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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.

ME News, Oct. 16 (UTC+8) — According to MSX.COM data, Strategy (MSTR) extended its decline to 6.46%, trading at $141.5. In related news, MSCI plans to exclude companies whose asset structures are more akin to investment funds than traditional operating businesses, based on the proportion of operating assets and several financial metrics. Because Strategy holds a large amount of Bitcoin, it has been identified as a potential candidate for removal from the index. The final list of affected companies is expected to be announced on Nov. 11. The market is concerned that if Strategy is removed from MSCI-related indexes, passive funds that track those indexes may be forced to reduce their MSTR holdings.

ME News, Oct. 16 (UTC+8) — The credit default swap (CDS) market shows that CDS prices for tech companies such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon have risen sharply since fall 2025, with some even doubling. This suggests investors are questioning whether the AI boom can generate enough returns to support large-scale debt-financed investment. The market is concerned that tech companies could face excessive debt burdens, similar to the situation before the 2008 financial crisis. (Source: ChainCatcher)

S&P 500 constituent and core banking systems provider Jack Henry (JKHY) is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud by integrating GCUL, offering tokenized deposits and inter-institution transfers to banks and credit unions. GCUL is a fully managed distributed ledger provided by Google Cloud that supports the tokenization and transfer of funds and assets on a shared, real-time ledger, along with programmable 24/7 settlement.

ME News, October 16 (UTC+8) — PhotonPay, a next-generation payment operating system, announced that it has officially obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The license allows PhotonPay to issue electronic money under the UK regulatory framework and provide customers with related payment services within its authorized scope, further strengthening its local financial infrastructure in the UK and European markets.
JP, PhotonPay’s global compliance officer, said, “Obtaining a UK EMI license is an important milestone in PhotonPay’s ongoing expansion of its global compliance footprint. The UK is

ME News reported on October 16 that Lido revealed the Fallback Exits mechanism for its lending product, Lido Lend, on X. The mechanism allows lenders to withdraw by seizing collateral when liquidity for borrowed assets is insufficient, providing them with an additional exit route. Lend is based on a modified version of Morpho Blue and uses isolated markets. When triggered, borrowers closest to the liquidation threshold are affected first, and their outstanding debt is reduced accordingly. Detailed specifications will be announced within two weeks, and the product will be deployed on mainnet after DAO governance is complete.

ME News reports, Oct. 16 (UTC+8): French hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger received multiple reports of malicious implants months before the latest security crisis. Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès said at least two people had contacted Ledger since December 2025 to report tampered devices, but found no public warnings issued by the company. Security researcher Joe Grand said he reported a malicious implant to Ledger on March 4, 2026. The implant was found in a Nano X purchased through Thailand’s Lazada in August 2025. Ledger confirmed the finding and said it would conduct an internal investigation, but did not proactively alert customers. Mark Karpelès believes the increase in reports and

ME News reports that, according to an official announcement from Cobo on October 16 (UTC+8), due to a business strategy adjustment, the Cobo Wallet App will shut down on December 1, 2026 (UTC+8). Users must transfer all assets out by 23:59 on November 30. Cobo’s other businesses will continue operating as usual. After the shutdown, accounts with remaining assets will be charged a monthly management fee of 2% of the remaining assets, deducted in the original currency, with a monthly minimum equivalent to $100. If the total asset value is less than $100, the entire balance will be deducted in one payment. The first fee will be charged on January 1, 2027. Cobo reminds users to update the Cobo Wallet configured on exchanges, mining pools, and other platforms.

ME News reported that on October 16 (UTC+8), Bitcoin mining service provider Sazmining announced a personal purchase plan that lets customers directly own immersion-cooled hashboards developed by Proto, Block’s Bitcoin mining hardware division. Sazmining will install, operate, and maintain the equipment at mining facilities in the United States, and the mined bitcoin will be sent directly to customers’ personal wallets. Each hashboard is priced at $4,187, with a $1,397 down payment and the remaining balance payable over 18 months at 0% interest. The equipment is expected to begin operating between November and December 2026, with each hashboard delivering about 200 TH/s of hashrate and energy efficiency of about 15 J/TH. Sazmining will charge a flat rate for electricity and maintenance and provide customers with hashboard operation services. The

ME News, October 16 (UTC+8) — According to Sentora’s weekly DeFi data, total DeFi value locked (TVL) fell by $1.34 billion over the past 7 days to $122.25 billion, while stablecoin supply decreased by $1.35 billion over the same period to $305.24 billion. Sentora said the similar declines in both metrics suggest that funds may be exiting onchain markets.
Other data showed that total RWA TVL fell to $4.04 billion, while Ethereum’s share of TVL dropped to 57.79%. In DeFi lending markets, the volume of high-risk loans with liquidation prices less than 5% away fell to $6.72 billion, down $395 million from last week.
Meanwhile, the stablecoin available liquidity ratio rose by 1.37 percentage points to

Metis Andromeda will end Stargate support on October 23. On October 30, LayerZero Labs’ DVN/Executor will stop providing services to Metis. Users must exit Stargate pools by October 23. Those who have staked must first unstake, then select Metis Andromeda in the Stargate app to withdraw. m.USDC, m.USDT, WETH, and METIS are unaffected, and cross-chain bridges will continue operating normally. Stargate V1 pools will shut down globally on December 15.

Near Protocol and Sunrise announced that NEAR is now available cross-chain on Solana through Sunrise. Liquidity is now accessible via Solana wallets, Jupiter, Raydium, and trading aggregators. NEAR is the first supported asset, with more assets to be added in the future, along with the direct integration of Near Intents into Sunrise. Following the announcement, NEAR rose approximately 14% in 24 hours and more than doubled over the past 30 days. Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz has joined the Near Foundation Council, where he will contribute to product strategy, market execution, and ecosystem development.

Circle plans to expand into about 50 emerging markets to meet demand for digital dollar payments in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. USDC’s circulating supply is approximately $73.3 billion, representing about 25% of the stablecoin market, while USDT accounts for about 60%. Circle has also acquired Tazapay for $400 million, launched the Arc blockchain, and secured a federal trust bank charter. These moves are expected to drive market expansion as the regulatory landscape becomes clearer.

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.