Monthly Review
21 Oaks Newsletter — October 2026
1 November 2026·3 min read
October ends with the largest hack in crypto history: roughly $6.3 billion is affected at Binance, and the exchange intends to cover all losses. At the same time, tokenization is moving to the core of capital markets: JPMorgan (JPM) brings JPM Coin to Ethereum, OKX and ICE (ICE) apply for a 24/7 trading venue for tokenized US equities, and the OCC implements the GENIUS Act. In AI, capital requirements dominate: Meta (META) is seeking up to $95 billion in equity, SpaceX $40 billion for Nvidia chips. It remains open who will set the rules for custody and tokenized equities: exchanges, issuers or the SEC.
BREAKING
- Binance loses roughly $6.3 billion in a hack, the largest theft in crypto history. The exchange intends to cover all customer losses and is gradually reopening withdrawals. Source
MORE
- JPMorgan (JPM) brings its deposit token JPM Coin to Ethereum (ETH), making the bank's dollar deposits available to institutional clients on a public blockchain. Source
- Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META) unveil frontier models: Gemini 4 Argon costs $2 per million tokens; Muse Wonder, according to Meta, matches OpenAI and Anthropic. Source
- OpenAI brings models and Codex to Google Cloud and also plans to purchase TPU chips from Alphabet (GOOGL). Source
- Anthropic files for an IPO, bringing frontier AI to the public capital markets. Source
- SpaceX is negotiating $40 billion in debt financing to purchase Nvidia (NVDA) chips. Source
- Meta (META) creates a non-voting class C share and intends to raise up to $95 billion in equity for AI. Source
- Jensen Huang (Nvidia, NVDA) puts the cost of a 1 GW AI factory at $50 billion at GTC Berlin and introduces DSX POD. Source
- Lumentum (LITE) reports sold-out capacity for optical AI server components through 2029. Source
- OCC adopts the final rule implementing the GENIUS Act for stablecoin issuers and custody, effective January 2027. Source
- SEC proposes custody rules that allow investment advisers and funds to hold and self-custody crypto assets. Source
- US Treasury withdraws proposed rules on unhosted wallets and crypto mixers. Source
- OKX and NYSE parent ICE (ICE) apply to the SEC through a joint venture for an exemption for a 24/7 trading venue for tokenized US equities, with trading built on Uniswap v4 hooks. Source
- Securitize launches 1:1 backed tokenized shares of Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) on Solana (SOL). Source
- BlackRock (BLK) files for a third BTC ETF with a loss buffer, the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF. Source
- SoFi (SOFI) launches tokenized bank deposits with 4.4% interest and FDIC deposit insurance for crypto users. Source
- Ripple receives final OCC approval for its national trust bank behind the $2.6 billion stablecoin RLUSD, while Robinhood (HOOD) adds RLUSD to its institutional settlement. Source
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is supporting trade.xyz in bringing Hyperliquid perpetuals to the US market, while Kraken parent Payward becomes the first CFTC-regulated HIP-3 deployer on Hyperliquid. Source
- Firmus, in which Nvidia (NVDA) holds a stake, withdraws its IPO after demand collapsed. Source
- American Bankers Association accuses the OCC of undermining Congress with its rule on stablecoin rewards. Source
- Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Goldman Sachs (GS) join the objections filed with the SEC against the OKX-ICE joint venture's tokenized equity trading. The list of objecting issuers continues to grow. Source
SPEAKERS’ CORNER
- October saw profit-taking in crypto equities with an increasing focus on AI data centers, weighed down by the capex debate
- Many native crypto protocols largely avoided this correction
- The previously high correlation with tech equities appears to be increasingly breaking down
- Digital assets are thus establishing themselves more firmly as a standalone asset class
- Real-world use cases are raising interest among traditional investors
- We also sense this trend in conversations with financial intermediaries and asset managers
Translated from the German original, which is the authoritative version. Read the German version
