Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Circle Pushes Back on MiCA's Bank-Deposit Mandate for Stablecoins

In briefCircle submitted recommendations to the European Commissions MiCA review, arguing the framework has produced many regulated issuers but captured few of the biggest global tokens.It urged the EU to preserve “multi-issuance” (warning restrictions would push activity offshore) and to loosen reserve rules, siding with the ECB against the 30%-to-60% bank-deposit mandate.The push lands ahead of a broader 2027 MiCA overhaul and amid a wider U.S.-EU contest over stablecoin dominance.　　Circle is pushing the European Union to rework parts of its crypto rulebook, arguing that the current rules governing stablecoins are keeping the worlds biggest tokens outside Europes regulatory perimeter.　　The stablecoin issuer said Thursday it had submitted a response to the European Commissions consultation on reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, the blocs comprehensive framework for digital assets.　　Myriad: Where does Solana go next？ Click to make your prediction.　　Circle, which issues the dollar-pegged USDC and the euro-pegged EURC, framed its recommendations as refinements to a framework it credits with giving Europe an early lead.　　The companys core argument is that MiCA has produced plenty of regulated issuers but failed to capture the largest global tokens. Of the top 25 stablecoins by market value, Circle noted, only three are MiCA-regulated.　　To close that

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Crypto hackers exploit third-party Aave tool to steal 114 ETH

A third-party lending adapter built on Aave was exploited to steal about 114 ETH, worth over $300,000, while the protocol itself remained unaffected.　　Related Asset Aave #36 AAVE · $180.12 24-hour change: up 7.55% Loading price history… 24H Up 7.55% 7D Up 16.28% 30D Up 41.84%　　On Oct. 2, blockchain security firm SlowMist said the attacker compromised two Safe multisig wallets through a flaw in the FlashLoopAdapter used with Aave v3 positions. The exploit allowed the attacker to bypass the adapters authentication checks, execute arbitrary calls, and drain collateral from the affected wallets.　　SlowMist estimated the direct loss at about 114.09 ETH. It said roughly 1,300 WETH of debt was also repaid during the attack to unlock collateral tied to the positions.　　Related Asset Ethereum ETH · $2,670.16 24-hour change: down 1.07%　　Aave founder Stani Kulechov said the incident did not involve Aave v3s core smart contracts. He said:　　“This is not Aave v3 contract, its third party external adapter built on top of Aave, zero effect on Aave v3.”　　The distinction is significant for Aave, the largest decentralized lending protocol, with more than $33 billion in total value locked. The exploit affected infrastructure layered on top of Aave.　　Related Person Stani Kulechov Founder and CEO · Aave　　Fake

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This AI Is Already Fooling People on Video Calls Into Thinking It's Human, Company Says

In briefTavus says 26 of 54 participants (48%) believed Griffin-Lite was a real person after a one-minute video call, versus 1 of 41 for its previous system.Griffin-Lite ranks first on Nvidias VideoFDB benchmark, scoring 3.83 out of 5 on generation against 2.80 for the next-best system and 3.92 for a human reference.The results come from Tavus own research page, participants were told they would meet another person, and Griffin-Lite is limited to select trusted testers while Tavus works on safety measures.　　AI startup Tavus says its new model, Griffin, convinced 48% of the people who talked to it on a live video call that they were speaking with a real human.　　The company unveiled it on October 1 and calls it the first Human Interaction Model, an AI built to understand and generate face-to-face conversation, paying attention to expressions and pauses as well as words. Its previous system scored 2.4% on the same test.　　Myriad: How high will Nvidia go？ Click to make your prediction.　　Griffin-Lite, the version Tavus tested, faced 54 people, and 26 of them said afterward they believed their partner was a real person. The older system faced 41 people and got exactly one believer.　　Tavus explains that participants were told they

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Zano exploiter minted more than a quadrillion fUSD before blockchain rollback

