digital

According to The Block, investment bank StoneX reiterated its "buy" rating on Galaxy Digital (GLXY) and maintained a target price of $57.The agency believes that Galaxy's current valuation underestimates its AI data center business and does not actually take its digital asset business into account in the valuation. Market concerns are primarily focused on the rising borrowing costs of CoreWeave and the outstanding debt of $35.6 billion as of the end of June.

Financial technology company Ramp announced that it submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on October 16 to establish Ramp National Trust Bank. If approved, the trust bank license will allow it to provide fiduciary investment management and digital asset custody services, bringing it under a unified federal regulatory framework.In addition, the proposed entity will not engage in accepting deposits or issuing commercial loans.

According to Cointelegraph, Section 502 of the Digital Asset Tax Clarification Act (H.R. 10357) currently advancing in the U.S. Congress stipulates that the Secretary of the Treasury must establish a voluntary disclosure program for digital assets within 12 months after the act takes effect.Eligible taxpayers can correct past digital asset tax violations by submitting amended returns and paying back taxes, interest, and penalties under the program. The act was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 16 with a vote of 38 to 5, but it has not yet officially become law and still needs to be passed by the House, the Senate, and signed by the President.Andrew Gordon, Executive Director of the Digital Asset Taxation Action Organization, stated that this is a significant change that will help many ordinary taxpayers, yet it has received little attention. He pointed out that U.S. investors are facing the first filing season under the new 1099-DA broker reporting rules, which give the IRS greater visibility into crypto transactions but do not address the years prior to the rules taking effect. Sharon Yip, founder of Crypto Tax Advisors, also noted that filing errors among ordinary crypto investors are very common, and the existing procedures lack standardized processes, making it impossible to provide predictable penalty treatment for unintentional violators.According to Section 502, taxpayers generally must submit amended returns within 24 months after the program is established, and the act sets two penalty standards. Taxpayers who provide proof that their violations are neither fraudulent nor intentional can apply a 0% penalty on the portion of back taxes up to $25,000 if they file within the first 12 months after the program starts, while amounts exceeding that will incur a 5% penalty.Those who do not provide such proof will face penalties of 25% and 40%, and the tax rates will increase if the initial window is missed. The act also provides specific civil penalty waivers, allowing unproven taxpayers to be exempt from criminal referral within the scope of the disclosed information. A report by CoinTracker in 2026 showed that only 49% of crypto users correctly understand that selling crypto assets is a taxable event.

According to The Block, Strategy founder Michael Saylor outlined his vision for a "perfect" digital currency at the ParaFi Investor Day, which is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and backed by Bitcoin, offering a yield of 6% to 8%.Saylor stated that this will be the next development direction for digital capital and digital credit products.

Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the White House Presidential Digital Asset Advisory Committee, announced his departure from government service to return to the private sector. He made this decision public last week, and the White House has not yet announced a new head of cryptocurrency policy, with a successor still undetermined.Previously, Harry Jung and Bo Hines had also left the committee. White House officials stated that cryptocurrency policy and the Digital Asset Market Clear Act will remain a focus of the Trump administration, but the personnel vacancies have raised concerns about the momentum of policy advancement.As the midterm elections approach next month, the administration is still advancing rule-making in the digital asset space. After the new Congress is sworn in in 2027, cryptocurrency legislation will require coordination from a White House liaison, with tax legislation expected to proceed ahead of market structure reforms; if the Democrats flip the House of Representatives, the congressional landscape may also bring new variables. Meanwhile, the rule-making efforts of agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Department of the Treasury will continue.

The NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) officially announced the launch of the physical and digital collectible card series Mudwater based on Solana, and has airdropped 6,551 Totems paired with all BAYC and MAYC for claiming card packs. Each BAYC can claim 10 packs, each MAYC can claim 2 packs, each pack contains 10 cards, and there are a total of 10,000 boxes with 24 packs each.The series includes 120 pieces of artwork and features flash cards, numbered cards, and cracked ice rare cards, among which 8 cracked ice cards are 1/1 exclusive cards. The physical cards are printed by Orange Cap Games using their orange core paper.2.5% of each transaction will be used to purchase APE and distributed according to the proportion of collectors holding the Mudwater series. Totems, card packs, and cards are now available for trading on OpenSea, and future support will allow card packs to be upgraded to boxed and case versions.

Michael Saylor posted on the X platform, stating that this week at ParaFi Investor Day, he introduced digital capital, credit, and equity, and had a fireside chat with Jeff Park discussing digital assets, digital intelligence, and the future of finance.The speech covered topics such as Bitcoin as digital capital, CLARITY regulation, the adoption of Bitcoin banking, reshaping gold-backed credit with STRC, STRC returning to par value, Bitcoin earnings per share, the Strategy triple flywheel, shifting from quarterly dividends to daily dividends, Bitcoin-backed stablecoins, the adoption of digital credit institutions, as well as digital currencies, derivatives, exchanges, regulation, and product development in the AI era.

