MeNews

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with technology shares strengthening, Dell surging, and oil prices stabilizing. U.S. Treasury yields approached 5%, and global stock markets may face a 5%-8% correction. Trump said the strikes on Iran would end soon and that the Strait of Hormuz would be renamed the Trump Strait. The former British prime minister warned that failure to control debt would force emergency spending cuts. The Beige Book said the U.S. economy grew moderately, with AI and data centers serving as key supports. Tron’s USDT supply surpassed Ethereum’s for the first time. Broadcom’s Q3 results exceeded expectations, and its AI revenue guidance was raised. Robinhood Chain generated $3.75 million in daily fees, exceeding the combined total of Solana, ETH, and Base.

Charles Schwab’s CEO said Schwab Crypto is now available to all clients, with crypto transfers being rolled out gradually and three more crypto assets to be added by year-end. New businesses such as cryptocurrency and prediction markets will also create new sources of trading revenue. Schwab previously launched spot trading in BTC and ETH in May 2026 through an early-access program, and announced in August that it would add SOL, AVAX, and LINK.

On October 16, Ki Young Ju posted on X that MSCI’s rule changes had drawn attention, but Wall Street analysts remained bullish on MicroStrategy. Citi, Barclays, and B. Riley set MSTR price targets of $240, $175, and $195, respectively, all of which were raised. He said the impact of MSCI was mainly on fund flows and had already been priced in. Notably, Strategy’s market cap is about 1x its net asset value in Bitcoin (mNAV), STRC is trading near par, and the company holds a $3.75 billion reserve for dividend payments.

Kazuo Ueda said core inflation is close to 2% and policy has entered a new phase. Inflation must not be allowed to rise further, and the BOJ will continue raising rates and adjusting monetary easing. At its next meeting, the BOJ will assess the view that core inflation is close to 2%. Developments in the Middle East, AI demand, and exchange rates will affect the timing of rate hikes, while yen weakness is also affecting inflation. It is difficult to reach a conclusion on the neutral interest rate; the stability of 2% is more important. This week’s meetings, including the G20, discussed the impact of the Middle East conflict and AI on the global and Japanese economies, without departing from the BOJ’s basic stance. Ueda exchanged views with the Fed chair but would not disclose details, and he did not contact Bessent after the Asheville meeting.

ME News reports that on October 16 (UTC+8), Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service disclosed that Vladimir Dalekin, one of three suspects accused of murdering Russian crypto tycoon Roman Novak and his wife, Anna, died in a UAE prison last month. The cause of death was a long-term chronic illness that was not specified, though there had been no previous reports of health problems. In October 2025, the Novaks were kidnapped and murdered in Dubai after going to meet supposed “investors.” The three suspects were accused of posing as investors and demanding Novak’s crypto wallet password. At the time of his disappearance, Novak was under investigation for allegedly defrauding crypto investors under the pretext of developing a business. (Source: Foresight News)

TAC launched the Global Access Protocol (GAP), enabling tokenized securities to be composable in DeFi. GAP was developed over the course of a year by TAC and the Digital Securities Initiative, which held discussions with the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury Department during that time. More details will be announced next week. TAC also announced 12 new members: Ascend, Control, Cryptio, Digital Securities Initiative, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, Euler, Lava, OpenZeppelin, Overmatch Capital, Protocol Wealth, Reserve, and T-RIZE.

ME News reported on October 16 (UTC+8) that Russia’s government press office announced that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov had joined the board of Russian payments company A7. As Western sanctions affect traditional banking channels, A7’s role in maintaining trade ties between Russia and partners such as China is expanding. A7 was founded in 2024 by Russian bank PSB, which primarily serves the defense sector, to provide Russian businesses with cross-border transaction settlement services. Western sanctions have made it difficult for traditional banks to process many Russia-related payments, especially trade payments between Russia and its largest trading partner, China. A7 estimates that up to 80% of Russia’s foreign trade payments currently go through alternative channels.

ME News, Oct. 16 (UTC+8) — In a video released by Sky, founder Rune Christensen said that Sky’s operating expenses fell to $6.8 million this quarter, down from more than $20 million a year ago. He said Sky’s treasury management framework makes operating expenses more predictable and keeps them within a clearly defined range, while continuing to support protocol security, maintenance, and development. (Source: PANews)

Nine crypto companies have formed a quantum alliance, whose members include Hacken, Midnight Foundation, Quantus, and Postquant Labs. The alliance aims to establish unified security standards for blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and to publish common security tests and quantum migration guidelines. The public keys for approximately 6.4 million BTC have been exposed, and future quantum computing could potentially derive the corresponding private keys, though no such capability exists yet. Views differ on the timeline for the threat, with achieving it by 2028 considered a realistic expectation, underscoring the need to assess the feasibility of migrating early. Freezing BTC is a governance issue, and the preference is to move assets rather than freeze them.

The cost pass-through from rising energy prices is spreading across all areas of the U.S. economy, complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation. A report showed that airfares, delivery services, and truck transportation prices rose significantly last month as overseas conflicts drove up oil prices. Grocery prices have not yet been noticeably affected, but economists warn that increases remain a risk, as businesses pass higher costs on to consumers and the price effects eventually become apparent.

