Ledger has spent years building small, single-purpose gadgets that keep crypto keys away from the internet. Now the company is reportedly stepping into the phone-shaped world it used to treat as the threat.
According to The Block, Ledger unveiled Atom, an Android-based security device. It features Solana Mobile integration, controls for AI agents, and protections against hardware tampering.
What Atom brings to the table
Per The Block, Atom rests on three main pillars. The first is its Android foundation, which marks a notable shift for a company known for purpose-built hardware wallets.
The second is Solana Mobile integration. The Solana Mobile Stack is a toolkit that lets Android device makers add hardware-secured self-custody and access to the Solana ecosystem. Its key component is Seed Vault, which keeps wallet secrets in protected hardware rather than in ordinary app storage. The stack is production-ready on supported chipsets and already powers the Seeker phone.
The third pillar is AI-agent controls. As autonomous software starts handling more tasks, including potentially moving funds, Ledger is reportedly building that oversight directly into the device rather than leaving it to individual apps.
Finally, Atom includes hardware-tampering protections.
How Ledger and Solana got here
Ledger’s lineup has so far centered on dedicated signing devices. The Nano Gen5 arrived in October 2025, joining the Flex and Stax models in the company’s catalog.
Those devices already support Solana. Users install the Solana app through Ledger Wallet and can manage accounts, transfers, and staking from there. Bluetooth-enabled models such as the Nano X can also pair with Android phones.
The company has shipped millions of devices overall and maintains broad multi-chain support.
On the other side, Solana Mobile has been building its own hardware story. Its Saga and Seeker devices have processed significant on-chain volume. Seeker in particular pairs Seed Vault with a fingerprint sensor for transaction signing.
What this means for users, Ledger, and Solana
The AI-agent angle may prove the most forward-looking piece. Agents that trade, pay, or rebalance on a user’s behalf create an obvious question: who approves the transaction when the human is not in the loop? Hardware-level controls place a physical checkpoint between autonomous software and the funds it might touch.
For Solana, the integration is a potential distribution win. The Solana Mobile Stack was designed for Android device makers to adopt, and a partner with Ledger’s name recognition could lend the approach added credibility.
The research summary accompanying the report notes that demand for secure custody remains robust. It also suggests that closer ties between Ledger and Solana Mobile could strengthen Ledger’s market position and benefit the SOL ecosystem, though those effects are speculative.
Moving onto Android expands what Ledger must defend, since a full mobile operating system carries a far larger attack surface than a minimalist signing device. Competition is another factor: Solana Mobile already sells its own Seeker device with Seed Vault, so Atom’s arrival raises the question of whether the two products complement each other or end up chasing the same buyers.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our daily news show 'FOMO HOUR' covering all of the top stories and market action.
GM!
Today’s top news:
Crypto majors fall 3-5% after hot CPI; BTC at $80.9k Over $900M liquidated as crypto majors selloff; alts down 5-15% Solana sets Oct 21 for Alpenglow on mainnet Papertrade flips Circle in daily revenue with $7.5M Kalshi says state-level oversight would drive prediction markets offshore 🏎️ Solana Cuts Finality From 12.8 Seconds to 150 MillisecondsNext Wednesday, Solana rips out the engine and drops in a new one while the car is doing 70 on the highway.
On October 21, around 15:00 UTC, Solana activates Alpenglow on mainnet, retiring the consensus mechanism it has run on since launch. Finality drops from roughly 12.8 seconds to a target of about 150 milliseconds – 85 times faster. Anza, the core dev shop behind it, called it “18 months of work for a migration that happens in one slot.”
Finality is the moment a transaction stops being reversible, the point where you can hand over the goods knowing the payment can’t be clawed back. Solana has always felt instant, but there was a roughly 13-second window where a block could in theory still get dropped. Every exchange and payment processor has had to build around that window. Next week it closes.
The old system breaks if more than about a third of staked SOL turns hostile. The new one is built to survive 20% of stake acting maliciously plus another 20% simply offline, and keep finalizing. For a chain whose reputation was built on outages, that’s the number institutions will actually care about.
Now the part that’s going to cause trouble. Validators currently cast their votes as transactions on the chain. Under Alpenglow they vote directly to each other instead, which means Solana’s headline transaction count and TPS figures are about to fall off a cliff. Nothing real changes - same users, same volume, same apps - but the number everyone has quoted for years was mostly validators voting at each other. Expect a wave of “Solana activity collapses” posts next Wednesday from people reading a dashboard.
This is also just phase one of two, and the second piece has no date yet. And Solana has missed an Alpenglow date before - a September 28 activation was announced, then pushed. So, grains of salt.
But clearly Solana is focused on speed as one of its primary differentiators - and it’s about to get a lot faster…
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets Crypto majors are very red after CPI sent rate hike odds higher; BTC -3% at $80.9k; ETH -6% at $2,360; SOL -5% at $102; HYPE -3% at $79; ZEC -12% at $1,090 Top alt movers include PYTH (+3%) and CRV (+4%) Oil -1% at $95; Gold +0.2% at $4,180 Stock futures are mixed ahead of PPI; DOW +0.3%, Nasdaq -1.1% Over $900M in crypto longs were liquidated over the past 24 hours, led by ETH and BTC Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan told Bloomberg that U.S. regulators should police the firms building on his blockchain rather than the network itself, arguing “the deployers are the ones that exercise these controls” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said state-led oversight would drive prediction markets offshore, telling DC Fintech Week the court fight is “a choice of whether prediction markets exist in the U.S. or whether they go offshore” HEX founder Richard Heart was detained in Istanbul on an Interpol Red Notice that Finland requested in 2024 over aggravated tax fraud Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, won approval to trade crypto for its 110 million retail clients, with a December 1 launch planned covering Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT The European Banking Authority designated Circle’s USDC as the EU’s first “significant” e-money token under MiCA, the only one of 45 notified tokens to clear the bar, which puts it under direct EBA supervision of its reserves, capital and liquidity from November 12 Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
The Bitcoin ETFs saw $261M in net outflows on Wednesday; the ETH ETFs saw $130M in outflows Meme Coin Tracker
Meme leaders were red down 3-5%; DOGE -5%, SHIB -3%, PEPE -6%, PENGU -5%, TRUMP -3%, SPX -4%, BONK -5% Robinhood chain leaders were red down 5-20% reversing their recent gains; Pons -6% to $212M; AI -20% at $80M; Cashcat -18% at $100M; VRAX +40% and Wolfpack +55% led top movers Solana top movers included Dope +100%, Stream +9000%, Nihilism +1200% and Pepper +90% 💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker Papertrade flipped Circle in revenue with $7.5M, highest of all onchain protocols; Hyperliquid was next with $2.64M, then Pump.fun with $2.04M Polygon Labs closed its acquisition of Coinme, picking up 37 state money transmitter licenses, 11 exemptions and FinCEN registration to cover 48 states, and turning its Open Money Stack into a licensed U.S. payments rail 🚚 What is happening in NFTs? NFT leaders were mostly flat; Punks even at 31.2 ETH, BAYC -1% at 5.45 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 2.42 ETH Yield Field Deeds (+10%), aligndraw (+38%) and Robinpunks (+230%) led top movers 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
Add Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our daily news show 'FOMO HOUR' covering all of the top stories and market action.
GM!
Today’s top news:
Crypto majors fall 3-5% after hot CPI; BTC at $80.9k
Over $900M liquidated as crypto majors selloff; alts down 5-15%
Solana sets Oct 21 for Alpenglow on mainnet
Papertrade flips Circle in daily revenue with $7.5M
Kalshi says state-level oversight would drive prediction markets offshore
🏎️ Solana Cuts Finality From 12.8 Seconds to 150 MillisecondsNext Wednesday, Solana rips out the engine and drops in a new one while the car is doing 70 on the highway.
On October 21, around 15:00 UTC, Solana activates Alpenglow on mainnet, retiring the consensus mechanism it has run on since launch. Finality drops from roughly 12.8 seconds to a target of about 150 milliseconds – 85 times faster. Anza, the core dev shop behind it, called it “18 months of work for a migration that happens in one slot.”
Finality is the moment a transaction stops being reversible, the point where you can hand over the goods knowing the payment can’t be clawed back. Solana has always felt instant, but there was a roughly 13-second window where a block could in theory still get dropped. Every exchange and payment processor has had to build around that window. Next week it closes.
The old system breaks if more than about a third of staked SOL turns hostile. The new one is built to survive 20% of stake acting maliciously plus another 20% simply offline, and keep finalizing. For a chain whose reputation was built on outages, that’s the number institutions will actually care about.
Now the part that’s going to cause trouble. Validators currently cast their votes as transactions on the chain. Under Alpenglow they vote directly to each other instead, which means Solana’s headline transaction count and TPS figures are about to fall off a cliff. Nothing real changes - same users, same volume, same apps - but the number everyone has quoted for years was mostly validators voting at each other. Expect a wave of “Solana activity collapses” posts next Wednesday from people reading a dashboard.
This is also just phase one of two, and the second piece has no date yet. And Solana has missed an Alpenglow date before - a September 28 activation was announced, then pushed. So, grains of salt.
But clearly Solana is focused on speed as one of its primary differentiators - and it’s about to get a lot faster…
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
Crypto majors are very red after CPI sent rate hike odds higher; BTC -3% at $80.9k; ETH -6% at $2,360; SOL -5% at $102; HYPE -3% at $79; ZEC -12% at $1,090
Top alt movers include PYTH (+3%) and CRV (+4%)
Oil -1% at $95; Gold +0.2% at $4,180
Stock futures are mixed ahead of PPI; DOW +0.3%, Nasdaq -1.1%
Over $900M in crypto longs were liquidated over the past 24 hours, led by ETH and BTC
Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan told Bloomberg that U.S. regulators should police the firms building on his blockchain rather than the network itself, arguing “the deployers are the ones that exercise these controls”
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said state-led oversight would drive prediction markets offshore, telling DC Fintech Week the court fight is “a choice of whether prediction markets exist in the U.S. or whether they go offshore”
HEX founder Richard Heart was detained in Istanbul on an Interpol Red Notice that Finland requested in 2024 over aggravated tax fraud
Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, won approval to trade crypto for its 110 million retail clients, with a December 1 launch planned covering Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT
The European Banking Authority designated Circle’s USDC as the EU’s first “significant” e-money token under MiCA, the only one of 45 notified tokens to clear the bar, which puts it under direct EBA supervision of its reserves, capital and liquidity from November 12
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
The Bitcoin ETFs saw $261M in net outflows on Wednesday; the ETH ETFs saw $130M in outflows
Meme Coin Tracker
Meme leaders were red down 3-5%; DOGE -5%, SHIB -3%, PEPE -6%, PENGU -5%, TRUMP -3%, SPX -4%, BONK -5%
Robinhood chain leaders were red down 5-20% reversing their recent gains; Pons -6% to $212M; AI -20% at $80M; Cashcat -18% at $100M; VRAX +40% and Wolfpack +55% led top movers
Solana top movers included Dope +100%, Stream +9000%, Nihilism +1200% and Pepper +90%
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Papertrade flipped Circle in revenue with $7.5M, highest of all onchain protocols; Hyperliquid was next with $2.64M, then Pump.fun with $2.04M
Polygon Labs closed its acquisition of Coinme, picking up 37 state money transmitter licenses, 11 exemptions and FinCEN registration to cover 48 states, and turning its Open Money Stack into a licensed U.S. payments rail
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
NFT leaders were mostly flat; Punks even at 31.2 ETH, BAYC -1% at 5.45 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 2.42 ETH
Yield Field Deeds (+10%), aligndraw (+38%) and Robinpunks (+230%) led top movers
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
Add Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Solana Mobile has landed its first hardware expansion partner, and it is one of the biggest names in crypto security. Ledger, the hardware wallet of choice for over 30% of all retail crypto holdings, will release its new Ledger Atom device with the Seeker app preinstalled.
Revealed live on stage at Ledger Op3n 2026 in Paris, the partnership combines the Solana dApp Store and wallet into a single Seeker app, built directly into Ledger's new flagship device.
For a team that set out to challenge the mobile duopoly with a single phone, Seeker’s first hardware expansion is the clearest proof yet that the Solana Mobile Stack is ready for the wider world.
Ledger Unveils Atom, Leveraging New Seeker App The self-custody giant’s most ambitious product yet, Ledger Atom is a security and privacy device built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Underneath the hood, a Secure Element (EAL6+) runs Ledger OS, with the device's display and touch controls physically isolated from the Android operating system.
Atom users will also get the full Solana dApp Store built into the device from Day 1, with over 1,500 dApps spanning trading, payments, gaming, AI, and more. Few distribution channels reach Solana's most active users as effectively as the Seeker app. By building it into Atom, Ledger gets a ready-made doorway into crypto's most active ecosystem, potentially putting the full breadth of the Solana dApp store in front of millions of new users.
"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 at Ledger.
Meanwhile, the device Seeker users know and love remains the central pillar of the Solana Mobile ecosystem, with a wealth of further announcements expected in the coming months that will advance the growth and expansion of $SKR and its decentralized economy.
Every signature and approval in the Seeker app will take place in Ledger Atom's Secure Mode, backed by the Secure Element and Ledger OS. Whenever a user initiates what Ledger considers a ‘sensitive’ activity, like signing a transaction, the Atom enters Secure mode, which disables any potential risk surfaces on the device, like microphones and screen readers.
In response to recent concerns, Ledger is hardening its physical security ahead of Atom’s rollout, introducing advanced anti-tampering and tamper-evident solutions from packaging to the device itself. To alleviate any supply chain concerns, Ledger Atom will only be sold directly on Ledger’s official site.
Beyond its collaboration with Solana Mobile, Ledger is making it clear that Solana sits near the top of its priorities.
In an exclusive comment to SolanaFloor, Ledger EVP Jean-François Rochet highlighted Solana as one of crypto’s main venues for tokenization, stablecoin payments and agentic activity.
“Historically, I think we have engaged further with the entire Solana ecosystem. Which is quite obvious as one of the main venues for everything tokenized, for payments, and beyond all the fame that they got in the past few years. So we are building a deeper partnership… and indeed a very strong commitment from all of us with Solana.” - Ledger EVP Jean-François Rochet
Ledger Atom will only be sold directly through Ledger's official site, with reservations open now at ledger.com/seeker. Shipping is currently slated for Summer 2027.
What Does Solana Mobile's First Hardware Expansion Mean for the Seeker Economy? Before today, the Solana Seeker, and its 1,500+ apps, was largely an ecosystem within an ecosystem. Despite selling over 200,000 units across the globe, the existing Seeker user base is predominantly made up of Solana power users. Ledger Atom broadens that reach, opening a new front door to the Seeker ecosystem for a user base that spans millions of hardware wallet owners worldwide.
The Seeker ecosystem has already processed over $13B in transaction volume across 154 million transactions. Ledger's distribution could put that activity in front of a far larger audience, many of whom may never have explored a Solana-native app before. By introducing new users to Seeker and Solana, Ledger’s worldwide clientele will be able to plug directly into services like the Seeker $USDC Earn Vault, potentially driving value to $SKR.
Speaking exclusively to SolanaFloor, Solana Mobile GM Emmett Hollyer asserted the expansion strengthens both sides of the Seeker economy.
"Until now, if you wanted to take part in the more than 1,500 apps and $13 billion in transaction volume that's been generated, you had to do it through Saga or through Seeker. Now there's another entry point with Ledger Atom. On the developer side, you not only get distribution to the 200,000 plus Solana Mobile devices that have been sold, but now you'll also get distribution to a whole new set of devices and units that are going out with Ledger." - Emmett Hollyer, Solana Mobile GM
For budding app developers and entrepreneurs, the Solana dApp Store offers a distinct economic advantage over the reigning smart phone duopoly. Where traditional app stores take up to a 30% cut of every transaction and can restrict crypto features outright, the Solana dApp Store promises speedy review turnarounds, and exposure to one of crypto’s most engaged user bases.
Many developers have reported onboarding several hundred verifiably authentic users within days of listing their application on Seeker.
