Catch up on the biggest crypto news from October 4, 2026, covering major industry developments, company updates, regulation, partnerships, and market-moving announcements.
Trump named former SEC Chair Jay Clayton as AI czar. Clayton, also Director of National Intelligence, will lead a “Super Intelligence Force” with 120 days to report on AI risks and opportunities. David Sacks and Condoleezza Rice are named as outside advisers. Crypto accounts are focused on the fact that Clayton’s SEC filed the Ripple lawsuit on his last full day in office.
A Philippine court froze 25 crypto wallets and 86 bank accounts tied to an unnamed lawmaker in a flood-control plunder probe. The freeze covers 116 assets in total, the lawmaker has not been named, and the freeze is not a conviction. Former congressman Zaldy Co, tagged as the alleged mastermind, is still described as on the run.
El Salvador missed its IMF Bitcoin target and still received about $138–$139 million after the Fund signed off on a waiver.
The SEC’s approval of the first 3x leveraged Bitcoin and Ether ETFs is still the main product story. CryptosRus said the funds target 3x the daily move using regulated futures. That follows Eric Balchunas’s note that the SEC cleared Volatility Shares’ 3x Bitcoin, Ether, and commodity ETPs for listing on Cboe BZX.
Valour launched a Pi-linked ETP in Europe. It trades on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market under ticker VALOUR PI SEK, with Valour holding PI as the underlying asset, so investors get exposure through a brokerage account. The stated fee is 1.9%.
Japan launched a new tax system to detect undeclared crypto, the Philippine central bank restricted Coins.ph, and South Korea plans to expand tokenization to stocks, bonds, and funds.
Hester Peirce’s older interview also recirculated: she said financial privacy should be the default, not a sign of suspicious activity, while law enforcement still needs to do its job.