Assemble AI

Circle is urging the European Union to recognize foreign-regulated stablecoins and loosen reserve requirements under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Circle wants a broader liquidity standard to replace mandatory commercial-bank deposits of at least 30% of reserves, rising to 60% for significant tokens. Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino said last month that Tether declined to seek an EU license because of the same requirement. Circle's proposed recognition regime would allow qualifying foreign issuers to distribute tokens through locally licensed institutions without full EU issuer authorization. However, the European Banking Authority has urged tighter controls on foreign multi-issuer structures because critical functions can remain beyond effective EU supervision. Foreign issuers remain subject to existing rules while the European Commission considers possible changes.

Bitcoin has gained 2.7% this month as bulls approach resistance at the 2026 yearly open of $87,570. Bitcoin recorded its highest weekly close since late January at $86,532 on Bitstamp. Trader and analyst Rekt Capital identifies $82,500 as key support and $86,700 as resistance. Traders are watching Wednesday's 10-year note auction and Federal Reserve meeting minutes as elevated bond yields remain a concern for risk assets. CoinGlass data shows that Bitcoin's October gains have averaged 18.7% since 2013, although three of the past 13 October months recorded losses.

The Nikkei 225 jumped about 2.5% on Monday as weak jobs data pushed the probability of an October Federal Reserve rate hike below 25%. AP reported that September's net hiring of 29,000 fell short of forecasts and August's 133,000. Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group gained in afternoon trading, while TSMC rose about 3% on reports of talks with Elon Musk's planned chip venture. However, the 10-year Treasury yield remained near 5.25%, close to a two-decade high. Investing.com cited long-term yields, European bond-market worries and geopolitical threats as sources of renewed volatility.

Kraken parent company Payward has partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank to enable 24/7 US dollar settlement for select institutional clients in Asia and the Gulf region. Payward has integrated the bank's SGB Net real-time clearing network, allowing those clients to settle transactions instantly. The companies plan to expand the service to more clients and currencies, according to a Monday press release. Singapore Gulf Bank will also access digital asset liquidity through Kraken Prime and use Payward's markets to price customer trades in the coming months.

Injective co-founder and CEO Eric Chen expects U.S. exchange-traded funds tied to the network's native INJ token to launch before 2027. The SEC's website lists applications for the 21Shares Injective ETF and the Canary Staked INJ ETF. Both issuers submitted amended S-1 registration statements in September after initially filing in 2025. Injective Institutional Services became an SEC-registered transfer agent in August. Chen said Injective will work on additional U.S. licenses and is working with licensed firms in Europe.

Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that China has narrowed the US lead in AI benchmark scores to 3%, the lowest level on record. DeepSeek's V4.1 Flash scored 81.1 on LiveBench, compared with 83.4 for Anthropic's best entry. President Donald Trump rejected calls to slow AI last month, arguing that restraint would benefit China. Trump announced an AI Force on September 19 and vowed not to slow the industry. However, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Robert Lea cautioned that rankings change and Chinese labs may struggle to convert benchmark scores into revenue.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $241.1 million in net inflows last week, their third consecutive positive week, according to SoSoValue data. SoSoValue data put cumulative net inflows at $57.8 billion. Ether ETFs recorded $138 million in weekly net outflows after attracting $690 million the week before. Zcash funds posted their first weekly outflow on record, losing around $94 million.

The US sanctioned two French charities and three individuals over allegations that they channeled cryptocurrency and other funds to Hamas. Treasury alleges that France-based Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq. Treasury says the fundraisers and associated organizations collected more than $2 million for Hamas between 2020 and 2026, but did not identify that entire amount as cryptocurrency transfers. US exchanges, custodians and payment processors must block designated parties' property within their possession or control unless an OFAC license or exemption applies. Treasury warned that foreign financial institutions could face secondary sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for the designated parties under the relevant authority.

