Tether's payments reportedly began in May 2025 while Hines led the White House stablecoin effort, with the first one going to an intermediary's marketing company.
Tether payments reportedly reached Bo Hines' firm through a marketing middleman
Posted October 15, 2026 at 7:01 am ET.
Nxum, a small consulting firm that Bo Hines co-owned while he led the White House’s stablecoin push, has taken in about $6.3 million under a marketing deal with Tether, the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 14. The first installment was paid in May 2025, before the GENIUS Act became law.
Hines was executive director of the White House’s digital assets council, formally the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets. He also held a one-third stake in Nxum, a firm he started with his father, Todd Hines, and marketing executive Gary Dennis. According to the Journal, his ethics disclosures show he kept that stake after stepping back from running the company in early 2025. Tether later hired him to lead its new U.S. division.
The Journal said its account rests on messages, internal documents and payment records it reviewed. Unchained has not independently verified those records. Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Unchained. Unchained could not reach Nxum or Hines for comment.
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How the Money Moved The Journal said it traced the money through blockchain records. Nxum did not sign with Tether directly; the contract went to Notorious, a marketing firm run by Peter Vincer, at $415,000 a month, billed six months at a time over at least two years. Tether’s first installment, $2.49 million, left Bitfinex, an exchange under the same parent company, on May 11, 2025. Vincer held back $498,000 and forwarded the remainder to an Nxum wallet. After Hines left government, the contract moved to Nxum, and installments of the same size landed in its wallets in December 2025 and April 2026.
The Journal reported, citing people involved in the negotiations, that Hines pressed lawmakers to lengthen the law’s compliance window to 36 months from 18. Tether needed more time than its U.S. competitors to comply and was the main beneficiary of the longer period, according to the report. Hines passed talking points to his Nxum partners in June 2025 while they were in contact with Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, the Journal reported, citing Signal messages.
On Aug. 9, 2025, 22 days after Trump signed the GENIUS Act, Hines said he was leaving the White House. He joined Tether in September.
Denials and Responses A Nxum representative reportedly told the Journal that Hines was unaware of and uninvolved in the firm’s Tether business while in the White House, and that he “did not receive any Tether-derived funds during that period, and had no economic relationship of any kind with Tether while serving in the White House.” The representative reportedly added that “it was not necessary for Tether to enter into any payment arrangements, as it could (and did) simply use the weight of its market position to advocate for an extension of the compliance period.”
Tether reportedly did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment. A White House official reportedly told the paper that Hines no longer works there and that staff are expected to follow federal ethics rules.
The Nxum-linked Fellowship PAC, which is chaired by Tether government affairs head Jesse Spiro, paid Nxum Group $6.55 million across five disbursements between January and April 2026, mostly for issue advocacy advertising, the Journal reported, citing Federal Election Commission records.
Tether is already under scrutiny in Washington. Last month, Sen. Richard Blumenthal urged Treasury and the Justice Department to investigate the company after Democratic staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report on Iran’s use of USDT.
Related Listen: Weekly Recap: Tether Eyes U.S. Stablecoin, Wall Street Embraces Tokenization
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
A Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed that Nxum, a small consulting firm co-owned by Bo Hines, received approximately $6.3 million through a marketing arrangement with Tether as the GENIUS Act, a key stablecoin law, passed through Congress.
Payments and contract structureAccording to internal documents, messages, and payment records reviewed by the Journal, the first payment was made in May 2025, several weeks before the GENIUS Act became law. The records indicate that Tether channeled its payments through Notorious, a marketing agency managed by Peter Vincer, rather than signing a contract with Nxum directly.
The contract with Notorious was valued at $415,000 per month, with payments billed for six months at a time over at least a two-year span. On May 11, 2025, Bitfinex, a crypto exchange affiliated with Tether’s parent company, sent the first installment of $2.49 million to Notorious. Of this, Vincer reportedly withheld $498,000 and transferred the remainder to a wallet controlled by Nxum.
DatePayerRecipientAmountMay 11, 2025BitfinexNotorious$2.49 millionDecember 2025Tether/BitfinexNxum$2.49 millionApril 2026Tether/BitfinexNxum$2.49 millionFollowing Bo Hines’s departure from government, ongoing payments were reportedly sent directly to Nxum, with additional installments occurring in December 2025 and April 2026.
Mini dictionary: GENIUS Act — A US legislative act focused on establishing regulatory standards and compliance deadlines for stablecoin issuers.
Bo Hines’s role and the compliance extensionBo Hines served as a leader in the White House’s stablecoin negotiations during the period when these payments began. The Journal cited unnamed sources involved in negotiations, stating that Hines advocated for extending the compliance window for the GENIUS Act, seeking to move it from 18 to 36 months. This extension would have primarily benefited Tether, which reportedly required more time than its US-based competitors to meet the law’s requirements.
The Journal’s review of Signal messages indicates that Hines provided talking points to Nxum partners in June 2025 while they were interacting with Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino. Twenty-two days after Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, Hines announced his departure from the White House, later joining Tether directly in September.
Response from involved partiesA representative from Nxum reportedly stated that Hines had no knowledge of, or involvement with, the firm’s dealings with Tether during his government service, adding that he “did not receive any Tether-derived funds during that period, and had no economic relationship of any kind with Tether while serving in the White House.” They further claimed that Tether could have pursued compliance extensions independently, without the need for any outside arrangements.
Nxum’s representative emphasized that Bo Hines had no awareness of the Tether business during his White House tenure and had no financial connection to Tether while employed there.
Tether reportedly did not respond to requests for comment from either the Journal or other news outlets. A White House official confirmed that Hines no longer works there and reiterated that all staff are expected to follow federal ethics rules.
Ongoing scrutiny of TetherTether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, remains under government scrutiny in Washington. In the previous month, Senator Richard Blumenthal called on the Treasury Department and the Justice Department to investigate Tether, referencing a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on Iran’s use of USDT for cross-border payments.
Sen. Blumenthal requested a federal probe into Tether’s activities in response to allegations involving USDT transactions linked to sanctioned entities.
Tether, founded in 2014, is one of the largest stablecoin issuers worldwide and maintains operational ties with numerous crypto trading platforms through its parent company.
Tether Invests in AIsa to Expand Its Push into AI-Powered Payments and Programmable Money
Investment advances Tether’s ambition to give people and businesses greater access to knowledge and financial tools 15 October 2026 – Tether Capital today announced a strategic investment in AIsa, a company that enables AI agents to access and pay for data, software, and computing services.
As AI agents move from answering questions to conducting research, using software and managing workflows, they keep running into purchasing systems built for people. Reaching a paid data source or software tool often means opening a separate account, subscription, or contract, which leaves a person to set up each service before the agent can get to work.
AIsa removes that friction by combining access and payment in one platform. Developers can connect agents to AI models, data, APIs, software tools, and computing resources through a single interface. Usage is billed in fiat or stablecoins, with spending limits set by the business. An agent doing market research, for example, can retrieve paid data as needed, without anyone managing a separate subscription for every source.
Tether believes wider access to AI must come with wider access to the financial tools needed to use it. By supporting AIsa, it aims to help more people and businesses benefit from technology that can increasingly carry out work on their behalf.
“We want people to have access to knowledge and financial tools, and the freedom to decide how they use them,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “As AI agents take on more work, people need a way to give them access to services while keeping control over what they spend. AIsa is building that infrastructure, and we see an opportunity to make these capabilities useful to a much wider group of people and businesses.”
AIsa reports more than 250,000 agents running on its platform and over 100 million transactions processed. Its network offers access to more than 5,000 APIs, skills and models through one key, with payment per call instead of separate vendor contracts. Businesses can buy resources as needed, and providers can sell their services directly into automated workflows. For smaller teams, that means research, analysis, and other specialist work with far fewer subscriptions to manage.
AIsa’s previous funding round drew backing from leading technology companies, financial institutions and venture investors, including major groups in Asia. Tether’s investment builds on that support and expands its presence in agentic payments.
The investment fits a pattern in Tether’s recent work. It follows its investment in NEURA Robotics, which included plans to integrate Tether’s Wallet Development Kit (WDK) and QVAC into robotic systems so machines can run AI locally and transact within predefined limits. WDK enables developers to build self-custodial wallets, while QVAC is designed to run AI directly on users’ devices. Backing AIsa extends the same goal, giving people greater control over their money and access to intelligence, to the services they need when agents do the work.
About Tether Capital
Tether Capital is the independent investment arm of Tether, the largest company in the digital assets industry. Based in El Salvador, the company deploys capital from Tether’s profits and excess reserves across a wide range of sectors where technology, infrastructure, and real-world utility intersect.
Its portfolio includes investments in artificial intelligence, financial services, energy, biotechnology, education, and digital media, as well as strategic stakes in industries such as commodities, remittances, and sports and entertainment. Tether Capital supports ventures with long-term potential to improve access, efficiency, and resilience in both emerging and developed markets. Its work supports Tether Group’s broader mission to strengthen decentralized systems, promote infrastructure resilience, and expand real-world access to open, transparent technologies.
PANews, October 15 – Tether Capital announced a strategic investment in AIsa. AIsa is dedicated to enabling AI agents to access and pay for data, software, and compute services. By integrating access and payment on the same platform, developers can connect AI models, APIs, software tools, and compute resources through a single interface, with usage billed in fiat or stablecoins. Enterprises can set spending limits, eliminating the hassle of opening accounts and subscribing to each service separately.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that as AI agents take on more work, people need a way to both grant service access and control spending, and AIsa is building that infrastructure. AIsa said its platform has already run more than 250,000 agents and processed over 100 million transactions, with the network providing access to more than 5,000 APIs, skills, and models through a single key, billed on a pay-per-call basis.
This investment continues Tether's recent moves, following its earlier investment in NEURA Robotics and plans to integrate WDK and QVAC, with the same goal of giving users greater control over their funds and intelligent services.
Nasdaq is currently experiencing network issues, and clients may intermittently encounter data gaps.
Nasdaq stated it is currently experiencing network issues, which may cause intermittent data gaps for its clients. The firm recommends clients use Chicago-based data sources as a backup.
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Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
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Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
7 minutes ago
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Tether Capital has invested in AIsa, a platform that lets AI agents find, access and pay for data resources without a human approving each purchase.
The investment was announced on October 15, 2026. AIsa already hosts more than 250,000 agents that have processed over 100 million cumulative transactions, so this is a bet on a business with real traffic.
What AIsa actually does
That catalog covers more than 5,000 APIs, skills and models. An agent that needs weather data, a translation model and a search tool can reach all three through the same access point.
AIsa charges per call rather than by subscription, so agents pay only for what they use.
Billing on the platform supports both fiat currency and stablecoins. Users can also set their own spending limits, which is reassuring when the spender is an autonomous program.
The growth numbers behind the bet
AIsa launched in 2025 and has grown quickly since. Between February and June 2026, the platform reported a 150x increase in agent users.
API calls and transactions over that same stretch rose 200x.
The company has raised $6.5 million in total funding. That includes a seed round in July 2026 co-led by Alibaba and Tribe Capital.
Why Tether cares about machines paying machines
The investment fits Tether’s broader push into programmable money and AI-powered payments. Programmable money means funds can follow coded rules, such as paying automatically once a task finishes or stopping at a preset budget.
It also sits next to Tether’s earlier move into robotics through NEURA Robotics. The AIsa deal is expected to add utility to Tether’s Wallet Development Kit and QVAC, two pieces of the company’s growing developer toolkit.
The background: from dollar token to infrastructure investor
Tether is best known as the issuer of USDT, a stablecoin designed to track the US dollar. Its investment arm has spent recent years spreading money well beyond the token business.
Agentic payments, the term for transactions started and completed by AI agents, have become an area of active development for Tether. AIsa’s existing stablecoin billing gives that work a live testing ground with real volume.
What this means
Small, frequent payments are an awkward fit for traditional rails. Card networks and bank transfers were not designed for a program paying a tiny sum every few seconds, which is exactly the niche stablecoins have long claimed they could fill.
The platform also supports fiat alongside stablecoins. That means agent payments are not locked into crypto rails, and the mix between the two will reveal whether stablecoins become the preferred option or just one choice among several.
The figures to track are AIsa’s agent count, its cumulative transactions and the share of billing that settles in stablecoins.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Witt becomes the second executive director of the White House crypto council to leave, following predecessor Bo Hines, who departed for Tether in August 2025.
Patrick Witt is stepping down as executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, making him the second person to leave that role after his predecessor, Bo Hines, departed for Tether.
What's the Scoop?
The Departure: A White House official told The Block that Witt's "detail has expired" and did not say who will replace him. Witt confirmed the exit on X, calling his service "the privilege of a lifetime" and saying he looks forward to "advancing that same mission in the private sector," a likely sign he'll follow Hines into industry.
Second Exit: Hines announced his exit on August 9, 2025, with Witt, then his deputy, stepping into the role. Hines joined Tether on August 19 as a strategic advisor. Tether named him CEO of its U.S. business behind the USA₮ stablecoin weeks later, making the White House's top crypto seat look as much like a launchpad as a policy post.
Thinning Bench: Witt's deputy, Harry Jung, announced in July that he was leaving government service, and AI and crypto czar David Sacks left in March.
Zooming Out: Witt led the White House's push on the CLARITY Act, which has been stalled since it failed a procedural vote in the Senate, 49-50, on September 15. In his farewell post, he credited the passage of the GENIUS Act and "our work to advance the CLARITY Act."
David Christopher
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David is a writer/analyst at Bankless. Prior to joining Bankless, he worked for a series of early-stage crypto startups and on grants from the Ethereum, Solana, and Urbit Foundations. He graduated from Skidmore College in New York. He currently lives in the Midwest and enjoys NFTs, but no longer participates in them.
Solana (SOL) has opened an office in Shanghai and promoted its brand on the city’s skyline. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says his own BNB Chain has not managed such a China push so far.
Mainland China has banned crypto trading since 2021. Yet a foreign blockchain foundation now runs public ads and a local office in Shanghai, the country’s financial hub.
Why Solana’s China Office Caught CZ’s AttentionRachel Conlan, Chief Strategy Officer at the Solana Foundation, shared photos from Shanghai, including the new office. Her post also showed Solana branding lit across the city skyline.
What a Day 1 in Shanghai.
From visiting the new office to seeing Solana light up the Shanghai skyline.
Quite a way to kick off the week!
Incredible energy from the community here. pic.twitter.com/fxf81Dta28
— Rachel Conlan (@RachelConlan) October 14, 2026 Conlan joined the foundation in September. She previously served as Binance’s chief marketing officer.
