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Starknet launched Shadow Accounts, a feature that separates users’ main wallets from their DeFi activity.
The accounts are separate, persistent addresses for individual apps, funded from the STRK20 privacy pool.
Balances, transactions and positions in Shadow Accounts remain publicly visible onchain.
StarkWare said the feature could later expand to lending, staking, derivatives, prediction markets and NFT marketplaces.
The launch follows StarkWare’s STRK20 privacy framework and Private KYC system, both introduced in June.

Starknet, a layer-2 network built on Ethereum, has launched a new wallet privacy feature for decentralized finance users. The tool is called Shadow Accounts.

The feature lets users interact with DeFi apps without publicly linking that activity to their main wallets. StarkWare, the company behind Starknet, announced the launch on X.

1/ Every app should have a private mode. So we shipped it 🥷

Introducing Shadow Accounts, now live on Starknet.

A new STRK20 privacy primitive that lets apps offer a Public → Private switch, without publicly linking users' activity to their main wallets 🧵 pic.twitter.com/YjKbHX1i0d

— StarkWare (@StarkWareLtd) October 13, 2026

Shadow Accounts create separate addresses for individual applications. These addresses are persistent, meaning they stay in place over time.

How Shadow Accounts Work
Users fund their Shadow Accounts with shielded balances. These balances are held in the network’s STRK20 privacy pool.

This setup allows users to keep lending, trading or other DeFi positions under different onchain identities. Each app can have its own account tied to the same user.

The feature hides the connection between a Shadow Account and the wallet that funds it. This makes it harder to trace the account back to its owner’s main wallet.

The privacy has limits. According to Starknet, the balances, transactions and positions of Shadow Accounts remain publicly visible onchain.

In other words, people can still see what a Shadow Account holds and does. What is hidden is which main wallet sits behind it.

Once a DeFi app integrates the feature, users can connect their wallets and switch from public mode to private mode. They can then deposit assets into a vault.

The Shadow Account holds the user’s positions until they withdraw. At that point, the funds move back into a shielded balance.

Plans to Expand the Feature
For now, the feature centers on vaults. StarkWare said it could eventually extend to other parts of DeFi.

Those areas include liquidity provision, lending, borrowing and staking. The company also listed derivatives trading, prediction markets and NFT marketplaces.

The launch is part of a wider privacy effort by StarkWare this year. The company has released several privacy tools in recent months.

In June, StarkWare introduced its STRK20 privacy framework. The framework allows private transfers and shielded token balances on Starknet.

The STRK20 privacy pool that funds Shadow Accounts is part of this framework. It serves as the base for the new feature.

Later in June, StarkWare demonstrated a Private Know Your Customer system. The system lets users verify personal information without revealing their full identity documents.

Shadow Accounts are now the newest tool in that lineup. Users can access the feature through DeFi apps that choose to integrate it.

Bybit Expands Beyond Crypto as CEO Outlines Next Phase of Financial Platform

Evernorth plans to deploy around 473 million XRP via an institutional strategy, with a current value of approximately $648 million.

U.S. public company Evernorth has selected Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase, and BitGo as its first institutional partners, and plans to deploy its approximately 473 million XRP holdings starting in the fourth quarter via institutional strategies. The holdings are currently valued at around $648 million. Evernorth went public via a SPAC merger and will also expand into lending on the XRP Ledger and on-chain DeFi strategies in the future.

1 minutes ago

Ahead of the CPI release, the probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in October stands at 78.4%.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch data, ahead of today’s release of U.S. September CPI figures, the probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in October stands at 78.4%, while the chance of a cumulative 25 basis point rate hike is 21.6%. For December, the likelihood of the Fed keeping rates unchanged is 12%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point hike is 69.7%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point hike is 18.3%.

1 minutes ago

Strive increases its Bitcoin holdings by another 2,822 coins at an average price of approximately $83,266.

Bitcoin treasury firm Strive filed an 8-K document today disclosing that it added 2,822 Bitcoin to its holdings between October 12 and 13, at an average price of approximately $83,266 per coin. The acquisition cost $235 million, bringing its total Bitcoin position to 35,600 coins.

1 minutes ago

Tether AI Research has unveiled its on-device speech recognition model TranscribePsy, designed for smart glasses and humanoid robots.

Tether AI Research has released an open-source multilingual automatic speech recognition (ASR) model named QVAC TranscribePsy, which has around 254 million parameters and can run fully on-device—no audio upload to the cloud required. The company noted the model can process audio from smart glasses connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in near real time, and also operate on onboard processors of humanoid robots. On the Core ML version for iPhone 17 Pro Max, transcribing 10 minutes of audio takes roughly 1.65 seconds. According to its published benchmark data, TranscribePsy achieves a word error rate (WER) of 8.02% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, 6.58% on Multilingual LibriSpeech, and 21.56% on Common Voice. Among six tested smartphones, it is the fastest in speed, approximately 2.6 times faster than the second-fastest model. The model supports 25 European languages for laptops and 8 European languages for mobile phones, with model weights and builds in formats including GGUF and Core ML released under the Apache 2.0 license. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that he hopes advanced speech AI can run locally on users’ own devices, ensuring data does not leave the device.

1 minutes ago

Physical Intelligence opens its robot model API: Picking strawberries, assembling servers, new actions can be trained in just 4 days.

Beating AI News Flash: U.S.-based robotics AI firm Physical Intelligence (Pi) has launched the beta version of its Pi API, opening access to its foundational robotics model to more enterprises. Developers only need to upload robot operation data to fine-tune the model on Pi’s cloud computing power, then control their own robots via the API. There’s no need to train models from scratch or build complex training and inference infrastructure independently. Pi showcased real-world use cases from multiple partners, including AgRobotics’ strawberry-picking robots, autonomous loaders for self-driving trucks, and robots for food processing and server assembly. Among these, startup Almond used the Pi API to get its dual-arm robot to learn polishing the parts required for its own assembly after just 4 days of iterative training and testing. Pi had previously open-sourced robotics models such as π0 and π0.5, but developers still had to deploy and train them on their own. This time, the company has further packaged model fine-tuning, computing power, and inference services into an API, aiming to become a shared intelligent foundation for various robots. However, test access is still by application only, and pricing has not been announced yet.

1 minutes ago

Spark: Q3 Net Protocol Revenue Surpasses $4 Million, Stablecoin Swap Layer Hits Over $14 Billion in Trading Volume in Its First Month

DeFi lending protocol Spark has disclosed that its net protocol returns exceeded $4 million in the third quarter of 2026. In the first half of the year, DeFi lending spreads narrowed significantly, with lending capital profitability turning negative in the second quarter. After driving growth for Spark Savings USDT in Q3, related returns rebounded above capital costs. During the same period, Spark partnered with Uniswap and Sky to launch a stablecoin swap layer, which went live with $150 million in USDS liquidity, offering stablecoin swap services to banks, fintech firms and payment companies, and recorded over $14 billion in trading volume in its first month.

1 minutes ago

5 hours ago

According to TradingBeats monitoring, trader Boomer (X handle: solanadoomer1) closed 5,000 ETH short positions via his Hyperliquid address 0xbf73 in the early hours of today, with the closing trade totaling around $12.6 million. He then opened a ZEC long position at an average entry price of approximately $1,222. As of now, the address holds 8,000 ZEC long positions, employs 10x full leverage, has a position value of roughly $10.01 million, an unrealized profit of about $235,000, and a position return rate of around 24%.

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3 min read

S&P 500 options are hot on Hyperliquid-based Hypercall exchange. (TyliJura/Pixabay)Summary

Hypercall has recorded $640 million in notional volume since June 1, with more than 80% coming from S&P 500 options.The platform offers daily, weekly and monthly expiries around the clock, settles contracts in USDC and has seen trading concentrate in options expiring the next day.Hypercall’s growth reflects rising demand for blockchain-based access to traditional markets, though its volume remains small compared with established options venues.Talk about options on the S&P 500 index, and you are discussing a beast of a market that trades trillions of dollars in notional volume every day. Crypto traders now appear to want to access it over a blockchain.

Hypercall illustrates the demand. The options platform built on Hyperliquid, the eighth-largest blockchain by total value locked (TVL), went live in June, and more than 80% of the $640 million in notional volume since then has come from S&P 500 options, the exchange told CoinDesk. Open interest, the value of contracts still outstanding, is about $49 million, of which $47 million is in S&P 500 options.

While the numbers are small next to traditional markets and Deribit's crypto options business, which started shortly after the platform’s 2016 debut and now routinely sees billions of dollars in daily volume and open interest, they illustrate a growing trend: the desire to access financial instruments when conventional markets are closed. Hypercall lists daily, weekly and monthly expiries, including over weekends.

"The volume is concentrated in options expiring the following day," Jake Sylvestre, founder of Hypercall, said in an email interview. "Traders can take a view on the next day's move or hold a position further out."

Traders are gravitating to blockchains for exposure to traditional markets, including derivatives. Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange (DEX), also known as Hyperliquid, has become a go-to venue for placing trades and managing risk through perpetual futures, especially on weekends when conventional markets are closed and geopolitical tensions have repeatedly escalated.

The draw of 24/7Hypercall takes Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures into the options arena. An option is a contract that pays out if an asset ends up above or below — depending on the details — a set price by a specified date. A call option pays off when the asset finishes above that price at expiry. A put option works the other way round. Traders use both to hedge against price swings and bet on direction, volatility and time.

Each Hypercall contract has a $1 multiplier, which means each index point is worth $1 at settlement. A call with a 7,000 strike pays $100 if the index settles at 7,100. Contracts settle in USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, against the average price over the final 30 minutes for Hyperliquid's S&P 500 perps.

Trading around the clock is the draw. "Hyperliquid has become the best venue for trading these markets outside exchange hours," Sylvestre said.

Hypercall’s exchange's market makers, the firms that quote prices, "hedge on Hyperliquid's perpetual futures, including on weekends when the cash equity market is closed," Sylvestre said. Earnings, economic data and company news can move an underlying asset while its home exchange is closed, and makers "have to price those events around the clock."

Hypercall isn't pitching itself as a replacement for Deribit, the Coinbase Global COIN-owned biggest crypto options venue, which mostly lists bitcoin BTC$83,212.45 and ether ETH$2,508.47 options.

"Most of our traders aren't leaving Deribit; they're trading markets Deribit doesn't list," Sylvestre said.

Two market makers are active and three more are being onboarded.

"We haven't named them publicly yet and expect to over the next few weeks," Sylvestre said. "User collateral is held on-chain," it said, but "order matching is off-chain only." Parts of margining and liquidation also run off-chain.

Individual stocksIndex options aren't the only draw. Options on SpaceX SPCX, Nvidia NVDA, Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK) make up more than half of all trades, followed by Apple AAPL, Microsoft MSFT, Meta META, Alibaba (BABA), ether and bitcoin.

