Samira Okonkwo

Samira Okonkwo is up&down's market-structure and altcoin editor. She specializes in liquidity, listings, unlock calendars, and venue risk. Her beat asks who is selling into the cheer before a narrative becomes consensus.

Comic illustration of two server racks and a gold coin face, cables looping between them

Bitcoin News

Kraken API window is live: disconnects, not a halt

Kraken flipped its Nov 10 07:00-14:00 UTC WebSocket, FIX and REST window to in progress at 07:00:08Z. Public bitcoin still prints. This is API plumbing, not a halt.

4 hours ago Samira Okonkwo

Blockchain News

CFTC equity perps: a dual-venue door, not a first print

CFTC Release 9319-26 says equity perpetual futures can begin on dual-registered DCMs. That is a Regulation 40.3 security-futures door, not a first print and not a bitcoin listing.

5 days ago Samira Okonkwo

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Crypto News

Binance $6.3B Hack: Inside the Exchange Heist

Attackers drained Binance hot wallets on Oct. 29. The FBI blames North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Binance says the house will pay. The clock, the freeze, and two other…

6 days ago Samira Okonkwo

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Blockchain News

SoFi Q3: $162M crypto flow is not profit

SoFi 8-K accepted 2026-10-27T11:02:59Z: Q3 crypto transaction revenue $161.6 million, net crypto $1.6 million. 503,070 products are a distribution print, not the engine.

2 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

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Blockchain News

Robinhood Q3: event contracts beat crypto revenue

Robinhood Q3 2026 8-K: record $1.42B revenue, crypto take $120M down 55% YoY, event contracts $173M. Crypto is not the engine.

2 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

Two coin mascots on a conveyor in front of an open vault, no text

Blockchain News

GYEN: Coinbase converts at market, not GMO par

Coinbase is converting leftover GYEN to USDC at the market rate from Oct. 26-30, 2026. That is not GMO-Z.com Trust’s par redemption of 1 GYEN for 1 yen,…

2 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

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Blockchain News

OCC GENIUS final rule is a 2027 clock, not a license

The OCC's Oct. 21, 2026 GENIUS final rule (Bulletin 2026-50) takes effect Jan. 18, 2027. Applications stay closed until OMB clears intake.

3 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

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Bitcoin News

Cboe EDGX copies multi-crypto trust options listing rules

Cboe EDGX October 22 2026 Federal Register notice copies generic options listing criteria for multi-crypto commodity trusts. Immediate effectiveness is plumbing, not a first print.

3 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

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Blockchain News

France I-3898: stablecoin swap tax is not law yet

France adopted amendment I-3898 on 16 Oct 2026 by 38-37. Crypto-to-EMT swaps would lose 150 VH bis deferral from 1 Jan 2027, but this is first reading, not…

3 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo

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Bitcoin News

Gemini CFTC consent still binds after SDNY denial

Judge Hellerstein denied Gemini and the CFTC's joint Rule 60 motion on October 15, 2026. The January 6, 2025 $5 million consent order and false-statement injunction still bind…

4 weeks ago Samira Okonkwo