Arthur Hayes Thinks FLOP Could Outgrow Bitcoin. Its Testnet Is Weeks Away

Arthur Hayes says Flop Labs will ship the FLOP testnet within weeks. The 90-day trial is the only route to the projects genesis airdrop, so miners, validators, and AI agents must earn their share.  Yet Flop Labs own testnet page sets no launch date. Instead, it ties the start to readiness criteria and allows an extension if the team misses them.  Sponsored  Sponsored  What Happens on the Testnet?  What a great @token2049. I got some youthful energy with cellular medicine from @VeritaHealthHQ and then dropped the thinking behind @flop_labs all week. Now its back on the grid so we can ship FLOP Testnet in a few weeks.  Yachtzee  — Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 11, 2026  Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder who left retirement to lead Flop Labs in August, posted the update after TOKEN2049 Singapore.  The startup is building a blockchain where AI agents rent computing power. Agents would pay in FLOP whenever they need a model to answer a request or storage for their data.  The miners here are GPU owners. These are people or data centers with graphics processing units (GPUs), the chips that also run AI models like ChatGPT.  Bitcoin miners spend electricity guessing numbers to secure their network, and that work has no other use. By contrast, Flops

16 hours agoIndustry

Australia proposes leverage caps for crypto-settled derivatives

Australias securities regulator wants to extend leverage limits and other retail investor safeguards to certain trading contracts settled in crypto.  On Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) proposed expanding the rules for contracts for difference (CFDs), which let traders bet on price movements without owning the underlying asset.  The rules generally cover contracts settled in cash or by offsetting obligations between the parties. ASIC wants to add contracts settled by transferring digital assets, including those tracking non-crypto assets, provided they meet the other criteria for a CFD.  ASIC said that certain crypto futures and options with fixed expiration dates would remain outside the CFD rules.  Australia‘s existing framework, introduced in 2021, caps leverage and requires providers to close positions when account funds fall below specified levels. Negative balance protection also limits losses to the funds in a client’s CFD trading account.  The regulator is seeking feedback on the proposed extension and amendments until Nov. 9.  Separately, Australia passed legislation in April to bring crypto exchanges and tokenized custody platforms under its financial services licensing framework, with the new regime taking effect on April 9, 2027.  ASIC also required crypto firms relying on temporary enforcement relief under existing financial services law to apply for licenses by

16 hours agoIndustry

EUR/USD Hits 17-Month Low Near. Why the Euro Keeps Losing to the Dollar

The euro has fallen to a 17-month low against the US dollar. EUR/USD touched 1.1161 on Oct. 5, its weakest level since May 2025.  The pair has lost more than 3% in five weeks and traded near 1.1182 on Monday. Analysts increasingly see the slide as a euro problem rather than a dollar story.  Sponsored  Sponsored  Why the Euro Keeps Losing to the Dollar  Four pressures are hitting the single currency at once.  According to KBC, euro weakness has taken over from dollar strength as the main driver. A hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) started the drop in mid-September, but European problems carried it further.  France sits at the center. The gap between French and German 10-year yields has widened to levels last seen in the 2012 debt crisis, as investors doubt the 2027 budget.  The stress is also spreading. Italy plans a wider deficit, while Spain heads to a snap election on Nov. 29.  French bond spread up, euro down!  EURUSD now below 1.12.  But France still wont default.  This is not disorderly enough for the ECB.  So the euro will take the hit.  Pushing up inflation.  So what about your savings account earning 1-2% yield? pic.twitter.com/mk7T0zta3H  — jeroen blokland (@jsblokland) October 7, 2026  Sponsored  Sponsored  Meanwhile, the Fed raised rates in September and signaled another hike this year.

16 hours agoIndustry

Why Are Buyers Disappearing From the US Housing Market?