CZ quoted her post on X. He welcomed the move but noted that BNB Chain, the blockchain Binance incubated, has not achieved the same.
It's amazing to see that Solana was able to advertise and even get an office in China. 👏@BNBChain was not able to do this, so far. 🤣
Hopefully, what's good for one industry player is also good for the rest. https://t.co/fNRRWnAGpt
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 15, 2026 The office also anchors a wider Solana campaign in China this month. The foundation’s website lists Solana Accelerate China, an event series in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing.
CZ has his own history with the country. His memoir, Freedom of Money, traces his path from rural China to building Binance.
The exchange itself launched in China in 2017. Shortly after, Beijing’s crackdown on token sales pushed it offshore.
Can Beijing’s Crypto Ban Make Room for More Players?The ban targets crypto trading, token sales, and exchange services. It does not cover blockchain technology itself.
Officially, the ban still stands. In February, regulators widened the crackdown to target stablecoin issuance and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
At the same time, Beijing actively backs the underlying technology. Its plans for a national blockchain network leave Bitcoin out entirely.
That split may explain the room Solana has found in China. The foundation pitches its tour to builders, executives, and more than 100 fintech and tech companies.
Still, CZ framed Solana’s China access as a possible precedent. When a user told him he was too nice to the competition, CZ rejected the framing. He argued that any player expanding the industry benefits everyone.
It's not a competition. Whoever helps to expand the industry benefits the entire industry. You don't have to do everything yourself. 😂
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 15, 2026 CZ’s own wording leaves the door open. He said BNB Chain has not matched Solana “so far.”
Whether Solana’s China office lasts, and whether BNB Chain follows, will show how much room the ban leaves for foreign blockchains.
China, known for its strict restrictions on Bitcoin and altcoins, is once again in the spotlight, this time due to Solana’s activities in Shanghai. Solana’s opening of an office and advertising campaigns in the city caught the attention of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
Solana Advertises and Opens Office in Shanghai!
In an official statement, Solana released photos announcing the opening of an office in Shanghai, China. Specifically, Solana’s core member Vibhu and Foundation Chair Lily Liu publicly stated that Solana occupies the world’s “highest” commercial office space.
Rachel Conlan, Chief Strategy Officer of the Solana Foundation, also shared a post on her X account regarding SOL advertisements. Conlan posted photos showing her visit to the new Shanghai office and the Solana brand’s presence in the city skyline.
Solana’s activities in China are not limited to office work and advertising. According to the foundation’s official website, the Solana Accelerate China event series will be held in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing in October. The program aims to bring together developers and the technology ecosystem.
CZ Comments on Solana’s China Move!
CZ, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stated that Solana’s move towards China was surprising and that he hopes other altcoins will seize similar opportunities.
CZ drew attention to images shared by Rachel Conlan, Chief Strategy Officer of the Solana Foundation, on the X platform. CZ expressed surprise that Solana was able to run advertisements and open an office in China.
CZ expressed surprise at Solana’s expansion efforts in China, noting that BNB Chain had been unable to enter the Chinese market despite Solana’s moves. Zhao added that he hoped similar opportunities would be presented to other industry participants.
Restrictions Continue in China!
Solana’s actions come at a time when restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions remain in place in mainland China. However, analysts believe that Solana’s advertising and office activities do not mean that cryptocurrency trading is permitted in the country.
*This is not investment advice.
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BNB price has slipped below its $750 weekly pivot and two daily moving averages, leaving the $700–$710 support zone in focus as analysts point to further downside after its rejection near $800.
Summary
BNB price traded near $729 after reaching a daily low of $708.64 on Binance. Daily moving averages at $744.55 and $761.09 remained above the token’s price. Analysts identified $700–$710 as support, with $680–$690 possible if that zone breaks. CoinGlass showed prominent liquidation concentrations around $765–$766, above the current trading range. TradingView’s Binance BNB/USDT daily chart showed the token trading at $728.66 on Oct. 15, following a decline to $708.64 and a rebound of roughly 2.8% from that low. The recovery left BNB below its daily high of $732 and beneath the moving averages it had crossed during the recent pullback.
On the weekly chart, BNB stood near $730.67, down 3.13% from the week’s opening price of $754.24. Its weekly trading range stretched from $708.64 to $758.03, putting the token below the $750 pivot identified by the chart’s Murrey Math indicator.
BNB trades below its $745–$761 moving-average band TradingView’s daily moving-average ribbon placed the 20-day simple moving average at $761.09 and the 50-day average at $744.55. BNB traded below both, following its retreat from the late-September and early-October highs near $800.
BNB price daily chart — Oct. 15 | Source: TradingView The chart showed a different position against the longer averages. BNB remained above its 100-day simple moving average at $672.49 and its 200-day average at $645.05, preserving part of the advance that began after the summer lows.
At $728.66, the token was approximately 2.2% below the 50-day average and 4.5% below the 20-day average. A return to those readings would place BNB back within the price band lost during the October correction.
The daily Average Directional Index stood at 23.85, down from its September readings above 40. The indicator measures trend strength rather than direction, and its decline accompanied BNB’s retreat from the recent highs.
The weekly Aroon readings retained a different picture: Aroon Up stood at 92.86%, while Aroon Down measured 7.14%. Those readings reflected the recent weekly highs within the indicator’s lookback period, even as the latest weekly price moved lower.
BNB price weekly chart — Oct. 15 | Source: TradingView Analysts identify $700–$710 as the next support test In an Oct. 15 analysis, market commentator BullishBanter identified the $790–$810 area as a supply zone where BNB faced rejection before losing a rising trendline.
The analyst’s 4-hour chart marked two peaks near the upper boundary and a subsequent decline toward a shaded support area around $700–$710. BullishBanter said a break beneath that area would make a further move toward $680–$690 more likely.
“For now, I’m watching 700 support vs 740 reclaim for the next move.”
The analyst’s $740 recovery threshold sits just below the daily 50-day moving average at $744.55. Above that, the weekly Murrey Math pivot at $750 and the 20-day average at $761.09 form additional reference points on the TradingView charts.
Analyst Ed NL also maintained a corrective outlook. In a separate update, the analyst described BNB’s preceding advance as a completed five-wave move and said the token was progressing through a three-leg correction toward lower liquidity.
Ed NL’s chart projected another downward leg after the recent rebound. The forecast remained conditional on that wave interpretation, while BullishBanter supplied the clearer near-term price thresholds at $700, $740 and $680–$690.
Liquidation concentrations sit near $705 and $765 CoinGlass’s one-week BNB liquidation heatmap showed the price falling from the mid-$750s earlier in the period toward the low-$710s before recovering toward $730.
BNB liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass At the right edge of the heatmap, concentrations of estimated liquidation exposure appeared around $704–$706, with another band near $695. Both sat beneath the $708.64 low recorded on the TradingView daily chart.
Above the market, the brightest remaining concentrations appeared near $765–$766, with another prominent band around $762. Higher clusters extended through approximately $772–$780.
The upper concentrations overlapped the area just above BNB’s $761.09 daily moving average. Meanwhile, nearer bands around $733–$735 sat between the rebound price and BullishBanter’s $740 recovery threshold.
CoinGlass’s price trace also showed repeated declines during the week, including a sharp move lower on Oct. 13 and another sell-off on Oct. 15. The latest rebound had returned BNB toward $730 while leaving the earlier trading area around $740–$750 above the market.
US inflation adds a policy catalyst to BNB’s correction The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that September consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier and 0.6% from August. Gasoline prices increased 9.1% during the month and accounted for more than half of the monthly headline increase.
Reuters reported that the release pushed expectations for an October Federal Reserve rate increase higher, while US stocks fell and Treasury yields rose. The report placed the Fed’s Oct. 27–28 meeting at the center of the next US policy decision.
Against that backdrop, the TradingView charts placed BNB below its $750 weekly pivot but above its $672.49 and $645.05 longer-term daily averages. BullishBanter’s near-term scenario hinges on whether $700–$710 holds: the analyst identified $740 as the recovery threshold and $680–$690 as the next downside area if support fails.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
LINK’s previous ascending channel has broken down, placing the $11.91 Fibonacci level under scrutiny. Falling open interest and predominantly long liquidations suggest that bullish leverage is being unwound. A recovery above $12.84 would improve the near-term outlook, but confirmation of a broader reversal remains absent. Chainlink (LINK) is testing a price area that could determine whether its recent correction extends into a deeper decline. The token has slipped below its former ascending channel, while derivatives data points to traders reducing exposure rather than aggressively rebuilding positions.
LINK traded at $12.128 on October 15, down 2.35% during the developing daily session, according to information from TradingView.
The immediate concern is not simply that Chainlink is approaching $12. Its latest intraday low sits almost directly on a major Fibonacci retracement, leaving little distance between the current price and a potentially important technical breakdown.
Chainlink’s Former Uptrend Has Turned Into Resistance LINK’s recovery from August carried the cryptocurrency from approximately $8 to above $15 by late September. Throughout much of that advance, price action followed an ascending channel, with successive rebounds maintaining a rising support line.
Chainlink (LINK) approaches horizontal support after breaking below its ascending channel. Chart: Alexander Zdravkov, via TradingView. That structure has since broken.
Following the late-September peak, LINK began forming lower highs inside a descending channel. Attempts to recover have encountered selling pressure before reaching previous highs, while the former rising trendline no longer provides reliable support.
Thursday’s intraday low of $11.920 brought LINK back toward the lower end of its recent trading range. The price subsequently recovered to $12.128 but remained marginally below the horizontal level near $12.14. With the daily candle still forming, it remains unclear whether buyers can reclaim that area before the session closes.
An established horizontal area around $12.14 adds another layer to the setup. Previously associated with buying interest, that level is now being tested from below at the time of the screenshot.
A daily close back above it would suggest that buyers have defended the nearby retracement zone. Failure to recover would leave the market more exposed to another test of $11.91.
Neither outcome is confirmed while the October 15 candle remains open.
Falling Open Interest Changes the Interpretation The derivatives market offers a useful counterpoint to the bearish chart.
According to information from Coinalyze LINK’s aggregate open interest declined 7.25% over 24 hours to $275 million, with the reported exposure concentrated entirely in perpetual contracts.
Exchange-level liquidation data highlights where leveraged trading positions were hit hardest. Binance held approximately $110.6 million in outstanding positions, followed by Bybit at $70.1 million and Hyperliquid at $58.4 million. Together, the three exchanges accounted for nearly 87% of the total.
The decline in open interest is significant because it suggests that outstanding exposure has contracted during the price retreat.
That differs from a sell-off accompanied by rapidly expanding open interest, which could indicate that traders are establishing additional directional positions.
Here, the available evidence is more consistent with a reduction in existing exposure. However, open interest alone cannot distinguish voluntary position closures from forced liquidations or identify whether new short positions are being opened.
Trading activity has not disappeared. The supplied futures-volume heatmap showed Binance recording $175.23 million in turnover and MEXC $101.71 million.
The contrast between active trading and shrinking outstanding exposure suggests considerable repositioning, although the two datasets do not establish precisely which transactions caused the decline in open interest.
Long Liquidations Point to Bullish Deleveraging Liquidation figures provide a clearer picture of which traders were under pressure.
According to Coinglass, over the latest 24 hours, LINK liquidations totaled $2.09 million, including approximately $2.03 million in long positions and $54,760 in shorts.
Longs therefore represented roughly 97% of forced closures.
The imbalance supports the interpretation that leveraged bullish positions were particularly vulnerable during the decline.
Still, the liquidation total is small relative to aggregate open interest. It would be inaccurate to attribute the entire 7.25% contraction in outstanding positions to forced selling.
The more defensible conclusion is that Chainlink is undergoing a reduction in speculative exposure, with liquidations forming one identifiable component of that adjustment.
RSI Weakens as the $11.91 Level Comes Into Focus Momentum indicators reinforce the deterioration in LINK’s daily structure.
The Relative Strength Index stood at 41.57, below its displayed moving average of 50.75. That indicates weakening momentum, although the indicator remains above the conventional oversold threshold of 30.
For the next sessions, three price areas deserve attention.
The first is the $12.14 horizontal zone, which LINK would need to reclaim to demonstrate renewed buying interest.
The immediate downside reference is $11.91, corresponding to the 0.5 Fibonacci level and closely aligned with Thursday’s intraday low. A daily close below this area would strengthen the bearish outlook and shift attention toward earlier price activity around $11.
Conversely, reclaiming $12.14 would provide an initial sign of stabilization, with the 0.618 Fibonacci level at $12.84 becoming the next upside reference. However, a broader recovery would require LINK to overcome the descending channel’s resistance rather than merely rebound from its recent low.
By contrast, a decisive close below $11.91 accompanied by expanding open interest would warrant closer examination of whether new positioning is reinforcing the decline.
The current data does not establish either scenario. For now, Chainlink remains in a corrective structure, with weakening momentum and reduced derivatives exposure placing greater importance on how price behaves around the latest support test.
Alexander Zdravkov is a crypto journalist and market analyst specializing in digital assets, blockchain technology, and the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market. He entered the industry more than four years ago, drawn to the speed of innovation in crypto and the potential of blockchain-based financial systems to reshape traditional markets. His work focuses on understanding the forces behind crypto market movements, from Bitcoin and altcoin cycles to institutional adoption, regulation, exchange-traded products, stablecoins, DeFi, and emerging blockchain ecosystems. Rather than simply following price action, Alexander looks at liquidity, investor positioning, market structure, and macroeconomic conditions to identify developing trends and explain what they could mean for digital assets. With a degree in International Relations, he brings a broader perspective to cryptocurrency coverage by connecting developments in the sector with monetary policy, geopolitics, regulation, and global capital flows. This allows him to examine crypto not as an isolated market, but as an increasingly interconnected part of the global financial system. Over the course of more than five years in financial journalism, Alexander has written over 5,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, blockchain, traditional markets, and the global economy. His reporting spans Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, DeFi protocols, institutional crypto adoption, regulation, market infrastructure, security incidents, and major developments shaping the wider digital asset industry. His approach is centered on giving readers context behind the numbers and headlines, explaining not only what is happening in crypto markets, but why it matters and what could come next.
The Bitwise Chainlink ETF recently attracted approximately $10 million in new capital over a two-day period, according to data from SoSoValue. Despite this increase in investment, the fund’s total net assets declined during the same timeframe, reflecting recent price depreciation in Chainlink’s LINK token.
