Base has activated its Cobalt upgrade, bringing new capabilities aimed at tokenized finance on the Ethereum layer-2 network. The update adds both tighter issuer controls for tokenized assets and a new transaction mechanism designed to make conditional trading more practical. Announced as Base’s third major upgrade, Cobalt expands the B20 token standard by letting issuers apply multiple compliance and administrative rules to the same tokenized asset—while also introducing “Validity Transactions,” which can be held back until onchain conditions are met. Key takeaways Cobalt expands Base’s B20 standard to support issuer-defined compliance checks and timed handling of certain corporate actions. Issuers can enable controlled transfers via authorized administrators, including optional public notes on those transfers. Validity Transactions add conditional execution , allowing users to submit transactions that only become eligible once specified onchain criteria are satisfied. Base p...

Robinhood is expanding its trading platform with longer market hours, crypto derivatives, and automated trading tools. The company announced the changes at its HOOD Summit in Houston as it targets more active traders. Robinhood shares stood at $112.26 in the supplied report, while the company outlined several major product expansions. Robinhood Pushes Toward 24/7 Stock Trading Robinhood plans to let customers trade selected U.S. equities throughout the week, including Saturdays and Sundays. The move will expand its existing 24/5 trading service, which launched in 2023. That service currently operates from Sunday evening through Friday evening, based on Eastern Time. The weekend service will cover selected stocks and ETFs through Bruce ATS, an alternative trading system. Robinhood is also extending options trading hours and increasing access to intraday margin. These changes respond to growing demand for markets that operate beyond traditional U.S. trading sessions. Crypto markets alrea...

Michael Saylor has outlined how Strategy and Strive are developing different financial products around Bitcoin-backed markets. The Strategy chairman said both companies operate separately but share Bitcoin as their main treasury asset. The companies aim to expand access to Bitcoin-linked credit and equity structures. Bitcoin Builds Foundation for Digital Finance Bitcoin remains the central asset behind Strategy and Strive’s financial strategies as both companies expand their treasury operations. Saylor said the broader market opportunity comes from connecting Bitcoin with large global equity and fixed-income sectors. The approach focuses on creating new financial products linked to Bitcoin exposure. The Strategy chairman highlighted the size of traditional financial markets and their potential connection with Bitcoin-based instruments. Global equity markets reached $157.8 trillion by the end of 2025, according to SIFMA data. Fixed-income debt markets also reached $160.7 trillion during...

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras says it has built two blockchain-based applications using Cardano to help track environmental claims tied to renewable fuels. The projects focus on preventing “double counting” of sustainability benefits while improving traceability across fuel production and usage. According to an announcement from the Cardano Foundation published Wednesday, the first application tokenizes environmental attributes associated with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and ties those attributes to the Book-and-Claim model commonly used in the sector. A second application focuses on renewable diesel, creating digital “checkpoints” intended to support reporting of indirect emissions along a company’s value chain. Key takeaways Petrobras built two Cardano-based traceability systems: one for SAF environmental attributes and another for its Diesel R renewable fuel. The SAF tool tokenizes sustainability benefits as digital tokens designed to reduce the risk of dup...

Bitget says it has moved back toward normal operations after a security breach that led to the loss of $388 million in user funds. In a post on X, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said withdrawals for all tokens would resume on Friday , and that the exchange has already restored access for users to Bitcoin (BTC) , Ether (ETH) , and USDt (USDT) . As part of its recovery efforts, the exchange also reported that its in-house Protection Fund reached $309 million . The fund was designed to support users in situations where losses arise from incidents on the platform side—an important detail for users watching how exchanges manage security events beyond promises to “restore balances.” Key takeaways Bitget plans to restart withdrawals for all tokens on Friday , following partial restoration for BTC, ETH, and USDT. The Protection Fund reportedly rose to $309 million to absorb the financial impact of the breach. Bitget says it has not ruled out potential responsible parties , including the possi...

