Amid the uncertainty, Vitalik Buterin has taken it to X to publicly praise Polygon and its founder, Sandeep Nailwal, for their remarkable contributions to scaling Ethereum.
Buterin commented on Polygon’s technical breakthroughs, especially its early investment in zero-knowledge EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) development.
He further respected Nailwal’s humanitarian efforts that merged health initiatives with blockchain development.
I really appreciate both Sandeep Nailwal’s personal contributions and Polygon’s immensely valuable role in the Ethereum ecosystem.
I really appreciate both @sandeepnailwal‘s personal contributions and @0xPolygon‘s immensely valuable role in the ethereum ecosystem.
To recap:
* Polygon hosts @Polymarket, which is probably the single most successful example of a “not just boring finance” app that has actually…
Buterin’s post emphasized Polygon as a cornerstone of Ethereum’s scalability, crediting the blockchain for hosting innovative applications.
For instance, Polymarket has seen remarkable traction as a non-monetary blockchain offering real-world value.
Moreover, Polygon has hosted multiple high-throughput.
It has also prioritized ZK-EVM development and research.
Vitalik applauded the project’s early collaboration with Jording Bayliba’s team, who helped the Ethereum ZK ecosystem thrive during its experimental phase.
Polygon put a lot of resources into ZK-EVM proving early on, both by bringing in Jordi Baylina’s team and through other efforts, and greatly helped in moving the space forward.
The Ethereum co-founder also praised Polygon for creating AggLayer, which aids proof aggregation.
Buterin believes these efforts reflect Polygon’s dedication to building innovative tools that strengthen the Ethereum ecosystem.
Nailwal’s humanitarian efforts
Besides Polygon’s technical success, Buterin also spotlighted Sandeep Nailwal’s humanitarian drive and personal integrity.
For instance, his CryptoRelief initiative donated crypto assets to support India’s biomedical infrastructure.
In a gesture that demonstrated Nailwal’s integrity, the Polygon co-founder refunded SHIB tokens worth $190 million that Buterin had sent to the relief fund.
Buterin later channeled these funds to launch Balvi, an anti-pandemic project focused on indoor air safety and refining global health.
He voluntarily returned $190M of the proceeds from the SHIB token that I donated, which made the whole Balvi open-source anti-airborne-disease biotech program possible and possibly accelerated our understanding of important anti-pandemic topics like clean indoor air by years.
ZK technology and what’s next
Besides his appreciation, Buterin reflected on Polygon’s current advancement crossroads.
While the POL ecosystem pioneered ZK tech, the landscape has matured.
For instance, ZK-centric teams like Risc Zero, Brevis, and Succinct Labs now work independently from L2 networks.
Buterin trusts that such separations boost specialization as each team showcases its full capabilities.
Furthermore, Buterin urged Polygon to adopt “off-the-shelf ZK tech for enhanced security within its proof-of-security chain to align with Ethereum’s vision for L2 scalability.
Indeed, ZK has adopted a user-friendly approach, with each transaction costing $0.0001 to prove.
Altcoins Ethereum and Polygon’s POL underperformed today as selling activities dominate the broader cryptocurrency landscape, losing up to 5% of their value in the past day.
Crypto markets have entered a holding pattern, with Bitcoin near $108,164.
Traders are awaiting a key US inflation (CPI) report due out on Friday.
Hopes are rising for a de-escalation in the US-China trade war.
Cryptocurrency markets have entered a midweek holding pattern, with prices for Bitcoin and other major digital assets remaining relatively flat as traders brace for a pivotal US inflation report and look for signs of a de-escalation in the US-China trade dispute.
Bitcoin is trading around $108,164, up slightly from Monday but still down 2% for the week. Ether is changing hands near $3,815.
The stabilization reflects what the analytics firm QCP Capital has described as a “narrow-range equilibrium,” a period of calm before a potential storm.
A singular focus on the US inflation report
The market’s primary focus is now firmly on Friday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the only major US economic data release not delayed by the ongoing government shutdown.
In a recent note, QCP said the CPI is the “singular anchor” for policy expectations and broader risk sentiment.
A softer-than-expected reading, the firm noted, could “re-anchor the soft-landing trade” and provide support for Bitcoin as expectations for looser monetary policy improve.
Hopes are rising for a US-China détente
Adding to the market’s complex picture are the shifting dynamics of the US-China trade war.
Sentiment has improved after a weekend of whiplash, in which President Trump first threatened a massive new wave of tariffs only to later soften his stance, stating that “the USA wants to help China, not hurt it.”
This has led prediction markets to re-evaluate the risks. Traders on Polymarket now assign a 77% probability that a tariff agreement will be reached by November 10, while the odds of Trump’s threatened 100% tariffs taking effect have fallen to just 16 percent.
A cleaner slate after a brutal liquidation flush
This fragile calm comes just days after a brutal market-wide sell-off that saw nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions liquidated.