This roundup covers token unlocks as the crypto market is set to receive $1.11 billion in tokens in early October 2026. Hyperliquid will unlock 3.75 million HYPE worth $340 million on October 6. Hyperliquid's team previously announced that the unlocked supply will go to one institutional buyer. Ethena will release 171.88 million ENA worth $41.52 million on October 5 for core contributors and investors. Aptos will release 11.31 million APT worth $9.06 million on October 11. These unlocks could introduce market volatility and influence short-term price movements.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Saturday praised Citigroup's partnership with Coinbase to enable stablecoin payments for large institutional clients. Citi's institutional clients will be able to accept customer stablecoin payments at checkout through the bank's merchant-processing services. The arrangement also allows Coinbase customers to use Citi's banking capabilities while automatically converting incoming cash into stablecoins. USDC held in Coinbase products reached a record $20 billion in the second quarter, accounting for more than 30% of all USDC in circulation.

Bitcoin is one moving-average crossover away from its first full bullish alignment in over a year. The alignment would place the 50-day average above the 100-day average and the 100-day average above the 200-day average. Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj said the previous alignment formed on June 24, 2025. Similar alignments have preceded both major rallies and short-lived gains. Bitcoin's ability to remain above its 50-day average is the next key test.

A chart shared by Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor shows Bitcoin and Nvidia each had 39% 30-day historical volatility. Strategy's common stock, MSTR, registered 94%, while Strategy's STRC preferred stock registered 9%. However, STRC fell to about $75 in late June, roughly 25% below its $100 par value, before Strategy supported the stock. Strategy has bought back STRC and built a roughly $5 billion reserve since late July, helping STRC recover toward $100. STRC's low volatility may depend more on how long Strategy supports its par value than on Bitcoin volatility.

OKXICE, the joint venture between OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it intends to launch a tokenized securities trading venue. OKX said the platform is designed for permissioned, on-chain trading of U.S. tokenized stocks on X layer. The venue plans to cover more than 60 U.S.-listed companies, and issuers will have 30 days to opt out. The SEC last month issued a five-year exemption allowing certain venues to trade tokenized U.S.-listed stocks without registering as exchanges.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban argues that workers will lose jobs to people who use AI better, rather than to AI itself. Gallup found that tech workers using AI less than monthly faced three times the layoff risk of monthly users. The Kobeissi Letter, citing Wall Street Journal data, reported that AI-linked roles added more than 750,000 US jobs since 2023. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that employers cited AI in 120,136 announced US job cuts through September, about 21% of all cuts. However, overall hiring remains slow, with nonfarm payrolls rising 29,000 in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez on Sunday identified $0.095 as the key level for a possible bullish Dogecoin breakout. Martinez said a 4-hour close above that level could confirm a bullish breakout and trigger a rally toward $0.106. Spot Dogecoin exchange-traded funds attracted $3.16 million in net inflows during September, the second-strongest month of the year. However, Dogecoin's Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator showed a sell signal. Benzinga Pro data showed DOGE up 3.10% over the last 24 hours to $0.095.

OKXICE has notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to launch 24/7 tokenized stock trading in more than 60 U.S.-listed companies. OKXICE is a joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange. The plan relies on a new five-year SEC exemption, and the launch remains subject to regulatory steps. Companies receive 30 days to object to the tokenization of their shares. Tokenized shares must carry the same rights as regular shares, including dividends and voting rights.

Zcash activated the NU7 upgrade on its public test network ahead of schedule, reducing the targeted interval between transaction blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The public trial precedes a planned November rollout. Developers will review test results and decide on mainnet activation Oct. 20. Holders of funds in Sprout must move those funds before the upgrade to retain access through the existing system.

US nominal growth of 8.5% still exceeds the 3.4% average interest rate on US debt, despite 10-year Treasury yields passing 5%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measured that growth as an annualized second-quarter pace. TD Securities says higher borrowing costs feed through as older bonds mature. TD Securities estimates fiscal 2026 interest costs at about $1.1 trillion and projects $1.6 trillion in 2029 if yields hold. Matthew Reese, head of global bond strategies at L&G Asset Management, warns that the debt spiral worsens as nominal growth fades.

Bitcoin rose to nearly $87,000 early Monday before reversing to just under $86,000 during Monday Asian morning hours. Bitcoin remained up 1.3% over 24 hours. Bitcoin was about $1,300 below its eight-month high near $87,400, which could come within reach if the 10-year Treasury yield continues to fall. The 10-year Treasury yield fell two basis points to 5.25% after softer U.S. jobs data on Friday eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep raising rates.