"The breadth is in single names," Sylvestre said.

Other platforms are adding stock options too. Bybit began offering 24/7-trading on options on stock perpetuals on Sept. 17, starting with SpaceX and Nvidia. Binance, the largest crypto exchange by value traded, offers options on more than 1,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs to eligible users outside the U.S.

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Evernorth plans to deploy around 473 million XRP via an institutional strategy, with a current value of approximately $648 million.

U.S. public company Evernorth has selected Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase, and BitGo as its first institutional partners, and plans to deploy its approximately 473 million XRP holdings starting in the fourth quarter via institutional strategies. The holdings are currently valued at around $648 million. Evernorth went public via a SPAC merger and will also expand into lending on the XRP Ledger and on-chain DeFi strategies in the future.

1 seconds ago

Ahead of the CPI release, the probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in October stands at 78.4%.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch data, ahead of today’s release of U.S. September CPI figures, the probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in October stands at 78.4%, while the chance of a cumulative 25 basis point rate hike is 21.6%. For December, the likelihood of the Fed keeping rates unchanged is 12%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point hike is 69.7%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point hike is 18.3%.

1 seconds ago

Strive increases its Bitcoin holdings by another 2,822 coins at an average price of approximately $83,266.

Bitcoin treasury firm Strive filed an 8-K document today disclosing that it added 2,822 Bitcoin to its holdings between October 12 and 13, at an average price of approximately $83,266 per coin. The acquisition cost $235 million, bringing its total Bitcoin position to 35,600 coins.

1 seconds ago

Tether AI Research has unveiled its on-device speech recognition model TranscribePsy, designed for smart glasses and humanoid robots.

Tether AI Research has released an open-source multilingual automatic speech recognition (ASR) model named QVAC TranscribePsy, which has around 254 million parameters and can run fully on-device—no audio upload to the cloud required. The company noted the model can process audio from smart glasses connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in near real time, and also operate on onboard processors of humanoid robots. On the Core ML version for iPhone 17 Pro Max, transcribing 10 minutes of audio takes roughly 1.65 seconds. According to its published benchmark data, TranscribePsy achieves a word error rate (WER) of 8.02% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, 6.58% on Multilingual LibriSpeech, and 21.56% on Common Voice. Among six tested smartphones, it is the fastest in speed, approximately 2.6 times faster than the second-fastest model. The model supports 25 European languages for laptops and 8 European languages for mobile phones, with model weights and builds in formats including GGUF and Core ML released under the Apache 2.0 license. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that he hopes advanced speech AI can run locally on users’ own devices, ensuring data does not leave the device.

1 seconds ago

Physical Intelligence opens its robot model API: Picking strawberries, assembling servers, new actions can be trained in just 4 days.

Beating AI News Flash: U.S.-based robotics AI firm Physical Intelligence (Pi) has launched the beta version of its Pi API, opening access to its foundational robotics model to more enterprises. Developers only need to upload robot operation data to fine-tune the model on Pi’s cloud computing power, then control their own robots via the API. There’s no need to train models from scratch or build complex training and inference infrastructure independently. Pi showcased real-world use cases from multiple partners, including AgRobotics’ strawberry-picking robots, autonomous loaders for self-driving trucks, and robots for food processing and server assembly. Among these, startup Almond used the Pi API to get its dual-arm robot to learn polishing the parts required for its own assembly after just 4 days of iterative training and testing. Pi had previously open-sourced robotics models such as π0 and π0.5, but developers still had to deploy and train them on their own. This time, the company has further packaged model fine-tuning, computing power, and inference services into an API, aiming to become a shared intelligent foundation for various robots. However, test access is still by application only, and pricing has not been announced yet.

1 seconds ago

Spark: Q3 Net Protocol Revenue Surpasses $4 Million, Stablecoin Swap Layer Hits Over $14 Billion in Trading Volume in Its First Month

DeFi lending protocol Spark has disclosed that its net protocol returns exceeded $4 million in the third quarter of 2026. In the first half of the year, DeFi lending spreads narrowed significantly, with lending capital profitability turning negative in the second quarter. After driving growth for Spark Savings USDT in Q3, related returns rebounded above capital costs. During the same period, Spark partnered with Uniswap and Sky to launch a stablecoin swap layer, which went live with $150 million in USDS liquidity, offering stablecoin swap services to banks, fintech firms and payment companies, and recorded over $14 billion in trading volume in its first month.

1 seconds ago

Saifedean Ammous, the author of the 2018 academic book “The Bitcoin Standard,” said that Bitcoin already functions as a medium of exchange and that volatility’s effect on that is likely to diminish.

Bitcoin (BTC) can serve as a medium of exchange as it becomes less volatile than gold while surpassing the market capitalization of the largest precious metal, wrote Ammous in a Tuesday X post.

“Holding Bitcoin is using Bitcoin as money, and its lack of widespread use as a method of payment is no evidence against its monetization unfolding,” added Ammous. 

The remarks come in response to a passage in Professor Lawrence H. White’s book, “Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?,” which argued that Bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it too volatile to serve as a medium of exchange. 

“With no supply response to demand swings, BTC’s price is too volatile for people who want a reliable medium of exchange,” wrote White in a Monday X post, referencing chapter six of his book. He added that the lack of supply response was the reason stablecoins have “eaten BTC’s lunch transaction volume.” 

Other industry watchers have also predicted that Bitcoin would eventually surpass gold. In May 2025, Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch, told Cointelegraph that their in-house prediction forecasts a $1 million Bitcoin price by 2029, which would make Bitcoin match gold’s market capitalization.

However, Bitcoin’s current $1.6 trillion market capitalization would need to grow by at least 18-fold to surpass Gold’s near $29 trillion market cap to become the leading global asset.

In April 2025, Blockstream CEO Adam Back predicted Bitcoin will start rivaling gold’s use cases as a monetary hedge, due to global financial instability and rising fiat inflation. 

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Bitcoin (BTC) can still preserve its traditionally strong October performance, as onchain data points to a local BTC price bottom forming.

Key points:

Onchain data suggested that Bitcoin could still end October strong, following historical patterns. Bitcoin exchange reserves remained 1.7% lower than in mid-September, while whales avoided selling.Apparent demand neared a transition to positive readings for the second time in 2026.BTC price analysis flags “potential bottom” signalsNew analysis published on crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant Monday show onchain conditions in a state of “cautious optimism.” 

Bitcoin continues to weather mixed macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, which include 24-year highs in US bond yields, rising oil prices and cooling capital inflows to exchange-traded products. These conditions have dampened optimism over Bitcoin delivering a strong performance in October.

“Now, signs of a potential bottom are emerging,” CryptoQuant contributor XWIN Research Japan wrote.

Since the start of October, conditions have changed to increasingly benefit crypto and risk assets. XWIN points to cooling expectations of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve into 2027, boosting the odds of inflows improving. At the same time, markets expect more clarity over the US domestic political situation after the approaching Midterm Elections.

“Less political uncertainty after the vote could help investors reassess allocations,” XWIN continued.

Bitcoin exchange reserves, apparent demand and whale holdings give XWIN reasons to believe that October’s local low may have already occurred.

The BTC supply on exchanges has fallen from 2.726 million on Sept. 20 to 2.68 million as of Tuesday, a decrease of 1.7%, despite a modest increase over the past week.

Bitcoin exchange BTC reserves. Source: CryptoQuant

At the same time, the combined holdings owned by large-volume investors, or whales, remain above 3 million BTC. The cohort’s urge to reduce exposure has survived BTC/USD dropping from $87,000 on Oct. 2 to near $80,000 on Oct. 8.

Bitcoin whale holdings (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant

Bitcoin demand data stays bullish in OctoberApparent demand, a measure that compares newly mined BTC with changes in dormant supply, shows overall demand remains supportive.

The metric has been negative throughout 2026, with a brief period of positive 30-day readings in the second half of August. Since then, demand has been negative, but has recovered to near-neutral levels as of this week.

“These developments suggest conditions for a bottom are improving. Confirmation requires sustained ETF inflows, stronger US spot buying and continued demand recovery,” XWIN said. 

“‘Uptober’ need not mean uninterrupted gains: a correction can build the foundation for the next advance.”Bitcoin apparent demand growth. Source: CryptoQuant

This week, crypto asset manager Bitwise said that Q3 onchain data pointed to “crypto spring” after historically significant performance. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, meanwhile, announced what he saw as the start of a new crypto bull market in late August, calling the bear market “over.”

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

3 min read

Altcoins lag ahead of CPI (CoinDesk data)Summary

Bitcoin traded around $83,450 after spiking to $84,000 early in the European morning.The CoinDesk 80 fell 0.6% since midnight UTC while the CoinDesk 20 edged higher, with DeFi tokens the weakest sector.Traders await U.S. CPI, expected to show inflation quickening to 3.6%, after New York Fed President John Williams said he saw no need for rate increases in 2027.Bitcoin BTC$83,212.45 was trading around $83,450 in the European morning after briefly spiking to $84,000 at 08:00 UTC, having bounced from a low of $80,970 on Tuesday.

Altcoins struggled to follow, with the CoinDesk 80 falling 0.6% since midnight UTC while the CoinDesk 20 added 0.2%, leaving close to two-thirds of the CoinDesk 100’s members lower. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season index slipped to 55 from 60 a week ago.

Some pressure eased overnight after New York Fed President John Williams said he saw no need for interest-rate increases in 2027, though he left the door open to one more this year.

That puts the focus on today’s U.S. consumer price index, the last inflation reading before the Fed’s Oct. 28 decision. Economists polled by Dow Jones estimated annual inflation quickened to 3.6% from 3.4%, CNBC reported, with gasoline averaging $4.34 a gallon against $3.08 a year earlier, according to AAA.

S&P 500 index futures edged up 0.2%, while Brent crude held near $106 a barrel.

