Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Three wallets tied to a brokerage took in $575 million in USDT in spring 2025, and the Senate report says Tether did not freeze any of them.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pushed back on X against a US Senate subcommittee report, dated September 28, that accuses the stablecoin issuer of being slow to freeze wallets tied to Iran and its proxies.

At issue is whether Tether freezes addresses ahead of sanctions designations, as the executive claims, or behind them, as the report contends.

Tether Says It Freezes Early, While the Report Finds Delays Ardoino put the word “analysis” in quotation marks when describing Senator Richard Blumenthal’s work. Since 2023, he wrote, Tether has frozen reported addresses an average of four weeks before formal designations by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), and in 99% of cases it did so before blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis labeled them.

The Tether chief also credited the company’s actions with a 94% decline in Iran-linked stablecoin volumes, which he attributed to “law enforcement partnerships.”

Titled “Tethered to Terrorism,” the report comes from Blumenthal and the minority staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. It analyzed 846 wallets that OFAC or the NBCTF sanctioned or targeted for seizure and found that 84% transacted exclusively, or nearly exclusively, in USDT.

Delays are the subject of the report’s third finding. After the NBCTF designated 39 wallets linked to a Hezbollah money launderer in June 2023, Tether froze only five of them for months and blocked the other 34 in March 2024, shortly before OFAC sanctioned the same launderer.

The subcommittee’s analysis showed that more than $34.6 million in USDT left those wallets after the seizure notice was published. Babak Zanjani, a sanctioned Iranian money launderer, posted Central Bank of Iran wallet addresses on X in December 2025, and Tether had not blacklisted them as of September, according to the report.

You may also like: Bitcoin Under Pressure as Trump Reportedly Prepares to Strike Iran Within 24 Hours Tether Signs MoU With Kazakhstan’s Central Bank to Explore a Tenge Stablecoin Is Bitcoin’s $85K Consolidation the Calm Before the Storm Amid Rising Middle East Tensions? Three wallets tied to the Modex Exchange Company, a brokerage the report links to funding Iran’s central bank, took in $575 million in USDT between April and June 2025, and Tether did not blacklist those either.

Nearly $5B Frozen As CryptoPotato reported earlier, Tether said on September 28 that it had helped US authorities freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT this year, including more than $344 million across two addresses tied to the Central Bank of Iran in April.

The company also reported freezing more than $22 million across over 40 cases referred by Israel’s counter-terror financing bureau, and across all cases, the stablecoin issuer says it had helped freeze more than $4.9 billion, including over $2.4 billion connected to US authorities.

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Regulations

21 October 2026 | 00:11 Blockworks wants the SEC to make token projects disclose market-maker loans, listing deals and token-paid promotion, but its own voluntary register shows that fewer than one in five records are complete.

Key Takeaways

Regulation Crypto Assets comment period closed October 20 Blockworks seeks four new token disclosure items Voluntary register now holds 223 token disclosure records Two-thirds of surveyed filers finished within two days Blockworks set out the request in a comment letter filed on October 20, the last day for public comment on the SEC’s Regulation Crypto Assets proposal. The draft would create two registration exemptions for investment contracts tied to crypto assets, plus a conditional safe harbor. One exemption covers raises of up to $5 million over four years, the other up to $75 million in any 12 months. Its disclosure rules would apply to issuers that choose to use them.

The letter draws on Blockworks’ experience running that framework. Its central argument is that the terms which matter most for a new token sit with the issuer, so the issuer should be the one filing them, in a standard format that stays on the public record.

What a wallet trail cannot show When Coindoo traced the wallets behind a reported $330 million HYPE deal, the transfers were visible but the deal was not. The movements could not establish who the counterparty was, what it paid or whether it was free to resell. Blockworks’ register entry for Hyperliquid was assembled from public sources rather than filed by the project, and it lists six open items. That is the kind of gap the proposal aims to close.

Market makers quote buy and sell prices and hold inventory so trades can clear. For a new token, that inventory often comes from the project, and the terms of the handover set the incentives:

Sold tokens belong to the buyer outright. Lent tokens must be returned. Some loans also carry an option to buy the tokens later at a fixed price, which pays the market maker if the price rises above that level. Tokens paid as compensation give the recipient a stake in the price with no duty to support trading. On a block explorer, all three can look like the same transfer.

The chain shows

Amount, sending and receiving addresses, timing

Wallet balances and executed unlocks

Contract permissions and admin keys

Only the issuer can say

Whether tokens were sold, lent or paid as compensation

Who the counterparty is, the loan term and the vehicle used

Which balances it counts as circulating

Unlock schedules leave the same question open. They show when an allocation can move, not who holds it afterwards or on what terms. Blockworks’ letter calls a loan of unissued tokens to a market maker “among the most consequential facts for a newly launched token.” It argues that such a loan does not fit neatly into any of the draft’s existing disclosure topics.

The four items Blockworks wants in Rule 103 Rule 103 is the draft’s core disclosure requirement. It is principles-based: rather than handing issuers a fixed form, it sets ten broad topics, from token supply to governance, and leaves issuers to judge what is material under each. Blockworks wants that approach kept, but with worked examples and a standard format added, plus four items its own framework already requires:

1

Arrangements that move early float and price: market-maker agreements, including tokens loaned and the vehicle used; listing agreements and fees paid in the token; loans secured by unissued supply; protocol-owned liquidity; and purchased total value locked.

2

Compensation paid in the token: advisory fees and influencer deals, with the total allocation, who paid it and any lock terms.

3

Address-level identification: the contract and wallet addresses behind supply and governance claims, so those claims can be tested against chain data.

4

Supply methodology: how the issuer counts total, issued, unlocked and circulating supply, stated next to the figure itself.

The compensation item has an enforcement record behind it. In 2022, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle SEC charges. She had promoted EthereumMax’s EMAX token on Instagram without disclosing the $250,000 she was paid. Anti-touting law already covers the promoter. Blockworks’ point is that Rule 103 does not directly ask the issuer to disclose what it pays.

Blockworks says it sent the letter in partnership with its Transparency Alliance. The alliance’s participants include market makers GSR, Wintermute and Keyrock, whose own agreements would fall under the first item.

How the voluntary register works The Token Transparency Framework’s public register, last updated October 19, gives the SEC a working example of the system Blockworks describes:

223

records on file

118

filed by issuers

105

compiled from public sources

200

marked current

Each record shows its status openly. It is marked current or outdated, and complete or partial, with any open items counted. Many partial issuer filings in the listing are a single item short. Records Blockworks compiles itself are labelled as such and tell readers that an empty field is not proof that nothing exists. These are the same features the letter asks the SEC to require of any qualified repository.

Under the framework, projects draft and approve their own filings, and the issuer stands behind the content. Blockworks launched its RapidFile drafting tool in August 2026 to cut the time involved, and more than 75 projects have used it. In a Blockworks survey of 50 projects, two-thirds reported finishing in two working days or less, and most used no outside counsel. By comparison, the SEC’s burden estimate assumes 56 hours per startup-exemption issuer.

Blockworks also reports wide market coverage. By its internal analysis, tokens with records on the register, including those it compiled, accounted for roughly 55% of September’s U.S. spot trading volume on Coinbase, Gemini and Binance.US, excluding stablecoins.

How Blockworks would keep the record intact Under proposed Rule 200(d), an issuer using the startup exemption would post its disclosure on a website of its choosing. Only a notice of reliance and, later, a transition report would go to the SEC. The SEC expects about 99 issuers a year to use that exemption and about 475 transition reports a year under the safe harbor.

The draft allows annual amendments without requiring earlier versions to be kept. The duty to keep the page public ends when the exemption period closes or the transition report is filed. The SEC’s own release asks how an investor could establish what an issuer had said at the time of a sale under that design.

Blockworks proposes two answers. First, amendments would become event-driven for a short list of discrete changes, with everything else updated annually:

Change in control of admin keys
New supply or unlock schedule
New market-maker or listing agreement
Exploit affecting the token
Change of contract address

Second, every version would sit in a public repository with permanent links, timestamps and a flag showing whether the filing is current. Suppose order-book depth on a token (the volume of buy and sell orders near the current price) thinned out in March. A reader could then check whether a market-maker agreement had ended in February. That would not explain the move by itself, but it would give a contractual event to set against the trading data.

The letter also asks the SEC to confirm that an issuer who keeps publishing after filing its transition report would not, by that act alone, be making a new promise to keep managing the project. Without that assurance, Blockworks argues, lawyers would advise projects to stop disclosing on the day they certify, just as federal reporting ends.

