The Circle shareholder lawsuit alleges that two UAE-linked transactions violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause and benefited Trump through World Liberty Financial.
The first transaction involved a $500 million agreement for a 49% stake in World Liberty days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
The complaint also challenges a $2 billion Binance investment settled in World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin, alleging it benefited Trump’s crypto interests.
Greenberg seeks alleged unlawful profits, additional disclosures and unspecified damages; Circle says it did not participate, while World Liberty rejects the claims.
The Circle shareholder lawsuit puts renewed scrutiny on the Trump family’s crypto business. Greenberg says two UAE-linked transactions violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause. J. Benjamin Greenberg, a former Circle employee and shareholder, filed the derivative complaint in federal court in Washington. He argues the deals benefited President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial while exposing Circle investors to unfair competition.
The complaint seeks alleged unlawful profits, disclosures about other foreign crypto payments, and unspecified damages. The court has not ruled on the claims. Circle says it had no role in the filing, while World Liberty rejects the allegations as meritless.
Circle Shareholder Lawsuit Centers on Two UAE-Linked Deals
Greenberg filed the Circle shareholder lawsuit on behalf of Circle, the company behind USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin. The suit names Trump, World Liberty, U.S. Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, and four affiliated limited liability companies. It casts USD1, World Liberty’s dollar-backed stablecoin, as a direct competitor to USDC. In the Circle shareholder lawsuit, Greenberg says UAE-linked competition diverted business from Circle and harmed its investors.
Derivative actions let shareholders pursue claims on a company’s behalf, rather than only for themselves. Greenberg’s filing says World Liberty’s stablecoin competition harmed Circle and its investors. Any recovery depends on a court accepting the claims.
The first transaction centers on a $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty. A vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to the purchase days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. Tahnoon is the UAE’s national security adviser. The complaint alleges Trump received financial benefits from the transaction after taking office. It describes the funding as foreign-state money flowing into a business linked to the president.
The second deal involves a $2 billion investment in Binance by Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, which Tahnoon chairs. The payment was made using USD1, according to reporting cited in the complaint.
Greenberg argues the stablecoin transaction helped raise USD1’s profile and value, benefiting Trump’s interests in World Liberty. The Circle shareholder lawsuit frames both deals as alleged foreign benefits tied to Trump’s crypto holdings.
Greenberg Seeks Profit Recovery, Disclosure and Unspecified Damages
The Foreign Emoluments Clause bars federal officeholders from accepting benefits from foreign states without congressional consent. Greenberg asks the court to declare that Trump’s profits violated the restriction. He wants the court to order Trump to return gains it deems unlawful. He also seeks an accounting of foreign crypto-related payments and disclosure of other transactions. The suit requests damages but does not specify an amount. Those requests are allegations and remedies sought, not findings by a court.
Circle said it did not initiate, direct, authorize, or take part in the case. The company emphasized that Greenberg filed as an individual shareholder. World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman called the claims meritless and said the firm would address them in court. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly described the case as frivolous and denied any conflict of interest. Witkoff’s representative had not responded to requests for comment, according to the report.
The Circle shareholder lawsuit centers on UAE crypto deals amid scrutiny of Trump-family interests. Trump co-founded World Liberty Financial with his sons before taking office and stopped participating in the project in 2025.
The lawsuit focuses on alleged financial benefits. It also points to U.S. approval of advanced AI chip exports to the UAE and Trump’s pardon of convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. The filing alleges those actions intersected with the deals. The case is Greenberg v. Trump, 26-cv-03686, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. No judgment or ruling has resolved the claims.
A shareholder in Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) sued President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial (WLFI) on Thursday, alleging illegal profiteering that violates the U.S. Constitution.
UAE-Linked Deals Under ScannerA lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington by shareholder and former Circle employee J. Benjamin Greenberg alleged that Trump profited from more than $2 billion in payments tied to a foreign government through World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform co-founded by his sons.
The suit cast doubt on two deals: the first is a $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial to an investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and a senior royal. The second was Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX‘s $2 billion deal with Binance using the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) stablecoin.
Brazen Corruption, Alleges PlaintiffGreenberg said the deals violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits federal officeholders from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any king, prince, or foreign state without congressional consent.
Read Next
“No president in American history has profited from his office so brazenly. Nor has this President tried to hide his corruption,” they said.
The plaintiff alleged the actions diverted business from Circle, the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC (CRYPTO: USDC), and sought “compensatory and punitive damages.”
Circle didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment. Responses from the White House and World Liberty Financial are also awaited.
The Crypto PresidentThis is not the first time World Liberty Financial’s UAE-related deals have faced scrutiny. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has repeatedly raised concerns about the nature of those transactions.
The firm lists President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff as co-founders emeritus and is run by members of the Trump and Witkoff families.
Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto ventures, including more than $520 million from World Liberty Financial token sales.
The White House has rejected conflict-of-interest allegations, deeming it as one of those "tired" narratives that Democrats have pushed against Trump for years.
Price Action: At the time of writing, WLFI was trading at $0.05445, down 1.9% over the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Circle shares were down 0.21% in overnight trading after closing 3.44% lower at $86.62 during Thursday’s regular trading session.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRCL maintains a stronger price trend over the long term, though it has lagged in the short and medium term.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
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.
$KIMCHI Token Surges to $14M Then Crashes 95% After Coordinated Social Posts and Deletions
Today, kimchi (@kimchi1x) received 500M $kimchi and posted about the token, and @a1lon9 reposted it.
But @a1lon9 later undid his repost, and @kimchi1x deleted the post.
$kimchi quickly surged to a $14M market cap before crashing over 95%.
We found that the scammers used
11 minutes ago
Solana Foundation’s Head of Payments: Any asset could be tokenized in the next decade.
Amira Valliani, Head of Payments Business Growth at the Solana Foundation, stated that both the cryptocurrency industry and the AI sector are advancing the development of token use cases, and the tokenization trend will continue to expand. She noted that tokens are fundamentally a machine-recognizable and processable form of asset representation, adding that over the next decade, any asset-bearing entity could be tokenized. Valliani emphasized that tokenization is poised to become a critical infrastructure linking crypto assets, AI applications, and real-world assets, facilitating the integration of more assets into a programmable, tradable digital framework.
11 minutes ago
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
11 minutes ago
Hong Kong's Secretary for the Treasury: Hong Kong's tokenization initiative is advancing towards the implementation phase.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
11 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index closed 0.3% higher, with SK Hynix gaining 4.41%.
According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 16.53 points on Friday, October 23, with a 0.3% gain, ending at 5550.3 points. SK Hynix closed 4.41% higher, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%.
11 minutes ago
He Yi reposted Binance's Agent wallet risk alert, warning of transaction risks associated with the Agent developer mode.
Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
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.
$KIMCHI Token Surges to $14M Then Crashes 95% After Coordinated Social Posts and Deletions
Today, kimchi (@kimchi1x) received 500M $kimchi and posted about the token, and @a1lon9 reposted it.
But @a1lon9 later undid his repost, and @kimchi1x deleted the post.
$kimchi quickly surged to a $14M market cap before crashing over 95%.
We found that the scammers used
11 minutes ago
Solana Foundation’s Head of Payments: Any asset could be tokenized in the next decade.
Amira Valliani, Head of Payments Business Growth at the Solana Foundation, stated that both the cryptocurrency industry and the AI sector are advancing the development of token use cases, and the tokenization trend will continue to expand. She noted that tokens are fundamentally a machine-recognizable and processable form of asset representation, adding that over the next decade, any asset-bearing entity could be tokenized. Valliani emphasized that tokenization is poised to become a critical infrastructure linking crypto assets, AI applications, and real-world assets, facilitating the integration of more assets into a programmable, tradable digital framework.
11 minutes ago
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
11 minutes ago
Hong Kong's Secretary for the Treasury: Hong Kong's tokenization initiative is advancing towards the implementation phase.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
11 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index closed 0.3% higher, with SK Hynix gaining 4.41%.
According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 16.53 points on Friday, October 23, with a 0.3% gain, ending at 5550.3 points. SK Hynix closed 4.41% higher, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%.
11 minutes ago
He Yi reposted Binance's Agent wallet risk alert, warning of transaction risks associated with the Agent developer mode.
Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
$KIMCHI Token Surges to $14M Then Crashes 95% After Coordinated Social Posts and Deletions
Today, kimchi (@kimchi1x) received 500M $kimchi and posted about the token, and @a1lon9 reposted it.
But @a1lon9 later undid his repost, and @kimchi1x deleted the post.
$kimchi quickly surged to a $14M market cap before crashing over 95%.
We found that the scammers used
11 minutes ago
Solana Foundation’s Head of Payments: Any asset could be tokenized in the next decade.
Amira Valliani, Head of Payments Business Growth at the Solana Foundation, stated that both the cryptocurrency industry and the AI sector are advancing the development of token use cases, and the tokenization trend will continue to expand. She noted that tokens are fundamentally a machine-recognizable and processable form of asset representation, adding that over the next decade, any asset-bearing entity could be tokenized. Valliani emphasized that tokenization is poised to become a critical infrastructure linking crypto assets, AI applications, and real-world assets, facilitating the integration of more assets into a programmable, tradable digital framework.
11 minutes ago
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
11 minutes ago
Hong Kong's Secretary for the Treasury: Hong Kong's tokenization initiative is advancing towards the implementation phase.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
11 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index closed 0.3% higher, with SK Hynix gaining 4.41%.
According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 16.53 points on Friday, October 23, with a 0.3% gain, ending at 5550.3 points. SK Hynix closed 4.41% higher, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%.
11 minutes ago
He Yi reposted Binance's Agent wallet risk alert, warning of transaction risks associated with the Agent developer mode.
Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
A Circle shareholder has sued Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial ($WLFI) over a $2 billion Binance investment settled in the USD1 stablecoin by Abu Dhabi's MGX fund.
A Circle shareholder has filed a federal lawsuit against Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) and World Liberty Financial (@worldlibertyfi) $WLFI, challenging a $2 billion investment in Binance (@binance) made by an Abu Dhabi fund. The suit alleges the broader deals improperly benefited the US president.
What the complaint allegesJ. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder in Circle Internet Group and a former software engineer at the company, brought the case. , according to Bloomberg.
The complaint centres on two transactions tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser.
according to CNBC, as relayed by Quartz.
The suit also frames the matter as a competitive harm to Circle, the issuer of the $USDC stablecoin.
Responses from Circle, World Liberty and the White HouseCircle has distanced itself from the case.
On the White House side,
The case is The new case will test whether a shareholder claim built around stablecoin competition can fare differently.