Update (Oct. 2 at 6:53 am UTC): This article has been updated to include a comment from Zano head of marketing and growth, Quinten van Welzen.　　Zano revealed that the attacker who exploited its Gateway Address vulnerability over the last month used it to create 36.9 million Zano (ZANO), along with 1.8 quadrillion Freedom Dollar (fUSD) tokens, before the decision was made to roll the blockchain back by a month.　　In a post-mortem published Thursday, Zano said the attacker first exploited the vulnerability on Aug. 29, creating approximately 18.4 million ZANO in a single transaction. The attacker repeated the exploit on Sept. 25, minting another 18.4 million ZANO, before using the same method to create approximately 1.8 quadrillion fUSD.　　“These coins functioned as authentic ZANO and could be spent normally,” the team wrote in its post-mortem. Zano spokesperson Quinten van Welzen told Cointelegraph only a small fraction reached the market as it was limited by liquidity available on exchanges.　　The figures shed light on why the Zano team called for a rollback of about a month of blockchain history, including legitimate transactions. The team acknowledged that the rollback would hurt trust but argued it was necessary to remove unauthorized supply as it could not

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Porsche‘s ’long haul Web3 project ends in less than four years

Porsche is ending its Web3 project and Pioneers Circle community nearly four years after launching its 911 nonfungible token (NFT) collection.　　“Today, we are announcing the conclusion of the Porsche Web3 project and Pioneers Circle,” the company said in a post on X. Porsche said the project had expanded beyond its initial technology focus to include community events and other online and offline activities.　　The automaker said the Porsche 911 NFTs will remain with their holders and continue to exist onchain. Porsche will turn the community‘s Discord server into a read-only archive and stop actively updating the project’s X account.　　Porsches NFT collection launched in January 2023 with a planned supply of 7,500 tokens, but the company halted minting after complaints over pricing and lack of utility, leaving the supply at 2,363.　　When Porsche unveiled its Web3 plans in 2022, Lutz Meschke, its deputy chairman at the time, said the automaker had made its commitment “for the long haul” and cited potential uses in the metaverse, purchasing experiences and supply chains.　　Trading activity has since slowed. According to OpenSea, the collection had roughly $20 million in all-time trading volume, but only about $38,000 over the past year and around $2,900 over the past month.　　Related: Magic

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$4.2B crypto bank Anchorage Digital cuts 17% of workforce: Report

Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered US digital asset bank valued at $4.2 billion earlier this year, has reportedly cut 17% of its workforce, suggesting that the prolonged crypto market downturn is weighing on the company even as it expands its institutional footprint.　　Citing people familiar with the matter, The Information reported Friday that CEO Nathan McCauley informed employees of the cuts this week. Anchorage had about 400 employees globally as of February, according to McCauleys congressional testimony at the time, meaning a 17% reduction would amount to roughly 68 jobs if its headcount remained around that level.　　Cointelegraph reached out to a public relations contact representing Anchorage for confirmation but did not receive an immediate response.　　Crypto markets have struggled over the past year, which The Information cited as the backdrop for Anchorages workforce reduction. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly recovered above $87,000 on Friday but remains well below its $126,000 peak reached last October.　　The layoffs come as Anchorage has expanded its role in the regulated US crypto industry. The company became the first crypto company to receive a national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021 and has since grown into a major crypto custodian.　　More recently, Anchorage has

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Delayed AI access could push Europes future tech jobs abroad, Brickken CEO warns

Brickken CEO Edwin Mata has warned that uneven access to three AI products, Dots, Muse, and Siri AI, could steer European companies future hiring and investment abroad.　　Edwin Mata, CEO and co-founder of Barcelona-based tokenization company Brickken, told crypto.news that Europe could retain companies founded in the region while losing the jobs, investment and business expansion they generate later.　　In his assessment, founders do not need to move an entire company for Europe to lose future growth. Hiring engineers overseas, opening a sales operation near investors or choosing another country for a product launch could gradually draw more activity outside the region.　　Delayed AI access could influence where founders hire　　For founders deciding where to expand, Mata said access to leading AI tools increasingly sits alongside funding, taxation, customers and recruitment conditions.　　A team able to test products earlier and automate more work in another market could direct its next investment there, he explained. Investors then support businesses with credible growth prospects, while skilled workers follow companies with the resources to develop ambitious products.　　“Europe can therefore retain the original company while losing much of its future hiring, investment and value creation,” he said.　　Rather than treating access as the sole reason for an overseas expansion, the