Who files, who publishes and who answers for it The repository would be run by what Blockworks calls a Qualified Onchain Disclosure Agent. Using one would be optional. The agent would also run a filing tool that could pre-fill items from chain data, but nothing would be published until the issuer reviewed and approved it. Each material claim would carry one of three labels:

observable onchain resting on the issuer’s attestation alone calling for legal judgment The letter says the automated pre-filling is still in development.

Party Answers for Exposure under the proposal Issuer or other filer Truth, completeness and timeliness of the content Full antifraud and antimanipulation liability Disclosure agent Publishing what the filer attested, when it attested, unaltered Conduct standard; not treated as making the filer’s statements, with no protection for fraud or recklessness Exchange or custodian Its own listing or custody decision May rely in good faith on the record as a diligence input One question for the SEC is how much weight such a record should carry in listing decisions. The agent would vouch for its process rather than the content, and Blockworks says it would support legislation shielding qualifying agents from private lawsuits over statements filers attest to. The letter pairs that with safeguards:

A relying firm would have to document its review and could not rely on a record it had reason to doubt. The protection would not cover fraud, recklessness, gross negligence or undisclosed conflicts. The letter also sets out Blockworks’ own interest. Blockworks sells data and monitoring products to intermediaries, along with investor-relations software and ratings to token projects. It could charge for bulk and API access to a repository it operates. Its proposed criteria would let any qualifying provider act as an agent and bar agents from trading, issuance, underwriting and market making in the assets they cover. Blockworks says it seeks no exclusivity and no fee set by rule.

What happens next The SEC will decide whether any of these recommendations reach the final rule. Before then, the public comment file should show how exchanges, market makers and issuer groups view the disclosure items as submissions are posted. The framework’s six-month refiling cycle for mature projects also makes April 2027 a natural point to see how continuing filings are kept up to date.

Signs of support

Exchanges and market makers in the comment file back disclosure of deal terms

The final rule adds a disclosure-agent route or any of the four items

Signs of resistance

Commenters back a central repository but oppose publishing deal terms

The final rule keeps self-hosted pages amended once a year

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Proposed regulatory requirements may change before adoption.

Author

Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.

Analysis

Make is selling visibility and reversibility as the missing layer for workplace agents. The parts that would prove the work is any good are marked coming soon.

When an agent doing real work makes a mistake, the question is who can see what happened and who has to clean it up. Make, a Celonis company, is betting that the answer lies in a glass box. At its Waves ’26 announcement in Prague, the company unveiled MakeOS, a platform designed to provide visibility and control over enterprise workplace agents.

CEO Fabian Veit stated the company’s belief: ‘in the agentic era, businesses need a glass box, not a black box. Every solution, every process, and every action, whether a person or an agent takes it, should be visible, permissioned, and reversible.’ For companies like Stellantis & You, this level of oversight is critical. Conor Power, Digital Process Improvement Manager at the firm, noted in a vendor-published review on Make’s own site: “We literally refer to Make as the glue of our organization – anything that our dealerships interact with goes in and back out of Make to our own infrastructure.”

The platform is built on four pillars: Discover, Build, Govern, and Observe. The Discover pillar utilizes Make Process Intelligence, powered by Celonis Process Intelligence technology, recognized by Gartner as a category leader, which includes Task Mining to capture how teams work on desktops and browsers. Its waitlist is open. To address privacy concerns, Make states that the focus is on work patterns rather than individuals. Usernames are hashed, filtering occurs on the employee’s device, and employees can see when Task Mining is active and choose to pause it.

In terms of what is currently available, the Make Grid map and audit logs are live. These allow users to see agents and automations on a single map, with searchable execution logs. However, much of the platform remains in development. Agent evaluations, AI spend tracking, and OpenTelemetry support are marked as coming soon. Similarly, the Build pillar’s core features, such as Functions, Endpoints, and MCP toolboxes, are also listed as coming soon.

Rivals have recently published per-seat pricing for their agent control stacks, but MakeOS arrives with no price tag at all. It is currently in closed beta – Waves ’26 attendees can try it at the Playground, and everyone else joins a waitlist. This absence of pricing signals a market still in flux, where the governance tax is being levied before companies have fully proven the value of their agentic deployments.

Make’s governance model takes a distinct approach. Rather than treating agents as independent insiders that require containment, Make treats them as proxies for a person. When an agent acts, it is checked against the owner’s role and connections at that exact moment. This is a departure from other frameworks that treat agents as new actors requiring their own security doors.

The observability layer sold as the answer to the measurement gap is itself mostly marked coming soon, including the agent evals and AI spend tracking that would prove the work is any good. Many of the features promised to track costs and evaluate agent performance are not yet available. This is a common reality for new product launches, but it is important for enterprise buyers to understand exactly what they are purchasing today versus what is promised for tomorrow. For now, the glass box is a vision that remains largely behind a waitlist.

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Luganodes has opened RPC access to TRON developers as part of a three-network service with a standard free allowance of 25 million compute units a month.

Summary

Luganodes launched RPC access for TRON, Ethereum, and Bitcoin using one API key.
Developers receive 25 million free compute units monthly, with paid plans starting at $49.
Free accounts stop serving requests once their monthly allowance runs out.
Dedicated deployments offer full and archive nodes separately from shared subscriptions.

Luganodes announced the service on Oct. 14, listing TRON, Ethereum, and Bitcoin mainnet access through one API key. Paid subscriptions start at $49 a month, according to the company’s launch notice.

The provider says free accounts need no payment card and stop serving traffic once the monthly allowance runs out. Its launch page offers 100 million compute units for the first month to users signing up by Oct. 20, with other free-plan limits unchanged.

Luganodes RPC prices requests by method
In its launch notice, Luganodes says each supported method has a published compute-unit cost. The company describes its standard subscriptions as shared infrastructure and offers separate dedicated deployments with full and archive nodes.

On its TRON staking page, the operator identifies itself as a Super Representative active since July 2022. TRON’s network documentation says 27 elected Super Representatives secure its production network.

The provider’s staking page lists a 5% commission and says 95% of rewards go to voters. Those are staking terms published by Luganodes, separate from the RPC subscription prices in its launch announcement.

TRON developers have several hosted access options
TRON’s developer documentation lists Ankr, GetBlock, QuickNode, NOWNodes, Chainstack, TronQL and Alchemy among third-party mainnet providers. The directory describes different access models, including shared nodes, dedicated nodes, and services requiring API keys.

Chainstack’s listed coverage includes the Nile testnet as well as mainnet. Most providers in the directory are listed for mainnet alone, according to the network guide, which directs developers to check individual services for current coverage.

For testing, the same guide distinguishes Shasta from Nile. Shasta supports learning and pre-production checks, while Nile gives developers access to upcoming features, parameter changes, and governance proposals. A private network is another documented option for local development.

TRON’s RPC provider guide describes hosted services as an alternative to running a full node. Self-hosting requires hardware, bandwidth, and operating work, while hosted access uses a provider’s subscription limits and service commitments.

The guide recommends comparing daily request allowances, peak request rates, supported interfaces, node locations and historical-state access. It specifically asks developers to check whether a provider supports TRON-specific calls, including account-resource queries, instead of only a generic interface.

TronGrid, the network’s hosted node service, provides FullNode, SolidityNode, JSON-RPC and gRPC access, according to the guide. Its listed networks include mainnet, Shasta and Nile, with production traffic requiring an API key.

Ethereum tools cover part of TRON’s interface
TRON’s API reference describes JSON-RPC as a way to reuse Ethereum development tools, including ethers, viem and Web3.js. The documentation cautions that some Ethereum methods have no matching TRON implementation or behave differently because the networks use different underlying mechanisms.

The reference says JSON-RPC covers only part of TRON’s node capabilities. Applications needing other functions may need the native HTTP or gRPC interfaces alongside it.

For transaction submission, the documented HTTP process builds an unsigned transaction, signs it locally, and broadcasts the signed result. TRON’s guide directs developers handling confirmed balances or deposit crediting to solidified-state interfaces.

For operators running their own nodes, the reference says HTTP and gRPC are enabled by default, while JSON-RPC must be switched on manually in the node configuration.

TronGrid’s indexed services provide account histories, token-transfer histories and contract events, according to the API reference. Tronscan maintains a separate interface for explorer data and aggregate statistics.

Stablecoin activity supplies the network context
TRON DAO Research recorded $2.2126 trillion in stablecoin settlement during the third quarter, as crypto.news previously reported in its coverage of quarterly network activity. The report put total transactions at roughly 1.10 billion and network fees at $701.4 million.

At the end of the quarter, combined USDT and USDD supply stood at $93.88 billion, according to the same research. The figures describe different measures, with settlement counting transfers over a period and supply recording outstanding tokens at a date.