That massive flush has reset the market, creating a cleaner slate for macro traders as they head into the crucial CPI event.
The key question now is whether the “soft landing” narrative will be confirmed by Friday’s inflation data, or if the volatility that has defined the market in recent weeks will be reignited.
What to watch in the markets
For Bitcoin, analysts at Standard Chartered have noted that while sellers are limiting any immediate breakout potential, a dip below $100,000 could represent a “last chance to buy” before the next major leg higher.
For Ethereum, the picture is more divided.
A recent $650 million transfer by the Ethereum Foundation triggered a wave of profit-taking and liquidations, leaving analysts split between a potential breakout toward $5,000 and a possible slide toward $2,850 if the key support level at $3,470 fails to hold.
XRP entered the final week of October with leverage rebuilt and a working beta to Bitcoin that can be applied to near-term ranges two weeks after the tariff shock.
Aggregated XRP open interest sits near $4.4 billion and funding has normalized around neutral to slightly positive, a setup that historically favors outsized moves when shorts are forced to cover.
Market context is calmer than the crash window. Data show the VIX near the mid-teens, the dollar index near 98 to 99, and the 10-year Treasury yield close to 4 percent, with the 10-year anchoring rates while positioning rebuilds.
Prices at today’s London open had Bitcoin near $114,300 and XRP near $2.63, framing the base for scenario math over the next ten days.
The reset that put this beta back in focus came during the Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 purge, when forced selling cleared leverage across majors. Crypto futures saw roughly $19 billion in liquidations during that window.
The unwind removed crowded longs and created air pockets in derivatives order books, which is why subsequent positive funding and rising open interest matter for path dependency. With positioning refilling, relief phases often travel farther than the initial drawdown because price can run into stacked short liquidation clusters.
Coinglass liquidation heatmaps make those bands visible in real time, and funding moving above zero over multiple eight-hour intervals is the tell that squeezes can extend once those bands are engaged.
Macro drivers set the backdrop for that microstructure.
Lower volatility in the VIX bucket below 20 has aligned with narrower ranges across risk assets, while a dollar index south of 100 and a 10-year near 4 percent keep the policy channel in focus ahead of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting, followed by third-quarter GDP and PCE readings.
Oil has bounced from this month’s lows as tariff rhetoric cooled, removing a tail-risk that had coincided with the earlier drawdown. Correlation remains elevated enough to anchor a ratio framework, with 30-day reads near 0.8 between XRP and Bitcoin keeping directional beta estimates relevant even though beta expands and contracts with leverage and liquidity conditions.
A state-dependent approach is the cleanest way to carry the story forward. In a base regime where the VIX sits around 14 to 18, the dollar remains under 100, and XRP funding tracks from flat to moderately positive while open interest rises at a measured pace, a working beta of 1.3 to 1.8 times to Bitcoin fits tape behavior since the reset.
In a squeeze regime where volatility drifts lower, spot inflows stay firm, open interest climbs quickly, and funding registers above 0.02 percent per eight hours for at least two days, up-beta has historically stretched closer to 1.8 to 2.6 times as short-covering and liquidation triggers add mechanical extension.
If macro stress returns, for example a hawkish surprise at the Fed or a growth miss that lifts the VIX above 22 and pushes the dollar over 100, down-beta tends to start lower, around 1.0 to 1.3 times, then increase only if long liquidation clusters break.
Trigger setup through Nov. 6
BTC move
Applied XRP beta
XRP move guide
Fed cuts 25 bps with a dovish tone, VIX ≤ 16, DXY
+4% to +6%
1.5x to 2.2x
+6% to +13%
Soft GDP and PCE that keep policy risk contained, VIX 14–15, modest positive funding
+2% to +4%
1.3x to 1.8x
+3% to +7%
Trade tone improves, price trades into near short-liquidation bands, funding elevated for 48h
Second-leg risk-off that hits long-liquidation clusters after an initial drop
−9% to −12%
1.2x to 1.6x
−11% to −19%
Those ranges rest on fresh positioning and macro inputs. XRP open interest near $4.4 billion provides the fuel line for any extension, while open interest and funding readings provide the directional tilt.
A record of over $5 billion dollars in net inflows into crypto investment products at the start of October kept Bitcoin near the top of the cross-market liquidity stack and explains why its path still sets the tape for alt betas.
The SEC and Ripple resolved their case with a $125 million penalty and CME’s XRP futures went live this year, both of which reduce legal friction and expand access, a structural backdrop that can amplify up-moves when positioning flips.
Price levels and macro anchors help frame the next ten days.
Bitcoin and XRP are near all-time highs, the VIX is elevated, Bitcoin and XRP are near all-time highs, the VIX remains elevated, the dollar index steady, and the 10-year yield stable.
