Who got crypto's $8M lobbying dollars?

42 outside lobbying shops, Coinbase above Goldman Sachs, and a bill that still didn't pass. Plus: the CFTC takes on states over prediction markets, and Open USD launches with $1B. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Crypto industry gave $8 million to CLARITY Act lobbyists who didn't close the deal CoinDesk reviewed H1 2026 federal lobbying disclosures and found the crypto industry spent $13 million total — $8 million of it explicitly tied to pushing the CLARITY Act, spread across 42 outside lobbying firms and the industry's own in-house teams. Coinbase led at $2.2 million and placed in the top ten of all securities-and-investment lobbying nationwide, above Goldman Sachs. Kraken spent nearly $1 million. The industry gets a consolation: the bill advanced further than ever before and laid groundwork for the SEC and CFTC regulatory moves now underway. As Coinbase put it — Washington is a long game. Read more → Policy CFTC seeks event contract definitions that may defy states' gambling claims The CFTC sent two rules to the White House for review: one that would classify prediction market event contracts as swaps, and another that would sever them from gambling. If finalized, both positions would directly counter recent federal appellate rulings — the Sixth and Eighth Circuits both said Kalshi's sports contracts are not swaps and are subject to state gambling law, while the Third Circuit ruled the opposite. The Supreme Court may ultimately decide it. Chairman Selig, currently the sole CFTC member, is moving unilaterally on multiple fronts as the states-vs-federal-regulator battle over Kalshi, Polymarket and others intensifies ahead of the midterms. 3-minute read → Business Open USD goes live as Coinbase, Mastercard, Stripe and Visa commit $1 billion to liquidity Open Standard launched OUSD on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Tempo — a new stablecoin designed to spread economics across distributors rather than concentrate them with a single issuer. Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa are the five founding partners, each holding equal initial equity; together they've committed $1 billion in liquidity. The model is different from USDC or USDT: partners earn equity over time based on how much OUSD supply and activity they generate — not just fees. CEO Zach Abrams, who previously sold Bridge to Stripe for $1.1 billion, put it plainly: "Every other stablecoin is building a fund. We're building money." 5-minute read → Know someone who should be reading this? Share this newsletter See all of CoinDesk’s newsletters    CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York,NY,10011,USA, Unsubscribe Manage Preferences   Copyright © 2026 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.

Read More [...]

Interested in AI Compute? Introducing Grayscale’s GCPU.

