⚠️ Ethereum Faces BlackRock Risks, Bitcoin Slides

Good afternoon,

Today’s headlines include Bitcoin plunging below $87K as fading hopes for a December Fed rate cut trigger nearly $1 billion in liquidations. Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin has flagged new Ethereum risks tied to BlackRock’s growing influence, and a new survey shows that one in three young investors are ditching advisers who don’t offer crypto access. Plus, Texas is rapidly emerging as a national hub for AI, crypto, and capital formation.

Check out the rest of the news below! 👇

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News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

• Warner Music Strikes Licensing Deal With AI Music Generator Udio (Decrypt)

• AI Vending Machine “Claudius” Tries to Contact FBI Over $2 Fee (Cointelegraph)

• Elon Musk: AI Data Centers Will Be in Space Within 5 Years (Cointelegraph)

• AI Agents Now Power 1 in 5 Transactions on Base (Cointelegraph)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

• Fed Officials Split on December Cut; Asset Valuations Flagged as Risk (WSJ)

• Hyperliquid Launches 'Growth Mode' to Cut Fees and Boost New Markets (The Defiant)

• WLFI to Reimburse Users After Wallet Compromise Tied to Third-Party Phishing (WLFI)

• Anchorage and Mezo Partner to Bring BTC-Backed Loans to Institutions (Cointelegraph)

• India to Launch Rupee-Backed ARC Stablecoin in Early 2026 to Counter Dollar Outflows (Cointelegraph)

• WLFI Faces Backlash Over Wallet Freezes Despite 'Community Governance' Claims (Cointelegraph)

• Tether Invests in Parfin to Boost Institutional Blockchain Adoption in Latin America (Tether)

• Japan’s Top Asset Managers Eye Crypto Funds, Await Tax Reforms (DL News)

• GANA Payment Drained of $3.1M in BNB Chain Exploit, Funds Laundered via Tornado Cash (The Block)

Exchanges

• Coinbase to List Aster (ASTER) for Spot Trading on November 20 (Coinbase)

• Coinbase Expands ‘DeFi Mullet’ DEX Trading to Brazil (Cointelegraph)

• MEXC Partners with Hacken for Monthly Proof-of-Reserves Audits (Cointelegraph)

• Coinbase to List BOB (BOBBOB) for Spot Trading (Coinbase)

• VerifiedX Partners with Crypto.com for $1.5B Institutional Asset Support (Wu Blockchain)

Exchange-Traded Products

• Abu Dhabi Tripled Bitcoin ETF Holdings Before Crash, Signaling Long-Term Bet (Bloomberg)

• BlackRock Files for Staked Ether ETF, Eyes Yield Market (CoinDesk)

• XRP and Dogecoin ETFs Set to Begin Trading Within Days (Decrypt)

• U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs posted $75.47 million in net inflows on Nov. 19.

• On Nov. 19, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs saw $37.35 million in net outflows.

• U.S. Solana spot ETFs saw $55.61 million in net inflows on Nov. 19.

• Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Buys $39M in Crypto Stocks as Prices Slide (Cointelegraph)

• 21Shares Adds Six New Crypto ETPs to Nasdaq Stockholm, Expanding Nordic Reach (Globe Newswire)

• 21Shares Debuts Leveraged Dogecoin ETF as FalconX Deal Closes (The Block)

Infrastructure

• Avalanche ‘Granite’ Upgrade Boosts Efficiency and Attracts Institutions (DL News)

• Aztec Launches Privacy-Centric L2 Ignition Chain on Ethereum Mainnet (The Block)

• Bitcoin Core Passes First Public Security Audit With No Major Issues (Quarkslab)

• Sequence Launches “Trails” to Simplify Cross-Chain Crypto Payments (Decrypt)

• Post-Quantum Blockchain Security Validated in New Audit (Cointelegraph)

Markets

• Stellar’s XLM Breaks $0.25 Support Amid Surging Institutional Sell Pressure (CoinDesk)

• Zcash Surges 31% as Cypherpunk Technologies Adds $18M to Treasury (Decrypt)

