October 25, 2026 · Crypto & Web3 Daily Digest

A digest of crypto, regulation, and Web3 developments for October 25, 2026, with summaries, links, and commentary.

I. Regulation and Policy

1. Cheong Wa Dae leans toward a fourth delay of the virtual-asset tax, and says nothing is final (Regulation)

Summary:

The Asia Business Daily reported on October 25, 2026, citing ruling-party sources, that South Korea's presidential office is leaning toward another deferral of the virtual-asset income tax scheduled for January 1, 2027. If it happens, it would be the fourth postponement since the tax was introduced in 2020. The office says nothing has been decided on its final position and expects a conclusion after talks between the government and the ruling party. The tax deducts 2.5 million won from annual income earned by transferring or lending virtual assets such as bitcoin, then taxes the remainder at 22%, including local income tax. It was first scheduled for 2022 and has already been postponed three times. Hankyoreh the same day quoted a presidential-office official saying the discussion seems to be settling toward a delay, citing younger adults' path to building assets and the expectation that the United States will join the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework only in 2029. The Asia Business Daily says cross-border CARF exchanges are due to start next year, so a late U.S. start could concentrate the tax on users of domestic exchanges. On October 20, First Vice Minister Kwon Dae-young of the Ministry of Finance and Economy met exchanges and experts, restating that income should be taxed where it is earned and saying tax infrastructure and a market regulatory framework must be built together. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu has introduced an Income Tax Act amendment that would effectively push implementation to 2029, and the People Power Party also supports another delay. Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said the question should be settled within the year. The Asia Business Daily also notes that, on the current schedule, the first filing and payment would fall in May 2028, just after the April 2028 general election.

Links:

• The Asia Business Daily — Cheong Wa Dae leans toward a fourth deferral of the virtual-asset tax
• Hankyoreh — presidential office moves next year's virtual-asset tax toward a delay

Commentary:

This is a presidential-office leaning and a legislative window, and the January 1, 2027 start remains the date in current law until the National Assembly changes it.

2. The Bank of Israel rejects using crypto to bypass sanctions, and more than 100 economists sign a Sunday letter (Regulation)

Summary:

Reuters reported on October 25, 2026, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 10 on Friday that sanctions on banks would require a "bypass economy." Asked whether he meant cryptocurrency, he said "Very true, very true," and named blockchain as another possibility. The Bank of Israel issued a rare direct rebuke, saying crypto cannot serve as a route around sanctions and that Israel's economy should preserve relations with its main trading partners and focus on preventing sanctions and their economic damage. Ynet reported that officials in the economic ministries said they knew of no such preparation team. On Channel 14 on Saturday, Netanyahu said he hears the objections, thanks the central bank for its advice, and will do what he thinks is right. Reuters said that on Sunday more than 100 economists signed a letter, including former Bank of Israel officials, former governor Jacob Frenkel, and several Nobel laureates. The letter says the path would raise unemployment, cut foreign investment, and collapse Israel's economic standing, and that living standards in countries that suffered similar sanctions, including South Africa, Iran, and Russia, fell sharply. It calls the proposal a puzzling solution accepted in criminal organizations. Reuters also notes that Netanyahu faces re-election this week. Britain, France, and Canada said last month they would block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Links:

• Reuters — Netanyahu rebuked over a plan to use crypto to bypass sanctions
• Ynet — Bank of Israel says cryptocurrencies cannot bypass sanctions

Commentary:

The central bank and the economists' letter block the idea of on-chain payments as a sanctions substitute, and they do not rule out digital assets in ordinary compliant trade.

3. ECB's Cipollone calls the digital euro a payments-sovereignty tool, with merchant pilot applications due October 27 (CBDC)

Summary:

Cointelegraph reported on October 25, 2026, that ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, in a Milano Finanza interview published by the central bank on Saturday, said the digital euro could give Europe sovereignty over payments infrastructure that now depends on outside third parties. He said Europe has learned it cannot rely only on third parties for essential services such as energy and defense, and that the same is true for payments. Sovereignty, he said, does not mean shutting third parties out; it means having the power to choose and knowing Europe can also rely on its own capacity for an essential service. The ECB's pilot page says that if the digital-euro regulation is adopted in 2026, the Eurosystem aims to be ready for a potential first issuance during 2029. A 12-month pilot is planned to start in the second half of 2027 to test a beta version in real situations, including in-shop and person-to-person payments. Participants are 36 licensed euro-area payment service providers, selected merchants, and staff of the ECB and 19 national central banks. Cointelegraph says seven of the 36 market operators are from Italy. The ECB page says preparing the pilot does not decide issuance, which waits on the regulation. Cipollone told Milano Finanza he hopes the regulation is adopted by the end of the year so the Governing Council can take a formal issuance decision. The ECB page sets October 27, 2026, as the deadline for e-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants to apply for the pilot.