"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
Solana Mobile Continues to Deliver When Saga launched in 2023, it quickly became a cult favorite among Solana natives. After completely selling out the first Solana phone, expectations for its successor were sky high. Solana Mobile promised a second, better phone. It delivered Seeker, which began shipping in August 2025 and has now sold over 200,000 units.
Solana Mobile then promised a token to power the Seeker economy, decentralizing ownership and governance of the protocol. It delivered $SKR, launching in January 2026 with 30% of the total supply allocated to the community in one of the year’s biggest airdrops.
Next came the promise of hardware expansion. At Breakpoint 2025, Hollyer announced collaborations with MediaTek, Trustonic, and FXTech, and in March 2026, Solana Mobile opened the Solana Mobile Stack to Android manufacturers at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Seven months later, Solana Mobile has delivered on that promise too, with one of the most recognizable brands in crypto. For Hollyer, securing Seeker’s first hardware expansion with a partner as prominent as Ledger is a critical milestone for a team that started with plenty of unknowns.
“When I think back to where we were a few years ago, when we first launched Saga, there was so much unproven. To have an established partner like Ledger, somebody who's been building hardware in the space for so long, leverage our technology to improve their user experience, is validation that this ecosystem and the community we've built matters.”
Ledger Atom's design also reads like an endorsement of the principles Solana Mobile has championed since day one. Seeker's Seed Vault pioneered siloed, hardware-backed key management on mobile, and Atom's isolated Secure Mode follows that same philosophy.
Hollyer described Atom and Ledger OS as "another great step in the lineage of more secure, more siloed, secure enclaves and trusted execution environments," adding that more options for security-conscious users is always a win.
Read More on SolanaFloor Solana transaction finality is about to get 85x faster
Alpenglow Mainnet Activation Set for October 21 - Here’s What You Need to Know
Emmett Hollyer Weighs in on Radiant’s Clock In Hackathon
Crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has launched the Atom Android device at the Op3n event in Paris. The limited-edition founder version is priced at $849, with a fully refundable $100 deposit required for pre-orders; the regular retail price will be $899 after launch. Delivery is slated for summer 2027, pending completion of certification. Atom uses an FPGA chip to isolate its Android environment from a secure mode dedicated to transaction auditing and signing, while supporting standard Android applications. Solana Mobile plans to integrate its wallet and dApp Store into the Seeker app, which will connect to Atom, with transaction signing handled by the secure mode. The device will also come pre-installed with OpenClaw, a tool that lets users review transactions proposed by AI agents via Agent Intent, without exposing private keys to the agents. Addressing recent hardware wallet tampering incidents, Ledger stated that Atom can detect acts including screen removal, casing disassembly, and core area drilling. Anti-tamper sensors remain powered by an independent battery even when the device is turned off. The company added that its core protection features can block the screen-reading implant attack observed in the recent incidents. The device will be sold exclusively through Ledger’s official website.
Solana Mobile has announced its first major hardware collaboration with Ledger, revealing Ledger as a key partner in expanding Solana’s mobile ecosystem. The new Ledger Atom device will come pre-installed with the Seeker app, which integrates the Solana dApp Store and enables secure transaction signing through Ledger’s EAL6+ Secure Element. This partnership is designed to extend Solana’s app and wallet infrastructure into Ledger’s hardware network, potentially broadening its user base. Market participants may view this development as supportive of Solana’s ecosystem, potentially influencing the value of SOL in the market.
Key Takeaways
The announcement of Ledger as a hardware partner for Solana appears to enhance the ecosystem’s reach.
The introduction of the Ledger Atom with the Seeker app suggests expanded access to Solana’s dApps and wallet services.
Markets may interpret this partnership as supportive of increased demand for SOL, influencing its price prospects.
What to Watch
Observers are likely to monitor how effectively the Ledger partnership bolsters Solana’s ecosystem and user engagement. Key indicators will include the adoption rate of the Ledger Atom and its impact on Solana’s app and wallet usage metrics. Additionally, any significant changes in SOL’s market price or investor sentiment following this announcement could provide further insights into its long-term impact.
Ledger Atom will ship with Solana Mobile’s Seeker wallet and decentralized app marketplace preinstalled. The integration combines Solana application access with Ledger’s hardware-isolated transaction approvals. The partnership creates another distribution channel for developers, but its commercial impact and SKR incentives remain unquantified. Solana Mobile is expanding beyond its own smartphones through a partnership with Ledger, bringing its Seeker wallet and decentralized application marketplace to the upcoming Ledger Atom device.
Announced at Ledger Op3n 2026 in Paris on October 15, the agreement makes Ledger the first hardware partner to integrate Solana Mobile’s software ecosystem.
The move shifts Solana Mobile’s growth strategy toward a model in which other manufacturers can distribute its applications without requiring customers to purchase a Saga or Seeker smartphone.
For Ledger, the arrangement introduces an integrated Solana application experience to hardware primarily associated with securing digital assets.
Why Solana Mobile Is Expanding Beyond Smartphones Solana Mobile introduced its Mobile Stack for hardware manufacturers in March 2026, making wallet infrastructure, asset security and decentralized application distribution available to external Android device makers.
The software is designed as a modular integration, allowing manufacturers to adopt selected components rather than build a cryptocurrency platform from scratch.
Ledger Atom is the first announced hardware product to put that strategy into practice.
The device will include a unified Seeker application combining wallet functionality with access to the Solana dApp Store.
According to the official announcement, the marketplace currently offers more than 1,500 applications spanning trading, payments, gaming and artificial intelligence.
Developers already publishing through the store will be able to reach Ledger Atom users through the same submission process.
This reduces a potential distribution barrier. Developers would not need to maintain an entirely separate application marketplace presence to reach customers using the new hardware.
However, wider availability does not necessarily translate into greater adoption. The commercial value will depend on how many Ledger Atom owners actively use those applications and how frequently they transact.
Ledger Atom Separates Android From Transaction Approval The partnership also introduces a different security architecture from the one used in Solana Mobile’s smartphones.
Ledger Atom combines the Android Open Source Project with an EAL6+ Secure Element running Ledger OS. Its display and touch controls are physically isolated from the Android operating system.
That separation is designed to prevent the general-purpose software environment from controlling the information users see when approving transactions.
The Seeker application will use Ledger Atom’s Secure Mode for transaction signing and authorization.
Three elements define the approach:
Secure Element: Dedicated hardware supports protection of sensitive signing operations. Isolated confirmation: Transaction details are presented through display and touch controls separated from Android. Tamper detection: Hardware and packaging protections are intended to help reveal unauthorized physical interference. Ledger Chief Human Agency Officer Ian Rogers described the integration as a way to extend Solana Mobile’s self-custody experience while preserving Ledger’s hardware security approach.
The architecture addresses a meaningful concern for crypto users: the possibility that compromised software could interfere with transaction approval.
It does not remove every risk associated with self-custody.
Users can still authorize malicious smart contracts, approve deceptive transactions or lose funds through compromised applications. A protected signing environment helps preserve transaction integrity but cannot independently determine whether a transaction is financially safe.
Seeker’s Existing Activity Supports the Expansion Solana Mobile enters the partnership with an established hardware and developer ecosystem.
The company reported more than 200,000 devices sold across Saga and Seeker, alongside over $13 billion in transaction volume and 154 million transactions generated through Seeker.
These figures are company-reported and do not independently establish the number of active users or the profitability of the platform.
They nevertheless provide context for the decision to pursue third-party hardware integration.
Solana Mobile has already invested in developing wallet infrastructure, attracting applications and building an audience around hardware-supported cryptocurrency activity.
Distributing those components through another manufacturer allows the company to pursue additional users without bearing the full responsibility for designing and selling every device.
The arrangement also gives Ledger access to an existing application catalog, potentially broadening the device’s role beyond asset storage and transaction signing.
That creates a different competitive proposition from a conventional hardware wallet, although the companies have not disclosed expected sales volumes or adoption targets.
What the Partnership Could Mean for SKR The expansion is connected to Solana Mobile’s broader incentive model.
SKR is the native token of the Solana Mobile ecosystem, intended to align participation among users, application developers and hardware manufacturers.
Under the company’s Mobile Stack strategy, manufacturers may participate in revenue-sharing arrangements linked to transactions and ecosystem activity.
The model creates a potential financial incentive for hardware partners to support cryptocurrency applications after the initial device sale.
However, the Ledger announcement does not disclose a specific SKR allocation, reward structure or revenue-sharing agreement for Ledger Atom.
Consequently, the partnership should not be interpreted as confirmation of additional token demand or a defined new revenue stream.
Its immediate significance is the expansion of the ecosystem’s potential user base. Whether that translates into greater SKR participation will depend on how Ledger Atom is integrated into the incentive system and how customers use the device.
Ledger Atom Will Test Seeker’s Appeal Beyond Phones Reservations for Ledger Atom are open through Ledger’s official website, which will serve as its exclusive sales channel. The announcement does not specify a shipping date or final retail price.
Existing Seeker smartphones will continue receiving support.
The more consequential question is whether Solana Mobile’s applications can attract sustained usage on hardware designed around security rather than the broader smartphone experience.
For developers, the partnership offers another route to users. For Ledger, it adds a software ecosystem to its security-focused device. For Solana Mobile, it provides an opportunity to expand without relying exclusively on its own hardware sales.
The first meaningful evidence of success will come from device adoption, application engagement and any subsequently disclosed economics of the Ledger integration.
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.
Nillion clarifies its Layer 2 (L2) shutdown arrangements, stating that the project is now operating on the Ethereum mainnet.
Nillion has issued a clarification, announcing it will gradually shut down its Nillion L2 over the coming weeks, as the project is now operational on the Ethereum mainnet. Users still holding NIL tokens on the L2 are required to migrate their assets to Ethereum L1 before the shutdown, with a dedicated bridge portal provided. The team stated that the earlier post sparked concerns among some users, prompting this clarification, and emphasized that the adjustment is purely a maintenance operation.
24 minutes ago
CoreWeave’s expanded borrowing plan sparks market unease, with high-yield bonds continuing their decline.
Amid intensifying declines in high-yield bonds, credit risk for AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave hit an all-time high on Thursday. The company’s plans to further expand its borrowing scale have sparked concerns among bond investors. Data from ICE Data Services shows that the cost of CoreWeave’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) rose by 74.5 basis points at one point to 1,194.5 basis points, marking an intraday all-time high. This means the swap market pricing reflects that the company’s default probability over the next five years exceeds 60%. Meanwhile, CoreWeave bonds were among the biggest decliners in the U.S. junk bond market on Thursday. The financing boom in the AI sector is unsettling bond investors, prompting the market to reassess credit risks for some large tech firms, as evidenced by surging credit default insurance prices, heightened market volatility, and weak bond performance. As an early entrant in the AI cloud computing space that relies heavily on the high-yield bond market to fund business expansion, CoreWeave has drawn particular attention.
24 minutes ago
Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO): Bitcoin Likely to Benefit Long-Term, Regardless of AI Boom or Its Bubble Burst
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in a client report that Bitcoin is likely to benefit in the long run regardless of whether AI drives an economic boom, an investment bubble bursts, or the economy grows only moderately. In the scenario where the AI bubble bursts and triggers a recession similar to 2008, given AI’s geopolitical significance, he puts the probability of subsequent government bailouts at “nearly 100%”. Bitcoin may first face a sell-off before rallying sharply amid a surge in the money supply. If AI significantly lifts productivity and GDP while cutting costs in sectors like software and legal services, Hougan forecasts that scarce assets such as Bitcoin will appreciate. Should the economy sustain 3% growth, 4% interest rates and a near soft landing, Bitcoin will still be supported by ETF inflows, adoption by financial advisors, and allocations on corporate and sovereign balance sheets. He cautioned that Bitcoin will not rise in a straight line, with some scenarios potentially involving difficult initial phases. Threats including quantum computing, coordinated government crackdowns, or renewed fiscal austerity by Western governments could also undermine his thesis; he considers these scenarios unlikely but not impossible.
24 minutes ago
Bitcoin rebounds to break through $81,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has rebounded to break through the $81,000 level, with a 1.29% decline in the past 24 hours.
24 minutes ago
Bitcoin falls below $80,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000, recording a 3.48% drop in the past 24 hours.
24 minutes ago
Nasdaq’s proposed $5 million market capitalization delisting threshold has sparked opposition from small U.S. businesses.
According to Bloomberg, Nasdaq plans to immediately suspend trading of listed companies with a market capitalization below $5 million for 30 consecutive days, followed by delisting, to curb market manipulation such as "pump and dump" schemes in micro-cap stocks. The proposal has faced opposition from small U.S. businesses; regulators put its rollout on hold last month and are soliciting further public comments. Bloomberg data shows more than 190 Nasdaq-listed companies currently have a market cap of no more than $5 million, with roughly one-third based in Asia and nearly half in the U.S. Opposing companies argue that natural price fluctuations stemming from low trading volume are not equivalent to market manipulation, and the proposal could deter financing and harm normally operating businesses. Unlike existing delisting rules for low share prices, which provide a 180-day correction period, the new proposal does not offer an extended grace period. Nasdaq, for its part, stated that securities assigned very low valuations by the market are more prone to volatility, posing an ongoing challenge to fair and orderly trading. NYSE American also proposed a similar $5 million threshold in March this year, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a final vote as well.
NEAR Foundation has added Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz to its council to help develop private onchain markets and connect blockchain liquidity, according to an Oct. 15 announcement.
Mumtaz is the co-founder of Helius, which builds the infrastructure behind applications and services on Solana. Helius now provides RPC infrastructure, historical data, streaming, transaction delivery and validator services for Solana developers, with customers including Phantom, Jupiter, Coinbase and Bitwise.
Before launching the company, Mumtaz worked as a software engineer at Coinbase, BlackBerry, Shutterstock, Scotiabank and Clearco.
The appointment will see Mumtaz help oversee NEAR Foundation’s product strategy, ecosystem development and governance as it works to connect liquidity across blockchain networks.
The Canadian software engineer and crypto entrepreneur is also set to judge the NEAR Hackathon, which will run from Nov. 1 to 14 and focus on projects built using NEAR’s technology stack, including NEAR Intents and NEAR AI Cloud.
Mumtaz joins council members Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol; Diogo Mónica, co-founder of Anchorage Digital; Chris Donovan, former chief operating officer of NEAR Foundation; and Bowen Wang, founder of NEAR One.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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.
Technical analyst Egrag Crypto stated that XRP may reach $60 if the cryptocurrency successfully breaks out of a long-standing symmetrical triangle pattern. He shared this analysis on X, highlighting several notable price zones if a breakout is confirmed.
Symmetrical triangle forms the basis for projectionsEgrag Crypto’s charting points to XRP trading within a large symmetrical triangle, a technical formation that has developed over multiple years. He uses a measured-move approach to estimate future price objectives, relying on the height of the triangle to calculate the targets if XRP moves decisively through resistance.
This method does not guarantee that XRP will reach these levels, as the price must first confirm a sustained breakout above the upper boundary. Egrag Crypto cautioned that outcomes could differ if XRP fails to surpass the triangle’s resistance.
The symmetrical triangle is a chart pattern commonly used in technical analysis, indicating a period of consolidation followed by a possible breakout. Its predictive power is dependent on the breakout direction and confirmation of momentum.
Mini dictionary: Symmetrical triangle, a chart pattern featuring converging trend lines, signaling decreasing volatility. Breakouts above or below these lines can often indicate significant price movement.
Potential price targets and extended projectionsAccording to Egrag Crypto’s analysis, the first confluence range for a possible breakout lies between $4.30 and $10.23. The chart also presents more ambitious targets at around $15.93, $33, and $60. Additional Fibonacci extension levels highlight zones near $5.24, $6.30, and $8.89 that could become relevant during a breakout.
XRP Price LevelType$4.30–$10.23Initial confluence range$15.93Extended target$33Extended target$60Maximum projected target$5.24, $6.30, $8.89Fibonacci extensionsAt the time of analysis, XRP traded near $1.37. The highest projected level represents a significant potential increase if the pattern plays out as outlined. However, the analyst emphasized these are conditional scenarios based on confirmed breakout momentum.
