers to request replacements after eligible player transfers. Cardholders can receive extended coverage when purchasing through designated NBA and Fanatics retail channels.

The American Express Venue Collection will provide additional benefits at selected NBA arenas. Eligible members can access dedicated entrances, fast lanes and qualifying concession discounts. The program offers 10% back on eligible concession purchases, up to $250 annually, after enrollment.

The expansion adds another international dimension to American Express’ established sports marketing strategy. Through basketball partnerships, the company combines payment services with ticket access, merchandise offers and live experiences. The agreement extends these benefits across professional leagues, national teams and international basketball events.

The post American Express (AXP) Stock Rises 2.79% as NBA and WNBA Partnership Expands Globally appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• SentinelOne shares fall 6.66% to $23.48 following its latest AI security announcement.
• SentinelOne integrates its Singularity Platform with Anthropic’s Claude Cowork application.
• The integration adds runtime monitoring and behavioral threat detection inside virtual machines.
• Security teams gain visibility into AI agent activity and potential system threats.
• SentinelOne plans to support Claude Cowork across Windows and macOS devices.

SentinelOne fell 6.66% to $23.48 as the cybersecurity company expanded its AI security capabilities. The company announced an integration with Anthropic’s Claude Cowork application through its Singularity Platform. The development extends its security coverage into virtual machines where AI agents perform tasks.

SentinelOne, Inc., S

The integration targets growing security gaps created by the increasing use of autonomous AI applications. As employees delegate more work to AI agents, these tools gain access to business systems and sensitive operations. Security teams need better visibility into agent activity and potential threats.

SentinelOne plans to address this challenge by placing its runtime security technology inside Claude Cowork’s virtual machine. This approach allows security teams to monitor agent behavior and identify suspicious activity.The integration will support automated responses when the system detects potential attacks.

SentinelOne Expands Security Coverage Inside Claude Cowork

Claude Cowork operates within a virtual machine on an employee’s device. However, traditional endpoint security tools may not provide complete visibility into activities inside these environments. SentinelOne aims to address this gap by deploying its security agent directly within the virtual machine.

The integration will connect Claude Cowork with SentinelOne’s Singularity Platform. This setup allows security teams to monitor system activity and identify unusual agent behavior. The platform will apply its existing runtime detection and response capabilities within the virtual machine.

The integration will complement SentinelOne’s endpoint detection and response and cloud workload security products. It will also extend the company’s recently introduced Singularity Agentic Detection and Response offering. These capabilities expand protection across endpoints, cloud environments and AI applications.

New Integration Adds Behavioral Detection and Automated Response

SentinelOne will use its Behavioral AI detection engine to examine activity inside Claude Cowork’s virtual machine. The technology will identify unusual actions and potential deviations from expected agent behavior. Security analysts can receive alerts when AI agents display suspicious activity.

The integration will also provide agentic tracing, giving security teams greater visibility into automated operations. This capability can help analysts identify potentially harmful actions before they affect wider systems. SentinelOne’s runtime technology can autonomously stop detected attacks.

The company also plans to support Claude Cowork across macOS and Windows devices. Customers will control deployment through their existing device management systems. This arrangement allows IT departments to determine which devices receive the integration and when activation occurs.

SentinelOne Builds Its AI Security Portfolio

The latest announcement follows SentinelOne’s broader AI security strategy introduced at OneCon 2026. The company aims to protect the systems and environments where organizations deploy AI technologies. Its expanding portfolio addresses security requirements across endpoints, identity, cloud infrastructure and AI applications.

SentinelOne operates from Mountain View, California, and serves organizations across several industries. The company says its platform protects nearly one-fifth of Fortune 500 companies. It also serves hundreds of Global 2000 enterprises through its AI-powered cybersecurity products.

The Anthropic integration adds another layer to SentinelOne’s strategy as businesses increase their use of AI agents. Meanwhile, the company continues developing tools that help security teams monitor automated workflows. The expansion strengthens its position in AI security as enterprise adoption creates new cybersecurity requirements.

