News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News: Bitcoin life insurance company Meanwhile has announced the completion of a $37.5 million funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital, among others. The company's cumulative funding has now exceeded $180 million.Meanwhile is headquartered in Bermuda and is licensed to conduct insurance business entirely in Bitcoin. The company stated that an unstable macroeconomic environment has driven increased demand for Bitcoin life insurance policies in markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.In early 2026, Meanwhile launched BTC Life 1-Pay, a single-premium whole life insurance product, for high-net-worth clients outside the United States, following the earlier launch of BTC 10-Pay for U.S. taxpayers. Policies can be held by individuals, trusts, or corporations for inheritance and estate planning purposes. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, Bermuda-headquartered Bitcoin life insurance provider Meanwhile has announced $37.5 million in new funding, bringing its total capital raised past $180 million. The round was led by Bain Capital Crypto, which will enable the company to expand into overseas markets such as Asia and Europe.
Odaily report: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has completed the drafting of relevant rules to allow cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be listed and traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, initially limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rules will take effect on October 16, 2026.Initially, products such as depositary receipts linked to overseas cryptocurrency ETFs will not be permitted, and Thai brokerages will still not be allowed to assist retail investors in investing in overseas cryptocurrency ETFs. Institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals are not subject to this restriction. Mutual funds and private funds may invest in cryptocurrency ETFs established in Thailand.The relevant ETFs must adopt a passive investment approach, tracking the prices of the underlying crypto assets, and must maintain an average net exposure to any single cryptocurrency of at least 80% of net asset value during each fiscal year. Brokerages may not provide margin financing, and fund assets must be custodied by digital asset custodians regulated by the SEC. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Members of the European Parliament are calling on the European Commission to include corruption risks related to crypto assets, opaque ownership structures, and digital tools in its upcoming anti-corruption strategy. The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday outlining policy priorities for the strategy.Lawmakers also called for strengthened tracking, freezing, confiscation, and recovery of criminal proceeds, as well as improved rules on public procurement, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and political financing, along with enhanced protections for whistleblowers and investigative journalists.The European Commission plans to adopt its first anti-corruption strategy by the end of 2026. The strategy will complement the EU Anti-Corruption Directive that took effect in May, which harmonized the definition of corruption offenses and minimum penalty standards across member states. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Nonprofit financial reform advocacy group Better Markets stated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s plan to bring certain cryptocurrency trading and exchanges under its regulatory purview could give retail investors weaker protections than those under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CFTC has solicited public comments on a framework for margin, leverage, or financing in retail crypto trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, noted that the CFTC lacks an investor protection mandate, and its statutory authority was originally designed to address fraud in leveraged precious metals trading, which does not justify making it the primary regulator of retail crypto trading. He also said the proposed framework could allow the kind of interrelated market participants that were seen as contributing to FTX's collapse.After the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress, the CFTC and SEC have continued to advance crypto policy under existing law. The CFTC plans to establish a new federal category to bring qualifying crypto trading platforms directly under regulation; the SEC, meanwhile, has proposed relaxing certain investment adviser custody rules, allowing limited tokenized trading of U.S. equities, and issuing new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the second and third reviews of El Salvador's 40-month Extended Fund Facility, approving an immediate disbursement of approximately $138 million under the $1.4 billion financing program. Despite some performance criteria not being met, the IMF granted waivers based on corrective measures and recommitments.The IMF stated that El Salvador will continue to reduce state involvement in Bitcoin-related activities, strengthen crypto asset regulation, governance, and transparency of public sector crypto asset holdings, and will not accumulate additional Bitcoin beyond already recorded donations. The majority stake and operational control of the government's Chivo Bitcoin wallet have been transferred to a private operator. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: U.S. digital asset bank Anchorage Digital has reportedly laid off approximately 17% of its workforce. The company was valued at $4.2 billion earlier this year; if its global headcount remains at around 400 as it was in February, this round of layoffs would affect roughly 68 positions. CEO Nathan McCauley informed employees of the layoff arrangements this week.In recent years, Anchorage Digital has expanded its regulated crypto business and entered stablecoin issuance, including participating in Tether's newly launched USD stablecoin USAT. The company also received a $100 million strategic investment from Tether earlier this year. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard, stated that other treasury companies focused on buying Bitcoin as their core business may struggle to compete with Strategy, noting there is currently no sufficient reason to choose alternative Bitcoin treasury firms over Strategy. Ammous pointed out that Strategy's larger Bitcoin holdings enable it to secure financing at a lower cost, and the company maintains approximately $5.02 billion in cash reserves, which can be used to pay preferred stock dividends and interest on its debt, providing a financial buffer even if Bitcoin experiences a sharper drawdown. However, he also emphasized that investing in Strategy still entails risks, and personally favors holding Bitcoin directly.