Franklin Templeton's digital asset account FTDA posted job openings on X, publicly announcing multiple positions related to digital assets and cryptocurrency business, and stated that private messaging communication is now open.Specific positions include Head of Digital Asset Product Strategy, Head of Capital Formation for Franklin Crypto, Head of Private Credit for Franklin Crypto, Digital Audience Engagement Project Manager, and Vice President of Business Development for the Cryptocurrency Market.

According to Hong Kong media HK01, Hong Kong BBB Group (Chinese name: Hao Hao Hao Group) claims to invest in the agarwood industry in Malaysia and sell over-the-counter stocks and digital assets, suspected to be a scam. The company states that it will convert OTC stocks into "digital asset" cryptocurrency by February 2027 or earlier.It is reported that the Hong Kong police have received reports from 21 individuals, involving an investment project amounting to 14 million Hong Kong dollars. The Commercial Crime Bureau is investigating for "conspiracy to defraud," and so far, four people have been arrested. Additionally, according to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission's official website, "Malaysia Agarwood Plantation Investment, Agarwood Tree Program, Agarwood Potted Trees, APT4" have been listed as suspicious investment products.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated that the 3.8% inflation rate in the Eurozone for September primarily reflects high energy costs, and the European Central Bank expects some relief next year. She pointed out that energy shocks are expected to keep Eurozone inflation above the central bank's target in the first half of 2027, but it is still appropriate to adopt a cautious policy response at this time. This statement was made on Saturday during the International Monetary Fund annual meeting.Lagarde also mentioned that the European Central Bank is designing a digital euro. She stated that in the retail payments sector, the European Central Bank is preparing to supplement cash in digital form by launching a digital euro for everyday payments. The digital euro will further stimulate innovation and competition in the retail payments sector, ensuring the continued coexistence of public and private solutions, thereby supporting Europe's strategic autonomy in the payments field.Previously, Cointelegraph reported on September 21 that the European Central Bank had launched the Pontes system, allowing financial institutions to settle wholesale tokenized asset transactions in central bank currency, providing an alternative for private settlement assets such as stablecoins. The system initially offers a set of core services, with full implementation expected by 2028.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Amy Oldenburg, head of Morgan Stanley's digital asset-related business, stated in a video interview with Bitcoin Magazine that the investment logic of Bitcoin as "digital gold" is "quite sound." However, she hopes to see Bitcoin's trading performance align more closely with gold, rather than being highly correlated with technology-related risk assets. She mentioned that factors such as the correlation between Bitcoin and gold, demand for stablecoins, concerns about quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and inflation are all influencing the market's demand for Bitcoin.She also stated that she would not define Bitcoin's prospects based on a single day's market performance or a specific inflation data point. The interview also covered topics such as the application of stablecoins and USDT on the Bitcoin network, the client composition of Morgan Stanley's spot Bitcoin ETF, the pathways for clients to transfer self-held Bitcoin into ETF shares, and borrowing against Bitcoin ETFs and spot Bitcoin as collateral.In addition, Oldenburg introduced how Morgan Stanley assesses quantum risks and discussed how asset tokenization could change various asset classes, as well as the role of Morgan Stanley's Digital Asset Lab and AI agents in the future "agent economy."

According to the CoinShares market report, the U.S. September CPI rose by 0.6% month-on-month and 3.7% year-on-year, exceeding the market expectation of 3.6%. Gasoline prices increased by 9.1% for the month, accounting for about half of the overall increase. The core CPI rose by 0.3% month-on-month and 2.6% year-on-year. During the same period, U.S. September retail sales grew by 0.8% month-on-month, higher than the expected approximately 0.3%, with August data revised up to 1.3%. However, retail sales excluding gasoline only grew by 0.2%, lower than August's 1%.The report pointed out that inflation remains high, and economic demand also remains resilient, leading the market to reprice the Federal Reserve's policy in a hawkish manner, causing Bitcoin and the overall digital asset market to decline. Data shows that since the CPI was released, market sentiment has significantly weakened, with global digital asset investment products seeing an outflow of $434 million so far this week. Regarding interest rate expectations, as of October 15, Polymarket data shows that the probability of the Federal Reserve maintaining interest rates at the October meeting is about 75%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike is about 25%. After the CPI release, the futures market clearly shifted to a hawkish stance, with expectations for another rate hike within the year rising significantly.

Upbit's official announcement states that due to BitMEX terminating the integration of the travel rule solution VerifyVASP, Upbit will suspend deposits and withdrawals of digital assets of 1 million Korean Won and above with BitMEX starting from October 16. Deposits below 1 million Korean Won will continue to be supported as usual.Manual deposits of over 1 million Korean Won from BitMEX to Upbit will cease at 14:00 on December 18, and any similar assets credited thereafter will enter the refund process, which users must follow to retrieve.

According to Cointelegraph, the Swedish central bank (Riksbank) recently submitted a proposal to the parliamentary finance committee, urging lawmakers to initiate legislative preparations for a potential central bank digital currency—Digital Krona.

