SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Russia wants crypto trades funneled through authorized brokers and exchanges, raising the question of whether wallet-to-wallet transfers can survive state oversight. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/russia-crypto-authorized-brokers-exchanges-october-2026/

BlackRock has filed with the SEC for an iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF that pairs IBIT upside with a built-in downside buffer for investors. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blackrock-bitcoin-managed-protect-etf-october-2026/

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pushed back on a US Senate report linking USDT to Iran, citing a 94% drop in Iran-linked stablecoin volumes and early freezes. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-ardoino-rejects-senate-iran-sanctions-report-october-2026/

Coinbase said it is working with Thunes to connect its stablecoin rails to local bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide. The last-mile settlement angle for cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-thunes-stablecoin-local-payments-october-2026/

Sparkasse, Germany's largest banking group, will let its roughly 40 million customers buy Bitcoin directly, a major step for mainstream crypto access in Europe. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/german-savings-bank-sparkasse-bitcoin-40-million-october-2026/

Bitmine added 12,535 ETH to reach 6,041,481 ETH, now 99% of the way to its target of holding 5% of Ethereum's total supply. Here is what the position means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitmine-6-million-eth-approaching-5-percent-ethereum-supply-october-2026/

The XRP Ledger patched its forthcoming lending system with a Friday bug-fix upgrade, but the protocol still needs 10 more validator votes out of 29 to go live. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/xrp-ledger-lending-protocol-validator-vote-october-2026/

JPMorgan is deploying its JPM Coin deposit token on public Ethereum for institutional clients, per Bloomberg. Here is what the move means for onchain settlement. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/jpmorgan-jpm-coin-ethereum-institutional-october-2026/

South Korea's finance ministry will reportedly meet major crypto exchanges this week as pressure builds to postpone the 20% crypto tax due in January 2027. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/south-korea-crypto-tax-delay-finance-ministry-exchanges-october-2026/

Marathon Digital, the largest publicly listed Bitcoin miner, sent 1,000 BTC to Binance and Gate over five days, a pattern that often precedes exchange selling. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/mara-transfers-1000-btc-binance-gate-october-2026/

Crypto lending vaults now hold over $10B, up from $4B at the start of last year. US and European regulators are intensifying scrutiny of the high-yield sector. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-lending-vaults-10b-aum-regulatory-scrutiny-october-2026/

China's stronger-than-expected GDP print lifted Bitcoin, the Kospi and Nasdaq futures on Oct. 19, 2026. Here is what the risk-on move means for crypto holders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-asian-markets-rally-china-gdp-october-2026/

Qubic froze its chain after an attacker drained about 1,400 wallets that used weak seed phrases. The team says 87.1% of stolen funds remain onchain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/qubic-freezes-chain-attacker-drains-1400-wallets-october-2026/

Gate has launched Gate Money, a payments product sitting alongside Gate Card and Gate Pay. Here is what the move means for Gate cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/gate-launches-gate-money-crypto-spending-october-2026/

Cysic paused its cross-chain bridge after an unauthorized mint created 10 million CYS. The team says the issue was limited to bridge messaging and minting. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cysic-bridge-halted-unauthorized-mint-10m-cys-october-2026/

El Salvador says its national Bitcoin holdings now top 7,800 BTC, worth about $640M at current prices. A look at the numbers behind the sovereign reserve. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/el-salvador-bitcoin-reserves-7800-btc-october-2026/

Turkish authorities have officially confirmed the detention of HEX founder Richard Heart and the seizure of $7.15 million in assets, escalating an earlier Istanbul arrest. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/turkey-confirms-richard-heart-detention-assets-october-2026/

Nine US corporations have filed objections to tokenized versions of their shares trading on OKXICE, raising fresh questions about consent, IP, and RWA risk. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/nine-us-companies-object-tokenized-shares-okxice-october-2026/

New data shows investors in Italy, Portugal, and Singapore control 66.9% of geolocated tokenized US Treasuries, with American holders in the minority. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tokenized-us-treasuries-offshore-concentration-october-2026/

French lawmakers voted 38 to 37 to tax crypto-to-stablecoin swaps at 31.4% from 2027, turning a once tax-free move into a taxable event for users. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/france-31-percent-stablecoin-tax-parliament-vote-october-2026/

Circle is defending USDC's partner economics as rival stablecoin issuers dangle larger revenue shares to win distribution deals. Here is what the fight is about. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/circle-defends-usdc-economics-stablecoin-rivals-october-2026/

Ether Fi says its self-custody crypto card has processed over $1 billion in cumulative spend across 199 countries, 131 currencies and 12.6M+ transactions. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ether-fi-1-billion-cumulative-card-spend-october-2026/

For the first time since 2022, the US is pulling in more Bitcoin than it sends out, according to BitcoinNews. Here is what the on-chain flow shift means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-net-bitcoin-importer-first-since-2022-october-2026/

A forensic accountant testified that Aiden Pleterski sent none of his investors' money to the trading platform named in their contracts, spending millions instead. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-king-pleterski-forensic-accountant-zero-investor-money-october-2026/

Nine crypto infrastructure firms launched a Quantum Alliance modeled on the IETF to set post-quantum standards, with about 6 million Bitcoin exposed to future attacks. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/quantum-alliance-6-million-bitcoin-exposed-october-2026/