According to Cointelegraph, BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes said during Blockchain Week Korea that U.S. policymakers may need to expand the money supply to support AI data center construction and government debt financing, with the resulting increase in liquidity potentially driving crypto asset prices higher. Hayes noted that AI companies require trillions of dollars in funding to build data centers, and as prices for related services continue to drop, this could ultimately push policymakers to adopt a more accommodating monetary stance. He also highlighted that China's monetary policy may shift from relatively tight conditions to larger-scale stimulus, which he believes could reignite market demand for scarce assets.
Arthur Hayes stated that U.S. policymakers may support the AI industry and government debt financing through money printing, driving cryptocurrency prices higher; if China shifts from limited tightening to large-scale monetary stimulus, it could also boost demand for scarce assets. He is also monitoring financial stress in France, including BNP Paribas-related credit default swaps and French government bond spreads.Catrina Wang, General Partner at Portal Ventures, said that banks and asset management companies have advantages in on-chain financial markets thanks to their existing client relationships. Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, pointed out that public blockchains can help institutions reach clients beyond their own networks; Justin Kugel, Executive Vice President of Growth at World Liberty Financial, said that user demand for asset management and investment evaluation still leaves room for intermediaries.Chetan Karkhanis, Senior Vice President of Digital Asset Client Relationships at Franklin Templeton, said the company has no intention of issuing its own stablecoin and hopes tokenized money market funds will provide investment returns. Haonan Li, co-founder and CEO of Codex, said that trade routes connecting Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia are driving demand for stablecoin payments; buyers pay eastward for goods, while manufactured products flow westward.Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, said that before allocating to crypto assets, companies need to confirm they have long-term idle funds that will not affect daily operations. Michael Camarda, Chief Development Officer of Ethereum treasury company SharpLink, said that both buying back shares and increasing ETH holdings can raise ETH per share; the company has adopted both methods to meet the preferences of institutional and retail investors. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service provider Blockchain.com plans to raise approximately $500 million this year through an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion, and may scale back the offering size if necessary to complete the listing.Blockchain.com reached a $14 billion valuation in 2022 and confidentially filed IPO registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May of this year. Recently listed Gemini, BitGo, and eToro have seen their share prices drop approximately 50% to 80% from post-listing highs. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Prediction market and derivatives platform OG.com Markets has submitted a rule filing to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) seeking to launch cash-settled perpetual futures on individual stocks with no expiration date, tradable 5 days a week, 24 hours a day.OG.com recently spun off from cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to become an independent platform valued at $5 billion. Coinbase, Payward's Bitnomial exchange, and Kalshi have also applied to offer U.S. single-stock perpetual futures. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Jumper has announced plans to conduct its first JUMP token sale through Legion and spin off from LI.FI to become an independent company. Jumper currently has cumulative trading volume exceeding $40 billion, over 100,000 monthly active users, and a market share of more than 15% in cross-chain bridge transaction volume.Jumper stated that in the future it will expand from cross-chain aggregation to an on-chain finance super app, covering spot trading, cross-chain, perpetual contracts, tokenized stocks, and other RWA and yield products. Its perpetual contract product, Jumper Perps, is expected to launch in the coming weeks. This Legion token sale will be Jumper's first fundraising, with proceeds to be used for product development, user acquisition, and market expansion; the JUMP token is planned to be issued separately after the fundraising is completed, and the company will not conduct equity financing at the same time. (Cointelegraph)
