initia

According to the official website of DTCC, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation in the United States announced that its tokenization service (DTCC Tokenization Service) has been launched, with the first batch of 34 tokenizable securities. The tokens are backed 1:1 by securities held in DTC custody, and holders enjoy the same legal rights and economic interests as the underlying securities.The traditional market and on-chain use the same CUSIP code, allowing for 24/7 peer-to-peer transfers between DTC registered wallets. This service includes built-in compliance controls and can track ownership in near real-time. The first batch of wallet and application partners includes BitGo, Blockdaemon, Fireblocks, HashKey, Kaleido, Prometheum, Talos, Temple, and Tradeweb. The scale of DTC custodial assets is approximately $30 trillion.

The South Korean police have launched a preliminary investigation into the hacking incidents involving securities companies and cryptocurrency exchanges. Previously, 16 financial institutions, including KB Kookmin Bank, were also attacked by hackers, resulting in the leakage of approximately 100,000 personal information records, including ID numbers, account numbers, and addresses.The police stated that they will compare the methods used in old and new cases to verify their correlation and do not rule out the possibility that they were carried out by the same attacker.

Initia officially stated that, with the support of the Initia Foundation, the 1:1 asset backing of the affected assets in the security incident on October 23 will be fully restored when the chain resumes operation.The Initia Foundation has approved funding to cover the reserve shortfall of Noble USDC, WETH, and AUSD0 used as collateral for iUSD, involving up to 1.08 million USDC, 105 ETH, and 1.4 million AUSD0 respectively. The specific amounts still need to be verified and receive final transfer approval.

According to Initia monitoring, a security fix has been drafted for the vulnerability discovered on October 23, and audits are currently being conducted with security partners.After the audit is completed, Initia will announce a specific plan detailing how to restore support for the affected assets and orderly restart the Initia L1 and Rollup networks. This process is expected to be completed in the coming days.

According to announcements from Upbit and Bithumb, both South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have listed Initia (INIT) as a trading warning asset.The announcement stated that relevant wallets or distributed ledgers have been found to have security incidents such as hacking attacks, the reasons for which are yet to be determined or resolved, potentially leading to user asset losses. Currently, the deposit and withdrawal services for INIT have been suspended on both exchanges.

Initia posted on platform X that on October 23 at 22:59 (UTC+8), attackers exploited a caching vulnerability in the Initia MoveVM script to bypass security checks, forging MoveVM states to credit themselves with unsupported WETH, iUSD, and USDC, while the total supply of the related tokens remained unchanged; INIT was not minted, and the total supply was unaffected.Before the network was paused, the attackers had transferred out approximately $2.7 million in assets, including 105 WETH transferred via LayerZero and about 1.4 million AUSD0, as well as approximately 1.08 million USDC transferred via Noble and CCTP, which were then exchanged for 1135.52 ETH, currently held at the Ethereum address 0x358ef0130f7a5aa516dcd81bdc80b18cde41cac8. Initia stated that the security fix is expected to be completed and audited within a few days, and asset recovery efforts are being advanced with security partners. L1 and Rollup remain in a paused state, and a complete post-mortem report will be released subsequently.

According to anonymous security analyst Spreek, the Initia chain has been hacked, resulting in a large number of tokens being infinitely minted. So far, the hacker has cashed out approximately 2.6 million dollars, and more funds are still being transferred.

The Central Bank of Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joined the Singapore-led BLOOM initiative on Friday as members of the policymakers. BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, and is a public-private partnership initiative aimed at helping financial institutions utilize stablecoins and tokenized deposits for cross-border payments. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the initiative aims to reduce costs and help institutions bring services to market faster by decreasing the need for financial institutions to establish arrangements with each counterparty or market individually.The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched BLOOM in October 2025, building on Project Orchid, which was initiated in 2021 to explore the application of a digital Singapore dollar. BLOOM's work also covers corporate cash management, trade financing, and payments executed by AI agents within preset limits, with participants including Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa, and the World Bank Group. Additionally, the Central Bank of Malaysia announced in February that three initiatives would test the ringgit stablecoin and tokenized deposits for domestic and cross-border wholesale payments in 2026.

According to Jinshi, SK Group's newly established data center business unit SK Hyper is in talks with large technology companies and financial investors for financing, planning to raise funds for a data center construction project expected to cost $350 billion. SK Hyper has begun discussions with potential partners, aiming to build data centers in South Korea with a total capacity of 15 gigawatts by 2035.SK Hyper CEO Chung Suk-geun stated that the first phase of the 5-gigawatt construction alone requires $350 billion, which includes equipment costs. The company plans to complete its first round of external financing by the end of this year or early 2027, and will continue to raise funds over the next three to four years while sharing the overall construction costs with data center tenants and external investors.

