Week of September 28, 2026

The SEC granted a temporary exemption allowing tokenized NMS stock to be traded on permissioned automated market maker platforms, opening on‑chain secondary trading for tokenized securities.

Ethereum researchers evaluate hash function variants for consensus, state trees, and zkVM proofs, focusing on performance and security for future protocol upgrades.

Ethereum’s Geth added CHAMP, a multi‑dimensional peer‑quality overlay that protects useful peers while preserving random churn to keep the network open and eclipse‑resistant.

Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade will repricing gas for state operations, potentially breaking a small set of smart contracts that rely on hardcoded gas assumptions.

Cosmos Hub voters overwhelmingly veto a proposal to refund 1.2 million ATOM seized from a Neutron attacker.

The SEC proposes rescinding Rule 14a‑8, which governs shareholder proposals, and modernizing proxy solicitation rules to reduce federal preemption and align with current technology.

SEC censures OTC Link LLC, imposing a $575,000 penalty for repeated failures to comply with Regulation SCI.

Bitcoin Core released version 31.0 with bug fixes.

SEC charges Michael D. Williams and CMI Capital LLC for a $860,000 investment scheme targeting law‑enforcement investors.

Bitcoin Core 31.1 has been released with bug fixes.

Bitcoin Core 30.3 has been released with bug fixes.

Bitmine’s treasury now holds 6,001,302 ETH, about 4.9% of the circulating supply, after buying 17,362 ETH last week for roughly $47 million.

Werracle introduces a low‑gas, on‑chain AI oracle that can react within a single block to mitigate flash‑loan and MEV attacks.

Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money‑market shares can now be used as collateral on Bybit, enabling stablecoin borrowing while earning yield on the underlying assets.

Bitcoin Core 29.4 was released, fixing bugs and improving security.

RedotPay finished a required financial audit to advance its U.S. IPO, countering reports that the listing was delayed.

The EU’s European Banking Authority proposes extending MiCA to regulate crypto lending, including leverage caps and a DeFi certification regime.

SEC staff clarified that token buybacks on functional networks do not automatically make tokens securities, but warns unfinished networks could cross the line.

Bitget has patched a $388 million exploit and will resume withdrawals in phases, with losses covered by a user protection fund.

The Sixth Circuit ruled Ohio and Tennessee can enforce gambling laws against Kalshi’s sports contracts, rejecting Kalshi’s swap‑definition argument.

South Korea’s regulator will review legalizing crypto market making and tightening exchange oversight amid concerns over recent stablecoin price swings.

Solana reduced rent to 5080 lamports per byte and slotted time to 250 ms, while launching multiple protocol upgrades and validator improvements.

Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet will activate the Glamsterdam upgrade on Oct 6 2026, adding proposer‑builder separation, block‑level access lists, and new gas pricing.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning public officials from launching memecoins.

U.S. authorities sanctioned Xinbi, a major Chinese-language cybercrime marketplace, seizing or restraining over $52 million in crypto and disrupting its laundering services.

Citi and Coinbase are expanding their partnership to offer businesses stablecoin payment infrastructure linking fiat and crypto.

Citi partners with Coinbase to let merchants accept stablecoins at checkout while settling in fiat, with Coinbase converting tokens on Citi’s banking platform.

Tether’s USDT is reportedly central to Iran’s shadow banking network, per a new U.S. Senate report.

Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum’s next fork, Hegota, will likely be its last “normal” upgrade before the network shifts to advanced cryptographic proofs and quantum‑safe design.

Strive’s latest $94.5 million Bitcoin purchase pushed its holdings over 27,400 BTC.

FBI used Chainalysis blockchain analytics to link a darknet drug vendor, BarbaraWhite, to two Jacksonville brothers, aiding their arrest for opioid distribution.

Bitwise launched the first U.S. spot NEAR ETF, the NRR, which stakes NEAR and passes rewards to shareholders.

Aztec Labs relaunched its zk.money privacy wallet on the Aztec Network after a 2023 discontinuation.

NEAR Intents blocked $503,000 of Bitget hack funds, citing risk‑intelligence, while THORChain refused a similar request.

Chainalysis now automatically tracks and monitors tokens on HyperEVM, expanding coverage beyond HYPE to ERC‑20 and ERC‑721 assets.

Bitget’s attacker performed two small test transfers before draining $388 million, revealing gaps in the exchange’s risk controls.

Aztec Labs relaunched zk.money, a self‑custodial wallet that uses the Aztec Network to hide payment amounts, balances and recipients while still allowing deposits from Ethereum.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is concluding her nearly ten‑year tenure, reflecting on unfinished regulatory goals.

