Crypto Today: November 4, 2026

Each fact links to the outlet that reported it: check the original before relying on it. Not investment advice.

The US midterms handed Democrats control of the Senate and put them on track for a House majority, clouding the outlook for the CLARITY Act, the crypto market-structure bill. Meanwhile the fallout from last week’s record Binance hack continued, with North Korea-linked laundering and a French bank theft adding to a heavy week for security.

Markets snapshot

• BTC: $80,522.00 (+3.7% over 24 hours)
• ETH: $2,429.84 (+6.3% over 24 hours)
• SOL: $95.69 (+2.8% over 24 hours)

Prices as of Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

Regulation & Policy

Democrats win Congress, leaving the CLARITY Act stalled and crypto facing a tougher Washington

Republican control of all three branches of government ended in the midterms, and industry observers now think the CLARITY Act is likely dead in its current form. Crypto’s main political spending group, Fairshake, also lost a high-profile Senate race.

• Democrats won Senate control and were also moving toward a House majority, ending Republican dominance across the government’s branches. (The Defiant, CoinDesk)
• Elizabeth Warren is positioned to take over the Senate Banking Committee, according to The Defiant. (The Defiant)
• The CLARITY Act was already stalled, awaiting floor action after a failed procedural vote. (The Defiant)
• Industry experts told CoinDesk the bill is likely dead in its current form, as incoming Democratic majorities look at tighter scrutiny of crypto markets and tokenized stocks. (CoinDesk)
• Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown beat Jon Husted to retake a Senate seat, a setback for the crypto PAC Fairshake. (The Block)

Context: The CLARITY Act is the crypto market-structure bill meant to set rules for who regulates digital assets. A PAC (political action committee) such as Fairshake raises money to back candidates, and the industry had spent heavily to elect crypto-friendly lawmakers. Background: Brown is a longtime crypto skeptic who previously chaired Senate Banking.

Why it matters: A Democratic-led Congress is likely to rewrite or slow market-structure legislation, and committee leadership changes shape which rules advance. The industry’s political spending strategy also took a visible hit.

Disputed or unconfirmed: Claims that the bill is dead come from industry experts quoted by CoinDesk; the Defiant describes it only as stalled. House results were described as a surge toward a majority in the reporting.

Watch next: Whether the CLARITY Act gets any floor action before the new Congress is seated, and who is formally named Banking Committee chair.

Block reaches deal in principle with DOJ over anti-money-laundering lapses, accruing $764M

Block expects to pay about $764 million under a three-year deferred prosecution agreement over its anti-money-laundering program. The deal is not final and needs court approval.

• A 10-Q filed Nov. 3 disclosed an October agreement in principle for a three-year deferred prosecution agreement on a Bank Secrecy Act charge of failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program. (Unchained, Bitcoin Magazine)
• The gross payment is about $964 million, cut to about $764 million after credits for earlier regulatory resolutions. (The Defiant, Unchained)
• Block’s accrual rose $238 million from $526 million at the end of June; the filing says costs could exceed the accrual. (Unchained)
• Bitcoin ecosystem gross profit fell 50% to $52 million from $104 million, which Block attributed to cutting Cash App fees on certain bitcoin transactions. (CoinDesk, Bitcoin Magazine)
• Overall third-quarter gross profit rose 22% to $3.24 billion. (Bitcoin Magazine)

Context: A deferred prosecution agreement lets a company avoid conviction if it meets conditions over its term. The probe traces to a March 2023 Hindenburg Research short report; the SEC closed its inquiry in March 2026 without recommending enforcement. Earlier state penalties included $40 million in New York and $80 million from 48 states.

Why it matters: The charge comes as Block seeks an industrial bank charter for a bitcoin custody unit, and regulators weigh compliance history.

Disputed or unconfirmed: Block disputes the basis and methodology of the government’s assessment, according to Bitcoin Magazine. The filing does not say whether the earlier state payments count toward the credit.

Watch next: Signing of the final agreement and court approval.

Security & Hacks

Binance hack aftermath: laundering via THORChain, $11B in withdrawals, wider proof of reserves

Hackers tied to North Korea are laundering proceeds of the record $6 billion Binance theft through THORChain, while Binance says customer outflows are easing and it has restored most affected assets.

• Binance suffered a record roughly $6 billion hack on Oct. 29, then reopened services in phases. (CryptoSlate)
• Between 06:00 UTC on Nov. 1 and 04:00 UTC on Nov. 3, Binance reported about $11 billion in withdrawals against about $6 billion in deposits, roughly $5 billion net out, about 3.1% of its previously reported $171 billion in assets. (CryptoSlate)
• By the hour starting 03:00 UTC on Nov. 3, deposits ($193 million) exceeded withdrawals ($183 million). (CryptoSlate)
• Binance began a further phased reopening of withdrawals at 04:00 UTC on Nov. 3, including Ethereum, Solana and BNB Smart Chain assets. (CryptoSlate)
• The attackers, identified as North Korea’s TraderTraitor group, are swapping ether for bitcoin via THORChain after earlier conversions from Tron, and moved about 81% of the stolen SOL; RUNE rose 10%. (CoinDesk, Cointelegraph)
• Binance expanded proof of reserves to 44 tokens and says it has replenished about 98% of affected assets, though the new proof is unfinished and withdrawals are not fully reopened. (The Defiant)

Context: THORChain is a decentralized protocol that swaps assets across blockchains without a central operator, which makes freezing funds hard. Proof of reserves is a cryptographic audit meant to show an exchange holds customer assets. Background: Binance is the world’s largest exchange.