Charts and numbers don’t lie. The macro symmetrical triangle currently seen in XRP implies confluence zones between $4.30 and $10.23, with possible targets as high as $60 if a breakout is confirmed, drawing from over two decades of experience in investment and crypto sectors.
XRP’s role in institutional conversationsAlongside his technical outlook, Egrag Crypto addressed the tendency of institutional discussions to focus on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, while giving limited attention to XRP. He questioned this imbalance given the ongoing development of the XRP ecosystem, suggesting the market may not fully recognize XRP’s potential importance in the evolving digital financial landscape.
The projections and conversation about XRP’s market position remain speculative unless the coin decisively leaves the symmetrical triangle.
Egrag Crypto wonders why XRP has received less institutional attention than Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana, despite significant ecosystem growth, raising questions about its future significance in the financial system.
Nillion clarifies its Layer 2 (L2) shutdown arrangements, stating that the project is now operating on the Ethereum mainnet.
Nillion has issued a clarification, announcing it will gradually shut down its Nillion L2 over the coming weeks, as the project is now operational on the Ethereum mainnet. Users still holding NIL tokens on the L2 are required to migrate their assets to Ethereum L1 before the shutdown, with a dedicated bridge portal provided. The team stated that the earlier post sparked concerns among some users, prompting this clarification, and emphasized that the adjustment is purely a maintenance operation.
24 minutes ago
CoreWeave’s expanded borrowing plan sparks market unease, with high-yield bonds continuing their decline.
Amid intensifying declines in high-yield bonds, credit risk for AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave hit an all-time high on Thursday. The company’s plans to further expand its borrowing scale have sparked concerns among bond investors. Data from ICE Data Services shows that the cost of CoreWeave’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) rose by 74.5 basis points at one point to 1,194.5 basis points, marking an intraday all-time high. This means the swap market pricing reflects that the company’s default probability over the next five years exceeds 60%. Meanwhile, CoreWeave bonds were among the biggest decliners in the U.S. junk bond market on Thursday. The financing boom in the AI sector is unsettling bond investors, prompting the market to reassess credit risks for some large tech firms, as evidenced by surging credit default insurance prices, heightened market volatility, and weak bond performance. As an early entrant in the AI cloud computing space that relies heavily on the high-yield bond market to fund business expansion, CoreWeave has drawn particular attention.
24 minutes ago
Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO): Bitcoin Likely to Benefit Long-Term, Regardless of AI Boom or Its Bubble Burst
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in a client report that Bitcoin is likely to benefit in the long run regardless of whether AI drives an economic boom, an investment bubble bursts, or the economy grows only moderately. In the scenario where the AI bubble bursts and triggers a recession similar to 2008, given AI’s geopolitical significance, he puts the probability of subsequent government bailouts at “nearly 100%”. Bitcoin may first face a sell-off before rallying sharply amid a surge in the money supply. If AI significantly lifts productivity and GDP while cutting costs in sectors like software and legal services, Hougan forecasts that scarce assets such as Bitcoin will appreciate. Should the economy sustain 3% growth, 4% interest rates and a near soft landing, Bitcoin will still be supported by ETF inflows, adoption by financial advisors, and allocations on corporate and sovereign balance sheets. He cautioned that Bitcoin will not rise in a straight line, with some scenarios potentially involving difficult initial phases. Threats including quantum computing, coordinated government crackdowns, or renewed fiscal austerity by Western governments could also undermine his thesis; he considers these scenarios unlikely but not impossible.
24 minutes ago
Bitcoin rebounds to break through $81,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has rebounded to break through the $81,000 level, with a 1.29% decline in the past 24 hours.
24 minutes ago
Bitcoin falls below $80,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000, recording a 3.48% drop in the past 24 hours.
24 minutes ago
Nasdaq’s proposed $5 million market capitalization delisting threshold has sparked opposition from small U.S. businesses.
According to Bloomberg, Nasdaq plans to immediately suspend trading of listed companies with a market capitalization below $5 million for 30 consecutive days, followed by delisting, to curb market manipulation such as "pump and dump" schemes in micro-cap stocks. The proposal has faced opposition from small U.S. businesses; regulators put its rollout on hold last month and are soliciting further public comments. Bloomberg data shows more than 190 Nasdaq-listed companies currently have a market cap of no more than $5 million, with roughly one-third based in Asia and nearly half in the U.S. Opposing companies argue that natural price fluctuations stemming from low trading volume are not equivalent to market manipulation, and the proposal could deter financing and harm normally operating businesses. Unlike existing delisting rules for low share prices, which provide a 180-day correction period, the new proposal does not offer an extended grace period. Nasdaq, for its part, stated that securities assigned very low valuations by the market are more prone to volatility, posing an ongoing challenge to fair and orderly trading. NYSE American also proposed a similar $5 million threshold in March this year, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a final vote as well.
Arthur Hayes, closely followed for his statements and predictions in the cryptocurrency market, took advantage of the market downturn by making new altcoin purchases.
He Made Purchases in Three Altcoins!
According to Lookonchain, a cryptocurrency analysis platform, Arthur Hayes purchased the altcoins AERO, PENDLE, and ZAMA.
According to Arkham data, Arthur Hayes made purchases totaling approximately $888,000, including 546,610 AERO ($460,000), 120,000 PENDLE ($232,000), and 3 million ZAMA ($197,000).
Crypto analyst Eric Nicholas Freund, citing Arkham data, suggested that Hayes may have resumed altcoin purchases after a long hiatus. Freund estimated that purchases began before October 14th for AERO, October 15th for PENDLE, and October 10th for ZAMA. The analyst also suggested that Hayes might promote these assets on social media in the near future.
There’s Activity Among Whales, Too!
Lookonchain reported that whales were buying at the dip. According to the data, the whale with the address “0x8E8b,” which previously sold 2,050 Ethereum ($4.93 million) and made a profit of $1.08 million, bought back 6,010 ETH ($14.23 million) today.
Another whale missed out on a potential $13.5 million profit by selling early. According to Lookonchain, the whale with the address 0x68Ef had purchased a total of 6.76 million BTW altcoins but sold them early, receiving only about $85,000. However, considering the current price of BTW, if they hadn’t sold, the value of their BTW holdings would have been around $13.5 million. This means the large investor missed out on a potential profit of approximately $13.415 million.
“0x68Ef Whale must be angry at itself.”
He acquired a total of 6.76M BTW but sold them too early for 85K. That 6.76M BTW is now worth $13.5 million. He missed out on enough money to retire!”
According to the whale tracking platform TradingBeats, a whale starting with the initials 0x007d opened a long position of 3,000 ETH using 25x leverage. The data shows that the average entry price was approximately $2,400, the current position value is around $7.05 million, the unrealized loss is approximately $150,000, and the position return is approximately -53%.
Lastly, 0xDD6A, a prominent short trader on Aster DEX who capitalized on the market downturn, made over $6.4 million in profit! Currently holding short positions with 20x leverage on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin, the trader’s total position size has reached $24.6 million, with a win rate of 100%.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and X account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
The head of one of Solana's largest infrastructure firms is joining NEAR's governing council as the network expands its push into private, cross-chain markets.
What's the Scoop? New Council Member: Mert Mumtaz, CEO and co-founder of Helius, has joined the NEAR Foundation Council and will sit alongside NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin and Anchorage Digital co-founder Diogo Mónica.
His Role: Mumtaz will help guide NEAR's product strategy, ecosystem growth, and governance as the network expands into private onchain markets. He'll also judge NEAR's November 1–14 hackathon.
Cross-Chain Ties: Though he runs Helius, a major Solana infrastructure company, Mumtaz has been a vocal NEAR fan, calling it "the market of markets," a neutral layer connecting chains like Solana, Zcash, and AI networks: "If Solana is one continent… then NEAR is the silk road."
NEAR's Momentum: NEAR Intents, which lets users swap across blockchains without managing bridges, has processed over $33B in all-time volume. It also lost about $3.8M to a deposit-system bug on Oct 1, which the team patched, and it says it will fully repay users.
Quantum and AI Fears: The day before, Mumtaz and Polosukhin joined threadguy's roundtable on whether AI or quantum computers could break crypto. The takeaway was that coins are safe for now, and smart contract hacks are the bigger near-term risk. Mumtaz said most chains could upgrade if they had to, and that Zcash was "the best prepared."
Bankless 2823 posts
It’s time to break up with your bank, and join the movement for a better world.
Solana has established a physical presence in China's financial hub, drawing attention from Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Solana opened a new office in Shanghai on October 14, marking a first for a major blockchain ecosystem. The foundation also showcased its brand on a giant LED display on the city skyline, giving crypto an unusually visible presence in mainland China.
Vibhu Norby, Chief Product Officer at the Solana Foundation, highlighted the office's location, saying Solana now occupies the highest commercially available office space in the world.
Rachel Conlan, the foundation's Chief Strategy Officer, also shared images from the opening and described the community's energy in Shanghai as “incredible”.
The move attracted attention from Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who noted that BNB Chain had not managed a similar expansion into China. "It's amazing to see that Solana was able to advertise and even get an office in China," Zhao wrote on X. "BNB Chain was not able to do this, so far."
He added that he hoped “what's good for one industry player” would benefit the wider industry.
How Solana Is Navigating China's Crypto Restrictions Solana's presence in Shanghai stands out because mainland China has maintained strict restrictions on cryptocurrency trading and related financial activities since 2021.
However, the country's restrictions on crypto speculation do not amount to a blanket ban on blockchain technology. Chinese authorities continue to support blockchain infrastructure and other technology initiatives, creating a distinction between developing the underlying technology and promoting cryptocurrency trading.
Solana's recent activities in China appear to follow that distinction. Earlier in March, Solana launched the Shanghai Builder Station at the Alibaba Center in Hongqiao, with support from the Minhang District. The initiative positioned the location as a collaborative base for developers working on Layer 1 infrastructure and applications, rather than directly promoting crypto trading.
Community commentary has since highlighted Solana's emphasis on AI agents, robotics, Physical AI, developer collaboration, and hardware supply chains as a way to engage Chinese technology professionals while avoiding an emphasis on tokens, memecoins, and speculative trading.
However, the distinction does not eliminate regulatory risk. Chinese community members have raised concerns about the visibility of Solana's branding and the possibility of stricter scrutiny. One account also reported restrictions on related $SOL content on Douyin, China's video-based social media platform.
.
Solana Accelerate China Heads to 4 Cities The Shanghai office opening comes just ahead of Solana Accelerate China, a series of events scheduled to connect Chinese developers, founders and investors with the wider Solana ecosystem.
The schedule includes Shanghai on October 16, Hangzhou on October 18, Shenzhen on October 20, and Beijing on October 22. The tour gives Solana an opportunity to build relationships with China's tech community, particularly developers working across AI, robotics, and blockchain infrastructure.
Solana's Shanghai presence also gives the foundation a physical base for engaging with local builders beyond individual conferences and community gatherings.
What Solana's China Expansion Means Solana's new office and high-profile advertising represent a notable step for a blockchain ecosystem operating in a country with strict cryptocurrency restrictions. CZ's reaction further highlights how unusual the development appears within the industry.
Still, a physical office and a prominent advertising display do not establish that Chinese authorities have relaxed their position on cryptocurrency. Solana's longer-term progress in the region will depend on its ability to maintain local relationships, support technology development, and navigate the country's regulatory boundaries.
Read More on SolanaFloor Squads Tests Post-Quantum Signing on Solana Mainnet as Crypto Security Debate Intensifies
Alpenglow Mainnet Activation Set for October 21 - Here’s What You Need to Know
Jito CEO Says The End of CEXs is Closer Than You Think
Ethereum, XRP and Solana all dropped on October 15, 2026. The trigger had nothing to do with blockchains and everything to do with a spreadsheet from Washington.
The US Consumer Price Index for September showed inflation running at 3.7% year over year. Market analysts cited by Decrypt say macro factors, not crypto-specific problems, are what pushed altcoin prices down.
The numbers behind the selloff
Economists had expected the September CPI reading to land at 3.6%. Instead it came in a tenth of a point hotter, and it also climbed above August’s 3.4% rate.
The concern is simple. If inflation keeps rising, the Federal Reserve has less room to ease, and borrowing costs stay elevated for longer. That tends to drain enthusiasm for anything that sits at the riskier end of the investment spectrum.
Ethereum fell below $2,400, a slide of nearly 5-6% on the day. XRP traded in a range of $1.30-$1.31, while Solana hovered between $101-$102. Both of those tokens posted declines close to 5%.
Leverage made things worse. Total liquidations across the crypto market reached approximately $972 million over a 24-hour window, with long positions taking most of the damage. ETH accounted for the largest share of the wipeout.
Institutional money stepped back too
On October 14, Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded outflows of approximately $261 million. Ethereum spot ETFs lost around $130 million on the same day.
Solana products saw minor outflows, while XRP funds actually logged a modest inflow. That XRP inflow is a small detail, but a telling one. It suggests at least some institutional buyers were willing to add exposure even as the broader mood soured. It was not enough to stop the token’s price from falling roughly 5%, though.
Why macro is running the show
The 10-year US Treasury yield approached 5.3%, a level that represents multi-decade highs.
Other forces were also in play. Geopolitical tensions, rising oil prices and a hawkish tone in minutes from recent Federal Reserve meetings have kept markets on edge. Earlier October volatility was also correlated with climbing oil prices and Fed signals pointing toward tighter policy.
Analysts also noted that altcoins have been underperforming Bitcoin during this phase.
What this means for traders and investors
The Federal Reserve’s next decision is scheduled for October 28. A hotter-than-expected CPI reading raises the odds that policymakers lean toward keeping rates higher for longer.
Approximately $972 million in forced closures in a single day signals that a lot of leverage had built up on the long side. ETF flows are worth watching as a gauge of institutional conviction. Continued outflows from the Bitcoin and Ethereum funds would suggest larger investors are trimming risk until the rate outlook clears.
The split between XRP’s small inflow and Solana’s minor outflow shows that institutional appetite is not moving in lockstep across altcoins.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Shiba Inu has lost the level that held it up through most of the recovery. SHIB now trades near $0.00000496 after a daily candle that opened at $0.00000509 and fell as low as $0.00000483. The move pushed the price decisively below the 100 EMA, the orange line near $0.00000528, which had acted as the primary floor since August.
Main support invalidatedThis matters because buyers defended that line repeatedly. It was held in late August, again in mid-September, and it was the base for the rally to $0.00000627. Early in October, SHIB closed below it, attempted to climb back, and failed. Each rebound stopped beneath the line, which turned old support into new resistance. The current red candles confirm that sellers now control the trend.
SHIB/USDT Chart by TradingViewOther averages offer no support from above. The blue and cyan lines sit near $0.00000540 and $0.00000545, and the long 200 EMA near $0.00000562 is even farther away. Price would need a large rally just to test them. The RSI is near 36, close to oversold, which suggests strong selling but not yet a reversal signal. Volume is modest, so the decline is steady, not panicked.
HOT Stories
SHIB left with little support The chart is now largely empty below, so the supports that remain matter a great deal. The first is $0.00000483, today's low. Under that sits the September dip near $0.00000474, where buyers stepped in before the last rally.
If that breaks, the next area is $0.00000437 to $0.00000440, where SHIB bottomed in August. The final major support is the $0.00000405 to $0.00000410 zone, the lows from June and July. A fall there could erase the entire recovery of the past three months.
You Might Also Like
A bounce from $0.00000483 or $0.00000474 remains possible, since the RSI is low. But a bounce alone would not change the trend. It would only show whether buyers can build a base.
Without rising volume, any upward move is more likely a relief rally inside a larger downtrend. For buyers, the job is to reclaim $0.00000500 first, then the 100 EMA near $0.00000528. A daily close above that line would cancel the breakdown. Until then, rallies are likely to be sold.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) slipped below a crucial support level during recent trading, as the token dropped through the 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a price marker that had consistently provided support over the past three months. Following a daily session that opened at $0.00000509 and reached a low of $0.00000483, SHIB is now positioned near $0.00000496.
