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According to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank's Singapore branch plans to provide custody services for specific crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets to institutional investors.The bank stated that this service will expand its existing crypto asset custody business, which currently covers the UAE, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong.

During a conversation with Cointelegraph's multimedia director Ciaran Lyons at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, Kevin Lee, Chief Strategy Officer of the cryptocurrency exchange BingX, stated that wealthy "old money" investors have a longer holding period for Bitcoin compared to many crypto-native traders. He mentioned that he has encountered a large number of "old money" clients seeking alternative investments, saying, "Their diamond hands are stronger than any of ours." Lee pointed out that Bitcoin has grown large enough that wealthy investors are increasingly viewing it as a tool for diversifying their portfolios rather than expecting it to "increase tenfold in two weeks."Lee sees wealthy investors as an underdeveloped source of crypto capital, believing that their buy-and-hold strategy could make Bitcoin a diversification tool for more investors. He cited examples where investors allocate 5% to gold and another 5% to Bitcoin, rather than chasing short-term quick returns. A survey released by CoinShares on Monday, targeting 2,230 investors with investable assets of at least $500,000, showed that long-term appreciation and diversification are the primary reasons for investing in crypto assets, while short-term speculation ranked last. Among the surveyed digital asset investors, 80% hold Bitcoin.However, crypto assets are still far from becoming a standard allocation for wealthy families. A survey conducted by JPMorgan in February, based on 333 single-family offices across 30 countries, revealed that 89% of family offices have no exposure to crypto assets, with an average allocation to crypto and digital assets of only 0.4%. Only 17% of respondents consider crypto and digital assets as key investment themes.

According to Bloomberg, the office of a South Korean lawmaker cited data from the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea, indicating that retail investors in South Korea are expected to lose approximately 2.3 trillion won (about 1.7 billion USD) from May 27 to August 14 by tracking single-stock leveraged ETFs and note products related to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Since July, South Korean regulators have implemented measures such as temporarily banning the listing of new leveraged single-stock products, raising minimum cash margin requirements, and strengthening investor education to mitigate the risks associated with these products.

CoinShares' latest survey shows that among wealthy investors in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland, the majority already hold cryptocurrency assets, averaging about 10% of their portfolios. The survey covered 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets, with Sweden's cryptocurrency holding rate at 54%, while the rates for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland are around 70%.Among investors who already hold digital assets, at least 85% in five of the seven countries indicated plans to increase their holdings by 2026, with the proportion reaching 91% in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. The decline in the cryptocurrency market in February this year did not significantly weaken investment willingness; among respondents from the seven countries, more believed that the market sell-off actually increased their willingness to invest than those who felt it decreased their willingness. The survey indicates that long-term appreciation and asset diversification are the main reasons for investing in cryptocurrency assets, with only 6% of respondents primarily viewing themselves as short-term traders.Bitcoin remains the most widely held digital asset, with an average of 80% of cryptocurrency investors holding BTC; 77% of respondents believe BTC will play an important role in the future global financial system, and 79% support strengthening regulation of the digital asset market. Meanwhile, about 40% of respondents in Switzerland, France, the United States, and Germany who work with financial advisors believe that advisors are overly cautious about digital assets. CoinShares stated that the interest of wealthy investors in cryptocurrency assets is forming a stark contrast to the cautious attitude of the traditional wealth management industry.

Wall Street IPO activity has slowed, with investors showing weak demand for new stock issuances, and the market is concerned about overvaluation. The delayed listings of Anthropic and OpenAI have dampened sentiment in the U.S. equity capital markets.Data from BCA Research shows that the average stock price of technology companies that went public this year has dropped by about 23%, exacerbating concerns about high trading valuations.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Michael S. Selig, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced on October 5 that the CFTC has officially proposed the first batch of regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency market, aimed at promoting innovation and protecting investors.Previously, due to Congress's failure to pass relevant bills clarifying the federal legal status of cryptocurrency assets, the CFTC and SEC turned to existing statutory powers to lead the formulation of market structure rules. During the previous administration, the two regulatory agencies primarily targeted cryptocurrency exchanges, custodians, and software developers through enforcement actions, resulting in a large number of cryptocurrency companies moving overseas.The introduction of the new rules marks an important shift in U.S. federal cryptocurrency regulation from "enforcement instead of legislation" to "proactive rule-making."

Digital asset management company CoinShares stated in its latest survey that the willingness of wealthy investors to allocate to cryptocurrencies continues to expand. The survey targeted a total of 2,230 wealthy investors from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland.The survey showed that the digital asset holding rate ranges from 54% to 70%, with the holding rates in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany approaching 70%. Among respondents who already hold digital assets, there is a strong willingness to increase exposure by 2026. CoinShares noted that at least 85% of existing investors in the five markets plan to increase their positions, with the proportions reaching 91% in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and 78% and 71% in Switzerland and Sweden, respectively.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood stated at a summit hosted by Robinhood in Houston that investors have traditionally "followed developers" to gauge technological trends, but now they may need to "follow agents." The AI agents she refers to are software that can perform tasks on behalf of humans, rather than just answering questions or generating text. This statement came towards the end of a discussion on AI, private markets, and technology investments.As AI agents shift from answering questions to executing operations and spending funds, the type of financial infrastructure they will use has become a focal point. SharpLink co-CEO and former BlackRock digital asset head Joseph Chalom believes that the financial system used by AI agents should not be controlled by a few banks or tech companies. He cited the example of authorized agents booking hotels, pointing out that users should be able to set spending limits, revoke authorizations at any time, and view the agents' transaction records. Additionally, users should be able to transfer the agents' identities, financial information, and permissions between different financial service providers, similar to mobile number portability.Chalom believes that open blockchains like Ethereum can provide a universal financial network for different agents, applications, and companies to use collectively, eliminating the need for each AI company to build its own closed payment system. A report from BlackRock in September also noted that AI agents could create new demands for machine-oriented payment systems, such as payment API calls, purchasing data, or renting computing power, with stablecoins and blockchain being one of the viable solutions. Coinbase's x402 is designed to enable machines to pay for online services like data or APIs.