Last week, the number of new applications for unemployment benefits in the United States fell to the lowest level in nearly 57 years, with layoffs decreasing and the labor market stabilizing. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor today shows that for the week ending October 17, the preliminary number of applications for unemployment benefits in various states decreased by 6,000, adjusted for seasonal variations, to 194,000. This figure is close to the 189,000 level reached in mid-July, the lowest since 1969.Economists believe that strong domestic demand in the United States has driven profit increases, protecting workers from layoffs. However, as the war between the U.S. and Iran intensifies, tightening financial conditions and rising interest rates may suppress the performance of the labor market next year.

For the week ending October 17, the number of initial unemployment claims in the United States was 194,000, lower than the expected 200,000, and the previous value was 199,000.

Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that Russia has agreed to hold a new round of trilateral talks between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia. The U.S. proposed to initiate the talks as soon as possible, which Ukraine supports, and the meeting may take place in early November or even earlier. Zelensky supports several peace initiatives but remains cautious about the prospects of the talks.

BitGo announced the establishment of a new research and innovation department, BitGo Labs, aimed at designing, launching, and validating the next breakthrough applications in the digital asset space. BitGo stated that this department focuses on use cases that can only be achieved through cryptographic technology, such as interest rates and yields that traditional systems cannot provide, and utilizes AI to complete builds in months rather than years.Initially, BitGo Labs will focus on the intersection of AI and cryptocurrency. BitGo pointed out that the AI economy still requires cryptographic financial infrastructure to handle micropayments, achieve instant settlements, and ensure asset security. At the launch of the department, several related projects were introduced, including the consumer application Gokubu, which uses AI-driven card optimization for user spending and is now live, allowing users to be assigned personalized AI financial assistants to help them obtain better rewards and transaction value.BitGo stated that in addition to the initial projects, BitGo Labs will also release research reports, protocol prototypes, and reference implementations, and collaborate with developers, scholars, and institutions in the cryptocurrency and AI communities. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe previously stated in an interview that AI agents are likely to use stablecoins as their native currency, and human control over AI will last longer than some predict. This statement responded to Maelstrom Chief Investment Officer Arthur Hayes' view that digital currencies like stablecoins cannot serve as the native currency for AI agents because they cannot be directly converted into computing power.

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued opinions to comprehensively implement the "Artificial Intelligence +" action, promoting the all-round empowerment of various industries by artificial intelligence. The opinions emphasize the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, promote the intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry, and accelerate the promotion and application of agricultural scientific and technological achievements.

According to a report by Reuters cited by Phoenix Technology, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon informed employees in an internal memo that the company will initiate performance-focused global layoffs following the annual employee evaluations, with notifications set to begin in November. The memo reviewed by Reuters was sent out on Monday, and Amon stated that this move aims to establish a stronger performance culture and address the company's ongoing failure to meet expectations.The memo did not disclose the number of layoffs, and Reuters is currently unable to determine the scale. Amon mentioned that the layoffs will take into account business priorities, organizational needs, skills, and expertise; as the business expands, the required capabilities and skills are also changing, and it is essential to have the right people in the right positions. Qualcomm has not yet responded to Reuters' request for comment. As of September 2025, Qualcomm has approximately 52,000 employees worldwide, most of whom are full-time, with the fiscal year typically ending in late September.As one of the world's largest smartphone chip manufacturers, Qualcomm has been impacted this year by sluggish sales of consumer electronics, and soaring memory chip prices have suppressed demand in key markets. Since the beginning of the year, Qualcomm's stock price has increased by about 1.5%, while the S&P 500 index has risen by over 12% during the same period, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has seen an increase of nearly 60%. On Tuesday, Qualcomm's stock price fell by about 1% in pre-market trading. In the most recent earnings report released in late July, Qualcomm projected that quarterly profits would fall below market expectations and indicated that revenue from Apple products would decline faster than previously anticipated, while stating that by fiscal year 2027, growth in data centers and other non-mobile businesses would be sufficient to offset the aforementioned losses and provide additional growth.

The NEAR ecosystem governance proposal HSP-029 has entered the voting stage, proposing to gradually reduce the maximum annual issuance rate of NEAR tokens from 2.5% to 1.6%. This proposal was put forward by SVRN CEO Sal Ternullo, planning to linearly decrease by approximately 3.75 basis points per epoch over 24 months, while maintaining a 90/10 allocation ratio between stakers and the treasury. After the vote passes, there will be a 90-day grace period before the reduction officially begins.The proposal's calculations indicate that this plan is expected to reduce the issuance of approximately 11.8 million NEAR tokens over two years, with a cumulative reduction of about 66.1 million tokens over six years, equivalent to a 4.36% decrease in supply compared to the current situation. The annualized staking yield will gradually decrease from the current 5.268% to 3.372%. The author points out that this move aims to reduce the degree of dilution for non-staking holders and responds to discussions regarding the protocol's discretion risk following the withdrawal of the previous Sovereign Fund proposal.This proposal must go through a dual process to take effect: after passing the House of Stake vote, validators must also independently adopt it through the standard protocol upgrade process. The proposal cites Solana's SGP-0002, which was passed in August 2026 with a staking weight approval of 67.001% for a similar issuance reduction, as a precedent. Currently, the NEAR network has a total of 406 active validators, with a staking rate of 42.71%.