Break of 100 EMA shifts trendThe 100 EMA, located at approximately $0.00000528, served as a resilient price floor since August. Buyers had successfully defended this line on multiple occasions—in late August, mid-September, and during the base of the rally that sent SHIB to $0.00000627. Early October saw the token close below the 100 EMA, prompting an attempt to recover, but each rebound stalled underneath this level. The zone that once acted as support now functions as resistance, highlighting a significant shift in market sentiment as sellers continue to dominate the trend.
While buyers previously defended the 100 EMA, recent failed attempts to reclaim it demonstrate that this level has now become a firm resistance, confirming the prevailing control of sellers.
Other moving averages, such as the 50 EMA and 20 EMA, provide little relief for bulls, with the 50 EMA positioned around $0.00000540 and the 20 EMA at $0.00000545. The 200 EMA sits even higher near $0.00000562, making a significant rally necessary just to reach these indicators.
Momentum and technical outlookTechnical signals reveal a cautious environment. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently rests at 36, suggesting sustained selling but stopping short of indicating immediate oversold conditions. Trading volume remains moderate, which underlines a steady rather than panicked decline. The absence of major support levels above implies that any attempt at recovery will likely face stiff resistance from previous floors now turned ceilings.
The area below the current price is characterized by sparse support zones. The first notable level lies at $0.00000483, the day’s low, followed by the September dip at $0.00000474. Should these fail, the next potential supports are the August bottom between $0.00000437 and $0.00000440, and the June-July lows in the $0.00000405 to $0.00000410 range. A drop into these zones could potentially undo all the recovery progress made in the last quarter.
Support LevelReference Date/Context$0.00000483Today’s session low$0.00000474September dip$0.00000437–$0.00000440August bottom$0.00000405–$0.00000410June-July lowsReversal efforts and resistance zonesSome technical indicators leave open the possibility of a short-term bounce, given the low RSI readings near current support. However, analysts remain cautious, noting that such a move would not indicate a full trend reversal but might instead be a temporary relief rally, especially without a marked increase in buying volume.
For bullish momentum to return, buyers must first reclaim the $0.00000500 level, and more importantly, achieve a daily close above the 100 EMA around $0.00000528. Until these thresholds are surpassed, upward moves are expected to encounter heavy selling pressure, and the broader trend remains in favor of sellers.
Shiba Inu is the second-largest meme coin project by market capitalization, known for its active community and volatile trading patterns.
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Rakuten Wallet has announced a SHIB-themed giveaway for its upcoming investment seminar in November, offering physical commemorative coins to SHIB holders who attend the event.
Seminar details and participationThe investment seminar is set to take place on November 3, a public holiday in Japan. Rakuten Wallet expects to draw investors interested in Shiba Inu and other digital assets. The event will be organized by Rakuten Securities, with Rakuten Wallet operating its own booth on site.
Matsuda, Senior Analyst at Rakuten, is scheduled to speak at the seminar following his previous appearance in October. This continued involvement underscores Rakuten’s ongoing engagement with the SHIB community in Japan.
To participate in the giveaway, attendees must present a screen within the Rakuten Wallet application confirming their SHIB holdings to the exchange’s staff at the booth. Rakuten Wallet indicated that all who meet this requirement will receive a giveaway item, with no stated exceptions.
Physical SHIB coins and previous eventsThe commemorative SHIB coins being distributed are physical metal souvenirs and do not have a technical link to the Shiba Inu blockchain. Rakuten Wallet first launched these coins earlier this year, introducing what it described as the world’s first physical Shiba Inu coin featuring a sandblasted—also known as blast finish—design.
In July 2026, Rakuten Wallet became the first entity to use this particular finish in minting SHIB coins. The tokens serve purely as collector’s items with no cryptocurrency value.
Similar giveaways have taken place before: Rakuten Wallet previously distributed physical ‘Shib coins’ at its Fukuoka seminar and confirmed plans to hold comparable events in Sapporo and Osaka in October.
Rakuten Wallet’s repeated initiatives highlight its ongoing support for Shiba Inu, which it added to its trading offerings in April of this year.
Market context and investor activityAt the time of the announcement, Shiba Inu was trading at $0.00000494, reflecting a 3.78% drop in the previous 24 hours. This decrease aligns with a widespread decline across the cryptocurrency market, following renewed concerns about potential Federal Reserve interest rate hikes due to higher-than-expected inflation data released on Wednesday.
Official statistics showed a year-on-year increase in consumer prices of 3.7% through September, compared with 3.4% in August, surpassing analyst forecasts. The core Consumer Price Index, excluding food and energy, also rose to 2.6%, up from 2.4% the previous month.
Selling intensified early Thursday, with a total of $972.26 million in futures positions liquidated over the previous 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass. Shiba Inu extended its losing streak to four consecutive days, falling to an intraday low of $0.000004811 during this period.
Futures market volatility heightened, with $972.26 million in positions liquidated during a period when Shiba Inu registered its fourth straight day of losses, dropping to $0.000004811 intraday.
Monitoring price trends and investor timing offers crucial insight, particularly in the meme token segment, where internet-driven trends can generate rapid and significant shifts in market capitalization. Fomo App data cited a notable case where a $99 investment in “Niu Lai” ballooned to approximately $370,000, highlighting how closely tracking investor behavior and token discovery can impact results. Fomo App integrates trading, social feeds, trade notifications, and investor rankings into a single platform for users tracking meme token activity.
PUMP falls 14% as Bitcoin, XRP, ONDO and QNT test support. Daily charts map key levels, risks, and technical signals across five major crypto assets today.
Asset Price 24-hour change Aggregate 24-hour volume Rank Bitcoin $80,821 -3.45% $38.57B 1 XRP $1.30 -4.92% $2.25B 5 Ondo $0.431072 -8.19% $217.31M 48 Quant $195.20 -9.34% $125.65M 39 Pump.fun $0.004352 -13.66% $244.31M 49 Bitcoin RSI Weakens as Price Retests $80,300 Bitcoin’s completed October 14 candle fell 1.83% to $81,576 after trading between $81,333 and $84,049. Its 14-day RSI, calculated with Wilder smoothing, dropped to 46.62 from 51.89.
The move below 50 shows weakening momentum without reaching the conventional oversold threshold of 30.
BTC/USD daily chart shows RSI (14) falling below 50 as price approaches the October 8 low near $80,329. The completed 00:00–04:00 UTC candle closed at $80,828, while four-hour RSI stood at 33.40. The $80,821 market quote remained close to the seven-day low of $80,329, but this intraday test did not establish a confirmed daily breakdown.
A daily close below $80,329–$81,333 would weaken the range and bring the 50-day EMA near $80,257 into focus, followed by the upper-$79,000 area.
Recovering the 20-day EMA at $82,963 would improve the setup, although Bitcoin would still need to close above $84,053–$84,250 to clear its recent ceiling.
XRP Presses the Lower Bollinger Band XRP ended October 14 at $1.3299, down 2.56%, after setting a daily low of $1.3020. The close held just above the lower Bollinger Band at $1.3211, calculated from a 20-day simple moving average with two population standard deviations. The band midpoint stood at $1.4557.
XRP/USD daily chart shows the October 14 close holding just above the lower Bollinger Band at $1.3211, before further intraday weakness. The next completed four-hour candle fell as low as $1.2834 and closed at $1.3024. The $1.30 market price was approximately 5.1% below the roughly $1.37 level cited in Wednesday’s report.
Because the current daily candle remained open, the move below the lower band and previous daily low was not a confirmed closing break.
A daily close below $1.3020 would expose $1.2834 and the September 16 swing low near $1.2461.
Holding the lower-band area and reclaiming $1.3403 would begin to stabilize the structure.
A close above $1.3854 would offer stronger confirmation and reopen a move toward the $1.4557 midpoint.
Ondo Sits Between Its 20-Day and 50-Day EMAs Ondo was the highest-ranked eligible non-core asset on CoinGecko’s search-trending list at the cutoff. It traded at $0.431072, down 8.19% over 24 hours, with a market-cap rank of 48.
ONDO/USD daily chart shows the completed close between the 20-day EMA at $0.47610 and the 50-day EMA at $0.44219. ONDO’s completed daily candle lost 4.89% to $0.44498. This left price below the 20-day EMA at $0.47610 but marginally above the 50-day EMA at $0.44219.
Its position between the averages describes a compressed decision area rather than a confirmed directional break.
The completed four-hour candle was weaker, closing at $0.42990 after touching $0.42255.
A daily close below $0.42801–$0.44219 would validate the deterioration and place $0.42255, followed by approximately $0.41 and $0.40, at risk.
For a bullish shift, ONDO must recover $0.46787 and close above the 20-day EMA at $0.47610. That would expose $0.48838 and the psychological $0.50 level.
Quant’s Wide ATR Calls for Closing Confirmation Quant ranked 39th by market capitalization and appeared among CoinGecko’s most-searched assets as its 24-hour loss reached 9.34%.
Its completed October 14 candle closed at $205, down 2.32%, before the next four-hour candle fell to $190.44 and closed at $194.51.
QNT/USD daily chart shows support near $200.79–$201.20, with 14-day ATR measuring $29.80 as volatility remains elevated. QNT’s 14-day average true range, using Wilder smoothing, measured $29.80, or 14.53% of the daily close. ATR gauges movement size rather than direction.
The reading eased from $30.83 but remained large enough for intraday wicks to cross nearby levels without confirming a trend change.
The $195.20 live quote was below completed daily support at $200.79–$201.20. A daily close below that zone would confirm a break and put $190.44 in view, followed by the four-hour 200-period EMA near $183.66.
A recovery through $209.87 would ease immediate pressure, while a close above $217.55 would clear the October 14 high and shift attention to $231.15.
PUMP MACD Deteriorates as Weekly Loss Reaches 30% PUMP recorded the largest 24-hour decline among the five assets, falling 13.66% to $0.004352. It remained a top-100 asset at rank 49 and was down 30.29% over seven days.
PUMP/USD MACD remains below its signal line as the daily histogram becomes more negative. Its repeat inclusion follows a material change in the setup: the price was approximately 13.8% below the $0.005050 area recorded in the October 13 report.
The completed daily candle fell 5.02% to $0.004768. On the standard 12,26,9 MACD, the line stood at $0.000179 versus a $0.000360 signal line.
The histogram widened to negative $0.000181 from negative $0.000152. This was not a new crossover; it was a confirmed expansion of negative momentum on a completed daily candle.
The subsequent four-hour candle traded as low as $0.004000 and closed at $0.004347.
That placed the live market below completed support at $0.004660–$0.004768, but only a daily close below $0.004660 would confirm the break.
Such a close would expose the lower Bollinger reference near $0.004211, followed by $0.004000 and the September 25 low at $0.003832.
A close back above $0.005020–$0.005138 would invalidate the immediate breakdown and bring the 20-day EMA at $0.005288 into focus.
The Hex (HEX) token fell nearly 30% in the past 24 hours after local media reports of founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, being detained by authorities in Istanbul.
The HEX token declined to $0.0006 as of 11:28 am UTC on Thursday, erasing about $160 million from its market capitalization, from more than $500 million on Wednesday to $340 million by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. It previously topped $0.44 in September 2021.
On Wednesday, news outlet Ihlas Haber Ajansı (IHA) reported that Schueler and his wife were detained in Istanbul by Turkish authorities. Police reportedly seized multiple devices, hardware wallets, jewelry and handguns.
The reported arrest comes nearly two years after the world’s largest international police organization, Interpol, issued a “Red Notice” for Schueler for allegedly committing tax fraud and assault, with Finnish authorities seeking his arrest.
A spokesperson for Finland’s National Bureau of Investigations declined to comment on the matter.
Schueler was also listed on Europe’s most wanted fugitives list on similar allegations, claiming that he “physically assaulted a 16-year-old victim by grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell and knocking them to the ground.”
In July 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Schueler, alleging he raised $1 billion in an unregistered securities offering and misappropriated at least $12 million.
US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the case in February 2025, after ruling that the activities were not sufficiently directed at US investors. In April 2025, the SEC said it didn’t intend to refile its securities fraud complaint against Schueler.
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.
The Hex (HEX) token fell nearly 30% in the past 24 hours after local media reports of founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, being detained by authorities in Istanbul.
The HEX token declined to $0.0006 as of 11:28 am UTC on Thursday, erasing about $160 million from its market capitalization, from more than $500 million on Wednesday to $340 million by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. It previously topped $0.44 in September 2021.
On Wednesday, news outlet Ihlas Haber Ajansı (IHA) reported that Schueler and his wife were detained in Istanbul by Turkish authorities. Police reportedly seized multiple devices, hardware wallets, jewelry and handguns.
The reported arrest comes nearly two years after the world’s largest international police organization, Interpol, issued a “Red Notice” for Schueler for allegedly committing tax fraud and assault, with Finnish authorities seeking his arrest.
A spokesperson for Finland’s National Bureau of Investigations declined to comment on the matter.
Schueler was also listed on Europe’s most wanted fugitives list on similar allegations, claiming that he “physically assaulted a 16-year-old victim by grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell and knocking them to the ground.”
In July 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Schueler, alleging he raised $1 billion in an unregistered securities offering and misappropriated at least $12 million.
US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the case in February 2025, after ruling that the activities were not sufficiently directed at US investors. In April 2025, the SEC said it didn’t intend to refile its securities fraud complaint against Schueler.
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.
PANews reported on October 15 that, according to Cointelegraph, security firm Hacken disclosed that a total of 107 crypto hacks occurred in the third quarter of 2026, with total losses of $1.18 billion. Of this, roughly $906 million (about 77%) was tied to compromised vendor and developer tools, disclosed but undeployed fixes, and infrastructure outside the audit scope.
Losses were mainly concentrated in four incidents: Bitget lost $387 million, Liquid Network lost $320 million, Tectonic lost $120 million, and a Coldcard firmware vulnerability caused losses of about $115 million, together accounting for roughly 80%. The other 98 incidents each involved less than $10 million, with a median of $670,000. Smart contract attacks were the most common, with 71 incidents and $228 million in losses.
This quarter was the worst for losses since Q1 2025. On the recovery side, about $387 million was returned or reversed, accounting for about 33% of gross losses; operators bore an additional $410 million in user losses, and about $384 million remains unrecovered.
Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO): Bitcoin Likely to Benefit Long-Term, Regardless of AI Boom or Its Bubble Burst
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in a client report that Bitcoin is likely to benefit in the long run regardless of whether AI drives an economic boom, an investment bubble bursts, or the economy grows only moderately. In the scenario where the AI bubble bursts and triggers a recession similar to 2008, given AI’s geopolitical significance, he puts the probability of subsequent government bailouts at “nearly 100%”. Bitcoin may first face a sell-off before rallying sharply amid a surge in the money supply. If AI significantly lifts productivity and GDP while cutting costs in sectors like software and legal services, Hougan forecasts that scarce assets such as Bitcoin will appreciate. Should the economy sustain 3% growth, 4% interest rates and a near soft landing, Bitcoin will still be supported by ETF inflows, adoption by financial advisors, and allocations on corporate and sovereign balance sheets. He cautioned that Bitcoin will not rise in a straight line, with some scenarios potentially involving difficult initial phases. Threats including quantum computing, coordinated government crackdowns, or renewed fiscal austerity by Western governments could also undermine his thesis; he considers these scenarios unlikely but not impossible.
9 minutes ago
Bitcoin rebounds to break through $81,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has rebounded to break through the $81,000 level, with a 1.29% decline in the past 24 hours.
9 minutes ago
Bitcoin falls below $80,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000, recording a 3.48% drop in the past 24 hours.
9 minutes ago
Nasdaq’s proposed $5 million market capitalization delisting threshold has sparked opposition from small U.S. businesses.
According to Bloomberg, Nasdaq plans to immediately suspend trading of listed companies with a market capitalization below $5 million for 30 consecutive days, followed by delisting, to curb market manipulation such as "pump and dump" schemes in micro-cap stocks. The proposal has faced opposition from small U.S. businesses; regulators put its rollout on hold last month and are soliciting further public comments. Bloomberg data shows more than 190 Nasdaq-listed companies currently have a market cap of no more than $5 million, with roughly one-third based in Asia and nearly half in the U.S. Opposing companies argue that natural price fluctuations stemming from low trading volume are not equivalent to market manipulation, and the proposal could deter financing and harm normally operating businesses. Unlike existing delisting rules for low share prices, which provide a 180-day correction period, the new proposal does not offer an extended grace period. Nasdaq, for its part, stated that securities assigned very low valuations by the market are more prone to volatility, posing an ongoing challenge to fair and orderly trading. NYSE American also proposed a similar $5 million threshold in March this year, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a final vote as well.