Why it matters: The outflows were large but stayed well short of a run, and the use of THORChain again raises pressure on decentralized swap tools that launderers favor.

Disputed or unconfirmed: Co-founder Changpeng Zhao said only 6% to 10% of withdrawals went to rival exchanges, citing unnamed public reports and giving no wallet analysis. Binance leaders’ reading of the inflow trend as positive comes from the company itself. Protos reports that North Korea denied responsibility.

Watch next: Binance’s promised detailed post-incident report and completion of the proof of reserves and withdrawal reopening.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa confirms cyberattack as ZachXBT puts crypto losses above $133M

The French bank says attackers used a service provider to reach its own account and make fraudulent transfers, but customers were not affected. On-chain investigator ZachXBT says more than $133 million was drained and converted to crypto; the bank has not confirmed the figure.

• On Nov. 1, funds were withdrawn as USDC and USDT from several exchange accounts of an unnamed EU entity, which ZachXBT first flagged at over $106 million. (Unchained, Bitcoin Magazine)
• ZachXBT later added $27 million or more, raising his total to over $133 million, and then named Crédit Mutuel Arkéa as the alleged victim. (Bitcoin Magazine, Unchained)
• The bank confirmed a cyberattack on Nov. 4, saying attackers came through a service provider’s platform and sent transfers from the bank’s own account to other banks, and that customer assets were unaffected. (Bitcoin Magazine)
• Funds were swapped to ether, run through instant exchange services, partly converted to Monero and bridged across chains; Kraken and Crypto.com said they restricted accounts or blocked related funds. (Unchained, CoinDesk)
• ZachXBT said he has high confidence the attacker is not North Korea’s Lazarus Group. (The Block)

Context: Crédit Mutuel Arkéa is a Brittany-based lender with 5.8 million clients and about 211.5 billion euros in assets. ZachXBT is an on-chain investigator who tracks stolen funds. Monero is a privacy-focused coin that is hard to trace.

Why it matters: A regulated bank, not a crypto firm, sits at the center of a nine-figure crypto theft, and ZachXBT argues delayed disclosure let more than $30 million be laundered before freezes.

Disputed or unconfirmed: The bank would not confirm 118 million euros (~$133 million), only the order of magnitude; AFP reported a provisional figure of about 100 million euros and Reuters said the bank put losses below $133 million. The bank denied French press reports that the entry point was its Fortuneo unit, while Protos relays an unverified claim from Grégory Raymond that Fortuneo was affected. Timeline and size rest largely on ZachXBT.

Watch next: A final loss figure from the bank and the results of the judicial and police inquiry.

Institutions & ETFs

Wall Street tokenization advances: Morgan Stanley uses DTCC service, SEC staff call Canton Coin a digital commodity

Morgan Stanley converted US equities and Treasurys into tokens through DTCC’s new service, and SEC staff said they won’t recommend enforcement over Canton Coin’s reward minting.

• Morgan Stanley said it tokenized US equities and Treasurys through the new DTCC Tokenization Service, with 20 firms signed up at launch. (The Block, The Defiant, Decrypt)
• The service allows 24/7 token transfers, but only between registered wallets on the same blockchain. (The Defiant)
• On Nov. 3, SEC Corporation Finance staff issued a no-action letter saying they would not recommend enforcement if Canton Coin is minted as network rewards without registration, and that the token fits the ‘digital commodity’ category. (Unchained)
• The letter is a staff position, not a Commission action, and does not cover secondary-market trading. (Unchained)

Context: DTCC is the US securities clearing and settlement utility. Canton is a blockchain built by Digital Asset for institutions. The SEC’s March 2026 interpretation created the ‘digital commodity’ category.

Why it matters: Traditional market infrastructure is moving onchain, and the SEC staff letter gives a model for how network tokens may avoid securities registration.

Disputed or unconfirmed: Canton’s press release says the relief confirms CC is not a security, but the letter states only the digital-commodity view; the request relied on Digital Asset’s own representations. The Schroders fund on Solana in the story brief is not covered by the supplied articles.

Quick hits

• Moscow Exchange, itself under US sanctions, plans to list bitcoin and Tether’s USDT in December. (CoinDesk)
• South Korea’s ruling party formally proposed delaying the crypto income tax, with its leader saying the Digital Asset Basic Act should come first. (The Block)
• A federal judge let stock perpetual futures keep trading on Kalshi, Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial but found the CFTC likely overstepped; the CFTC’s opposition is due Nov. 6. (Bitcoin Magazine)
• Circle reported $865 million in third-quarter revenue and reserve income and disclosed a roughly 5% workforce cut. (The Block)
• Riot signed a $28 billion AI lease for its Corsicana campus and has sold 20,264 BTC this year to help fund data centers. (The Defiant)
• BitMart confirmed a $391,000 hack on Monday, which its founder tied to the Mercado Bitcoin attacker, while saying its security team is understaffed. (Protos)