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Stablecoin issuer Circle is seeking to enter about 40 developing markets, according to the company’s CEO and ​chairman, Jeremy Allaire.“We’re kind of going through an inflection point…a transition right now, ‌and that transition is essentially moving from the early adopter phase of blockchain technology into the mainstream scaling phase,” Allaire told Reuters, speaking Friday on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings ​in Bangkok.Markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East are experiencing increasing demand for stablecoins as businesses and individuals seek to enter the internet-based economic system, Allaire reportedly said. Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 24 that analysts at Bernstein were bullish on Circle, foreseeing a new growth cycle for its USDC stablecoin may provide a significant boost for the company over the next 12 months.Bernstein said the next phase of stablecoin growth could be driven by several factors, including renewed momentum in crypto markets, greater US regulatory clarity, tokenized capital markets and growing adoption of stablecoins for payments. The analysts also pointed to early signs of stablecoin use in payments made by AI agents.Although USDC remains the second-largest dollar-backed stablecoin by market capitalization, well behind Tether’s USDt (USDT), it has gained significant ground in transaction activity. Bernstein said USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from about 40% in 2025 to more than 60% so far in 2026, overtaking USDt by that measure.On Sept. 8, Cointelegraph reported that Circle had agreed to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments platform Tazapay in a $400 million all-stock deal expected to close in 2027.Magazine: France is world’s most dangerous place for Bitcoiners: 90 attacks in 7 monthsCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Affiliates of the Fairshake political action committee (PAC), largely funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, have increased their initially announced expenditures by more than 50% in what could be a key race for control of Congress in 2026.According to Thursday filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs — a group that supports Republican candidates in primaries and elections — spent $46.6 million on media opposing former lawmaker Sherrod Brown and supporting Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio’s Senate race for the 2026 midterms. The spending marked a sharp increase over what Fairshake said in September it initially planned to spend opposing Brown’s return to the Senate: $30 million.“I’ve spent my career taking on Wall Street, taking on big pharma, taking on big oil and been successful in many cases,” said Brown in an interview aired Friday on Pod Save America, addressing the attack ads funded by the crypto industry, adding:“Jon Husted is their boy […] They know he’s their guy, they know I’m going to hold him accountable and I guess it’s a perfect storm, so they spend literally tens and tens of millions of dollars.”With just under three weeks until the US election, early voting has already been underway for 10 days in Ohio. Notably, Fairshake’s affiliate was not the only crypto-aligned PAC to ramp up spending as Ohio voters cast their ballots. The Digital Freedom Fund, a Super PAC created by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, reported about $3 million in ad spending this week to oppose Brown and support Husted, bringing the group’s total media purchases in the Ohio race to more than $5.9 million.Fairshake’s expenditures have already exceeded its efforts in 2024, when the PAC spent $41 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno and opposing Brown, who was running for reelection to the Senate at the time. The Democratic lawmaker chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was one of the more outspoken voices challenging laws and policies favored by the crypto industry while serving in Congress.Related: Vivek Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial run lacks the crypto rhetoric of his presidential bidThe Ohio race isn’t Fairshake’s only focus with the midterm elections looming. Defend American Jobs reported spending more than $6.7 million to oppose Independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate race. Osborn is running against Republican Pete Ricketts, who voted in favor of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act while in office.Cointelegraph reached out to Fairshake and Husted’s campaign for comment but did not receive an immediate response.How could the 2026 elections shape US crypto laws and policy?Fairshake has been open about its intention to “back pro-crypto candidates” in 2026 as part of a goal to fill the next session of Congress with lawmakers supportive of policies favored by the industry. The PAC reported in January that it held $193 million in cash on hand ahead of the elections.Beyond PACs like Fairshake and Digital Freedom Fund, other groups aligned with crypto interests have already tried to influence 2026 voters. The Fellowship committee, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, reported spending more than $11 million between August 2025 and August 2026, largely on media supporting House and Senate candidates.Magazine: Can the SEC and CFTC’s pro-crypto rules be overturned? Legal opinion

