Crypto Market Today: Blast Shuts Down, Bank Group Sues OCC

Item	Figure
U.S. jobs added, September	29,000
U.S. unemployment rate	4.2%
Bitcoin	Just below $87,000, up more than 2% in 24 hours
Blast TVL	About $24.7M, from more than $2.26B in June 2024
BLAST token	Down 47% in 24 hours, about 99% below its peak
Blast withdrawal deadline	Oct. 26

The crypto market today was shaped by a weak U.S. jobs report, a lawsuit over bank-style crypto charters and the closure of an Ethereum layer-2 network. Bitcoin traded just below $87,000, up more than 2% over 24 hours, holding earlier gains after the payrolls release. The U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs in September, below the 90,000 consensus forecast, and unemployment rose to 4.2%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to 5.17%.

Blast to close

Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 network, said on Friday that it is winding down because maintaining the chain costs more than it earns and the team sees no credible path to economic sustainability. Total value locked is about $24.7 million, according to DefiLlama, down from more than $2.26 billion in June 2024. Chain revenue was $110 over 24 hours against $124 in fees. Blast launched in November 2023 with a $20 million round led by Paradigm and Standard Crypto, and the BLAST token fell 47% in a day.

Withdrawals pause for about a week while Blast pulls the network’s assets out of Lido, then resume with a 24-hour delay. Users can withdraw through the normal interface until October 26. After that, funds are reachable only by interacting directly with Blast’s bridge contracts on Ethereum, and the team says it will publish instructions first.

Community bankers sue the OCC

The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Comptroller Jonathan Gould in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Administrative Procedure Act. It argues the OCC far exceeded its statutory authority with recent trust bank charter approvals, saying nothing in the statute supports chartering crypto trust banks that are neither depository nor fiduciary. ICBA says the OCC has approved or conditionally approved 21 national trust bank charters in Trump’s second term, 13 for crypto companies. The suit targets Protego Holdings’ conditional approval from February 2026 and asks the court to find a March OCC rule and a 2021 interpretive letter unlawful. The OCC does not comment on litigation.

BNY in talks with Payward

BNY and Payward, the parent of Kraken, are in discussions on a partnership covering digital assets and market infrastructure, CoinDesk reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. It could include crypto products, custody, trading, payments and infrastructure offerings from Payward’s business-to-business arm. Both companies declined to comment, and there is no certainty of an agreement. On September 10, Nasdaq Ventures agreed to invest $100 million in Payward.