Derivatives positioningFutures activity is cooling: 24-hour crypto futures volume fell 26% to $156.79 billion. Cumulative open interest (OI) dropped to $140 billion, down 2.27%. Liquidations slid more than 80% to $136.32 million. Lower forced selling points to a calmer, less leveraged market. The long-short taker volume ratio still leans bearish, with shorts accounting for 52% of the flow.Bitcoin and ether traders are de-risking: OI in the two largest cryptocurrencies is down 3.5% and 2.7%, respectively, alongside flat to negative price action over 24 hours. The drops in dollar-value OI mean positions are being closed, not just marked down, so capital is leaving. It's typical of the caution ahead of key economic reports.ZEC is the only major token showing fresh money: OI is up over 4% alongside a 1% rise in spot price. Because OI is measured in dollars, the faster gain suggests new contracts of roughly 3% are being opened, which is net capital inflow beyond the price move. The coin’s 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) is positive, and annualized perpetual funding rates are almost 10%. That means buyers are aggressive and longs are paying to hold positions. Canton Network's CC token shows a similar setup.Leverage appears to be rotating into altcoins: Over the past 30 days, OI in bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies has declined, while that in tokens such as NEAR and Wormhole has risen significantly. The discrepancy points to speculative capital seeking higher beta.CVD shows where the buying and selling pressure is: BTC and TRX lead the past 24 hours, while UNI, SUI and NEAR have the most negative values among the majors. NEAR stands out because rising OI alongside heavy net selling suggests the buildup may be bearish positioning.Bitcoin's implied volatility is rising: BTC’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, has bounced to 40%, higher than its 50- and 100-day averages. Traders may want to watch this because spikes in implied volatility are often a feature of risk aversion. Ether's index is up slightly.Options traders are trading downside protection in bitcoin: BTC's 24-hour options rankings show puts at the $60,000, $78,000 and $75,000 strikes at the top. In ETH's case, calls at the $3,400 and $2,600 strikes top the list, along with the $2,300 put.Token talkOptimism OP$0.1541 has slipped 4.2% since midnight after rallying to its highest since mid-May on Tuesday. The run followed Uniswap’s Unichain completing its testnet migration to OP Enterprise on Oct. 13, with the mainnet move scheduled for Oct. 29. Under the arrangement, Optimism will run Unichain’s production infrastructure, including its sequencer.DeFi is the weakest corner of the market, with the CoinDesk DeFi index (DFX) falling 1.8% since midnight. Liquid staking token lido LDO$0.4227 lost 2.9%, jito JTO$0.5277 2.8% and uniswap (UNI) 2.5%.Some of last week’s biggest gainers are leading the decliners, with starknet STRK$0.07904 down 4.5% since midnight, kaia KAIA$0.04529 3.8% and celestia (TIA) 3.7%. Celestia reached its highest level of 2026 at about $0.63 on Saturday.AI agent payments token kite KITE$0.1395 leads the gainers with a 5.3% rise, followed by oracle token pyth PYTH$0.08505, up 4.5%, and privacy-focused AI platform token venice VVV$22.67, up 2.4%. Zcash (ZEC) has added 1.7%.Related Assets

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A software engineer in the United Kingdom has filed a lawsuit against HDR Global Trading, the operator of the now-defunct crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, seeking the return of 324.8 BTC. The case, brought by Lewis Barber in London’s Commercial Court, centers on allegations that BitMEX entered into trades with him without the necessary authorization from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Exchange operations and regulatory questionsBarber’s claim states that between 2018 and 2022, he executed approximately 2,294 trades on BitMEX from five separate accounts, focusing on perpetual swaps, a type of crypto derivative. Out of these transactions, 1,053 resulted in losses. The claim argues that each of these transactions constituted a regulated activity that required FCA approval, which BitMEX allegedly lacked.

According to the particulars of the claim, as of October 1, the Bitcoin in question was valued at £20.4 million, equivalent to about $27.2 million. Barber’s legal team contends that these contracts are unenforceable under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 due to BitMEX’s lack of regulatory status in the UK.

The claim further notes BitMEX’s active approach to UK users, including allowing new sign-ups to select the UK as their residence and running international promotional campaigns. This included an advertisement in The Times in January 2019. It cites an FCA warning from March 2020 suggesting BitMEX may have operated without authorization in the UK market.

Barber is also pursuing damages for deceit, arguing that BitMEX implicitly misrepresented its legal standing. His solicitors notified BitMEX of the intent to rescind the trades in December 2025, according to the legal filing.

Barber’s lawyers believe that other UK traders who interacted with BitMEX under similar circumstances could have comparable claims, with potential liability running to hundreds of millions of pounds.

The legal action has been filed but not yet formally served on BitMEX. A spokesperson for HDR Global Trading said there has been no service of the claim on the company.

Further legal challenges and political linksBitMEX faces other legal troubles, including a proposed class action in New York alleging Bitcoin theft and insider trading. This suit names the exchange’s co-founders, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed.

All three co-founders admitted to Bank Secrecy Act violations in 2022, specifically for failing to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program. BitMEX itself pleaded guilty to similar violations in 2024 and was ordered to pay a $100 million penalty in January 2025.

In March 2025, President Donald Trump issued pardons for Hayes, Delo, and Reed. CNBC reported that each co-founder agreed to pay a $10 million fine as part of the settlement. Hayes publicly acknowledged the pardon on X.

Gareth Keillor, a partner at Seladore Legal, highlighted that additional UK-based individuals may have similar claims against BitMEX, though the validity of each would depend on particular trading histories and facts.

Separately, Ben Delo made headlines by donating £36 million to Reform UK, marking the largest single political donation in British history.

BitMEX winds down operationsBitMEX officially ceased its exchange services on September 23, following an announcement in July detailing its planned closure. The company confirmed the conclusion of all trading activity at 04:00 UTC on a Wednesday, after a two-month wind-down period.

While users can still access their accounts and withdraw funds, the exchange is no longer accepting new deposits or trade positions. BitMEX has stated that all customer funds are secure, encouraging users to remove any remaining balances as soon as possible.

In the context of ongoing legal and regulatory uncertainties, the case has underscored the significance of minimizing operational risks and closely monitoring changes in the crypto industry. In a market where a single Fed decision or a sudden altcoin listing can change everything in seconds, jumping between different apps for charts, news, and portfolio tracking is costing investors money. Smart traders are now utilizing privacy-first tools like CryptoAppsy to consolidate everything. Without even the hassle of creating an account, users gain access to real-time charts, smart price alerts, coin-specific news, and essential macro data all in one place.

Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has been named in a £20 million lawsuit filed by British software engineer Lewis Barber, who alleges the company offered unauthorized derivatives trading to UK customers between 2018 and 2022.

Summary

BitMEX faces a £20 million lawsuit from British software engineer Lewis Barber over cryptocurrency trading losses.
Barber alleges BitMEX offered regulated derivatives without authorization from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority during trading activities.
The claim seeks Bitcoin lost between 2018 and 2022, relying on UK financial services legislation.
BitMEX said the legal claim had not been served on its operating company, HDR Global.
U.S. authorities fined BitMEX $100 million in January 2025 after its earlier Bank Secrecy Act conviction.

The Guardian reported on October 14 that Barber had filed the claim at London’s High Court against HDR Global Trading Limited, the Seychelles-based operator of BitMEX. Barber is seeking the return of Bitcoin he says he lost while trading cryptocurrency derivatives, or compensation of equivalent value. The claim had not been formally served on the company when the allegations became public.

BitMEX faces questions over unauthorized UK trading
Barber’s lawsuit centers on cryptocurrency derivatives, financial contracts that allow investors to speculate on price movements without directly owning the underlying assets. The products often involve leverage, which increases potential gains and losses.

Through his trading activity on BitMEX, Barber alleges he lost Bitcoin worth approximately £20 million between 2018 and 2022. His lawyers argue that the exchange lacked the necessary Financial Conduct Authority authorization to provide the disputed investment services to UK customers.

The claim relies on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, particularly provisions dealing with agreements entered into by companies conducting regulated activities without the required permissions.

The legislation provides that certain agreements involving unauthorized regulated activities may be unenforceable. Under specified conditions, affected customers can seek the return of money or property transferred through such agreements.

Barber’s lawyers contend that the provisions apply to his cryptocurrency trades. The court has not decided whether BitMEX breached the applicable rules or whether the investor is entitled to recover his losses.

The disputed transactions involved leveraged cryptocurrency derivatives and perpetual futures, products that allow traders to take positions using borrowed exposure. Such contracts can produce substantial losses when prices move against leveraged positions.

Investor says BitMEX promoted its products in Britain
The lawsuit includes allegations concerning how BitMEX marketed its trading services to potential customers.

Barber’s lawyers claim the exchange conducted promotional campaigns internationally without excluding the United Kingdom. The filing specifically refers to an advertisement published in The Times on January 3, 2019.

The legal team argues that the company’s promotional activities supported its efforts to attract customers in Britain, despite allegedly lacking the regulatory permissions required for certain derivatives products.

The statement of claim refers to an FCA warning issued around March 3, 2020. According to the reported filing, the regulator warned that BitMEX might have been conducting regulated investment activities in the UK without authorization.

Barber’s lawyers maintain that the transactions were therefore subject to the remedies available under British financial services legislation. However, the FCA warning cited in the lawsuit is not itself a court finding that the disputed contracts were unlawful.

Gareth Keillor, a partner at Seladore Legal representing Barber, said the case concerns cryptocurrency trading losses accumulated over several years.

“This is a substantial claim concerning losses sustained by Lewis over a number of years,” Keillor said.

He explained that Barber’s position is that BitMEX entered into the disputed transactions without the authorization required under UK law. The investor is consequently seeking the Bitcoin he lost or equivalent damages.

Keillor suggested that other UK customers may have entered similar agreements with the platform, although the merits of any separate claims would depend on individual trading records and circumstances.

BitMEX says the £20 million claim has not been served
The legal action became public weeks after BitMEX ended its cryptocurrency exchange operations.

The Seychelles-based platform voluntarily closed on September 23, 2026, following a strategic review of its business. The closure ended its trading services but did not prevent legal claims from being filed against its operating company.

Barber named HDR Global Trading Limited as the defendant in the High Court proceedings.

Responding to the reported lawsuit, a BitMEX spokesperson said, “No such claim has been served on HDR Global Trading Limited.”

The statement addressed the formal service of the claim and did not provide a detailed response to the allegations concerning UK regulatory authorization.

Filing proceedings and formally serving them on a defendant are separate legal steps. Service ordinarily gives the defendant notice of the case and an opportunity to respond within the applicable court timetable.

No defense filing, hearing date or judgment in Barber’s case was identified in the October 14 report.

Barber’s lawyers suggested that the proceedings could have consequences for other former customers who traded similar products through BitMEX.

Keillor said other UK residents may have entered comparable contracts, but he cautioned that any potential recovery would depend on the particular facts and trading history.

The legal team suggested that liabilities could reach hundreds of millions of pounds if additional investors brought successful claims. The estimate represents a possible scenario raised by Barber’s lawyers, not an established liability or damages award.

BitMEX has faced previous legal action in the U.S.
The latest case follows earlier enforcement proceedings against BitMEX and its founders in the United States.

In July 2024, HDR Global Trading Limited pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act after federal prosecutors accused the exchange operator of failing to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program.

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed the guilty plea, stating that the company failed to establish sufficient customer identification and compliance procedures while conducting cryptocurrency derivatives business.

Prosecutors said the exchange allowed customers to open accounts using limited identifying information during part of the period covered by the investigation.

In January 2025, the Justice Department announced that BitMEX had been fined $100 million for the Bank Secrecy Act offense.

The sentence followed the company’s guilty plea and included a two-year probation period.

BitMEX founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed had previously pleaded guilty to related Bank Secrecy Act charges in 2022. They received financial penalties and sentences that did not require imprisonment.

