CoinDesk

BlackRock has filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF (PBIT), a "buffer" bitcoin fund that uses options on its IBIT bitcoin ETF to soften downside losses in exchange for capped upside. The filing, made as an amendment to the iShares Trust registration, targets launch around early January 2027.

• The fund would not hold bitcoin directly; it would combine call-option spreads on IBIT with short-term fixed-income investments, per analysts and the prospectus.
• No trading can begin until the SEC declares the registration statement effective.

Meshpay has partnered with Visa to let consumers spend crypto and stablecoin balances at more than 175 million merchant locations worldwide. The tie-up extends the crypto payments firm's card program onto Visa's global network, giving holders of digital assets and stablecoins a way to spend them at everyday merchants.

The CFTC has pushed back in court against CME Group's lawsuit over its new perpetual-futures policy, arguing in a brief that the derivatives giant has not shown it is being harmed and therefore lacks legal standing, per CoinDesk's lead headlines. The CFTC noted that CME's crypto futures volume has actually risen since the policy shift.

The dispute stems from the CFTC opening the door to U.S. perps in May, approving Kalshi's first bitcoin perp and saying it would treat the contracts case-by-case as futures. CME sued in July, arguing perps — which have no built-in expiration — are really swaps that demand a different regulatory framework. The agency contends "allegations of increased competition, without any plausible inference of an imminent financial injury" don't confer standing, and first asked a judge to dismiss the case in September.

TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg says CME may still prevail on its swaps argument, while warning that continued perps growth during the litigation could complicate any unwind if CME wins.

Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino pushed back on the Senate Democrats' report linking USDT to Iran's shadow banking system, saying the investigation misses Tether's compliance work that he credits with reducing Iran-linked volumes. The report, published by Sen. Richard Blumenthal's subcommittee, accused the stablecoin of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions.

Ardoino cited Tether's record as counter-evidence: frozen flagged addresses an average of four weeks before official designations since 2023, nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT frozen in 2026, and wallet freezes that Tether claims cut Iran-linked volumes by 94%. The rebuttal lands alongside Blumenthal's separate letter to Cantor Fitzgerald over its roughly 5% stake in Tether and custody of the issuer's reserves.

Super League Gaming shareholders have approved Metaplanet's deal to invest 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in the company, paving the way for a U.S.-listed bitcoin treasury firm called Superplanet. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2026, with Superplanet trading on Nasdaq under a new ticker.

• The transaction effectively turns the gaming company into a vehicle for Metaplanet's bitcoin treasury strategy, extending the Japanese firm's push into U.S. capital markets.
• Metaplanet ended Q3 holding 44,000 BTC (~$3.8 billion) and is simultaneously rolling out preferred-securities strategies tied to its bitcoin stack.

CoinDesk's daily briefing leads with three developments. JPMorgan will make JPM Coin — its token representing U.S. dollar deposits — available to institutional clients on the Ethereum network, extending the token beyond its private blockchain footprint; no launch date has been disclosed.

• Strategy's stock is approaching a golden cross, a technical signal that could mark a shift in momentum for the bitcoin treasury firm.
• White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt announced he is leaving government for the private sector, leaving the Trump administration's digital-assets office without a named crypto adviser.

The brief lands as banks push deposit tokens onto public networks, markets track technical signals in crypto-linked equities, and Washington's in-house crypto policy team thins out ahead of a fresh legislative push.

The CFTC has pushed back in court against CME Group's lawsuit over the agency's new perpetual-futures policy, arguing in a brief filed Friday that the derivatives giant has not shown it is being harmed and therefore lacks legal standing. The CFTC noted that CME's crypto futures volume has actually risen since the policy shift.

The dispute stems from the CFTC opening the door to U.S. perps in May, approving Kalshi's first bitcoin perp and saying it would treat the contracts case-by-case as futures. CME sued in July, arguing perps — which have no built-in expiration — are really swaps that demand a different regulatory framework. The CFTC first asked a judge to dismiss the case in September.

• The agency contends "allegations of increased competition, without any plausible inference of an imminent financial injury," don't confer standing.
• TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg says CME may still prevail on its swaps argument, while warning that continued perps growth during the litigation could complicate any unwind if CME wins.

Mastercard has launched Stablecoin Security, a tool that helps banks detect fraud, scams and sanctions risks in stablecoin payments before funds move onchain. The service combines payment and blockchain intelligence so financial institutions can assess risk from payment initiation through on-chain movement.

• Launches first in North America, with global availability expected in 2027.
• No details were disclosed on fees, supported stablecoins or rollout partners.

Bitmine (Nasdaq: BMNR) bought another 12,535 ETH (~$30.4 million) last week, lifting its treasury to 6.04 million ETH and putting it on pace to hit chairman Tom Lee's cap of 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply in about five weeks, per CoinDesk.

Lee set the ceiling at TOKEN2049, saying the Ethereum treasury firm will stop accumulating once it owns 5% of supply, ending a weekly buying streak that began in June 2025 and made Bitmine the world's largest Ethereum treasury.

• Lee said the five-year accumulation plan took just over one year, done "in the middle of a bear market."
• The stack carries roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses, much of it bought at higher 2025 prices, and the company holds cash and marketable securities to fund the remaining purchases.

Zerohash launched AUTH at the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas, a service that lets users move crypto, stablecoins and blockchain-based securities like stock tokens between linked accounts without copying wallet addresses or choosing a network. Users pick an account or wallet inside an app, sign in and approve the move; Zerohash handles routing and settlement while each app controls which assets, accounts and transfer types are allowed.

The tool supports more than 600 connections — per Zerohash's developer docs, 639 wallets and four exchange or brokerage accounts — with Coinbase, Robinhood and Gemini live and Kraken in beta. The unit is led by general manager Ryan Beaudry, a former Mastercard executive who called usability the "inflection point for mass adoption."

The launch comes as Zerohash pushes for a federal charter: the OCC returned its national trust bank application in July as materially deficient, and the Chicago firm refiled a narrower application on Aug. 18 that is still pending. Zerohash, which already supplies custody, compliance and settlement infrastructure to firms including Morgan Stanley's E*Trade, operates regulated entities in 51 U.S. jurisdictions.