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.
Metaplanet bought nearly 74 million of its common shares on October 14 as it arranged a ¥52 billion convertible bond to repay Bitcoin backed borrowing and fund further repurchases. Strategy disclosed $192.4 million in STRC preferred share buybacks alongside a $21.5 million Bitcoin purchase this week. Both are Bitcoin treasury companies spending capital on their own securities, but the shares they buy, the claims they reduce and the future dilution they face are different.
Summary
Metaplanet bought 73,981,400 common shares at ¥261 each on October 14 for about ¥19.31 billion. Its ¥52 billion convertible bonds have a ¥339 conversion price and mature in October 2031. Metaplanet earmarked roughly ¥23.6 billion for debt repayment and up to ¥28.3 billion for buybacks. Strategy bought back $192.4 million of STRC preferred shares during October 5 to 11. Strategy acquired 250 BTC for $21.5 million and did not report an MSTR common share repurchase that week. The Metaplanet disclosure page lists a completed October 14 ToSTNeT-3 share repurchase and the final terms of its bond. The original October 13 bond notice set out the use of proceeds. Strategy’s October 12 SEC exhibit details a week in which it bought both Bitcoin and its own preferred stock. The companies are not carrying out the same trade under different names.
JUST IN: Metaplanet looking to raise $328.5M to repay Bitcoin-backed debt and buy back shares
The Japanese Bitcoin treasury firm plans to issue convertible bonds and expects to allocate about $149M to debt repayment and up to $179M to share repurchases. pic.twitter.com/tXmLKvDskU
— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 14, 2026 The chosen headline captures a shift in immediate spending, not an abandonment of BTC. Metaplanet’s financing is designed partly to replace borrowing secured by Bitcoin; Strategy’s holdings rose by 250 BTC. A real comparison asks which claim each buyback retires, what new claim the financing creates and how the number of shares behind each company’s Bitcoin changes.
Metaplanet completed a smaller buyback than it sought Metaplanet initially planned to repurchase as many as 96,934,800 common shares through an off auction transaction at ¥261, a maximum outlay near ¥25.30 billion. Its October 14 result reports 73,981,400 shares bought at that price. Multiplication gives ¥19,309,145,400, or roughly ¥19.31 billion. The executed purchase was about 76.3% of the planned share count and roughly ¥5.99 billion below the proposed maximum.
The distinction between the maximum and the executed amount matters. A headline that says Metaplanet bought ¥25.3 billion of shares would take the planned ToSTNeT ceiling for the result. The company has a larger authorization for up to 200 million common shares or ¥60 billion through October 13, 2027. Authority is not completed spending. The transaction reported today is the ¥19.31 billion off auction purchase.
The prior crypto.news report described the October 13 financing plan before the October 14 execution result. The new figure provides a measurable difference between intention and outcome. Some shareholders may not have sold into the buyback at the specified price. Public notices establish the number filled but do not identify the motives of holders who did not participate.
Buying common shares reduces the number of shares outstanding if the acquired treasury stock is excluded from that count. With BTC holdings unchanged, BTC per remaining common share rises mechanically. The change is not the same as a realized profit: cash used to buy shares leaves the company, and its new convertible debt creates a possible future common share claim. Per share Bitcoin exposure must be assessed after all three entries.
JUST IN: Metaplanet sold and rebought $BTC to manage its obligations
The company says it ended Q3 with a holding of 44,000 BTC after selling some Bitcoin to cover obligations before buying back more. pic.twitter.com/J2OzGxnvnW
— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 5, 2026 A new bond removes one Bitcoin loan pressure point Metaplanet planned ¥52 billion of zero coupon, euro yen denominated convertible bonds due October 29, 2031. It expects net proceeds around ¥51.9 billion, with about ¥23.6 billion designated to repay borrowing under a Bitcoin collateralized facility and up to ¥28.3 billion for share repurchases. The allocation adds to roughly ¥51.9 billion, subject to rounding and actual execution. The company expects the loan repayment in November.
A zero coupon bond does not require periodic coupon payments, but principal remains due if the bonds are not converted or otherwise settled. The investors receive the potential to convert into common shares. Metaplanet’s October 14 terms set the conversion price at ¥339, a 29.89% premium over the ¥261 share price used for today’s repurchase. That premium does not guarantee the market will reach the conversion price or that conversion will occur.
The refinancing changes collateral exposure. Repaying part of a Bitcoin backed facility can release collateral or reduce the chance that a price decline forces additional collateral under that facility, depending on its terms. It does not remove all corporate borrowing or Bitcoin price risk. A new unsecured convertible liability remains. “Debt free” would be an inaccurate description of the transaction.
Metaplanet’s earlier capital allocation revision set a policy around borrowing and Bitcoin holdings. The latest bond fits that effort to change financing sources. It is a balance sheet decision rather than a reported BTC sale. The company has not disclosed a new Bitcoin purchase in the October 14 buyback result.
Future conversion can reverse today’s share count gain The conversion price permits a rough upper scale calculation, not a prediction of investor behavior. Dividing ¥52 billion face amount by ¥339 per common share gives about 153.39 million potential shares if all bonds converted at that price, ignoring adjustments, costs and the detailed bond conditions. Today’s completed buyback retired or moved 73.98 million common shares into treasury. Full conversion at the initial price would exceed today’s buyback by approximately 79.4 million shares.
The calculation does not mean an automatic net issue of 79.4 million today. Conversion can occur later, may not occur at all, and terms can include adjustments. Further repurchases under the ¥60 billion authority could change the count. It does show why a buyback funded by convertibles must be analyzed beyond the morning’s reduction in outstanding stock.
Consider two separate outcomes. If the share price stays below conversion levels and no conversion occurs, Metaplanet retains a debt repayment obligation in 2031; shareholders keep the immediate share count reduction, subject to what the company does with the borrowed money and remaining cash. If the share price rises enough for conversion, the debt claim can become equity and the common share count expands. An increase in company value might still leave holders better off, but the BTC per share calculation then needs the enlarged denominator.
A convertible investor can also hedge exposure, affecting trading supply before a formal conversion. The October 13 materials mention a proposed loan of shares by chief executive Simon Gerovich to the bond manager for hedging. A stock loan is not itself a new issue of shares. It is another reason to distinguish market trading pressure from the final number of shares issued.
Strategy bought preferred shares, not common stock Strategy’s weekly disclosure says it bought back 1,932,145 STRC preferred shares for $192.4 million between October 5 and 11. It acquired 250 BTC for $21.5 million in the same period and reported 848,250 BTC held as of October 11. Its MSTR common share repurchase row shows no purchase for the week; the full $1 billion common authorization remained available.
STRC is a variable rate perpetual preferred security. A preferred holder has a different cash dividend and priority position from an MSTR common shareholder. Repurchasing STRC can reduce the amount of that security outstanding and its associated claims, depending on accounting treatment. It does not directly reduce the MSTR common share denominator. Saying Strategy “bought back MSTR” because it repurchased STRC would be wrong.
The company’s $21 million in common share sale proceeds funded most of its BTC purchase, with another $0.5 million from USD Cash. Therefore MSTR common shares were issued while preferred shares were repurchased. Whether the combined activity improves Bitcoin per MSTR share requires the exact diluted share count, treatment of preferred securities and valuation of remaining liabilities. The fact that corporate BTC increased by 250 is true but does not, alone, answer the per common share question.
Strategy reported $4.88 billion in its USD Reserve for preferred dividends and debt interest and $640.5 million in separate USD Cash. Repurchase authority is not identical to cash on hand. The company had $354.8 million of preferred buyback authority remaining as of October 11. These amounts reveal a financing business managing recurring cash obligations alongside BTC accumulation.
Both buybacks can be rational for different reasons The earlier buyback debate centered on its discount to Bitcoin holdings. Metaplanet’s management can argue that buying common shares below the value it attributes to the underlying business raises remaining shareholders’ BTC per share while replacing collateralized borrowing with longer dated convertible financing. Its plan also carries a cost: cash and possible later dilution. Whether the conversion premium and buyback price create value depends on future prices and the company’s other assets and claims.
Strategy’s prior STRC support shows the preferred program has a longer history. Strategy can argue that supporting STRC near its stated amount preserves a preferred financing channel and lowers the amount of a dividend bearing instrument outstanding. Spending on preferred repurchases may help the company raise future capital on better terms. The opposing concern is whether repeated buybacks and payouts consume resources that could increase BTC per common share. The October release does not settle that question without the next quarters’ financing and share count data.
A previous news account emphasized the latest ratio. The superficial ratio in Strategy’s disclosure, $192.4 million in STRC purchases divided by $21.5 million in BTC purchases, is about 8.95. Metaplanet’s completed ¥19.31 billion buyback and ¥23.6 billion planned loan repayment are in another currency and different reporting stage. Converting all amounts to dollars at a spot exchange rate would not make the transactions economically equivalent. One is completed common share repurchasing with a new bond planned; the other is completed preferred repurchasing alongside common issuance and BTC buying.
There is no need to label either company as moving “away from Bitcoin” based on these filings. Metaplanet is reducing reliance on collateralized BTC loans while leaving the treasury strategy intact in its stated plan. Strategy still bought BTC. The consequential shift is that share price, financing cost and cash claims have become as important to analyze as the number of coins added each week.
The clean comparison is Bitcoin per claim For Metaplanet, start with BTC held and subtract secured debt or other liabilities where a net asset measure is needed. Divide relevant net exposure by common shares outstanding now, then repeat with all potential shares under the convertible in a scenario where it converts. Account for cash spent on buybacks and debt refinanced. Those steps distinguish a present arithmetic lift from eventual economic accretion.
For Strategy, the analogous exercise cannot ignore preferred claims. STRC’s cash dividend is not equivalent to an MSTR common dividend. Retiring preferred shares may change obligations without changing common shares; issuing common stock to purchase BTC changes the denominator. The company publishes its own metrics, but a reader should know which securities are included in each before comparing periods.
The most revealing prospective observation is not whose buyback is larger. Metaplanet should disclose final bond settlement, actual loan repayment and further share purchases. Strategy should disclose further STRC buybacks, MSTR issuance and BTC additions. Measured together, those entries show whether each company generated more net Bitcoin exposure for the holders of the security being discussed.
The Metaplanet share count can swing twice Metaplanet said the maximum 96,934,800 shares it initially sought in the off auction deal represented about 7.1% of common shares excluding treasury stock at September 30. Using that rounded proportion implies a reference base of roughly 1.365 billion shares. The actual 73,981,400 share purchase represents about 5.4% of that approximate base. It would be incorrect to claim today’s completed trade removed the full 7.1% initially proposed.
At the initial ¥339 conversion price, full conversion of ¥52 billion principal represents about 153.39 million shares. That is roughly 11.2% of the same approximate September reference base. Subtracting today’s 73.98 million purchased shares leaves a potential difference of 79.41 million shares, or roughly 5.8% of that earlier base. This is a deliberately simple scenario, not a forecast or a final diluted share count. It excludes subsequent buybacks, adjustments, conversion choices and other outstanding securities.
The timing creates the central tension. A holder can see a smaller share count after today’s purchase while the contingent shares from the five year bond remain off the current basic count. A future shareholder report should publish both basic and fully diluted figures and explain how treasury shares are treated. Quoting only the near term BTC per share uplift would miss the other side of the financing.
Metaplanet’s ¥60 billion authorization could retire additional common shares, but it does not require the company to spend that amount. The ¥28.3 billion planned allocation of bond proceeds for buybacks is narrower than that program ceiling. Mixing the two amounts would overstate funds already raised or committed to a purchase. The next dated buyback result is the evidence of execution.
The collateral substitution is not a free release of Bitcoin A Bitcoin backed revolving loan and a five year convertible bond expose the treasury to different stresses. The credit facility places BTC at the center of the lender’s protection. Depending on the contract, a drop in BTC’s value can require more collateral or a reduction in borrowing. A convertible bond is supported by the company’s general ability to pay and by the investor’s right to take shares under specified conditions. Replacing part of the secured borrowing with a convertible can reduce immediate collateral demands while creating a longer dated debt and potential equity claim.
Metaplanet’s expected ¥23.6 billion repayment is only part of a larger credit facility. Reporting on its filing puts the facility limit at $800 million and the amount drawn at about $650 million on September 30. Dollar and yen values at different dates cannot be simply subtracted to produce an exact remaining balance. The company should disclose the actual November repayment, currency conversion, new balance and quantity of BTC released from pledge.
Even if pledged coins are released, they remain in the treasury unless separately sold or transferred. Free collateral may improve flexibility to hold, sell or pledge assets later, but release does not create new BTC. A gross holding count can remain unchanged while the amount encumbered against loans falls. For a shareholder evaluating downside risk, the encumbered portion is a different number from total BTC owned.
A zero coupon structure postpones explicit interest payments. It does not make financing costless. Investors can receive shares at the conversion price if the trade works for them, and a company may ultimately repay principal if conversion does not occur. The economically relevant cost includes dilution scenarios, offering expenses and the value of any option granted to bondholders. Comparing the bond’s zero coupon with the credit line’s interest rate alone would omit that option.