President Donald Trump pardoned the three founders in March 2025.

The earlier U.S. proceedings concerned anti-money-laundering compliance and customer identification requirements. Barber’s lawsuit concerns a separate question involving the authorization needed to offer certain financial products in Britain.

Meanwhile, BitMEX has faced another civil action in New York, where investors accused the exchange of Bitcoin theft and insider trading. The company has denied those allegations.

Ben Delo, one of the exchange’s founders, has separately attracted attention in British politics after making a £36 million donation to Reform UK. Delo said the contribution was intended to support what he described as fair political competition.

Barber’s High Court claim seeks the return of Bitcoin allegedly lost through trading between 2018 and 2022, or equivalent damages. As of the October 14 report, BitMEX maintained that the proceedings had not been formally served on HDR Global Trading Limited.

Saifedean Ammous, author of the influential book “The Bitcoin Standard,” stated that Bitcoin is already being used as a medium of exchange and that the impact of its volatility is likely to decrease over time.

Debate on Bitcoin’s role as a medium of exchangeIn a recent post on X, Ammous argued that Bitcoin could serve as a medium of exchange, especially as its price fluctuations become less extreme, potentially even outpacing gold in stability while overtaking it in terms of market value.

Ammous emphasized that holding Bitcoin constitutes using it as money, and its relatively limited use for everyday payments does not undermine the process of monetization, which he expects to unfold further as the network matures.

“Holding Bitcoin is using Bitcoin as money, and its lack of widespread use as a method of payment is no evidence against its monetization unfolding,” stated Ammous.

His comments came in response to Professor Lawrence H. White, an economist and author of “Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?” White contended that Bitcoin’s fixed supply leads to significant price volatility, making it unsuitable as a reliable medium of exchange.

White, referencing chapter six of his book, warned that because Bitcoin’s supply cannot respond to demand swings, its price becomes too unstable for regular transactions. He further highlighted that this limitation has allowed stablecoins to take a leading role in daily payment volume compared to Bitcoin.

White wrote, “With no supply response to demand swings, BTC’s price is too volatile for people who want a reliable medium of exchange.”

Mini dictionary: Stablecoin, a digital currency designed to maintain a stable value by pegging it to a reserve asset such as the US dollar or euro, and is widely used for payments due to its low volatility compared to other cryptocurrencies.

Industry projections and comparisons with goldSeveral analysts in the cryptocurrency industry have forecasted that Bitcoin could eventually match or surpass gold’s market capitalization. In May 2025, André Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise, a leading crypto asset manager, projected a Bitcoin price of $1 million by 2029, a valuation that would bring its total market cap in line with that of gold.

Currently, Bitcoin holds a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 trillion, while gold’s global market cap stands near $29 trillion. For Bitcoin to overtake gold as the leading store of value, it would need to grow at least 18 times its current market size.

AssetMarket Cap (approx.)Required Growth to Match GoldBitcoin (BTC)$1.6 trillion18-foldGold$29 trillion–Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, a blockchain technology company, predicted in April 2025 that Bitcoin will begin to compete with gold’s traditional role as a monetary hedge. He pointed to increasing global financial instability and inflation in fiat currencies as potential catalysts for Bitcoin’s growing relevance as an alternative store of value.

Coinbase wants the post-quantum migration for Bitcoin to start now in a phased approach to allow adaptation without full network upgrades. 

According to the firm, which controls about 5% of Bitcoin supply via its custody arm, the migration will take years; hence, taking early steps now is crucial. In its latest blog post, the exchange wrote, 

We believe it is important to begin preparing well ahead of any CRQC announcement. Bitcoin consensus changes and ecosystem migrations can take years, so it is important that we begin this work now.

CRQC refers to a stable and functional quantum computer that can crack current cryptography, such as elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) or ECDSA that secures networks like Bitcoin. 

Google researchers believe such a quantum computer could be feasible by 2029, while the U.S. government wants all tech systems to be quantum-proof by 2035. In other words, the Q-Day could be in 2-9 years, based on these projections, and blockchains should be ready before then. 

Source: Kalshi
Coinbase post-quantum proposals for Bitcoin
Bitcoin transactions can only be approved by a private key (through signatures such as ECC or ECDSA).

But because Bitcoin transfers include public keys when one spends, powerful computers (quantum or AI models) can reverse-engineer them to generate related private keys. As such, attackers with these powerful machines can siphon funds using reverse-engineered private keys. 

Coinbase proposed allowing one or more PQ signature systems via proposed P2MR (Pay-to-Mast-Root) or P2TRv2 address systems. 

Source: Coinbase
Additionally, the exchange proposed a hybrid configuration that allows one to spend using classical keys or PQ keys for a smooth migration. To further prevent forgery risks, Coinbase recommended the so-called stateless PQ signatures. 

However, the exchange said dormant, “lost Bitcoin,” or late transition should be addressed separately to avoid taking too much time and delaying the entire migration process. 

In our view, that discussion can proceed alongside, and independently of, the technical work to add PQ signature support, so it need not delay progress on that work.

Source: Matrixport
About 3.5M BTC or 17% of the supply, including Satoshi’s holdings, are inaccessible or believed to be lost. 

Besides, Glassnode estimates that 21.5% of the BTC supply (3.8M to 4.3M BTC) is exposed to address reuse (exposed public keys) and quantum risk.

Source: Glassnode
Coinbase is already pushing for a quantum-safe custody system, PQ-CoreKMS, by next year and plans to support various PQ signatures.

Interestingly, other players such as Project Eleven are also advancing a similar custody platform that can offer a dedicated operational layer despite the evolving and different PQ systems for various blockchains. 

Final Summary

Coinbase wants the community to start Bitcoin’s phased post-quantum migration
Glassnode estimates that 21% of BTC supply is at quantum risk due to address reuse

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XRP

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XRP traded at $1.37, almost flat, with little to no movement as its price prediction and sentiment started to recover. Ripple’s new Privy integration lowers the work required to build XRPL payment apps, but adoption will determine whether it changes the token’s price path. The technical setup remains fragile, with XRP below two key moving averages.

Announced late last night, the partnership gives developers tools to create and manage XRPL wallets, sign transactions, and support payments in XRP, RLUSD, and other XRPL assets. Privy says the integration is designed to simplify wallet creation and payment workflows.

1/ We're partnering with @Ripple to bring Privy wallets to the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

This makes it easier for developers to build stablecoin payments, fintech applications, and agentic commerce on XRPL. pic.twitter.com/vUhKJdfxBT

— Privy (@privy_io) October 13, 2026
The companies also point to agentic commerce, where software agents can hold funds and pay for online services. Ripple says AI-agent payments have reached approximately 13 million, or about 25% of XRPL activity, according to Privy’s announcement.

For now, the price has not confirmed a reversal. Broader market stress remains relevant: more than $800 million in leveraged positions were liquidated across exchanges in 24 hours, with longs accounting for 86% of the total. That backdrop puts the focus on support, resistance, and whether XRPL usage translates into persistent buying.

XRP Price Prediction: Can XRP Reclaim $1.40 This Week?XRP is hovering near the $1.37–$1.38 support zone, with $1.385 as nearby resistance. A daily close above that level would improve the short-term setup; a move through $1.40–$1.45 would offer stronger evidence that buyers are reclaiming control.

Momentum is soft, not washed out. XRP is below its 50-day EMA at $1.395 and 200-day EMA at $1.40, while RSI sits at 37.87—bearish territory, but not an oversold signal. Spot-volume figures are consistent across the week.

Bull case: support holds, and a daily close above $1.38 opens a test of $1.40–$1.45, with $1.60 a higher resistance marker.
Base case: XRP consolidates around $1.37–$1.40 as traders await evidence of follow-through from the Privy integration.
Bear case: a break below $1.337 weakens the structure and puts the $1.32–$1.25 demand zone in view.
A lower close would invalidate the near-term recovery thesis. The next macro catalyst is U.S. CPI: a hotter reading could pressure risk assets by lifting rate expectations, while a softer print may support a relief bid. The network’s wider development also matters; XRPL ecosystem activity provides context beyond this single integration.

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Maxi Doge Targets Early Mover Upside as XRP Tests SupportXRP’s weekly decline and position below its moving averages leave little room for complacency. The Privy deal improves the path for developers, but integrations do not guarantee transaction growth or token demand.

If support gives way, traders may look beyond established assets for higher-risk opportunities. It’s a familiar rotation, though not a dependable hedge.

Maxi Doge ($MAXI) is an Ethereum ERC-20 meme token and trading-community project built around a 240-lb canine character and a 1000x-leverage trading mentality. Its presale price is $0.0002843, with $4.8 million raised, approaching the $5 million milestone.

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Research Maxi Doge alongside its terms and risks before the presale ends.

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Analysis

The first major L1 to embed programmable wallets for AI agents bypasses the merchant-of-record debate by building underneath it. The accountability gap, however, remains wide open.

On October 13, 2026, Ripple and Privy, a Stripe company, shifted the focus of agentic commerce downward. By embedding programmable wallet infrastructure directly into the XRP Ledger (XRPL), they have created the first major Layer 1 move to provide AI agents with native, autonomous financial capabilities.

Mechanics of L1 Integration The integration allows developers to programmatically create and manage XRPL accounts, enabling AI agents to hold and transact funds using XRP, RLUSD, and other native assets. Each new account requires a 1 XRP minimum reserve for activation. While the current implementation focuses on core transaction signing, future capabilities such as policy controls for spend limits and gas sponsorship are in development but are not yet generally available.

The utility of this infrastructure relies on the x402 protocol, which facilitates machine-to-machine payments. According to vendor-sourced figures from the XRPL AI Hub and t54, the ledger has processed roughly 13–14 million AI agent payments, accounting for approximately 25% of network activity. Separately, x402 has seen 191.75 million cumulative transactions across 12 chains, though BigGo Finance estimates that 25–30% of this volume is likely test or leaderboard noise.

“Stablecoins are changing how money moves, and XRPL has been building for payments from the start,” said Henri Stern, CEO of Privy. “We’re excited to make Privy wallets available to developers building on XRPL, from global payments to agentic commerce, and whatever comes next.”

Positioning in the Checkout Wars This infrastructure sits apart from the existing “agentic checkout” models identified in previous analysis, which include Shopify’s gate, Constructor’s in-agent checkout, and Salesforce’s authorization-as-checkout. Those models place the merchant of record at the center of the transaction. By moving the wallet to the L1 layer, Ripple and Privy enable agents to act as their own financial entities.

“A well-designed agent can monitor conditions, trigger a payment, handle asset conversion natively, confirm settlement, and move to the next step without requiring manual intervention at every stage,” said Ayo Akinyele, senior director of engineering at RippleX. Markus Infanger, SVP of RippleX at Ripple, added: “Privy brings proven wallet infrastructure that makes it easier for fintechs and developers to bring XRPL into real products, from payments and stablecoin experiences to emerging forms of agentic commerce. Paired with XRPL’s fast settlement, low transaction costs and native support for moving and exchanging digital assets, developers have a strong foundation to build financial products that can scale.”