Stablecoin-funded remittances continue to offer substantial cost savings over traditional money transfers, particularly in emerging markets, reinforcing one of the leading use cases for digital dollars as payment activity grows.According to a new third-quarter report from Borderless.xyz, a stablecoin payments network, sending a $200 remittance through stablecoin-funded payment rails costs a median of 1%, or $2, compared with 6.36%, or $12.72, for traditional remittances, based on World Bank data.The difference makes stablecoin-funded remittances roughly 84% cheaper, although the comparison uses Borderless’s third-quarter 2026 pricing and World Bank figures from the same period in 2025.The savings are also substantial across emerging markets. In Sub-Saharan Africa, stablecoin-funded remittances cost 2.9%, compared with 8.46% for traditional transfers. In Latin America, the costs are 1.25% and 5.64%, respectively.Business payments made through stablecoins are also significantly cheaper, according to the report. A $10,000 stablecoin-funded transfer to the eurozone costs as little as $26 when routed through the lowest-cost provider, compared with $52 across all corridors at the median provider.By comparison, a traditional international bank wire costs between $135 and $150 for the same amount, including transfer fees and an assumed 1% foreign-exchange margin.Stablecoins offer significant cost savings on larger business transactions. Source: Borderless.xyzRelated: Mastercard brings stablecoin balances into traditional banking and card paymentsStablecoin payouts settle in minutes, but reliability variesBeyond cost savings, the Borderless report found that stablecoin-funded payments can reach recipients’ local bank accounts in minutes, depending on the payment network used.In Brazil, payouts through the PIX network settled in a median of two minutes during the third quarter, while Mexico’s SPEI network took three minutes. Colombia’s PSE network also recorded a median settlement time of two minutes.By comparison, traditional SWIFT transfers typically settled the next business day, with the slowest 10% taking three business days.However, payment completion rates varied considerably. Mexico’s SPEI network successfully completed 98.6% of payouts, followed by Brazil’s PIX at 97.8%. Colombia’s PSE network completed 79%, while Costa Rica’s SINPE recorded a completion rate of just 73%.The findings come as stablecoin transaction activity continues to grow. Standard Chartered recently highlighted rising transaction volumes despite relatively flat growth in the overall stablecoin market capitalization this year. The bank expects the market to reach $2 trillion by 2030, two years later than its previous forecast.Related: Crypto Biz: Wealthy investors are buying crypto, but their advisers aren’t sold

Tokenization is beginning to reshape traditional financial markets, with stocks increasingly in focus. Much of the attention has centered on the $3.3 billion in tokenized equities now onchain, according to RWA.xyz, but one of the biggest innovations may be what happens before Wall Street opens and after it closes.According to the latest industry data, more than 70% of tokenized stock trading volume on BNB Chain now occurs outside regular US market hours, with similar patterns emerging on Solana and Base.Tokenized equities allow investors to trade US stocks across time zones without waiting for Wall Street’s opening bell, potentially changing how liquidity is distributed throughout the day.However, many platforms driving this activity remain off-limits to American investors, even as US regulators begin to make room for tokenized stock trading.This week’s Crypto Biz looks at tokenized stock trading, the economics of Bitcoin mining, proposed accounting rules that could make it easier for companies to treat stablecoins as cash equivalents, and Strive’s expanding Bitcoin treasury.Tokenized stocks find an audience beyond Wall Street’s trading hoursMost tokenized stock trading on Solana and BNB Chain now takes place outside regular US market hours, suggesting that around-the-clock access is becoming a major selling point for equities issued onchain.According to Blockworks data cited by The Kobeissi Letter, more than 70% of tokenized stock trading volume on BNB Chain occurs outside the traditional 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern trading window. The figure is 63% on Solana and nearly 60% on Base.Activity is also picking up. Jupiter reported a 50% month-over-month increase in tokenized asset trading