Sources:
Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance: Trump and Crypto Firm Sued for Profiting From Foreign GovernmentQuartz: Circle shareholder sues Trump over $2 billion in UAE-linked crypto dealsCointelegraph: Circle shareholder sues Trump, World Liberty and Steve Witkoff over crypto deals
US spot Bitcoin ETFs bled $635 million on October 22, according to SoSoValue data reported by Odaily. That is a sharp reversal for a product category that had spent the previous few days collecting cash.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the biggest name in the space, was the largest single source of the outflow. Investors pulled $254 million from the fund in one session.
A busy week in reverse The timing is what makes the number stand out. In the three days before October 22, these funds attracted more than $1 billion in combined inflows.
October 21 alone brought in approximately $528 million. Most of that came from the two heavyweights of the category.
IBIT took in $235 million that day. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) added $212.7 million.
Then the next day happened. IBIT’s $254 million outflow on October 22 was larger than its entire $235 million haul from the session before, which means the fund gave back a full day of gains plus about $19 million more.
With IBIT responsible for $254 million of the $635 million total, other issuers accounted for roughly $381 million in redemptions between them.
October has been choppy overall. Earlier in the month, certain stretches saw outflows reaching as high as $600 to $900 million, and mid-October brought only a modest uptick in flows before the late-week rally in demand.
The bigger picture since launch One rough day does not erase the longer trend. Cumulative net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs since their January 2024 debut have now approached $57 to $58 billion.
Total net assets held across these funds are estimated at between $100 billion and $109 billion. That puts a $635 million day into perspective: meaningful, headline-worthy, but well under 1% of the asset base.
The Bitcoin price itself held a relatively steady range of $82,000 to $85,000 around this period. The research shows minimal direct correlation between the ETF flow figures and Bitcoin’s price during these swings.
What this means for investors For anyone tracking institutional demand, the key question is whether October 22 marks a turn or a blip. Earlier October buying has been read as a sign of resilient institutional appetite amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
The fact that Bitcoin stayed within its $82,000 to $85,000 band is arguably the more important data point. If $635 million in redemptions cannot push the price out of its range, it suggests there is enough buying elsewhere in the market to absorb that selling.
Watch whether cumulative inflows keep climbing toward and past the $57 to $58 billion mark, and whether total net assets hold within or above the $100 billion to $109 billion range.
When the two largest issuers move in the same direction, as they did on the inflow side on October 21, it tends to say more about broad institutional sentiment than scattered moves among smaller funds.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin Core is changing how it handles security vulnerabilities, explaining that large language models have made certain software flaws significantly easier to discover.
In an email to the Bitcoin Development Mailing List on Thursday, Bitcoin Core developer Antoine Poinsot said that in the past, vulnerabilities were generally kept under lengthy disclosure embargoes to give users time to upgrade before details became public.
Maintaining that secrecy generally meant fixes could not be backported to older software versions, leaving users waiting until the next major release. However, Poinsot said LLMs have made some flaws so easy to rediscover that delaying fixes offers little protection.
“The embargo period achieves little but it delays the availability of a fixed release,” said Poinsot. “We are therefore updating our policy disclosure to accommodate those.”
The change comes as AI-assisted security research puts pressure on developers across Bitcoin’s software ecosystem.
Under the updated policy, vulnerabilities deemed “easily discoverable” will receive fixes as soon as possible across all maintained major versions, with security advisories published alongside the updates.
“This classification applies to vulnerabilities that can be discovered with minimal effort, such as through a simple LLM prompt,” it said.
Other vulnerabilities will continue to follow disclosure schedules based on severity, ranging from critical flaws that threaten Bitcoin’s fundamental security to lower-risk bugs with limited impact on individual nodes.
Bitcoin Core said low-severity vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the release of a major version containing the fix, while medium and high vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the last affected release hits its “End of Life,” typically a year after the fix is released in the new major version.
“Critical bugs are not considered in the standard policy, as they would most likely require an ad-hoc procedure,” it said.
“I’ve disagreed with Antoine’s approach to security in the past, but this is a good update,” said Luke de Wolf, host of the Bitcoin Infinity Show and author of “Defending Bitcoin.”
In August, the volunteer Bitcoin Red Team reported nearly 5,000 potential issues across 390 projects, although only around a fifth of its findings had been reproduced at that point.
That month, Core Lightning developers urged operators to upgrade or take their nodes offline after receiving multiple AI-generated vulnerability reports, while withholding technical details for two weeks.
Magazine: New DeepSeek ban in US, Swiss-Asia crypto ties deepen: Asia Express
Bitcoin Core is changing how it handles security vulnerabilities, explaining that large language models have made certain software flaws significantly easier to discover.
In an email to the Bitcoin Development Mailing List on Thursday, Bitcoin Core developer Antoine Poinsot said that in the past, vulnerabilities were generally kept under lengthy disclosure embargoes to give users time to upgrade before details became public.
Maintaining that secrecy generally meant fixes could not be backported to older software versions, leaving users waiting until the next major release. However, Poinsot said LLMs have made some flaws so easy to rediscover that delaying fixes offers little protection.
“The embargo period achieves little but it delays the availability of a fixed release,” said Poinsot. “We are therefore updating our policy disclosure to accommodate those.”
The change comes as AI-assisted security research puts pressure on developers across Bitcoin’s software ecosystem.
Under the updated policy, vulnerabilities deemed “easily discoverable” will receive fixes as soon as possible across all maintained major versions, with security advisories published alongside the updates.
“This classification applies to vulnerabilities that can be discovered with minimal effort, such as through a simple LLM prompt,” it said.
Other vulnerabilities will continue to follow disclosure schedules based on severity, ranging from critical flaws that threaten Bitcoin’s fundamental security to lower-risk bugs with limited impact on individual nodes.
Bitcoin Core said low-severity vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the release of a major version containing the fix, while medium and high vulnerabilities will be disclosed two weeks after the last affected release hits its “End of Life,” typically a year after the fix is released in the new major version.
“Critical bugs are not considered in the standard policy, as they would most likely require an ad-hoc procedure,” it said.
“I’ve disagreed with Antoine’s approach to security in the past, but this is a good update,” said Luke de Wolf, host of the Bitcoin Infinity Show and author of “Defending Bitcoin.”
In August, the volunteer Bitcoin Red Team reported nearly 5,000 potential issues across 390 projects, although only around a fifth of its findings had been reproduced at that point.
That month, Core Lightning developers urged operators to upgrade or take their nodes offline after receiving multiple AI-generated vulnerability reports, while withholding technical details for two weeks.
Magazine: New DeepSeek ban in US, Swiss-Asia crypto ties deepen: Asia Express
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
11 minutes ago
Hong Kong's Secretary for the Treasury: Hong Kong's tokenization initiative is advancing towards the implementation phase.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
11 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index closed 0.3% higher, with SK Hynix gaining 4.41%.
According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 16.53 points on Friday, October 23, with a 0.3% gain, ending at 5550.3 points. SK Hynix closed 4.41% higher, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%.
11 minutes ago
He Yi reposted Binance's Agent wallet risk alert, warning of transaction risks associated with the Agent developer mode.
Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
11 minutes ago
YuShu Technology, listed on China's A-share market, surges to its 20% daily limit, with its shares rising over 46% cumulatively this week.
Alliance Partner on a16z’s Shift: To Drive Crypto Talent to Build Cutting-Edge Technology
Imran, general partner at Alliance, took to X this morning to share his views on a16z crypto’s shift toward frontier technology sectors. He noted that a16z led Coinbase’s 2013 funding round via Chris Dixon, providing early validation for the crypto industry; Marc Andreessen’s 2014 New York Times op-ed, “Why Bitcoin Matters,” was a key factor in his decision to enter the Bitcoin space. At the time, few institutions and funds were willing to publicly back crypto, with a16z and USV standing out as two that took brand risk. Imran argued that the current development of AI infrastructure owes much to Bitcoin mining infrastructure and talent that has moved from crypto to AI. The shift to frontier technologies including robotics, biotech, AI, energy, and computing power means the talent and capabilities the crypto industry has built over the past decade can be applied to the broader frontier tech space. Citing data centers as an example, he noted that public and government pushback against data centers is growing, much like earlier resistance to crypto—yet today nearly all traditional financial institutions have embraced crypto to some extent. Yesterday’s news: a16z’s flagship blockchain fund will drop the “Crypto” moniker and rebrand as “a16z Frontier.”
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju has said that a potential bust in the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble could actually be largely harmless for Bitcoin (BTC).
According to the prominent crypto analyst, the leading cryptocurrency has largely failed to participate in the massive run-up in AI stock prices.
As a result, a steep correction in the AI space could be relatively harmless for Bitcoin.
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"I don't think an AI bubble burst would hurt BTC much," Ju said in a recent post on X.
He speculated that investors looking to profit from the AI boom may have already dumped their Bitcoin holdings to finance their AI stock investments.
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Now, as worries about the extent of AI overvaluations grow, the reverse rotation could be in play.
"Now it may be time to rotate back into Bitcoin," Ju wrote.
But he didn't want to be seen as claiming that an AI market crash would be bullish for the leading cryptocurrency.
"An AI crash isn't necessarily bullish or bearish for BTC. They seem unrelated," he added.
Why are investors worried about an AI bubble?The meteoric rise of artificial intelligence has spurred one of the biggest investment booms in modern technology.
In many ways, it's reminiscent of the dot-com era of the late 1990s.
Tech companies are spending hundreds of billions on data centers, top-notch chips, and increasingly sophisticated AI models.
Do these massive investments make sense? Skeptics say it's not clear whether the money will be able to generate enough revenue to make it all worth it.
AI companies have yet to prove that their business model is capable of producing impressive results on a consistent basis.
Moreover, the growing complexity of the AI industry is a significant concern.
There are technology companies that invest billions in AI developers, which in turn invest a lot of their own money in the form of computing infrastructure and services from the companies that have invested in them.
That being said, a burst of the AI bubble doesn't necessarily mean it's the death of AI technology.
For example, during the dot-com crash, a massive amount of speculative money was vaporized, but the internet continued to change the world economy.
Investors pulled $635.49 million from US spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on October 22. The money left before BTC fell far enough to hit the level where ETF holders have historically sold hardest.
A day earlier, the same funds had taken in $528.40 million. New research from DWF Labs pins down that level, and BTC now trades close to it.
Bitcoin ETF Money Heads for the Door a Day After Pouring InThe October 22 outflow was the largest single-day withdrawal since June 25, according to SoSoValue. It ended a 3-day run of inflows worth about $1.08 billion.
That run began with $526.6 million on October 19, the funds’ biggest day since September 22. October’s net flows now stand at roughly $174.5 million in withdrawals.
