Bankless

ROLLUP: Black October | Uptober Lasted 4 Hours | JPMorgan's Bitcoin Forecast | Gold Alchemy

The CFTC’s Proposed Rules to Reshape US Crypto Markets | CFTC Chair Mike Selig

The United States is establishing a unified federal regulatory framework for crypto assets to replace the current, inefficient patchwork of state-level money transmitter licenses. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig outlines a "trilogy" of rulemakings, including the SEC’s Reg Crypto and the CFTC’s proposed Regulation CTX and Regu...

ROLLUP: Redtober Is Here | AI Debt Fears | $102M Ledger Attack | Richard Heart Arrested

"Downtober" persists as Bitcoin and altcoins face sustained selling pressure, exacerbated by AI sector debt concerns and hyperscaler revenue deceleration. Physical supply chain attacks on Ledger hardware wallets have resulted in over $100 million in losses, highlighting critical vulnerabilities in self-custody security...

Cypherpunk Owns $500M of Zcash and 18% of Its Hashrate | CIO Will McEvoy

Zcash has emerged as a critical asset for financial privacy, driven by the increasing ability of AI to de-anonymize transparent ledgers like Bitcoin. Cypherpunk Technologies, led by CIO Will McEvoy, currently controls approximately 18% of the Zcash hash rate and aims to accumulate 5% of the total supply. The company op...

ROLLUP: AI Threatens Crypto Security | Tom Lee Stops Buying ETH | Ethereum L2s Shut Down | Zcash ETFs

The crypto industry faces a potential existential threat as advancements in AI-driven mathematical problem-solving raise concerns about the security of ECDSA cryptography. Justin Drake’s call for "bunker mode" suggests a mass migration of assets to quantum-resistant addresses, though experts remain divided on the immed...

Why the Near $NRR ETF is Different | Hunter Horsley and Sal Ternullo

The launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) signals a significant maturation in institutional access to the NEAR protocol, underscoring its strategic positioning at the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Bitwise’s deep involvement, ranging from staking operations to MPC network contributions, validate...

$VVV Community Call | September

Venice’s AI ecosystem is experiencing rapid, accelerating growth, with daily LLM token processing reaching 250 billion. Strategic adjustments to VVV token emissions and DIEM supply targets aim to foster long-term asset deflation while maintaining market equilibrium. Increasing public scrutiny of major AI labs—specifica...

ROLLUP: Uptober Green Light? | Robinhood Goes All-In | $400M Bitget Hack | Prediction Markets to SCOTUS

Bitcoin’s recent weekly and monthly candle closes above the May high signal a shift in market structure, marking the potential start of an early bull phase despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds. Rising 10-year and 30-year bond yields and wartime oil prices create a volatile environment, yet crypto assets continue ...

Is Variational the Next Hyperliquid? | CEO Lucas Schuermann and Justin Bram

Variational operates as a non-exchange, broker-like platform that aggregates global liquidity from traditional finance and crypto markets to provide superior execution for retail traders. Unlike traditional order-book exchanges, Variational acts as the counterparty, hedging trades directly against TradFi rails to offer...

Ben Cowen Says You Have Permission to be Bullish

Bitcoin’s recent price action, specifically its ability to break above May highs despite restrictive macroeconomic conditions like high interest rates and a strengthening dollar, challenges traditional four-year cycle expectations. While the market shows resilience, global net liquidity remains significantly lower than...

ROLLUP: The Bull Market is On? | Zcash & NEAR | Kalshi Wash Trading | BlackRock Goes Onchain

The crypto market has entered an early bull phase, marked by Bitcoin’s sustained upward momentum and a shift in investor focus toward assets with proven revenue models. While Bitcoin remains a primary store of value, capital is increasingly flowing into high-growth, revenue-generating projects like Uniswap, Arbitrum, a...

FOMO, Meme Stocks and Robinhood Chain | Andy8052 & Eric Conner

Meme coins represent a durable yet volatile sector of the crypto industry, evolving from pure speculation into a sophisticated attention economy. Innovations like stock-paired meme coins—where tokens are linked to traditional equities like Nvidia—leverage the Robinhood Chain to bootstrap liquidity and create unique mar...

How Robinhood is using the SEC's New Innovation Exemption | Johann Kerbrat

Robinhood’s expansion into on-chain finance centers on the integration of tokenized stocks and the potential of the SEC’s new innovation exemption. Johann Kerbrat, leading Robinhood’s crypto efforts, highlights the success of the Robinhood Chain, which facilitates 24/7 trading and instant settlement, with over 70% of v...

ROLLUP: The Bull Market Test | Clarity Dies | SEC Opens the Door | Hyperliquid Comes Onshore

Crypto markets are currently exhibiting strong bull market signals, characterized by a heightened sensitivity to positive developments and resilience against negative news, such as the Federal Reserve's rate hike and the failure of the Clarity Act. The SEC’s newly released "innovation exemption" provides a regulatory p...

Arc Mainnet, AI Agents, and Tokenized Markets | Nikhil Chandhok, CTO of Circle

Circle has launched Arc Mainnet, a new Layer 1 blockchain designed as an "economic OS" to bridge traditional financial institutions with decentralized innovation. Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle, explains that Arc prioritizes institutional-grade infrastructure by utilizing a permissioned...

Crypto is Ready for Onchain Options | Nick Forster, CEO of Derive

Options markets in crypto have lagged behind perpetuals due to complex market structure requirements and the need for a diverse participant base, including institutional hedgers and yield seekers. Unlike perpetuals, which function as blunt instruments for short-term speculation, options provide granular control and non...

ROLLUP: Is Altcoin Season Here? | Treasury’s Bond War | Robinhood Chain Mania | OpenAI’s Math Controversy

The crypto market is experiencing a surge in speculative activity, characterized by a "debasement trade" where investors flock to high-risk assets like meme coins amid concerns over bond market instability and quantitative easing. While Bitcoin dominance remains high, the emergence of tokenized stocks on the Robinhood ...

The New Economics of Crypto Tokens | Austin Barack

Crypto investment strategies are shifting from speculative infrastructure bets toward application-focused projects that demonstrate clear product-market fit and sustainable revenue. Austin Barack, founder of Relayer Capital, emphasizes an investment lens centered on the intersection of growth and value, prioritizing as...

ROLLUP: Robinhood’s Meme Economy | Solana Cuts Issuance | Saylor’s Comeback | AI Alarm

The Robinhood chain is currently dominating Layer 2 revenue, driven by speculative meme coin activity and novel tokenized stock pairings that often decouple from underlying assets, creating significant financial risk. Meanwhile, Solana’s recent governance vote to reduce token issuance marks a shift toward scarcity, tho...

FWA and the New Market Structure for NFTs | Adam (Rhynotic) and Eric Conner

Fake World Assets (FWA) functions as a decentralized, on-chain liquidity protocol for NFTs, enabling users to deposit assets backed by ETH and purchase random items from a collective pool. By replicating the "gotcha" consumer behavior found in traditional trading card markets, the protocol provides a continuous, permis...