The Accountability Gap While the technical ability for an agent to hold and spend its own funds is now established, the legal and operational framework remains unsettled. The current merchant-of-record debate assumes a human-centric liability model. However, 93% of merchants believe that AI or agent providers should bear the financial loss when an agent makes an incorrect purchase, according to PYMNTS Intelligence data from September.

Aaron McPherson, principal at AFM Consulting, remains skeptical of the current trajectory. “There are many unanswered questions in Ripple’s tool kit regarding accountability for errors that the card networks are better positioned to answer, being in the business of administering governance frameworks,” McPherson noted. He suggests that the industry may ultimately favor a “stablecoin sandwich” model, where stablecoins serve as a settlement mechanism behind traditional card networks rather than replacing them entirely.

The Amex Intent Intelligence Framework represents another approach, focusing on the issuer side to provide evidence for dispute adjudication. By building underneath the merchant-of-record debate, Ripple and Privy have changed the shape of the checkout question, but they have not yet resolved the underlying liability gap.

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Crypto market analyst Egrag Crypto has outlined an ambitious outlook for XRP, sharing long-term price projections that place the token as high as $27 by 2027. His analysis is driven by an assessment of historical chart formations, the prospect of an accumulating market phase, and the potential for an extended market cycle.

XRP price forecast centers on chart patterns and accumulationEgrag Crypto, known for his technical analysis in the cryptocurrency community, has emphasized similarities between XRP’s trading structure in previous cycles and current market behavior. He draws particular comparison to XRP’s 2015–2017 accumulation phase, suggesting that a similar set-up could emerge between 2026 and 2027. According to his assessment, past patterns do not repeat identically, but comparable structures may offer useful clues for future price action.

He noted that XRP could be forming a major accumulation base, possibly following a double or triple bottom structure, before the next bullish expansion. Egrag marked the possible range lows between $1.08 and $1.10, with the upper boundary stretching toward $1.80 to $1.90. He expects the token to experience several price swings, including liquidity sweeps both upward and downward, before any sustained upward movement occurs.

Crypto commentator Moon Lambo discussed these projections in a recent video, supporting the view that any future rally is likely to be preceded by substantial volatility. He counseled that short-term drops would not necessarily disrupt the underlying macro-accumulation pattern.

$6.40 and $10.38 identified as initial major breakout targetsAmong Egrag Crypto’s specific targets, $6.40 stands out as the first significant expansion level, which he identifies as a technical milestone once XRP exits its current range. Achieving this would take XRP beyond its previous all-time high of around $3.65, pushing it into a new price-discovery zone.

A subsequent target of $10.38 is labeled as a 500% fractal projection. Both targets are dependent on market structure confirming an extended bullish cycle, and neither figure is guaranteed. Moon Lambo added that some analysts expect this expansion phase to occur later than the 2025 peak that many investors had anticipated, indicating that a lengthier market cycle may be in play.

Price TargetDescription$6.40First major expansion level, above previous all-time high$10.38500% fractal projection$20–$27Potential macro cycle topXRP’s potential path to $27 by 2027 remains uncertainEgrag Crypto’s most bullish outlook places XRP’s macro cycle top at a range between $20 and $27, which he connected to the numerals of the year 2027 for emphasis. This scenario assumes that the broader market experiences another significant altcoin rally, and that XRP benefits alongside other major digital assets.

Moon Lambo deemed this pathway plausible if market conditions align, but did not state that XRP is certain to reach that level. Egrag’s projected timeline features an initial move toward $6 or beyond in December 2027, followed by a more pronounced acceleration to the $20 range potentially in early 2028.

The analyst cautioned that these forecasts remain theoretical. The realization of such price levels will depend on whether the forecasted chart structures manifest and if market conditions prove favorable.

Mini dictionary: Fractal projection, an analysis technique that uses recurring chart patterns from previous market cycles to forecast potential future price movements in financial assets.

Egrag Crypto outlines a scenario where XRP’s accumulation phase may pave the way for an explosive rally, with targets first at $6.40, followed by $10.38, before aiming for a macro cycle top between $20 and $27.

Both Egrag Crypto and Moon Lambo advise caution, noting that significant volatility and a lack of certainty regarding both timing and eventual price level are likely to characterize XRP’s performance in the coming years. While optimism for a substantial rally persists among some analysts, market participants are encouraged to consider the speculative nature of these targets before making investment decisions.

Ripple added Meritz Securities to its South Korean institutional partnerships on October 14, extending a set of deals across banking, insurance and capital markets. The announcement concerns exploration of custody and tokenization services. It does not say that Meritz has launched a product, issued a security on the XRP Ledger or committed to use XRP. Separating those steps is essential to understanding what the partnership adds.

Summary

Ripple announced its fourth Korean institutional partnership of 2026 and its first with a securities firm.
Meritz will explore custody and tokenization within its existing securities business and current regulation.
Kyobo Life, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank are the other three Korean partners named by Ripple.
Ripple’s Meritz announcement does not identify a live token, XRP transaction or launch date.
An XRP Ledger account generally requires a 1 XRP base reserve, but the announced custody arrangement need not use XRPL.

The company announcement names Ripple Custody and tokenization infrastructure as the technologies to explore. Meritz says it is assessing spot exchange traded funds, fractional investments, security tokens, trading platforms and won denominated stablecoins as Korean rules evolve. That list describes the firm’s broader interests. It is not a declaration that each product will be built with Ripple, approved by regulators or released to clients.

JUST IN: Standard Chartered launches institutional custody for Ripple’s RLUSD on the XRP Ledger

The service is available through its DIFC branch, while the bank, Ripple and LMAX Group are working to make $RLUSD eligible collateral under a collateral mirroring model. pic.twitter.com/E5dm9nmEr8

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 12, 2026

A same day crypto.news report covered the agreement. The feature question is what chain and asset, if any, would be required by a future Meritz service. Ripple sells several distinct products, and a custody contract can be important to its business without making the native XRP token central to the transaction.

The agreement starts with exploration
Meritz and Ripple say their cooperation will begin within the securities firm’s current business and existing regulatory perimeter. They plan to expand in stages as Korea’s digital asset framework develops. No volume target, custody asset list, issuer mandate, production date or client enrollment number appears in the release. Those omissions matter when assessing a partnership’s proximity to revenue or onchain activity.

Institutional custody involves creating and controlling keys, authorizing transfers, maintaining records and recovering operations after failures. A broker or securities firm can need such infrastructure before it has launched a tokenized instrument. Ripple Custody is a product offered to regulated institutions; its deployment does not automatically create a public XRP Ledger account for every client.

Tokenization has additional steps. The issuer must define the legal claim represented by the token. A custodian must hold either underlying securities or the keys that control the new asset, depending on the structure. A trading or settlement venue needs permissions and counterparties. A regulator may need to approve or accommodate the product. An announcement that a technology supplier and securities firm will explore these steps confirms a relationship, not completion of the steps.

Ripple calls Meritz its first Korean securities firm partner and fourth Korean institutional partner this year. The classification is company supplied, but the earlier announcements give it substance: an insurer looking at government bonds, a bank deploying wallet infrastructure and a regional lender using payment services. Those are not four identical XRP adoption deals.

Four partners, four different products
Kyobo Life’s April partnership concerns testing the settlement of tokenized Korean government bonds with Ripple Custody. Its product question is whether the asset and cash legs can move safely and with recognized legal effect. Coverage of the bond pilot discussed near real time settlement as a goal. A goal is not a published record of a live market handling all government bonds.

Kbank’s previously reported arrangement centers on digital asset wallet infrastructure using Ripple Custody. A wallet service can manage assets across more than one chain depending on configuration. A deployment claim should be verified through supported assets, actual users and production transactions, none of which follows from a partner count by itself.

Jeonbuk Bank’s August payment agreement focuses on cross border remittances. A bank seeking faster payments has different reasons to buy software from those of an insurer holding bonds. The route might involve regulated institutions, local currencies or stablecoins; its XRP requirement cannot be inferred from the Ripple brand without disclosed routing and settlement records. Related coverage of the Korean expansion places the agreements side by side but does not transform them into one shared ledger product.

Meritz adds securities distribution and custody to this collection of use cases. Its possible products include exchange traded funds, fractional investments and won stablecoins, but each would have its own issuer, license and legal treatment. Describing all four partnerships as a single network effect is a hypothesis. Evidence would be, for example, a Meritz asset held in a Kbank wallet and settled through a named Ripple rail under published terms. No such interconnected transaction is identified in the October 14 release.

JUST IN: Ripple partners with Stripe-owned Privy to bring embedded wallets to the XRP Ledger

The partnership aims to make it easier for developers to integrate crypto wallets directly into apps, helping users access XRPL-based services without managing a separate wallet setup. pic.twitter.com/fEAEWSyesd

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 13, 2026

Where could XRP enter a securities workflow?
If a future tokenized security were issued on the public XRP Ledger, a funded account normally needs the network’s base reserve and transactions consume small amounts of XRP as fees. The base reserve was 1 XRP in the referenced network documentation. More ledger objects can require additional reserves. These technical requirements matter for the accounts operating on that public network, not for every user of a bank’s internal custody service.

A firm can also choose a different chain, a private ledger or an offchain record system while using a custody vendor. Ripple’s product name does not specify the ledger of record. Even if the XRP Ledger is used, an institutional sponsor or platform could operate a small number of accounts on behalf of many customers. Multiply one account’s reserve by a press release’s claimed customer base and the result would be a fictitious XRP demand estimate.

If Meritz issued a won token on XRPL, the currency promise would be a claim on the issuer under its terms, while XRP would pay ledger fees and satisfy account or object reserves. The XRPL token documentation makes clear that an issued asset derives its value from the redemption promise. Buying an issued won token would not be the same as buying XRP. A stablecoin could also be implemented on another network; Meritz has not selected a production design in the release.

Settlement of tokenized securities could conceivably involve XRP as a bridge asset. The October statement does not propose a bridge route, quote transaction cost savings in XRP, or name a conversion counterparty. Calling the possibility likely would be speculation. A reporter would need transaction architecture, counterparties and treasury treatment before claiming demand for the token.

A custody supplier is not the issuer of the security
A holder of a conventional security has rights defined by the issuer, intermediary and applicable law. Representing that security as a token can improve record movement without changing the underlying legal claim. Ripple Custody can help an institution protect keys and authorize transfers; it does not by itself guarantee that a token is a valid share or bond in Korean law.

Fractional investment introduces another layer. A customer might own a fraction of a security, a beneficial interest held through an intermediary or a claim against a platform that owns the security. The legal structure determines corporate actions, redemptions and the outcome of an intermediary failure. An XRPL transaction record alone cannot answer who owes the customer money. Any Meritz rollout would need a product document and terms specifying custody and ownership.

