Bitcoin Hits 12-Week Low, Strategy and Metaplanet Drop From MSCI, and More News

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Good Thursday! Bitcoin dipped to a 12-week low as the departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shocked the markets, adding further downward pressure on cryptocurrency valuations.

Also featured in today’s briefing, Strategy and Metaplanet are set to lose their MSCI index membership, Ethlabs suggests accelerating Ethereum’s post-quantum timeline to 2027, the SEC intervenes in the controversy surrounding stock perpetual derivatives, and more.

Meanwhile, digital asset exchange Unocoin’s ‘login suspension’ persists, the DTCC intends to launch tokenized securities on Solana in the second half of 2027, and the NYDFS establishes fresh promotional standards for digital asset businesses.

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Bitcoin drops to 12-week low as Jensen Huang departs Nvidia and spooks markets

Bitcoin slid to its bottom mark in roughly 12 weeks on Thursday, declining to $71,200 as traders reacted to the sudden exit of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and anxieties regarding potential sell pressure stemming from MSCI’s exclusion of Strategy from its indexes.

• Bitcoin registered a 3.4% decline to hover around $71,600 at the time of publication. Ether, Solana, and XRP also shed more than 3.5% over the prior 24-hour period, while total digital asset liquidations topped $750 million, consisting of over $634 million in long positions, according to CoinGlass figures.
• Huang stepped down from his roles as Nvidia president, CEO, and board member effective immediately following inquiries into his personal behavior. Nvidia appointed CFO Colette Kress as interim chief executive, while its stock prices opened Thursday down 12%. Nvidia perpetual futures on Hyperliquid generated $2.34 billion in 24-hour trading volume.
• “We remain cautious on BTC as it tests $73k, the level we flagged as first potential support, with no convincing signs of size stepping in at these prices,” stated Wintermute OTC trader Jasper De Maere.

Strategy and Metaplanet to be removed from MSCI index on November 30

MSCI will drop bitcoin treasury corporations Strategy and Metaplanet from its USA Index and Japan Small Cap Index respectively, when the market closes on November 30, based on filings released Wednesday.

• These adjustments follow updated eligibility guidelines by MSCI concerning non-operating companies, which review operating assets alongside five distinct financial criteria. These directives superseded previous limitations targeting entities holding at least half of their reserves in cryptocurrencies. Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink was omitted from the November small-cap removals.
• Strategy previously labeled the suggested regulations as “discriminatory.” MSCI did not offer company-specific justifications for the exclusions.

Ethlabs suggests shifting Ethereum’s post-quantum upgrade to 2027

Ethereum research organization Ethlabs has put forward a recommendation to advance the blockchain’s post-quantum upgrade to 2027, moving it up from the Ethereum Foundation’s prior target of December 2029, pointing to accelerated AI developments and mounting risks associated with quantum computing.

• The initiative, designated as “pqai27,” seeks to safeguard Ethereum against both quantum threats and artificial intelligence security hazards. Ethlabs laid out two preparedness phases for 2027: a network featuring post-quantum consensus along with account protection, followed by comprehensive support for post-quantum transactions and data availability.
• To achieve this accelerated schedule, Ethlabs urges Ethereum to re-evaluate upgrades unnecessary for post-quantum readiness, such as modifications originally mapped out for the Hegotá hard fork. The collective announced it would retract its own quick slots proposal concerning Hegotá and reallocate those resources toward pqai27.

SEC supports CFTC in legal battle over stock perpetual derivatives

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a legal brief backing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission amidst an ongoing dispute over whether the CFTC holds the authority to greenlight perpetual derivatives linked to individual American stocks.

• The Capital Markets Alliance, counting Cboe and Citadel Securities among its members, initiated a lawsuit against the CFTC the previous week, contending that these instruments fall under SEC jurisdiction and petitioning a court to invalidate their approvals.
• The SEC dismissed accusations that the CFTC operated independently of its input, noting that both regulatory bodies routinely collaborate on oversight.

Tron, Tether, and Chainalysis establish coalition to counter AI-driven crypto crime

Tron, Tether, and Chainalysis have established a new Digital Crime Task Force designed to pinpoint and thwart unlawful activities involving USDT on the Tron blockchain.

• The program intends to partner with law enforcement agencies to flag suspicious behavior and freeze funds prior to criminals transferring assets. This follows the termination of the T3 Financial Crime Unit, a prior collaboration between Tron, Tether, and TRM Labs established back in 2024.

Looking ahead over the next 24 hours

• The United States will publish October producer price index (PPI) statistics, encompassing core PPI, on Friday. Federal Reserve officials Mary Daly and Philip Jefferson are also slated to deliver remarks.
• The eurozone will roll out its revised estimate for third-quarter gross domestic product growth, preliminary employment metrics, alongside September trade balance figures. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is additionally scheduled to speak.
• Token unlocks feature Aztec (AZTEC) and Wormhole (W).

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