Investor, který byl devět let neaktivní, prodal 1 500 ETH za přibližně 3,46 milionu USD. Po prodeji mu zůstává 48 500 ETH v hodnotě přibližně 112,7 milionu USD.
One of Ethereum’s early investors has resurfaced today after a long period of silence. Lookonchain reported that the investor, who had been inactive for nine years, sold approximately 1,500 ETH worth about $3.46 million.
According to the platform’s research, the investor participated in Ethereum’s initial sale, purchasing 100,000 ETH at approximately $0.31 per unit. The cost of this initial investment was reported as approximately $31,000.
The initial cost of the 1,500 ETH reportedly sold today, calculated at the same purchase price, is only $465. This represents approximately a 7,440x difference between that amount and the sale price mentioned in the post.
However, the investor’s Ethereum position remains high even after the sell-off. Lookonchain reported that the investor still holds 48,500 ETH, worth approximately $112.7 million at the time of the update.
Therefore, today’s sale, when considered together with the reported after-sale balance, corresponds to 3% of the current amount of 50,000 ETH.
*This is not investment advice.
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Velryba navýšila marži o 5,67 mil. USDC u dlouhé pozice v objemu 93 184 ETH v hodnotě 214 mil. USD; likvidační úrovně klesly na 2 181,69 USD a 2 177,79 USD.
One Ethereum wallet now carries a leveraged long of 93,184 ETH worth roughly $214 million, and after a single defensive margin top-up its forced-liquidation prices sit only about 5 percent under the spot market. Ether was changing hands near $2,311 on October 26, down about 1.6 percent over 24 hours, which leaves the position’s liquidation triggers at $2,181.69 and $2,177.79 within one bad session of the current price.
The position was surfaced by on-chain tracker Lookonchain on October 24. Two wallets behind it — 0x0392a7…b5d7d9 and 0x77ddcc…ae0e9 — were flagged carrying combined ETH longs with liquidation prices of $2,256.45 and $2,226.53.
Don’t forget about this massive $ETH bull!
If the market keeps dropping, this whale’s 93,184 $ETH ($214M) in long positions could get liquidated.
Liquidation prices: $2,256.45 and $2,226.53.
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 24, 2026
That is not a routine whale alert. It is one of the largest single leveraged ETH positions currently being tracked in public on-chain data, and it is sitting on top of an already fragile stack of stop-losses and long liquidations that built up between roughly $2,350 and $2,400 through the second half of October.
A 93,184 ETH Position and Two Liquidation Prices
Liquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged position once the collateral behind it can no longer cover the required margin. For a long, that happens when the underlying asset falls far enough that the loss on the borrowed side eats through the margin that secures it.
This whale’s exposure is split across two thresholds rather than one, which reflects two sub-positions on the same perpetuals platform. At $2,256.45 the first slice is force-closed; at $2,226.53 the second follows. Both sat below spot when they were published, so neither is triggered. What matters is the buffer: at $2,311, the position is about 5.6 percent above its nearest forced-close level, or roughly $130 of downside room.
The notional alone makes it worth tracking. At $2,311, 93,184 ETH is worth about $215 million, or roughly 2.4 percent of Ethereum’s entire 24-hour spot volume near $9.1 billion. That sounds small until you remember this is a single wallet, not a diversified fund, and it is leveraged — the collateral actually backing the position is a fraction of the $215 million notional.
How a $214 Million Long Unwinds
When a leveraged long of this size is liquidated, the exchange carrying it does not quietly absorb the loss. It force-closes the position by selling the underlying, which pushes 93,184 ETH of involuntary sell-side pressure into the order book in a compressed window.
That first wave lands on top of whatever stop-loss orders and smaller leveraged longs are already stacked just below the current range. A forced sell widens the spread, trips the nearest stops, and those stops become market sell orders that drag price toward the next cluster. This is the cascade: one forced close is the pin, and the cascade is what happens after the pin is pulled.
The mechanics are aggravated by where the position sits. The second liquidation threshold near $2,177 sits only about $20 above Ethereum’s 200-day moving average near $2,158, a level that has anchored the asset through the current drawdown. A break through the whale’s second threshold would likely test that moving average in the same move — exactly the kind of confluence that turns a routine unwind into a sharper leg down.
The Margin Call That Moved the Goalposts
The whale has already defended the position once. On October 25, after the initial liquidation prices were made public, the same wallets added about $5.67 million in USDC margin, pushing the forced-close levels down to $2,181.69 and $2,177.79.
The whale with 93184 $ETH ($214M) in longs added $5.67M USDC in margin to avoid liquidation. New liquidation prices: $2181.69 and $2177.79.
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 25, 2026
That single top-up bought the position roughly $75 of extra room and, more importantly, signaled intent: the whale chose to post fresh collateral rather than reduce exposure. It also reset the math for everyone watching. Liquidation prices are not static — they move with every collateral change, so the $2,181 level now on screen is the product of that defense, not a fixed cliff.
Why the Position Is Not the Cause — Yet
It matters to separate the position from the selloff. The whale is not why Ether is down; it is a potential accelerant if the decline continues. The pressure on ETH over the past week has come from fund flows, not from one wallet.
US spot Ethereum ETFs lost a net $220.7 million across the five sessions of October 19 through 23, according to Farside Investors, with BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) posting the largest single-day redemption of $75.5 million on October 22. Bitcoin funds, by contrast, drew $526.7 million of inflows on October 19 and another $524.8 million on October 21 before a sharp $635.6 million reversal the next day, per the same tracker.
That divergence — Ether funds bleeding while Bitcoin funds still attracted heavy inflows mid-week — is the structural backdrop against which the whale’s position is being watched. It removes a source of institutional demand at the same moment a leveraged long of this size sits near its liquidation level, a pattern our earlier reporting on Ethereum ETF outflows outpacing Bitcoin’s already flagged.
The relative underperformance shows up in the ETH/BTC ratio, which has slipped toward 0.0289 — the lower half of its 12-month range — meaning Ether is losing ground to Bitcoin even as both assets fall. That is the environment in which a visible, publicly tracked liquidation level becomes a magnet. The addresses are public, the trigger prices are known, and traders who profit from forcing a liquidation have both the data and the incentive to test it.
Macro adds a second layer. Ether’s 1.6 percent decline on October 26 tracked a broader risk-off that pulled Bitcoin down 0.9 percent as traders positioned ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, with CoinGecko data showing ETH underperforming the largest crypto asset on the day.
The Levels That Matter Next
Three things resolve the story from here. The first is the $2,181 level itself: a decisive break below $2,181.69 with volume would trigger the first forced close and put the second threshold at $2,177.79 in play. The second is the whale’s next move — whether the wallets add more margin, trim, or close — which remains visible in real time on the public addresses flagged by Lookonchain. The third is the calendar: the Fed’s rate decision and Monday’s spot ETF flow print both land while the position is still unresolved.
The countercase is straightforward. The whale has already shown it can and will add collateral, and a position this size can be de-risked gradually rather than liquidated all at once. A stabilization above $2,300 would leave the forced-close levels below the market and make the entire scenario academic. What the on-chain data does not yet show is any sign the whale is exiting.
Until one of those signals lands, the $214 million long is the market’s clearest single-wallet risk: a position large enough to move the book, defended once already, and sitting about 5 percent from the level that would force it to sell. Follow the latest on the position in our Ethereum news today hub.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Binance 28. října 2026 v 06:00 UTC provede údržbu peněženek sítě Ethereum (ETH); vklady a výběry budou pozastaveny od 05:55 UTC a obnoveny po dokončení údržby, která bude trvat přibližně hodinu. Obchodování zůstane bez omezení.
This is a general announcement. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Binance will perform wallet maintenance for Ethereum Network (ETH) at 2026-10-28 06:00 (UTC). To support the wallet maintenance, deposits and withdrawals on Ethereum Network (ETH) will be suspended starting from 2026-10-28 05:55 (UTC), and be resumed when the maintenance is complete. The maintenance will take about one hour. Please Note: The trading of token(s) on the aforementioned network will not be impacted.Binance will handle all technical requirements involved for all users.Deposits and withdrawals for token(s) on the aforementioned network will be reopened once the upgraded network is deemed to be stable. No further announcement will be posted.There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise. Thank you for your support! Binance Team 2026-10-27
Bitmine Immersion Technologies has purchased another 10,452 Ethereum over the past week, bringing its total holdings to 6.05 million ETH.
Summary
Bitmine purchased another 10,452 ETH over the past week, bringing its total Ethereum holdings to 6.05 million tokens worth approximately $14.26 billion. The company now controls 4.95% of Ethereum’s total supply and is approaching its long standing target of owning 5% of all ETH. Bitmine repurchased 2.04 million shares over the past week, taking its total buybacks in 2026 to 22.9 million shares worth $399.6 million. More than 5.22 million ETH are currently staked, with Bitmine estimating annualized staking revenue of approximately $318 million. According to the company’s October 26 treasury update, Bitmine bought back another 2.04 million shares over the past week at an average price of $22.48, bringing its total repurchases this year to 22.9 million shares.
The company has spent $399.6 million on those buybacks at an average price of $17.48 per share.
“This is the largest crypto treasury company common equity buyback ever executed, and reflects our commitment to shareholders,” Chairman Tom Lee said in an accompanying statement.
Bitmine continued purchasing Ethereum during the same period, adding 10,452 ETH and taking its total holdings to 6,051,933 tokens as of October 25.
At the company’s reference price of $2,356 per ETH, its Ethereum treasury was worth approximately $14.26 billion, while its combined crypto assets, cash, marketable securities and other investments stood at $15 billion.
Bitmine share buybacks approach $400 million Bitmine’s latest repurchases are part of a stock buyback program that has been running alongside its Ethereum accumulation strategy.
Lee said management intends to continue purchasing shares whenever it believes BMNR is trading below its relative value, provided market conditions allow it and the purchases remain within the existing authorization.
“Optimizing shareholder value remains our top objective,” Lee said.
The company had already been repurchasing substantial amounts of stock earlier this year. In July, Bitmine repurchased 6.1 million shares during a week when its Ethereum treasury reached 5.79 million tokens.
By October 5, its cumulative buybacks had reached 21 million shares, according to figures previously covered by crypto.news, while the company continued adding ETH to its balance sheet.
The latest 2.04 million shares cost approximately $45.9 million based on the reported average purchase price. Bitmine’s Ethereum purchases during the same week were worth roughly $24.6 million using its October 25 reference price.
Lee said the company believes its position has improved over the past year despite difficult conditions across cryptocurrency markets. He expects Bitmine to benefit from the next crypto market rally, although that remains management’s assessment.
Ethereum holdings move closer to the 5% target Bitmine now owns approximately 4.95% of Ethereum’s reported 122.2 million token supply, putting it 99% of the way toward its long-standing accumulation target.
The company calls the strategy its “Alchemy of 5%” and has been purchasing ETH every week since launching the program on June 30, 2025.
Based on the latest supply figure, owning exactly 5% would require approximately 6.11 million ETH. Bitmine therefore needs another 58,067 tokens to reach that level at the current supply estimate.
Lee previously described the 5% ownership target as a ceiling for the company’s accumulation plans.
Bitmine’s buying pace has slowed in recent weeks. Its October 19 update showed purchases of 12,535 ETH, compared with 15,112 ETH in the week ending October 4.
The company has nevertheless continued its weekly purchases while directing a substantial amount of capital toward share repurchases.
Lee remains optimistic about cryptocurrency markets despite the recent downturn. He said Ethereum had fallen 13% from its recent peak, compared with a 20% decline in the U.S. semiconductor ETF SOXX over the same period.
“We believe this is further evidence that a crypto bull market is underway,” Lee said.
Alongside its treasury, Bitmine has raised its staked Ethereum balance to 5,227,037 ETH, valued at approximately $12.3 billion, which is roughly 86% of the company’s total ETH holdings and is up from the 5.07 million ETH staked as of October 18.
Bitmine estimates its current staked position could generate approximately $318 million in annualized staking revenue.
If the company eventually stakes its entire Ethereum treasury through its Made in America Validator Network, known as MAVAN, and its staking partners, projected annual rewards could reach $368 million. Both estimates use a seven-day annualized staking yield of 2.58%.
MAVAN was initially developed to handle Bitmine’s own Ethereum staking activities but has since expanded to serve institutional investors, custodians and other partners.
Bitmine’s other investments and market position Bitmine also reported holding 215 Bitcoin, $514 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and a $76 million position in Eightco Holdings.
Its Beast Industries investment connects the company to MrBeast’s business, which has been exploring financial services involving cryptocurrency payments and decentralized finance.
Beast Holdings recently received notices of allowance for trademark applications covering financial services, including cryptocurrency exchanges and payment processing.
Bitmine remains the world’s largest corporate Ethereum treasury holder and ranks second among publicly traded crypto treasury companies by reported holdings, behind Strategy.
The company joined the Russell 1000 index on June 26, while its Series A preferred stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BMNP.
Its institutional backers include ARK’s Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, Galaxy Digital and Bill Miller III.
Ethereum Foundation podpořila zavedení soukromí jako standardu v peněženkách prostřednictvím SDK Kohaku, které integruje Railgun, Privacy Pools a Tornado Cash.
The Ethereum Foundation has backed default privacy in wallets by sharing an update on Kohaku, a software development kit integrating three privacy protocols, and arguing that attackers should have less access to users’ onchain histories.
Summary
Ethereum Foundation says default wallet privacy can limit attackers’ use of users’ onchain histories.
Kohaku’s SDK includes integrations with Railgun, Privacy Pools and Tornado Cash.
Ambire has spent months testing Kohaku integrations, with no public launch date announced.
Vitalik Buterin and Nicolas Consigny are scheduled to demonstrate Kohaku using Ambire at Devcon.
In its Oct. 26 X post, the Ethereum Foundation said that the past week’s attacks and exploits had reinforced its view that privacy and security belong together. Its message quoted Jordan Enev’s update on Kohaku, which named Railgun, Privacy Pools and Tornado Cash among the SDK’s integrations.
“We’re glad to support wallet tools advancing privacy,” the Foundation wrote.
“You can worry less about an attacker utilizing your onchain history against you when privacy is a default.”
The Foundation’s statement focused on limiting the information available to attackers. Enev’s accompanying post addressed the work needed to put privacy features inside wallets, describing Ambire’s integration efforts and a planned demonstration at Devcon.
Ethereum wallet privacy work moves toward Ambire integration
Enev said the Kohaku team was working to make privacy a normal part of Ethereum and described its SDK as becoming more mature. After naming the three protocol integrations, he called on wallet developers to take the next step.
“Now it’s time for wallets to do their part,” he wrote in the Oct. 23 post.
At Ambire, Enev said, the team had spent the previous few months exploring Kohaku, testing integrations with different privacy protocols and working with its developers to provide feedback. He described the team as closer than ever to its first integration.
His account of that work covered testing and development, with no public release date attached. The post pointed readers toward a Devcon presentation featuring Nicolas Consigny and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Kohaku’s public SDK repository lists separate libraries for Railgun, Tornado Cash and Privacy Pools. Its package table describes a standardized interface for shielded-pool protocols, a provider component supporting several Ethereum software tools, and a post-quantum account implementation.
The repository warns that some components remain works in progress and that its packages contain unaudited code. Its Railgun package is listed as under maintenance.
A separate repository describes the Kohaku browser wallet as a reference implementation built from Ambire’s wallet code. The README identifies Sepolia testnet as its supported network and offers a prebuilt demonstration dated March 2026.
Kohaku’s Devcon session plans a mainnet demonstration
The Devcon schedule lists “Kohaku: privacy for everyone, by default” for Nov. 3 on Lotus Stage 2, with Consigny and Buterin as speakers. The description calls for a demonstration on Ethereum mainnet using Ambire Wallet.
Organizers expect to show privacy protocol integrations, light clients, post-quantum accounts, and hardware wallet clear signing. The session description presents those features as expected demonstration material.
The listing says the speakers will explain how light clients reduce the amount of trust a wallet places in outside infrastructure. It describes embedding privacy protocols inside a wallet so users can access their protections without having to understand the underlying systems.
Fetching token prices and logos through decentralized methods is another planned feature. The session description says this would avoid revealing the tokens a user interacts with to third parties.
Consigny’s speaker biography identifies him as the Foundation researcher leading Kohaku, with work spanning wallets, privacy protocols, and post-quantum cryptography.
Ethereum researchers have proposed changes to privacy transactions
The Foundation introduced Kohaku in its October 2025 privacy commitment as a reference wallet and open-source SDK. The same announcement described a privacy cluster of 47 researchers, engineers, coordinators and cryptographers, coordinated by Igor Barinov.
Its Institutional Privacy Task Force was tasked with translating businesses’ regulatory and operational requirements into technical privacy specifications. The announcement listed payments, trading, funds, assets and compliance among its areas of work.
Separate work on transaction fees has reached Ethereum’s upgrade discussions. As crypto.news previously reported, researcher Toni Wahrstätter described proposals in August that could let privacy pools pay network fees without a separate relayer.
Wahrstätter’s proposal combined Frame Transactions with other transaction changes and Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, known as FOCIL. The August report identified FOCIL as confirmed for Hegotá, while Frame Transactions remained under consideration.
Account security has featured in Kohaku research as well. In June, Consigny described post-quantum account protection that could be added without waiting for a hard fork, citing an estimated cost of $0.07 per account at the time.
An October report on the Foundation’s zkAPI project described another privacy application, developed with Open Anonymity Project. The system separates proof of payment for AI services from the funding identity, while the model provider still receives the user’s prompt.
US Treasury removed Tornado Cash sanctions in March 2025
The US Treasury announced the removal of economic sanctions against Tornado Cash on March 21, 2025, following its review of the legal and policy issues involved in applying sanctions to activity using emerging technologies.
In that announcement, Treasury maintained its concerns about North Korea’s state-sponsored hacking and money laundering. The department said it would continue monitoring transactions that could benefit malicious cyber actors or North Korea and cautioned US persons about transactions presenting those risks.
Fhenix spustil CoFHE na mainnetech Etherea a Arbitra, které umožňuje smart kontraktům zpracovávat šifrovaná data, aniž by odhalily zůstatky, pozice či obchodní strategie.
Fhenix has moved its confidential computing technology into production on Ethereum and Arbitrum, allowing smart contracts to process encrypted information without directly exposing the underlying data.
The company announced the mainnet launch on Oct. 21, 2026, alongside the production release of CoFHE, its fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) coprocessor. The infrastructure is designed to let decentralized applications execute operations involving sensitive information while preserving the confidentiality of balances, positions and trading strategies.
The launch addresses a longstanding challenge for blockchain applications: public networks make transactions and contract activity broadly observable, which can complicate their use for financial services that depend on private information.
Fhenix is positioning the technology as infrastructure for confidential decentralized finance and tokenization, with the company identifying a potential $1.5 trillion tokenization opportunity currently constrained by privacy limitations.
How CoFHE processes encrypted data
CoFHE performs computationally intensive encrypted operations offchain before returning results to smart contracts on Ethereum and Arbitrum. According to Fhenix, its dynamic throughput adjusts to demand instead of restricting applications to a predetermined processing rate.
The company is also seeking to simplify implementation for developers. Its approach uses a Solidity import and encrypted data types intended to function similarly to ordinary variables, allowing builders to incorporate confidentiality into existing smart contract development workflows.
Another component of the launch is Fhenix’s dual-mode token architecture. It allows token holders to switch balances between public and confidential modes in a single transaction, without wrapping the asset or transferring it through a bridge.
Because the token remains on its original blockchain, Fhenix says the approach is designed to retain compatibility with existing wallets, exchanges and decentralized finance protocols.
“When I started Fhenix three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined how far it would take us,” said Guy Zyskind, the company’s founder. “CoFHE is now live on Ethereum and Arbitrum mainnet, with competitive performance and a UX that’s simple for any builder who wants privacy in their dApp.”
Zyskind also said Fhenix is working with Tandem on a confidential stablecoin, although the announcement did not provide further details about its development or release timeline.
Fluton and Alpha Engine debut as design partners
The mainnet launch includes two initial design partners whose applications illustrate different uses for confidential computation.
Fluton is building a confidentiality engine for interactions across blockchains, applications and assets, using encrypted intents. Alpha Engine is developing a confidential network for onchain finance where strategists can submit encrypted strategies and compete for liquidity without disclosing their trading approaches.
Fhenix said both projects completed technical and security reviews before going live.
The system was also audited by Consensys Diligence ahead of launch. Comments included in the announcement highlighted the additional security considerations involved in assessing systems where smart contracts operate on information they cannot directly read. However, the supplied material did not identify the Consensys Diligence representative by name or title.
Institutional adoption remains a key objective
The launch comes as Fhenix seeks to make public blockchain infrastructure more suitable for applications that require financial confidentiality.
Steven Goldfeder, co-founder and CEO of Offchain, said institutions have historically faced a trade-off between protecting sensitive financial information and accessing the composability of public blockchain markets.
“Confidentiality is one of the biggest barriers between institutions and public blockchains,” Goldfeder said. “They need to keep positions and strategies private, and until now that meant giving up the composability that makes onchain markets worth using.”
He added that the launch on Arbitrum gives developers a way to pursue both confidentiality and composability within the ecosystem.
Fhenix plans to expand the network’s application base in the coming months. Three more decentralized applications are scheduled to launch on CoFHE during the fourth quarter of 2026, while the company expects to announce two institutional partnerships in the coming weeks.
The team is also participating in the Colosseum hackathon to assess demand for confidential applications on Solana, potentially extending its exploration of encrypted computation beyond Ethereum-compatible networks.
Ethereum Foundation sold 2,785 ETH for about $6.42 million in USDS through CoW Swap, Onchain Lens reports
Ethereum traded at $2,312.64, down 1.17% in 24 hours and 4.58% over seven days, per CoinGecko price data.
Ella sees $2,360 as the first recovery test, with $2,400 next if buyers reclaim that level for Ethereum.
Daan Crypto Trades says Ethereum leads in TVL while Solana leads decentralized exchange trading volumes.
The Ethereum Foundation sold 2,785 ETH for approximately $6.42 million in USDS through CoW Swap, according to Onchain Lens.
Ethereum traded at $2,312.64 at press time, based on CoinGecko figures. The price fell 1.17% over 24 hours and 4.58% over seven days. Daily trading volume reached $8,165,164,939 as ETH hovered above the $2,300 level identified by analyst Ella.
The sale adds a treasury transaction to watch, although the supplied data does not establish its market impact.
ETH price on CoinGecko
Ethereum Foundation Sale Puts $2,300 Support in Focus
Onchain Lens reported the transaction on X and identified the address as 0x5CBC6299faB3320E7758ac97fd4CA45E5B722059. The Foundation exchanged ETH for USDS, changing the assets held rather than simply transferring tokens between wallets.
However, the report does not explain why the Foundation sold or how it plans to use the proceeds. It also provides no basis for treating this transaction as the cause of Ethereum’s broader decline.
Analyst Ella described progressively smaller rebounds on X, with Ethereum returning near $2,300 after failing to hold above $2,360. Her analysis places the immediate focus on whether buyers can defend the lower level and recover lost ground.