Messari’s second-quarter figures, covered on Aug. 11, put USDT transfers at $2.1 trillion and TRON’s stablecoin capitalization at $89.2 billion. USDT accounted for $87.9 billion of that balance, compared with $78.7 billion on Ethereum at quarter-end.

The same Messari figures put average daily USDT transfers at $22.8 billion and the network’s share of tracked USDT supply at 47.6% at the end of June.

On Sep. 24, MeshWallet announced a $10 million private funding round for its TRON-based USDT wallet. The Tallinn-based company said private investors and small family offices led the funding, which would support product development and expansion of its user base.

MeshWallet says its wallet handles transfer charges in USDT, letting customers send the stablecoin without keeping a separate TRX balance. The company described the product as self-custodial and said it planned new features for retail and business users.

Aster DEX and BNB Chain are running a bStocks campaign until October 31 with up to $50,000 in $NVDAB and $20,000 in $ASTER for spot and perpetual traders of tokenized US stocks.

@Aster_DEX and @BNBCHAIN are running a trading competition until October 31 for users of bStocks, the tokenized US stocks from @bstocksfinance. The campaign offers up to $70,000 in rewards across two tracks, one for spot traders and one for perpetual futures users.

How the rewards workSpot traders of five bStocks, including Nvidia, Circle and Strategy, share up to $50,000 in $NVDAB. The pool starts at $10,000 and grows to $50,000 as total trading volume passes $50 million and $100 million.

A further $20,000 in $ASTER is reserved for perpetual traders. To qualify, users must post at least $500 in bStocks as collateral and reach $5,000 in perpetual volume. Rewards are capped at $50 per user.

Entrants must register and switch off Account Privacy. Their wallets and trading volumes will be shown publicly. Aster's own site lists the promotion as a bStocks Trading and Collateral Campaign with up to $70,000 in rewards.

What bStocks arebStocks are issued by a Binance affiliate.

Aster is one of the DeFi venues where they can be used.

The product has grown quickly. More broadly, BNB Chain says

Campaigns like this are a common way for exchanges and chains to build liquidity in new asset classes. For $ASTER and $BNB holders, the volume thresholds in the spot pool are the number to watch before the October 31 deadline.

SourcesCrypto Briefing: Binance's bStocks crosses $1 billion in assets
BNB Chain Blog: Access 709+ tokenized stocks on BNB Chain
Trust Wallet: Access bStocks on Trust Wallet

BNB Chain posted a $239.3 million increase in tokenized stock market capitalization over the past week, according to data from Token Terminal. This performance places BNB Chain well ahead of Robinhood Chain and Base in weekly growth for tokenized equities, highlighting growing interest and activity within its ecosystem.

BNB Chain Widens Lead in Tokenized Equity SegmentToken Terminal reported that while BNB Chain saw its tokenized stock market capitalization surge by $239.3 million in seven days, Robinhood Chain registered $11.4 million in new capitalization and Base added $4.4 million during the same period. The data suggests that BNB Chain is currently outpacing its closest competitors in this fast-evolving sector.

Tokenized stocks allow traditional equities to be represented and traded on blockchain networks, increasing accessibility and transparency for investors across global markets. Recent figures indicate that BNB Chain continues to expand its reach as more projects and users enter the space.

Despite the rise in tokenized stock market capitalization, analysts noted that such growth does not necessarily translate to immediate demand for BNB itself. The broader ecosystem’s development could set a foundation for increased use of the token, but actual demand will depend on other factors such as utility and user adoption.

ChainTokenized Stock Market Cap Growth (7 Days)BNB Chain$239.3 millionRobinhood Chain$11.4 millionBase$4.4 millionMini dictionary: Token Terminal is a crypto analytics platform that tracks financial and usage data for blockchains and decentralized applications, helping users compare project performance and market trends.

BNB Price Chart Patterns and Key Support LevelsCrypto With Gopal, an independent analyst focusing on digital asset markets, observed a potential double-bottom pattern forming in the BNB price chart. He pointed to the $705–$710 range as a zone where buyers have repeatedly entered, supporting the token against further declines.

The analyst described $736 as a critical neckline. Should BNB sustain a breakout above this level, it would indicate a possible shift toward a bullish momentum, with the next technical target set at $775. Gopal noted that a move past $736 must be accompanied by strong trading volumes and buying activity to confirm the trend.

Persistent buying in the $705–$710 support area is testing resistance at $736. A successful breakout here could place $775 within reach, provided volume supports the move.

Conversely, if BNB fails to break the $736 resistance level, the token may remain in its current trading range, with continued emphasis on the $705–$710 support zone. Any breach below this support could cause the bullish scenario to weaken and raise questions about further upside potential.

While a move toward $775 is possible based on technical indicators, there is no certainty it will occur. Analysts advised watching price action and trading volumes near key levels for further confirmation.

Ongoing Development in Tokenized Stocks EcosystemThe continued rise in tokenized stock market capitalization on BNB Chain represents a broader trend of integrating traditional assets with blockchain technology. This expansion brings new users and additional liquidity into the space, diversifying the blockchain’s role in the financial sector.

Market observers suggested monitoring future gains in liquidity, user activity, and transaction volumes on BNB Chain’s tokenized stocks, as these metrics will further indicate the health and adoption of the ecosystem.

If further gains in tokenized stocks occur, a closer examination of user numbers and transaction data could offer deeper insight into the network’s growth.

For BNB traders, immediate attention remains on the $736 resistance and $705–$710 support zones. Any movement beyond these levels may signal the token’s next direction in the market, with the $775 target under consideration as a potential upside if bullish momentum holds.

One contract, many customers (CAP-84)If you run an exchange, a ramp, or a custodial product on Stellar, you likely already use muxed accounts. A muxed account is one Stellar account with an ID attached, so every customer gets their own address to deposit to while the funds all land in the same account and you track who owns what offchain. It's how a business holds customer funds without opening an account per customer.

Smart accounts have no equivalent. A smart account is an account that is a smart contract rather than a keypair, which lets it set its own rules for who can spend, whether through a passkey, multisig, or a spending policy.

More businesses are choosing a smart account over a classic account for exactly that flexibility, but a smart account that holds customer balances has no way to tell incoming payments apart, which has meant one contract per customer. That works for ten customers. It doesn't work for a million.

CAP-84 closes the gap. A contract address can now carry a 64-bit ID, written as a new address format that starts with W.

💡 Why W? “It's an upside-down M. We considered reusing M, but decided it was better to have a distinct type so developers always know what they're working with.”—Jake Urban, Senior Engineering Manager (Wallet), Stellar Development Foundation

Send a token to a muxed contract address and it lands in the contract as before, with the ID recorded in the transfer event so your application knows which customer it was for.

The design reuses the muxed-account machinery, so if your code already handles M addresses, the W address follows the same pattern. It is still a new address type and developers need to account for it in applications and smart contracts: (1) update your SDKs and (2) add the W address variant to your type checks.

What it means for you: if your product holds customer funds in a smart account, you can now run the same omnibus model you run on classic accounts. If you provide smart-account infrastructure to other businesses, this lets your customers do the same without deploying a contract per end user. If you build wallets or explorers, expect W addresses after the upgrade. See the upgrade guide.

Quantum-safe signatures for smart contracts (CAP-87)Stellar, like almost every major blockchain, secures accounts with elliptic-curve signatures: Ed25519, secp256k1 and secp256r1. These rest on a math problem that today's computers can't solve, but a large enough quantum computer could.

No publicly known quantum computer can do this today but public keys sit on the ledger in plain view, and migrating a network to new cryptography takes years, so the industry has started early.

In 2024, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finalized its post-quantum signature standards. ML-DSA is one of them, and it already ships in mainstream software such as OpenSSL, Java and AWS's key management service.

CAP-87 lets Stellar smart contracts verify ML-DSA signatures. Verifying one takes far more computation than verifying an Ed25519 signature, so Bell does it inside Stellar Core rather than in contract code. That keeps it cheap to call, and it means the implementation is written and tested once, against the official test vectors, instead of by every contract author.

What it means for you: This is the first onchain piece of Stellar's Quantum Preparedness Plan. A custom account contract can now require a quantum-safe signature to spend, which is the building block wallets and custodians need before they can offer quantum-safe contract accounts.

CAP-87 protects authorization inside smart contracts. Network transaction signatures stay Ed25519 for now; a native post-quantum signer for classic accounts will come in a future protocol change.

The pieces around it already exist, since the hardware security modules and key-management services custodians rely on ML-DSA today. What comes next is adoption, and that is still in its research phase across the industry.