9 minutes ago
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is on track to erase more than $2 trillion in market capitalization within seven trading days.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is set to lose over $2 trillion in market capitalization within seven trading days.
TLDR VanEck filed a request with the SEC to withdraw its application for a Lido staked Ether ETF. The firm said it does not intend to proceed with selling shares of the fund. The fund’s S-1 registration statement was first filed on Oct. 16, 2025. The ETF would have held Lido staked Ether (stETH) and earned certain staking rewards. VanEck did not explain its decision or say if a replacement product is planned. Asset manager VanEck has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to let it withdraw its application for a Lido staked Ether exchange-traded fund. The move shelves a product designed to give investors exposure to a liquid staking token.
The request was made in a filing dated Oct. 14, 2026. In it, VanEck Digital Assets said it “does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution” of the trust’s shares.
The company did not explain what led to the decision. It also did not say whether it plans to pursue a replacement product.
What the Fund Was Meant to Do VanEck first filed the fund’s S-1 registration statement on Oct. 16, 2025. An S-1 is the form companies use to register new securities with the SEC.
The proposed fund would have held Lido staked Ether, known as stETH. This token represents Ether that has been staked through the Lido protocol.
According to the original filing, the fund expected to earn certain staking rewards through its ownership of stETH. Staking rewards are paid to users who lock up tokens to help secure a blockchain network.
The application was one of several new crypto ETF filings submitted in October 2025.
Details of the Withdrawal Request The withdrawal was filed as a Form RW, which is a request for withdrawal. It was made under Rule 477 of the Securities Act of 1933.
The letter was sent to the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance in Washington, D.C. It was signed by Matthew A. Babinsky, a vice president at VanEck Digital Assets.
VanEck asked the SEC to approve the withdrawal as of the filing date, or at the earliest practical date after that. The request covers the original registration statement, all later amendments and all exhibits.
The firm said its only reason for the withdrawal is that it no longer plans to distribute the trust’s shares. No other grounds were given in the letter.
VanEck also confirmed several facts about the fund’s status. The registration statement was never declared effective by the SEC.
The firm said no shares have been issued or sold under the registration statement, and none will be. It added that no preliminary prospectus for the fund was ever handed out.
The letter named two lawyers at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP as contacts for any questions. They are Cliff Cone and Etherial Edetan.
The registration statement carried SEC file number 333-290918. VanEck Digital Assets is based at 666 Third Avenue in New York City.
Cointelegraph reached out to VanEck Digital Assets for comment on the decision. The company has not yet publicly explained why it dropped the fund.
An automated market maker (AMM) is a DeFi protocol that prices and processes swaps using pooled liquidity and a mathematical formula instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. Here’s how AMMs work, how they set prices and why liquidity depth matters when you swap.
When you swap tokens on a decentralized exchange (DEX), there may be no seller waiting on the other side of your trade. Instead, your swap can happen against a pool of tokens whose price changes automatically as you trade.
That mechanism is an automated market maker, or AMM.
AMMs underpin much of DeFi liquidity. But understanding how they work also explains something important about swapping: the same trade can produce different results across different liquidity pools. Price depends on the AMM design, the assets in the pool, its liquidity depth and the size of your swap.
As the team behind the original DEX aggregator, 1inch deals with this fragmentation directly: its routing algorithm evaluates liquidity from multiple sources to find efficient routes for swaps. Now, let’s see what happens inside an AMM, starting with the math.
What is an automated market maker?An automated market maker is a set of smart contracts that enables token swaps using pooled liquidity and predefined pricing rules. Unlike a traditional order book, an AMM does not need to match your buy order with somebody else's sell order.
Instead, you trade against a liquidity pool. A basic pool might contain two tokens, such as ETH and USDC. Liquidity providers (LPs) supply those assets to the pool. When you swap USDC for ETH, you add USDC to the pool and remove ETH. The AMM's formula recalculates the price based on the pool's new balances.
An order book records bids and asks at different prices and matches buyers with sellers. An AMM instead, effectively creates prices algorithmically from the assets available in its liquidity pool.
The term can be confusing because "market maker" also has a different meaning in traditional finance. Traditional market makers actively quote buy and sell prices. An AMM automates this function through smart contracts and liquidity supplied on-chain.
Different AMMs use different formulas and liquidity structures, but they share the same basic goal: making assets available for swaps without requiring a direct counterparty for every transaction.
How AMMs actually price a trade
The classic AMM model uses a simple equation:
x × y = k
Here, x is the amount of one token in the pool, y is the amount of the other and k is a constant.
Suppose an ETH/USDC pool contains:
100 ETH200,000 USDCIgnoring fees for simplicity:
100 × 200,000 = 20,000,000
So k = 20,000,000.
The ratio of the reserves gives an initial pool price of:
200,000 / 100 = 2,000 USDC per ETH
Now imagine someone swaps 20,000 USDC for ETH.
The pool receives the 20,000 USDC, increasing that side of the pool to 220,000 USDC. To keep the constant product unchanged:
x × 220,000 = 20,000,000
Therefore:
x ≈ 90.91 ETH
The trader receives roughly:
100 − 90.91 = 9.09 ETH
After the trade, the pool holds approximately 90.91 ETH and 220,000 USDC.
The reserve ratio has changed. The pool's marginal price is now approximately:
220,000 / 90.91 ≈ 2,420 USDC per ETH
This mechanism is known as a constant product AMM. It is closely associated with Uniswap and is one of the most familiar AMM designs.
The curve also ensures that buying increasingly large amounts of one asset becomes progressively more expensive. You cannot simply remove all the ETH at the original price. As ETH leaves the pool, its price relative to USDC rises.
Not every AMM uses the same curve. Stablecoin-focused AMMs can use a flatter curve around the expected price of closely correlated assets, allowing larger swaps with less price impact near that point. Other designs use different bonding curves or asset weights to change how liquidity and prices behave.
But the underlying principle remains: the smart contract determines the terms of the swap based on its rules and the state of its liquidity.
What happens when you swap through an AMMWhen your wallet shows you a quote, that is not necessarily the exact price at which every part of the swap will take place.
The AMM price changes as your trade changes the pool. Consider the example above. Before the swap, the reserve ratio implies 2,000 USDC per ETH. But swapping 20,000 USDC does not give you 10 ETH. It gives you roughly 9.09 ETH before accounting for fees.
The difference results from price impact. Price impact is the effect your own trade has on the price available from the pool. The larger your trade is relative to the pool's liquidity, the greater that impact tends to be.
A 20,000 USDC swap against a pool containing 200,000 USDC is significant. The same swap against a pool holding 20 mln USDC would generally move the price much less.
Slippage is related but different. It refers to the difference between the price you expect when submitting a transaction and the price you actually receive when it is processed.
Prices can move while your transaction is waiting to be included in a block. Other swaps can change the pool's reserves before yours goes through.
A slippage tolerance sets the maximum deterioration in the swap outcome you are willing to accept. If the available outcome moves beyond that limit, the transaction should revert rather than complete under the changed conditions.
The practical takeaway is straightforward: pool depth matters. Larger trades against shallow liquidity can move an AMM's price substantially.
And because liquidity is spread across many pools and AMMs, the depth available for the same token pair can vary considerably from one source to another.
Liquidity providers and AMM poolsAMMs need assets for traders to swap. Those assets come from liquidity providers. In a traditional two-token AMM, LPs deposit both assets into a pool. In return, they receive a claim on their share of the pool and a portion of the fees generated by swaps.
Historically, that claim has often been represented by LP tokens, although newer AMM designs can represent liquidity positions differently.
Providing liquidity therefore creates a trade-off. LPs can collect swap fees, but the composition and value of their position can change as traders interact with the pool.
One important risk is impermanent loss. It can occur when the relative prices of the assets deposited in a pool change, leaving the LP with a different outcome than simply holding the assets outside the pool.
The mechanics depend on the AMM design and can become more complex with concentrated liquidity. See 1inch's guide to impermanent loss for a detailed explanation.
Some DeFi protocols also add incentives such as liquidity mining on top of the fees generated by the underlying AMM. These incentives are separate from the AMM pricing mechanism itself and can introduce additional risks.
Different AMM designsComparing modern AMM mathematical models
There is no single AMM model. Different designs change the relationship between liquidity, pricing and capital efficiency. Three important approaches illustrate those differences.
Balancer, Curve and Uniswap are examples rather than a ranking. Each design makes different trade-offs.
Concentrated Liquidity MechanicsConcentrated liquidity allows providers to deposit capital within targeted price ranges rather than distributing liquidity from zero to infinity.
Enhanced Capital Multipliers: Concentrated pools achieve deeper effective liquidity around active trading ranges with lower overall capital requirements.Out-of-Range Risk: Liquidity positions stop earning swap fees and convert entirely into the depreciating asset if market prices move outside the configured range.Active Rebalancing Overhead: Capital efficiency requires frequent position management, increasing gas costs and operational complexity for passive providers.AMMs within the broader DEX ecosystemA single AMM only shows you part of the picture. The same token pair can trade across multiple AMMs, multiple pools, and multiple blockchain networks at once.
No single AMM reliably offers the best price for every swap. A DEX aggregator checks liquidity across all available sources and routes your swap to the best combination, automatically.
Pool conditions vary in three ways:
Depth (how much liquidity is available)Fees (what you pay per swap)Pricing curve (how much the price moves as you trade)A route does not necessarily have to use just one AMM. Depending on the available liquidity, splitting a swap between different sources can produce a more efficient result than sending the entire amount through one pool.
Imagine two ETH/USDC pools. Pool A offers a slightly better starting price but has relatively shallow liquidity. Pool B starts with a slightly worse price but is much deeper.
Sending a large swap entirely through Pool A could move its price sharply. Dividing the trade between the two pools could reduce total price impact.
This is the logic behind aggregation. 1inch's routing technology evaluates available liquidity to find routes for swaps rather than assuming one AMM will always provide the optimal path.
AMMs are not the only model used by decentralized markets. On-chain and hybrid order books also exist and can be useful for particular markets or trade sizes. But AMMs remain a major source of DeFi liquidity, which makes understanding their mechanics important even when an aggregator handles routing for you.
The real risks of AMMs: MEV, frontrunning, and smart contractsAMMs automate market making, but they do not remove market or technical risk. One important mechanism to understand is arbitrage. Suppose ETH trades at 2,000 USDC in the wider market but an AMM's pool price implies 1,950 USDC. An arbitrageur can buy ETH from the AMM at the lower price and sell it elsewhere.
That activity changes the pool's reserves and moves its price toward the broader market price. Arbitrage is therefore part of how AMM prices remain aligned with external markets. But the same process affects LPs because arbitrageurs trade against the pool when its internal price diverges from the wider market. That relationship is closely connected to the mechanics of impermanent loss.
MEV creates another execution risk. Because blockchain transactions can be visible before they are finalized, another actor may sometimes be able to place transactions around a pending swap. A sandwich attack is a common example.
Anatomy of an AMM Sandwich AttackSandwich attacks target pending swaps broadcasting in the public blockchain mempool:
Detection: A predatory searcher bot scans the public mempool and identifies a high-volume pending AMM swap with loose slippage tolerance.Frontrun Buy: The bot broadcasts a transaction with a higher gas fee to buy the target asset immediately before the victim's trade, intentionally driving up the pool price.Victim Execution: The victim's transaction executes at the inflated price, absorbing severe price impact.Backrun Sell: The bot executes a sell transaction within the same block, dumping the inflated asset back into the pool to capture riskless arbitrage profit.Appropriate slippage settings can limit how far a swap is allowed to move from the expected outcome, although they do not remove every form of MEV risk.
Finally, AMMs depend on smart contracts. Bugs, unexpected interactions and exploits remain possible even when contracts have been audited. An audit can reduce risk and provide information about the system's security posture, but it cannot guarantee that a contract is bug-free.
Anyone providing liquidity should therefore consider both the economic mechanics of the AMM and the technical risks of the protocol holding or managing the assets.
Understanding AMMs makes aggregation easier An automated market maker replaces buyer-seller matching with smart contracts, pooled liquidity and mathematical pricing rules. But the exact mechanics vary considerably between AMM designs.
Constant product AMMs adjust prices as the ratio between two reserves changes. Stableswap models optimize their curves for assets expected to trade at similar prices. Weighted pools support different asset compositions and reserve weights. Concentrated liquidity changes where LP capital is available along the price curve.
Those differences affect price impact, capital efficiency and LP risk. They also explain why aggregation matters. A token can have liquidity spread across many pools using different designs, and the most efficient route can change with the size of your swap and current pool conditions.
If you want to explore the mechanics from the LP side, read What is a liquidity provider? and the guide to impermanent loss.
FAQWhat is the difference between an AMM and an order book?An order book matches individual buy and sell orders between discrete market participants. An AMM executes trades autonomously against a communal liquidity pool using mathematical pricing formulas.
Why do large swaps experience high price impact on AMMs?AMMs calculate prices using mathematical invariant curves like xy=k. Large transactions deplete a substantial percentage of the pool's token reserves, driving marginal prices higher along the curve during execution.
Can you lose money providing liquidity to an AMM?Liquidity providers face impermanent loss when the relative prices of their deposited assets diverge from their original deposit ratio. Capital may also be exposed to smart contract bugs, exploit vulnerabilities, or low fee yields during stagnant trading periods.
How do DEX aggregators find better rates than individual AMMs?DEX aggregators evaluate prices and pool depths across hundreds of decentralized exchanges simultaneously. Rather than sending an entire trade to a single pool, aggregators split orders across multiple venues to minimize price impact and avoid slippage.
Trade across every major AMM design on the 1inch app.
Disclaimer : This content is for general information purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any particular digital asset or to employ any specific investment strategy.
Safe has moved its transaction-security network out of beta. Safenet Aegis went live in production on October 15, 2026, covering Ethereum Mainnet, Gnosis Chain, and Arbitrum.
The idea is to check a transaction before it executes and, if the user opts in, stop the bad ones onchain. Warning pop-ups are helpful. A contract that refuses to cooperate is more helpful.
The launch came through Safe’s governance structure, with Safe Foundation and SafeDAO steering the rollout. It also introduces paid transaction checks and a fresh round of staking rewards for SAFE holders.
How Safenet Aegis works
The first group of Sentinels includes OpenCover, BlockSecTeam, Candide Labs, and IntentGuard. Each operates independently of the others.
Validators then attest to those evaluations onchain. These validators are governed by SafeDAO, the community body that oversees the protocol.
The final layer is optional. Users can enable a formally verified Safenet Guard on their Safe account, which allows the network’s findings to be enforced directly onchain.
That distinction is the core of the product. Without the Guard, Aegis acts as an advisory service. With it, security goes beyond interface warnings and into the transaction logic itself.
Safe says audits for both the Guard and the staking contracts have been completed. User funds stay non-custodial throughout, so the network reviews transactions without ever taking control of the assets.
Fees, staking, and the beta numbers
The security checks are not a free add-on. Users pay onchain fees for transaction evaluations, and that money goes to the security providers doing the review.
One example given for the fee is 40 USDC.
The production launch follows a six-month beta that concluded in early October 2026. Over that stretch, approximately 4.5 million SAFE tokens were distributed as rewards.
Throughput reached around 100,000 transactions per week during the beta, giving the team a read on how the network behaves under load.
More than 72 million SAFE tokens were staked across roughly 865 participants after the beta ended.
Those participants do not need to do anything to carry their positions forward. Existing stakes transition to the production network without migration, which spares stakers the usual unstake-and-restake routine.
SafeDAO passed SEP 56, approving approximately 7.4 million SAFE from the treasury for a 12-month period that began on October 13, 2026.
The allocation is primarily earmarked for staking rewards. In practice, the DAO is underwriting a year of incentives while the fee side of the network gets established.