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US spot Bitcoin ETF Daily Net Flows. Source: SoSoValueInvestors sold while BTC still traded above a level that new research ties to heavier ETF selling. DWF Labs, a crypto market maker, studied spot Bitcoin ETF flows since January 2024.
Its research found that selling picks up once BTC closes 7% below its 20-day high.
“ETF investors aren’t shaken by small dips, but once a fall reaches about 7%, they start selling,” the report read.
Average daily flows then swing from about $74 million in inflows to $72 million in outflows. Flows worsened in 19 of the 24 cases DWF examined.
Based on Binance daily closes, BTC ended October 22 about 5.9% below its October 4 high of $86,530. That puts the 7% threshold near $80,470.
DWF also found that ETF flows tend to follow price moves. Flows were still positive on the peak day at 7 of 8 market tops.
October’s flows moved the same way. Money arrived as BTC rallied into October 21, then left when the price fell.
Bitcoin Gives Back Its Rally as the 7% Line Starts to ShiftThe price told the same story. BTC dropped 3.41% over 24 hours to $81,297, per BeInCrypto Markets. The ETF flows tracked its price swings over the past week.
Based on Binance daily closes, BTC climbed from $82,245.93 on October 15 to $84,093.42 on October 21. The advance stalled near $85,000. BTC closed October 22 at $81,416.09, down 3.18% from the prior day’s close.
Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: BeInCrypto MarketsThe 7% threshold is also set to move. Once the October 4 high drops out of the 20-day window, the next reference point is October 5’s close of $85,766.87. That would lower the trigger to roughly $79,760, unless BTC closes above $85,766.87 first.
However, DWF’s data suggests such selling tends to fade. After past 7% breaks, flows hovered near zero the next week and turned positive the week after.
The firm noted its sample shows a clear pattern but not statistical proof. The next few closes will show whether ETF outflows deepen if BTC closes below that line.
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Bitcoin dropped to below $82,000 in Asian trading on Friday, under pressure from renewed selling in global financial markets and significant outflows from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Institutional flows reverse after streak of ETF inflowsAt last check, Bitcoin was trading 1.3% lower at $81,623, extending its decline following a sharp sell-off in US equities on Thursday. The downturn marked a shift from the preceding three sessions, which were characterized by steady inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $635 million in net outflows on Thursday, abruptly ending their three-day streak of net positive flows. Earlier in the week, these funds had attracted about $1.1 billion in net inflows, offsetting a portion of the $909.6 million in outflows recorded during the previous two weeks.
Thursday’s ETF outflows interrupted a broader recovery in institutional demand for Bitcoin, suggesting that renewed withdrawals could make it harder for the cryptocurrency to regain upward momentum if global market pressures persist.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs allow investors to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin without having to hold the asset themselves. Sustained buying through these funds has contributed to the overall demand for Bitcoin, supporting its price in recent months.
Bitcoin has now declined by roughly one-third from its all-time peak above $126,000 reached a year ago. While the cryptocurrency’s steady recovery since August had fueled speculation that prices might return to the $100,000 level this year, heightened volatility may temper these expectations.
Equity market slump triggers risk reductionBitcoin’s latest drop coincided with a significant sell-off across US stock markets, particularly within the technology and semiconductor sectors. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.6% and the S&P 500 fell 1.2%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a benchmark tracking US-listed chipmakers, recorded a sharp 6.7% decline.
Nvidia shares declined by 4.4%, while Meta Platforms slipped by 7% despite stronger-than-expected revenue. Investors expressed concern over Meta’s rising expenditures related to artificial intelligence and upcoming share issuances.
Meanwhile, shares of SpaceX dropped 9% and Tesla slipped 3%, despite reporting positive third-quarter results. The downturn across technology stocks signaled heightened scrutiny of the costs associated with expanding AI infrastructure and large-scale innovation.
Analysts noted that the ongoing weakness in equities, particularly among risk-sensitive technology shares, has contributed to additional selling pressure in cryptocurrencies.
Mini dictionary: Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX), a stock market index composed of companies primarily involved in the design, distribution, manufacture, and sale of semiconductors. It serves as a widely followed benchmark for the performance of the US semiconductor industry.
Index/Stock1-Day ChangeNasdaq Composite-2.6%S&P 500-1.2%Philadelphia Semiconductor Index-6.7%Nvidia-4.4%Meta Platforms-7%SpaceX-9%Tesla-3%Geopolitical tensions, oil prices drive further uncertaintyBroader macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have further weighed on market sentiment. Brent crude rose 3.7% to $112 per barrel as tensions between the United States and Iran fueled fears of oil supply disruptions.
Rising oil prices have prompted renewed concerns about inflation, which may complicate the outlook for central bank interest rates. Persistently high inflation could limit the potential for future monetary easing, adding pressure to risk assets like stocks and digital currencies.
The approach of the US midterm elections, now less than two weeks away, adds another layer of uncertainty. Investors are reassessing the possible economic and policy ramifications as geopolitical tensions persist in the Middle East.
Casa chief security officer Jameson Lopp has urged Bitcoin holders not to abandon self custody in favor of ETFs and third party custodians following a series of cryptocurrency wallet security incidents.
Summary
Jameson Lopp has urged Bitcoin holders not to abandon self custody despite.
Lopp warned that Bitcoin ETFs and third party custodians do not eliminate security risks but leave investors dependent on institutions to safeguard their holdings.
Recent incidents have raised questions about the safety of managing Bitcoin independently.
Lopp recommended multisig wallets and distributing private keys across different locations and hardware suppliers to reduce the risk of losing funds.
Bitcoin holders are advised to review their security arrangements and prepare for situations where they may no longer be able to access their funds.
In an October 22 open letter addressed to Casa clients and the Bitcoin community, Lopp argued that recent attacks had raised genuine concerns about managing private keys but did not justify giving up direct control of Bitcoin holdings.
Lopp pointed to recent incidents involving hackers using AI to find security flaws, compromised hardware wallet supply chains, drained cold wallets and more sophisticated scams, which have left many Bitcoin holders questioning whether they can safely manage their own funds.
According to him, many of the attacks making headlines today were already known to security professionals, although their emergence in actual incidents had made the risks more difficult for ordinary holders to ignore.
Lopp warns Bitcoin ETFs do not eliminate custody risks
Lopp took particular issue with the idea that moving Bitcoin into exchange traded funds or other managed custody arrangements offered a straightforward solution to recent security problems.
He acknowledged that investors could feel more comfortable relying on financial institutions after hearing about wallet compromises, but argued that transferring control of private keys merely placed responsibility with another party.
In his view, Bitcoin ETFs provide investors with exposure to the cryptocurrency’s price without giving them direct control over the underlying coins.
The arrangement requires investors to depend on the fund, its custodian and other parties responsible for safeguarding the assets. Lopp warned that holders could have little influence over decisions affecting their Bitcoin, including situations involving freezes or seizures by authorities.
He maintained that Bitcoin’s defining properties came from its fixed supply, publicly verifiable rules and the ability of users to access their holdings without obtaining permission from an intermediary.
Although investors could benefit financially from Bitcoin without holding private keys, Lopp argued that they would not enjoy the same degree of control available through direct ownership.
The warning followed reports that some Bitcoin holders had moved assets toward centralized platforms after recent wallet compromises.
In August, crypto.news reported record OKX inflows following the Coldcard hardware wallet exploit, with the exchange saying that customers were increasingly turning toward managed custody.
Recent Bitcoin wallet exploits have raised security concerns
The concerns outlined in Lopp’s letter followed several incidents involving weaknesses in wallet software, hardware distribution and private key generation.
One of the most significant cases involved Coldcard hardware wallets, where a firmware configuration error dating back to March 2021 caused affected devices to generate recovery seeds using a weaker source of randomness.
An August 3 report on the Coldcard security exploit detailed suspected Bitcoin thefts worth nearly $90 million at the time and calls from Kraken chief security officer Nick Percoco for independent testing of wallet seed generation.
The flaw allowed attackers to reconstruct vulnerable private keys without physically accessing the devices or obtaining their recovery phrases.
Coldcard subsequently released corrected firmware, although previously generated vulnerable seeds required users to create new wallets and transfer their holdings.
More recently, an October 13 investigation into compromised Ledger hardware wallets detailed cases involving devices distributed through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis.
Ledger confirmed that an unauthorized hardware implant had been identified in one affected device, while the investigation had not established that its own systems or direct sales channels were compromised.
Security problems involving weak recovery seeds have affected other cryptocurrency networks as well.
On October 18, Qubic disclosed a wallet security breach involving approximately 2.94 trillion QU tokens worth $1.4 million stolen from 1,404 wallets.
Developers traced the incident to insufficient randomness in certain wallet recovery seeds and subsequently corrected the affected software.
Multisig security remains central
Against this background, Lopp argued that the response to failed security controls should involve improving wallet protection instead of abandoning self custody altogether.
Drawing on more than 15 years of security incidents across the cryptocurrency industry, he said effective custody arrangements needed to account for human mistakes and the possibility that individual safeguards could fail.
His preferred approach involved multisignature wallets, which distribute transaction authorization across multiple private keys and can prevent a single compromised key from providing complete access to funds.
Lopp cautioned that multisig was not a complete solution by itself, although he maintained that carefully designed arrangements could provide stronger protection than conventional custody systems.
He encouraged Bitcoin holders to review their existing setups and distribute keys across different geographic locations and hardware supply chains to reduce their dependence on any single device or location.
The letter addressed inheritance planning as another important consideration, particularly what would happen to someone’s Bitcoin if they became unable to access or manage their holdings.
Casa, which provides assisted self custody services, positions its role around helping customers manage these arrangements without taking possession of their private keys.
Lopp closed by warning that both malicious actors and well intentioned intermediaries could ultimately gain control over someone else’s Bitcoin, leaving holders responsible for deciding how much control they were prepared to surrender.
Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya has warned that Bitcoin could eventually lose its value because of security risks, limited financial privacy and difficulties upgrading its technology. He believes advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing could threaten Bitcoin’s cryptographic protections.
Speaking in an interview, Palihapitiya said Bitcoin’s growth could be limited because its public transaction records expose information about wallet activity, potentially creating security risks for identified holders.
“I just think it’s capped and then I think eventually it gets hacked and then it goes to zero,” he said when asked whether Bitcoin was finished.
AI and Quantum Computing Pose Potential RisksPalihapitiya warned that advanced AI systems could help identify weaknesses in cryptographic systems. He described a hypothetical attack targeting Bitcoin attributed to its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. An attacker could attempt to steal the coins and profit by shorting Bitcoin if the incident triggered a market decline.