The post SentinelOne, Inc. (S) Stock: Strengthens AI Security With New Anthropic Integration appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• T-Mobile shares gain 1.95% as cybersecurity report reveals major security progress.
• T-Mobile cuts successful SIM swap attacks by more than 99% since 2022.
• T-Mobile reports a 99% drop in employee phishing-related credential compromises.
• T-Mobile’s zero-trust platform has blocked more than 6 million online threats.
• T-Mobile blocked nearly 3 billion scam and spam texts before delivery in 2025.

T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) shares climbed 1.95% to $159.49, adding $3.05 during the trading session. The stock recovered from morning losses and maintained an upward trajectory throughout the afternoon. Meanwhile, the wireless carrier published a new cybersecurity report detailing significant improvements in network protection, employee security and customer account safety.

T-Mobile US, Inc., TMUS

T-Mobile Reports Major Improvements in Cybersecurity Protection

T-Mobile released its report, Advancing Cybersecurity at T-Mobile, outlining changes to its security operations and their measurable results. The publication details how the company rebuilt its cybersecurity program while maintaining uninterrupted wireless services and business operations. It explains how T-Mobile responded to increasing threats from nation-state attackers and financially motivated criminals.

The company reported a 37% increase in attempted intrusions over a recent 12-month period. However, credential-based attack attempts declined 35%, indicating changes in the methods used by cybercriminals. Furthermore, phishing-related credential compromises among employees fell more than 99% following extensive security improvements.

T-Mobile also replaced employee passwords with phishing-resistant FIDO2 hardware security keys. The company now operates a passwordless system across nearly 100% of its workforce. Moreover, employees must complete identity verification using selfies and government-issued identification before receiving system credentials.

SIM Swap Attacks and Network Security Show Significant Progress

T-Mobile reported a reduction of more than 99% in successful SIM swap attacks since 2022. The company introduced additional authentication measures, including biometric identity verification, SIM Protection and Port-Out Protection. These measures strengthen account security and reduce opportunities for unauthorized access to customer mobile services.

The report also detailed T-Mobile’s response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattack in late 2024. The state-sponsored group targeted American telecommunications providers through sophisticated methods involving third-party infrastructure. T-Mobile’s layered security systems contained the attackers before they accessed sensitive customer information.

T-Mobile deployed its hybrid zero-trust security framework across its workforce within six months. The platform has blocked more than six million online threats since its launch. Meanwhile, network-level protections now cover all T-Mobile customers across calls, text messages and internet browsing.

T-Mobile Expands Security Investments and Future Threat Preparation

Customer protection remains another major part of the company’s cybersecurity strategy. Since March 2017, Scam ID and Scam Block have helped protect customers against more than 160 billion unwanted calls. T-Mobile blocked nearly three billion scam and spam messages before delivery during 2025.

The company also expanded its cybersecurity operations through employee training and dedicated threat response systems. Its workforce completed more than 200,000 cybersecurity training sessions during 2025. Additionally, the Cyber Defense Center combines threat monitoring, digital forensics and incident response under one operational structure.

Looking ahead, T-Mobile plans to strengthen defenses against artificial intelligence-enabled fraud, automated identities and quantum computing threats. The company also works with CISA, C2 ISAC and CTIA to improve telecommunications security across the industry. Its report further highlights a bug bounty program that has received more than 1,400 valid submissions from security researchers worldwide.

The post T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) Stock: Rises as New Report Reveals Major Cybersecurity and SIM Swap Protection Gains appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Amazon stock rises 3.29% to $248.26 as Ohio residents vote on data center restrictions.
• Sunbury residents could block Amazon’s planned $2 billion Ohio data center project.
• The proposed measure targets facilities requiring more than 25 megawatts of electricity.
• All six data center ballot measures decided earlier this year supported tighter restrictions.
• Growing community opposition threatens AI infrastructure expansion across major US technology companies.

Amazon.com, Inc. faces growing resistance to its artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion as Ohio residents vote on proposed development restrictions. The company’s shares traded at $248.26, gaining 3.29% during the latest trading session. A local ballot measure in Sunbury could prevent Amazon from building its planned $2 billion data center.