Links:

• Cointelegraph — ECB official sees the digital euro as a tool to protect EU sovereignty
• European Central Bank — digital euro pilot and merchant applications

Commentary:

Sunday's news is a pilot timetable and a sovereignty argument; issuance still depends on legislation in Brussels, and October 27 closes merchant applications, not the issuance decision.

4. Issuer objections to the OKX-ICE tokenized-stock venue rise to 22 (Regulation)

Summary:

Decrypt reported on October 25, 2026, that OKXICE TSV's public notice dated October 23 added six issuer objections: Wells Fargo, Cisco, Marvell, Arm, Moderna, and Intuit. That takes the total to 22, up from 16 on October 19 and nine on October 15. Earlier names include Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Verizon, Broadcom, and UnitedHealth. The notices do not explain why the companies objected or what an objection does to a listing. OKXICE is a 50-50 joint venture of Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, and OKX's U.S. holding company. It plans to let approved users trade tokenized U.S. stocks around the clock through Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX's X Layer, settled in stablecoins such as USDC, under the SEC innovation exemption that Decrypt says the agency unveiled in September after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate. The latest notice says that, beyond pausing when the underlying stock is halted, the venue does not use circuit breakers, has no policy on maximal extractable value, allows administrators to upgrade smart contracts without advance notice to users, and has had only an internal audit of the contract that controls who can trade. It warns that broker-dealers face unsettled questions on trade reporting and best execution, which could limit participation and thin liquidity. OKXICE's notice lists all 22 objecting issuers.

Links:

• Decrypt — Wells Fargo, Cisco, Intuit and three other firms object to tokenized stocks
• OKXICE — tokenized securities venue public notice dated October 23, 2026

Commentary:

The objection list went from nine names to 22 in two weeks and blocks those shares on this venue; the notice does not impose a general ban on tokenized stocks.

II. Market and Major Coins

5. Bitcoin trades back near $80,400 on Sunday after a Saturday low of $79,146 (Market)

Summary:

Investing.com reported on October 25, 2026, that bitcoin steadied on Sunday after a sharp weekend selloff. It fell as low as $79,146 on Saturday, its weakest level in more than a month, then reclaimed $80,000. At 10:31 a.m. ET on October 25 it traded at $80,352. The article says bitcoin is on track for a fourth straight daily decline and its first monthly drop since June. CoinGlass data cited there showed more than $810 million in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, including about $689 million in bullish bets. Thin weekend liquidity amplified forced closures after the move below $80,000. Price also slipped under the 50-day moving average near $81,700, and Investing.com says traders are watching potential support around $78,400 and $77,876. The Federal Reserve's October 27-28 meeting is the next listed price driver, with traders watching whether policymakers hold rates or tighten further. Brent crude was quoted above $117 a barrel amid the Iran war, complicating the inflation outlook. crypto.news separately reported bitcoin near $80,312 on Sunday, down 1.95% over seven days, with a market value near $1.61 trillion and about $19.2 billion of daily volume, and put Saturday's low near $79,100, about a five-week low.

Links:

• Investing.com — bitcoin steadies near $80,400 after the weekend selloff as the Fed meeting nears
• crypto.news — bitcoin battles $80,000 as major altcoins post double-digit weekly losses

Commentary:

The Sunday bounce happened while U.S. spot ETFs could not create or redeem shares; $80,000 was retaken, and the 50-day average and Tuesday's rate decision are still ahead of the price.

6. Altcoins split on the week: Hedera and Aave fall by double digits while Zcash and Pepe rise (Market)

Summary:

crypto.news's October 25, 2026 market watch put ether near $2,332 on Sunday, down 3.41% over seven days and still below $2,400. Solana fell 2.81% to $100.93, Cardano 7.17% to $0.2042, and Chainlink 5.27% to about $11.37. XRP traded around $1.30, down 0.09% on the week. BNB rose 2.24% to $737.12. Among large caps, Zcash gained 7.51% on the week to about $1,209. The article ties that move to preparations for the NU7 upgrade expected around November 5, and says Zebra 7.0.0, released by the Zcash Foundation on October 22, adds support for planned consensus changes, including a cut in target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Mid-cap losses were larger. Bitway fell 29.31% to about $1.72, Rain 13.89% to about $0.0081, Hedera 13.47% to $0.0767, Morpho 13.06%, and Aave 11.65% to about $136. Avalanche fell 9.68% to $8.83 and NEAR 9.42% to $4.45. Pepe rose 14.15% over seven days to about $0.0000044, with a market value near $1.86 billion and daily volume above $330 million. MemeCore gained 19.4% on the week to about $0.92 and fell close to 20% on the day. Monero gained 3.82% to about $605. The same technical note puts bitcoin's next hurdle near $82,368, the 20-day simple moving average, then about $84,725, and support near $78,000 if $80,000 fails again. Citing Glassnode's October assessment, it says buying appeared around $80,000 to $81,500 after the October 15 decline, and that the estimated cost basis of U.S. spot ETF holdings and corporate bitcoin treasuries sits in that band.

