Connect with us

Crypto

Saylor Signals Next Bitcoin Buying Plan After September STRC Buybacks

Published

on

Crypto Breaking News

MicroStrategy’s corporate Bitcoin strategy is back in focus after Strategy’s chair, Michael Saylor, posted a tease to investors about a possible near-term signal tied to the company’s latest BTC purchases. Writing on X, Saylor added the line “There’s always room for more orange,” a reference that has become shorthand for the firm’s continued willingness to add Bitcoin.

Still, for readers expecting a fresh, formal update through U.S. SEC filings, timing may be tight. An official disclosure related to the most recent activity is not expected to arrive before Tuesday because federal offices are closed on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday.

Key takeaways

  • Strategy says it has pushed its most recent weekly Bitcoin buying far past its typical budget window through early October repurchases.
  • According to an Oct. 5 SEC 8-K, Strategy ended the Sept. 28–Oct. 4 period holding exactly 848,000 BTC.
  • Over the same dates, the company also repurchased about 1.77 million shares of its STRC preferred stock for $176.3 million.
  • Analyst Shanaka Anslem Perera highlights that capital raised in the third quarter does not automatically translate into immediate BTC purchases, due to other uses such as cash reserves and preferred-share buybacks.

What Strategy disclosed in its latest SEC filing

At the center of this update is a filing that lays out Strategy’s activity across a defined one-week span. In an Oct. 5 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company reported that it bought 334 Bitcoin between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4, paying $28.7 million for the purchases. The buy adds to Strategy’s cumulative holdings, taking the company to exactly 848,000 BTC.

That same 8-K window also included a substantial preferred equity repurchase. Strategy said it repurchased roughly 1.77 million shares of its STRC preferred stock for $176.3 million during the same period.

For investors, the practical takeaway is that Strategy’s BTC program is not operating in isolation. The company is simultaneously managing its capital structure, including actions that reduce preferred-share exposure. That matters because it can affect how much cash remains available for later Bitcoin buys and how capital providers view near-term risk versus balance-sheet strengthening.

Advertisement

Saylor’s “orange” message and what investors may read into it

Saylor’s X post frames the next step as something investors should watch for on Sunday—suggesting there may be another sign of BTC accumulation. The phrasing, however, appears more like a broad encouragement than a specific update tied to a particular filing.

With Monday’s federal holiday likely to delay administrative timing, the market’s ability to confirm details through SEC channels may not improve until Tuesday. In other words, traders who rely on filings for verification may have to bridge the gap between public commentary and formal documentation.

In previous cycles, this kind of messaging can still move sentiment around whether additional buying is coming. But as Strategy’s disclosures show, the company’s real confirmation typically arrives through SEC paperwork, not social posts.

Why “cash now, buy later” remains a live question

Beyond the immediate Bitcoin figure, analysts are weighing how Strategy financed its recent actions and what that implies for future pace. Independent analyst Shanaka Anslem Perera pointed to third-quarter funding and how it translated into BTC holdings over time.

Advertisement

According to Perera, Strategy raised $5.41 billion from new common shares in the third quarter and ended that quarter with 1,666 more BTC than it held at the end of June. He also notes that Strategy’s SEC disclosures allocate 9.5% of the raised capital directly to bitcoin purchases. Other disclosed uses, Perera wrote, include a dollar reserve, cash, dividends, and preferred-share buybacks.

Perera’s central argument is that the relationship between raising capital and buying Bitcoin may not be one-to-one on a day-to-day or even quarter-to-quarter basis. In an interview carried by Cointelegraph on Sunday, he explained that “raising capital does not necessarily mean buying bitcoin,” emphasizing that investors should consider what the financing left behind—particularly cash and existing claims such as debt and preferred shares, which sit ahead of common stock.

At the same time, he clarified that the company’s retained cash can still fund later purchases. From a balance-sheet perspective, strengthening liquidity can also be supportive for shareholders, especially if it reduces pressure to sell assets or rely on external borrowing to sustain Bitcoin accumulation.