According to Israel's Channel 12, the proposal submitted by the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army to senior Iranian officials has been approved by the United States, and Iran has also tentatively agreed. The proposal partially responds to Iran's demand for the return of frozen funds, stipulating that the interest generated from the 6 billion dollars frozen in a Qatari bank will be transferred to Iran.Affected by this news, both WTI and Brent crude oil prices fell short-term by about 0.8 dollars, currently reported at 97.51 dollars per barrel and 105.76 dollars per barrel, respectively. On the news front, reports indicate that the U.S. and Iran have tentatively recognized Pakistan's mediation proposal.

According to data, yesterday and in recent days, global publicly listed companies in the U.S. stock market disclosed their latest official accounts regarding the allocation of crypto assets, stock buybacks, and capital structure optimization. The core updates are as follows:Strategy (NASDAQ: $MSTR) purchased 267 BTC, increasing the buyback limit to $3 billion: According to the latest 8-K document submitted by Strategy, the company bought 267 bitcoins at an average price of approximately $82,900 between October 12 and 18, 2026, totaling about $22.1 million (of which $22 million came from MSTR common stock ATM issuance, and $100,000 from its own USD Cash). During the same period, the company raised approximately $22 million through its ATM plan (selling 140,900 shares); additionally, it used USD Cash reserves to spend $193.1 million to repurchase 1,938,800 shares of STRC preferred stock. The company's board officially authorized the total amount for the digital credit securities buyback plan to be significantly increased from $2 billion to $3 billion (as of October 18, the remaining limit is approximately $1.16 billion). As of October 18, Strategy held a total of 848,517 bitcoins (with a total holding cost of approximately $64.02 billion, at an average price of approximately $75,446), with a USD Reserve balance of $4.83 billion and a USD Cash balance of $447.3 million.Strive (NASDAQ: $ASST) accumulated 4,045 BTC last week, with total holdings surpassing 36,800: According to the 8-K document submitted by Strive to the SEC, the company purchased 1,223 bitcoins at an average price of approximately $81,734 between October 14 and 16. Together with the previously disclosed 2,822 bitcoins purchased between October 12 and 13, Strive increased its holdings by a total of 4,045 bitcoins last week (with an average purchase price of approximately $82,803). As of October 16, its balance sheet held a total of 36,818 bitcoins, along with 505,000 shares of Strategy STRC preferred stock (with a fair value of approximately $49.35 million) and about $317.5 million in cash.BitMine (NASDAQ: $BMNR) increased its holdings by over 12,500 ETH last week, raising its total holdings to 6.04 million: Nasdaq-listed mining company BitMine disclosed that it increased its holdings by 12,535 ethers last week. As of October 18, 2026, its total ether holdings reached 6,041,481 ETH (approximately 4.9% of the total supply of ether in the entire network). Currently, the total value of the cryptocurrencies, cash, and other investment assets held by BitMine is approximately $15.1 billion (including $582 million in cash and securities, 215 BTC, $180 million in Beast Industries equity, and $74 million in Eightco investments). Among these, the staked ether remains at 5,067,309 ETH (accounting for 84% of total holdings), valued at approximately $12 billion, with a current annualized staking yield of about $309 million.SkyAI (NASDAQ: $SKYA) liquidated all SOL and launched a $201.3 million cash tender offer: Nasdaq-listed company SkyAI announced that it initiated a cash tender offer on October 16, intending to acquire up to 95% of all classes of issued common stock, various pre-financing warrants, and strategic warrants at a price of $3 per share/unit (approximately 0.95 times its net asset value mNAV), with a total acquisition amount of about $201.3 million (the offer will expire on October 30 at 12:00). SkyAI explicitly disclosed that as of October 16, the company held approximately $223.8 million in cash and had fully sold all SOL on its balance sheet, so the offer is no longer constrained by SOL price fluctuations, and the acquisition funds will be 100% covered by existing cash. SkyAI plans to maintain its Nasdaq listing status after the offer is completed, shifting its strategic focus to a comprehensive financial platform that combines Solana stablecoin payment channels with AI.

SkyAI (formerly Sharps Technology) has sold all of its treasury-held SOL, with its holdings decreasing from over 2 million SOL in September to zero as of October 16.Currently, the company holds $223.8 million in cash and has initiated a buyback plan to repurchase up to $201.3 million in assets at a price of $3 per share or per warrant.

Deutsche Bank is nearing the launch of institutional-grade cryptocurrency custody services, expected to begin serving institutional clients within weeks, initially targeting German companies and professional investors, supporting assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with technology co-developed by Swiss digital asset infrastructure company Taurus.This service is not aimed at retail cryptocurrency trading applications, and the related plans still require regulatory approval. Deutsche Bank has also discussed the possibility of tokenized deposits, digital securities, and expanding to Asian financial centers by 2027.