A won stablecoin would raise reserve, redemption and issuer licensing questions separate from custody of investment securities. Meritz says it is exploring the category, not issuing a won token today. The distinction is especially important because a firm can explore several product lines while committing to none. A feature should test each announced possibility against an identifiable launch document, rather than merge them into a promised ecosystem.

There is a strong commercial case for an institution seeking one provider across custody, transfers and tokenization. Integration can reduce the number of systems a firm must build, and regulated clients may prefer controls familiar to their compliance teams. Ripple points to more than 85 licenses and presence in more than 60 markets in its release. Those company figures describe the supplier’s footprint; they do not establish that the Meritz product has permission to operate in any particular way in Korea.

Korea’s regulatory sequence can determine the pace
The companies explicitly say they will start within Meritz’s existing securities business and expand as the framework evolves. That phrase should not be treated as a generic caveat. A tokenized bond, a spot crypto ETF, an exchange for security tokens and a won stablecoin are different regulated activities. Approval of one does not approve the others. Product sequencing may be driven by what the firm is already licensed to do, not by which blockchain feature can be coded fastest.

A pilot can test custody and settlement among known institutions without offering the asset to retail customers. Wider distribution adds suitability, disclosures, trading venue rules, asset servicing and tax treatment. Regulators may permit experiments while retaining limits on open transfers. A public chain can carry a token whose legal use is restricted, but technical transferability should not be confused with unrestricted ownership rights.

The XRPL rules for authorized trust lines show one way an issuer can restrict who receives a token on that ledger. Such a tool could help a regulated issuer, but Meritz has not announced it will use those settings. The point is to distinguish a technical capability from a selected Korean product design.

The Jeonbuk deal shows the payment line has a separate customer and purpose. The four agreements can therefore develop on different clocks. Payment infrastructure may have a commercial timetable independent of securities law. Custody services may be usable before a tokenized security is offered. Meritz’s broader menu contains ambitions for products subject to future regulation. Counting announcements as live, correlated XRP transactions would flatten those differences.

JUST IN: South Korea’s Meritz Securities partners with Ripple on institutional custody and tokenization

The deal makes Meritz Ripple’s first securities partner in Korea and its fourth Korean institutional partner this year, following Kyobo Life Insurance, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank. pic.twitter.com/oCg2DXkdYB

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 14, 2026

One provider can serve several ledgers
A custody platform can apply approval workflows, key storage and audit logs to assets on multiple networks. Ripple advertises its wallet infrastructure for more than the XRP Ledger. The identity of the vendor is therefore a poor proxy for the chain used by an institution. A reporter needs to ask for the system of record in each Korean project: where issuance occurs, where transfers settle, and where the legally controlling ownership register is kept.

That distinction is particularly sharp for securities. A token could be a representation of an entry in a conventional central securities depositary, with the depositary record retaining legal priority. Or the legally recognized register could itself be built around a blockchain under an approved framework. Those structures have different implications for settlement finality, asset servicing and recoverability after a platform outage. Nothing in the Meritz release states which model it intends to adopt.

A bank wallet used for corporate remittances might never encounter Meritz’s proposed securities token. The common supplier can still benefit from selling to both institutions. The existence of four customers does not establish interoperability among their products. Evidence of a connected market would require an actual instrument moving among identified institutions with a documented cash leg and legal basis.

For XRP holders, that difference is not academic. A software sale can produce enterprise revenue at Ripple without consuming a meaningful quantity of XRP. A transaction on XRPL can require XRP for fees and account reserves without generating large, persistent token demand. A bridge settlement involving XRP would be a different economic route again. Only the production architecture and measured transactions can distinguish these possibilities.

The evidence that would change the XRP conclusion
A future Meritz release could name XRP Ledger as the settlement network and publish issuer addresses or an identifiable pilot contract. It could state whether clients or only institutional intermediaries hold onchain accounts. It could give a measured number of securities issued, transfers settled or XRP spent in network fees. Those are all more informative than an aggregate list of partnerships.

Alternatively, Meritz could launch custody on multiple networks while keeping its securities registry offchain. That outcome would be valuable for Ripple’s enterprise business but would give no clear basis for a large XRP demand claim. An honest feature has to allow both possibilities. The vendor’s business and the token’s economics overlap only where a real implementation connects them.

The October 14 announcement is a new institutional relationship. Its precise scope is exploration of Ripple Custody and tokenization infrastructure under existing rules. What XRP contributes remains an answer for a future product specification, not a fact established by a partnership release.

The first live disclosure could settle several questions at once
An actual Meritz product announcement should make clear whether the security token is an investment instrument, a settlement record or a claim on an intermediary. The details would include the issuer, eligible holders, underlying asset, corporate action handling and which record controls if systems disagree. A chain name without those details would not establish the investor’s rights.

If custody goes live before tokenization, the useful measures will be assets under custody, types of institutions served, supported chains and whether the balances belong to Meritz or its clients. The company may withhold addresses for security reasons; it can still describe the custody model and specify whether any assets are on XRPL. No public wallet count should be inferred from an enterprise customer count.

Korean bond settlement offers another concrete benchmark. A pilot between two known participants can test technical finality, but live market use would require repeated trades, reconciliation with the official securities register and the settlement of the cash leg. If the cash side still moves through a conventional bank at different hours, token transfer speed may not equal completed securities settlement speed.

A future disclosure that identifies XRP used in bridge liquidity would materially change the token argument. It should report routed value and frequency, not merely a nominal fee paid to write transactions. Until then, Ripple’s enterprise sales and XRP’s market demand remain related possibilities rather than interchangeable facts.

The product path from announcement to a trade
Meritz’s proposed work starts with an institutional need: holding an asset securely, defining who may instruct a transfer and recording what the holder owns. Ripple Custody can be a supplier in that chain without determining the legal nature of the asset. A token representing a security would also need an issuer, contractual rights, ownership records, transfer restrictions and a recognized process for correcting an error. Those decisions belong to the product sponsor and its regulators, not to an XRP price chart.

An investor could encounter several separate systems in one eventual product. A bank or broker might verify identity and eligibility, a custodian might control keys, a registry might maintain legal ownership, and a ledger might record transfers. The names of those systems matter because a transaction on one of them does not prove settlement on the public XRPL. Ripple’s software relationships are relevant to distribution and implementation, but the October 14 announcement does not identify a live Meritz security or publish its transaction path.

A public token might be issued on the XRP Ledger, a private environment might use related software, or the custodian might connect to several networks. These possibilities carry different implications for native XRP usage. On the public ledger, an account normally needs an XRP reserve and transactions require small XRP fees under the XRPL account reserve rules. The existence of a reserve requirement says little about the scale of demand unless the number of accounts, funding flows and fee volume are known. Private infrastructure cannot be assumed to consume the public token in the same way.

Even a public XRPL deployment would not necessarily make XRP the asset bought by every end investor. A customer could purchase a tokenized bond with cash or a stablecoin through an intermediary, while the intermediary handles reserve and fee balances in the background. The economic meaning of XRP’s participation would depend on volumes and on which party acquires and holds it. A market claim about XRP benefiting from the partnership needs this missing bridge.

Why four partnerships cannot be added as four launches
Each Korean counterparty has its own business model and regulatory obligations. A securities firm exploring tokenization does not have the same product as a bank testing remittances or custody. Adding the announcements together gives the count of relationships, not a count of live tokenized securities or XRP payment corridors. A single provider can win several mandates before any customer transaction takes place; conversely, one deployment can grow significantly without another press release.

The comparison should therefore use milestones: signed exploratory agreement, selected product and network, regulatory permission, customer pilot, production launch and disclosed recurring volume. Meritz is at an announced partnership stage in the public material. No date for an investable security, asset issuance amount, eligible customer list or live XRP settlement was disclosed. The absence of those details is not proof the project will fail. It simply limits what the announcement establishes today.

A domestic securities instrument must also resolve what happens outside normal market hours, how corporate actions reach holders, and whether an onchain transfer legally changes ownership. Tokenization can shorten a technical transfer while leaving cash settlement, beneficial ownership or investor protections on conventional rails. The exact legal design will shape whether faster ledger movement translates into a faster completed trade. It is premature to price that efficiency into an unidentified Meritz product.

Custody brings further operational choices. Institutions usually separate authorization, key management, reconciliation and recovery. If a key is lost or a transfer is disputed, the provider needs a documented process; if the product has investor restrictions, the system must prevent or remediate an ineligible transfer. These controls can make a custody contract valuable while having no necessary connection to large XRP turnover. Ripple’s business revenue and the token’s market demand should be assessed separately.

A disclosure that would clarify XRP’s exposure
The most informative future announcement would name a product, its issuing entity, the ledger used for issuance and settlement, the role of XRP in fees or liquidity, and the date eligible investors can transact. A transaction identifier or independently visible address could then confirm public network use. If the product runs within a permissioned environment, its operator could disclose throughput and settlement metrics instead. Each approach permits verification on its own terms.

Volume should be separated from the face value of tokenized assets. A large bond issuance may sit idle for months; a smaller instrument may change hands often. XRP demand from transaction fees, reserve funding or bridging would follow actual implementation and behavior, not simply the face amount announced. Disclosure of active accounts, settled transfers and asset redemptions would help distinguish a real market from a static token issuance.

XRP’s market price can also move for reasons unrelated to Korea, including broader crypto conditions. Attributing a move to this partnership requires timing and evidence stronger than a headline appearing on the same day. The reader can recognize the institutional reach of Ripple’s latest agreement while leaving the token’s economic payoff unresolved. Subsequent product documents, rather than an inferred link between brands, can settle it.

Custody revenue and token demand are separate measures
Ripple can benefit commercially from providing custody technology even if none of the Meritz customers buys XRP. Software fees, integration work and institutional relationships are business outcomes; reserve balances, transaction fees and bridge liquidity are possible public token outcomes. The announcement does not disclose contract revenue either, so neither stream should be quantified without a later filing or product report. Investors often collapse the two because the company and token share a brand history, but the mechanisms are different.

A tokenized security could also gain value from faster recordkeeping without creating much secondary trading. Issuance, redemption, coupon processing and transfers among approved investors may all be useful even if the instrument rarely moves. If the ledger chosen is public XRPL, transaction fees on infrequent operations are likely to be small relative to the value of the security; the reserve and liquidity arrangement would have to be identified before drawing a demand conclusion. If the network is private, public XRP exposure requires an additional disclosed mechanism.

Korean market rules affect who can hold the instrument and which intermediaries can serve it. A global technology supplier cannot replace domestic approvals through a partnership announcement. Meritz would need to describe the legal rights of token holders, arrangements for cash settlement and any restriction on transfer to unverified wallets. Those documents would also show whether the proposed custody arrangement is essential to the product or one replaceable technology component.

