SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

A Manhattan jury convicted Jonathan Spalletta of computer fraud and money laundering over two 2021 Uranium Finance exploits that drained more than $50M. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/uranium-finance-hacker-convicted-50m-defi-exploit-october-2026/

ESMA told EU crypto platforms to stop offering non-MiCA stablecoins like USDT and PYUSD by January 8, 2027, leaving only exit services for existing holders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/esma-orders-removal-unauthorized-stablecoins-three-months-october-2026/

MetaMask pulled 565,056 ETH from validators after a $923 block-tip incident. If that cohort restakes into a 1.4M ETH backlog, the queue could swell past $5B. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/metamask-validator-exit-ethereum-staking-queue-5-billion-october-2026/

Kyrgyzstan has ended its state-backed stablecoin project months after UK sanctions, a case study in how enforcement can unwind a government crypto plan. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kyrgyzstan-ends-state-backed-stablecoin-uk-sanctions-october-2026/

Moody's assigned Sky Protocol a B3 issuer rating with a stable outlook, the agency's first credit rating on any stablecoin protocol. Here is what it means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/moodys-first-credit-rating-stablecoin-sky-protocol-october-2026/

Samsung is partnering with Solana to enable stablecoin transactions inside Samsung Wallet across 82 million US devices, pushing crypto payments into mainstream phones. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/samsung-solana-stablecoin-82-million-us-devices-october-2026/

Lido contributors unveiled Lido Lend, a lending market built on a modified Morpho Blue fork for looping borrowers and conservative lenders, pending a DAO vote. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/lido-lend-morpho-fork-looping-lending-market-october-2026/

A WSJ report says Ripple is becoming a direct competitor to Wall Street banks for cross-border settlement. XRP traded at $1.42 as of October 8, 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ripple-wall-street-competitor-cross-border-payments-october-2026/

Tether signed an MOU with Kazakhstan's central bank to explore a tenge-backed stablecoin and an asset tokenization framework, per CoinDesk. Here is what it means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-kazakhstan-central-bank-tenge-stablecoin-october-2026/

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig says only federally regulated crypto exchanges will offer leverage under proposed rules, and the 100x available offshore stays banned. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cftc-leverage-crackdown-regulated-exchanges-october-2026/

Cardano added issuer controls that let token creators freeze, seize and restrict assets onchain, aligning with stablecoin compliance rules and reopening the custody debate. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cardano-token-issuers-freeze-seize-assets-october-2026/

Bitcoin fell under $84,000 on October 7, 2026, triggering $360M in long liquidations in 10 minutes. Here is what the leverage flush means for traders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-falls-below-84k-360m-liquidation-cascade-october-2026/

Germany's BaFin rejected Bitcoin.de's MiCA authorization, keeping one of the country's oldest crypto exchanges offline since June. What the rejection signals. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-de-offline-german-regulator-rejects-mica-october-2026/

US government wallets shifted 833 BTC and 40,285 BNB, worth over $103M, to unlabeled addresses in nine hours, per Arkham. Here is what the move tells us. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-government-moves-103m-bitcoin-bnb-unlabeled-addresses-october-2026/

Securitize is teaming with LG CNS to put tokenized funds, stocks, and stablecoins in front of South Korean financial institutions. SECZ shares rose nearly 8%. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/securitize-lg-cns-tokenized-assets-south-korea-october-2026/

FNB, one of South Africa's largest banks, now offers BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and USDT buys from R10 through its share-trading app in a VALR partnership. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/fnb-south-africa-crypto-trading-valr-r10-october-2026/

A Financial Times report says Singapore's regulator may not have authority over Hyperliquid, despite the derivatives platform being based in the city-state. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hyperliquid-singapore-regulator-outside-jurisdiction-october-2026/

Adam Iza, the self-styled crypto 'Godfather,' got six years in federal prison for a $37M Meta fraud and paying off-duty LA deputies to target rivals. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-godfather-adam-iza-six-years-deputies-meta-fraud-october-2026/

Binance's Bitcoin reserves fell by nearly 40,000 BTC since Sept. 20, the largest outflow since mid-2023, while whales deposited stablecoins instead. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/binance-btc-reserves-3-year-low-whales-stablecoins-october-2026/

Reform group Better Markets told the CFTC it lacks an investor-protection mandate to regulate retail crypto, warning traders would get weaker safeguards than under the SEC. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/better-markets-cftc-wrong-agency-regulate-retail-crypto-october-2026/

The US Treasury has dropped a proposed rule that would have forced reporting of crypto transfers over $10,000 to self-hosted wallets. Here is what changes. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-treasury-scraps-10k-crypto-reporting-rule-private-wallets-october-2026/

Google Cloud is retiring its Blockchain Node Engine and RPC on December 15, 2026, and moving customers to QuickNode. What the exit means for crypto infrastructure. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/google-cloud-shuts-down-blockchain-node-engine-rpc-october-2026/

FinCEN withdrew its proposed crackdown on crypto mixers and unhosted wallet monitoring, saying the mixer rule risked chilling legitimate financial activity. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/fincen-abandons-crypto-mixer-unhosted-wallet-rules-october-2026/

Bitcoin treasury firm Strive set an optional $500M buyback ceiling for its SATA shares, $215.3M above its Oct. 2 cash of $284.7M, and moved to trim dividends. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/strive-500m-sata-buyback-exceeds-cash-reserve-october-2026/

Solana debuts a delivery-versus-payment settlement standard built with J.P. Morgan input, letting institutions settle trades atomically on-chain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/solana-jp-morgan-institutional-settlement-standard-october-2026/