US home sellers outnumbered buyers by a record 57.9% in August. This is because 7% mortgage rates pushed buyers out. Meanwhile, more families are missing loan payments, and a top mortgage lender hit a record low.  A buyers market usually signals relief for house hunters. This time, however, shrinking demand reflects stretched household budgets rather than cheaper homes.  Sponsored  Sponsored  Why Are Buyers Disappearing From the US Housing Market?  Redfin estimates that about 1.53 million sellers were active in August, the most since early 2020.  Buyers, in contrast, fell to roughly 972,300. That is the lowest count in data going back to 2013.  BREAKING ????: Housing Market  Home Sellers now outnumber Home Buyers by the largest margin ever recorded ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/sS1rqZQ4k6  — Barchart (@Barchart) October 12, 2026  The reversal is stark. In early 2022, at the height of pandemic-era bidding wars, buyers outnumbered sellers by around 35%.  Rising borrowing costs explain much of the retreat. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.28% on Oct. 1, its highest level since November 2023.  Sellers are adjusting. Redfin data show 21.1% of listings had a price cut in the four weeks to Sept. 20, a seasonal high since tracking began in 2022.  Sponsored  Sponsored  Are American Households Running Out of Room?  The weakness extends beyond home sales.

16 hours agoIndustry

EU targets MiCA loophole that lets crypto exchanges serve 27 countries with one license

EU finance ministers agreed to shift oversight of major crypto companies to a central watchdog, reshaping supervision under MiCA.  Related Law EU AML Package: Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and Directive (EU) 2024/1640 European Union · In force  The Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on Oct. 9 to give the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) direct responsibility for the blocs most significant crypto-asset service providers, as part of a wider package to integrate European financial markets.  The proposed overhaul addresses a weakness in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which allows firms licensed in one member state to serve customers across the 27-country bloc while remaining primarily supervised by their home-country regulator.  The compromise, however, is considerably narrower than the European Commissions original plan to move all crypto service providers under ESMA. Officials estimate that only 10 to 15 of roughly 360 providers would qualify for centralized supervision, Reuters reported.  The agreement sets the Councils negotiating position rather than changing the law immediately. The Council must still negotiate the proposal with the European Parliament.  National licenses expose gap in EU-wide oversight  MiCAs passporting system was designed to provide crypto firms with a single route into the European market. Under the regulation, a provider authorized

16 hours agoIndustry

Bitcoin Price Walks a Tightrope as Bears Circle the $82K Zone

Bitcoins price hovered around $82,550 to $83,000 on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, as technical indicators painted a largely neutral picture with a modest bearish tilt. The cryptocurrency traded within a 24-hour range of $82,550 to $84,231, while repeated failures to reclaim $84,000 kept bullish momentum in check. Despite near-term weakness, bitcoin remains above several longer-term moving averages, suggesting its broader recovery structure is still intact.  Key TakeawaysBitcoins price trades near $82,550 and $83,000 as neutral indicators and weakening momentum give bears a slight advantage.Bitcoin faces resistance around $84,000 to $85,000, while $82,500 remains an important support level.Bitcoins longer-term moving averages remain positive despite short-term uncertainty and fading momentum.  Bitcoin Price Stalls Near $83K as Bears Test Markets Resolve  Bitcoins price is caught in a technical tug-of-war, hovering around $83,000 on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, as short-term weakness clashes with a longer-term recovery that has yet to unravel.  With a market capitalization near $1.673 trillion and approximately $23 billion in daily trading volume, bitcoin has struggled to establish momentum above $84,000, leaving traders to decipher a mixed collection of technical signals that favor neither side decisively, although recent price action gives bears a modest advantage heading into the next potential directional move.  Bitcoins Hourly Chart Shows

16 hours agoIndustry

Strategy spends nearly 9 times as much on STRC as Bitcoin

Strategy has spent $192.4 million buying back its STRC preferred shares while purchasing just 250 Bitcoin for $21.5 million between October 5 and 11, 2026.  SummaryStrategy spent $192.4 million repurchasing STRC shares between October 5 and October 11, company disclosures show.The company purchased 250 Bitcoin for $21.5 million at an average price of $86,194 each.Strategys Bitcoin holdings reached 848,250 BTC, acquired for approximately $64 billion including fees and expenses.MSTR share sales funded $21 million in Bitcoin purchases, while existing cash covered another $500,000.Strategy reported $4.88 billion in designated reserves and $640.5 million in other available cash balances.  According to the companys October 12 announcement, the transactions increased its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to 848,250 BTC, acquired for approximately $64 billion, including fees and expenses. The latest purchase carried an average price of $86,194 per coin, while the company repurchased roughly 1.93 million shares of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, known as STRC.  The STRC repurchases were nearly nine times the amount spent on Bitcoin during the reporting period. Strategy financed most of its cryptocurrency acquisition through common stock sales, while its preferred-share transactions continued under the companys existing capital management program.  You might also like:  Michael Saylors Strategy hints at another big

17 hours agoIndustry

MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Buys Drop 84% in 2 Weeks. Why Is Saylor Slowing Down?