Brent crude and WTI are at historically low levels within the past decade. The Federal Reserve’s meeting on Oct. 28 to Oct. 29, then GDP on Oct. 30 and PCE on Oct. 31, is an unusually tight sequence that will steer the VIX, the dollar, and yields, and by extension the beta dial that converts Bitcoin’s move into XRP’s move.
Traders can monitor a simple set of tripwires to keep the map current.
Funding sustained above 0.02 percent per eight hours for two days aligns with squeeze risk.
Open interest moving toward $5 billion deepens fuel for extensions.
A VIX break above 22 argues for using the downside rows in the table
A dollar index over 100 usually dampens risk appetite until it recedes.
The liquidity clusters on the Coinglass heatmap add mechanical extension once price enters those zones, so positioning, not headlines, often decides whether an impulse fades or runs.
The combination of rebuilding open interest and a funding backdrop that leans positive is back in place, which is why the conditional beta approach remains the framework for XRP over this ten-day window.
NFT trading activity showed signs of life in Q3 2025, breaking a long stretch of decline that defined the post-hype years.
After two years of contraction and shifting narratives, on-chain markets found a new footing, not in blue-chip collectibles or speculative art, but in cheaper rails, loyalty programs, and sport-linked assets that traded more on utility than status.
NFT trading volume rose in Q3 2025 and sales counts reached a high.
The center of gravity shifted to cheaper rails and utilitarian use cases as Ethereum’s scaling upgrade pushed activity to L2s, Solana leaned on throughput and compression, and Bitcoin inscriptions matured into a collectibles culture that waxes and wanes with fee markets.
Fees and distribution, not profile pictures, now set the boundary for growth.
Post-Dencun economics reset the map. Ethereum’s EIP-4844 cut data costs for rollups, pushing L2 transaction fees toward cents and enabling gasless or sponsored flows for mainstream-facing mints.
L2 fees fell by more than 90 percent in the wake of the upgrade, a shift already visible in mint behavior and the rise of Base as a distribution rail.
On Solana, compression brought mass issuance into range for loyalty and access use cases, with provisioning costs for 10 million compressed NFTs around 7.7 SOL and median transaction fees near $0.003 even under load.
Bitcoin inscriptions carved out a separate lane tied to mempool cycles and miner revenue, with more than 80 million inscriptions by February 2025 and a top-three position by lifetime NFT sales.
The demand side shows a rebound with a caveat.
DappRadar data shows that Q3 NFT trading volume almost doubled quarter over quarter to $1.58 billion as sales reached 18.1 million, an all-time quarterly high for transaction count.
Sports NFTs stood out, with sales up 337 percent quarter over quarter to $71.1 million, a pocket where schedulable utility, access and loyalty benefits drive spend independent of floor prices. The summer delivered a snapback before a cooldown.
Monthly sales hit $574 million in July 2025, the second-highest month of the year, then fell roughly 25 percent month over month in September as broader crypto risk appetite eased, based on CryptoSlam tallies.
The pattern reinforces a lower average sale value regime and shows how GMV tracks crypto beta even as unique users and utility categories hold up.
Distribution, not just fees, is doing more of the work. Wallets with embedded passkeys and sponsored fees remove onboarding friction that stalled prior cycles. Coinbase Smart Wallet supports passkeys and gas sponsorship in supported apps, and Phantom reported 15 million monthly active users in January 2025, a base that routes into mobile and social mint funnels.
That reach matters on chains where culture and social flows compound. Base is a case in point.
Base overtook Solana by NFT volume on some measures this year as cheap mints, Zora’s mass-mint cadence and Farcaster-adjacent funnels stacked up. The tilt explains why creators weighing where to drop are starting with distribution math, then back-solving into fee profiles.
Royalties no longer anchor the revenue stack.
Creator fees collapsed from 2022 peaks after marketplace wars made royalties optional across much of the market. According to Nansen, royalty receipts hit two-year lows in 2023 and did not recover to prior levels.
The counter-trend is the rise of enforcement-aligned venues. Magic Eden and Yuga Labs launched an Ethereum marketplace in late 2023 that enforces creator royalties, building a protected lane for brands that can command it.
The equilibrium is a bifurcated market, with low take-rates and primary sales, IP deals and retail tie-ins carrying most creator margins, while walled gardens capture premium drops where enforcement is contractual.
Marketplace share remains fluid where incentives drive order flow. On Solana, Magic Eden and Tensor trade leadership in a duopoly that swings with rewards schedules and program design, often ranging between roughly 40 and 60 percent share for each across periods.
This is less a structural change than a function of incentive epochs, which can make share charts look like a regime shift that later mean-reverts. The takeaway for creators is to negotiate distribution as part of launch planning rather than defaulting to a single venue.
Where users actually went tells the near-term roadmap.
Sports, tickets and loyalty programs are scaling because the benefits are schedulable and recurring, and the on-chain primitive, token-gated access, is already embedded in existing ticketing and e-commerce flows.