ETF inflows rise amid price declineThe additional capital came as the value of LINK, the fund’s primary holding, experienced a downturn. While investors sought to increase their exposure, LINK’s falling price reduced the overall value of assets held by the ETF.
Cumulative net inflows into the Bitwise Chainlink ETF reached roughly $179.61 million. However, total net assets dropped from $249.41 million to $229.38 million, highlighting the impact of market fluctuations on asset values.
Despite attracting new investment, the ETF’s assets fell to $229.38 million, down from $249.41 million, following the token’s recent price drop.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham reported that Bitwise also received a $1.17 million LINK transfer from Wintermute, a prominent market maker. This transaction was one of several recent deposits connected to the ETF, indicating consistent institutional participation in Chainlink.
Chainlink dominates the oracle sectorChainlink operates as the leading oracle provider in decentralized finance (DeFi), delivering external data and price feeds to blockchain ecosystems. Data from DeFiLlama shows that Chainlink currently secures around 60.28% of all tracked oracle value, supporting approximately $36.6 billion across more than 530 protocols.
In comparison, internal oracles represent 13.10% of the market, while Chronicle holds an 8.19% share. Chainlink’s wide margin over competitors underscores its significance as lending markets, derivatives platforms, and tokenized assets depend heavily on reliable oracles for data accuracy.
However, high market share alone does not necessarily translate into increased demand for the LINK token. The token’s value depends on whether protocol growth leads to additional on-chain usage involving LINK.
Oracle ProviderMarket Share (%)Value SecuredProtocols SupportedChainlink60.28$36.6 billion530+Internal Oracles13.10——Chronicle8.19——CCIP v2.0 expands institutional focusChainlink is broadening its offerings beyond DeFi price feeds, aiming to build core infrastructure for institutional clients. Its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) enables data and asset transfers between different blockchain networks, including support for tokenized traditional assets like equities and treasuries.
The launch of CCIP v2.0 introduced enhancements for institutional compliance and advanced cross-chain functionality, providing organizations with greater control and security when handling tokenized assets.
Industry observers expect that increased adoption of CCIP could lead to recurring network fees as institutions progress from pilot projects to full-scale operations. Nevertheless, the impact on LINK’s price will depend on whether usage of these new services translates into direct demand for the token.
Currently, despite fresh inflows, the Bitwise Chainlink ETF’s asset value has fallen, reflecting LINK’s recent price pressures in the broader market.
Mini dictionary: CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol), developed by Chainlink, is a protocol that allows data and asset transfers across multiple blockchain networks and is designed to meet the needs of both decentralized finance and institutional clients.
Remittix advances its crypto-to-bank platform through real-user testing as Dogecoin and Chainlink traders look beyond the market pullback toward ambitious new price targets.
MAJURO, Marshall Islands, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Remittix has opened PayFi testing to 1,000 invited RTX holders, moving its flagship crypto-to-bank platform deeper into real-user validation ahead of the scheduled November 24, 2026 token launch.
Invited holders can test EUR and USD routes while Remittix prepares additional fiat currencies, digital assets and networks. The rollout brings the project closer to competing in the trillion-dollar remittance market by connecting supported cryptocurrency with conventional bank settlement.
The milestone arrives as a bullish Dogecoin price prediction targets $0.50 and Chainlink’s expansion onto Stellar supports a $100 LINK forecast. Both targets would require major market recoveries, placing attention on projects that can convert renewed crypto demand into visible network activity and real-world use.
RemittixPayFi Enters the Hands of 1,000 Holders
RemittixPayFi is designed to let a sender fund an eligible transfer with supported crypto while the recipient receives fiat through a compatible bank account. Recipients can access conventional money without managing tokens, visiting an exchange or navigating a separate off-ramp.
The testing phase supports crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto activity through EUR and USD routes. USDT and USDC are available across Ethereum, Celo, Base and Polygon, with further currencies and networks planned as the platform approaches wider release.
This model targets international remittances, overseas contractors, suppliers and crypto holders who want a simpler connection between digital assets and everyday banking.
PayFi Leads a Wider Remittix Ecosystem
PayFi remains the central Remittix product, while the connected ecosystem creates additional reasons for users to hold funds and remain active. The iOS wallet has recorded more than 10,000 downloads, and an Android edition is awaiting approval.
Remittix Markets offers hundreds of perpetual pairs and has processed more than $50 million in trading volume. Remittix Earn is approaching release with advertised yields of up to 22% APY on eligible crypto and stablecoin holdings.
Payments can bring users into the application, while Markets, the wallet and Earn can turn a single transfer into a longer relationship with the RTX ecosystem.
Dogecoin Price Prediction Targets $0.50 as Chainlink Eyes $100
Dogecoin recently traded near $0.08 after a broad market pullback. A move to $0.50 would represent more than sixfold growth and restore DOGE to levels associated with stronger memecoin cycles. The bullish scenario depends on returning retail liquidity, renewed social momentum and another expansion in crypto risk appetite.
Chainlink recently traded near $12, making $100 an even larger long-term target. Its Data Feeds expansion onto Stellar extends Chainlink infrastructure into another network focused on payments, tokenized assets and financial applications. That reach supports the argument that LINK could benefit as more institutions bring real-world value onchain.
The RTX Pre-Launch Window Is Closing
Remittix has raised more than $32 million from over 40,000 participants toward its $36 million hard cap. RTX is currently available at $0.28, while $0.46 is the announced final presale price and planned minimum exchange launch price.
The move from $0.28 to $0.46 represents a potential 64% increase before open-market price discovery begins. With PayFi testing active, Markets live and November 24 fixed for launch, Remittix gives buyers searching for the best crypto presale a defined timeline backed by an expanding product suite.
About Remittix
Remittix is developing a connected PayFi ecosystem for crypto-to-bank and bank-to-crypto transactions. Its products include international payment settlement, a mobile wallet, Remittix Markets and the forthcoming Remittix Earn service.
Website: https://remittix.io
X: https://x.com/remittix
Media Contact
Company: Remittix
Email: [email protected]
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Ripple’s recent launch of the Ripple Treasury platform has sparked renewed discussion around the potential integration of XRP into mainstream financial infrastructure. Crypto researcher SMQKE suggested that the new platform could serve as a bridge for XRP to connect with the widely used SWIFT interbank messaging network, drawing increased attention from market participants monitoring XRP’s adoption prospects.
Ripple Treasury: Expanding Institutional ServicesRipple, a San Francisco-based financial technology company known for its focus on blockchain-based payment solutions, introduced Ripple Treasury on January 28, 2026. This release came after Ripple’s $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, a prominent provider of treasury management software, in October 2025. The new platform merges GTreasury’s tools for managing corporate funds with Ripple’s digital asset technology, enabling firms to oversee both traditional currencies and digital holdings in a single location.
Ripple Treasury allows businesses to conduct cross-border settlements using RLUSD, Ripple’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin. Clients also gain access to overnight repurchase agreements and tokenized money-market funds, expanding their options for cash management and short-term financing.
These services are designed to integrate with existing corporate finance operations. Companies can streamline their treasury functions without the need to overhaul banking relationships or transact directly with XRP unless they choose to do so.
Mini dictionary: GTreasury, a company specializing in corporate treasury management software, helps businesses handle cash, liquidity, payments, and risk, simplifying complex financial operations for major enterprises.
XRP and the SWIFT Network: Real Integration or Speculation?SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, operates a vast financial messaging system that banks rely on for secure international payments. Due to SWIFT’s central role in global finance, any discussion about connecting it with digital assets like XRP draws significant interest from investors seeking institutional adoption and expanded real-world utility for cryptocurrencies.
On social media, SMQKE highlighted a potential synergy, writing, “Ripple Treasury + XRP and SWIFT.” He asserted that the new platform “will facilitate the entry of XRP into the SWIFT network.” This assertion gathered traction among XRP holders, though no formal announcement has come from SWIFT or Ripple confirming such an integration.
Any direct connection between XRP and SWIFT remains unconfirmed at this point. Ripple Treasury establishes new capabilities for institutional clients, but evidence of SWIFT adopting XRP for payment settlement has not yet emerged.
The scope of potential collaboration remains uncertain. While Ripple can offer businesses tools for liquidity and cross-border payments, corporate clients may opt to use Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD or other assets, depending on their requirements. The use of XRP itself would depend on future specifics of any partnership or integration.
Platform/NetworkPurposeAsset(s) SupportedCurrent Connection with XRPRipple TreasuryInstitutional treasury and cross-border settlementXRP, RLUSD, traditional currenciesDirectSWIFTGlobal interbank payments messagingTraditional currenciesUnconfirmedXRP Price: The Utility versus Value DebateThe debate over XRP’s utility and its market price surfaced prominently in online discussions. Community member Fabrizio Scudu commented on whether increased business adoption of the Ripple ecosystem would translate into value for XRP holders. He argued that utility alone is not enough if it does not also impact XRP’s price.
Scudu noted, “But the price is wrong… it’s pointless to say we need to look at utility. We all look at utility, but if it doesn’t translate into a fair value for #XRP, nobody cares anymore.”
Many XRP holders share similar reservations, emphasizing that Ripple’s expansion in financial services does not automatically translate into market gains for the digital asset. For SMQKE’s claims of a SWIFT connection to hold significant value, stakeholders expect to see actual implementation of XRP within the SWIFT network, rather than speculative associations.
Until there is official confirmation or evidence of widespread settlement activity involving XRP on SWIFT, such connections remain the subject of community debate and ongoing market speculation.
Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
Jupiter co-founder SIONG announced in a post that Jupiter Labs has launched an experimental high-leverage trading product called YOLO, which offers leverage ranging from 500x to 1000x. The product adopts the JLP model framework, simulating positions based on real market prices, with actual realized profits and losses—no need to execute corresponding leverage positions in the open market. YOLO’s profits are disbursed from a dedicated fund pool. If the fund pool lacks sufficient liquidity to settle profit positions, payouts may be queued instead of processed instantly. SIONG emphasized that this model differs from traditional perpetual contracts, carrying its own unique risks and limitations. He stated that launching YOLO under Jupiter Labs is to provide a testing ground for such new financial products and trading experiences, without the need to adapt to existing offerings. Currently, YOLO remains in the early stage of development, with room for further improvement. The launch was inspired by PaperTrade, he added.
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Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
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The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower but climbed higher, with the S&P 500 index turning positive.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower and moved higher: the S&P 500 turned positive, the Nasdaq’s decline narrowed to 0.4%, and the Dow Jones rose nearly 1%. Among component stocks, Micron Technology neared a positive turn after falling more than 6% earlier; Microsoft, Apple, and Google gained 0.5% each, while SanDisk and SpaceX fell 3%.
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Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin briefly broke through the $82,000 mark, with a 0.02% increase in the past 24 hours.
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Ethereum breaks through $2,400
According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through $2,400, with a 1.19% decline in the past 24 hours.
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DeFi Development raised the annual dividend rate of CHAD preferred stock to 14%, and plans to use proceeds from future issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has raised the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. At CHAD’s $10 par value per share, the annual dividend will rise from $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Dividends are subject to declaration by the company’s board of directors and paid on business days. The company said it plans to use proceeds from future CHAD issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
TLDR The European Banking Authority has placed Circle’s USDC stablecoin in a higher-tier e-money token category under the EU’s MiCA rules. USDC will now be jointly supervised by the EBA and France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin with a market cap of about $73 billion, behind Tether’s USDt at $184 billion. EU-based token issuers have been pushing for regulated US dollar-pegged stablecoins in the region. The European Central Bank is still exploring a digital euro, which could be issued in 2029. The European Banking Authority has given Circle’s USDC stablecoin a higher-tier classification under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets rules. The decision was announced in a notice on Wednesday, October 14.
Under the MiCA framework, USDC now falls into a higher category of e-money tokens. This label means the stablecoin will face closer supervision than smaller tokens.
The EBA said USDC is the first e-money token in the EU to receive this classification. Cointelegraph reported that only 45 other projects hold e-money token status in the region.
How USDC Will Be Supervised With the new classification, USDC will be overseen jointly by two regulators. The first is the EBA itself, which is the EU’s banking authority.
The second is France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution. This French agency supervises banks and insurance firms in the country.
The two bodies will now share responsibility for monitoring the stablecoin. Their oversight will follow the standards set out under MiCA.
USDC is the second-largest stablecoin in the world by market value. It has a market capitalization of about $73 billion.
The largest stablecoin is Tether’s USDt, which is valued at around $184 billion. Both tokens are pegged to the US dollar.
Push for Dollar Stablecoins in Europe The EBA’s decision came as many token issuers based in the EU have pushed for regulated stablecoins tied to the US dollar. These issuers say demand for dollar tokens remains strong.
James Bennett, CEO of Stable Mint, spoke to Cointelegraph about the issue. He said Europe could not “wish away” dollar stablecoins.
Bennett added that regulators can still control the safeguards and rules that issuers must follow. Under MiCA, EU authorities have the power to set those standards.
Alexander Höptner, CEO of AllUnity, shared a similar view. “For European corporates to make cross-border payments globally, offering only a euro stablecoin isn’t enough,” he told Cointelegraph.
While issuers and regulators move closer to accepting dollar stablecoins, the European Central Bank is still working on its own digital currency. Policymakers continue to explore the launch of a digital euro.
The EU first proposed the central bank digital currency in 2020. The digital euro could be issued in 2029, once lawmakers finish the required legislation and a pilot program is completed.
For now, USDC enters a new phase of supervision in the EU following Wednesday’s notice. The $73 billion stablecoin will remain under the joint watch of the EBA and France’s regulator.
Bitcoin may surpass $175,000 over the next few quarters, according to Brian Vieten, senior research analyst at Siebert Financial, a diversified financial services firm. Vieten shared this forecast during comments made on October 14, attributing his bullish outlook to the maturing structure of the market and new institutional developments.
Shift in Market StructureVieten explained that bitcoin’s resilience has improved significantly since the crypto lending failures in 2022. Broader ownership and increased access to financing options now underpin the market’s foundation, he stated.
Vieten emphasized, “The market structure has fundamentally shifted,” noting stronger institutional involvement and reduced selling pressure as key factors in the digital asset’s changing landscape.
His valuation model for bitcoin incorporates three main factors: overall money supply growth, the rate of digital wallet adoption, and demand trends for the cryptocurrency.
Institutional Exposure and Bank LendingVieten regards exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as an increasingly vital source of long-term investment in bitcoin. He cited recent improvements in market sentiment and described a reduction in selling pressure across investment groups, with miners increasingly diversifying into sectors such as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. These strategies, he says, help miners secure alternative capital streams.