Ethereum keeps trying to bounce but every rebound is getting smaller
Now $ETH is back near $2,300 after failing to stay above $2,360
This is where buyers need to do something. I’d want to see $2,360 reclaimed first before calling any move from here a real recovery. If that… pic.twitter.com/tyUiiRpwFp
— 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗮 (@Ellaweb_3) October 26, 2026
She wants ETH to reclaim $2,360 before describing another bounce as a recovery. Under that scenario, $2,400 becomes the next area in view.
Conversely, Ella identified approximately $2,250 as her next area if Ethereum breaks cleanly below $2,300. These levels represent her conditional chart outlook, rather than confirmed destinations for the price.
Ethereum Foundation Sale Contrasts With DeFi Leadership
Ethereum’s weak price action sits alongside its continued lead in total value locked, according to Daan Crypto Trades. Writing on X, the analyst attributed that position to major DeFi protocols keeping much of their TVL on Ethereum.
Total value locked measures the value of assets deposited in decentralized finance protocols. It offers a different perspective from price performance or the amount of trading taking place.
Daan ranked Base second, with 6.9% of total TVL, while describing Solana as the leader in decentralized exchange volume. He linked Solana’s trading activity to its speed and lower fees relative to Ethereum.
This is what the chain ranking by Total Value Locked (TVL) looks like these days.$ETH clear leader because of the major DeFi protocols still having the gross of their TVL stationed there.
Base considerably and still a chain that will make a comeback at some point I do believe.… pic.twitter.com/d6EcYol2Bp
— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) October 25, 2026
Still, he stressed how quickly trading volume can shift between chains as attention changes. He cited Robinhood capturing 32% at its peak last month and said one successful meme coin can alter rankings.
That comparison separates Ethereum’s deposited capital from the more changeable distribution of trading activity across competing networks.
The immediate takeaway remains narrow: the Foundation sold ETH while Ethereum traded close to $2,300 support. Its DeFi lead provides context, but does not confirm that buyers will reclaim $2,360.
Ethereum has reinforced its dominant position in the blockchain-based financial services sector as the total value of tokenized funds surged to $34.2 billion across 33 blockchain networks, according to Token Terminal. Ethereum now accounts for 47.1% of the market capitalization tied to tokenized assets, placing it well ahead of both BNB Chain, which holds 13%, and Stellar, with 10.5%.
Tokenized Funds Gain Traction, Ethereum Sets the PaceThis growing market encompasses a variety of tokenized investments, including government bonds, structured credit, and other financial products migrated to blockchain infrastructure. Industry analysts have noted that while the rise of tokenized funds highlights Ethereum’s central role in this movement, increased tokenization and assets under management may not directly translate to higher demand for ETH itself. The impact ultimately depends on how these products and the underlying network are utilized.
Ethereum’s prominence has been cited as an important development for the evolution of decentralized finance and digital securities, boosting its position as a key infrastructure layer for financial institutions exploring blockchain-based solutions. Even with competition from emerging blockchains, Ethereum’s network effects and developer ecosystem continue to attract new projects and capital inflows.
Large-Scale ETH Trade Draws Market AttentionBlockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that a trader identified as 0xe813 entered a significant long position of 26,974 ETH, valued at approximately $63.88 million, following a recent market pullback. The open trade reflected an unrealized profit of $842,000 at the time the analysis was published. This aggressive move on Ethereum followed a notable win streak by the same trader, who had reportedly earned $3.3 million from prior NEAR token trades.
A trader has established an ETH long after a sharp price decline, marking an unrealized gain of $842,000 and building on his previous record of $3.3 million in NEAR profits, according to Lookonchain.
Market observers view this trade as a high-conviction, bullish risk taken during a downturn, reflecting individual sentiment rather than signaling a broader market reversal at this stage. Unrealized profits, however, represent paper gains only until a trade is closed, and remain subject to changing market conditions.
Analyst Eyes $2,500 as Key ETH ResistanceCryptocurrency analyst LSTRADER has described Ethereum’s current structure as bullish, provided the price remains above established accumulation zones. LSTRADER has tracked the ETH market since the $1,800 level and highlighted $2,500 as a critical resistance that, if surpassed on a daily close, would signal a continuation of the upward trend.
On October 25, ETH traded near $2,335.13, remaining below this pivotal $2,500 threshold. According to the analyst, achieving and maintaining a close above this level would confirm bullish sentiment, while failure to hold key support could put near-term price stability under pressure. Despite market pullbacks, LSTRADER maintains that the broader structure remains intact unless core support is breached.
LSTRADER indicated that the $2,500 mark is crucial for confirming upward momentum. Maintaining accumulation zones would support potential recovery, while a drop below support could undermine the bull case.
In fast-moving digital asset markets—where a single Federal Reserve decision or an unexpected altcoin listing can spark immediate volatility—traders are increasingly seeking tools that streamline their market view. Many have turned to privacy-first platforms like CryptoAppsy, which enable real-time charting, customizable price alerts, coin-specific news, and essential macroeconomic data on a single dashboard, without requiring account creation. This centralized approach helps investors act quickly and efficiently across rapidly shifting price environments.
As Ethereum maintains its leadership in tokenized fund infrastructure, the near-term technical challenge rests in its ability to reclaim and hold the $2,500 level. Market participants are also watching trends in leveraged positions and shifts in tokenization metrics, as these could provide early signals of changing momentum.
Ethereum encountered further uncertainty over the weekend as its price dropped below $2,300, coinciding with developers postponing a critical phase of the blockchain’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade.
Developers Postpone Hoodi Testnet ActivationThe Ethereum Foundation announced last week that activation of the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, originally scheduled for October 26, has been delayed. Developers cited the need for additional time to evaluate how EIP-8037—one of the core changes of the upgrade—interacts with existing Ethereum smart contracts. No new date has been given for the testnet launch.
This decision also affects a planned increase to the Hoodi testnet’s gas limit, which was set to rise to 200 million. However, the Foundation stressed that this postponement is confined to the testnet and does not impact the main Ethereum network or require action from ETH holders.
The delay follows a stretch of cautious optimism from Ethereum’s community and developers, who had regarded Glamsterdam as a key step on the network’s scaling roadmap. Technical evaluations are expected to continue in the coming weeks as researchers focus on any unforeseen interactions that could affect broader smart contract functionality.
While the setback involves a test environment rather than Ethereum’s live blockchain, developers stated it is necessary to ensure full compatibility and stability of upcoming scaling solutions.
Earlier reporting suggested that a successful Glamsterdam testnet deployment could restore confidence in Ethereum’s developmental timeline, but no definitive link has been made between this particular delay and this weekend’s selloff in ETH markets.
Weak Institutional Demand Deepens the CorrectionThe setback for Ethereum’s upgrade comes as institutional flows remain inconsistent. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net outflows of $110.6 million on October 22. This was followed by a net inflow of just $4.4 million the next day, according to Farside Investors. Over the course of the five trading days ending October 23, ETF funds lost about $220.7 million in total.
This pattern signals that institutional appetite for Ethereum remains subdued, contrasting with earlier periods of optimism that had pushed Ethereum toward $2,500. Persistent selling pressure in the ETF space has complicated any attempts by ETH to mount a sustained recovery.
Some corporate entities, such as BitMine, continue to accumulate ETH as a long-term strategy. Nonetheless, incremental buying has not been sufficient to offset broader market selling.
Farside Investors highlighted the inconsistent inflows and outflows in US spot Ethereum ETFs, indicating that a decisive turnaround in institutional sentiment has yet to materialize.
Ethereum Price Levels and Trader StrategiesEthereum faces substantial technical challenges in the near-term. After briefly dipping to $2,285 on Saturday, the asset recovered to around $2,360 but remains about 12% below its early-October levels. Bulls are monitoring the $2,400 mark as a critical threshold for short-term recovery, aiming for a resistance band between $2,480 and $2,500.
A move from $2,360 to $2,500 would represent an advance of nearly 6%. If buyers succeed, secondary targets at $2,550 to $2,600 could come into view, though that would require increased momentum and renewed institutional inflows.
On the downside, a drop below $2,285 risks triggering further declines toward $2,200 and the significant $2,000 psychological support, especially if overall crypto sentiment remains weak.
With rapid shifts driven by developments such as Fed decisions or new altcoin listings, traders are increasingly turning to comprehensive tools tailored for the digital asset space. In these volatile conditions, monitoring charts, news feeds, and portfolio data across multiple platforms can prove costly. As a result, many market participants are adopting solutions like CryptoAppsy, a privacy-first platform offering real-time charts, smart price alerts, curated coin news, and key macroeconomic data—available seamlessly on a single screen without the need to create an account.
Ethereum L2 BB84 eliminuje transakční podpisy a k ochraně před budoucí kvantovou hrozbou používá hashové řetězce. Výběry však vyžadují důvěru v oprávněného navrhovatele, protože síť nemá mechanismus důkazů proti chybnému stavu.
A live Ethereum layer-2 network has dropped transaction signatures entirely, and its founder has published where the design still breaks, including a front-running flaw found and fixed before publication.
Key Takeaways
Live on Ethereum mainnet since September 30.
Protocol default: 1,000 payments per hash chain.
Front-running flaw found and fixed on October 21.
The founder, who posts as Hadamard, described the design in an October 24 Ethereum Research post and asked for critical feedback.
Ordinary Ethereum accounts authorize transactions with ECDSA signatures, which a large enough quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm could break. No machine today can do that, but warnings about exposed wallet keys have pushed developers to look for alternatives. BB84, an OP Stack rollup on Ethereum mainnet with chain ID 42069000, removes signatures from its network altogether.
Each account is built from a secret that is hashed over and over with keccak-256, creating a chain of values. Only the last value is public. To pay, the wallet reveals the value before it, which anyone can check by hashing it once. The network then records that value and moves the account one step down the chain. The protocol default is 1,000 steps, while BB84’s developer CLI creates 10-step chains for each one-time address. A step is used up even if the payment itself fails, and the chain rejects any conventionally signed transaction.
Payments run only in bridged USDC and EURC. Both the commit and reveal transactions are free for users, and payers create a fresh one-time address for each recipient.
The post spells out the security trade-off. Inside the network, everything rests on keccak-256 being hard to reverse, and Grover’s quantum search algorithm only cuts that to about 2^128 operations. Addresses, however, are shortened to 160 bits, which leaves about 2^80 of quantum resistance on the address itself. BB84’s documentation advertises 128-bit post-quantum security without that caveat. Ethereum mainnet is also still ECDSA: deposits start from ordinary Ethereum wallets, and withdrawals pay out to them.
The flaw found while writing the post
Revealing a secret makes it public, so anyone watching could copy it into a transaction paying themselves. To prevent that, the wallet first sends a commit transaction that locks the secret to one exact payment without showing it. The reveal must follow within five blocks by default.
The weak point was that commits carry no signature, because there is nothing to sign with. In the first version, a new commit simply replaced the pending one. An attacker who spotted a secret in a pending reveal could swap in a commit tying that secret to their own payment. Hadamard says the team found the flaw while writing the post and fixed it with a new rule that took effect on October 21. Under it, the first commit wins, the slot clears only after the matching reveal or expiry, the wallet waits for its commit to land in a block before revealing, and the public RPC does not expose pending transactions.
What the fix does not cover
Griefing: anyone can post a junk commit and block an address for up to five blocks, though they cannot move its funds.
A rogue sequencer: if an honest commit expires or is reorganized out while its reveal is pending, the secret is no longer locked. Today only BB84’s own sequencer sees pending transactions.
Hadamard suggests a stricter “Guy Fawkes” rule, in which commits are appended instead of replaced, but says it has not been built. BB84’s documentation goes further than the post, stating that commit and reveal mean a sequencer cannot steal a withdrawal.
A wallet that must not lose count
Because each chain has a fixed number of steps, the wallet has to renew it on the very last one by including a new commitment in that final payment. If it misses that step, the address is dead. Keeping count is just as important: Hadamard says the app and the chain fell out of sync in production, so wallets must be able to resynchronize from chain data.
The secrets still need protecting like keys. The CLI warns that its wallet file stores spend keys unencrypted and lists encryption as a roadmap item. Removing signatures changes how spending is authorized, not the need to keep secrets safe.
Getting money out means trusting the operator
BB84 has no fault proofs. A permissioned proposer posts the network’s state to Ethereum through a custom dispute game that resolves immediately, and with no proof system, Hadamard writes that by L2BEAT’s framework the chain “would not even be Stage 0.” Withdrawals therefore trust the proposer. The documentation still describes withdrawals as following the OP Stack fault-proof flow with a seven-day maturity delay, but as Optimism’s explainer sets out, fault proofs exist so wrong state can be challenged, and here nothing can be challenged during that wait. The sequencer is also run by BB84.
Stage
What the user trusts
Deposit from Ethereum
An ordinary ECDSA wallet and the bridge contract
Payment on BB84
The hash-chain secret, the commit rule and BB84’s sequencer
Standard withdrawal, 7 days or more
The permissioned proposer
Merchant fast withdrawal, 2 hours
The proposer plus a registry operator
What would change the picture
The post ends with questions that reach beyond one chain. The biggest is whether hash-chain accounts could become an EIP-7702-style or native account-abstraction validation mode on general-purpose layer-2 networks, which would make the idea available without moving to a dedicated chain.
Fault proofs: Hadamard says the extra checks are simple enough to prove with Optimism’s existing Cannon tooling.
A safer commit rule: the append-only design would close both the griefing and sequencer gaps.
A full paper: a longer write-up with the complete rules is being prepared for arXiv.
Ethereum’s wider migration: its quantum roadmap also covers validator signatures, data commitments and proof systems.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Experimental networks carry technical and custody risks.
Author
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets.
His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream.
He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets.
Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines.
During his career, he has authored more than 5,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
Americké spotové ETF na bitcoin zaznamenaly v pátek čistý odliv prostředků ve výši 137,9 milionu USD, zejména kvůli odlivu 110,3 milionu USD z fondu IBIT společnosti BlackRock.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States saw outflows totaling $137.9 million on Friday, October 23, according to Farside Investors. The withdrawals marked the second consecutive session of net redemptions from Bitcoin funds, with BlackRock’s IBIT recording the largest single-day loss.
Major Bitcoin ETF Redemptions Led by IBIT and FBTCBlackRock’s IBIT experienced net outflows of $110.3 million, representing the day’s largest withdrawal among Bitcoin funds. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $31.8 million in redemptions, bringing combined outflows from these two largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs to $142.1 million—exceeding the total net outflow for the day.
Morgan Stanley’s MSBT was the only U.S. Bitcoin ETF to post inflows, attracting $4.2 million in new deposits. All other major funds, including BITB, ARKB, BTCO, EZBC, BRRR, BTCW, GBTC, and BTC, registered no flows during the session, according to updated figures from Farside Investors.
Net flow figures aggregate new deposits and withdrawals across all listed ETFs. Since IBIT and FBTC hold the largest pool of spot Bitcoin ETF assets in the United States, their daily changes have a significant influence on the overall market balance. A single substantial redemption from either fund often has a larger impact than smaller inflows elsewhere, as illustrated by Friday’s data.
Weekly Trends Show Volatility Despite Net InflowsFarside’s flow records, which track movement since early October, detail sharp daily fluctuations. On October 19, Bitcoin ETFs took in $526.7 million, standing in stark contrast to the subsequent heavy outflows that persisted into October 22 and the following Friday.
Despite these sizable withdrawals, net flows for Bitcoin ETFs remained positive for the week, helped mainly by the strong inflow recorded on October 19. This pattern reflects previous trading periods when the price stabilized around $81,700 following notable ETF outflows totaling $635 million.
Technical analysis continues to play a key role for traders in volatile conditions. One analyst, Killa, compared the present setup to the trends seen in 2023, noting that Bitcoin had broken above its trading range and made a new weekly high. He suggested the market could now seek a higher low above the $74,000 level. However, he acknowledged this view is based on price action and not ETF flow data.
Killa described current market conditions as “very much bullish,” emphasizing that his perspective focuses on price structure rather than fund flows shaping the trend.
In fast-moving digital asset markets, monitoring technical patterns is as important as tracking fund flows. For meme tokens in particular, this level of attention can carry significant rewards. An example from Fomo App data showed that a trade involving the “Niu Lai” token turned a $99 investment into approximately $370,000. The app integrates token discovery and social features, making it easier to spot trending assets and follow top investor activity in this rapidly shifting segment.
Ether ETFs Steady Amid Recent VolatilitySpot Ether ETFs collectively posted net inflows of $4.4 million on Friday. Fidelity’s FETH led activity with a $3.6 million deposit, while Morgan Stanley’s MSSE registered $0.8 million. Other funds finished the session flat, with no net flows reported.
The day’s positive movement in Ether ETFs was modest relative to the sharp outflows recorded earlier in the week. Ether funds experienced withdrawals of about $110 million on October 22, with total losses reaching nearly $225 million between October 19 and 22. Friday’s smaller inflow offset only a minor part of these losses.
Analysts viewed the renewed inflow as a temporary pause rather than a full reversal of the withdrawal trend. For now, redemptions slowed, providing a brief break from recent selling pressure.
Analyst Joep Gerla indicated that Ether may sweep liquidity down toward the $2,200 level before attempting a recovery, suggesting a potential for continued short-term price volatility.
Spoluzakladatel Etherea Joseph Lubin očekává propojení AI a kryptoměn, v němž decentralizované protokoly Etherea umožní agentům zadávat práci, ověřovat výstupy a vypořádávat platby on-chain.
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin has a thesis about artificial intelligence. It is smart, maybe even creative, but it cannot make anyone trust it.
Speaking on CNBC in an interview on October 7, 2026, Lubin argued that blockchains like Ethereum are what can fill that gap. In his view, AI and crypto will eventually merge into a single system where automated work gets commissioned, completed and paid for.
Creativity is cheap, trust is not
Lubin, who founded ConsenSys, split the value of AI into two buckets. On one side sits what AI might offer: creativity and expertise. On the other sits what it cannot produce on its own: trust.
Lubin’s argument is that blockchains solve exactly that problem. A public ledger records who asked for what, whether the job was delivered, and whether payment cleared, all without a middleman vouching for either side.
According to Lubin, decentralized protocols on Ethereum can provide the trusted framework for that kind of activity. That means AI agents could, in theory, hire other agents, verify the output and settle the bill on-chain.
Not a new idea for Lubin
He has previously hinted at a significant increase in autonomous on-chain activity driven by AI agents.
He has also predicted that Ethereum will evolve into a central settlement layer. The idea is that the network becomes less of a place where humans click buttons and more of a back office where software settles its accounts.
One recent initiative is EthSystems, a project backed by Lubin that aims to provide privacy technology for institutions on Ethereum. That matters because institutions tend to want the efficiency of a shared ledger without broadcasting every transaction to competitors.
Lubin also addressed the regulatory backdrop. He said clarity is expected from the SEC and CFTC, even as legislative efforts around crypto oversight have faced delays.
That is a notable distinction. He is pointing to agencies, not Congress, as the more likely near-term source of rules, which suggests the industry may get guidance through regulators before it gets new law.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Ethereum is stabilizing after a period of heightened volatility, with its price trading near $2,460.98, reflecting a rebound of 0.52% in the past 24 hours. The market’s attention has turned to several encouraging signals as ETH attempts to move out of correction territory and into a new phase of accumulation and potential recovery.
Short-term resistance and support levelsEthereum is rebounding from recent lows but still faces significant resistance overhead. Analysts have noted that the price continues to encounter selling pressure around $2,415, a level that has capped multiple previous rebound attempts on intraday charts. Despite these hurdles, support appears solid in the $2,370 to $2,380 range, where buyers previously stepped in following the most recent downturn.
Maintaining above this support region would help ETH build a more stable base, but a decisive move above $2,415 is needed to signal a material improvement in the short-term trend. Without such a breakout, the price may remain vulnerable to further downside retests. Should Ethereum overcome this resistance, attention is likely to shift back toward $2,500 and the next set of hurdles higher up.
Ethereum’s price has rebounded several times during the current correction, but converting resistance into confirmed support at $2,415 would be an important step in strengthening the short-term outlook.
Major whale rotates $155 million into ETHOn-chain data from Lookonchain indicates a large investor recently rotated approximately $159 million out of Bitcoin, selling nearly 1,918 BTC over 11 days, while acquiring about 64,545 ETH valued at around $155 million. This move places Ethereum at the center of large-holder accumulation, suggesting that institutional and large-scale investors are building positions amid current market weakness.
Such whale activity is often viewed as a signal of increased institutional interest, especially if the market is still searching for a recovery confirmation. The transaction amplifies demand-side momentum, reinforcing arguments for a possible trend reversal if resistance levels are reclaimed.
Mini dictionary: Lookonchain is a blockchain data analytics platform known for tracking large transactions and whale activity in the cryptocurrency markets. The service provides real-time insights into the movements of significant holders and institutional participants.
Shift in derivatives market: Longs build, shorts collapseEthereum’s derivatives market is also showing a shift in sentiment. Data from market trackers reveal a sharp reduction in ETH short positions, falling from over 14,000 to about 3,000. Simultaneously, long exposure has surged from below $100 million to about $365 million, suggesting that traders are increasingly betting on a bullish recovery as ETH stabilizes near $2,460.
MetricBeforeCurrentETH Short Positions14,000+~3,000ETH Long Exposure<$100 million$365 millionThis change places more pressure on Ethereum’s price to respond and break through resistance levels. The strong buildup in long positions and the reduction in shorts highlight growing conviction that the market could soon transition from base-building to renewed gains.
As traders increase long positions and reduce short exposure, optimism grows that ETH can build on its current base and advance toward higher levels if key resistance points are cleared.
Technical signals and long-term outlookShort-term technical indicators support the prospect for recovery. The 2-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) has cooled to 47, indicating room for price growth, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains negative but reset after previous overbought conditions. These factors suggest that ETH could stage another move higher if buying interest returns.
Longer-term, analysts describe the $2,270–$2,500 range as a key accumulation zone, where strong hands are accumulating positions despite short-term weakness. A trend reversal and close above $3,000 to $3,300 could indicate the start of a broader expansion phase, with some roadmaps targeting $8,800 as a future objective, and a distribution zone extending toward $11,500. However, these upside targets are dependent on ETH successfully establishing a stable base and reclaiming higher resistance levels in the weeks ahead.
Key levels and what to watch nextTraders are monitoring whether Ethereum can turn its current stabilization near $2,400 into a sustained recovery. A hold above this level could trigger interest in retesting $2,455 and $2,500, benchmarks where past rallies have faltered. If ETH moves above $2,500, momentum could improve and open the door to higher targets. Alternatively, if the $2,370–$2,400 band fails to hold, focus may shift to the next support near $2,345, signaling potential for further pullbacks before recovery resumes.
Austin Griffith ukázal, že boti během několika sekund zacílili na ethereum peněženku s privátním klíčem 6969; vklad 0,0004 ETH vybrali v následujícím bloku, za 12 sekund.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Austin Griffith put about $1 behind an easy-to-guess private key, and bots tried to take it within seconds.