• Bitcoin Falls Below $89K as Fed Minutes Highlight Division on Rate Cuts (The Block)

• Nvidia Q3 Revenue Soars 62% to $57B, Guides Higher for Q4 (Wall St Engine)

• Block Shares Jump 8% on New 3-Year Growth Outlook, $5B Buyback Plan (The Block)

• Odds of December Fed Cut Dive to 33% as Bitcoin Sinks Below $89K (Cointelegraph)

• Base Co-founder Jesse Pollak Launches Personal Token $JESSE on Base App (Jesse Pollak)

• Bitcoin Rebounds to $92K as Nvidia's $57B Earnings Eases AI Bubble Fears (DL News)

• U.S. Jobless Claims Beat Expectations, But Unemployment Ticks Higher (DOL, BLS)

• Prediction Markets Surge as Wall Street and Tech Bet Big (Bloomberg)

• Nillion Blames Unauthorized Market Maker for NIL Token Dump (Nillion)

• Bitcoin Dips Below $87K as Rate Cut Hopes Diminish, Liquidations Near $1B (Decrypt)

Mining

• Bitcoin Miners Rally After Nvidia’s Blowout Q3 Sends Sector Soaring (The Block)

• Cipher Mining Secures Full-Site Lease With Fluidstack, Plans $333M Raise for Texas Expansion (The Block)

Politics & Regulation

• CFTC Chair Nominee Michael Selig Pressed on Crypto Oversight, Agency Independence (The Block)

• Trump Eyes Executive Order to Preempt State AI Laws, Centralize Oversight (Decrypt)

• CFTC Nominee Selig Backs Crypto Clarity, Dodges on Prediction Markets (DL News)

• Rep. Warren Davidson Proposes Bill to Let Americans Pay Federal Taxes in Bitcoin (House)

• Crypto Groups Urge Trump to Fast-Track IRS and Regulatory Clarity (The Block)

Treasuries

• CEA Industries Adds Over 15,000 BNB to Holdings (The Block)

• Metaplanet Launches $150M Bitcoin-Backed Preferred Equity Offering (CoinDesk)

• Metaplanet to Buy $95M More Bitcoin After $135M Preferred Share Raise (The Block)

• BitMine Faces $3.7B Loss as BlackRock’s ETH ETF Threatens DAT Model (Cointelegraph)

• FG Nexus Sells Over 10,000 ETH to Fund Share Buybacks (The Block)

Other News

• Former Olympian Ryan Wedding Sanctioned by U.S. as Crypto-Fueled Drug Empire Unravels (Decrypt)

• Vitalik Buterin Warns of Two Key Threats to Ethereum from BlackRock’s Growing Influence (DL News)

• DeFi Could Slash Remittance Costs by 80%, Saving Unbanked $30B Annually (Cointelegraph)

• Cancer Diagnosis Spares Jack Abramoff Prison for $5M AML Bitcoin Fraud; Ordered to Repay $2.2M (Decrypt)

• Samourai Wallet Co-Founder Gets 4 Years for Role in Crypto Mixing Scheme (The Block)

• Core Foundation Secures Injunction Against Maple Finance Over Alleged Breach of Exclusivity Agreement (Core DAO)

• WhatsApp Worm Targets Brazilian Crypto Users With Banking Trojan (Cointelegraph)

• 1 in 3 Young Investors Ditch Advisers Lacking Crypto Access, Survey Finds (Cointelegraph)

• Singapore Retail Crypto Investors Prioritize Trust Over Fees, Survey Finds (Cointelegraph)

• Record Financial Pushes to Bring Real-Time Royalties to Avalanche (Decrypt)

• Texas Emerges as the New Epicenter for AI, Crypto, and Capital (Forbes)

• Korean Bank Employee Embezzles $700K for Crypto, Loses Almost Everything (DL News)

• UK Fraud Office Arrests Two in $28M Basis Markets Crypto Rug Pull (The Block)

Check This Out!

BTC is down 24% so far in Q4, performing worse than in 2022 and 2019.

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