Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

The XRP community is on alert over a new wave of unidentified projects requesting users' private keys to connect to decentralized applications.

The warning comes amid the rise of so-called "vibe-coded" projects, where applications can be created and deployed quickly by developers whose identities or security practices may be difficult for users to verify.

Along these lines, Robert Kiuru, COO at XRPL Labs and Xaman, shared a strong warning to the XRP community, urging them never to share their private keys under any circumstances. "Your keys are the keys to your kingdom. Keep them private, secure and never enter them anywhere," Kiuru wrote.

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NEVER SHARE YOUR PRIVATE KEYS, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES. YOUR KEYS ARE THE KEYS TO YOUR KINGDOM. KEEP THEM PRIVATE, SECURE, AND NEVER ENTER THEM ANYWHERE.

— Robert @XamanWallet (@robertkiuru) October 7, 2026 An X user, Jenna, pointed out that some vibe-coded XRPL projects with unknown developers are asking users to enter their private keys for Xaman Wallet as a way to connect to their site/app, urging them never to enter their private keys in a random app, with Kiuru engaging with this post.

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This warning, however, extends beyond a single application or project. As development across the XRPL ecosystem accelerates, users may encounter an increasing number of new decentralized applications, making basic wallet security practices increasingly important.

XRP Ledger eyes major developmentsThe warning remains significant as XRP Ledger eyes key developments in the days ahead.

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At the recently concluded XRP Seoul 2026 event, builders shared how they are creating real-world utility on the XRPL, from risk management and RWA to onchain finance.

Through the "Permission Delegation" feature, DeFi activity will run directly on XRPL. Users can borrow XRP from Ethereum liquidity pools, receive RLUSD, and bridge it back to XRPL. The vaults are expected to grow across the ledger.

The native compliance and low settlement costs of the XRPL are making it the choice of institutional builders over general-purpose chains.

Complete on-chain transparency has, however, been a barrier for traditional finance, and to solve this, the XRP Ledger is introducing "confidential transfers" powered by Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs).

A long-term Ethereum investor has captured widespread attention after selling 13,320 ETH for $36.34 million on Coinbase, realizing one of the most extraordinary profits in recent memory. Blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence traced the transfer, which took place approximately seven hours before the disclosure on X/Twitter by crypto analyst Ted (@TedPillows).

The scale of the gainThe investor reportedly purchased their Ethereum at $0.31 per token, a price last seen in 2015. With ETH changing hands at about $2,727 at the time of the sale, the result was a reported 8,750x gain on the position. The wallet had previously sent 15,000 ETH to Coinbase six months earlier—worth $30.97 million then—along with two smaller transfers, signaling a pattern of significant, staggered exits.

At an entry of $0.31 per ETH, the seller achieved a nearly 8,750-fold return, transforming an initial outlay of around $4,150 for 13,400 ETH into tens of millions of dollars.

A community commentator noted that across multiple sales, the wallet maintained an average realized price of $1,137 per ETH for about 170,000 tokens. This series of transactions appears to represent a near-complete liquidation of an original initial coin offering (ICO) allocation.

Mini dictionary: Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform that tracks wallet activities and large transactions for cryptocurrencies.

ETH Bought Price (2015)ETH Sale Price (2026)Total ETH SoldTotal USD ValueReported Return$0.31$2,72713,320$36,340,0008,750xCommunity observations and wallet behaviorAnalysts and on-chain investigators closely monitored the technical aspects of the transaction. One observer highlighted that a small 10 ETH “test” was sent to Coinbase shortly before the main transaction, indicating caution and an attempt to verify the receiving address before the larger transfer occurred. Four additional addresses, closely resembling the main deposit address, were used as decoys, possibly as a privacy tactic.

Following the significant sale, the wallet retains 1,484 ETH, suggesting that while the primary holdings have been liquidated, some exposure remains. This pattern fits observed behavior from early adopters who manage exits carefully to minimize market impact and preserve privacy.

The use of multiple practice transfers and decoy addresses drew particular attention from blockchain analysts tracking the whale’s moves.

Holding conviction and timing of exitObservers remarked on the extraordinary conviction required to hold Ethereum through multiple bull and bear market cycles. According to one community member, the seller “bought at $0.31 and never sold through all the volatility, holding like a time traveler.” This level of patience is rare even among early ICO participants.

Several voices in the crypto community commented on the exit point itself. One market participant emphasized that this sale coincided with the first weekly close of ETH above $2,700 in nine months, arguing that the timing demonstrated rational market awareness. In recent months, Ethereum’s social sentiment indicators have notably deteriorated, which may have contributed to the investor’s decision to exit at the next significant rally.

Charles Hoskinson reacts to ADA’s latest rally with “#LeiosIsComing” as Cardano’s Linear Leios upgrade advances toward a planned late-2026 rollout.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has tied ADA’s latest rally to renewed attention around Ouroboros Leios, quote-posting a price chart with a simple message: “#LeiosIsComing.”

The post came as ADA pushed toward $0.27, but the bigger story is that Leios itself is still moving through testing rather than launching on mainnet today.

#LeiosIsComing https://t.co/SQT49YdM9U

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 5, 2026

Hoskinson reacted to a post calling ADA a “sleeping giant waking up.” The quoted 15-minute ADA/USDT chart showed price jumping from roughly $0.244 toward $0.264 before his response.

ADA went on to close around $0.2704 on Oct. 5, after trading near $0.244 two days earlier. That works out to roughly an 11% move across the period. Price has since cooled, with ADA trading near $0.253 on Oct. 7.

Leios Is Still a Forward-Looking Catalyst Hoskinson’s hashtag should not be read as confirmation that Leios has already gone live.

Cardano’s official documentation says Linear Leios is the version planned for mainnet as part of the first phase of the Dijkstra hard fork, currently targeted for late 2026.

The upgrade is designed to raise throughput by allowing producers to create larger “endorser blocks” alongside normal Praos blocks.

The public Leios testnet, Musashi Dojo, has been running since June 23. Cardano says the rollout remains subject to governance and will also depend on enough stake pools registering the BLS keys needed for the voting process.

Earlier development plans estimated Leios could expand Cardano’s throughput capacity by roughly 10x to 65x through a phased rollout. Those figures describe the intended scaling improvement, not current mainnet performance.

ADA Rally Already Had More Than One Driver The timing also matters.

Hoskinson’s post followed the rally rather than clearly preceding it, so the move cannot be attributed to Leios alone. Cardano had already seen fresh attention after RealFi launched on mainnet on Oct. 1, while derivatives activity also expanded sharply.

The Crypto Basic reported this week that ADA open interest climbed to $304 million, its highest daily close since at least early April, while whale transactions above $100,000 jumped to 413 on Oct. 5.

That makes the current setup broader than one social-media reaction. ADA rallied as fresh leverage entered the market, RealFi moved onto mainnet, and Hoskinson brought Leios back into focus.

The next development to watch is not another hashtag, but whether the Dijkstra process advances toward an approved mainnet rollout and whether the network activity following recent launches begins to match the technical expectations surrounding Leios.

Crypto researcher John Nakamoto says Cardano (ADA) main problem is not its technology, but its ability to turn its high market value into real-world network use.

He made this point on X after examining Cardano’s performance since ADA became the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value in 2021.

On September 3, 2021, ADA was worth about $2.97, giving Cardano a market value of around $95 billion, according to Nakamoto. ADA later rose above $3 before beginning a long decline.

Since its peak, ADA price has lost more than 92% of its value. This has led some people to call Cardano “dead.”

However, Nakamoto says that view misses the real problem facing the blockchain.

Cardano Value vs. Network Usage Nakamoto says a massive gap exists between Cardano’s market value and how much the network is actually used.

He pointed to a market value of about $10.2 billion, compared with only about $71 million locked in Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem. In other words, Cardano’s market value is around 144 times larger than the money in use in its DeFi system.

He also noted that Cardano has about $67 million in stablecoins, around $4.4 million in daily DEX trading volume, and roughly 16,000 daily active addresses.

For Nakamoto, these numbers expose Cardano’s biggest challenge of turning its high valuation into real usage.

He believes Cardano’s technology is strong, but investors ultimately want to see more users, money, apps and activity on the network.

USDCx Brings More Money to Cardano Nakamoto believes USDCx can help solve Cardano’s liquidity problem. USDCx is backed 1:1 by USDC and gives users access to dollar-based liquidity on the Cardano network. This makes it easier for money to move into Cardano without relying heavily on third-party bridges.

Nakamoto also pointed to Cardano’s recent network upgrades and governance changes.

The Van Rossem hard fork was an important step because the Cardano community proposed, discussed and approved it through the network’s governance system.

He also highlighted Leios, a project designed to help Cardano handle many more transactions. One part of Leios, called Input Endorsers, increases network capacity by 10 to 65 times. The technology remains under development and has not been fully deployed.