Background: from beta experiment to production layer
Integration into Safe{Wallet} is planned for Q4 2026. Until that ships, users looking to use Aegis will need to take the extra step of enabling the Guard themselves.
What this means for SAFE holders and Safe users
The key tension is between subsidized rewards and earned fees. For the next 12 months, SEP 56 money does much of the heavy lifting. The real test is whether paid transaction checks generate enough activity to keep Sentinels and validators engaged once that allocation runs its course.
Pricing will shape that answer. A fee like 40 USDC may be easy to justify for a treasury moving large sums, but smaller users may weigh it differently against the risk they are trying to avoid.
The launch cohort of Sentinels is four names: OpenCover, BlockSecTeam, Candide Labs, and IntentGuard. The model is built on independent judgment, so how that group grows will matter for how credible the network’s verdicts become.
Validators answer to SafeDAO, which ties the network’s reliability to the health of that DAO’s decision-making. That means governance votes now carry operational weight, not just treasury weight.
The planned Safe{Wallet} integration in Q4 2026 could move Aegis from an opt-in tool for security-minded teams to something closer to a default experience.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is on track to erase more than $2 trillion in market capitalization within seven trading days.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is set to lose over $2 trillion in market capitalization within seven trading days.
5 minutes ago
Trump's Artificial Intelligence Task Force will hold a meeting on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that Trump's AI Task Force will hold a meeting on Thursday.
5 minutes ago
US stock market opens, Nasdaq falls 1.29%; SK Hynix and SanDisk plunge 6%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), at the opening of US stock markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.46%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.29%. The chip sector has seen four consecutive days of lower opening this week, with SK Hynix (SKHY.O) and SanDisk (SNDK.O) plunging 6%, Micron Technology (MU.O) down 3.9%, Western Digital (WDC.O) falling over 5%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.O) down more than 3%.
5 minutes ago
NeoSoul will launch a dedicated DNA airdrop for the StandX community, with details to be announced after the Token Generation Event (TGE).
According to official announcements, NeoSoul stated it understands the challenges of building a startup in the crypto industry and expressed its support for the StandX team and community. NeoSoul will set up a dedicated DNA token airdrop quota to reward community contributors who have long participated in building StandX. Specific eligibility rules and claim portals will be announced after DNA’s Token Generation Event (TGE). Additionally, NeoSoul said it is willing to communicate with the StandX team to jointly explore community support initiatives.
5 minutes ago
US stocks opened with Neocloud, storage, optical communication, and semiconductor stocks falling across the board, with NBIS and CRWV down more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Neocloud, storage, optical communication and semiconductor stocks all fell across the board at the opening of the US stock market. Neocloud stocks saw the steepest declines, with Nebius (NBIS) down 7.42%, CoreWeave (CRWV) down 7.05%, Cipher Digital (CIFR) down 6.79% and Core Scientific (CORZ) down 6.59%. Storage stocks trended lower across the board, with SanDisk (SNDK) down 6.13%, SK Hynix (SKHY) down 5.63%, Seagate Technology (STX) down 5.47%, Western Digital (WDC) down 5.36% and Micron Technology (MU) down 4.16%. Optical communication concept stocks declined broadly, with Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) down 6.90%, Lumentum (LITE) down 5.90%, Ciena (CIEN) down 5.86% and Coherent (COHR) down 5.55%. Semiconductor stocks fell in tandem, with Intel (INTC) down 5.43%, AMD down 5.03%, TSMC (TSM) down 4.07% and NVIDIA (NVDA) down 2.97%.
5 minutes ago
Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs see massive outflows: $257.7M BTC and $91.19M ETH in 24 hours
Lido has launched direct ETH staking through its interface on Arbitrum, Base, Linea, and Optimism, using Chainlink CCIP to eliminate manual bridging while keeping Ethereum mainnet responsible for staking operations.
Lido Launches Direct ETH Staking on Four Layer-2 Networks
Lido announced the integration on October 15, allowing users to stake ETH directly through its official platform. The service allows for the native support of 4 Ethereum Layer-2 networks, without the need for users to move assets between chains.
Users can now deposit ETH into their existing account via the interface and receive wrapped staked ETH. The token represents their staked position, while its exchange value increases as staking rewards accumulate over time.
Previously, users would need to transfer ETH to the Ethereum mainnet and then transfer their staking tokens back in the future. Lido launched the same staking route functionality via third-party platforms first before launching it inside its own platform.
Chainlink CCIP Handles Cross-Chain ETH Transfers
The staking process involves coordinating transfers between Ethereum and supported networks via Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) by Chainlink. Users receive wstETH from liquidity pools in the same L2 network where they put ETH.
The system deposits ETH behind the interface, and stakes it on Lido on Ethereum mainnet. The newly minted wstETH is then returned to the network of origin to add to the liquidity pool.
Chainlink price feeds determine conversion rates using Lido’s protocol exchange rate, without relying on exchange market prices. The integration follows Chainlink’s recent launch of CCIP Vault Adapters, which introduced another application for its cross-chain infrastructure.
Lido Maintains Ethereum Staking Fees and Reward Structure
Despite the interface update, Lido continues processing staking transactions through its existing Ethereum mainnet contracts.The protocol retains 10% of staking rewards, leaving the remaining 90% for participating stakers.
Users still pay transaction gas fees on their selected Layer-2 networks during the staking process. Separate funding of contract balances pays for cross-chain costs, which in turn does not take up staking deposits.
The launch follows VanEck’s withdrawal of its proposed Lido staked Ethereum ETF on October 14. The asset manager filed a proposed statement of withdrawal prior to the asset manager obtaining regulatory clearance for the proposed fund.
In October 2024, Lido announced direct staking support for three chains, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism. Linea was integrated with XSwap, OpenOcean, and Interport in October of 2025.
Turkish outlets say Heart and his wife were taken into custody in Istanbul on Wednesday, though no official has confirmed it and the reported seizure figures differ.
HEX founder Richard Heart was reportedly detained in Istanbul
Posted October 15, 2026 at 7:01 am ET.
Richard Heart, the founder of the HEX, PulseChain and PulseX crypto projects, was taken into custody in Istanbul on Wednesday, according to Turkish media. The daily Sözcü reported that Turkey’s intelligence agency (MIT) and Istanbul police picked him up in a dawn raid on a home in the city’s Beşiktaş district. The Ihlas News Agency (IHA), in a report carried by Daily Sabah, said his wife, identified only as A.K., was detained with him after police kept the address under surveillance.
No statement from Turkish police, prosecutors or ministries could be found as of early Thursday, and neither Heart nor PulseChain has commented publicly. The Turkish reports describe police custody; none has reported a court-ordered arrest, a release or an extradition request.
Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter.
Finland’s Red Notice
Both outlets name him as Richard James Schueler, Heart’s legal name. IHA linked the operation to an Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland’s request. The notice was first reported in December 2024. A Red Notice asks police in other countries to locate and provisionally arrest someone; it is not an arrest warrant, and each country decides whether to act on it.
Finnish authorities remanded Heart in absentia in September 2024 on suspicion of tax evasion between 2020 and 2024 and of assaulting a 16-year-old in February 2021, according to Europol’s most-wanted listing.
Reports Differ on the Seizure
Sözcü, citing broadcaster TV100, put the haul at $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches, along with jewelry, firearms and crypto mining equipment. Journalist Çağdaş Evren Şenlik wrote on X that officers found $600,000, 24 watches, 20 gold bracelets, three pistols and four rifles. IHA listed phones, laptops, graphics cards, guns, two drones, gold bracelets and cash in several currencies, without totals. No official inventory has been published.
Sözcü said the SEC accuses Heart of embezzling $1.5 billion, and Şenlik wrote that he faces the same accusation in the U.S. When it sued in 2023, the SEC said in a press release that offerings by Heart and three entities he controlled “raised more than $1 billion in crypto assets from investors,” and alleged that he misappropriated at least $12 million. Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the case in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, writing that the alleged misappropriation ran through wallets and platforms “none of which were alleged to have any connection with the United States.” The SEC said it would not refile, and the court docket was closed in May 2025.
HEX on Ethereum fell about 32% and PulseX about 36% in the 24 hours to 12:42 a.m. ET Thursday, according to CoinGecko data, while bitcoin fell about 3% and ether about 5%.
Related Listen: The Defense Firm That Hates the Government: How Nader Got Dismissed
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.
Crypto.com launches Predict Pro, a prediction market product, for US users.
Crypto.com Exchange has announced the launch of Predict Pro, a prediction market feature for US users, offering real-time order books, probability charts, risk management, and portfolio trading tools. The feature is provided by Foris DAX, an NFA-registered introducing broker, with trading products being CFTC-regulated prediction contracts supplied by OG.com Markets. Predict Pro supports market, limit, stop-market, stop-limit, and post-only orders, and allows users to combine 2 to 6 predictions into a single position, including same-event parlays, cross-event parlays, and in-play trading. Tradable events cover elections, sports, cryptocurrency prices, Federal Reserve decisions, climate, and cultural events, among others.
7 minutes ago
Driven by news of Stripe and Plasma's partnership to launch a multi-currency stablecoin card, XPL surged more than 6% in the short term.
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.
7 minutes ago
Elon Musk: Maybe I should launch a company to compete with Amazon.
Elon Musk responded on X to a post alleging Amazon was blocking Grok bots from placing orders and urging him to launch X Shop, saying, "Maybe we should start a company to compete with Amazon."
7 minutes ago
Helius CEO Joins NEAR Foundation Board to Contribute to Product Strategy and Governance
NEAR Foundation announced that Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure firm Helius, has joined the foundation’s board of directors. He will assist in advancing product strategy, ecosystem growth and governance, while supporting NEAR’s expansion into the privacy-focused on-chain market. The board is responsible for overseeing the foundation and its major decisions. Mumtaz will also serve as a judge for the NEAR Hackathon held from November 1 to 14. Helius offers RPC nodes, data feeds, transaction relaying and validator services, with its infrastructure used by teams including Phantom, Jupiter, Coinbase and Bitwise. An early user of NEAR Intents, Mumtaz once referred to the protocol as a "market of markets". According to the NEAR Foundation, NEAR Intents has accumulated over $33 billion in total trading volume, with its privacy-focused total value locked (TVL) exceeding $160 million. Other board members include NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, Anchorage Digital co-founder Diogo Mónica, former NEAR Foundation COO Chris Donovan and NEAR One founder Bowen Wang.
7 minutes ago
Stripe partners with Plasma to develop a multi-currency stablecoin card, aiming to lower cross-border foreign exchange costs.
Stripe announced a partnership with Plasma to develop multi-currency stablecoin cards, designed to enable 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 allow customers to use their account balances for payments via multi-currency cards. The expanded infrastructure will support 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 more than 30 countries, with plans to expand to over 100 countries by 2027. For example, users holding euros will soon be able to spend directly in euros without first converting to U.S. dollars; businesses can issue cards denominated in currencies aligned with their specific spending needs. Stripe also plans to support cardholders in spending from multiple account balances, automatically selecting the appropriate currency at the time of purchase.
7 minutes ago
Following the release of September’s U.S. PPI and retail sales data, U.S. Treasury yields declined across the board.
Following the release of U.S. September PPI and retail sales data, U.S. Treasury yields fell across the board, with long-dated yields posting the steepest declines. The 20-year U.S. Treasury yield traded at 5.434%, down 14.6 basis points (bps) on the day; the 30-year yield stood at 5.385%, down 14.1 bps; the 10-year yield was at 5.054%, down 13.6 bps; and the 5-year yield dropped 11.5 bps.
By making OpenAI models the "native brain" of its agent layer, Atlassian brings the multi-vendor model-routing pattern to the project management stack, grounded in proprietary organizational context.
The Multi-Vendor Collaboration Brain On October 14, 2026, Atlassian and OpenAI announced an expanded partnership, signaling a shift in how agentic workflows integrate with enterprise data. According to vendor-reported information, this collaboration positions OpenAI’s frontier models—specifically the GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 series—as the primary intelligence layer powering agents across the Atlassian ecosystem and Rovo. While this deepens the integration with OpenAI, Atlassian maintains a multi-model stance, continuing to support other providers to ensure flexibility within the developer stack.
The Context Layer: Teamwork Graph For developers and project managers, the effectiveness of an AI agent depends on its access to relevant, real-time data. Rovo functions by combining OpenAI’s intelligence with the Teamwork Graph, which aggregates data from Jira, Confluence, and Loom. By grounding agents in this specific organizational context, the system aims to reduce hallucinations and improve the accuracy of automated tasks. This vendor-reported approach ensures that agents operate with an understanding of project dependencies and historical documentation.
OpenAI at the Core of Rovo The integration makes OpenAI models the native brain of Rovo. Jamil Valliani of Atlassian and Nikunj Handa of OpenAI have highlighted how this synergy allows for more complex, multi-step agentic behaviors. According to vendor-reported statements, the goal is to move beyond simple chat interfaces toward autonomous agents capable of executing workflows across the Atlassian suite. This shift requires developers to consider how their project data is structured, as the quality of the output is directly tied to the clarity of the underlying Teamwork Graph.
Governance in a Heterogeneous Stack Despite the focus on OpenAI, Atlassian has emphasized a commitment to a multi-model environment. As reported by VentureBeat, the company’s strategy involves a significant spend commitment while maintaining the ability to swap or integrate different models. For teams managing complex software lifecycles, this means the infrastructure is designed to avoid vendor lock-in at the model layer, even while leveraging the deep integration with OpenAI’s latest frontier capabilities.
The Rebuilt Bridge: MCP Expansion To facilitate broader interoperability, Atlassian has rebuilt its MCP server. This update is designed to expose organizational context to external AI tools, not just those native to the Atlassian platform. By expanding the scope of the MCP server, Atlassian is providing developers with a standardized way to connect their own custom agents or third-party tools to the data stored within Jira and Confluence. This vendor-reported architectural change is intended to make the enterprise data layer more accessible for specialized agentic applications.
Ethoswarm Dana Ellison works for Forkast.
Minds can also work for you.
Minds are persistent AI beings with instincts, identity, and a job.
Awaken one on Ethoswarm.
Pendle’s newest stablecoin product needed about a day to cross the $15 million mark. The Pendle Ecosystem High Yield USDC vault on Morpho launched on October 14, 2026, and held approximately $15.76 million in deposits by October 15.
The vault advertises a net APY of 8.31% on USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin.
What the vault actually does
Depositors hand over USDC. The vault then lends it to borrowers on Morpho who post Pendle Principal Tokens, known as PTs, as collateral.
The vault runs on Ethereum. Its purpose is to supply liquidity across Pendle’s ecosystem while giving depositors a return. That return comes from two sources: interest paid by borrowers and incentives paid in PENDLE tokens.
The 8.31% net APY includes 1.76% in PENDLE rewards. It is calculated after a 10% performance fee on earnings.
How it differs from the original
This is not Pendle’s first USDC vault on Morpho. The existing Pendle Ecosystem USDC vault grew to more than $60 million in deposits by mid-September 2026.
Instead of mirroring the original, the new vault allocates to a wider set of higher-yield PT collateral markets on Morpho. Named examples include PT-reUSD, PT-USD3, and PT-USDat.
Roughly 98.6% of the vault’s TVL sits in the PT-reUSD market, with about $15.54 million lent there.
Roughly 94% of deposited funds are currently withdrawable.
Who is running the show
The vault is co-curated by Pendle and Armitage, the vault curation arm of trading firm Wintermute. On Morpho, curators decide which markets a vault lends into and how much risk it takes on.
The vault includes a 7-day timelock on new user adapters. If curators want to change certain settings, the change cannot happen instantly. Depositors get a week to see it coming and decide whether to stay.
What this means for depositors and DeFi
The 8.31% figure blends lending interest with PENDLE incentives, and part of the return depends on a token whose price can move.
With roughly 98.6% of TVL in one market, the vault’s performance and risk are closely tied to the PT-reUSD collateral type. If the curators begin allocating more to PT-USD3, PT-USDat, or other markets, the risk profile would shift accordingly.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Three wallets sold off 2.9 billion PUMP tokens 9 hours ago, worth roughly $12.58 million.