Darkfost posted on platform X that Bitcoin is approaching the average cost price of two types of holding groups: investors holding for 18 months to 2 years have an average cost price of about $88,350, while investors holding for 6 to 12 months have an average cost price of about $89,200.Darkfost pointed out that the cost price is the average holding cost of the group, not a natural support or resistance level; as the price approaches this range, the behavior of related investors may change, and this area can be seen as a potential risk zone. The group of investors holding for 6 to 12 months has overall been at a loss for nearly a year, with some investors possibly having bought in at market peaks; some investors may sell after breaking even, while others may continue to buy to lower their holding costs.

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea has proposed regulatory guidelines for the issuance and trading of security tokens, intending to allow stocks, bonds, funds, and certain fractional investment securities to be issued and circulated in token form. The relevant regulatory framework is scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2027.According to the proposal, securities token issuance companies that directly manage client accounts must have a paid-in capital of at least 4 billion Korean Won and be equipped with dedicated compliance and technical personnel. The revision of capital market regulations will also introduce an over-the-counter trading license for bonds and limit individual investors' annual net purchases at each over-the-counter exchange to within 100 million Korean Won.The proposal will be open for public consultation from Friday until November 11, after which it will enter the approval process. South Korea previously announced a roadmap to advance the transition of securities issuance and trading to distributed ledger infrastructure in three phases.

Bitwise CEO posted on the X platform, stating that investors should buy during the NEAR pullback. Bitwise NEAR ETF NRR saw a net inflow of approximately 9 million dollars on the third day.

The Rollup founder Andy commented on the MetaMask infrastructure security incident, stating that, according to sources, unless significant negative news arises, there will be a small-scale withdrawal of staked ETH. It is recommended to take proactive measures for all re-staked ETH positions that have exposure to Lido.Andy expressed hope for a positive outcome, but he believes it may be wiser for the protocol and investors to actively respond. He mentioned that the current situation seems to be under control, but based on his recent communications with multiple parties, no one is clear about what exactly has happened.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a reform plan aimed at expanding the channels for individual investors to participate in the private market. The proposal allows registered investment advisors to charge a performance fee of up to 20% based on fund performance, attracting more private management institutions to serve individual investors.SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that he hopes to explore ways to expand individual investor participation in the private market while preventing fraud and misconduct. The SEC also proposed to broaden the definition of "accredited investors."

Financial newsletter The Kobeissi Letter stated on X: The scale of U.S. stocks held by non-U.S. investors is at a historical high. The account wrote that in July, investors outside the U.S. held $24.32 trillion in U.S. stocks, marking the third largest scale in history.The Kobeissi Letter noted that since the beginning of this year, foreign investment in U.S. stocks has increased by $2.22 trillion, a growth rate of 10%. Since the bear market of 2022, this holding scale has increased by $12.3 trillion, a growth rate of 103%.The newsletter also stated that the allocation ratio of foreign capital to U.S. stocks has risen to 60% of their U.S. financial assets, setting a record, and is currently about 6 percentage points higher than the peak during the 2000 internet bubble.

Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research Department's South Korea stock analyst Chris Cha stated in a report on September 23 that KOSPI has the conditions for a short-term tactical breakout, but the continuous flow of liquidity from South Korean retail investors into the cryptocurrency market will make the index's subsequent upward movement more reliant on foreign capital and local institutions reconfiguring. The report noted that concerns about the Federal Reserve's interest rates have been partially digested by the market, and risk appetite has shifted towards proxy AI themes.The report pointed out that South Korean memory chips provide fundamental support, with fourth-quarter DRAM contract prices expected to grow double digits quarter-on-quarter, and the ramp-up of HBM4 capacity will continue to limit the supply of standard server DRAM. Samsung Electronics' large shareholder returns, continuous buying by institutions, and foreign capital turning into net buying may drive KOSPI towards the resistance zone of 7000 to 7200 points.The report also indicated that the capacity of local South Korean retail investors to absorb has weakened. After Bitcoin returned to $85,000, cryptocurrency trading in South Korea has heated up. According to DefiLlama data cited in the report, Upbit's single-day spot trading volume on June 13 was approximately $770 million, which rose to $1.817 billion on September 22, an increase of about 136%. Based on the total trading volume of $3.27 billion on that day across South Korea's five major trading platforms, Upbit alone accounted for over half. Goldman Sachs believes this will make KOSPI more reliant on foreign and institutional buying in the future, and October is a critical window to test whether foreign capital will continue to increase its investment in South Korean semiconductor and AI assets.