Crypto Watcher

💰 IMF Approves $139M for El Salvador While Pressuring to Scale Back Bitcoin The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $139 million disbursement to El Salvador, praising the nation's strong economic performance and improved security. However, the fund continues to push the government to reduce its involvement in Bitcoin activities as part of ongoing loan negotiations. The IMF stated that while the economy exceeded expectations, certain criteria regarding Bitcoin accumulation were not met. The fund is now seeking to unwind the state's role in the crypto ecosystem and claims no further Bitcoin accumulation is planned beyond documented donations. #Bitcoin #ElSalvador #IMF #CryptoNews

🚨 US Bankers Sue to Overturn Crypto Trust Bank Rules The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a federal lawsuit against the OCC to invalidate rules that allow crypto firms to obtain national trust bank charters. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, targets the OCC’s national trust bank rule and Interpretive Letter 1176, arguing the regulator exceeded its authority. The ICBA claims the OCC is allowing non-depository crypto businesses to operate under a lighter regulatory framework than traditional insured banks. According to the complaint, 13 of the 21 trust banks approved or conditionally approved by the OCC are tied to the crypto industry. #CryptoNews #OCC #Regulation #Banking

🚨 New SEC Rules to Impact Stablecoin Liquidity The SEC is implementing new rules requiring US Treasury transactions to pass through central clearinghouses. This shift directly impacts stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle, who hold billions in Treasury securities to back their tokens. The rules aim to reduce market risk by making a clearinghouse the middleman for every trade. If a trading partner fails, the clearinghouse ensures the transaction is completed. This adds a layer of safety but changes the cost and mechanics of borrowing cash against these assets. Stablecoin companies rely on "repos" (repurchase agreements) to quickly turn their Treasury holdings into USD when customers want to redeem tokens. The SEC deadlines are Dec. 31 for outright sales and June 30, 2027, for repos. #Stablecoins #SEC #CryptoRegulation #Treasury

🚨 Winklevoss-backed Zcash ETF Files for Nasdaq Listing Winklevoss Asset Services has filed a registration statement with the SEC for the Winklevoss Zcash ETF. The proposed fund seeks to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker WINK. The ETF will hold ZEC directly, providing investors exposure to the privacy-focused asset through traditional brokerage accounts. Gemini Trust Company will serve as the custodian, and the fund plans to charge a low 0.25% annual sponsor fee without using leverage. Winklevoss Capital affiliates have indicated interest in purchasing up to $100 million in shares of the new fund. This follows the existing Grayscale Zcash ETF (ZCSH) already trading in the US market. #Zcash #ZEC #ETF #Winklevoss

⚖️ CFTC Proposes New Rules to Prevent Another FTX Collapse The CFTC Chair Mike Selig has announced a new regulatory framework designed to safeguard digital asset spot markets and prevent a repeat of the FTX disaster. The agency is seeking public comment on a new federal registration category called a "crypto asset market" for exchanges. This move targets platforms offering leveraged, margined, or financed crypto trades to retail customers. Selig noted that while Sam Bankman-Fried stole $8 billion in customer funds at FTX, the subsidiary registered with the CFTC kept all funds safe through strict segregation requirements. The regulator plans to apply these stringent federal standards across the crypto world. Under the proposal, exchanges not offering leverage can remain under state licenses, but the CFTC intends to define "leverage" broadly to maximize oversight. #CFTC #Regulation #FTX #CryptoNews

🚨 China stablecoin use surges 43x as South Korea leads East Asia Chainalysis reports that China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin wallet activity grew 43-fold between early 2024 and mid-2026. Despite domestic bans, China recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers, with users treating stablecoins like USDT as working capital for business operations. South Korea has emerged as East Asia’s largest crypto economy, valued at $449.1 billion. While retail interest in AI-linked tokens remains high, domestic exchanges saw operating profits drop 78% in early 2026 due to lower trading volumes and market valuations. Hong Kong is moving to finalize its licensing regime for custody and trading by the end of 2026. The city is a hub for institutional activity, seeing $24 billion in business-to-business crypto flows, nearly triple the share of its regional neighbors. #China #SouthKorea #Stablecoins #CryptoNews

🚨 US Treasury to Seize $1B in Crypto Linked to Iran US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to seize approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency this week. The move is part of an aggressive US strategy to economically isolate Iran and disrupt financial networks funding the regime amid ongoing military conflicts. Speaking at the Newsmax NPolicy Summit, Bessent confirmed that authorities have identified the digital assets and are currently isolating them. He did not specify if the targets are specific exchanges or if stablecoin issuers are directly involved in this specific round of seizures. This follows a pattern of increasing pressure from the Treasury Department and OFAC. In April, authorities seized $500 million in crypto, while Tether reported freezing $550 million worth of USDT throughout 2026 linked to Iran sanctions. #CryptoNews #Iran #Regulation #USDT

🚨 BTCPay Server Update: Manual Tor Opt-In Required BTCPay Server version 2.4.5 introduces a significant change for Docker deployment users. Tor is no longer bundled automatically in the core setup, making it an optional configuration choice for administrators. Operators must now explicitly select the opt-add-tor fragment during their next update or setup to maintain onion address access. While existing Tor volume data is preserved, connectivity will drop if the fragment is not manually included. The update also blocks outbound HTTP requests to private networks by default to prevent SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery) attacks. This affects Lightning connections, LNURL requests, and webhooks. #BTCPay #Bitcoin #Tor #Privacy

🚨 Optimism to Operate Unichain Infrastructure Uniswap Labs' Ethereum Layer-2, Unichain, is handing over its production operations to Optimism. Starting Oct. 29, Optimism will manage the sequencing, public node access, and incident response for the network. This move follows a "Fully Managed" strategy also adopted by Soneium and Ink. Under this model, Optimism handles core infrastructure like the sequencer and batcher, allowing individual product teams to focus on ecosystem growth while using the OP Stack. The agreement includes a 99.95% uptime service level agreement (SLA) and a 15-minute response time for critical incidents. While this provides professional maintenance, it creates a centralized dependency where multiple major chains rely on Optimism for daily operations. #Optimism #Unichain #Uniswap #Ethereum

💰 FTX-backed Bitcoin miner Genesis Digital Assets pivots to AI with €800M fundraise Amsterdam-listed SWI Group has raised €800 million from institutional investors to expand its AI infrastructure. The group is now valued at €6.1 billion after raising over €1 billion since March. A core part of the strategy involves repurposing Genesis Digital Assets (GDA), a major Bitcoin miner formerly backed by FTX and Alameda Research. SWI took control of GDA earlier this year and plans to rename it SWI Digital. The company will convert its US-based Bitcoin mining sites into high-performance computing centers for AI. This shift follows a market trend where AI infrastructure is projected to be three times more profitable than Bitcoin mining. #FTX #BitcoinMining #AI #GenesisDigitalAssets

🚨 Trezor Cuts Resellers Following Ledger Hardware Tampering Reports Hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor has announced a significant reduction in its authorized reseller network. This preventative step follows confirmed reports of malicious hardware implants found in devices from its main competitor, Ledger. The security breach involves devices sold by Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis. These compromised Ledger wallets contained implants that capture recovery phrases and transmit them over cellular networks. Blockchain investigators estimate potential user losses between $72 million and $86 million. Trezor CCO Danny Sanders stated that while there is no evidence of Trezor devices being compromised, the company has halted shipments to certain resellers immediately. These entities will be officially removed from the authorized list on January 1. #Trezor #Ledger #CryptoSecurity #HardwareWallet