According to Woofun AI, BlackRock (BLK.US) submitted an application to the SEC on October 20 seeking to launch the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF, designed to provide investors with Bitcoin exposure while seeking downside protection.
This product is positioned as BlackRock's third Bitcoin ETF filing, with its core logic centered on utilizing derivative strategies to hedge risk.
Currently, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT.US) has surpassed $65 billion in assets under management, firmly holding the top position among similar products.
Since launching IBIT in January 2024, BlackRock (BLK.US) has continued to expand its product line, launching the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF in June this year to enhance returns through options premium income.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart noted on X platform that while other companies have launched ETFs tracking XRP, SOL, DOGE and other assets, BlackRock (BLK.US) product line currently only covers Bitcoin and Ethereum, and has not yet ventured into the broader crypto asset space.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed company SharpLink (SBET.US) announced it has deployed a cumulative $400 million in ETH to two liquid staking protocols, Ether.fi and Lido, to maximize its treasury yields.
According to the plan announced in August, $200 million in ETH was staked through Lido to obtain wstETH, custodied by Anchorage Digital; the other portion of funds was deployed through Ether.fi to Consensys-backed Linea network, and participated in restaking in partnership with EigenCloud.
As one of the world's largest corporate ETH holders, SharpLink (SBET.US) move further allocates its assets to institutional-grade DeFi products, continuing its existing staking and restaking strategy.
Real-time market data shows major cryptocurrencies trading with mixed movements.
Data compiled by Woofun AI shows BTC priced at $81,996.93, up 0.1% in 24 hours; ETH priced at $2,408.05, up 0.5% in 24 hours; BNB priced at $732.48, up 2.6% in 24 hours; SOL priced at $105.03, up 3.0% in 24 hours; DOGE priced at $0.07968, up 2.6% in 24 hours; XRP priced at $1.30, down 0.3% in 24 hours; ZEC priced at $1,154.56, up 6.5% in 24 hours; TRX priced at $0.3317, down 0.4% in 24 hours; WLFI priced at $0.05423, down 4.8% in 24 hours; HYPE priced at $79.34, up 2.1% in 24 hours.
On the US legislative front, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) is steadily advancing.
Section 502 of the bill requires the US Treasury to establish a "Digital Asset Voluntary Disclosure Program" within 12 months of enactment, allowing compliant taxpayers to pay back taxes and interest through amended returns to correct past violations and receive penalty relief.
The bill previously passed the House Ways and Means Committee with 38 votes in favor and 5 against.
The provision requires taxpayers to generally submit amended returns within 24 months after the program launches; if violations are proven non-willful and do not constitute fraud, filing within the first 12 months qualifies for a waiver of penalties on the first $25,000 of tax owed, with a 5% penalty on the excess, otherwise higher penalty rates apply.
Regarding geopolitical risks, Iran Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi warned in an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times that if the US takes military action again, Iran will respond more fiercely and could trigger a severe energy crisis.
He explicitly stated that Iran has not yet used its full capabilities to completely blockade the Strait of Hormuz, nor has it linked the situations in the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez Canal, nor has it deployed the full strength of the "Axis of Resistance."
Seven major submarine cables pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and global internet and commercial data depend on these cables. Iran's move is intended to warn its enemies.
The AI model sector is seeing frequent developments, with MiniMax officially releasing its new-generation Flash model M3.1 Flash on October 19.
The previously anonymously processed Space Bunny model with over 200T tokens was actually its early version.
M3.1 Flash achieves generational improvements in Agentic tasks, programming, Computer Use and cybersecurity capabilities, with online inference speed increased by nearly 3x and usage costs reduced by 70%.
MiniMax previewed that a Pro version pursuing higher intelligence ceilings will be launched soon.
Additionally, The Information cited people familiar with the matter reporting that Anthropic is preparing to release a new model with reasoning and intuition capabilities superior to existing models on the market, skilled at judging users' deeper intentions and breaking out of conventional thinking.
Musk posted on October 19 announcing that next year he will give every child in the US one share of SpaceX (SPCX.US) stock, calling it the first in a series of similar initiatives in the future.
Based on SpaceX (SPCX.US) current stock price and US child population estimates, if fulfilled, the total value of shares involved could reach $10 billion to $10.7 billion.
If implemented, this large-scale giveaway plan will have far-reaching impacts on SpaceX (SPCX.US) equity structure and market liquidity.
