US senators investigate Tether over payments of millions of dollars to a company owned by former White House crypto advisor Bo Hines

Tom Lee, chairman of Ethereum treasury firm BitMine, told CNBC in an interview today that the market is in a sell-off, with tech and semiconductor sectors under heavy pressure. Defensive sectors have instead strengthened, reflecting clear risk-averse traits in the market. Lee added that the market is currently overly pessimistic, and his technical analyst Mark Newton believes tech stocks have basically hit their support levels.

JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report that recent actions by U.S. regulators have, to some extent, offset the negative impact of the Senate’s failure to advance the Clarity Act, though political and legal risks persist. The report notes that measures led by agencies including the SEC, CFTC, and OCC can encourage institutional participation in the crypto ecosystem in the short term, but only legislation can establish a more durable regulatory framework. Until a comprehensive market structure bill is passed, political and legal risk premiums will remain elevated. The crypto industry currently relies on a series of fragmented regulatory measures, which could be rolled back as soon as two years from now if Democrats win the White House. The analyst assesses that the Clarity Act is unlikely to pass this year and may be delayed until 2027. Crypto market sentiment remains relatively upbeat, with the market focused on what steps the SEC, CFTC, and OCC can take to make it easier for institutions to enter the crypto space. (The Block)

Aave founder Stani announced during a third-quarter live stream that Coinbase’s tokenized stocks (AAPLc, AMZNc, GOOGLc, METAc, MSFTc, NVDAc, TSLAc) have launched on the Aave V4 Equity Center on Base. The service is only available to eligible non-US users, who can deposit these tokenized stocks as collateral to borrow USDC, with Chainlink providing official oracle data.

Pershing Square Capital CEO Bill Ackman stated that the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Iran war, persistent high inflation and interest rates are weighing on an otherwise stronger market environment. However, with geopolitical risks easing and energy prices declining, he expects market prospects to improve notably, dubbing 2027 "an amazing year". In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Ackman noted that if war-related uncertainties recede—especially if the Russia-Ukraine situation progresses in a positive direction—energy prices could fall sharply, which would support lower inflation and better financial market performance. He also referred to the Iran war as "an extremely well-executed war", adding that peace in the Middle East would not only benefit the region but also ultimately the United States.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has banned personnel at the Pentagon and defense agencies from using non-public information to bet on upcoming military operations, including trading on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. In a memo sent Tuesday to senior officials at the Department of Defense and related defense bodies, Hegseth stated the ban covers both classified and unclassified information, noting that betting on prediction markets could expose military operations and undermine operational security and personnel judgment. The directive comes after U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged in April with using classified information about the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to bet on related outcomes on Polymarket, earning over $400,000 in profits. Prosecutors alleged Van Dyke participated in the planning and execution of the operation, while he has pleaded not guilty to all charges. In February this year, Israeli authorities arrested and charged a military reservist and a civilian, who are suspected of using classified information to bet on Polymarket regarding the outcome of a potential Israeli military strike on Iran. (Cointelegraph)

Aave founder Stani stated in a Q3 live stream that Aaveonomics 3.0 will include AAVE repurchases, staking, and burns. AAVE repurchases have been suspended since April 19, the day after the rsETH exploit incident. Since then, the DAO has committed 25,000 ETH to DeFi United to cover losses, and arranged a credit line of up to 30,000 ETH from Mantle. Ahead of the repurchase suspension, a forum proposal had suggested cutting the annual repurchase budget from roughly $50 million to $30 million.