Companies holding bitcoin in their reserves generally exhibit low debt levels and conservative spending habits, which Vieten sees as positive for price stability. He also pointed to expanding transparency through on-chain trading platforms, which now offer more direct insight into market movements.
Vieten highlighted growing involvement from major banking institutions. For example, JPMorgan has started accepting shares of BlackRock’s IBIT—an exchange-traded fund tracking bitcoin—as loan collateral, allowing businesses to secure funding without selling their bitcoin ETF shares. JPMorgan first outlined plans to accept bitcoin ETFs as collateral in June 2025.
MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has offered similar perspectives, anticipating continued advancements in banking custody and lending options for digital assets even as broader crypto legislation faces delays.
Vieten does not view the upcoming November midterm elections as a significant risk factor for digital asset policy directions.
Mini dictionary: Siebert Financial is a US-based diversified financial services company, offering brokerage, investment banking, and advisory services to retail and institutional clients.
Stablecoin Expansion and Consumer AdoptionVieten believes that growth in stablecoins, such as USDC, could act as the next major driver for bitcoin’s price. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a consistent value by being backed one-to-one with assets like cash, bank deposits, or short-term US Treasuries. He expects rising adoption of blockchain payments to bring new participants and liquidity into the crypto ecosystem, indirectly benefiting bitcoin demand.
He stated that, “That’s what takes us to $175k and beyond in the next few quarters,” referencing the increasing role of stablecoins in supporting short-term Treasury demand and the broader crypto ecosystem.
A new regulatory framework, known as the GENIUS Act, will require stablecoins to be fully backed by eligible assets. This act is scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027, and aims to strengthen confidence in major stablecoins.
Meanwhile, consumer access to digital dollars continues to expand. Samsung announced that starting in the last week of October, USDC payments will be integrated into Samsung Wallet. The rollout is set to reach 82 million Galaxy devices across the US, enabling users to conduct eligible bank transfers to more than 60 countries through their mobile wallets.
Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
Jupiter co-founder SIONG announced in a post that Jupiter Labs has launched an experimental high-leverage trading product called YOLO, which offers leverage ranging from 500x to 1000x. The product adopts the JLP model framework, simulating positions based on real market prices, with actual realized profits and losses—no need to execute corresponding leverage positions in the open market. YOLO’s profits are disbursed from a dedicated fund pool. If the fund pool lacks sufficient liquidity to settle profit positions, payouts may be queued instead of processed instantly. SIONG emphasized that this model differs from traditional perpetual contracts, carrying its own unique risks and limitations. He stated that launching YOLO under Jupiter Labs is to provide a testing ground for such new financial products and trading experiences, without the need to adapt to existing offerings. Currently, YOLO remains in the early stage of development, with room for further improvement. The launch was inspired by PaperTrade, he added.
3 minutes ago
Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
3 minutes ago
The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower but climbed higher, with the S&P 500 index turning positive.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower and moved higher: the S&P 500 turned positive, the Nasdaq’s decline narrowed to 0.4%, and the Dow Jones rose nearly 1%. Among component stocks, Micron Technology neared a positive turn after falling more than 6% earlier; Microsoft, Apple, and Google gained 0.5% each, while SanDisk and SpaceX fell 3%.
3 minutes ago
Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin briefly broke through the $82,000 mark, with a 0.02% increase in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
Ethereum breaks through $2,400
According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through $2,400, with a 1.19% decline in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
DeFi Development raised the annual dividend rate of CHAD preferred stock to 14%, and plans to use proceeds from future issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has raised the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. At CHAD’s $10 par value per share, the annual dividend will rise from $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Dividends are subject to declaration by the company’s board of directors and paid on business days. The company said it plans to use proceeds from future CHAD issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
The EBA will assume direct oversight of USDC’s reserves, liquidity, and redemption plans from Nov. 12, while France’s ACPR retains responsibility for governance and other areas.
The European Banking Authority said Wednesday that it has classified USDC as a "significant" e-money token under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, making it the first of the 45 EMTs notified in the bloc to meet that threshold.
According to an official statement, the EBA will now take direct responsibility for supervising USDC’s own funds, reserve assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans from Nov. 12. These areas are currently overseen by France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), but the regulator will still handle governance, qualifying holdings, fit and proper assessment, and conflicts of interest after the EBA takes over.
The EBA also said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services, which oversees Circle's New York-regulated operations. The MoU will facilitate cross-border oversight and information exchanges between the two authorities.
USDC is the world’s second-largest stablecoin, with a supply of nearly $73 billion, according to The Block’s data dashboard. Tether’s USDT leads the market with $184 billion in circulation, against a total supply of $294 billion for dollar-pegged stablecoins.
USDC supply by blockchain. Image: The Block.Circle has expanded USDC’s commercial reach this year. In September, Binance purchased $100 million of Circle shares and agreed to a five-year arrangement to promote USDC on its platform. Circle also signed a sponsorship deal with Chelsea FC in August, making USDC a prominent feature on the club’s shirts for the 2026/27 season.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) announced that under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, it has designated Circle-issued USDC as a "significant e-money token". USDC is the first among 45 e-money tokens notified in the EU to meet this designation standard. Effective November 12, the EBA will directly regulate USDC’s own funds, reserve assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans—areas previously overseen by France’s Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR). Following the handover, ACPR will retain responsibility for corporate governance, qualifying holdings, suitability assessments, and conflict of interest matters. The EBA also noted it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to facilitate cross-border supervision and information exchange. NYDFS regulates Circle’s licensed operations in New York State. Per data from The Block, USDC’s circulating supply nears $73 billion, making it the world’s second-largest stablecoin.
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Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
Jupiter co-founder SIONG announced in a post that Jupiter Labs has launched an experimental high-leverage trading product called YOLO, which offers leverage ranging from 500x to 1000x. The product adopts the JLP model framework, simulating positions based on real market prices, with actual realized profits and losses—no need to execute corresponding leverage positions in the open market. YOLO’s profits are disbursed from a dedicated fund pool. If the fund pool lacks sufficient liquidity to settle profit positions, payouts may be queued instead of processed instantly. SIONG emphasized that this model differs from traditional perpetual contracts, carrying its own unique risks and limitations. He stated that launching YOLO under Jupiter Labs is to provide a testing ground for such new financial products and trading experiences, without the need to adapt to existing offerings. Currently, YOLO remains in the early stage of development, with room for further improvement. The launch was inspired by PaperTrade, he added.
3 minutes ago
Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
3 minutes ago
The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower but climbed higher, with the S&P 500 index turning positive.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower and moved higher: the S&P 500 turned positive, the Nasdaq’s decline narrowed to 0.4%, and the Dow Jones rose nearly 1%. Among component stocks, Micron Technology neared a positive turn after falling more than 6% earlier; Microsoft, Apple, and Google gained 0.5% each, while SanDisk and SpaceX fell 3%.
3 minutes ago
Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin briefly broke through the $82,000 mark, with a 0.02% increase in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
Ethereum breaks through $2,400
According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through $2,400, with a 1.19% decline in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
DeFi Development raised the annual dividend rate of CHAD preferred stock to 14%, and plans to use proceeds from future issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has raised the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. At CHAD’s $10 par value per share, the annual dividend will rise from $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Dividends are subject to declaration by the company’s board of directors and paid on business days. The company said it plans to use proceeds from future CHAD issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
Jupiter co-founder SIONG announced in a post that Jupiter Labs has launched an experimental high-leverage trading product called YOLO, which offers leverage ranging from 500x to 1000x. The product adopts the JLP model framework, simulating positions based on real market prices, with actual realized profits and losses—no need to execute corresponding leverage positions in the open market. YOLO’s profits are disbursed from a dedicated fund pool. If the fund pool lacks sufficient liquidity to settle profit positions, payouts may be queued instead of processed instantly. SIONG emphasized that this model differs from traditional perpetual contracts, carrying its own unique risks and limitations. He stated that launching YOLO under Jupiter Labs is to provide a testing ground for such new financial products and trading experiences, without the need to adapt to existing offerings. Currently, YOLO remains in the early stage of development, with room for further improvement. The launch was inspired by PaperTrade, he added.
3 minutes ago
Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
3 minutes ago
The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower but climbed higher, with the S&P 500 index turning positive.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower and moved higher: the S&P 500 turned positive, the Nasdaq’s decline narrowed to 0.4%, and the Dow Jones rose nearly 1%. Among component stocks, Micron Technology neared a positive turn after falling more than 6% earlier; Microsoft, Apple, and Google gained 0.5% each, while SanDisk and SpaceX fell 3%.
3 minutes ago
Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin briefly broke through the $82,000 mark, with a 0.02% increase in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
Ethereum breaks through $2,400
According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through $2,400, with a 1.19% decline in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
DeFi Development raised the annual dividend rate of CHAD preferred stock to 14%, and plans to use proceeds from future issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has raised the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. At CHAD’s $10 par value per share, the annual dividend will rise from $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Dividends are subject to declaration by the company’s board of directors and paid on business days. The company said it plans to use proceeds from future CHAD issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
According to HTX market data, XPL surged more than 6% in a short period following news of Stripe and Plasma’s partnership to launch a multi-currency stablecoin card, and is now trading at $0.08223. Earlier reports noted that Stripe announced a collaboration with Plasma to develop the multi-currency stablecoin card, designed to allow individuals and businesses to spend using currencies already held in their accounts, reducing unnecessary currency conversions and foreign exchange costs. Plasma will serve as a design partner, integrating with Stripe’s stablecoin card infrastructure to enable customers to use their account balances for payments via the multi-currency card. The expanded infrastructure will support fiat currencies including the U.S. dollar, Brazilian real, euro, Mexican peso, and Colombian peso; stablecoins include USDC, OUSD, and eligible stablecoins compliant with the GENIUS Act. Stripe’s stablecoin card service currently covers over 30 countries, with plans to expand to more than 100 countries by 2027.
Jupiter launches YOLO, a high-leverage trading product modeled after PaperTrade, supporting up to 1000x leverage.
Jupiter co-founder SIONG announced in a post that Jupiter Labs has launched an experimental high-leverage trading product called YOLO, which offers leverage ranging from 500x to 1000x. The product adopts the JLP model framework, simulating positions based on real market prices, with actual realized profits and losses—no need to execute corresponding leverage positions in the open market. YOLO’s profits are disbursed from a dedicated fund pool. If the fund pool lacks sufficient liquidity to settle profit positions, payouts may be queued instead of processed instantly. SIONG emphasized that this model differs from traditional perpetual contracts, carrying its own unique risks and limitations. He stated that launching YOLO under Jupiter Labs is to provide a testing ground for such new financial products and trading experiences, without the need to adapt to existing offerings. Currently, YOLO remains in the early stage of development, with room for further improvement. The launch was inspired by PaperTrade, he added.
3 minutes ago
Final implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are expected to be released by the end of October.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Director Jonathan Gould said the final rules for the OCC’s implementation of the GENIUS Act are expected to be released soon, by the end of October. Gould made the remarks at the "Building the New Digital Economy" event hosted by the Milken Institute, which was held concurrently with DC FinTech Week.
3 minutes ago
The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower but climbed higher, with the S&P 500 index turning positive.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower and moved higher: the S&P 500 turned positive, the Nasdaq’s decline narrowed to 0.4%, and the Dow Jones rose nearly 1%. Among component stocks, Micron Technology neared a positive turn after falling more than 6% earlier; Microsoft, Apple, and Google gained 0.5% each, while SanDisk and SpaceX fell 3%.
3 minutes ago
Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin briefly broke through the $82,000 mark, with a 0.02% increase in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
Ethereum breaks through $2,400
According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through $2,400, with a 1.19% decline in the past 24 hours.
3 minutes ago
DeFi Development raised the annual dividend rate of CHAD preferred stock to 14%, and plans to use proceeds from future issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has raised the annual dividend rate of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. At CHAD’s $10 par value per share, the annual dividend will rise from $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Dividends are subject to declaration by the company’s board of directors and paid on business days. The company said it plans to use proceeds from future CHAD issuances to expand its SOL treasury.
Earn on Startale App now takes USDC Startale App introduces two new Earn vaults today, expanding the assets you can put to work directly from the App. Earn now supports USDC alongside USDSC and ETH, with more to come.
Both vaults lend your USDC to borrowers and pay you interest.
Gauntlet USDC Prime vault Gauntlet USDC Prime vault is curated by Gauntlet, powered by Morpho. Your USDC is lent to borrowers who post major crypto assets as collateral. Borrowers post more than they borrow while you earn the interest they pay.
Flowmark fGenesis USDC vault Flowmark fGenesis USDC vault is curated by Flowmark, powered by Morpho. Your USDC is currently lent to borrowers who post PGNGI+ as collateral. PGNGI+ is tokenized by Asseto and linked to the Partners Group Next Generation Infrastructure strategy. Asseto brings the real-world asset onchain, Flowmark sets the risk parameters, and you earn the interest borrowers pay.
How to deposit into the USDC vaults Both vaults are on the Ethereum network and accept deposits from your Startale Smart Wallet only. External wallets such as MetaMask cannot deposit into them. Earnings compound automatically and are added to your position, so your earnings start earning too. There's no need to claim or manually redeposit.
Fees and withdrawals There are no deposit fees on either vault. On the Gauntlet USDC Prime vault, Startale takes a small share of what you earn, never of your deposit. The Flowmark fGenesis vault has no withdrawal fee. Full details on deposits, withdrawals, earnings and fees for each Earn vault are in the FAQ.
There is no lock-up period, and withdrawals are usually instant. When the vault is fully lent, you can withdraw what’s available instantly and the rest once borrowers repay or new deposits come in. Your position keeps earning while you wait, and this mainly affects very large withdrawals.
How these differ from the USDSC vault All three vaults earn on stablecoins. The USDSC vault pays you the interest from the short-term US Treasury bills that back USDSC, on Soneium, with instant withdrawals and no Startale fee. The two USDC vaults on Ethereum earn from onchain lending, and withdrawals depend on how much of the vault is lent at that moment.
Start earning Open the App, go to Earn, and see what your holdings could be making.
Firelight has added $31M of cover to Kraken’s Protected Strategies USDC vault. That gives depositors a backstop if the underlying DeFi plumbing springs a leak.
The coverage went live on October 15, 2026. It arrives just nine days after Firelight itself launched.
How the coverage works The vault is curated by Sentora, which routes deposits into what it describes as blue-chip DeFi venues. Firelight’s cover sits on top as a second layer of protection.