Quantum computing presents a separate potential challenge because sufficiently powerful quantum computers could undermine some cryptographic methods used to secure digital assets. However, no such attack has been demonstrated against Bitcoin’s network, and the threat depends on future technological developments.
Palihapitiya said Bitcoin needs to move towards quantum-resistant cryptography but questioned whether its developer community could agree on and implement the required changes in time.
Bitcoin’s Public Transactions Could Limit AdoptionPalihapitiya argued that Bitcoin’s limited privacy could restrict its appeal to central banks and other buyers that require greater confidentiality. Although wallet addresses do not automatically reveal their owners’ identities, blockchain analysis can sometimes link transactions to identifiable individuals.
He also cited reports of kidnappings and other crimes involving cryptocurrency holders in France to illustrate the potential risks of publicly identifying asset owners.
According to Palihapitiya, these privacy and security concerns could limit Bitcoin’s potential buyer base, placing a ceiling on its long-term growth. He transferred his long-term Bitcoin investment to Digital Currency Group (DCG) in exchange for company equity. He explained that this arrangement reduced his exposure to cryptocurrency storage and security risks.
Story Ends Here
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CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju has stated that a potential correction in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector would likely have minimal impact on Bitcoin (BTC). Ju, a leading voice in cryptocurrency market analysis, shared his perspective on X, emphasizing that Bitcoin has not directly participated in the sharp surge of AI stocks seen throughout recent months.
Bitcoin’s relationship with the AI boomJu pointed out that Bitcoin and AI stocks have exhibited little correlation during the current AI-driven investment boom. While technology companies funnel hundreds of billions of dollars into developing sophisticated AI data centers and advanced chips, the growth in Bitcoin’s valuation has not been significantly linked to this trend.
“I don’t think an AI bubble burst would hurt BTC much,” Ju explained, referencing the flow of capital between sectors. He noted that some investors may have liquidated their Bitcoin holdings to capitalize on gains in AI stocks, possibly contributing to Bitcoin’s quieter performance during the AI rally.
As concerns over AI stock valuations increase and the possibility of market rotation arises, Ju suggested that a return of capital from AI stocks to Bitcoin is plausible. He remarked, “Now it may be time to rotate back into Bitcoin,” while clarifying that he does not expect an AI correction to serve as a direct catalyst for major price movements in Bitcoin itself.
Market dynamics and investment logicThe meteoric ascent of the AI sector has drawn comparisons to the dot-com era of the late 1990s, a period marked by dramatic gains followed by severe market correction. Some analysts argue that the current frenzy could signal the inflation of another speculative bubble, especially given the scale of investment in AI technology and infrastructure.
Despite industry optimism, skepticism persists regarding whether AI companies can generate enough sustained revenue to validate massive capital inflows. The complexity of the AI landscape also introduces risks, as firms invest heavily in both AI research and the necessary computing power, sometimes through partnerships that see developers reinvesting in their corporate backers’ services.
Even if the AI sector faces a significant correction, parallels to past technology cycles suggest that this would not spell the end of AI development. During the dot-com crash, much speculative wealth vanished, but the internet continued to reshape the global economy.
Meme tokens highlight market timing significanceAs speculation and swift capital movement define different sectors, the timing and selection of investments have become increasingly important, especially in volatile markets. In the meme token market, an internet trend can transform into millions of dollars of interest within days. According to Fomo App data, a trade involving “Niu Lai” that began with just $99 and grew to roughly $370,000 exemplifies this dynamic. Observing not only price action but also the precise timing and token choices of participants is seen as crucial for success.
Fomo App streamlines this process by integrating tools for token discovery, trading, social feeds, investor rankings, and trade notifications within a single platform, allowing users to monitor meme token trends and investor activity in real time.
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
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Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
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Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
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Bitcoin clawed back some ground but remained below $82,000 on Friday, after experiencing heavy losses in the previous session amid fears that the artificial intelligence trade is losing steam.
The flagship cryptocurrency was 0.8% higher at $81,828, bouncing back from lows of $81,074 on Thursday. Bitcoin joined technology and AI stocks in selling off, as the Nasdaq finished the day down 2.6% to mark its largest one-day decline since June.
Cryptocurrencies have taken a hit this week as fears around artificial intelligence spurred investors to rotate out of riskier assets. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows, however, signal improving institutional demand, which has helped cushion recent losses, said Konstantinos Chrysikos, director at broker Kudo.com.
Data from Coinglass shows that bitcoin ETFs have recorded net inflows for three straight days totaling $1.07 billion, with over $500 million in inflows seen on Wednesday alone.
Ether rose 0.8% after heavy declines seen on Thursday.
23 October 2026 | 09:58 Bitcoin Core will now ship fixes for easy-to-find vulnerabilities to every maintained version as soon as possible, after AI tools made its longer embargoes for those bugs largely pointless.
Key Takeaways Medium, high bugs: disclosure roughly a year later
Easy-to-find bugs: fixed releases as soon as possible
Fixes go to 31.x, 30.x and 29.x
Version 28.x reached end of life in April
Bitcoin Core developer Antoine Poinsot committed the change to the project’s security policy on October 22. It is a disclosure rule, not a report of a new exploit, and it says nothing about Bitcoin’s cryptography or users’ private keys.
Why AI undercut the embargo The developers wrote that they had recently seen more reports of vulnerabilities that can easily be found, or found again. They attributed this largely to language models, which lower the bar for spotting certain classes of bugs and can also identify covert fixes: security patches merged into the code without being labelled as such.
That second point undercuts the purpose of an embargo. Bitcoin Core is open source, so a fix is visible in public code long before its details are published. If a model can recognise the change as a security fix, keeping quiet does little to hide the bug from attackers while still delaying a patched release for users.
“The embargo period achieves little but it delays the availability of a fixed release.”
Long embargoes also shaped where fixes landed. The developers wrote that their approach generally meant security fixes could not be backported to older versions and reached users only with the next major release.
How the new rule changes the timeline The existing timelines, set out on the project’s security advisories page, show how long that wait could be.
Category When details go public Where the fix ships Low severity Two weeks after a major release containing the fix Generally the next major release Medium and high severity Two weeks after the last affected release reaches end of life, roughly a year after the fix first ships Generally the next major release Critical Outside the standard policy; likely an ad hoc procedure Easily discoverable (new) With the fixed releases, in a security advisory A point release for every maintained major version, as soon as possible Developers decide on the classification when they assess a report. They expect it to cover bugs that can be found with minimal effort, such as through a simple prompt to a language model, though it is not limited to AI discoveries. For these bugs, the severity-based embargo no longer applies.
Which nodes get the patch Bitcoin Core’s maintenance policy covers the latest three major versions. When a new one is released, the oldest becomes end of life and generally receives no security fixes.
31.x · maintained
30.x · maintained
29.x · maintained
28.x · end of life April 19, 2026
Nodes still running 28.x or older generally won’t receive these fixes. The project aims for a major release every six to seven months, and the next one, 32.0, will push 29.x out of the maintenance window. Bitcoin Core recommends running the latest maintenance release of the most recent major version an operator can upgrade to, and its download page explains how to verify release checksums and signatures.
Backporting also depends on people. The lifecycle page notes that the bar for backporting a change rises as a version ages, and that there are not always enough volunteers to manage it. Maintenance capacity has shaped other decisions too, as the earlier debate over Bitcoin Core’s support for the CJDNS privacy network showed.
The trade-off, and what to watch The developers frame every security policy as a balance between transparency, which helps attackers and defenders alike, and giving users time to upgrade, something Bitcoin Core’s slow upgrade culture makes harder. Publishing an advisory alongside the fixed releases means details become public while some nodes still run unpatched software. For bugs attackers could find on their own, the developers judge that a quick fix matters more than keeping the details quiet.
The first security advisory issued under the new rule will show how quickly point releases reach all three maintained versions in practice. Separately, the release of 32.0 will narrow the set of nodes that can receive them.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Node operators should follow official Bitcoin Core release notes and verification instructions.
Author
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
TLDR: XRP Ledger now has a record 8.24 million non-empty wallets, extending a climb through price volatility. Network growth hit 4,772 new wallets in a single day, the fifth-largest spike recorded since March. Santiment names $1.40 as the first level to watch, with $1.50 in view if wallet growth stays near 4K. CryptoBusy says XRP needs to hold $1.33 to avoid a drop toward $1.30 and $1.26 as resistance stays in play. XRP holder count has reached a record 8.24 million non-empty wallets on the XRP Ledger, according to Santiment data. The milestone extends a steady climb that continued through months of price volatility.
Network growth also jumped, with 4,772 new wallets created in a single day. That reading ranks as the fifth-largest daily spike since March.
XRP trades near $1.36 as of writing, and market participants are now watching whether price action will confirm the rise in users.
XRP Holder Count Growth Gains Pace Santiment Intelligence shared the data in a post on X. The analytics platform said holder growth is still moving higher. The post presents the XRP holder count as a record for the network.
The post also covered new wallet creation. Network growth tracks how many new wallets appear on the ledger each day.
It reached 4,772 wallets in one day, the fifth-largest spike since March. Santiment said fresh participation is accelerating again.
🚨 XRP Holder Count Hits Record As Network Growth Accelerates
📈 XRP Ledger now has a record 8.24M non-empty wallets, extending a steady climb that has continued through months of price volatility. Holder growth is still moving higher with $XRP trading near $1.36.
🌱 Network… pic.twitter.com/IUpjoF5LQl
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) October 22, 2026
In addition, Santiment said the trend strengthens the bullish case if price continues confirming the rise in users. The firm linked its outlook to both price action and daily wallet creation. Therefore, the report treats price as the confirmation for the user data.
The climb has continued across months of price swings on the XRP Ledger. Price volatility during that stretch did not reverse the trend in wallet growth.
Meanwhile, XRP traded near $1.36 at the time of the report. The XRP holder count has kept rising throughout that period.
Key Price Levels Shape The Short-Term Outlook Santiment named $1.40 as the first level to watch. The firm tied the next move to a sustained break above that level.
Network growth would also need to stay near or above 4,000 daily wallets. A quick return to $1.50 would then be more than plausible.
On the downside, Santiment pointed to $1.30. If XRP loses that level, and new-wallet creation falls back below roughly 3,000, the adoption signal would look less convincing. That assessment applies to the short term only.
Separately, CryptoBusy posted a 4H chart view of XRP on X. The 4H timeframe tracks price in four-hour candles. The token is testing a major descending resistance trendline after recovering from $1.26 toward $1.40. Price briefly broke above the trendline but met selling pressure. It then pulled back toward $1.34.
$XRP is testing a major descending resistance trendline on the 4H chart after recovering from $1.26 toward $1.40.
Price briefly broke above the trendline but faced selling pressure, pulling back toward $1.34.
