US prosecutors have cracked down on a transnational crypto fraud network centered in Eastern Europe, shutting down 241 related websites.

Nick Timiraos, a Wall Street Journal reporter widely known as the "Fed’s mouthpiece," said September’s underlying inflation came in above expectations for the second consecutive month, further bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again this year. Last month, Fed officials unanimously voted to hike rates, with nearly all policymakers projecting at the time another increase would come before the end of the year. September’s core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.33% month-over-month, beating nearly all Wall Street economists’ forecasts. Core CPI had climbed 0.29% month-over-month in August. This report raises two key questions for Fed officials. The more urgent one: after policymakers recently signaled they do not plan to adjust rates at their meeting in two weeks, can they still hold off on another hike until December? Some analysts argue that if officials ultimately intend to raise rates, there is little reason to delay, though Fed policymakers have not yet shown signs of reconsidering policy solely based on this single report. The more critical question is how high interest rates will ultimately need to climb. That depends on whether pressures from surging energy prices and the AI investment boom will spread to the broader economy.

On-chain analyst Ai Yi (handle @ai_9684xtpa) monitored that the "UBTC-to-ETH whale" continued its position adjustment, converting 13,036.32 ETH over the past 24 hours, valued at $32.59 million. Since October 11, the whale has cumulatively shifted more than 39,832.76 ETH from BTC, with a total value exceeding $100 million.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), U.S. semiconductor stock GlobalFoundries (GFS) rose 6.3% against the trend at the start of trading. The catalyst: GlobalFoundries plans to build two new chip factories in New York State, with the Japanese government providing up to $210 billion in financial support. As part of the agreement, the U.S. government will also acquire an approximately 4% stake in GlobalFoundries.

According to multiple Turkish media reports, early local time today, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (M?T) and Istanbul police launched a joint operation in Istanbul’s Be?ikta? district, arresting Richard Heart (real name Richard James Schueler), founder of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX, and his wife. The arrest was executed under an Interpol Red Notice issued by Finland at the end of 2024, on charges including aggravated tax fraud. During the operation, a large quantity of cash, dozens of luxury watches, firearms and ammunition, and electronic devices were seized; specific amounts have not been disclosed. Richard Heart is a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency space. In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued him and his associated entities for conducting unregistered securities offerings, claiming over $1 billion in fundraising, though the case was later dismissed due to jurisdictional issues.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower across the board. The Dow Jones fell 0.15%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq declined 0.65%. The U.S. storage sector continued its downward trend: SanDisk fell nearly 3%, SK Hynix dropped 3.5%, Western Digital declined 1.7%, and Micron Technology fell 1.9%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 2.1%.

Payment firm Lydian has announced that its merchant checkout application Lydian Pay is now available on Apple App Store and Google Play. Merchants can download the free app on their existing smartphones or tablets, complete verification, and start accepting payments—no card readers, contracts, or additional hardware required. Customers pay via digital asset wallets, while merchants settle funds to their existing bank accounts in local fiat currency. Lydian does not hold custody of merchants’ funds, and payment records can be reconciled through the Lydian Merchant Portal. The app supports merchants to select their accepted wallets, assets, and networks; it currently covers assets including USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, TRX, and networks such as Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, Base, and Bitcoin.