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Kraken parent Payward explores crypto and payments partnership with BNY

Kraken parent Payward has entered talks with BNY over a potential partnership covering six areas, including crypto custody, trading and payments, according to two people familiar with the discussions.　　SummaryBNY and Payward are discussing crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and infrastructure.The talks remain ongoing, with no guarantee that the companies will reach an agreement.Nasdaq Ventures agreed in September to invest $100 million in Payward at a reported $21 billion valuation.Payward has completed acquisitions adding regulated U.S. derivatives and stablecoin payment services to its operations.　　Two people familiar with the matter said the proposed arrangement could involve services supplied through Payward Services, the Wyoming-based companys platform for banks, exchanges and asset managers.　　One of the people said parts of the discussions resemble the infrastructure work included in Paywards recent Nasdaq agreement. Speaking anonymously because the negotiations are private, the person described a possible agreement that remains under discussion.　　Payward and BNY discuss custody, payments and trading　　Alongside crypto products and custody, the people identified wealth management, trading, payments and financial infrastructure as possible areas of cooperation. Their account describes a potential relationship across several business lines rather than a single crypto product.　　Through its business-to-business platform, Payward offers financial companies access to services that also

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Circle urges EU to revise stablecoin reserve rules in MiCA review

Stablecoin issuer Circle urged the European Commission to revise reserve requirements in its response to a consultation on reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).　　In Thursdays summary of its response, the USDC and EURC issuer said mandatory bank-deposit requirements expose stablecoin issuers to banking-sector credit and counterparty risks.　　Circle faced those risks firsthand in March 2023, when USDC temporarily lost its dollar peg after the company disclosed that $3.3 billion of its reserves were held at Silicon Valley Bank. The funds were subsequently made available after US authorities protected the banks depositors.　　The consultation, which closed Wednesday, sought feedback on how MiCA is working and whether it remains fit for purpose as crypto markets develop. Responses will inform the Commissions assessment of the regulation and activities beyond its current scope.　　Related: MiCA focus shifts from rulemaking to supervision, ESMA chair says　　Circle aligns with central bank on reserve requirements　　MiCA currently requires e-money token issuers to hold at least 30% of reserves in commercial bank deposits, with a higher minimum of 60% for significant issuers, according to Circle.　　Circle backed reconsidering the mandatory deposit minimums and replacing them with a more flexible minimum asset liquidity requirement, agreeing with the European Central Bank.　　The company also called for

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Bitcoin briefly hits $87K as weak US jobs data sends bond yields lower

Bitcoin (BTC) spiked past $87,000 on Friday as US jobs data missed expectations.　　Key points:Bitcoin tapped $87,200 but failed to make new multi-month highs as overhead resistance held.September US nonfarm payrolls came in below expectations at 29,000, while the August and July figures were revised lower.Analysts saw further BTC price upside on the back of falling US bond yields　　Bond yields extend fall on weak labor-market data　　Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $87,229 on Bitstamp, just shy of new eight-month highs.　　BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView　　September nonfarm payrolls data came in below expectations, with the economy adding just 29,000 jobs against an anticipated 84,000. August numbers, which had beat expectations on release, were revised down from 162,000 to 133,000.　　US stocks gained at the Wall Street open as traders scaled back hawkish bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes following the weaker jobs data. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1% and 1.8%, respectively.　　“This marks the third weakest jobs report of 2026,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted in a reaction on X.　　The latest data from CME Groups FedWatch Tool showed just an 18% chance of the Fed enacting a 0.25% rate hike at its October meeting, down from 64% a week

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