Hardware wallets are built to reduce one of crypto’s most persistent risks: exposing private keys to malware, phishing, or compromised devices. Instead of letting a phone or laptop directly approve payments, a hardware wallet keeps the signing process—where transactions are authorized—separate, typically using its own screen and secure components so users can verify what they’re approving. A new Cointelegraph review assesses a range of popular models by combining practical testing with manufacturer documentation. The testing covers devices including Trezor Safe 7, Ledger Stax, Flex, Nano Gen5, Nano X, Nano S Plus, and Coinkite’s Opendime, with the review also explaining how different wallet designs—from Bluetooth to QR-based signing to NFC cards—change the security trade-offs for everyday users. Key takeaways Hardware wallets primarily protect by isolating transaction signing from the phone or computer, but users can still lose funds by approving scam transactions or mishandling back...

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) kept drawing fresh capital for a ninth straight trading day, extending a momentum streak that has already amassed about $3.1 billion in net inflows. Meanwhile, spot Ether and Zcash products moved in the opposite direction, underscoring how rotation within crypto ETF flows remains uneven across assets. According to SoSoValue, US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $66.2 million on Tuesday. That added to a broader run of inflows—bringing net inflows over the streak to roughly $3.1 billion. Year-to-date, Bitcoin ETF net inflows have reached approximately $1 billion. Key takeaways US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $66.2 million in Tuesday inflows, extending net inflows to nine trading days. SoSoValue data shows the winning streak totals roughly $3.1 billion, with about $1 billion in net inflows for the year so far. US spot Ether ETFs ended a seven-day inflow streak with about $3 million in net outflows on Tuesday. Zcash ETFs snapped a six-day inflow st...

Investigators say they were able to quickly identify and trace recipient addresses after suspected North Korean hackers exploited crypto exchange Bitget for $387.5 million last week. Bitget then urged decentralized cross-chain swaps protocol THORChain to “refuse service” to those addresses—an ask THORChain rejected on the grounds that it is permissionless like major public blockchains. The dispute has reignited a broader legal and philosophical debate in DeFi: whether decentralized protocols should block funds tied to hacks, and what liability risks arise when they can (or cannot) selectively interfere. The controversy echoes earlier moments, including THORChain’s use in routing around large stolen-fund incidents, and an opposing approach from NEAR’s Intents ecosystem, which uses an automated program to stop address-based access. Key takeaways Bitget requested THORChain to block addresses tied to suspected North Korean stolen funds; THORChain rejected the idea as inconsistent with pe...

Singapore’s crypto market expanded sharply in the year ended June 2026, with total crypto economic activity rising 55.4% to $284 billion, according to Chainalysis. The growth helped the city-state regain its position as the largest crypto economy in Central and Southeast Asia and Oceania (CSAO), even as the broader region saw contraction over the same period. Chainalysis data also points to a shift in what’s driving activity: institutional platform volumes surged 94% to $60 billion, while the wider CSAO crypto economy fell 6.8%. The report suggests Singapore’s increase was not primarily powered by a flood of new entrants, but by higher-volume activity concentrated among existing institutional and over-the-counter players. Key takeaways Singapore’s total crypto economic activity grew 55.4% to $284 billion in the year ended June 2026, outperforming a 6.8% decline across the broader CSAO region. Institutional platform activity nearly doubled (+94%) to $60 billion, with activity concen...

CryptoQuant says altcoin holders have been moving coins to exchanges at an unusually fast pace, with deposit activity hitting its highest transaction count since October 2025. In the same period, the number of addresses sending altcoins to exchanges also climbed sharply—an indicator CryptoQuant ties to potential profit-taking risk. At the same time, broader market structure hasn’t fully shifted back to Bitcoin. According to TradingView data cited in the report, Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market capitalization has remained in the late-May range, while smaller assets outside the top 10 by market cap reached their largest slice since February. Key takeaways CryptoQuant recorded 78,000 altcoin exchange-deposit transactions over seven days as of Sept. 28, the highest level since October 2025. The number of addresses depositing altcoins rose to about 51,600, also the highest since October 2025. Altcoin deposit transactions increased roughly 160% from about 29,800 on Sept. 14 to 78...

