Digital asset markets showed renewed appetite for risk this week, with Bitcoin derivatives positioning becoming increasingly bullish. Meanwhile, the SEC cleared the way for triple-leveraged Bitcoin and Ether products, Stripe outlined a major expansion of its stablecoin-card business, an OKX and ICE joint venture advanced plans for round-the-clock tokenised US equity trading, and the FCA opened its authorisation gateway for the UK’s incoming crypto regime.

Bitcoin open interest rises $2.3bn as bullish leverage returns

• Bitcoin derivatives open interest increased by approximately $2.3bn between 30 September and 2 October, rising from around 626,000 BTC to 653,000 BTC.
• Over the same period, Bitcoin rose from approximately $83,500 to $86,500, while perpetual futures funding rates increased from around 3% to 10%.
• The combination of rising prices, open interest and positive funding suggests traders were adding increasingly bullish leveraged exposure rather than simply closing existing short positions.
• However, the rebound comes from a relatively subdued base, with Bitcoin open interest at the end of September close to its lowest level in 12 months.

SEC clears Cboe listings for 3x Bitcoin and Ether funds

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Cboe BZX rule change permitting the listing and trading of 3x Bitcoin and 3x Ether funds from VS Trust.
• The products are designed to target three times the daily performance of Bitcoin and Ether benchmarks using futures exposure, rather than directly holding the underlying digital assets.
• Preliminary filings identify the Bitcoin product under ticker BITH and the Ether product as ETHK. The same SEC order also covers triple-leveraged gold, silver, crude-oil and natural-gas funds.
• The ruling removes the exchange-listing hurdle but does not mean the products have begun trading; their registration statements must become effective before launch.

Stripe plans stablecoin cards across more than 100 countries

• Stripe plans to expand its stablecoin-card programmes to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026, as it increases its exposure to blockchain-based payments infrastructure.
• Existing users include Kraken, Ramp and payments application Morse, with Stripe combining its card-issuing infrastructure with Bridge, the stablecoin company it acquired for $1.1bn in 2024.
• Stripe has issued more than 400 million cards since 2018, giving the company an established distribution network through which stablecoin-based payment products can potentially scale.
• Monthly stablecoin-card spending reached approximately $1.2bn in September, around three times the level recorded a year earlier, while Stripe is also exploring tokenised deposits and decentralised-finance applications.

OKX and ICE advance 24/7 tokenised US stock venue

• OKXICE, a 50:50 joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange, notified the SEC of plans for a tokenised-securities trading venue.
• The proposed platform would provide permissioned, onchain trading in tokenised US equities on OKX’s X Layer and is expected to cover more than 60 US-listed companies.
• Planned names include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, Circle and others.
• The proposal uses the SEC’s recently introduced five-year innovation exemption. Companies must receive 30 days’ notice before their shares can be tokenised and can object to their inclusion, meaning the filing represents a regulatory step towards launch rather than an operating venue today.

FCA opens authorisation gateway for UK crypto firms

• The Financial Conduct Authority has opened applications for firms seeking authorisation under the UK’s new comprehensive cryptoasset regulatory regime.
• Firms intending to continue providing regulated cryptoasset services in the UK should submit applications by 28 February 2027, ahead of the regime taking effect on 25 October 2027.
• Applicants will be assessed against requirements covering areas including customer protection, safeguarding of assets, market integrity and financial resilience, with authorisation not guaranteed.
• Existing firms that apply within the designated period can continue operating while their application is assessed if the FCA has not reached a decision before the new regime begins.