Today's top news highlights:
1. The Bitcoin white paper celebrates its 17th anniversary.
2. All three major US stock indices have risen for at least six consecutive months, with Coinbase up over 4%.
3. Binance Alpha will launch THORWallet (TITN) on November 3rd.
4. Aster adjusts S3 buyback and airdrop mechanism: 50% buyback and burn, 50% return and lock airdrop address.
5. Tether's net profit for the first three quarters exceeded $10 billion, and the circulating supply of USDT reached $174 billion.
6. MEXC's Chief Strategy Officer apologizes to crypto influencer The White Whale and unfreezes $3 million in funds.
7. Pump Fun launches the Spotlight program to help utility tokens gain attention and liquidity.
Macro
According to Caixin, Chen Zhi (head of the Prince Group in Cambodia) and his accomplices were arrested by Singapore police on October 30 for allegedly operating a transnational telecom fraud syndicate. The police froze assets totaling over S$150 million (approximately RMB 800 million), including six properties, bank and securities accounts, cash, a yacht, 11 cars, and several bottles of alcohol. Previously, the US Department of Justice had seized approximately US$15 billion worth of Bitcoin held by him. Chen Zhi and his accomplices are currently not in Singapore.
According to CLS News Agency, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher. The Nasdaq rose 0.61%, up 2.24% for the week and 4.7% for October; the S&P 500 rose 0.26%, up 0.71% for the week and 2.27% for October; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09%, up 0.75% for the week and 2.51% for October. Coinbase (COIN) rose 4.65%, Circle (CRCL) rose 3.48%, and Strategy (MSTR) rose 5.87%.
Steak 'n Shake, the American fast-food chain, announced the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, where all payments made in Bitcoin will be deposited. Over the next 12 months, it will donate 210 satoshis from every Bitcoin meal to the Open Sats Initiative, Inc.
In May of this year, it was announced that the American fast-food chain Steak 'n Shake would support Bitcoin payments, and in October, it launched the "Bitcoin Steak Burger."
According to the official WeChat account of the Dinghai District Court in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, the court recently concluded a case involving the crime of aiding and abetting cybercrime through virtual currency transactions.
From October 2022 to August 2023, Huang and 10 others registered multiple "businesses" on an overseas cryptocurrency platform, profiting through profit sharing and buying low and selling high Tether (USDT). Knowing that illegal activities might exist upstream in the transactions, they still received transfers from victims such as Gan and Wen via WeChat through their employees, then deposited the Tether into designated accounts to facilitate the transfer of funds related to telecommunications fraud and other crimes. During this period, the WeChat accounts of each "business" frequently experienced risk control and freezing due to suspected fraud. The individuals involved unblocked the accounts by forging fake transaction screenshots and tracking numbers, or by changing the accounts to evade supervision.
An investigation revealed that Huang and others had assisted in the payment and settlement of over 5 million yuan in funds related to cybercrime, with several defendants involved in transferring funds ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan. On August 28, 2023, the ten defendants were arrested in Fuzhou and Putian, Fujian Province.
The court sentenced Huang to two years and eleven months in prison for aiding and abetting cybercrime and fined him 50,000 yuan. Nine accomplices, including Yao and Guo, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to two years and three months, all with suspended sentences and fines. The 877,000 yuan of illicit funds seized in the case were returned to the victims, and the mobile phones, hard drives, and other tools used in the crime were confiscated in accordance with the law.
Opinion
Fed's Logan: The Fed doesn't need to cut rates this week; opposes another rate cut in December.
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Logan stated that the Fed should not cut interest rates this week, nor should it cut rates again in December. She noted that the labor market is "generally balanced" and does not require immediate support, while inflation appears likely to remain above the 2% target for an extended period. Logan stated, "The current economic outlook does not warrant a rate cut. I don't think a rate cut is necessary this week. Unless there is clear evidence that inflation will fall faster than expected, or that the labor market will cool faster, I would find it difficult to support another rate cut in December." Logan does not have a vote on the Fed's policy-making committee this year. She stated that data from the private sector, state unemployment claims, and the Fed's own network of business and community contacts all provide the central bank with a perspective on the economy, and the overall situation is "far from worrying."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tweeted that 17 years after the release of the Bitcoin white paper, the Bitcoin network is still functioning well and is more robust than ever. Bitcoin will never shut down. He added, "Senate Democrats might learn something from this."
