SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Visa Direct has moved its stablecoin capabilities from pilot to production, with Inyo Global as the first enabler prefunding cross-border payouts in USDC. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/visa-direct-stablecoin-payments-production-usdc-october-2026/

South Korea's FSC plans mandatory twice-yearly vulnerability checks for larger financial firms after a review found security gaps at 130 companies, including crypto exchanges. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/south-korea-fsc-crypto-exchange-security-checks-october-2026/

A federal judge refused to vacate Gemini's $5M CFTC settlement, ruling that shifting enforcement priorities and misconduct claims do not undo a signed deal. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/judge-rejects-cftc-gemini-5m-settlement-october-2026/

Binance's bStocks tokenized equities product passed $1 billion in assets under management four months after launch, a sign retail demand for on-chain stocks is holding. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/binance-bstocks-1-billion-aum-october-2026/

Stripe partnered with Plasma to launch multi-currency stablecoin cards in USD, EUR, and GBP across 30+ countries. What the move means for crypto card users. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/stripe-plasma-stablecoin-cards-30-countries-october-2026/

Cointelegraph says the current SEC has wiped away Gary Gensler's crypto enforcement legacy. We look at what the policy reversal means for mainstream adoption. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sec-dismantles-gensler-crypto-stance-october-2026/

Mastercard is wiring stablecoin payments into its checkout network, pushing on-chain spending toward mainstream retail. What it means for merchants and crypto card users. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/mastercard-stablecoins-checkout-mainstream-october-2026/

Richard Heart, founder of the HEX protocol, was arrested in Istanbul after an Interpol red notice. HEX fell 34.8% as the token's dependence on one man showed. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/richard-heart-hex-founder-arrested-istanbul-october-2026/

Hyperscale Data says it will tokenize up to 1.34 million shares of its 13% Series D preferred stock, pushing a public company's securities onto a blockchain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hyperscale-data-tokenizes-series-d-preferred-shares-october-2026/

Qivalis secured an EMI license from Dutch central bank DNB with backing from 37 European banks, but MiCA white-paper rules keep its launch on hold. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/qivalis-dutch-emi-license-mica-launch-block-october-2026/

A WSJ investigation says Tether money flowed to Nxum, a firm co-founded by Bo Hines, while he worked in the White House on US stablecoin legislation. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-nxum-bo-hines-stablecoin-conflict-october-2026/

BingX EU secured a CASP license from Austria's FMA, letting the exchange passport regulated crypto services across all 29 European Economic Area countries. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bingx-eu-austria-casp-license-29-eea-countries-october-2026/

Solid published new unlock costs for its card tiers: Prime for 70,000 FUSE locked or $199 a year, and Ultra for 600,000 FUSE locked. Here is what changes for holders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/solid-new-tier-pricing-fuse-prime-ultra-october-2026/

Pulsar Money is running a temporary 8% cashback rate for Pulsar Pro users on ChatGPT, Claude, X, Bolt and Uber payments through October 2026. Here is what it covers. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/pulsar-pro-8-percent-cashback-subscriptions-october-2026/

A UK claim demands BitMEX return $27M in Bitcoin, arguing 1,053 perpetual swap trades from 2018-2022 were void because the exchange lacked a license. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitmex-uk-lawsuit-27m-bitcoin-unlicensed-derivatives-october-2026/

Standard Chartered now lets affluent UAE clients trade bitcoin and ether directly through the bank, moving past passive crypto products into native spot access. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/standard-chartered-direct-bitcoin-ether-trading-uae-october-2026/

WisdomTree says its tokenized assets under management are approaching $1.3 billion, up 65% year-to-date, as a traditional asset manager scales on-chain funds. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/wisdomtree-tokenized-aum-1-3-billion-october-2026/

Ripple is integrating Stripe-owned Privy embedded wallets into the XRP Ledger as on-chain AI agent payments cross 14 million. Here is what it means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ripple-stripe-privy-embedded-wallets-xrp-ledger-october-2026/

Solana's Alpenglow consensus upgrade reaches mainnet-beta on Oct. 21, cutting transaction finality times. Here is what the change means for payments and DeFi. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/solana-alpenglow-upgrade-faster-finality-october-2026/

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has frozen deposits at Coins.ph over alleged gambling-firm ties, with license revocation on the table for the market leader. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coins-ph-bsp-regulatory-action-philippines-october-2026/

JPMorgan analysts estimate about $50 billion has moved into Bitcoin and digital assets so far in 2026, a figure that frames how deep institutional money now runs. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/jpmorgan-50-billion-bitcoin-digital-assets-2026/

Metaplanet plans a $329M bond raise, with $149M to repay Bitcoin-backed debt and up to $179M for buybacks, after its stock fell nearly 90% from its peak. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/metaplanet-329m-bond-raise-bitcoin-debt-october-2026/

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, has been added to the Bank of Russia's crypto exchange register, a signal that regulated digital-asset trading is moving mainstream. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sberbank-crypto-exchange-register-bank-of-russia-october-2026/

BNY and Citadel Securities completed a blockchain-based financing transaction using tokenized U.S. Treasuries, a sign on-chain settlement is reaching Wall Street's core plumbing. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bny-citadel-securities-tokenized-treasuries-financing-october-2026/

Bitwise filed SEC Form 25 to delist its Dogecoin ETF after assets fell from $2.5M to about $725K. Final trading is October 14, with cash payouts near October 22. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitwise-dogecoin-etf-liquidation-form-25-october-2026/