A millisecond clock for the ledger (CAP-88)In September, Adapter (Protocol 28) brought mainnet ledger close times down from about 5.7 seconds to 5 seconds. CAP-88 sets up the next step.

Today, Stellar records each ledger's close time in whole seconds, so the network can only target whole-second intervals, and never less than one second apart. At five or six seconds that never mattered. As close times keep falling, it becomes the thing that sets the pace. Moving the ledger to a millisecond clock opens up finer-grained close times for future protocol changes to target.

What it means for you: CAP-88 is the protocol-level prerequisite for faster ledgers. The Stellar Core team is already using it to test faster ledger close times on experimental branches.

Bell changes the format of the ledger header so anything that reads the ledger data needs to understand the format. If you use a Stellar SDK, upgrade before the votes and you should be covered.

If you read ledger data without an SDK (an indexer, an explorer, an analytics pipeline or custom tooling) update your XDR definitions before the upgrade or your decoder will stop working. While the library requires an update, note that the previous closeTime field will not change, and still reports whole seconds. Details are in the upgrade guide under “Breaking changes.”

Stellar, a blockchain platform focused on facilitating fast and low-cost cross-border transactions, reported significant growth in stablecoin transactions, tokenized asset adoption, and developer activity in its third-quarter update released ahead of the Meridian conference.

Key network and ecosystem developmentsAccording to Stellar’s latest report, stablecoin volume on the network saw a 121% increase from the previous quarter. The total value of real-world assets (RWAs) tokenized on Stellar reached $4.1 billion by the end of the quarter. These numbers reflect growing demand for blockchain-powered payments and financial products.

Stablecoins play a crucial role on the network, supporting digital dollar transfers and settlement, while tokenized assets enable the blockchain-based representation of traditional financial instruments. With broadening adoption in these sectors, Stellar aims to become a leader in the evolving digital finance landscape.

Stellar recorded $4.1 billion in real-world assets, a 121% jump in stablecoin volumes, and 3,922 monthly active developers, underscoring surging use in the network’s core areas.

The quarterly report also notes that Stellar has added new Tier 1 validators, implemented two protocol upgrades, and maintained 99.99% network uptime. The number of active monthly developers reached 3,922, reflecting a steady increase in community engagement and technical contributions.

This growth highlights Stellar’s strategy to enhance infrastructure, reliability, and ecosystem development as the network positions itself for broader institutional and retail use.

Mini dictionary: Real-world assets (RWAs) are traditional assets such as currencies, commodities, or stocks that have been tokenized and represented on a blockchain network to enable easier trading and settlement.

Stablecoin and tokenized asset surgeRecent data confirm that real-world asset tokenization has emerged as a major driver of activity on Stellar. As banks and financial institutions increasingly explore blockchain for settlements and asset issuance, networks supporting RWAs, including Stellar, are attracting new use cases and users.

The rapid increase in stablecoin volumes illustrates heightened interest in digital dollar and fiat-backed transactions. Combined with rising developer contributions, these trends point to substantial growth across multiple aspects of the Stellar ecosystem.

However, analysts note that an increase in network activity and tokenized value does not directly translate into higher demand or price appreciation for XLM, the native asset of the network. Market movements in XLM still depend on trading dynamics and broader cryptocurrency market conditions.

MetricQ2 2026Q3 2026Stablecoin volumeLower by 121%Up 121% quarter over quarterReal-World Assets (RWAs)Not specified$4.1 billionActive monthly developersNot specified3,922XLM price technical outlookXLM, Stellar’s native token, is trading near $0.176 as of the most recent updates. Crypto analyst Crypto With Gopal has identified a falling wedge formation on XLM’s price chart. The analyst stated that a breakout above $0.180 could trigger a move toward $0.190, with a broader upside target of $0.220 if buying momentum continues.

Crypto With Gopal highlighted that a breakthrough above $0.180 may lead to a price reversal targeting $0.190, with $0.220 as a longer-term resistance point.

Traders are closely monitoring the $0.180 resistance area. A sustained move above this level could signal a shift from the current consolidation phase, but analysts caution that technical breakout patterns alone may not guarantee further price recovery.

Conversely, if XLM fails to hold its support near $0.174, the token could face renewed selling pressure, potentially slowing the recent recovery effort despite the network’s positive fundamentals.

Meridian conference and upcoming catalystsThe upcoming Meridian conference, organized by Stellar, is expected to provide more insights into the network’s ongoing development, partnerships, and overall growth strategy. The event will focus on advances in payments, stablecoins, and tokenized assets as Stellar seeks to consolidate its role in the digital finance sector.

The ability of Stellar to maintain momentum, strengthen its ecosystem, and translate network usage into value for XLM will be key areas of focus for both investors and analysts in the near term.

Stellar unveils mandatory Bell update with quantum security and new address format

Kamino, the Solana-based lending and yield protocol, has finished a security review of Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). Its conclusion is that CCIP is sound enough to underwrite cross-chain collateral risk.

Assets moving through CCIP can now qualify for higher borrowing limits and better loan-to-value (LTV) ratios on Kamino.

What Kamino actually signed off on The endorsement was announced on October 20, 2026. Kamino found that CCIP’s architecture offers a secure foundation for collateral that originates on, or travels across, other chains.

Assets transferred or managed through CCIP can be assigned elevated supply caps, meaning Kamino will accept more of them as collateral. They can also receive improved LTV ratios, which determine how much a user can borrow against a given deposit.

Kamino says these higher limits sit inside its existing risk framework, which already includes real-time monitoring and market-level controls.

The review also highlighted CCIP’s core security properties, including what Kamino characterized as a track record of reliability and built-in safety features.

The CCIP 2.0 factor The timing lines up with a major upgrade on Chainlink’s side. CCIP 2.0 launched in late September 2026, a few weeks before Kamino’s announcement.

The headline feature of the upgrade is customization. Asset issuers can now layer their own verification steps and transfer policies on top of CCIP’s standard security model.

That baseline model relies on a decentralized network of 16 node operators. Issuers who want extra checks, such as additional verifiers or rules about where and how tokens can move, can bolt those on without rebuilding the underlying plumbing.

A partnership that keeps getting deeper This is not Kamino’s first dance with Chainlink. The protocol already uses Chainlink Data Streams to price real-world assets (RWAs), the tokenized versions of things like bonds and funds that live off-chain.

Kamino also relies on Chainlink Proof of Reserve for off-chain collateral. That service attests that the assets backing a token actually exist where they are supposed to.

Together, these integrations let Kamino offer something fairly specific: users can borrow against tokenized assets while those assets stay under regulated custody. The underlying holdings never have to leave the custodian, but their tokenized form can still work as collateral on-chain.

Adding CCIP to the stack fills in the cross-chain piece. Pricing tells Kamino what an asset is worth. Proof of Reserve tells it the asset is real. CCIP now tells it the asset arrived safely from another chain.

What this means for DeFi lending and institutional capital For Kamino users, the most direct effect is capital efficiency. Higher LTVs mean more borrowing power per dollar deposited, and higher caps mean larger positions can be accommodated.

The trade-off is risk. Higher LTVs leave less cushion before liquidation if prices move against a borrower. Kamino’s real-time monitoring and market controls are meant to manage that.

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

Circle is doubling down on Argentina. On October 20, 2026, the USDC issuer announced a strategic partnership with Allaria, a local capital markets firm, to deepen USDC liquidity and widen institutional access in the country.

What the Allaria deal actually does
At the center of the agreement is two-sided USDC/ARS quoting across local markets. That means Allaria will stand ready to both buy and sell USDC against the Argentine peso, posting prices on each side of the trade.

The service is aimed at eligible participants rather than the general public. So this is plumbing for institutions and qualified players, not a retail app launch.

Allaria is not a newcomer looking for a crypto pivot. The firm is a leading Argentine securities house with more than 55 years of experience, offering brokerage and asset management services.

Circle’s second Argentine move this year
The Allaria tie-up is not Circle’s first local partnership in 2026. In July, the company teamed up with Grupo BIND to open institutional access to USDC through BIND’s BEN platform.

That earlier deal targeted payments and treasury management for institutions, operating under Argentina’s PSAV licensing regime for virtual asset service providers. When it was announced, USDC’s market capitalization had surpassed $70 billion.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has pointed to a better macroeconomic backdrop as part of the rationale. He has cited improved fiscal indicators and relaxed currency regulations, arguing that Argentina looks more attractive for foreign investment than it did two years earlier.

USDC’s foothold in a USDT region
Across much of Latin America, Tether’s USDT has been the dominant stablecoin. Argentina appears to be breaking that mold.

