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The CFTC has sent the White House two rules that would redraw what counts as a swap for event contracts, the yes-or-no bets traded on prediction markets. OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received both on Sept. 28, according to filings.

A proposed rule would define swaps to include event contracts, and it must go out for public comment first. A companion interim final rule would exclude casino-style gambling products and generally takes effect once published. The listings carry no rule text, so what the agency counts as casino-style remains unclear.

The filings come as states have contested the CFTC’s jurisdiction of prediction markets such as Kalshi, particularly taking issue with sport contracts. On Sept. 25, a unanimous Sixth Circuit panel ruled Kalshi hadn't shown sports contracts were swaps. New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to settle the question.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and regulators in France, Germany and Greece are questioning Binance over its use of "reverse solicitation," the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The legal exemption lets non-EU firms serve European customers who seek them out entirely on their own.

Binance failed to secure a license under the bloc's MiCA crypto rules this summer. Unlicensed firms were supposed to begin winding down EU businesses from July 1. Some regulators have requested information, and fines are possible if they are not satisfied with the response.

Binance told the FT it "complies with applicable regulatory requirements" and is "actively working toward becoming MiCA-authorised."

MetaMask is pulling the Ethereum validators run by its staking business after what it called "an ongoing security incident affecting part of our infrastructure." The company said Wednesday it has found "no immediate threat to MetaMask wallets" and is working on a fix with outside partners.

The exits include validators that MetaMask Staking, formerly Consensys Staking, runs as a node operator in Lido. Lido said the last should be out, though not fully withdrawn, by the end of Oct. 7. It warned of missed rewards and possible downtime penalties, and said "no action is required from stETH holders."

Neither company has said what part of the infrastructure was compromised or how the breach was found. Lido said the ETH could take up to 45 days to cycle back into the protocol, and pointed to a reserve fund holding more than 6,750 stETH as a backstop.

A dispute over how Coinbase handles customers who say they lost funds has spread on X, drawing in Ari Paul, founder of BlockTower Capital, who alleges the exchange concealed repeated hacks. Paul has made no evidence public, Unchained has not verified his claims, and Coinbase says it is "not hiding a series of hacks."

It began Sept. 26, when a trader posting as kuno alleged Coinbase "stole $1,200,000" from him. Coinbase executive Jordan Fish, known as Cobie, said Kuno had not responded to customer care outreach for over six months. On Monday, Paul alleged Coinbase "lost" $25 million of his firm's funds and claimed more than $1 billion in concealed losses across at least a dozen other firms.

Former employee Justin Mart suggested Wednesday that BlockTower's credentials were more likely stolen. Paul called that "Very wrong" and said he would publish his proof if Coinbase agrees not to sue or harass him.

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