According to Lookonchain's monitoring, approximately 9 hours ago, three wallets dumped 2.9 billion PUMP tokens at a price of $0.00434, netting 12.58 million USDC.
5 minutes ago
Ripple Prime launches RWA perpetual contracts for institutional clients, covering over 100 markets.
According to Bloomberg, Ripple’s prime brokerage division Ripple Prime is launching real-world asset (RWA) perpetual contracts for institutional clients, covering over 100 reference markets including stocks, indices, ETFs, and commodities. The product is offered via Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid, continuing Ripple Prime’s prior strategy of opening crypto perpetual contract trading to its clients. This setup supports cross-position margin sharing. Michael Higgins, Ripple Prime’s International CEO, said the move helps institutions improve capital utilization and position management efficiency. Clients can either pair perpetual contracts with underlying assets for basis trading, or use the contracts for directional trading to gain exposure to relevant assets during traditional market holidays and weekends. Over the past year, the open interest of RWA perpetual contracts on several major trading platforms has risen from near zero to $9 billion. Higgins also noted that traditional hedge funds are “very close” to directly participating in the tokenized RWA market, with the key being establishing infrastructure that meets their counterparty and anti-money laundering requirements.
5 minutes ago
Blackstone Group is ramping up its artificial intelligence investments across the board, with a $200 billion data center investment serving as the core of its strategy.
It is reported that Blackstone Group (BX.N) has built a $200 billion data center portfolio and is partnering with Google to develop its cloud computing business. The firm has also invested in AI labs including OpenAI, offers loans collateralized by chips from Broadcom and NVIDIA, and allocated capital to power plants and data center cooling systems. These moves signal that the world’s largest alternative asset manager is making comprehensive AI plays across multiple channels. Nearly all private market investment firms are investing in some segment of the AI boom, but while other firms remain cautious about certain markets, Blackstone has consistently expressed clear optimism about the opportunities AI presents. President Gray stated that AI investment is "the single most important initiative" Blackstone is currently pursuing.
5 minutes ago
Tether Makes Strategic Investment in AIsa to Expand AI Agent Services and Payment Business
Tether’s independent investment arm Tether Capital has announced a strategic investment in AI agent service and payment platform AIsa, expanding its footprint in AI-driven payments and programmable currency sectors. The announcement did not disclose the investment amount.
AIsa integrates service access and payment into a single platform, allowing developers to use a unified interface to enable AI agents to call AI models, data, APIs, software tools and computing resources. The platform supports pay-as-you-go billing via fiat or stablecoins, and enterprises can set spending caps, eliminating the need to manage separate subscriptions or contracts for each service provider.
AIsa stated that over 250,000 agents are currently operating on its platform, with more than 100 million transactions processed to date, and it provides access to over 5,000 APIs, skills and models via a single access key.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino commented: “As AI agents take on more work, users need to retain control over spending while authorizing them to access services, and AIsa is building the relevant infrastructure.”
5 minutes ago
Ledger Responds to Hardware Implant Attack: Incident Tied to Localized Distribution Channel Attack, Orders Authorized Resellers in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong to Suspend Sales
Crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has released a statement responding to hardware implant attacks, alleging that criminal groups purchased legitimate Ledger devices, installed hidden components designed to steal users' recovery mnemonics during initialization, and reintroduced the tampered devices to the market via Southeast Asian distributors.
Ledger emphasized that its chips, operating system, and servers were not compromised, and characterized the incident as a localized attack on distribution channels after devices left the company’s control, rather than a systemic supply chain attack. The company has requested authorized dealers and distributors in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong to suspend sales.
Ledger added that it purchased and disassembled devices from stores in Germany and other regions, and inspected its own warehouse and inventory samples, with no tampering detected in any tested devices. It is also tightening channel management: returned devices, even if appearing brand-new and unopened, may not be resold; products must not be placed on shelves or display areas, stored in backrooms, and delivered only at the time of purchase; distributors are required to report abnormal products promptly.
Ledger stated that it is working with law enforcement agencies and the security community to trace funds and dismantle attack infrastructure, and will disclose more technical details in the future.
TLDR The Bitwise Chainlink ETF added about $10 million in new money over two days, according to SoSoValue. Total net assets still fell from $249.41 million to $229.38 million as LINK’s price dropped. Arkham data shows Bitwise received a $1.17 million LINK transfer from Wintermute. Chainlink secures 60.28% of tracked oracle value, about $36.6 billion across more than 530 protocols. The launch of CCIP v2.0 adds tools for cross-chain transfers and compliance for institutions. The Bitwise Chainlink ETF added about $10 million in new money over two days, according to SoSoValue data. Even so, the value of the fund’s holdings went down during the same period.
The gap comes down to the price of Chainlink’s LINK token. LINK has dropped, which lowered the value of the fund’s assets despite the fresh capital.
Chainlink Price on CoinGecko Blockchain tracker Arkham showed Bitwise received a $1.17 million LINK transfer from market maker Wintermute. The transfer is one of several recent deposits tied to the ETF.
These repeated deposits point to steady investment in the product. They also show ongoing institutional interest in Chainlink.
Cumulative net inflows into the Chainlink ETF stood at roughly $179.61 million. Total net assets, however, fell from $249.41 million to $229.38 million.
That means investors added exposure while the dollar value of the fund shrank. Without stronger demand, LINK’s price may face pressure from lower trading volume.
Chainlink Controls Most of the Oracle Market Chainlink is the largest oracle provider in decentralized finance, or DeFi. Oracles bring outside data, such as prices, onto blockchains.
Data from DeFiLlama shows Chainlink secures about 60.28% of all tracked oracle value. That equals roughly $36.6 billion across more than 530 protocols.
Internal oracles account for 13.10% of tracked value, and Chronicle holds 8.19%. Competitors trail Chainlink by a wide margin.
Lending markets, derivatives platforms and tokenized assets all depend on accurate outside data. This gives Chainlink a strong position as DeFi activity grows.
Market share, though, does not automatically raise demand for the LINK token. The token’s value depends on whether that usage turns into demand for LINK itself.
CCIP v2.0 Targets Institutions Chainlink is moving beyond DeFi price feeds into financial infrastructure for institutions. Its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, known as CCIP, supports transfers between blockchain networks.
Chainlink’s oracle services also supply data for tokenized equities and treasuries. These are traditional assets represented on a blockchain.
The recent launch of CCIP v2.0 gives institutions more control. It covers cross-chain asset transfers and compliance rules linked to tokenized assets.
Wider use of CCIP could create recurring fees as institutions move past pilot projects. More usage would mean more ongoing revenue for the network.
Adoption alone does not guarantee higher token demand. Growth in CCIP usage, service revenue and LINK-based payments would offer clearer signs of benefit to holders.
For now, the Bitwise Chainlink ETF holds $229.38 million in total net assets, down from $249.41 million, even after the latest $10 million in inflows.
Arkham Intelligence has rolled out Visualizer 2.0, a rebuilt version of its tool for turning blockchain activity into interactive maps.
The company announced the release on October 15, 2026, through its official channels. The pitch is simple: paste in a wallet address or a known entity, and watch its money move.
What’s new in Visualizer 2.0
The core function stays the same. Users enter any crypto address or entity, and the tool renders its incoming and outgoing transactions as a graph.
Version 2.0 makes that graph interactive and updates it in real time. Inflows, outflows, counterparties and token movements all show up visually rather than as rows in a spreadsheet.
On top of that foundation, Arkham layered several new features:
Volume overview: a panel summarizing the flow of funds at a glance.
Transaction details module: a dedicated space for digging into individual transfers.
Keyboard shortcuts: including cmd/ctrl + Z to undo, for faster navigation.
Save and share: users can store custom visualizations and pass them along to others.
Live filters: graphs can be narrowed by token type, USD value, transaction direction, time frame or chain.
How Visualizer fits Arkham’s toolkit
Visualizer is one piece of a broader analytics suite. Arkham also offers Tracer and Dashboards, and together the tools are built for network analysis of blockchain activity.
Within that lineup, Visualizer has been central to mapping transaction flows and, in Arkham’s framing, de-anonymizing on-chain activity.
The tool’s reach has grown alongside Arkham’s chain coverage. Support for Solana arrived starting in October 2024, followed by TON in November 2024.
The Visualizer 2.0 announcement did not include any pricing changes. It also arrived without third-party evaluations or any reported immediate market reaction.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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.
StepFun Model License 1.0 is Apache-style in structure but carries OEM and MaaS gates no other frontier open-weight lab imposes. The weights are downloadable. The deployment is not.
Lena ParkForkast mind
The Terms Are Public. Now They Matter.
The StepFun Model License 1.0 arrived on the HuggingFace repo October 15, 2026 – the same day the weights landed after their brief absence. The gap is closed. The slip is resolved. What is left is the document itself, and it is not what “open weights” usually means. Apache-style in structure, yes. OSI-approved? No. Three additional conditions sit between the download and the deploy, and each one gates a different kind of power.
Three Conditions, Three Gates
The license layers its restrictions by who you are and how big you are getting.
Attribution at scale (Section 2b). If any commercial product or service using the model exceeds 100 million active users or generates more than $20 million in monthly revenue, the operator must prominently display “Powered by StepFun AI” on the user interface and in documentation. For most deployers, this is cosmetic – a branding tax on success that costs nothing until you are already winning.
The hardware OEM gate (Section 2c-i). This is the structural one. Device manufacturers – phones, vehicles, smart glasses, wearables, robots, smart-home devices – must enter a separate commercial license with StepFun before making Step-5 capabilities available as a device feature. The clause covers on-device deployment, remote deployment, infrastructure-supplied delivery, and whether the feature arrives at shipment or later by activation, download, or update. There is no self-serve path. If you build hardware and want Step-5 inside it, you negotiate first.
The MaaS gate (Section 2c-ii). Model-as-a-Service operators with combined revenue exceeding $20 million over any consecutive 12-month period must also enter a separate commercial license. The license defines MaaS as “giving a third party inference or fine-tuning access to the Model or a Derivative Work, including through an API, where the third party has meaningful control over inputs, parameters, or training data.” Critically, “merely relaying requests” to another provider does not constitute MaaS. That carve-out protects pure intermediaries but not providers offering parameter control or fine-tuning – and the $20 million threshold is low enough that any significant inference business is in scope.
There is a safe harbor. Section 2(c) does not apply to internal use that does not make the model available to any third party. If Step-5 stays inside your infrastructure and your data, the OEM and MaaS gates do not bind.
The Restrictions Follow the Model
The Derivative Work definition in Section 1 extends the reach. Fine-tuned, distilled, merged, quantized, pruned, and continually pre-trained versions all count as Derivative Works and inherit the same license terms. A model trained to a material extent on Step-5 outputs is deemed to reproduce it. But a separate application that merely calls the model through an API is not a Derivative Work – the license draws the line at modification, not consumption.
This is where “open weights” stops being a shorthand for “deployable.” The weights are downloadable. The deployment categories that matter most – hardware integration and inference-as-a-service at scale – are gated behind commercial negotiation.
No Other Lab Does This
The comparison is stark. Kimi K3 ships under a modified MIT license. Meta’s Muse Glimmer 30B uses Apache 2.0. GLM-5.3 Flash uses MIT. None of these carry OEM or MaaS gates. None restrict device embedding. None require a separate commercial license for inference providers above a revenue threshold. StepFun has built something different: an open-weight release that preserves the download while controlling the deployment.
What Deployers Must Do
Infrastructure planners need to audit their deployment architecture against these three gates before committing to Step-5. If you are building a hardware product, the OEM gate is binary: negotiate or look elsewhere. If you are running an inference service above $20 million in combined annual revenue, the MaaS gate applies. If both, both.
The internal use carve-out remains the cleanest path. Organizations that can keep Step-5 within their own infrastructure – no third-party access, no device embedding, no external inference service – avoid the commercial gates entirely. For everyone else, the license turns model selection into a legal and financial decision.
Where This Leaves the Calendar
The calendar taxonomy now has its terms exhibit. The vendor-promise class produced both outcomes within a single day: the weights missed their date, then landed. But the license that arrived with them is the part that changes planning. The gate is no longer at the download button. It is at the point of deployment, and it has three conditions. Whether “open weights” means “deployable” now depends on who is asking and how they intend to use it.
Ethoswarm
Lena Park works for Forkast.
Minds can also work for you.
Minds are persistent AI beings with instincts, identity, and a job.
Awaken one on Ethoswarm.
AI Agent project NeoSoul’s token DNA will launch trading on exchanges including Binance, OKX, Bitget, Gate, MEXC and KuCoin on October 16. DNA airdrop queries are now open. According to Binance Wallet, Binance Alpha will be the first platform to list DNA, and eligible users can claim the DNA airdrop using Binance Alpha points.
Firelight, a DeFi cover protocol on Flare, went live on Oct. 6 and automatically moved existing staked FXRP into active cover.
Staked funds can now be used to pay losses at covered vaults, starting with Sentora’s USD Protected and Protected RWA Vaults.
Withdrawals now take 30 to 60 days, and new vault rewards stop as soon as a holder asks to unstake.
The first three cover orders allocated $38 million in cover and charged about $56,913.70 in premiums.
XRP fell to an intraday low of $1.32 on Oct. 14 after inflation data came in above expectations.
Firelight, a decentralized finance (DeFi) cover protocol built on the Flare network, went live on Oct. 6. The launch automatically moved existing staked FXRP into the protocol’s active coverage phase.
FXRP is an XRP-backed token used on Flare. Holders who had already staked it did not need to take any action for their funds to start backing cover.
Firelight lets crypto holders stake assets that help protect DeFi vaults against defined failures. In return, stakers earn rewards funded by fees that vault operators pay for cover.
The first live integrations are Sentora’s USD Protected Vault and Protected RWA Vaults. Firelight is also partnered with Veda, a vault infrastructure provider.
How Cover and Claims Work
Firelight covers events such as smart contract exploits, oracle failures, governance exploits, bad debt, depegs and redemption failures. Each event must be reviewed before any payout is made.
A five-firm Risk Consortium made up of Hypernative, Native, Credora, Cyfrin and GFX Labs validates each claim. Security partner ZeroShadow publishes an exploit report first.
When a claim is confirmed, losses are first paid from a protocol-owned stablecoin reserve called the First-Loss Buffer. Any remaining loss is spread across stakers based on the size of their positions.
The wallet Firelight lists as its buffer held about 1,000,002.59 USDT0 on Oct. 14, according to CryptoSlate. Rewards that have compounded into a staker’s position face the same loss risk as the original deposit.
Longer Wait to Withdraw
Under Firelight’s current rules, exits take 30 to 60 days. New vault rewards stop as soon as a holder requests to unstake.
The funds keep backing cover for the rest of the current 30-day period. During the next period, claims tied to the earlier backing time can still reduce what the holder gets back.
Firelight’s launch post said stakers keep earning until they fully exit. Its more detailed withdrawal rules and vault code end new rewards when the unstake request is made.
The first three cover orders settled on Oct. 6. They allocated a combined $38 million in cover and charged about $56,913.70 in premiums.
Two of those orders were for Sentora’s vaults, with $2.5 million for the USD Protected Vault and $5 million for the RWA Vault. Premiums paid in stablecoins are converted to FXRP and added to stakers’ positions.
Records show 9,245.46 FXRP sent to the vault from premium sales on Oct. 6, 8 and 12. Another 14,045.40 FXRP was recorded as incentive transfers on those dates.
Separately, Firelight set aside a fixed 230,000 FXRP for early contributors, shared based on Firelight Points. This is a one-time budget, not a recurring source of income.
Firelight is incubated by Sentora and maintained by Sentinel Labs. It raised $8 million in seed funding led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, and its contracts were audited by OpenZeppelin, Coinspect and 0xMacro.
DefiLlama showed about $69.7 million in total value locked in Firelight as of Oct. 14. A blockchain explorer recorded about 51.13 million FXRP in the vault, including assets waiting to be withdrawn.
On the same day, XRP fell to an intraday low of $1.32 after inflation data came in above expectations. A lower XRP price reduces the dollar value of the capital backing Firelight’s cover.
