pliant

According to Pliant's announcement, the company has completed a $80 million Series C financing round, led by Seaya Nova and Speedinvest, with participation from Illuminate Financial, Motive Ventures, and Molten. The funds will be used for expansion in the United States and Canada, entering more international markets, and accelerating the AI payment roadmap.The company stated that it has doubled its business for three consecutive years, with annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million, and can open its B2B payment infrastructure to external AI entities such as Claude and ChatGPT through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

OKX founder and CEO Star stated on social media that they will promote perpetual contracts into the regulated U.S. market. This project is jointly advanced by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), the on-chain perpetual contract platform Trade.xyz, and OKX.According to public information, ICE has signed a final agreement with Trade.xyz to plan the establishment of an independent trading and clearing system in the U.S., supporting 24/7 perpetual contract trading for stocks, indices, commodities, foreign exchange, and crypto assets. Among them, ICE serves as the exclusive operator for the U.S. market, Trade.xyz is the exclusive partner for ICE to launch this business in the U.S., and distribution to retail users will be conducted through a joint venture between ICE and OKX.Star stated that this collaboration will combine ICE's institutional-grade market infrastructure, Trade.xyz's on-chain innovation capabilities, and OKX's distribution and trading technology, aiming to create a new generation of global, round-the-clock financial markets.

On October 28, stablecoin payment infrastructure service provider WasabiCard announced that it will participate in the Dubai FinTech Summit 2026 from November 2 to 3, showcasing its compliant white-label card issuance solutions and global remittance services.According to the introduction, WasabiCard supports enterprises in customizing the issuance of virtual and physical cards, and facilitates cross-border payments in over 30 fiat currencies supported by stablecoin funds, with some channels enabling real-time or T+0 settlement. Currently, the platform has issued over 700,000 cards and has a cumulative transaction volume exceeding 1 billion USD.During the summit, WasabiCard will engage in communication and collaboration with financial institutions, fintech platforms, and corporate clients at the MultiBank Group Arena exhibition area, booth J2.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued an opinion requiring EU crypto firms to stop providing services involving stablecoins that do not comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, and has given a three-month deadline to address existing risk exposures. ESMA stated on Thursday that national regulators should require relevant firms to promptly address any remaining exposure to non-compliant stablecoins, no later than January 8, 2027.The guidance applies to crypto services regulated under MiCA, including trading platforms, exchange services, order execution, custody, transfers, investment advice, and portfolio management. ESMA stated that crypto firms should implement technical, contractual, and organizational controls to prevent EU customers from obtaining or increasing exposure to unauthorized stablecoins.Regulators may allow limited services to assist customers in exiting existing positions, including liquidation, exchange, withdrawal, transfer, and custody, but such activities must be temporary and closely monitored. This update expands on the guidance issued by ESMA in January 2025, when it required restrictions on trading and exchange services involving non-compliant stablecoins.

According to The Defiant, SMBC Nikko Securities announced on October 2 that it has signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform called "DeFi Gateway" aimed at Japanese investors.Participants include blockchain development company Nethermind, Uniswap Labs, the general incorporated association Nyx Foundation, and Coinbase Technologies, which operates the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base. The project will develop a liquidity provision protocol and proprietary liquidity pool, complying with Japanese laws and regulations, with plans to complete development by mid-2027.The cooperation mainly focuses on three areas of development: first, creating a "proxy vault" with verifiable and reproducible AI and an intuitive user interface; second, utilizing Uniswap v4's Hooks feature to build a compliant liquidity pool public framework that incorporates anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) and investor protection mechanisms; third, developing asset management strategies covering digital assets such as stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA).The project is jointly led by SMBC Nikko Securities and Nethermind. SMBC Nikko Securities leads communication with regulatory agencies and provides compliance, risk modeling, and portfolio management expertise; Nethermind is responsible for technical design and development, including AI strategy and integration, smart contract security, as well as automated market making and Uniswap v4 Hooks strategies.

