The cash drain from US spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rolled on as the funds surpassed $1 billion in withdrawals so far in October.

Ether ETFs net outflows totalled $1.08 billion since the start of October after adding $26 million on Tuesday, according to SoSoValue data. The month’s withdrawals erased September’s $832 million in net inflows, leaving year-to-date net inflows at approximately $485 million.

October has already recorded the largest monthly net outflow since November 2025, with eight trading sessions still to go.

The outflows coincided with Ether’s 9.7% slide in October, from $2,700 to $2,438 at publication. ETH was down nearly 18% throughout 2026, according to CoinGecko.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs recorded $23 million in net inflows on Tuesday, adding to $527 million on Monday.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $67 million in net outflows in October, leaving net inflows for the year at roughly $809 million, according to SoSoValue.

Bitcoin traded at $82,954 at the time of publication, down 2.2% since Oct. 1 and 5.3% year-to-date.

Related: BlackRock files for third Bitcoin ETF, still no Solana or XRP

As election results began to point to a Republican defeat late on Nov. 3, WLFI, the token of World Liberty Financial, dropped 10%, reaching its all-time low. TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins plunged 8% and 11%, respectively, while DJTB, the tokenized version of Trump Media & Technology Group stock, lost 8% of its value.

TRUMP Underperformed Bitcoin

Since then, the tokens have recovered some of their losses, with WLFI recovering the most. However, WLFI and the other tokens failed to match bitcoin’s recovery. At the time of writing, WLFI was still down almost 5% over 24 hours, trading at $0.049, while bitcoin, after an initial post-election drop, was up more than 2% over the same period.

Meanwhile, TRUMP remained down 6% over 24 hours, trading at $1.49, and MELANIA was down almost 3% ($0.072). TRUMP’s 24-hour trading volume stood near $130 million, while MELANIA attracted only $6 million.

On the same day, WLFI investors also learned of Tron founder Justin Sun’s latest legal battle against World Liberty Financial. However, the market ignored the news.

Down More Than 98% From All-Time Highs

In any case, Trump-linked tokens had already been falling ahead of the elections amid a broader correction in the crypto asset market. WLFI is down 55% over the past year and 85% from its all-time high, while TRUMP has dropped 79% over the past 12 months and 98% from its all-time high. MELANIA fared better over the past year, falling 24%, but remains down more than 99% from its all-time high.

Risks of Investigations

The Trump family runs World Liberty Financial, a crypto company. Meanwhile, TRUMP and MELANIA are the official meme coins of the presidential couple. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Trump disclosed at least $1.4 billion in crypto asset-related earnings for 2025.

Therefore, as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, the likelihood of investigations into Trump’s crypto operations increases. For example, Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said this summer that “Trump family corruption” would be a major focus of a Democratic-led committee and cited World Liberty as a concern. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Trump-linked crypto firms have already hired lawyers and lobbyists ahead of possible investigations.

In any case, while Trump himself claimed there was “nothing illegal” about his family’s crypto ventures, Democrats might also struggle to pass anti-crypto legislation because the president can still veto it.

Bittensor [TAO] has had a good day over the last 24 hours. A really good one, actually. What’s going on behind the scenes?

Bittensor subnets hit $70 million in annualized revenue

Part of the excitement might just come down to money really being made on the network.

SubConnect recently estimated that they’re bringing in about $70 million a year. When it first started counting two months ago, that number was $35 million. Last month, it was close to $50 million.

So, that’s about 40% growth MoM; 2x from the starting mark. Therefore, possibilities for over $100 million towards the end of 2026 remain high.

The subnets have been busy too. In the last week of October alone, 18 of them shipped something new. Targon (SN4) bought back and burned 8,450 TAO, worth about $2.1 million. In fact, Leadpoet (SN71) said that its annual recurring revenue has 3x-ed in two months.

There’s a catch though. Annualized revenue is NOT a guarantee.

Subnets lean on token emissions; keeping this pace while improving margins is the hard part.

However, this is cool reason to hold on to hope.

TAO crypto moves up to $237; Futures traders not convinced?

TAO crypto was trading at $237.4, at the time of writing.

Earlier today, it was trading at close to $218.5 – An 8.6% hike. The biggest push was when it tagged about $239.5. Since then, it’s mostly been trading between $235 and $237.