Links:

• crypto.news — bitcoin holds near $80,000 while a set of altcoins post double-digit weekly losses

Commentary:

The weekend repair did not broaden into a general rally; lending and public-chain names are still down more than bitcoin on the week, while a privacy coin and a few meme tokens moved the other way.

III. Institutions and ETFs

7. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs net $301.2 million for the week after Thursday and Friday gave most of it back (Institutions)

Summary:

crypto.news reported on October 25, 2026, citing Farside Investors, that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs netted $301.2 million across the five sessions from October 19 through October 23. Daily totals were inflows of $526.7 million on the 19th, $23.2 million on the 20th, and $524.8 million on the 21st, or $1,074.7 million over three sessions, then outflows of $635.6 million on the 22nd and $137.9 million on the 23rd, or $773.5 million, about 72% of the prior three sessions' inflows. The article notes that one issuer still shows a dash on the October 23 row, so the figure can be revised. On October 22, BlackRock's IBIT lost $254.1 million and Fidelity's FBTC lost $217.5 million, a combined $471.6 million, about 74% of that day's net outflow. ARKB lost $109.4 million, Bitwise's BITB $27.4 million, and Grayscale's GBTC $29.5 million, while Morgan Stanley's MSBT took in $2.3 million. On October 23, IBIT lost another $110.3 million and FBTC $31.8 million, and MSBT gained $4.2 million. Farside's October 23 table shows $57.251 billion of cumulative net inflows. Decrypt the same day said the week's roughly $301 million inflow snapped a two-week losing streak, while October is still down about $314 million and October 22 was the month's largest single-day outflow. Decrypt's $57.6 billion cumulative inflow and $100.2 billion of net assets use a different tally from Farside's cumulative dollar-flow figure. Spot ether ETFs gained $4.4 million on Friday, lost about $221 million on the week, and are down about $1.18 billion in October. Solana ETFs lost $8.9 million on Thursday, had no net flow on Friday, and are down about $68 million this month. Decrypt said traders on Myriad, a prediction market from its parent, raised the odds of bitcoin hitting $77,500 this month to 43% from 32% a day earlier, put the odds of $75,000 at 18%, and cut the odds of $87,500 to 10% from 17%. crypto.news also notes that the SEC has allowed in-kind creations and redemptions for spot crypto ETFs since July 2025, so a net share outflow need not equal a same-day sale of that many bitcoin by the trust.

Links:

• crypto.news — bitcoin ETFs reversed course in a day; who buys when the funds sell
• Decrypt — bitcoin ETFs snap a two-week losing streak despite the late-week slide

Commentary:

A five-session net inflow is real, and Thursday plus Friday removed about seven-tenths of the earlier creations; the weekly total describes share flows, not an equal spot sale on a public order book.

8. Strategy's common stock shows a 77.4% stretch return while two weeks of STRC buybacks dwarf bitcoin purchases (Institutions)

Summary:

Bitcoin.com reported on October 25, 2026, that Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor compared the company's five securities on October 24 and tied the results to buybacks and management of the whole capital structure. The window runs from June 26 through 4 p.m. Eastern on October 23. Returns include dividends and assume those dividends were not reinvested. Common stock MSTR gained 77.4%. Among four perpetual preferreds, variable-rate Stretch (STRC) returned 38.6%, 10% Stride (STRD) gained 35%, 8% Strike (STRK) gained 32.6%, and 10% Strife (STRF) gained 22.9%. Saylor wrote that programmatic STRC buybacks have helped strengthen the company's credit markets and support MSTR. From October 5 to 11 the company spent $192.4 million repurchasing about 1.93 million STRC shares and bought 250 bitcoin for $21.5 million. From October 12 to 18 it spent another $193.1 million on STRC, taking two weeks of buybacks to $385.5 million, and bought 267 bitcoin for $22.1 million, lifting holdings to 848,517 bitcoin. The board raised the digital-credit securities repurchase authorization from $2 billion to $3 billion; about $1.16 billion remained as of October 18 after repurchases to date. Common shareholders vote on October 28 on making every calendar day a record date for the four preferreds, with payment generally the next business day. Stated rates and total obligations would stay the same. If approved and adopted, STRC's first daily record date would be November 1, with payment on November 2. For STRF, STRK, and STRD the dates would be January 1 and January 4, 2027. Investing.com on Sunday, citing Fidelity Digital Assets, said perpetual preferred offerings have financed purchases of about 136,000 bitcoin since 2025, and that recurring dividends could constrain further buying.