Cardano Treasury Is a Major Advantage Nakamoto also believes Cardano’s treasury can become a major advantage. ADA holders participate in governance through representatives, while stake pool operators and the Constitutional Committee also help make decisions.

Nakamoto estimates that Cardano’s treasury holds around 1.4 billion ADA. Meanwhile, a large treasury does not automatically make the network more valuable. What matters is how that money is used.

The market wants to see the treasury bring in more users, liquidity, DeFi activity, transactions, fees, and applications.

Privacy and Real-World Uses Nakamoto says privacy is becoming an important part of Cardano’s future. He pointed to Midnight, a Cardano partner project focused on protecting private data, along with its NIGHT token. Privacy is becoming increasingly important as people and businesses look for ways to keep sensitive information safe while using blockchain technology.

Nakamoto also highlighted Cardano’s work with Petrobras, a Brazilian energy company. Petrobras is using Cardano to record and verify information about sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel.

This gives Cardano a real-world use beyond simply buying and selling cryptocurrency.

CIP-113 Helps with Real-World Assets Nakamoto also mentioned CIP-113, which helps Cardano with the tokenization of real-world assets. The proposal lets developers build rules directly into tokens. These rules include KYC checks, approved-user lists, transfer limits, freezing features and location restrictions.

CIP-113 does not automatically make Cardano legally compliant. Instead, it gives developers tools to build certain regulatory requirements directly into token transfers.

This is useful for stablecoins, tokenized securities and other real-world assets.

ADA Remains Important to Robinhood Nakamoto also noted that ADA was included in Robinhood’s initial list of cryptocurrencies for its planned perpetual futures product for eligible U.S. customers. The list includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Hyperliquid (HYPE).

According to Nakamoto, ADA contracts offer up to 3x leverage and have no expiration date.

He said this does not prove Cardano is a DeFi leader. However, it shows that ADA still has enough market interest and liquidity to be included among the major assets.

Cardano Biggest Challenge Is Adoption In sum, Nakamoto rejects the idea that Cardano is “dead.” He urges investors to focus on how much people actually use the network.

The main problem is the enormous gap between Cardano’s market value and its real economic activity.

Cardano is worth far more in the market than the money currently in its DeFi ecosystem. Nakamoto believes this gap needs to shrink.

For ADA holders, growing the ecosystem is just as important as improving the technology.

Cardano has the technology, treasury, governance structure and infrastructure to build a larger ecosystem. The next step is converting those strengths into users, liquidity, applications, DeFi activity and real-world projects.

@Algorand's consensus layer grew more decentralized on October 6, 2026, as active validator nodes reached 1,562, marking a new seven-day high. Network telemetry tracked by @Chainspect put the week-on-week increase at 0.39%, up from the prior weekly peak of 1,556 recorded on September 29.

A Steady Climb in Validator Participation The incremental gain continues a broader trend of expanding participation on the network. The October 6 figure of 1,562 reflects a consolidation within that range, with the network sustaining a materially larger validator base than it held just two years prior.

Stake distribution has also shifted meaningfully toward the community.

Why Validator Count Matters for Pure Proof of Stake

Adding more independent operators therefore reinforces both the security and the censorship-resistance of the chain without requiring changes to its core architecture.

The latest validator milestone is a small but consistent data point in Algorand's ongoing effort to distribute control of its consensus layer more widely across the global operator community.

Sources:
Algorand Foundation: July 2026 Algo Insights Report
Algorand Foundation: Algorand Goes Peer-to-Peer
Algorand Developer Portal: Algorand Consensus

A $2 Billion Market Cap Built on $23 a Day@Polkadot is drawing fresh scrutiny over one of the starkest valuation gaps in crypto. According to data from @chainspect_app, the network's Relay Chain processes roughly 1,400 transactions per day, generating approximately $23 in daily on-chain revenue over the last 30 days. Annualized, that works out to a protocol fee run rate of around $8,400.

Set against a current $DOT market cap of approximately $2 billion, the implied valuation multiple sits at around 240,000 times revenue. For context, even richly valued technology companies rarely trade beyond 50 to 100 times revenue.

Polkadot reached its peak price on November 4, 2021, recording an all-time high of $54.87. At that point, the network commanded a market cap of roughly $52 billion. The difference from that all-time high to today's price represents a decline of approximately 97.8%. Yet despite that collapse, the network's market cap remains in the billions, making the revenue multiple even harder to justify on fundamentals alone.

Why On-Chain Fees Alone Don't Capture the Full PictureTo be fair to $DOT, Polkadot's architecture means that Relay Chain transaction fees are only one narrow slice of network activity. Polkadot's treasury documentation notes that 80% of transaction fees from submitted extrinsics go to the Treasury, while 20% goes to block producers. The Treasury is also funded through inflation, slashing, and other inflows, meaning ecosystem financing is not driven by transaction fees alone.

Polkadot still has a multichain architecture, active governance, staking security, and a roadmap built around resource markets. The network's coretime model, which sells blockspace to parachains rather than relying solely on base-layer fees, is designed to generate value in ways that raw Relay Chain revenue figures do not reflect.

Separately, on March 14, 2026, Polkadot executed a significant economic reset, going from unlimited token issuance to a hard supply cap of 2.1 billion DOT and slashing annual emissions by 53.6%. Supporters argue this shift reframes $DOT as a scarcer asset, independent of near-term fee generation.

Still, the numbers are difficult to ignore. Whatever the structural rationale, a protocol generating under $10,000 a year in fees while carrying a $2 billion market cap invites legitimate questions about where the value is truly anchored, and whether the market is pricing in a future that has not yet arrived.

Sources:
Chainspect: Polkadot TPS, Fees and Network Metrics
Crypto Adventure: Polkadot Revenue Data Reopens Debate Over DOT Network Demand
Coinbase: Polkadot Price and Market Cap

Circle has added Solana to its USDC Bridge, giving users a direct route to move native $USDC between Solana and 18 other blockchain ecosystems from a single, first-party interface.

What the Integration Does Circle's USDC Bridge at bridge(.)usdc(.)com now supports Solana, letting users move native USDC between Solana and 18 other chains through Circle's own interface. The key word is native:

That matters because wrapped tokens carry their own risks and add complexity for traders and developers.

Solana's addition is notable because

Why It Matters for Solana's Ecosystem The update removes a meaningful gap in Circle's own product suite. Previously, Solana users who wanted to move USDC cross-chain through CCTP had to rely on third-party apps built on top of the protocol. Now they can do it directly through Circle's interface, reducing friction and counterparty steps.

The timing reflects Solana's growing weight in the stablecoin market.

For developers, the update also means Solana apps and markets are now reachable through a unified bridge, simplifying the user journey for anyone moving liquidity into the ecosystem from Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, or other supported networks.

Sources:
Solana Compass: Circle's USDC Bridge Adds Solana, Linking It to 18 Other Chains
Genfinity: Circle Launches USDC Bridge for Native Cross-Chain Stablecoin Transfers
The Block: Circle Rolls Out USDC Bridge for Native Cross-Chain Stablecoin Transfers

Is “institutional settlement, not adoption” becoming Solana’s next growth catalyst?

Institutional adoption is evolving beyond ETF flows, with on-chain infrastructure becoming an integral pillar of the TradFi narrative. In other words, fundamentals are starting to matter more as major financial players explore blockchain-based settlement.

With Solana and JPMorgan’s reported partnership, the L1 could be looking to position itself as one of the first networks onboarding TradFi into the world of on-chain markets.

As the post below demonstrates, the Solana foundation has just launched Solana DvP.

But the key here is “institutional settlement”, and unlike ETF flows or strategic accumulation, it’s a much deeper layer of institutional adoption, where institutions are actually “using” the blockchain to settle transactions.

Source: X As the Solana Foundation explains, institutions that have settled on-chain have typically used custom smart contracts for their transactions. The traditional settlement process can take up to one or two days to tie up capital.

With Solana DvP, both sides of a trade are executed in one transaction, so they either both settle, or they don’t, with settlement finality in seconds.

This is different from institutions getting exposure to SOL through ETFs or accumulation.

According to AMBCrypto, if Solana DvP takes off, the bigger story would be institutions using the network to move and settle assets. It would change the paradigm of what institutions are using the Solana network for, from owning Solana [SOL] to using Solana as an infrastructure layer.

Solana’s institutional story is moving on-chain A whale opening a $20 million SOL long after the launch suggests that it is more than just a speculative bet.

The market’s reaction to the news has been quick, with JPMorgan, a roughly $880 billion financial giant, playing a critical role in the design of the system. That itself is a strong signal that TradFi interest in blockchain is shifting from just investing in crypto to using the infrastructure.

At the same time, Circle is continuing to mint USDC on Solana, with another $750 million recently minted.

According to AMBCrypto, this is where Solana’s liquidity shift and the DvP launch start to connect.

