South Korean officials will meet crypto exchanges on 20 October to discuss delaying the 22% crypto income tax scheduled for January 2027. A new bill could push taxation to 2029, but no delay has been approved.
WeatherlyOpenAI is accelerating talks to raise about $30 billion at a valuation exceeding $1.4 trillion, aiming to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic’s expected IPO in mid-November. The move comes as both AI companies compete for funding amid growing investor concerns over high valuations, infrastructure costs and market volatility.
AnaisMastercard launched Stablecoin Security on 19 October 2026 to help banks detect fraud, scams and sanctions risks before stablecoin payments move on-chain. The service launched with Borderless.xyz and Keyrails, with global availability expected in 2027, as Mastercard expands its stablecoin payment and security services.
AnaisA Chinese-developed AI tool called Artex was used in cyberattacks targeting Japanese companies across sectors including finance, retail and logistics, with eight companies reporting data breaches in September and October. Japanese authorities are investigating the attacks as concerns grow over AI making cybercrime easier and increasing the risk of personal data leaks.
WeatherlyBitMine bought 12,535 ETH, raising its total holdings to 6.04 million ETH, or 4.9% of Ethereum’s supply, while its total treasury value fell from $16.2 billion to $15.1 billion in a week. Chairman Tom Lee blamed the crypto sell-off on AI concerns, geopolitical tensions and rising bond yields, but said BitMine still sees buying opportunities as it approaches its 5% Ethereum ownership target.
AnaisMrBeast-linked Beast Holdings received notices of allowance for two trademarks, MRBEAST FINANCIAL and BEAST FINANCIAL, covering crypto exchanges, payments, banking and other financial services. Both applications remain pending, with the company required to prove commercial use by 6 April 2027, while its plans follow BitMine’s $200 million investment in Beast Industries in January 2026.
WeatherlyOpenAI has introduced Locked Chats in ChatGPT, allowing users to hide private conversations from regular chat history using a four-digit PIN or supported device authentication. However, resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes all locked chats, protected files and related memory, which OpenAI Support cannot recover.
WeatherlyMastercard has opened early access to Agent Pay for Machines after demonstrating an AI agent making nine payments to two sellers for research and campaign images within one approved budget. The system uses Coinbase’s x402 protocol to support automated payments in fiat currencies and stablecoins, but is not yet commercially available.
AnaisHackers linked to the $295.7 million Drift Protocol exploit deposited 25,700 ETH worth about $61.56 million into Tornado Cash on 20 October 2026 to make the stolen funds harder to trace. Nearly $200 million in Ethereum remains linked to the attackers, leaving thousands of affected users facing uncertainty over whether they will recover their losses.
WeatherlyMural raised $15 million in a Tether-led funding round, bringing its total funding to $28 million. The fintech has processed $2.1 billion across 128 countries and plans to expand its stablecoin payments and compliance infrastructure.
Anais