Amazon.com, Inc., AMZN

The vote forms part of a wider dispute over the expansion of data centers across the United States. Communities have raised concerns about electricity consumption, water usage and noise from large facilities. Local opposition is creating additional challenges for technology companies seeking approval for infrastructure projects.

Sunbury’s proposal represents one of 41 data center ballot measures scheduled across 10 states. Of these measures, 28 seek tighter development restrictions, while 13 support easier construction. Ohio accounts for 21 measures, making it a major center of the growing debate.

Amazon’s $2 Billion Ohio Data Center Faces Local Opposition

Sunbury residents placed the proposed data center ban on the ballot after collecting signatures against the development. Organizers needed 172 valid signatures, but election officials certified 351. The proposal would prohibit facilities requiring more than 25 megawatts of electricity.

The restriction could prevent Amazon from proceeding with its planned $2 billion campus. The company secured tax incentives for the project in 2024 and committed to creating 50 permanent jobs. Sunbury later introduced a development moratorium that remains in place through January 2027.

Amazon still needs a development agreement before moving the project forward. Meanwhile, residents have raised concerns about the facility’s potential impact on local resources. Their objections include higher electricity demand, water consumption and noise from operations.

Data Center Ballot Measures Deliver Setbacks Across US Communities

The Sunbury vote follows six earlier data center ballot decisions that all produced tighter development restrictions. Between 66% and 90% of voters supported additional limits across those measures. These results indicate growing resistance to large-scale infrastructure projects in several communities.

Tuesday’s wider ballot activity presents a larger challenge for the data center industry. Across 10 states, 41 measures address how local governments should regulate these facilities. Ohio alone accounts for more than half of the proposals.

The debate also coincides with uncertainty surrounding future US technology policy. Polymarket places the probability of Democrats controlling both congressional chambers at approximately 72%. The market has recorded more than $52 million in trading activity around that outcome.

Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet Face AI Infrastructure Challenges

Growing local resistance could affect expansion plans at Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. These companies continue committing substantial capital to data centers that support cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. Tighter local regulations could delay construction and increase development costs.

Amazon declined to explain whether the ballot measures would change its broader expansion strategy. The company maintained its commitment to working with local communities. The outcome in Sunbury could provide another indication of how residents approach future infrastructure proposals.

US data center construction continues to expand despite the growing opposition. Cushman & Wakefield reported that capacity under construction increased 48% between December 2025 and June 2026. Analyst Dan Ives previously estimated that political opposition could derail 10% to 15% of proposed US data centers.

The growing conflict creates another challenge for companies investing heavily in AI infrastructure. Amazon must balance its expansion plans with local approval requirements and community concerns. The Sunbury decision could carry implications beyond its proposed Ohio development.

The post Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock: AI Infrastructure Expansion Faces Growing Political Pushback appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• AST SpaceMobile shares drop 10.53% despite achieving a major satellite network milestone.
• AT&T and AST SpaceMobile complete an industry-first satellite-to-cellular handoff test.
• Ericsson and Nokia support AST SpaceMobile’s push toward seamless satellite connectivity.
• AST SpaceMobile advances toward beta services after completing its network handoff test.
• BlueBird satellites move closer to wider mobile coverage through AT&T’s network partnership.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) shares declined 10.53% to $36.65, losing $4.32 during the trading session. The decline came as the company reported a major technical milestone involving AT&T and its satellite connectivity network. The successful handoff between terrestrial cellular infrastructure and satellite coverage marks progress toward integrated mobile services.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc., ASTS

AST SpaceMobile and AT&T Complete Satellite Network Handoff

AST SpaceMobile and AT&T completed a successful connection transfer between their respective wireless networks. The milestone also involved telecommunications technology providers Ericsson and Nokia, which supported the network integration. According to the companies, the demonstration represents the industry’s first successful handoff between terrestrial cellular coverage and direct-to-device satellite connectivity.

The test took place outside Granite Falls, Washington, on October 21, 2026, at 8:15 a.m. Pacific Time. During the demonstration, the participating networks transferred an active connection without requiring users to manage the transition. Consequently, the achievement addresses a technical challenge associated with maintaining mobile connectivity across different network environments.

