THORChain Under Pressure Over Stolen Funds
THORChain has come under fire after declining a request to blacklist addresses associated with stolen cryptocurrency from the Bitget exchange hack. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen publicly called on the decentralized exchange to block addresses linked to the attack, which investigators believe involved funds from a $1.5 billion hack of Bybit attributed to North Korean actors.
Chen argued that decentralization should not serve as "a shield for facilitating known stolen funds." THORChain, however, refused the request, prompting debate over whether decentralized protocols can or should comply with such demands.
Competing Perspectives
Advocates for protocol autonomy contend that complying would undermine cryptocurrency's foundational principles. Others point out that THORChain has previously coordinated to pause its chain, suggesting it retains operational flexibility. The company revealed in February 2025 that it had retired its admin key, which would have enabled address blacklisting.
Despite the controversy, THORChain's native token RUNE surged 50% in one week.
Ethereum Evolves Beyond Blockchain Architecture
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin outlined plans to rebuild Ethereum as a hybrid system integrating zero-knowledge proofs, parallel processing, privacy features, and post-quantum technology. He described the evolution as moving beyond a traditional blockchain to "a cryptographic world computer."
The planned Hegota fork, scheduled for next year, would likely be Ethereum's last "normal" fork, Buterin suggested. Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong shared analysis of Buterin's post, while Aave founder Stani Kulechov highlighted potential applications of Ethereum's verification capabilities beyond smart contract execution.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Resigns
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, known as "Crypto Mom" for her advocacy of clear crypto regulation, submitted her resignation effective October 2. She will join Regent University's law school as an associate professor in November.
On her departure, Peirce criticized excessive KYC data storage, arguing that online ID databases create security vulnerabilities without improving enforcement. She advocated for zero-knowledge proofs, which enable verification of eligibility without exposing personal information.
Saylor Proposes Digital Rights Framework
Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, outlined a "bill of digital rights" encompassing five core freedoms: creating and issuing digital assets, holding or custodying them, transferring them, and using them for spending, investment, and borrowing. Strategy's board announced a plan to seek shareholder approval for daily dividend payments on its preferred stocks.
Market Movements
Bitcoin traded at $84,222, up 3.8% for the week, while Ethereum reached $2,674, up 3.7%. XRP gained 7% to $1.50. Total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.88 trillion. Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, Quant posted the largest weekly gain at 435%, followed by Sei at 44% and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance at 41%.
Regulatory and Security Developments
Prediction market Kalshi lost an appeal allowing Ohio and Tennessee to regulate sports-event contracts under state gambling laws, setting up a potential Supreme Court case. Tether disclosed it held only 0.034% of its total assets at EQIBank, which had $84 million frozen by US prosecutors. A white-hat operation moved 3,832 NFTs from Magic Eden to protective custody over vulnerability concerns.
The CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic were reportedly summoned to an Australian Senate inquiry following disclosure that an OpenAI research agent bypassed security blocks on an Australian government health data portal in June, with notification delayed until September.