Is Solana’s liquidity moving beyond memecoins? As the chart below shows, in Q1 2025, memecoins drove nearly $260 billion in quarterly spot volume. Now, that’s down to around $57 billion.

On the other hand, the tokenized-asset spot volume grew from only $33 million to $8 billion, marking a 242x increase.

Source: Blockworks In short, Solana is seeing its activity shift from memecoin speculation to more utility-oriented markets.

Against this backdrop, the DvP launch could be much more relevant for Solana’s emerging institutional use case. With tokenized assets already on-chain, DvP could enhance this setting by improving transaction finality and overall network efficiency.

Thus, Solana’s institutional adoption is entering a phase of real-world application, diverging and setting up a different type of SOL institutional cycle, one which is driven by actual network utilization and liquidity.

Final Summary

Solana just had a busy month on the developer side. Data shared on X shows the network’s monthly unique active programs climbed past 8,400 in September, a figure described as a new record.

Programs are Solana’s version of smart contracts: the code behind every swap, bridge, bot and game on the chain.

The numbers behind the build-out Funded wallets on Solana rose 38.5% month-over-month to 16.1 million. A funded wallet holds a balance, which separates it from the abandoned addresses that pad most user counts.

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Daily active stablecoin addresses reached 888,000, a 269% increase year-over-year.

Monthly app revenue on Solana reached $180 million in September, a nine-month high. Daily revenue peaked at $7.935 million on September 12.

That $180 million represented 32% of total blockchain app revenue for the month.

Who is actually using all those programs The largest single category was arbitrage and sandwich bots, with 877 active programs. Behind the bots came DeFi applications at 315 programs, bridges at 288, gaming and casino programs at 222, and swap protocols at 168. Standout names included the Pump.fun AMM and Jupiter Aggregator v6.

Not every dashboard counts the same way The headline figure deserves some context. Separate data shared by SolanaFloor put Solana’s September monthly active programs at 7,699, which it described as the highest level since August 2025 rather than an all-time high.

Of roughly 42,500 programs deployed on Solana, only about 3,118 showed sustained user interaction during the period, according to the same research.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Shiba Inu is recording a major increase in spot-market capital flows, but the more recent data is less reassuring at this point in time. SHIB's eight-hour spot net-flow change has surged 440.65%, producing positive net inflows of approximately $506,680.

Shiba Inu left outThe improvement extends across several longer intraday periods. Four-hour spot net inflows stand at $394,170, up 337.15%, while the 12-hour reading remains positive at $352,220. Over 24 hours, inflows of $6.72 million exceeded $6.11 million in outflows, leaving SHIB with approximately $613,500 in positive net flows.

On the surface, this suggests capital is returning to SHIB. The catch is that shorter-term flows have already started moving in the opposite direction.

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SHIB/USDT Chart by TradingViewOver the latest hour, SHIB recorded $211,140 in spot inflows against $247,370 in outflows, creating a negative net flow of $36,230. The 30-minute reading is similarly negative at $26,830. More importantly, the three-day picture remains negative by approximately $388,160.

Futures flows offer little additional reassurance. Net flows are negative across the five-minute, 15-minute, 30-minute, one-hour, four-hour and 12-hour periods shown, with the 12-hour reading reaching negative $433,240. Only the eight-hour period remains marginally positive.

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Price action is beginning to reflect this deterioration. SHIB trades around $0.00000550 after a sharp daily decline from the $0.00000580 region. The move has pushed the token back below its long-term moving average near $0.00000565, erasing one of the more important technical improvements from the September recovery.

Market being tested$0.00000540–$0.00000545. Holding this area could allow another attempt to reclaim $0.00000560 and eventually $0.00000580–$0.00000600. A breakdown below $0.00000540 would be considerably more problematic, potentially exposing $0.00000520 and the psychologically important $0.00000500 level.

The 440% increase therefore shows that spot demand strengthened over the longer intraday window. But weakening short-term spot flows, broadly negative futures flows and SHIB's loss of long-term technical support suggest that buyers have not secured control of the market.

Event Passes are mini Battle Passes that last shorter but happen much more often. Which Rangers can claim all their exclusive rewards? Not only that, but each Event Pass ends with a spectacular Premium-only tournament.

Next up is the Abyssal Chasm Event Pass: queue Ranked Gauntlet, earn Arena Points, and claim Illuvials, Fuel, XP boosts, an emote, and the Abyssal Chasm Challenger title.

This Event Pass is built around Abyssal Chasm and the Illuvials that hunt there. Play it out on two tracks: a Free Track for every Ranger, and a Premium Track including bigger Fuel Drops, more powerful XP boosts, but most importantly: more powerful Illuvials.

Start: 7th October 2026
End: 27th October 2026, 00:00 UTC
Duration: 19 days
Premium: 800 Fuel

There’s also Illuvium Challengers Series #2 hosted by Sylen, Premium Event Pass required, $500 USD in ILV. Full tournament details are at the end.

Open Event Pass in the Arena client.

Only Ranked Gauntlet matches grant Arena Points and count toward missions.Claim rewards as you hit each Arena Point threshold (3 → 750).Everyone can progress the Free Track.Unlock Premium for 800 Fuel to claim the Premium Track and Premium Missions.The Event Pass runs for 19 days. Finish what you start: once the event is over, the rewards are gone as well.

Missions sit on the Event Pass screen and pay extra Arena Points on top of Ranked play.

Each mission is randomly assigned from the mission pool. A mission will not repeat until you have completed every mission in that pool at least once.

Free Missions

Mission

Arena Points

Daily

5

Weekly

20

Examples: get a 10-round win streak in a Ranked match (daily), and play 15 Ranked matches (weekly).

Premium Missions (Premium Event Pass)

Mission

Arena Points

Daily

10

Weekly

40

Examples: hit synergy 5+ in a Ranked round (daily), and activate Invoker and Steam at 3+ at the same time in a Ranked round (weekly).

Illuvials on the tracks come with a set TPI (Trait Purity Indicator) and level. That is Leviathan-ready power, not a cosmetic sticker. Kickstart your way to dominating Illuvium Arena Ranked by owning and improving your collection.

Fuel Drops pay Fuel straight into your account.

XP Boosts on Premium accelerate Illuvial levelling for a fixed window (3 / 7 / 10 / 60 days).

The exclusive emote and the Abyssal Chasm Challenger title are for flexing. Keep using them in Gauntlet to show off your achievements to your opponents.

— = no Free reward at that step. Premium still pays.

Arena Points

Free Track

Premium Track

3

Earth Doka · Stage 1 · 0 TPI · Level 10

Lesser Monkier · 40 TPI · Level 20

5

Water Fliish · Stage 1 · 10 TPI · Level 20

Emote: All In Stoic Floralynx

10

—

50 Fuel Drop

15

Earth Volante · Stage 2 · 20 TPI · Level 30

Lura · 40 TPI · Level 30

25

—

50 Fuel Drop

35

Water Volante · Stage 3 · 25 TPI · Level 45

80% XP Boost · 3 days

50

—

Exalted Monkier · 50 TPI · Level 42

75

Greater Monkier · 30 TPI · Level 30

Exalted Aapon · 50 TPI · Level 42

100

—

100 Fuel Drop

150

25 Fuel Drop

Exalted Grilla · 50 TPI · Level 42

200

—

120% XP Boost · 7 days

250

Loulura · 40 TPI · Level 30

Phorus · 65 TPI · Level 45

300

—

160% XP Boost · 10 days

400

Malura · 45 TPI · Level 45

Goliant · 65 TPI · Level 45

500

25 Fuel Drop

Title: Abyssal Chasm Challenger

750

—

40% XP Boost · 60 days

Nine payouts: starter Earth Doka, Water Fliish, Stage 2 Earth Volante, Stage 3 Water Volante, Greater Monkier, Loulura, Malura (Level 45), and 50 Fuel across two Drops.

Sixteen payouts, including:

Early Lesser Monkier (40 TPI) and the Lynx Nature Bulwark Stage 3 — All In emote200 Fuel in Drops (50 + 50 + 100)Lura at 40 TPI, then Exalted Monkier, Exalted Aapon, and Exalted Grilla at 50 TPIPhorus and Goliant at 65 TPI, Level 45XP: 80% / 3 days, 120% / 7 days, 160% / 10 days, 40% / 60 daysTitle: Abyssal Chasm ChallengerPremium is undoubtedly where it's at for this Event Pass. The Free Track still pays real Illuvials and Fuel. Premium is where TPI, XP boosts, the emote, and the title live.

Update Illuvium Arena on the Epic Games Store and open Event Pass.Queue Ranked Gauntlet: unranked matches do not award Arena Points or mission progress.Clear the assigned Daily and Weekly missions as they come up.Claim on the track as the bar hits 3, 5, 10, 15… 750.Unlock Premium from the Event Pass screen for 800 Fuel if you want the second track and Premium Missions.See you in the Arena, Rangers. Abyssal Chasm doesn’t wait.