stablecoin infrastructure company HIFI has completed a $37 million Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital, with the specific valuation not yet disclosed. HIFI CEO Zach Walsh stated that this is the company's first priced funding round, and the platform currently processes approximately $7 billion in annualized direct transaction volume. The funding will be used to expand stablecoin payment products and tokenized capital markets infrastructure. HIFI currently supports fiat on/off ramps between USD and stablecoins, payments through the U.S. banking system and bank cards, and provides USD cash settlement services for tokenized repurchase agreements and U.S. Treasury transactions. HIFI has also previously participated in the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)'s production trading tests for tokenized securities. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) on Tuesday. Bernstein analysts anticipate that the SEC and CFTC will subsequently embark on "proactive and swift" rulemaking to compensate for the time lost during prior negotiations. The forthcoming regulations are expected to cover: classification criteria for token offerings, developer protections for DeFi and self-custody protocols, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, an expedited approval pathway for physical asset perpetual futures, and swap designation rules for federal sports event contracts. Bernstein pointed out that the CLARITY Act was originally intended to provide the industry with institutional safeguards against "shifts in political winds," and its defeat has once again cast doubt on regulatory certainty. Analysts also noted that the likelihood of a reconsidered vote on the bill remains low.
Bernstein analysts said that after the U.S. Senate failed to pass the procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are expected to accelerate the development of digital asset regulatory rules.The analysts expect the new rules to cover the classification of fundraising tokens, protections for DeFi and self-custody protocol developers, innovation exemptions for equity tokenization, approval of real-world asset perpetual futures, and adjustments to swap classification rules for federal sports event contracts. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs saw its valuation double to $2 billion following an upsized Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital. The company stated that its annual recurring revenue has quadrupled over the past three years.
According to Cointelegraph, Australia’s financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC stated that it has cancelled, suspended, or refused to renew 45 cryptocurrency and remittance business registrations over the past year to strengthen oversight of high-risk payment activities. These measures primarily target service providers that are inactive, insolvent, lack operational capacity, or pose anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks.
According to Cointelegraph, Australia’s financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC announced that it has cancelled, suspended, or refused to renew the registrations of 45 cryptocurrency and money remittance service providers over the past year. The action targets inactive, insolvent, or operationally unviable businesses, as well as entities posing money laundering or terrorism financing risks. AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas stated that organizations whose registrations have been revoked are prohibited from continuing operations, and certain individuals involved have been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement agencies. Among them, GetCoins (BA Digital Ventures) had its registration cancelled in June this year after being suspected of being exploited by organized crypto investment fraud schemes.
Odaily News: The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has stated that over the past year, it has cancelled, suspended, or refused to renew 45 registrations for cryptocurrency and remittance businesses, targeting service providers that are inactive, insolvent, or not operationally capable.AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas stated that businesses whose registrations have been cancelled are not permitted to continue operating, and that some individuals involved have been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory cooperation agencies. Additional issues cited include failure to report material changes, incorrect registration information, and significant money laundering or terrorist financing risks.AUSTRAC noted that the virtual asset service provider registration of GetCoins, a brand under BA Digital Ventures, was cancelled in June following customer complaints. The agency stated that GetCoins is suspected of being exploited by organized cryptocurrency investment scam activities, and that this action, taken in collaboration with the National Anti-Scam Centre, helped disrupt related activity.AUSTRAC did not disclose the full list of 45 businesses, nor did it provide a breakdown of crypto versus remittance service providers. The public VASP register shows that recent actions have also involved Cryptolink, Self Custody, Jam Xchange, and Coinsec Australia; AUSTRAC has also launched an investigation into Western Union and suspended Cryptolink's cryptocurrency ATM network. (Cointelegraph)