The maturity date in October 2031 gives Metaplanet time before a cash repayment falls due, subject to the detailed redemption provisions. Strategy’s STRC is perpetual, with variable cash dividends and no identical maturity. The difference helps explain why a common buyback next to convertible issuance is not the same transaction as an STRC repurchase. The two companies are rearranging different claims around their Bitcoin holdings.
What to watch Metaplanet bond closing: Confirm the ¥52 billion issue closes on October 29 and read any final amendments to the ¥339 conversion terms. Loan repayment: Check whether the planned ¥23.6 billion repayment occurs in November and what Bitcoin collateral is released. Further common buybacks: Separate today’s ¥19.31 billion completed purchase from additional activity under the ¥60 billion authorization. Strategy STRC repurchases: Track the remaining $354.8 million preferred authority and any change in outstanding shares. Bitcoin per share: Compare actual BTC holdings, diluted common share counts and preferred obligations across the next filings. FAQ How many shares did Metaplanet buy on October 14? It bought 73,981,400 common shares at ¥261 each through ToSTNeT-3, a total of about ¥19.31 billion. Its proposed maximum for that transaction had been higher.
What will Metaplanet do with the bond proceeds? Its October 13 plan allocates about ¥23.6 billion to repay borrowings and up to ¥28.3 billion to share repurchases from roughly ¥51.9 billion of expected net proceeds.
What is the conversion price of the new bonds? The October 14 terms set it at ¥339 a share. Conversion is contingent on investors’ choices and the detailed bond terms.
Did Metaplanet sell Bitcoin for the buyback? The announced financing plan uses convertible bond proceeds and identifies repayment of Bitcoin backed loans. The buyback notice does not report a BTC sale funding the transaction.
Did Strategy repurchase MSTR common shares? No MSTR common repurchase was reported for October 5 to 11. Its $192.4 million repurchase concerned STRC preferred shares.
Did Strategy stop buying Bitcoin? No. It reported a 250 BTC purchase for $21.5 million during the same week as the STRC buyback.
Could Metaplanet’s bond create new common shares? Yes, if bondholders convert. At ¥339 per share, ¥52 billion in principal represents approximately 153.39 million shares before adjustments and detailed conditions.
Are the two buybacks directly comparable? No. Metaplanet bought common stock with convertible financing planned; Strategy retired preferred shares while selling some common stock and acquiring BTC. 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.
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
Borrowing against Bitcoin is nothing new. Over the past decade, this market has moved away from fixed-term loans and toward open-ended credit lines, and the way holders reach cash has shifted with it. Here are the basics of lending and savvy borrowing.
Summary
Crypto lending allows holders to access fiat or stablecoins without selling their Bitcoin or other digital assets, preserving their exposure to potential price gains.
Unlike fixed term loans, crypto credit lines have no set maturity date and allow borrowers to access funds repeatedly as they repay outstanding balances.
Centralized lenders typically handle custody and identity verification, while decentralized protocols use smart contracts to manage collateral, borrowing and repayment.
Borrowing against crypto may avoid an immediate taxable sale in some jurisdictions, although tax treatment varies and collateral liquidation can create tax obligations.
Falling collateral prices increase loan to value ratios and can trigger forced liquidation, making borrowing limits and collateral management important considerations.
HODLer’s dilemma
“To sell or not to sell” is a common theme in heated Reddit threads. To buy real-world goods or cover daily living expenses, holders still have to convert crypto back into fiat currency, but there are several reasons to think twice before doing so.
Giving up all future price gains is only part of the problem. Depending on the jurisdiction, sellers may trigger capital gains tax right away.
Crypto lenders found a solution to this conundrum: separating spending power from ownership. The crypto temporarily goes to the lender, or into a DeFi smart contract, as collateral, and the borrower receives fiat or stablecoins in return. The platform releases the collateral (with its upside potential intact) when the loan is repaid.
How much can be taken out depends on what the lender will lend against a specific asset. The borrower gets a percentage of their collateral value, based on the platform’s LTV (loan-to-value) tiers. Stablecoins usually have the highest borrowing power (over 85% on Clapp).
Where the market is
Lending comes in two main forms, fixed-term loans and credit lines, following the same foundational logic. Instead of cashing out Bitcoin or Ethereum, borrowers post it as collateral and receive fiat or stablecoins, often within minutes.
Banks weigh income and credit history, while platforms that loan crypto, whether crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat, mostly look at one thing: whether the collateral is enough to back the loan. This model removes several constraints of traditional finance, including paperwork and, to a degree, geographic limits, though product availability still varies by region.
How does a crypto loan work?
A fixed-term cryptocurrency loan locks up collateral for a set amount of time (usually between one month and a year) with a fixed interest rate. Repayment terms vary: some lenders require interest-only monthly payments with the principal due at the end; others accrue interest that is paid in full at maturity.
A credit line does not have an end date or a fixed schedule. It replenishes as users repay and may also let one borrow against a basket of cryptocurrencies. Clapp users, for example, may combine up to 25 assets and reshuffle them while the line is active. Interest rates often float depending on LTV.
CeFi vs DeFi
Centralized (CeFi) and decentralized (DeFi) lending coexist and work differently behind the scenes. For many, this is a choice between familiarity and customer support versus pseudonymity.
On DeFi platforms, lending runs entirely on smart contracts, which are automatic if-then agreements on a public blockchain. Users interact with the protocol directly, with no intermediary, identity checks or customer support, and interest rates are guided by algorithm, moving with supply and demand.
In CeFi, the platform is the intermediary. It handles custody and identity verification (KYC/AML) and often provides direct access to fiat payment systems. Risk management combines automated systems with human oversight, while regulatory compliance gives institutions a more familiar framework to work within.
The DeFi sector remains largely unregulated, as platforms typically do not have a corporate operator to hold a license or enforce compliance.
When users choose to borrow instead of selling
In most cases, people have three reasons: keeping their upside, getting cash quickly, and not triggering a taxable sale.
Holding on to potential gains
After posting crypto as collateral, the borrower remains exposed to its price throughout the life of the loan or credit line, unless it is liquidated. Imagine a holder taking out a crypto loan against 1 BTC for a year, during which the price goes up 50%. All the gains, minus the interest paid, are theirs, not the lender’s. When the loan is paid back, the collateral is released.
Cash on short notice
An instant crypto loan or credit line is usually a matter of a few taps. The user picks the asset to borrow, sets the collateral amount and confirms, and the funds arrive within moments.
Alternative to a taxable sale
In many jurisdictions, selling crypto for fiat, or even swapping one crypto for another, creates a tax obligation. In the United States, the IRS treats virtual currency as property, so the rules resemble those for stocks: selling Tesla shares and Bitcoin at a profit both trigger capital gains tax. The UK’s Cryptoassets Manual by HMRC treats sales similarly. Rules differ by country, and a loan can still become a taxable event if the collateral is liquidated.
Key risk: Liquidation
A price drop is a problem for borrowers too. As collateral loses value, LTV rises, and if it crosses the platform’s liquidation threshold (over 90% on Clapp), part of the collateral is sold to restore a healthy ratio. In a sharp crash, that sale can happen close to the bottom, which is the worst time to sell.
There are several ways to reduce that risk:
Borrowing less, and adding collateral as its value declines.
Keeping backup capital in fiat or stablecoins for top-ups or partial repayment.
Choosing CeFi lenders, which may send margin call notifications.
Using multi-collateral credit lines that allow topping up or swapping pool assets at any time. Replacing more volatile tokens with stablecoins may enlarge the safety buffer.
Keys to smooth borrowing
A loan for crypto holders gives cash without a sale, so they keep their price exposure and may not trigger an immediate taxable event. The flipside is liquidation risk, which a low LTV and some spare capital for top-ups help keep in check.
Credit lines add flexibility on top of that: there is no fixed repayment date, and on multicollateral products the borrower can add, remove or swap collateral assets while the line is open. Whichever format fits, check the liquidation threshold alongside fees and repayment terms.
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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.
Trade XRP on Bybit and Get a Chance to Win Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop
Maxi Doge Targets Early Mover Upside as XRP Tests SupportXRP’s weekly decline and position below its moving averages leave little room for complacency. The Privy deal improves the path for developers, but integrations do not guarantee transaction growth or token demand.
If support gives way, traders may look beyond established assets for higher-risk opportunities. It’s a familiar rotation, though not a dependable hedge.
Maxi Doge ($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.
Staking is also being offered with a huge 60% APY, but only available for those who fund the presale. Holder-only trading competitions with leaderboard rewards and a Maxi Fund treasury for liquidity and partnerships are among its features.
Could that community format hold attention beyond the meme cycle?
Research Maxi Doge alongside its terms and risks before the presale ends.
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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Ripple (XRP) is bringing wallet technology from Stripe-owned Privy to the XRP Ledger, letting apps and AI agents hold funds and make payments without anyone managing keys. On that development, Claude AI Predicts XRP defends its $1.30 base. The reason has nothing to do with the payments themselves, which amount to almost nothing, and everything to do with a mechanic buried in the documentation.
XRP trades at $1.3675, giving it a market cap of $86.269 billion. The 24-hour range is unusually narrow at $1.35 to $1.38, which reads as a market waiting rather than reacting.
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What Ripple and Privy Actually Shipped
Developers can now build wallets directly inside their products. Those wallets authorize transfers in XRP, Ripple’s dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin, and other assets issued on the network. Privy handles the infrastructure, so the app builder writes far less of it, and users never touch a secret key.
It is not a closed system. Privy supports exporting keys or a recovery phrase, so a wallet can be moved elsewhere.
The more consequential part is what it enables for software. Companies can hand AI agents a set of funded wallets hosted on their own servers, allowing the agents to pay for online services on their own.
That runs through x402, a standard for buying access to data. An agent asks for paid data, receives a payment request, authorizes it, and gets the data once payment clears. No checkout page, no human at the keyboard.
Ripple has been building toward this all year. It released agent payment tools in June, then expanded the kit in September to support the standard developed by Stripe and Tempo. Tuesday’s release says policy controls and fee-covering tools are still to come.
Stripe’s ownership of Privy is the quiet detail. Distribution to payment developers is the hard part of this business, and Stripe already has it.
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Run the Numbers on 14 Million Agent Payments
The activity figures look enormous until you check what moved. RippleX Head of Engineering J. Ayo Akinyele said the network has processed more than 13 million agent payments through x402, roughly 25% of all ledger activity. The XRPL AI Hub, run by payments developer t54, counts over 14.3 million cumulative transactions across 169 registered merchants.
Now the other column. Those transactions carried about 6,991 XRP and 12,752 RLUSD in total. At current prices, that is roughly $22,000 moved across 14.3 million payments. The average transaction is worth about a sixth of a cent.
That is not a criticism of the technology, because machine payments are supposed to be tiny. It does mean transaction counts are the wrong way to value this.
Here is the metric that matters instead. Privy’s documentation notes that a new XRP Ledger account must first receive the network’s minimum reserve, currently 1 XRP, before it can transact at all.
Someone has to supply that XRP even if the customer only ever sends dollar stablecoins. Every agent wallet created locks one XRP, and it stays locked while the account exists.
Payment volume creates no lasting XRP demand. Account creation does.
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AI Predicts XRP Levels: Where the Range Breaks
XRPUSDT Chart 1D TradingView
Positioning is unusually clean here, which is worth noting. Perpetual open interest sits at $4.022 billion against an $86.269 billion market cap, under 5%. Compared with most mid caps, XRP is carrying very little leverage into this.
AI predicts XRP will be decided at these levels:
The floor: $1.30. The low from last week’s selloff, and the base this consolidation is built on.
The level to reclaim: $1.47. It capped XRP through early October and turned back every attempt since.
The ceiling: $1.62. The barrier that has rejected XRP repeatedly this year.
Watch $1.47-$1.50 first. XRP has spent two weeks beneath it, and reclaiming it would turn this range into a recovery.
Agent wallets will not move the price this quarter. If the reserve mechanic scales, it becomes the first genuine supply sink XRP has had.
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Alex Ioannou
On-Chain Journalist
Alex is a seasoned cryptocurrency trader and market analyst with over seven years of active experience in the digital asset space. Since entering the markets in 2017, Alex has specialized in identifying emerging "meta" trends and high-volatility narratives. Notably, Alex...
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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.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Today at 4:00 p.m. New York time, the management of treasury company Evernorth Holdings will ring a symbolic closing bell at NASDAQ. The ceremony is timed to the start of trading in shares under the ticker XRPN following the merger with the SPAC platform Armada Acquisition Corp. II.
With this step, Wall Street opens trading in the largest public fund based on the XRP token; however, the celebration's first day is accompanied by a steep market discount and regulatory restrictions.
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Unlike classic spot ETFs, which passively hold the cryptocurrency, Evernorth is launching an actively managed strategy. Former Ripple manager Asheesh Birla and former Coinbase Asset Management chief investment officer Hugo Jeandesboz intend to direct fiat capital and token reserves into DeFi strategies and institutional lending within the XRP Ledger ecosystem. Management's goal is to ensure steady growth in the amount of XRP per fund share.
How the protracted deal cost the company $450 millionThe listing exposed heavy pressure from the protracted merger process. The deal terms were fixed in late 2025, with XRP at $2.37. Amid the token's current drop to $1.34–$1.40, Evernorth's starting balance (473 million XRP and about $300 million in fiat) has suffered a "paper" markdown of almost $450 million on its treasury holdings.