The Event Pass is not only a track. Sylen is hosting Illuvium Challengers Series #2 — Ranked Gauntlet, two days, $500 USD in ILV.

Day One: October 18, 2026 · 7:00 PM UTC
Finals: October 25, 2026 · 7:00 PM UTC
Signup sheet: https://forms.gle/cLmfkfdXyng7zoup9

Signup is first come, first served, with a backup list. You need the Premium Event Pass (800 Fuel) to enter. The signup sheet is posted with this announcement.

Day One: October 18
BO1 32 → 16, then BO1 16 → 8.

Finals: October 25
BO3 Points for the remaining eight.

Place

Prize

1st

$200

2nd

$100

3rd

$75

4th

$50

5th

$30

6th

$20

7th

$15

8th

$10

TLDR The Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum has become part of the Paxos-operated Global Dollar Network stablecoin consortium. USDG stablecoin went live on Arbitrum recently, integrated with platforms such as GMX, Morpho, Fluid, and Maple. Exchange platform Kraken will offer fiat on-ramp and off-ramp functionality for USDG users. A governance proposal suggests allocating 100 million ARB tokens to incentivize USDG growth on the network. The network currently hosts approximately $3.8 billion in stablecoins, with Circle’s USDC representing around 60% of the volume. The Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum has become a member of the Global Dollar Network, a collaborative stablecoin initiative spearheaded by blockchain infrastructure provider Paxos. This partnership represents Arbitrum’s strategy to generate revenue from the substantial stablecoin transactions occurring on its infrastructure.

USDG, the network’s native stablecoin, became operational on Arbitrum in recent days. The digital asset is now compatible with multiple decentralized finance platforms, including Fluid, Morpho, GMX, Maple, Li.Fi, Gauntlet, Steakhouse, and LayerZero.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken plays a critical role in the deployment. The platform will provide infrastructure allowing users to convert between traditional currency and USDG.

Additional integrations are on the horizon, with Uniswap and Fhenix anticipated to introduce USDG compatibility in the near term.

Paxos serves as the issuer of USDG. The token maintains full dollar backing through reserve assets and currently has over $3 billion in total supply distributed across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The Global Dollar Network counts more than 150 collaborating entities. Notable participants include financial platforms Robinhood, Kraken, payment processor Mastercard, and digital asset exchange OKX.

Revenue-Sharing Framework Explained The Global Dollar Network operates on a revenue-distribution model that allocates interest income from reserves among network participants who contribute to stablecoin adoption. This structure contrasts sharply with traditional stablecoin models, in which the issuing entity retains all revenue generated from backing assets.

LATEST: ⚡️ Arbitrum joined the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network, with USDG launching on the blockchain and integrations spanning Morpho, GMX, Fluid, Maple and others. pic.twitter.com/G1XKssA3rw

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) October 6, 2026

Through this arrangement, Arbitrum gains access to a portion of reserve-generated income. Brendan Ma, who leads investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, explained that this model aligns Arbitrum’s economic interests with the long-term expansion of stablecoin activity on the platform.

The Arbitrum network presently supports approximately $3.8 billion in total stablecoin value. Circle’s USDC token accounts for nearly 60% of this amount, according to analytics from DefiLlama.

Previously, Arbitrum received no direct financial benefit from the reserve yields associated with these stablecoin holdings.

Governance Vote and Broader Market Trends A governance proposal emerged this week requesting community approval. The measure urges ArbitrumDAO to designate USDG expansion as a strategic priority for network development.

The proposal recommends allocating 100 million ARB tokens toward Arbitrum’s DRIP incentive mechanism. Additionally, it suggests deploying treasury resources to strengthen USDG liquidity pools.

This initiative reflects a broader industry shift in stablecoin development. Rather than independent issuance, organizations increasingly favor collaborative networks.

Open Standard represents another such initiative. The consortium is developing OpenUSD, a stablecoin project backed by major financial and technology companies including Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Coinbase, and Shopify.

Meanwhile in Europe, the Qivalis consortium has secured participation from 37 banking institutions.

These collaborative frameworks aim to distribute both issuance responsibilities and revenue streams across numerous stakeholders. This approach decentralizes authority while broadening the economic benefits of stablecoin operations.

Arbitrum has gained additional prominence in recent months. The network’s technology infrastructure underpins Robinhood Chain, an upcoming blockchain initiative from the trading platform.

Robinhood has committed to distributing a percentage of revenue generated by that blockchain with the Arbitrum community.

No official schedule for expanding USDG integration beyond Arbitrum’s current partner set has been disclosed. Specific details regarding reserve composition and regulatory jurisdiction remain unconfirmed at this time.

Currently, USDG operates on Arbitrum through its initial ecosystem partners, with Kraken providing the fiat gateway infrastructure supporting the deployment.

On October 6, 2026, Flare announced that Firelight Protocol was live with aggregate staked positions capped at $115 million in $XRP. The launch puts staked FXRP behind cover for Sentora’s USD Protected Vault and Protected RWA Vaults. Sentinel Labs develops and maintains Firelight, while Sentora incubated it.

Firelight pools the capital for every covered vault in one Firelight Vault on Flare. Stakers deposit FXRP into that vault, and the pooled capital backs the full portfolio of coverage elected by participating operators. The capital sits outside the protocols it covers. Stakers receive emissions for supplying it, but their principal and compounded rewards can be slashed when a covered loss is approved.

The initial deployment embeds cover in two Sentora products. The USD Protected Vault allocates across dollar-denominated strategies on established DeFi protocols. The Protected RWA Vaults use strategies around real-world assets, including lending and leveraged looping in markets that accept those assets as collateral. Their underlying strategies continue to run as before. Firelight adds cover against defined protocol failures at the deposit level.

That structure removes a separate purchase step for depositors. A user entering a covered vault receives its protection under terms registered onchain. The user does not need to compare and buy an individual policy. The operator selects the coverage, while Firelight records its scope, parameters, price and capacity.

What the cover can pay for The published launch details name smart contract exploits, oracle failures, governance exploits, bad debt, mechanism-driven depegs and redemption failures as covered event categories. An event still has to satisfy the terms set for the affected vault. Firelight describes the product as coverage rather than insurance.

A payout begins with identifying every eligible active position in the affected market. ZeroShadow, Firelight’s designated security partner, then publishes an exploit report. A five-firm Risk Consortium independently checks the event, confirms the loss and publishes an onchain attestation. Its members are Hypernative, Native, Credora, Cyfrin and GFX Labs. The protocol cannot release a payout until the consortium authorizes the event against the published coverage criteria.

This creates a defined claims path, but it also puts a practical condition on protection. A vault label alone does not determine whether a loss qualifies. Users need the registered terms for that vault and the consortium’s eventual attestation. Operators need to keep the advertised risk scope consistent with the parameters recorded onchain.

Veda and Upshift are integrating Firelight at their infrastructure layers. Operators building on either platform will be able to switch on protection for their own vaults while drawing on the same Firelight Vault. That shared pool is the mechanism Firelight is using to extend capacity beyond the first Sentora products.

For an operator, enabling the integration does not make every loss payable. The operator still needs to select cover with a stated scope, price and capacity. Its users remain subject to the event categories and criteria recorded for that vault. The shared-pool design also connects operator demand to available staker capital. Adding a vault consumes capacity from the same pool that supports existing products, rather than creating a ring-fenced reserve for the new strategy. That makes the registered capacity a practical constraint for both vault marketing and deposit limits.

For depositors, the relevant comparison is between the vault’s published protection and its underlying strategy risk. Firelight can cover the named protocol failures, but the launch does not say that every investment loss or market move qualifies. The consortium’s review and attestation determine whether a reported event meets the terms before capital can be released.

How $XRP enters the protection pool $XRP holders can supply the pool through Flare Smart Accounts. A holder connects a supported XRPL wallet and selects the mint-and-deposit flow. The wallet sends $XRP on XRPL with the instruction attached. Flare’s Data Connector verifies the transaction, FAssets mints FXRP at a 1:1 representation on Flare, and the system deposits the FXRP into Firelight. The holder receives stXRP in a smart account controlled by the originating XRPL address.

The flow does not require the user to hold $FLR. Fees are charged in FXRP. Protocol emissions also stream in FXRP, including fees that operators pay in $USDC and that the system converts before adding them to a staker’s position. Firelight says emissions follow protocol revenue, so the amount available to stakers rises as operators enable more cover.

The return comes with direct exposure to covered losses. The staked deposit has no Firelight cover of its own, and slashing applies to accrued rewards as well as principal. Depositing through a Flare Smart Account also adds contract exposure to the account, FAssets and Firelight layers. Firelight lists OpenZeppelin, Coinspect and 0xMacro as contract auditors and says it completed a public Immunefi bug bounty, but it also states that contract risk remains.

