Crypto news, 20 October 2026: FINMA and a bitcoin ETF, BlackRock, Mastercard and Astana

Tuesday 20 October 2026. This round-up gathers the relevant facts of the last 24 hours, each checked against a primary or reliable source. Today's main story comes from Switzerland.

Markets: inflows into bitcoin ETFs, outflows from ether

According to CoinGecko data checked on 20 October at 18:13 (Zurich time), bitcoin is trading at around 82,400 US dollars, about 68,100 Swiss francs, up 0.6% over 24 hours; ether is at around 2,430 dollars (+1.4%). Over the last 24 hours bitcoin moved between 81,400 dollars at 12:00 and 83,200 dollars at 17:00. Over seven days bitcoin is down 1.1% and ether 3.2%.

According to Farside, US spot bitcoin ETFs took in a net 526.7 million dollars on Monday, the largest daily figure of October, driven entirely by BlackRock's IBIT (+665.2 million), while Fidelity's FBTC (-83.6 million) and Grayscale's GBTC (-54.9 million) saw outflows. Month to date the balance stands at -88.0 million. Ether ETFs recorded outflows of 103.3 million.

Switzerland: FINMA approves the first bitcoin ETF for retail investors

FINMA has for the first time approved an exchange-traded retail fund that invests directly in bitcoin. It is an "other fund for alternative investments" with a specific risk under Swiss law; given bitcoin's long trading history and high trading volume, the authority granted an exemption from the risk diversification rules. The press release names neither the provider nor a listing date, and notes that other providers have submitted or announced similar applications. Institutions must mitigate operational and custody risks in line with the guidance of 12 January 2026 and apply the FinSA rules of conduct, with clear warnings on volatility and possible losses. FINMA stresses that investing in bitcoin remains highly risky, even through an approved ETF.

ETFs: BlackRock files a bitcoin fund with partial protection

On 19 October iShares Trust filed with the SEC the preliminary prospectus of the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF (PBIT). The fund would not invest directly in bitcoin: it seeks upside exposure to IBIT up to a cap, with a level of downside protection, using three staggered option tranches, one expiring each month, plus fixed-income investments. For each tranche, protection would typically start at 90% of the initial value, an initial maximum loss of about 10% before costs. Fees and a listing date are not yet stated.

Stablecoins: Mastercard brings risk intelligence to payments

At Money20/20 in Las Vegas, Mastercard on Monday presented Stablecoin Security, a service for banks and payment providers that combines network data with blockchain analytics. Through an API it assesses transaction context, the origin of funds, exposure to sanctioned parties and scam indicators, and returns a risk score before a payment is completed. The first partners are Borderless.xyz and Keyrails; the service launches in North America, with worldwide availability expected in 2027.

Kazakhstan: Coinbase and five other platforms stopped in Astana

The regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AFSA) announced today that the centre's court has barred BingX, Bitcoin.com, HTX, BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX from offering or advertising unlicensed digital asset services and from distributing their apps there; the decision also applies to Google and Apple as app store operators. The ban covers the financial centre and its users, not the whole country. Nine platforms restricted access voluntarily and seven intend to apply for a licence.

Sources

• CoinGecko, bitcoin and ether prices, checked on 20 October 2026 at 18:13: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin
• Farside Investors, Bitcoin ETF Flow and Ethereum ETF Flow: https://farside.co.uk/btc/, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• FINMA, press release of 20 October 2026: https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2026/10/20261020-mm-finma-bitcoin-etf/
• Cointelegraph, 20 October 2026: https://cointelegraph.com/news/finma-approves-switzerlands-first-bitcoin-etf-retail
• SEC EDGAR, iShares Trust, Form 485APOS of 19 October 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1100663/000119312526425335/d144515d485apos.htm
• Mastercard, press release of 19 October 2026: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2026/october/Mastercard-brings-risk-intelligence-to-stablecoin-payments.html
• AFSA, press release of 20 October 2026: https://afsa.aifc.kz/aifc-court-issues-injunctions-against-operators-of-several-unlicensed-crypto-platforms/
• CoinDesk, 20 October 2026: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/20/kazakhstan-court-bars-coinbase-five-others-from-unlicensed-crypto-services-in-astana-international-financial-centre