volume, while RWA.xyz data showed the value of tokenized stocks climbing 15% over the past 30 days to nearly $3.3 billion.The trend comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption opens the door for qualifying platforms to trade tokenized US-listed stocks on public blockchains, subject to disclosure and shareholder protection requirements. However, existing offerings such as xStocks and Ondo Global Markets remain largely unavailable to US investors, limiting domestic participation in the growing market.Source: The Kobeissi LetterStrive adds 3,311 Bitcoin as investors exercise $208 million in warrantsBitcoin treasury company Strive increased its holdings by more than 11% last week, using proceeds from warrant exercises to expand its cryptocurrency reserves while increasing Bitcoin exposure per share.In a Tuesday filing with the SEC, Strive disclosed that it purchased 3,311 BTC during the week ending Oct. 9 at an average price of roughly $84,500 per coin. The purchases brought its total holdings to 32,773 BTC, making it the fifth-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder.CEO Matt Cole said investors exercised $208 million in warrants, with about $15.3 million still outstanding ahead of Tuesday’s expiration.Strive also amended its governing documents to establish a binding $100 minimum issuance price for its SATA preferred shares, which were trading at $99.40. Meanwhile, Bitcoin traded near $83,300, below Strive’s average purchase price for the week, while its common stock, ASST, was little changed at $27.52.Source: Matt ColeBitcoin miners face steep financing costs in AI expansionBitcoin mining companies expanding into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing face a widening gap in borrowing costs as lenders examine the risks of large-scale data center projects.According to BlocksBridge Consulting’s Miner Weekly, securing AI customers is only part of the challenge. Miners also need billions of dollars to build facilities, purchase equipment and secure power infrastructure, with financing terms increasingly dependent on the customer and likelihood of project completion.The differences are evident in recent deals. IREN secured $3.65 billion in financing in June at a blended interest rate of 6%, followed by another $2.4 billion in August at a fixed 9% rate. The agreements cover different projects, however, making direct comparisons difficult.The financing needs are substantial. A June BlocksBridge analysis citing VanEck estimated that publicly traded Bitcoin miners required $50 billion to fund their AI infrastructure ambitions. IREN alone faced a $21.1 billion funding gap, followed by Riot Platforms at $7.2 billion and HIVE Digital Technologies at $4.6 billion.US accounting proposal could give stablecoins a corporate boostA proposed change to US accounting standards could make stablecoins more attractive to corporate treasuries by allowing qualifying tokens to be treated as cash equivalents on company balance sheets, according to a report from payments blockchain Tempo.Under current accounting practices, stablecoin holdings may not count toward a company’s reported cash reserves, potentially affecting liquidity ratios and loan covenants even when the tokens are fully backed by US dollars.The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposal could change that, though Tempo noted that companies would need direct redemption rights with stablecoin issuers to qualify. For example, simply purchasing USDC through a cryptocurrency exchange would not necessarily meet that requirement.Coinbase already classified USDC and other payment stablecoins as cash equivalents in its 2025 annual report, supported by its redemption arrangement with Circle.The proposal is open for public comment until Nov. 19, after which FASB will review the feedback before determining the final rules and their effective date.Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

French hardware wallet maker Ledger received multiple reports of malicious hardware implants months before its latest security crisis, according to Mark Karpelès, former CEO of the collapsed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.Karpelès told Cointelegraph he was aware of at least two people who contacted Ledger about tampered devices dating back to December 2025. Karpelès said he hasn’t encountered any public warning Ledger issued in response.Joe Grand, a security researcher, told Cointelegraph he alerted Ledger on March 4, 2026, about a malicious implant in a Nano X purchased through online marketplace Lazada Thailand in August 2025.Grand said Ledger acknowledged his findings and said it was investigating internally, but he criticized the company for not proactively warning customers about the threat.Vietnamese crypto educator Tai Zen contacted Ledger about a suspected hardware wallet implant in December 2025, according to Mark Karpelès. Source: Tai ZenLedger’s ongoing security crisis surfaced Oct. 9, when crypto losses were reported involving wallets sold through CryptoBilis, a reseller authorized in Southeast Asia. Ledger has confirmed that one affected device contained an unauthorized implant.Ledger declined to comment when asked about its handling of Grand’s disclosure, and referred Cointelegraph to its public statements on X.