Bitcoin Dips Under $80K: Ledger’s Sales Shift and MSCI’s New Guidelines

In this week’s summary, Bitcoin dipped momentarily beneath $80,000, Ledger has implemented stricter reseller protocols following a hardware wallet breach, and MSCI has introduced new index eligibility criteria impacting firms managing digital asset treasuries.

Key Highlights of the Week: Bitcoin, Ledger, and MSCI

Bitcoin Dips Below $80,000

• According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin’s lowest point in 24 hours hit $79,805.99 before rebounding to approximately $82,035. As reported by crypto.news, BTC recovered past $82,000 following Thursday’s downturn, while still falling short of the $84,000 mark anticipated by market analysts.
• The report noted a US consumer inflation rate of 3.7% for September, exceeding the predicted 3.6%, with annual producer inflation at 6.3%. As mentioned, $5.06 million flowed into US spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday, compared to $60.22 million outflow from spot Ethereum funds; neither amount reflects a full week’s flow.

Ledger Tightens Reseller Policies Post Wallet Breach

• On October 15, Ledger strengthened its reseller policies after uncovering that criminals had opened authentic devices, tampered with them, and returned them to the supply chain. The implants captured recovery phrases during the initial setup, enabling unauthorized access to users’ funds.
• In their response, Ledger asserted that its servers, operating system, and chips remained secure. The company mandated a halt to reseller sales in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, banned the resale of returned products, and instructed retailers to secure their stock. According to Ledger, devices taken from stores and warehouses were verified to be secure.

MSCI Implements New Criteria for Non-operating Firms

• MSCI introduced new eligibility standards on October 15, with application set for the close of November 30. The methodology assesses substantial operating assets and applies five financial ratios for companies failing the initial review. Disqualification can occur if four ratios are flagged.
• The companies Strategy and Metaplanet were identified in preliminary analyses as potential removals, though their final status remains undecided. MSCI’s announcement has set November 11 as the deadline for the final list, stipulating that existing companies must fail the exclusion criteria in both their latest annual filings to be delisted.

Payward Eyes Bank Acquisition Amid Rise in Election Spending

Payward Moves Forward with Bank Acquisition

• Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has signed an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, which owns Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank. This announcement made on October 14 indicates that the acquisition will likely close in 2027, contingent on regulatory approvals. Saldo operates across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, with permissions for the Netherlands. Payward states that the deal will bolster services such as deposits, consumer lending, payment cards, and banking for fintech partners.

Fairshake Reports Significant Ohio Election Spending

• Defend American Jobs, a Republican affiliate of Fairshake, disclosed election expenditures in Ohio totaling $46,672,296.18 in a filing dated October 15. This spending targeted Sherrod Brown and supported Jon Husted. Additional reports indicated that the Digital Freedom Fund spent $5,940,397.25 in Ohio, leading to a combined total of $52,612,693.43 for both committees. Their expenditures included advertising production and direct mail campaigns.

Gemini’s Settlement of $5 Million Stays Intact

• U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the joint appeal from Gemini and the CFTC to overturn a settlement, as reported on October 16 regarding the previous day’s ruling. The $5 million penalty has already been paid, and the court’s decision maintained a permanent injunction, even after the agency reassessed that its original lawsuit would not meet current enforcement criteria.

Visa and Mastercard Expand Payment Options with Stablecoins

Visa Launches USDC Prefunding for Transactions

• On October 15, Visa rolled out commercial USDC prefunding via Visa Direct, naming Inyo Global as its inaugural production partner. Eligible clients can initiate cross-border payments through USDC nearly in real-time using Inyo’s established infrastructure. This announcement follows Visa’s pilot programs slated for 2025. Inyo’s network covers more than 180 countries, though it does not guarantee stablecoin availability at every location.

Mastercard Launches Platform for Fiat and Stablecoin Transactions

• Mastercard and BVNK unveiled the Global Money Platform, integrating fiat and stablecoin accounts alongside conversion and payment functionalities through a single connection. Their announcement on October 15 named Nuvei, Marqeta, Ontop, Beem, and Almond FinTech as early integration partners. Mastercard anticipates local currency payouts will encompass more than 40 currencies across over 200 countries and territories by 2027, which remains a stated goal for expansion.

BNY Utilizes Tokenized Treasury for Repo Financing

• BNY and Citadel Securities completed a tokenized Treasury transaction, according to an announcement from BNY on October 13. Citadel acquired a two-year U.S. Treasury note via BNY using Tradeweb. The tokenized form settled within minutes on BNY’s private ledger before Citadel used it for overnight financing, receiving cash from BNY. The bank characterized this as the inaugural use of tokenized assets on a prominent triparty repo platform.

Regulatory Focus on Banking Access and Event Contracts

OCC Highlights Limitations on Digital Asset Companies

• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency identified banking restrictions within a review of nine leading banks. Its October 14 report indicated that all nine maintained relevant policies from 2020 through September 2025. The coverage mentioned digital asset issuers, exchanges, and administrators as part of the affected parties, noting that the regulator was unable to fully quantify debanking incidents or document specific crypto-related cases within the report.

Standard Chartered Launches Bitcoin and Ether Trading for Clients in UAE

• Standard Chartered began offering direct cryptocurrency trading to qualified Professional Investor clients in the UAE. The announcement made on October 14 states that clients can trade Bitcoin and Ether through their existing bank accounts, with custody and settlement managed internally. The service, developed in partnership with Zodia Markets, has received regulatory approval in Dubai. Other markets are planned, though no timeline was provided.

CFTC Plans to Classify Event Contracts as Swaps

• An October 10 piece discussed the CFTC’s October 9 proposal to define certain event contracts as swaps. This includes contracts tied to sports, politics, culture, and weather. Chairman Michael Selig remarked that Americans use these products to “hedge risks, speculate, and provide information about future event outcomes.” The agency’s notice allows for 30 days of written comments post-publication in the Federal Register.