Evernorth announces its NASDAQ closing bell ceremony for $XRPN, Source: Evernorth / X (formerly Twitter)
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Investor skepticism is also confirmed by the capital structure: 80.3% of the original SPAC pool's participants preferred to take their money in cash ($10.58 per share) rather than exchange it for a stake in the crypto business. As a result, the actual free float of XRPN on NASDAQ shrank to an extremely low 4.5 million shares.
Such low liquidity guarantees investors high price volatility and sharp price squeezes.
Insiders on pause: How regulators and the XRP price reacted to the listingFresh SEC disclosures show that the project is fully controlled by institutional heavyweights and Ripple's founders:
Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings has received the largest stake, 39.9% of voting shares.Venture fund Arrington Capital holds 19.9% (contributed 211 million XRP to the balance sheet).Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen controls 9.9% through a trust.Ripple Labs itself is limited to a 9.9% stake (contributed 177 million XRP).To prevent an immediate dump of shares by insiders, the SEC imposed a strict six-month lock-up period on the stakes of Arrington, Larsen, and Ripple. Any sales on the open market are prohibited until April 2027.
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The spot cryptocurrency market reacted to the listing with the classic "buy the rumor, sell the news" scenario. Since Evernorth had accumulated its entire XRP volume over the counter in advance, no direct wave of demand appeared on exchanges.
After the token's speculative spike above $1.55 on expectations, XRP corrected this week to $1.34–$1.36.
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.
TLDR Stripe-owned Privy is bringing its programmable wallet tools to the XRP Ledger through a partnership with Ripple. Developers will be able to create and manage XRPL wallets, sign transactions, and build with XRP, RLUSD and other assets. Ripple says AI agents have made 13 million payments on the XRP Ledger, about 25% of network activity. Server-side wallets will support AI agents using payment systems such as x402. Standard Chartered launched institutional RLUSD custody on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 12. Ripple has partnered with Privy, a wallet company owned by Stripe, to bring XRP and RLUSD wallet tools into apps built on the XRP Ledger. Privy announced the deal on Oct. 13.
The integration is meant to help developers build payment services directly inside their applications. It will support both consumer financial products and apps that let AI agents make payments.
What Privy Will Offer XRP Ledger Developers Privy said its infrastructure will handle wallet creation, wallet management and transaction signing through software. Developers will be able to build around XRP, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and other assets on the ledger.
“With Privy, developers will be able to create and manage XRPL wallets programmatically, sign transactions, and build experiences using XRP, RLUSD, and other digital assets on XRPL,” the company said.
For consumer apps, fintech companies could offer embedded wallets for stablecoin payments. Customers would not need to manage their own cryptographic keys.
Privy also plans to offer server-side wallets. Businesses could use these to support AI agents that pay through systems such as x402.
Markus Infanger, senior vice president of RippleX at Ripple, said the combination gives developers a base for building financial products that can scale. He pointed to the ledger’s fast settlement, low costs and native support for digital assets.
Ripple Reports 13 Million AI Agent Payments Ripple said AI agents have processed 13 million payments on the XRP Ledger. “To date, it has processed 13M agent payments, which now account for roughly 25% of network activity,” the company said.
Ripple joined the x402 Foundation as a Premier Member on July 14. The Linux Foundation oversees x402 under open governance after Coinbase contributed the protocol.
Other Premier Members include Stripe, Coinbase, Circle, Google, Visa and Mastercard. In June, Ripple released its XRPL AI Starter Kit to help software agents send and receive payments in XRP and RLUSD.
Stripe agreed to buy Privy in June 2025, after its $1.1 billion purchase of stablecoin provider Bridge. The terms of the Privy deal were not disclosed.
Privy was founded in 2021 and builds tools that let companies add crypto wallets to their platforms. Stripe said Privy would keep operating independently, as Bridge does.
A Sep. 26 report put RLUSD’s supply near $2.5 billion, citing CoinMarketCap. DefiLlama data placed stablecoins on the XRP Ledger at about $1.19 billion, including roughly $1.10 billion in RLUSD.
In the U.S., RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company under New York State Department of Financial Services supervision. Ripple says the stablecoin does not carry FDIC insurance or SIPC protection.
On Oct. 12, Standard Chartered launched institutional RLUSD custody on the XRP Ledger through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch. Eligible institutional clients can now hold the stablecoin there.
The bank is also working with Ripple and LMAX Group on a collateral arrangement. It would let institutions use RLUSD for trading while the tokens stay in custody, pending testing, approvals and regulatory requirements.
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.
Evernorth Holdings, a treasury management firm, commenced trading of its shares on NASDAQ today under the ticker XRPN, following a completed merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II. The event, marked by a symbolic closing bell ceremony at 4:00 p.m. New York time, signifies Wall Street’s entry into the world’s largest public fund backed by the XRP token. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, trading began amid significant market discounts and regulatory restrictions.
Active Strategy Sets XRPN ApartThe XRPN fund differs from conventional spot ETFs by adopting an actively managed investment strategy. Steering the fund are Asheesh Birla, previously with Ripple, and Hugo Jeandesboz, who served as chief investment officer at Coinbase Asset Management. The duo aims to allocate both fiat capital and XRP reserves into decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies and institutional lending opportunities within the XRP Ledger network. Their objective is to deliver consistent growth in the amount of XRP represented by each fund share.
Unlike passive vehicles, actively managed crypto funds pursue dynamic allocation strategies responsive to ongoing market conditions. This can potentially enhance returns but also introduces greater complexity and operational risk.
Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger — An open-source blockchain designed for fast, low-cost global payments and decentralized financial applications.
Lengthy Merger Results in Major Valuation HitThe extended timeline of the merger took a toll on Evernorth’s balance sheet. The merger terms were finalized in late 2025 when XRP traded at $2.37. However, by the time of the NASDAQ listing, XRP had fallen to a range between $1.34 and $1.40. As a result, Evernorth’s combined assets — 473 million XRP and approximately $300 million in fiat currency — experienced a “paper” loss of roughly $450 million on their books.
Investor confidence appeared subdued. Around 80.3% of initial investors in the SPAC original pool chose to redeem their shares for cash at $10.58 each, rather than converting into XRPN holdings. Consequently, the fund’s actual free float on NASDAQ has contracted to just 4.5 million shares, signaling constrained liquidity and a heightened risk of price volatility.
MetricAt Merger AgreementAt ListingXRP Price$2.37$1.34–$1.40Fiat Holdings~$300 million~$300 millionXRP Holdings473 million XRP473 million XRPSPAC RedemptionN/A80.3% opted for cashFree FloatN/A4.5 million sharesIndustry observers cautioned that such low liquidity will likely trigger rapid price swings and squeezes for XRPN shares.
The XRPN fund’s shareholder structure features several notable names. Japanese financial services conglomerate SBI Holdings emerged with the largest voting stake at 39.9%. Venture capital firm Arrington Capital, which contributed 211 million XRP to the fund, holds 19.9%. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, acting through a trust, commands a 9.9% share. Ripple Labs itself, which provided 177 million XRP, is capped at a 9.9% stake.
To prevent substantial insider selling, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has enforced a six-month lock-up. This restriction covers Arrington Capital, Chris Larsen, and Ripple, prohibiting them from selling shares on the open market until April 2027.
Trading in the spot XRP market followed a familiar pattern, with a surge on anticipation but a decline after the event. Since Evernorth had accumulated its entire XRP position through over-the-counter deals rather than using open exchanges, the expected demand surge did not materialize for existing market liquidity. Following a temporary spike above $1.55, XRP pulled back to $1.34–$1.36 over the course of the week.
Evernorth closed its merger at a time when XRP stood at $2.37, but by the time of listing, the token’s drop to nearly $1.35 slashed $450 million in value from the fund’s treasury, amplifying concerns about volatility and market sentiment.
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.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
XRP holders are looking ahead to two important dates in October as Ripple prepares for its annual Swell conference and the XRP Ledger approaches another round of protocol fixes.
The developments could put the XRP ecosystem in focus this month, with one event centered on institutional adoption and industry discussions, while the other concerns the network's technical infrastructure.
From October 27 to 29, 2026, leaders from finance, crypto, and the XRP community will come together for talks, panels, and discussions at the Swell event in New York. For the first time, Ripple combines Swell with Apex, the summit for developers, institutions, and investors building on the XRP Ledger, and UBRI Connect, the academic conference for Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative, which brings together researchers and students from its global university network.
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Across three stages, the Swell event will explore where finance is heading: liquidity and settlement, tokenization of real-world assets, stablecoins in bank-grade production, the first year of the spot XRP ETFs, AI agents that move money, and post-quantum security, while Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz and Ayo Akinyele, Senior Director of Engineering at RippleX, will discuss what's next for the XRP Ledger.
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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse will participate in a fireside chat on the evolution of digital assets and where the industry is headed. He will also moderate two conversations: one with Tom Farley, Chairman and CEO of Bullish, on digital asset markets and the future of global finance, and one with actor and co-founder of Water.org Matt Damon and Gary White on how technology and partnerships expand access to financial opportunity.
XRP fix upgrade to go live in OctoberThe fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment, a collection of fixes for Single Asset Vaults, the Lending Protocol, Automated Market Makers, the permissioned DEX, trust lines, NFTs, MPTs, Escrow, Sponsorship, transaction signing, and permission delegation, is set to launch on the XRPL mainnet on October 23, 2026.
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The fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment is essential for Permission Delegation, as until it is enabled, users would not be able to delegate the PaymentBurn granular permission.
October 23, 2026, represents the earliest activation date, as validator support must remain above 80% throughout.
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.
XRP’s share of the total crypto market capitalization has dropped from about 5% in July 2025 to nearly 3% in October 2026. This decline mostly reflects a relative loss of value compared to other digital assets and does not mean that the use of the XRP Ledger has decreased by the same proportions.
In Brief
XRP dominance in the crypto market has dropped from nearly 5% to 3.1% since July 2025.
Its capitalization has fallen by about 117 billion dollars, mainly due to the drop in its price.
The increase in circulating supply has mitigated the loss in capitalization, without preventing the price decline.
Growing adoption of the XRP Ledger does not necessarily lead to increased demand for XRP.
Flows to XRP ETFs and renewed interest in altcoins could support a rebound in its dominance.
XRP Capitalization Loses About 117 Billion Dollars
XRP was trading around 3.42 dollars in July 2025, when its circulating supply reached about 59.2 billion tokens. Its capitalization then exceeded 202 billion dollars, about 5% of a crypto market valued around 4 trillion dollars.
The token currently trades near 1.37 dollars, with about 63.1 billion XRP in circulation. Its capitalization has fallen back to around 86 billion dollars, representing a drop close to 57% and a loss of about 116 billion.
At the same time, the total crypto market value stands around 2.8 trillion dollars. XRP thus accounts for about 3.1%, behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and BNB.
This share, often called dominance, is calculated as follows :
XRP’s capitalization divided by the entire market capitalization ;
XRP’s capitalization obtained by multiplying its price by the circulating supply ;
The result expressed as a percentage to measure its relative weight ;
The indicator sensitive to the XRP price as well as to that of other cryptos.
A declining dominance does not necessarily mean that money is directly leaving XRP. It can also decrease when other assets grow faster or hold up better during a general correction.
Supply Increase Has Limited Capitalization Drop
XRP’s circulating supply has increased by about 3.9 billion tokens since July 2025, a rise close to 6.6%. This increase partly comes from scheduled releases from Ripple’s escrow accounts.
As of June 30, 2026, about 32.6 billion XRP remained locked in these accounts. Ripple regularly performs unlockings, but unused tokens can be placed back under escrow. Therefore, a release does not automatically correspond to a sale on the market.
The supply increase is often presented as downward pressure on the price, as demand must absorb more available tokens. However, its real effect depends on the quantity effectively sold, held, or relocked.
From an arithmetic point of view, the additional supply even softened the capitalization drop. Without its expansion, the price decline would have produced an even lower total value. The main factor in the decline remains the price drop from 3.42 to about 1.37 dollars.
XRP now stands more than 62% below its all-time high of 3.65 dollars, reached on July 17, 2025. Over one year, its drop approaches 47%.
XRP Ledger Adoption Does Not Guarantee XRP Demand
The decline in dominance comes despite several announcements regarding institutional use of the XRP Ledger. In September, a Brazilian financial infrastructure operator managing nearly 4 trillion dollars in recorded assets began using the network to replicate property registries of funds.
Ripple is also expanding its activities in payments, asset custody, and tokenization. These advances can increase the XRP Ledger’s use without creating proportional demand for its native token.
Network fees remain extremely low. A standard transaction costs at least 10 drops, only 0.00001 XRP. Millions of additional operations can thus be executed without locking a significant amount of tokens.
Some institutions may also use Ripple’s technology or the RLUSD stablecoin without holding XRP permanently. A partnership announcement only supports the price if it creates real token purchases, reduces its available supply, or strengthens its relay asset role.
It is thus necessary to distinguish three often confused elements: Ripple’s commercial growth, XRP Ledger activity, and XRP’s market valuation.
ETFs and the Return of Altcoins Could Reverse the Trend
XRP’s dominance had strongly increased after its November 2024 rally, the end of the dispute between Ripple and the SEC, and the launch of exchange-traded products dedicated to the token. These events facilitated the arrival of new buyers.