A confirmed breakout above $1.38-$1.40 could open the door toward… pic.twitter.com/ApW8aoQB1b
— CryptoBusy (@CryptoBusy) October 22, 2026
According to CryptoBusy, a confirmed breakout above $1.38 to $1.40 could open the door toward $1.45 to $1.50. However, failure to hold $1.33 could push XRP back toward $1.30 and potentially $1.26.
The key is whether XRP can break and hold above resistance. Until then, the broader downtrend remains intact. At the same time, the XRP holder count keeps climbing.
Santiment has reported that the number of non-empty wallets on the XRP Ledger reached a record 8.24 million, marking significant ongoing growth despite recent price volatility. The analytics firm underscored that this milestone continues a steady increase that began months ago, with network growth showing renewed momentum in recent days.
XRP wallet growth reaches new recordAccording to Santiment, the XRP Ledger added 4,772 new wallets in a single day, making it the fifth-largest daily spike in wallet creation since March. This surge points to a fresh wave of participant interest as the network continues to expand its user base.
The platform stressed that not only price performance, but also increasing wallet creation, supports a constructive outlook for the network. Santiment linked the trajectory of user growth to larger trends in XRP adoption.
Holder growth remains on an upward path, with the latest milestone reached as XRP traded around $1.36. Network activity continues to climb even in periods of price swings, emphasizing growing confidence among users.
While XRP price action has seen periods of volatility, wallet growth has persisted, suggesting that new entrants remain interested in the ecosystem. Market watchers are assessing whether price movement will eventually confirm underlying trends in user adoption.
Key resistance and support levels come into focusSantiment identified $1.40 as a key resistance level that could determine the immediate future direction for XRP. According to the platform, a sustained break above $1.40, along with daily new-wallet creation staying near or above 4,000, would open the door to a potential move toward $1.50. However, if XRP falls below $1.30 and wallet growth slows to around 3,000 new wallets daily, momentum could weaken in the short term.
Technical analysts are currently monitoring XRP’s four-hour chart, where the token recently tested a descending resistance trendline after recovering from $1.26 to as high as $1.40. Despite briefly crossing this trendline, the price faced selling pressure and retreated to near $1.34.
A breakout above $1.38 to $1.40 could clear the way for a rally toward $1.45 and $1.50, while holding above $1.33 remains critical to avoid reversal toward $1.30 or even $1.26.
Until there is a clear breakout above resistance, the overall downtrend remains intact for XRP, even as wallet numbers continue to rise.
Meme token activity highlights investor behaviorBeyond price and wallet statistics, closely following shifts in investor activity and timing has become increasingly important in today’s rapidly evolving digital asset landscape. In the meme token space, viral trends have quickly generated large inflows. For instance, analytics from Fomo App revealed that a trade involving the meme token “Niu Lai” turned a $99 investment into about $370,000, exemplifying the scale of dramatic returns possible within days.
Tracking not just prices but also when and where investors are moving capital has become a core priority for participants. Fomo App has integrated token discovery, trading, social feeds, investor rankings, and real-time trade notifications into a single platform, providing an all-in-one resource for monitoring meme token momentum alongside investor behavior.
XRP is trading at $1.31, down 4.4% over the past 24 hours, after more than six billion tokens moved onto exchanges over the trailing month — the heaviest inflow reading in seven months. CryptoQuant counts 6.05 billion XRP in 30-day exchange inflows, with Binance alone taking in 2.46 billion of it. The immediate question is whether that wave is selling pressure hitting order books, or ordinary market plumbing. Read carefully, the data points somewhere in between.
As of 23:37 UTC on October 22, XRP changed hands at $1.31, down 4.40% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $82.38 billion, good for fifth place among crypto assets, per CoinGecko. The 24-hour range ran from a low of $1.30 to a high of $1.37 on about $1.57 billion of volume. Over the past month the token has shed roughly 16% from its September 23 level near $1.57, and it sits about 64% below the all-time high of $3.65 it set in July 2025.
A 6.05 Billion Token Wave, Exchange by Exchange The headline number comes from CryptoQuant’s QuickTake platform, where analyst Arab Chain traced XRP movement onto centralized venues. “There has been a notable surge in XRP inflows to cryptocurrency exchanges, with the total volume reaching approximately 6.05 billion XRP over the last 30 days, the highest level in seven months,” the analysis reads.
The breakdown matters because it shows where the supply is landing. Binance absorbed the largest share at roughly 2.46 billion XRP, about 40.7% of the total. Bybit took in about 580.31 million, OKX 557.13 million, Upbit 544.48 million, Bitget 284.52 million, KuCoin 55.24 million and Gate 29.47 million. In dollar terms, 6.05 billion XRP at $1.31 is just under $7.93 billion in tokens that moved toward venues where they can be sold quickly.
The inflow spike arrives against a steadily declining price. The chart below plots XRP’s daily close over the trailing 30 days: the token has printed lower highs since late September, sliding from $1.57 down to the current $1.31 area.
Why Inflows Don’t Automatically Mean Selling CryptoQuant is explicit that the metric is not a sell signal. “It should be noted that an increase in XRP inflows to exchanges does not necessarily mean that investors are preparing to sell,” the analyst writes, adding that “interpreting this indicator becomes more accurate when compared with XRP’s price action, trading volume, and exchange outflows.”
The distinction is more than semantics. A transfer to an exchange can reflect custody moves, active trading, or wallet reshuffling — not a decision to dump. And the scale, while large in absolute terms, is a modest slice of the float: 6.05 billion tokens equals roughly 9.6% of the 63.1 billion XRP in circulating supply. A market that absorbed nearly a tenth of its circulating supply landing on venues in a single month, and only gave up about 16% from its September high, is not showing the hallmarks of a supply cascade.
The exchange-side picture is also softened by what is happening on the fund side. U.S. spot XRP ETFs were the demand story this autumn, though that streak cooled in recent days: the funds ended a 13-week run of consecutive weekly inflows in mid-October, a shift BlockchainReporter covered when spot XRP ETFs ended their 13-week inflow streak. With both daily ETF flows and price softening, the $1.30 level has become the line in the sand.
The Levels That Matter Now On the technical side, XRP’s immediate floor is the October 22 intraday low of $1.30, which also marks the 24-hour low across major venues. A break below it opens the way toward the October 18-19 lows near $1.29, the weakest prints of the month. On the upside, $1.37 — the October 22 high — is the first resistance, and above that sits the $1.40 round number where XRP has repeatedly failed over the past week.
These levels are drawn from the observed 24-hour and weekly ranges, not from a forecast. A daily close back above $1.37 would be the first sign that the inflow wave has been absorbed; a close below $1.29 would suggest supply is still clearing. Neither outcome is guaranteed by the flow data alone, which is the point CryptoQuant makes when it insists the indicator be read next to price and volume rather than in isolation.
The Wider XRP Picture Away from the order books, two threads frame the next several weeks. The XRP Ledger’s fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment lost the validator support it needed to activate on schedule, pushing the network’s cleanup change later into November and underscoring that the ledger’s own upgrade cadence runs independently of the token’s price. Meanwhile, XRP remains the asset at the center of Ripple’s long-running regulatory fight with the SEC, which continues to shape how institutions weigh the token.
For a longer horizon, the XRP price prediction case rests on a different set of drivers — ETF flows, ledger utility, and the resolution of the SEC dispute — rather than the month-to-month movement of tokens onto exchanges. The inflow print is a snapshot, not a verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions What is XRP’s price today? XRP traded at about $1.31 on October 22, 2026, down 4.40% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of roughly $82.38 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Why is XRP down today? XRP fell as CryptoQuant reported 6.05 billion XRP in 30-day exchange inflows, a seven-month high, while spot XRP ETF inflows cooled after a 13-week streak ended.
Does the exchange inflow data prove whales are selling? No. CryptoQuant notes that inflows can reflect custody moves, trading, or wallet transfers, and says the metric must be read alongside price action, volume, and outflows.
What are XRP’s support and resistance levels? Immediate support sits near $1.30, the October 22 low, with the October low around $1.29 below it. Resistance starts at $1.37, then the $1.40 level where the token has repeatedly failed.
How much of XRP’s supply is 6.05 billion tokens? 6.05 billion XRP equals roughly 9.6% of the 63.1 billion XRP in circulating supply, worth about $7.93 billion at $1.31 per token.
Data: CoinGecko, Binance, CryptoQuant.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
AUTHOR
Samuel is a professional cryptocurrency writer specializing in blockchain technology and market analysis. He delivers in-depth insights into emerging trends and developments, producing well-researched, engaging content that makes complex crypto topics accessible to both newcomers and experienced industry professionals. Through his analytical approach and clear writing style, Samuel provides valuable perspectives on the evolving digital asset landscape, establishing himself as a credible and trusted voice in the cryptocurrency industry.
XAO DAO says several proposals have passed in the last couple of weeks, and a community forum is now live, calling it a huge milestone.
XAO DAO co-founder Santiago Velez announced that proposal 66 had passed, authorizing the decentralized autonomous organization to deploy 80% of its XRP treasury into Firelight, a DeFi protocol focused on decentralized insurance and yield.
The decision would put a large share of the DAO’s XRP holdings to work in a strategy intended to generate returns for members while contributing capital to protection services for decentralized finance.
XAO DAO Vote Approves XRP Deployment to Firelight In his announcement, Velez described the proposal as, to his knowledge, the first time a DAO had deployed treasury funds into a multichain DeFi strategy combining decentralized insurance with yield generation.
He thanked co-manager Fabio Marzella, Flare Networks co-founder Hugo Philion, and the Flare team for developing the Flare Smart Accounts technology, as well as Firelight for the opportunity.
The plan connects XRP with Firelight through Flare Smart Accounts, which provide a route for XRP holders to use DeFi applications. In an October 6 post, Flare described Firelight as a way to put XRP behind a protection layer for DeFi with a single XRPL signature.
Firelight posted the same day that anyone deploying XRP through the feature should connect a supported XRPL wallet and choose to mint and deposit FXRP into the Firelight vault, adding: “So bullish on this.”
Meanwhile, XRP itself was changing hands at $1.34 at the time of writing, having barely shifted in 24 hours but dropping nearly 4% of its value in the last seven days and over 11% across one month. It is also more than 44% lower than where it was a year ago, with the current price a 63% dip from its $3.65 all-time high attained in July 2025.
You may also like: XRP Ledger’s Latest Fix Pushed to November After Voting Setback Ripple Backs SEC’s Proposed Crypto Regulation, Calls for End to Case-by-Case Enforcement XRP Ledger Bug Fixes Set for Friday Activation as DeFi Lending Awaits Approval Governance Changes Aim to Broaden Community Participation The treasury vote follows a wider push to improve how XAO DAO members take part in decisions. In an October 22 update, the organization announced that several proposals had passed in recent weeks and introduced a community forum.