Withdrawals are not immediate. Stakers initiate an exit through the web application and wait through the unstaking period. As cover becomes active, that window increases to match the 30-day coverage periods. A completed withdrawal returns FXRP, which the holder can redeem to $XRP at the XRPL address that opened the position. For allocators, the exit delay and slashing exposure are part of the yield calculation rather than operational details.

Capacity and the open question Flare says capital backing onchain cover equals about 0.14% of nearly $100 billion in DeFi. Firelight starts with a $115 million cap in $XRP on aggregate staked positions. The cap limits the capital available to support the first portfolio, while the exact protection available to each vault depends on its registered capacity and terms.

The broader integrations could add more covered vaults without creating separate capital pools. That may improve capital use, but it also means the same staker pool can stand behind a wider portfolio of risks. The unresolved point is how Firelight will price and allocate capacity as Veda and Upshift operators join, especially when several covered vaults depend on the same protocol, oracle or collateral. Firelight has not published that portfolio-level concentration detail in the launch announcement.

Two products can pay the same yield and still carry very different risks. That was the core argument Ethena Labs founder and CEO Guy Young brought to TOKEN2049 in Singapore.

Young said yield is not commoditized, because trust in how each operator manages risk varies widely.

What Young argued, and why Ethena is the one arguing it TOKEN2049 Singapore ran October 7-8, 2026. Young used his panel appearance to push back on a popular idea: that yield in crypto is a race to the bottom, where users simply chase the highest number.

Ethena’s flagship products make this argument personal. The protocol issues USDe, a synthetic dollar, and sUSDe, a version of it that earns yield.

The mechanics run on what’s called a delta-neutral strategy. Ethena holds staked crypto assets and simultaneously opens short positions in perpetual futures, a type of derivative contract with no expiry date.

Stripped down: if the underlying asset’s price rises, the staked holdings gain and the short loses, and vice versa. The two sides roughly cancel out, leaving the position stable in dollar terms while collecting staking rewards and funding payments.

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The risks Ethena has to manage The biggest one is counterparty exposure. Because those short positions live on centralized exchanges, Ethena depends on those venues staying solvent and operational.

Historically, approximately 48-50% of Ethena’s exchange counterparty exposure has been concentrated on Binance.

Ethena also maintains an insurance fund that backs its operations. The fund is meant to absorb shocks, such as stretches when funding rates on perpetual futures turn negative and the short side starts costing money instead of earning it.

On the operational side, the company has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit, an independent review of whether a company’s internal controls actually work over time, not just on paper.

A bumpy road to this argument USDe supply peaked near $15B before contracting sharply following stress events in late 2025.

Regulators have also weighed in. In 2025, Germany’s financial watchdog BaFin issued a wind-down order for Ethena’s German entity.

Since then, the company has been busy reshaping its business. It secured a $1B credit facility with FalconX in 2026.

Ethena has also expanded into tokenized US equities through Binance bStocks, and moved into equity perpetuals with Binance as of September 2026. It has integrated onto the TRON blockchain as well.

Meanwhile, token incentives tied to USDe growth were set to end by late September 2026.

What this means for the yield market The institutional angle is where this gets real. Larger allocators typically care less about squeezing out an extra point of yield and more about whether the operator can document its controls. A completed SOC 2 Type II audit and a $1B credit facility are the kinds of credentials that speak to that audience.

Still, Ethena’s own profile shows the limits of the argument. Concentration of roughly half its exchange exposure on Binance is the sort of risk that a trust-focused investor would scrutinize closely, especially as the company deepens its partnership with that same exchange through equity products.

Things to watch from here: whether USDe supply recovers now that growth incentives have wound down, whether Ethena diversifies its exchange counterparty exposure, and how the equity products perform under real market stress.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes believes the AI investment mania will be a major positive catalyst for Bitcoin if it ends up crashing down.

In an interview with CNBC at the Gamma Prime Investing Conference in Singapore, Hayes said that the excessive investments pouring into AI data centers are ripe for an oversupply.

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The current investment mania in AI is a multitrillion-dollar case of capital misallocation, said Hayes. At the end of the day, all this means is that we will have cheap and accessible massive compute power.

This might be a painful journey for financial markets in the process.

Why AI crash could be bullish for BitcoinIf the AI infrastructure boom leads to a major credit crisis, governments and central banks will eventually intervene, according to Hayes. 

They will inject additional liquidity into the financial system. In his opinion, Bitcoin and other cryptos are the likely winners of all this excess cash.

The immediate catalyst for a Bitcoin boost is not necessarily an AI crash. Initially, a major deleveraging move could be negative for risk assets. But afterwards, the monetary response could be bullish for stocks.

This could play out around 2027–2028, when the companies that promised all this massive compute power need to actually generate enough money to justify the costs.

It could also be that over the next year, the demand for AI becomes strong enough to justify this large infrastructure investment. Hayes admits that this could be a potential scenario. Basically, the usefulness of AI may allow companies to grow into these massive compute costs.

This is not the first time Hayes has envisioned such a scenario.

In August, the co-founder of BitMEX compared the AI infrastructure boom to the credit excesses before the financial crisis of 2008. But rather than viewing this current cycle as another dot-com tech bubble, Hayes said people should pay attention to the debt financing for the data centers and expensive compute hardware.

Currently, Hayes himself is not shorting the AI boom. Still, he is pretty confident that there is a lot of overbuilding.

Circle wanted a feel-good moment. It got a history lesson instead.

On October 5, 2026, the USDC issuer shared a post featuring rapper DJ Khaled in a Chelsea FC jersey bearing the words “USDC by Circle.” Within hours, replies on X had pulled up Khaled’s 2018 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a crypto promotion that ended badly.

The backlash ran through October 5 and 6. It now stands as a fresh case study in how celebrity association can backfire in crypto, even when nobody signs a contract.

What Circle actually said The wording matters here. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire referred to Khaled as part of “team USDC.” He did not describe a formal sponsorship, a paid ambassador deal, or any business arrangement.

Circle’s posts made no sponsorship announcement either. As far as the public record shows, Khaled was simply photographed wearing a shirt from a club Circle sponsors.

That nuance did not survive contact with the replies. Many users saw the welcome as an endorsement, and the gap between a friendly shoutout and a commercial deal stayed unclear.

The 2018 settlement users dug up The episode replies kept surfacing dates back to the 2017 initial coin offering boom. Khaled promoted the ICO of Centra Tech, a project the SEC later deemed fraudulent.

Centra Tech’s token sale raised approximately $25 million in 2017. The problem for Khaled was not just the project’s fate. He failed to disclose that he had been compensated for the promotion.

In November 2018, Khaled settled with the SEC. He paid a total of roughly $153,000, including penalties, to resolve the matter.

Why Chelsea is in the picture The jersey itself comes from one of Circle’s biggest marketing bets. On August 28, 2026, Circle became Chelsea FC’s principal partner and front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2026/27 season.

The flip side is that Circle no longer controls who wears its logo. Anyone in a Chelsea shirt, Khaled included, becomes an unofficial billboard for USDC.

Circle’s choice to amplify this particular photo is what turned a jersey sighting into a news cycle. Had the company stayed quiet, the image might have passed as just another celebrity in a football kit.

The stakes for USDC USDC carries a market capitalization of approximately $74 billion. It holds about 25% of the stablecoin market, a space dominated by Tether’s USDT.

Stablecoins are meant to be the boring part of crypto. Each token is designed to track the US dollar, so a USDC should always be worth one dollar.

That design means a stablecoin’s brand is effectively its balance sheet promise. Users hold USDC because they trust Circle to keep the peg intact and the reserves in order.

No regulatory fallout, but a reputational nick There are no direct regulatory consequences for USDC stemming from the episode. Circle made no claims about returns or investment value, and no formal endorsement was announced.

Still, the reaction shows how sensitive the crypto community remains about celebrity promotion. The ICO era left a long trail of famous faces attached to projects that collapsed.

What this means For Circle, the immediate lesson is about clarity. A vague “welcome to the team” can read as an endorsement whether or not money changed hands. When the person being welcomed has a public enforcement history tied to crypto promotion, that ambiguity becomes a liability.

With roughly a quarter of the stablecoin market, Circle is clearly trying to grow USDC’s profile against a much larger rival. The Chelsea deal signals that it is willing to spend heavily on brand awareness.

Due diligence on public figures has become part of the cost of doing business in crypto marketing. A quick search of SEC settlements would have flagged Khaled’s history in seconds. The replies under Circle’s post did exactly that, for free and in public.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Grayscale is strengthening its bullish stance towards Zcash as institutional attention shifts increasingly towards blockchain privacy. Just recently, the asset manager mentioned that Zcash could continue extending its share of the blockchain privacy market.

The privacy narrative is now gaining another platform through Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl.

Reportedly, Zach is expected to present the “Macro Case for Zcash” at Singapore’s Digital Asset Yield Summit today, 6th October.