The most useful comparison with the previous three relationships will arrive when each has a product or a disclosed cancellation. Counting logos now can signal sales reach, but it cannot rank use. The next report should ask for the date of first customer transaction, the amount actually issued or transferred, the operator of the ledger and the party bearing custody risk. Those details can make a modest pilot more informative than another large exploratory announcement.

What to watch

Meritz product notice: Check for a named asset, legal issuer, production date and permitted customer group.
Settlement network: Look for explicit disclosure of whether XRPL, a private ledger or another chain records the asset.
XRP use: Separate actual fee and reserve spending from a claim that XRP serves as a bridge or investment asset.
Custody rights: Read who controls keys, who owns underlying securities and how clients recover assets if a provider fails.
Korean approvals: Track which proposed products enter a regulated pilot and which are authorized for live distribution.

FAQ

What did Ripple and Meritz announce?
They announced a partnership to explore Ripple Custody and tokenization infrastructure for Korea’s capital markets. No Meritz product launch date was given.

Is Meritz Ripple’s first Korean partner?
No. Ripple names Kyobo Life, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank as three earlier Korean institutional partners in 2026. Meritz is its first securities firm partner there.

Does the Meritz agreement require XRP?
The announcement does not specify an XRP requirement. The answer depends on a future product’s actual network, account design and settlement route.

Has Meritz issued a tokenized security on XRPL?
No such issuance is identified in the October 14 release. The companies describe exploration within Meritz’s current business and regulatory scope.

What does Ripple Custody do?
It provides institutional infrastructure for storage, transfer and settlement of digital assets. Using a custody product does not automatically mean the assets use XRP Ledger.

Would a won stablecoin be XRP?
No. A won denominated token would be a separate issued asset with its own issuer and redemption terms. Meritz described won stablecoins as an area under exploration.

How much XRP must an XRPL account hold?
The referenced XRPL documentation lists a 1 XRP base account reserve, with additional reserves possible for ledger objects. A custodial product may serve many clients through shared institutional accounts.

When could the partnership expand?
Ripple and Meritz say it will proceed in stages as Korean rules develop. They did not commit to a date or publish a list of approved live services. This is educational analysis, not investment advice.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Figures reflect regulatory filings and reporting available at the time of writing and change with each disclosure. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or asset. Always do your own research. Information is accurate as of October 14, 2026.

XRP has fallen 6.91% over the past seven days to $1.36, leaving the cryptocurrency below the $1.40 resistance level as technical indicators show continued selling pressure despite rising whale-related exchange withdrawals.

Summary

XRP traded near $1.36 after losing 6.91% over seven days, according to CoinGecko market data. CryptoQuant recorded a 10.5 percentage point increase in Binance’s XRP whale outflow spread over six days. Santiment reported 0.92 bullish XRP comments per bearish comment, indicating more negative social media discussion. Technical indicators showed selling pressure near $1.40, with the Awesome Oscillator remaining below zero territory. Analyst EGRAG identified $1.13 and $1.00 as possible downside levels if XRP loses current support. According to CoinGecko, XRP recorded a modest 0.13% decline over 24 hours, with daily trading volume reaching approximately $1.72 billion. The cryptocurrency held a market capitalization of around $86.06 billion, ranking fifth among digital assets. Trading activity declined nearly 19.70% from the previous day, while analysts identified $1.35 as immediate support.

XRP price struggles to recover above $1.40 XRP has remained under pressure after failing to sustain its September rally toward $1.60. The cryptocurrency previously recovered from August lows near $1.00, but its recent trading pattern has produced lower highs, indicating that buyers have struggled to maintain upward momentum.

During the latest daily session, XRP traded around $1.36313 after opening at $1.36480. The token briefly reached $1.38518 before retreating, keeping the 1.38–1.40 region in focus as immediate resistance.

Chart analysis shows $1.35 as the nearest support level, followed by a stronger buying area between $1.30 and $1.32. A sustained decline below $1.30 could expose 1.20–1.25, where previous trading activity suggests buyers may attempt another recovery.

On the upside, reclaiming $1.40 would provide an early indication of improving market conditions. XRP would then face resistance near $1.45, followed by the 1.50–1.60 region that limited its earlier rally.

Recent XRP price analysis around the $1.40 support level identified a similar struggle in early October. At the time, XRP traded closer to $1.45, while traders monitored whether the cryptocurrency could maintain its recovery.

The latest decline has pushed XRP below that earlier support region, leaving buyers facing another test before the market can establish a stronger short-term recovery.

Technical indicators show sellers remain in control The daily chart’s Balance of Power indicator stood at -0.07, suggesting that selling activity slightly exceeded buying pressure during the measured period.

Although the reading remained close to neutral, its negative position coincided with XRP’s inability to recover above $1.40. A move into positive territory could indicate improving demand, particularly if the cryptocurrency begins closing above nearby resistance.

The Awesome Oscillator presented a similar picture. The indicator stood at -0.06068, with red histogram bars below the zero line, showing weaker short-term momentum compared with the longer-term price trend.

XRP price chart, source: TradingView During September’s recovery toward $1.60, the indicator had moved into positive territory as buying momentum strengthened. The subsequent decline pushed it back below zero, suggesting that the earlier recovery had lost strength.

Further negative readings could increase the likelihood of XRP testing $1.30. Conversely, an improvement toward zero, followed by positive histogram bars, would provide an early technical indication that selling pressure was easing.

The current chart structure therefore places $1.35 and $1.40 at the center of the short-term outlook. Losing the lower level could extend the correction, while reclaiming the upper level would give buyers an opportunity to challenge $1.45.

XRP whale withdrawals rise sharply on Binance Despite the weak price structure, exchange data has shown an increase in the relative dominance of large XRP withdrawals on Binance.

CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha reported that Binance’s seven-day average whale-to-retail outflow spread increased from 53% on October 7 to 63.5% on October 13.

The 10.5-percentage-point increase was considerably larger than the change across all centralized exchanges. The combined market reading rose from 46% to 47.7%, representing an increase of just 1.7 percentage points.

Binance’s spread therefore increased approximately 6.2 times faster in percentage-point terms during the six-day period.

Source: CryptoQuant The metric compares large and small exchange withdrawals over a seven-day average. A higher reading indicates that large transfers are becoming more dominant relative to smaller withdrawals.

However, Taha cautioned that the indicator does not establish whether the absolute number of whale withdrawals has increased. It cannot independently confirm accumulation, as transfers between exchanges, custody services and private wallets may produce similar readings.

The gap between Binance and the combined exchange market reached 15.8 percentage points, approaching the approximately 18-point difference recorded on August 3.

During that earlier period, Binance’s spread stood near 62%, compared with 44% across all exchanges. XRP subsequently climbed from approximately $1.07 to $1.56, representing a gain of roughly 46%.

The analyst identified the historical comparison but did not establish that the latest increase would produce another price rally.

Separately, Crypto commentator CW described XRP’s technical structure as showing an accumulation signal, citing its moving average and MACD trends. The assessment suggested improving buying activity despite sideways trading, although the supplied daily indicators continued to show weaker short-term momentum.

XRP faces bearish sentiment as analysts watch $1 Public sentiment has remained cautious despite the increase in whale-related exchange withdrawals.

Blockchain analytics firm Santiment reported that XRP recorded 0.92 bullish comments for every bearish comment across X, Reddit and Telegram.

The reading placed XRP in negative sentiment territory, with bearish discussion exceeding positive commentary. Bitcoin recorded a lower ratio of 0.82, while Ethereum attracted 2.05 bullish comments for every bearish one.

🚨 Ethereum FOMO Surges While Bitcoin And XRP Turn Fearful

🔥 Ethereum is suddenly the crowd favorite. Across X, Reddit, and Telegram, $ETH has 2.05 bullish comments for every bearish one, putting sentiment firmly into FOMO territory as traders focus on its rebound above key… pic.twitter.com/p1rj8AETvD

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) October 13, 2026 Santiment linked XRP’s negative sentiment to its recent price decline, leveraged position liquidations and repeated difficulty recovering above $1.40.

The firm suggested that bearish sentiment could support a contrarian recovery if market conditions improve. However, social commentary alone does not confirm whether investors are buying XRP or whether a price rebound is approaching.

Crypto analyst EGRAG Crypto outlined two possible scenarios based on XRP’s three-day chart.

His bearish scenario identified $1.13 as a potential downside level if the current consolidation fails, followed by a possible decline toward $1.00.

For a recovery, the analyst identified $2.10 as an initial target following an upward breakout. His longer-term projection considered $17.60 possible only after XRP confirms a breakout above $3.68.

In a separate analysis, EGRAG identified a multi-year symmetrical triangle with potential upside levels between $4.30 and $10.23. His extended projections included $15.93, $33 and $60, all conditional on a confirmed breakout from the larger chart formation.

#XRP – THE HIDDEN VEHICLE OF THE DIGITAL FINANCIAL HIGHWAY! 🚋

working for 23 YEARS in investment world, real estate, stocks, corporate sales & crypto taught me ONE THING:
MEN LIE. WOMEN LIE. CHARTS & NUMBERS DON'T LIE!

LOOK AT THIS MACRO SYMMETRICAL TRIANGLE!
🎯 Confluence:… pic.twitter.com/SZzEet7NyD

— EGRAG CRYPTO (@egragcrypto) October 14, 2026 He emphasized that his long-term targets were scenarios, not guaranteed prices, while acknowledging that XRP could revisit $1.00 before establishing a stronger upward trend.

The cryptocurrency’s previous all-time high stood at $3.65, leaving its latest price approximately 62.55% below that record.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

A partnership with Ripple aims to put XRPL wallets inside fintech apps and give AI agents a way to spend, while transaction rules and fee coverage remain on Privy's roadmap.

Privy brings its wallets to the XRP Ledger through a Ripple partnership

Posted October 14, 2026 at 6:32 am ET.

Privy, the crypto wallet provider Stripe agreed to acquire last year, is extending its wallet tools to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) through a partnership with Ripple, aiming the integration at fintechs offering stablecoin payments and at AI agents that need to move money on their own.

Privy announced the partnership in a blog post on Oct. 13. According to the post, developers using Privy will be able to generate and manage XRPL wallets programmatically, sign transactions on the ledger, and build with XRP, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and other tokens on the network. The post also promises an exit route, with key and seed phrase export for anyone who wants to leave Privy.

“Privy brings proven wallet infrastructure that makes it easier for fintechs and developers to bring XRPL into real products, from payments and stablecoin experiences to emerging forms of agentic commerce,” Markus Infanger, Ripple’s SVP for RippleX, said in the post.

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Payments and AI Agents
Privy pitched two main uses. For payments companies, embedded wallets let a business offer stablecoin transfers while its customers never handle keys. For automated software, server-side wallets can let an agent hold funds and pay for things, including via x402, an open payments standard in which a server answers a request with an HTTP 402 code and the client pays before trying again.

