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The Cardano Foundation urged the European Union to address flaws in its existing Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, before introducing new rules for DeFi and staking, Cryptopolitan reported. In a statement released on Oct. 21, the foundation said providers should not be treated as financial service firms solely because they offer services on public blockchains, and argued that instead of creating a new regulatory framework, existing laws should apply to businesses that actually provide financial services or manage customer assets. The foundation had previously told the European Commission in September, during a consultation on related regulations, that it opposed separate rules for DeFi and staking.

Crypto custody firm BitGo said on Oct. 21 it launched BitGo Labs, a research organization focused on developing next-generation applications in digital assets. In its early stage, BitGo Labs plans to focus on research into the convergence of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.

Aerodrome and Velodrome have merged to launch Aero, a spot exchange supporting seven networks, The Block reported. The exchange supports the Ethereum mainnet, Base, Robinhood Chain, Ink, the Optimism mainnet, Arc and Arbitrum. Existing AERO and VELO tokens will migrate to the new AERO token, while wrapped tokens will also have a separate migration option. Aero includes a feature that lets AERO stakers allocate liquidity to markets expected to generate returns, a metaswap function linking trades across networks, and a mechanism that raises fees during periods of fast market volatility. All revenue will be returned to AERO stakers.

CoinMarketCap’s in-house Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose three points from yesterday to 54, indicating sentiment improved slightly while remaining in the neutral zone. A reading closer to zero signals extreme fear in the market, while one closer to 100 points to extreme optimism. CoinMarketCap calculates the index based on price movements among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, market volatility, derivatives-market indicators including the put-to-call ratio, the stablecoin supply ratio, or SSR, and CoinMarketCap’s own search data.

Spot CVD is an order-book analysis chart for the BTC/USDT spot trading pair. The upper section shows the volume heatmap, while the lower section shows cumulative volume delta, or CVD. - The volume heatmap in the upper section tracks trading volume at each price level. The background color becomes brighter when the price stays in a specific range for an extended period or makes a large move. Brighter zones may act as support or resistance levels. - The cumulative volume delta indicator in the lower section reflects buy and sell orders by order size. As buy orders increase, the line in the corresponding color rises. The yellow line represents orders between $100 and $1,000, while the brown line represents large orders between $1 million and $10 million.

Kim Min-seok, leader of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party, said a conclusion should be reached this year on whether to proceed with virtual asset taxation as planned or revise the system. Appearing on the Democratic Party’s YouTube program "Minti 07" today, Kim said it was time to begin focused discussions on whether to keep the tax plan unchanged or pursue institutional revisions. Kim added that, under the current principle, the plan remains in place, but growing public debate and a range of opinions mean the issue should be reviewed closely before a final decision is made this year. Kim also said the key questions were whether market conditions were sound, what younger people were saying, and whether the tax system was fully in place, adding that the current environment was not one for weighing tax revenue.

U.S. President Donald Trump did not directly use the term crypto at a White House cybercrime meeting on Oct. 21, Cointelegraph reported. Trump said Americans lost more than $20 billion to cybercrime in 2025, including impersonation scams and ransomware attacks, and said federal authorities had frozen $1 billion in "cybercurrency" tied to overseas fraud rings. Trump also said an executive order issued in March had helped prevent $1.6 billion in cybercrime losses from reaching criminals. According to the report, neither Trump nor Attorney General Todd Blanche used the terms 'cryptocurrency' or 'digital assets' during the meeting. Some media outlets had earlier expected the meeting to focus on enforcement results against overseas virtual-asset scam groups.

Matter Labs, the developer of Ethereum layer-2 zkSync, said in an official blog post on Oct. 21 that it plans to launch Prividium Commander, a platform designed to support financial institutions in launching and operating digital asset services. The platform is designed to let financial institutions manage digital asset issuance and transfer permissions, keep records of approved and rejected transactions, and integrate with existing systems without having to develop and maintain separate operating software. Matter Labs said it plans to use the launch to expand its institutional client base among banks, asset managers, and exchanges, while broadening use cases across the zkSync ecosystem.

The average acquisition cost for companies pursuing Bitcoin treasury accumulation strategies is around $80,000, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode said on its official X account. Glassnode added that those companies have now moved into profit, although the scale of additional buying remains limited. If Bitcoin rises further, the share prices of companies holding the asset could also climb, which may allow them to raise more funds through stock issuance and buy more Bitcoin. That, in turn, could support both Bitcoin prices and those companies’ stocks, although current corporate buying activity remains restrained.

Decentralized perpetual futures exchange Extended announced it will migrate its infrastructure blockchain from Starknet (STRK) to Circle’s layer-one Arc at 1:00 p.m. UTC today. Most users will be able to complete the migration without taking any action. Accounts, positions, order history, trading records and points will remain unchanged, while USDC will be migrated to native USDC and ETH will be converted to wETH at a one-to-one ratio. However, users with any sub-account holding more than $1 in USDT or wBTC must approve an asset conversion in the app or withdraw those assets by 12:00 p.m. UTC on Oct. 21. Under the conversion, USDT will be changed to USDC and wBTC to Circle’s Bitcoin-pegged token cirBTC, each at a one-to-one ratio, with no swap fee.

Matt Cole, CEO of Bitcoin treasury company Strive, said in a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine that a Bitcoin "gold rush" is underway and market participants are trying to secure as much BTC as possible. Cole added that a debt crisis is unfolding and countries are likely to print more money, prompting Strive to position itself at the center of a new monetary ecosystem. He also said fresh capital from a range of funding sources is flowing into the Bitcoin market, a shift he said will fundamentally change Bitcoin’s role and how it functions going forward.