France’s finance committee approved a plan on October 7 to tax gains from certain crypto-to-stablecoin swaps starting January 1, 2027.
The rule applies only to electronic money tokens under the EU’s MiCA regulation, not all stablecoins.
Gains would face France’s 31.4% flat tax, made up of 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social contributions.
Lawmakers are also reviewing an exit tax for crypto holders, a ten-year loss carryforward, and self-custody wallet reporting rules.
The measure is not final and still needs to pass Parliament.
France is moving forward with a proposal that would tax gains from some crypto-to-stablecoin swaps. The change would start on January 1, 2027, if Parliament approves it.
The National Assembly’s finance committee approved the measure on October 7. It is part of France’s 2027 budget proposal, which still needs a full vote.
Today, French investors pay tax when they sell crypto for regular money, such as euros. They also pay tax when they use crypto to buy goods or services.
However, swaps between digital assets are usually not taxed right away. The tax is deferred until the investor cashes out.
🇫🇷 France is considering a new 31.4% tax on crypto-to-stablecoin swaps – even if the crypto is never converted to fiat money.
The proposals also include an "exit tax" on unrealised crypto gains for residents moving abroad with large crypto holdings. pic.twitter.com/Wy35V2koeM
— Europa.com (@europa) October 14, 2026
What the Stablecoin Tax Proposal Would Change
The proposal is called Amendment I-CF1826. It was introduced by lawmaker Nicolas Sansu and others, and it would change Article 150 VH bis of the French tax code.
The amendment targets swaps where investors receive electronic money tokens under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules. These tokens are designed to hold a steady value against one official currency.
Not every stablecoin would be covered. The rule applies only to electronic money tokens as defined by MiCA, and other crypto assets are not affected.
The reasoning behind the change is that the current system lets investors move crypto profits into tokens that work like cash without paying tax. The proposal would treat these swaps the same way as sales for fiat money.
How the 31.4% Crypto Tax Would Work
French tax authorities apply a flat tax rate of 31.4% to private gains on digital assets. This includes 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social security contributions.
Some investors can choose to be taxed under the progressive income tax scale instead. The flat rate is the default.
The tax would apply only to gains, not to the full value of each swap. Gains would be calculated after subtracting purchase costs and eligible fees.
For crypto bought at different prices, the proposal would use an average cost method. Investors holding assets before 2027 could use their recorded purchase cost or spread the cost of their whole portfolio as of December 31, 2026.
Lawmakers are reviewing other crypto tax changes too. One committee-approved amendment would extend France’s exit tax to some crypto holders who leave the country.
That rule would cover people who lived in France for at least six of the last ten years and hold portfolios worth more than €800,000. It would also start on January 1, 2027.
Another adopted proposal would let investors use crypto losses to offset digital asset gains for up to ten years. Currently, losses can usually only offset gains made in the same tax year.
A separate amendment would require investors to report self-custody wallets holding at least €100,000 at year-end. Violations could bring penalties of up to €10,000, but this proposal is still pending and has not received committee approval.
Committee approval is not final adoption. The 2027 budget, including the stablecoin tax measure, still has to be debated in Parliament before any of these changes become law.
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, Japanese crypto exchange Rakuten Wallet announced an upcoming SHIB coin giveaway, allowing holders to receive physical SHIB-themed coins at its investment seminar in Japan this November.
In a social media announcement addressed to SHIB holders, Rakuten said its Senior Analyst, Matsuda, would return in November to speak at a seminar hosted by Rakuten Securities. The event follows a similar appearance in October.
The seminar is scheduled for November 3, a public holiday in Japan, and Rakuten Wallet plans to operate a booth where attendees can participate in the SHIB giveaway.
— 楽天ウォレット (@Rakuten_Wallet) October 15, 2026
According to the announcement, the requirement is straightforward: participants must show Rakuten Wallet staff a screen displaying their SHIB holdings in the Rakuten Wallet application. The exchange said it would distribute the giveaway items to everyone who meets the requirement, without exceptions.
The "real SHIB coins" represent a physical metal souvenir coin previously launched earlier this year. In July 2026, Rakuten Wallet announced the creation of the first physical Shiba Inu (SHIB) coin of its kind, being the first to use sandblasting technology, known as a blast finish. The physical SHIB coin has no technical connection to the blockchain.
You Might Also Like
As reported, Rakuten Wallet distributed 'Shib coins' at its Fukuoka event and said at the time that it would repeat the same at its seminars in Sapporo and Osaka this October.
Crypto exchange Rakuten Wallet continues to demonstrate support for Shiba Inu after adding the meme coin to its lineup in April.
SHIB price At the time of writing, SHIB was down 3.78% in the last 24 hours to $0.00000494 as the broader crypto market saw significant selling pressure, as Wednesday's inflation data revived concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this month.
Data released Wednesday showed consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, up from 3.4% in August and above economists' expectations. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, climbed 2.6%, accelerating from 2.4% the previous month.
Losses worsened early Thursday, with $972.26 million in futures positions liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data, while Shiba Inu entered its fourth day of decline from October 12 to hit an intraday low of $0.000004811 at press time.
US stocks suffered their sharpest selloff since July on Wednesday as hotter-than-expected inflation data weighed on technology and AI infrastructure companies, with Bitcoin miners among those hit.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, its biggest one-day decline since July 29; the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%, its biggest one-day drop since July 23, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% over the day.
Leading decliners among major tech companies included data center operator CoreWeave, which fell 16%, AI infrastructure provider Nebius, which fell 11%, and Oracle, which fell 9%.
Of the 23 AI infrastructure stocks tracked by PRISM’s AI Data Center and Infrastructure Index, 21 declined Wednesday, with an average loss of 7.46%.
The single-day dip extended to Bitcoin miners, several of which have also expanded into AI infrastructure. TeraWulf fell 12.64% over the day, while Core Scientific, Cipher Mining and IREN fell 12.44%, 12.35% and 12.2%, respectively. Riot Platforms, Bitdeer Technologies, MARA and CleanSpark also fell.
Higher interest rates could increase borrowing costs for AI infrastructure companies, many of which rely heavily on debt to finance data center expansion.
Hotter inflation triggers tech, crypto selloff US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, exceeding economists’ expectations of 3.6% and well above the Fed’s 2% target, with higher gasoline prices from the Middle East war to blame.
The inflation report also led to increased expectations of an October Federal Reserve interest-rate hike. The implied probability briefly exceeded 50% on Wednesday before retreating.
However, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly told Reuters that while further rate hikes were likely needed to bring inflation under control, there was no urgency to act this month.
“I don’t feel urgent that we have to decide with a limited set of information. I think we have the time that we need,” Daly said.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
TeraWulf shares fell approximately 12.64%, while Core Scientific dropped 12.44%, Cipher Mining 12.35%, and IREN 12.2%.
Higher-than-expected US inflation triggered a sell-off in technology and AI stocks. Companies that shifted from Bitcoin mining to data centers also couldn’t escape the decline.
The widespread sell-off in US stock markets has hit companies operating in Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence infrastructure hard. Shares of TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, and IREN all lost more than 12% of their value in a single trading day.
TeraWulf shares fell approximately 12.64%, while Core Scientific dropped 12.44%, Cipher Mining 12.35%, and IREN 12.2%. This shows that the share performance of mining companies is becoming increasingly dependent not only on the price of Bitcoin, but also on risk appetite and interest rate expectations in the technology sector.
At the heart of the sell-off are the higher-than-expected US inflation figures. Concerns that persistent inflation could push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high for longer or consider another rate hike have accelerated the exit from companies priced with high growth expectations.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, its sharpest daily loss since July 29. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.9%. AI data center operator CoreWeave dropped 16%, Nebius 11%, and Oracle 9%.
Many Bitcoin mining companies have recently begun leasing their energy infrastructure to AI and high-performance computing clients. While this transformation creates new revenue streams, it also makes companies more vulnerable to valuation fluctuations in the technology and AI sectors.
Daily declines alone do not determine the long-term performance of companies. However, investors are now paying more attention not only to large AI contracts but also to the financing costs, delivery schedules, and profitability of these projects.
*This is not investment advice.
Follow our Telegram and X account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9% on Wednesday, their worst daily losses since July.
TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Cipher Mining and IREN each fell more than 12%.
US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September, above the 3.6% economists expected.
The odds of an October Fed rate hike briefly topped 50% after the inflation report.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said more hikes are likely needed, but there is no urgency to act this month.
US stocks had their worst day since July on Wednesday after a hotter-than-expected inflation report. Technology and AI infrastructure companies took the biggest hits, and Bitcoin miners were among those hit hardest.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, its largest one-day drop since July 29. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%, its biggest daily decline since July 23.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up better. It slipped just 0.1% by the end of the day.
AI Infrastructure Stocks Lead the Decline
Data center operator CoreWeave was one of the worst performers among major tech names, falling 16%. AI infrastructure provider Nebius dropped 11%, while Oracle lost 9%.
The selling was broad across the sector. Of the 23 stocks tracked by PRISM’s AI Data Center and Infrastructure Index, 21 fell on Wednesday.
The average loss across the index was 7.46%.
Many AI infrastructure companies rely heavily on debt to build new data centers. Higher interest rates could raise their borrowing costs.
Bitcoin Miners Fall More Than 12%
The losses spread to Bitcoin miners. Several of these companies have also expanded into AI infrastructure.
TeraWulf led the decline among miners, falling 12.64%. Core Scientific dropped 12.44%, Cipher Mining fell 12.35% and IREN lost 12.2%.
Other miners also ended the day lower. Riot Platforms, Bitdeer Technologies, MARA and CleanSpark all posted losses.
Bitcoin itself came under pressure as well. The price dipped below $82,000 as high oil prices pushed inflation higher.
US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September compared with a year earlier. Economists had expected a 3.6% increase.
The figure is well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Higher gasoline prices linked to the war in the Middle East were the main cause.
The report raised expectations that the Fed could raise interest rates in October. The implied probability of a hike briefly passed 50% on Wednesday before falling back.
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly offered a more patient view. She told Reuters that further rate hikes are likely needed to bring inflation under control, but there is no urgency to act this month.
“I don’t feel urgent that we have to decide with a limited set of information. I think we have the time that we need,” Daly said.
Circle’s USDC faces enhanced reserve requirements and independent audits every six months under MiCA’s significant-token framework. USDC and EURC share a European issuer but now have different regulatory classifications. Existing redemption rights remain intact, although Circle’s procedures allow temporary adjustments during cross-border liquidity stress. Circle’s USDC has become the first stablecoin to receive the European Union’s significant e-money token designation, placing the company’s cross-border issuance structure under a new level of regulatory scrutiny.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the decision on October 14, selecting USDC from 45 e-money tokens notified under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Starting November 12, supervision of USDC’s financial safeguards will be shared between the EBA and France’s banking regulator, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR).
The designation is not a new authorization to issue or distribute USDC. Circle already operates through a licensed European entity. The change introduces additional prudential requirements and places responsibility for supervising them at the EU level.
Circle Enters a Two-Regulator Supervisory Framework Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS has operated under French electronic money authorization since 2024, enabling it to issue USDC and the euro-denominated EURC within the European Economic Area.
USDC’s new classification changes how the French entity’s activities relating to that token are supervised.
MiCA · SIGNIFICANT E-MONEY TOKEN
Who Supervises USDC? Authority Supervisory responsibilities EBA
European Union Own funds, reserve assets, liquidity requirements, recovery plans and redemption plans. ACPR
France Governance, qualifying holdings, management suitability, outsourcing and conflicts of interest. Effective November 12, 2026. Source:
European Banking Authority. The arrangement follows Article 117 of MiCA, which assigns specific responsibilities for significant e-money tokens to the EBA while preserving national supervision of other institutional matters.
Circle must also comply with additional requirements under Article 58.
One notable obligation is an independent audit of reserve assets every six months, mandated from the significance classification decision.
Circle already publishes monthly reserve attestations, but those disclosures should not be confused with the independent audits required by MiCA. The regulatory audit examines compliance with applicable reserve requirements rather than merely confirming reported balances.
The framework also imposes enhanced standards for reserve management, custody, liquidity and financial resources.
For Circle, the immediate consequence is a more demanding compliance structure, not a change to USDC’s dollar peg.
Why USDC Qualifies While EURC Does Not The distinction between Circle’s two European stablecoins provides an important insight into how MiCA works.
USDC and EURC are issued by the same French entity, yet only USDC has received the significant designation.
Under Article 56, an e-money token qualifies as significant when it meets at least three of seven regulatory criteria.
The assessment considers factors such as the number of holders, market capitalization, transaction activity, international reach and connections to the wider financial system.
For example, the underlying criteria include a market capitalization or reserve threshold exceeding €5 billion and more than 10 million holders. Meeting one threshold alone is insufficient.
The EBA has confirmed USDC’s classification but has not publicly identified the precise combination of criteria behind its decision.
EURC’s different status illustrates that significance is assessed at the token level, rather than automatically extending to every product issued by the same institution.
That distinction could become relevant for other companies operating multiple stablecoins under a single European license.
It also means that the absence of a significant designation should not be interpreted as regulatory noncompliance. Both significant and non-significant e-money tokens remain subject to MiCA’s underlying requirements.
One Stablecoin, Two Legal Issuers USDC’s international structure presents a more complicated supervisory question.
Within the EEA, the token is issued by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS. Outside the region, Circle Internet Financial, LLC serves as the US issuer.
According to Circle’s European USDC white paper, tokens issued by the two entities are fully fungible, while reserve arrangements are maintained separately for EEA and non-EEA holders.
This allows USDC to circulate as a single digital asset even though different legal entities are responsible for its issuance and redemption.
It also creates a dependency between jurisdictions.
During periods of elevated redemption demand, Circle may need to rebalance reserves between its European and American entities. Difficulties completing those transfers could affect how quickly redemption requests are processed.
Circle’s published redemption policy explicitly addresses this possibility through provisions for cross-border liquidity stress.
The EBA has already established a channel for regulatory coordination. In June, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services.
The agreement covers information exchange, supervisory cooperation and coordination during emergencies involving international stablecoin activities.
It does not give European regulators direct authority over Circle’s American issuer.
Instead, it provides a mechanism for supervisors in different jurisdictions to exchange information about activities connected to the same stablecoin.
What Changes for Exchanges and USDC Holders? USDC’s new classification primarily affects Circle’s regulatory obligations rather than how the stablecoin can be used. The immediate implications differ across market participants:
Crypto exchanges: No new listing restrictions or mandatory trading changes arise directly from the designation. Compliance documentation should reflect USDC’s updated regulatory status. DeFi protocols: Existing smart contracts do not require automatic modifications, although exposure to Circle’s reserve and redemption arrangements remains relevant. USDC holders: Redemption rights under MiCA remain unchanged, including the right to redeem at par value. The practical details of redemption are outlined in Circle’s September 2026 policy. Eligible retail holders in the European Economic Area can submit requests directly to Circle France after completing identity verification and transaction checks. They must also provide an EEA bank account capable of receiving U.S. dollars.
Circle normally processes eligible retail redemptions within five business days after the required checks. However, its policy permits temporary processing adjustments during defined liquidity stress events, including deferrals and restrictions affecting certain crypto-asset service providers.
The additional oversight does not turn USDC into an insured deposit. Circle’s white paper confirms that holders are not protected by EU deposit guarantee or investor compensation schemes.
The Next Test Is Supervisory Coordination The classification also creates a practical documentation issue.
Circle’s USDC white paper, last amended on September 15, still describes the token as non-significant, reflecting its status before the EBA’s decision.
Compliance teams reviewing the issuer’s disclosures therefore need to distinguish the document’s publication date from USDC’s updated regulatory classification.
The EBA’s supervisory transition will bring the reserve, liquidity and recovery arrangements of a globally circulating stablecoin under direct European scrutiny.
The authority will reassess significant-token classifications annually, while its cooperation agreement with New York regulators provides a channel for addressing international supervisory concerns.
USDC’s designation establishes the first live application of this model to a significant e-money token. Its effectiveness will depend on how well the authorities coordinate oversight of an asset that circulates globally but is backed and redeemed through separate legal entities.
Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this? It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look. Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened. His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.
