
Russia pushes crypto trading through authorized intermediaries.	͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏	View in browser

October 16, 2026

Your Daily Digest of the 🔥Hottest News in Crypto.

Today’s top stories

🏦 Strategy, Metaplanet and Upexi face potential removal under new MSCI methodology
🇷🇺 Russia to ban direct peer-to-peer crypto trades starting July 2027
💳 Mastercard launches Global Money Platform for stablecoin payments
📰 Keep reading for all of today’s biggest headlines

MSCI adopts index exclusion rules that could oust Strategy

MSCI has adopted new rules that make “non-operating companies” ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes, potentially removing Strategy, Metaplanet, and Upexi while placing firms like Sharplink, Ton Strategy Company, Solana Company, and DeFi Development Corp. on a watchlist. The final removal list is set for Nov. 11 and would take effect Nov. 30, 2026, with exclusion potentially forcing index-tracking funds to sell affected shares and JPMorgan estimating roughly $2.8 billion in selling for Strategy under an earlier proposal. Strategy opposed the changes but downplayed the disruption, saying MSCI index funds hold about 13 million shares, or 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding, less than one day’s trading volume.

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Russia to ban direct peer-to-peer crypto trades starting July 2027

Russia’s central bank plans to ban direct peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions between individuals starting July 1, 2027, requiring them to use authorized intermediaries, and it clarified that transfers from digital accounts to self-custodial wallets are already prohibited. The Bank of Russia’s updated guidance comes as the country expands its regulated crypto market, including authorizing Sberbank to offer crypto exchange services after approving it as a digital asset custodian, while crypto payments for goods and services remain banned. Industry executives have warned that restrictions on P2P trading and noncustodial wallets may be difficult to enforce, since P2P trading is resilient to crackdowns and hardware or desktop wallets would be unaffected.

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Mastercard brings stablecoin balances into traditional banking and card payments

Mastercard unveiled Global Money Platform, its first major integration with BVNK since acquiring the stablecoin infrastructure firm in August, enabling businesses to hold and convert fiat and stablecoins, offer stablecoin-linked cards, and pay directly from stablecoin balances into recipients’ local bank accounts. Connected to Mastercard Move and the card network, the platform lets stablecoin balances reach more than 17 billion payment destinations and be spent through cards, with Nuvei, Marqeta, and other fintechs as early integration partners. The launch expands Mastercard beyond payment processing into stablecoin infrastructure and intensifies competition with Visa, whose own stablecoin platform debuted in July.

Can the SEC and CFTC’s pro-crypto rules be overturned? Legal opinion

After the Senate’s CLARITY vote failed, the SEC and CFTC issued their own pro-crypto rules, including an SEC stock-token exemption, guidance that token buybacks and liquid staking don’t automatically create securities, custody proposals, and CFTC registration/leverage plans. But industry worries these rules are fragile: agency rules are the easiest to rescind, and the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling made them easier for courts to overturn.

Legal expert Yuriy Brisov says the SEC has authority under the Exchange Act to create rules, but challengers can win if they prove a rule is burdensome or lacks research. Courts cannot reject rules just because they dislike them; they must apply transparent logic. Brisov adds that SEC consultation and careful use of the Howey test may help the rules survive, while FAQs and guidance remain nonbinding and easily changed.