Ant International and Huaxia Fund (Hong Kong) jointly announced that Ant International has recently completed the allocation of the Huaxia Renminbi Digital Currency Fund (3461.HK / 83461.HK) and has incorporated it into its treasury allocation.The related fund transfer was initiated by Ant International at the Shanghai Pudong Branch of China Construction Bank, with digital renminbi assets being transferred in real-time from Shanghai to Hong Kong, ultimately deposited into the relevant account at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), and the fund allocation completed in offshore renminbi, achieving a full-link connection for cross-border allocation of digital renminbi and investment in offshore renminbi assets.The announcement stated that this practice opens up the channel for offshore asset management of digital renminbi and corporate treasury applications, and verifies the feasibility of digital renminbi in the cross-border fund allocation scenario between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The above news was reported by Huang Xinyi from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily.

The Sharjah Police in the United Arab Emirates, in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior, launched an operation codenamed "End of Battle," successfully dismantling four interconnected transnational crime networks and arresting 33 suspects from 12 nationalities, including key leaders.Investigations revealed that the crime networks were involved in illegal activities such as cyber infiltration, money laundering, digital wallet theft, fraud, extortion, and illegal data trading. During the operation, the police protected over 30 businesses and institutions worldwide, ensuring the safety of assets exceeding $17.7 billion (approximately 65 billion UAE Dirhams), confiscated assets worth over $54.4 million (approximately 200 million UAE Dirhams), and conducted in-depth examinations and evidence collection on more than 3,000 digital wallets.

The Swedish central bank (Riksbank) has suggested that lawmakers prepare relevant legislation for the potential launch of a digital krona, citing reasons including the European Central Bank (ECB) advancing the digital euro and the increasing use of foreign currency stablecoins.In a letter, the bank stated that the ECB plans to conduct a pilot for the digital euro in 2027 and may launch it to the public in 2029. The Swedish central bank pointed out that if the payment system lacks a digital version of the national currency, its competitiveness may be affected. The bank believes that foreign currency stablecoins, such as those pegged to the US dollar, are widely used for payments within Sweden, which may put pressure on the use of the Swedish krona, but short-term risks are limited. The Swedish central bank estimates that the launch of a digital krona will take at least five years, not including the time required for legislative changes.

During a live AMA interview hosted by CoinMarketCap, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han discussed the development direction of digital finance, the product positioning of Gate Money, and the accelerated integration of digital assets with traditional finance.Dr. Han stated, "The future of digital finance lies not only in providing more asset choices but also in connecting assets, funds, and payments, allowing users to manage assets, transfer funds, and meet daily payment needs more conveniently within one ecosystem." Upholding the core concept of "One Gate, Everything Money," Gate Money integrates services such as digital assets, fiat currency, stocks, ETFs, gold, bank accounts, payments, and asset management into a single account, covering scenarios like asset holding, receiving payments, transferring, exchanging, paying, and earning. Users in eligible regions can also open an e-banking account with the same name and use the Gate Card for online and offline consumption with fiat or digital assets, further bridging asset allocation and daily payment scenarios.Regarding the accelerated integration of digital assets and traditional finance, Dr. Han also explored the roles of stablecoins and asset tokenization in cross-border capital flow, on-chain settlement, and financial service innovation. As user demands extend from single transactions to investment management, fund transfers, and daily consumption scenarios, Gate will continue to expand the asset categories, payment methods, and service capabilities of Gate Money, enriching the application of digital assets in diverse financial scenarios and providing users with a more integrated financial service experience.

According to Beijing Daily, the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference will be held from October 19 to 22 on Financial Street in Beijing, with over 400 guests from more than 40 countries and regions attending. This is the fifteenth session, approved by the State Council, with the theme "Openness · Cooperation · Inclusiveness ------ Building a New Ecosystem for Global Financial Development Together."The annual conference plans to hold a main forum and parallel forums with a total of 21 topic activities and 3 special conferences. Among them, the Insurance Conference will be hosted for the first time by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the Investment Conference will make its debut, forming a matrix of special conferences with the Financial Technology Conference. More than a hundred achievements, including credit risk control strategy sandbox agents and quantum fusion algorithm intelligent evolution platforms, will be launched for the first time. The annual conference will expand its African sub-venue for the first time, initiate a three-city connection between Beijing, Hong Kong, and London, and hold 7 events in 5 overseas sub-venues in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Toronto, and Nairobi.The Financial Technology Conference in 2026 will further innovate its format and expand its scale, setting up 13 topic activities around cutting-edge issues such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and smart finance. The People's Bank of China will host the Chengfang Financial Technology Forum within the framework of the conference and hold a seminar on artificial intelligence financial applications and risk prevention and control, continuing to organize a series of activities such as the Financial Technology Application Scenario Competition, and plans to release relevant achievements such as the central bank's digital renminbi system and digital renminbi smart contract ecological service framework.