An official announcement stated that several Japanese banks and TISI completed a proof-of-concept experiment in July 2026 on the joint issuance of a yen stablecoin and the optimization of cross-border payments. Supported by the Financial Services Agency’s FinTech Demonstration Hub, the experiment validated the feasibility of multiple banks jointly issuing a stablecoin and explored the potential applications of blockchain in international remittances and corporate payments. The results showed that the issuance and circulation of stablecoins are operationally feasible, providing a reference for the future development of digital payment services and the broader adoption of blockchain-based financial assets.

ME News, Oct. 16 (UTC+8) — On Oct. 16, B.AI released its weekly ranking of Chinese AI model brands by Token usage for Oct. 9–15. Xiaomi’s model ranked No. 2 for the third consecutive week, with usage surging 49.9% week over week and its share of platform Token usage rising by 10.4 percentage points. DeepSeek continued to lead this week, with a total of 1.03T Tokens. Zhipu’s usage grew 44.3% week over week, and its platform share rose by 3.7 percentage points, placing it at No. 3. Moonshot’s Token usage surged 286.5% week over week. As multiple models compete on the same platform, actual usage reflects market shifts. B.AI continues to expand its model selection, helping developers flexibly access diverse AI capabilities. Welcome to log in.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange published its consultation conclusions on shortening the spot market settlement cycle to T+1. There was broad market support for transitioning in the second half of 2028, subject to market readiness and regulatory approval. A total of 109 responses were received from brokers, custodians, investment managers, associations, technology providers, investors, and others. Respondents generally believed that T+1 would improve efficiency, reduce settlement risk, enhance capital efficiency, and strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international financial center.

UMX, a crypto-friendly securities platform incubated by Avenir Group, has officially launched and opened registration. Since its public beta began in August, it has received 788 pieces of feedback and implemented 89 improvements. UMX grew out of the cross-asset management operations of Li Lin’s family office. It breaks down the barriers between crypto assets and securities, bringing Hong Kong and U.S. stocks and crypto assets together on a unified trading platform. Features include unified cross-asset margin, flexible transfers, and credit backed by crypto holdings to buy stocks—so users can buy stocks with their crypto. Celebrate the launch with three special offers: get an iPhone Duo when you meet the wealth management requirements, earn UMX points through trading, and receive up to 100 USDT as a new user. Learn more at umx.com.

ME News reports that on October 16 (UTC+8), seven Chinese men, including three students, were charged at the Johor Bahru Magistrates’ Court in Malaysia with conspiring to commit fraud through a fictitious cryptocurrency investment scheme. All seven pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to commit fraud at noon on October 1 in two residential units in Forest City. If convicted, they face up to six months in prison, a fine, or both. The court granted bail of 7,000 ringgit (approximately $1,711) for each man, requiring two local sureties. The case is scheduled to resume on November 11 for the submission of relevant documents.
In addition, three of the men were separately charged with illegally entering Malaysia. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison, a fine of 10,000 ringgit (approximately $2,445), or both.

ME News reported on October 16 (UTC+8) that, according to an announcement by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation of Japan, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation conducted a proof-of-concept experiment for the joint issuance of a yen stablecoin from July 17 to 23, 2026, confirming the feasibility of the joint issuance model. In the experiment, the three banks acted as joint entrustors, while Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation acted as trustee to issue the stablecoin. The experiment also validated the issuance, transfer, and redemption processes for cross-border settlements between Mitsubishi Corporation’s locations in Japan and overseas. The parties said they plan to use deposits as reserve assets going forward, though the specific design may still change. Previously, in November 2025, the experiment was selected as the first supported case under the Japan Financial Services Agency’s “Payment Advancement Project (PIP).” The three major banks announced in June 2026 that they plan to launch actual transactions within fiscal year 2026. (Source:

ME News reports that Xiaohongshu sent an all-hands letter announcing that Dots, its first-level AI department, will be integrated with the core infrastructure team, while hi lab will focus on long-term, frontier research. The letter emphasized that Xiaohongshu positions itself as a technology applications company, fundamentally different from cloud providers in its approach to model development. Its future direction lies in deeply integrating models and applications, with technology and products advancing one another to create valuable user experiences.

According to ME News, on October 16 (UTC+8), Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) announced that personal customers can convert between U.S. dollars (USD) and USDT or USDC in either direction through its mobile banking app, without transferring funds to a cryptocurrency exchange, and can hold USDT, USDC, and other fiat currencies in the same bank account. The service is available Monday through Friday 24

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service will step up monitoring of overseas platforms, focusing on cracking down on illegal activities such as offering perpetual contracts linked to Korean stocks and stock indices, soliciting South Korean residents, and collecting commissions. Any violations discovered will be reported to law enforcement, and the impact of these overseas products on South Korea’s stock market will be assessed. The agencies also plan to engage with major overseas platforms and request their cooperation to ensure their operations comply with the law.