North Korea's hackers moved $6.36 billion out of Binance in 20 minutes on Oct. 29, 20261. Regulators answered within a day. Money moved the other way too, in smaller and steadier amounts. A prediction market raised a billion dollars. Tether banked its best quarterly profit yet. Strategy, a bitcoin treasury company, posted a profit built almost entirely on paper gains. Ten stories from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, 2026, follow. The list opens with a regulator's case for new rules and closes with a research hire.
Washington Ties a Hack to Its Own Rulebook
Here is a reason to move faster on crypto rules. Michael Selig, the CFTC's chairman, pointed straight at Binance a day after North Korea's hackers drained it1. Binance runs offshore, outside his agency's reach. “The real issue here is that these are unregulated offshore exchanges, and they don't have the same sorts of safeguards that we have in our financial markets here in the United States,” Selig said. His own proposal lets exchanges register by choice. Congress capped the CFTC's power at that voluntary design. Ido Ben-Natan, Blockaid's CEO, doubts the moment calls for panic at all2. “I actually don't think it's a bad idea for users to put money in these exchanges,” he told CNBC, pointing to Binance's pledge to cover the loss itself.
Strategy's Earnings Hide a Departure
Strategy posted a record quarter and lost its chief financial officer in the same week3. Net income reached $19.53 billion in the third quarter, up from $2.79 billion a year earlier. A $20.91 billion fair value gain on Strategy's bitcoin drove nearly all of it. Andrew Kang, the outgoing finance chief, told the company he would resign for personal reasons, effective Nov. 54. Reza Virasteh takes the finance chief's seat in January. Michael Saylor, Strategy's chairman, reads the quarter as proof his bet is working. "We're at the beginning of the next bitcoin bull market," Saylor said. “Banks are embracing bitcoin, bitcoin's dominance among digital assets is growing, institutional demand is back, and bitcoin price is 21% above its 200-week moving average,” he added. Strategy's own stock fell 6.4% the same morning5.
Britain Pushes an Exchange Out the Door
Britain's financial watchdog pushed HTX out of the country this week6. The exchange, once known as Huobi, settled with the Financial Conduct Authority over crypto ads it ran after a 2023 warning. British customers lost the right to put in money or open new accounts. Steve Smart, the FCA's enforcement chief, named the point of the whole case. “Being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law,” Smart said. The deal holds zero finding of fault.
Kalshi Raises a Billion as Utah Files Charges
Investors valued Kalshi at $40 billion this week in a $1 billion funding round7. Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital led the round together. That figure sits 82% above the $22 billion valuation Kalshi carried in May. Utah filed felony gambling charges against Kalshi and its founders the day before the round closed. The charges argue that Kalshi's federal status offers it zero cover under state law. Kalshi's markets beyond sports now bring in more than $1 billion a year on their own. Tarek Mansour co-founded the firm and still runs it as CEO, pushing it from sports bets into politics, the economy and crypto deals.
Tether Banks Its Strongest Quarter Yet
The stablecoin issuer banked its strongest quarter yet8. Net operating profit reached $1.5 billion in the third quarter. Its reserve buffer nearly doubled too, from $4.1 billion at the end of Q2 to $7.95 billion at the end of Q3. Nine months into the year, Tether's total profit stands at $4.5 billion. Paolo Ardoino, Tether's CEO, framed the cushion as more than a line on a sheet. “Generating $1.5 billion in net operating profit while maintaining nearly $8.0 billion in excess reserves gives us a strong foundation for that work,” Ardoino said. Roughly $183.5 billion in USDT is out there now, more than any other stablecoin.
Tether's Reserve Buffer Nearly Doubles to $7.95 Billion by Q3 2026
Tether's excess reserve buffer, end of Q2 2026 versus end of Q3 2026, in billions of dollars
- End of Q2 2026
- End of Q3 2026
Source: X (Paolo Ardoino, @paoloardoino) [8].
Read the chart as a table
| Item | End of Q2 2026 | End of Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Tether's excess reserve buffer | $4.1B | $7.95B |
Crypto's Biggest Names Spend on the Midterms
Ripple, Coinbase and their peers spent more than $200 million trying to shape this year's midterms9. Coinbase alone gave $25 million to Fairshake, the industry's main super PAC, after giving $79 million to federal races in 2024. Ripple matched that gift with $25 million of its own. Ryan VanGrack, who leads policy work at Coinbase, put the goal in plain terms. “The ultimate goal is to make sure that we bring our 20th century financial system into the 21st century,” VanGrack said. Stu Alderoty, Ripple's chief legal officer, measured the industry's return against where it stood two years earlier. “I think compared to where the industry was two years ago to where the industry is today, yes, I would say that that is a very good return,” Alderoty said.
Coinbase Cuts 14 Stablecoins Loose in Europe
The exchange cut 14 stablecoins loose from its European accounts this week10. Oct. 30 was the deadline, set by a transition window under Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets rule that closed back in July. USDT, PAX, PYUSD, GUSD, DAI and nine more tokens lost their issuers' permit to serve retail customers in Europe under that rule. Any balance left behind converts into USDC at the market rate. Trading and conversion stopped first, while withdrawals stayed open through the deadline.