A message from AI's rapid growth is exposing a critical constraint: the physical infrastructure required to support it. Demand for compute continues to accelerate, while the land, power, data centers, and GPUs needed to meet it can take years to build. Grayscale AI Compute ETF (ticker: GCPU) offers exposure to a global basket of companies helping meet that demand, from GPU cloud and AI-hosting specialists to digital infrastructure operators adapting existing capacity for high-performance computing and AI workloads. Grayscale brings a 13-year track record of innovation in digital asset investing, and GCPU represents a natural extension of the firm's product suite. Many of the fund's index holdings originally began as Bitcoin mining companies building the infrastructure that supports digital assets.* As demand for AI has accelerated, a number of these Bitcoin miners have pivoted to focus on AI compute. WHY GCPU Compute is a scarce asset. Compute demand is outpacing physical supply. Data center vacancy rates are at record lows, with available capacity equal to roughly six months of demand,¹ while building a new data center can take two to five years.² Early entry and growing capital investment. Global AI investment is projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2026, with the majority directed toward data centers and other physical infrastructure. AI investment currently represents approximately 1% of GDP, compared with 2%–5% during past technology buildouts.³ Existing infrastructure has a built-in advantage. GCPU invests in companies with established hard assets—including powered, grid-connected data centers—and experience operating high-performance computing infrastructure. These assets and capabilities can help bring additional compute capacity to market faster. GCPU brings together the companies building AI's physical layer in a single investment, available today through brokerage and retirement accounts. Invest Now For more information about GCPU or any of our products, simply reply to this email or call 866-775-0313 to speak with one of our portfolio consultants. The Grayscale Team *Prior to September 22, 2026, GCPU operated as the Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF (MNRS), providing exposure to Bitcoin miners and the broader Bitcoin mining ecosystem. 1 CBRE, "North America Data Center Trends H1 2026," August 27, 2026. 2 McKinsey & Company, "Scaling Bigger, Faster, Cheaper Data Centers With Smarter Designs," August 1, 2025; Giga Energy, "Data Center Construction Guide: Costs, Timelines, and Equipment," March 12, 2026. 3 Goldman Sachs, "Global AI Investment Is Forecast to Exceed $1 Trillion in 2026," August 7, 2026. Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses, which may be obtained by visiting Grayscale.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. High performance computing companies provide AI compute services, GPU cloud services, data center hosting, and related infrastructure, and may experience greater volatility than companies in a broader range of industries. Companies in AI infrastructure face intense competition, rapid product obsolescence, and depend on customer spending on AI, cloud computing, and data centers, with adoption potentially failing to develop as expected. Supply chain disruptions, power shortages, export controls, and overbuilding of AI compute capacity could limit growth, with evolving regulations on data privacy, energy usage, and data center development adding compliance risk. Digital infrastructure transition companies, including former cryptocurrency miners pivoting to AI operations, may have limited operating histories and may not successfully complete their transitions. The Indxx High Performance Computing Index is designed by Indxx (the "Index Provider") to track the performance of global companies that do business in high-performance computing, AI cloud and accelerated computing infrastructure activities and services. The index also includes companies that provide supporting infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing such as GPU cloud services data center hosting, computing infrastructure and related hardware and software solutions. Index returns assume that dividends are reinvested and do not include the effect of management fees or expenses. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the distributor and Grayscale Advisors, LLC ("GSA") is the adviser of Grayscale ETFs. Foreside is not related to GSA or its affiliates. © 2026 Grayscale. All trademarks, service marks and/or trade names (e.g., G™, GRAYSCALE®, GRAYSCALE CRYPTO SECTORS™, and GRAYSCALE INVESTMENTS®) are owned and/or registered by Grayscale. This message is intended only for the addressee. Please notify the sender by e-mail if you are not the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not copy, disclose, or distribute this message or its contents to any other person and any such actions may be unlawful. Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC ("Grayscale") reserves the right to monitor and review the content of all messages sent to or from this e-mail address. Messages sent to or from this e-mail address may be stored on the Grayscale e-mail system and archived in accordance with any applicable laws and regulations. The information contained in this email communication and any attachments is for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be in violation of applicable local laws. It does not constitute a recommendation or take into account the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of specific investors. Any price or value of the investment referred to in this email communication and the income from such investments may fluctuate, and investors may realize losses on these investments, including a loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. We do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice to our clients, and all investors are advised to consult with their tax, accounting, legal or other advisers regarding any potential investment. The information and any opinions contained in this email communication have been obtained from sources that we consider reliable, but we do not represent such information and opinions are accurate or complete, and thus should not be relied upon as such. Grayscale Operating, LLC ("GSO") is the parent holding company of Grayscale Advisors, LLC ("GSA"), an SEC-registered investment adviser, as well Grayscale Securities, LLC ("GSS"), an SEC-registered broker/dealer and member of FINRA, and Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC ("Grayscale"). Grayscale is not registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and none of the investment products sponsored or managed by Grayscale ("Products") are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Investment products managed by GSA are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Any private placement securities referenced herein are marketed and/or sold through Grayscale Securities, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, USA Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Read More [...]