Previously, AST SpaceMobile demonstrated voice calls, text messaging and video calls through its BlueBird satellites. Those tests established the network’s ability to connect ordinary smartphones directly with satellite infrastructure. However, the latest demonstration focused on maintaining service while devices moved between terrestrial and satellite coverage.

Ericsson and Nokia Support Progress Toward Beta Services

The latest achievement involved different responsibilities across the participating telecommunications companies. AT&T supplied its terrestrial wireless infrastructure, while AST SpaceMobile provided its satellite network. Meanwhile, Ericsson and Nokia contributed radio access, core network technology and mobility software to support the connection transfer.

Ericsson supplied AT&T with combined radio and core technology alongside intelligent network automation. This technology helps coordinate transitions between terrestrial infrastructure and satellite coverage. Additionally, the system reduces handoff times from seconds to milliseconds, supporting service continuity for customers and emergency personnel.

Nokia provided radio access technology and mobility software for AST SpaceMobile’s space-based network. Its systems support seamless handovers and help maintain connections as devices move between coverage areas. Together, these technologies establish an important foundation for integrating satellite connectivity into existing mobile networks.

AST SpaceMobile Moves Closer to Beta Satellite Services

The companies identified beta testing under real-world conditions as the next stage of development. These trials should allow the partners to evaluate network performance and refine the handoff process. Furthermore, the broader objective involves progressing toward commercial services through continued technical development.

AT&T Senior Vice President of Network Robert Walters identified the successful handoff as a significant development. He also outlined the expected transition toward beta services and eventual commercial deployment. However, the companies must complete further testing before introducing the service commercially.

AST SpaceMobile Chief Commercial Officer Wayne Thorsen highlighted the role of BlueBird satellites in expanding mobile broadband coverage. The company designed its satellite network to support everyday smartphones without requiring specialized devices. Moreover, the system aims to extend connectivity into remote locations while providing additional communication support for first responders.

The partnership therefore represents progress toward combining satellite and terrestrial networks into one mobile experience. For AST SpaceMobile, the milestone advances its efforts to expand coverage through its existing satellite infrastructure. Nevertheless, the immediate development focus remains on beta testing, network integration and preparations for commercial deployment.

The post AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) Stock Drops 10.53% as AT&T Satellite Network Achieves Seamless Handoff appeared first on Blockonomi.

BTCPay Server’s investigation has identified an attack vector targeting instances running version 2.4.1, released on July 23, 2026, or older, following reports of unauthorized attackers sweeping hot wallets.

The open-source cryptocurrency payment processor said it has no credible reports of hot wallet drains affecting users running the latest 2.4.7 release.

Unauthorized Hot Wallet Sweeps

The team is urging everyone to keep their BTCPay Server instances updated and has asked impacted users to send all details and logs to security@btcpayserver.org. Earlier, the platform had urged users to shut down their instances until the investigation was complete. Its founder, Nicolas Dorier, confirmed,

“Update on my part: Our public servers were not attacked (on 2.4.7), it seems reports are before 2.4.2. The attacker managed to log in as admin on those instance, we are still trying to figure out how… We have traces that pre 2.4.2 vulnerabilities were used. We will communicate more in a following blog post.”

It has not disclosed how much was lost or how many servers were affected.

BTCPay Server is a free, self-hosted, open-source Bitcoin payment processor that allows individuals and merchants to accept Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments without relying on third-party intermediaries. Payments go directly to connected wallets, with no subscription or transaction fees beyond standard network charges. The platform also includes tools for managing invoices, point-of-sale payments, crowdfunding campaigns, and tips.

Previous Security Scares

The latest development comes around three months after BTCPay Server disclosed a vulnerability that was exploited to steal funds from some users. The flaw allowed attackers to obtain LND admin macaroon credentials from affected instances and use them to access connected LND wallets.

The incident also comes just days after the Binance hack, in which an exploiter drained more than $6 billion in crypto assets. The heist, described as the largest exploit in crypto history, has been attributed by the FBI and security analysts to TraderTraitor, a state-sponsored cyber warfare group linked to North Korea.