Bitcoin buy intensity versus capital structure management

The recent window highlighted in Strategy’s SEC filing suggests an active BTC posture, but it also illustrates how tightly the Bitcoin narrative is interwoven with other corporate moves. The company “ended September by spending more than six times its weekly Bitcoin buying budget,” according to the coverage context leading into the SEC disclosure. In that period, the firm bought 334 BTC for $28.7 million—bringing total holdings to 848,000 BTC.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Strategy repurchased a large quantity of preferred stock for $176.3 million during the same week. That dual activity complicates simplistic interpretations. Instead of viewing Bitcoin buys as the only variable, investors also have to watch how Management allocates cash across different priorities: accumulating Bitcoin, building reserves, and addressing preferred equity.

This dynamic creates a useful lens for readers tracking Strategy. If BTC buying appears to slow while preferred repurchases or cash retention rises, it may reflect not a change in conviction, but a timing shift in how capital is deployed. Conversely, if BTC buys accelerate without corresponding reductions in liquidity, that may indicate the company is comfortable drawing down reserves or drawing from ongoing capital needs.

Perera’s remarks underscore this tension: even when disclosures show a portion of raised capital earmarked for Bitcoin, the rest may support other uses that don’t immediately show up as BTC purchases. That is why investors may want to focus not only on headlines about “more room for orange,” but on how each SEC filing breaks down timing and allocation.

Looking ahead, readers should watch for the next SEC update that confirms what Strategy actually executed in the days following Saylor’s message. The uncertainty is not whether the company remains committed to Bitcoin—recent filings and ongoing commentary point the other way—but rather the pace and sequencing of purchases relative to preferred buybacks and the remaining cash balance. With Tuesday’s filing timing likely to be the first clear checkpoint after the Columbus Day closure, the market may get fresh data soon enough to separate speculation from documented activity.

Advertisement

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Crypto

October 11 Crash: What Wiped Out 1.65M Traders

Published

on

Stock market candlestick chart on dark screen showing decline

On-chain data indicates exactly one year ago today, the cryptocurrency market experienced an epic crash, recording approximately $19.2 billion in market-wide single-day liquidations, wiping out over 1.65 million investors, and setting the most brutal single-day liquidation record in history, comparable to the 2020 “312” black swan event. It is worth remembering not because of hype, but because understanding what happened helps UK traders prepare for future volatility.

Stock market candlestick chart on dark screen showing decline
Market volatility remains a feature of cryptocurrency trading—understanding risk is central to protecting your capital. — Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

The Scale of the Crash

Bitcoin had peaked at around $125,000 prior to the crash, falling to a daily low of $102,000 with a single-day drop exceeding 13%; Ethereum declined by 22% in a single day, while SOL dropped by as much as 37%.

Where Has the Market Been Since?

Exactly one year later today, BTC is trading at approximately $82,679, representing a cumulative drawdown of roughly 34% from its peak at that time.

The broader picture:

What This Means for UK Traders Today

The October 11 crash reflected a complex mix of factors: overbought conditions after a strong rally, macro headwinds, and the mechanics of leveraged trading that amplified losses as liquidations cascaded through exchanges. But the core lesson is simple: cryptocurrency markets remain volatile, and sharp drops are a structural reality of the market.

Advertisement

Key takeaways for UK retail traders:

  1. Volatility is real. A 13% single-day drop in Bitcoin and 22-37% moves in major altcoins show why only invest what you can afford to lose entirely.
  2. Liquidations hurt. Over 1.65 million investors were wiped out in a single day, most of them using margin and derivatives. If you use leverage, understand your liquidation price in advance and size positions accordingly.
  3. Exchange choice matters. Thin liquidity on smaller platforms means your actual exit price could be far worse than the live price you see in news. Trade on well-capitalized, regulated exchanges.
  4. Recovery is slow. One year on, the market is still 34% below the October 2025 peak. If you believe in long-term crypto value, plan accordingly.

Caution remains warranted. UK traders should focus on building a portfolio strategy around volatility rather than trying to time the market.

What to Watch Now

Rather than trying to predict the next crash, UK traders should focus on:

  • Your own portfolio size and leverage.
  • Whether your exchange is FCA-regulated (important for UK consumer protection).
  • Your exit strategy, not your entry.
  • Whether your holding period matches your investment horizon.

