CRYPTONEWS WEEKLY 🚀- October 31st, 2025
📌 Price Action
Coinbase’s experimental x402 payments protocol, designed to let AI agents and humans pay directly in stablecoins over the internet, has exploded in activity.
Users, or AI agents, can request a service, receive a 402 payment prompt, and send a signed stablecoin payment, which the system verifies on-chain.
From Oct. 14 to 20, the protocol processed nearly 500,000 transactions, a 10,780% increase from the previous month.
Rumble is set to launch Bitcoin tipping for its 51 million users through a partnership with Tether. The integration marks one of the largest mainstream adoptions of Bitcoin payments.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the feature will empower creators globally by enabling payments in Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Following its confirmation of a future token launch and airdrop, prediction market PolyMarket is prioritizing its re-entry into the U.S. market after securing the necessary regulatory clearances.
Polymarket has confirmed plans to launch its long-awaited POLY token alongside an airdrop, marking a key step for the fast-growing prediction market platform.
The confirmation came from Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber, who said during an interview on the Degenz Live podcast Thursday that the project would “definitely” include both a token and an airdrop.
JPMorgan Chase to let institutions borrow against Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings by end of 2025 as $4T asset manager joins Morgan Stanley, BlackRock expanding crypto integration.
The program, available globally, will use a third-party custodian to secure the pledged tokens, according to sources familiar with the matter.
A solo Bitcoin miner earned $347,455 after independently confirming block 920,440 through the Public Pool mining pool. The miner ran their own solo mining pool on an Umbrel server, showcasing Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos.
Decentralized perpetual trading volume surpassed $1 trillion in October, setting a new monthly record. Hyperliquid led the surge with over $317 billion in trades, contributing to a $78 billion single-day volume peak.
The gap between DEXs and CEXs is narrowing as decentralized platforms improve speed, liquidity, and accessibility.
Kalshi, a federally regulated derivatives exchange, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the state’s attempt to shut down its sports prediction markets, arguing that New York’s enforcement actions violate federal authority over derivatives trading.
The complaint, filed as KalshiEX LLC v. Robert Williams, seeks to stop the New York State Gaming Commission from imposing civil penalties and fines on the Manhattan-based exchange for offering event contracts that allow users to speculate on sports outcomes.
Canada is moving quickly to finalize long-awaited rules for stablecoins ahead of its federal budget announcement on November 4, as policymakers rush to keep pace with the United States and prevent a loss of financial sovereignty amid rising use of U.S. dollar-backed tokens.
According to Bloomberg, government officials have spent weeks holding closed-door consultations with regulators and industry stakeholders to develop a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Canada is fast-tracking its own stablecoin rules to prevent a flight of capital and control to the U.S. digital dollar market, thereby defending its financial sovereignty.
The Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4% on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive rate cut as policymakers seek to support a softening labor market amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Markets reacted with immediate volatility, with $300 million liquidated from crypto markets within 15 minutes of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s FOMC speech.
However, Bitcoin subsequently recovered to hold above $112,000 as traders digested the implications of the rate cut and the Fed’s announcement to end quantitative tightening on December 1.
Mastercard is in late-stage talks to buy Zerohash for roughly $1.5b to $2b, a move that would deepen the card network’s push into stablecoin and on-chain settlement, Fortune reported Wednesday.
If completed, the acquisition would be one of Mastercard’s biggest bets on stablecoins, reflecting a broader shift as large payment providers look to blockchains for faster cross-border transfers and lower operating costs.
The company has already rolled out on- and off-ramp services with crypto partners and piloted programs that translate crypto balances into spendable fiat at the point of sale.
MetaMask’s parent company, Consensys, is reportedly preparing to go public and has enlisted top banks, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, to lead its initial public offering (IPO). Axios reported Wednesday that improving regulatory clarity in the US is prompting more crypto firms to go public this year.
Consensys’ best-known product, MetaMask, which serves as a digital crypto wallet, recently reignited speculation hinting that a long-awaited token airdrop could be imminent. It also announced a $30 million rewards initiative designed to incentivize users for on-chain activity.
Western Union plans to launch a dollar-backed stablecoin on Solana, opening a new channel for its global customers to move money with lower fees and faster settlement. In a statement on Tuesday, Western Union said its US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) will be issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026.
Western Union said users will access the asset through partner exchanges, then send value internationally without exposure to local currency swings and banking bottlenecks.
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→ Jeff Garzik, CEO of Bloq and Hemi Network
Jeff Garzik, CEO of Bloq and Hemi Network, is one of the earliest contributors and most respected developers in the Bitcoin industry, as a Bitcoin core developer. He has worked for various companies, and played critical roles in open-source projects for some of the most well-known platforms in the cryptocurrency ecosystem such as BitPay, mining tech firm Bitfury, and the Linux Foundation.
→ Andrew Forson, President of DeFi Technologies
Andrew Forson has been the President of the DeFi Technologies since April 2025. Mr. Forson was previously the Head of Ventures and Investments at the Hashgraph Group, the commercialization and enablement arm of Hedera. Mr. Forson is also a non-independent director on the board of directors of DeFi Technologies.
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1wMost of the crypto ecosystem feels like it’s holding its breath , lower highs, thinning volume, and hype cycles running on fumes. Is this the calm before a new wave of innovation, or the first chill of another crypto winter? Either way, it’s make-or-break season for digital assets.