Bitcoin Had Its Worst ETF Week Since April. Here’s What Else Happened in Crypto.
Bitcoin fell below $82,000, ETFs bled $909 million across two weeks, and nearly $1 billion in positions got liquidated in a single day. USDC became the first stablecoin classified as “significant” under MiCA. The OCC found every major US bank has policies that can cut off digital-asset businesses. Charles Schwab opened crypto trading to all eligible clients. And the White House crypto policy office is now empty.
USDC Became the First “Significant” E-Money Token Under MiCA
The European Banking Authority classified Circle’s USDC as the first “significant” e-money token under MiCA, effective November 12. From that date, USDC moves from national-level oversight to direct EBA supervision.
Significant status means stricter capital requirements, enhanced redemption obligations, and closer regulatory scrutiny than standard e-money tokens get. Circle pursued EU licensing and got it. USDC is now the only major stablecoin with full MiCA authorization.
Tether’s USDT chose not to pursue EU licensing and remains outside the framework. ESMA’s three-month deadline for EU platforms to wind down non-compliant stablecoin exposure was announced last week. For EU-regulated exchanges, the message is straightforward: USDC in, USDT out.
The OCC Found Every Major US Bank Has Policies That Can Cut Off Crypto
The OCC reviewed the nine largest US national banks and found all nine had internal policies that could restrict or deny services to digital-asset issuers, exchanges, and administrators.
US regulators have spent most of 2026 signaling a more open posture toward crypto. The administration has positioned itself as pro-digital-assets. Meanwhile, the country’s largest banks have internal rules built to exclude the sector.
The OCC review does not order banks to change anything. It puts the finding on record, which gives regulators and Congress documented grounds for further action if de-banking of crypto firms continues.
Bitcoin ETFs Lost $909 Million in Two Weeks
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $228 million in net outflows between October 12 and 16. The prior week had already seen $681 million in outflows after Bitcoin fell below $82,000 and $771 million in positions were liquidated in 24 hours. On October 15, nearly $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated as Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP all dropped.
Bitcoin closed the week near $81,400, well off its Q3 close above $100,000. The $909 million in combined ETF outflows over two weeks is the heaviest institutional selling since April.
MSCI May Remove Strategy and Metaplanet From Its Indexes
MSCI approved new rules that could remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its equity indexes. The final list is due November 11 and any removals take effect at the close of November 30.
Both companies hold large Bitcoin treasuries and their valuations have increasingly decoupled from standard equity metrics. MSCI’s methodology evaluates whether a company’s business is captured by normal equity analysis. A company whose primary asset is Bitcoin on its balance sheet is a difficult fit.
A confirmed removal would force index-tracking funds to sell their positions in both stocks before November 30. Strategy is one of the more widely held names among institutional ETF trackers.
Charles Schwab Opened Crypto Trading to All Eligible Clients
Charles Schwab opened Schwab Crypto to all eligible US clients this week. Bitcoin and Ether are available at a 0.75% fee per trade.
Schwab has roughly 35 million active brokerage accounts. This is not a crypto-native firm timing a market cycle. The rollout puts Bitcoin and Ether inside the same interface millions of Americans already use for stocks and retirement accounts.
The 0.75% fee is competitive with Coinbase’s retail rates and undercuts the spread on most Bitcoin ETFs for small positions.
The White House Crypto Policy Office Is Empty
Patrick Witt, the last crypto adviser running the White House digital assets office, left his post this week. No successor has been named.
The office was set up in 2025 to coordinate crypto policy across the executive branch. Its vacancy creates a gap at the center of US crypto policy while the SEC, CFTC, and OCC all have active crypto rulemakings in progress. How long the vacancy lasts will determine how much it matters.
UK High Court: Chinese Law Governs $5 Billion Bitcoin Seizure Claims
The English High Court ruled that Chinese law governs fraud victims’ ownership claims to approximately 61,000 seized Bitcoin worth roughly $5 billion.
The coins were seized by UK authorities as part of a fraud investigation. The ruling is procedural: it determines how ownership claims will be evaluated, not who ultimately gets the Bitcoin. Applying Chinese property law to a UK-held asset is an unusual outcome that will shape how the eventual distribution gets structured.
Securities Perpetual Futures May Launch in the US This Quarter
SEC Trading and Markets Director Jamie Selway said five CFTC-registered exchanges have filed to become security futures exchanges, and at least four may launch securities perpetual futures before year-end.
Securities perpetual futures are continuous contracts on individual stocks or equity indexes with no expiration date. They are common in offshore crypto markets but do not exist in US-regulated form yet. If four exchanges launch before year-end, it brings a product structure familiar to crypto traders into regulated US securities markets.
Paybis Hosted The Garden Room at TOKEN2049 Singapore
Paybis hosted The Garden Room networking event during TOKEN2049 Singapore and announced a 7x speed improvement to its On/Off Ramp infrastructure.
Other News Worth Noting
A dormant Bitcoin whale moved 4,582 BTC worth about $378 million after more than six years of inactivity. Strive bought 3,311 BTC for about $280 million, its largest acquisition since January, bringing its total to 32,773 BTC. Jeonbuk Bank issued South Korea’s first traditional bank loan secured by custodied Bitcoin.
Binance announced it will shut down its mining pool, cloud mining, and related services on November 10. Polygon Labs completed its Coinme acquisition, giving its payments stack money-transmitter coverage across 48 US states. Standard Chartered pushed back its $2 trillion stablecoin supply forecast from 2028 to 2030 while supply held near $309 billion.
Ripple said Stripe-owned Privy wallets are coming to the XRP Ledger as AI agent payments on the network passed 14 million. Vitalik Buterin said the race for zkEVM proving speed is over and that security and formal verification should be the priority now. Google said its Willow quantum chip cut errors about 40-fold in preparing “magic states,” renewing debate about the long-term quantum risk to Bitcoin’s oldest coins. Binance and Coinbase joined a West Africa scam crackdown that led to 28 arrests in Ghana and Nigeria and identified 117 suspected trafficking victims.
Wrapping Up
This week USDC became the first MiCA-significant stablecoin under direct EBA oversight from November 12, while USDT sits outside the framework with a ticking clock on EU platforms. The OCC found all nine major US banks have internal policies that can cut off crypto businesses. Bitcoin ETFs shed $909 million over two weeks, nearly $1 billion in positions were liquidated on October 15, and Bitcoin closed near $81,400. Charles Schwab opened direct crypto trading to roughly 35 million brokerage clients. MSCI may remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its indexes by November 30. The White House crypto policy office is vacant with no replacement named, and securities perpetual futures may arrive in US markets before year-end. The regulatory framework keeps expanding. The price action this week was a reminder that markets do not wait for it.
Disclaimer: Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more at: https://go.payb.is/FCA-Info