The October 11 crash is a reminder that cryptocurrency markets remain young and volatile. Understanding that risk—and building a portfolio strategy around it—matters more than trying to time the market.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto

Justin Sun says Tron post-quantum plan on testnet

Published

on

Cointelegraph

Justin Sun, founder of the Tron network, said that the company’s post-quantum cryptography was now live on testnet.
“We’re closely tracking progress in quantum computing and AI, and we’re ready to bring quantum resistance to mainnet at any time, Sun said in a post on X on Saturday.

He added, “We’re committed to keeping user assets secure, and TRON is set to be one of the few major blockchains that is quantum-resistant before Q-Day,” or the day when quantum computing becomes capable of breaking current security standards.

Coindesk reported on July 28 that Blockchain security company AmericanFortress had unveiled a cryptographic plan to protect crypto wallets from future quantum attacks without requiring users to move funds, rotate keys or change wallet addresses.

Unlike most proposed post-quantum approaches, AmericanFortress said it allows existing wallet addresses to remain unchanged while adding post-quantum protection.

Advertisement

Proposal published in technical paper

The company published the proposal in a technical paper on the Cryptography ePrint Archive, though it had not yet been peer-reviewed.

Developers have increasingly focused on post-quantum cryptography because sufficiently powerful quantum computers may eventually break the elliptic-curve cryptography used to secure Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other blockchain networks

Earlier this year, a Strategy-led consortium pledged $15 million to fund Bitcoin quantum security research, the Ethereum Foundation published a proposal for migrating accounts to quantum-resistant cryptography and Algorand outlined plans to introduce quantum-resistant accounts by 2027.

Magazine: SHRINCS BIP published: Quantum-secure Bitcoin comes with a catch

Advertisement
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.



Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

JPMorgan makes bullish call in fixed income space, suggests it’s a once in a generation opportunity

Published

on

JPMorgan makes bullish call in fixed income space, suggests it's a once in a generation opportunity

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is making a bullish call on an underinvested market group: high-quality fixed income.

Priya Misra, a portfolio manager at the firm, sees a once in a generation opportunity for investors.

“You can actually take credit risk in the highest quality companies and still get [a] 6.5% [yield], Misra told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “So, you actually don’t have to go down in credit [quality].”

She suggested the strategy is particularly well suited for investors concerned about having too much exposure to artificial intelligence stocks.

Advertisement

“There’s a huge AI exposure,” Misra said. “What fixed income gives you is this diversified set of returns. It’s not just an AI trade or a tech trade. You have the Treasury trade. You have credit outside of AI.”

Misra co-manages the JPMorgan Core Plus Bond Fund ETF (JCPB). The fund has almost $16 billion in assets under management, with just over three-quarters of its holdings in BBB-rated debt and above, according to the firm’s website as of Aug. 31.

“We’ve actually been increasing some of the double-B [and] single-B exposure because there has been a widening in high yield spread,” she said. “We like some investment grade. And now, we’ve started in the last few days to increase some duration as well, thinking we may be nearing the end of that rate move.”

The JPMorgan Core Plus Bond Fund ETF is down more than 5% so far this year as of Friday’s close, according to FactSet.

Advertisement

“You want to be looking bond by bond and sort of sector by sector to see where the macro and you have to do the bottom up as well to make sure that companies are not over levered,” noted Misra, who’s concerned about how higher rates could hurt the housing market.

BondBloxx co-founder Joanna Gallegos is also advising investors to take advantage of “historically attractive” yields across debt markets.

“You want to really consider getting some corporate debt into your portfolio,” Gallegos said in the same interview. “It’s really in the investor’s best interest to start looking at the income that’s back in fixed income. It can offset the volatility in your portfolio.”

Part of her bull case: Base rates are high, and they’re stable.

Advertisement

“The fundamentals of these corporations are so strong, and the economy continues to grow,” added Gallegos. “We really think that’s being lost in the narrative around Treasury rates.”

Her firm BondBloxx is known for fixed-income exchange-traded funds in sectors including Treasury, corporate, private credit and emerging markets.