DappRadar’s Q3 breakouts show sports volumes outpacing the market, and that is before full-season or league-wide programs land.
Gaming is compounding more quietly. Immutable’s zkEVM stack and live metrics show steady transaction growth and a security-on-ETH, UX-on-L2 design that aligns with asset custody and recurring secondary fees, according to Messari.
IP and licensing is the other bridge from JPEGs to consumer channels. Pudgy Penguins’ expansion into more than 3,000 Walmart stores created a live pipeline from NFTs to physical retail and licensing cashflows,.
For creators deciding where to ship next, cost and UX by chain are now legible. ETH L1 still holds provenance and high-value art, with variable gas and optional royalties in most venues.
ETH L2s offer cents-level fees after Dencun, plus sponsored or gasless flows and social funnels on Base and Farcaster.
Solana’s compression brings millions of mints into dollar-level budgets with mobile-first wallet reach. Bitcoin inscriptions line up with scarce collectibles, where fee spikes are a feature, not a bug. The table below summarizes the current journey from mint to trade.
Step
ETH L1
ETH L2 (e.g., Base)
Solana
Bitcoin inscriptions
Mint
Variable gas under congestion
Cents to sub-cents after EIP-4844, apps can sponsor
Sub-penny typical, compression enables mass mints
Tied to block fees and inscription size
List/Trade
Gas plus optional royalties in most venues
Cheap execution, social funnels on Base and Frames
Cheap execution, high throughput, strong mobile UX
Fees rise with demand, suited to scarce collectibles
Notes
High-value art and provenance
Culture and social distribution, gasless UX possible
~7.7 SOL for 10M compressed slots, median fee ~ $0.003
Collector beta relative to fee cycles
The macro mix is changing as well.
A $5–6.5 billion annualized run-rate in 2025, with average sale values in the $80–$100 range in the first half, sets the base from which next year’s scenarios extend.
Using CryptoSlam monthly sales as the spine and DappRadar category splits for color, a bear case lands at $4–5 billion GMV if crypto beta stalls and average sale values compress, with fee-sensitive use cases concentrated on Solana and ETH L2s, ETH L1 art steady, and inscriptions tracking Bitcoin fee cycles.
A base case in the $6–9 billion band requires embedded wallets and social mint rails to keep expanding, plus sports and live events scaling across seasons and brands testing royalty-enforced venues for new drops.
The bull case at $10–14 billion would need a step-change in mobile distribution, with Base and passkeys normalizing mint flows, Phantom monthly actives trending above 20 million, ticketing pilots moving into mainstream programs and gaming assets recurring.
In all three bands the share mix tilts toward ETH L2 and Solana, with ETH L1 narrower and Bitcoin stable as a collectibles lane.
Six toggles will decide how quickly that flow materializes.
Wallet UX and distribution will be the lead indicator, measured by passkey adoption, sponsored fees and MAUs for Phantom and Coinbase Smart Wallet.
The footprint of royalty enforcement matters for premium drops, including any OpenSea policy pivots and the health of creator-allied markets on Ethereum.
Sports and ticketing partners that move from pilots to season-long programs convert one-off GMV into schedules.
Base and Zora cadence, visible in monthly mints and Base’s share of NFT GMV alongside Farcaster Frames, shows whether social funnels sustain.
Solana compression adoption, tracked by compressed mint counts and costs per million assets, signals whether loyalty and media programs go from experiments to defaults.
Bitcoin fee cycles, and their link to inscriptions and Runes, will keep shaping collectibles pricing as mempool congestion ebbs and flows.
Two risks remain constant. Wash trading and spam minting still distort GMV and sales counts, which is why looking at average sale values and organic-filtered dashboards is the safer approach.
Marketplace incentives can make share charts look like regime change when they are just airdrop cycles, especially on Solana’s duopoly, so launch plans should price that churn in from the outset. The other operational constraint is revenue design.
With royalties mostly optional in open markets, primary sales, IP licensing and retail are carrying more of the load, while enforced venues create a premium lane that some brands can utilize and most cannot.
What looked like an end state in 2023 turned into a migration.
The JPEG boom is over, the rails got cheaper, the use cases now line up with tickets, sports, gaming and IP, and the wallet and distribution stack is starting to meet users where they already are.
The Blue Chip flagship NFT, Bored Ape Yacht Club remains in a perilous state for those who invested six figures into AWS hosted jpegs. The NFT below sold for over 74 ETH in 2021 but is now worth just 9 ETH, an 87 percent decline in three years.
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs (Source: OpenSea)
Speculation may be over for the non-fungible sector, but will this finally allow the underlying technology to gain traction in real world utility applications? Only time will tell, but the signs are promising, just not for the bag holders.
Q3 closed with $1.58 billion in trades and 18.1 million sales, and the mix is already moving in that direction.
Western Union will distribute a Solana-based stablecoin to its 100 million-plus customers starting in the first half of 2026, pairing Anchorage Digital Bank’s federally regulated issuance with a global on/off-ramp network that converts crypto wallet balances to local cash.
