"The White House loses top crypto adviser"Oct 15, 2026

Patrick Witt, the White House’s top crypto adviser, left after his temporary detail expired, a White House official said. Crypto in America reported that Witt was a Department of Defense employee and had led the push for the Clarity Act. The White House has not named a replacement. His departure leaves the bill’s effort without its reported lead advocate inside the administration.

The House passed its version of the Clarity Act more than a year ago, but the Senate version failed a procedural vote last month. Democrats raised concerns about how rules would be enforced in relation to President Trump’s crypto wealth. Witt is the third senior crypto lead to leave: David Sacks departed in March, followed by deputy Harry Young in July.

The European Banking Authority named USDC the first “significant e-money token” under the markets and crypto assets regulation, among 45 notified tokens. Starting November 12, the EBA will directly supervise USDC’s reserve assets, own funds, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans—responsibilities currently handled by France’s Prudential Regulator. The EBA also signed an information-sharing agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, with nearly $73 billion in supply.

BNY completed what The Block described as the first use of tokenized assets on a major triparty repo platform. Citadel Securities bought a two-year Treasury note through Tradeweb; BNY recorded the note on a private ledger and settled it within minutes, rather than the usual next-day cycle. Citadel then used the tokenized Treasury as collateral in an overnight repo and received cash. BNY plans to add digital-cash and tokenized-deposit tools and extend settlement hours, with European and Asian trading hours planned for next year. JPMorgan and other large banks are developing similar infrastructure.

Starquare launched Off Market, which uses zero-knowledge technology on Starknet to let users trade on Polymarket without publicly linking positions to their accounts. Orders still execute on Polymarket at the same prices. The product had been in limited release since August, with deposits capped at $1,000 per account. Starquare cautioned that trade size and timing may still identify traders, especially in smaller pools. Off Market is not a Polymarket product, Polymarket can disable its builder code, and US users are banned.

Sosu and Haberler reported that Richard Hart was detained in Istanbul by Turkish intelligence and police, with $4 million in cash, 64 watches, and electronic devices reportedly seized. The Block said it had sought confirmation from Istanbul police and Interpol but had not received a response. An Interpol red notice shows Finnish authorities want Hart over alleged aggravated tax fraud. Turkish reports also mentioned the SEC, but that case was dismissed last year. PulseChain’s token fell 35% over the past day.