Bitcoin's ETFs Give Back a Week of Gains
Spot bitcoin ETFs gave back a chunk of October's gains in a single session11. Investors pulled $643.2 million out of the funds on Oct. 30, the sharpest one-day exit since June. BlackRock's IBIT lost the most, $234 million, and Fidelity's FBTC lost $201 million. Four straight days of inflows ended at once. The week closed with $202.4 million in net outflows, enough to turn the whole month negative.
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Led a $643 Million Exit on Oct. 30, 2026
Dollar outflows from the two largest U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs on Oct. 30, 2026
- IBIT (BlackRock): $234M
- FBTC (Fidelity): $201M
Source: CryptoSlate [11].
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| IBIT (BlackRock) | $234M |
| FBTC (Fidelity) | $201M |
Aave Reopens a Day After Freezing
The protocol reopened its lending markets a day after freezing them12. Guardians had locked its V3 and V4 markets within an hour of the Binance theft. A wallet tied to the attacker had just deposited $60 million in stolen USDT. Nine tokens, among them USDT, USDC and wrapped bitcoin derivatives, now carry zero borrowing power as collateral. That single change erased $3.7 billion in available borrowing capacity on Aave's older markets alone. Guardians kept every other asset trading as before.
Talos Hires a Head of Research
The trading technology firm hired a new head of research this week13. It is a smaller move beside the rest, but a telling one. Kelly Ye joins Talos after stints at Fidelity Digital Asset Management and CoinDesk Indices. Her job is turning data into calls the firm's clients can trust. She has worked in markets for close to two decades, in old-line finance and then in crypto. Firms keep hiring research staff even in a week a hack and a stock drop filled the headlines.
What to watch
Watch whether the CFTC turns its voluntary option into a binding one once its 60-day comment period closes in mid-December. Binance's delayed proof-of-reserves report, due Nov. 2, will show whether its pledge matches its balance sheet. Strategy's next filing will say whether Kang's replacement changes how the company explains its own numbers. A second week of ETF outflows would confirm Friday's reversal as a trend rather than a blip.
Sources
- Priya Nair, "CFTC Chair Ties the Binance Breach to His Exchange-Oversight Proposal — It Would Offer a Federal Option, Not Compel One," Forkast, Oct. 30, 2026, https://forkast.news/cftc-chair-ties-the-binance-breach-to-his-exchange-oversight-proposal-it-would-offer-a-federal-option-not-compel-one/
- Davis Giangiulio, "Binance's $6.3 billion hack raises questions about crypto wallet safety," CNBC, Oct. 31, 2026, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/31/binance-hack-crypto-wallet-safety.html
- Jason Shubnell, "Strategy reports $19.5 billion in Q3 net income as preferred shareholders approve daily dividends," The Block, Oct. 29, 2026, https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-10-29-strategy-q3-net-income-preferred-daily-dividends-432141
- Strategy Inc, Form 8-K, SEC EDGAR, Oct. 26, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001050446/000105044626000047/mstr-20261026.htm
- James Van Straten, "Strategy CFO resigns as company posts record quarterly profit. MSTR stock falls 6%," CoinDesk, Oct. 30, 2026, https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/30/strategy-cfo-resigns-as-company-posts-record-quarterly-profit-mstr-stock-falls-6
- Jamie Crawley, "Crypto exchange HTX exits UK after FCA settlement over illegal promotions," CoinDesk, Oct. 29, 2026, https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/29/crypto-exchange-htx-exits-the-uk-after-settling-with-the-fca
- Crowdfund Insider, "Kalshi Valuation Climbs To $40 Billion After $1 Billion Series G Led By Wellington And Sequoia," Crowdfund Insider, Oct. 29, 2026, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/10/320925-kalshi-valuation-climbs-to-40-billion-after-1-billion-series-g-led-by-wellington-and-sequoia/
- Paolo Ardoino, "Tether just released its quarterly USDT attestation for Q3 2026," post on X (@paoloardoino), Oct. 31, 2026, https://x.com/paoloardoino/status/2116219294195253377
- Talia Kaplan, "Crypto industry pours more than $200 million into 2026 midterms to pressure Congress on favorable rules," CNBC, Oct. 31, 2026, https://cnbc.com/2026/10/31/crypto-industry-spends-more-than-200-million-to-sway-the-midterms.html
- KuCoin News, "Coinbase Delists 14 Stablecoins for EEA Users by October 30, 2026," KuCoin News, Oct. 28, 2026, https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/coinbase-delists-14-stablecoins-for-eea-users-by-october-30-2026
- Liam Wright, "Bitcoin ETFs lose $643 million in a day, wiping out the week's inflows," CryptoSlate, Oct. 31, 2026, https://cryptoslate.com/bitcoin-etfs-643-million-outflows-weekly-reversal/
- Micah Abiodun, "Aave reopens all markets after Binance hack; nine assets stay at Zero LTV," Cryptopolitan, Oct. 31, 2026, https://www.cryptopolitan.com/aave-reopens-all-markets-after-binance-hack-nine-assets-stay-at-zero-ltv/
- FinanceFeeds, "Talos Names Kelly Ye as Head of Research to Expand Institutional Digital Asset Data and Insights," FinanceFeeds, Oct. 28, 2026, https://financefeeds.com/talos-names-kelly-ye-to-expand-institutional-digital-asset-research/