Traditional finance and institutional developments are intense. German Savings Banks and DSGV announced that starting Monday they will gradually integrate crypto asset trading services, with the first pilot customers able to buy, sell and custody Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Solana and Polygon through the app, planning to add 30 to 40 branches per month, with major integration expected to be completed in the first half of 2027.
Trading is provided by DekaBank in partnership with Stuttgart Stock Exchange, with a fee of 0.99 euros.
JPMorgan (JPM.US) has expanded JPM Coin USD to the Ethereum network for institutional clients; the token was previously launched on Base in 2025 and is still only available through Kinexys.
Strategy (MSTR.US) disclosed on October 19 that it repurchased $193 million of STRC preferred stock (STRC.US) and purchased 267 Bitcoin, holding 848,517 BTC as of October 18, 2026, with $5.3 billion in dollar-denominated assets, and raised its buyback program from $2 billion to $3 billion.
Strive (ASST.US) purchased 4,045 Bitcoin at an average price of approximately $82,803 between October 12 and 16, 2026, of which 2,822 were purchased from October 12 to 13 as announced on October 14, and 1,223 were purchased at an average price of approximately $81,734 from October 14 to 16.
As of October 16, Strive (ASST.US) cumulatively holds 36,818 Bitcoin, plus 505,000 shares of STRC preferred stock (STRC.US) (valued at approximately $49.35 million) and approximately $317.5 million in cash.
Metaplanet founder Simon Gerovich announced that the acquisition of Super League Enterprise (SLE.US) has been approved, investing 2,100 Bitcoin plus $2.5 million in cash, with a total value of approximately $134.6 million, in exchange for controlling stake in SLE. After the transaction, it will hold approximately 95.7% of SLE common stock, and SLE will be renamed Superplanet.
BitMine (BMNR.US) added 12,535 ETH last week, bringing total holdings to 6,041,481 as of October 18, 2026, accounting for 4.9% of Ethereum's total supply, with total crypto assets valued at approximately $15.1 billion, including $582 million in cash and marketable securities, 215 Bitcoin, $180 million in Beast Industries equity and a $74 million investment in Eightco Holdings (ORBS.US), with 5,067,309 staked (84%), valued at approximately $12 billion, generating annualized returns of approximately $309 million.
The BNB Foundation completed its 37th quarterly burn, destroying 1,646,200 BNB worth approximately $1.197 billion, reducing circulating supply to approximately 131.5 million.
Coinbase (COIN.US) added AXIS, PEARL and STABLE to its listing roadmap, with AXIS being a Base network token.
The New York Stock Exchange (ICE.US) launched extended trading hours for NYSE American Options, with morning session from 7:30 to 9:25 and evening session from 16:00 to 16:15, covering SPY.US, IWM.US, GLD.US, Apple (AAPL.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), Nvidia (NVDA.US), Alphabet (GOOGL.US), Amazon (AMZN.US) and Oracle (ORCL.US), with plans to expand to the stock market in December.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe, CBOE.US) expanded trading hours for certain US stock and ETF options, with pre-market from 7:30 to 9:25 and post-market from 16:00 to 16:15, covering Apple (AAPL.US), Nvidia (NVDA.US), Tesla (TSLA.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), Amazon (AMZN.US), Google (GOOGL.US), Robinhood (HOOD.US), Intel (INTC.US) and other individual stocks plus SPY.US, QQQ.US, GLD.US and other ETFs, totaling 29 instruments.
CME (CME.US) "FedWatch" shows that as of October 20, the probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged is 82.8%, with a 17.2% probability of a 25 basis point hike; the probability of keeping rates unchanged in December is 6.4%, with a 77.8% probability of a 25 basis point hike and a 15.8% probability of a 50 basis point hike.
Bitcoin's "digital gold" narrative is facing structural challenges.
After six tests, the "digital gold" claim has never been confirmed by data; countries hoard gold while excluding Bitcoin from reserves.
For investors, Bitcoin has asymmetry: it falls with stocks but does not rise with stocks.
Derivatives excess, leveraged trader dominance and lack of a repeatable behavioral record — these three structural asymmetries make it difficult for Bitcoin to gain safe-haven status.
However, Bitcoin is not a traditional safe-haven asset but a "useful asset in crises," and can indeed play a role in extreme situations such as border closures and bank failures.
If the three major asymmetries narrow, Bitcoin may no longer be a replica of gold but evolve into "next-generation gold."
Generational change and the widespread adoption of algorithms are key variables accelerating this process.
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