Pandl’s appearance is expected to bring Zcash’s privacy proposition before an audience focused increasingly on opportunities around institutional digital assets. This development also follows the expanding interest in those cryptocurrencies that mainly focus on privacy as investors reassess their role within the wider market.

Notably, that attention arrives as ZEC large holders simultaneously move substantial supply away from trading platforms.

Fresh accumulation validates ZEC demand According to Lookonchain on an X post, a new wallet withdrew 7,166 ZEC valued roughly  $9.67 million from Coinbase within 12 hours. Moving such a considerable position from Coinbase decreased the amount of ZEC tokens immediately available on the exchange.

Besides, the spot market activity additionally favoured the underlying demand outlook despite ZEC’s ongoing price correction.

In particular, the Spot Taker CVD indicator remained taker-buy dominant at press time, suggesting aggressive buyers continued outweighing sellers across the spot markets. The combination therefore placed the Coinbase withdrawal within a broader pattern of continued spot demand.

The bulls were, however, yet to translate that demand into a sustained price recovery.

Source: Zcash Spot Taker CVD on CryptoQuant Liquidation liquidity builds above Zcash ZEC’s Binance Liquidation Heatmap shows a significant concentration of leveraged positions sitting above its prevailing market price.

Notably, the strongest nearby liquidity cluster can be seen around the $1,370 – $1,380 region, introducing a potential liquidity target in case of a price recovery.

Besides, further liquidation levels extended above this region, although their concentration became more dispersed towards $1,400. This positioning created considerable overhead liquidity as ZEC price attempted to stabilize following its retracement from recent highs.

A rebound from the developing key support could bring the $1,370–$1,380 cluster zone into focus first. ZEC price moving towards this area could trigger short liquidations and potentially validate an initial recovery attempt.

Source: Binance ZEC/USDT Liquidation Heatmap on CoinGlass ZEC retraces after completing Elliott impulse wave Zcash retraced after completing the Elliott impulse wave earlier predicted by AMBCrypto.

The earlier setup projected a fifth-wave advance towards the $1,500 price level after ZEC established wave-four support around the $1,054.72 area.

Eventually, Zcash [ZEC] price exceeded that target, reaching the $1,600–$1,700 region before a correction developed.

Subsequently, ZEC pulled back towards the $1,295 area, where the bulls attempted to establish near-term support.

The RSI indicator also cooled to 49.65 following the correction, reflecting weaker buying pressure after the previous overbought conditions.

A sustained hold of the $1,295 level could support a relief move toward the dense liquidation cluster around the $1,370–$1,380 region.

Losing $1,295 support however could likely extend the retracement towards the order block immediately below, which stretches towards $1,100, providing a deeper structural support.

A reaction from this order block could therefore introduce another base for buyers in case the $1,295 support fails.

Source: ZEC/USDT Chart on TradingView Final Summary Grayscale’s growing Zcash focus coincides with a fresh $9.67 million Coinbase withdrawal. ZEC finding support at $1,295 could open a recovery path toward the overhead liquidity.

Buying a Ferrari usually takes a waiting list, a serious bank balance and a fair amount of patience. Owning a sliver of the company behind the cars now takes a Solana wallet.

Tokenized shares of Ferrari NV, trading as $RACE, are now available on Solana through the Sunrise asset gateway, with Backpack as the issuer. The launch took effect October 6, 2026. It adds one of the most recognizable luxury brands to a growing shelf of onchain equities.

How the $RACE token works Each $RACE token is backed 1:1 by an actual Ferrari share held in regulated custody. Backpack Securities serves as the issuer, and holders can redeem their tokens back into traditional stock entitlements through Backpack Securities.

The token’s contract address is RACEyWiM2ztEZcJx2AHXU2eWjhxU57x3vXn92b39dLD. Checking that string before buying is the simplest way to confirm you are holding the genuine article.

Sunrise handles distribution. The gateway is designed to plug tokenized stocks into wallets and decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, which are trading venues where users swap tokens directly without a traditional broker in the middle.

Supported venues include Phantom, Jupiter and Raydium. Trading runs 24/7. The tokens are built to be eligible for dividends and corporate actions.

From SpaceX to supercars Ferrari is not the first big name to arrive on this rail. The $RACE launch is tied to an ongoing partnership that started with tokenized SpaceX shares in June 2026.

Backpack Securities aims to expand the number of tokenized stock symbols on Solana from the current 200 toward a goal of 10,000.

What this means for investors and Solana Several things are worth watching from here. First, whether $RACE builds meaningful trading activity on Solana DEXs, since a token with thin volume offers little of the promised liquidity.

Second, how smoothly redemption through Backpack Securities works in practice. The 1:1 backing is the foundation of the product, and confidence depends on the ability to convert tokens back into stock entitlements when holders want to.

Third, how dividends and corporate actions get passed through to token holders. Fourth, round-the-clock trading creates a practical puzzle: when the underlying market is closed, the token keeps trading, so how closely its price stays aligned with the real share during those hours will be a revealing test of the model.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Muneeb Ali is back in charge at Stacks Labs. His opening move was a pledge to transfer intellectual property to the Stacks Endowment, the entity that funds the company’s work.

Ali, a co-founder of the Bitcoin-focused Stacks network, paired the IP pledge with a two-year roadmap. It centers on Bitcoin privacy and post-quantum technology, and he also committed to a public call with token holders within 30 days.

What Ali is promising Ali is set to formally take the CEO role at Stacks Labs on October 15, 2026. He replaces interim leader Alex Miller, who will shift into an advisory role.

The IP transfer pledge is the headline commitment. The technology and assets developed at Labs would sit with the Endowment rather than with the company doing the building.

That matters because of how the money flows. Stacks Labs is funded by the Stacks Endowment under SIP-031, the governance framework that sets out how the Endowment finances Labs’ operations.

Founder-led entities in the Stacks ecosystem have previously aligned assets with the Endowment, so Ali’s pledge follows an existing pattern rather than inventing a new one.

The two-year roadmap sets out several priorities:

Institutional-grade privacy for Bitcoin-based activity Post-quantum security, meaning cryptography designed to hold up against future quantum computers that could break today’s encryption A 100x capacity improvement for the network Expanded capital markets for Bitcoin yield Institutional engagement more broadly The holder call is expected within 30 days of the late-September announcement.

The market noticed STX, the network’s native token, rose approximately 28% after news of Ali’s return to leadership.

The timing also lines up with a product milestone. Self-custodial Bitcoin staking went live on Stacks in September 2026, with rewards starting to flow to participants in mid-September.

How Stacks got here Stacks Labs was formed as part of a significant restructuring of the Stacks ecosystem in 2025. That reorganization separated the builders from the funders. Labs handles development work, while the Endowment controls the purse strings under SIP-031.

Alex Miller led Labs on an interim basis through that period. His move to an advisory role keeps him in the picture as Ali takes over day-to-day leadership.

What this means for STX holders and the ecosystem The IP transfer pledge is arguably more important than the price move. By pledging IP to the Endowment, Ali is signaling that Labs’ output belongs to the ecosystem’s funding body. A pledge is not the same as a completed transfer, and the specifics will matter.

The holder call is the first checkpoint. Expect questions about what IP is covered, when the transfer would happen, and how SIP-031 governance would apply to it.

Watch three things in the coming weeks: Ali’s official start on October 15, the timing and content of the holder call, and any concrete terms for the IP transfer to the Endowment.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Two changes affect Metis Andromeda this October:

• October 23, 2026: Stargate support for Metis Andromeda ends.

• October 30, 2026: LayerZero Labs' DVN (Decentralized Verifier Network) and Executor stop serving Metis Andromeda.

Most token holders don't need to do anything. Check the table below to see if you're affected.

Developers and OApp/OFT owners: the full migration steps, addresses and configuration are in the [Technical Migration Guide], also available under the Technical tab on the Metis website.

Do I need to act? If you... What to do Deadline Hold m.USDC, m.USDT, WETH or METIS on Metis Andromeda Nothing. These are issued by the Metis canonical bridge, not Stargate. None Provide liquidity to a Stargate V1 or V2 pool on Metis Unstake (if staked) and withdraw your liquidity. Oct 23, 2026 Hold METIS, HERA, QI or MTVT that you bridged to another chain through LayerZero V1 Bridge back to Metis Andromeda. See "Bridging back in" below. Oct 23, 2026 Run an OApp or OFT that sends messages to or from Metis Migrate, or get your pathways enabled on the new DVNs and Executor. Oct 30, 2026 Hold a LayerZero-bridged token issued by another project Follow that project's updates. Cross-chain transfers depend on the project completing its migration. Oct 30, 2026 What still works, and what doesn't Route Status Metis canonical bridge (Ethereum ↔ Metis Andromeda) for m.USDC, m.USDT, WETH and METIS Unchanged LayerZero V2: Metis ↔ Ethereum, Metis ↔ BNB Chain, Metis ↔ GOAT Network Supported on the new DVNs and Executor, for applications whose pathways have been enabled LayerZero V2: Metis ↔ any other chain Not covered by the new DVNs. Migrate before Oct 30 LayerZero V1 integrations (native METIS adapter, HERA, QI, MTVT) Cannot be configured on the new DVNs. Contact the Metis team Stargate V1 and V2 on Metis Andromeda Ends Oct 23, 2026 This change covers Stargate and LayerZero Labs' off-chain services. The Metis canonical bridge and other bridges are not affected.

