AFx_Crypto

Illinois is moving to delay its controversial 0.2% crypto tax by six months.
The tax was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Under the latest agreement, the implementation could be pushed to July 1, 2027, while the legal challenges continue in court.
The Digital Chamber and Illinois Blockchain Association are involved in negotiations around the delay.
One important point: this is not yet a permanent cancellation of the tax. The delay still depends on the ongoing legal process and court approval.
For the crypto industry, the case is worth watching because the outcome could influence ho

Citi has raised its 12-month price targets for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The bank now sees:
• Bitcoin at $113,000, up from $82,000
• Ethereum at $3,028, up from $2,240
Citi also expects around $5 billion in crypto inflows over the next 12 months, pointing to stronger crypto activity, a more supportive macro environment and renewed ETF demand.
What stands out is that Citi expects institutional flows to recover gradually rather than through one sudden wave.
These are Citi’s forecasts, not guarantees. Crypto markets can still move sharply in either direction, so the actual outcome will depend on liqu

$TRUMP is looking beyond the meme coin itself.
At Korea Blockchain Week 2026, Bill Zanker discussed what could come next for the TRUMP ecosystem, including plans for a Trump-themed mobile game, a Shark Tank-style TV concept where winners could receive coins, and even the possibility of a Trump-themed amusement park.
The mobile game is the most concrete part of the story. A Trump-themed crypto game called Trump Billionaires Club had already been announced, with plans for mobile and web access and rewards tied to $TRUMP.
The broader idea appears to be expanding $TRUMP into entertainment, gaming

🇨🇭 Swiss National Bank raises a new concern about stablecoins
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is warning that widespread stablecoin adoption could make monetary policy harder for central banks to manage.
The concern is mainly about what happens if people start moving significant amounts of money from traditional bank deposits into stablecoins.
That could reduce the deposit base available to commercial banks, potentially affecting lending and the way central-bank interest-rate decisions flow through the economy.
SNB Governing Board member Petra Tschudin also highlighted the need to carefully as

Brazil is taking another step toward bringing traditional financial infrastructure onchain.
CSD BR has partnered with Ripple to mirror ownership records of selected BTG Pactual investment fund shares on the XRP Ledger.
The interesting part is that this isn’t simply about putting securities on a blockchain and replacing the existing system.
CSD BR will continue to maintain the official records for registration, custody and settlement, while XRPL acts as an additional layer for transparent verification and auditing.
The first phase uses XRPL’s Multi-Purpose Token standard, with access limited to

Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz highlighted how much the crypto landscape could change over the next year during Korea Blockchain Week 2026.
One major shift is the growing connection between traditional finance and tokenization, as more financial assets and services move toward blockchain-based infrastructure.
But the story is no longer limited to finance.
Crypto and blockchain are also expanding into areas such as entertainment, music and social networks, creating new ways to represent ownership, distribute value and interact with digital content.
The bigger takeaway is that blockchai

The U.S. is preparing to release up to 40 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve as fuel prices remain elevated.
The move comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with the administration facing pressure to ease energy costs.
One important detail: this is not simply a permanent sale of the oil. The barrels are being made available through exchange and loan arrangements, with participating companies expected to return the crude later, along with additional barrels.
The bigger picture is clear: Washington is using the SPR to add short-term supply to the market and hel

Polymarket is making an interesting move.
The prediction market platform has brought in Lisa Mantil, a former Goldman Sachs Partner, as its new Head of Institutional Growth.
Mantil spent around 27 years at Goldman Sachs, and her new role will focus on bringing more institutional players into Polymarket, including investment managers, trading firms, corporations and banks.
What caught my attention is the direction this is taking.
Prediction markets have mostly been associated with retail users, but Polymarket is clearly trying to build something that can also attract professional and institutio

U.S. consumer confidence took a noticeable hit in September.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 6.7 points to 81.9, coming in well below the roughly 89 level economists had expected.
The decline shows that consumers are becoming more cautious about the economic outlook. Concerns around prices, expensive goods and services, energy costs and labor-market conditions all played a role in the weaker reading.
What stands out to me is the Expectations Index, which fell to 63.6 for its third consecutive monthly decline. When expectations keep weakening, it can matter because consume

Morgan Stanley Is Going Deeper Into Digital Assets
The interesting part about traditional finance and crypto right now isn't just Bitcoin.
It's what banks are doing with the technology behind digital assets.
Morgan Stanley has been increasingly active around stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The firm has also publicly discussed its work in DeFi and recently introduced a Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio designed around the reserve requirements of the U.S. stablecoin framework.
That matters because tokenization is moving the conversation beyond simply putting

October is shaping up to be a busy month for token unlocks.
According to the latest CryptoRank-based data, the top 7 scheduled unlocks are estimated at around $470.66M in total. The largest by dollar value is BTW, with roughly $137.7M scheduled for October 2.
Here’s the breakdown:
• FF — ~$25.93M | Oct 1
• BTW — ~$137.70M | Oct 2
• 2Z — ~$105.54M | Oct 2
• ADI — ~$58.03M | Oct 9
• PUMP — ~$35.95M | Oct 14
• ZRO — ~$40.58M | Oct 20
• AKE — ~$66.93M | Oct 21
What caught my attention is 2Z. Its scheduled unlock is estimated at about 16.3% of total supply, equivalent to roughly 46.8% of its curren

🚨 Anthropic’s Reported IPO: Revenue Surges, Losses Raise Questions
Anthropic is attracting attention ahead of a potential IPO, with Reuters reporting significant revenue growth alongside substantial financial losses.
In 2025, the AI company reportedly generated nearly $4.6 billion in revenue, around 12 times the previous year’s figure. However, its reported net loss reached approximately $42 billion.
There is an important detail behind that number: roughly $34 billion was linked to an accounting charge related to the increased estimated value of financing instruments that could convert into s

California just drew a new line between politics and memecoins. 🇺🇸
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2409, a law targeting memecoins issued by California public officials.
The key point: this is not a ban on memecoins.
Instead, the legislation focuses on tokens connected to public officials and introduces restrictions around their issuance and promotion.
As political figures increasingly enter the crypto conversation, California is now putting clearer rules around where that line should be.
Crypto and politics are getting harder to separate and regulation is catching up.
#USDTEarningsUpto1

🏦 Could AI Agents Change How Banks Keep Deposits?
Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok has raised an interesting possibility: AI agents could eventually automate where people keep their cash.
Today, someone might leave money sitting in a checking account earning around 0.1%. But if an AI agent can automatically compare rates and move funds into accounts offering 3.3%–5%, the decision could become almost frictionless.
That creates a potential challenge for traditional banks.
Banks rely heavily on low-cost deposits to fund their businesses. If AI agents start moving large amounts of household ca

Bitcoin could be getting close to another major milestone.
Based on a recent market-cap comparison, Bitcoin would need to reach roughly $95,300 to overtake Meta and move back into the global top 10 largest assets by market value.
The exact level can change as both Bitcoin’s price and Meta’s market capitalization move, so $95,300 is an approximate threshold, not a fixed target.
Still, the comparison is interesting.
Bitcoin isn’t just competing with other cryptocurrencies anymore. Its market value is increasingly being compared with some of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.
How clos

Altcoins are showing some interesting strength.
A recent market snapshot making the rounds claims that only 9 of the top 100 altcoins are down over the past 90 days, while 22 have gained at least 100%.
The numbers are interesting, but they should be viewed as a specific market snapshot, not a permanent statistic. The result can change depending on the exact time, ranking source and which assets are included in the top 100.
Still, if the broader data continues to show this kind of performance, it could point to stronger participation beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The key question now is whether