Austin Griffith shows bots draining a wallet with a guessable private key
Posted October 23, 2026 at 8:35 pm ET.
Austin Griffith of the Ethereum Foundation put about $1 in an Ethereum wallet whose private key was the number 6969, and bots went after it almost at once. “As soon as the dollar landed, there were three transactions in the mempool pending trying to steal it,” Griffith said on Oct. 21 on Uneasy Money, the Unchained show he co-hosts.
A private key is the secret number that controls a wallet, so anyone who guesses it can move the funds. Griffith ran the test after a security failure at eMudhra, an Indian certificate authority. A disclosure site for the incident, set up by Mozilla’s Dennis Jackson, said the keys behind eight eMudhra intermediate certificates, created in April 2025, had been compromised, and researcher Scott Helme wrote that each was a number below 256, one of them 4. Firefox and Chrome blocked the certificates on Oct. 17, the day the problem was reported, and Microsoft followed on Oct. 20. On Oct. 22, after the episode was taped, eMudhra said it would leave the global SSL/TLS certificate business.
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What the Chain Shows
On-chain records reviewed by Unchained show that 0.0004 ETH, about $1, reached the address for key 6969 at 20:35 UTC on Oct. 21 in a deposit. A transaction signed with that same key moved it out in the next block, 12 seconds later, and spent most of the deposit on network fees. Transactions from three other addresses hit the wallet just after, and two of them failed. The deposit came from a wallet named slop.atg.eth, which was funded by austingriffith.eth.
Griffith also said “there’s not a number less than 256 that doesn’t already have a nonce,” the counter of transactions an address has sent. Unchained checked the addresses for all 255 such keys, 1 through 255, on Ethereum mainnet, and every one has sent transactions.
Testing Longer Keys
Before the result came in, Griffith guessed that bots would stop finding keys somewhere “between eight and 12” digits. Later in the episode, he said 10-digit keys were drained “right away,” while 12-digit keys had “not yet” been drained. He said he had also seeded a 14-digit key and a 16-digit key, “looking for someone to steal my dollar.”
Griffith did not name those keys, and Unchained could not independently check which ones he used. On-chain records show slop.atg.eth funded four more addresses about 14 minutes after the first deposit. One was emptied within 12 seconds, and three still held their funds as of Oct. 23, but the records do not show which key length each belongs to.
The hosts said they would check next week whether the 14- and 16-digit keys had been drained.
Related Listen: Uneasy Money: Is the Internet Breaking Because Bots Never Get Lazy?
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
Síť Initia zůstává po bezpečnostním incidentu pozastavená a termín obnovení provozu nebyl stanoven. Útočník podle spoluzakladatele Zona prostřednictvím chyby v MoveVM vytěžil a odcizil aktiva AUSD, ETH a USDC v hodnotě zhruba 2,7 milionu USD.
Co-founder Zon's preliminary read points to a MoveVM flaw, while D2 Finance traced the payouts to LayerZero adapters on Ethereum.
Initia's chain stays halted after an attacker minted and bridged out tokens
Posted October 23, 2026 at 10:35 pm ET.
Anyone holding assets on Initia is waiting on a restart. Initia’s layer 1 and its rollups have been offline since 11:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when the team cited a “security incident,” and it had not said when they would come back as of 5:52 p.m. ET. Initia said in the same notice that it was working “to establish the full scope of any impact with security teams, validators, and exchanges.”
Co-founder Zon pointed to Initia’s own software, citing preliminary findings. He wrote that it was “a Day 0 bug related to Initia’s MoveVM on CosmosSDK that allowed the exploiter to mint additional tokens on the Initia L1 but does not apply to native INIT tokens.” The attacker managed to “mint and bridge out ~$2.7m worth of AUSD, ETH, and USDC before the chain was paused,” he added.
Pseudonymous researcher Spreek flagged the attack at 11:27 a.m. ET, 14 minutes before the halt, estimating $2.6 million cashed out.
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How the Funds Left D2 Finance, which published a breakdown of the transactions, said one transaction at 10:59 a.m. ET minted 2 million AUSD on the Initia side. By D2’s account, those unbacked tokens were burned and sent over LayerZero to Ethereum, where OFT adapters, lockbox contracts holding the real tokens behind Initia’s bridged versions, paid out. D2 wrote that “an OFT adapter cannot check whether burned tokens were ever backed.”
D2 said the attacker pulled 1.4 million AUSD, 71% of the AUSD adapter’s holdings, leaving about 576,000, plus 105 ETH, 96% of the native-ETH adapter. Another 1.08 million USDC arrived as new mints through Circle’s CCTP. In D2’s telling, $2.65 million had reached Ethereum within seven minutes and 21 seconds of the mint.
Agora Says AUSD Is Unaffected Agora, which issues AUSD, said at 12:57 p.m. ET that it “has no smart contracts deployed on Initia.” At 2:26 p.m. ET it added that “AUSD does not exist on Initia,” and that “AUSD is fully backed.” Agora’s statements indicate the token minted on Initia was a bridged representation rather than AUSD itself. D2 said the AUSD that left came from an Ethereum lockbox adapter backing that bridged token.
Onchain records show the 1.4 million AUSD sat in the attacker’s Ethereum address for about 84 seconds before it was traded away on the 1inch aggregator at 11:03 a.m. ET. Agora froze that address at 12:31 p.m. ET, roughly 89 minutes later and before its first statement, when the address held no AUSD.
The same address sent 1,135.5 ETH, which D2 valued at about $2.7 million, to a newly used wallet at 11:41 a.m. ET, the minute the halt took effect.
Initia’s own account has not confirmed Zon’s loss figure or published a post-mortem. It said it would post verified updates through its official channels.
Related Listen: Who’s to Blame for How KelpDAO’s DVN Was Set Up? KelpDAO or LayerZero?
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
Deflační výhoda Etherea slábne: za posledních 30 dní bylo spáleno ETH v objemu odpovídajícím jen 2,7 % nově vydaného ETH. Počet aktivních adres však vzrostl na 627 tisíc a čistý odliv ETH z burz činil 169 tisíc ETH.
Ethereum’s [ETH] deflationary edge over Bitcoin may be fading.
Since the merge, 55.4% of the newly issued ETH has been burned. However, this number has dropped significantly to only 2.7% over the last thirty days. In addition, ETH’s yearly supply growth has increased to 0.86%, which is almost Bitcoin’s 0.82%. That’s a sharp pullback in ETH burning, impacting its scarcity argument and potentially challenging the long-term bullish thesis versus BTC.
So, with ETH’s deflationary narrative being challenged, its next leg higher could increasingly rely on demand for Ethereum’s Layer 1 block space. As the chart below shows, gas prices have dropped from 2.76 Gwei to just 0.03 Gwei in two days, fueling the “Is ETH the new SOL?” debate. But cheaper prices are not always good, as they can also signal weaker demand for the block space.
Source: EtherScan Notably, this is where a key on-chain metric comes into play.
According to CryptoQuant data, Ethereum Velocity is at 11.03, implying that ETH is circulated actively on the blockchain. Moreover, the number of active addresses has hit 627k, suggesting growing adoption. And if the demand is sustained on a declining gas fee, the cost to transact on ETH will remain cheap despite active use.
In this context, declining gas fees could be a bullish sign, which brings ETH/BTC back to the forefront. While Ethereum’s deflationary edge is being eroded, strong Layer 1 activity could offset it. The important question is whether ongoing on-chain demand will catalyze a rebound in ETH/BTC. In turn, translate into a stronger relative performance against Bitcoin [BTC].
Ethereum’s bullish positioning raises hopes of BTC outperformance The divergence between ETH’s technical and fundamental setup is growing interesting.
While the overall whale activity seems to be cooling, the Bitfinex whales’ ETH long positions are rising sharply, suggesting smart money is positioning for further upside. Meanwhile, ETH/BTC is also showing a pattern similar to its pre-altseason setup in 2021, forming higher highs and retesting its trendline.
On-chain data adds another bullish sign. According to Santiment, about 169k ETH left exchanges on a net basis. This marked the largest daily outflow in more than four months. A similar development occurred on the 5th of June when roughly 223,800 ETH left exchanges as ETH reached its lowest price since the beginning of April 2025, only to climb rapidly in the following days.
Source: Santiment Taken together, strong network activity, rising whale longs, and a significant ETH exchange outflow make up Ethereum’s bullish case. Should ETH/BTC follow the same pattern as it did in 2021 ahead of the altseason, another breakout could be on the way.
The logic is simple: While Ethereum’s advantage over Bitcoin in terms of deflationary properties has weakened, an increase in layer 1 demand, rising whale longs, and ongoing exchange outflows may create conditions for a supply squeeze. Taken together, these factors suggest ETH could be building momentum for a potential breakout against BTC once the market turns back to risk-on.
Final Summary Rising Ethereum activity could support ETH’s recovery against BTC.
Whale longs and ETH outflows could help Ethereum outperform Bitcoin when market sentiment improves.
Analýza varuje, že mechanismus inactivity leak v síti Ethereum PoS mohou koordinovaní byzantští validátoři zneužít k finalizaci konfliktních řetězců a k překročení kritické třetinové hranice hlasovací síly.
In May 2023, the Ethereum blockchain faced its first inactivity leak, a mechanism designed to restore chain finalization amid prolonged network disruptions. This feature aims to reduce the voting power of validators who become unreachable, redistributing their power to active validators. Our investigation delves into the safety implications of this inactivity leak within the Ethereum blockchain. Through theoretical analysis, we explore how Byzantine validators might expedite the finalization of conflicting branches or reach a voting power exceeding the critical safety threshold of one-third. Additionally, we revisit the probabilistic bouncing attack, demonstrating how the inactivity leak might allow Byzantine validators to breach safety thresholds. This article uncovers how penalizing inactive nodes can undermine blockchain properties, especially when Byzantine validators can coordinate their actions.
I. Overview
Background
In September 2022, Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol. This change aimed to improve energy efficiency and scalability. The Ethereum PoS protocol is unique due to its hybrid nature, combining elements of classical Byzantine Fault-Tolerant (BFT) Consensus with the Nakamoto-style blockchain framework. In BFT blockchains, validators explicitly vote on block proposals, ensuring that once a block is added, it remains permanently incorporated. In contrast, Nakamoto-style blockchains allow forks but eventually reconcile to a single chain.
Motivation
The motivation behind this study stems from Ethereum's introduction of the inactivity leak, a penalty mechanism designed to address prolonged network disruptions. When validators become unreachable, their voting power is reduced and redistributed to active validators. While this mechanism aims to restore chain finalization and maintain liveness during network partitions, it raises significant concerns about its impact on the blockchain's safety. Specifically, the potential for Byzantine validators to exploit the inactivity leak to expedite the finalization of conflicting branches or gain a voting power exceeding the critical safety threshold of one-third necessitates a thorough investigation.
Contributions
This article is mainly based on the many sources, one of our main contents came from Byzantine Attacks Exploiting Penalties in Ethereum PoS from authors: Ulysse Pavloff, Yackolley Amoussou-Genou, Sara Tucci-Piergiovanni
This paper makes several key contributions:
Formal Analysis of the Inactivity Leak: They provide the first formal description of the inactivity leak, detailing its operational mechanics and its intended purpose within the Ethereum PoS protocol.
Impact on Safety: Our analysis explores various configurations and scenarios to understand how the inactivity leak influences the safety of the Ethereum blockchain, particularly under the influence of Byzantine validators.
Revisiting Known Attacks: We reexamine the probabilistic bouncing attack in the context of the inactivity leak, demonstrating how this attack can be leveraged to probabilistically breach safety thresholds.
Theoretical and Practical Insights: The findings offer valuable insights for both theoretical research and practical implementations of penalty mechanisms in PoS blockchains.
Organization of the Paper
The paper is structured to provide a comprehensive exploration of the inactivity leak and its implications. The organization is as follows:
Introduction: An overview of the motivation, contributions, and structure of the paper.
System Model and Ethereum Protocol: A detailed description of the Ethereum PoS protocol, including its safety and liveness trade-offs, Byzantine fault tolerance, and the inactivity leak mechanism.
Analysis of Safety Loss Scenarios: An in-depth analysis of scenarios where safety might be compromised, including conflicting finalization with honest validators and coordinated Byzantine attacks.
Revisiting the Probabilistic Bouncing Attack: A thorough reexamination of the probabilistic bouncing attack, assessing its impact in the presence of the inactivity leak and presenting simulation results.
Future Work: A discussion of the implications of our findings for Ethereum and other PoS blockchains, along with directions for future research.
Conclusions: A summary of our findings, emphasizing the importance of refining penalty mechanisms to ensure blockchain safety and stability.
II. System Model and Ethereum Protocol
Ethereum PoS Protocol Overview
Ethereum's shift to proof-of-stake (PoS) in September 2022 was a landmark event, transitioning from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) to a more sustainable and scalable consensus mechanism. The Ethereum PoS protocol combines elements of classical Byzantine Fault-Tolerant (BFT) Consensus with the Nakamoto-style blockchain, creating a hybrid model. In this system, validators are selected based on their stake to propose and validate new blocks, aiming to achieve consensus through voting. The protocol leverages a fork-choice rule to determine the canonical chain from a tree-like structure of blocks, ensuring that the blockchain can adapt and reconcile forks to maintain a single chain.
Safety and Liveness Trade-offs
In the context of blockchain protocols, safety and liveness are critical properties that need to be balanced. Safety ensures that the blockchain does not fork, meaning that once a block is finalized, it cannot be revoked. Liveness, on the other hand, ensures that the blockchain continues to grow and accept new transactions.
BFT Consensus: BFT blockchains achieve safety by using super-majority quorums to finalize blocks, preventing forks but potentially halting growth during network partitions or failures. This trade-off means that while the blockchain is safe, it may not always be live.
Nakamoto-style Blockchains: These blockchains are designed to remain live even during network disruptions, as they allow for the existence of multiple forks. Eventually, they reconcile to a single chain, but this means they can experience temporary forks, which poses a challenge to safety.
Ethereum PoS: Ethereum PoS aims to balance these trade-offs by maintaining a finalized chain alongside a forkable chain. The finalized chain is protected by BFT mechanisms, ensuring safety, while the forkable chain continues to grow, ensuring liveness.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) is a critical aspect of blockchain security, ensuring that the protocol can withstand malicious actions by up to one-third of the validators. In BFT systems, validators vote on proposed blocks, and a block is only considered finalized if it receives votes from a super-majority of validators. This mechanism ensures that even if some validators act maliciously or become unreachable, the blockchain can still achieve consensus and finalize blocks.
Inactivity Leak Mechanism
Definition and Purpose
The inactivity leak is a penalty mechanism introduced to handle scenarios where validators become inactive or unreachable due to network disruptions. When validators fail to participate in the consensus process for an extended period, their stake and voting power are gradually reduced. This reduction is intended to reallocate voting power to active validators, thereby restoring the blockchain's ability to achieve finalization and maintain liveness.
Impact on Voting Power
The inactivity leak directly affects the distribution of voting power among validators. By penalizing inactive validators, the mechanism ensures that the remaining active validators have increased influence in the consensus process. This reallocation is crucial for restoring liveness during network partitions, as it allows the blockchain to continue finalizing blocks despite the absence of some validators. However, this mechanism also introduces potential risks, particularly if Byzantine validators can exploit it to gain a disproportionate amount of voting power.
Restoring Liveness: During network partitions or disruptions, the inactivity leak helps maintain liveness by reducing the influence of inactive validators and empowering active ones to continue finalizing blocks.
Risks to Safety: The redistribution of voting power can create scenarios where Byzantine validators, through coordinated actions, may exploit the inactivity leak to increase their influence. This can lead to safety breaches, such as the finalization of conflicting chains or exceeding the critical one-third threshold of Byzantine voting power.
Ethereum's Unique Hybrid Model
Ethereum PoS's hybrid model of maintaining a finalized and non-finalized chain within a single data structure aims to offer the best of both BFT and Nakamoto-style blockchains. The finalized chain guarantees safety, ensuring that once a block is finalized, it remains unaltered. The non-finalized chain allows for continued growth and transaction processing, ensuring liveness even during adverse network conditions.
The Ethereum PoS protocol's innovative combination of BFT and Nakamoto-style elements, along with the introduction of the inactivity leak, represents a significant advancement in blockchain technology. However, this complexity also introduces new challenges, particularly regarding the balance between safety and liveness and the potential exploitation by Byzantine validators. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for ensuring the robustness and security of the Ethereum blockchain.
III. Analysis of Safety Loss Scenarios
Conflicting Finalization with Honest Validators
Network Partitions and CAP Theorem
Network partitions can disrupt the Ethereum blockchain's operation, potentially leading to conflicting finalization of blocks. The CAP theorem, which states that a distributed system can only achieve two out of three properties—consistency, availability, and partition tolerance—underlines the challenge of maintaining both safety and liveness during network partitions. In Ethereum PoS, this means that while efforts are made to maintain liveness by allowing the chain to continue growing, safety can be compromised if different parts of the network finalize conflicting blocks independently.
Independent Finalization on Different Chains
During network partitions, validators in different network segments may finalize different blocks independently. This situation arises when validators in one partition finalize one set of blocks, while validators in another partition finalize a different set. As a result, the blockchain can face conflicting finalization, where multiple chains claim to be the valid continuation of the blockchain. This scenario challenges the blockchain's safety guarantees, as transactions on conflicting branches may lead to inconsistencies and potential double-spending.
Byzantine validators can exploit network partitions and the inactivity leak to accelerate conflicting finalization intentionally. In scenarios where Byzantine validators strategically coordinate their actions, they can exploit the reduced influence of honest validators (due to network partitions or penalties from the inactivity leak) to finalize conflicting blocks quickly. This coordinated action undermines the blockchain's safety guarantees, as it introduces uncertainty about the true state of the blockchain.
Breaching the Safety Threshold
Another significant risk arises when Byzantine validators coordinate to exceed the critical one-third threshold of voting power. In Ethereum PoS, maintaining safety relies on ensuring that less than one-third of validators are Byzantine. However, if Byzantine validators can increase their influence through strategic actions during network disruptions or by exploiting the inactivity leak, they may collectively control more than one-third of the voting power. This breach of the safety threshold can lead to irreversible decisions and compromises the integrity of the blockchain.
IV. Revisiting the Probabilistic Bouncing Attack
Original Attack Description
The probabilistic bouncing attack is a known strategy in blockchain environments, particularly relevant in proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols like Ethereum. This attack exploits periods of network uncertainty or synchronization to delay block finalization intentionally. Validators participating in the consensus process strategically withhold their votes or propose conflicting blocks, leading to prolonged ambiguity about which chain should be considered the canonical one. By introducing delays in the finalization process, the attack undermines the blockchain's liveness guarantees, as transactions may remain pending or reversible for extended periods.
sources: arxiv.org
Impact of the Inactivity Leak
The introduction of the inactivity leak mechanism amplifies the effectiveness of the probabilistic bouncing attack. This penalty mechanism penalizes validators who become inactive due to network disruptions or strategic inactivity. As inactive validators lose stake and voting power over time, active validators gain a disproportionate influence in the consensus process. This redistribution of voting power alters the dynamics of the blockchain's security model, potentially creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit.
In the context of the probabilistic bouncing attack, the inactivity leak exacerbates the impact during periods of network synchrony. Byzantine validators can strategically become inactive to avoid penalties and then coordinate attacks when network conditions are favorable. By delaying finalization through strategic inactivity and subsequent coordinated actions, malicious validators can prolong uncertainty about the blockchain's state, further compromising its liveness and integrity.
Conditions for Safety Threshold Breach
Our analysis identifies specific conditions under which the probabilistic bouncing attack, augmented by the inactivity leak, can breach the safety threshold of Ethereum PoS. These conditions include prolonged network partitions, strategic coordination among Byzantine validators to exploit penalties, and the operational mechanics of the inactivity leak itself. The combination of these factors creates a scenario where Byzantine validators can probabilistically control the blockchain's decision-making process, potentially leading to irreversible decisions or conflicting finalizations.
Simulation Results and Discussion
Simulation studies provide empirical evidence of how the probabilistic bouncing attack, enhanced by the inactivity leak, impacts Ethereum's safety and liveness properties. By modeling various attack scenarios and network conditions, we illustrate the potential vulnerabilities introduced by the inactivity leak and the strategies employed by Byzantine validators to exploit them. Discussions delve into the implications of these findings for blockchain security and propose strategies for mitigating the risks posed by such attacks.
source: arxiv.org
V. Future Work
Summary of Findings
Our study has highlighted significant vulnerabilities in Ethereum's proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol, particularly concerning the probabilistic bouncing attack and the inactivity leak mechanism. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing blockchain security while maintaining robustness in consensus mechanisms. We have identified critical areas where future research and development efforts can focus to address these challenges effectively.
Implications for Ethereum and Other PoS Blockchains
The implications extend beyond Ethereum to other PoS blockchains that utilize penalty mechanisms and face similar security challenges. Understanding these vulnerabilities provides a foundation for improving the design and implementation of future blockchain protocols. Key implications include:
Security Enhancements: Develop more resilient penalty mechanisms that mitigate the risks posed by Byzantine attacks and strategic network disruptions.
Consensus Protocol Optimization: Refine consensus algorithms to improve their ability to handle network partitions and maintain safety and liveness guarantees simultaneously.
Governance and Protocol Design: Implement governance structures that can adapt dynamically to emerging threats and vulnerabilities, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation of blockchain protocols.
Directions for Future Research
Future research efforts should prioritize the following areas to advance blockchain security and resilience:
Enhanced Penalty Mechanisms: Investigate novel penalty mechanisms that discourage malicious behavior while incentivizing active participation and network stability.
Dynamic Governance Models: Explore governance frameworks that enable swift responses to security threats, including protocol upgrades and adjustments to consensus rules.
Formal Verification and Security Audits: Conduct rigorous formal verification and security audits of blockchain protocols to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities before deployment.
Cross-Chain Interoperability: Address interoperability challenges between different PoS blockchains to foster collaboration and enhance overall blockchain ecosystem resilience.
Related Work and References
Our study builds upon existing research in Ethereum PoS, Byzantine fault tolerance, and consensus algorithm design. Further exploration into related work can provide deeper insights and inspire innovative solutions to address current and future challenges in blockchain security.
Conclusion
Our exploration of the probabilistic bouncing attack and the inactivity leak in Ethereum PoS has underscored critical vulnerabilities that require immediate attention. By focusing on enhancing security mechanisms, optimizing consensus protocols, and fostering collaborative research, the blockchain community can strengthen the resilience of PoS blockchains against malicious actors and network disruptions. Through these efforts, we aim to contribute to the evolution of blockchain technologies towards more secure, efficient, and trustworthy decentralized systems.
Arthur Hayes uzavřel celý účet Maelstromu pro směrové obchody a prodal ETH, ENA, UNI i další altcoiny v hodnotě zhruba 22,28 milionu USD kvůli makroekonomické a geopolitické nejistotě.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom Fund, has exited his entire directional trading book.
