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Bitcoin Drops Below $80K on Middle East Fears

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Bitcoin slid below $80,000 over the weekend, its weakest level in over a month, amid reports of U.S. evacuations in the Middle East.

Geopolitical escalation drove risk-off sentiment across crypto markets, with traders moving away from volatile assets as U.S. Middle East evacuations raised regional instability concerns.

Preferred stock issued by Strategy (MSTR) and Strive has financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin since 2025, according to Fidelity Digital Assets, and analysts expect it to complement the larger ETF market.

Block, Jack Dorsey's payments company, unveiled Dessa, a voice AI trained entirely on human speech that runs locally on a MacBook Pro. Reactions ranged from amazement at its humanlike sound to fraud concerns, and Binance founder CZ suggested it could help children's education.

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 over the weekend, its weakest level in more than a month, as U.S. Middle East evacuations pressured crypto markets.

McDonald's, Microsoft and Google objected to being listed on the first tokenized securities trading venue operating under the SEC's innovation exemption. Analysts say the pushback reflects issuer caution rather than rejection of tokenization itself.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Preferred stock issued by Strategy (MSTR) and Strive has financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin since 2025, according to Fidelity Digital Assets, and analysts expect it to complement the larger ETF market.

Strategy, Strive face balancing act between bitcoin buying and preferred stock dividends - The securities have financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin, opening a funding channel that analysts expect to complement the larger ETF market.

Original post · CoinDesk

[coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/24/strategy-strive-face-balancing-act-between-bitcoin-buying-and-preferred-stock-dividends) NAMES: MSTR

VERIFIED TRUE

Block, Jack Dorsey's payments company, unveiled Dessa, a voice AI trained entirely on human speech that runs locally on a MacBook Pro. Reactions ranged from amazement at its humanlike sound to fraud concerns, and Binance founder CZ suggested it could help children's education.

Block's new voice AI sounds eerily human, sparking awe and scam fears - Reactions split between amazement at how human it sounds and fears it could fuel scams and deception, with CZ eyeing uses in children’s education.

Original post · CoinDesk

[coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/10/24/block-s-new-voice-ai-sounds-eerily-human-sparking-awe-and-scam-fears) NAMES: Block (XYZ) = Jack Dorsey's

VERIFIED TRUE

McDonald's, Microsoft and Google objected to being listed on the first tokenized securities trading venue operating under the SEC's innovation exemption. Analysts say the pushback reflects issuer caution rather than rejection of tokenization itself.

Why McDonalds, Microsoft and Google saying no to tokenized stocks isn't a dealbreaker - Some of the world's biggest companies objected to being listed on the first tokenized securities trading venue under the SEC's innovation exemption. But the early pushback may say more about i

Original post · CoinDesk

[coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/23/why-mcdonalds-microsoft-and-google-saying-no-to-tokenized-stocks-isn-t-a-dealbreaker) NAMES: SEC = U

Sources

What the hosts said

EBitcoin just slid under eighty thousand, weakest it's been in over a month. U.S. evacuations in the Middle East are spooking everyone out of risk.
SYeah, that's the headline. CoinDesk says the weekend pressure is tied directly to those evacuation reports.
EMakes sense. When the world gets scary, people dump the volatile stuff first.
SAnd the irony? This is happening right as Strategy and Strive are doubling down.
ERight, they've now financed almost a hundred and thirty-six thousand bitcoin through preferred stock.
SThat's a wild number. They've essentially built a second funding channel alongside the ETFs.
EHere's what's interesting to me, Sloane. They pay dividends on that preferred stock. So they're buying bitcoin while owing regular payouts.
SWhich forces them to manage cash flow carefully. That's the balancing act CoinDesk is talking about.
EExactly. A price drop doesn't pause the payouts.
SAnd yet they keep buying. Say what you want about Michael Saylor, the man does not flinch.
EFlinching is for people who didn't bet their entire company on a coin.
SFair point. But seriously, analysts expect this preferred stock model to keep growing, right alongside ETFs.
EIt gives yield-hungry investors a way in without actually holding bitcoin. Smart, if the price cooperates.
SAnd if it doesn't cooperate? Then those 'safe' dividends are coming from a company whose holdings just lost value.
EThat's the trade-off. Every yield instrument has risk somewhere.
SI just think people hear 'preferred stock' and assume it's boring. This is wildly levered to crypto.
EWhich is exactly why it's fascinating to watch. Money is flowing in through every crack.
SSpeaking of cracks, there's a new voice AI from Block, Jack Dorsey's company, that people can't stop talking about.
EThe one that runs on a MacBook and sounds completely human?
SYeah, it's called Dessa. Trained entirely on human speech, and CoinDesk says reactions are split between awe and scam fears.
EEvery time AI gets good at voice, the fraud angle gets louder. It's justified, honestly.
SImagine a scam call where you genuinely can't tell it's a machine. That's the nightmare scenario people are posting about.
EBut the flip side is real too. Binance's CZ said this thing could help teach kids.
SBecause what children need is another screen voice that never gets tired of explaining fractions.
EI'm sure that's exactly how he meant it.
SLook, the tech is impressive. But the guardrails for abuse are basically nonexistent right now.
EYou can't stop the tech from getting better. You can only make sure people know what's real.
SAnd right now, with something this convincing, spotting the difference is hard.
EWhich brings me to another CoinDesk story, and this one's a little counterintuitive.
SGo on.
EMcDonald's, Microsoft and Google all said no to being listed on the first tokenized stock venue under the SEC's new exemption.
SThat sounds like a death blow. But CoinDesk says it's not a dealbreaker.
ERight, their argument is this is classic issuer caution. Big companies don't stick their necks out.
SAnd why would they? Tokenized equities are barely proven. A blue chip isn't going first.
EExactly. McDonald's doesn't need innovation cred. It needs its stock to work like it always has.
SI actually think the rejection proves the market is real. Nobody's faking demand; the big guys are just waiting.
EYeah, the smaller issuers will test it, get the kinks out, and then the giants follow.
SIf the plumbing holds.
EBig if. But okay, let's shift to something way more fun. People are losing their minds over this Block voice thing, and there's a side debate about whether it should ever be used for kids.
SCZ says education. Others warn about fraud. The truth is probably both.
ESame tech, two futures. Welcome to 2026.
SI just want my bank to recognize my voice and my mother to not be able to scam-proof her voicemail.

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