USDC now accounts for roughly 46% of stablecoin transaction volume in the country. That is close to half of all activity, in a region where its main rival has typically held the upper hand.

What this means for the market
For institutions operating in Argentina, the practical change is better access to dollar-denominated digital liquidity. A treasury team that wants to hold or move USDC now has an established local firm quoting peso prices, rather than relying on fragmented or offshore venues.

There are risks, too. Argentina’s economic improvement is a recent development, and Allaire’s optimism rests on fiscal and currency conditions that have reversed before. Regulation is another variable. Both partnerships depend on local frameworks such as PSAV licensing, so any change in how Argentine authorities treat virtual assets could affect how these services operate.

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

1inch, a decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator network, has announced that users of its crypto debit card will still be able to retrieve their e-wallet balances for up to six years after account closure, even if they miss the initial withdrawal deadline set for December 18, 2026.

Program closure and withdrawal windowThe company stated that it has stopped accepting new signups for the 1inch Card. Existing cards and accounts will continue functioning for the time being, but users are strongly encouraged to move their balances as soon as possible.

Section 16 of the issuer’s card terms outlines that e-wallet funds remain redeemable for up to six years following account closure. According to the company’s FAQs, if a cardholder does not withdraw their funds by December 18, 2026, they can still make a claim directly with Crypto Life or the card issuer.

Section 16 of the card issuer’s terms ensures users can claim their funds for six years after account closure, with processes managed by third parties.

However, 1inch has stressed that these withdrawal processes are controlled by external parties, which may change their policies, timelines, or terms. The company noted that it does not have the ability to oversee or confirm these third-party processes.

Roles of Crypto Life and issuerThe final shutdown date for card functions is determined by Crypto Life and the card issuer. While December 18, 2026, is the last date recommended for withdrawals, 1inch cannot guarantee when the card will be fully deactivated, since external providers set the timeline.

Card accounts are managed by Crypto Life, with funds held by Baanx.com Ltd for the UK and Frozen Time UNIPESSOAL LDA for the EU. In Europe, Crypto Life represents Frozen Time UNIPESSOAL LDA, while in the UK, it is represented by Baanx Group Ltd. Crypto Life is responsible for elements such as account closure, card status, know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, and personal data requests. These can be handled by email or in-app chat.

1inch has asked users to share details of any unanswered requests sent to Crypto Life, including the nature and timing of the inquiry. 1inch clarified that it cannot process account-level requests itself but will document and escalate cases to Crypto Life when necessary.

The 1inch Card debuted in April 2024 as a collaborative effort with Mastercard and Crypto Life, a Baanx-linked card provider. The card specialized in converting cryptocurrencies to fiat for purchases and was accepted at merchants, online stores, ATMs in the Mastercard network, and integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Mini dictionary: Baanx.com Ltd, a UK-based fintech company, provides crypto payment solutions and white-label card services, facilitating the issuance and management of cryptocurrency-linked debit cards for various companies.

Crypto card market trends and data privacy concernsAccording to Cryptopolitan, the crypto card sector recorded a 33% surge in volume during the third quarter of 2026, reaching $4.31 billion, compared to $3.24 billion in the previous quarter.

QuarterCrypto card volumeQ2 2026$3.24 billionQ3 2026$4.31 billionUSDC-based card payments in September 2026 exceeded $439 million, more than three times the transaction value recorded for USDT payments in the same period. Card programs in the cryptocurrency sector have also faced scrutiny over user data security.

On October 5, the Based Visa Card program experienced a hack that exposed user KYC data, including passport numbers and addresses. The incident prompted Based to notify Singapore’s data regulator and file a police report.

ZEC: Zcash Foundation Names David Campbell Executive Director

In brief
Zcash rose 8.5% in 24 hours to $1,215.85, the best performer among the largest tokens.
Total crypto market cap climbed 1.68% to $2.78 trillion, while the Fear & Greed Index sits at a neutral 51.
Oil near $110 a barrel and Treasury yields above 5% remain the main threat to the rebound.
Crypto markets bounced on Tuesday, and Zcash led the rebound. The privacy coin rose 8.5% in 24 hours to $1,215.85, lifting its market capitalization to $20.57 billion.

Bitcoin gained 1.57% to $83,195, and Ethereum climbed 2.90% to $2,463.35. Nearly every major crypto asset that isn’t a stablecoin finished the day higher.

Myriad: How high will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction.The broader market followed. Total crypto market capitalization rose 1.68% to $2.78 trillion, and the CMC20 index, which tracks the 20 largest cryptocurrencies, gained 1.45% to $169.87 per unit, meaning the samller caps played a more relevant role in today’s surge. This was also expected after days of heavy losses, especially among the coins with the largest market capitalizations and most trading volume.

The bounce followed a rebound in tech. Chip and AI stocks recovered on Monday from last week's selloff, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining about 1.1%, and crypto has often moved in step with technology shares. Bitcoin also found buyers near $80,000 to $81,000

Money from traditional investors helped. Bitcoin and other crypto exchange-traded funds, which let investors hold the assets through a regular brokerage account, recorded net inflows of $526.7 million,. Monday's inflows were the biggest in a month.

Bitcoin ETF flows. Image: DecryptTreasury yields remain the main pressure point, with the 10-year note above 5%. A yield is the annual return investors demand for lending to the U.S. government. When it climbs, safe bonds compete with riskier assets like crypto and stocks for the same money.

The macro backdrop is still tense. Brent crude oil trades near $110 a barrel, and expensive oil feeds inflation by raising the cost of fuel, shipping and goods. Higher inflation raises the odds that the Federal Reserve keeps rates high or even raises them again, which pushes bond yields up. Higher yields pull money out of risk assets, so crypto tends to fall when oil spikes and rise when it cools.

Zcash outran everyone for several reasons. It had dropped about 25% over the past month, so the bounce partly reflects an oversold market in which traders who had borrowed to bet on higher prices were already forced out through liquidations. Liquidations happen when an exchange automatically closes a borrowed-money position after losses reach a set limit, which adds selling pressure. With that selling spent, the price had room to snap back.

Zcash price data. Image: Investing.comZcash also has its own set of potential catalysts. Developers are due to decide on the NU7 network upgrade today, and traders often buy ahead of such events. Privacy coins have also been strong lately. Competing privacy coin Monero is up 15.29% over seven days to $609.87.

Zcash is a high-beta asset, meaning it moves harder than the market in both directions. It’s up 8.5% today compared to Bitcoin's 1.57% gain. It is up only 1.17% over the last seven days, so the day's jump has not yet erased the month's decline.

Crypto market sentiment at the moment is broadly neutral. The Fear & Greed Index, a 0-to-100 gauge of market mood where lower readings mean fear and higher readings mean greed, reads 51. The CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season Index stands at 60. A reading of 75 or higher signals altcoin season, 25 or below signals Bitcoin season, and 60 sits in between, so neither camp has control.

The next test is policy. The Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28, and traders will watch whether it signals further rate hikes.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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Zodl has opened a waitlist for its macOS Vault app, with beta access planned in groups of 100 people for a product focused on long-term storage of shielded Zcash.

Summary

Zodl Vault lists macOS support for long-term self-custody of shielded ZEC.
Beta access will open in groups of 100 people.
An earlier Zodl update reported more than 4,100 beta signups.
The official waitlist page gives no public launch date or tester selection criteria.

Zodl’s official signup page states that prospective testers can register with an email address and will receive access through a staged rollout.

“Beta access opens one hundred people at a time.”

In its Oct. 14 newsletter, ZecHub described Vault as a desktop application for long-term self-custody of shielded ZEC and dated its introduction to Oct. 7. The publication linked the announcement to Zodl’s official account.

An Oct. 18 ZecHub ecosystem digest cited a Zodl update saying more than 4,100 people had signed up for the Vault beta. The figure represents registrations reported before that digest, rather than a current count of people using the application.

The official waitlist page gives the size of each admission group without specifying a public launch date or explaining how testers will be selected. Its macOS listing does not establish plans for Windows or Linux.

ZecHub’s Oct. 14 description referred to invitations being released in batches. The signup page itself describes how access will open, without confirming how many invitations have been sent.

Zodl’s mobile wallet already supports hardware signing
On its main website, Zodl describes its existing mobile wallet as a self-custody application whose users control their keys and funds. Its hardware-wallet instructions say users can connect a Keystone device, manage the associated funds through the app, and approve outgoing transactions on the hardware.

The mobile product accepts transparent ZEC and prompts users to shield an incoming transparent balance, according to the website. Once shielded, those funds can be used for private payments.