On October 24, 2026, he confirmed the move on X, selling Ethereum (ETH), Ethena (ENA), Uniswap (UNI), and other altcoins worth roughly $22.28 million.
The exit signals a sharp defensive pivot amid rising macro and geopolitical uncertainty.
Hayes Closes the Book: What He Sold and Why In his own words on X, Arthur Hayes wrote: “I dumped it all. The Maelstrom directional book, took profits on $ETH, $ENA, $UNI and other shitcoins. I think we gotta go down to go up. It looks a bit dicey out there in macro and geopolitical land. Going to sit on the sidelines and wait for the all clear signal … Brrrrr.”
On-chain data from Lookonchain confirmed the scale of the exit. The sales included 6,400 ETH worth approximately $15.2 million.
Hayes also offloaded 14 million ENA (~$2.76M) and 323,000 UNI (~$2.24M). Smaller positions in ETHFI, AERO, PENDLE, and ZAMA were also closed.
The timing is striking. Just weeks ago, Hayes predicted Ethereum could reach $10K alongside massive ENA and ETHFI gains. That bullish stance is now paused. Hayes is not abandoning his long-term thesis, he is managing short-term risk.
The broader market context supports his caution. Multiple factors have been dragging crypto prices lower this week, including hawkish Fed signals, ETF outflows, and risk-off sentiment across tech and AI names. Geopolitical tensions have added another layer of uncertainty.
A Tactical Retreat, Not a Change of Heart This is not the first time Arthur Hayes has stepped back from altcoin exposure during uncertain periods.
He previously flagged crypto’s ‘no-trade zone’ and outlined his Bitcoin, Gold, and Hyperliquid outlook. That cautious streak is now showing up in his portfolio.
Earlier this year, a wallet linked to Hayes bought $5.4M in ETH following the US-Iran deal. That aggressive accumulation has now been reversed.
The pattern is consistent: Hayes cycles between deep alt exposure and full cash when macro conditions deteriorate.
His long-term structural view remains intact. Hayes has doubled down on Bitcoin reaching $1 million and laid out a potential timeline.
The current cash position is a tactical pause, not a permanent exit from crypto markets. For ENA specifically, Standard Chartered has separately forecast ENA reaching $2 by 2028.
The longer-term narrative around Ethena remains, even as Hayes steps aside in the near term. It is also worth noting that Hayes sold his entire Hyperliquid position earlier this year, sending HYPE down 4%.
That precedent shows that his sell announcements carry real market weight. ETH, ENA, and UNI could face near-term selling pressure as the market digests this exit.
Arthur Hayes said he is waiting for the ‘all clear signal’ before re-entering. Until then, Maelstrom sits in cash, and the market will be watching closely for his next move.
Spotové ETF na ether zaznamenaly v říjnu čistý odliv 1,2 miliardy USD, nejvyšší v letošním roce. BitMine drží 6,04 milionu ETH a blíží se hranici 5 % celkové nabídky.
Spot ether ETFs have lost $1.2 billion in October and Bitmine is weeks from its 5% cap, leaving ETF flows to decide who absorbs ether’s new supply into year-end.
Ether's spot ETF buyers and its largest corporate holder are both pulling back in October.
Posted October 23, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET.
Ether’s (ETH) demand this year has largely come from two places: spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the company building an ether treasury. In October, both are pulling back at once.
No month this year has seen spot ether ETFs lose as much as October, with $1.2 billion in net outflows so far. Investors pulled money on all but two trading days through Oct. 22.
Bitmine, meanwhile, is about 66,000 ETH short of its goal of owning 5% of all ether, by our count from its latest holdings update. At the company’s current pace, it hits its target late next month.
Ether bulls often parse their outlooks through adoption headlines, like JPMorgan bringing its deposit token to Ethereum this week. Adoption builds the network, but it only lifts the price when someone buys the coin. Presently, the question is who absorbs the roughly 20,000 new ETH the network issues every week once Bitmine stops.
This issue of Bits + Bips measures how much of that supply Bitmine has been taking, why no other ether treasury can take over, and what ETF flows would need to look like for ether to hold up into year-end.
Spot ether ETFs swung from $2.7 billion of net inflows in August and September to $1.2 billion of net outflows in October through Oct. 22. Source: SoSoValue; Farside. Bitmine’s Buying Has Already Slowed Bitmine is finishing its accumulation at a fraction of the pace it started with. The company has bought ether every week since June 30, 2025. In April and May it bought more than 100,000 ETH in a single week four times. In each of the last two weeks it bought about 12,500.
It now holds 6.04 million ETH, or 4.9% of Ethereum‘s circulating token supply, and its cash has fallen by about $30 million a week with no new capital raise in its last three updates.
“We’re done stacking,” Bitmine Chair Tom Lee said earlier this month in a message to investors.
Bitmine’s 5% ether target is “a hard cap,” Lee said at the Token2049 conference, adding, “We’re not gonna be accumulating past 5%.”
One caveat on timing: 5% of ether’s supply is a moving target. Supply grows by about 87,000 ETH a month, so the finish line moves out by roughly 4,300 ETH a month, by our count.
Additionally, Ethereum’s issuance is subject to change, and not fixed at roughly 20,000 new ETH per week. The network uses a fee-burning mechanism that dynamically adjusts to user demand. At times of high use, like in 2023, this mechanism burns more tokens than are created to pay the validators that secure the network, actually turning Ethereum’s token economy deflationary. That said, ether token inflation has stayed relatively stable this year, in part due to a migration of user activity onto Layer-2 networks, which has left mainnet gas fees too low to burn off the newly issued coins.
ETF Money Moves in Billions The ETFs have been the larger and less predictable buyer this year. Net inflows reached $1.85 billion in August and another $832 million in September, then reversed in October.
The funds now hold roughly 6.2 million ETH, about the same as Bitmine, from their combined net assets of $14.6 billion. However, the two buyers move at very different speeds. October’s outflows have averaged about $357 million a week. Bitmine’s recent purchases come to about $30 million a week at its own reported prices. The ETF swing is about 12 times larger.
In the rest of the issue, subscribers get:
How much of ether’s new supply Bitmine has been absorbing, and why part of the hand-off has already happened Why no other ether treasury can step in, judged by what their shares trade at against their coins What is driving October’s ETF outflows The weekly ETF number that would cover ether’s new supply after Bitmine stops, plus bull, base and bear ranges for ETH into year-end Already a subscriber? Keep reading.
Why serious investors subscribe:
Clear thinking during macro regime changes
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Sentora zjistila, že JPM Coin (JPMD) od spuštění na Ethereu nevydal žádné tokeny ani nezaznamenal žádné převody; ověřený kontrakt obsahuje pouze jednu povolenou adresu.
JPMorgan’s JPM Coin has recorded zero supply and zero transfers on Ethereum in a contract review by Sentora, days after the bank announced the deposit token’s arrival on the network.
Summary
Sentora reported zero JPM Coin supply and transfers on Ethereum, with one allowlisted address.
JPM Coin’s Base supply remained near $1 million across two addresses, according to Sentora.
JLTXX recorded $400 million in Ethereum redemptions as its Solana deployment reached $450 million.
Sentora found no live on-chain integration connecting JPM Coin with JPMorgan’s funds or DeFi protocols.
Sentora said its review found exactly one allowlisted address in the verified Ethereum contract, while the token’s Base deployment held roughly $1 million across two addresses, unchanged since November 2025.
The research firm’s findings cover the deposit token and separate movements in J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s tokenized liquidity fund. Its briefing reported $400 million in JLTXX redemptions on Ethereum across Oct. 21–22, alongside a rise in the fund’s Solana deployment from near zero to $450 million.
Sentora attributed those figures to its contract-level analysis. The timing does not establish that the same investors redeemed on Ethereum and subscribed on Solana, and the briefing did not identify transactions connecting the two movements.
JPM Coin’s Ethereum contract shows no supply in Sentora’s review
JPMorgan brought JPM Coin, which carries the ticker JPMD, to Ethereum for approved institutional clients on Oct. 19. As crypto.news previously reported, the bank’s Ethereum deposit token launch followed its November 2025 rollout on Base.
The deposit token represents U.S. dollar deposits held at JPMorgan. The launch coverage described institutional payments, securities settlement, and collateral payments as intended uses, with access restricted to approved customers despite the use of a public blockchain.
Sentora’s subsequent review reported no issued supply or transfers in the Ethereum contract it examined. Its Base findings described an unchanged supply balance, with holdings concentrated in two addresses.
An unchanged supply figure does not, by itself, establish whether transfers occurred during that period. Sentora’s briefing expressly reported zero transfers for Ethereum but did not provide an equivalent historical transfer count for Base.
The firm further said it had found no live on-chain integration between JPM Coin and the bank’s money market funds or decentralized finance protocols. Its statement concerned the integrations visible in its review, without documenting every potential institutional arrangement.
JLTXX records $400 million in Ethereum redemptions
Sentora reported that JLTXX’s Ethereum deployment recorded $400 million in redemptions across Oct. 21–22. Over the same period, its briefing placed the Solana deployment at $450 million after starting near zero.
The figures describe different measures across two networks. One is a redemption total, while the other is the reported size of a deployment after its growth. They do not establish an exact dollar-for-dollar migration.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced on Oct. 22 that JLTXX and its My OnChain Net Yield Fund, known as MONY, were available to qualified U.S. investors on Solana. Investors can access the two tokenized funds through Morgan Money, which handles subscriptions and redemptions and delivers token balances to blockchain addresses.
“Our clients operate across more than one network, and their liquidity should too,” said Paul Przybylski, the asset manager’s global head of product, digital and tokenized assets.
The company’s announcement identifies JLTXX as a U.S. registered government money market fund designed to support stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. MONY is a separate private placement fund launched in December 2025. The release does not disclose assets held on Solana for either product.
JPMorgan’s fund documents retain investor and ownership controls
JPMorgan’s MONY FAQ lists a $1 million initial investment minimum and fees of 16 basis points. The document describes a British Virgin Islands private placement vehicle, with access subject to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer checks.
The FAQ says MONY invests in U.S. Treasury securities and Treasury-backed repurchase agreements, seeking a stable net asset value of $1 per share. Although its guidelines follow those applicable to government money market funds, the private vehicle is not subject to Rule 2a-7.
JPMorgan identifies SS&C as MONY’s transfer agent and says the official shareholder records remain off-chain. Investors need their own blockchain addresses to hold tokens, while peer-to-peer transfers are restricted to clients.
The Oct. 22 launch announcement warns that investments in the funds are not bank accounts and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. JPMorgan says the funds seek to preserve a $1 share value but cannot guarantee it.
BNY completes tokenized Treasury financing with Citadel Securities
A separate institutional transaction involved BNY’s tokenized Treasury repo deal with Citadel Securities, announced on Oct. 13.
BNY said Citadel Securities purchased a two-year U.S. Treasury note through the bank on Tradeweb. A tokenized representation of the security settled within minutes on BNY’s private digital ledger before Citadel Securities pledged it as collateral in an overnight triparty repurchase agreement.
BNY supplied cash against the security and described the transaction as the first use of tokenized assets on a major triparty repo platform. Its announcement documented trade execution, settlement and financing within the same workflow.
The bank said it plans to introduce further digital cash and tokenized deposit services. BNY expects to expand operating hours for its traditional settlement platforms covering Fed-eligible securities and U.S. triparty transactions into European and Asian trading hours next year.
Raný investor do Etherea převedl 3 000 ETH v hodnotě přibližně 7,23 milionu USD na Kraken; oproti nákupní ceně 18,83 USD za ETH to představuje odhadované 128násobné zhodnocení.
An early Ethereum investor has moved 3,000 ETH, valued at approximately $7.23 million, to crypto exchange Kraken. According to onchain data tracked by analytics platform Lookonchain, the transfer took place on Friday. The wallet in question acquired the ETH about nine years ago at an average price of $18.83 per token, booking an estimated 128-fold profit on the original purchase price.
Major profit for early Ethereum adopterOnchain monitoring revealed that the investor’s wallet, identified as 0xa4c2CA8d5A6f488604cA417C0aaCe8E2621F02D0 and tagged by crypto intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence, received the initial ETH funds from a Gemini hot wallet and an additional address between 2015 and 2016.
Lookonchain reported that the 3,000 ETH transfer to Kraken signals the possible liquidation of the holdings. While deposits to exchanges often precede sales, there is no public order data confirming that the entire stack was sold in a single transaction or at one price. Nonetheless, assuming a current ETH price near $2,410, the investor’s $56,500 original cost would have appreciated to over $7.2 million.
The 3,000 ETH transferred to Kraken can be traced back to purchases made nine years ago, representing a significant return on investment for the early adopter based on today’s ETH price.
Mini dictionary: Arkham Intelligence is a blockchain analytics company specializing in tracking and labeling crypto wallets to provide transparency and risk assessment for market participants.
Ethereum price steadies despite large holder’s exitDespite the sizable transfer, ETH’s market price held steady. CoinMarketCap data showed Ethereum trading at $2,405.81, up 1.27% in the last 24 hours. Analysts noted that recent gains have been supported by modest capital rotation into alternative cryptocurrencies, while Bitcoin’s market dominance eased during the same period.
No direct evidence suggests that the early investor’s transfer affected market prices. Ethereum continued to trade in a narrow range through the session, with the broader crypto market displaying similar stability. The current movement is seen as part of ongoing price consolidation, rather than a response to isolated large holder actions.
Ethereum demonstrates resilience as it remains within a consolidation range, even after a major early adopter moved 3,000 ETH to an exchange for potential sale.
Support and resistance levels draw trader focusMarket observers are closely watching key technical levels for Ethereum. According to analyst CryptoBusy, ETH is testing an ascending trendline with support between $2,350 and $2,480, following a recent decline from $2,700. If buyers maintain the $2,350 level, a recovery toward $2,500 is projected, with $2,800 identified as the next major resistance point.
On the downside, a decisive break below $2,350 could prompt further losses toward $2,200. CoinMarketCap notes a similar outlook, suggesting a support band at $2,350–$2,390. Across several analyst assessments, $2,350 has emerged as a critical line to monitor. These technical perspectives will likely shape near-term trading strategies.
Key LevelScenarioAction Point$2,350SupportBreak below signals possible drop to $2,200$2,480Support/ResistanceDefend for bounce toward $2,500/$2,800$2,800Major resistanceBreak above signals next upside targetMacro events may influence upcoming moves. CoinMarketCap identified the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting on October 27-28 as a relevant potential catalyst. Trader Daan Crypto Trades emphasized the importance of waiting for a clear resolution above or below this range before making directional bets, citing continued price congestion between $2,350 and $2,550.
While the early investor’s transfer drew attention, analysts suggest Ethereum’s immediate trajectory will depend on the defense or loss of key technical support, with broader macro triggers such as central bank policy potentially steering market direction in the coming days.
Spoluzakladatel BitMEX Arthur Hayes očekává, že HYPE bude zaostávat za ETH a ZEC kvůli rostoucí konkurenci mezi decentralizovanými burzami s perpetual futures.
Arthur Hayes expects HYPE to deliver weaker returns than Ethereum and Zcash from current levels. The view follows months of position changes, including his full exit from HYPE in June. HYPE is pulling back toward the moving average that has supported its entire 2026 rally. Ethereum’s deep discount to its record high is central to the Hayes argument. Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder who now serves as chief investment officer of crypto fund Maelstrom, said in an October 16 interview that Hyperliquid’s HYPE token could underperform Ethereum (ETH) and Zcash (ZEC), pointing to growing competition among decentralized perpetual futures exchanges, platforms where traders open leveraged bets on prices without an expiry date. A week later, HYPE trades near $78.26, about 20% below its $97.99 record after four straight weeks of lower highs. Hayes added that he respects what the Hyperliquid team has built and would still use its products, but he no longer wants to own the token, which makes the comment the latest step in a shift that started in June.
From a $150 Target to a Full Exit Hayes on HYPE in 2026
● March: Discusses a $150 HYPE scenario ● May: Names HYPE, NEAR and ZEC his “holy trinity” ● June 4-5: Sells HYPE, NEAR and then ZEC ● August: Calls ETH his preferred trade ● October 16: Says HYPE could lag ETH and ZEC In March, Hayes argued that record open interest in HIP-3 markets, which let developers list new perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid, could carry HYPE to $150. By late May he was grouping it with NEAR and ZEC as his favorite trio, praising the token’s revenue model and its access to traditional assets. Less than two weeks later, on June 4, he sold his HYPE and NEAR positions, citing higher energy prices, the risk that large AI listings would pull liquidity away from crypto and a weaker macro backdrop. A day later he exited ZEC as well, saying a vulnerability in Zcash’s Orchard pool meant the network could not cryptographically prove that extra coins had never been created.
The speed of the reversal drew criticism, and on-chain investigator ZachXBT accused Hayes of using his followers as exit liquidity. In August, Hayes disclosed that Maelstrom had bought HYPE in the low $30s and sold around $75, adding that ETH could rise three to five times relatively quickly. By the October 16 interview, ETH and ZEC were back at the center of his thinking, despite his June exit from Zcash.
Why ETH Looks Cheaper on His Math The case rests on relative valuation, since Hyperliquid generated roughly $429 million in revenue between January 1 and September 15, and nearly all protocol fees go toward buying HYPE on the open market, which ties the token directly to trading activity. Investors now widely recognize that link, so in Hayes’ view much of the success is already reflected in the price. Rival perpetual exchanges pose the specific risk: every share of volume they win reduces the fees Hyperliquid collects, and with them the size of the buybacks that support HYPE.
Ethereum sits on the other side of that trade, since it remains the main settlement layer for decentralized finance yet has lagged smaller assets for most of the past year, and it trades about 51% below its August 2025 peak. His Zcash thesis is different in kind, built on the idea that financial privacy gains value as governments, large tech companies and AI systems track more economic activity. Both are investment views, and ZEC in particular carries its own liquidity and regulatory risks.
HYPE Leans on Its 21-Week Average HYPE/USDT weekly chart. Source: Alexander Stefanov / TradingView The 21-week exponential moving average at $72.85 has guided the whole 2026 advance. HYPE reclaimed it in January, has closed above it every week since and bounced off it in July before the August breakout. The same line marked the turn in late 2025, when losing it in October and November preceded a three-month slide to $20. Together with the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement at $68.38, it forms a $68.4-72.9 support band that also overlaps the range where price spent most of May through July.
Momentum has weakened even as HYPE set a far higher high in September than in June, yet the relative strength index peaked near 83 in late May and reached only about 70 at the record, meaning buyers pushed with less force on the final leg. The reading now sits at 56.2, below its signal line, although still above 50, which fits a cooling trend rather than a reversal. A weekly close below $68.4 would point to $59.24 and then the $50-51 area, where the 0.618 level meets the rising 50-week average. Holding the band and reclaiming $85-88 would reopen a test of $97.99, with $119.07 as the next extension above it.
ETH Is Stuck Between Two Averages ETH/USDT weekly chart. Source: Alexander Stefanov / TradingView Ethereum trades at $2,407.69, inside a narrow cluster formed by the 50-week EMA at $2,419.68 and the 200-week EMA at $2,462.74. Sellers stopped the September rally at $2,749, which is both the 0.618 Fibonacci level and the measured target of the double bottom ETH built near $1,550-1,600 in June and July. Volume during the pullback has stayed below the August breakout, suggesting profit-taking rather than heavy selling, while the RSI at 52.85 shows no clear direction. A close above $2,463 would turn the cluster into support and open a second test of $2,749, then $3,171. Repeated closes below the 50-week average would send price back toward the $2,149 neckline.
ZEC Defends a Month-Long Floor ZEC/USDT weekly chart. Source: Alexander Stefanov / TradingView Zcash bounced 9.25% this week to $1,235.40, extending a four-week stretch in which every weekly low held above the 0.382 level at $1,047.48. The upper wick to $1,368 shows sellers remain active above the 0.236 level at $1,289.17. ZEC trades about 90% above its 50-week EMA, and its RSI peaked near 78 at the September record versus roughly 95 during the November 2025 rally, a gap that marks weaker buying pressure at higher prices. A close above $1,289 would put the $1,680 record back in view, with $2,130 beyond it. Losing $1,047 would expose $852, then the $647-657 zone where the 0.618 level and the 50-week average meet.
Sunday’s Closes Will Test the Rotation The weekly candles close on Sunday, October 25. If HYPE ends the week below $72.85 while ETH settles above its 200-week average, the charts would show the rotation Hayes describes, with money moving from a token near its highs toward one still far below. Hyperliquid’s buyback size depends directly on its share of perpetual trading volume, so monthly market share data across decentralized derivatives venues offers a more concrete test of the competition argument than price alone.
Hayes has reversed course on all three tokens within months this year, and blockchain analysts track wallets linked to him and Maelstrom closely. Any renewed buying of HYPE, or new selling of ETH or ZEC, would likely appear in on-chain transfer data before he comments on it publicly.
Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this? It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look. Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened. His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.
Ethereum za poslední měsíc kleslo o 13 %; při prolomení podpory na úrovni 2 300 USD hrozí pokles k 2 000 USD. Likvidace ETH dosáhly 75,4 milionu USD, z toho 63,7 milionu USD připadalo na dlouhé pozice.
Ethereum faces renewed selling pressure after a failed recovery attempt, increasing the possibility that ETH may test the $2,000 level before finding a durable market bottom. The cryptocurrency traded near $2,390 on October 23, retreating sharply after briefly touching $2,500. Over the past month, Ethereum has declined about 13%, with buyers repeatedly intervening to support the $2,300 region.
Heavy Liquidations and Technical BarriersRecent market turbulence triggered around $75.4 million in total ETH liquidations, according to CoinGlass data cited by Invezz. Notably, $63.7 million stemmed from leveraged long positions, highlighting the vulnerabilities present when traders expect rising prices using borrowed funds.
At the start of October, Ethereum traded above $2,700, but momentum soon faded. Repeated rebound attempts failed to sustain higher prices, drawing ETH back toward $2,400. This latest decline follows an earlier October selloff, as rising US Treasury yields and a strengthening dollar weighed on cryptocurrency valuations.
Ethereum currently trades below its key short-term moving averages. The $2,480 to $2,550 zone has consistently served as a ceiling, preventing any robust recovery. Analysts suggest that a decisive breakout above this level is needed to generate sustained positive momentum and revive prospects for a move toward $2,700 or $2,800.
ETH’s technical outlook remains fragile, with buyers under pressure and liquidations intensifying following recent failed rebounds.
Earlier analysis of ETH derivatives revealed that concentrated bullish positions can aggravate downside moves when key support levels break. This dynamic continues to pose a risk, as leveraged traders could trigger forced selling that accelerates any decline rather than containing it.
Staking Trends and Network DevelopmentsDespite price weakness, Ethereum’s network has seen increased staking activity. Bitwise, a crypto asset manager known for its industry research and investment products, recently reported record levels of institutional staking, even as yields decrease. This trend indicates that long-term holders are still participating actively on the network, even as price volatility persists.
Staking generally reduces the liquid supply of ETH available on exchanges. However, analysts caution that diminished supply does not guarantee higher prices, as demand must still counteract selling by existing holders, derivatives traders, and other market participants.
