Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Bases Cobalt upgrade adds another rule to affect token balances

Bases Cobalt upgrade, scheduled for mainnet Sept. 30 at 18:00 UTC, will let issuers of B20 tokens configure balance seizures separately from ordinary transfer restrictions. For a token that enables the feature, a holder could remain free to transfer while still being eligible for administrative reassignment.　　B20 is Bases native ERC-20-compatible token standard, offered in Asset and Stablecoin variants. It already gives administrators control over roles and policies governing balance movements, and now it will also govern the administrative powers over those balances.　　Role assignments identify who can exercise a particular power, while policy settings determine which accounts an operation can affect. Changing a tokens rules and executing a balance operation involve distinct permission checks.　　Separate seizure permissions　　The new administrative operation, called seizeWithMemo, moves a specified amount from a holder to another address. It preserves total supply and skips ordinary transfer policies and holder allowances.　　An issuer must configure which accounts lose their exemption before the function can take their tokens. The setting, SEIZE_EXEMPT_POLICY, exempts everyone when left unset. Configuring eligibility alone is insufficient: execution requires SEIZE_ROLE, an unpaused seizure function, a permitted recipient, and sufficient balance.　　B20 issuers can separately allow transfers, enable administrative seizure or burn blocked balances, with seizure disabled by default.　　A

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MetaMask security incident forces Ethereum staking exits, no funds at risk

SummaryMetaMask began exiting affected Ethereum validators after a security incident diverted an estimated 0.36 ETH in block-production payments, though the company said it found no immediate threat to users wallets.A researcher estimated that about 17,000 validators holding roughly 523,000 ETH were being withdrawn, but MetaMask had not confirmed those figures or explained how its systems were compromised.Lido said affected validators could miss rewards during an exit and re-entry process lasting up to about 45 days, while stETH holders do not need to take action.　　MetaMask is pulling Ethereum staking systems out of service after a security incident, with Lido warning of lost rewards and a security researcher reporting that payments from producing blocks were diverted to another wallet.　　The cryptocurrency wallet provider, which also operates staking services, that the incident affected part of its infrastructure, adding it exited affected validators — or the computers that help check Ethereum transactions — as a precaution.　　“At this time, we have identified no immediate threat to MetaMask wallets,” the company said.　　Ethereum security researcher Kaden said on X that 18 of 19 MetaMask-operated validators that had earned payments for producing blocks sent those payments to an unexpected address. He estimated about 0.36 ETH had been diverted.　　Kadens analysis

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Bitcoin Price Forecast After Softer PCE

Bitcoin is trading near $84,116 on October 1, up about 1.3% over 24 hours. BTC briefly topped $85,500 after softer U.S. inflation data, before high bond yields erased much of the move. That leaves the short-term Bitcoin price forecast hinging on one question: can cooling inflation outweigh pressure from the bond market？　　The August Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, released September 30, came in well below forecasts. Headline inflation rose 3.4% year over year, against expectations of 3.7%. Core PCE eased to 3.0%, below the 3.3% forecast. On a monthly basis, headline prices rose 0.3% and core rose 0.2%.　　BREAKING: Bitcoin and Ethereum just printed their highest monthly close of 2026.$BTC surged +$25,800 and 44% in the past 3 months, delivering the best Q3 returns since 2017.$ETH surged 71.2% in the same period, its best quarter in history.　　Macro indicators confirm crypto has… pic.twitter.com/hY1Z195n2m　　— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) October 1, 2026　　Join Coinspeakers $1,000 Prize Drop on BybitHow Did Bitcoin React to the Softer PCE Report？　　BREAKING: US August PCE inflation, the Feds preferred inflation metric, falls to 3.4%, below expectations of 3.7%.　　Core PCE inflation fell to 3.0%, below expectations of 3.3%.　　July headline and core PCE inflation were also revised down by 30 basis points each.　　October

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Google's Gemini 4 Argon Pulls Level With GPT-6 Astra and Brings a Smaller Bill