Short-term RSI was 80 during the spike and has since slid down to 59.5. CMF was at 0.08. The peak was near 0.45, but it was still positive at press time. That’s something.

Futures traders haven’t really been chasing this though.

Open interest fell from $155 million to $135 million in late October. Since then, it’s barely moved. At the time of writing, it had a value of around $137.4 million, with the funding looking almost flat.

This implied that the rally was coming from spot buyers. That’s usually the healthier kind.

Hence, $235 is now the level to watch.

Final Summary

Bittensor subnets are now making about $70 million in annualized revenue.
TAO crypto’s price rose on the charts, with spot buyers leading. 

 

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced two consultation periods for how companies using decentralized finance can comply with its guidance, and exclusions for certain crypto assets following “recent legislative changes.”

In a Wednesday notice, the FCA opened consultation periods for helping DeFi companies comply with the financial watchdog’s rules on money laundering and financial crime. The agency also announced a consultation for “exclusions from cryptoasset regulation,” citing recent legislation in the country.

Regarding DeFi, the FCA said that the proposed guidance “seeks to clarify existing rules rather than establish new policy.”

“DeFi sits among the most innovative parts of [Financial Services],” said the UK Cryptoasset Business Council in response to the consultations. “The UK can still strike the right balance – clear perimeter rules, expectations that stay proportionate, and a framework that lets responsible innovation take root here instead of migrating elsewhere […] the FCA needs to get this right.”

The crypto regulation exclusions referred to the FCA’s reveal of a regulatory regime, including stablecoin holding arrangements and reserve assets, expected to be enforced starting in October 2027. The FCA opened applications for crypto entities on Sept. 30, with a Feb. 28, 2027 deadline for companies seeking to be in compliance with the rules. 

Related: UK sanctions three crypto exchanges tied to Russian illicit funds

Tron founder Justin Sun is seeking $263,821.20 in sanctions against World Liberty Financial and its lawyers, accusing the Trump family-linked crypto company of submitting a misleading court disclosure about its ownership in a legal dispute over his $45 million WLFI token investment.

In a federal court filing, Sun and two co-plaintiffs alleged that World Liberty initially listed Florida as its sole citizenship before amending its disclosure nearly three months later to identify 22 individuals and entities in its ownership chain, including those in the United Arab Emirates.

“World Liberty presumably always knew who its owners were,” Sun said. “When we asked how this happened, World Liberty refused to tell us.”

The amended disclosure came six days after a federal judge questioned World Liberty’s bid to move Sun’s claims into arbitration. World Liberty’s lawyers subsequently argued that the company’s UAE citizenship deprived the federal court of jurisdiction because foreign parties were on both sides of the lawsuit.

World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Related: Circle shareholder sues Trump, World Liberty and Steve Witkoff over crypto deals

In April, Sun sued World Liberty, alleging fraud and the unlawful freezing of his tokens. World Liberty filed a defamation lawsuit against Sun in May, alleging false statements and violations of token-sale terms. Sun denied the allegations.

The legal back-and-forth followed a January 2025 agreement by an Abu Dhabi-backed investment vehicle to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million.

Sun previously backed the Trump family’s crypto ventures by investing in World Liberty and buying President Donald Trump’s TRUMP memecoin. He topped the token’s leaderboard for a May 2025 dinner with Trump, with holdings valued at about $18.5 million.

UAE ownership disclosure prompts jurisdiction dispute

In an Aug. 26 email included in the court exhibits, World Liberty’s lawyer Sam Cleveland said his team had “recently” learned of additional citizenship information. He maintained that World Liberty already had UAE citizenship when Sun filed the lawsuit in April.

Sun’s lawyers subsequently sought corporate records and testimony about World Liberty’s ownership and when its attorneys learned of the UAE connection. They allege that World Liberty provided limited documentation but declined to explain why its original disclosure omitted that information.

According to attorney Edward Moss’s sworn declaration, the $263,821.20 request covers fees for four attorneys’ work opposing arbitration. It excludes other lawyers’ fees and costs related to jurisdictional discovery and the sanctions motion.

Sun said Tuesday he plans to refile in California state court after the sanctions motion is resolved. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10. 