Coinpaper previously highlighted how a $2 billion exit queue raised concerns over potential selling pressure. However, not all withdrawals are destined for exchanges, and large exit queues do not necessarily signal imminent sell-offs.
Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade introduces further improvements aimed at increasing network efficiency. This technical update could enhance scalability, though such developments do not necessarily drive immediate demand for ETH.
Mini dictionary: Glamsterdam upgrade, a planned Ethereum network enhancement focused on improving transaction efficiency and scalability, forming part of the ongoing roadmap for Ethereum’s technical evolution.
Key Price Levels and OutlookLooking ahead, the $2,300 to $2,350 support band represents the immediate downside area to monitor. Buyers recently protected levels such as $2,313 and $2,325 in mid-October, emphasizing the significance of holding above this region.
Should the price fall below $2,300, technical reference points emerge at $2,200 and $2,025. Breaching these levels could bring the $2,000 mark into view as a realistic bearish target, rather than a distant possibility.
Price LevelSignificance$2,700+Pre-October high, bullish target if recovery holds$2,480–$2,550Major resistance, must be broken for upside momentum$2,300–$2,350Key support, tested in October$2,200 / $2,025Technical support levels below current market price$2,000Plausible bearish target on further breakdownAlternatively, if Ethereum can reclaim the $2,500–$2,550 region, a deeper recovery toward $2,700 or $2,800 could take shape. Previous attempts to break out above resistance were short-lived, suggesting sustained buying is needed for a lasting reversal.
Institutional sentiment about Ethereum remains mixed, with bank analysts like Citi previously noting a $3,028 price target over a 12-month horizon, but emphasizing this is not an immediate goal.
Hard fork Glamsterdam na testnetu Hoodi byl odložen poté, co společnost ChainSecurity odhalila dopady změn v práci s gasem na stávající kontrakty; identifikovala 13 reálných případů.
On October 22, 2026, ChainSecurity said the Glamsterdam hard fork on Ethereum’s Hoodi testnet had been delayed after its researchers identified security impacts in existing contracts. The firm said it had found 13 real-world examples and was conducting responsible disclosure with the affected projects. Its announcement asked teams to check their contracts while the Ethereum Foundation assessed the extent of the impact.
The problem affects contracts that catch a failed external call and keep executing. Under the gas changes ChainSecurity examined, a failure handler can finish where it previously would have run out of gas and reverted. A caller can deliberately supply too little gas for an operation while leaving enough for the surrounding contract to record a permanent failure. An operation that should have remained retryable can then lose its recovery path.
ChainSecurity’s technical disclosure examines EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 using specifications reviewed on October 13. Its gas examples describe proposed execution behavior, not balances read from affected contracts. The announcement names neither the projects under disclosure nor their contract addresses.
The failure handler gets another source of gas
Contracts defend against insufficient-gas griefing in several ways. Some check before an external call that they can forward a chosen gas budget. Others examine the gas left after a failed call and revert when too little remains. Others rely on the failure handler itself running out of gas. That rolls back the surrounding operation without an explicit check.
Checks after a call and handlers that rely on running out of gas depend on how much gas the call forwards, consumes and returns. Under EIP-150, a call can forward approximately 63/64 of its available gas. When the immediate target exhausts that allocation, the caller retains only a small share. A check can reject that remainder, or an expensive storage write can force the caller to revert.
The state-gas reservoir gives the caller another source of funding. ChainSecurity describes a separate pool that travels with calls in full, while the forwarding limit applies to execution gas. Solidity’s gasleft() reports only the execution balance. A contract with a low reading can still have reservoir funding for state creation. If the target reverts or runs out of gas, its reservoir returns to its call-entry value and remains available to the caller.
In the report’s example, around 15,000 execution gas can cover a cold fresh-slot write and a short continuation when the reservoir pays the state-creation charge. Under Osaka, the corresponding write costs 22,100 gas. A handler that previously could not record a failure may now commit it. Because the reservoir is forwarded in full, an outer wrapper can combine a funded reservoir with a limited execution budget.
Clearing storage can refill the execution balance
A contract can also allocate a persistent storage slot, call another contract, catch a failure and clear that slot before continuing. Under Osaka, clearing storage allocated earlier in the transaction produces a refund subject to a cap. The refund settles at the end of the transaction, so it cannot pay for the next instruction.
Under the Glamsterdam rules examined in the disclosure, undoing state creation triggers an immediate refill. The refill first restores execution gas up to the outstanding state-creation charges paid from that balance. Any remainder enters the reservoir. Clearing a slot can restore up to 97,920 execution gas, enough to change whether the rest of the failure handler completes.
For this to happen, the slot must have been zero at the start of the transaction. The frame must have outstanding state-creation charges funded from execution gas, either from its own work or successful subcalls. It also needs enough execution gas to clear the slot: the SSTORE stipend check still requires more than 2,300 execution gas, regardless of reservoir funding.
A gas check performed after the clear can see a replenished balance even though the target ran out of gas. ChainSecurity says a check that rejects the failure before the clear is unaffected by that refill. Its review instructions ask teams to locate storage refills relative to checks, since the order determines whether the check sees the restored gas.
Gas can also return through an intermediary. In ChainSecurity’s example, a defending contract calls an intermediary, which creates state and calls a target. The target runs out of gas. The intermediary then propagates that failure with REVERT.
Under the reviewed changes, reverting restores the intermediary’s state-gas accounting. It credits outstanding execution-funded state-creation charges back to the intermediary’s execution balance. That restored gas can return to the defending contract and lift the remainder above a post-call check’s threshold. It can also fund a failure handler that previously would have reverted.
The intermediary must retain enough gas to execute REVERT. If it runs out of gas itself or halts exceptionally, its resulting execution balance is consumed and no execution gas returns. Tests need to distinguish those paths, even when both ultimately report that a subcall failed.
What contract teams need to review
Pre-call checks avoid inferring the cause of failure from returned gas, but their budgets need revalidation too. A check can guarantee delivery of the requested allocation even when that allocation no longer covers the target’s work. ChainSecurity calls for bounds covering every permitted execution path under the new schedule, including cases where the reservoir cannot contribute. Forwarding overhead also needs rechecking.
The review starts with external calls that let execution continue after failure. Teams should trace the target’s complete path, including proxies, and the caller’s instructions before it commits a failure response. Tests should force a subcall failure and compare Osaka and Glamsterdam using the same relevant pre-state and explicit gas assumptions. The outcomes to inspect are disabled retries, removed claims and incorrect recorded results.
Where possible, ChainSecurity recommends propagating call failures so the entire operation reverts. Where execution must continue, it recommends preserving a recovery path instead of making an irreversible decision from remaining gas alone. Responsible disclosure continues with the affected projects unnamed. The firm’s announcement gives no replacement date for the Hoodi fork.
Jednoměsíční implikovaná volatilita Etheru činí 49 %, zatímco 30denní realizovaná volatilita dosahuje 37 %; rozdíl 12,5 procentního bodu je za poslední dva roky na 90. percentilu.
Ethereum options traders are bracing for turbulence. The actual price chart has been far calmer.
According to Coinbase Markets data dated October 21, 2026, Ether’s one-month at-the-money implied volatility stands at 49%. Its 30-day realized volatility is 37%. That leaves a 12.5-point premium, which ranks in the 90th percentile of readings over the past two years.
Reading the volatility gauges Implied volatility (IV) is the market’s forecast of future price swings, backed out of what traders are willing to pay for options. Realized volatility measures how much the asset actually moved over a past window, in this case 30 days. “At-the-money” refers to options with strike prices near the current market price.
The gap between the two is often called the variance risk premium. A spread landing in the 90th percentile of the past two years suggests demand is running well above the usual baseline.
The numbers line up across platforms Options analytics platforms including Swolecharts and Coinotag reported that Ether’s 30-day ATM implied volatility held steady between 49% and 51% through mid-to-late October 2026. Those same sources put realized volatility around 32% during that stretch.
On October 22, 2026, ATM implied volatility was approximately 49.7% to 50.0% on Bybit and Binance.
Broader figures from Derivasys and Glassnode show Ether’s options implied volatility sitting in the mid-to-high 40s up to the low 50s across various near-term tenors throughout October 2026.
Why the premium is notable A 90th-percentile reading over two years means that in roughly nine out of ten observations across that period, the gap between expected and actual volatility was smaller than it is now.
The source data does not point to a specific catalyst. No commentary on upcoming events or trader positioning accompanied the figures.
What this means for traders and the market For option buyers, purchasing protection or directional exposure when IV sits well above realized volatility means paying a hefty premium. If Ether keeps moving at its recent pace, those options can lose value even if the eventual direction is right.
For option sellers, collecting premium priced at around 49% to 50% volatility while the underlying moves at 32% to 37% is the core logic behind many volatility-selling strategies. The catch is obvious: sellers carry the risk if the expected storm actually arrives.
Wide gaps between implied and realized volatility tend not to persist forever. Either realized volatility rises to meet expectations, or implied volatility drifts lower as the anticipated turbulence fails to show up.
Traders watching this setup will likely track whether realized volatility begins climbing from its recent range in the 30s, and whether IV holds near 50% across Coinbase, Bybit and Binance, or starts slipping back into the mid-40s range that also appeared across some near-term tenors this month.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Komunita Starknetu předběžně podpořila průzkum přechodu z L2 řešení Etherea na vlastní L1: pro hlasovalo přes 93,5 % odevzdaných hlasů a hlasování se zúčastnilo více než 2 800 peněženek.
The Starknet community has strongly supported exploring a transition from the Ethereum-based second-layer structure to an independent first-layer blockchain. In a seven-day preliminary vote that concluded today, over 93.5% of the votes cast were in favor of the proposal.
According to information shared by StarkWare, more than 2,800 wallets participated in the vote. The company stated that it did not participate in the voting in order to avoid influencing the community’s decision with its own votes.
The primary reason for the change in focus is post-quantum security. The team argues that even if Starknet makes progress in its own computational structure, it will remain dependent on the underlying network due to Ethereum bridge and data accessibility connections.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said they aim to release a first draft of the technical document resulting from the research to the public in November.
However, the vote does not mean that the separation from Ethereum is final. A genuine transition proposal will also need to be prepared and resubmitted for community approval. According to the Starknet Foundation, whichever path is chosen, STRK will remain the native token, no new tokens will be issued, and Ethereum bridges will remain open.
*This is not investment advice.
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After hovering between $2.3K and $2.4K, Ethereum [ETH] finally broke out of the range, climbing to $2,526.
However, the altcoin soon retraced below $2.5K. At press time, Ethereum traded around $2,435, down 0.16% on the daily charts.
Whales continued accumulating through the volatility, but their activity had yet to translate into stronger price momentum.
Can Ethereum whales help reclaim $2.5K? As Ethereum [ETH] struggled to hold $2.5K, whales stepped up on both the buy and sell sides. The Whale Behaviour Shift showed increased accumulation, with 133 whales adding over 426K ETH.
Source: Swiss Intelligence Lookonchain highlighted three whales withdrawing Ethereum from exchanges.
One withdrew 10,954 ETH worth $26.97 million from Kraken and staked it after four months of inactivity. Another withdrew 9,000 ETH worth $22.42 million from Binance and deposited it into Aave.
A third withdrew 4,500 ETH worth $11.29 million from Binance. Together, these withdrawals totaled 24,454 ETH, valued at $60.68 million.
Source: Arkham These moves suggested some large holders preferred staking, lending, or holding Ethereum away from exchanges despite market volatility. Still, those choices alone could not establish expectations of an imminent rally.
Exchange activity echoed that shift. Over 12 hours, outflows exceeded $365 million, pushing Netflow to approximately -$30 million.
Source: CoinGlass That reversed the preceding 24-hour period, when inflows outpaced outflows and Netflow reached $21 million.
Fewer coins on exchanges could ease immediate selling pressure. Even so, Ethereum’s price had yet to reflect that potential support.
Why does Ethereum’s momentum remain bearish? Although some whales increased their holdings, sellers retained the upper hand in Ethereum’s momentum indicators. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 42, below the neutral 50 level, indicating bearish momentum.
Source: TradingView Likewise, the Positive Directional Indicator (+DI) hovered around 17. The Negative Directional Indicator (-DI) remained above it, reinforcing the bearish reading.
Together, these indicators suggested whale accumulation had yet to overcome broader selling pressure. They did not identify which holders were selling.
If that momentum persists, Ethereum could revisit $2.3K. However, stronger demand following the whale accumulation could help Ethereum reclaim $2.5K, potentially bringing $2.7K into view.
For now, the indicators offered limited support for that recovery.
Výzkumníci z Etherea navrhli zkrátit dobu finality transakcí zhruba ze 16 minut na čtyři minuty, což by mohlo snížit náklady na služby pro převody mezi blockchainy. Návrh nemá stanovené datum aktivace.
Ethereum’s four-minute settlement plan could lower the cost of moving crypto. (Ethereum)Summary
Ethereum researchers have proposed cutting transaction finality from about 16 minutes to roughly four minutes, though the unfinished plan has no activation date.Faster finality could reduce costs for cross-chain transfer services by allowing them to recover and reuse funds more quickly.The proposal would separate validators’ block-selection and finality votes, potentially enabling further speed gains and an eventual shift to quantum-resistant signatures.Ethereum researchers want to cut the wait for a transaction to become final from about 16 minutes to roughly four, a change that could make it cheaper to move money between blockchains.
Ben Edgington, who coordinates Ethereum’s fast-finality research, filed the draft Wednesday with fellow researchers Francesco D’Amato, Roberto Saltini, Yann Vonlanthen and Mikhail Kalinin.
Its initial target is a four-fold improvement, though the design is unfinished and has no activation date.
In the current mechanism, a transaction can land in an Ethereum block well before the network treats it as final, the point where validators, the computers that secure the network, commit to never rewriting it. Anyone moving funds off Ethereum has to decide when it’s safe to release money on the other side.
But sixteen minutes is a long time to have money in limbo.
Say someone sends $10,000 from Ethereum to another network. A transfer service can pay them right away from money it already holds there, then wait to get repaid once the original transaction settles. The customer gets their funds in seconds, and the service has $10,000 tied up until Ethereum is done.
Ethereum Foundation research counts that idle money as a real cost for these firms, and a shorter wait lets them reuse it sooner. In practice, a service fronting a steady $1 million an hour would have about $267,000 waiting on repayment with a 16-minute delay. At four minutes, however, that drops to roughly $67,000.
Stablecoin providers such as Circle CRCL, which issues the dollar-pegged USDC, already charges for speed. Its fast route from Ethereum currently costs 0.01%, or $1 per $10,000, before network and application charges. Its standard route carries no Circle transfer fee.
Circle also caps the total value of fast transfers waiting on final settlement, and each completed settlement frees up room for new ones.
Splitting the voteThe 16-minute wait comes down to how Ethereum’s validators vote. Each one casts a single vote that does two jobs at once, helping pick the next block and helping lock older blocks in for good. Validators take turns casting those votes, and a block only becomes final after two full rounds of everyone voting.
Both jobs share one vote so finality can only move as fast as that rotation. The proposal gives each job its own vote, so the locking-in can run on a faster clock that developers can keep tightening over time.
The researchers say splitting the votes would also make it easier to eventually swap in quantum-resistant signatures. Ethereum would need that upgrade if quantum computers ever get strong enough to break today’s cryptography.
However, four minutes would still be slow next to Solana, which switched on its Alpenglow upgrade Wednesday with a target of finality in about 150 milliseconds.
The draft leaves voting timings, penalties and parts of its security analysis unresolved as of Thursday. Edgington wrote that “many aspects remain TBD” and that the immediate aim was getting a proposal number — which puts the idea into Ethereum’s formal upgrade pipeline.
Read More: Solana’s biggest network change since 2020 is live. Here’s how users benefit
Robinhood Chain generated about $51 million in network revenue in its first quarter of operation. Ethereum (ETH) brought in roughly $41 million over the same period.
ARK Invest reported the figures in its DeFi Quarterly covering the third quarter of 2026. Its data shows Ethereum’s network revenue fell about 35% from the second quarter.
Ethereum Missed Out on a Rebound QuarterAcross the networks in the report, revenue rose about 24% from the second quarter to roughly $349 million. The total sat about 47% below its level a year earlier.
ARK said the quarter marked the first increase in 5 quarters. It credited the rise to Solana’s (SOL) recovery and Robinhood Chain’s debut.
Ethereum also lost ground in tokenization. On public blockchains, its share of tokenized real-world asset value fell from about 50% in late June to 44%. It still hosted the most, at about $16.7 billion.
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Network Real Economic Value by Blockchain Source: ARK Invest Ethereum’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume also fell about 27% from the second quarter, while Base’s dropped about 17%. ARK said trading volume shifted toward newer venues such as Robinhood Chain.
Robinhood’s Chain Faces Its First Earnings TestRobinhood opened the chain’s public mainnet on July 1, about 5 months after its testnet went live in February.
The network settles transactions on Ethereum and uses ETH as its gas token. That means Ethereum still collects a portion of the fees the chain generates.
In its debut quarter, the chain processed about $65 billion in DEX volume. That made it the fourth-largest network by DEX volume in ARK’s data.
Tokenized equities accounted for about $13.7 billion of that trading. Only BNB Chain hosted more, at roughly $16.5 billion.
For Robinhood shareholders, the revenue question lands on October 27, when the company reports third-quarter results. That release covers the chain’s first full quarter of operation.
Robinhood has tied the chain’s payoff to usage in its second-quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Our ability to generate revenue from Robinhood Chain depends significantly on the level of adoption and developer activity on the network,” it said.
Coinbase offers a precedent. It noted in July that it books Base sequencer fees within other transaction revenue. That line fell about 11% from the first quarter to $47.4 million. CFO Alesia Haas tied the drop to lower instant transfer activity and Base revenue.
ARK also flagged a risk to those numbers.
“We do not expect to see Robinhood Chain continue to post such impressive revenue numbers, as a recent increase in gas on Robinhood Chain will eliminate high fees from congestion pricing,” the firm noted.
Robinhood shares traded at $101.9 at press time, down 11.5% in 2026 so far. The call will show whether management reports the chain’s contribution separately.
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Kalshi has partnered with BitGo to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed loans, allowing eligible institutional traders to fund leveraged perpetual futures positions while retaining ownership of their existing cryptocurrency holdings.
Kalshi and BitGo Introduce Crypto-Backed Futures Loans
The partnership will allow eligible traders to leverage their investment in Kalshi’s perpetual futures contracts with borrowed money. The deal provides for investors to hold onto their cryptocurrencies while lending to take advantage of a leveraged position on the exchange.
Kalshi Katalyst, the lending affiliate of Kalshi Prime, will provide loans under the new arrangement. BitGo Bank & Trust will act as the middleman in a three-party arrangement to keep the staked digital assets.
According to Kalshi Prime CEO Jeff Bandman, eligible collateral includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins. The company is planning to add more custody partners as its lending network grows.
The agreement is based on BitGo’s current institutional cryptocurrency custody services. A recent report has reviewed BitGo’s digital asset infrastructure, including their institutional clients and custody operations.
Kalshi Targets Institutional Traders Holding Bitcoin
The service is aimed at investors who want to gain exposure to futures trading without selling their current crypto assets, Bandman said.
“What we wanted to do was make it possible for customers to stay in crypto,” Bandman said.
He identified large Bitcoin holders and Latin American businesses using dollar-backed stablecoins as potential customers.
The executive indicated that another group of target investors are crypto-native traders who are using offshore perpetual futures platforms. Kalshi believes the deal will appeal to people who prefer trading platforms based on the blockchain.
The development comes from Kalshi’s expansion into cryptocurrency perpetual futures, which it has done since earlier this year. In September, Kalshi launched more crypto perpetual futures, such as the BNB, ADA, and AAVE versions.
Kalshi Expands Regulated Futures Trading Services
Kalshi’s perpetual futures unit is run under a trading system regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In June, the exchange launched BTC perpetual futures trading, and it has since expanded into metals and other financial contracts.
Perpetual futures are futures contracts with no expiration date, which means that traders can hold positions while satisfying the margin requirements.
Separately, Kalshi Klear requested CFTC approval in September to introduce margin trading for selected prediction-market contracts. The company has applied for regulatory approval of perpetuals based on oil and U.S. equity products.
Two Texas-area names you probably haven’t heard of just did something most big banks are still writing white papers about. Vantage Bank and Rio Bank completed a loan payment between themselves using tokenized deposits on Ethereum.
According to Participate, the platform that handled the deal, the principal and interest landed in the receiving bank’s digital wallet in under three minutes. Loan balances and payment notices updated in the same motion as the money moved.
What actually happened The transaction took place on October 19, 2026. It was framed as the world’s first interbank loan participation or syndication principal-and-interest payment made with tokenized deposits.
In a loan participation, one bank makes a loan and sells slices of it to other banks. When the borrower pays, the lead bank has to pass each participant its share of principal and interest.
The payment ran through two pieces of infrastructure. The first was Participate’s loan-sales platform, which connects banks buying and selling loan interests. The second was the Hazel Network, which Vantage Bank built alongside Custodia Bank.
The settlement itself happened on the Ethereum mainnet. That’s the public blockchain, not a private sandbox or a walled-off test chain.
Custodia’s ERC-20 token, called Avit, was part of the setup. ERC-20 is the standard format for fungible tokens on Ethereum, the same template behind a large share of the tokens issued on that network.
Matt Johnner of Participate described the payment as a practical demonstration of tokenized deposits slotting into workflows banks already run. He positioned it as a key step toward automating interbank loan servicing.
How we got here This didn’t appear out of nowhere. Vantage and Custodia have been testing tokenized deposits since March 2025, which means roughly a year and a half of trial runs before this live payment.
The more recent chapter began in April 2026. That’s when Participate, Vantage Bank and Custodia Bank announced a strategic collaboration to plug Hazel Network capabilities into Participate’s ecosystem.
That ecosystem now includes more than 750 banks. So the rails used here sit on a network that already reaches hundreds of potential counterparties, at least in principle.
A tokenized deposit is a regular bank deposit represented as a token on a blockchain. It remains a claim on the issuing bank, inside the regulated banking system.
Why it matters The headline number is the three minutes, but the more interesting detail is that records updated alongside the payment. In loan servicing, moving cash is only half the job. Someone also has to update balances, send notices and confirm everyone agrees on who owns what. Bundling them into one on-chain event is the efficiency argument for tokenization in a nutshell.
The partners also stressed that the transaction stayed within banking compliance requirements.
For the crypto industry, the choice of Ethereum mainnet stands out. Traditional institutions have often preferred permissioned networks where they control who participates. Running a regulated bank-to-bank payment on a public chain is a vote of confidence in its reliability for this kind of use.
Custodia’s role is notable too. The Wyoming-chartered bank has spent years positioning itself at the intersection of crypto and traditional banking. A live interbank payment using its Avit token gives that positioning a concrete use case rather than a pitch deck.
Wider adoption would require more banks willing to hold tokenized deposits, connect to the Hazel Network and get comfortable with on-chain settlement from a risk and compliance standpoint.