Marzella also outlined updates to the governance app, including proposal management, discussion tools, XRP and RLUSD donation tracking, support for several languages and searchable records.
As CryptoPotato reported in August, XAO DAO was preparing governance changes that included wallet delegation, revised quorum rules and community mini-grants. Delegation would let members assign their voting power to others, while changes to quorum rules were intended to address inactive wallets that could obstruct proposals.
The broader concern was how to turn community participation and funding into lasting activity across the XRP Ledger ecosystem. That question also arose after XRPL infrastructure team Gen3 announced on August 12 that it would wind down its retail products Aigent.run and AxiomProtocol, citing weak demand and rising infrastructure costs.
XRPL stablecoin supply has dropped sharply. According to DefiLlama data, the XRP Ledger’s total stablecoin market cap contracted 13.19% over the past week.
It now sits at roughly $999.9 million, just below the $1 billion mark. XRPL still ranks 12th globally by stablecoin supply. It holds that position ahead of Aptos in 13th place.
RLUSD, Ripple’s dollar-pegged token, remains the dominant force, carrying over 90.75% of all stablecoin value on the ledger.
What Is Driving the XRPL Stablecoin Contraction? The numbers tell a clear story. RLUSD’s market cap on XRPL dropped to around $907 million as of October 22, 2026. That marks a 14.39% decline over seven days.
Earlier in October, total stablecoins on the ledger had climbed past $1.3 billion on strong growth weeks. The pullback from that peak is significant.
This is not random. CoinGape earlier reported on Ripple’s RLUSD mint and burn activity, Ripple Treasury minted $38.6 million on Ethereum while burning $50.6 million on XRPL.
That is a net $12 million reduction in circulating supply. The pattern points to a deliberate cross-chain rebalancing.
Institutional demand appears to be pulling RLUSD liquidity toward Ethereum rails, where DeFi use cases and collateral applications are more mature.
The concentration risk on XRPL is real. With one issuer controlling over 90% of stablecoin supply, any mint or burn decision by Ripple moves the market.
Even so, RLUSD’s total circulating supply across all chains remains in the $2.35–2.4 billion range, which suggests the ecosystem itself is not shrinking, only redistributing. That distinction matters for how investors should read this data.
New Partnerships Hold the Floor as Investors Watch the Recovery Despite the contraction, XRPL’s stablecoin infrastructure is expanding. Cross River Bank recently integrated RLUSD into its core banking platform on the XRP Ledger.
That move opens RLUSD-powered settlement, cross-border transfers, and blockchain payments to a broad network of fintech firms.
Settlement-focused demand of that kind could gradually restore supply to the ledger as partner volume grows.
Ripple has also partnered with Arf to supply RLUSD-backed working capital to licensed cross-border payment firms on XRPL.
Arf plans to deploy that liquidity through XRPL’s native lending protocol once it launches. Similarly, Standard Chartered opened RLUSD institutional custody through its Dubai DIFC branch, a signal that regulated institutions see long-term value in the ledger’s payment rails.
Context also helps here. As CoinGape reported, XRPL overtook Stellar in stablecoin supply earlier this year as RLUSD gained momentum, a position it still holds today even after the weekly pullback.
The XRPL stablecoin supply figure is a live gauge of payment and DeFi activity on the ledger, so it warrants close monitoring in the weeks ahead.
Investors should watch whether supply recovers above the $1–$1.2 billion range, how Ripple’s mint and burn pattern evolves across XRPL versus Ethereum, and whether new settlement integrations translate into measurable on-chain demand.
Ripple partners with the Swiss platform Arf to offer short-term financing in RLUSD to licensed payment companies on the XRP Ledger. Announced on October 22, 2026, this service starts without the native XRPL lending protocol, which is still awaiting a vote by validators.
In brief Ripple and Arf announce, on October 22, short-term financing in RLUSD on the XRP Ledger. Advances are generally repaid in one to five days. Arf declares approximately 10 billion dollars in annual settlements. The native XRPL lending is not activated due to insufficient votes from validators. The amount of RLUSD deployed by Arf has not been disclosed. Arf brings RLUSD to payment companies on XRPL Based in Zug, Arf will first provide liquidity in RLUSD directly on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). RLUSD is Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin launched in December 2024. These advances are generally repaid in one to five days, as the payments are settled.
In its press release, Arf states it processes about 10 billion dollars in settlements per year with capital reused four times per month. These figures are provided by the company itself. However, the amount of RLUSD it will place on XRP Ledger is not specified.
Jasmine Cooper, product lead at RippleX within Ripple, believes this use case matches the purpose of XRPL and RLUSD.
A short credit to prefinance cross-border payments A payment company often has to advance funds in the destination country before collecting the payment. In this regard, Arf highlights that bank credit lines can require months to set up and significant collateral.
The mechanism is simple: the company borrows RLUSD, settles the transaction, and repays when its own funds arrive. Arf keeps credit evaluation and financing decisions off-chain. This ties the model to “PayFi,” finance built around payment flows.
Is the native XRP Ledger lending already activated? No. Arf plans to use it once available. It relies on two amendments:
XLS-65 which creates single-asset vaults; XLS-66 which allows fixed-term loans. As of October 19, XLS-66 had 19 votes out of 35 and XLS-65 had 21. Activation requires more than 80% support for two consecutive weeks. Halborn conducted a new code audit and found no critical or high-level flaws.
What the announcement changes for RLUSD and XRP For RLUSD, it adds a credit use. On August 25, Ripple indicated its market capitalization exceeded 2 billion dollars, nearly one billion of which was issued on the XRP Ledger. Other data however show a 117 billion dollar decline over 15 months.
For XRP, no quantified effect is currently demonstrated. Certainly, XRPL fees are paid in XRP. However, the volume of this financing remains unknown. No conclusion on the XRP price can be drawn from this. At the time of writing, this digital asset trades around $1.30.
Nevertheless, three elements to watch closely in the coming days are:
the evolution of votes on XLS-65 and XLS-66; the amount of RLUSD actually deployed by Arf; the onchain data Arf makes available. Ripple (XRP) and Arf thus launch short-term financing in RLUSD on XRPL, but its volume remains unknown. Extension to native lending depends on a vote still far from the required threshold. The coming weeks will tell if usage follows the announcement.
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Ariela R.
My name is Ariela, and I am 31 years old. I have been working in the field of web writing for 7 years now. I only discovered trading and cryptocurrency a few years ago, but it is a universe that greatly interests me. The topics covered on the platform allow me to learn more. A singer in my spare time, I also cultivate a great passion for music and reading (and animals!)
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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.
Ripple and Arf are bringing RLUSD-powered settlement liquidity to licensed cross-border payment firms on the XRP Ledger, with native XRPL lending planned later.
Ripple (@Ripple) has partnered with settlement platform Arf (@arf_one) to provide settlement liquidity for licensed cross-border payment companies on the XRP Ledger (@XRP) $XRP. Under the plan, Arf will use Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin $RLUSD to fund transactions before payment firms complete settlements, typically within one to five days.
How the RLUSD funding worksCross-border payment companies often need money in place in destination markets before incoming transfers have settled.
Arf's offer is short-duration financing.
According to Arf,
Arf's CEO Ali Erhat Nalbant said the company is meeting this need at scale. That figure is self-reported by the company. Jasmine Cooper, Head of Product for RippleX at Ripple, said
Native XRPL lending still pendingArf plans to expand into native XRPL lending once the protocol launches. That step is not yet live.
The arrangement also gives RLUSD a credit use case.
The partnership shows how stablecoins are being tested as working capital for payment firms rather than only as trading instruments. Its impact will depend on how much RLUSD financing licensed firms take up and on whether validators approve the lending amendments.
Sources:
crypto.news: Ripple teams up with payments firm Arf to expand RLUSD use on XRPLFinopotamus: Arf and Ripple partner to bring settlement liquidity to the XRP LedgerCointribune: Ripple plans new RLUSD financing services
The XRP ecosystem is attracting heightened attention in the digital asset space, reflecting a series of recent developments and growing institutional interest. Industry commentators have spotlighted these advances, and in a recent panel discussion, market participants underscored the positive outlook for XRP in the near term.
XRP support highlighted at Crypto Daily RoundtableDuring Mario Nawfal’s Crypto Daily Roundtable, Shyla, Chief Marketing Officer at Yellow, joined a panel of crypto experts and offered a notably optimistic perspective on XRP’s trajectory. Alongside figures such as host Kelly Kellam and Chris Terry of Bitseeker Consulting, Shyla delivered a clear message on her position regarding XRP.
Describing herself as a “hardcore XRP maxi,” Shyla referenced several factors fueling her confidence, including Evernorth’s recent listing on NASDAQ and a banking institution’s move to integrate RLUSD into its operations. She also pointed to the official launch of the XRP channel on X, which rapidly amassed over 100,000 followers, and the unveiling of an updated branding website for XRP.
While acknowledging that XRP’s market price had not yet fully reflected the recent momentum, Shyla remained enthusiastic about the asset’s potential, stating that those not engaged with XRP at present could miss a significant opportunity.
Shyla declared herself a committed XRP supporter and highlighted the series of catalysts behind her optimism: from major exchange listings and institutional integration to surging community engagement. She voiced, “you’re missing out if you’re not riding the XRP wave right now.”
Institutional adoption and the link to traditional financeAddressing the growing intersection between decentralized and traditional finance, Shyla emphasized that validation between these realms is reciprocal. She argued that institutional engagement with crypto assets is balanced by blockchain projects creating channels into the traditional financial sector. According to Shyla, XRP has maintained its relevance partly due to its deep institutional ties.
She cited Evernorth’s NASDAQ listing as evidence of institutional confidence, noting that the firm’s digital asset treasury holds hundreds of millions in XRP. Additionally, she mentioned BlackRock’s involvement with Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies, as well as the progress of projects like Canton that have advanced through strong partnerships with established financial entities.
When the conversation turned to the sustainability of the current enthusiasm, Shyla offered a balanced view, noting the substantial capital flowing into the space but cautioned that time would ultimately determine whether recent advances would translate into lasting growth.
Shyla maintained that the influx of funds demonstrates growing interest but qualified her remarks by adding, “I don’t know. Time will tell. But I think that there’s a lot of money going in, being spent in that direction.”
Major upcoming events and the value of market monitoringThe panel identified the upcoming Ripple Swell conference as a focal point likely to generate significant announcements for the XRP community. Shyla noted that discussion about XRP has already become dominant on social media platforms and encouraged broader engagement among crypto enthusiasts.