Announced on Oct. 28, this model challenges the neutral-infrastructure strategies deployed by Visa and Stripe.
The US Dollar Payment Token represents a test of whether vertical integration can bring blockchain remittances to mass adoption, where crypto-native protocols have struggled to gain retail traction.
Solana processes USDC transfers at sub-cent costs and settles in seconds, yet most cross-border senders still route payments through traditional money transfer operators or correspondent banking networks.
Western Union’s plan embeds Solana rails inside a branded product with physical distribution, betting that control over issuance, compliance, and cash access will overcome the adoption barriers that have kept stablecoin remittances confined to crypto users.
End-to-end settlement versus neutral rails
Visa and Stripe built stablecoin infrastructure as open platforms that enable third parties to issue tokens and transact across multi-chain networks.
Visa integrated USDC settlement on Ethereum in 2021, then expanded to Solana in 2023, allowing merchant acquirers, including Worldpay and Nuvei, to settle with Visa in stablecoin.
The company added support for PYUSD, Paxos’ USDG, Circle’s euro stablecoin, and the Stellar and Avalanche networks in July 2025, positioning its platform as a settlement layer beneath card transactions that does not issue proprietary tokens.
Visa also operates VTAP, an API-driven stack that lets regulated banks mint and manage fiat-backed tokens.
Stripe re-enabled crypto payments in 2024, processing USDC on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, and auto-settling to merchants’ Stripe balances.
The company acquired Bridge in 2025 and launched Open Issuance, a white-label service that allows businesses to issue compliant stablecoins with reserve management and liquidity orchestration handled by partners.
Bridge filed for a US trust bank charter to embed regulatory compliance into the platform, mirroring Anchorage Digital Bank’s role in Western Union’s plan but serving developers and merchants rather than remittance customers.
Western Union’s approach consolidates issuance, distribution, and cash conversion under a single brand.
USDPT will run on Solana, with Anchorage Digital Bank as issuer and custodian, and will be distributed through partner exchanges and Western Union’s Digital Asset Network.
The network connects crypto wallets to Western Union’s agency locations across more than 200 countries and territories, letting customers send USDPT from a wallet and pick up cash in local currency at a retail agent.
Western Union will also accept other digital assets through the network, positioning the infrastructure as a last-mile solution for any crypto holder who needs fiat access.
The economics of that vertical model differ from neutral infrastructure. Visa and Stripe earn fees on transaction flow but do not capture the float on stablecoin reserves or control the end-user relationship.
Western Union will earn on USDPT issuance, transaction fees, foreign-exchange spreads, and agent commissions, stacking revenue across the payment chain.
The company’s existing customer base provides distribution, but converting users who already transact in fiat to a stablecoin-first flow requires education, trust, and incentives that traditional remittance pricing may not offer.
Can Solana remittances go mainstream?
Western Union selected Solana for USDPT based on throughput and cost. Solana processes transactions in under a second with fees measured in fractions of a cent, making micro-remittances economically viable where Ethereum’s variable gas costs create friction.
Anchorage Digital Bank’s involvement addresses custody and reserve management, providing federally regulated infrastructure that meets US compliance standards and enables Western Union to market USDPT as a bank-issued product.
The choice of Solana over multi-chain support distinguishes Western Union’s strategy from Visa and Stripe, which treat chain selection as a configuration option rather than a strategic commitment.
Visa supports Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche; Stripe supports Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon.
Western Union’s single-chain launch simplifies technical integration. Still, it locks the company into Solana’s ecosystem, creating dependency on network performance and limiting interoperability with stablecoins on other chains unless Western Union later bridges USDPT or adds support for competitor tokens.
The Digital Asset Network aims to solve the problem that crypto-native protocols have not solved: converting blockchain balances into spendable cash in jurisdictions where card infrastructure is sparse and bank accounts are uncommon.
Western Union operates more than 600,000 agent locations, many in markets where digital payments remain secondary to cash.
The network will let wallet users, including non-Western Union customers, access that footprint, converting USDPT or other digital assets to local currency with Western Union’s compliance stack managing KYC and AML requirements.
Adoption barriers and competitive pressure
Western Union faces execution risk on multiple fronts. The company must integrate wallet partners, educate customers on stablecoin usage, maintain regulatory compliance across jurisdictions with divergent crypto rules, and compete on price with both traditional money-transfer operators and crypto-native services.
USDC transfers on Solana already undercut Western Union’s pricing in corridors where both sender and receiver hold crypto wallets. Still, adoption has concentrated among crypto users rather than mainstream remittance customers.
Visa and Stripe avoid adoption friction by embedding stablecoins into existing user interfaces.
Visa processes stablecoin settlement invisibly within card transactions; Stripe lets merchants accept stablecoins and receive fiat in their Stripe balance without interacting with wallets or chains.