The post BTCPay Server Reveals How Attackers Targeted Older Instances in Hot Wallet Incident appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis, November 3rd, 2026]

Trade 28+ crypto pairs plus forex, indices, metals and commodities on a funded account with payouts in USDT every 14 days, and compete against other traders at the Tokyo, London and New York opens. Code LAUNCH takes 25% off any challenge through November.

Coinhub Funded, the crypto-native prop firm from the Coinhub brand, went live today with funded trading accounts of up to $200,000 and Coinhub Funded Tournaments, 30-minute trading contests on $100,000 simulated accounts where traders test their skill against the field for prizes paid in USDT. Both are live now at coinhubfunded.com , and the code LAUNCH takes 25% off any challenge or Instant Funding account through November 30, 2026

Coinhub Funded launches November 2, 2026 with funded trading accounts up to $200K and daily trading tournaments.

A crypto-first prop firm

Traders qualify through a 2-Step or 1-Step evaluation with no time limit, or start on a funded account the same day with Instant Funding. Challenges start at $75 and no identity check is required until a trader passes. Funded traders keep up to 90% of the profit and can request a payout every 14 days, sent in USDT on Ethereum, Tron or BNB Smart Chain within one to three business days; on 2-Step and 1-Step accounts the challenge fee is refunded with the third payout. As a crypto prop firm, Coinhub Funded offers 28+ crypto pairs around the clock on trading days alongside forex, indices, metals and commodities.

Nine tournaments a day, prizes in USDT

Coinhub Funded Tournaments start three times at each of the Tokyo open (00:00 UTC), the London open (8:00 a.m. London time) and the New York opening bell (9:30 a.m. Eastern), every weekday: a free tier, a $25 tier and a $100 tier. Entry fees are paid in USDT, 90% of them form the prize pool, and the pool is paid in USDT to the top finishers. First place in a free tournament wins 25 USDT, and every free entrant receives a 20% code toward a challenge. The tournaments are a separate skill contest and have no effect on any challenge or funded account; the schedule is at coinhubfunded.com/tournaments and the contest rules at https://coinhubfunded.com/tournament-rules/.

Coinhub Funded Tournaments: three 30-minute contests at each of the Tokyo, London and New York opens, with Free, $25 and $100 tiers and prizes paid in USDT.

Coinhub Funded at a glance

• Funded trading accounts up to $200K; challenges from $75; Instant Funding from $125
• 28+ crypto pairs plus forex, indices, metals and commodities from one account
• Profit split 80/20, or 90/10 with the add-on; payouts every 14 days in USDT
• No time limit on the evaluation; challenge fee refunded with the third payout
• Nine 30-minute tournaments every weekday; Free, $25 and $100 tiers; prizes in USDT
• Buy crypto with cash at 2,000+ Coinhub ATMs to pay for a challenge or a tournament entry
• Code LAUNCH: 25% off any challenge or Instant Funding account through November 30, 2026

“Traders have used the Coinhub name to move in and out of crypto since 2019, and now they can use it to get funded,” said Quincy Mathis, Operations Manager at Coinhub Funded. “There is no clock on the evaluation and you get paid in USDT. And with the tournaments, anyone can sit down at the Tokyo, London or New York open and test their skill against other traders for a USDT prize.”

Frequently asked questions

What is Coinhub Funded? A crypto-native proprietary trading firm (Prop Firm) that gives traders a funded trading account of up to $200K after a simulated evaluation, with profit splits up to 90% and payouts in USDT. It operates under the Coinhub brand, known for its Bitcoin ATM network, online exchange and wallet.

How do the trading tournaments work? Nine 30-minute tournaments run every weekday on $100,000 simulated accounts, at the Tokyo, London and New York opens, in Free, $25 and $100 tiers; 90% of paid entry fees form the prize pool. Prizes are paid in USDT after identity verification. Tournaments are open to adults outside restricted jurisdictions, excluding residents of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.

