Does the Bitcoin 'Debasement Trade' Narrative Still Hold Up After the Crash?

Bitcoin had been on a roll, hitting a new high of over $126,000 at the start of last week. But then on Friday, markets suffered a shock following the latest Trump trade war move: A threat of "massive" new tariffs on China.   Following President Trump's social media post, the result was nothing short of catastrophic, with the largest single-day wipeout in history—over $19 billion in largely leveraged crypto futures positions liquidated. Bitcoin's price nosedived—albeit briefly—to under $110,000....

Bitcoin had been on a roll, hitting a new high of over $126,000 at the start of last week. But then on Friday, markets suffered a shock following the latest Trump trade war move: A threat of "massive" new tariffs on China.   Following President Trump's social media post, the result was nothing short of catastrophic, with the largest single-day wipeout in history—over $19 billion in largely leveraged crypto futures positions liquidated. Bitcoin's price nosedived—albeit briefly—to under $110,000....

Japanese Regulator Eyes Ban on Crypto Insider Trading: Nikkei

Japanese regulators plan to ban insider trading on crypto, according to a report, in a first for the Asian country which had some of the earliest exposure to digital assets. The country's top financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, will soon be authorized to investigate suspected violations, issuing surcharge recommendations or criminal referrals in the case of trades based on undisclosed information, Japanese financial publication The Nikkei reported Tuesday. In...

Japanese regulators plan to ban insider trading on crypto, according to a report, in a first for the Asian country which had some of the earliest exposure to digital assets. The country's top financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, will soon be authorized to investigate suspected violations, issuing surcharge recommendations or criminal referrals in the case of trades based on undisclosed information, Japanese financial publication The Nikkei reported Tuesday. In...

Naughty or Nice? ChatGPT to Allow Erotica in December, Says Sam Altman

Gooners of the world, rejoice! OpenAI will allow ChatGPT to generate erotic content for verified adults starting in December, marking a dramatic shift from the company's historically restrictive approach to sexual content. CEO Sam Altman announced the change Tuesday, saying the company would follow a "treat adult users like adults" principle once comprehensive age verification rolls out. “In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our 'treat adult users like adults' princip...

Gooners of the world, rejoice! OpenAI will allow ChatGPT to generate erotic content for verified adults starting in December, marking a dramatic shift from the company's historically restrictive approach to sexual content. CEO Sam Altman announced the change Tuesday, saying the company would follow a "treat adult users like adults" principle once comprehensive age verification rolls out. “In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our 'treat adult users like adults' princip...

Bitcoin Reasserts Dominance Over Ethereum as Trump Trade Spat Escalates

Ethereum surged against Bitcoin on its way toward a peak of nearly $5,000 this summer, but the reigning cryptocurrency reasserted itself this weekend, as a tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China over tariffs and trade sent economic concerns flaring for a second time this year. Although the price of both assets fell in U.S. dollar terms, Bitcoin’s value increased relative to Ethereum, to the point that a single Bitcoin was worth nearly 30 Ethereum on Friday, according to Yahoo Finance. On Tuesday...

Ethereum surged against Bitcoin on its way toward a peak of nearly $5,000 this summer, but the reigning cryptocurrency reasserted itself this weekend, as a tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China over tariffs and trade sent economic concerns flaring for a second time this year. Although the price of both assets fell in U.S. dollar terms, Bitcoin’s value increased relative to Ethereum, to the point that a single Bitcoin was worth nearly 30 Ethereum on Friday, according to Yahoo Finance. On Tuesday...

'Bitcoin Mayor' Eric Adams Establishes NYC Digital Assets and Blockchain Office

New York City Mayor Eric Adams established the Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology on Tuesday, adding to his pro-crypto record as he rounds out his term in office. The crypto-centric office will operate within the office of the mayor and be led by a director appointed by Mayor Adams, who will ultimately report to the city’s chief technology officer. “Our first-in-the-nation Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain will help make us the global capital of digital assets,” Adams poste...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams established the Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology on Tuesday, adding to his pro-crypto record as he rounds out his term in office. The crypto-centric office will operate within the office of the mayor and be led by a director appointed by Mayor Adams, who will ultimately report to the city’s chief technology officer. “Our first-in-the-nation Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain will help make us the global capital of digital assets,” Adams poste...