According to Cointelegraph, in response to a previous report by The Wall Street Journal regarding European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde pressuring Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to block Binance's MiCA license application, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that they "do not comment on speculative reports" and reiterated their intention to seek long-term compliance under the EU MiCA framework.Previously, Binance applied for a MiCA license in Greece in January 2026. In mid-June, reports indicated that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) planned to reject the application. Binance subsequently withdrew the application a few days before the MiCA deadline on July 1, stating that they would seek authorization from other EU member states. The European Central Bank and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission have not responded to the related reports.

According to the Financial Times, the UK cryptocurrency industry is entering the regulatory implementation phase. Zumo founder and CEO Nick Jones stated that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will open the application window for cryptocurrency asset authorization on September 30, with the new regulatory system expected to be officially implemented in October 2027.He pointed out that for a long time, regulatory uncertainty and counterparty risk have made financial institutions cautious about the UK cryptocurrency market, not due to a lack of interest in digital assets. As the regulatory path becomes clearer, traditional financial institutions such as the UK's largest retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown are beginning to enter the cryptocurrency market. The industry will gradually bid farewell to offshore operations, startup-style business processes, and unregulated models, and the importance of compliant infrastructure and local service providers will further increase.

Anatoly Popov, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Russia's largest bank Sberbank, stated that the scale of compliant cryptocurrency trading in Russia is expected to reach at least 40 trillion rubles in its first year, approximately 46.43 billion USD. The bank anticipates that as investors shift to the official trading system, the scale will increase to about 75 trillion rubles, approximately 87.06 billion USD, by 2029.He noted that most of the cryptocurrency trading volume will still flow outside of the regulated exchange system, with about 20% of the trading volume in the first year, or 35 trillion to 40 trillion rubles per year, being completed through exchanges. The relevant system will take effect on September 1, allowing investors to legally purchase cryptocurrency assets through brokers. Non-qualified investors can purchase up to 300,000 rubles of cryptocurrency assets per year through a single licensed intermediary, and they must pass a risk awareness test; the investment limit for qualified investors is 3 million rubles. Currently, the official exchanges can only trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, while other altcoins will be excluded; exchanges must complete registration by July 1, 2027.

According to BBX data, yesterday global digital asset funds, compliant financial infrastructure, and institutional merger and acquisition transactions disclosed the latest official ledgers and capital flows. The core dynamics are as follows:Grayscale Zcash spot ETF officially listed on the NYSE Arca: Grayscale's Grayscale Zcash Trust has officially completed its conversion and is now trading as a spot ETF on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, with the stock code "ZCSH". A Grayscale spokesperson stated that the management fee for this ETF is 2.5%, and all income generated will be reinvested into the Zcash ecosystem to promote and enhance the infrastructure and broader development of this privacy network.tZERO and Sui reach strategic cooperation to connect compliant securities infrastructure in the US stock market: Leading blockchain financial infrastructure platform tZERO announced a strategic partnership with the public chain Sui. tZERO will provide full-process support for regulated digital asset securities trading within the Sui ecosystem, covering asset issuance, transfer agent, asset custody, secondary matching transactions, compliance review, and clearing and settlement, significantly expanding Sui's ability to access US domestic financial infrastructure that meets institutional standards.Crypto custodian Copper receives a $200 million potential acquisition offer, valuation down over 90% from peak: The UK-based veteran crypto custodian Copper, once valued at $2.5 billion, has recently attracted interest from new potential buyers, but the acquisition offers received so far are only about $200 million. This valuation not only has significantly decreased but is also far below the $500 million acquisition intention proposed by Cantor Fitzgerald a few months ago, reflecting the valuation pressure in the institutional custody sector amid the transition between bull and bear markets and regulatory reshuffling.RockawayX plans to raise $150 million for a new liquidity fund: Digital asset investment firm RockawayX, which manages approximately $2 billion in assets, announced that it is currently seeking to raise $150 million for its new "Liquidity Opportunity Fund." Previously, RockawayX successfully completed the full acquisition of the crypto hedge fund Relayer Capital, continuously expanding its layout in the secondary market and liquidity strategies.