Is there a launch offer? Yes. Code LAUNCH takes 25% off any challenge or Instant Funding account through November 30, 2026.

About Coinhub Funded

Coinhub Funded is a crypto native proprietary trading firm offering funded trading accounts of up to $200K across crypto, forex, indices, metals and commodities, with payouts in USDT, and Coinhub Funded Tournaments, 30-minute trading contests on simulated accounts with prizes paid in USDT. It is part of the Coinhub ecosystem, which has operated since 2019 and includes 2,000+ Bitcoin ATMs across 25+ US states, an online exchange and a self custody wallet, and operates under the Coinhub name and logo through an IP license agreement. Learn more at coinhubfunded.com and follow @CoinhubFunded on X.

The post Coinhub Funded Goes Live: Crypto Prop Firm Offers Funded Trading Accounts Up to $200K & 30-Minute Tournaments appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The Fear and Greed Index dropped to 30 points following the October 29 attack on Binance, as market sentiment remained firmly in fear territory.

The security breach resulted in losses of $6.3 billion. The exchange said it had covered and replenished approximately 95% of the assets stolen. However, prominent analyst Axel Adler Jr. said that the market sentiment was already weakening before the incident.

Fear Territory

The index fell from 68 points on October 22 to 51 by October 29, before the attack coincided with another sharp decline. Adler’s findings revealed that the 30-day average currently stands at 56 points, which was indicative of how much weaker sentiment has become compared with its average level over the past month.

The current reading is also below the historical median of 44, although it remains above the lower quartile of 26. According to the analysis, a sustained rise in the index, supported by a recovery in price, is needed to confirm an improvement in market sentiment.

Meanwhile, Doctor Profit considers the hack a black swan event. He identified three crucial price levels for Bitcoin that will determine the market’s next move. The first is $76,000, which he says must hold to keep the bull-market structure alive. The level previously confirmed the breakout into the bull market and sits near major weekly support and the 50-week moving average. A break below it, confirmed by two to three daily closes, could expose Bitcoin to a deeper decline towards $67,000-$69,000.

The second level is $78,000, where a proper reclaim, supported by daily closes above it, would mean that panic selling has been absorbed and buyers are taking back control. The third level is $82,000. Doctor Profit wants Bitcoin to reclaim the $80,000-$81,000 support zone first, which would prevent it from turning into resistance. Additionally, regaining $82,000 would signal a stronger bullish structure, but further delays could give bears more control.

Bigger Hacks Ahead?

The October 2026 Binance hack is the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, roughly four times larger than Bybit’s February 2025 exploit, which was previously one of the biggest. Trace Finance co-founder Bernardo Brites expects such records will continue to be broken as crypto prices rise and exchanges hold more assets, making each potential breach bigger than the last. In a statement to CryptoPotato, Brites explained,

“What’s changed is the speed of the threat. AI tools can now find vulnerabilities faster than teams can patch them, which is why we’ve seen a string of major incidents in recent months. For an exchange the size of Binance, the question isn’t whether it can make users whole. Between its emergency user fund, its corporate reserves and its ability to raise capital, it likely can. The real question is what this means for everyone else.”

Brites also said that there could be a “flight to size,” with users moving towards larger, more regulated and better-capitalized exchanges because many small and mid-sized platforms may not survive a hack of this scale. The exec added that some users could turn to DeFi and self-custody to hold their own keys, while simultaneously warning that these options are not risk-free either, as DeFi protocols have also suffered numerous exploits.

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The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange suffered a major shock last week when hackers drained over $6.3 billion. However, that’s not all the bad news surrounding Binance lately.

Yi He, the company’s co-founder and chief customer service officer, encouraged users not to let their guard down, as bad actors could exploit the situation to target victims. Here are the exact threats.

Fake Campaigns and More

Over the past few days, certain X users claimed that Binance has introduced a cash voucher campaign. Yi He emphasized that the initiative has not yet gone live and must first secure regulatory approval before being rolled out to the community. She urged users not to fall for the claims, calling the development an attempt to deceive users.

“There is currently no cash voucher campaign, so please be vigilant against all types of phishing and scam links. Safety first,” she said.