Project Updates
The Bitcoin white paper marks its 17th anniversary.
On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" on a cryptography mailing list, first proposing the concept of a decentralized electronic cash system. This paper laid the technical and ideological foundation for Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency industry, marking the beginning of the blockchain era.
Aster announced an optimization of its S3 buyback and airdrop model: 50% of all S2 and S3 buybacks will be directly burned to reduce supply, while the remaining 50% will flow back to locked airdrop addresses to reduce circulation and reserve quotas for future airdrops. The official statement indicates that the buyback and burn mechanism will continue to iterate to support long-term value and sustainable growth.
According to Tether's official website, Tether International released its Q3 2025 audit report: net profit exceeded $10 billion for the year, USD₮ increased by $17 billion this quarter, and the circulating supply reached $174 billion; the company's holdings of US Treasury bonds were approximately $135 billion, ranking 17th globally. As of September 30, reserve assets were $1,812.231 billion, liabilities were $1,744.454 billion, and excess reserves were $6.778 billion; holdings of gold were $12.9 billion and Bitcoin were $9.9 billion (approximately 13% of reserves). Tether completed the Celsius lawsuit settlement with its own funds and applied for a private alternative investment fund license in El Salvador.
Bitwise has updated its XRP ETF filing, adding information on the NYSE and a 0.34% management fee.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted that Bitwise has updated its XRP ETF application documents for the fourth time. This revision adds information about the exchange (New York Stock Exchange) and the 0.34% management fee. Balchunas stated that this is typically one of the final steps in the application process.
Vitalik is selling off free meme coins again, worth over $15,000.
According to Lookonchain, Vitalik Buterin sold the free meme coins he received again, earning 15,170 USDC.
MEXC Chief Strategy Officer Cecilia Hsueh apologized to crypto influencer The White Whale on X and returned the frozen funds, admitting to mishandling the matter. The White Whale's account, worth $3 million, was frozen by the MEXC exchange in July. The exchange claimed that he placed two orders within the same second, indicating it wasn't manual trading, violating the exchange's terms of service, and therefore the funds should be confiscated. However, The White Whale denied these allegations and has since launched a campaign on social media to try and recover the funds; blockchain detective ZachXBT recently voiced his support.
Pump Fun launches the Spotlight program to help utility tokens gain attention and liquidity.
Pump Fun has launched the "Spotlight" program to facilitate the listing of utility tokens, aiming to help utility tokens without meme attributes gain more attention and liquidity, thereby promoting the development of the Internet Capital Market (ICM). Applications for the Spotlight program are now open.
Binance Alpha will launch THORWallet (TITN) on November 3rd.
According to an official announcement, Binance Alpha will launch THORWallet (TITN) on November 3rd. Eligible users can claim the airdrop using Binance Alpha Points on the Alpha event page after trading opens. More details will be announced soon.
Binance: Users holding more than 245 Alpha Credits can claim a 400 Marina Protocol (BAY) airdrop.
According to the official announcement, Binance Alpha Marina Protocol (BAY) trading will begin on November 1st at 16:00 (UTC+8). Eligible Binance users can use Binance Alpha Points to claim an airdrop of 400 BAY tokens within 24 hours of the trading start date via the Alpha event page. The airdrop will be conducted in two phases:
- Phase 1 (first 18 hours): Users with at least 245 Binance Alpha Points can claim the airdrop.
- Phase Two (Final 6 Hours): Users with at least 230 Binance Alpha Points can participate in the airdrop on a first-come, first-served basis. If the rewards are not all distributed, the points threshold will automatically decrease by 15 points every hour.
Please note that claiming the airdrop will cost 15 Binance Alpha Credits. Users must confirm their claim on the Alpha Events page within 24 hours, otherwise they will be considered to have forfeited their airdrop claim.
