Last Updated: October 13, 2026
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit said on October 13 that the Korea Communications Standards Commission has approved blocking domestic access to 27 websites run by unregistered virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC and Phemex. Binance will close Binance Pool and its cloud mining services on November 10, Kraken received full market approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, and SkyAI rejected Forward Industries’ takeover proposal and plans a tender offer of up to about $201 million, conditioned on Solana staying above $100. Bitcoin traded near $83,234 on the morning of October 13 (UTC), down 0.23% over 24 hours and 3.23% over seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.
Key Takeaways
- South Korea’s FIU announced on October 13 that the Korea Communications Standards Commission approved blocking domestic access to 27 unregistered exchange websites after deliberations on October 6 and 7. Operating without registration is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won, and the FIU said it will monitor replacement domains.
- Binance said it will discontinue Binance Pool, Pool Savings, Cloud Mining and the Transaction Accelerator on November 10, when miner connections are cut at 07:00 UTC. The pool pages close on November 24, and Binance cited only an ongoing review of its products and services.
- Payward, Kraken’s parent company, announced on October 12 that it received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. It is targeting a UAE launch in the coming weeks for retail, professional and institutional clients, with dirham trading pairs, on-chain staking and xStocks tokenized equities at the start.
- SkyAI’s board rejected Forward Industries’ proposal of 0.306 FWDI shares for each SkyAI share and plans a cash tender offer at $3.00 per share, a 65% premium to its October 9 close, for up to about $201 million. The offer is conditioned on SOL staying above $100, and Solana trades near $106.42.
- Uniswap said Unichain will move to Optimism’s OP Enterprise stack, with the testnet migrating on October 13 and the mainnet in late October. The chain ID, contracts and balances stay the same, and Optimism will run production operations, including sequencers.
Today’s Top Stories
South Korea blocks 27 unregistered exchange websites. The Korea Communications Standards Commission approved the blocks after deliberations on October 6 and 7, and the FIU, which operates under the Financial Services Commission, announced the decision on October 13. Overseas-hosted sites lose domestic access, while platforms with servers or operators in South Korea face service termination. KuCoin, MEXC and Phemex are among the 27, none of which has reported to the FIU as the law requires, and running an unregistered business is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won. The FIU said operators may switch to new domains, that it will monitor replacement sites, and that it will work with the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance on withdrawal support for existing users. Our report on the 27-site block has the detail, and an earlier report covers the removal of the Bybit, MEXC and HTX apps from Google Play and the tighter transfer rules that followed.
Binance will close its mining pool and cloud mining on November 10. Binance said in a notice on October 13 that it will discontinue Binance Pool, Pool Savings, Cloud Mining and the Transaction Accelerator, along with Telegram hashrate alerts, email notifications and mining pool API services. Miner connections are cut at 07:00 UTC on November 10, when Stratum URLs and mining endpoints are disabled and later shares are no longer credited, while eligible earlier shares count toward the final reward calculation. Users have until 23:59 UTC that day to complete required account steps such as identity verification to receive remaining rewards, refunds or settlements, and the pool pages close permanently on November 24. Binance cited only an “ongoing review of products and services.” Our report on the shutdown lists what miners and Pool Savings users should do before the cutoff.
Kraken wins full VARA approval to launch in the UAE. Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced on October 12 that it received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the final stage of a licensing process that began with a preliminary approval in May. The approval covers retail, professional and institutional clients, and Kraken said it is targeting a go-live for UAE clients in the coming weeks, with spot and margin trading in dirham pairs, on-chain staking, xStocks tokenized equities and its Krak payments app at the start. Derivatives and more yield products are planned for late 2026 and into 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said UAE clients get the same order book and multi-asset coverage as other Kraken markets under “one of the clearest regulatory frameworks in the world.” Our report on the approval has the launch product list.
SkyAI rejects Forward Industries and plans a $201 million tender offer. SkyAI, a Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company, said its board unanimously found that Forward Industries’ non-binding proposal of 0.306 FWDI shares for each SkyAI share undervalues the company. It also plans a cash tender offer for up to 95% of its common stock and warrants at $3.00 per share, a 65% premium to its October 9 close, for a maximum of about $201 million, with the start expected on or about October 15 and a run of 10 business days. The offer is conditioned on SOL staying above $100 during that period and on at least 50% of each class being tendered, and SkyAI said it recently sold about 1 million SOL, roughly half its holdings, and holds about 1 million. Solana trades near $106.42, about 6% above that threshold, after an 11.36% weekly decline. Our report on the tender offer has the full terms, and an earlier report covers Forward Industries’ Solana treasury.