Magazine: Wall Street killed Bitcoin’s wild rallies: 10x’s Markus Thielen

US-listed spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) snapped their outflow streaks on Wednesday as cryptocurrency markets rebounded following the US midterm elections.

Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs attracted $74.6 million on Wednesday, while Ether (ETH) funds added $53 million, according to SoSoValue data.

The turnaround ended three consecutive trading sessions of Bitcoin ETF outflows totaling $1.16 billion, while Ether ETFs snapped a seven-day outflow streak of $657 million.

Bitcoin rebounded above $80,000 and US stocks rallied following Democrats’ midterm election victories on Wednesday.

Bitcoin ETFs recover, but IBIT outflows continue

The latest batch of inflows followed a slowdown in withdrawals, from $399 million on Monday to $116 million on Tuesday.

Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded another $201.2 million in outflows on Wednesday, extending its four-session outflow streak to $935.2 million, according to Farside Investors data. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), meanwhile, led inflows with roughly $237 million.

Wednesday’s inflows narrowed Bitcoin’s 2026 net outflows to around $79 million.

Analysts weigh election impact on Bitcoin

James Butterfill, head of research at digital asset manager CoinShares, said Bitcoin had largely priced in the possibility of a Democratic sweep before the election, leaving room for a relief rally as uncertainty eased. He cautioned against attributing too much of Bitcoin’s performance to the election outcome.

CK Zheng, co-founder of crypto hedge fund ZX Squared Capital and former global head of risk at Credit Suisse, pointed to monetary liquidity, institutional investment flows and broader investor appetite for risk as more immediate drivers of Bitcoin’s price.

Related: Trump-linked tokens lead crypto losses after Democrats sweep in the US midterms

Zheng said spot Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasury holdings could broaden demand while also exposing BTC to institutional selling pressure.

Magazine: Wall Street killed Bitcoin’s wild rallies: 10x’s Markus Thielen

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is targeting December 2028 to complete Ethereum’s post-quantum and post-AI transition, a year earlier than the foundation’s previously announced quantum-resistance deadline.

Speaking at Devcon 8 in Mumbai on Tuesday, Drake outlined the accelerated timeline. “Our hope is that by December 2028 we’ll be able to wrap up the full post-quantum and post-AI transition,” Drake said, adding that developers have 24 months to deliver three additional network upgrades.

The Ethereum Foundation’s September roadmap established December 2029 as its deadline for achieving quantum resistance across Ethereum’s execution, consensus and data layers.

Drake’s remarks signal a more ambitious timeline but do not formally replace the foundation’s existing roadmap, which is scheduled for reassessment in January 2027.

In August, Drake outlined plans for production-ready leanVM technology in 2027, followed by post-quantum deployments across Ethereum’s three layers in 2028.

The timeline has drawn scrutiny from other blockchain developers. In October, Starknet’s community backed research into becoming an independent post-quantum layer-1 network.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson previously told Cointelegraph that Ethereum’s 2029 target was “too late,” warning that deadlines could slip.

Related: Ethereum delays Glamsterdam Hoodi testnet launch over security risks

Privacy Coins Drop Amid Crypto Market Downturn

Privacy coins tumbled Tuesday amid a broader cryptocurrency market downturn that saw bitcoin slide toward $76,000. The sell-off came as a report from SMC Researchers highlighted the sector’s growing adoption, persistent liquidity challenges and mounting regulatory pressure.

Zcash (ZEC) led the decline, plunging from more than $1,250 to $1,125, briefly registering a 24-hour loss of more than 10%. A subsequent rebound to $1,170 trimmed its daily loss to 7%. ZEC’s decline helped push liquidations on the privacy coin to $14.55 million, with wiped-out long positions accounting for more than 85% of the total, or $12.5 million.

Near Protocol (NEAR) shed more than 30 cents to hit a session low of $3.75 before recovering to $3.85, leaving it down nearly 7% for the day. Dash (DASH) fell from more than $48.25 to $45.81, while Railgun (RAIL) dropped to an intraday low of $2.10 from $2.29. Several microcap privacy coins also recorded 24-hour losses ranging from 2% to 5%.

However, a handful of privacy coins bucked the trend. Monero (XMR) climbed from $608 to around $625, gaining nearly 3%. The increase extended its 90-day gains to more than 75%, making it one of the top-performing digital assets over that period. Zano (ZANO) surged nearly 8%, rising from $3.09 to $3.32 to lead the privacy coin sector in daily gains.