Google‘s Gemini 4 Argon has matched OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, scoring 53 points. At current launch prices, it also costs less to run per test task.　　Google DeepMind announced the model on September 30. For now, only a group of trusted cyber defenders can use it.　　Introducing Gemini 4 Argon – our new frontier model.　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　Argon Puts Google Back Among the Top 3 Labs　　Artificial Analysis, an independent benchmarking firm, said the score puts Google back among the top 3 AI labs. Argon also sits 1 point above OpenAIs GPT-6.1 Sol, which scored 52.　　How Google Gemini Argon Performs. Source: X/Artificial Analysis　　The model scored 23 points higher than Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Google‘s previous non-Flash model. Earlier in September, Google released Gemini 3.8 Flash alongside a cybersecurity variant. For comparison, SpaceXAI’s Grok 4.7 scored 46 on the same index in September.　　Artificial Analysis credited Argons gains to fewer hallucinations and stronger agentic skills. On its AA-Omniscience test, Argon posted a 15% hallucination rate, compared with 51% for Astra. However, Argon answered 50% of those questions correctly, 13 points below Astra.　　In agentic work, Argon led AutomationBench-AA at 77.5%, ahead of Anthropics Claude Sonnet 5.5 at 71.3%. Still, it trailed Sonnet 5.5, Claude

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Morgan Stanley Names 3 Supports for Gold After a 3.8% Slide This Year

Morgan Stanley still favors gold on a 12-month view, even after the metal slid toward a seven-week low this week. Amy Gower, its head of metals and mining strategy, named 3 factors that could support prices.　　Spot gold held near $4,176 on Thursday after a sharp sell-off on Monday. The metal is now down about 3.8% in 2026.　　Gold Prices in 2026. Source: TradingView　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　Central Banks and China Keep the Physical Bid Alive　　Gower, head of metals and mining strategy at Morgan Stanley, started with physical demand. Central banks added a net 23 metric tons in July, according to World Gold Council (WGC) data. China added 20 tons that month, and Poland added 8 tons.　　Beijing then bought about 20.2 tons in August, its largest monthly addition since October 2023. Chinese demand also extends beyond the central bank.　　Chinas total imports, which include private and institutional buyers, passed 1,000 metric tons in the first eight months of 2026. Gower told CNBC that the pace puts them on track for their highest level since 2017.　　“China seems to have this very strong appetite for gold,” she said.　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens　　Are gold prices heading to $5,000+？　　Global gold ETF holdings are up

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OFAC Sanctions 7 Crypto Wallets Tied to FBI Most Wanted Fugitive and Venezuelan Gang

The US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 10 targets on Wednesday. They are tied to an ATM jackpotting scheme run by Tren de Aragua (TdA).　　The network allegedly washed the stolen cash through cryptocurrency, among other channels. The action also listed 7 crypto addresses belonging to ringleader “Prometheus,” an FBI Most Wanted fugitive, and his associates.　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　Inside Tren de Araguas Alleged ATM Jackpotting Playbook　　TdA originated in Venezuela, and the State Department designated it a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025. According to Treasury, ATM fraud has since become a key revenue source for the group.　　Jackpotting attacks use malware to make ATMs release cash without debiting any account. Court filings in Nebraska name the strain as Ploutus, which was set to erase itself after each attack.　　Treasury identifies Prometheus as Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre, the alleged engineer of that malware. He sits on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and faces charges in Nebraska federal court.　　Treasury said reported US losses from alleged jackpotting attacks reached $40.73 million as of August 2025. That total spans more than 1,500 incidents.　　OFAC separately sanctioned Juan Gabriel Rivas Nunez, a senior TdA leader linked to illicit gold mining.　　Follow us on X to get the latest

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South Korea to let stocks, bonds and funds go onchain

South Korea has proposed rules that would bring stocks, bonds and funds into its token securities framework while limiting retail investors to 100 million won in annual net purchases on each approved over-the-counter platform.　　SummarySouth Korea plans to allow stocks, bonds and funds within its regulated token securities framework.Retail investors will face a 100 million won annual net purchase limit per OTC platform.Qualified issuers need four billion won in equity capital before directly managing tokenized securities accounts.South Koreas token securities rules are scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2027 nationwide.Public comment runs October 2 through November 11 before regulatory approvals and implementation next year.　　The Financial Services Commission announced the regulatory framework as the country prepares for amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and Capital Markets Act to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027. The latest subordinate-rule proposal moves the system closer to implementation by setting the securities that can be tokenized, requirements for issuers and rules for OTC trading.　　Under the proposal, traditional securities including equities, debt securities and investment funds can fall within the legal tokenization framework. Earlier rules and pilots had focused more heavily on fractional investment products such as non-monetary trust beneficiary certificates and investment contract securities.　　You might