For cross-chain transfers, the company describes CrossPay as a way to send shielded ZEC while a recipient receives another asset, such as Bitcoin or a stablecoin. Its swaps use NEAR Intents to exchange between ZEC and supported cryptocurrencies.

Those descriptions concern the existing mobile app. The Vault registration page does not list equivalent payment, swap, or hardware-signing features.

As crypto.news previously reported on Feb. 17, the team announced the Zashi wallet’s rebrand to Zodl after leaving Electric Coin Company. Its Feb. 16 statement said the name change would arrive through an app update without changing wallet functionality, security, or user data.

Shielded ZEC balances provide separate network context
Zcash Stats recorded 4.96 million ZEC in shielded pools on Oct. 18, compared with 4.91 million ZEC 28 days earlier, according to Oct. 19 crypto.news coverage of shielded pool balances. The dashboard put the shielded share near 29.2% of circulating supply.

The tracker distinguishes coins held in shielded pools from transaction activity. Its aggregate figures do not identify individual holders or payment amounts.

Zakura has separately proposed a wallet feature that assigns a different incoming viewing key to each Zcash swap through NEAR Intents. In an Oct. 19 account of the wallet privacy proposal, developer Adam Tucker described the potential exposure of swap addresses permanently recorded on NEAR’s public blockchain.

According to Tucker, a sufficiently powerful future quantum computer could recover a viewing key from an exposed address and reveal payments associated with the account. His proposed design would limit the recovered information to a single swap while leaving the existing spending key unchanged.

Zakura said software wallets built with its libraries could begin integrating the feature in the coming weeks, with hardware-wallet support following later.

You might wonder: Is Nexo legit and safe? Here's what we can back up with facts you can check yourself. 

Nexo has operated since 2018. As of Q2 2026, more than 10 million clients use Nexo worldwide, and the platform has paid them over $1.5 billion in interest.

In the United States, Nexo works with Bakkt, an NYSE-listed company whose US trading infrastructure is backed by a New York BitLicense and broad US money transmitter license coverage. Nexo's infrastructure is independently audited against SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and other internationally recognized frameworks, and its SOC 3 report is public.

This guide covers what Nexo is, who it works with, how it's audited, how your account is protected, and the risks to weigh.

The short answerTrack record: Nexo has operated since 2018 and, as of Q2 2026, serves more than 10 million clients worldwide. Galaxy Research ranks it the third-largest CeFi crypto lender it tracks.Licensed US partner: Bakkt, an NYSE-listed company whose operating subsidiaries hold a New York BitLicense and state money transmitter licenses across the US, powers custody and trading services for Nexo clients in the United States.Independently audited: SOC 2 Type 2 three years in a row, a public SOC 3 report, and ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018.Protected by default: Every withdrawal passes through an anti-scam engine in real time, and data is protected with TLS and AES 256-bit encryption.What is Nexo?Nexo is a premier digital assets wealth platform built to help clients grow, manage, and preserve their crypto. Operating since 2018, it serves more than 10 million clients across 200+ jurisdictions, has processed over $465 billion, has paid more than $1.5 billion in interest to clients, and runs a loan book of over $1.7 billion. 

Important note: All figures are global, as of Q2 2026, and are updated quarterly.

Nexo brings together:

Flexible Yield and Fixed-term Yield to generate yield of up to 16% per year on crypto assets, with or without a set term. Crypto-backed loans to borrow against holdings without selling them, including Zero-interest Credit.Trading tools to buy, sell, and swap digital assets.Nexo Private, for portfolios of $100,000 or more, where clients get a dedicated relationship manager, priority assistance, and bespoke OTC services on custom terms. Explore Nexo Private.The Nexo Card (available in the EEA and the UK): the first dual-mode crypto card, with no monthly, annual, or inactivity fees. Borrow against your crypto in Credit Mode or spend it directly in Debit Mode, switch with one tap, and pay at more than 100 million merchants worldwide. 24/7 client care from a dedicated team.Important note: The Nexo Card is currently unavailable for US residents. Availability of Yield products and specific crypto asset support for US clients remains subject to state-level regulatory requirements and Bakkt partner integration terms.

How does Nexo rank among crypto lenders?Galaxy Research ranks Nexo the third-largest CeFi crypto lender it tracks, measured by crypto-collateralized loan book. At the end of Q2 2026, Nexo held a 7.51% market share, up 49 basis points on the quarter. 

Read the full analysis in Galaxy Research's The State of Crypto Leverage Q2 2026, published August 17, 2026.

Who holds Nexo clients' assets in the US?Bakkt powers institutional-grade custody and trading infrastructure for Nexo clients in the United States.

Bakkt is an NYSE-listed company (NYSE: BKKT). Through regulated operating subsidiaries like Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC, and Bakkt Trust Company LLC, it holds a New York BitLicense alongside money transmitter licenses across multiple US jurisdictions. Bakkt positions its infrastructure as purpose-built for financial institutions, fintech platforms, and digital asset firms.

Bakkt announced the partnership on February 17, 2026, to support Nexo's US offering and enable compliant digital asset custody and trading services for Nexo clients.

You can read the announcement on Bakkt's investor relations website and check Nexo's partner overview on the Nexo Fundamentals page.

What do Nexo's certifications actually mean?Nexo’s information security practices are assessed against internationally recognized frameworks. An independent audit firm reviews SOC 2 Type 2 every year. Accredited certification bodies issue the ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 certificates and check them through periodic surveillance audits. CSA STAR Level 1 is a self-assessment that Nexo publishes openly. A certification only helps if you know what it tests, so here is each one in plain terms.

SOC 2 Type 2, audited by A-LIGN, three years in a row. 

What it checks: An external audit firm examines how Nexo handles data and who can access it, then tests whether those controls continue to work over time, not just on a single day. The 2025 audit also covers privacy. Why it matters: It's the difference between a company saying it has safeguards and an auditor confirming they operated.SOC 3 Type 2, the public version.

What it is: the same evaluation, written for a general audience. The full SOC 2 report contains sensitive details, so it isn't published. SOC 3 is the open summary, based on the AICPA's criteria for security, availability, and confidentiality. Why it matters: It makes the audit result public. Nexo can share the outcome openly instead of just saying it passed.ISO 27001 - the international standard for managing information security. 

What it checks: Whether a company runs security as a continuous, documented process: finding risks, setting controls, and reviewing them regularly. Why it matters: It shows repeatable discipline, not one-off fixes.ISO 27017, for cloud services (certified by RINA). 

What it checks: The additional controls that services running in the cloud need. Why it matters: Nexo's platform runs on cloud infrastructure, so this covers where client data actually lives.ISO 27018, for personal data in the cloud (certified by RINA). 

What it checks: How personal information, such as client identity details, is handled and kept private in cloud environments. Why it matters: It puts the handling of your personal data under an audited international standard.CSA STAR Level 1, a public cloud registry entry. 

What it is: The Cloud Security Alliance is an industry group that sets best practices for cloud security. It asks providers 261 questions about how they manage and control their cloud systems. CSA STAR Level 1 is a self-assessment of Nexo’s cloud controls, published in CSA’s public registry.Why it matters: The answers are open to everyone, so you can read them and compare them with other providers.Taken together, they answer three questions: does Nexo follow recognized standards, has an outside party tested that it does, and can you read the results yourself? For background on the latest audit cycle, see Nexo completes third consecutive SOC 2 and SOC 3 audits.

Important note: Security audits and certifications assess information security controls.

What US licenses does Nexo hold directly?Nexo Financial LLC holds a California Financing Law license (No. 60DBO-109416), issued by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), permitting state-regulated lending activities. Custody and digital asset trading services for US clients are facilitated through its licensed partner, Bakkt. 

What do clients say about Nexo?On Trustpilot, Nexo is rated 4.4 out of 5 from 18,751 reviews (as of October 20, 2026). Read client reviews on Trustpilot.

Nexo's client care team is available 24/7. Clients with a portfolio of $100,000 or more can join Nexo Private and get access to high-touch wealth solutions, priority assistance, exclusive OTC services, event passes, and more exclusive benefits.

How does Nexo protect your account?Nexo runs protection on every account and every transaction by default, and gives clients tools to add more.