To regain a share close to 5%, XRP should now grow much faster than the overall market. At a constant crypto capitalization of 2.8 trillion dollars, this level would require a value of about 140 billion for XRP, nearly 54 billion more.
Flows to XRP ETFs are one of the most direct levers, as their inflows generally require buying tokens. A new capital rotation from Bitcoin to altcoins could also improve its relative position.
Conversely, multiplying partnerships will not be enough if they produce no measurable demand. The drop from 5% to 3% thus reveals less a technical network decline than a weakening of XRP as an investment asset.
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Luc Jose A.
Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019.
Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
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.
According to Farside Investors’ monitoring, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $175.7 million yesterday. Of that total, IBIT recorded a net inflow of $65.9 million, while FBTC posted a net inflow of $103.1 million. Ethereum ETFs logged a net inflow of $24.8 million, with FETH bringing in $8.1 million and Grayscale’s Ethereum product seeing a net inflow of $16.7 million.
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.
2 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.
2 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.
2 minutes ago
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.
2 minutes ago
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.
One massive Ethereum (ETH) whale has just sold off all their positions, earning a massive $24.5 million profit after dumping over 52,000 ETH coins, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
One massive whale, a major over-the-counter (OTC) investor, just dumped the remaining ETH positions. Altogether, they've sold 9,996 ETH ($25 million approx.) from the wallet address 0x8c58.
This is the final in a line of large selloffs since this massive whale has been unwinding the entire 52,001 ETH position.
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Lookonchain has estimated this whale invested approximately $112.4 million into the positions, resulting in a combined average price of $2,162 per ETH for the initial collection.
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This whale has now unloaded the entire portfolio for an average price of $2,632. This results in a massive $24.48 million profit.
As a reminder, this whale previously dumped the majority of their Ethereum positions on Sept. 24. They sold 42,005 ETH. This was worth roughly $111.89 million at the time. This happened during a general downturn in crypto markets.
They were left holding 9,996 ETH at the time. This whale has now dumped the final tokens in the latest move.
Ethereum whales going big Of course, not every whale is dumping Ethereum at the moment.
In fact, on Oct. 12, Lookonchain spotted a mysterious whale making some very aggressive positioning flips from Bitcoin (BTC) to Ethereum.
First, this whale sold 410.14 BTC ($34.16 million approx.) and then went on to purchase 14,341 ETH ($36.14 million) on DEXes.
Later, this same whale dumped 229 BTC (worth $19.1 million) and purchased another chunk of 7,469.8 ETH.
So, we can see a few of these big investors increasing their exposure to ETH while others are locking in profits.
Currently, Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $2,507.47. It's up 0.7% over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
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.
Ethereum layer-2 network Starknet has launched Shadow Accounts, a new privacy feature that allows users to trade, lend and manage decentralized finance (DeFi) positions without publicly connecting their activity to their main cryptocurrency wallets.
Summary
StarkWare launched Shadow Accounts on Starknet, allowing separate application identities without exposing users’ wallet links.
Shadow Accounts keep transactions and balances publicly visible while obscuring connections to users’ primary wallets.
Users fund their Shadow Accounts through STRK20 shielded balances and maintain positions across multiple transactions.
Developers can integrate the privacy feature into existing applications through the Starknet Wallet API interface.
StarkWare introduced STRK20 privacy tools in June, followed by demonstrations of private identity verification technology.
StarkWare announced the launch on October 13, introducing a system that creates separate blockchain addresses for individual DeFi applications. Built on the network’s STRK20 privacy framework, the feature lets users maintain ongoing positions under different identities while keeping their main wallet addresses obscured. The company confirmed that Shadow Account balances and transactions remain visible onchain.
Starknet Shadow Accounts separate DeFi activity from wallets
With Shadow Accounts, users can interact with supported decentralized applications through dedicated addresses that are not publicly linked to their primary wallets. Each application receives a separate, persistent identity, allowing users to return to existing positions without revealing connections to other activities.
StarkWare explained that using the same public wallet across multiple platforms allows blockchain observers to examine transactions, holdings and trading strategies associated with that address. Shadow Accounts are designed to prevent observers from easily combining those activities into a single publicly connected wallet history.
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
Unlike temporary wallet addresses, Shadow Accounts remain available across multiple interactions with the same application. Users can maintain lending positions, accumulate rewards or manage other financial arrangements through a consistent address.
The system derives each account from information associated with the user, the selected application and a unique identifier known as a nonce. According to the official Starknet.js documentation, users can generate multiple Shadow Accounts for one application, allowing them to separate different activities within the same service.
However, the protection has defined limits. StarkWare states that Shadow Accounts hold public ERC-20 assets, meaning their balances and transaction histories remain accessible through blockchain explorers. The privacy protection concerns the connection between those addresses and the user’s main wallet.
The feature therefore does not make every trading position, token transfer or financial activity invisible. Once an observer identifies a particular Shadow Account, its publicly recorded operations can still be examined.
Shadow Accounts use STRK20 to fund DeFi transactions
The system works alongside STRK20, Starknet’s privacy framework for cryptocurrency transfers and shielded balances. Users deposit supported assets into a shared privacy pool, where their balances are represented through encrypted records.
According to StarkWare’s technical explanation, a user connecting to a compatible application can select a private operating mode before making a deposit. The wallet then moves the required assets from the shielded balance to the designated Shadow Account.
Once funded, the account can interact with the application and maintain an ongoing position. For example, a user participating in a lending platform could deposit assets through a Shadow Account and return later to adjust the position.
The process allows the application to recognize the same account across multiple transactions. However, the user’s original wallet address is not publicly attached to those activities through the Shadow Account mechanism.
When users decide to withdraw, supported proceeds can move back into their shielded STRK20 balances. The wallet manages the required transaction data and generates zero-knowledge proofs used to validate operations through the privacy system.
Starknet’s documentation identifies several ways to collect assets from a Shadow Account. Developers can configure transactions to return the entire token balance, only amounts received during the latest interaction or a specified amount.
The mechanism uses a Shadow Account anonymizer, which can create and operate the account through the privacy pool. The official documentation identifies an anonymizer contract deployed on Starknet mainnet, alongside a separate deployment on the Sepolia test network.
StarkWare opens privacy tools to DeFi developers
StarkWare has made Shadow Accounts available through the Starknet Wallet API, allowing developers to connect existing applications to the privacy system.
The company identified the shadow_account_invoke method as the main integration tool. Through this operation, developers can submit application calls using a user’s Shadow Account without directly managing the account’s private state.
According to the launch announcement, the wallet handles proof generation, transaction submission and the data required to manage the user’s shielded balances. Developers do not need access to users’ viewing keys to enable the feature.
The announcement identified Starknet Wallet API version 0.10.4 and starknet.js version 10.8.0 or newer as supported integration options. Wallet compatibility remains necessary, meaning the feature will depend on whether individual wallets and applications implement the relevant interfaces.
StarkWare said the design could eventually support additional services, including liquidity provision, borrowing, staking, recurring purchases, derivatives, prediction markets and NFT marketplaces.
The developer documentation distinguishes Shadow Accounts from single-use transaction helpers. Shadow Accounts are designed for positions held over time, while helper-based interactions can complete a transaction without maintaining a persistent user-specific address.
No figures were disclosed for the number of applications that had integrated Shadow Accounts at launch. StarkWare did not publish adoption targets or transaction volumes associated specifically with the new feature.
Starknet expands privacy services after STRK20 launch
Shadow Accounts extend StarkWare’s existing work on blockchain privacy, which received a major update in June 2026.
On June 9, StarkWare introduced STRK20, a framework designed to provide shielded balances and private transfers for supported ERC-20 assets on Starknet. The system uses zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions without publicly exposing all the underlying financial information.
The earlier STRK20 privacy framework for Ethereum tokens introduced encrypted balances, private transfers and viewing keys for controlled disclosure. Through its shared privacy pool, users can move supported assets between public and shielded states while remaining on Starknet.
Subsequently, StarkWare demonstrated a Private Know Your Customer system on June 23. The technology was designed to allow users to verify selected personal information without providing companies with complete copies of their identity documents.
The Private KYC system developed by StarkWare uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify specific information, such as age or eligibility, while limiting exposure of other personal details. The demonstration involved passport verification using mobile devices and encrypted identity information.
StarkWare’s official STRK20 website identifies Ready and Xverse among the wallets supporting its privacy infrastructure. The platform describes existing integrations involving decentralized exchanges, lending applications and other financial services.
Its documentation explains that privacy protections do not cover every part of a blockchain transaction. Public deposits, withdrawals, transaction timing and external application activity can remain visible, depending on the wallet and integration.
The framework provides a mechanism for authorized auditing through encrypted viewing keys. According to StarkWare, this allows designated auditors to inspect an individual’s private transfer records without gaining control of their assets.
The latest developer documentation identifies WalletAccountV6 as the recommended interface for new Starknet applications using STRK20 features. It specifies compatibility with get-starknet version 6.0.6 or later and describes support through compatible wallets, including Ready and Xverse.
Ripple’s RLUSD mint activity is picking up pace, and the timing is no coincidence.
On-chain data from the Ripple Stablecoin Tracker shows that Ripple Treasury executed two back-to-back RLUSD mints on Ethereum totaling $38.6 million.
At the same time, three separate burns worth $50.6 million hit the XRP Ledger. The net result: a $12 million reduction in circulating RLUSD supply.
What the On-Chain Numbers Actually Tell Investors
The RLUSD mint split across two Ethereum transactions, one for 19.6 million tokens and another for 19 million.
Treasury mints like these typically follow real customer USD deposits. They are not a signal of free supply inflation. They represent freshly demanded liquidity.
This multi-chain treasury activity arrives just days after Standard Chartered launched institutional custody for RLUSD through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch.
A milestone that Standard Chartered Launches Custody for Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin marked as a watershed moment for enterprise adoption.
The Ethereum side gained $38.6 million in new RLUSD. The XRP Ledger lost $50.6 million across three burns of 13 million, 18 million, and 19.6 million.
Combined, that is a net $12 million drawn out of circulation. This points to active rebalancing, moving liquidity from XRPL to Ethereum, likely to meet DeFi demand or satisfy institutional counterparties who operate on Ethereum rails.
RLUSD holds a market capitalization near $2.42 billion as of this reporting. It has maintained its dollar peg throughout.
Earlier this year, RLUSD Hit a Fresh Market Cap ATH Near $2.5B While XRPL Stables Jumped 6%, underscoring how quickly the stablecoin has scaled since its 2024 launch under NYDFS regulation.
The cross-chain pattern is not new. Ripple Expanded RLUSD to Ethereum Layer-2 Networks and an XRPL Sidechain via Wormhole, giving it wider reach across DeFi ecosystems.
What changes now is that bank-grade custody is live, and that raises the strategic stakes of every treasury move.
💵💵💵💵💵💵💵 19,600,000 $RLUSD minted at RLUSD Treasury.https://t.co/GORFFengfn
— Ripple Stablecoin Tracker (@RL_Tracker) October 13, 2026
Standard Chartered Custody and the LMAX Collateral Play: Why It Changes the Game
Standard Chartered launched its RLUSD custody service on October 12, 2026. It operates through the bank’s DIFC branch in Dubai, regulated by the DFSA.
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s SVP of Stablecoins, put it plainly: “RLUSD was built for exactly this kind of institutional use case.”
What makes this more than a custody announcement is the planned LMAX collateral integration. Under the model, institutions keep their RLUSD with Standard Chartered.
The value is then mirrored to LMAX’s trading systems. Tokens never leave the custodian. That removes transfer-related counterparty risk, a real pain point for institutional desks trading digital assets at scale.
Luke Dorney, Head of Custody at LMAX Group, called RLUSD “an increasingly important component of institutional digital asset markets.”
The collateral integration is still pending final documentation, testing, and regulatory approval. But the direction is clear. Ripple has been building institutional rails aggressively.
Ripple Partnered With Privy to Expand XRPL Access for XRP and RLUSD Payments, opening RLUSD to agentic and AI-driven payment flows.
Separately, Ripple Rolled Out a New Mint Platform to Expand RLUSD Access for Institutions, giving qualified institutions a direct route to mint and redeem at scale.
Dubai is not an isolated bet either. Ripple Flagged Turkey as a Digital Assets Hub With Garanti BBVA Custody and RLUSD Rails, layering on further bank custody coverage across emerging markets.
Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger itself is growing as a settlement layer. X402 AI Payments on XRPL Topped 10 Million, a milestone that makes every unit of RLUSD liquidity on the ledger more strategically relevant.
On-chain yield demand is also rising. Doppler’s XRP Vault Hit $125M, putting yield-seeking capital firmly in the XRPL ecosystem.
And with BNY Mellon Eyeing 24/7 Tokenized U.S. Treasuries Settlement, RLUSD could soon serve as settlement infrastructure for tokenized traditional assets.
For investors, the read is straightforward. These are not pump signals. They are plumbing signals.
The mint-and-burn cycle is treasury management responding to real institutional demand. The custody launch is the infrastructure that makes that demand sustainable at scale.
Watch circulating supply trends, Standard Chartered and LMAX implementation updates, and further bank custody announcements for the next leg of this story.