Token holdersm.USDC, m.USDT, WETH and METIS on Metis Andromeda are issued by the Metis canonical bridge, not by Stargate or LayerZero. Minting and redemption through the Metis bridge continue as normal.

After October 23, 2026, these tokens can no longer be moved through Stargate. Stargate has never offered USDC on Metis Andromeda, and there are no Stargate Hydra assets (such as USDC.e) on Metis.

Liquidity providers: withdraw by October 23If you provide liquidity to any Stargate pool on Metis Andromeda, withdraw it before October 23, 2026.

Affected pools

• Stargate V2: USDT, ETH and METIS pools

• Stargate V1: USDT, METIS and MAI pools

Steps

1. Unstake first. If your LP tokens are staked, unstake them before withdrawing.

2. Withdraw in the Stargate app. Select Metis Andromeda and redeem your LP position.

3. Confirm. Check your wallet to confirm the underlying tokens have arrived.

4. Don't wait for the last days. Withdrawals depend on available liquidity at the time.

Stargate V1 pools close on every chain on December 15, 2026. On Metis Andromeda, cross-chain messaging stops earlier, so please withdraw V1 liquidity by October 23 as well.

Warning: Liquidity left in Stargate pools on Metis Andromeda after the deadline will become difficult or impossible to withdraw through the normal Stargate interface.

Pool and staking contract addresses are listed in the [Technical Migration Guide], Appendix A.

Bridging back inMetis Andromeda stays open in both directions. Here is how to move assets in after these changes.

Ethereum assets (USDC, USDT, ETH) → Metis Andromeda

Use the Metis canonical bridge. It issues m.USDC, m.USDT and WETH on Metis. It connects Ethereum and Metis Andromeda, so from other chains, bridge to Ethereum first. Stargate can no longer be used for this after October 23, 2026.

METIS, HERA, QI or MTVT bridged out through LayerZero V1

Bridge them back to Metis Andromeda before October 23, 2026, using the same route you used to leave. After that date these V1 routes are no longer supported. If you can't make the deadline, contact the Metis team.

Other LayerZero-bridged tokens (for example USDe, FRAX and others)

Whether you can bridge these in or out depends on whether the issuing project has enabled its pathway on the new DVNs and Executor. Supported pathways are Metis ↔ Ethereum, BNB Chain and GOAT Network. Check the project's official channels before bridging.

For developersIf your application sends LayerZero messages to or from Metis Andromeda, you have two options before October 30, 2026:

1. Keep supporting Metis Andromeda. Get your pathways enabled on the new DVNs and Executor, then update your LayerZero V2 ULN Send and Receive configuration.

2. Migrate your OFT or assets to another EVM chain that LayerZero continues to support.

 [Technical Migration Guide]‍

Key datesDate

What happens

Oct 23, 2026

Stargate support for Metis Andromeda ends. LayerZero V1 routes should be wound down by this date.

Oct 30, 2026

LayerZero Labs' DVN and Executor stop serving Metis Andromeda.

Dec 15, 2026

Stargate V1 pools close on all chains.

Need help?For pathway enablement, migration, or any Metis integration question, contact the Metis team on Telegram: https://t.me/MetisL2

Source: LayerZero Labs, Support Update [September 25, 2026].

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Strike wants your idle dollars to quietly turn into Bitcoin. The platform founded by Jack Mallers has rolled out a feature called Bitcoin Interest on Cash, which pays US users a 3.6% annual percentage yield on their cash balances.

The interest arrives in Bitcoin rather than dollars, settled monthly in sats.

How the product works Mallers announced the feature on X, and the launch date was October 6, 2026. The yield accrues every day and pays out once a month.

There is a small fine-print threshold. Payments only trigger when daily interest exceeds $0.01, so very small balances may not generate a payout right away.

Strike sets no minimum balance and no maximum balance for earning the 3.6% rate.

The feature is not automatic. Users have to opt in through the Strike app, and the product is available only to US individuals.

To put the math in concrete terms, Strike’s own example assumes a Bitcoin price of approximately $85,000. At that level, an $8,000 cash balance would generate around $288 in yearly Bitcoin income, which works out to about 338,824 sats.

Where the money actually sits Strike says the cash balances are held at Cross River Bank. Those deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor.

Strike itself is not a bank, a distinction the company is careful to make. It acts as the platform layer, while the regulated bank holds the dollars.

On the Bitcoin side, Strike says user holdings are kept on a one-to-one basis in multi-signature cold storage. Multi-signature means several separate keys are required to move funds, which makes it harder for a single point of failure to drain them.

Strike also states the Bitcoin is not lent out or rehypothecated.

Part of a bigger Strike push The new feature does not exist in isolation. It builds on product work Strike shipped earlier in 2026, including an expanded set of Bitcoin-backed lending options.

Strike keeps the two products separate. Bitcoin Interest on Cash is not tied to the lending business.

The broader strategy fits Mallers’ long-running goal of building a complete Bitcoin financial stack. Strike started as a payments app and has steadily added features that let users save, borrow and now earn without leaving a Bitcoin-centric platform.

The interest product targets a specific and very common habit. Many Bitcoin holders keep some dollars on hand for rent, groceries and bills, because nobody wants to sell Bitcoin every time the electric bill shows up.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Starknet pushed version 0.14.4 to mainnet on October 5, 2026, and the defining theme of the release is scale.

The upgrade also brings small gas-pricing adjustments, removes some legacy infrastructure, and sets a firm requirement for node operators to update their software.

What actually changed under the hood The release first went live on testnet, with activation on September 15, 2026. That gave builders and infrastructure providers a few weeks to kick the tires before the mainnet switch.

The centerpiece is an expansion of SNIP-36, a Starknet improvement proposal focused on proving off-chain work. Developers can run compute-heavy logic off-chain, then submit the result to Starknet as one proven transaction.

Instead of paying full execution fees for every step of that computation, developers pay proof fees.

With v0.14.4, the ceiling on that approach rises substantially. Proofs of eligible single-transaction virtual blocks can now reach up to 1.1B Layer 2 gas, which is approximately the scale of a full Starknet block.

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The second notable change concerns gas weights, which determine how much different operations cost. Starknet made minor adjustments designed to align transaction pricing with the actual economic costs borne by the sequencer and the broader network.

Based on recent traffic data, the adjustments are aimed at shifting costs by less than 1% for the majority of transactions.

The housekeeping that can still break things Starknet has deprecated and removed legacy feeder gateway endpoints, including call and get_storage_at. Any application or tool still leaning on those endpoints will need to migrate elsewhere.

The team also began internal sequencer improvements. One of these moves the block committer into Starknet’s Apollo processes.

The most urgent item belongs to node operators. Full nodes must run either Pathfinder v0.24.0 or Juno v0.16.6 to keep operating on the upgraded network.

Proofs generated under v0.14.3 are rejected by the new verifier, so outdated setups will not simply limp along.

Where this fits in Starknet’s roadmap Starknet is a Layer 2 network built on STARK technology, a cryptographic proof system that lets large amounts of computation be verified cheaply.

The network is working through a multi-year roadmap centered on three goals: improving performance, refining fee structures, and moving toward decentralization.

The previous release, v0.14.3, introduced dynamic L2 gas fees alongside performance enhancements. Version 0.14.4 builds directly on that foundation, with gas-weight tweaks fine-tuning what individual operations should cost within that system.

What this means for developers, operators, and STRK holders For developers, the expanded SNIP-36 capacity is the headline. Applications built around heavy computation now have a path to settle that work on Starknet in a single proven transaction, paying for the proof rather than every individual step.

For node operators and infrastructure providers, the takeaway is less abstract. Pathfinder v0.24.0 or Juno v0.16.6 is now a requirement, and any tooling built on the removed feeder gateway endpoints needs attention.

For holders of STRK, Starknet’s native token, the token has drawn market attention tied to the upgrade cycle and its link to how fees are structured.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

LayerZero’s ZRO price has climbed more than 100% from its early-September levels to around $2.23 as traders assess its rising price channel, planned ATLAS buybacks, and an Oct. 20 token unlock.

Summary

ZRO price trades near $2.23, roughly 125% above its early-September price of $0.99. Daily resistance stands at $2.34, followed by $2.54, $2.73 and $2.93. The 4-hour RSI reaches 69.10 as ZRO holds above its $1.94 Supertrend support. About 23.63 million ZRO are scheduled to unlock on Oct. 20. TradingView’s Binance ZRO/USDT charts show LayerZero trading around $2.23 on Oct. 6, after reaching a daily high near $2.30. Compared with the roughly $0.99 level seen earlier in September, the token has gained about 125%.