Built in

Anti-scam engine. Every withdrawal is analyzed in real time before funds leave the platform. If something looks off, the client sees a plain-language prompt explaining the concern, and in rare high-risk cases, a transaction may be briefly paused for review.Encryption. Data in transit is secured using modern TLS encryption, while data at rest is safeguarded with AES-256 encryption—the same standard utilized by leading financial institutions and tier-one cloud providers worldwide.Yours to switch on

Two-factor authentication (2FA). Once you turn it on, it’s required at login and for sensitive actions: withdrawals, Address Book edits, and changes to security settings. Even with your password, no one can move funds without the second factor. An authenticator app is stronger than SMS.Anti-phishing code. A personal code that appears in the footer of every legitimate Nexo email. An email without it didn't come from Nexo.Address whitelisting. Withdrawals are locked to saved addresses (up to 500), with a configurable Extra Security delay on newly added ones.Channel validator. Any email address, social handle, or URL claiming to be Nexo can be checked at nexo.com/channel-validator.For the full walkthrough, read How Nexo's security works, and how to strengthen your account.

What industry awards has Nexo won?Independent industry awards include:

Consumer Lending Product of the Year (2026): FinTech Breakthrough Award for Zero-interest Credit, covered on FinTech Breakthrough. Best PayTech for CX (2025): recognized at The Digital Banker Excellence in Digital CX Awards, covered on Crypto Times.Best Loyalty Program (2025): recognized by The Digital Banker. Best Crypto Wallet (2025): winner at the 9th Annual FinTech Breakthrough Awards, announced via GlobeNewswire.Consumer Payments Innovation Award (2024): FinTech Breakthrough Award for the Nexo Card, covered on TradingView.What other initiatives does Nexo have in the US? Nexo is making history as the first-ever Title Partner of the Nexo Dallas Open—a premier ATP 500 event and the only indoor championship on the U.S. ATP Tour. Kicking off in 2026, this multi-year alliance goes far beyond sports sponsorship.

Nexo is driving its "Wealth Forward" vision directly into the local community by partnering in a major court resurfacing project at the Ford Center at The Star.

By modernizing playing surfaces and expanding access for youth and recreational players, Nexo is delivering both a next-generation fan experience and a tangible, positive impact across North Texas.

What should you know about Nexo before using it?Nexo’s ongoing commitment to security is reflected in its audits, certifications, and carefully chosen industry partners. A few factors are still worth understanding before you start using any crypto platform:

Market movements. Crypto prices can move quickly, in either direction.Borrowing against crypto. If the value of your collateral falls significantly, part of it may be sold to repay the loan.Changing rates. Yields and borrowing rates can change over time, and past rates don't predict future ones.Evolving rules. Crypto regulation continues to develop.Frequently asked questions1. What is Nexo? 

Nexo is a premier digital assets wealth platform that helps clients grow, manage, and preserve their crypto. It has operated since 2018 and serves more than 10 million clients worldwide (Q2 2026), with yield products, crypto-backed loans, trading tools, Private Clients services for portfolios of $100,000 or more, and 24/7 client care. Not every service is available in every jurisdiction.

2. Is Nexo a credible platform?

Yes. Nexo is an operating company that has been active since 2018. It works with Bakkt, an NYSE-listed US partner; Galaxy Research ranks it third among the CeFi crypto lenders it tracks; and its information security controls have been independently audited, with SOC 2 Type 2 reports for three consecutive years.

3. Is Nexo safe? 

Nexo’s information security controls are independently audited under SOC 2 Type 2 and certified to ISO 27001, and its US partner, Bakkt, is an NYSE-listed company whose subsidiaries hold a New York BitLicense and state-level money transmitter licenses. Withdrawals pass through a real-time anti-scam engine, and data is protected via modern TLS and AES-256 encryption. These audits cover information security, not financial solvency, and Nexo products aren’t insured by the FDIC or SIPC.

4. How does Nexo rank among crypto lenders? 

Galaxy Research ranks Nexo the third-largest CeFi crypto lender it tracks, by crypto-collateralized loan book, with a 7.51% market share at the end of Q2 2026.

5. Who holds Nexo clients' assets in the US? 

Bakkt powers custody and trading infrastructure for Nexo clients in the United States. Bakkt is an NYSE-listed company whose operating entities hold a New York BitLicense and money transmitter licenses across multiple US states.

6. What do Nexo's certifications mean? 

SOC 2 Type 2, audited by A-LIGN, tests that Nexo's data controls keep working over time. SOC 3 is the public summary of that audit. ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 are international standards for information security management, cloud controls, and personal data in the cloud. CSA STAR Level 1 is a self-assessment of Nexo’s cloud controls, published in CSA’s public registry.

These materials are accessible globally, and the availability of this information does not constitute access to the services described, which services may not be available in certain jurisdictions. These materials are for general information purposes only and not intended as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice, offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement to use any of the Nexo Services and are not personalized, or in any way tailored to reflect particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Yield and interest rates are not guaranteed, are subject to change, and may vary by eligibility, selected term, and wealth tier. References to Yield are product names and do not represent rates of return or performance. Nexo products are not bank deposits and are not insured by the FDIC or SIPC. Digital assets are subject to a high degree of risk, including but not limited to volatile market price dynamics, regulatory changes, and technological advancements. The past performance of digital assets is not a reliable indicator of future results. Digital assets are not money or legal tender, are not backed by the government or by a central bank, and most do not have any underlying assets, revenue stream, or other source of value. Independent judgment based on personal circumstances should be exercised, and consultation with a qualified professional is recommended before making any decision. 

Services are provided by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC. Digital assets may be held or serviced by third-party custodians, exchanges, lenders, or other service providers. Your ability to access or recover assets depends on the provider’s operational resilience and financial condition. If a provider becomes insolvent or experiences an operational disruption, you may experience delays in access to assets and could lose some or all of your assets. For more information, visit Bakkt Disclosures.

COMP also led both benchmarks over seven and 28 days, while Compound’s total value locked remained below its late-September level.

COMP also led both benchmarks over seven and 28 days, while Compound’s total value locked remained below its late-September level.

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Analysis

White-label stablecoin card infrastructure means any bank can add crypto-backed spending to its existing portfolio without building a single blockchain integration. The distribution play, not the tech demo.

Banks seeking to offer stablecoin-backed spending have long faced a significant technical hurdle: the friction of building a bridge between legacy infrastructure and digital assets. Euronet and Fireblocks announced a partnership extension that removes this barrier. Any bank using Euronet’s Ren or CoreCard issuing platforms can now integrate stablecoin-funded card programs directly into their existing banking apps without overhauling their underlying systems.

This is a distinct play from the recent moves by fintech-focused processors. As noted in our coverage of Marqeta and Coinbase, those companies are building stacks for the agile, crypto-native, or fintech-first crowd. Euronet is taking a different path. By targeting the Ren and CoreCard platforms, they are aiming squarely at the traditional banking sector. They are not asking banks to switch processors or adopt a new fintech stack. They are offering a white-label capability that sits on top of what those banks already use.

The mechanics of this integration rely on Fireblocks’ embedded wallet infrastructure. When a customer signs up for a card, the system automatically provisions an embedded wallet in the background. When the user deposits fiat currency, it is converted into stablecoins before being credited to that wallet. The user experience is designed to be invisible. Customers log in with their standard banking credentials, there are no seed phrases to manage, and they do not need a separate crypto application. Merchants, meanwhile, continue to receive local currency as they always have. This process hides the complexities of blockchain interaction, private key management, and currency conversion from the end user.

Stablecoin payment volume exceeded $400 billion in the first eight months of 2026, a figure that highlights how quickly these assets are moving beyond simple trading tools, as detailed in our report on stablecoin payment growth. Visa has already seen the trend take hold, with more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs live on its network in the second quarter of 2026, payment volume on those programs up nearly 200 percent year over year.

Vishal Pasari, Vice President of Products and Partnerships at Euronet, framed the strategy around this balance of innovation and familiarity.

For Fireblocks, this is a logical extension of their existing footprint. The company already secures $16 trillion in digital asset transactions across more than 200 blockchains, powers hundreds of payments companies, and facilitates more than $300 billion in stablecoin volume each month on average, per the GlobeNewswire release. Ran Goldi, Chief Payments and Network Officer at Fireblocks, noted the evolution of the asset class.

A necessary caveat is that this is a capability announcement, not a product rollout. There is no launch date, no pricing structure, no list of supported stablecoins, and no named bank or fintech customers yet. It is a toolset waiting for a pilot. Furthermore, as institutions look toward the horizon, they must also account for the regulatory environment, including the upcoming GENIUS Act, which becomes effective on January 18, 2027. Euronet, which processed more than 20 billion transactions in 2025 and serves clients in over 200 countries, is positioning itself to be the bridge for banks that want to participate in the stablecoin economy without becoming crypto companies themselves.

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NEAR Protocol has launched NEAR Business, a platform built to let crypto teams manage treasury operations privately across multiple blockchains.

