U.S. CFTC Acting Chairman: Enforcement Division Restructured, Refocused on Combating Fraud

According to official announcements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a new regulatory framework to standardize the custody of crypto assets by investment advisors and regulated funds. The framework is designed to provide a "compliance path" for holding digital assets under a set of rules that were largely established before the internet era. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated: "Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2008, the crypto asset market has evolved from a niche novelty to a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, with investors actively seeking exposure to it. Unfortunately, our rules and regulation have failed to keep pace with this development." The proposal addresses a key challenge facing institutional investors: that some crypto assets currently may not have qualified custody infrastructure available. It will also allow self-custody of crypto assets under specific circumstances, and permit state-level trust companies to provide custody services for the crypto assets of clients and regulated funds. This is highly significant for asset management firms, hedge funds, and other institutions that wish to hold Bitcoin and other crypto assets directly, rather than gaining exposure through ETFs or other intermediaries. Additionally, the proposal will allow investment advisors to engage in "self-custody" of crypto assets for clients and regulated funds in limited cases, including situations where the advisor determines no qualified custodian is accessible. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce further clarified that this "self-custody" refers to the investment advisor acting as the custodian of client assets, rather than investors directly controlling their own crypto assets.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed allowing more investment firms to hold digital assets on behalf of their clients. This marks the latest move by the agency to advance cryptocurrency regulation. Earlier, a market structure bill backed by the crypto industry stalled in the U.S. Senate last month. If ultimately passed, the proposal would eliminate some existing custody requirements. The SEC will solicit public comments on the proposal for 60 days before drafting a final version based on feedback. The final rule will still need to be approved by an SEC vote before taking effect.

US President Trump stated that we are making solid progress on the Iran issue, that Iran is ready to submit, and that we will win quite easily. We have moved large volumes of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and oil prices will decline again. Iran will either take very appropriate, wise actions or cease to exist soon. Even if an agreement is reached with them, they are highly unlikely to abide by it.

The Fed’s Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, said on Thursday: “I currently see no urgency for further action. There is no need for additional interest rate adjustments this year.” Bowman stated that Fed officials should take time to understand current economic trends and the impact of the September interest rate hike on the economy before deciding whether to adjust policy further. She added: “Inflation remains above our target. What we need is a better understanding of the trends.”

Sources said Anthropic is set to host its pre-IPO investor day event on October 14.

NVIDIA (NVDA.O) and SoftBank have each completed their final $10 billion investment in OpenAI’s latest funding round, fulfilling their respective $30 billion investment commitments. In March this year, OpenAI disclosed that the round secured $122 billion in total investment commitments, with a post-money valuation of $852 billion. Amazon (AMZN.O) had previously committed up to $50 billion and completed its full investment in July. With the latest funding round now closed, OpenAI is likely paving the way for its next private financing round, targeting roughly $30 billion in funding, with a potential valuation of around $1.4 trillion. SoftBank stated that following its latest investment, its cumulative investment in OpenAI totals $64.6 billion, giving it a roughly 13% stake. The final tranche of investment funds came in part from SoftBank’s $11.1 billion high-yield bond issuance completed at the end of September. (The Information)