Ethereum price has struggled to sustain a recovery above $2,500 on October 14 as persistent ETF withdrawals, weak market sentiment, and technical resistance continue to limit buying interest.
Summary
Ethereum price continues to struggle near $2,500 as persistent spot ETF withdrawals and weak market sentiment limit recovery attempts.
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $542.2 million in net outflows during the week ending October 9, adding to selling pressure.
Daily Bollinger Bands and Aroon readings favor sellers, with ETH trading below the middle Bollinger Band at $2,617.99.
The four hour MACD shows improving momentum, but ETH must clear resistance at $2,543 and $2,580 to strengthen its recovery.
A break below $2,449 could expose support near $2,425 and $2,409, while a sustained recovery could bring $2,618 into focus.
According to TradingView data, Ethereum (ETH) traded at $2,508.58 at the time of writing, up 0.43% on the day after moving between $2,497.94 and $2,522.63.
The second largest cryptocurrency has been trying to recover from last week’s selloff, which pushed prices toward $2,400. However, ETH remains below important resistance levels on the daily chart, while the 4-hour timeframe shows that buyers have yet to establish a convincing recovery.
Ethereum price faces pressure from ETF withdrawals and market selling
Institutional demand has remained weak throughout October, with U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recording $542.2 million in net withdrawals during the trading week ending October 9.
According to Farside Investors, the funds recorded five consecutive sessions of outflows during the week, including $201.9 million on October 6 and $160.9 million on October 7.
The withdrawals formed part of a longer selling streak that began on September 29. As crypto.news reported on October 12, cumulative redemptions had reached $697.4 million across nine consecutive negative sessions through October 9.
BlackRock’s ETHA was responsible for a substantial portion of the selling, particularly during the two largest withdrawal sessions.
Institutional outflows have coincided with selling across the cryptocurrency market, where leveraged positions have contributed to recent price swings.
Ethereum was trading near $2,718 on October 6 before losing the $2,600 level during the following session. Geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz accompanied the market decline, with Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies recording losses.
The selling pushed ETH toward $2,409 before buyers stepped in, although subsequent recovery attempts have struggled to move decisively beyond the $2,500 region.
Derivatives positioning has created another obstacle. CoinGlass liquidation data cited in October 12 market coverage identified overhead liquidation concentrations around $2,585, $2,635 to $2,640, and $2,740.
A recovery into these regions could trigger short liquidations, but the same areas may attract traders looking to exit positions following the recent decline.
Meanwhile, corporate Ethereum accumulation has continued despite the weaker market.
BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased another 12,532 ETH during the week ending October 11, bringing its reported holdings to 6,028,946 tokens, or approximately 4.9% of Ethereum’s supply.
The company’s chairman, Tom Lee, has warned that selling in South Korea’s stock market could spread into cryptocurrency markets through liquidations. The warning followed a decline of more than 6% in South Korea’s KOSPI index on October 13.
BitMine’s continued purchases have provided a source of institutional demand, although they have not prevented ETH from trading below its recent highs.
Daily indicators favor sellers
On the daily ETH/USDT chart, Ethereum is trading below the middle Bollinger Band, indicating that sellers continue to have the upper hand despite the latest recovery attempt.
ETH/USDT 1-day price chart. Source: crypto.news
The middle band currently stands at $2,617.99, nearly $110 above the prevailing market price.
A recovery toward this level would require ETH to overcome several resistance areas established during the recent decline. Until then, the middle band remains a potential ceiling for any rebound.
The lower Bollinger Band sits at $2,425.34, close to the area where buyers entered the market during the latest selloff.
A move below $2,425 could expose the recent swing low near $2,409. Sustained selling below that level would leave the $2,350 to $2,380 region as a possible next downside target.
The upper Bollinger Band, meanwhile, stands at $2,810.63. However, a move toward that level would first require Ethereum to recover above the middle band and overcome resistance around $2,700.
The Aroon indicator provides another view of the prevailing trend.
On the daily chart, Aroon Down stands at 57.14%, while Aroon Up is considerably lower at 14.29%.
The difference indicates that recent lows have been more influential than recent highs, although the Aroon Down reading has not reached levels normally associated with a particularly strong downtrend.
Aroon Up would need to recover and cross above Aroon Down to indicate that buyers are beginning to establish a stronger trend.
Until such a crossover develops, the daily readings leave Ethereum vulnerable to renewed selling, particularly if the price fails to hold above $2,450.
The 4-hour chart presents a somewhat different picture, with momentum beginning to improve following the decline toward $2,409.
ETH/USDT 4-hour price chart. Source: crypto.news
Ethereum’s Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator shows the MACD line at -8.68, above the signal line at -10.01.
The histogram has turned positive at 1.33, indicating that bearish momentum has eased and that buyers have regained some short-term ground.
However, both the MACD and signal lines remain below zero, meaning the recovery has not yet developed into a confirmed bullish trend.
The histogram has also narrowed following its earlier expansion, suggesting that the initial recovery is losing momentum as ETH trades near $2,500.
Fibonacci retracement levels drawn between the recent swing low of $2,409.09 and swing high of $2,579.88 place immediate resistance around $2,514.54, corresponding to the 0.618 retracement.
A sustained move above this level could allow ETH to challenge $2,543.33, the 0.786 retracement, before attempting to revisit $2,579.88.
A breakout above $2,580 would bring the daily Bollinger middle band near $2,618 into focus.
If buyers manage to reclaim that level, the next resistance areas would lie near $2,685 and $2,700, although such a recovery would require stronger momentum than the current 4-hour readings suggest.
On the downside, initial support lies around $2,494, followed by the Fibonacci levels at $2,474.33 and $2,449.40.
A breakdown below $2,449 would raise the possibility of another move toward $2,409, particularly if the 4-hour MACD crosses back below its signal line.
For a stronger recovery, the 4-hour MACD would need to move above zero while ETH reclaims $2,543 and subsequently $2,580. On the daily timeframe, $2,618 remains the next significant resistance level before buyers can challenge the $2,700 region.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
A major Ethereum whale, identified as a significant over-the-counter (OTC) investor, has completed a full exit from their position, selling a total of 52,001 ETH and securing a $24.5 million profit, according to data compiled by blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
Whale’s liquidation strategy and profitThe investor initiated their divestment in September, liquidating 42,005 ETH—then valued at approximately $111.89 million—amid broader weakness in cryptocurrency markets. They retained a balance of 9,996 ETH after that sale, which were held until a final transaction reported this week.
This latest sale involved moving the remaining 9,996 ETH, worth around $25 million, from the wallet address 0x8c58. With this final move, the whale has completely closed out the original 52,001 ETH position.
Lookonchain calculated the whale’s average acquisition price at $2,162 per ETH, resulting in a total initial outlay of roughly $112.4 million. The total portfolio was sold at an average price of $2,632 per coin, generating a realized profit of $24.48 million.
By unwinding the entire 52,001 ETH stake at higher average prices than acquired, the whale achieved a profit margin of nearly $24.5 million.
Mini dictionary: Over-the-counter (OTC), A method of trading assets directly between parties rather than through a centralized exchange. OTC desks are often used for large trades to minimize price slippage and market impact.
TransactionETH AmountUSD Value at SaleFirst major sale (Sep 24)42,005 ETH$111.89 millionFinal sale9,996 ETH$25 millionTotal position52,001 ETH~$136.89 millionOther whale activity in the marketWhale activity has diverged in recent weeks, with some investors reducing their Ethereum exposure while others are increasing holdings. On October 12, Lookonchain identified a different large investor actively shifting capital from Bitcoin to Ethereum in rapid succession.
The unidentified whale first sold 410.14 BTC, valued at $34.16 million, and subsequently purchased 14,341 ETH for $36.14 million on various decentralized exchanges. Later, the same investor sold an additional 229 BTC, worth $19.1 million, and acquired 7,469.8 more ETH.
Several whales appear to be repositioning aggressively, with some rotating assets from Bitcoin into Ethereum while others realize profits on existing ETH holdings.
ActionAsset SoldAsset PurchasedValueFirst rotation410.14 BTC14,341 ETH$36.14 million (ETH)Second rotation229 BTC7,469.8 ETHUnspecifiedEthereum market performanceDespite significant whale moves within the market, Ethereum has maintained relative price stability. The latest data from CoinGecko shows that ETH is currently trading at $2,507.47, marking a 0.7% increase over the past 24 hours.
These substantial transactions underline the continued influence of large investors in cryptocurrency markets, particularly in shaping liquidity and short-term price movements.
An Ethereum wallet associated with sven.eth has reportedly lost 9.1231 ETH, valued at approximately $22,770, and 1.69271471 TAPEETH tokens after an attacker used a malicious EIP-7702 authorization to gain control of the account.
Summary
Security firm ExVul reported that an Ethereum wallet lost 9.1231 ETH through malicious account delegation.
The reported attack involved 1.69271471 TAPEETH tokens alongside Ethereum valued at approximately $22,770 at detection.
A sponsored EIP-7702 transaction reportedly enabled attacker controlled code to execute through the victim’s wallet.
ExVul attributed the theft to malicious wallet authorization, not a vulnerability in PodMining or TAPEETH.
The security firm warned that the malicious delegation remained active at Ethereum block 26,188,153 afterward.
Blockchain security firm ExVul reported the incident on October 14, identifying an attacker-sponsored transaction that activated malicious code previously authorized by the wallet owner. The firm attributed the theft to an unsafe delegation, explaining that the attacker drained the wallet without exploiting the underlying DeFi protocol.
The reported incident involved the wallet linked to sven.eth and an attacker-controlled address beginning with 0x9208. According to ExVul’s investigation, the authorization allowed code installed through Ethereum’s EIP-7702 mechanism to operate with the wallet’s permissions.
Ethereum EIP-7702 attack drains ETH and TAPEETH
The reported theft involved 9.1231 ETH and 1.69271471 TAPEETH, with the ETH portion valued at approximately $22,770 when ExVul published its findings. The security firm did not provide a separate dollar valuation for the TAPEETH tokens.
ExVul identified the transaction hash as 0x36e0d1491c14e3d8e50bc70d73675b89d2d4712814d16f808f957c84fde820ee, linking the activity to a sponsored type-4 Ethereum transaction. Such transactions support EIP-7702 authorizations, which allow ordinary wallet addresses to execute smart contract code.
The investigation attributed the attack to 0x9208097c007be15e28b20e94e66870a3f9f820bc. The victim’s wallet was identified as 0xd8ba9e5886b7000bace2c9dbdd0be98ac77d4a28, while the malicious delegation pointed to 0x0366b55f948a688888ca6e029ad0831f6ec260d1.
🚨 ALERT — EIP-7702 Wallet Drain on Ethereum
sven.eth was drained for 9.1231 ETH net (~$22.77K) plus 1.69271471 TAPEETH.
No flash loan or AMM manipulation was involved: the attacker sponsored a type-4 transaction carrying the victim's valid EIP-7702 authorization, then swept…
— ExVul (@exvulsec) October 14, 2026
According to the security alert, the attacker submitted a transaction containing an EIP-7702 authorization signed by the victim. Once Ethereum processed that authorization, subsequent calls to the affected wallet executed the delegated contract’s instructions within the victim account.
The attacker-controlled code reportedly contained a fixed address authorized to operate the wallet. The controller then invoked the PodMining.claim() function, transferred the resulting TAPEETH rewards and withdrew the wallet’s ETH balance.
ExVul emphasized that “No flash loan or AMM manipulation was involved.” Its findings identified the account authorization as the entry point, with no evidence in the supplied analysis of an exploit involving liquidity pools or price manipulation.
How malicious wallet delegation enabled the theft
EIP-7702 is part of Ethereum’s account abstraction development, allowing externally owned accounts to temporarily gain smart contract functionality through delegated code.
Under the official Ethereum specification, a user signs an authorization identifying the smart contract that will control the account’s execution behavior. Once submitted through a compatible transaction, Ethereum records the delegation and runs the designated code when the wallet receives relevant calls.
The feature supports legitimate applications, including sponsored transactions, transaction batching and more flexible wallet permissions. A user can authorize multiple actions through a single transaction or allow a third party to cover the network fee.
However, the same mechanism carries security risks when an account delegates execution to malicious code. Ethereum’s EIP-7702 specification explains that poorly designed or malicious delegation contracts can grant an outside party extensive control over the account.
In this incident, the attacker reportedly paid the transaction fee and submitted the signed authorization. The wallet owner did not need to fund or broadcast the transaction that activated the malicious delegation.
The signature supplied authority for the wallet to execute the attacker’s code. Once activated, the code operated under the victim’s account context, allowing the controller address to initiate the reported asset transfers.
ExVul stated that the exploit “is not a TAPEETH / PodMining bug.” The conclusion distinguishes the authorization mechanism from a vulnerability in the token or the reward contract.
The firm did not establish how the attacker obtained the victim’s authorization. Its public findings do not identify a specific phishing website, malicious application or compromised signing interface.
Malicious authorization could threaten future deposits
After the reported theft, ExVul warned that the wallet’s malicious delegation remained active at Ethereum block 26,188,153.
The warning concerns a feature of EIP-7702: setting a delegation does not automatically remove it when the transaction finishes. The authorized contract can remain associated with the wallet until the account owner replaces or clears the delegation.
