Today's crypto news covered regulatory rollback in the United States, fresh exchange-traded product approvals with higher leverage, large corporate purchases of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, shifting Ethereum staking flows, and a criminal investigation into a crypto pyramid scheme in Greece.
FinCEN withdraws self-custody and mixer proposals
On October 5, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) withdrew two recent proposals. The 2020 proposal would have required recording self-custody wallet transactions exceeding $3,000 and reporting those over $10,000. FinCEN also withdrew a 2023 proposal addressing crypto mixers, saying it could inadvertently restrict legitimate activity. The moves remove two contested rule proposals that had raised concerns among privacy advocates and parts of the crypto industry.
SEC approves triple-leverage volatility ETFs for crypto and commodities
On October 2 the SEC approved six Volatility Shares funds that target three times the daily return of futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, oil and natural gas. The funds are cleared to trade on the Cboe BZX exchange, though no launch date has been announced. The approval follows earlier SEC warnings about products offering leverage beyond 2x, underscoring regulatory attention to leveraged retail products.
Large corporate Bitcoin buys and balance-sheet moves
Several public companies disclosed significant Bitcoin transactions in the first days of October. Strategy purchased 334 BTC between October 1 and 4 for $28.7 million at an average price of $85,838.80, bringing its total reported holdings to 848,000 BTC; the company also repurchased $176.3 million of its own stock (STRC) and announced an estimated $20.91 billion gain on digital assets for the third quarter. Strive bought 2,000 BTC for about $169 million at an average price of $84,422 per BTC, increasing its holdings to 29,462 BTC as of October 2 and reporting $284.7 million in cash with zero debt. Japan’s Metaplanet reported selling 10,000 BTC for ¥124.7 billion and buying 11,000 BTC for ¥149.9 billion during the third quarter, leaving it with 44,000 BTC and stating plans to allocate 10-15% of assets to strategic investments while keeping 85-90% in Bitcoin.
Ethereum and Solana treasury moves
Ethereum-focused purchases also featured prominently. Bitmine added 15,112 ETH, roughly $41 million, bringing its reported holdings to 6,016,414 ETH, a figure the company said represents 4.9% of Ethereum’s supply and puts it at 99% of a 5% target. On Solana, DeFi Development Corp. added about 26,203 SOL between September 28 and October 2, raising its total to 2,564,212 SOL and equivalents and valuing the treasury at $302 million; the company noted an 11% increase in that valuation since August 12 and paid the first 13% dividend on CHAD preferred stock.
Injective, ETFs and MiCA white paper progress
Injective’s CEO Eric Chen said on October 5 that 2027 would be too distant a target for U.S.-based ETFs linked to INJ. There are three ETF applications for INJ, and the first two filed amended S-1 forms in September. Injective has also finalised the MiCA white paper for its INJ token. (MiCA refers to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework.)
Ethereum staking queues grow
Staking flows for Ethereum have shown volatility: on October 2 about 851,000 ETH were awaiting exit from staking, up from 166,000 on September 29. By October 5 the exit queue had decreased to roughly 786,000 ETH, while about 1.5 million ETH were waiting to enter staking and faced an estimated wait time of around 25 days. MetaMask reported no signs that customer wallets or funds were affected amid these queue changes.
Greek investigation into €8 million pyramid scheme
Greek authorities brought nine suspects before an investigating magistrate on October 5 in connection with a crypto pyramid scheme that police estimate collected around $8 million from roughly 10,000 investors. Entry costs reportedly started at €800 with VIP participation up to €5,000. Local reporting cited Katerini as a significant cluster, with about 1,842 members and an estimated €2 million collected there; two of the suspects are described as Greek military personnel.
Taken together, the day's developments show regulatory recalibration in the U.S., continued institutional and corporate appetite for crypto exposure, and persistent risks in retail-targeted schemes and staking infrastructure. Markets and policymakers continue to react as products, treasuries and legal scrutiny evolve.