Western Union’s model requires customers to hold USDPT in a wallet, then initiate a transaction to the Digital Asset Network for cash pickup, adding steps relative to Western Union’s current mobile app, which handles fiat-to-fiat transfers without blockchain exposure.
The company bets that lower cost and faster settlement will offset that complexity, particularly in high-volume corridors where pricing sensitivity drives customer behavior.
Competitive pressure also comes from other remittance providers exploring stablecoin integration.
MoneyGram partnered with Stellar in 2021 to enable USDC cash-in and cash-out at retail locations, though the program has not scaled to match MoneyGram’s core business.
Smaller fintech operators, including Veem and Pangea Money Transfer, support stablecoin payments, positioning them as alternatives to traditional wire services.
Western Union’s scale provides an advantage, but success depends on execution rather than distribution alone.
Western Union’s partnership with Anchorage ensures USDPT meets US banking standards. Still, the company must also navigate international regulations as it rolls out the Digital Asset Network across jurisdictions with varying stablecoin rules.
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation imposes reserve and transparency requirements. Jurisdictions, including India and China, restrict or ban the use of stablecoins.
Western Union’s compliance expertise in traditional remittances provides a foundation, but extending that to on-chain operations introduces new legal and operational complexity.
The success of USDPT will test whether branded, vertically integrated stablecoin infrastructure can drive mainstream adoption where open protocols have not.
The outcome depends on whether Western Union’s 100 million customers will adopt on-chain payments and whether the Digital Asset Network can deliver the reliability and cost savings necessary to compete with both traditional operators and crypto-native services.
Madras High Court confirms crypto can be owned and held in trust.
WazirX has been barred from redistributing investors’ unaffected XRP holdings.
Ruling strengthens investor rights and Web3 governance in India.
In a landmark ruling that could reshape cryptocurrency in India, the Madras High Court has declared that cryptocurrencies qualify as property under Indian law.
The Court’s decision, delivered by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, affirms that cryptocurrencies can be owned, held in trust, and protected as legal property — a major step in clarifying the legal status of digital assets in the country.
Cryptocurrency in India now recognised as property
The case arose from a petition by an investor whose 3,532.30 XRP coins were frozen after a cyberattack on WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
In July 2024, the platform suffered a $234 million hack involving Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens.
While the investor’s XRP holdings were not part of the stolen assets, WazirX sought to redistribute all users’ funds under its so-called “socialisation of losses” plan.
Justice Venkatesh firmly rejected the proposal, ruling that each investor’s digital holdings are individual property and cannot be diluted or redistributed to cover exchange losses.
He emphasised that cryptocurrencies, though intangible, possess all the essential attributes of property — they are identifiable, transferable, and exclusively controlled through private keys.
“It is not a tangible property nor is it a currency,” the judge observed. “However, it is a property, which is capable of being enjoyed and possessed in a beneficial form.”
This interpretation grants digital asset holders stronger legal standing, ensuring that their cryptocurrencies are recognised as assets protected under Indian law.
Jurisdiction and investor protection
The Court also settled questions over jurisdiction, dismissing WazirX’s argument that Singaporean arbitration rules applied because its parent company, Zettai Pte Ltd, is based in Singapore.
Justice Venkatesh cited the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in PASL Wind Solutions Pvt Ltd v. GE Power Conversion India Pvt Ltd (2021), noting that Indian courts have authority over assets located within India.
Because the investor’s transactions originated from Chennai and involved an Indian bank account, the Court confirmed that the case fell squarely under Indian jurisdiction.
The court further highlighted that Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, which operates WazirX in India, is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) — unlike its foreign parent company or Binance.
This distinction reinforced that Indian exchanges operating domestically are subject to Indian oversight and accountability, particularly in protecting user assets and maintaining transparent custodial practices.
Strengthening Web3 governance
Justice Venkatesh’s decision went beyond individual relief to call for higher standards of corporate governance in the Web3 and crypto sectors.
He urged exchanges to maintain separate client funds, conduct independent audits, and uphold robust KYC and anti-money laundering controls.
These measures, the Court noted, are vital for building trust in the digital economy and protecting consumers from future mishandling of assets.
Legal experts hailed the judgment as a milestone in developing “crypto-jurisprudence” in India.
Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Indian exchange Giottus, described it as a foundational moment that signals to all market participants — exchanges, users, and regulators — that the digital asset space will be held to strong standards of governance and protection.
A foundation for India’s crypto future
The Court’s ruling not only protects the rights of individual investors but also strengthens the broader regulatory framework around digital assets.
By recognising cryptocurrency as property, the judgment fills a crucial legal gap in a country where tax enforcement on crypto remains strict, but investor protections have lagged.
As Justice Venkatesh wrote, courts now serve as the “central stage where the future of digital value is debated.”
Through this ruling, the Madras High Court has given India a clearer picture of ownership, responsibility, and trust in the age of decentralisation.