What NEAR Business actually does
The service went live on October 20, 2026. It is a confidential multisig treasury management tool aimed at crypto-native teams and institutional players.

NEAR Business folds several back-office chores into a single dashboard. Those include payroll, vendor payments, cross-chain swaps and capital allocation.

The privacy piece runs on NEAR’s private shard infrastructure. Sensitive transaction details stay confidential, but they remain accessible for audit purposes.

Under the hood, each organization gets a self-custodial Treasury Contract on NEAR’s mainnet. The contract follows SputnikDAO multisig principles.

Chains, assets and the price tag
The platform supports transactions across more than 35 blockchain networks. That list includes Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, with support for more than 200 assets.

Cross-chain moves rely on NEAR Intents rather than third-party bridges. A team can swap assets between chains without routing funds through a separate bridge service.

The service is free to start, with no subscriptions and no per-seat fees. Teams can spin up unlimited treasuries and add unlimited users. There are no annual contracts.

Swaps on the platform carry a fee of 0.35%. Setup can be completed in minutes, according to the research findings. NEAR is positioning the product against enterprise offerings that charge $18,000+ yearly.

Features built for finance teams
Bulk payroll works through CSV upload. Instead of approving dozens of individual transfers, a finance lead can push an entire pay run in one batch.

Role-based approvals let organizations decide who can propose payments and who signs off.

Customizable exports round things out.

The target users are broad. NEAR is courting institutional desks and venture firms alongside crypto-native startups. For now, access is invite-only. Early teams can test the platform without paying subscription costs or per-seat fees.

Where this fits in NEAR’s 2026 roadmap
NEAR Business is part of a broader strategy the protocol has pursued through 2026, emphasizing integrated cross-chain execution and privacy enhancements.

The launch follows the earlier unveiling of near.com as a multi-chain super-app. The super-app serves individuals, while NEAR Business handles organizations, and both rely on NEAR Intents for cross-chain execution.

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

Avalanche splits its Primary Network across the C-Chain, P-Chain and X-Chain. Here is what each chain does, how Helicon changed the C-Chain, and why AVAX must be moved between them.

Avalanche (@avax) does not run on a single blockchain. Its main network, called the Primary Network, is split across three chains: the C-Chain, the P-Chain and the X-Chain. Each handles a different task, and the split affects how users hold, move and spend $AVAX.

What each Avalanche chain does

The C-Chain is where most application activity takes place. That EVM compatibility means apps built for Ethereum can run on it.

The P-Chain handles the network's coordination layer.

The X-Chain is where assets are created and moved. That includes $AVAX.

Helicon changes how the C-Chain executes blocksThe C-Chain was reworked in September.

In practical terms, the network can agree on the order of new blocks while still working through the transactions in earlier ones.

Helicon also touched validators.

Why AVAX balances are kept separate$AVAX is the fee token across the Primary Network, and each chain keeps its own balance. A holder therefore has to transfer AVAX to a given chain before using it there. The split also matters when sending funds.

Choosing the wrong chain is a common source of mistakes. Users should check which chain an exchange or wallet expects before sending.

The multi-chain design is central to how Avalanche positions itself against single-chain networks. By assigning smart contracts, staking and asset issuance to separate chains, the network keeps those workloads from competing for the same block space.

SourcesAvalanche Docs: Primary Network
TokenPost: Avalanche Activates Helicon Upgrade With New C-Chain Model
Cryptoticker: AVAX withdrawal, C-Chain vs X-Chain explained

Midnight Network has unveiled Nightmode, a cross-chain privacy feature built with Sig Network that uses MPC vaults to extend $NIGHT privacy tools to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Tron.

Midnight Network has unveiled Nightmode, a cross-chain privacy feature built with @MidnightNtwrk and @Sig_Network. It is designed to extend Midnight's privacy tools to chains including Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), Solana ($SOL) and Tron ($TRX) without relying on a conventional bridge.

Nightmode is due to go live on mainnet with ledger v9, Midnight's next major network upgrade, later this year.

How Nightmode worksUsers lock coins in vaults on their home chain and receive a matching private balance on Midnight, guarded by shared keys. According to Crypto Economy, the vaults are Multi-Party Computation (MPC) contracts, and the original assets stay on their native network rather than moving through a traditional bridge. The same report says a vault is governed by seven private cryptographic signatures, and that Midnight records each deposit and issues tokens representing the user's balance in a shielded pool.

Sig Network describes itself as a signing network. On its website, it says no single signer holds the key and that it signs only requests that come from a contract on Midnight. It also says Midnight contracts can hold accounts on Ethereum, so users can trade on Uniswap or lend on Aave while their identities stay shielded.

On apps such as Uniswap, trade amounts stay public but the user behind them stays hidden. KuCoin News reports that users can trade, swap or stake the shielded tokens, and that burning them redeems the original native assets. The same report says Nightmode supports selective disclosure based on zero-knowledge proofs, aimed at meeting compliance requirements.

Context: ledger v9 and Midnight's push into DeFiLedger v9 is also the upgrade tied to Midnight's planned Solana support. Hokanews reports that Midnight Foundation CTO Sebastien Guillemot said the Solana integration remains on testnet, with a mainnet rollout scheduled for later in 2026. Midnight's own roadmap says the project is extending NightMode to additional blockchains, giving users on those networks access to private transactions on Midnight and giving Midnight users access to the liquidity held there.

Crypto Economy notes that the design targets DeFi, payments and real-world asset settlement, and that it does not claim transaction detail becomes invisible. Trade values remain visible, while identity information stays unlinked.

Nightmode is still pending mainnet release, so its real-world performance and security remain to be tested. Users should watch for the ledger v9 launch date and any audits of the vault design.

Sources

Crypto Economy: Nightmode Introduces MPC Vault ArchitectureKuCoin News: Midnight Launches NightmodeMidnight Roadmap

7 hours ago

Blockchain technology developer R3 co-founder Todd McDonald said on StrataMedia’s Talking Tokens podcast that banks’ approach to blockchain is shifting from early-stage trials to practical commercial applications. Financial institutions are now leveraging blockchain to launch new products and reach new customers, with their core focus moving from cost reduction to revenue generation. McDonald argues open blockchain networks hold greater development advantages, and all markets will eventually transition to on-chain operations. R3, which previously focused on providing private blockchain networks for banks, is now collaborating with the Solana Foundation to build the next-generation Corda as a Solana-based protocol, taking the lead in launching yield vaults that allow investors to deposit stablecoins and earn tokens backed by real-world assets. McDonald also noted that fixed income and alternative assets are poised to become hot segments in the tokenization space over the next year, with growth potential outpacing the currently more mature tokenized U.S. dollars and money market funds. R3 added that its on-chain real-world assets (RWA) have surpassed $10 billion, with its investors including Bank of America, HSBC, Wells Fargo, and Barclays.

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Hylo, a decentralized finance protocol built on Solana, has closed a $1 million strategic funding round led by Solana Ventures, with Colosseum also participating.

The round closed on October 20, 2026. The money is earmarked for expanding Hylo’s leverage and yield infrastructure on Solana.

This is Solana Ventures’ second time backing Hylo. For Colosseum, it is the third.

Inside the round and the product lineup
The new capital follows a $1.5 million seed round in August 2025. Solana Ventures and Colosseum both took part in that one too.

Combined, the two rounds bring Hylo’s total disclosed funding to $2.5 million.

Hylo’s pitch rests on two product lines: liquidation-resistant leverage and stablecoins that generate yield.

Hylo offers leveraged tokens including xSOL, xBTC, and xHYPE. The xSOL token provides roughly 3x exposure to SOL.

Hylo markets its leverage products as resistant to forced liquidation. The protocol has also introduced hyUSD, a stablecoin, along with eHYUSD, a yield-bearing version.

From hackathon to hundreds of millions in volume
The project earned a top placement in the Solana Radar hackathon in November 2024. Colosseum is closely tied to that pipeline, running hackathons and backing standout teams.

The protocol went live publicly in August 2025. Shortly after launch, its total value locked climbed to nearly $100 million.

Hylo reported more than $700 million in cumulative trading volume by October 2026.

The team behind it is small. Hylo is run by three co-founders and one founding engineer.

What this means for Hylo and Solana DeFi
Repeat investment from Solana Ventures and Colosseum suggests the ecosystem’s own backers see Hylo as infrastructure worth reinforcing.

Hylo has not launched a native token tied to this funding round. It also leaves open how Hylo plans to monetize over the long run.

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

Ethereum's gross annualized staking yield fell to 2.63% from 2.81%, while Solana also saw more stake and lower returns.

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Ethereum, Solana, HYPE Growth Isn’t Lifting Staking Yields: Bitwise