Beldex (BDX) and Horizen (ZEN) also posted modest gains of 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Darknet Adoption Fuels Demand Despite Liquidity Challenges

The mixed performance comes as privacy-focused cryptocurrencies continue to attract interest despite regulatory restrictions and limited mainstream payment adoption. According to a report by SMC Researchers, the shutdowns of major darknet marketplaces, including Silk Road in 2013, Alphabay in 2017, Hydra in 2022 and Incognito Market in 2024, helped accelerate the adoption of privacy coins, particularly Monero, among operators seeking to evade blockchain tracing.

The shift gained momentum in 2020 when White House Market, then one of the largest darknet marketplaces, began accepting Monero exclusively. However, subsequent exchange delistings disrupted the cryptocurrency’s liquidity and accessibility.

SMC Researchers noted that OKX’s decision to delist Monero in late 2023, followed by Binance in early 2024, contributed to a sharp contraction in trading accessibility. According to the report, daily transactions fell by nearly half, temporarily prompting some Western darknet marketplaces to revert to bitcoin.

Despite these setbacks, darknet operators began shifting back toward privacy coins by mid-2025, contributing to renewed demand and higher valuations across the sector.

The report also highlighted how privacy coins complicate anti-money-laundering investigations by obscuring transaction histories. Illicit actors can potentially convert bitcoin or stablecoins into privacy-focused assets before converting them back, making it more difficult for investigators to trace the movement of funds.

However, exchanges remain potential points of detection because conversions into and out of privacy coins can leave identifiable records. This helps explain why regulators have increasingly targeted trading platforms and other intermediaries rather than the underlying blockchain protocols.

The report cited Chainalysis research indicating that illicit cryptocurrency activity accounts for a relatively small share of overall transaction volume, with much of the identified activity involving transparent networks and assets such as bitcoin, ether and stablecoins.

Despite growing interest in privacy-preserving transactions, the sector faces mounting regulatory challenges. The European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation will prohibit regulated service providers from handling anonymity-enhancing cryptocurrencies beginning July 1, 2027, potentially further restricting liquidity and access to major trading venues.

SMC Researchers argued that privacy coins address fundamental shortcomings of transparent blockchain networks by protecting financial confidentiality, improving fungibility and enabling businesses to conduct transactions without exposing sensitive information.

However, the report cautioned that everyday retail use remains limited compared with speculative trading activity. Much of the sector’s recent appreciation has been driven by investor narratives and improved market accessibility rather than corresponding growth in payment volumes.

The researchers identified a growing divide between ZEC, which offers optional privacy and institutional accessibility, and XMR, which maintains mandatory privacy protections.

While privacy-enhancing features are expected to become increasingly integrated into broader blockchain infrastructure, the report suggested that dedicated anonymity-focused cryptocurrencies could remain a specialized market segment.

Tuesday’s divergent price movements underscored that distinction. While Zcash and several smaller privacy coins suffered sharp losses, Monero’s resilience suggested that demand for privacy-focused assets remains uneven, even as the broader cryptocurrency market struggles to regain momentum.

Democrats have won control of both chambers of the US Congress, reshaping the outlook for cryptocurrency legislation and giving the party greater power to scrutinize President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures during the final two years of his term.

What the crypto industry needs to know now:

Democrats have taken control of the US Senate, securing 54 seats to Republicans’ 44.Democrats have won 228 House seats to Republicans’ 139. Democrats need 51 Senate seats and 218 House seats to secure majorities in both chambers.The Blockchain Association’s election dashboard identifies 62 priority congressional races, including 18 Senate and 44 House contests.The results could influence the future of US cryptocurrency regulation, including the stalled CLARITY Act, and potentially intensify scrutiny of Trump’s crypto ventures if Democrats gain control of either chamber.

Live election updates

Follow the latest developments in congressional races attracting crypto industry spending, election results and reactions from prediction markets. Cointelegraph is using live election results data and race calls from the Associated Press. Updates appear in reverse chronological order.