Strategy, the Nasdaq-listed company that holds more Bitcoin (BTC) than any other public firm, bought just 250 coins last week. Its stack now stands at 848,250 BTC.  Two weeks ago, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy added 1,665 BTC. Last week it bought 334, making this its second smaller purchase in a row.  Sponsored  Sponsored  How MicroStrategys Bitcoin Buys Shrank in 3 Weeks  The latest 250 BTC cost about $21.5 million, at an average of $86,194 per coin, according to the filing. For scale, Strategy bought 55,500 BTC in a single week in November 2024.  Strategy has acquired 250 $BTC and repurchased $192M of $STRC. As of 10/11/26, we hold 848,250 BTC and $5.5B of USD Assets. $MSTRhttps://t.co/PHEXogMumh  — Strategy (@Strategy) October 12, 2026  The slowdown does not reflect an empty bank account. MicroStrategy held about $4.9 billion in its dollar reserve, a cash pile set aside for dividends, according to its October 5 filing.  MicroStrategy USD Reserve and Bitcoin Holdings. Source: Strategy  Instead, more of its money has gone into buying back its own shares. In the week to October 4, it spent $176.3 million repurchasing Stretch (STRC), a preferred stock that pays investors a monthly dividend.  Sponsored  Sponsored  That was roughly six times its Bitcoin spend, as BeInCrypto reported in its

18 hours agoIndustry

Thailand wants a piece of the $120 billion Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF market, but on its own terms

Thailand has finalized rules allowing domestic Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs while restricting retail access to competing overseas investment products.  Related Asset Bitcoin #1 BTC · $82,751.93 24-hour change: down 0.35% Loading price history… 24H Down 0.35% 7D Down 3.66% 30D Up 7.03%  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Oct. 8 that 11 regulatory notifications will take effect on Oct. 16, establishing a framework for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds listed exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.  Thailands move follows the success of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the United States, which have attracted about $70.37 billion in combined cumulative net inflows since their launches.  Related Asset Ethereum ETH · $2,529.49 24-hour change: up 1.06%  According to SoSoValue data, the funds held about $121 billion in combined net assets as of Oct. 12, illustrating the scale of the market Thailand seeks to enter.  Thailand prioritizes domestic ETFs over foreign competitors  Under the new framework, Thailand will initially prohibit the issuance and offering of investment products linked to foreign crypto ETFs, including depositary receipts that would otherwise allow local investors to gain exposure to overseas funds through domestic securities markets.  Securities companies will also be restricted from facilitating investments in foreign crypto ETFs for clients who do not

18 hours agoIndustry

Morgan Stanley delays tokenized stocks: What's holding it back?

Morgan Stanley has pushed its expected timeline for supporting tokenized equities on its alternative trading system to the first quarter of 2027, moving beyond its earlier second-half 2026 target as the U.S. bank develops the infrastructure needed for blockchain-based securities trading.  SummaryMorgan Stanley now targets early 2027 for tokenized equities, replacing its earlier late 2026 timetable.Amy Oldenburg said limited product availability and institutional demand continue affecting tokenized equity trading preparations.DTCC plans an October 2026 tokenization service launch after completing production transactions involving traditional securities.Morgan Stanley is developing proprietary wallet infrastructure and testing blockchain applications through its Digital Asset Lab.Oldenburg predicted tokenized real world assets could reach between $3 trillion and $10 trillion by 2030.  According to Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley‘s head of digital asset strategy, the bank is actively building the technology required to support tokenized stocks but needs more time for suitable financial products and institutional demand to develop. Speaking during TOKEN2049 in Singapore, the executive described Q1 2027 as a more realistic target than the timetable she outlined in March. The updated schedule concerns support for tokenized securities on Morgan Stanley’s existing trading infrastructure, not the launch of a separate cryptocurrency exchange.  JUST IN: Morgan Stanley pushes tokenized stock trading launch

18 hours agoIndustry
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