President Donald Trump plans to nominate Michael Selig for chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, administration officials said. Selig serves as chief counsel of the SEC's crypto task force and senior adviser to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. The nomination comes after Trump withdrew Brian Quintenz's candidacy following opposition from crypto industry figures.

North Korea's cyber operations laundered approximately $1.65 billion in cryptocurrency between January and September to fund weapons programs, according to the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team. The total includes $1.4 billion stolen from Bybit in February and additional proceeds from illicit cryptocurrency activities throughout 2024. The country has deployed IT workers to eight nations to circumvent UN sanctions and generate revenue.

Ripple has completed its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, rebranding the non-bank prime broker as Ripple Prime. The transaction makes Ripple the first cryptocurrency company to own a global multi-asset prime brokerage. Ripple Prime will provide clearing, financing, and brokerage services across digital assets, derivatives, foreign exchange, and fixed-income products to institutional clients.

Coinbase Global Inc. shares jumped over 9% on Friday after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the cryptocurrency exchange to "Overweight" from "Neutral" and raised its price target to $404. The upgrade reflects anticipated monetization opportunities from the Base network and potential changes to USDC rewards distribution. JPMorgan analysts estimate a potential Base token launch could represent a market opportunity valued between $12 billion and $34 billion.

JPMorgan analysts upgraded Coinbase with a December 2026 price target of $404, citing a potential Base network token valued between $12 billion and $34 billion. The bank highlighted Base's growth to over $5 billion in total value locked and shifts in USDC reward distribution as key monetization opportunities.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, who served four months in prison for violating anti-money laundering laws. The pardon could enable Binance to reenter the U.S. market, though Treasury approval remains required to end the Justice Department's three-year compliance monitoring.

Major cryptocurrencies displayed muted price action on October 24, 2025, following the US Consumer Price Index report for September. Bitcoin briefly touched $111,842 before retreating to $110,500, while Ethereum approached $4,000 and settled above $3,900. The CPI data showed headline inflation at 0.3% and core inflation at 0.2%, with year-over-year measures at 3%.

JPMorgan upgraded Coinbase to "overweight" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $404 from $342. The bank cited two primary catalysts: potential monetization of a Base token and expanded USDC yield offerings through Coinbase One. Shares climbed more than 8% in early trading to approximately $349.56.