Each depositor address is capped at $100,000 of coverage per coverage period.
The policy targets specific technical failures. Covered events include smart contract exploits and oracle failures. Oracles are the data feeds that tell onchain programs what prices are. When they break, a protocol can make very confident decisions based on very wrong numbers.
Coverage terms are established and verified onchain every 30 days, so the parameters can be adjusted as the vault’s risk profile shifts.
Payouts are handled by Sentora, not guaranteed by Kraken. Depositors are not getting a promise from the exchange’s balance sheet. They are relying on the cover structure that Firelight and Sentora have built around the product.
Who decides when a claim pays out A consortium of five independent firms validates each claim. At least three of the five must vote in favor before a payout is activated.
Once a claim clears, funds come from a shared, non-custodial pool made up of staked FXRP alongside a protocol-owned first-loss buffer.
FXRP is a representation of XRP that operates on the Flare Network, where Firelight is built. Stakers who put FXRP into the pool effectively act as underwriters. The first-loss buffer is capital the protocol itself owns, and it absorbs losses before stakers’ funds are touched.
Background: a fast start for Firelight Firelight launched on October 6, 2026, on the Flare Network. Its first product covered the USD Protected Vault. The protocol has also raised $8 million in seed funding.
Sentora’s total value locked across its strategies exceeds $2.8 billion, with significant deposits sitting in Kraken’s DeFi Earn products. Against that $2.8 billion figure, the $31M of cover is a modest slice.
What this means for depositors and DeFi yield The $100,000 per-address limit means larger holders remain partly exposed. Coverage only applies to listed events, so losses from other causes may fall outside the policy. Payouts are not guaranteed by Kraken, so depositors are trusting the strength of the FXRP pool and the judgment of the five-firm consortium.
Backing a USDC vault with staked FXRP means the cover is denominated in a different asset than the deposits it protects. If FXRP’s value fell sharply at the same moment a large claim landed, the pool’s capacity could look thinner than it does on paper. The protocol-owned first-loss buffer is designed to soften that kind of hit.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The integration enables AI agents on XDC AI to prove a verified owner stands behind them, marking Concordium’s first full-network integration.
London, UK and Abu Dhabi, UAE, 14 October 2026. XDC Network, a Layer-1 blockchain focused on payments, trade finance and real-world assets, has selected Concordium as the exclusive identity verification layer for XDC AI, its agent payments marketplace. The integration enables agents to receive an on-chain verification badge confirming that a verified individual or business stands behind them, without publicly disclosing the owner’s identity.
Launched in July 2026, XDC AI provides agents with non-custodial wallets to discover and pay for services in USDC using the x402 payment standard. The Concordium integration adds an identity verification mechanism designed to establish accountability as AI agents conduct financial transactions and act on behalf of businesses.
Agent owners can complete verification in minutes through the Concordium Wallet, using a passport and liveness check conducted by an independent identity provider. They then link their XDC wallet with two signatures that don’t move funds and register the agent. Concordium issues a publicly verifiable badge while keeping personal information off-chain. Identity disclosure requires a court order and joint action by independent Privacy Guardians.
“Agents on XDC AI can already discover services and pay for them in USDC. What institutions need next is to know who stands behind an agent before they trust it with real money. Concordium gives every verified agent an accountable owner without putting anyone’s personal data on-chain, so builders on XDC earn trust from their very first transaction,” says Atul Khekade, Co-founder, XDC Network.
“Payment tells you an agent can spend. It doesn’t tell you who answers for it,” said Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, CEO of Concordium. “XDC has built the rails for agents to transact. We make sure a verified person or business stands behind every agent, without making their identity public. That’s the accountability institutions need to give agents real authority. XDC is the first of many networks integrating with us.”
Concordium already supports agent verification on Ethereum and Solana, with XDC becoming its first full-network integration. Agents retain their existing wallets, code, and operations on XDC, while Concordium provides the identity verification layer. The partnership includes revenue sharing on each agent verification, with every verified agent creating a Concordium account linked to a verified owner. Network fees are sponsored, eliminating the need for developers to hold CCD tokens.
Agent verification is now available at xdcai.tech/agent-verification, with developer documentation at docs.xdcai.tech/wallet/agent-verification.
About XDC Network XDC Network is an open-source, EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain built for payments, trade finance and real-world assets, offering high throughput, low fees and enterprise-grade security, while being ISO 20022–compliant to support interoperability with global financial messaging and payment systems. XDC Network underpins a growing ecosystem of regulated digital money, trade, and settlement solutions across the globe.
xinfin.org
About Concordium Concordium is AI infrastructure for the agentic economy powered by a purpose-built, regulatory-grade blockchain with identity and trust built into the protocol. The only platform where verified humans and verified AI agents operate on the same identity layer. Designed by world-renowned cryptographers and trusted by enterprises, agent networks, and developers worldwide.
concordium.com
AUTHOR
Simeon is a detail-driven editor who sharpens every piece with clarity and precision, ensuring clean, consistent, and professional content throughout.
US spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew about $740,000 in net inflows on October 14. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Hyperliquid (HYPE) funds lost nearly $400 million combined that day.
The inflow kept XRP funds positive so far this week as the token continued declining. Large holders, meanwhile, are moving more XRP onto Binance.
XRP Funds Haven’t Logged a Losing Week Since JulyAccording to SoSoValue data, XRP ETFs have drawn net inflows for 13 consecutive weeks. The last weekly outflow, about $7.2 million, came in the week ending July 10.
XRP ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValueCumulative net inflows now stand at a record $1.80 billion. However, inflows have cooled since the week ending September 25, which brought $75.6 million. The next 2 weeks added $4.7 million and $11.3 million.
Zcash (ZEC) funds were the only other group to attract money on October 14, taking in $3.68 million. Still, they remain $3.16 million in the red for the week so far.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
XRP Price Slides as Whales Send More Coins to BinanceThe steady ETF demand has come during a weak stretch for XRP’s price. The token traded at $1.31 at press time, down 5.11% over the past 24 hours.
That leaves XRP about 64% below its all-time high of $3.65, set on July 17, 2025.
XRP price performance, 24-hour chart. Source: BeInCrypto MarketsLower prices have also cut XRP ETF net assets from $1.77 billion on September 25 to $1.51 billion. BeInCrypto previously reported that ETF buyers kept adding even while sitting on losses.
Large holders, however, have been sending more XRP to exchanges. Analyst Arab Chain reported that 30-day XRP whale inflows to Binance reached 1.669 billion XRP.
That is a seven-month high. The figure stood at roughly 1.65 billion XRP in September. More coins on Binance can add to the supply available for sale.
However, the analyst cautioned that the transfers may reflect wallet reshuffling or other Binance services instead of selling.
XRP is being pulled between two forces. ETF buyers have kept adding for 13 weeks, while whale deposits to Binance sit at a seven-month high.
So far, the token has followed the broader market instead. Crypto prices slid after a hotter-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) print on October 14.
ETF inflows do give some confidence, but they have yet to translate into price gains. Until they do, XRP’s next move will likely depend on how the wider market digests the inflation data
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"The next leg of this bull market is coming. We’re ready," one X user stated.
The cryptocurrency market took a significant step back over the past 24 hours after US inflation came in higher than expected (among other reasons).
Bitcoin (BTC) dipped 3% on a daily basis, while popular altcoins like Zcash (ZEC) posted double-digit declines. However, several analysts remain optimistic about the privacy coin and see the pullback as a buying opportunity.
New Rally Incoming? ZEC is down approximately 15% for the day and currently trades below $1,100 (per CoinGecko). Its market capitalization fell to nearly $18.3 billion, yet the asset remains one of the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies. Interestingly, its recent downfall doesn’t seem like bad news to some analysts. X Finance Bull said he sold his entire ZEC position earlier this year when the price hit $1,500.
“My reason was simple: there had been almost no real correction since $500, and I didn’t see the utility expanding enough to justify chasing it higher,” he explained.
The latest correction, though, has changed the analyst’s plans, and he said he’s going back to the ZEC chart and fundamentals because he sees a potential setup developing.
“We prepared before the fear came. Now the market is giving us the prices. The next leg of this bull market is coming. We’re ready,” he concluded.
Altcoin Sherpa – a popular X user with over 260,000 followers also chipped in. The analyst closely watched the privacy coin’s price chart, describing a slump to $1,000 or lower as a “gift.” Jesse Olson joined the topic, too. He predicted the asset’s valuation could head south toward $900 in the short term, then stage a major recovery to as high as $1,600.
Monitoring These Indicators ZEC’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) favors the rebound scenario. The ratio fell to 30, suggesting the asset is in oversold territory and could be on the verge of a pump. The index runs from 0 to 100, where anything above 70 typically signals an impending correction.
ZEC RSI, Source: RSI Hunter On the other hand, ZEC’s exchange netflow signals that the red wave may intensify in the near future. According to CoinGlass, inflows have surpassed outflows over the past few weeks, meaning some investors have moved holdings from self-custody to centralized platforms, increasing immediate selling pressure.
You may also like: Zcash (ZEC) Gains 1,000% and Still Has Room to Grow, Grayscale Research Says Cardano’s NIGHT Will Be Bigger Than Zcash: Charles Hoskinson Zcash Tops $1,600 After Europe’s First ZEC ETP Debuts ZEC Exchange Netflow, Source: CoinGlass Tags:
In brief
Privacy cryptocurrency Zcash has tanked 11% over the past 24 hours.
Luke Nolan, senior researcher at CoinShares, says this drop was likely caused by a build up in leverage after the token's "meteoric rise" in recent months.
Another expert says that growing concerns that AI could break crypto encryption before quantum computers might've prompted losses for Zcash.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash has fallen 11% over the past 24 hours to a market capitalization of $18.5 billion, per Decrypt data, making it one of the biggest losers of the day.
One expert says this drop in valuation comes after its price has soared in recent months, which has led to a build up in leverage and amplified losses. Others say that growing concerns that AI can break cryptography faster than quantum computers are causing the privacy token to take bigger losses.
Luke Nolan, senior researcher at CoinShares, highlighted that Zcash's "meteoric rise" means that it is still up 460% from its March lows and that in a "fragile" crypto market the largest gainers tend to take losses too.
"There was a decent build-up of leverage on the way up as this is also a natural consequence of a strong move," Nolan told Decrypt. "More attention brings more perp traders to take on leverage, and when there is a sneeze, the moves get amplified as those leveraged traders are either forced to reduce exposure or get liquidated."
Over the past 24 hours, per CoinGlass data, $17.9 million worth of Zcash long positions were liquidated, a large figure compared to Hyperliquid's $7.3 million over the same period.
The race to quantum-proof ZcashThe price drop comes as other industry-wide concerns start to swirl, some of which could see positive upside for Zcash.
Last week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake warned that the industry needs to plan for "bunker mode" as AI could break crypto encryption before quantum computers do. The conversation was sparked after OpenAI published major progress in math, which presented concerns for the future of encryption.
"The OpenAI math breakthroughs has caused a lot concern in crypto given the conspicuous lack of cryptography proofs," Ryan Zurrer, founder and director of investment firm Dialectic, told Decrypt. "More complex privacy protocols such as Zcash have the most to lose in a zero-day event if core primitives are rendered obsolete against AI-driven cryptography attacks."
Zcash has been aggressive with its quest to quantum-proof the network. Zakura, a Zcash full node developer, recently said that its team expects to be quantum-proofed as well as reasonably AI-proofed by January. Its quantum-resistant roadmap "served as a key catalyst" for its recent rally, Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey, told Decrypt. "Although actual implementation is still some distance away, it indeed reflects the market's continuous focus on the privacy sector since the beginning of this year."
Privacy continues to be a major crypto industry talking point. Sun added that as traditional finance continues to merge with the crypto industry, the need for privacy will continue to rise.
"As an increasing volume of traditional financial assets and operations migrate on-chain, privacy protection will no longer be merely an optional add-on," Sun told Decrypt, "but rather a fundamental prerequisite for financial institutions adopting blockchain technology."
Last week, French lawmakers progressed a law proposal that would require citizens to report crypto holdings equal to or above €100,000 ($112,000), or otherwise face a penalty. The proposed law received significant backlash in the wake of a wave of crypto-related "wrench attacks," robberies, and kidnappings across the country. Although the law hasn't passed yet, some have looked to privacy protocols as government oversight looms.
Nolan from CoinShares highlights that investors should zoom out when looking at Zcash's recent performance, pushing back on recent narratives pushing its price down.
"I think the French proposed law had little to do with the move, and in my view, it's simply a larger pullback given the meteoric rise," Nolan told Decrypt. "When you put the drawdown in context on the daily chart, even though it's been 35%+, it looks like a blip in comparison to the upmove."
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
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In brief
Privacy cryptocurrency Zcash has tanked 11% over the past 24 hours.
Luke Nolan, senior researcher at CoinShares, says this drop was likely caused by a build up in leverage after the token's "meteoric rise" in recent months.
Another expert says that growing concerns that AI could break crypto encryption before quantum computers might've prompted losses for Zcash.
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash has fallen 11% over the past 24 hours to a market capitalization of $18.5 billion, per Decrypt data, making it one of the biggest losers of the day.
One expert says this drop in valuation comes after its price has soared in recent months, which has led to a build up in leverage and amplified losses. Others say that growing concerns that AI can break cryptography faster than quantum computers are causing the privacy token to take bigger losses.
Luke Nolan, senior researcher at CoinShares, highlighted that Zcash's "meteoric rise" means that it is still up 460% from its March lows and that in a "fragile" crypto market the largest gainers tend to take losses too.
"There was a decent build-up of leverage on the way up as this is also a natural consequence of a strong move," Nolan told Decrypt. "More attention brings more perp traders to take on leverage, and when there is a sneeze, the moves get amplified as those leveraged traders are either forced to reduce exposure or get liquidated."
Over the past 24 hours, per CoinGlass data, $17.9 million worth of Zcash long positions were liquidated, a large figure compared to Hyperliquid's $7.3 million over the same period.
The race to quantum-proof ZcashThe price drop comes as other industry-wide concerns start to swirl, some of which could see positive upside for Zcash.
Last week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake warned that the industry needs to plan for "bunker mode" as AI could break crypto encryption before quantum computers do. The conversation was sparked after OpenAI published major progress in math, which presented concerns for the future of encryption.