The U.S. SEC’s Office of the Inspector General is demanding records from Crypto.com, Hyperliquid and PredictIt on identity checks and suspicious trades.

Blockchain.com plans a $500 million IPO this year at a $4‑$6 billion valuation, after filing a confidential S‑1 with the SEC.

House Oversight has expanded its insider‑trading probe to Hyperliquid, Crypto.com and PredictIt, demanding records on identity verification and trade surveillance after a high‑profile short on Hyperliquid allegedly used non‑public tariff information.

The SEC tightened its token‑buyback guidance to only fully decentralized networks, easing compliance for those projects but still requiring careful framing of buyback announcements.

Morgan Stanley has opened a Digital Asset Lab to safely test DeFi vaults and other crypto tools before integrating them into its core systems, reflecting a cautious yet forward‑looking approach to decentralized finance.

Ondo Perps CEO David Wells sees a major opportunity for U.S. perpetual futures, proposing a hybrid model that blends regulated clearing with on‑chain settlement to satisfy both market demand and regulatory scrutiny.

Sony‑backed Soneium and DayOneDream are tokenising K‑Pop revenue, letting fans invest in concert, streaming and music rights while giving artists a new funding source, though launch details remain unclear.

Bybit now lets eligible clients borrow USDT or USDC using Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money‑market fund shares as off‑exchange collateral, keeping the assets in custody and earning yield while reducing counterparty risk.

Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices extended their exclusive licensing deal through 2051, preserving SPX options rights while exploring tokenized options contracts—an exploratory step that could bring blockchain‑enabled derivatives to mainstream finance.

Bitwise’s new NRR ETF gives U.S. investors regulated spot exposure to NEAR, plans to stake the token for yield, and markets it as the settlement layer for AI agents.

Project Eleven has acquired Riva Labs, adding hash‑based post‑quantum wallet tech and IP to accelerate the migration of major blockchains to quantum‑resistant cryptography.

Near Intents blocked over $50 million of stolen Bitget funds using its SHIELD system, sparking debate over the limits of a permissionless swap service and the need for clear recovery procedures.

Citi and Coinbase have built a hidden stablecoin payment bridge that lets corporate clients transact instantly and safely without holding crypto or opening wallets.

AI agents will rely on blockchain infrastructure—programmable payments, stablecoins, identity, and tokenized custody—to transact, settle, and prove ownership, making the underlying financial rails the next investment frontier.

Solana Foundation hires Rachel Conlan and Jamal Raees to boost institutional strategy and global payments, advancing the Token Supercycle of on‑chain finance.

Project Harmonia links Allfunds’ institutional distribution network to Solana, allowing tokenized funds to reach global investors via a single integration, with an open RFP closing October 24, 2026.

Bitcoin ETFs added $2.95 billion in 30 days, showing a strong inflow streak amid rising prices and renewed institutional interest.

AI‑driven attacks exposed a four‑year‑old flaw in Coldcard wallets, proving that even small teams can miss critical bugs; the solution is layered, automated defenses and multi‑sig strategies to keep pace with computer‑scale threats.

Senator Blumenthal has asked Treasury and DOJ to investigate Tether for enabling Iran‑linked actors to use USDT, citing a Senate report that 84 % of sanctioned wallets traded almost exclusively in the stablecoin and that Tether’s freeze actions have been inconsistent.

tZERO brings Goldman Sachs’ $105 billion Treasury fund to Lynq, enabling U.S. crypto firms to earn Treasury yield on idle cash between trades.

A research team forged RSA signatures on a hardware vault without extracting the key, showing that misconfigured RSA systems can be subverted; the attack doesn’t threaten Bitcoin or Ethereum but underscores the need for proper padding and a move toward post‑quantum cryptography.

Open USD, a native Solana stablecoin backed by major banks and launched by Open Standard, is now live with zero‑cost minting, transparent reserves, and immediate settlement demand from leading payment firms.

Coinbase’s new CFTC‑approved clearinghouse gives it full control over its derivatives stack, enabling 24/7 USDC settlement and faster product launches.

The Bitcoin Optech Podcast #424 discusses post‑quantum Lightning, Stack Exchange Q&A, and new releases of Bitcoin Core, Core Lightning, and LDK, providing practical guidance for developers and node operators.

Eclair’s DoS bugs are fixed in v0.14.0; a new proposal aims to sync wallet labels via an untrusted store; the community debates post‑quantum outputs, SNARK‑based signature aggregation, and BIP54 time‑warp bounds, while covenant vaults and probabilistic Lightning depots offer fresh spending models.