Panelist Chris Terry briefly added that XRP remains well-positioned in the eyes of institutions, attributing this to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s public profile and connections with key policymakers. Terry further commented that the trajectory of the token depends on real-world use cases and sound tokenomics going forward.
In volatile segments such as meme tokens, market trends can develop rapidly, driven by viral internet trends that transform modest investments into substantial gains within days. An example cited by Fomo App involved a “Niu Lai” trade that grew a $99 investment to roughly $370,000. In such sectors, timely market analysis, understanding investor timing, and tracking token selections can be decisive. Platforms like Fomo App allow users to monitor meme tokens, benefit from real-time trade alerts, and follow investor rankings, providing a consolidated environment for token discovery and community-driven trading.
Overall, Shyla concluded by reaffirming her expectation that institutional developments would continue to fuel XRP’s progress, citing the current landscape as favorable for long-term growth.
Vet, a prominent XRP Ledger (XRPL) validator, has refuted the popular misconception that the broader adoption of the XRP Ledger network does not necessarily impact its token, XRP.
The expert recently took to X to respond to the complaints that XRP seems not to be involved as much in tokenization or that it does not show significant price increases despite the network's growing ecosystem.
"I see sometimes comments saying XRP is not used here, why tokenized assets, price is not moving, etc.," he said.
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Vet explained that such claims are due to a basic misunderstanding of how the XRP Ledger works.
"The XRP Ledger is a multi-asset ledger since 2012. XRP has a special role in auto-bridging: bridging liquidity on the DEX for the long tail of assets, aside from reserves/accounts/fees. More importantly, it's the only native asset on the network without a counterparty, neutral, can't be frozen, and anyone can accept it."
Why XRP is importantAuto-bridging is one of XRP's most important capabilities. This means that when two different assets are being traded on the decentralized exchange (DEX) within the XRP Ledger, XRP can act as a bridge between them.
However, Vet emphasized that the importance of XRP isn't only in its use cases for liquidity, transaction fees, account reserves, etc.
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"More importantly, it's the only native asset on the network without a counterparty - neutral, can't be frozen, and anyone can accept it," he said.
Unlike issued tokens that can have a counterparty and can be frozen, etc., XRP is not a claim on anyone.
What about the XRP price?Vet also responded to the popular question of why the price of XRP doesn't necessarily correlate with the increased utility of the XRP Ledger.
The expert explained that it is not necessary for the price of XRP to rise instantly whenever there is new tokenization or institutional integration.
Instead, the expert believes that the focus should be on increasing the adoption of the network first.
Then, as a secondary effect, one can expect that the price may potentially increase.
"A valuable network is a good place to house money," he said.
"It's order of operations. Let the price of the native asset be a knock-on effect of large-scale usage and acceptance of the XRP Ledger."
The largest U.S. public pension fund has significantly reduced its holdings in the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks, shifting to increase allocations to private equity.
According to a Financial Times report, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund (California Public Employees' Retirement System), is adjusting its asset allocation: cutting direct holdings of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants while increasing exposure to private equity to reduce concentration risk in public equity investments. Calculations from regulatory filings show CalPERS will slash its direct holdings of stocks in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla by 26% in the first half of 2026. The fund is instead diversifying its portfolio across hundreds of companies, cutting concentrated bets on a small number of top firms. Anton Orlich, CalPERS' deputy chief investment officer, confirmed this allocation shift in an interview. He noted that public equity market valuations are already elevated, and concentration in a handful of leading companies is pressuring relative returns. In contrast, private companies offer more attractive pricing, helping CalPERS buffer against potential downturns in public markets. This rebalancing took place ahead of the recent tech stock sell-off. This week, multiple tech giants released earnings reports, stoking market concerns over whether AI spending can translate into tangible returns. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are set to report results next week, leaving the tech sector facing further tests. As of June 30, CalPERS' assets under management reached $637.1 billion. Data released by the fund in July showed its preliminary net investment return for the past 12 months was 14.8%, with both public and private equity portfolios performing strongly.
9 minutes ago
Hong Kong's Secretary for the Treasury: Hong Kong's tokenization initiative is advancing towards the implementation phase.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hui Ching Yu, stated that Hong Kong’s tokenization development is transitioning from the "experimental phase" to the "implementation phase". Currently, Hong Kong hosts over 1,400 fintech enterprises, including 8 virtual banks, 4 virtual insurance companies, and 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, which have achieved notable results in advancing tokenization. Hui added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is committed to launching a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot program next year. The project will partner with designated banks, utilizing distributed ledger technology, to facilitate the use of commodity warehouse receipts as collateral. Furthermore, HKEX is also developing a multi-asset tokenization platform that will include commodity warehouse receipts from approved warehouses.
9 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index closed 0.3% higher, with SK Hynix gaining 4.41%.
According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 16.53 points on Friday, October 23, with a 0.3% gain, ending at 5550.3 points. SK Hynix closed 4.41% higher, while Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%.
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He Yi reposted Binance's Agent wallet risk alert, warning of transaction risks associated with the Agent developer mode.
Jackson.ll (@0xOar), developer of Binance Wallet’s web version, posted today, stating: “Agent ID is being used in various ways, but users should also carefully check risk warnings. Enabling developer mode for the Agent means you can sign unverified contract transactions... Potential risks need attention. You can close the mode immediately after minting, or wait for products from verified developers.” He Yi subsequently retweeted the post. Earlier reports indicated that multiple minting projects exclusive to Binance Agent Wallet have recently emerged in the market, with some requiring developer mode activation.
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YuShu Technology, listed on China's A-share market, surges to its 20% daily limit, with its shares rising over 46% cumulatively this week.
Alliance Partner on a16z’s Shift: To Drive Crypto Talent to Build Cutting-Edge Technology
Imran, general partner at Alliance, took to X this morning to share his views on a16z crypto’s shift toward frontier technology sectors. He noted that a16z led Coinbase’s 2013 funding round via Chris Dixon, providing early validation for the crypto industry; Marc Andreessen’s 2014 New York Times op-ed, “Why Bitcoin Matters,” was a key factor in his decision to enter the Bitcoin space. At the time, few institutions and funds were willing to publicly back crypto, with a16z and USV standing out as two that took brand risk. Imran argued that the current development of AI infrastructure owes much to Bitcoin mining infrastructure and talent that has moved from crypto to AI. The shift to frontier technologies including robotics, biotech, AI, energy, and computing power means the talent and capabilities the crypto industry has built over the past decade can be applied to the broader frontier tech space. Citing data centers as an example, he noted that public and government pushback against data centers is growing, much like earlier resistance to crypto—yet today nearly all traditional financial institutions have embraced crypto to some extent. Yesterday’s news: a16z’s flagship blockchain fund will drop the “Crypto” moniker and rebrand as “a16z Frontier.”
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.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
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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 developers have postponed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet over smart contract compatibility concerns, canceling its October 26 activation and a planned increase to a 200 million gas limit.
Summary
Ethereum developers postponed Glamsterdam’s October 26 Hoodi testnet activation to investigate EIP-8037 smart contract compatibility concerns. The postponement cancels the scheduled 200 million gas limit increase without reversing Hoodi’s existing blockchain history. ChainSecurity warned that proposed gas changes could affect smart contracts handling failed transactions and retry mechanisms. Hoodi node operators must update their execution and consensus clients to remove the canceled October 26 activation. Ethereum has not announced replacement Hoodi or mainnet activation dates, leaving proposed December targets unconfirmed. According to the Ethereum Foundation’s October 22 announcement, the decision followed discussions during the All Core Developers Execution meeting, where developers agreed to investigate how EIP-8037 interacts with existing mainnet contracts. The Foundation has not announced a replacement testnet activation date.
Ethereum postpones Glamsterdam on Hoodi testnet The upgrade was originally scheduled to activate on October 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, corresponding to Hoodi epoch 132,352. Developers have removed the Amsterdam execution-layer activation and the Gloas consensus-layer activation from the revised configuration.
The postponement removes the scheduled increase in Hoodi’s gas limit to 200 million, which developers intended to examine alongside other protocol changes. However, the Foundation clarified that this adjustment affects a future network upgrade and does not reverse Hoodi’s existing transaction history.
The decision changes the previously announced Hoodi schedule, as crypto.news reported on October 19. The testnet activation was intended to examine how execution and consensus clients handled Glamsterdam’s changes before developers selected a mainnet date.
Ethereum researcher Christine D. Kim warned Hoodi node operators that the October 26 activation had been canceled. She advised operators to revert to suitable older software versions or install updated execution clients that remove the scheduled upgrade.
PSA: Hey #ethereum node operators who are on the #hoodi testnet, PLEASE NOTE THE HOODI UPGRADE NEXT MONDAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Revert to an older release without the Hoodi upgrade scheduled, or wait for your EL client team to release a new version that cancels the upgrade. TY!
— Christine D. Kim (@christine_dkim) October 22, 2026 ChainSecurity identifies risks in Ethereum gas changes The postponement follows concerns involving EIP-8037, which introduces separate accounting for gas consumed when creating blockchain state. Another proposal, EIP-8038, changes the costs associated with accessing existing state.
In an October 13 technical assessment, blockchain security firm ChainSecurity warned that the proposed changes could affect how deployed smart contracts handle unsuccessful external calls. Some applications use remaining gas balances to determine whether an operation failed permanently or should remain eligible for another attempt.
Under the proposed rules, a failed operation could leave enough gas for the calling contract to continue processing when the same transaction would previously have reverted. ChainSecurity warned that such behavior could cause certain applications to record an unsuccessful operation without allowing users to retry it.
The security firm subsequently discussed its findings on X, with reports describing 13 real-world examples of potentially affected contracts. Researchers have not publicly identified the affected applications, while responsible disclosure efforts remain underway.
⚠️ It has just been decided to delay the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet because of security impacts we identified in this blog post: https://t.co/UCpy6Jp5Pa
We already found 13 real-world examples and are in responsible disclosure with the affected projects.
Please…
— ChainSecurity (@chain_security) October 22, 2026 Meanwhile, these concerns cover contract mechanisms used in batched transactions, withdrawals and other operations that depend on failure-handling rules. The technical assessment describes how insufficient-gas failures could interfere with existing safeguards without requiring changes to deployed contract code.
Hoodi node operators receive revised client instructions Following the postponement, the Ethereum Foundation instructed operators to review their execution-layer and consensus-layer software before October 26. Clients retaining the original activation configuration must be updated to prevent them from attempting the previously scheduled fork.
The Foundation’s revised release table lists Lodestar v1.50.1 for the consensus layer, while execution-layer releases include Besu 26.10.1 and Nethermind 2.2.1. Ethrex v30.0.1-rc.2 appears as a prerelease, with instructions for other clients awaiting confirmation.
