Key Information: US stock indices opened lower across the board, reflecting weak market sentiment. Major players traded $29.18 million betting on this direction.

Elon Musk responded to billionaire investor Stan Druckenmiller's support for 24/7 Hyperliquid HYPE futures trading in the United States, calling it "interesting." (Watcher.Guru)

The French Senate passed a bill in its first reading authorizing tax authorities to automatically exchange cryptocurrency transaction data with foreign institutions. The bill awaits review by the National Assembly. The bill sets information exchange standards based on the CARF (Corporate Association for Economic Cooperation and Development) framework established by the OECD. France has already implemented DAC8 through its 2025 Finance Bill, requiring cryptocurrency service providers to report customer data. On October 16, the National Assembly passed an amendment proposing to tax gains from converting cryptocurrencies into stablecoins pegged to specific fiat currencies, effective January 1, 2027; this measure has not yet become law.

Polymarket, a prediction platform, has launched five-minute cryptocurrency price prediction contracts on its regulated U.S. platform, operated by QCX LLC and regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Traders can bet on whether assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP will close above or below a starting price within five minutes. A correct prediction pays $1 per share, while an incorrect prediction results in zero payout. The CFTC is reviewing Polymarket's compliance with its 2022 settlement terms and is scrutinizing its customer protection practices. (Source: CoinDesk)

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced a strategic investment in Marketnode, a digital market infrastructure operator in the Asia-Pacific region, to expand institutional investors' access to tokenized real-world financial assets on the Stellar network. Marketnode, backed by Euroclear, HSBC, Singapore Exchange Group, and Temasek, covers the issuance, distribution, and servicing of funds, credit, and structured products, connecting asset managers, issuers, distributors, and accredited investors.

Polymarket is investigating hundreds of suspicious new wallet transactions in the Israeli election market, with these accounts reportedly profiting over $100,000 in election-related betting. (Source: Bloomberg)