Unichain moves to Optimism’s OP Enterprise stack. Uniswap said Unichain is upgrading to OP Enterprise to prepare for native interoperability across the OP Stack, with the testnet migrating on October 13 and the mainnet following in late October. Optimism will run the production stack, including sequencers, RPC access, monitoring and incident response, while Unichain keeps its chain ID, contracts, balances and applications and remains a Stage 1 rollup with permissionless fault proofs. Uniswap said that once interoperability is live, assets can move between OP Stack chains without a bridge, starting with ETH. Our report on the migration covers the timeline for developers.
Also in the news. The SEC proposed rules on October 1 for how registered investment advisers and regulated funds handle custody of crypto assets, with comments due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, as our report on the custody proposal explains. The Financial Stability Board published a note to the G20 on October 12 on cross-border vulnerabilities in global stablecoin arrangements and how to monitor them, which our coverage of the FSB note breaks down. Strategy added 250 BTC for about $21.5 million, bringing its holdings to 848,250 BTC, according to our report on its latest update.
What This Means for the Days Ahead
September CPI arrives on Wednesday, October 14, at 8:30 a.m. ET, with forecasts of about 3.6% to 3.7% for annual headline inflation against 3.4% in August. The Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28 after raising rates to 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16.
SkyAI expects to start its tender offer on or about October 15 and to file the offer materials with the SEC by then, so the definitive terms should be on file with the SEC this week. Evernorth plans a Nasdaq closing bell ceremony on October 14 after XRPN’s debut on October 12, and XRP News Today tracks how the listing lands. Kraken has not named a UAE launch date, Unichain’s mainnet migration follows in late October, and Binance’s pool shutdown is set for November 10.
The FIU said it will keep monitoring replacement sites, so the list of blocked sites may grow, and the SEC’s custody proposal stays open for comment for 60 days after Federal Register publication.
For price and data coverage, see crypto market today, and for asset-specific coverage visit Bitcoin News Today, Ethereum News Today, XRP News Today, Zcash News Today, Hedera (HBAR) News Today, and Dogecoin Price Today.
Compare Crypto Prices Today
| Asset | Price Page |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | Bitcoin Price |
| Ethereum | Ethereum Price |
| XRP | XRP Price |
| Solana | Solana Price |
| BNB | BNB Price |
| TRON | TRON Price |
Where to Buy Crypto
Cryptocurrencies can be bought on major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, KuCoin, Gate.io, OKX, and Bybit. For a look at other platforms accepting crypto, see our crypto casinos guide.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; always do your own research before investing.
FAQ
What is the biggest crypto news today?
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit said on October 13 that the Korea Communications Standards Commission approved blocking domestic access to 27 unregistered exchange websites, including KuCoin, MEXC and Phemex. Binance will close Binance Pool and its cloud mining services on November 10, and Kraken received full market approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Bitcoin traded near $83,234, down 0.23% over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
Why is South Korea blocking 27 crypto exchange websites?
None of the 27 sites has reported to the FIU as South Korean law requires for virtual asset service providers, and running an unregistered business is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won. Overseas-hosted sites lose domestic access, while platforms with servers or operators in South Korea face service termination. The FIU said it will monitor replacement domains.
When is Binance closing its mining pool?
Binance will discontinue Binance Pool, Pool Savings, Cloud Mining and the Transaction Accelerator on November 10, when miner connections are cut at 07:00 UTC. Users have until 23:59 UTC that day to complete required account steps, such as identity verification, to receive remaining rewards, refunds or settlements. The pool pages close permanently on November 24, and Binance cited only an ongoing review of its products and services.
What could move crypto prices this week?
September CPI is due on Wednesday, October 14, at 8:30 a.m. ET, with forecasts of about 3.6% to 3.7% for annual headline inflation against 3.4% in August. SkyAI expects to start its tender offer on or about October 15, conditioned on SOL staying above $100, and the Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28 after raising rates to 3.75% to 4.00% in September.