"The OpenAI math breakthroughs has caused a lot concern in crypto given the conspicuous lack of cryptography proofs," Ryan Zurrer, founder and director of investment firm Dialectic, told Decrypt. "More complex privacy protocols such as Zcash have the most to lose in a zero-day event if core primitives are rendered obsolete against AI-driven cryptography attacks."
Zcash has been aggressive with its quest to quantum-proof the network. Zakura, a Zcash full node developer, recently said that its team expects to be quantum-proofed as well as reasonably AI-proofed by January. Its quantum-resistant roadmap "served as a key catalyst" for its recent rally, Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey, told Decrypt. "Although actual implementation is still some distance away, it indeed reflects the market's continuous focus on the privacy sector since the beginning of this year."
Privacy continues to be a major crypto industry talking point. Sun added that as traditional finance continues to merge with the crypto industry, the need for privacy will continue to rise.
"As an increasing volume of traditional financial assets and operations migrate on-chain, privacy protection will no longer be merely an optional add-on," Sun told Decrypt, "but rather a fundamental prerequisite for financial institutions adopting blockchain technology."
Last week, French lawmakers progressed a law proposal that would require citizens to report crypto holdings equal to or above €100,000 ($112,000), or otherwise face a penalty. The proposed law received significant backlash in the wake of a wave of crypto-related "wrench attacks," robberies, and kidnappings across the country. Although the law hasn't passed yet, some have looked to privacy protocols as government oversight looms.
Nolan from CoinShares highlights that investors should zoom out when looking at Zcash's recent performance, pushing back on recent narratives pushing its price down.
"I think the French proposed law had little to do with the move, and in my view, it's simply a larger pullback given the meteoric rise," Nolan told Decrypt. "When you put the drawdown in context on the daily chart, even though it's been 35%+, it looks like a blip in comparison to the upmove."
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Join 72,000+ readers
Create an account to save your articles.
Add on Google
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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.
In a recent X post, Zcash cofounder Eli Ben-Sasson doubled down on his bullish outlook for the ZEC token, saying $2,000 was a "no-brainer" while hinting at a longer-term target of $5,000. The Zcash cofounder was weighing in on a likely price prediction for ZEC in 2026.
I already predicted elsewhere that ZEC will reach $5,000.
$2,000 is a no-brainer for me.
This time, placing this prediction on @OffMarketcx (think of it as a privacy VPN for Polymarket).
Not investment advice. DYOR.
— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) October 15, 2026
Ben-Sasson shared a screenshot from OffMarket, a privacy service by Starkware that lets users trade on Polymarket without publicly linking their positions to their accounts. The screenshot showed the odds of "what price will Zcash hit in 2026" alongside a bet on the privacy token reaching $2,000 by the end of the year.
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The Zcash co-founder said he had already predicted elsewhere that ZEC would reach $5,000, but he sees the $2,000 level as an easier milestone; hence he placed the prediction on OffMarket, a platform he described as a 'privacy VPN for Polymarket'.
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Zcash rose to a high of $1,696 on September 26 following months of rallying, before it began to retreat. At the time of writing, Zcash was down 10.23% in the last 24 hours to $1,098 as the broader crypto market saw significant selling pressure after Wednesday's inflation data ignited concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this month.
An increase to $2,000 will require Zcash to rise more than 82% from its current price.
Amid the price drop, Zcash fell beneath the critical daily MA 50 support, which buoyed its rally in August 2026. A return above this level might see bulls gain traction once again to retest the $1,300 to $1,400 range before a run-up towards $1,700 and then $2,000.
Zcash RetreatsAccording to Santiment, ZEC rose about 48% from Sep 15 to Sep 26, 2026, and had handed back nearly all of those gains by Oct 14, 2026.
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Open interest in coins topped at 1.60 million ZEC, and by October 14, 2026, it was 2.5% below its September 15, 2026 level, while social volume peaked at 671 mentions. Santiment noted that October 14's 50 mentions were the quietest day since September 2, 2026. Price kept rising, surpassing $1,650, but with less attention and less leverage.
Zcash's NU7 upgrade gets its mainnet decision on October 20, 2026, but social dominance remains at its lowest level since early September 2026.
Following an aggressive rally that pushed the token to a September high near $1,700 after breaking free from a pennant consolidation, Zcash [ZEC] price action could be on the verge of further declines.
Over the last 24 hours, ZEC has declined by about 13%, and it was testing a key demand zone between $1036 and $1162, at press time.
Notably, ZEC’s Funding Rate and Spot Netflow turned negative alongside increasing long liquidations across the network. Therefore, could ZEC be in for further dips, or will bulls step in at the demand zone?
Source: TradingView Negative flows signal growing ZEC selling pressure ZEC’s weakening on-chain metrics could be the fueling factor of the token’s recent bearish price action.
According to AMBCrypto’s recent analysis, the network has recorded two days of negative inflows, indicating weaker demand relative to selling pressure. Moreover, the implications of the reducing inflow could amplify the token’s current bearish bias.
Source: CoinGlass At the same time, the network average aggregated Funding Rates have flattened at 1.42%, just a fraction above its predicted average funding rate of 0.29%. This suggests that bearish positioning is gaining traction in the derivatives market.
Source: Coinalyze That’s not all; its increasing long liquidations show that leveraged bullish positions are being forced out as price falls. At the time of writing, Zcash long liquidations had crossed the $13 million mark, which is significantly bigger compared to just $1.3 short liquidations.
Source: Coinalyze Together, the signals suggest that buyers have yet to regain control of the short-term trend.
Can the demand zone hold? The current demand zone is the next major test for ZEC bulls. A sustained rebound from this area could help stabilize prices and open the door to a recovery. However, a drop below $1,036 will invalidate the bullish formation and cause ZEC to experience more downward pressure.
Currently, the technicals are suggesting a wait-and-see approach. It all depends on the ability of ZEC to withstand the demand zone.
Final Summary ZEC has declined by about 13% in 24 hours after doubling in value since its late-August pennant breakout, bringing price into the $1,036–$1,162 demand zone. The network’s negative funding rates, weakening spot net flows and rising long liquidations point to mounting selling pressure.
Researchers from Google Cloud AI Research, Google DeepMind, and Carnegie Mellon University have introduced Harmony Harness, a framework for automatically evolving the scaffolding that surrounds large language model agents.
The paper was submitted to arXiv on October 10, 2026, under the identifier 2610.15150.
What Harmony Harness actually does If a large language model is the engine, the harness is everything else that turns it into a working car: the surrounding structure that lets the model actually get things done. Previous harness engineering was largely manual, with 2026 seeing quick adaptation to automated optimization methods.
Harmony Harness pushes that automation in a specific direction. Instead of optimizing one blended score, it frames harness evolution as a multi-objective optimization problem. Security and functionality get treated as distinct targets rather than mashed into a single number.
To manage those competing goals, the framework uses decomposition-based evolutionary search. It maintains what is called a Pareto frontier of candidate solutions, where each solution is the best available option for some particular tradeoff—you cannot improve it on one goal without giving something up on another.
The second key ingredient is what the paper calls factorized evolution operators. These let the framework refine general-purpose mechanisms separately from task-specific adaptations. The pieces can then be combined dynamically at inference time, when the agent is actually running.
The benchmark results On two benchmarks, SecRepoBench and BaxBench, Harmony Harness scored more than 10 percentage points higher than prior strong single-objective baselines. Both benchmarks focus on whether AI agents write code that is secure, not merely code that runs.
Harnesses evolved under the new framework retained their security benefits more effectively on held-out and unseen tasks. Traditional approaches that do not explicitly handle multiple objectives tend to show overfitting and regressions, according to the research.
The research also reports that explicitly handling multiple objectives improves both security and functional performance on out-of-distribution tasks.
Why the timing matters The “agent harness” concept gained traction in industry conversations across 2025 and 2026. Related efforts such as Harness2 and EvoHarness-RL emerged around the same time, pointing to growing research interest in agent scaffolding and security.
What this means For teams building AI agents, if security is folded into a single performance score, the optimizer may trade it away when it is convenient. Keeping security as its own objective appears to make those gains stickier, at least on the benchmarks tested here.
As of October 15, 2026, no commercial product details had been announced, and the work carries no announced integrations. The involvement of both Google Cloud AI Research and Google DeepMind suggests the problem is being taken seriously at multiple levels of the company.
Benchmark gains do not always translate cleanly into deployed systems, and the results here center on secure-code tasks specifically. With Harness2 and EvoHarness-RL appearing alongside Harmony Harness, automated harness evolution looks set to become a crowded research area.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
SWI Group raised roughly $900 million to expand AI infrastructure, including former FTX-backed Genesis Digital Assets facilities. FTX’s recovery trust dropped its $1.15 billion lawsuit against Genesis in June. The collapsed exchange sold its Anthropic stake for around $1.3 billion in 2024; the WSJ estimates that holding could now be worth $75 billion. FTX’s investment legacy is attracting attention again as artificial intelligence gives businesses backed by Sam Bankman-Fried a new commercial future.
Frank Chaparro highlighted the exchange’s return to The Wall Street Journal’s business-section front page, pointing to Genesis Digital Assets’ shift toward AI infrastructure and the extraordinary appreciation of Anthropic.
The developments reveal an uncomfortable divide between investment performance and creditor recoveries.
Businesses associated with the collapsed crypto empire are benefiting from the AI boom, but their rising valuations do not automatically translate into additional money for former FTX customers.
Genesis Digital Assets Gets an AI Makeover Genesis Digital Assets, the Bitcoin miner that received more than $1 billion from FTX affiliate Alameda Research, is finding a second life under SWI Group.
SWI took control of the business this summer and is redirecting its infrastructure toward AI computing, according to The Wall Street Journal. The strategy includes facilities in the United States and Sweden previously associated with the mining operation.
On Oct. 12, SWI announced an €800 million capital increase, approximately $900 million, involving institutional investors. Its announcement said the transaction brought total equity raised since March above €1 billion.
So weird to see FTX back on the front page of the WSJ business section.
SBF’s investments are getting a second life in the AI boom.
TLDR:
– Genesis Digital Assets, a bitcoin miner backed by FTX, is pivoting into AI infrastructure. SWI Group is investing roughly $900M to expand… pic.twitter.com/eCL95RVQXr
— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) October 13, 2026
The proceeds will support a broader expansion of SWI’s data-center and AI computing platform across Europe and the US. Planned spending includes power infrastructure, computing deployments, and projects already in its development pipeline.
That distinction matters: the fundraising supports SWI’s wider infrastructure strategy, rather than representing a payment to FTX creditors or spending exclusively on Genesis.
The company also said the transaction would increase its free float to approximately 20%, broadening its institutional shareholder base as it pursues further investment in AI infrastructure.
FTX Dropped Its $1.15 Billion Recovery Lawsuit Genesis’ new direction follows the dismissal of a major legal dispute over Alameda’s original investment.
The FTX Recovery Trust had sought to recover approximately $1.15 billion, alleging that investments made between August 2021 and April 2022 involved misappropriated funds and inflated share purchases.
LATEST: ⛏️ Genesis Digital, which Alameda Research backed with over $1B before FTX collapsed, is set to pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI computing under SWI Group, WSJ reports. pic.twitter.com/BhsevjsxtY
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) October 13, 2026
The trust voluntarily dismissed all claims with prejudice in June, Bloomberg Law reported. That ended the particular action permanently, although the report said neither side immediately explained why the trust abandoned it.
Law firm Blank Rome separately confirmed that claims against Genesis co-founder Marco Krohn were dismissed with prejudice on June 15. Its account dates the original lawsuit to September 2025.
The dismissal closed an important recovery route for the estate. It should not, however, be treated as a judicial finding resolving the underlying allegations: the trust withdrew the claims before obtaining a judgment on their merits.
Anthropic Highlights the Cost of Selling Early Anthropic offers an even more dramatic example of how the AI boom has transformed the value of Bankman-Fried’s investments.
FTX’s approximately $500 million investment ultimately generated around $1.3 billion through share sales in 2024, producing roughly $800 million above the original purchase price.
One timeline detail needs correcting: Anthropic’s own announcement identifies Bankman-Fried as the lead investor in its $580 million Series B, which was disclosed in April 2022, not 2021.
If Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX didn't liquidate its investments following the collapse, it would still hold:
The Journal estimates that the former holding is now worth approximately $75 billion. That is a hypothetical valuation, subject to ownership and dilution assumptions, rather than proceeds available to the estate.
The comparison illustrates the enormous upside captured after FTX sold. It also separates two outcomes: the estate realized a substantial investment gain, while subsequent owners retained exposure to Anthropic’s expansion.
For creditors, the relevant figure remains the cash recovered through those sales. The much larger valuation belongs to a counterfactual portfolio that FTX no longer owns.
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Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
Babylon’s proposal to bring native Bitcoin collateral to Aave V4 has entered a new governance stage, but further votes and security reviews remain before launch.
Bitcoin-focused developer Babylon Labs has submitted a proposal to let users borrow stablecoins on Aave against native Bitcoin (BTC).
Under the hood, users would lock their BTC in vaults on the Bitcoin network and borrow against it on Aave. A non-transferable token on Ethereum would represent the collateral, while the BTC itself would remain on its native blockchain without being bridged or wrapped.
The Wednesday proposal follows an initial submission on May 25 and a preliminary community vote that passed on June 10, according to Babylon Labs.
Under the proposal, Aave DAO would receive the first $500,000 in qualifying annual revenue generated by the integration.
Aave already supports loans against tokenized Bitcoin through tokens such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC). Wrapped tokens rely on custodians to hold the underlying Bitcoin, introducing counterparty risks.
As of Thursday, the proposal remains at the Aave Request for Comment (ARFC) stage, where it faces community feedback and risk analysis.
If community consensus is reached, it can proceed to a three-day offchain Snapshot vote, which requires at least 320,000 AAVE-equivalent votes in favor before advancing to a formal onchain vote, according to Aave’s governance rules.
The onchain vote must meet quorum and approval requirements.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Babylon’s proposal to bring native Bitcoin collateral to Aave V4 has entered a new governance stage, but further votes and security reviews remain before launch.
Bitcoin-focused developer Babylon Labs has submitted a proposal to let users borrow stablecoins on Aave against native Bitcoin (BTC).
Under the hood, users would lock their BTC in vaults on the Bitcoin network and borrow against it on Aave. A non-transferable token on Ethereum would represent the collateral, while the BTC itself would remain on its native blockchain without being bridged or wrapped.
The Wednesday proposal follows an initial submission on May 25 and a preliminary community vote that passed on June 10, according to Babylon Labs.
Under the proposal, Aave DAO would receive the first $500,000 in qualifying annual revenue generated by the integration.