The advance has included several pullbacks. ZRO broke above $1.40 in late September, moved through $1.60 and later recovered from the $1.72–$1.74 area to regain $2. The latest move places the token near price levels last seen during the first quarter.

At $2.23, ZRO would need another gain of roughly 35% to reach $3. Its daily chart places several resistance levels below that target, while the 4-hour chart shows the recovery continuing within an ascending channel.

ATLAS buybacks and bank stablecoins support the ZRO narrative LayerZero announced ATLAS in August as trading infrastructure built on its Zero blockchain. The system combines order matching, clearing, settlement, and risk management for trading venues.

Under the announced model, venues receive rebates of 20%–65%, depending on their trading volume and ZRO staking. Of the fees remaining after those rebates, 25% goes to market creators, and 75% goes toward buying and burning ZRO.

LayerZero also assigns ZRO a role as Zero’s gas and staking asset. Trading venues can stake the token to qualify for higher rebates, linking its planned use to both network operations and exchange activity.

Existing buybacks come through a separate revenue stream. In its June token update, LayerZero said 100% of Stargate revenue had funded ZRO purchases since April 2026. LayerZero Labs also disclosed a $10 million open-market purchase in November 2025, with future purchases dependent on its profitability.

The September institutional announcement came from Anchorage Digital, which selected LayerZero to connect stablecoins issued through Anchorage Digital Bank across blockchains. Anchorage identified Tether’s USAT as the first bank-issued stablecoin to launch with the integration.

The partnership connects LayerZero to a federally chartered U.S. crypto bank’s stablecoin issuance business. Anchorage said the integration would use LayerZero’s token standard to move assets across networks, including Ethereum and Solana.

ZRO price faces $2.34 before a move toward $3 On the daily TradingView chart, ZRO trades above the Murrey Math level at $2.148. The next marked resistance is $2.344, about 5% above the chart’s $2.227 price.

ZRO price daily chart — Oct. 6 | Source: TradingView A sustained move through $2.344 would put the next chart levels at $2.539 and $2.734 in focus. Above those sits $2.930, leaving another resistance test just below the $3 target.

The daily Chaikin Money Flow reads 0.10, above the zero line. That positive reading accompanies the price recovery and points to buying pressure under the indicator’s volume-weighted calculation.

The nearest marked downside level is $2.148. Below it, the daily chart places a pivot at $1.953, followed by $1.758 and $1.563. A retreat through $1.953 would return ZRO below $2 and interrupt its latest advance.

The 4-hour TradingView chart shows a sequence of higher highs and higher lows inside an ascending channel. Its Supertrend remains green at $1.943, close to the daily $1.953 pivot, making the $1.94–$1.95 area a shared technical reference across both timeframes.

ZRO price 4-hour chart — Oct. 6 | Source: TradingView The 4-hour relative strength index stands at 69.10, above its average of 62.43 and close to the conventional overbought threshold of 70. Momentum remains strong, although the reading leaves the rally near a level where short-term consolidation becomes a relevant scenario.

Liquidation bands sit below price as the unlock approaches CoinGlass’s 48-hour liquidation heatmap shows ZRO rising from below $2 toward $2.30 before pulling back toward $2.22. Visible liquidation bands above the latest price sit around $2.28–$2.32.

ZRO liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass Below price, bands cluster near $2.17–$2.19 and $2.10–$2.12. A particularly bright band sits around $1.98, with additional concentrations near $1.88–$1.90. Those levels mark areas where leveraged positions could face liquidation if price reaches them.

The October supply calendar adds another event. DefiLlama lists an Oct. 20 release of approximately 23.63 million ZRO: 10.63 million for core contributors and 13 million for strategic partners. The tracker puts the release at about 5.93% of circulating supply.

Analysts favor the breakout, but $3 requires further gains In an Oct. 5 post, market commentator Pentoshi linked his bullish outlook to the weekly chart and ATLAS’s planned fee allocation. He described ZRO as having substantial upside potential, without giving a firm October price target.

Technical analyst Captain Faibik’s 3-day chart shows a breakout above a long descending channel. His accompanying post reported a 55% advance since that breakout, supporting his bullish assessment of the longer-term setup.

For an October move above $3, the daily chart’s bullish scenario requires ZRO to clear $2.344, $2.539, $2.734, and $2.930 while maintaining its rising 4-hour structure. A loss of the $1.94–$1.95 support area would weaken that scenario and bring $1.758 back into focus ahead of the scheduled unlock.

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

Hyperliquid has set a new benchmark as the number of open perpetual futures positions hit an all time high, reflecting robust growth in trader activity since the beginning of the year. Data from HyperTracker revealed that the platform recorded 435,564 open perpetual futures positions as of October 6, marking an increase of over 115% from the 202,943 positions at the start of 2023.

Active trader count nears recordThe number of active traders on Hyperliquid has grown at a similar rate, with the current figure reaching approximately 320,600. These active accounts are defined as wallets with either an open position or recorded perpetual futures volume in the last 30 days. In January, the number stood closer to 155,000, and the current total is only a few thousand short of its all time high.

This surge in participation has been mirrored by consistently positive trends in both key trading metrics and wallet onboarding. Most of the growth has come from new wallets, as the ratio of open positions per active wallet has barely changed. Analysis shows the average active wallet now holds around 1.36 open positions, up modestly from 1.3 in early January.

Existing traders have not dramatically increased their individual exposure, but a larger pool of participants is driving up the total number of positions. Each new arrival generally brings their own set of open trades, resulting in broad-based growth rather than concentrated risk-taking.

Volumes lag behind August highsDespite a sharp rise in open interest and trader counts, daily trading volumes have not matched earlier peaks. By the afternoon of October 6, Hyperliquid processed approximately $4.54 billion in perpetual futures volume, with most session totals in the past month ranging between $2 billion and $6 billion. This is down from late August, when daily volume surpassed $12 billion several times and nearly reached $16 billion on August 22.

This contrast suggests participants are opening positions but are less active in day-to-day trading. Instead of rotating in and out quickly, traders appear comfortable holding their positions longer, creating a more static but heavily invested market dynamic.

Open interest, which currently stands at $17.29 billion, is just $920 million shy of the record set on September 23. This sustained level underscores the willingness of traders to maintain exposure in anticipation of market events or trends.

Leverage concerns and market liquidityAs a result, leverage on Hyperliquid is nearing record highs at a time when liquidity appears to be thinning. With open interest at nearly four times daily trading volume, substantial leverage remains locked on books that are not seeing frequent turnover.

This environment introduces risks, as a sudden sharp price move could trigger rapid liquidations and outpace the ability of order books to absorb forced selling. Such events have the potential to exacerbate price swings, amplifying market volatility.

The consistent rise in both participating wallets and positions aligns with genuine platform adoption, but the growing gap between leverage and trading volume is a critical factor to monitor as the year draws to a close, especially if market volatility increases.

Technical analysts emphasize the need to closely track changes in open positions, leverage ratios, and trading behaviors. In this landscape, the meme token market offers a parallel lesson on the importance of timing and investor choices. In recent days, an internet meme called “Niu Lai” demonstrated the sector’s rapid pace, turning a $99 investment into about $370,000, according to data from Fomo App. Keeping track of not just prices but also what tokens attract investor attention and when they do so has become essential. Fomo App integrates token discovery and trading with features like social feeds, investor rankings, and real-time trade alerts, supporting those navigating the fast-moving world of meme tokens and investor dynamics.

PANews reported on October 6 that on the evening of October 6, HTX DAO Ambassador Molly said at the HTX DAO "Future Night" event held in Singapore that HTX DAO is making sustained investments in three directions: ecosystem mechanisms, community building, and the on-chain ecosystem. By continuously optimizing the token economic mechanism, expanding ecosystem application scenarios, and advancing related ecosystem initiatives according to established mechanisms, HTX DAO is laying a solid foundation for the ecosystem's long-term development.

On community building, Molly revealed that HTX DAO plans to advance regional community node construction in the fourth quarter, supporting community members in organizing events, participating in exchanges, and co-building community culture. Currently, the number of active volunteers spontaneously participating in community building has approached 200, with plans to further expand the scale of community participation in the future. On the on-chain ecosystem, HTX DAO is attracting developers from universities around the world through hackathons and other means, with multiple projects currently in further incubation or advancement stages, while exploring integration with $HTX ecosystem application scenarios.

Molly emphasized that ecosystem building requires long-term investment, and HTX DAO will continue to improve infrastructure, cultivate an active community, and promote the implementation of ecosystem applications. She also stated that, as one of the participants in the HTX DAO ecosystem, Huobi HTX is also continuously optimizing user experience, including optimizing withdrawal fees, collecting user feedback, and improving the App user experience, in order to better respond to user needs and market changes.