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Weekly Blockchain Blog – October 2025 #2
U.S. Fintechs, Banks, States Launch Stablecoin and Bitcoin Payment Initiatives – A U.S. fintech company, Brex, recently announced plans to integrate stablecoins into its B2B payments platform. According to a company blog post, “customers with a Brex business account will be able to accept stablecoins with automatic conversion into USD in their Brex business accounts…
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SEC allows advisers and funds to use state trust companies for crypto custody under certain conditions
On September 30, the SEC Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter, in response to a law firm’s request, stating it would not recommend any enforcement action against registered investment advisers or regulated funds for treating a state trust company as a “bank” custodian for cryptoassets and related cash under custody provisions of the…
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USPTO Launches Automated Search Pilot Program Using AI for Pre-Examination Prior Art Searches
On October 20, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will launch a new Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) Program to test the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in conducting pre-examination prior art searches for certain utility patent applications….By: Miller Canfield
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Understanding CIPA: California’s Expanding Website Privacy Law
California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) was enacted in 1967 to prevent unlawful wiretapping. Nearly sixty years later it is being used in a new way: to challenge how websites collect and share user data. Today, plaintiffs are filing lawsuits that allege certain online tools such as chat features, search boxes, session replay software or…
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U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Key Issue Regarding Freight Broker Liability
The federal circuits courts are divided on application of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA). Some circuits have concluded that state law negligent hiring or supervision claims against freight brokers for personal injuries or deaths caused by commercial motor carriers are pre-empted by the FAAAA. Other circuits have concluded that the FAAAA’s…
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Hostages and Palestinian Prisoners Are Freed as Trump Hails ‘Historic Dawn’ in Mideast
Hamas freed the 20 hostages and Israel released some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of a cease-fire. President Trump, in Israel, proclaimed an “end” to the war, but Israel and Hamas have not agreed on next steps in Gaza.
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To Inflict Pain on Russians, Ukraine’s Drones Zero In on Oil Refineries
With Russian forces gaining slowly on the battlefield, Ukraine hopes its long-range drone campaign will help persuade Vladimir V. Putin to change course.
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China Hosts a Summit on Women’s Rights, While Stifling Activism
The conference was billed as a celebration of China’s achievements in supporting women. But the government has mostly wiped out independent advocacy groups.
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Bolivia Pushes to Reclaim the Coca Leaf From the Stigma of Cocaine
Long criminalized as the raw material for cocaine, coca is woven into Bolivian life. The government is lobbying the U.N. to ease international restrictions.
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Palestinians See Little to Celebrate Even Though the Bombs Have Stopped
The cease-fire in Gaza has taken hold. Hostages and prisoners have been exchanged. But amid the utter devastation of two years of war, a sense of gloom pervades.