One of its funds includes the BondBloxx Private Credit CLO ETF (PCMM). As of Friday’s close, it’s down 0.6% so far this year, according to FactSet.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto

Are Firing Squad Executions Seeing a Revival in the U.S.?

Published

on

Are Firing Squad Executions Seeing a Revival in the U.S.?



Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

Robinhood Chain slowdown spreads from fees to trading as transactions fall 40%

Published

on

Robinhood Chain transactions have fallen 42%. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)

Daily active addresses averaged about 322,000 in the latest week, down 31% from mid-September, suggesting fewer people, and fewer of the trading bots they run, are using the chain each day.

The drop is likely smaller in human terms than the raw number implies, since one trader can run many addresses and a single automated program can account for thousands of transactions.

Robinhood Chain transactions have fallen 42%. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)

Less trading, steady balances

Spot exchanges, where users buy and sell tokens directly, handled $7.45 billion during Oct. 2–8, down 21% from $9.46 billion the week before, according to CoinDesk calculations using DefiLlama. Uniswap, an app that lets people swap tokens with each other without a company in the middle, handled roughly 77% of that.

Users aren’t pulling their money out, though. Deposits in the chain’s lending and trading apps rose about 2% over the week to $1.04 billion, and the supply of stablecoins, tokens pegged to the dollar, ticked up to roughly $1.10 billion.

That suggests the pile of money is simply being traded less, with traders keeping their funds on Robinhood Chain and waiting.

Advertisement

Futures are the exception, however. DefiLlama’s rolling seven-day figures on Friday showed about $7.35 billion in perpetual futures volume, contracts that let traders bet on prices without owning the tokens, up 26%.



Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

Mashinsky Accepts Lifetime Industry Ban and Up to $35 Million in Conditional Payments | The Defiant

Published

on

Mashinsky Accepts Lifetime Industry Ban and Up to $35 Million in Conditional Payments | The Defiant


The New York settlement ties the money to federal forfeiture and prison-sentence conditions, adding to existing FTC and CFTC restrictions…. Read the full story at The Defiant


Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

Dogecoin dips by 11% this week as whale balances shrink

Published

on

Dogecoin dips by 11% this week as whale balances shrink
Traders Analyze Dogecoins Market Decline

Key takeaways

  • Dogecoin traded near $0.085 on Friday after losing more than 11% this week.
  • Two large-wallet cohorts reduced their combined holdings by 100 million DOGE since Tuesday.
  • A close below $0.084 could expose $0.078 and $0.070, with resistance beginning at $0.086.

Dogecoin traded around $0.085 on Friday, approaching a key trendline area after a weekly decline of more than 11%.

Falling balances among some large holders and weakening technical momentum suggest continued downside pressure. 

However, derivatives positioning offers a more mixed picture, with long positions outnumbering shorts in CoinGlass’ tracked ratio.

Large Dogecoin holders reduce exposure

Santiment’s supply distribution data shows that wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million DOGE and those holding between 10 million and 100 million DOGE have collectively reduced their balances by 100 million tokens since Tuesday.

Advertisement

The decline suggests some large holders are reducing exposure, potentially through profit-taking. Wallet balance changes alone do not confirm that every token was sold, but the movement adds to concerns about near-term supply pressure.

CryptoQuant’s summary indicators also point to caution. Its data identifies overheating conditions in both spot and futures markets, alongside large orders and sell-side dominance in futures.

These signals suggest that selling pressure remains significant as DOGE approaches nearby support.

Despite the price decline, CoinGlass’ DOGE long-to-short ratio stood at 0.90 on Friday, approaching its highest level in more than a month.

Advertisement

A reading above one indicates that longs outnumber shorts within the positions or accounts tracked by the metric.

Funding rates also remained positive at 0.0010%, meaning long traders were paying short traders to maintain their positions.

Together, the readings suggest some traders are positioning for a recovery. They do not establish that buying demand is strong enough to reverse the decline, particularly while price momentum remains weak.

DOGE tests $0.084 as momentum deteriorates

Dogecoin is trading just above the trendline area near $0.084, which serves as the immediate technical support reference.

