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MHC Digital and Circle partner to expand USDC access across APAC region
MHC Digital Group and Circle have partnered to expand access to Circle’s US Dollar Coin (USDC) to institutional investors across Australia and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. MHC Digital plans to offer over-the-counter trading services to high-net-worth individuals, hedge funds, and crypto businesses, while also exploring ways to help Australian pension funds reduce foreign exchange fees through USDC. Circle's Chief Business Officer highlighted APAC's strong digital asset adoption, driven by its young, mobile-first population. This partnership follows Circle’s global expansion efforts, including moves into Japan, Brazil, and Mexico.
Telegram has disclosed user IPs since 2018, Durov reveals
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov clarified that the platform has been disclosing IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals to authorities since 2018, long before recent discussions emerged. In an Oct. 2 post, Durov explained that the process of complying with legal requests for data disclosure has been in place across various countries, including Brazil and India, with transparency reports showing compliance with thousands of such requests. He emphasized that Telegram's core principles of protecting users' privacy and freedom remain unchanged, but the company has always aimed to prevent criminals from abusing the platform. Durov’s statements follow legal scrutiny in France, where he faced charges related to illicit activity on Telegram.
FTX Estate Plans to Sell $38M in Locked Worldcoin Tokens at Discount
The FTX estate is auctioning 22.3 million locked Worldcoin (WLD) tokens, valued at around $37.7 million, to recover funds for creditors. Bids for the tokens, which will be sold at a discount ranging from 40% to 75% of the current market price, must be submitted by 8 PM ET on Wednesday. The tokens will unlock gradually through 2028. This sale follows FTX’s previous auctions of Solana (SOL) and Metaplex (MPLX) tokens, with concerns raised about the long lockup periods. The estate has around $594 million in remaining assets, mostly in illiquid FTX tokens.
Trading Desk Insights
Iran launched approximately 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, intensifying geopolitical tensions as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a strong counterstrike. This escalation followed a series of Israeli attacks on Lebanon in recent weeks. Bitcoin (BTC) reacted sharply to the development, posting its largest decline in over a month, with intraday losses reaching as high as 6% and 24-hour declines settling around 4%. This marks the worst start to October for an asset that typically experiences bullish momentum during this period. Meanwhile, gold saw an uptick as investors sought safe-haven assets. Polymarket traders are currently assigning a 49% probability that Israel will retaliate against Iran before the week concludes. Short-term BTC holders liquidated $3 billion in assets at a loss, with total liquidations exceeding $450 million in the past 24 hours.
In regulatory news, Bitwise has submitted a registration statement to the SEC for a spot XRP ETF, with BNY Mellon set to serve as the trust's administrator and Coinbase Custody Trust as the custodian. This move comes with potential legal challenges, given the ongoing dispute between the SEC and Ripple over the status of XRP.
Elsewhere in the crypto space, Franklin Templeton has expanded its blockchain-based tokenized money market fund by integrating the Aptos blockchain, adding to its existing partnerships with Stellar and Polygon.
In U.S. crypto ETFs, Bitcoin ETFs led the market downturn, with outflows totaling $242.6 million, the largest since early September, on trading volumes hitting $2.53 billion, the highest since late August. Ethereum ETFs, however, saw more modest outflows of $48.6 million, marking the smallest decline over the past week.
In a notable regulatory development, a U.S. appeals court has ruled in favor of prediction market platform Kalshi, allowing it to resume listing contracts on which political party will control each house of Congress. This ruling follows an appeal from the CFTC, which had previously paused these activities. Despite the legal challenges, Kalshi intends to relist these contracts soon, while its competitor Polymarket continues to see strong volumes in its non-U.S. markets.
Equity futures declined on Wednesday, reflecting investor caution as tensions in the Middle East escalate. This followed a losing session in the major indices, with traders bracing for further volatility at the start of October. However, the market briefly rallied after the ADP payroll report revealed 143,000 new jobs in September, surpassing expectations of 124,000, a sign of resilience in the labor market amid broader economic concerns.
Israel has vowed a decisive response to Iran’s missile assault on Tel Aviv, leaving the region on high alert. With Iran accounting for 4% of global oil production, any further escalation could impact oil markets, which are already trading higher. The Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's key fear gauge, is hovering around 19, reflecting the rising anxiety among market participants. Traders are closely watching how these geopolitical dynamics will shape the risk landscape in the coming days.
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This research is for informational use only. This is not investment advice. Other than disclosures relating to Secure Digital Markets this research is based on current public information that we consider reliable, but we do not represent it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. The information, opinions, estimates, and forecasts contained herein are as of the date hereof and are subject to change without prior notification. We seek to update our research as appropriate.
Any forecasts contained herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be relied upon as advice or interpreted as a recommendation. The price of crypto assets may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a company's financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Past performance is not a guide to future performance, future returns are not guaranteed, and a loss of original capital may occur. Fluctuations in exchange rates could have adverse effects on the value or price of, or income derived from, certain investments. We and our affiliates, officers, directors, and employees, excluding equity and credit analysts, will from time to time have long or short positions in, act as principal in, and buy or sell, the securities or derivatives, if any, referred to in this research.
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