Ethereum’s official security guidance explains that a wallet owner retains control through the original private key, including the ability to reset delegation by authorizing the zero address. However, malicious delegated code may remain dangerous until the change is successfully processed.
ExVul warned users against transferring new assets into the affected address while the suspicious delegation remained active. Newly deposited funds could face the same exposure if the attacker’s code continued to control spending permissions.
The firm recommended clearing or replacing the authorization and moving remaining assets to a secure wallet. Such recovery actions require care because the affected address may execute malicious instructions while the delegation persists.
The warning was based on the delegation status observed at block 26,188,153. ExVul’s original alert did not establish whether the victim had subsequently removed the malicious code or recovered any assets.
No reimbursement arrangement, recovery transaction or law enforcement action was identified in the supplied investigation.
EIP-7702 has raised similar security concerns before
The latest reported attack follows previous warnings from blockchain security researchers about malicious account delegations.
In May 2025, crypto market maker Wintermute identified widespread use of EIP-7702 contracts designed to automatically drain funds from compromised Ethereum wallets.
Wintermute’s research found that more than 97% of observed EIP-7702 delegations at that stage pointed to contracts using identical code. Its analysis associated many of those delegations with automated sweepers that could transfer incoming ETH to attacker-controlled addresses.
The earlier security concerns surrounding Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade centered on attackers abusing wallet delegation features introduced through EIP-7702. Security researchers warned that malicious code could remain connected to accounts after victims completed the initial authorization.
A separate incident involving World Liberty Financial tokens in September 2025 raised similar concerns. Blockchain investigator Yu Xian reported that attackers were using compromised wallet permissions and EIP-7702 delegation to target holders after token transfers became available.
The phishing attacks against WLFI token holders involved malicious delegation contracts that allowed attackers to execute unauthorized transactions. Investigators linked the activity to compromised wallet credentials and fraudulent authorizations.
In July 2026, another Ethereum phishing incident involving nearly $1 million demonstrated how dangerous wallet approvals can expose cryptocurrency holdings. That case involved malicious transaction permissions and was not established as the same exploit method reported against sven.eth.
Ethereum’s EIP-7702 specification identifies several safeguards for developers building delegation contracts, including replay protection, authenticated transaction parameters and secure initialization procedures.
The specification warns that poorly implemented delegation contracts may give malicious actors nearly complete control over the affected account. It recommends carefully verifying the permissions granted to delegated code, particularly when external parties can submit transactions on behalf of wallet owners.
ExVul’s October 14 alert identified the malicious contract, controller address and affected account, but did not disclose whether the victim had since replaced the authorization. The investigation recorded the suspicious delegation as active at block 26,188,153.
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.
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Standard Chartered has unveiled a new crypto trading service that lets eligible affluent clients buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum directly through their existing bank accounts. This marked a first for the bank and for an international lender in the UAE.
Standard Chartered Enables Direct Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading Standard Chartered launched a first-of-its-kind crypto trading solution for affluent clients, according to an official announcement on October 14. Eligible professional clients in the UAE can now buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) directly through their existing bank accounts.
It becomes possible through a strategic collaboration between the bank’s Wealth and Retail Banking (WRB) and Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) businesses, alongside SC Ventures-backed Zodia Markets, and regulation by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The crypto trading solution integrates institutional-grade custody, liquidity, and client access within a single, end-to-end digital asset ecosystem. Transactions will run within the bank’s ecosystem under a closed-loop model, reducing wallet risks.
This will enable clients to access crypto assets with their existing banking relationship while benefiting from institutional-grade custody and operational safeguards.
Samir Subberwal, Global Head of Wealth Solutions, Retail Products, Data & Analytics at Standard Chartered, described the launch as a significant milestone that brings crypto assets into the bank’s core wealth offering. He added that clients demand secure, regulated access as digital assets move into the mainstream.
“We are proud to be the first international bank in the UAE to launch a cryptocurrency trading offering,” said Rola Abu Manneh, CEO for UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered.
Expanding Crypto Capabilities Across UAE Institutional and Wealth Services The launch builds on Standard Chartered’s broader crypto assets activities in the UAE and other key regions. This builds on Standard Chartered’s launch of spot crypto trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutional clients in the UAE last month.
The service lets eligible institutional clients trade deliverable BTC/USD and ETH/USD through familiar electronic FX platforms, with settlement options including the bank’s own digital asset custody.
As CoinGape reported earlier, Standard Chartered launched institutional USDC minting and redemption through DIFC, becoming the first G-SIB to offer institutional access to USDC through a regulated banking channel.
Recently, Standard Chartered announced institutional custody support for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. The bank also joined Ripple and LMAX Group to enable RLUSD as eligible collateral.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Ethereum trades near $2,505 today. To reach $3,000 by December, it needs a gain of approximately 20% in 3 months. That is possible in crypto, but the chart makes it a difficult climb. ETH has dropped approximately 7% since October 6, when it sat near $2,697.
In late September, it moved sideways between support near $2,620 and resistance near $2,800. Now, the price is below that range, and the $2,650 area has turned from support into a ceiling. The 50-day average near $2,492 is the next floor to watch, with the 100-day near $2,321 below it. The 200-day sits near $2,272.
Scenario 1: BreakoutBuyers reclaim $2,650, then push through the $2,775 to $2,825 zone and hold it. That could open a clean path to $3,000, especially if the Federal Reserve decision on October 28 is friendly.
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ETH/USDT Chart by TradingViewScenario 2: Range and driftETH remains between $2,300 and $2,800 through December. Rallies fade near $2,700, and dips get bought near $2,500. It ends the year without touching $3,000.
Scenario 3: Breakdown A close below $2,492 sends the price toward $2,321, and then toward the 200-day near $2,272. A drop that deep could push $3,000 well into 2027.
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Apart from technical factors, the spot Ether ETFs lost $85.4 million on October 12, extending a streak of daily outflows. That is a sharp turn from September, when these funds took in approximately $445 million. ETFs are a large source of steady demand, so this matters.
There is also a supply issue. Fee burns offset only approximately 2% of new ETH issued, so supply continues to grow by roughly 0.64%. More coins are being created than destroyed, which adds selling pressure when demand is weak.
Reaching $3,000 by December is possible, but it is not the most likely outcome. ETH needs ETF inflows to return and a close above $2,825 first. Until then, the odds lean toward a range or a dip.
Ethereum‘s derivatives market has witnessed a notable decline in leverage, as persistent outflows from institutional products and weak US trading activity weigh on the cryptocurrency’s recovery prospects.
Leverage and institutional flows weakenRecent data from on-chain analytics provider CryptoQuant indicates that Ethereum’s Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) has declined to 0.62. This marks its lowest reading since November 2025, pointing to a reduction in the use of leverage by traders in the ETH market.
The Estimated Leverage Ratio is calculated by comparing open interest in derivatives to the amount of an asset held in spot exchange reserves. It provides insights into how much of the market’s activity is driven by leverage versus actual holdings.
Mini dictionary: Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR), a metric that assesses the proportion of leverage used in the derivatives market by comparing derivatives open interest with spot exchange reserves.
The drop in leverage has coincided with declining open interest on Ethereum derivatives exchanges. This trend indicates that traders have generally adopted a more cautious stance, preferring not to expand leveraged positions despite recent price movements.
In addition, the Net Taker Volume for Ethereum remains negative, reflecting ongoing sell-side pressure in perpetual futures trading. This metric highlights that market-order selling currently exceeds buying across these instruments.
The cautious sentiment was further underscored by the Coinbase Premium Index, which recently fell to -0.117. This negative value means that Ethereum is currently trading at a discount on Coinbase compared to other major exchanges, suggesting more muted demand from US-based buyers.
Ethereum’s market data continues to highlight cautious behavior from traders, as the decline in leverage and persistent negative taker volume signal that participants remain wary of new long positions.
Institutional flows have also been under pressure. Data from SoSoValue shows that US-listed spot Ethereum ETFs reported $85.4 million in net outflows on Monday. Although there was a modest inflow of $24.84 million on Tuesday, the 10-day net redemption streak is now the longest since mid-May to early June.
DateETH ETF Net FlowsMonday$85.4 million outflowTuesday$24.84 million inflowPrevious 10 daysConsecutive outflowsTechnical outlook for ETHTechnically, Ethereum has been consolidating on its daily chart as it attempts to build support near its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA), which sits around $2,501.
The immediate challenge for buyers lies at the $2,548 resistance level. A successful move above this first barrier would bring the 20-day EMA, currently at about $2,578, into focus as the next key resistance.
If bullish momentum strengthens, traders may watch for targets at $2,636 and $2,781, with further resistance identified at $3,075 and $3,253.
Momentum indicators remain subdued. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 43, below the neutral 50 midpoint, while the Stochastic Oscillator has dropped to 27, which signals weak momentum and nears oversold territory.
On the downside, initial support can be found at $2,413. Further declines could expose Ethereum to support at $2,355 and its 100-day EMA. Deeper pullbacks would likely bring $2,204 and $1,971 into view as additional support areas.
Ethereum must clear the $2,548 and $2,578 barriers to shift momentum in favor of buyers, while sustained ETF outflows and sluggish US demand create challenges for a robust recovery.
Leading cryptocurrencies posted steady gains on Tuesday as investors awaited September’s consumer inflation data against a backdrop of elevated oil prices.
Crypto Market SteadyBitcoin crossed $84,000 but failed to sustain the rally, while Ethereum consolidated around the $2,500 region. XRP and Dogecoin recorded noticeable spikes.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks also dipped, with Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) closing down 0.33% and 1.43%, respectively.
More than $190 million was liquidated across the cryptocurrency market in the last day, largely from bearish short positions, according to Coinglass data.
Bitcoin’s open interest rose by a modest 0.34% over the last 24 hours, matching the movement in spot price. Derivatives traders were net short on BTC as the Long/Shor Ratio slipped below 1.
"Greed" sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.
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The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.908 trillion, following an increase of 1.20% from the previous day.
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Stock Market Feels the StrainStocks ended in the red on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 180.45 points, or 0.35%, to close at 51,670.10. The S&P 500 closed 0.02% lower at 7,805.45, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.15% to end at 27,204.38.
The United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO), which tracks WTI crude oil, rose 1.36% to $153.09 as Iran reportedly outlined new tactics to disrupt shipping and keep global oil prices elevated.
All eyes will be on Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report as investors look for clues on the future path of monetary policy.
Bitcoin FOMO FadesAli Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, highlighted a setup similar to a previous bounce, in which holding the 200-Day Simple Moving Average and closing above the 50-Day Simple Moving Average triggered a rally for Bitcoin.
“The key level to watch is $84,000, where the 50 SMA currently sits. A 4-hour close above it could confirm the next leg higher to $93,000,” the analyst added.
On-chain analytics firm Santiment reported Ethereum leading in social sentiment, with 2.05 bullish comments per bearish one across X, Reddit, and Telegram, while commentary for Bitcoin turned predominantly bearish.
Strike Finance integrates RealFi yields into its liquidity vaults.
Advertised returns approach 50% APR but remain variable.
ADA trades near $0.235, with support around $0.228.
Open interest reaches $239.7 million after a modest daily increase.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has praised Strike Finance following its integration of RealFi yield into the platform’s liquidity vaults, a development that expands the use of real-world asset-backed products within Cardano’s decentralized finance ecosystem.
Alright Cardano, RealFi is open for business through Strike. One of the best DApps on Cardano
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 14, 2026
Strike says the integration allows users to access returns associated with RealFi alongside its existing vault strategies. The platform is advertising annual percentage rates approaching 50%, although those figures are variable and should not be confused with the returns generated by RealFi’s underlying assets.
Hoskinson welcomed the development, describing Strike as one of Cardano’s best applications.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after RealFi launched on Cardano mainnet on October 1. ADA, however, continues to face technical resistance, trading around $0.235 in the October 14 market snapshot.
Strike Adds Real-World Yield to Its Vault Strategies
RealFi brings a different source of returns to Cardano’s DeFi market.
Its two-token system consists of USDrf, a dollar-denominated stablecoin backed by a portfolio of financial assets, and sUSDrf, a yield-bearing token that provides exposure to returns generated by the underlying portfolio.
According to RealFi’s documentation, the portfolio includes U.S. Treasury bills, money-market funds, investment-grade credit instruments and private lending.
The structure is designed to separate liquidity needs from yield generation. USDrf serves as the more liquid base asset, while sUSDrf carries additional exposure to investment performance and potential losses.
Strike’s integration introduces these returns into a separate DeFi strategy.
Under its documented vault model, depositors allocate funds to managed trading accounts, where profits and losses are reflected in the value of their vault shares.
The latest promotional figures include:
49.27% APR for sUSDrf-linked positions.
37.03% APR for ADA-backed positions.
Up to 50% APR across selected vault strategies.
Strike also advertises borrowing against eligible collateral at 0% interest.
These figures were presented in the October 14 announcement and are not independently verified realized returns. The available information does not establish how much of each vault’s advertised APR comes from RealFi, trading performance or other strategy components.
That distinction is central to evaluating the integration.
Why a 50% APR Does Not Mean RealFi Earns 50%
RealFi’s own product information advertises up to 10% APY for its staked token, substantially below the figures associated with Strike’s selected vault strategies.