Advertisement

A daily close below that level could open the way toward $0.078. A deeper correction would bring the next structural floor at $0.070 into focus.

The Relative Strength Index sits near 40, below its neutral midpoint and consistent with weaker buying momentum.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence line remains below both zero and its signal line. Its negative, slightly expanding histogram also suggests sellers retain the near-term advantage.

DOGE remains beneath several important exponential moving averages, creating successive barriers to a rebound.

Advertisement

Traders Analyze Dogecoins Market Decline DOGE/USD Daily Chart

The first resistance is the 100-day EMA near $0.086. Above it, the 50-day EMA and a horizontal resistance level converge around $0.088.

Clearing those levels would help ease immediate bearish pressure. A stronger recovery would require a move above the 200-day EMA at $0.093, followed by a challenge of major resistance near $0.102.

For now, the balance between support at $0.084 and the moving averages overhead will help determine whether DOGE stabilizes or extends its weekly losses.



Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

Armed robbers steal $820K in crypto during luxury home raid in Thailand

Published

on

Bank of Thailand targets stablecoin transactions in latest probe

Three armed men have forced a Chinese expatriate with Turkish citizenship to transfer approximately $820,000 in cryptocurrency during a robbery at his luxury home near Pattaya, Thailand, prompting a police investigation into the suspects and the movement of the stolen assets.

Summary

  • Three armed men broke into a luxury home near Pattaya, Thailand, and forced a Chinese expatriate with Turkish citizenship to transfer approximately $820,000 in cryptocurrency.
  • The attackers threatened the victim at gunpoint and stole cash and three luxury watches before escaping in a vehicle that police later recovered.
  • Thailand police are examining CCTV footage and tracing cryptocurrency transactions to identify the suspects, whose nationalities have not been confirmed.
  • The robbery follows a series of violent attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders, with Chainalysis estimating losses of more than $30 million from such incidents in the first half of 2026.

According to initial reports, the robbery took place at around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 6, inside a gated residential community in Nongprue, where the attackers entered the property using a ladder before confronting the victim in his bedroom.

The masked men reportedly threatened the resident with firearms and ordered him to open a safe containing cash and valuables. They took an undisclosed amount of money and three luxury watches before demanding access to his cryptocurrency holdings.

Advertisement

Under threat, the victim transferred digital assets valued at roughly $820,000 to accounts controlled by the attackers. Reports indicate that the cryptocurrency was subsequently sold, although authorities have not disclosed which assets were involved or how the transactions were carried out.

The resident eventually escaped and contacted police. His identity has not been publicly released.

Thailand police trace stolen crypto and suspects’ getaway vehicle

Police Region 2 has taken charge of the investigation, with officers examining both the physical evidence left behind and the transactions involving the stolen cryptocurrency.

Police Lieutenant General Wasan Techa-akrakesom, commissioner of Police Region 2, said investigators had made significant progress in the case. The Immigration Bureau has been brought into the investigation as authorities work to establish the identities and movements of the suspects.

Advertisement

Initial information suggested that the three attackers might be Chinese nationals, but police have not confirmed their citizenship. No arrests were disclosed in the initial reports.

Investigators have reportedly recovered the vehicle used by the suspects after it was abandoned in a remote location.

CCTV footage placed the same vehicle in the area on October 5, one day before the robbery. Police are examining the footage as part of efforts to reconstruct the suspects’ movements before and after the break-in.

Advertisement

Alongside the search for the attackers, authorities are tracing the digital assets transferred from the victim’s holdings.

Investigators are reportedly examining accounts connected to the subsequent sale of the cryptocurrency in an effort to identify the individuals who received or handled the funds.

Details about the destination wallets, exchanges involved and potential recovery of the stolen assets have not been made public.

Police have yet to establish whether the attackers knew about the resident’s cryptocurrency holdings before entering the property or discovered them during the robbery.

Advertisement

The distinction remains unresolved because the intruders demanded several forms of property, including cash, watches and digital assets.

Crypto wrench attacks have cost victims millions in 2026

The robbery in Thailand follows several violent incidents involving cryptocurrency holders, including home invasions where attackers have used threats or physical force to obtain access to digital wallets.