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US court blocks victims from 127,000 seized Bitcoin, and petition rules are blamed

Judge Rachel P. Kovner rejected claims by nine alleged fraud victims seeking to contest forfeiture of approximately 127,271 Bitcoin in a Sept. 25 order.　　Related Asset Bitcoin #1 BTC · $83,528.19 24-hour change: up 0.18% Loading price history… 24H Up 0.18% 7D Down 1.13% 30D Up 6.30%　　Their filings did not plausibly connect their lost funds to the specific seized wallets, leaving them with a different potential recovery route if the government wins the forfeiture case.　　The Eastern District of New York judge struck the timely claims of Ath Leepinyo and Connie Wilson and denied seven other claimants permission to file late. All nine lacked Article III standing, the legal threshold for contesting the action.　　The case began with a civil forfeiture complaint filed on Oct. 14, 2025. DOJ said then that the Bitcoin was in US custody and alleged links to fraud and money laundering involving Prince Holding Group, a Cambodian conglomerate, and its chairman, Chen Zhi.　　The court treated these claimants plausible allegations as establishing, at most, the position of general unsecured creditors: people seeking compensation without a qualifying interest in the particular assets being forfeited.　　A loss tied to an alleged fraud did not establish ownership of coins in these wallets.　　The order recognized

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Bybit users hold more Bitcoin and Ethereum as USDT drops 11%

Bybit has reported $19.6 billion in mainstream assets in its 40th proof-of-reserves report, with user Bitcoin and Ether balances rising while USDT holdings fell sharply from the previous snapshot.　　Bybit reported the figures using a snapshot taken at 03:00 UTC on Sept. 23. The exchange listed 56,131 BTC in user assets against 58,721 BTC held in wallets, giving Bitcoin a reserve ratio of 104%. The report was independently reviewed by Hacken.　　Ethereum user holdings reached 551,868 ETH, while wallet assets stood at 570,018 ETH. The resulting reserve ratio increased to 103% from 102% in an earlier report. Bybit said every one of the 50 tokens covered by its current disclosure had reserves equal to or above user balances.　　Bybit Bitcoin and Ethereum user holdings increased　　Bitcoin balances held for users rose 0.24% from the Aug. 26 snapshot to roughly 56,100 BTC. Despite the increase in customer holdings, Bybits Bitcoin reserve ratio remained at 104%.　　Ether recorded a larger change, with user holdings rising 2.96% to nearly 551,900 ETH. Bybit reported 570,018 ETH in wallets against those customer balances, lifting the reserve ratio by one percentage point to 103%.　　The latest figures follow earlier changes in exchange balances during 2026. In June, Bybit and OKX users increased

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Dogecoin gets DeFi testnet as DogeOS bets miners will eventually secure its apps

DogeOS plans to back that trust with mathematical proofs — compact pieces of data showing the work was done by the rules without anyone having to redo it — and eventually have Dogecoins own network check them.　　The first version depends on DogeOSs selected operators and hardware. A permissioned sequencer, an authorized operator, decides the order of transactions.　　Validators, computers responsible for checking and approving updates, work alongside a trusted execution environment, a protected section of computer hardware that checks the proofs. A committee called the Security Council oversees the system, according to details shared by the team.　　People using the planned applications would therefore rely on those operators and hardware to work correctly. Dogecoins miners do not yet verify the application proofs themselves.　　DogeOS wants to give them that role through an upgrade to Dogecoin Core, the main software running the network. Its proposal, called OP_CHECKZKP, would add a rule allowing computers on Dogecoin to check proofs that calculations performed elsewhere were correct.　　DogeOS checks its own work until Dogecoin can. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)　　The proposal was published in July 2025. A separate implementation submitted in December remains a draft, with a placeholder proof checker and further development required before it could be activated.　　DogeOS was founded

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