Aave already supports loans against tokenized Bitcoin through tokens such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC). Wrapped tokens rely on custodians to hold the underlying Bitcoin, introducing counterparty risks.
As of Thursday, the proposal remains at the Aave Request for Comment (ARFC) stage, where it faces community feedback and risk analysis.
If community consensus is reached, it can proceed to a three-day offchain Snapshot vote, which requires at least 320,000 AAVE-equivalent votes in favor before advancing to a formal onchain vote, according to Aave’s governance rules.
The onchain vote must meet quorum and approval requirements.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Babylon Labs has submitted a proposal aimed at allowing users to borrow stablecoins on Aave by using native Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral. The initiative seeks to integrate the largest cryptocurrency directly into Aave’s lending platform without relying on wrapped or bridged tokens.
How the Proposal WorksWith this approach, users would lock their BTC in vaults operating on the Bitcoin blockchain. That Bitcoin remains on its native network and is not transferred or tokenized through bridging. Instead, a non-transferable token issued on Ethereum represents the locked Bitcoin on the Aave protocol, providing verifiable proof of collateralization.
This differs from current methods that use wrapped tokens such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) or Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), which require users to trust custodians holding the original BTC. Babylon’s design aims to reduce counterparty risk associated with custodial services.
Babylon Labs initially submitted this proposal on May 25. A preliminary community vote passed on June 10, giving way to the current stage for broader feedback and risk assessment.
Governance and Revenue StructureThe proposal stipulates that Aave DAO would earn the first $500,000 in qualified annual revenue generated by the BTC integration. This revenue structure was introduced to align incentives between all stakeholders.
Currently, the proposal remains at the Aave Request for Comment (ARFC) phase. During this stage, members of the Aave community can evaluate the technical risks and provide input ahead of further governance actions.
If the community supports the plan, it would move to a three-day offchain Snapshot vote. To advance, the proposal needs at least 320,000 AAVE-equivalent votes in favor, according to rules in Aave’s governance documentation. Upon meeting those requirements, a formal onchain vote would be triggered, subject to quorum and approval thresholds.
Aave already provides lending options for Bitcoin using custodial solutions like WBTC and cbBTC, but these introduce counterparty risks since third-party entities must hold the underlying BTC on behalf of users.
DeFi’s Native Bitcoin Ambitions ExpandThe push to allow native Bitcoin as collateral comes as Aave continues to expand into new products and networks. The protocol recently launched its V4 version on Avalanche, aiming to pave the way for tokenized credit markets and further interoperability in decentralized finance.
As DeFi protocols strive to incorporate Bitcoin in more seamless ways, technical factors such as collateral verification, risk management, and the process of monitoring collateralized assets gain increased importance for both users and governance participants.
This heightened attention to market surveillance and investor behavior echoes trends seen in other segments of the digital asset ecosystem, particularly in the fast-moving meme token market. In this landscape, viral internet trends can rapidly convert into millions of dollars of trading volume within mere days. Fomo App data points to a recent trade in which an initial $99 position in the meme token “Niu Lai” swelled to around $370,000, underscoring the scale and volatility in this sector. For market participants, tracking not only price movements but also investor timing and token selection is essential. Fomo App aggregates token discovery, social trading feeds, investor rankings, and real-time trade notifications, offering a consolidated window into both meme token activity and broader market sentiment.
Babylon Labs has submitted a new governance proposal on October 14, 2026, to allow Bitcoin holders to borrow stablecoins through Aave V4 without selling their BTC, moving their coins to another blockchain, or handing them to a custodian.
Summary
Babylon submitted an Aave V4 proposal allowing Bitcoin holders to borrow stablecoins against native BTC.
Users would lock Bitcoin directly on its blockchain without depositing coins with third party custodians.
Aave DAO would receive the first $500,000 in annual qualifying revenue under the proposed agreement.
The integration requires further governance approval, finalized risk settings, and security checks before any launch.
Babylon proposes two dedicated Aave V4 components to manage Bitcoin collateral, borrowing, and liquidation procedures.
Babylon Labs published the proposal on Aave’s governance forum, advancing an integration first discussed in May. The plan would introduce two dedicated components for Bitcoin backed borrowing and loan liquidations. The integration still requires community approval, finalized lending risk settings, and further security checks before launch.
Babylon proposes Bitcoin lending without wrapping BTC
The proposal introduces Babylon’s Trustless Bitcoin Vaults technology to Aave V4, the latest version of the decentralized lending protocol.
Under the proposed system, Bitcoin holders would deposit BTC into special vaults operating directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. Their coins would remain locked on Bitcoin while supporting loans issued through Aave.
Borrowers could then access stablecoins against the value of their deposited Bitcoin, subject to the lending rules and collateral requirements eventually approved by Aave governance.
The process differs from Aave’s existing Bitcoin lending arrangements, which support assets such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC).
Wrapped Bitcoin products are tokens issued on another blockchain to represent BTC held through a separate arrangement. Their ownership and custody structures depend on the product involved.
Babylon proposes avoiding that structure by keeping the original BTC on Bitcoin throughout the loan.
The technology uses Bitcoin’s Taproot system to restrict how deposited coins can move. Transactions involving the vault must satisfy predetermined conditions before the locked BTC can be released.
Babylon’s proposal describes the process as “without transferring custody to any trusted third party.” Although the coins would remain on Bitcoin, Aave needs a way to recognize the collateral within its Ethereum based lending system.
Developers therefore propose a restricted ERC-20 accounting token representing each vault’s BTC value. The token would exist solely inside the integration. Users could not freely transfer, trade, or hold it outside the designated contracts.
Babylon specifies that the accounting token would represent locked BTC on a one to one basis. Its supply would increase when a vault becomes active and decrease when collateral leaves the lending position.
The earlier launch of Babylon’s Bitcoin vault technology introduced the protocol’s approach to using native BTC in decentralized finance without conventional custodial bridges.
Aave V4 would introduce two Bitcoin lending components
Babylon proposes creating two new components within Aave V4, known as Spokes.
The first, called the Babylon Spoke, would allow users to borrow supported assets against native Bitcoin collateral. The second, called the BTC Vault Swap Spoke, would handle a more complicated part of Bitcoin lending: liquidations.
A liquidation occurs when a borrower’s collateral value falls too far relative to the outstanding loan. The lending system can close some or all of the position to protect the funds borrowed from the protocol.
Traditional Aave liquidations generally involve assets already available on the same blockchain. Babylon’s proposed arrangement has an additional requirement because the underlying collateral sits on Bitcoin, while borrowing takes place through Aave.
According to the proposal, redeeming a Bitcoin vault can take several days because transactions must pass through a challenge period.
The BTC Vault Swap Spoke would allow liquidators to receive wrapped Bitcoin promptly while designated participants complete the underlying Bitcoin settlement.
WBTC is the initial wrapped asset proposed for that process.
The documents explain that the liquidation system would process individual Bitcoin vaults. A borrower holding several vaults could specify the order in which they would be used if liquidation became necessary.
Aave DAO would control the lending parameters, including borrowing limits, collateral requirements, interest rate settings and liquidation rules.
Risk service providers would supply the proposed settings for the two components. The governance forum discussion received support from Aave founder Stani Kulechov, who described native Bitcoin as an important potential source of lending collateral.
He welcomed the plan and supported using Aave V4’s dedicated architecture for the integration. The development follows earlier reporting on Babylon’s $15 million investment from a16z, which described the company’s plans to expand from Bitcoin staking into lending services.
Aave DAO could receive the first $500,000 in annual fees
Babylon’s proposal includes a revenue sharing arrangement between Aave DAO and the Babylon Foundation.
Under the proposed terms, Aave DAO would receive all of the first $500,000 in qualifying annual revenue generated by the integration. The qualifying revenue would come from specified protocol fees, including Aave’s liquidity fee on borrowing interest and fees collected through liquidation activities.
The arrangement would not apply to every dollar of interest paid by borrowers. After the first $500,000, revenue would be distributed according to several annual bands.
For qualifying revenue between $500,000 and $2 million, Aave DAO would receive 78%, Babylon would receive 18%, and 4% would go toward token purchases.
Higher revenue bands would provide different distributions. At annual qualifying revenue above $6 million, the proposed allocations would be 61.5% for Aave DAO, 31.5% for Babylon, and 7% for token purchases.
The token purchase allocation would fund open market purchases of AAVE and BABY, with 85% directed toward AAVE and 15% toward BABY. Purchased tokens would be divided equally between Aave DAO and Babylon Foundation.
These figures describe a proposed revenue formula, not projected earnings. Babylon has not guaranteed that the integration would generate enough activity to reach any of the thresholds.
In the governance document, Babylon reported that its existing Bitcoin staking protocol had activated more than 100,000 BTC cumulatively since August 2024.
The company listed approximately 40,772 BTC as currently staked when the proposal was prepared, with an estimated value of $3.37 billion.
Those figures relate to Babylon’s existing staking activities and do not represent Bitcoin already deposited into the proposed Aave lending integration.
The expansion of Babylon’s Bitcoin staking services through Kraken previously introduced another route for eligible customers to participate in Bitcoin based network security.
Staking and the proposed lending integration are separate activities with different reward arrangements and financial risks.
Bitcoin lending proposal needs more votes and security reviews
The October 14 submission is an Aave Request for Comment, meaning community members and risk specialists can review and discuss the plan.
Babylon initially introduced the integration through a Temperature Check proposal on May 25.
That preliminary proposal passed a community vote in June, allowing developers to prepare the more detailed October submission.
The current stage does not authorize the integration to launch.
According to Aave’s governance rules, a proposal advancing from the discussion stage can move to an offchain Snapshot vote before reaching formal onchain governance.
For the relevant Snapshot process, the proposal requires at least 320,000 AAVE equivalent votes in support. The final onchain vote must satisfy its own participation and approval requirements.
Babylon has not announced when those votes will take place.
The proposal describes security reviews conducted across five areas: Bitcoin vaults, proof generation, smart contracts, web services and the cryptographic system supporting vault settlements.
Six security firms participated in the audit work, including Coinspect, Sherlock, Zellic, ABDK, ZK Security and Runtime Verification.
Babylon states that each component received at least two independent reviews. Runtime Verification performed formal verification work on the smart contracts.
The company is now conducting another review of finalized changes with Coinspect, ABDK and Zellic before any mainnet deployment.
Babylon has committed to publishing the follow up reports when that work is completed.
The next formal steps listed in the October 14 proposal are community feedback and risk analysis, a possible Snapshot vote, and an Aave Improvement Proposal containing the complete risk settings for final onchain approval.
Uniswap v4 crosses 44 billion dollars in trading volume over 30 days. The latest version of the crypto protocol now accounts for 49.9% of Uniswap’s total activity, ahead of v3. This progress comes as the UNI token tries to recover after defending the 6.80 dollar support. Traders are notably watching a liquidity zone around 11 dollars.
In brief
Uniswap v4 exceeds 44 billion dollars in trades in 30 days.
The new version represents 49.9% of the protocol’s volume, compared to 44.9% for v3.
The UNI token rebounds from 6.80 dollars, with a significant liquidity zone around 11 dollars.
Uniswap v4 captures nearly half of crypto trades
Uniswap has just released significant figures regarding its fourth version. Over the last thirty days, the protocol processed more than 44 billion dollars in transactions via v4. This version now concentrates 49.9% of Uniswap’s total volume. V3 still represents 44.9% of trades, while v2 only retains 5.2%. For the first time in this recent distribution, the fourth generation clearly outpaces each of the older versions taken separately.
The start has been rather successful. Launched on January 31, 2025, Uniswap v4 was launched on twelve blockchain networks, notably Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism.
This new architecture introduces hooks, modules allowing developers to customize the operation of liquidity pools.
They can notably modify fees, automate certain operations, or create more advanced management strategies. Uniswap v4 also improves transaction efficiency thanks to an architecture grouping pools in a main contract and an optimized accounting system.
These features reduce some usage costs of the crypto protocol. The figures published this week give a concrete indication of its adoption. V4 represents almost as much volume as the two previous versions combined. V3 nevertheless keeps an important place with nearly 45% of trades.
The crypto market also observes the rebound of the UNI crypto
While protocol activity is progressing, the UNI crypto tries to regain height. The price recently defended the 6.80 dollar area. Buyers intervened at this level, enabling a rebound and an improvement of the technical structure on the hourly chart.
On the daily chart, UNI was also trading above its 20, 30, and 50-day exponential moving averages. Positions on derivative products showed some optimism.
According to Coinalyze data, about 63% of tracked positions were bullish. Buyers thus dominated this market sample. This concentration also carries a risk. If UNI suddenly drops, long positions using leverage could face liquidations.
Uniswap still has another element likely to interest investors: its fee capture mechanism. In February 2026, a governance vote accompanied a 15% increase in the UNI token. The proposal notably aimed to extend the protocol fee collection to several additional networks.
Part of the revenue can thus feed mechanisms reducing the supply of the UNI crypto. However, be careful not to confuse the two indicators. The 44 billion dollars correspond to trades conducted on Uniswap v4, not to UNI token purchases.
Can UNI benefit from the 44 billion dollars volume?
Analysts are now watching an area around 11 dollars. According to CoinGlass’s liquidation map, about 535.1 million dollars of potential liquidity are concentrated near this level.
This area could attract the price if demand for UNI continues to increase. To reach it from the 6.80 dollar support, the UNI crypto would need to record a rise of about 62%. A significant move that cannot be deduced from the sole activity volume of Uniswap v4.
Buyers still need to confirm their presence in the spot market. However, the crypto protocol has a different economic model from its early years. In December 2025, Uniswap destroyed 100 million UNI tokens, following the approval of the UNIfication program.
Other burns can occur thanks to the mechanism associated with the protocol fees. On June 6, 2026, Uniswap notably recorded a burn of 134,000 UNI in a single day. These operations reduce the token supply, without guaranteeing a price increase.
For now, usage figures remain stronger than technical signals. With 49.9% of total volume, v4 has established itself among the main gateways for decentralized trading on Uniswap. The UNI crypto still must convert this activity into sustained demand. A return towards 11 dollars remains possible, but will also depend on the overall evolution of the crypto market.
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Evans S.
Fascinated by Bitcoin since 2017, Evariste has continuously researched the subject. While his initial interest was in trading, he now actively seeks to understand all advances centered on cryptocurrencies. As an editor, he strives to consistently deliver high-quality work that reflects the state of the sector as a whole.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Three major developments are reshaping the future of Filecoin tokenomics and strategy this month.