Hyperliquid testnet has added compliance operation control features such as whitelisting, forced liquidation, and collateral transfer. Currently, a node named "Kraken HIP-3 test DEX" is testing these licensed features, and 10 wallets have been whitelisted.Although the testnet supports permissionless deployment, in light of Kraken's parent company's recent business expansion trends, the community speculates that Kraken may be the first CEX to test this compliant DEX functionality.

ARK Invest Research Director lorenzoark suggested that Hyperliquid acquire the U.S. compliant trading platform Gemini, transforming it into a U.S. regulated HIP-3 and HIP-4 deployment platform. Hyperliquid is in contact with the CFTC and SEC to support U.S. regulated companies in offering perpetual contract trading and settlement on its public chain. Gemini went public in September 2025 with a valuation of $3.3 billion, and its current market value is approximately $450 million, down over 85% from its IPO. Its core business is under pressure, having scaled back operations in the UK, EU, and Australia, with staff reduced by about 40% from a peak of 402 to 402, and platform assets decreasing from $18.2 billion to $8.4 billion, with spot trading volume down 66%.Approximately $450 million would secure Gemini's complete U.S. regulatory license portfolio, including the NYDFS trust license, CFTC-regulated DCM (Gemini Titan), DCO (Gemini Olympus), an ongoing FCM, nearly all state MTLs, and broker-dealer licenses. In comparison, Kraken's parent company acquired Bitnomial for up to $550 million, making Gemini's overall market value lower. After the acquisition, it could inherit operational assets such as approximately 580,000 monthly active trading users, 1.72 million lifetime users, $8.4 billion in platform assets, quarterly spot volume of $3.8 billion, and approximately $180 million in annualized revenue.

Blockworks research indicates that Hyperliquid is seeking a compliant path in the U.S. market through regulatory advocacy and technical adjustments. The report states that Hyperliquid's modular architecture (HyperCore is responsible for trading and clearing, Deployer is responsible for market creation, Builder is responsible for user access) naturally corresponds to the functional division of DCM, DCO, and FCM in traditional finance, but is implemented on-chain.Hyperliquid is currently blocked due to conflicts with U.S. market structure laws. The report believes that the licensed HIP-3 deployment (DEX for whitelisted users only) is key to the compliance path, where registered entities can assume KYC and compliance obligations while bridging liquidity through whitelisted market makers. Trump's recent announcement that the CFTC chairman intends to include Hyperliquid in the U.S. regulatory framework is seen as a positive signal. The Hyperliquid policy center has submitted recommendations to the CFTC and SEC, advocating for allowing registered institutions to use HyperCore while assuming compliance responsibilities.

HashKey has become the authorized distributor of the Anchorpoint Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin HKDAP, launched beta testing, and completed the first minting and redemption transaction.

According to The Block, Tether's compliant stablecoin USA₮ (USAT) has officially launched on the Celo mainnet, marking its second mainnet deployment after Ethereum. The token is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and can be natively minted and redeemed on Celo, and can be directly used for on-chain gas payments through Celo's fee abstraction mechanism.USAT launched in January this year, with a current market capitalization of approximately $185 million.

According to official news, Raydium announced the launch of permissioned automated market makers (AMM) and permissioned pools, open to asset issuers that need to meet KYC or regulatory requirements.Issuers can directly access the liquidity infrastructure on the Solana chain while maintaining participant access control, establishing a compliant secondary trading market.

Injective stated that it has submitted a transfer agent registration application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The transfer agent is responsible for maintaining the official ownership records of securities and handling transfer changes, a function typically maintained by specialized institutions off-chain in traditional markets.This application aims to migrate this core market function on-chain, allowing the tokens themselves to serve as ownership records, thereby enabling the registration and transfer of tokenized securities to be completed in seconds and reducing intermediary verification steps.