Interoperability is another thing to watch. If other banks build competing tokenized deposit systems, the value of near-instant settlement depends on whether those systems can talk to each other.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
BitMine vložila do stakingu dalších 159 728 ETH; celkem má ve stakingu 5,23 milionu ETH v hodnotě 12,78 miliardy USD, což představuje 86,5 % jejích etherů.
BitMine, a prominent cryptocurrency investment firm led by Tom Lee, has significantly increased its Ethereum staking activity, pushing its staked ETH portfolio to new highs. This move comes as the company reinforces its commitment to Ethereum amid ongoing market volatility.
BitMine’s major Ethereum commitmentBitMine, recognized as one of the largest Ethereum treasury firms, recently staked an additional 159,728 ETH. The latest transaction, valued at approximately $390.6 million, has boosted the company’s total staked Ethereum holdings to 5.23 million ETH, a position now worth $12.78 billion.
With these actions, BitMine has now staked 86.5% of its total Ethereum holdings as of October 21. The company’s Ethereum holdings account for about 5% of the total ETH in circulation, highlighting BitMine’s influence among large corporate holders in the crypto sector.
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported the details of this latest staking activity, drawing significant attention from both investors and market watchers.
Mini dictionary: BitMine is a digital asset management firm led by Tom Lee, known for large-scale holdings and active participation in staking within the Ethereum ecosystem.
By aggressively increasing its staked position, BitMine has reinforced its dominance as a corporate Ethereum holder, signaling strong confidence in Ethereum’s long-term prospects.
MetricValueNew ETH staked (recent)159,728 ETHTotal staked ETH5.23 million ETHEstimated value$12.78 billionPercentage of portfolio staked86.5%Share of total ETH supply5%Ethereum price rebounds amid bullish sentimentThe timing of BitMine’s substantial staking move followed several weeks of price swings in the broader cryptocurrency market. Ethereum has recently shown renewed strength, recovering to trade near $2,450, reflecting about a 2.78% increase over the last 24 hours.
The dual effect of BitMine’s expanded stake and Ethereum’s price recovery has bolstered market sentiment, with many observers perceiving increased optimism regarding the asset’s near-term outlook.
BitMine’s expanded Ethereum staking comes amid renewed optimism in the crypto market, with Ethereum’s price approaching $2,450 after rebounding from recent volatility.
Market participants are closely watching whether the firm’s sustained staking activity and Ethereum’s current momentum will support further gains for the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Grayscale zavedla pro deset produktů nepeněžní emise podílů, které oprávněným investorům umožňují směnit kryptoměny včetně Bitcoinu a Etherea přímo za podíly ve fondech.
Crypto asset manager Grayscale continues to take innovative steps regarding cryptocurrencies. In its latest announcement, Grayscale stated that it will allow investors to invest in spot cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin directly in exchange for shares in its ETFs and other investment products.
Accordingly, Grayscale has implemented an in-kind subscription model in 10 of its products, allowing investors to exchange eligible digital assets for direct investment product shares. The new model aims to facilitate the integration of crypto assets into traditional portfolio management.
The Need for Cash Conversion is Decreasing!
Grayscale has announced a new investment method for some of its investment products. This system allows investors to directly exchange their crypto assets for shares in Grayscale’s investment products without first having to convert them to cash.
The company stated that this method could reduce operational burdens stemming from custody and security processes, lower transaction costs in crypto markets, and facilitate the inclusion of digital assets in traditional investment portfolios.
10 Cryptocurrencies, Including Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the List!
According to Grayscale, the subscription service includes 10 investment products, including Bitcoin and Ethereum: “Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Hyperliquid, Solana, XRP, Sui, Zcash”
“Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC)
Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF (ETH)
Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF (GAVA)
Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK)
Grayscale Dogecoin Trust ETF (GDOG)
Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG)
Grayscale Solana Staking ETF (GSOL)
Grayscale Sui Staking ETF (GSUI)
Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (GXRP)
The Zcash ETF (ZCSH)”
Finally, according to Grayscale’s statement, the service is available to eligible investors. Clients wishing to trade on the primary market must work with authorized participants or the institutions that act as intermediaries for these participants.
*This is not investment advice.
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The privacy startup said its encryption coprocessor is now in production with dual-mode tokens and two launch apps, and that Consensys Diligence audited the system.
Fhenix's encryption coprocessor is now live on Ethereum and Arbitrum mainnet
Posted October 21, 2026 at 9:00 am ET.
On Ethereum, a wallet’s holdings are public by default: anyone with the address can see what it owns, what it trades and when. Fhenix, a startup building privacy tools for Ethereum, said Wednesday that smart contracts on Ethereum and Arbitrum mainnet can now work with balances, positions and trading strategies that remain encrypted onchain, while the contract still enforces its rules.
The company said its CoFHE coprocessor, built on fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), is now in production on both networks. Until the launch, CoFHE ran only on public test networks.
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How It Works FHE is a form of cryptography that lets a computer do math on data without decrypting it first. According to Fhenix, CoFHE handles the heavy encrypted computation off-chain and passes the results back to contracts on the two chains. Developers add it with one Solidity import and encrypted data types that, the company said, behave like normal variables.
The launch also brings Fhenix’s dual-mode token design into production. Tokens issued under Fhenix’s dual-mode standard carry a confidential mode next to their public one, according to the company, and a holder can shift a balance into confidential mode in one transaction and switch it back when needed. Fhenix said those tokens never leave their home chain, are not wrapped or bridged, and keep working with existing wallets, exchanges and DeFi apps.
Fhenix said Consensys Diligence audited the system before launch. Unchained could not find a public copy of the audit report.
First Apps and What Comes Next Two design partners went live on day one, according to Fhenix: Fluton, which the company describes as a confidentiality engine built on encrypted intents, and AlphaEngine, where strategists compete for users’ liquidity with strategies that stay encrypted, so their methods remain private. A December 2025 post on Fhenix’s blog said AlphaEngine’s operators decrypt and match users’ swap intents in a step designed to run inside a trusted execution environment, a secure hardware enclave.
Fhenix said three more apps will launch on CoFHE in the fourth quarter, and that it plans to name two strategic partnerships with institutions in the coming weeks. Founder Guy Zyskind said in the announcement that the team is “working on a confidential stablecoin together with Tandem,” Offchain Labs’ venture arm that invested in Fhenix in 2025. Offchain Labs develops Arbitrum.
Fhenix is not the only team bringing FHE to stablecoins. In late May, a court order led Circle to freeze about $12.6 million held in a confidential USDC contract run by Zama, another FHE developer, locking funds of users unconnected to the case.
Steven Goldfeder, co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs, said in Fhenix’s announcement that the launch is “the beginning of something big: a programmable economy with programmable privacy, fully composable for the end user.”
Related Listen: ‘Like a Peanut Butter Allergy’: Why Institutions Need Onchain Privacy
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
Ethereum se navzdory 15 po sobě jdoucím dnům odlivů z amerických spotových ETF drží poblíž 2 400 USD. Klíčová podpora se nachází mezi 2 324 a 2 362 USD.
Ethereum maintained levels near $2,400 over the past 24 hours, continuing a six-day recovery streak as buying activity absorbed pressure from recent sell-offs. This price zone has provided stability for ETH amid broader macroeconomic headwinds and ongoing withdrawals from investment products, serving as a key support area during the latest consolidation phase.
Onchain support and realized priceRecent trading activity has positioned Ethereum just above a critical onchain reference point. CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum’s realized price is approximately $2,311, reflecting the average onchain acquisition cost of ETH holders based on the price at which coins last changed hands.
When Ethereum trades below this level, it often signals that, on aggregate, holders are dealing with unrealized losses, although this does not necessarily mean that all investors are underwater. Historically, buying above the realized price has helped sustain support during market weakness.
Continuing to defend this onchain support may play a vital role in maintaining Ethereum’s current stabilization. However, a breach and daily close below $2,311 could undermine investor confidence and potentially trigger further sell-offs.
Mini dictionary: Realized price, the average price at which all circulating coins were last moved onchain, indicating an aggregate cost basis for holders and serving as a benchmark during periods of market stress.
Pressure has increased on ETH as US spot Ethereum ETFs saw significant outflows, with $103.2 million withdrawn on Monday and another $26 million on Tuesday, according to data from SoSoValue. This marks the fifteenth consecutive session of net outflows over the last fifteen trading days, suggesting persistent softness in institutional demand for ETH through regulated products.
Even with fifteen days of negative flows from US spot ETFs, Ethereum has stabilized near its recent support, showing that market demand outside of ETF channels has helped offset the selling activity.
Derivatives trading has also mirrored this volatility. Within the past 24 hours, total ETH futures liquidations reached $90.59 million, with $62.17 million of those being short positions. The figures imply that recent upward price moves have caught leveraged bearish traders off-guard, reversing a trend that previously favored long liquidation events during ETH’s decline.
Technical levels: $2,324–$2,362 support and near-term resistanceOn the daily ETH/USD chart, Ethereum has been consolidating, with technical support tightly clustered between $2,324 and $2,362. This area aligns with the 100-day Exponential Moving Average ($2,362) and a major horizontal support line ($2,324).
Ethereum has repeatedly tested this range without closing below it, which has enabled buyers to push prices back above $2,400 during the recent rebound phases.
LevelSignificance$2,311Onchain realized price/cost basis$2,324Major horizontal support$2,362100-day EMA$2,44450-day EMA/resistance$2,50020-day EMA/resistance$2,548Horizontal resistance target$2,781Higher resistanceA definitive daily close below $2,324–$2,362 would put the onchain cost basis at $2,311 in sharper focus and could intensify the downside momentum, potentially exposing secondary support at $2,215. On the upside, the 50-day and 20-day EMAs, currently at $2,444 and $2,500 respectively, continue to act as resistance. Sustained movement above these levels could signal a turn in short-term sentiment and open a path toward the $2,548 resistance.
The Relative Strength Index and Stochastic Oscillator have shifted upward but remain below neutral, indicating that selling pressure is waning, while buyers have yet to establish lasting control over price momentum.
For now, preserving the key technical support between $2,324 and $2,362 is central to keeping Ethereum’s current recovery intact. Further advances would likely require buyers to reclaim the $2,444–$2,500 region, reaffirming a stronger upside trajectory.
Sberbank od 1. prosince zpřístupní svým 110,6 milionu retailových klientů Bitcoin, Ether a USDT poté, co jí Banka Ruska schválila provoz burzy a digitálního depozitáře.
Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, plans to make Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether’s USDT accessible to its 110.6 million retail customers starting December 1. The bank received approval from the Bank of Russia to operate as both a cryptocurrency exchange and a digital depository, according to recent announcements.
Launch details and access channelsThe new crypto assets will become available through Sberbank’s existing digital platforms, including SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness. As of the last quarter, Sberbank also served 3.5 million corporate clients. These established channels are already widely used by Russian consumers for day-to-day banking activities.
The exchange and depository licenses were cleared by the Bank of Russia, with the depository permit coming six days prior to the exchange approval on October 12. Sberbank indicated that the digital depository status will allow the bank to provide crypto trading and custody services within interfaces familiar to its clients.
“This status will allow the bank to provide services related to organizing the circulation of digital currency on interfaces which clients already use.”
Sberbank’s launch date is contingent on the finalization of secondary regulations by the central bank. The bank is now authorized to act as a counterparty to client trades and record client holdings in-house, eliminating the need for third-party platforms.
Asset offerings and investor restrictionsFor the initial rollout, only Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT are included in the Bank of Russia’s draft list for retail trading. Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank, has estimated that the annual crypto trading volume in Russia could reach 4 trillion rubles, approximately $48 billion, after the introduction of these services.
In recent years, Sberbank has expanded its digital asset services, offering structured bonds and digital financial products linked to cryptocurrencies. In December 2025, the bank conducted a test of a crypto-backed loan involving qualified investors, and its offerings now extend to crypto baskets as well.
First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin explained that a digital depository would be central to the new infrastructure, maintaining records of client cryptocurrency rights and accounting for off-chain transactions.
Mini dictionary: Digital depository, a platform or entity designated to store, record, and track digital assets and cryptocurrency holdings for users, often performing custodial and settlement functions outside of public blockchains.
Regulatory framework and transaction limitsUnder the latest regulations, approved intermediaries such as Sberbank may sell up to 300,000 rubles (around $3,600) of digital assets annually to each non-qualified retail investor. Buyers must pass a knowledge test before making such purchases. Despite the ability to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Sberbank clients will not be able to use crypto for goods and services payments within Russia, in line with the country’s prohibition on crypto payments for transactions.
Further, the law specifically prohibits transfers of digital currency between individuals and bans transfers to non-custodial wallets. The Bank of Russia clarified that individual-to-individual digital currency transfers are forbidden under Part 5 of Article 31 of Federal Law No. 282-FZ, although certain direct deals will be permitted until July 1, 2027.
AssetStatus for Retail BuyersYearly Cap (Non-qualified)Bitcoin (BTC)Approved300,000 RUBEthereum (ETH)Approved300,000 RUBUSDTApproved300,000 RUBPresident Vladimir Putin signed the law “On digital currencies and digital rights” in August, putting it into effect on September 1. Until July 2027, some limited direct peer-to-peer crypto deals are still permitted.
Sberbank is one of nine companies on the Bank of Russia’s register of exchange operators, alongside other major Russian institutions such as VTB and T-Invest Lab. The depository register includes five entities, featuring VTB and Atomyze. Currently, Sberbank, VTB, and Atomyze are all subject to Western sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and authorities have accused Moscow of using digital assets to attempt to bypass these restrictions.
Optimum spustil na hlavní síti Etherea mump2p, který podle vlastních údajů zrychluje šíření dat 2–3× a podporuje stakování více než 1,4 milionu ETH v hodnotě 3,4 miliardy USD.
Optimum wants one number to do the work before anything else: $3.4 billion. That is the dollar value of Ethereum stake the startup says its block-propagation protocol, mump2p, is already “boosting” after going live on Ethereum mainnet on October 20. The launch went out on X with a simpler claim — that data now moves across Ethereum two to three times faster than the default network.
The Optimum team is pleased to announce our first mainnet deployment, mump2p on Ethereum. With mump2p, data moves across all of Ethereum 2-3x faster, boosting validator performance and network health.
$3.4B of Ethereum stake is already being boosted by mump2p, and we’re now… pic.twitter.com/6HP0eMAd3D
— Optimum (@get_optimum) October 20, 2026
Behind the headline sit 16 node operators, roughly 22,000 validator keys, and more than 1.4 million ETH in active stake, according to Optimum’s launch announcement. It is the first production deployment of Random Linear Network Coding, or RLNC, on Ethereum’s consensus layer — technology co-invented by MIT professor Muriel Médard, who is also Optimum’s co-founder and chief executive.
What mump2p actually changes
mump2p runs as a sidecar gateway beside a validator’s consensus client. It does not replace GossipSub, the gossip protocol Ethereum’s consensus layer uses by default, and it does not touch consensus rules, execution, or signing keys. Blocks and attestations still travel the default path; mump2p adds a second, coded channel that can deliver the same data sooner.
Under the hood, the protocol breaks a block into fragments and sends random linear combinations of those fragments. A receiving node reconstructs the full block after collecting enough linearly independent pieces. Because every node can forward and recombine fragments before the entire message arrives, the network stops re-sending identical data through every hop — the main source of gossip overhead.
Validators reach mump2p through two services. Signal lets a validator receive blocks and attestations earlier than it would over GossipSub alone and is free. Accelerate propagates the blocks a validator sends and is offered to operators running 200 or more validators, according to Optimum’s product page.
The $3.4 billion number, deconstructed
The “Total Value Boosted” figure is easy to decode. Divide $3.4 billion by 1.4 million ETH and you get about $2,428 per ether — almost exactly where ETH traded around the launch, and just below the $2,454 it printed on CoinGecko at the time of writing. Total Value Boosted is not a separate economic quantity. It is staked ether multiplied by the market price, given a new name.
Optimum says its reach is “more than 3%” of all staked ETH. The arithmetic holds: 1.4 million ETH is about 3.2% of the roughly 43.7 million ETH locked in the Beacon Chain.
The speed claims are where the numbers begin to drift. The launch post says “2-3x faster.” The homepage advertises “2-4x faster” and a “90% first seen” rate. The press release cites 2.42 times faster block delivery and 7.88 times lower arrival variance, with mump2p users seeing the block first in nine of ten measurements. All of it is self-reported, and the announcement does not disclose how the measurements were gathered.
There is also a count that does not match. The homepage says “20 mainnet partners & counting,” while the release names 16 node operators. Optimum did not explain the gap.
What faster blocks actually buy a validator
Ethereum validators earn rewards in small, regular increments for attesting to blocks. When they attest late or on the wrong head, they forfeit part of that reward. A validator that reliably sees blocks a few hundred milliseconds sooner misses fewer head votes and collects a steadier stream.
The second payoff sits on the proposal side. A block proposer has a narrow window to collect bids from builders before it must commit. Accelerate is pitched as a way to wait longer for higher MEV bids and still land the block on time. That is a measurable margin for large operators — and the reason a liquid restaking provider would make the software mandatory.
Rok Kopp, ether.fi’s co-founder and chief growth officer, framed the decision in the announcement: “We don’t mandate new infrastructure across our entire validator set unless we’re confident it raises the bar for our stakers and for the network.” Optimum says ether.fi now requires all 12 of its node operators to run mump2p.
What isn’t proven yet
The numbers are Optimum’s own. There is no independent benchmark, and ether.fi has not published anything about the mandate on its own blog, docs, or governance forum. The 2.42x and 7.88x figures also appeared in an Optimum-sponsored Four Pillars report in August, which described a test across 30 gateways while the protocol was still preparing for mainnet.
The full operator list, as Optimum published it: Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, Luganodes, InfStones, Meria, Finoa, Node.Monster, HashKey Cloud, DSRV, RockX, Nansen, Validatrium, Ebunker and Validation Cloud. That roster spans most of the institutional staking market — and none of them independently confirmed the performance numbers either.
“Permissionless” deserves the same scrutiny. Optimum’s marketing describes free, permissionless onboarding, but its own August blog post called the network “permissioned for now,” with operators connecting through an API key issued by the company.
There is also a hard bound on what mump2p can do. It accelerates how quickly data arrives; it does not make Ethereum settle transactions faster or process more of them. The upside is concentrated in attestation timing and the proposer’s bid window — real money for operators, but not a consensus upgrade.
Médard put the pitch in sharper terms in the announcement: “In traditional finance, firms spend billions shaving milliseconds off execution because speed is money. The same economics now apply to Ethereum’s top operators.” And: “This goes beyond validator performance. Optimum is the optimal acceleration path, built on a new coded networking approach for systems that are truly decentralized.”
The next signals are concrete. An independent benchmark of mump2p’s mainnet numbers, an official ether.fi confirmation, and the launch of “Optimum for Traders” — which the team says is coming without a date — would each move the story from self-reported claims toward verified validator infrastructure.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Midnight Network představila Nightmode, funkci pro soukromí napříč blockchainy využívající MPC trezory pro Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana a Tron bez tradičního mostu. Mainnet má být spuštěn s upgradem Ledgeru v9.
Midnight Network has unveiled Nightmode, a cross-chain privacy feature built with Sig Network that uses MPC vaults to extend $NIGHT privacy tools to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Tron.
Midnight Network has unveiled Nightmode, a cross-chain privacy feature built with @MidnightNtwrk and @Sig_Network. It is designed to extend Midnight's privacy tools to chains including Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), Solana ($SOL) and Tron ($TRX) without relying on a conventional bridge.
Nightmode is due to go live on mainnet with ledger v9, Midnight's next major network upgrade, later this year.
How Nightmode worksUsers lock coins in vaults on their home chain and receive a matching private balance on Midnight, guarded by shared keys. According to Crypto Economy, the vaults are Multi-Party Computation (MPC) contracts, and the original assets stay on their native network rather than moving through a traditional bridge. The same report says a vault is governed by seven private cryptographic signatures, and that Midnight records each deposit and issues tokens representing the user's balance in a shielded pool.
Sig Network describes itself as a signing network. On its website, it says no single signer holds the key and that it signs only requests that come from a contract on Midnight. It also says Midnight contracts can hold accounts on Ethereum, so users can trade on Uniswap or lend on Aave while their identities stay shielded.
On apps such as Uniswap, trade amounts stay public but the user behind them stays hidden. KuCoin News reports that users can trade, swap or stake the shielded tokens, and that burning them redeems the original native assets. The same report says Nightmode supports selective disclosure based on zero-knowledge proofs, aimed at meeting compliance requirements.
Context: ledger v9 and Midnight's push into DeFiLedger v9 is also the upgrade tied to Midnight's planned Solana support. Hokanews reports that Midnight Foundation CTO Sebastien Guillemot said the Solana integration remains on testnet, with a mainnet rollout scheduled for later in 2026. Midnight's own roadmap says the project is extending NightMode to additional blockchains, giving users on those networks access to private transactions on Midnight and giving Midnight users access to the liquidity held there.
Crypto Economy notes that the design targets DeFi, payments and real-world asset settlement, and that it does not claim transaction detail becomes invisible. Trade values remain visible, while identity information stays unlinked.
Nightmode is still pending mainnet release, so its real-world performance and security remain to be tested. Users should watch for the ledger v9 launch date and any audits of the vault design.
Staking Etherea dosáhl ve 3. čtvrtletí rekordních 43,8 milionu ETH, tedy téměř 36 % celkové nabídky ETH, zatímco anualizovaný výnos klesl z 2,81 % na 2,63 %.
Ethereum staking hit a new record in the third quarter of 2026, but investors found themselves earning smaller yields as rewards were spread across a wider pool of staked ETH.
According to Bitwise's latest quarterly staking report, 43.8 million ETH, which is nearly 36% of the total supply, was locked into staking at the end of September. At the same time, annualized staking yields averaged 2.63%, down from 2.81% in the prior quarter.
"As more ETH is staked, rewards are distributed across a larger pool, reducing the yield earned on each ETH," the researchers wrote.
Staked Ethereum QoQ. Source: BitwiseInstitutional staking drives Ethereum inflowsEthereum recorded net staking inflows of just under 2 million ETH in the third quarter, its sixth consecutive quarter of positive flows.
Institutional staking has been a big driver of these flows. Bitwise pointed to Bitmine, the leading Ethereum treasury company led by Tom Lee, whose staking rose more than 1,000% from 410,000 ETH in December to 5.07 million ETH as of Sept. 27.
Newly issued ETH accounted for more than 96% of Ethereum's staking yield, leaving the rest to come from transaction tips and revenue from ordering transactions (MEV).
In the same period, Ethereum network revenue fell to roughly $40.6 million from $63 million in the second quarter.
Solana staking hits record 69% of supplySolana's active staking numbers also hit a record, climbing to 440.5 million SOL, totaling 69% of the total supply. Similar to Ethereum, gross staking yields fell around 6%, with newly issued tokens making up 90% of returns.
The network recorded 14.2 billion transactions, up 45% from the second quarter, while average transaction costs stayed mostly flat.
