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Mastercard is adopting an agent payment method using x402 and USDC, with settlement taking place on the Base network, according to Layer 2 blockchain Base.

Nasdaq-listed HYPE accumulation company Hyperliquid Strategy, Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR), has increased its stock buyback program to $100 million from $30 million, according to The Block. About $72 million remains under the currently approved authorization. Hyperliquid Strategy also extended the program’s expiration date to Oct. 31, 2027, from Dec. 5, 2026, according to The Block. The timing and size of actual share repurchases will be determined at management’s discretion.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower today. - S&P 500: -0.52% - Nasdaq: -0.21% - Dow Jones: -1.24%

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig is closely monitoring whether prediction markets are being manipulated ahead of the midterm elections, and violators will be held accountable, Cointelegraph reported.

Layer-one blockchain Solana said AAPL issued by Backpack Securities is available for trading on Solana through Sunrise.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, said on X, "Bitcoin is dead" has been declared countless times before, and those moments were the best times to buy Bitcoin.

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s head of crypto, said more than 70% of Robinhood’s stock token trading volume is occurring outside regular U.S. stock market hours, adding that the world does not stop on Friday night. Kerbrat also said the market remains in its early stages, but stock tokens have potential as a market where trade processing is several orders of magnitude faster than in traditional finance.

The U.S. Department of Defense has banned U.S. service members and Defense Department employees from trading on prediction markets using nonpublic information, according to NewsBitcoin. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned military-operation prediction trading exposes sensitive information to adversaries and could put troops at risk. The ban covers both classified and unclassified information and specifically names prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi, along with existing betting services and other financial platforms. Violations could lead to administrative penalties, disciplinary proceedings or criminal prosecution under military regulations and related federal law. The guidance comes months after a soldier was indicted earlier this year for making $400,000 on Polymarket using nonpublic information.

South Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone announced a caution notice for investment in Init (INIT). The exchanges said they had identified signs of a security incident involving Init through media reports and other channels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned blockchain technology and digital assets as viable alternatives in the event of banking sanctions, saying in an interview that an alternative economy would be needed if such sanctions were imposed, Crypto Briefing reported. Netanyahu also instructed officials to draw up a comprehensive plan. He did not mention any specific blockchain protocol, company, or token.

Bank of America (BofA) senior research analyst Shaun Kelley said the expansion of prediction markets is increasing competitive pressure on traditional sports betting operators, according to Walter Bloomberg. Kelley said Wall Street initially underestimated the potential of prediction markets and explained platforms such as Kalshi are challenging established sports betting companies including DraftKings and FanDuel. He cited nationwide availability across all 50 U.S. states and eligibility for users age 18 and older as key competitive strengths of prediction markets. By contrast, traditional sports betting is generally allowed only for those 21 and older under state-by-state regulations.

Layer-1 blockchain Initia (INIT) said Initia L1 and its rollups were halted as of 3:41:30 p.m. UTC on Oct. 23 following a security incident. The team said it is investigating the scope of the impact with its security team, validators and exchanges, and plans to share confirmed information through official channels.

Tether has frozen $2.2 million in USDT linked to the hack of Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, which was said to involve about $16 million in stolen USDT, CoinDesk reported.

South Korean exchanges Upbit and Coinone announced a temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals for Inicia (INIT) over a security issue.

Ether.fi has acquired Zeal Wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet service. Zeal Wallet users can migrate their data directly to Ether.fi through the application. Once the process is complete, users will be able to access Ether.fi’s lending, yield, stock and gold trading services. Financial terms of the deal, including the acquisition price and other conditions, were not disclosed.

A hacking attack on the layer-one network Initia exploited an unlimited token minting vulnerability, with more than $2.6 million stolen so far and a risk of additional losses, according to Unfolded. Unfolded said forged token minting transactions were identified on the Initia blockchain explorer, and the hacker’s Etherscan address was also disclosed. Initia’s total value locked stood at around $5.9 million, while INIT’s market capitalization was estimated at about $28 million.

David Hoffman, host and co-founder of crypto podcast platform Bankless, said tokens once known in 2017 as Bitcoin clone coins are drawing attention again. In a post on X, Hoffman said PRL rose 30% this week and reached a fully diluted valuation of about $4.2 billion, while QTC has surged 300% this month and is valued at about $1.8 billion based on a total supply of 21 million tokens. Hoffman added that it is worth noting that tokens with maximum supplies capped at 21 million are now being assigned multibillion-dollar valuations.

Wells Fargo, Intuit and four other listed companies have formally exercised their right to refuse stock tokenization listings through OKXICE, a joint platform run by OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange. That brings the number of companies opposing such listings on the OKXICE platform to 22.

Solana said trading in 12 widely held U.S. stocks, including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla, is now available on its network through Securitize Stocks by Securitize. Each token is backed one-to-one by the underlying stock and is not used for lending. Eligible investors in the U.S., the EU and other permitted jurisdictions can trade the tokens.

Demand for prediction markets tied to Bitcoin, gold, and oil prices is increasing, JB Mackenzie, vice president and head of futures and prediction markets at Robinhood, said at the NEXTPredict conference in New York, according to CoinDesk. Mackenzie said sports remains the platform’s biggest product category, but user behavior is shifting as traders increasingly bet on financial market price moves beyond sports events and elections. Contracts tied to price swings in assets such as Bitcoin, oil, and gold are beginning to account for a dominant share of the market and are currently the fastest-growing products, Mackenzie said.

CME Group described Bitcoin as functioning primarily as a decentralized store of value, according to Bitcoin Magazine.

The top 50 donors ahead of this year’s U.S. midterm elections contributed a combined $2.39 billion, according to a Washington Post report based on U.S. Federal Election Commission data, with several crypto firms and industry figures included on the list. Coinbase ranked 11th with about $57.7 million in donations, while Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss ranked 12th after contributing a combined roughly $55.3 million. Ripple donated about $49.6 million, and Foris DAX, the operator of Crypto.com, gave about $38.6 million. Of the total, about $1.54 billion went to Republicans, $590 million to Democrats, and about $239 million to special interest groups. Among individual donors, Elon Musk ranked first with about $369 million, which the report said was directed mainly to super PACs and affiliated groups backing Republican candidates.

The U.S. SEC announced its main regulatory priorities for fiscal 2027 examinations and compliance oversight, saying it will review areas including tokenization and cybersecurity. Key examination areas include retail investor protection, private funds and private credit, broker-dealer trading, anti-money laundering compliance, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and customer information protection. The review will cover more than 34,000 registered entities, including investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and other market participants.

Cysic said it plans to burn 7.2 million CYS from the foundation’s holdings by the end of October to offset tokens that were illicitly minted in a recent cross-chain bridge hack. The move is intended to align token supply with the project’s existing tokenomics, and Cysic said it will disclose the on-chain record once the burn is complete. Earlier, the bridge exploit caused about $727,000 in losses on Oct. 17, according to the project.

China aims to complete most of its national blockchain network by 2030, Cointelegraph reported. According to the outlet, a five-year plan released on Oct. 23 by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party calls for broader blockchain adoption in trade and finance in the Yangtze River Delta and in manufacturing and agriculture in the Chengdu-Chongqing region. The plan also includes strengthening technical standards and expanding blockchain use in data circulation and trading. The national blockchain network was included in a national development plan in March and was also identified as a policy task in a joint policy released on Oct. 9. China bans cryptocurrency-related businesses while continuing to support blockchain technology development.