“Maybe Ledger not responding to a single event of an implant found on a Ledger purchased from a shady dealer is normal,” Karpelès said. He added: However the increasing number of reports they must have received, and the increasing quality/technology used should have alerted them enough to act, and at least remind customers to be careful.”Marketplace listings expose reseller verification gapsIn a presentation shared with Cointelegraph, Grand identified the seller of the tampered Ledger as “LedgerXXX” on Lazada. At the time of writing, LedgerXXX is not listed as an authorized reseller in Thailand, though Lazada’s Ledger storefront is.Cointelegraph sought clarification from both Grand and Ledger on the seller’s identity and authorization status when the device was purchased.OneKey’s head of sales, Archie, told Cointelegraph that marketplaces such as Lazada host numerous independent sellers, making it difficult for customers to distinguish authorized stores from other listings.Source: Grand Idea Studio (Joe Grand)Related: Can crypto users trust the supply chain behind hardware wallets?Following the recent incidents, OneKey removed its reseller listings pending stricter checks, saying manufacturers must take responsibility for protecting customers rather than relying solely on buyers to identify trustworthy sellers.Unauthorized wallet sales still raise security concernsGrand’s findings were not limited to Ledger. In August 2026, he also alerted Trezor about tampered Trezor One and Model T wallets purchased from unauthorized sellers on TikTok and Facebook.Trezor told Cointelegraph that counterfeit wallets occasionally appear through unauthorized sellers, as it had warned in 2022 about modified devices sold on Russian marketplaces. The company said that its recent claim of no evidence of compromised devices applied only to new wallets sold through authorized resellers.Related: Trezor reduces resellers as a ‘preventative step’ amid Ledger tampering reportsStill, Trezor said it treats reports involving unauthorized sellers as early warnings and uses researchers’ findings to improve security checks.“What changes the picture is a new technique, or a first case coming through an authorised channel,” Trezor said. “Either one means the problem has moved closer to ordinary buyers, and that’s when we’d move fastest, including warning customers directly.”Magazine: Scammer Loses $4.8M Stored On Tampered Ledgers: Asia Express

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Tokenized assets are opening new trading opportunities across financial markets, but the growing supply of real-world assets (RWAs) being brought onchain has yet to be matched by investor demand, according to Alex Taaffe, chief revenue officer at crypto trading firm GSR.Speaking during on a panel on liquidity and market fragmentation at CONNECT by Cointelegraph: Singapore Edition on Oct. 9, Taaffe said liquidity is improving in trading for pre-IPO stocks, commodities and global equities that investors previously had limited access to. However, he said demand for fully tokenized RWAs has not kept pace with the growing number of assets being issued.Panelists (l-r): Rayco Tarrida Ortega, Min Teo, Shiliang Tang, Lingling Jiang, Alex Taaffe. Source: CointelegraphCointelegraph brought together Web3 founders, investors and industry executives for four panel discussions covering tokenization, stablecoin payments, onchain trading infrastructure and venture capital exits, alongside a startup pitch competition.“Specifically on RWAs, and fully tokenized assets, there’s a supply and demand inbalance. There’s a ton of supply. Every asset manager issuer wants to do capital formation onchain,” Taaffe said.He said that the growing number of asset issuers and blockchains has further fragmented liquidity across tokenized markets.Related: Securitize stock jumps over 10% after launching tokenized US equities on Solana. Source: RWA.xyzLingling Jiang, partner at DWF Labs, agreed that fragmentation remains a challenge, particularly when different issuers tokenize the same underlying asset but create separate liquidity pools. However, Jiang said cryptocurrency liquidity has improved significantly in recent years, even as the industry has more work to do.Related: Securitize stock jumps over 10% after launching tokenized US equities on SolanaStablecoin adoption hinges on everyday paymentsDuring the “Stablecoins at the Point of Sale: Cards, Wallets and the Race for Everyday Spend” panel, Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of ether.fi, said while stablecoins have made it easier to move money across borders, wider adoption depends on whether consumers can use them for everyday expenses.Silagadze