Nov. 4 at 03:35 ET:

Crypto-backed Republican Pete Ricketts wins Nebraska

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts has defeated independent challenger Dan Osborn in Nebraska, where crypto political action committee Fairshake had reportedly spent nearly $11 million supporting Ricketts.

More recent spending data shows Fairshake-affiliated crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs spent approximately $13.5 million opposing Osborn, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by Bankrolled as of Nov. 3.

Ricketts, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has supported cryptocurrency legislation including the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act. He voted to advance the CLARITY Act out of committee in May and supported an unsuccessful Senate procedural vote on the legislation in September, according to crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.

Nov. 4 at 01:29 ET:

Democrats win US House, taking control of both chambers of Congress

Democrats have won control of the US House of Representatives, according to the Associated Press, flipping a chamber Republicans have held since 2023. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become Speaker.

Control of the House gives Democrats the committee chairs and subpoena power. NBC says that includes oversight of Trump’s family and business ventures.

Nov. 4 at 01:02 ET:

Democrat Troy Jackson unseats Susan Collins in Maine Senate race

Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, according to the Associated Press.

Collins was one of four Republicans to oppose advancing the CLARITY Act in September, expressing concerns over its impact on bank deposits. 

Unlike Collins, Jackson has expressed support for clear cryptocurrency legislation in the run-up to the election. According to Stand with Crypto, which rates Jackson as “very pro crypto,” he called to end the debanking of “lawful crypto businesses, and ensure Americans’ right to self-custody digital assets.”

Nov. 3 at 23:51 ET:

Trump congratulates Democrats on Senate win

“My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country,” President Donald Trump told CBS News’ senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang.

Nov. 3 at 23:37 ET:

Democrats win US Senate majority

Democrats have won control of the US Senate, according to the Associated Press.

The majority was secured after Democrat Josh Turek won the Senate race in Iowa, bringing Democrats and independents who caucus with them to 51 seats.

The result reshapes the outlook for the stalled CLARITY Act and determines which lawmakers lead committees overseeing the industry. 

Democratic control could also bring more congressional scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto businesses and regulators’ decisions. Control of the Senate could also affect confirmation of future presidential nominees to regulatory posts. 

“It’s too early to say exactly what this means for crypto, but one thing is clear: nothing will pass without cross-partisan support,” Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France and co-founder of EthCC, told Cointelegraph.

Nov. 3 at 23:28 ET:

Democrats on brink of controlling Congress

Democrats are now in control of 50 Senate seats — one short of a majority — after flipping five seats in GOP states, some that hadn’t seen a Democratic senator in power for decades.

Earlier, Decision Desk HQ projected the Democratic Party to win a majority in the US House of Representatives.

Nov. 3 at 23:12 ET:

Sherrod Brown wins in Ohio, flips Senate seat to the Democrats

In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto critic, beat incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted in a race that has attracted approximately $63 million in crypto industry spending.

That includes about $56 million from Fairshake and $7 million from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund, with both groups spending to support Husted or oppose Brown.

Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto characterizes Brown as strongly opposed to cryptocurrency, citing 17 statements and his 2024 vote against overturning the SEC’s SAB 121 crypto custody accounting guidance.

Brown was also targeted by crypto industry spending in 2024, when Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs spent more than $40 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown in that year’s Senate election.

Nov. 3 at 23:11 ET:

Another GOP stronghold falls: Democrats win Texas Senate race

Democrat James Talarico has won Texas’ US Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton, according to the Associated Press, flipping another Republican-held seat.

Talarico becomes the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994. As of 11 pm ET, he led Paxton by approximately 1.09 million votes, with 56.1% to Paxton’s 42.2%, according to Decision Desk HQ. Counting was continuing.

Paxton received support from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund, although both candidates earned A ratings from crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.

Paxton has called for the passage of the CLARITY Act, arguing that clear regulations are necessary to maintain US competitiveness in digital assets. In a June statement, he said the country must become the “crypto capital of the world” and support innovation and growth.

Talarico has similarly called for clear regulations that protect consumers while allowing innovation. As a Texas state representative, he also voted in 2025 to establish a state strategic Bitcoin reserve, according to legislative records cited by Stand With Crypto.

Nov. 3 at 22:38 ET:

Democrats win South Carolina Senate seat in major upset

Democrat Annie Andrews has defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, according to the Associated Press, giving Democrats another pickup.