With cryptocurrency in India now firmly recognised as property under Indian law, the decision marks a turning point for the country’s digital asset ecosystem — affirming that in India, crypto holdings are not just speculative instruments but protected assets under the law.
Router Protocol completes migration with an airdrop on Ethereum.
ROUTE price gains momentum as the Router App launch boosts interest.
Analysts see breakout potential but warn of post-airdrop volatility.
Router Protocol is entering a decisive phase as two major developments converge: the token migration completes with an airdrop for unmigrated balances, and the Router App — powered by the project’s Open Graph Architecture — has gone live.
These events could reshape liquidity, user flows, and market sentiment for the ROUTE token.
Airdrop seals migration
Router Protocol confirmed that unmigrated ROUTE tokens on the legacy Router Chain will be distributed to eligible Ethereum wallets via an airdrop on October 28, 2025.
The team published the eligible-wallet list and framed the distribution as the final step in consolidating the token on Ethereum.
ROUTE Migration Update
As part of moving all ROUTE tokens from Router Chain → Ethereum, the below addresses have unmigrated tokens and hence will receive their tokens via airdrop on Ethereum chain.
Market participants typically react to migration completions in two ways: some see it as a trust-building milestone that simplifies token management and encourages broader exchange support, while others treat airdrops as near-term sell pressure events when recipients liquidate allocations.
That tension — immediate selling versus longer-term confidence — is why observers expect heightened volatility around the airdrop date.
The migration also follows a larger strategic pivot by the project away from maintaining an independent L1 towards providing cross-chain infra via OGA.
The sunset of Router Chain and consolidation on Ethereum removes fragmentation and ends on-chain inflation tied to validator rewards, according to community commentary.
Router Protocol’s Router App goes live
On August 28, the team launched the Router App, a cross-chain swapping interface built on Open Graph Architecture.
The App aggregates bridges and DEX liquidity across EVM and non-EVM chains, promising smarter routing and the ability to split and reassemble trades in real time.
The announcement positions Router App as the consumer-facing layer of a broader routing standard.
Technically, the Router App’s value proposition is twofold: it offers immediate utility by improving swap efficiency across many chains, and it signals a productization of Router Protocol’s core infra, which may attract both retail users and protocol integrators.
Early adoption metrics, and whether users move meaningful TVL into the App, will matter for price and perception.
ROUTE price reaction: analysts eye a potential breakout
As Router Protocol completes its migration and launches the Router App, analysts and traders are closely watching the ROUTE price for confirmation of a possible breakout.
The token has already shown early signs of strength, maintaining steady gains in recent weeks as attention builds around these milestones.
At press time, ROUTE traded at $0.004541, up 11.7% in 24 hours after hitting a low of $0.003865.
Crypto analyst Chetan has been among the most vocal, noting that ROUTE remains up over 70% since his initial call and is now breaking above a key trend line that has held since November 2024.
Chetan suggests that if the breakout sustains, ROUTE could climb to a minimum target between $0.033 and $0.039, with a maximum upside around $0.10–$0.11.
Chetan frames the setup as a high-risk, high-reward scenario — roughly 50% downside risk versus 5x to 15x potential reward — but stresses the need for patience, saying he’s watching how the quarterly candle closes before adding more.
$ROUTE still up 70% since the buy…. and nearly 2x since its lows…
and now breaking out first time from its November 2024 trend-line….
if the breakout happens then its a possible sign for continuation to 0.033$ – 0.039$ minimum…
At the same time, community member Jel has expressed renewed optimism, calling the potential “comeback of $ROUTE” “yuge”, reflecting growing bullish sentiment among long-term supporters.
Jel’s remarks echoed those of Ram from Router Protocol’s core team, who emphasised that the migration marks a fundamental reset for the ecosystem — validator rewards are ending, inflation is dropping to zero, and ROUTE is consolidating fully on Ethereum via Nitro.
Ram also noted that with consolidation complete, centralised exchanges are expected to fully support ROUTE on Ethereum, which could strengthen liquidity and accessibility.
The majority believe that completing the migration and delivering a live, functional cross-chain product could help the token rebuild credibility and attract more trading activity.
However, many warn that immediate volatility is likely after the airdrop as some recipients may take profits.
But if momentum continues alongside growing Router App adoption and Ethereum-based liquidity, the token could confirm its recovery narrative and extend its move higher.
Mt. Gox extends Bitcoin repayment deadline to Oct 2026 amid ongoing administrative hurdles.
Once the top Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox’s collapse in 2014 led to the loss of 850,000 BTC.
Arkham data shows holdings now down 75% to 34,690 BTC.
Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, has delayed repayments to its creditors until October 2026 — extending a saga that began more than a decade ago.
The announcement, made just days before its previous deadline of October 31, 2025, reflects ongoing administrative and technical challenges in finalising payments.