Rewarding Customer Acquisition & Retention – New network reward mechanics will direct a growing share of block rewards to services that bring paying customers onto the network.
End of Vesting – Vesting built into the Filecoin genesis block completes, reducing the daily token supply growth by 75%.
New Products – New products give enterprises, AI agents and IPFS users a live path onto the network.
Filecoin is evolving for a future where digital storage is a core pillar. Global data creation will nearly triple between 2025 and 2029 from a proliferation of AI-driven automation, sensors, and rapidly expanding needs for context to drive intelligence. The pace of these changes have driven memory and storage prices to more than double in a year, and the time between ordering new hardware and being able to install it has grown dramatically.
Other catalysts are also causing huge shifts in the storage market, with growing demand for sovereignty over data. As storage gets scarcer, more expensive, and more location sensitive, decentralized storage is uniquely positioned to meet these demands.
Filecoin has made major progress on the priorities of its 2026 Network Strategy. Six years after launch, the Filecoin network is well poised, offering a model that hyperscalers and other incumbents cannot: an open market where independent storage providers build services, compete for customers, and earn network rewards based on the customers they serve.
“The Filecoin network is already the world’s largest decentralized storage network. This year has been an inflection point for the Filecoin network, with the Filecoin community’s focus shifting away from growing supply and towards scaling demand. This is happening at just the right moment, as AI fundamentally changes the demand for self-sovereign storage, positioning Filecoin to become essential infrastructure for an AI-native world.”
– Marta Belcher, President, Filecoin Foundation
New Incentive Mechanisms: Rewarding Customer Acquisition & Retention
Solstice will change how the Filecoin network distributes block rewards, starting this month. This is one of the most significant changes to Filecoin’s reward system since the network launched.
The change will drive a growing share of block rewards to services that bring paying customers onto the network, while less rewards go to consensus-only mining. Any unearned portion of that service share is burned rather than distributed.
This change is aimed at orienting the network fully around providing services for revenue from paying customers, with the aim to greatly increase the business opportunity for storage providers on the network globally and supporting exceptional storage delivery.
Vesting is Ending, Dropping Circulating Supply Growth 75%
The network’s sixth anniversary since launch also marks the scheduled end of vesting for Protocol Labs and Filecoin Foundation’s token allocations, set when the network launched in 2020. With vesting complete, the daily amount of new FIL entering circulation drops by roughly 75%, according to FilecoinTLDR’s modeling.
Filecoin is Built for Enterprises and AI Agent Developers
Integral Spacetime
Integral Spacetime is a new storage neocloud, launched this week, that leverages the Filecoin network to power its business. The new company’s approach unlocks new commercial opportunities in storage infrastructure.
Acquisitions: Integral Spacetime buys businesses with large storage needs and moves their data workloads onto the network, bringing thousands of paying customers at once.
Equipment financing: Signed customer contracts and recurring revenue from acquired businesses enable financing of new, next generation storage capacity, improving total competitiveness and making the Filecoin network an even better business opportunity for operators around the world.
Fil One
As storage costs climb at the same time that storage needs are growing rapidly, enterprise businesses accustomed to using S3 object storage are looking for alternatives. Fil One is building a commercial onramp for enterprise storage demand within the broader Filecoin ecosystem, delivering high-performance and S3-compatible object storage at a fraction of hyperscaler list prices, with no egress fees on paid plans. The competitive edge is driving an active pipeline of paid enterprise storage demand sourced heavily through a dedicated GTM sales team and channel partners across AI infrastructure, automotive, banking, and sovereign government workloads. Fil One bridges enterprise IT budgets into sustainable, recurring onchain protocol volume while positioning Filecoin directly alongside GPU compute in the emerging neocloud stack.
And we’re building for the AI era, placing storage close to GPU compute in neocloud facilities so training and inference data stays accessible, fast, and affordable with a new storage-for-neocloud offering that places Fil One next to GPU compute.
AI Agent Skills and Tooling
AI agents are becoming storage customers in their own right. They generate a steady stream of output that needs to be kept or shared, and they need to buy storage programmatically, without a sales cycle or enterprise contract.
Filecoin tooling is making it incredibly easy for agents to choose and buy storage directly. Filecoin’s publish skill takes any file or folder and returns a public link that stays live and can be verified. The Filecoin MCP server and foc-cli give agents the same result from the terminal or inside an AI assistant. In each case, a storage provider proves it holds the data, and payment settles onchain. Or, for agents that prefer to use S3, Fil One’s documentation surfaces exactly how to choose and use Filecoin’s high performance network instead of getting locked into an expensive incumbent.
IPFS Migration Tools Converting Customers
Filecoin storage has released features that make it a first class destination for IPFS content in 2026. New, easy migration tools give users a more cost-effective option attached to a wallet, not a user account, with content addressing. Already, several teams are choosing to store their pinned IPFS data on Filecoin, from NFT platforms to institutions with legal and compliance obligations around their data.
A Single Cohesive Strategy for a New Era: Closing the Economic Loop
A customer, whether an enterprise archiving records or an agent storing its outputs, pays for a recurring service, and that payment settles onchain. The storage provider serving that customer earns the revenue and locks FIL against it. Rewards flow toward the services customers keep using, and whatever incentive goes unearned, along with a portion of fees, is burned rather than distributed. The result is a network that becomes more attractive to the next enterprise, developer, and operator, which starts the cycle again.
“The Filecoin flywheel is connected end to end now, and it’s starting to build momentum. We’re still early but the feedback loop between useful storage, customer revenue, network value, and service provider rewards is fully assembled and we have a downhill run ahead of us to build on that momentum.”
– Molly Mackinlay, CEO, FilOz
What Comes Next for Filecoin
The network has made tremendous progress so far in 2026. Data storage is rapidly shifting from commodity service to a fundamental enabling pillar that unlocks the promise of AI. Filecoin’s improved tokenomics, competitive product positioning, and forward-thinking developer tools are propelling the network forward at just the right time to realize the promise of decentralized storage.
Bitwise's NEAR ETF (NRR) and SVRN's plan to hold 10% of NEAR supply both rely on AI-agent activity on NEAR Protocol turning into real economic value.
@Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) sees the NEAR Protocol (@NEARProtocol) token $NEAR as a way to invest in blockchain infrastructure for AI-driven commerce. The firm's NEAR ETF, ticker NRR, pairs spot NEAR exposure with staking rewards. Separately, SVRN chief executive Sal Ternullo (@sal_ternullo) says his company aims to accumulate 10% of NEAR's token supply.
Both strategies rest on the same question: whether AI-related activity on NEAR can produce revenue and demand for the token.
How the Bitwise NEAR ETF works
On redemptions,
SVRN targets 10% of NEAR supplySVRN is taking a different route.
The company also runs operating businesses around the network.
Ternullo
The AI revenue questionThe AI thesis is still largely prospective.
Investors should also note that NRR does not offer direct exposure to AI companies.
Sources
The Block: Bitwise launches first US spot NEAR ETF with staking rewardsBitcoin.com News: Bitwise, SVRN Bet on NEAR as AI Infrastructure Thesis Takes ShapeCryptoRank: SVRN acquires FastNEAR
The proposal, still up for forum discussion, would also shrink daily CAKE emissions by about 69%, and early forum replies show holders worried about the token's burn.
PancakeSwap proposes giving LPs 88% of swap fees while cutting CAKE emissions
Posted October 15, 2026 at 7:01 am ET.
PancakeSwap’s core team wants liquidity providers on its newer pools to keep far more of the trading fees they generate, and to rely less on freshly minted CAKE to attract them.
In a forum post published on Oct. 14, the team, which posts as The Kitchen, laid out a plan it calls “The Flip.” Under the plan, liquidity providers on v3 and Infinity pools would take home 88% of swap fees on each of the 11 chains PancakeSwap supports, among them BNB Chain, Ethereum, Base and Solana. LPs on most pools currently keep between 66% and 68%. The remaining 12% would go to the PancakeSwap Treasury.
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Fewer Tokens Minted The proposal pairs the fee change with a cut in daily CAKE emissions from 22,500 to 7,000, which the team described as an effective reduction of about 69%. That means 15,500 fewer CAKE created each day, or roughly 5.7 million a year. The 7,000 CAKE still issued daily would fund a new ecosystem pool called the Pantry, which the team said it would spend on marketing, partnerships and seeding liquidity in new pools.
“Growth is paid for by activity on the platform, not by minting more CAKE,” the post said.
By the team’s math, LPs on v3 and Infinity would have collected about $62 million more in fees on 2025 trading volume under the new split. Fee tiers for traders would stay the same. The v2 pools, whose fees are hard-coded, would not change and would keep sending 23% of their swap fees to the CAKE burn.
For existing Infinity pools, where LP fees were locked in at creation, the smaller protocol cut would lower the total fee instead. A 1% pool, for example, would drop to about 0.76%.
The team argued that “v2 alone keeps CAKE net deflationary,” pointing to an average net supply drop of about 190,000 CAKE per week over the past 10 weeks. It said that pace keeps CAKE on track for the roughly 20% supply reduction by 2030 set under Tokenomics 3.0, which passed in April 2025, with supply already down 11.5% since then.
Holders Push Back Most early replies on the thread were critical, and several commenters said burns would shrink. “v3 and Infinity stop burning CAKE. Why don’t you state this clearly?” wrote a user posting as Juapia, who suggested routing part of the 12% to burns.
Another user, matrdolfo, who said they have held CAKE since 2021, wrote that they were “fundamentally opposed to the final outcome.” A third, PancakesLover, wrote, “I would personally vote against this change.”
CAKE traded at $2.20 on Oct. 15, down about 6.8% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
In December 2023, PancakeSwap’s community voted to cut CAKE’s maximum supply from 750 million to 450 million. Holders approved a second cut in January 2026, lowering the cap to 400 million in a Snapshot vote that closed Jan. 19.
If The Flip passes, rollout would start in November and wrap up by the end of January 2027, according to the proposal. The plan has not yet gone to a Snapshot vote, and the team said it “will review all feedback before publishing the final proposal for voting.” No vote date has been set.
Related Listen: How Across Protocol’s Equity Pivot Puts Crypto’s Broken Tokenomics in Focus
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
Revealed live at Ledger Op3n 2026, Ledger's new device, Ledger Atom™, will ship with the SolanadApp Store and wallet combined into one Seeker app.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Today, live on stage at Ledger Op3n 2026 in Paris, Solana Mobile, announced Ledger as its first hardware expansion partner. The SolanadApp Store and wallet will be combined into one Seeker app and integrated with Ledger Atom.
Ledger is Solana Mobile’s first hardware expansion partner. Ledger Atom™ will ship with the Seeker app preinstalled, giving Ledger users access to the Solana ecosystem.
The Solana dApp Store and wallet will be combined into one Seeker app on Ledger Atom.
This partnership builds on the hardware expansion Solana Mobile began in March 2026, when it opened the Solana Mobile Stack to Android manufacturers at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Every new device leveraging the Solana Mobile Stack brings more people into the SKR ecosystem. More people bring more builders. And more builders bring better apps, which bring the next wave of people. The SKR token is at the heart of it all, allowing users to be rewarded for participating in the ecosystem, developers for building and hardware manufacturers for integrating.
Ledger Atom is a new security and privacy device that leverages Android Open Source Project (AOSP) alongside a Secure Element (EAL6+) running Ledger OS, with the display and touch control physically isolated from the Android operating system. Seeker app will be integrated with this secure technology and preinstalled on the new device, serving as a gateway for Ledger users to the Solana ecosystem.
Ledger Atom will contain advanced anti-tampering and tamper-evident solutions from packaging to the device itself, including methods to help detect if the enclosure has been opened. Ledger Atom will only be sold directly on Ledger's official site.
"Great experiences come from teams who focus on the details, and Solana Mobile is one of those teams. Seeker made self-custody feel natural on mobile. Having the Seeker app on Ledger Atom from day one just makes sense, so Ledger users get access to the Solana ecosystem without giving up any of the security." — Ian Rogers, Chief Human Agency Officer, Ledger
Expanding beyond our own hardware
It's the right moment to expand: Seeker has proven people will hold and use their assets from hardware built for it, with over $13B in transaction volume on Seeker, 154 million transactions, and over 1,500 apps on the SolanadApp Store. The Seeker app on Ledger Atom gives users the best of both worlds: access to the world of Solana with the hardware expertise of Ledger.
App stores are one of the least contestable markets in the world. A few companies decide what ships and take up to a 30% cut of every transaction. Solana Mobile built the SolanadApp Store to change that. Developers can ship the crypto features other app stores often restrict, get reviewed in days instead of weeks, and reach an engaged audience that actually uses crypto every day. It was never supposed to live on just Seeker.
If you own a Seeker, nothing changes, Seeker will stay fully supported. If you build for Solana Mobile, the same SolanadApp Store submission now reaches an expanded audience across multiple devices. Ledger Atom users will join you in the Solana Mobile ecosystem as we bring the same experience to them with the Seeker app.
"The Seeker phone proved what a crypto-native mobile community can do: shipping over a thousand apps with billions in transaction volume from over 100,000 users, and founders finding their first customers in a matter of days. Now we're thrilled to take the Solana Mobile ecosystem further with Ledger, and I'm excited for Ledger Atom users to experience the magic that Seeker users have been experiencing for over a year." — Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-Founder and CEO, Solana Labs
What's in the Seeker app on Ledger Atom
The Seeker app will bring the core Solana Mobile experience to Ledger's hardware security model, enabling Ledger Atom users to:
Connect to the Solana ecosystem on day one. The Seeker app will be preloaded and featured on Ledger Atom's home screen.
Approve securely. Signing and approvals in the Seeker app will happen in Ledger Atom's Secure Mode, backed by the Secure Element and Ledger OS, so the transaction users confirm is the one they sign.
Discover apps. The SolanadApp Store will be built in, with 1500+ dApps available today on Seeker coming to Ledger Atom, spanning trading, payments, gaming, AI, and more.
How to reserve a Ledger Atom
Reservations for Ledger Atom are open now.
Get yours today: ledger.com/seeker
Missed the keynote? Watch the Ledger Op3n 2026 replay here.
About Solana Mobile
Solana Mobile Inc. shipped the Saga in 2023 and the Seeker in 2025, establishing the first production-validated mobile platform for hardware-secured digital asset management. With over 200,000 devices sold and $13B+ in transaction volume, we're now focused on scaling the platform through new hardware partners and the expansion of the economy around SKR, the native asset of the Solana Mobile ecosystem.
