Financial AI startup Casap announced Wednesday it has secured $56 million in Series B funding, led by Base10 Partners with strategic participation from Synchrony and Experian. The company’s total raised capital now stands at $90 million. Founded in 2023, Casap’s AI tools help banks and credit card companies handle disputes and chargebacks. According to the company, its clients reduce first-party fraud losses by up to 51%, boost chargeback win rates to 96% (compared to the industry average of 60%), and cut average dispute resolution time to 8 days, while traditional methods take up to 90 days. The startup did not disclose the valuation for this round.

Pre-market Wednesday saw mixed performance in the three major stock index futures: Dow Jones futures fell 0.13%, Nasdaq futures rose 0.43%, and S&P 500 futures edged up 0.19%, per Bitget’s market data. The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision in the early hours of Thursday Beijing time—the most significant macro event tonight, with markets closely monitoring the decision and subsequent remarks from Fed Governor Waller. Key pre-market U.S. stock news on Wednesday: 1. Microsoft will release its Q1 FY2027 results (ending September 30) after U.S. Eastern Time Wednesday’s close. Bloomberg consensus estimates project adjusted EPS of $4.72 (up ~14% year-over-year from $4.13) and revenue of $90.63 billion (nearly 17% YoY growth from $77.67 billion). 2. Alphabet (Google’s parent) will report Q3 results after U.S. Eastern Time Wednesday’s close. Bloomberg consensus forecasts its Q3 GAAP EPS at $2.99 and total revenue at $127.93 billion (up ~25% YoY from $102.35 billion). 3. Oracle expands Nvidia Vera Rubin AI server deployment to multi-gigawatt scale, adds Google and Cerebras chips. On Tuesday, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will scale its rollout of Nvidia’s latest Vera Rubin AI servers to multi-gigawatt capacity; no transaction value was disclosed. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang previously noted each gigawatt of the Vera Rubin system could generate up to $40 billion in revenue for the chipmaker. Oracle is also integrating chips from Alphabet and Cerebras Systems to diversify its computing power supply. 4. SK Hynix says all DRAM and HBM capacity is sold out by 2029, with Q3 operating profit beating expectations. 5. Apple will hold its second October event at 1:00 AM Beijing time Thursday, where the first touchscreen MacBook and new iPad mini are expected to launch.

Wolfe Research has reaffirmed its Outperform rating on SK Hynix with a $250 target price, citing robust demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI infrastructure. Analyst Chris Caso noted that upside potential in HBM pricing, increased memory production, and an attractive valuation of roughly 4.5x bull-case earnings will drive upside for the stock. Wolfe also estimates that, under SK Hynix’s expected shareholder return policy, the company will generate sufficient free cash flow to repurchase 28% of its shares within two years.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent has stated that regardless of whether Congress takes action, the U.S. Treasury will push to bridge the cryptocurrency regulatory gap between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The remarks signal that even if relevant legislation stalls at the congressional level, the Treasury still plans to coordinate the regulatory frameworks of the two agencies.

According to Ondo Finance's official blog, the Depository Trust Company (DTC) has officially launched the DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS). DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Ondo Finance has joined the service's ecosystem alongside institutions including Broadridge, DRW, and Fireblocks. DTC participants can convert between traditional and tokenized forms of securities interests, with tokenized interests holding the same ownership and protections as traditional securities. In July this year, Ondo's CRCLon and SPYon became the first tokenized stocks backed by DTC-tokenized equity interests. In May this year, Ondo joined DTC's Digital Asset Solutions Industry Working Group to provide feedback on DTS.

Well-known trader Killa posted that Bitcoin is set to see significant volatility on FOMC day, with an expected move of at least 10%+ in the next 7 to 10 days. As markets derisk ahead of the event, he leans toward a bullish reaction post-FOMC, which could push BTC to the $90,000 range. He also noted Bitcoin has a "potential downside scenario", in which it would fall roughly 10% more. "This is not my primary expectation; with bearish narratives already priced in ahead of this date, another 10% drop feels somewhat extreme," Killa said. A quantitative trader focused exclusively on BTC, Killa correctly predicted the peak of the current bull run in May 2025 and boasts over 200,000 followers on X. In mid-April, he shorted Bitcoin at $74,688, then flipped to a long position during the broad market selloff on June 5.