Crypto News You May Have Missed This Week | October 19 to 25, 2025

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From Polymarket bettors weighing CZ’s return to Binance to the Office of the Ombudsman eyeing the use of AI, here is a roundup of the top crypto stories you may have missed.

Polymarket Bettors Weigh CZ’s Possible Return to Binance by Year-End

A Polymarket prediction market is tracking speculation over whether former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will return to the crypto exchange by December 31, 2025. 

As of October 24, bettors assigned roughly a 40% probability that Zhao will make a comeback in a permanent role, according to the platform’s latest data. The market resolves “YES” only if Binance officially announces Zhao’s return in a permanent capacity before 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2025. 

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to the Binance founder, who was convicted in 2023 for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The White House described Zhao’s prosecution as part of the administration of former President Joe Biden’s “war on cryptocurrency,” while Zhao expressed gratitude and pledged to help make U.S. the “Capital of Crypto.”

Coffeezilla Flags Possible Insider Trading After Trader Profits on Trump’s CZ Pardon

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Crypto investigator Coffeezilla accused a Polymarket trader of insider trading after the user allegedly placed a large bet predicting Trump’s pardon of Zhao just hours before the announcement. 

The trader, using the handle “bigwinner01,” reportedly earned nearly $57,000 in profit, a 199% gain, after wagering on the market titled “Will Trump pardon CZ in 2025?”

Coffeezilla claimed the account is linked to a whale on the Hyperliquid exchange who previously made over $160 million by shorting BTC shortly before Trump’s tariff announcement earlier this year, leading some to label the trader a “Trump Insider.”

The allegations have sparked heated debate online, with some users dismissing the claims as speculative and lacking evidence. Critics questioned whether someone with access to presidential information would risk exposure for such a relatively small profit.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer confirmed that the platform’s long-awaited native token, SEA, will debut in the first quarter of 2026, with 50% of its total supply designated for the community. 

In a post on social media, Finzer said the distribution will include an initial claim for users with prior activity and separate allocations for participants in past rewards programs.

He further noted that SEA will be deeply integrated into OpenSea’s core platform, allowing users to stake behind their favorite projects or collections. Additionally, 50% of OpenSea’s platform revenue will go toward purchasing SEA to support the token’s ecosystem. 

DeepSeek’s AI Outperforms Rivals in Real-Market Crypto Trading Test

The Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek V3.1 topped a global crypto trading challenge, earning more than 10% profit while competitors, including OpenAI’s GPT-5, posted losses. 

The real-market experiment, called Alpha Arena, was organized by U.S. research firm Nof1 to evaluate the trading abilities of leading large language models.

Basically, each AI received $10,000 to trade six cryptocurrency perpetual contracts, including BTC and SOL, on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.  However, by the afternoon of October 21, DeepSeek led the competition by earning profit, while GPT-5 trailed with a nearly 40% loss. 

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Atlas Browser to Compete With Google Chrome

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser designed to rival Google Chrome. The firm stated that the new platform eliminates the traditional address bar and centers the browsing experience around ChatGPT. 

The browser, currently available on macOS, aims to integrate conversational AI directly into everyday web use, with a paid “agent mode” feature that allows the chatbot to autonomously perform searches and assist users.

CEO Sam Altman said the browser was built to make browsing “faster and more useful” through AI integration.

JPMorgan Reportedly Set to Accept BTC and ETH as Loan Collateral

Multinational banking and financial services corporation JPMorgan Chase is reportedly preparing to allow institutional clients to use BTC and ETH as collateral for loans by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg. 

The offering will operate globally and involve third-party custodians to hold the digital assets, marking a major step in integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional banking.

The move follows JPMorgan’s previous acceptance of crypto-related ETFs as eligible collateral and highlights a shift in the bank’s stance toward digital assets. 

Filipinos Rank Among World’s Top ChatGPT Users

The Philippines ranks sixth globally in ChatGPT usage, with 42.4% of Filipino internet users accessing the AI tool in the past month, according to the Digital 2026 report by Meltwater and We Are Social. 

The figure surpasses the global average of 26.5%, placing the country behind Kenya, Brazil, Israel, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The report, based on GWI’s Q2 2025 survey of internet users aged 16 and above, found that Filipinos use ChatGPT mainly for information searches, writing assistance, tutoring, and personal advice.

Despite high usage, only 47.2% of Filipinos said they are excited about AI, slightly below the global average of 48.7%.

Ombudsman Eyes Use of AI to Speed Up Corruption Investigations

The Office of the Ombudsman plans to integrate AI into its investigation and prosecution of graft and corruption cases, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said during Senate budget deliberations on Friday. 

Remulla noted that AI could help process large volumes of documents and transactions more efficiently, saying his office will consult AI experts soon to explore its implementation.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the finance committee, welcomed the initiative, calling AI use in governance a growing necessity.

This article is published on BitPinas: Crypto News You May Have Missed This Week | October 19 to 25, 2025

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