Binance Offers Another $400M to Traders After Crypto Crash Triggers Record Liquidations

Crypto exchange Binance is injecting another $400 million back into the hands of users following the record-breaking $19 billion of liquidations that rocked crypto markets last week, sending prices of top assets plunging.  The exchange and other BNB ecosystem firms have now earmarked more than $700 million in compensation for affected users as a result of the recent liquidations, after already committing a separate $283 million to reimbursements. “Talk is cheap,” posted Binance co-founder and fo...

Crypto exchange Binance is injecting another $400 million back into the hands of users following the record-breaking $19 billion of liquidations that rocked crypto markets last week, sending prices of top assets plunging.  The exchange and other BNB ecosystem firms have now earmarked more than $700 million in compensation for affected users as a result of the recent liquidations, after already committing a separate $283 million to reimbursements. “Talk is cheap,” posted Binance co-founder and fo...

Laura Loomer Stokes Speculation Over Trump SBF Pardon: Is There Anything to It?

Conservative activist Laura Loomer ignited social media Wednesday with a viral post claiming that there’s a “massive and well-funded” effort to persuade President Donald Trump to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The allegation spread rapidly across X, riling up partisans who saw back-room corruption or another conspiracy in search of evidence. "There is a massive and well funded lobby effort to get this criminal pardoned," Loomer wr...

Conservative activist Laura Loomer ignited social media Wednesday with a viral post claiming that there’s a “massive and well-funded” effort to persuade President Donald Trump to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The allegation spread rapidly across X, riling up partisans who saw back-room corruption or another conspiracy in search of evidence. "There is a massive and well funded lobby effort to get this criminal pardoned," Loomer wr...

Kenya Passes Bill to Regulate Crypto as Regional Momentum Grows

Kenya is one step closer to regulating crypto in the country, as its parliament enacted the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill 2025 last week, a senior parliament member told Reuters. The bill will now need to be signed by Kenyan President William Ruto in order to create the legislative framework, which regulates crypto service providers and addresses potential misuse in the industry. "We are hoping that Kenya can be now the gateway into Africa," finance committee chairman Kuria Kimani told Re...

Kenya is one step closer to regulating crypto in the country, as its parliament enacted the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill 2025 last week, a senior parliament member told Reuters. The bill will now need to be signed by Kenyan President William Ruto in order to create the legislative framework, which regulates crypto service providers and addresses potential misuse in the industry. "We are hoping that Kenya can be now the gateway into Africa," finance committee chairman Kuria Kimani told Re...

Tether Pays $300 Million to Settle Celsius Lawsuit Over $4.5 Billion in Bitcoin

The Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), a partnership between investment firms GXD Labs and VanEck, announced that stablecoin giant Tether has paid $299.5 million to settle claims from the Celsius Network bankruptcy estate. The payment resolves an adversary proceeding filed in August 2024 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the settlement represents a fraction of the value of funds that Celsius sought to recover from Tether. Tether had publicly r...

The Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), a partnership between investment firms GXD Labs and VanEck, announced that stablecoin giant Tether has paid $299.5 million to settle claims from the Celsius Network bankruptcy estate. The payment resolves an adversary proceeding filed in August 2024 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the settlement represents a fraction of the value of funds that Celsius sought to recover from Tether. Tether had publicly r...

Republican Bill Aims to Make Trump's Bitcoin and Crypto 401K Order Federal Law

A Republican congressman is pushing to legally codify an executive order recently signed by President Trump regarding retirement plans and alternative assets, in a move that could further push 401(k) providers to open the door to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT), a freshman congressman who has embraced crypto as a favorite issue this year, will introduce a bill Tuesday that would codify President Trump’s August executive order on crypto and 401(k)s into law, a represe...

A Republican congressman is pushing to legally codify an executive order recently signed by President Trump regarding retirement plans and alternative assets, in a move that could further push 401(k) providers to open the door to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT), a freshman congressman who has embraced crypto as a favorite issue this year, will introduce a bill Tuesday that would codify President Trump’s August executive order on crypto and 401(k)s into law, a represe...