Phishing attacks involve fake links, websites, or messages that impersonate trusted companies to trick users into revealing sensitive information or connecting their wallets. Once scammers access that data, they can drain victims’ accounts and transfer funds. This is why investors are advised to verify the authenticity of links and announcements before interacting with them.

This Binance exec flagged another potential fraud as well. She reposted a tweet warning that scammers on Telegram had been exploiting GRAM transfers by embedding fake “Binance Official Announcements” in transaction details.

“Please be aware of new scam patterns emerging amid the chaos,” she stressed.

Latest Updates on the Drama

Binance suffered a devastating cyberattack on October 30, with the North Korean hacking collective TraderTraitor supposedly draining more than $6.3 billion. The incident became the largest hack in cryptocurrency history and sent shockwaves through the sector.

The news triggered initial panic, sending Bitcoin and most altcoins lower. However, the incident did not trigger broader contagion, which may explain why the sell-off remained relatively modest.

In fact, Binance reacted swiftly to the hack and started fixing the issue. At first, it halted withdrawals and deposits while the team ran necessary security checks and worked with law enforcement. It also promised to reimburse users via its SAFU fund and own reserves.

On November 1, the company started preparing for the first phase of withdrawal recovery, featuring networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, XRP, and more. Shortly after, the company resumed these services, and 95% of the affected amount has been replenished.

As CryptoPotato reported, users withdrew almost $4.65 billion in less than 10 hours. Deposits reached roughly $1.01 billion during the same period, resulting in net outflows of approximately $3.64 billion.

Later, Binance announced that fiat withdrawals became available for the following currencies: USD, AED, VND, PJP, and IDR. In one of her latest tweets, Yi He said the company’s top priority is to ensure the environment is secure so users can withdraw their funds and the exchange can resume normal operations.

Her comment follows a post by X user Selena, who recently drew a parallel between the Binance hack and the FTX collapse in 2022. She noted that the leading crypto exchange has already covered 95% of the stolen $6.3 billion, demonstrating its ability to absorb losses.

The post Crucial Binance Warning Concerning All Users: Details Inside appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Mercado Bitcoin (MB) suspended deposits and withdrawals on Monday after more than $40 million left wallets tied to the Brazilian exchange overnight, according to security firm Hypernative.

The exchange confirmed the incident in a statement on X, saying it had identified and quickly contained a security incident in one of its systems early that morning. MB said customers suffered no losses and no customer data leaked.

“Our teams are mobilized investigating the case, tracking the assets and coordinating measures with the competent authorities,” the company said.

Flows Across 10 Chains

Hypernative said the transfers ran across at least 10 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Tron. The first suspicious transfer came at 2:15 UTC. The largest transfers came between 6:19 and 6:53 UTC, when wallets tied to MB sent most of the funds to newly created addresses.

Those transfers were ordinary signed transactions, sent as if the source wallets had authorized them. Hypernative said it is not yet clear how the attacker got the power to sign those transactions. The firm called its estimate preliminary, since it still has to confirm that every source address belongs to MB.

MB later published five destination addresses linked to the incident, on EVM networks, Bitcoin, Solana, Stellar and Tron. The Bitcoin address took in about 106 BTC early on Monday, data from blockchain explorer mempool.space shows. Most of that Bitcoin arrived in one transfer of 104.4 BTC at 6:41 UTC. None of that Bitcoin had moved by 14:50 UTC.

Tether has frozen the USDT sent to two of those addresses. Its USDT contracts on Ethereum and Tron are both listed as blacklisted, according to on-chain data. The Tron address holds 708,243 USDT, and the Ethereum address holds more than 3 million.

Breach Follows Binance’s $6.3B Loss

The MB breach came four days after Binance lost $6.3 billion from its hot wallets on October 29. Hypernative called the Binance loss the largest crypto theft on record. Binance traced the theft to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which let an attacker submit unauthorized withdrawals.

Binance also halted withdrawals while it overhauled the security of its withdrawal service. About $3 billion of the stolen Binance funds was frozen on-chain with help from blockchain partners.

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