Bitcoin has tended to move in the opposite direction when retail investor optimism or pessimism on social media reaches extremes, according to analytics firm Santiment. Santiment said bullish Bitcoin calls surged across social media platforms including X, Reddit and Telegram on Sept. 20, but the price later fell. By contrast, after bearish expectations peaked on Oct. 15, Bitcoin rebounded, Santiment said. The firm added that tracking points when investor sentiment reaches extremes through social media data as a daily contrarian indicator could help identify potential market opportunities.

Tesla did not sell any Bitcoin in the third quarter and continued to hold 11,509 BTC, according to the WatcherGuru X account. The holdings are currently valued at about $972 million. Tesla had said when it reported second-quarter 2022 results that it converted $936 million worth of BTC into cash. Since then, it has maintained the same holdings for about four years.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher today. - S&P 500: +0.59% - Nasdaq: +1.05% - Dow Jones: +0.69%

Alex Gluchowski, CEO of zkSync developer Matter Labs, said the main reason banks have struggled with blockchain is not the technology itself but system-level issues, Crypto Briefing reported. Gluchowski said banks have spent years experimenting with blockchain, but very few efforts have led to products real customers use, citing operational problems such as issuance controls, transfer processing methods, audit requirements, and compliance workflows.

A Colombia-based cryptocurrency broker has been sentenced to 160 months in prison on charges tied to laundering drug trafficking proceeds through Tether (USDT) and participating in a plan to smuggle cocaine into the United States, The Block reported, citing the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the individual and five accomplices helped launder about $14.5 million in USDT from May through November 2023 using cryptocurrency accounts, shell companies, and fund transfers between the United States and Colombia. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $14.75 million and cryptocurrency held in four crypto addresses.

Coinbase has launched a dashboard for the U.S. midterm elections. The feature is available only within the Coinbase app in the United States, excluding Michigan and Nevada.

Perpetual futures exchange Lighter plans to apply next month for a derivatives license from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to Crypto Briefing. Lighter founder Vladimir Novakovski said the company had spent about a year in talks with regulators to prepare the filing. According to CoinMarketCap, LIT was trading at $3.94, up 23.75%.

The U.S. SEC has disclosed three companies that expressed interest in operating tokenized securities exchanges under a new innovation exemption framework, according to Crypto in America podcast host Eleanor Terrett. The companies are TSV LLC, founded by the co-founders of Obsidian Systems; OKXICE, a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange; and Kephas, the U.S. subsidiary of Perpetuals.com. In its notice, the SEC stressed that inclusion on the list alone does not mean a company meets the requirements of the innovation exemption program.

Pump.fun transferred 129,800 SOL worth about $14.06 million from its fee wallet to Kraken, Onchain Lens reported. The transfer was likely intended for a sale, according to the source.

Open interest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana derivatives is rising as crypto prices rebound, according to analytics firm Santiment. Santiment said current open interest stands at about $23.4 billion for Bitcoin, $15.5 billion for Ethereum and $2.7 billion for Solana. The firm said the increase points to stronger market participation and risk appetite, while warning that a sharp price reversal could raise the risk of cascading liquidations. According to the report, Ethereum has posted the most sustained increase since August, while Solana has seen greater volatility. Bitcoin open interest remains below its peak from earlier this year, Santiment added, as Bitcoin continues to serve as the market’s anchor amid rising speculative activity in altcoins.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said the recent rebound in BTC, XRP and ADA prices coincided with a sharp increase in on-chain activity, raising the possibility of deliberate market intervention by large investors. According to Finbold, Martinez said in a report that BTC rose from about $81,200 to $83,407 over the past two days, while exchange inflows surged from about 7,682 BTC to 25,124 BTC. Martinez added that XRP and ADA showed the same pattern, which suggests large investors are influencing short-term price moves.

CME Group recorded the first block trade in Uniswap UNI futures on Oct. 20, the second day after the contract’s listing. The trade was executed between crypto trading firms FalconX and GSR. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said the transaction was the first block trade in a DeFi token executed through institutional financial channels. With the listing, CME’s single-asset cryptocurrency futures contracts expanded to a total of 11. A block trade is a large privately negotiated transaction later registered on an exchange, and the notional value of this trade was not disclosed.

Polymarket US filed a lawsuit and sought an injunction in U.S. federal court on Oct. 16 against Ohio authorities to block enforcement action targeting its sports event contracts. The move came in response to a demand from the Ohio Casino Control Commission to stop offering the contracts and confirm compliance. Polymarket US argued Ohio’s licensing rules violate the Commerce Clause by discriminating against interstate commerce and said the event contracts fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while Ohio maintains the contracts amount to sports betting that requires a state license.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority on Oct. 21 released draft guidance, CP26/36, on when DeFi services fall within the regulatory perimeter. Under the proposal, technology services that merely provide access to decentralized protocols may be exempt from authorization requirements, while services involving subjective intervention, including liquidity route selection or optimization, could be treated as arranging transactions and require authorization. The guidance said writing code itself would not be regulated, but entities that operate or control a system and earn commercial benefits from it could face regulation following case-by-case assessments. It added that authorized financial firms using DeFi must continue to meet existing compliance obligations, including security and anti-money laundering requirements, even if they do not control the underlying protocol. The consultation runs through Nov. 18, and the full cryptoasset regulatory framework will take effect on Oct. 25, 2027.