Monad Opens Airdrop to Solana Users, Ethereum NFT Holders as MON Launch Nears

Monad, an upcoming layer-1 blockchain network designed to rival Solana and Ethereum, shared further details of its upcoming MON token airdrop on Tuesday, including outlining the community recipients and opening an eligibility checker.  Eligible users may be able to see their allocation as early as October 28, though the claim will remain open until November 3—at which point it is expected that the token will be claimable.  “This airdrop allocates tokens to 5,500 members of the Monad community, a...

Monad, an upcoming layer-1 blockchain network designed to rival Solana and Ethereum, shared further details of its upcoming MON token airdrop on Tuesday, including outlining the community recipients and opening an eligibility checker.  Eligible users may be able to see their allocation as early as October 28, though the claim will remain open until November 3—at which point it is expected that the token will be claimable.  “This airdrop allocates tokens to 5,500 members of the Monad community, a...

Elon Musk Gushes About Bitcoin 'Energy' Demands—Years After Environmental Gripes

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a rare appearance on Crypto Twitter (aka X) timelines early Tuesday to sing the praises of Bitcoin’s energy consumption. It appears to mark a change of heart years after he criticized the electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining in 2021. Musk was weighing in on a discussion of AI becoming the “new global arms race,” and reasoning that precious metals and Bitcoin have been soaring because “it’s the ‘debasement’ to fund the AI arms race.” A debasement trade refers to inve...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a rare appearance on Crypto Twitter (aka X) timelines early Tuesday to sing the praises of Bitcoin’s energy consumption. It appears to mark a change of heart years after he criticized the electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining in 2021. Musk was weighing in on a discussion of AI becoming the “new global arms race,” and reasoning that precious metals and Bitcoin have been soaring because “it’s the ‘debasement’ to fund the AI arms race.” A debasement trade refers to inve...

Myriad's New Perpetual Sentiment Markets Make Opinions 'The Most Valuable Commodity'

Polling was built to measure what people think, but it mostly captures what people say they think. Belief filtered through bias, identity, and bipartisan rituals just becomes noise. Opinions are cheap when they cost nothing to express. Markets fix that. Myriad’s Perpetual Sentiment Markets replace surveys with price discovery. Instead of ticking a box, participants buy or sell positions that represent their beliefs, such as Fear vs Greed or Approval vs Disapproval of a politician, staking value...

Polling was built to measure what people think, but it mostly captures what people say they think. Belief filtered through bias, identity, and bipartisan rituals just becomes noise. Opinions are cheap when they cost nothing to express. Markets fix that. Myriad’s Perpetual Sentiment Markets replace surveys with price discovery. Instead of ticking a box, participants buy or sell positions that represent their beliefs, such as Fear vs Greed or Approval vs Disapproval of a politician, staking value...

BlackRock Developing Tokenization Tech Amid Bitcoin, Ethereum ETF Success

The world’s largest asset manager is developing its own technology related to digital representations of traditional assets, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Tuesday. If the company—which disclosed a record $13.46 trillion in assets under management—could move toward offering ETFs as tokens to investors, then that would broaden access to capital markets and reduce fees, he said during the firm’s third-quarter earnings broadcast. As BlackRock leans deeper into digital assets, Fink said the firm i...

The world’s largest asset manager is developing its own technology related to digital representations of traditional assets, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Tuesday. If the company—which disclosed a record $13.46 trillion in assets under management—could move toward offering ETFs as tokens to investors, then that would broaden access to capital markets and reduce fees, he said during the firm’s third-quarter earnings broadcast. As BlackRock leans deeper into digital assets, Fink said the firm i...

US Seeks $14 Billion in Bitcoin From Cambodian Crypto Scammer in Record Forfeiture

The United States on Tuesday announced that it is seeking the forfeiture of 127,271 Bitcoin, currently worth over $14.2 billion, in the largest such forfeiture action in the history of the Department of Justice. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department's National Security Division filed the civil forfeiture complaint against Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, a multinational business conglomerate based in Cambodia. The D...

The United States on Tuesday announced that it is seeking the forfeiture of 127,271 Bitcoin, currently worth over $14.2 billion, in the largest such forfeiture action in the history of the Department of Justice. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department's National Security Division filed the civil forfeiture complaint against Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, a multinational business conglomerate based in Cambodia. The D...

