Stay in the loop with our weekly crypto digest as we get you up to speed on the hottest trends and events in the crypto space.

Here’s what happened in crypto this week:

Ocean Protocol Withdraws From AI Token Alliance With Fetch.ai And SingularityNET

Ocean Protocol has pulled out of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI) with Fetch.ai and SingularityNET, potentially impacting the $OCEAN token and the alliance’s vision for decentralized AI.

The Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI) was formed in March 2024 by Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol to unify their AI-focused ecosystems under a single token. 

Instead of launching a new asset, the merger consolidated the OCEAN tokens into Fetch.ai’s, which became the base token and was later rebranded as ASI. 

Holders of AGIX and OCEAN could voluntarily convert their tokens into FET at fixed rates, while unconverted tokens remained valid on their original contracts.

ASI added that Ocean Protocol’s departure would not affect its core technology stack, that development momentum remains strong, and the founding teams remain fully aligned in their mission.

Crypto Market Suffers Record $19 Billion Crash, Calling It ‘Worst Liquidation Event In Crypto History’

The crypto market’s $19 billion liquidation last Friday was one for the record books. In fact, it’s twice the amount liquidated in the next biggest market rout, which took place in April 2021, per Coinglass data.

According to Lucas Kiely, CEO of Future Digital Capital Management, a digital asset wealth manager, the risk of such mass liquidation events is increasing.

“This sell-off is a wake-up call for traders that high leverage is a very dangerous game in a market this illiquid and this close to a cycle top,” he said in a statement.

Liquidation is a process that occurs when a trader’s account balance falls below a certain threshold, triggering the automatic closure of their trades. It usually happens when traders take on leverage. In other words, borrowing money to juice the size of their bets.

Airdrop Claim Portal For Monad Goes Live

Monad, a high-performance EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, has launched its airdrop claim portal for the $MON on October 14th, 2025, marking a significant step toward its mainnet debut.

Notably, Monad is positioning itself as a rival to Ethereum and Solana by promising 10,000 TPS and 1-second block times.

The portal will be open until November 3rd, 2025, and there is no benefit to claiming early, so take your time and be cautious.

Citibank Targets 2026 Launch For Crypto Asset Custody Services

Citi is aiming to launch a service for the custody of crypto assets in 2026, an executive at the bank told CNBC, as Wall Street giants expand their footprint in the digital currency space.

The offering, targeted at asset managers, hedge funds, and other institutional investors, aims to combine Citi’s reputation for financial security with next-generation blockchain infrastructure.

The move comes after several years of groundwork within Citi’s digital assets division, which has focused on building compliance-ready, scalable custody technology. The system will include institutional wallet infrastructure, advanced private key management, and on-chain verification tools.

China Renaissance Seeks $600 Million For BNB Crypto Treasury

China Renaissance Holdings, a Beijing-based, Hong Kong-listed investment institution, is in negotiations to raise around US$600 million to create a digital treasury vehicle focused on BNB. YZi Labs, a branch linked to Binance, is expected to participate in this endeavor alongside the Chinese bank.

If the fundraising is successful, a public company will be established in the US dedicated to the accumulation of digital assets. This model follows a trend among institutions seeking “crypto treasuries” focused on cryptocurrencies of great relevance in the digital financial ecosystem.

Notably, China Renaissance had already expressed its intention to invest approximately US$100 million in BNB as part of a strategic alliance with YZi Labs. This transaction made it one of the first Hong Kong-based entities to explicitly declare BNB as part of its proprietary portfolio.

Japan To ban Cryptocurrency Insider Trading With New Rules

Japan is set to ban insider trading in cryptocurrencies, with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) introducing strict regulations and surcharges on illicit gains, as reported by Nikkei Asia.

Japan’s FSA is aiming to classify crypto as a financial product under stricter oversight. This move targets shady insider deals, ensuring the market isn’t a playground for manipulators.

Federal Reserve Jerome Powell Suggests Tightening Program Could End Soon

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank is nearing a point where it will stop reducing the size of its bond holdings, and provided a few hints that more interest rate cuts are in the cards.

While he provided no specific date for when the program will cease, he said there are indications the Fed is nearing its goal of “ample” reserves available for banks.

On interest rates, the central bank chief did not provide specific guidance on a path lower, but comments about weakness in the labor market indicated that easing is firmly on the table, as financial markets expect.

Other Fed officials have said recently that the falling labor market is taking precedence in their thinking, leading to the likelihood of additional rate cuts ahead.

Final Thoughts

So that’s it for this week!

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Have a fantastic week ahead!