MiCA—Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation—has achieved something the industry had long struggled to secure: a single, coherent rulebook across the EU and European Economic Area. With that framework now in place, the focus is shifting from building the system to stress-testing it through its scheduled review. As the consultation on MiCA’s review closes on Sept. 30 , the central question for investors and providers is how well the rules match the risks they are designed to curb—especially as compliance requirements have grown. The review will determine whether the market stays attractive for new entrants and innovation or gradually becomes too costly to compete in. Key takeaways MiCA created the EU’s first unified crypto rulebook , enabling passporting of authorized crypto services across Member States. Passporting is a core economic advantage , turning previously fragmented markets into a larger addressable customer base. Proportionality is the guiding standard : obligatio...

Ethereum-focused treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies says it is closing in on a milestone that would put its Ether holdings at 5% of the token supply it cites—potentially as early as early November if its recent accumulation pace holds. The company’s latest disclosures show it has already built a substantial position, leaving only a comparatively small gap to the target. According to Cointelegraph’s review of BitMine’s weekly updates published between July 13 and Sept. 28, the firm reported purchasing a combined total of about 259,000 ETH during that span, or roughly 21,600 ETH per week on average. In its most recent filing, BitMine reported holding 6,001,302 ETH as of Sunday, which it equated to 4.9% of an ETH supply figure of 122.1 million used in its reporting. Key takeaways BitMine reported 6,001,302 ETH, or about 4.9% of the 122.1 million ETH supply figure it cited. Cointelegraph’s review of 12 weekly updates indicates an average purchase pace of roughly 21,600 ETH pe...

Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen says the exchange is not confident it will be able to fully freeze or recover the majority of assets stolen in last week’s security breach, which Bitget updated to reflect roughly $388 million in losses. Speaking to Cointelegraph on its Chain Reaction program released Tuesday, Chen pointed to Bybit’s February 2025 hack as a cautionary benchmark—where the attacker reportedly took about $1.5 billion in Ether (ETH), but Bybit said it ultimately froze and recovered only around $80 million. In Chen’s view, that outcome translates to limited effectiveness even after extended time and effort. Key takeaways Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen says the company is “not very optimistic” about fully freezing or recovering stolen funds from the breach. Chen cited the February 2025 Bybit hack—reportedly $1.5 billion stolen in ETH—for comparison, noting only a small portion was frozen after about a year. External security responses have already reported activity linked to Bitget-re...

Binance Pay is expanding its reach in Japan by enabling eligible overseas visitors to use Tether USDt (USDT) at a wide range of merchants that already accept PayPay. The update rolls out starting Wednesday and targets PayPay-supported locations using an interoperability layer run through HIVEX. According to Binance, the company is the first crypto payments provider to connect to PayPay merchants via HIVEX. Merchants will not need to complete a separate opt-in process for the new USDT spending option, and settlement for merchant payouts will continue in Japanese yen. Key takeaways Binance Pay will let qualifying overseas users in Japan pay with USDT at most PayPay-supported merchants starting Wednesday. The integration is routed through HIVEX, which links overseas QR payment services to PayPay’s merchant network. Merchants will receive settlement in yen, while customers spend using USDT. Binance says it is the first crypto payments service to reach PayPay merchants through HIVEX...

Crypto.com’s long-awaited personal AI agent initiative, branded through Ai.com, is still not available to the public—despite a widely publicized Super Bowl debut that reportedly caused the reservation site to crash within minutes. According to Crypto.com, the platform remains “under construction” and is continuing to build in “stealth mode.” Meanwhile, Ai.com’s own website continues to tell visitors that AI agent generation is “queued due to high demand,” reflecting how quickly interest spiked and how slowly access has followed. Key takeaways Ai.com’s AI agent reservation flow has remained stuck behind a “queued due to high demand” message for months after the Super Bowl ad. Crypto.com confirms the platform is still being developed privately, with no public launch date provided. Competition is moving fast: exchanges have been rolling out narrower, task-specific AI assistants for trading and portfolio decisions. Crypto.com is also continuing broader AI efforts, including an ISO ...