Solana Non-Vote Transactions. Source: BitwiseTransaction fees jumped 49% to $76 million, driven mostly by memecoin trading. Tokenized equities trading volume climbed 45% to more than $6.9 billion.
Upgrade sítě Ethereum Glamsterdam se 26. října aktivuje na testnetu Hoodi s gas limitem 200 milionů; vývojáři zatím nestanovili datum spuštění na mainnetu.
Glamsterdam is scheduled to go live on the Hoodi testnet next week. Hoodi will run the same raised gas limit already tested on Sepolia. Ethereum developers have not yet set a mainnet date. ETH is sitting on support formed by its 200-day average and a Fibonacci level. Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade will activate on the Hoodi testnet on October 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, the Ethereum Foundation confirmed in its October 16 Hoodi announcement, and Hoodi’s block gas limit will climb to 200 million at the same epoch. The date lands while ETH trades near $2,381, roughly 15% under its late-September peak and parked on a support band around $2,310 that has caught every dip for a week. Hoodi exists mostly for validator and staking operations, which means mainnet users see no change yet, though a clean fork there is the last public step before developers commit to a mainnet slot.
Hoodi Gets 200M Gas Before Mainnet Does Activation is set for epoch 132,352, slot 4,235,264, twenty days after Glamsterdam went live on Sepolia, whose first public testnet activation already ran the same 200 million gas limit. Every Hoodi operator has to upgrade both execution and consensus clients before the deadline. The Foundation’s release table still showed blanks for some execution clients when the post went live, with go-ethereum, Ethereum’s most widely used execution client, among those still waiting for a confirmed build.
Glamsterdam Rollout
Aug 20, 2026
Platåberget Early testing
Oct 6, 2026
Sepolia Activated
Oct 26, 2026 · 17:42 UTC
Hoodi + 200M gas Scheduled
Date not set
Ethereum mainnet Pending
Source: Ethereum Foundation
Bigger Blocks, Same 12 Seconds A higher gas limit lets each block carry more computation, yet every node still has to execute and verify that work inside one twelve-second slot, and pushing more into that window without other changes raises hardware costs until smaller validators drop out. Glamsterdam tackles the problem from the way blocks are built, the way they are checked and the price of the operations inside them.
EIP-7732 moves proposer-builder separation into the consensus rules. Most validators currently hand block construction to specialised builders through relay software that Ethereum’s protocol does not govern. Under the new model a builder commits to a payload, the proposer signs the block around that commitment and the protocol itself checks whether the payload showed up on time, which buys validators extra time to process heavier blocks. The concentration of block building among a few sophisticated firms survives the change, and developers still list it as a risk to watch.
EIP-7928 adds a block-level access list, a record of every account and storage slot a block’s transactions touch together with the resulting changes. Clients today only find that out by running transactions one after another. A node holding the list can pull state from disk in parallel and rebuild the state root with much less sequential work, so a larger block does not have to become a slower one.
Pricing is handled by EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, which reset the gas charged for creating and reading state such as balances, contract storage and deployed code, and several of those operations get more expensive. In its May 2026 protocol update the Foundation tied the 200 million figure to these three changes working together, calling it a credible post-upgrade floor against roughly 60 million on mainnet today. That gas budget is about 3.3 times larger, although transaction counts will not scale by the same factor, because Glamsterdam also rewrites how intrinsic gas is counted and real blocks mix cheap transfers with heavy DeFi calls.
The Contracts That Hardcoded Gas Foundation researchers replayed historical mainnet transactions under the new schedule for an August 24 repricing report and found that the vast majority behaved exactly as before. The small group that diverged ran from transactions that merely burned a different amount of gas to a handful of contracts that kept failing even with a much higher limit. Contracts that fix gas allowances in their code or assume how much gas is left mid-execution carry the most exposure, and developers can check individual addresses with the repricing impact checker before mainnet. The report flags no direct threat to user funds, yet it is the main reason Hoodi carries more weight than the gas headline suggests.
$2,310 Is Where Two Supports Meet On the daily chart, the pullback from the $2,809 high has carried ETH into the area where the 200-day EMA at $2,314 almost overlaps with the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement of the June to September rally at $2,311. Traders tend to treat that kind of overlap as a serious line, because the 200-day EMA tracks the long-term trend and the 0.382 level marks the depth where corrections inside an uptrend usually attract buyers.
ETH/USDT daily chart by Alexander Stefanov on TradingView Several daily candles over the past week dipped toward $2,320 and left long lower wicks before closing higher, showing bids parked inside the zone. Volume backs that up, since the heaviest selling came with the early October break below $2,600 and the daily bars have since shrunk to some of their lightest readings in two months, with the October 20 session at about 71,000 ETH by midday. When a decline loses volume on its way into major support, it usually means sellers are running out of urgency rather than starting a fresh wave of distribution.
Momentum has yet to confirm a turn, with the 14-day RSI at 35.7, below its signal line at 39.5 and still sloping down, which leaves room for one more push toward the 30 area where ETH bottomed in June. The golden cross from late August holds, with the 50-day EMA about $165 above the 200-day, but the 50-day at $2,479 has started to roll over just under the 0.236 retracement at $2,502, making the $2,480 to $2,500 band the first ceiling any recovery must clear.
ETH Price Map · daily
$2,809
September high
+18.0%
$2,502
EMA 50 + Fib 0.236
+5.1%
$2,381
Current price
NOW
$2,311
EMA 200 + Fib 0.382
-2.9%
$2,157
Fib 0.5
-9.4%
$1,784
Fib 0.786
-25.1%
Distance from the current price
A daily close back above $2,500 would put ETH back into the range it held for most of September and reopen the way toward $2,600 and the $2,809 high. Losing $2,310 on a closing basis would break both supports in one move and expose the 0.5 retracement at $2,157, with the August breakout base near $1,900 underneath and the 0.786 level at $1,784 as the deeper target if selling picks up speed.
The Burn Rate Is the Real Test A smooth fork on Hoodi would hand client teams the evidence they need to propose a mainnet slot on the All Core Developers calls, where the date gets fixed, while a rough one would stretch a schedule that has already slid from an original June target into the fourth quarter. For ETH holders the harder question arrives after mainnet. More capacity tends to lower the fee per transaction, and with it the amount of ETH burned, unless activity grows fast enough to fill the bigger blocks. Much of Ethereum’s usage already lives on layer-2 networks that have no built-in reason to move back to a cheaper base layer, so gas utilization, fee revenue and the burn rate in the weeks after activation will show whether the extra room gets used.
Early December has come up in developer planning discussions as a possible mainnet window, though the Foundation has not confirmed any date and the Hoodi results will weigh on that decision. Planning for Hegotà, the upgrade lined up to follow Glamsterdam, is already running in parallel according to the same May protocol update.
Wall Street’s Deposits Land on Layer 1 In separate news, JPMorgan said on October 19 that it is bringing JPM Coin to the Ethereum mainnet, extending its dollar deposit token beyond Base, where it has been available to institutional clients since November 2025. JPMD is a claim on money held at the bank rather than a reserve-backed stablecoin, so it can carry interest, and only approved institutional wallets can hold or transfer it. The move puts bank cash on the same chain as JPMorgan’s tokenized money market funds, including JLTXX, which went live on Ethereum in May with $100 million committed at launch. The bank has not disclosed how much JPMD it expects to issue on mainnet, and the near-term effect on ETH demand may stay small, since a large institutional settlement consumes the same gas as a modest transfer.
Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this? It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look. Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened. His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.
Deutsche Bank plánuje během několika týdnů spustit v Německu úschovu kryptoměn pro institucionální klienty, zpočátku včetně bitcoinu, etherea, USDC, EURC a EURAU.
Deutsche Bank is preparing to launch its crypto custody service in Germany within weeks, while planning to expand into the Asian market in 2027.
Deutsche Bank, one of Germany’s largest banks, is expanding its digital asset strategy and preparing to offer cryptocurrency custody services in both Europe and Asia. According to the co-head of the bank’s corporate banking division, the service is planned to launch in Germany within a few weeks and in Asia in 2027.
Deutsche Bank is expected to initially support Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, EURC, and the euro-pegged EURAU stablecoin. Institutional clients will not have to manage their own wallets or private key infrastructure to hold and transfer their assets. Wallet technology and key security will be provided by the bank.
The bank doesn’t intend to limit itself to just cryptocurrency custody services. Plans include stablecoin conversions, tokenized deposits, and services to help companies issue digital bonds or other blockchain-based securities.
Deutsche Bank received the necessary authorization from Germany’s financial regulator BaFin on October 12th under the European Union’s MiCA rules. However, the final launch of the product in Germany depends on the completion of regulatory processes. Which countries or financial centers will be prioritized in the Asian expansion has not yet been announced.
The bank had previously worked with Bitpanda and Taurus on crypto custody infrastructure. The new service is seen as part of Deutsche Bank’s goal to grow its corporate banking revenue by approximately 8 percent compound annual between 2025 and 2028.
The announcement doesn’t mean the Asian service is launching today. While the German launch is a short-term goal, the Asian expansion is planned for 2027. Also, the service will initially be geared more towards companies and institutional clients than individual investors.
*This is not investment advice.
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Ethereum risks slipping toward $2,300 as significant capital continues to exit US spot ETH exchange-traded funds ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy announcement. Even as Bitcoin ETFs see renewed investor demand, Ethereum funds experienced another week of net withdrawals, highlighting a notable divergence in institutional sentiment toward the two major cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum ETF outflows accelerate, Bitcoin attracts inflowsBased on recent figures from Farside Investors, Ethereum funds recorded $103.3 million in net outflows on October 19, led by $95.4 million withdrawn from BlackRock’s ETHA product. This marks the fourth consecutive session of negative flows for Ethereum ETFs, with cumulative redemptions totaling roughly $362.8 million from October 14 to 19.
Over the prior week, ETH funds also saw $320.1 million in outflows between October 12 and 16. Additional withdrawals from Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s ETHE, at $6 million and $1.9 million respectively, contributed to the total losses.
While ETH funds saw mounting redemptions, Bitcoin ETFs benefited from robust inflows during the same period, collecting $526.7 million on October 19 alone. This resulted in a striking divergence of over $630 million between the two asset classes, as institutional investors continued to favor Bitcoin amid shifting market conditions.
The latest selloff previously pushed Ethereum below the key $2,500 level. Rising US bond yields and widespread liquidations have also weighed on crypto valuations, constraining ETH’s recent price recovery.
Ethereum ETFs have registered back-to-back outflows, whereas Bitcoin products have attracted renewed inflows, underlining a clear shift in institutional preference.
Bitmine accumulates more ETH, approaching 5% supply markDespite the negative trend in Ethereum ETFs, Bitmine Immersion Technologies has intensified its accumulation. In an update filed with the SEC on October 19, the company confirmed acquiring an additional 12,535 ETH, taking its total holdings to 6,041,481 tokens. Bitmine now controls about 4.9% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, with most of its tokens already staked.
However, the value of Bitmine’s assets dropped from $16.2 billion to $15.1 billion in a single week as overall market prices declined, underscoring how falling valuations can offset the impact of ongoing purchases. The company has signaled that its 5% supply target is near, which could affect the pace of future accumulation, though it has not specified when buying might pause.
Bitmine’s rapid accumulation has made it the largest publicly traded ETH treasury holder, but its progress toward a 5% supply share adds uncertainty about whether this buying trend will continue.
Technical outlook and trader strategies amid Fed uncertaintyFor traders monitoring ETH’s short-term direction, the $2,350–$2,370 range remains a critical technical zone. A solid move below this level could open the door to further downside, potentially bringing $2,300 into focus if ETF outflows persist and financial conditions tighten as the Federal Reserve prepares for its October 28 decision.
If Ethereum can recover and close above $2,500, analysts identify $2,600 as a likely next resistance, with $2,700 possible if positive momentum returns. However, these are conditional scenarios, not guaranteed targets, given the ongoing macroeconomic pressures.
Volatility in the broader market continues to be shaped by central bank policies, persistent inflation risk, and high Treasury yields, which complicate efforts by ETH to mount a sustainable recovery.
In a market where a single Fed decision or a sudden altcoin listing can change everything in seconds, switching between apps for charts, news, and portfolio management leaves traders at a disadvantage. As a result, more investors are consolidating their tools. Smart traders now turn to privacy-first solutions like CryptoAppsy to get live charts, tailored price alerts, news for specific coins, and crucial macro data combined on one screen—without even needing an account.
SharpLink nasadil 400 mil. USD ze své rezervy v ETH přímo na blockchainu: po 200 mil. USD do Ether.fi a Lido Finance, přičemž Anchorage Digital působí jako správce.
SharpLink (Nasdaq: SBET) has confirmed its first major onchain deployment, $200 million with Ether.fi and $200 million with Lido Finance, with Anchorage Digital serving as custodian for both positions.
The Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury firm shared the news via its official X account on October 19, 2026, describing the move as putting its ETH “to work every day.”
The SharpLink ETH deployment marks a shift from passive accumulation to active, yield-generating onchain strategy, a benchmark the company says others in institutional finance can now follow.
From Treasury Build to Active Yield: Inside the $400M Onchain Strategy SharpLink’s treasury thesis has been consistent since the company pivoted to an Ethereum-first model. Accumulate ETH. Make it productive. Compound yields. Increase ETH per share.
The $400 million SharpLink ETH deployment is the clearest execution of that thesis yet.
Anyone can own $ETH. We know how to put it to work.
Over the last year, Sharplink has done roughly $500M worth of deals to put ETH to work across the ecosystem.
These include staking deployments, a dedicated onchain yield fund, and investments for the teams leading Ethereum’s… pic.twitter.com/Ecjuz7n6wn
— Sharplink (@Sharplink) October 19, 2026
The Lido allocation fulfils a plan announced in August 2026. Under that arrangement, SharpLink stakes $200 million and receives wstETH, a liquid token that earns staking rewards while remaining deployable in DeFi, custodied by Anchorage.
CEO Joseph Chalom described the move then as “an exciting expansion in making our ETH even more productive.”
Lido holds roughly $16.5 billion in staked ETH, with wstETH integrated across more than 100 protocols. That scale, and the infrastructure around it, made Lido the natural partner for institutional-grade staking.
The Ether.fi allocation extends a separate line of work involving liquid restaking and weETH instruments.
Both positions sit inside a public-company balance sheet with Big 4 audit oversight, a structure SharpLink has consistently highlighted as the institutional standard.
This latest move builds on a longer capital deployment effort. In early August, SharpLink committed $100 million of its staked ETH to the Galaxy SharpLink Onchain Yield Fund, a $125 million vehicle Galaxy manages to pursue onchain yield strategies and emerging protocol investments.
Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy, said the launch reflects institutional investors moving “from passive ownership toward active participation in blockchain-based markets.”
SharpLink now reports institutional ownership of approximately 60%, up roughly 12 percentage points, with Fidelity, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and Vanguard among its holders.
The depth of that institutional base reflects confidence in a treasury model built around productive ETH, not passive holding.
Liquid Staking Leaders and a Widening Institutional Playbook Lido and Ether.fi occupy different but complementary roles in Ethereum’s staking infrastructure.
Lido remains the dominant liquid staking platform by total value locked. Ether.fi leads in liquid restaking, giving depositors exposure to both base staking yield and additional reward layers.
Splitting the $400 million evenly across both protocols gives SharpLink diversified exposure to Ethereum’s productive layer.
Lido has also been expanding its footprint. The protocol launched ETH staking across four Layer-2 networks, Arbitrum, Base, Linea, and Optimism, using Chainlink CCIP, a move that deepens the liquidity reach of wstETH well beyond Ethereum mainnet. SharpLink’s deployment lands as that expansion gains traction.
Meanwhile, efforts to give retail investors direct stETH exposure through regulated products have stalled.
VanEck withdrew its proposed Lido staked Ethereum ETF registration with the SEC, leaving institutional deployments like SharpLink’s as the more accessible path for large allocators today.
SharpLink is not alone among listed companies treating ETH as a productive asset. BitMine has been a consistent buyer and staker, with its ETH accumulation continuing even as BMNR stock faced pressure.
The peer comparison underscores a broader shift: treasury firms are increasingly benchmarked not just on how much ETH they hold, but on how much yield that ETH generates.
On the traditional finance side, banks are also deepening their Ethereum commitments, JPMorgan recently expanded its JPM Coin deposit token to the Ethereum network, a further signal of the institutional drift toward productive on-chain infrastructure.
For SBET equity holders, the metric that matters most now is ETH-per-share compounding. The SharpLink ETH deployment is live. The protocols are running.
The question is how quickly the realized yields, and any further deployment tranches, show up in disclosed performance metrics. Watch for SharpLink’s next quarterly update and any X posts from the company on early yield data.
A wallet group linked to the $285 million Drift Protocol exploit has resumed moving stolen cryptocurrency, with blockchain analysts reporting that approximately $61.56 million in Ethereum was deposited into Tornado Cash on October 20.
Summary
Lookonchain reported that the Drift exploiter deposited 25,700 ETH, worth approximately $61.56 million, into Tornado Cash on October 20. Earlier monitoring by Onchain Lens identified at least 13,400 ETH, worth around $32 million, moving to the mixer. The transfers follow an April 1 attack that Chainalysis estimated caused $285 million in losses. Drift said a subsequent forensic investigation attributed the attack to a North Korea-linked group. The protocol opened DFX recovery-token claims and redemptions for affected users on October 1. According to blockchain monitoring account Lookonchain, the suspected exploiter transferred 25,700 ETH into the privacy-focused mixing service over a two-hour period, ending roughly two months of reported inactivity. The tracker estimated that the wallets still controlled 81,864 ETH worth approximately $195 million.
An earlier Onchain Lens update identified at least 13,400 ETH, valued at roughly $32 million, flowing into Tornado Cash. Its accompanying wallet snapshot showed approximately $224.59 million in remaining assets.
Meanwhile, the two trackers reported different amounts as the transfers unfolded. The latest wallet balances have yet to be independently verified through Arkham.
Drift exploiter resumes Tornado Cash transfers The reported activity represents another stage in the movement of assets taken from Drift, a Solana-based decentralized derivatives platform.
Tornado Cash pools cryptocurrency deposits and allows funds to be withdrawn through separate addresses, making direct transaction tracing more difficult. Sending ETH to the service does not establish whether the funds were converted into cash, sold on an exchange or recovered by another party.
A separate monitoring account reported that one wallet deposited 19,600 ETH, worth approximately $46.81 million, through 196 transactions on October 20. That figure falls between the two social-media observations but has not been reconciled against a complete transaction-level record.
The Drift Protocol exploiter deposited 19,600 ETH (~$46.81M) into Tornado Cash in 196 transactions on October 20, 2026, moving funds held for roughly 202 days, according to the our Tornado monitoring system.
On April 1, the Solana perpetuals platform suffered an estimated $285M… https://t.co/OEjYr8uRzQ pic.twitter.com/sXaSkLDsRe
— Salus (@salus_sec) October 20, 2026 The same account identified a wallet ending in 57c1 that had reportedly held stolen assets since April. It estimated the address retained 6,114.15 ETH, valued near $14.6 million, after its first outgoing transactions.
These wallet-specific figures cannot establish the exploiter’s total remaining assets because investigators track several addresses and the balances change as transfers occur.
April Drift exploit followed months of social engineering The original attack took place on April 1, when attackers obtained administrative control of Drift through transaction approvals from members of its Security Council.
In an April 9 investigation, Chainalysis estimated losses at $285 million, representing more than half the protocol’s total value locked.
The attackers reportedly spent months posing as representatives of a trading firm and building relationships with Drift contributors. They exploited Solana’s durable nonce feature, which permits pre-signed transactions to remain valid until execution.
After obtaining sufficient multisignature approvals, the attackers took control of administrative permissions and approved a fake token called CarbonVote Token, or CVT, as collateral.
According to Chainalysis, the attackers manufactured trading activity around CVT to create an artificial price history. They then used the token as collateral to withdraw genuine assets, including stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.
Subsequently, Drift published a more detailed asset breakdown totaling approximately $295.7 million in stolen tokens. The figure differs from the initial forensic estimate because the reports use different valuations and accounting scopes.
Investigators traced portions of the proceeds moving between Solana and Ethereum, where the attacker accumulated ETH before the latest reported mixing activity.
Investigators linked the attack to North Korean operators Security researchers have connected the Drift theft to a suspected North Korean hacking operation.
In an April 7 assessment, blockchain analytics company Elliptic identified transaction patterns and laundering techniques consistent with earlier North Korea-linked attacks.
Drift later reported that an investigation by cybersecurity firm Mandiant had attributed the incident to UNC6862, a North Korean threat group.
The platform had previously linked the attack to the operators behind Radiant Capital’s October 2024 exploit. Radiant suffered losses estimated at approximately $50 million in that incident.
The case was part of a series of major DeFi thefts in April. As crypto.news previously reported, April exploit losses exceeded $600 million during the month’s first 18 days, including separate attacks on Drift and KelpDAO.
Drift recovery claims opened in October While investigators continued tracing the stolen cryptocurrency, Drift established a program to compensate affected users.
On October 1, the project opened claims and redemptions for DFX recovery tokens. Its announcement stated that each verified USDT of loss entitled an affected user to one DFX token.
The protocol fixed the total token supply at approximately 299.5 million and said its recovery pool contained around 3.1 million USDT at launch.
Users can redeem DFX against available pool funds, trade the tokens or retain them while additional funds accumulate. The redemption amount depends on the pool balance and outstanding token supply, so holding a DFX token does not guarantee immediate repayment at face value.
The project said proceeds from its relaunched trading platform, Velocity, would contribute to the recovery pool. Tether has separately committed up to $127.5 million in support, while other partners have committed up to $20 million.
Drift’s October announcement states that funds recovered through enforcement action, freezing or other recovery efforts will be added to the pool. DFX claims remain open until January 1, 2028.
Trh opcí na ETH vykazuje defenzivní nastavení: sedmidenní put opce se obchodují s prémií implikované volatility až 8 procentních bodů oproti call opcím.
Ethereum traders are buying insurance, and they are paying a premium for it.
On October 19, 2026, ETH options markets showed a clear downside skew. Short-dated puts traded at a meaningful premium to calls, which signals that traders are more worried about a drop than excited about a rally.
ETH has slipped roughly 8% over the past month while Bitcoin quietly held its ground, gaining 1.5% over the same stretch.
What the options market is saying Data from Block Scholes showed seven-day ETH puts trading at an implied volatility premium of up to 8 percentage points over calls.
The 1-week 25-delta skew for ETH stood at +7.4 vol points, sitting at the 11th percentile. The 25-delta skew compares the price of puts and calls that are similarly far from the current price. A positive reading means puts are richer, so traders are leaning defensive.
ETH’s 7-day implied volatility climbed nearly 10 points, a sign that tension is building in the near-term contracts.
Further out on the curve, the tone softens but does not flip. The 30-day 25-delta skew came in at +3.1 vol points. Puts are still favored on a monthly view, just with less urgency than in the one-week window.
A tale of two assets Bitcoin has held a range between $80,000 and $84,000. ETH, by contrast, has been referenced around $2,400 in spot trading.