Links:

• Bitcoin.com — Strategy common stock gains 77% while four preferreds return 23% to 39%
• Investing.com — bitcoin treasury companies balance coin purchases against preferred dividends

Commentary:

Cash over the past two weeks went first to retiring STRC rather than to a larger bitcoin purchase, and the October 28 vote changes payment frequency, not the stated dividend rate.

IV. Tokenization and Protocols

9. House of Doge ends its exclusive Dogecoin trademark license and takes a three-year non-exclusive grant limited to 21Shares products (Protocol)

Summary:

House of Doge's Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on October 23, 2026, and accepted at 16:27 UTC, with a period of report of October 19, says the exclusive trademark license with Dogecoin Foundation, Inc. and MadeUpNumbers Ltd., an English and Welsh company limited by guarantee, was mutually terminated effective October 19. The termination agreement requires House of Doge to pay the Foundation $400,000 when sufficient funds are available, in cash or in common shares priced off the volume-weighted average price for the five trading days before payment. A new license effective the same day is a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable worldwide grant usable only for licensed products: the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF (TDOG), the 21Shares Dogecoin ETP (DOGE), and the 21Shares 2x Long Dogecoin ETF (TXXD), each as they existed on the effective date, plus any regulated or tokenized investment product the Foundation approves in writing. The licensors may use the marks themselves and may grant the same or similar rights to any third party. The new license gives no exclusivity or official-partner status, and it does not allow the marks on general merchandise, payment products, unrelated financial products, or the corporate name. The initial term is three years, ending October 19, 2029, with no automatic renewal. TokenPost reported on October 25 that the Foundation continues stewardship, open-source support, advocacy, and community work, and that Dogecoin Labs was formed with the Foundation to bring the MyDoge wallet, the DogeOS app platform, and the Such App payments tool together for product and commercial work. House of Doge separately agreed to transfer selected operations and assets to Dogecoin Labs for an equity stake. That transfer remains subject to closing conditions and is not completed.

Links:

• SEC EDGAR — House of Doge Form 8-K filed October 23, 2026
• TokenPost — Dogecoin Foundation and House of Doge end the exclusive brand deal

Commentary:

Exclusive brand rights ended on the October 19 termination date, a non-exclusive license remains for three existing 21Shares products, and the equity-for-assets transfer has not closed.

Today's Summary

• Cheong Wa Dae is leaning toward delaying the virtual-asset income tax past January 1, 2027, and says the final position is not set. A delay would be the fourth and still needs legislation. The Bank of Israel rejected using crypto to bypass sanctions, and more than 100 economists signed a Sunday letter against that idea. The ECB placed the digital-euro pilot in the second half of 2027, with merchant applications due October 27 and issuance dependent on the regulation.
• Bitcoin rebounded to about $80,352 on Sunday morning after a Saturday low of $79,146. Investing.com, citing CoinGlass, reported more than $810 million liquidated in 24 hours, about $689 million of it from longs. Ether fell 3.41% on the week to about $2,332. Hedera and Aave fell more than 11% on the week, while Zcash and Pepe rose.
• U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs netted $301.2 million from October 19 through October 23, after $773.5 million left on October 22 and 23. Decrypt says bitcoin ETFs are still down about $314 million in October and ether ETFs are down about $1.18 billion this month. The Federal Reserve meets October 27-28.
• Issuer objections to the OKXICE tokenized-stock venue rose to 22. House of Doge's exclusive Dogecoin trademark license ended on October 19 and was replaced by a three-year non-exclusive grant. Strategy spent $385.5 million buying back STRC over two weeks while acquiring 517 bitcoin, and common shareholders vote October 28 on daily preferred record dates.

Daily Framing:

Today was an $80,000-and-objections day in the crypto cycle: bitcoin traded back near $80,400 after Saturday's break, spot ETFs finished a two-week outflow streak with a $301.2 million weekly inflow, and a Korean tax delay leaning, an Israeli central-bank rejection of crypto as a sanctions bypass, and 22 issuers blocking the OKX-ICE tokenized-stock venue put the weekend price repair back inside policy statements and issuer vetoes.

This digest is compiled from real-time search results and is for reference only.