Andrews’ victory ends more than two decades of Republican control of the seat. The last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1998.

Following their victory in North Carolina, Democrats would need two further Republican-held seats to reach a majority, provided they retain all their Democratic-held seats.

Nov. 3 at 22:25 ET:

Democrats projected to win House of Representatives

Decision Desk HQ has projected the Democratic Party to win a majority in the US House of Representatives.

Nov. 3 at 22:02 ET:

Democrats six seats short of Senate majority

Democrats and allied independents stood at 45 Senate seats as of 10:02 pm ET, six short of the 51 needed for a majority.

Their path includes retaining Democratic-held seats in Oregon, Michigan and Minnesota and flipping three additional Republican-held seats. Democrats have already picked up North Carolina.

NBC News has projected that Democrat Annie Andrews will defeat incumbent Republican Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina in a major upset. Associated Press has not yet called this race.

Nov. 3 at 21:21 ET:

Crypto-backed Republican Andy Barr wins Kentucky Senate seat

Republican Representative Andy Barr has won Kentucky’s US Senate race, sending a supporter of the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts to the upper chamber.

Fairshake-affiliated political action committees spent more than $7 million supporting Barr in the Republican primary. Barr has also introduced legislation aimed at protecting lawful businesses, including crypto firms, from debanking.

Nov. 3 at 21:17 ET: 

Democrat Juliana Stratton wins Illinois Senate seat

Democrat Juliana Stratton has won Illinois’ US Senate race, succeeding retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.

Stratton advanced through the Democratic primary despite substantial opposition from crypto-backed PAC Fairshake, which had spent more than $5.5 million against her by early March.

Nov. 3 at 21:05 ET: 

Republican Hageman wins Wyoming Senate seat

Republican Representative Harriet Hageman has won Wyoming’s US Senate race against Democrat James Byrd, succeeding retiring crypto advocate Senator Cynthia Lummis.

Lummis, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, sponsored the BITCOIN Act of 2025 to establish a US strategic Bitcoin reserve and has supported the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts.

Hageman has also backed cryptocurrency legislation, voting to pass the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts in 2025 and the FIT21 market structure bill in 2024. She also cosponsored legislation seeking to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, according to Stand With Crypto. The advocacy group lists no documented position on cryptocurrency for Byrd.

Nov. 3 at 21:05 ET:

Prediction markets price Democratic control of both chambers

Kalshi and Polymarket traders now give Democrats a 99% chance of winning Senate control and price House control at nearly 100%. It came as Democrats flipped North Carolina’s Senate seat, while holding Georgia and New Hampshire.

Nov. 3 at 20:08 ET:

Democratic Senate odds climb above 90%

Prediction markets increasingly favored Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday evening.

As of 8:05 pm ET, the Blockchain Association’s election dashboard showed Democratic Senate-control odds at 94% on Kalshi and 93% on Polymarket, up from 75% and 75.5%, respectively, earlier in the day. Democratic House-control odds stood at 98% and 99%.

At the time, Democrats and allied independents have secured 42 Senate seats to Republicans’ 31.

Nov. 3 at 20:01 ET:

Democratic senators Markey and Coons win reelection

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and Delaware Senator Chris Coons, both Democrats, win reelection, according to the Associated Press.

Markey voted against the GENIUS stablecoin bill in 2025, while Coons has criticized President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, calling his latest memecoin-holder event “corruption.”

Nov. 3 at 19:57 ET:

Democrat Jon Ossoff retains Georgia Senate seat

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia, beating Republican Representative Mike Collins.

Ossoff expressed support for impeaching Trump in April 2025 over plans to host a private dinner for top holders of the president’s TRUMP memecoin, arguing that the arrangement amounted to selling access to the presidency.

Nov. 3 at 19:41 ET:

1inch sees agencies driving US crypto regulation

Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, said she expects federal agencies to drive the next phase of crypto regulation.

The election could reshape the path forward for the stalled CLARITY Act, but Ma said “real movement” in US digital-asset regulation over the next few years will come from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Treasury, rather than Congress.

Ma said those agencies were increasingly engaging with crypto projects. However, agency engagement does not provide the stability the industry had hoped to secure through legislation.