“Stablecoins are changing how money moves, and XRPL has been building for payments from the start,” said Henri Stern, Privy’s cofounder and CEO, in the announcement.

Privy credits the XRPL with $1 trillion in value moved and more than 8 million funded accounts after 14-plus years.

What Comes Next
Privy said it plans to keep building out the integration, naming policy controls and gas sponsorship as upcoming additions meant to give developers more say over how wallets transact without making things harder for end users.

Privy announced in June 2025 that Stripe was acquiring it, saying it would keep running as an independent product. Its wallets have since become one piece of Stripe’s stablecoin push: when the Open USD stablecoin went live last month, Stripe said developers could use it with Privy embedded wallets.

Ripple, for its part, has been working to get RLUSD into mainstream payment flows, including a settlement test with Mastercard and Gemini.

Related Listen: Who Wins the AI Payments War?

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.

Evernorth, an investment firm known for its focus on XRP treasury management, has named Hugo Jeandesboz as its new Chief Investment Officer. The appointment aims to bolster the company’s institutional expertise as it sharpens its strategy for holding and managing XRP assets.

Jeandesboz’s background in institutional marketsJeandesboz brings a comprehensive background in both traditional finance and digital assets. His career began at HSBC, where he served as an Interest Rate Derivatives Trader, specializing in USD swaps and G10 currency trading operations.

He later advanced to Société Générale, taking on responsibilities as a trading analyst and subsequently as a front-office quantitative strategist. There, he gained experience in fixed income instruments, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and systematic trading strategies for global markets.

Transitioning to the digital asset sector, Jeandesboz joined Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange. He initially worked as Lead Derivatives Trader, followed by a leadership position in Coinbase’s Asset Management division as Portfolio Manager and Head of Solutions.

In this capacity, Jeandesboz managed investment products related to Bitcoin, stablecoins, and volatility-linked strategies, with a primary focus on serving institutional investors. He also served as Co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Solutions, further deepening his experience in developing and overseeing digital asset portfolios.

Mini dictionary: Société Générale is a leading French multinational investment bank and financial services company, active in capital markets and global banking.

Industry reactions and expectationsThe news of Jeandesboz’s appointment was widely discussed in the cryptocurrency community. X Finance Bull, a well-known crypto commentator, highlighted both Jeandesboz’s financial background and his expertise relevant to Evernorth’s strategic objectives.

“Evernorth just hired a CIO for its $XRP treasury and look at his background,” observed X Finance Bull, drawing attention to Jeandesboz’s extensive experience in derivatives and institutional portfolio management.

Other community members echoed the significance of this move, pointing to the strength of Jeandesboz’s career across multiple asset classes. A user named Richard remarked that the hire was shaped by a “resume” far beyond the norm for the industry.

X Finance Bull further commented that Jeandesboz’s deep background in institutional trading and asset management will now serve Evernorth’s ongoing development of its XRP-focused treasury strategy.

Focus on XRP treasury managementJeandesboz’s arrival comes as Evernorth looks to sharpen its approach to managing its XRP holdings. The company has been looking to establish a more robust institutional framework for its digital asset treasury solutions, particularly those centered on XRP.

Evernorth operates under the XRPN brand, concentrating specifically on strategies to hold and deploy XRP as a treasury asset. XRP is a cryptocurrency used for fast, low-cost cross-border payments and is developed by Ripple Labs.

For observers, the key takeaway is Jeandesboz’s unique blend of experience in derivatives, portfolio design, and digital asset management. Evernorth is positioning this expertise at the center of its efforts to optimize and expand its institutional XRP treasury capabilities.

By recruiting a professional with a background in both traditional finance and digital asset management, Evernorth signals a commitment to sophisticated strategies for XRP treasury operations.

Evernorth is set to mark a major milestone in the public markets, with its leadership preparing to participate in the Nasdaq Closing Bell ceremony in New York. The event represents a new chapter for the company following its recent listing on the exchange under the ticker XRPN.

XRPN’s Nasdaq celebration draws attentionThe occasion has captured the interest of the broader XRP community, with crypto researcher BankXRP describing the event as significant for the XRP ecosystem. BankXRP highlighted the increasing presence of companies focused on XRP as they gain visibility within traditional financial markets.

The Nasdaq Closing Bell ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 PM ET on October 14 and will formally recognize Evernorth’s transition to public trading. The company recently completed its business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, clearing the way for its listing earlier this week.

BankXRP underscored the event as a symbolic step for the XRP sector entering public markets, with the potential to increase recognition of XRP-centric business models among both retail and institutional investors.

Investor sentiment remains mixedCommunity reactions to Evernorth’s upcoming ceremony were varied. Yoda Jr remarked that having an XRP treasury company featured on a major exchange like Nasdaq showcases the progress digital asset firms have made, suggesting it offers a familiar onramp for traditional investors seeking exposure to the XRP sector.

By contrast, another commenter, Why You Mad, questioned the real impact of the bell-ringing event on the prices of XRPN or XRP, viewing the ceremony as largely symbolic rather than a direct catalyst for market movement.

Coin_Scoop encouraged investors to focus on Evernorth’s operational disclosures and financial reports, emphasizing that the long-term performance of the company will be reflected in its future updates rather than one-off celebrations.

Evernorth’s public debut with a major XRP treasuryEvernorth entered the public market holding approximately 473 million XRP and $300 million in gross cash proceeds. The company describes itself as the largest publicly traded pure-play XRP treasury. Unlike passive holding firms, Evernorth intends to actively manage its treasury, pursue opportunities involving decentralized finance, and leverage the XRP Ledger, with the aim of gradually increasing its XRP per share.

Evernorth also benefits from backing by established industry participants, including Ripple, SBI Group, Pantera Capital, Kraken, GSR, and Arrington Capital, strengthening its position in the digital asset space.

In a market where a single Fed decision or a sudden altcoin listing can change everything in seconds, the need for integrated portfolio management tools has grown. Smart traders are now utilizing privacy-first solutions like CryptoAppsy to bring together real-time charts, news, portfolio tracking, and macroeconomic data without the requirement of an account, allowing timely reactions to fast-moving developments.

Distinguishing XRPN from XRPWhile Evernorth’s stock listing has fueled discussion, it has also prompted clarification about the distinction between XRPN and XRP. XRPN represents equity in Evernorth, giving investors exposure to the company’s strategy, while XRP is the underlying digital asset managed by the company. The Closing Bell event is largely ceremonial and does not directly translate to increased demand for XRP in the market.

According to community analysts, the long-term outcome for both XRPN and XRP will depend on Evernorth’s treasury management, strategic execution, and public reporting as it navigates its new role as a public company.

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

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Strive increases its Bitcoin holdings by another 2,822 coins at an average price of approximately $83,266.

Bitcoin treasury firm Strive filed an 8-K document today disclosing that it added 2,822 Bitcoin to its holdings between October 12 and 13, at an average price of approximately $83,266 per coin. The acquisition cost $235 million, bringing its total Bitcoin position to 35,600 coins.

2 minutes ago

Tether AI Research has unveiled its on-device speech recognition model TranscribePsy, designed for smart glasses and humanoid robots.

Tether AI Research has released an open-source multilingual automatic speech recognition (ASR) model named QVAC TranscribePsy, which has around 254 million parameters and can run fully on-device—no audio upload to the cloud required. The company noted the model can process audio from smart glasses connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in near real time, and also operate on onboard processors of humanoid robots. On the Core ML version for iPhone 17 Pro Max, transcribing 10 minutes of audio takes roughly 1.65 seconds. According to its published benchmark data, TranscribePsy achieves a word error rate (WER) of 8.02% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, 6.58% on Multilingual LibriSpeech, and 21.56% on Common Voice. Among six tested smartphones, it is the fastest in speed, approximately 2.6 times faster than the second-fastest model. The model supports 25 European languages for laptops and 8 European languages for mobile phones, with model weights and builds in formats including GGUF and Core ML released under the Apache 2.0 license. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that he hopes advanced speech AI can run locally on users’ own devices, ensuring data does not leave the device.

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Physical Intelligence opens its robot model API: Picking strawberries, assembling servers, new actions can be trained in just 4 days.

Beating AI News Flash: U.S.-based robotics AI firm Physical Intelligence (Pi) has launched the beta version of its Pi API, opening access to its foundational robotics model to more enterprises. Developers only need to upload robot operation data to fine-tune the model on Pi’s cloud computing power, then control their own robots via the API. There’s no need to train models from scratch or build complex training and inference infrastructure independently. Pi showcased real-world use cases from multiple partners, including AgRobotics’ strawberry-picking robots, autonomous loaders for self-driving trucks, and robots for food processing and server assembly. Among these, startup Almond used the Pi API to get its dual-arm robot to learn polishing the parts required for its own assembly after just 4 days of iterative training and testing. Pi had previously open-sourced robotics models such as π0 and π0.5, but developers still had to deploy and train them on their own. This time, the company has further packaged model fine-tuning, computing power, and inference services into an API, aiming to become a shared intelligent foundation for various robots. However, test access is still by application only, and pricing has not been announced yet.

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Spark: Q3 Net Protocol Revenue Surpasses $4 Million, Stablecoin Swap Layer Hits Over $14 Billion in Trading Volume in Its First Month

DeFi lending protocol Spark has disclosed that its net protocol returns exceeded $4 million in the third quarter of 2026. In the first half of the year, DeFi lending spreads narrowed significantly, with lending capital profitability turning negative in the second quarter. After driving growth for Spark Savings USDT in Q3, related returns rebounded above capital costs. During the same period, Spark partnered with Uniswap and Sky to launch a stablecoin swap layer, which went live with $150 million in USDS liquidity, offering stablecoin swap services to banks, fintech firms and payment companies, and recorded over $14 billion in trading volume in its first month.

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Morgan Stanley's Q3 net revenue hit $20.34 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $19.89 billion.

Morgan Stanley released its third-quarter financial results, reporting net revenue of $20.34 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $19.89 billion. The firm posted earnings per share of $3.03 for the quarter, while net interest income came in at $3.25 billion, beating the forecast of $2.78 billion.

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Dutch central bank approves Qivalis' electronic money institution license, bringing euro stablecoin issuance a step closer.

Qivalis, an alliance backed by 37 major European banks, has secured an electronic money institution (EMI) license from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, the Dutch central bank), bringing it closer to issuing euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMT), a regulated stablecoin format. The firm still needs to fulfill remaining requirements under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, including publishing a whitepaper, and plans to distribute the tokens via banks, crypto exchanges, and payment service providers over the coming months rather than directly to consumers. Under the EU MiCA framework, EMTs must be pegged to a single fiat currency, issued by authorized credit institutions or EMIs, redeemable at par at any time, and non-interest bearing. Since its launch in September 2025, the Qivalis alliance has expanded to include 37 European banks including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, and DZ Bank, and has selected Fireblocks to provide digital asset infrastructure.

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