The Daily: White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt exits as Clarity Act stalls, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Thursday! Bitcoin fell below $81,000 earlier today as risk-off sentiment weighed on Asian equities, but has since recovered above $82,000.

In today's newsletter, Patrick Witt exits his White House crypto role as the Clarity Act stalls, Ledger unveils a new Android device with Solana Mobile integration, Multiliquid raises $8 million for its tokenized asset settlement platform, and more.

Meanwhile, Ripple Prime adds swaps referencing real-world asset perpetual futures listed on Hyperliquid, and Bitwise's CIO says bitcoin could benefit whether the AI boom continues or falters.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Latent, our sister website covering AI. Get The Latent Daily here and all other The Block newsletters here. Also, follow The Block and The Latent on X for more updates.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt exits as Clarity Act stalls

Patrick Witt has left his role as the White House's top crypto adviser, as efforts to pass the Clarity Act remain stalled. A White House official said Wednesday that his temporary assignment had expired.

• Witt served as executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets. He led the White House's efforts to advance the Clarity Act, a major bill to regulate the U.S. crypto market.
• The House passed its version of the bill more than a year ago. Witt later helped guide negotiations in the Senate, where lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement.
• Witt is the third senior crypto official to leave the White House. Crypto and AI czar David Sacks left in March, followed by Witt's deputy, Harry Jung, in July.
• Witt had earlier planned to leave in July for mandatory Georgia Army National Guard training, but that was postponed. The White House did not say who would replace him.

Ledger unveils Atom Android device with Solana Mobile integration

Ledger has unveiled Atom, a new Android device that combines everyday apps with a separate mode for securely approving crypto transactions. The company also announced a Solana Mobile integration and new protections against physical tampering.

• Atom will cost $849 for its limited Founder's Edition and $899 for regular orders. Deliveries are expected to begin in summer 2027, subject to certification. It runs Android alongside Ledger's operating system and uses a separate Secure Mode for signing transactions.
• Solana Mobile's Seeker app is also coming to Atom, bringing its wallet and decentralized app store to the device. Ledger also plans support for AI-agent approvals through OpenClaw, while Kraken is exploring a possible integration.
• The launch comes as Ledger investigates modified hardware wallets sold through reseller CryptoBilis. The company said Atom's new protections can detect attempts to open or alter the device and would block the type of screen-reading implant found in that incident.

Multiliquid raises $8 million for tokenized asset settlement platform

Uniform Labs, the developer of Multiliquid, has raised $8 million across pre-seed and seed rounds. Polychain led the latest round, with participation from Circle Ventures, CMT Digital, and other investors.

• Multiliquid lets institutions exchange tokenized assets for stablecoins, or the other way around, in a single transaction. It is live on Ethereum and Solana and aims to give institutions a faster way to exchange tokenized assets without waiting through lengthy redemption processes.
• The platform supports assets from managers including Wellington Management, VanEck and Janus Henderson. It is handling initial pilot transactions and plans to use the funding to expand its technology, add liquidity partners and support more tokenized products.

EU regulator designates USDC as first significant e-money token

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has classified Circle's USDC as the EU's first "significant" e-money token under MiCA. The decision means the EBA will take over direct supervision of key parts of USDC's operations from Nov. 12.

• USDC is the first of 45 e-money tokens notified under MiCA to receive the classification. The EBA will oversee its reserves, capital, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans.
• France's banking regulator, ACPR, currently handles these areas. It will continue overseeing governance, ownership-related approvals and conflicts of interest after the transfer.
• The EBA also signed an agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services to share information and coordinate oversight.

Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz joins NEAR Foundation Council

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure firm Helius, has joined the NEAR Foundation Council. He will help guide the foundation's strategy, growth and governance as NEAR expands its focus on private onchain markets.

• The council oversees the foundation's major decisions and includes NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin and Anchorage Digital co-founder Diogo Monica. Mumtaz will also judge NEAR's upcoming hackathon in November.
• Mumtaz was an early user of NEAR Intents, a protocol that lets users swap crypto across blockchains. His appointment follows a $3.8 million exploit of NEAR Intents earlier this month. The team said the flaw was fixed and promised full compensation.

In the next 24 hours

• September import prices, industrial production and capacity utilization data are due Friday, along with the monthly Treasury balance.
• Eurozone August trade balance data and final September inflation figures, including core inflation, are due Friday.
• Arbitrum (ARB) and Wormhole (W) are among the token unlocks scheduled for Friday.

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