Here’s what happened in crypto today

Sequans Communications, a French semiconductor company, has concluded its Bitcoin treasury strategy by selling its remaining 314 Bitcoin. This move marks the complete divestment from a strategy that, at its peak, saw the company holding over 3,200 Bitcoin. The sale, announced on Thursday, follows the redemption of Sequans’ convertible debt in May and leaves the company with no cryptocurrency holdings. The company intends to redirect its focus and resources towards its core businesses in cellular internet-of-things (IoT) and software-defined radio.

Sequans initially embarked on its Bitcoin treasury strategy in June 2025, coinciding with a significant equity and debt raise of $384 million. At the time, CEO Georges Karam expressed a bullish outlook on Bitcoin, referring to it as a "compelling long-term investment." However, the company began to unwind its position less than six months into the strategy, selling 970 Bitcoin to cover half of its convertible debt obligations.

Sequans’ decision to exit its Bitcoin holdings aligns with a broader trend observed among companies that have been reassessing or scaling back their cryptocurrency treasury strategies in 2026. According to Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, at least nine companies had fully liquidated or abandoned their Bitcoin and crypto treasury strategies by the end of July. Notable examples of companies that have fully liquidated their Bitcoin holdings this year include Bitdeer, Genius Group, and Prenetics. Other firms, such as MARA Holdings and Empery Digital, have significantly reduced their Bitcoin holdings while still maintaining their respective strategies.

In parallel developments, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has advocated for the inclusion of crypto lending activities within the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. This call comes as regulators are actively considering potential amendments to the existing MiCA regulation. In its response to a targeted consultation by the European Commission (EC) on MiCA, the EBA stated that crypto borrowing and lending activities, including those facilitated by crypto asset service providers connecting users to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, should be subject to regulatory oversight.

The EBA recommended that the EC undertake a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of potential legislative changes. Such changes could incorporate intermediated crypto borrowing and lending into the list of services regulated under MiCA, thereby imposing specific compliance requirements and oversight mechanisms on these activities. Furthermore, the EBA suggested that crypto firms providing clients access to DeFi lending protocols should be subject to defined requirements. These recommendations are part of the EBA’s broader input to the Commission’s ongoing review of MiCA, which also encompasses regulations concerning stablecoins, the classification of crypto assets, and reporting obligations.

Meanwhile, the estimated computational cost associated with preparing a quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction has experienced a substantial decrease, falling below $67. This marks a significant reduction from the approximately $320 incurred for the first such transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet in August. The dramatic cost reduction is attributed to a week-long optimization effort, as reported by StarkWare.

The improvements were achieved through the efforts of participants in the Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Optimization Challenge, who identified methods to reduce the GPU computation required to construct a quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction. This advancement could enhance the practicality of this experimental defense mechanism against future quantum computing threats for Bitcoin holders. Crucially, this defense does not necessitate alterations to the Bitcoin network’s consensus rules. However, it is important to note that the latest optimizations have thus far been demonstrated exclusively in benchmark tests.

StarkWare, in a September 23 update, highlighted that while a construction costing a few hundred dollars per transaction is primarily for demonstration purposes, a cost of $67 brings the solution closer to a point where it could be a viable emergency measure for holders with substantial unexposed balances. The latest data displayed on the Yukon dashboard, which tracks these costs, indicates that the estimated cost has further dropped to $66.

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