Validator operators must check both their beacon nodes and validator clients, including any external block-building infrastructure. The Foundation warned that releases listed in the previous Hoodi announcement should not be treated as confirmation that they support the postponement.
Ethereum’s Glamsterdam activation on Sepolia proceeded on October 6, allowing developers to examine the upgrade’s performance with a higher gas limit. The Hoodi postponement concerns a separate testnet and does not reverse the earlier Sepolia activation.
Ethereum mainnet upgrade date remains undecided Before the postponement, developers had discussed December 1, December 8 and December 9 as possible Glamsterdam mainnet activation dates. The October 22 meeting agenda proposed selecting a date the following week if Hoodi testing proceeded successfully.
None of those dates received final confirmation, and the Foundation’s latest announcement does not establish a replacement schedule. Developers must continue examining the compatibility concerns before announcing another Hoodi activation.
Glamsterdam includes enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists, changes intended to improve Ethereum’s transaction processing capabilities.
Previously, Curve Finance highlighted potential DeFi benefits, while warning that revised gas charges could affect some applications.
The Ethereum Foundation confirmed that mainnet users and ETH holders do not need to take action because of the postponement. Application developers have been instructed not to plan further Hoodi testing around the canceled October 26 activation.
Ethereum developers have postponed the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet after researchers identified gas-related security risks that could affect how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) said that the upgrade, originally scheduled for Oct. 26, would be delayed to allow developers to investigate how some proposals interact with smart contracts deployed on Ethereum.
On Oct. 13, Blockchain security firm ChainSecurity warned that two proposals included in Glamsterdam, EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, could weaken safeguards against a type of attack called insufficient gas griefing.
The postponement raises uncertainty over Glamsterdam’s mainnet timeline. Ethereum developers had been considering early December, with plans to finalize a schedule following successful Hoodi testing.
Gas changes could undermine existing smart contract safeguardsIn its analysis, ChainSecurity said that under the new rules, gas could be returned to a contract after an operation fails, allowing it to continue running when it previously would have stopped. The researchers said the changes could interfere with existing security checks that rely on how much gas remains available during a transaction.
In attacks known as insufficient gas griefing, a malicious caller deliberately provides too little gas for a legitimate smart contract operation to succeed. ChainSecurity warned that Glamsterdam’s proposed changes could undermine safeguards against such attacks, potentially allowing contracts to permanently record failed operations.
For example, an affected contract could remove a user’s claim or disable the option to retry it, leaving the user unable to complete an otherwise valid operation.
ChainSecurity said Glamsterdam would not make all gas-related security checks unreliable. Some safeguards could still work, but developers would need to review them to ensure they account for the upgrade’s new gas rules.
The findings prompted concern among Ethereum contributors. In an Oct. 21 comment on GitHub, pseudonymous security researcher pcaversaccio described the risks as “serious” and called for a reassessment of the hard fork.
On Friday, ChainSecurity said it had identified “13 real-world examples” and was coordinating responsible disclosure with affected projects. The security firm did not disclose details of the 13 real-world examples or identify the affected projects. However, the company said developers should check their contracts as soon as possible.
The findings follow an earlier Ethereum Foundation warning that Glamsterdam’s gas model could break wallets, indexers, and gas estimators that rely on fixed assumptions. The upgrade was previously activated on Sepolia on Oct. 6, ahead of its now-postponed Hoodi deployment.
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Ethereum developers have postponed the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet after researchers identified gas-related security risks that could affect how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) said that the upgrade, originally scheduled for Oct. 26, would be delayed to allow developers to investigate how some proposals interact with smart contracts deployed on Ethereum.
On Oct. 13, Blockchain security firm ChainSecurity warned that two proposals included in Glamsterdam, EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, could weaken safeguards against a type of attack called insufficient gas griefing.
The postponement raises uncertainty over Glamsterdam’s mainnet timeline. Ethereum developers had been considering early December, with plans to finalize a schedule following successful Hoodi testing.
Gas changes could undermine existing smart contract safeguardsIn its analysis, ChainSecurity said that under the new rules, gas could be returned to a contract after an operation fails, allowing it to continue running when it previously would have stopped. The researchers said the changes could interfere with existing security checks that rely on how much gas remains available during a transaction.
In attacks known as insufficient gas griefing, a malicious caller deliberately provides too little gas for a legitimate smart contract operation to succeed. ChainSecurity warned that Glamsterdam’s proposed changes could undermine safeguards against such attacks, potentially allowing contracts to permanently record failed operations.
For example, an affected contract could remove a user’s claim or disable the option to retry it, leaving the user unable to complete an otherwise valid operation.
ChainSecurity said Glamsterdam would not make all gas-related security checks unreliable. Some safeguards could still work, but developers would need to review them to ensure they account for the upgrade’s new gas rules.
The findings prompted concern among Ethereum contributors. In an Oct. 21 comment on GitHub, pseudonymous security researcher pcaversaccio described the risks as “serious” and called for a reassessment of the hard fork.
On Friday, ChainSecurity said it had identified “13 real-world examples” and was coordinating responsible disclosure with affected projects. The security firm did not disclose details of the 13 real-world examples or identify the affected projects. However, the company said developers should check their contracts as soon as possible.
The findings follow an earlier Ethereum Foundation warning that Glamsterdam’s gas model could break wallets, indexers, and gas estimators that rely on fixed assumptions. The upgrade was previously activated on Sepolia on Oct. 6, ahead of its now-postponed Hoodi deployment.
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Ethereum’s development team has postponed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi test network due to security concerns raised by developers. The delay was prompted by potential risks linked to gas rule changes, specifically how these changes might affect existing smart contracts. The Glamsterdam update, which involves modifications to Ethereum’s gas-accounting system, had initially been set to increase the gas limit on the testnet to 200 million. However, these plans have been put on hold as developers seek to ensure compatibility and security before proceeding.
The postponement has influenced Ethereum market perceptions, with market participants interpreting the delay as a factor that could impact the network’s stability and future upgrades. This, in turn, has affected Ethereum’s price predictions, with a noteworthy decrease in confidence that Ethereum will reach certain price targets in October. The security concerns and the delay of the Glamsterdam upgrade are seen as contributing to a broader uncertainty around Ethereum’s near-term roadmap and technological robustness.
Key Takeaways
The delay of Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade suggests potential concerns about the network’s stability and future updates.
Market pricing indicates a decrease in confidence about Ethereum reaching higher price targets in October, reflecting concerns about the network’s upgrade trajectory.
Participants appear to view the security concerns as a significant factor affecting Ethereum’s short-term price prospects.
What to Watch
Observers will be monitoring statements from the Ethereum Foundation and key developers for updates on the resolution of the security concerns. Announcements regarding a new timeline for the Glamsterdam upgrade or confirmation of resolved issues could influence market confidence. Additionally, developments in related Ethereum price prediction markets will offer insights into how participants are adjusting their expectations in response to these delays.
Ethereum core developers have postponed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, originally scheduled for October 26, 2026.
The decision was made during All Core Devs Execution (ACDE) call #248. The aim is to allow deeper investigation into how EIP-8037’s gas accounting changes interact with existing mainnet smart contracts.
What the Delay Covers, and What It Does Not The postponement removes three things from the October 26 epoch.
It cancels the Amsterdam execution-layer activation, the Gloas consensus-layer activation, and the planned raise of Hoodi’s gas limit to 200 million.
No replacement date has been set. A new schedule will be announced separately.
The delay rolls back the Glamsterdam upgrade configuration for a future date.
It does not revert Hoodi’s chain history, and mainnet users and ETH holders need take no action.
Security firm ChainSecurity flagged that EIP-8037’s gas repricing could allow failure handlers to succeed in scenarios that previously reverted.
That could break assumptions in certain contracts. Node and validator operators must update clients, including Lodestar, Besu, and Nethermind, to releases that explicitly confirm removal of the October 26 activation.
The Glamsterdam upgrade had already activated on the Sepolia testnet on October 6, as the Ethereum Foundation confirmed the Glamsterdam Sepolia date alongside Hoodi plans. Sepolia is unaffected by this delay.
What Glamsterdam Is, and What Comes Next Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s major L1 scaling upgrade for 2026. It combines enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS via EIP-7732), block-level access lists (BALs via EIP-7928), and gas repricing under EIP-8037 and EIP-8038.
Together, these changes aim to raise throughput and keep state growth sustainable.
Vitalik Buterin’s push for EIP-8288 maximalism to streamline Ethereum’s execution layer shows how carefully core devs weigh every gas change.
The Hoodi pause reflects that caution. Resolving EIP-8037 will unlock the Q4 2026 mainnet window, December remains a candidate, with a revised Hoodi epoch expected after Devcon (November 3–6).
The Foundation’s broader roadmap stays intact. The Hegota upgrade targets 2027 stablecoin gas payments, and Ethereum is still on course for a fully quantum-resistant L1 by end-2029. The Hoodi pause only shifts the starting line.
Institutional demand for ETH has not cooled. SharpLink deployed $400M of its ETH treasury on-chain via EtherFi and Lido, and BitMine added 12,535 ETH to its treasury.
ETH price reaction to the delay was muted, the issue is testnet-only.
Ethereum developers have decided to postpone the Glamsterdam upgrade, scheduled for October 26 on the Hoodi testnet, due to security concerns. The decision was reportedly made to allow for a more thorough examination of potential technical risks that could affect how smart contracts operate.
The delay is based on concerns that changes to how gas costs are calculated on the Ethereum network could lead to unexpected results in existing smart contracts.
It is considered that the error handling mechanisms of smart contracts may operate differently than the current system, especially in the event that gas fees run out.
In an assessment published on October 13, blockchain security company ChainSecurity pointed out that the combined implementation of EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 proposals could pose some technical risks.
According to the company, the simultaneous implementation of the two Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) could alter error handling outcomes in the event of gas resource depletion during calls between smart contracts.
This situation may cause existing smart contracts to react differently than previously anticipated under certain conditions.
Ethereum developers have chosen to revise the upgrade schedule to allow for a more detailed assessment of potential issues during the testnet phase.
No new date has yet been announced for the rollout of the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi test network.
The decision to postpone doesn’t mean the upgrade has been cancelled entirely. Current statements indicate that developers aim to dedicate more time to security reviews before rollout.
In the Ethereum ecosystem, network upgrades are important not only for implementing new technical features but also for maintaining compatibility with existing smart contracts.
An updated schedule for Glasgow is expected to be announced following security assessments. However, no definitive information has yet been shared regarding the new testing dates or when the reviews will be completed.
*This is not investment advice.
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