A stronger dollar isn't as bad for bitcoin as you may think

The dollar explains just 17% of bitcoin's daily moves — the data pushes back on traders' biggest fear. Plus: euro bitcoin ETCs launch today. And OpenAI, Google and Meta just signed an AI safety pact. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Wednesday, September 30, 2026   Markets are down modestly on the last day of the quarter as the Dollar Index holds near two-month highs above 101, with PCE inflation data due later today likely to set the tone for September’s close. The dollar’s rally has dominated the bitcoin narrative all week — but the data pushes back hard on that narrative. The DXY explains just 17% of bitcoin’s daily price variation over the past 90 sessions, and the historical 90-day average correlation is only −0.14 since 2020. Bitcoin has gained over 40% this quarter despite a 2.6% dollar surge and 19-year highs in Treasury yields. Separately, European investors got a new product today: HANetf launched the world’s first currency-hedged bitcoin ETCs in London, Frankfurt and Paris, using HSBC to strip out dollar exposure. And OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia and xAI signed a voluntary White House AI safety pact with outside audits — but no penalties and no deadline. Stay alert. Read today’s full report → Market snapshot As of 8am EST Asset Price 24h BTC $83,857 −0.53% ETH $2,695 −1.48% SOL $119.43 −1.16% XRP $1.51 −2.15% Prices approximate. Visit coindesk.com/price for live data. What matters today Markets   Story 1 of 3 A stronger dollar is a weaker threat to bitcoin than traders think The Dollar Index has gained 2.6% since September 9 and hit a two-month high of 101.69 on Tuesday, and the conventional view says a stronger dollar is bad for bitcoin. The data says the relationship is real but modest. Over the past 90 trading sessions the correlation between DXY and BTC is −0.41 — negative, meaning they tend to move in opposite directions — but the R-squared of that relationship is just 0.17, meaning the dollar accounts for only about 17% of the variation in bitcoin’s daily returns. The short-term 30-day reading leans heavily on just two days. Zoomed out since 2020, the average 90-day correlation is only −0.14 and has even turned positive at times. Bitcoin also shows little meaningful correlation with Treasury yields, which reinforces the case for bitcoin as a portfolio diversifier that largely moves on its own drivers. Read more → Markets   Story 2 of 3 European investors can now buy bitcoin without taking on dollar risk HANetf launched what it calls the world’s first currency-hedged bitcoin exchange-traded commodities today, listing a pound sterling-hedged product (GBTC) on the London Stock Exchange and a euro-hedged product (EBTC) on Frankfurt’s Xetra and Euronext Paris — with HSBC providing the hedges. Because bitcoin is almost universally priced in U.S. dollars, European investors who buy conventional bitcoin products automatically absorb dollar risk on top of crypto risk; these products strip that out. Currency-hedged gold ETCs are already a $23 billion asset class in Europe — roughly 13% of the gold ETC market — so the market for a similar product in bitcoin is well-established. The launch is particularly timely given this week’s dollar surge to two-month highs, which has made dollar-hedged alternatives more attractive for non-U.S. investors. Read more → Tech   Story 3 of 3 OpenAI, Google and Meta sign an AI safety pact — with no penalties and no deadline OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia and xAI signed a one-page voluntary White House agreement on Tuesday committing to outside audits of their AI safety controls, covering risks from cyberattacks and biological and chemical threats. The accord has no enforcement mechanism, no requirement to name or publish auditors, and no implementation deadline; companies choose their own auditors and determine how to address findings. The pact follows a string of incidents in which experimental AI agents accessed systems they were not authorized to use — including an OpenAI agent that accessed an Australian Medicare portal in June — and AI has been suspected in several of this year’s largest crypto security breaches, including the $89 million Coldcard hardware wallet theft. OpenAI separately shelved its planned October release of GPT-6.1 Astra after internal safety tests showed it got better at finishing tasks but fell short on staying within authorized limits. Read more → CoinDesk Disclosure: The information contained in this newsletter, and any information linked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency or digital assets. L1.co Disclosure: This material is for informational purposes only, and the content contained herein should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to sell or buy any asset, strategy, or product. Investing in digital assets involves a high degree of risk, including the loss of principal. Crypto Daybook Americas: A newsletter from CoinDesk Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here.  Copyright © 2026 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, USA Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Read More [...]