Such crimes are commonly described as wrench attacks, a term used for robberies involving physical coercion to steal cryptocurrency or force victims to authorize transfers.

In an August investigation, crypto.news previously reported that criminals had stolen more than $30 million through violent attacks against cryptocurrency holders during the first half of 2026, citing research from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Advertisement

The firm documented 46 incidents during the six-month period, compared with 40 in the corresponding period of 2025. Only 12 of the 46 attacks resulted in payments, giving criminals a reported success rate of 26%.

Home invasions accounted for 37% of documented cases, compared with 14% in 2025. Kidnappings represented 52% of incidents, although Chainalysis noted that some cases could involve more than one type of crime.

A separate investigation by security firm CertiK identified 52 verified wrench attacks worldwide during the first half of 2026, with financial exposure totaling $124.1 million.

CertiK’s figure included stolen cryptocurrency, ransom demands, frozen assets and other amounts connected to reported incidents. It did not represent the amount criminals successfully obtained.

Advertisement

The firm’s findings placed France at the top of its list, with 33 verified attacks accounting for nearly 64% of the worldwide total. Europe recorded 39 incidents, while the United States accounted for four.

Armed home robberies have targeted crypto holders in France and the US

Several recent cases have involved attackers entering residential properties and demanding cryptocurrency transfers from occupants.

In September, four masked men held a family captive for more than three hours in Vendin-le-Vieil, northern France, before forcing the father, who worked in the cryptocurrency sector, to surrender access codes linked to approximately €40,000 in digital assets.

The attackers assaulted the father, while his 12-year-old daughter was struck in the face. French authorities investigated the incident as kidnapping and extortion by an organized gang.

Advertisement

Earlier that month, a couple in Alès was restrained and threatened by two armed intruders who demanded cryptocurrency transactions.

The attackers reportedly carried a handgun and a knife and held the couple for more than two hours while their young child was inside the house. Neighbors alerted police after hearing screams, prompting the suspects to flee.

Similar incidents have reached US courts. In June, two Texas brothers pleaded guilty in an $8 million cryptocurrency robbery case involving a Minnesota family.

Federal prosecutors said the brothers held the victims at gunpoint for approximately nine hours while forcing them to transfer digital assets. Both pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, investigators in Thailand are examining the abandoned getaway vehicle, CCTV footage, immigration records and cryptocurrency transactions connected to the Pattaya robbery.

According toPattaya Mail’s October 9 report, officers located a black Toyota Fortuner in a wooded area and identified footage showing the vehicle near Phatthanakan Road and Soi Wat Boonsamphan at approximately 3:38 p.m. on October 5.

Police have not publicly confirmed the suspects’ identities or nationalities, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto

UK Regulator Pushes Crypto Tokenisation as Next Phase of Capital Markets Overhaul

Avatar photo

Published

on

cryptocurrency tokenisation

Cryptocurrency and the technology behind it are no longer a fringe curiosity for Britain’s financial regulator — they are becoming central to how the UK hopes to keep its capital markets competitive. In a speech delivered this week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made clear that tokenisation, artificial intelligence and digital assets are now core pillars of its multi-year reform programme, not side projects bolted onto traditional finance.

Jon Relleen, the FCA’s director of infrastructure and exchanges, told delegates at the Reform of the UK Public and Private Capital Markets Summit 2026 that the regulator has “been very busy” completing major elements of a long-running overhaul designed to ensure markets “work well for our economy and support growth.” Crucially, he singled out tokenisation — the process of representing traditional assets like shares, bonds or funds as digital tokens on blockchain-style infrastructure — as one of the fastest-moving frontiers the FCA is now preparing to regulate.

Why cryptocurrency infrastructure is entering the mainstream conversation

For years, cryptocurrency was treated by many regulators primarily as a consumer protection headache: a space rife with scams, volatile prices and speculative trading. The FCA’s own website still carries extensive warnings about crypto investment scams and maintains a public list of firms operating without authorisation. That caution hasn’t disappeared. But Relleen’s speech signals a parallel track, where the underlying technology of cryptocurrency markets is increasingly viewed as a legitimate tool for modernising how capital itself is raised, traded and settled.

