Author: James Wilson

Evernorth completed its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II on October 9 and expects XRPN shares to start trading on Nasdaq on October 12. XRP remains near $1.40, leaving the market to distinguish an existing corporate holding from potential fresh demand. Summary Evernorth says it closed with approximately 473 million XRP and $300 million in gross cash proceeds, while its XRPN listing is scheduled for October 12. Armada shareholders redeemed about 80.3% of shares eligible for cash redemption, taking $195.39 million from the SPAC trust. Much of Evernorth’s XRP came from prior purchases and in kind contributions, so the merger’s…

Papertrade has scheduled its HyperEVM perpetuals exchange to begin trading on Oct. 10 with up to 1000x leverage, after DefiLlama tracked about $85.3 million in deposits ahead of the opening. Summary $85.3 million in tracked deposits includes trader balances and the protocol’s house-side pool. Trading is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, following a planned HyperEVM upgrade. Winning traders’ profits enter a payment queue when the pool cannot cover settlement. PAPER tokens mint from realized losses, with transfers between wallets initially disabled. Papertrade said its website would open trading at 10 a.m. ET after the scheduled network upgrade, with deposits temporarily…

Hong Kong has warned that payment platforms operating without required licenses face enforcement action, after its monetary authority received 16 complaints about suspected unlicensed stored value services between January 2024 and September 2026. Summary HKMA received 16 complaints about suspected unlicensed stored value services, with one case substantiated. Hong Kong law prohibits unlicensed stored value operations unless a statutory exemption applies. Currency exchange and cross-border remittance services fall under a separate licensing system. Regulators can intervene directly and refer suspected payment law breaches to law enforcement agencies. Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said in an Oct. 7…

China has called for a national blockchain network and an integrated computing power network in a policy document covering 19 measures to develop technology-led industries and connect the digital economy with real-world production. Summary China’s new policy calls for national blockchain and computing networks alongside changes to data ownership rules. The document proposes data-market trials, cross-border data mechanisms and support for long-term technology investment. Chinese banks have already received guidance encouraging blockchain use in tax-data sharing and business lending. Recent digital yuan expansion has taken the number of approved banking operators to 30. Xinhua News Agency published the opinion issued…

The attacker behind Triple-A’s July treasury breach has transferred 4,970 ETH worth approximately $12.4 million into Tornado Cash, according to blockchain security firm Salus. Summary 4,970 ETH entered Tornado Cash on Oct. 9 through 56 deposits, according to Salus. The attacker combined funds from two intermediary addresses through a single wallet before depositing them. Triple-A said the July breach affected company treasury assets, while customer funds remained untouched. The company attributed the attack to social engineering and engaged specialists to trace the stolen assets. Salus said its Tornado monitoring system tracked 49 deposits of 100 ETH and seven deposits of…

NFT sales reached $39.85 million over the seven days to Oct. 10, up 0.90% from the previous week, as Ethereum retained its blockchain lead and Pudgy Penguins sales more than doubled. Summary $39.85 million in weekly NFT sales marked a 0.90% increase from the previous seven days. Buyer addresses fell 85.33%, while NFT transactions declined 6.92% to 778,055. Ethereum led blockchains with $17.60 million in sales, up 4.52% week over week. Bitcoin ranked third with $3.55 million in sales, down 7.33%. Courtyard topped collections with $7.68 million, while Pudgy Penguins sales rose 125.66%. According to data from CryptoSlam, weekly NFT…

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Bitcoin lost its early-October gains as U.S. exchange-traded funds recorded heavy withdrawals, while the Treasury abandoned two proposed crypto reporting rules. OKX added institutional investors at a $25 billion valuation, and Ethereum developers advanced the network’s next upgrade. Summary Bitcoin recovered above $82,000 after falling toward $80,300, but remained lower over seven days. FinCEN withdrew proposed reporting rules covering self-custody wallets and foreign cryptocurrency mixing. OKX added Circle, Ripple, QRT and SC Ventures at a $25 billion pre-money valuation. Bitmine bought 15,112 ETH, raising its Ethereum treasury to more than 6 million…

Fireblocks’ research chief has identified exposed public keys as the main factor in Bitcoin’s future quantum risk, citing public estimates that roughly 6.7 million to 7 million BTC sit behind keys already visible onchain. Summary Older Bitcoin outputs and reused addresses can leave funds behind public keys that are already exposed. Fireblocks recommends fresh deposit and change addresses, with continuous tracking of exposed balances. Bitcoin’s BIP 360 proposal reduces long-term key exposure but does not provide complete quantum protection. Fireblocks has cut Ethereum post-quantum signature verification from 8.09 million to 1.23 million gas. Fireblocks Vice President of Research Michael Gutkin…

OKX has launched crypto-backed USDC loans in Europe, allowing customers to borrow up to 250,000 USDC, or 3.25 million USDC for VIP clients, without a fixed repayment term. Summary OKX says customers can borrow up to 80% of collateral value against more than 40 assets. The launch announcement lists variable hourly interest of 0.000229%, equivalent to about 2% annually. Borrowers can repay some or all of their debt whenever they choose, according to OKX. The service’s terms allow collateral liquidation and state that MiCA client asset protections do not apply. OKX said in its Oct. 9 announcement that European customers…

The XRP Ledger has activated its Batch feature on mainnet with support from 30 validators, allowing users to bundle between two and eight transactions into one operation. Summary 30 validators backed BatchV1_1, while five opposed it, according to XRPScan figures cited in the report. Batch offers four execution modes, including a setting that makes all linked actions succeed together. Validator Vet identified OTC trades, delivery-versus-payment settlement and NFT swaps as potential uses. XRPL’s separate lending revision introduces closed-ended vaults and cash-basis accounting, subject to validator approval. XRPScan’s dashboard shows BatchV1_1 as active on mainnet, according to the reported amendment data,…