Binance: Users with at least 235 Alpha Credits can receive a 245 BEAT airdrop.
According to the official announcement, Binance Alpha will list the Audiera token BEAT, and trading will begin on November 1st at 17:00. After trading begins, users with at least 235 Binance Alpha points can claim an airdrop of 245 BEAT tokens on a first-come, first-served basis. If the reward pool is not fully distributed, the points threshold will automatically decrease by 5 points every 5 minutes. Claiming the airdrop will cost 15 Alpha points. Users must confirm their claim on the Alpha event page within 24 hours; otherwise, they will be considered to have forfeited their claim.
Romania blacklisted Polymarket for operating without a license.
Romanian authorities have blacklisted Polymarket for operating without a license. The Romanian National Gambling Authority (ONJN) determined that betting on prediction markets constitutes counterparty betting, not trading. In Romania, the gambling industry is a state monopoly, and operators must apply for and obtain a license from the ONJN to operate. The ONJN director stated in a press release, "The decision to blacklist Polymarket is not related to technology, but to the law."
Electric Coin Company, the developer of Zcash, released its Q4 roadmap.
Electric Coin Company, the developer of Zcash, released its fourth-quarter roadmap, highlighting key developments including:
- Temporary transparent address: A new temporary transparent address is generated each time NEAR Intents are used to redeem ZEC, in order to improve privacy and reduce transaction correlation.
- Transparent address rotation: Each time a previous address receives funds, a new transparent address is generated.
- Keystone Device Resynchronization and Disconnection: Allows Zashi-Keystone users to unassociate and resynchronize their Keystone devices.
- P2SH multisignature support in Keystone: Ensures the secure management of Zcash development fund resources to support Zcash's continued development. Keystone will initially be a development tool accessed through Lockbox, but any wallet that integrates PCZT can use Keystone for signing.
Important data
Data: The USDC Treasury minted an additional 500 million USDC on the Solana network.
According to Whale Alert, the USDC Treasury minted a total of 500 million USDC in two separate transactions on the Solana network.
According to Onchain Lens, a newly created wallet received 9,272 ETH from Galaxy Digital, worth $35.77 million. The wallet may belong to BitMNR or SharpLink (this has not yet been confirmed).
According to SoSoValue data, on October 31st (Eastern Time), the US Solana spot ETF saw a total net inflow of $44.48 million, marking the fourth consecutive day of net inflows.
Bitwise Solana ETF (BSOL) saw a net inflow of $44.48 million in a single day, bringing its total historical net inflow to $197 million. Grayscale Solana ETF (GSOL) saw no net inflows or outflows. As of press time, the total net asset value of Solana ETFs was $502 million, with a net asset value ratio of 0.49%, and a cumulative historical net inflow of $199 million.
Financing/Acquisition
AI video generation company Synthesia raises $200 million in funding, led by Google Ventures.
According to a Sina report citing Forbes, British AI video generation company Synthesia has completed a new round of funding of $200 million, valuing the company at $4 billion. This new round will be led by Google Ventures, with Nvidia potentially also participating. Previously, Synthesia had raised $280 million (approximately 2 billion RMB), with Nvidia and Adobe participating in the investment.
Founded in 2017, Synthesia differs from video generation tools like Sora in its focus. It concentrates on helping businesses use AI-generated avatars to create videos for marketing, employee training, and more. Currently, 60,000 businesses are using Synthesia's platform to generate their own avatar videos.
According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter revealed that U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. is in late-stage acquisition talks with stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK, with a proposed transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. Due diligence is still pending. Coinbase Ventures, Coinbase's venture capital arm, is one of BVNK's investors, and the deal is expected to close later this year or early next year. The terms of the transaction are subject to change, and the deal could ultimately fall through.
Institutional holdings
Bitmine increased its holdings by 7,660 ETH, worth approximately $29.54 million.
According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Bitmine purchased an additional 7,660 ETH from Galaxy Digital about 5 hours ago, worth approximately $29.54 million.