Both assets have seen their put-call skews widen since early October. A decline in AI and tech equities has weighed on sentiment, and that caution has spilled into crypto. ETH has taken the bigger hit, while Bitcoin has mostly shrugged.
Calls still dominate open interest Despite the defensive skew, ETH options open interest remains heavily tilted toward calls. Calls make up approximately 63% of open interest, with puts at roughly 37%. Total open interest for ETH options was approximately $6.09 billion.
The call wall sits at $2,600, while the put wall rests at $2,300. With spot near $2,400, ETH is trading between those two markers, closer to the put side than the call side.
What this means for traders For anyone using options to hedge, the cost of that hedge has gone up. Buying short-dated puts now means paying a premium compared with a few weeks ago. Selling puts, on the other hand, pays more, though it comes with the obvious risk of being on the hook if prices fall.
The $2,300 put wall is the level many traders will likely have circled. A move toward that zone would test whether the defensive positioning was prescient or simply expensive peace of mind.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
September 2026 was the month Zoomex turned its TradFi expansion into a full trading calendar. After crossing the 50-contract milestone for Stock Perpetuals at the end of August, the platform spent September widening the lineup, adding ETF-linked perpetuals to its TradFi Zone, relaunching Zero-Fee TradFi, and opening the Zoomex World Trading Championship 2026 (ZWTC 2026) with a prize pool of up to 5 million USDT.
The backdrop was far less calm. The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since 2023, and Bitcoin still closed the month higher. Beneath that noise, Zoomex’s verifiable reserves stayed multi-chain, stablecoin-anchored and openly trackable, which is exactly what Transparent by Design is meant to deliver. This report reviews Zoomex’s on-chain reserves, chain and token composition, and platform metrics as tracked through DefiLlama, CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, alongside the product developments that shaped the month.
Zoomex Overview Founded in 2021, Zoomex is a global cryptocurrency trading platform focused on Derivatives, serving over 3 million users across 35+ countries and regions and offering 700+ trading pairs. Its philosophy of easy-to-use, transparent balances and fair access to earnings shapes everything from its trading interface to the way it publishes proof of reserves. Zoomex has completed security audits conducted by Hacken and holds multiple regulatory registrations, including U.S. and Canada MSB, U.S. NFA, and Australia AUSTRAC.
September’s product story was the continued build-out of the TradFi Zone.
On September 1, Zoomex confirmed that its Stock Perpetuals lineup had grown past 50 contracts across four asset categories, timed with a Zero-Fee TradFi event that ran from August 28 to September 4. On September 8, the platform announced a further expansion covering more than 30 US and global equities across four categories, all margined and settled in USDT and trading around the clock. Two days later, Zoomex put the spotlight on TSLA and NVDA exposure through its rule-based derivatives offering, reinforcing Fair Access & Rule-Based Execution for every trader.
On September 18, ahead of the Federal Reserve decision, Zoomex highlighted its ETF-linked perpetuals, SPYUSDT, QQQUSDT, IWMUSDT, XLFUSDT, XLKUSDT and TQQQUSDT, available through the TradFi Stock Perpetuals section. The same day, it relaunched Zero-Fee TradFi, running from September 11 to October 11, 2026, which rebates 100% of actual trading fees on eligible stock contracts, commodity contracts and stock tokens, capped at 100 USDT per account.
On the competition side, Zoomex launched ZWTC 2026 on September 10 with a prize pool of up to 5 million USDT, its largest to date. The Squad Competition, with up to 2.5 million USDT in prizes and three separate leaderboards, opened on September 21 and runs until October 11 at 10:00 UTC. Alongside it, Zoomex Predict World continued to feature its established Long-Term event contracts, giving traders a longer-horizon complement to the 5 Minute, 15 Minute and 4 Hour markets. Together, these launches reflect a Refined Brand & Trading Experience built around one account and one rule set for crypto, equities, ETFs and commodities.
Exchange trade volume Zoomex’s exchange trade volume ranged from about $125M to $680M in September, with the month’s defining move arriving in its final third, according to CoinGecko. September volume ranged from roughly $125M to $680M, with the month’s low on September 13 and its peak on September 22. For scale, that peak sits at about two thirds of the $1.02B high recorded in August.
Source: Coingecko On the pair side, BTC/USDT strengthened its lead at 53.5% of volume, up from 43.4% in August, followed by ETH/USDT at 13.7% and USDC/USDT at 11.6%. ETH has therefore overtaken USDC/USDT for second place. SOL/USDT contributes 3.9%, HYPE/USDT and XRP/USDT 1.6% each, and ENA/USDT 1.5%, while a tail of other pairs accounts for 12.6%. As in previous months, 100% of volume settles in USDT by CoinGecko’s currency breakdown, underscoring its role as Zoomex’s near exclusive quote and settlement currency.
On-chain reserves Zoomex’s total on-chain assets stayed inside a narrow $34M to $38M band for the whole month, extending the durable step-up that began in August. DefiLlama’s CEX Transparency tracker shows reserves opening near $36M, easing to a monthly low of about $33.8M around September 10, rebuilding to roughly $36.5M by September 15, and reaching the month’s peak of about $38M around September 20. A pullback to roughly $35M followed by September 25, before assets climbed again to about $37M at month end. The live reading on October 13 stood at $34.9M.
Source: Defillama The contrast with the mid-year pattern is clear: there were no sharp spikes that unwound within days, and the base held. As always, this figure reflects verifiable cold and hot wallet holdings tracked by DefiLlama and sits alongside, not in place of, Zoomex’s separately maintained $50 million insurance fund.
Assets by chain Ethereum remains Zoomex’s largest chain by a wide margin, holding roughly $15.7M at month end versus about $16.5M on September 1, with a low near $15.1M around September 24. That is close to 42% of tracked assets. XRPL stays second at about $6.9M, after dipping to roughly $6.1M in mid-September and peaking near $7.4M on September 23. Tron fell from about $3.5M to around $2.0M by September 22, then jumped to roughly $4.0M by September 30, the largest late-month move among the major chains. Mantle rose from about $1.7M to $2.1M, Solana roughly doubled from about $1.0M to $2.0M, BSC slid from about $2.2M to $1.5M, while Base (about $1.45M) and Arbitrum (about $1.3M) stayed flat.
Source: Defillama The most unusual line is Bitcoin. Its balance sat near $0.8M until September 14, jumped to about $2.75M on September 15, climbed to roughly $3.3M by September 22, then fell back to about $1.6M on September 23 and $1.1M on September 24, ending the month near $0.95M. That round trip points to a temporary custody or settlement movement rather than a lasting reallocation, and it lines up with the BTC inflow and outflow bars in the flow data below. Zoomex’s reserves remain distributed across 14 networks, the same multi-chain footprint maintained throughout 2026, with OP Mainnet, Polygon, Vaulta, Doge and Sonic each holding under $0.5M.
Token balances Read in raw units rather than USD value, PEPE again dominates by count, but its trajectory reversed from August. The balance held near 8.7 billion units through mid-September, then stepped down to roughly 7.7 billion around September 17 and about 7.1 billion by September 20, a decline of close to 19%. Meme coin balances on an exchange typically mirror user activity rather than treasury decisions, so this looks like client withdrawals more than a deliberate reallocation. BONK stayed flat at roughly 2.5 billion units.
Source: Defillama TBY’s block-shaped presence continues to be the more interesting signal. It appeared at around 5.3 billion units in five separate windows, September 1 to 7, 10 to 11, 19 to 20, 24 to 25 and 29 to 30, and was absent in between. That on and off pattern is more consistent with temporary custody, a settlement cycle or a recurring product flow than with a held position.
USD inflows Source: Defillama Outside those windows, daily activity stayed shallow and mixed. Net flow across the month was slightly negative, yet total assets ended higher, which means price moves rather than deposits explain the stable balance sheet. The framing from August holds: movement was event-driven and concentrated in a handful of identifiable days, not the product of steady retail flow.
Inflows by token The token split shows what drove each of those days. The September 15 spike was almost entirely Bitcoin, at roughly $2.0M gross, and the September 23 outflow was the mirror image, with about $1.85M of BTC leaving, partly offset by roughly $0.4M of TRON inflow. That confirms the temporary Bitcoin build seen in the chain data.
Source: Defillama Stablecoins drove the rest. USDT left on September 1 (about $0.9M), September 19 (about $1.35M) and September 22 (about $1.6M), then returned on September 29, when roughly $1.65M of USDT arrived together with smaller USDC and TBY inflows. WETH was the one asset with clear accumulation, with inflows of about $0.85M on September 19 and $0.4M on September 20. XAUT recorded a small inflow of about $0.3M on September 2.
Token values (USD) Viewed by asset value, September was a rotation story. USDT started the month near $11.3M, held between $9.5M and $10.5M through September 18, then fell to about $8.6M on September 19, $6.9M on September 22 and a low near $6.6M on September 24, before rebounding to about $9.1M on September 30. At the same time, WETH stepped up from roughly $4.3M to around $6.1M between September 19 and 22 and held that level, which matches the inflow bars above. In other words, part of the stablecoin drawdown reappeared as ether exposure.
Source: Defillama XAUT slipped from about $5.35M to roughly $5.0M, a decline of around 7% that is largely a price effect, since gold retreated through September after its August high. Mantle’s MNT rose from about $1.5M to $2.0M, while ETH (about $1.6M), USDT0 (about $1.0M to $1.2M) and AAVE stayed broadly stable. The purple Bitcoin line shows the temporary spike to about $3.3M on September 22 and the return to under $1M afterwards.
Token breakdown The composition snapshot reads as liquidity first with measured diversification. USDT leads at 32.55%, followed by WETH (16.12%), XAUT (13.42%) and BTC (10.03%), which together account for roughly 72% of holdings. The rest is spread across MNT (4.55%), ETH (4.12%), USDT0 (3.48%), USDC (3.19%), AAVE (3.08%), TRON (1.71%) and an Others bucket of 7.73%.
Source: Defillama Several comparisons with August stand out. USDT rose from 27.96% to 32.55% and WETH from 12.45% to 16.12%, while XAUT eased from 14.94% to 13.42%. BTC jumped from 2.16% to 10.03%, which is consistent with the temporary Bitcoin build between September 15 and 22 rather than a strategic shift. Counting USDT, USDT0 and USDC, stablecoins make up about 39% of the portfolio, and ether exposure across WETH and ETH is about 20%.
Individual stablecoins USDT makes up almost all of Zoomex’s tracked stablecoin balance. USDT opened September near $10.4M and closed around $9.1M, with a mid-month trough near $6.6M. USDC edged down from about $0.9M to $0.75M.
Source: Defillama Total stablecoins Combined stablecoin holdings fell from about $11.5M on September 1 to a low of roughly $7.3M on September 24, a drop of around 36%, before recovering to about $9.9M on September 30. Net, stablecoins ended the month roughly 14% below where they started. Because total assets stayed in the $34M to $38M band, stablecoins slipped from about 32% of tracked assets at the start of the month to roughly a fifth at the trough, which reflects a shift in composition rather than a shrinking balance sheet. The late month rebound, which coincides with the $1.65M USDT inflow on September 29, suggests the rebuild was already underway as September closed.
Source: Defillama Platform community and user metrics Zoomex ended September 2026 with over 3 million registered users across more than 35 countries and regions. The platform’s Telegram community has grown from 76,277 members to 82,319, reflecting active engagement among Zoomex’s core retail trading base.
Zoomex’s daily active trader count consistently exceeds 1 million users according to independent review data, TradersUnion. The platform regularly adds new assets based on market demand combined with rigorous vetting, as of this report, Zoomex lists 486–495 cryptocurrencies and operates across 518–575 trading pairs depending on the market segment (spot or derivatives), a figure that has grown steadily through 2026.
ZoomexFounded in 2021, Zoomex is a global crypto exchange serving 3M+ users with 600+ trading pairs. Guided by the values of "Simple, User-Friendly, and Fast," Zoomex leverages a high-performance engine to ensure a fair, just, and transparent trading environment where every transaction is fully traceable and unbiased. With MSB (U.S./Canada), NFA, and AUSTRAC licenses and audits by Hacken, Zoomex provides institutional-grade security. Partnered with TGR Haas F1 Team and Emiliano Martínez, the platform mirrors elite precision and consistency, delivering a secure, low-barrier, and compliant ecosystem for traders worldwide.
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Společnost BitMine Immersion Technologies během týdne nakoupila 12 535 ETH a navýšila své rezervy na 6 041 481 ETH, což představuje 4,9 % celkové nabídky Etherea.
Tom Lee sees crypto’s recent weakness as part of a broader selloff in AI stocks and Asian markets, as investors pull back from risk.
BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) said on Monday its crypto, cash, and equity holdings were worth $15.1 billion on October 18, down from $16.2 billion a week earlier.
Most of that total is Ethereum (ETH). BitMine marked its Ether at $2,365 per token, using Coinbase prices, against $2,544 in the prior update. That is its lowest weekly mark since the update for August 16, according to its SEC filings.
The company bought 12,535 ETH over the week, taking its treasury to 6,041,481 tokens. That equals 4.9% of the 122.1 million ETH in supply, short of BitMine’s 5% goal. The buy nearly matched the 12,532 ETH BitMine added in the week to October 11.
Cash and marketable securities fell to $582 million, the fourth weekly drop in a row from $714 million on September 20. BitMine’s release gives no reason for the cash decline.
Lee Cites AI Stock Selloff Chairman Tom Lee warned in a post on X on October 13 that a slump in South Korean equities could hit crypto. He said in Monday’s release that investors’ appetite for risk has shrunk over the past few weeks. He tied that to concerns over AI funding and AI model safety. Lee also cited the escalating US-Iran war, anxiety ahead of the US midterm elections and rising bond yields worldwide.
Lee said those worries set off a selloff in AI stocks, including chip and memory makers. That selloff then spread to South Korea and Taiwan, whose stock markets those companies dominate, he said.
“Crypto is widely held in the US, Korea and Taiwan. So naturally, when investors in those regions de-risk, this creates spillover pressures in crypto markets,” Lee stated.
He noted that past price drops that came while fundamentals held up have offered attractive risk and reward. He said he expects the same this time, citing crypto’s exposure to modernizing financial rails and to agentic AI.
You may also like: OpenAI Says Research Model Raided Developer Wallet on Ethereum Testnet Starknet Considers Becoming an L1 to Reach Quantum Resistance by 2027 BitMine’s Weekly ETH Buys Shrink to 12,532 as Tom Lee Says Stacking Is Done Legal Note Drops The Finished-Buying Line Lee said in an October 7 video message that BitMine needed about 100,000 more ETH. BitMine’s next weekly release then added a line to its note on forward-looking statements, and that line cited a management statement that BitMine is largely finished buying ETH.
Monday’s note drops that statement. Its wording on buying matches the updates through the week to October 4, which cited continued weekly ETH acquisitions, without any explanation.
The same note lists Lee’s staking projections. He put annual staking revenue at $309 million on the 5,067,309 ETH BitMine has staked. That staked count has not moved in any weekly update since August 9. Fully staked, he said, the treasury would earn $369 million at a 2.58% seven-day yield.
Ethereum’s [ETH] network activity seems to be returning, with active addresses spiking sharply over the last 24 hours.
At the same time, the percentage of the total supply in profit rose to 63%, affirming the network’s current bullish sentiment, as most holders are choosing to hold rather than to short.
What is more intriguing is that both developments come at a key confluencing zone between an ascending trendline and 200-EMA support at $2.33K. The network’s price action is already positively reacting to the demand zone, as the token is now trading at $2,429.
Could the positive sentiment initiate an ETH recovery and push it above the current consolidation range?
Network activity signals a renewed engagement
According to the most recent network activity data, Ethereum’s number of active addresses spiked by 89K to 389K over the past 24 hours. The substantial increase suggests that on-chain participation is picking up.
For investors, if the rise persists, it could indicate stronger demand for network transactions and applications. However, active addresses do not necessarily represent unique users or direct buying of ETH.
It is also worth noting that these datasets can also rise during periods of increased transfers, trading, or speculative activity.
Source: Santiment
More ETH supply returns to profits
The percentage of ETH supply in profit has climbed to 63%, suggesting that a larger share of circulating tokens is trading above its acquisition price.
According to the recent profitability data, on-chain volume in profits hit $1.70 million on the 18th of October, a significant figure to keep the bullish momentum going. This improvement may support sentiment by reducing the proportion of holders facing unrealized losses.
Source: Santiment
Going hand in hand with the surging network activity and profitability, Ethereum’s Funding Rate has also hit a new weekly high at 0.007. This suggests that investors are anticipating further bullish gains.
This could be attributed to Buterin’s push for AI security, which has seen more big institutions flocking to the network.
Source: CryptoQuant
Can ETH Defend the $2,330 Support?
The zone of confluence at the $2,330 zone will be key to the token price action in the short run. With the token now reclaiming the 200-day support, bulls are more likely to extend their dominance.
If buyers defend this support, ETH could attempt to recover from its current consolidation range and probably target $2.8K. A decisive breakout above that boundary would strengthen the recovery case.
However, a sustained move below $2,330 would weaken the setup and expose ETH to further downside. All in all, as it stands, the rising network activity and improved holder profitability offer encouraging signals.
Source: TradingView
Final Summary
Ethereum active addresses sharply spike, signaling renewed network participation as ETH tests a key technical support zone.
The significant surge in the transaction in profit and network funding rates points to further gains.
Stablecoins now total $300.3 billion, spread across 47 blockchains. Ethereum holds 54.1% of that supply, and Tron holds 31.4%, according to figures shared on X.
Those two chains together account for more than 85% of all stablecoin supply. The remaining 45 networks share what is left.
The numbers, and the fine print
The total is a milestone. Stablecoins are crypto tokens built to track a fiat currency, usually the US dollar, and they now form a market worth roughly $300 billion. Research findings put total supply at an estimated $300.3 billion to $302 billion as of early to mid-October 2026.
Ethereum’s exact share depends on who is counting. Across data sources, its slice of supply ranged from 47.7% to 54.2% during the same period.
Stablecoin Beat, measuring as of October 19, 2026, put Ethereum at around 48.4% and Tron at 31.5%. Other readings place Tron at approximately 31.2% to 31.5% as of mid-October.
The quarterly trend is where the story gets sharper. During Q3 2026, Tron added about $5 billion in stablecoin supply. Over the same stretch, Ethereum shed around $4.9 billion.
Supply versus usage
Tron processed approximately 73% of stablecoin transfer volume in Q3 2026, according to the research findings. That figure is well ahead of Ethereum’s share of flows.
The issuer side is even more concentrated than the chain side. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC together make up around 85% of total stablecoin supply as of October 2026.
Further down the table, the fragmentation is real but thin. Chains such as Solana and BNB Chain each capture only low-single-digit percentages of total supply.
What this means
For Ethereum, a roughly $4.9 billion decline in a single quarter is not a crisis for a network holding well over a hundred billion dollars in stablecoins. Still, losing supply while a rival gains a near-identical amount is the kind of trend that compounds if it continues for several quarters.
The data-source spread also matters for anyone citing Ethereum’s dominance. With readings from 47.7% to 54.2%, the safest framing is that Ethereum holds roughly half, and the exact figure depends on methodology.
For Tron, commanding about 73% of transfer volume while holding about 31% of supply means its stablecoins are working much harder per dollar.
Concentration at the issuer level is the other risk to track. With USDT and USDC holding around 85% of supply, any regulatory, operational, or reserve issue at either company would hit the whole market, regardless of which chain the tokens live on.
The metrics to watch next are straightforward. Watch whether Tron’s Q3 supply gains continue into the next quarter, whether Ethereum’s share stabilizes near the top of its reported range or drifts toward the bottom, and whether any third chain breaks out of the low single digits.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
XRP Ledger za šest měsíců zaznamenal čistý příliv 1,9 miliardy USD do tokenizovaných aktiv reálného světa, bez započtení stablecoinů, což je druhá nejvyšší hodnota mezi sledovanými sítěmi.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has recorded $1.9 billion in net real-world asset (RWA) inflows over the past six months, ranking second among tracked blockchain networks.
XRP Ranks Second in RWA Netflows Data from RWA.xyz, a leading provider of RWA analytics data, shows that BNB Chain leads with $2.2 billion in net inflows, followed by XRPL. Solana ranks third with $1.6 billion, while Stellar comes fourth with $1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Avalanche recorded $637 million in positive net flows, while Base, Monad, and Robinhood attracted $210 million, $200 million, and $199 million, respectively. These figures exclude stablecoin flows and show changes in other tokenized real-world assets.
XRP Ledger has recorded nearly $2 billion in RWA netflows in 6 months The rankings change when stablecoins are included. Notably, TRON takes the top spot with $7.8 billion in six-month net flows, followed by HyperEVM with $5.0 billion and Solana with $2.6 billion. XRPL ranks fourth with $2.5 billion in net inflows under this broader measure.
The increased figure confirms the role of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in the network’s growing tokenized asset market. BNB Chain and Stellar each recorded $1.7 billion in stablecoin-inclusive net inflows, while Robinhood followed with $1.2 billion.
Ethereum Leads All Networks in RWA Outflows Ethereum recorded $2.7 billion in net RWA outflows over the same six-month period, the largest decline among blockchain networks in the dataset that excludes stablecoin flows.
XRPL RWA netflows including stablecoins Plume was the only other network with negative net flows under this measure, recording $223 million in outflows. While most of the tracked networks attracted more capital than they lost, Ethereum and Plume moved in the opposite direction.
Including stablecoins widened Ethereum’s losses. Its net outflows reached $22.3 billion over six months, exceeding the figures recorded by other networks in the analysis. Arbitrum also posted negative net flows, with $3.0 billion in outflows, while Polygon recorded $619 million.
This confirms that substantial net capital left Ethereum’s combined tokenized asset and stablecoin ecosystem during the period. However, the data alone does not show that investors have permanently abandoned Ethereum or confirm that all the capital moved to other blockchains.
XRPL Sees Rapid RWA Growth in 2026 The XRP Ledger reached several important milestones in 2026 as its tokenized asset market expanded. The network started the year with $518 million in distributed RWA value. By the end of the first quarter, the figure had climbed to $2.25 billion, marking a 124% increase from the previous quarter.
Growth continued in May, when XRPL’s tokenized real-world assets surpassed $3.53 billion, setting a new all-time high. The combined value of its RWAs and stablecoins also exceeded $5.37 billion.
XRPL reached $400 million in tokenized value in just 14.9 months, while Ethereum took 36 months to reach the same level. While this shows the faster pace at which XRPL reached its early milestone, it does not guarantee that the network will maintain the same growth rate.
Several asset types have contributed to XRPL’s expansion. Justoken’s JMWH energy tokens account for $2.23 billion of the network’s total tokenized value, making them its largest single contributor.
Tokenized commodities and asset-backed credit have also expanded the range of assets available on the ledger. This has helped broaden XRPL’s RWA market, but the large share held by JMWH means that one asset accounts for a substantial part of the reported total.
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin has also grown considerably, rising from $235 million to more than $1 billion during 2026. In February 2026, Ripple announced a partnership with Aviva Investors to bring traditional fund structures onto the XRP Ledger.