This dual-track approach — tightening consumer safeguards while embracing the infrastructure — reflects a broader pattern seen across global financial regulation. Authorities are trying to separate the speculative trading culture that surrounds cryptocurrency from the distributed ledger technology that underpins it, betting that the latter can make markets faster, cheaper and more transparent without necessarily importing the volatility of coins like Bitcoin or Ether.

Advertisement

Trust and risk-taking as twin priorities

Relleen was explicit that reform cannot come at the expense of market integrity. “Trust, market integrity and high standards set the foundations for sustainable growth,” he said, while also stressing that regulators must “enable informed risk-taking.” That balancing act is especially delicate in the context of cryptocurrency-adjacent innovation, where enthusiasm for new technology has historically outpaced investor protections.

The FCA’s framing suggests it wants to avoid repeating past cycles in which cryptocurrency products were sold to retail investors with little understanding of the underlying risks, only for sharp price crashes or platform failures to follow. By building tokenisation into a broader, more deliberate reform agenda — alongside AI adoption and new markets for trading shares in private companies — the regulator appears to be trying to get ahead of the technology rather than reacting to it after problems emerge.

What reform could mean for everyday investors

For ordinary savers and investors, the practical implications of this shift may not be felt immediately, but they could be significant over time. Tokenised versions of traditional assets could, in theory, make it cheaper and faster to buy and sell investments, lower barriers to entry for smaller investors, and create new ways to trade assets that are currently illiquid, such as stakes in private companies.

At the same time, the FCA’s own consumer-facing warnings underline that cryptocurrency-linked products remain high-risk. The regulator continues to flag crypto investment scams as a priority concern and maintains tools allowing the public to check whether a firm is properly authorised before investing. Anyone tempted by new tokenised products emerging from this reform push would be wise to apply the same scrutiny long urged for conventional cryptocurrency investments: verifying authorisation, understanding volatility, and being wary of promises of guaranteed returns.

Advertisement

A multi-year programme nearing a turning point

Relleen described the FCA’s broader capital markets reform effort as having already completed “major aspects” of a multi-year programme, with more changes still to come. Tokenisation and artificial intelligence were named specifically as areas where markets and technology are evolving rapidly enough that regulation must adapt in real time rather than simply catching up after the fact.

This positions cryptocurrency-related innovation not as a one-off experiment but as an ongoing feature of how UK capital markets will likely operate in the coming years. Whether that translates into tangible benefits for everyday investors, or simply shifts where the risks sit, will depend heavily on how the FCA follows through on the detailed rules still to be written. For now, the message from one of Britain’s top financial regulators is unambiguous: cryptocurrency-based tokenisation has moved from the margins of policy discussion to the centre of the UK’s plan for economic growth.

Related reading:
Sources:
Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto

Top Democrat among Senate investigators probes ties between Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether

Published

on

Top Democrat among Senate investigators probes ties between Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether

“While Tether claims to operate out of El Salvador, the vast majority of its assets reside in the United States under your custodianship,” the Connecticut lawmaker wrote. “As Congress considers how to best regulate digital assets, your partnership with Tether will provide important insights into the inner workings of this industry.”

One of the letter’s many requests: “Please describe all steps Cantor Fitzgerald has taken to investigate allegations that Tether’s stablecoin has been used in illicit finance and money laundering, including within Iran’s shadow banking network and for purposes of Russia sanctions evasion.”

Neither Cantor Fitzgerald nor Tether immediately responded to requests for comment sent to their spokespeople.

While Blumenthal and other aggressive congressional critics of the crypto industry, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, have suffered from a limited authority as members of the minority party, securing a Democratic majority for next year would change that. If they win several more seats in that chamber, they could find themselves atop committees with subpoena power to legally compel information and testimony.

Advertisement

As it stands, the prediction markets suggest that Democrats have a better-then-even shot at returning to the majority. Kalshi has it at 61% and Polymarket at 64%. That number was closer to 50-50 several weeks ago. And the picture in the U.S. House of Representatives is even more positive for Democrats, with both platforms showing the likelihood of a majority shift at more than 90%.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025