“The long-term goal, of course, remains a statute that cannot be reversed every time a government changes,” said Ma.

Nov. 3 at 19:09 ET:

CLARITY opponent Wasserman Schultz wins reelection

Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins Florida’s 20th Congressional District. Wasserman Schultz voted against the CLARITY crypto market structure bill when it passed the House in July 2025.

Nov. 3 at 19:05 ET:

Democrat Warner retains Virginia Senate seat 

Democratic Senator Mark Warner has won reelection in Virginia, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa. Warner was widely favored to win.

Warner voted against advancing the CLARITY Act in September, arguing that crypto legislation needs safeguards against President Donald Trump personally benefiting from the industry. Warner supports establishing federal rules for digital assets, with his opposition to the bill focused on its ethics protections.

Nov. 3 at 18:00 ET:

First US polls close

The first polls in the US midterm elections closed at 6 pm ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The remaining polls in both states close at 7 pm ET.

Polls also close at 7 pm ET in Georgia and Virginia, followed by Ohio at 7:30 pm ET, where Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces Democrat Sherrod Brown in a race drawing major crypto industry spending.

Nov. 3 at 11:37 ET:

Early voting surpasses 57 million ahead of midterms

More than 57 million Americans had cast ballots as of Monday, with early voting surpassing 2022 levels in several closely watched states, according to the Associated Press.

Current balance of power in the US House and Senate. Source: Blockchain Association

A Silent Move That Could Unnerve Investors

Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), the reserve the exchange set up to protect customers in extreme events, is now at half its former size, and the half it spent is on the move. To elaborate, the 7,500 BTC that left the fund on Oct. 31 changed hands again early on Nov. 3.

Binance said on Oct. 31 that a “partial deployment” of SAFU was part of how it would cover losses from the hot-wallet breach, alongside part of its futures insurance fund and its own corporate treasury. It never said how much came from each pot, and the latest movements give the clearest view yet of where that money went.

What the Chain Shows

The coins left Binance’s published SAFU address, 1BAuq7Vho2…, in two transactions on Oct. 31: 1 BTC at 14:45 UTC and 7,499 BTC at 14:51 UTC. They then landed at an intermediate address and sat there for three days.

At 05:56 UTC on Nov. 3, that intermediate address sent all 7,500 BTC in a single transaction to an unlabeled wallet that has processed more than 2,400 transactions over its lifespan. Fifty minutes later, the wallet split the stack into 150 outputs of about 50 BTC each.

Ninety-six of those outputs, totaling 4,800 BTC, were then bundled into a 9,346 BTC transfer. The remaining 54 chunks went out in separate transactions that day.

Breaking a large holding into 50 BTC pieces and recombining some of them is usually how an exchange routes coins to market makers or over-the-counter (OTC) desks to buy back missing tokens. Nothing in the data, however, ties the receiving address to a named entity, and Binance has not explained the transfers.

At bitcoin’s current price of about $77,70, the moved coins are worth well over $572 million.

Why the SAFU Figure Is Important

SAFU held 15,000 BTC in February, after Binance finished converting the roughly $1 billion fund from stablecoins into bitcoin. It now holds just over 7,500 BTC.

That puts the fund below a line Binance drew itself. Its SAFU FAQ clearly states that the exchange will rebalance the fund back to $1 billion if its value “falls below $800 million due to BTC price fluctuations.”

The catch is that the rule covers price drops, not spending and Binance has said separately that it is “committing to replenishing the SAFU to return the fund size to approximately US$1 billion,” but it gave no timeline. Its Nov. 3 incident report, which traced the attack to a tainted developer install and an abused internal wallet service, does not mention SAFU at all.

Binance’s Balance Sheet After the Breach

Binance says it has carried the full cost and replenished 98% of its impacted assets (as of Oct. 31), with less liquid tokens still in the process of being bought. Bitcoin.com News reported that the post-mortem tied the breach to a fake job interview and compromised artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Customer flows have steadied since withdrawals reopened and Binance posted that by 03:00 UTC on Nov. 3, it was seeing hourly deposits exceed withdrawals, and data also showed $3.22 billion of net inflows over 24 hours against $12.17 billion of net outflows over seven days.

That swing came after a sharp exit, which Bitcoin.com News covered when inflows flipped positive following a $7 billion post-hack exodus.