The difference is not necessarily contradictory. The products operate at different levels and involve different sources of return.
RealFi’s yield originates from financial assets supporting its token system. Strike’s vault performance can also depend on trading activity and how capital is deployed within its strategies.
APR and APY also use different annualization conventions. APR generally excludes compounding, while APY incorporates it.
Neither measure guarantees that the quoted return will persist.
For example, a strategy displaying 49.27% APR could subsequently produce a much lower return or record a loss. Its advertised rate should not be treated as a fixed payment obligation.
The risks extend beyond changing yields.
Collateral liquidation. Borrowers may lose pledged assets if their collateral falls below the required threshold.
Trading losses. Vault positions can decline in value, reducing depositor balances.
Credit exposure. RealFi’s underlying portfolio includes assets that may experience defaults or valuation losses.
Liquidity restrictions. Withdrawals and redemptions may depend on market depth, available funds and applicable waiting periods.
RealFi’s redemption disclosures distinguish institutional redemption arrangements from retail exits through decentralized exchanges. Retail holders are not guaranteed immediate liquidity or an exit at the token’s target value.
Geographic eligibility is another limitation. RealFi states that USDrf and sUSDrf are unavailable to persons in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and certain other jurisdictions.
These restrictions mean the new integration should not be interpreted as universally accessible across Cardano’s user base.
ADA Tests a Support Zone Near $0.228
The latest price chart shows that Cardano’s broader market performance remains weaker than the optimism surrounding the RealFi integration.
At the time of writing ADA trades at $0.23480 on Coinbase, according to the TradingView chart from October 14, representing a daily decline of 0.38%.
Cardano trades within a rising price channel.
The token remained below its 20-day simple moving average at $0.24861.
That level closely matches the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at $0.24863, creating a resistance area near $0.249.
A sustained move above that region would improve the short-term technical outlook and bring the recent trading area around $0.26 into focus.
Support is closer to the current price.
The 50-day moving average stands at $0.22813, just above the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at $0.22740. The chart’s rising trendline also approaches this zone.
Together, these indicators make $0.227–$0.228 an important area to monitor.
A sustained break below it would weaken the ascending price structure. The next technical references are the 200-day moving average at $0.21251 and the 50% Fibonacci retracement at $0.21024.
The 100-day moving average, currently near $0.20410, provides a lower reference if selling pressure continues.
Momentum indicators support a cautious interpretation.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index stood at 47.26, below the neutral 50 level and its signal average of 55.94.
That suggests momentum has weakened, although ADA is not yet in traditionally oversold territory.
These levels describe potential market reactions rather than guaranteed support or resistance. The chart also does not establish a direct relationship between Strike’s announcement and ADA’s price movements.
ADA Derivatives Show Limited New Positioning
Derivatives data provide little indication of a major speculative buildup around the announcement.
ADA open interest reached approximately $239.7 million on October 14, according to information from Coinalyze, increasing 0.62% over the preceding 24 hours.
The figures cover perpetual contracts, with most outstanding positions concentrated across Binance, Bybit, Hyperliquid and OKX.
Cardano / Derivatives
ADA Open Interest by Exchange
Total Open Interest
$239.7M
+0.62% / 24h
Exchange
OI (USD)
Share
1
Binance
$93.8M
39.1%
2
Bybit
$68.6M
28.6%
3
Hyperliquid
$36.1M
15.1%
4
OKX
$33.7M
14.1%
+
Others
~$7.5M
3.1%
Market Concentration
Top four exchanges
96.9%
Most reported ADA perpetual exposure is concentrated on four venues. Open interest does not indicate whether positioning is bullish or bearish.
The concentration shows where leveraged exposure is held, but it does not establish whether traders expect prices to rise or fall.
Every derivatives contract has both a long and a short side. Open interest alone cannot determine which group is driving the market.
Funding rates, trading volume and liquidation data would be needed to assess positioning more thoroughly.
The modest daily increase therefore suggests limited expansion in outstanding contracts rather than a decisive shift in market sentiment.
RealFi’s Next Test Is Sustained Vault Performance
Strike’s integration gives RealFi another distribution channel shortly after its mainnet launch.
Separately, Cardano has brought CIP-0113 programmable tokens to mainnet, introducing conditional transfers designed for regulated financial assets.
The more meaningful measures of adoption will be sustained deposits, realized returns after fees and the ability of vault strategies to withstand unfavorable market conditions.
For Cardano, the development broadens the practical use of its real-world asset infrastructure. Whether that translates into lasting DeFi activity will depend on the performance of the products themselves, not their advertised annualized yields.
Alexander Zdravkov is a crypto journalist and market analyst specializing in digital assets, blockchain technology, and the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market. He entered the industry more than four years ago, drawn to the speed of innovation in crypto and the potential of blockchain-based financial systems to reshape traditional markets.
His work focuses on understanding the forces behind crypto market movements, from Bitcoin and altcoin cycles to institutional adoption, regulation, exchange-traded products, stablecoins, DeFi, and emerging blockchain ecosystems. Rather than simply following price action, Alexander looks at liquidity, investor positioning, market structure, and macroeconomic conditions to identify developing trends and explain what they could mean for digital assets.
With a degree in International Relations, he brings a broader perspective to cryptocurrency coverage by connecting developments in the sector with monetary policy, geopolitics, regulation, and global capital flows. This allows him to examine crypto not as an isolated market, but as an increasingly interconnected part of the global financial system.
Over the course of more than five years in financial journalism, Alexander has written over 5,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, blockchain, traditional markets, and the global economy. His reporting spans Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, DeFi protocols, institutional crypto adoption, regulation, market infrastructure, security incidents, and major developments shaping the wider digital asset industry.
His approach is centered on giving readers context behind the numbers and headlines, explaining not only what is happening in crypto markets, but why it matters and what could come next.
Tether has invested in Latin American financial technology company EFY Finance through its seed funding round, seeking to expand institutional access to USDT and USAT stablecoin payments across 17 countries.
Summary
Tether invested in EFY Finance’s seed round to expand institutional stablecoin services across Latin America. EFY Finance supports local account settlement across 17 countries and reports more than 25,000 accounts. EFY offers stablecoin payments, custody, wallets, cards, and conversion services across multiple Latin American markets. Tether did not disclose its investment amount, EFY Finance’s valuation, or the total seed funding. Chainalysis recorded nearly USD 1.5 trillion in Latin American cryptocurrency transactions across three reporting years. Tether announced the investment on October 13, confirming that the funding would support EFY Finance’s infrastructure for international payments, digital asset custody and connections to local banking systems. The company serves more than 25,000 active individual and business accounts and operates across several Latin American markets. Financial details, including Tether’s investment amount and EFY’s valuation, were not disclosed.
Tether investment targets stablecoin payments in Latin America According to the announcement, EFY Finance provides payment infrastructure that allows businesses and financial institutions to move funds using dollar-backed stablecoins. Its services connect digital assets with traditional bank accounts, enabling customers to receive, convert and settle payments through local financial networks.
The company supports transactions involving USDT and USAT, with conversion services across more than 12 currencies and payment corridors. Customers can access digital wallets, payment cards, over-the-counter trading services and infrastructure for converting conventional money into stablecoins or exchanging stablecoins for local currencies.
EFY’s settlement network currently reaches local accounts in 17 countries, according to figures disclosed by Tether. Its established markets include Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama and Ecuador, where the company intends to develop additional institutional services.
The funding forms part of EFY Finance’s seed round, although Tether did not identify other investors or specify how much capital the round raised. Neither company announced a timetable for launching new products or entering additional countries.
EFY Finance operates under a Digital Asset Service Provider license in El Salvador. Tether identified the company’s existing customer relationships, banking connections and regulatory arrangements as reasons for supporting its expansion.
The investment follows Tether’s previous involvement in Latin American financial technology investments, including its reported USD 20 million investment in Argentine digital bank Ualá in July 2026. That investment formed part of a larger funding round involving institutional investors and financial services companies.
EFY Finance plans to connect stablecoins with banking services EFY Finance focuses on making digital assets usable through familiar financial services, including corporate accounts, local payment networks and international transfers.
The company’s infrastructure allows customers to exchange stablecoins for traditional currencies and settle funds into local accounts. Its custody services support institutions handling digital assets, while its payment tools provide access to services used by businesses and individuals.
EFY Finance co-founder and CEO Andrés Tobón said the company’s priority is connecting digital currencies with the banking systems businesses already use. He described the work as linking stablecoins to accounts, cards and cross-border settlement arrangements.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed to inflation and capital controls as reasons some Latin American customers seek access to U.S. dollar-backed assets. He said EFY Finance was positioned to improve access through regulated infrastructure and existing financial networks.
The proposed expansion involves two different stablecoins. USDT is Tether’s established dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, while USAT is a U.S.-focused stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., with Tether’s support.
Tether’s official announcement identifies Anchorage as a federally chartered bank. It states that USAT is not legal tender, is not guaranteed by the U.S. government and does not carry Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance protection.
In September, Anchorage Digital selected LayerZero as an interoperability provider for its bank-issued stablecoins, including USAT. The Anchorage Digital stablecoin infrastructure agreement involved technology intended to support transfers across multiple blockchain networks.
The October 13 announcement did not identify which blockchains EFY Finance would use for new payment products. It did not disclose projected transaction volumes, institutional customer commitments or expected revenue from the investment.
Latin America recorded nearly USD 1.5 trillion in crypto activity The investment comes after several years of cryptocurrency growth across Latin America, where stablecoins have become a widely used option for international payments and access to dollar-denominated assets.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that Latin America recorded nearly USD 1.5 trillion in cryptocurrency transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025. Its October 2025 study identified inflation, currency volatility and capital controls among the factors associated with cryptocurrency adoption.
The report found that Brazil accounted for USD 318.8 billion in cryptocurrency value received during its regional measurement period. Argentina recorded USD 93.9 billion, followed by Mexico at USD 71.2 billion, Venezuela at USD 44.6 billion and Colombia at USD 44.2 billion.
Stablecoins accounted for more than half of exchange purchases involving the Colombian peso, Argentine peso and Brazilian real between July 2024 and June 2025. Chainalysis based those figures on exchange order-book data, which does not represent every cryptocurrency transaction conducted in those countries.
Separate industry data has shown continued demand for stablecoin purchases through regional exchanges. Bitso’s 2025 adoption report, examined in coverage of stablecoin purchases across Latin America, found that dollar-backed tokens represented 40% of cryptocurrency purchases on its platform, compared with Bitcoin’s 18%.
The Chainalysis figures describe regional cryptocurrency activity and do not measure EFY Finance’s transaction volume or the expected financial return from Tether’s investment.
Tether continues expanding business payment infrastructure Tether has pursued other institutional payment arrangements involving cross-border settlement and corporate treasury services.
In July 2026, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexican operations completed a pilot using USDT to transfer USD 20,000 over the Avalanche blockchain. The reported transaction settled in approximately seven minutes, according to the companies.
The Hyundai stablecoin payment trial involved converting U.S. dollars into USDT before transferring the tokens between participating business entities. The receiving operation converted the stablecoins back into conventional currency.
Tether’s October 13 investment provides financial backing to an existing payments business serving Latin American customers. Unlike the Hyundai pilot, which involved a defined transaction, the EFY agreement concerns funding for infrastructure and future institutional services.
The companies have not disclosed implementation deadlines, additional regulatory approvals or new products scheduled to launch under the agreement.
EFY Finance said it would continue developing connections between digital dollar payments, banking accounts and local settlement networks. Tobón identified institutional access to USDT and USAT as an area for expansion, while the company’s existing services include custody, accounts, wallets, cards and currency conversion across its supported markets.
Russia continues the integration of cryptocurrencies in its financial system, with a growing role for traditional banks. Sberbank, the largest banking institution in the country, has just obtained authorization to trade digital assets. The bank is already preparing operations on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT in its application. This advance accompanies the establishment of a market regulated by the Russian authorities, who want to organize the exchange and custody of cryptocurrencies.
In brief Sberbank obtains authorization to trade cryptocurrencies in Russia. The bank tests transactions in bitcoin, ether and USDT in its application. The launch of the first products is scheduled for December 1st. Starting next July, cryptocurrency transactions will have to go through authorized intermediaries. Sberbank gets the green light to trade cryptocurrencies The Bank of Russia has registered Sberbank in the register of authorized providers to exchange cryptocurrencies, according to the Interfax agency. This decision follows the bank’s registration as a digital custodian at the beginning of the month. It can thus prepare services covering two distinct activities: trading and custody of digital assets.
The register now includes nine organizations, including VTB and T-Invest Lab. This evolution marks a change of direction compared to the project presented by the central bank in 2022. At that time, the institution planned to ban national exchange platforms and block the operations of Russian financial intermediaries on cryptocurrencies.
However, a law that came into force on September 1st now establishes a regulated framework. It provides for the participation of banks, brokers, exchange platforms, and digital custodians. In this system, authorized traders can buy and sell cryptocurrencies with their own funds, without going through an organized platform. According to the Bank of Russia, custodians are responsible for recording asset ownership and transfers.
Bitcoin, ether and USDT: the first tests in the application Thanks to these two authorizations, Sberbank will be able to combine trading services with custody services. The bank has also been working on a cryptocurrency wallet since the beginning of the year. According to Interfax, it plans to launch its first products on December 1st, directly from the interfaces its clients already use.