Morning Minute: Citi Sets Sights on 2026 for Crypto Custody

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Today’s top news: Crypto majors fall as China trade war rhetoric escalates; BTC at $111k Citi says it will custody crypto in 2026, evaluating a stablecoin BMNR passes 1M in ETH holdings; Metaplanet’s mNAV falls below 1 Monad airdrop portal claim opens today MegaETH teases big week ahead (po...

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Today’s top news: Crypto majors fall as China trade war rhetoric escalates; BTC at $111k Citi says it will custody crypto in 2026, evaluating a stablecoin BMNR passes 1M in ETH holdings; Metaplanet’s mNAV falls below 1 Monad airdrop portal claim opens today MegaETH teases big week ahead (po...

Crypto Markets Slide as Key Bitcoin Support Weakens and ETF Flows Reverse

The cryptocurrency market is facing a broad pullback, with Bitcoin testing a critical support level as recent institutional inflows reverse and investor sentiment cools. Bitcoin is trading around $110,800, down approximately 3.4%, while Ethereum has fallen about 4.5% to below $4,000, per CoinGecko data. The total crypto market capitalization has dropped 4.4% over the past 24 hours to $3.85 trillion, and trading volumes remain elevated, indicating volatility is likely to persist. The recent liqu...

The cryptocurrency market is facing a broad pullback, with Bitcoin testing a critical support level as recent institutional inflows reverse and investor sentiment cools. Bitcoin is trading around $110,800, down approximately 3.4%, while Ethereum has fallen about 4.5% to below $4,000, per CoinGecko data. The total crypto market capitalization has dropped 4.4% over the past 24 hours to $3.85 trillion, and trading volumes remain elevated, indicating volatility is likely to persist. The recent liqu...

Ethereum ETFs Bleed $429M in Largest Single-Day Outflow Since Early September

U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded $428.5 million in outflows on Monday, marking the sharpest single-day capital flight since September 5, when ETH funds shed $446.8 million. BlackRock's ETHA suffered the largest outflow with $310.1 million exiting on Monday, while Grayscale's ETHE posted $21 million in withdrawals, and Fidelity's FETH saw $19.1 million flee, according to Farside Investors data. Ethereum ETFs attracted $488 million in net inflows the previous week, part of a $3.17...

U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded $428.5 million in outflows on Monday, marking the sharpest single-day capital flight since September 5, when ETH funds shed $446.8 million. BlackRock's ETHA suffered the largest outflow with $310.1 million exiting on Monday, while Grayscale's ETHE posted $21 million in withdrawals, and Fidelity's FETH saw $19.1 million flee, according to Farside Investors data. Ethereum ETFs attracted $488 million in net inflows the previous week, part of a $3.17...

Class Action Alleges Microsoft Choked AI Supply to Lift ChatGPT Costs

ChatGPT users have accused Microsoft of "mercilessly" choking OpenAI's compute supply through an exclusive cloud agreement, artificially inflating AI subscription prices while simultaneously rushing its own competing products to market. The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Francisco federal court, alleges Microsoft "secretly turned an investment into a stranglehold," using its Azure cloud dominance to restrict the computational resources needed to run ChatGPT, keeping prices at levels reaching "100...

ChatGPT users have accused Microsoft of "mercilessly" choking OpenAI's compute supply through an exclusive cloud agreement, artificially inflating AI subscription prices while simultaneously rushing its own competing products to market. The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Francisco federal court, alleges Microsoft "secretly turned an investment into a stranglehold," using its Azure cloud dominance to restrict the computational resources needed to run ChatGPT, keeping prices at levels reaching "100...

Bhutan to Anchor National Digital ID on Ethereum by Early 2026

Bhutan has integrated its National Digital Identity platform with the Ethereum blockchain, making the Himalayan kingdom the first country to anchor a live, population-scale identity system on a public network. The transition enables the NDI platform to issue verifiable credentials and link decentralized identifiers to Ethereum’s validator network. Citizens will be able to cryptographically prove attributes such as age, residency, or citizenship without relying on centralized databases. The syste...

Bhutan has integrated its National Digital Identity platform with the Ethereum blockchain, making the Himalayan kingdom the first country to anchor a live, population-scale identity system on a public network. The transition enables the NDI platform to issue verifiable credentials and link decentralized identifiers to Ethereum’s validator network. Citizens will be able to cryptographically prove attributes such as age, residency, or citizenship without relying on centralized databases. The syste...