pointed to Singapore, where consumers may hold USDC but still need local currency to pay bills, highlighting the gap between blockchain payment infrastructure and everyday financial services. Yvonne Chia, head of communications at USDD, said that if the stablecoin issuer coinsiders the user’s point of view, “the most important thing for you is the user experience.” “That’s the kind of direction that we want to move in, to make it as easy as possible for the user to have stablecoins, use stablecoins, to the point where it doesn’t cross their mind that they are using a stablecoin. It’s just a regular part of their lives,” Chia said.Panelists (l-r): Ciaran Lyons (moderator, Cointelegraph), Ilya Podoynitsyn, Yvonne Chia, Mike Silagadze, Ashna Vaghela. Source: Cointelegraph“The reason no one uses stablecoins in many parts of the world is because it just doesn’t plug into your day-to-day life,” Silagadze said.Beyond everyday usability, regulatory hurdles remain, Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, said. He pointed out that providers must navigate rules that differ across jurisdictions, forcing them to adapt their infrastructure and compliance systems to individual markets.Ashna Vaghela, chief customer officer at crypto payments provider Mercuryo, said that stablecoin payments should become as straightforward as using Apple Pay, with users able to complete transactions without leaving an application.“I think that’s the whole point, to be invisible,” Vaghela said.The discussion came as stablecoin market capitalization stood at $306 billion, up about 2% year over year after growing roughly 74% in the preceding 12 months.Stablecoin market cap. Source: DefiLlamaOnchain trading faces liquidity fragmentation and risk management challengesCrypto trading platforms face challenges identifying available liquidity across blockchain networks and managing counterparty risks, according to panelists discussing “What’s Still Missing in the Onchain Trading Stack in 2026.”Austin Federa, co-founder of DoubleZero, said moving liquidity between blockchain networks remains more difficult than in traditional financial markets. He said that “fragmentation is not just an execution problem, it’s like a data problem,” adding that “it’s actually very hard to figure out how much liquidity truly exists onchain.”Panelists (l-r): Alice Liu, Franklyn Wang, Miguel Morel, Austin Federa, Eunice Giarta. Source: CointelegraphOn the risk management side, Miguel Morel, founder and CEO of blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, said trading firms can use onchain data to assess counterparty risks, particularly in prediction markets, where some participants may have an informational advantage over others.“If you know who’s on the other side and you’re taking less risk, you can offer a tighter spread,” Morel said, adding that this can lead to better prices for customers.The same blockchain data can also help exchanges evaluate customer deposits, Morel said, allowing them to assess where funds originated and inform compliance decisions.“Without needing to ask for a passport, you can know where those deposits are coming in from,” Morel said. He added that exchanges can use the information to determine whether to permit trading with deposited funds or refer them for compliance review.Related: Bitcoin.de trading remains halted as German regulator rejects MiCA applicationCrypto investors face tougher exits as markets matureLiquidity challenges have complicated exits for crypto venture capital investors, according to panelists discussing “The Exit Problem: How Investors Get Their Money Back.”Pulkit Gupta of Nomad Capital said liquidity in crypto markets has been particularly weak over the past three months, with much of it concentrated in larger cryptocurrencies.“For me, on the altcoins, it has been really tough for us to get an exit,” Gupta said. The venture capital firm has backed several crypto projects with publicly traded tokens, including Movement, Solayer and Berachain.Panelists (from l-r): David Shengart (moderator, Cointelegraph), Andre Nabais, Pulkit Gupta, Aleksandr Nexhaev, Sonia Shaw Source: CointelegraphEchoing the shift toward longer-term expectations, Sonia Shaw, CEO of OneAsset, said the market has matured, requiring startups to demonstrate stronger business fundamentals. Recalling an investor who expected an exit within six months, she said, “I don’t think the market’s like that anymore.”Shaw characterized the move away from rapid exits as a positive sign of market maturity.Aleksandr Nechaev, partner at Funders VC, highlighted the challenges presented by the speed of change for both products and markets. “The rapid pace of change makes founders’ expertise and ability central to investment decisions,” Nechaev said. Change and how founding teams navigate the uncertainty came up later in the day during the event’s pitch competition, powered by Funders VC.Magazine: Ledger attack spreads to EU, AI finds ’18 trillion XRP’ bug: Hodler’s Digest