‍Zebu Live 2025 Concludes: London Summit Highlights Web3 Growth and Institutional Interest The Zebu Live 2025 summit in London has concluded, attracting over 4,500 in-person and 10,000 virtual attendees. The event featured over 200 speakers, including Nigel Farage and Coinbase VP Tom Duff Gordon. Key themes included the increasing institutional adoption of digital assets, with Bradley Duke of Bitwise noting the "institutionalization of blockchain." Discussions covered "Intelligence Onchain," "Beyond Digital Gold," and regulatory frameworks. Rayls raised over $1.75 million, while Coinbase acquired UK-based Echo. Keith Grose of Coinbase emphasized the UK's growing role as a crypto hub, provided the stablecoin and crypto regime is managed effectively. Co-Founder Harry Horsfall stated the event has evolved into a platform for shaping "the next decade of innovation," moving beyond speculation towards scalable products and regulatory collaboration.
‍South Korea Explores Won-Backed Stablecoin with Circle's Arc Platform South Korean crypto custodian BDACS is set to launch "KRW1," a won-backed stablecoin, on Circle's new blockchain platform, Arc. This initiative aims to integrate Korean companies into the global stablecoin ecosystem. BDACS CEO Ryu Hong-yeol stated, "This collaboration is a meaningful step forward for Korea’s innovation to reach the global stage." Circle's Arc, described as an "Economic Operating System for the internet," already hosts testnet participation from over 100 global institutions. Meanwhile, debates continue in South Korea regarding stablecoin regulation, with discussions focusing on issuance frameworks and oversight bodies.
‍Strategy Nears S&P 500 Inclusion Amidst Strong Q3 Bitcoin Gains Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has a 70% probability of S&P 500 inclusion by year-end, according to 10X Research. This is driven by an anticipated $3.8 billion gain from its Bitcoin treasury in its Q3 earnings report, due October 30. Despite a slowdown in Bitcoin acquisitions and scrutiny of digital asset treasuries, the report suggests this period could see liquidity return. Strategy also recently received a "B-" credit rating from S&P Global Ratings, a first for a Bitcoin-focused company.
‍HSBC Predicts Gold to Peak at $4,400 by Mid-2026 HSBC forecasts gold prices to reach $4,400 per ounce by the first half of 2026, citing increased demand for safe-haven assets due to global uncertainties and economic instability. Expanding fiscal deficits and emerging threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence are also key factors. HSBC projects gold to trade between $3,700 and $4,050 this year, targeting $3,950 by year-end. For 2025, the range is forecast at $3,600 to $4,400. This bullish outlook for gold, a traditional safe haven, resonates with the "digital gold" narrative surrounding Bitcoin, indicating a broader investor appetite for assets resilient to economic volatility.
‍$1 Billion in DeFi Positions Threatened by Market Downturn A recent report highlights that approximately $1 billion in DeFi positions, primarily linked to Ethena's staked USDe (sUSDe), are at risk of liquidation following the crypto market's downturn on October 11th. The issue stems from negative interest rate differentials impacting leveraged sUSDe strategies. Borrowing costs for stablecoins on platforms like Aave v3 Core now exceed the yield from sUSDe, leading to potential net losses. This could trigger cascading liquidations, further straining liquidity across the crypto market.
‍Japan's PTS and Republic Launch Bitcoin Mining Investment Product Pivotal Trend Service (PTS) and Republic have partnered to launch the Pivotal Mining Note (PMN), a digital security backed by Bitcoin mining infrastructure. This Japan-origin product offers compliant, long-term Bitcoin exposure to international investors under U.S. securities regulations. PMN provides structured exposure through managed mining operations, directly backed by real infrastructure. Investors accumulate Bitcoin over a three-year term via hashpower, without hardware setup. PTS CEO Doer Qu stated, "PMN is a new class of Bitcoin investment product—grounded in real infrastructure, secured by compliance, and designed for global reach." The collaboration aims to deliver long-term value through tokenized financial products. Republic's global reach and experience with regulated digital assets are key to PMN's accessibility. This initiative highlights Japan's potential in exporting blockchain-powered investment opportunities.
‍OpenAI Discloses 1.2 Million Weekly Suicide Discussions on ChatGPT OpenAI revealed that approximately 1.2 million out of 800 million weekly ChatGPT users engage in discussions related to suicide. This highlights significant concerns regarding AI safety protocols and developer responsibility. Internal analysis shows nearly 400,000 users exhibit explicit potential for suicidal planning or intent weekly. Additionally, 560,000 users show signs of psychosis or mania, and 1.2 million develop heightened emotional attachment to the chatbot. OpenAI has updated ChatGPT to better support users in distress and is expanding safety metrics. However, former researchers express skepticism, citing past model flaws and a need for independent verification and transparency reports.
‍AI Home Helper NEO Launched, Humanoid Robot Market Poised for Growth Palo Alto-based 1X has unveiled NEO, an AI-powered household robot designed for daily chores. Analysts predict the humanoid and service-robot markets could reach $300-$400 billion within a decade. NEO features a tendon-drive system for safe movement, 22-degree-of-freedom dexterity, and an onboard LLM for voice commands and learning new tasks. It is available via a $499 monthly subscription or a $20,000 one-time purchase. This launch occurs amidst significant development in humanoid robotics from companies like Tesla and Figure AI. The industry faces challenges like the "uncanny valley" while exploring potential integration with decentralized technologies.
‍ASIC Tightens Grip on Australia's Digital Asset Sector The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has updated its regulatory guidance, expanding existing financial services laws to cover more cryptocurrency businesses. This move, detailed in Info Sheet 225, replaces "crypto-asset" with the broader term "digital assets" and clarifies that many digital assets, including yield-bearing tokens and stablecoins, may require an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license. ASIC has increased its illustrative examples from 13 to 18, covering products like NFTs and staking services. The guidance now explicitly includes offshore and decentralized structures marketed to Australian users. New custodial obligations mandate net tangible asset thresholds of up to $10 million for firms holding client assets. Transitional relief is available for stablecoin intermediaries and experienced crypto professionals seeking AFS licenses. The regulator also provided guidance for fund managers and ETP issuers. While not defining "DeFi," ASIC stated licensing depends on individual arrangements. This framework aligns with upcoming government legislation for exchanges and custodians, with ASIC urging immediate compliance preparations.
‍OceanPal Launches SovereignAI with $120M for NEAR Protocol Integration Nasdaq-listed OceanPal Inc. has announced a $120 million PIPE deal to launch SovereignAI, a new subsidiary focused on commercializing the NEAR Protocol and developing AI infrastructure. SovereignAI plans to acquire up to 10% of the total NEAR token supply in collaboration with the NEAR Foundation. The NEAR Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain launched in 2020, is designed to support advanced AI applications, enabling autonomous AI agents to interact and manage assets securely. The launch is accompanied by significant leadership appointments, including former State Street executive Sal Ternullo as co-CEO and ex-BNY Mellon veteran David Schwed as COO. The advisory board includes NEAR Foundation's Illia Polosukhin and OpenAI's Lukasz Kaiser. This move aligns with the growing trend of AI agents leveraging blockchain for asset management and operations. Developments like Coinbase's AI-ready payments protocol and Cloudflare's upcoming NET Dollar stablecoin underscore the increasing convergence of AI and blockchain.