The institution is currently testing transactions on several digital assets in its application. The trials focus notably on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and other major tokens. However, the Bank of Russia still needs to define the final list of authorized cryptocurrencies, as indicated by Sberbank to the media Vedomosti. This decision will therefore determine the assets accessible to future users of banking services.
This openness remains subject to precise restrictions. National payments in cryptocurrencies remain prohibited in Russia. In addition, the central bank plans that from next July, transactions will have to go through authorized intermediaries. This rule would effectively exclude peer-to-peer exchanges settled by means of Russian bank accounts.
In the short term, Sberbank must finalize its services while respecting regulatory requirements. The launch announced for December 1st will mark a new stage in crypto regulation in Russia. The final list of authorized assets and the access modalities will then specify the scope of this offer. The evolution of the system will depend notably on the rules set by the central bank and their application to client operations.
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Ghiles A.
Journaliste et rédacteur web passionné par l’univers des cryptomonnaies et des technologies Web3. J’y traite les dernières tendances et actualités afin de proposer un contenu de haute qualité à un large public du secteur.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Tether invested in EFY Finance’s seed round to grow institutional USDT and USAT stablecoin payments in Latin America.
EFY Finance settles payments to local accounts in 17 countries and serves more than 25,000 active accounts.
Neither company disclosed the investment amount, EFY Finance’s valuation, or the total seed round size.
USAT is a U.S.-focused stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank with Tether’s support.
Chainalysis data shows Latin America recorded nearly $1.5 trillion in crypto transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025.
Tether has invested in EFY Finance, a Latin American financial technology company, as part of its seed funding round. The goal is to expand institutional access to USDT and USAT stablecoin payments across 17 countries.
Tether announced the deal on October 13. Neither company disclosed the investment amount, EFY Finance’s valuation, or the total size of the seed round.
How EFY Finance Works
EFY Finance builds payment infrastructure that lets businesses and financial institutions move money using dollar-backed stablecoins. Its services link digital assets with traditional bank accounts.
The company offers wallets, payment cards, custody services, and over-the-counter trading. It supports conversion across more than 12 currencies and payment corridors, with settlement to local accounts in 17 countries.
EFY Finance serves more than 25,000 active individual and business accounts. It holds a Digital Asset Service Provider license in El Salvador.
Its established markets include Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador. The company plans to grow institutional services in these countries.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the U.S. dollar is “a lifeline against inflation and capital controls” across Latin America. He said EFY Finance is positioned to make dollar access easier through regulated infrastructure.
EFY Finance co-founder and CEO Andrés Tobón said stablecoins are already part of the region’s financial system. He said the challenge is connecting them with bank accounts, local payment networks, cards, and cross-border settlement.
The expansion involves two tokens. USDT is Tether’s established dollar-pegged stablecoin.
USAT is a U.S.-focused stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered bank, with Tether’s support. Tether states that USAT is not legal tender, is not guaranteed by the U.S. government, and is not insured by the FDIC.
In September, Anchorage Digital chose LayerZero as an interoperability provider for its bank-issued stablecoins, including USAT. The October announcement did not say which blockchains EFY Finance will use for new products.
Latin America Records Nearly $1.5 Trillion in Crypto Activity
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that Latin America recorded nearly $1.5 trillion in crypto transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025. The firm linked adoption to inflation, currency swings, and capital controls.
Brazil led with $318.8 billion in crypto value received. Argentina followed with $93.9 billion, then Mexico at $71.2 billion, Venezuela at $44.6 billion, and Colombia at $44.2 billion.
Stablecoins made up more than half of exchange purchases involving the Colombian peso, Argentine peso, and Brazilian real between July 2024 and June 2025. Bitso’s 2025 report found dollar-backed tokens made up 40% of crypto purchases on its platform, compared with 18% for Bitcoin.
The EFY deal follows other Tether moves in the region. In July 2026, Tether reportedly invested $20 million in Argentine digital bank Ualá.
That same month, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexican operations completed a pilot using USDT to send $20,000 over the Avalanche blockchain. The transfer settled in about seven minutes, according to the companies.
The companies have not shared timelines for new products, expansion into more countries, or expected transaction volumes. Tobón said institutional access to USDT and USAT remains a focus as EFY Finance builds links between digital dollars and local banking networks.
Tether, the company behind the world’s most widely traded stablecoin USDT, invested in EFY Finance as part of the fintech firm’s seed funding round, aiming to strengthen institutional access to digital dollar payments across Latin America. The size of Tether’s investment, EFY Finance’s valuation, and the full amount raised were not disclosed by either party.
Expansion of Stablecoin Payments in the RegionEFY Finance is a financial technology company focused on building infrastructure for cross-border payments and digital asset transactions throughout Latin America. The firm allows businesses and financial institutions to settle transactions using USDT and USAT stablecoins while integrating digital wallets, payment cards, and custody services. EFY Finance holds a Digital Asset Service Provider license in El Salvador and operates active local payment corridors in 17 countries, including Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, and El Salvador.
Currently, EFY Finance serves over 25,000 retail and institutional accounts, offering conversion between more than 12 currencies and enabling direct payments to local bank accounts. The company plans to expand its institutional offerings in the region, leveraging Tether’s support to increase access to regulated digital dollar infrastructure.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino highlighted the significance of the U.S. dollar in Latin America, citing its role as “a lifeline against inflation and capital controls” and emphasizing the need for enhanced access through regulated platforms.
Paolo Ardoino described the U.S. dollar as vital for those facing currency instability in Latin America and noted that EFY Finance could help make dollar-denominated digital assets more accessible across regulated networks.
EFY Finance’s co-founder and CEO Andrés Tobón stated that the main challenge is connecting stablecoins with the traditional banking system, including local payment rails, cards, and cross-border settlements, to strengthen their role within the mainstream financial landscape.
The expansion plans involve USDT, Tether’s established stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, and USAT, a newer U.S.-focused stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank with backing from Tether. According to Tether, USAT is not legal tender, is not guaranteed by the U.S. government, and does not carry FDIC insurance.
Mini dictionary: Anchorage Digital Bank is a federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States that provides custody and settlement services for cryptocurrency and issues specific stablecoins such as USAT under U.S. regulatory oversight.
In September, Anchorage Digital selected LayerZero as the interoperability provider for its bank-issued stablecoins, including USAT. The companies have not detailed which networks or blockchains EFY Finance will utilize for these new products.
Growth of Crypto Transactions in Latin AmericaBlockchain analytics company Chainalysis reports that nearly $1.5 trillion in crypto transaction volume was recorded in Latin America from July 2022 to June 2025. In this period, Brazil led the region with $318.8 billion in received crypto value, followed by Argentina with $93.9 billion, Mexico with $71.2 billion, Venezuela at $44.6 billion, and Colombia at $44.2 billion.
CountryCrypto Value ReceivedBrazil$318.8 billionArgentina$93.9 billionMexico$71.2 billionVenezuela$44.6 billionColombia$44.2 billionChainalysis attributes the region’s rising crypto adoption to persistent inflation, currency volatility, and recurring capital controls. Within certain countries, stablecoins accounted for the majority of exchange purchases involving national currencies such as the Colombian peso, Argentine peso, and Brazilian real. According to Bitso’s 2025 report, dollar-backed tokens represented 40% of all crypto purchases on its platform, outpacing Bitcoin at 18%.
Tether’s deal with EFY Finance comes after previous moves in Latin America, including a $20 million investment in Argentine digital bank Ualá in July 2026. That same month, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexican operations transferred $20,000 via USDT on the Avalanche blockchain, completing the transaction within about seven minutes.
EFY Finance and Tether have not released specific timelines for new financial products, further expansion plans, or projected volumes. Andrés Tobón emphasized that streamlining institutional access to USDT and USAT remains a priority as EFY Finance continues building connections between digital dollars and traditional banking systems in the region.
Stablecoins have become part of Latin America’s financial ecosystem, but linking them to traditional banking and payment networks will determine their broader impact, according to EFY Finance CEO Andrés Tobón.
Physical Intelligence opens its robot model API: Picking strawberries, assembling servers, new actions can be trained in just 4 days.
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Dongcha Beating AI News Flash: Finding files on Mac typically requires remembering names or keywords. If you only recall a zebra appearing in a video segment, or a podcast episode discussing sleep, traditional file search tools are of little help. Independent developer Abdur Rahim’s open-source tool DigUp solves this by enabling direct content-based file searches. Type in "zebra in video" and it will jump to the exact frame where the zebra appears; search for "segment discussing sleep" and it will pinpoint the relevant timestamp in the podcast. It can also search photos, PDFs, and even open the exact page of a specific clause in a contract. DigUp leverages Google DeepMind’s EmbeddingGemma 2 model, released on October 6. This model converts text, images, audio, and video into comparable numerical features, allowing users to find corresponding visuals or audio based on a text description. DigUp pre-indexes selected folders, and during searches, it can also precisely match details like invoice numbers and error codes. All indexing and search processes run locally on Mac, eliminating the need to upload private files to the cloud. Free and open-source, DigUp has earned over 3,000 GitHub stars in less than a week since its launch. It currently only supports Macs with Apple’s custom silicon, requiring macOS 14 or later. First-time use requires downloading an approximately 865 MB model and spending time building the index.
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During the afternoon US trading session ahead of the CPI release, new positions are heavily concentrated in the storage sector, with bulls dominating.
According to TradingBeats' monitoring, at least 14 accounts (with positions exceeding $100,000) opened new U.S. stock positions in the afternoon session. Among these, 12 accounts opened long positions totaling approximately $3.2081 million, while the other 2 accounts opened short positions totaling around $725,500. The new long positions are concentrated in the storage sector. Micron Technology (MU), SanDisk (SNDK), and SK Hynix (SKHY) accounted for about $2.6695 million in new long positions, making up roughly 83.2% of the total long position volume in this round. Specifically, Micron attracted 5 accounts to open new long positions, totaling approximately $1.384 million, with a volume-weighted average price of $947.99. SanDisk saw 2 accounts opening long positions totaling around $678,200, at a weighted average price of $1,455.36. SK Hynix had 1 new long account buying about $607,300. Short positions also centered on semiconductors and storage: one account opened a new short position of roughly $379,000 in SOXL in the afternoon, then closed it entirely; another account opened short positions of approximately $181,100 in SanDisk and $165,300 in Micron respectively. The remaining new long positions are distributed across Applied Materials (AMAT), Microsoft (MSFT), Nebius (NBIS), Broadcom (AVGO), and the Korean stock leverage ETF (KORU), with total position amounts of about $118,700, $103,900, $102,600, $103,300, and $110,100 respectively. Positions in Broadcom and KORU have since been exited.
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.
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Please Note:
Flexible and Locked ProductsBinance reserves the right to adjust APRs at any time without prior notice.Offers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once subscribed, users can view their assets by going to Assets > Earn.Users may choose to redeem their assets in advance in Simple Earn Locked Products. After choosing early redemption, the principal will be returned to their Spot Accounts, and the distributed interest will be deducted from the refunded principal. Due to differing global time zones, it may take up to 72 hours to receive the tokens. However, in the case of exceptional circumstances the return of such assets may be delayed further. Please see our terms and risk warning for more details.Users will automatically receive rewards from ongoing Launchpools when they hold BNB Flexible Products and/or BNB Locked Products positions. Refer to this announcement for more information.Users may also accrue scores and qualify for Megadrop rewards with active BNB Locked Products positions. For more details, please refer to the FAQ. On top of that, users who subscribe to BNB Simple Earn products (Flexible and/or Locked) with their BNB holdings can receive airdropped tokens via HODLer Airdrops.
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About Simple Earn
Simple Earn products provide a simple and effortless way to earn rewards through either flexible or locked terms – designed for steady, passive rewards. Learn more here.
About Dual Investment
Dual Investment is a high-yield structured product that allows users to buy or sell cryptocurrency at their desired price and date in the future while earning rewards no matter which direction the market goes. Learn more here.
About BTC Yield
BTC Yield is a BTC-denominated yield product. Depositors receive BTCY, representing their strategy value. The primary strategy is covered calls—selling call options on BTC holdings, collecting premiums, and distributing them. Learn more here.
About VIP Earn
VIP Earn is a dedicated destination for Binance VIP users, bringing together selected Simple Earn Locked and On-Chain Yield Products with VIP-exclusive APRs and higher subscription quotas. Eligible users can explore enhanced earning opportunities across a range of digital assets in one place. Learn more here.
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Note: There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise.
Thank you for your support!
Binance Team
2026-10-14
Disclaimers:
APR rewards are distributed from Binance’s own funds, and are determined based on the assessment and evaluation of prevailing market conditions. This Promotion is not associated with the issuer of USDT/USDC in any manner.USDC is an e-money token issued by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS (https://www.circle.com/). USDC’s whitepaper is available here. You may contact Circle using the following contact information: +33(1)59000130 and [email protected]. Holders of USDC have a legal claim against Circle SAS as the EU issuer of USDC. These holders are entitled to request redemption of their USDC from Circle SAS. Such redemption will be made at any time and at par value.For clarity, references to “U” , “ USD1” in the content above are not direct acronyms of the “United States Dollar” fiat currency unless otherwise specified.