While many creditors who submitted paperwork have received partial repayments, a significant number are still waiting for their funds.
The Tokyo District Court approved the extension after the trustee cited the need for additional time to process remaining claims and complete settlements efficiently.
Delayed Bitcoin repayments extended to 2026
According to the latest notice, the Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee confirmed that most base, early lump-sum, and intermediate repayments have been processed for creditors who completed the required steps.
However, repayments for others remain pending.
The trustee explained that it was “desirable to make the repayments to such rehabilitation creditors to the extent reasonably practicable,” leading the court to approve a new deadline of October 31, 2026.
This marks another chapter in one of the cryptocurrency industry’s longest-running recovery efforts.
Mt. Gox, which once handled over 70% of the world’s Bitcoin trading volume, collapsed in 2014 after a massive hack led to the loss of approximately 850,000 BTC.
The company subsequently filed for bankruptcy in Japan.
How the Mt. Gox collapse reshaped Bitcoin history
When Mt. Gox failed, the exchange’s bankruptcy shook investor confidence in digital assets and exposed vulnerabilities in early crypto infrastructure.
About 200,000 BTC were later recovered, but 650,000 BTC remain missing.
The recovery process transitioned into a court-supervised civil rehabilitation in Japan, during which a trustee began redistributing recovered Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in 2024.
At the time of its collapse, Mt. Gox’s influence was unmatched.
The incident not only caused a sharp decline in Bitcoin prices but also prompted tighter regulatory oversight in key markets.
In the years since, it has become a landmark case in crypto regulation, bankruptcy law, and investor protection — shaping how global exchanges handle custody and insurance.
Market impact and sell-off concerns
With repayments scheduled to continue into 2026, traders and analysts have debated whether the eventual release of thousands of Bitcoin could trigger selling pressure.
Historically, such fears have surfaced each time Mt. Gox announced repayment progress.
However, recent on-chain data suggests that these effects may be limited.
According to Arkham Intelligence, Mt. Gox currently holds 34,690 BTC worth nearly $4 billion, down from about 142,000 BTC in mid-2024 — a decline of more than 75%.
Analysts tracking these wallets have noted that even large movements from the exchange have had only short-term effects on Bitcoin’s market price, indicating that most creditors are choosing to hold rather than sell immediately.
What’s next for creditors and the crypto market
The trustee’s revised timeline means that full repayments could now take another year, extending the wait for thousands of claimants worldwide.
For many early Bitcoin investors, the repayments represent not only financial recovery but also closure on one of crypto’s most notorious events.
Still, the Mt. Gox story continues to serve as a cautionary tale for digital asset investors.
It underscores the importance of secure custody, transparent operations, and regulatory compliance — principles that have since become standard practice across global crypto exchanges.
KernelDAO price jumped to highs of $0.23 amid Upbit listing news.
The KERNEL token reached an all-time high above $0.46 in April, and it could target this mark next.
Gains across the crypto market will catalyse an uptick for the token.
KERNEL, the native token of restaking protocol KernelDAO, spiked more than 25% to hit highs of $0.23 early Tuesday.
While bulls are battling to hold onto the gains, the uptick saw the token rank among the top performers across the crypto market.
Given overall crypto sentiment, could Upbit listing help KERNEL price extend its upward momentum amid interest in restaking protocols?
Upbit listing propels KERNEL to $0.23 high
As noted, the catalyst for KERNEL’s vertical price ascent today is likely trader reaction to Upbit’s announcement.
On October 28, 2025, the leading South Korean crypto exchange confirmed the token’s listing on its KRW market, adding support for trading on the Ethereum network.
The listing ignited immediate buying pressure, with KernelDAO daily volume spiking as bulls propelled KERNEL from lows of $0.16 to an intraday peak of $0.23 as of writing.
Notably, daily volume stood at over $316 million, up a staggering 1,540% in the past 24 hours.
With gains of over 20%, KERNEL ranked among the few top altcoins with double digit price movements on the day.
KernelDAO price hovered in the list of top gainers alongside Hedera’s HBAR, Pump.fun’s PUMP and Bittensor’s TAO tokens.
Why such interest in KernelDAO?
KernelDAO is a leading restaking protocol behind a $1.7 billion total value locked ecosystem.
The YZi Labs-backed project is live across top blockchains, including Ethereum and BNB Chain.
Notably, it boasts key products like Kernel, Kelp, Gain, and Kred, a recently introduced product focused on real-world assets.
Upbit’s listing is the latest in bullish support for the KERNEL token, with the South Korean crypto exchange known for its active trading community.
The listing not only boosts KERNEL’s visibility but also taps into fresh liquidity pools.
KernelDAO is a restaking infrastructure platform that provides a range of staking-related services.
It enables restaking on the BNB Chain, supports BNB Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs), and offers Bitcoin (BTC) restaking opportunities.
In addition, the project operates an Ethereum-based restaking protocol that runs directly on the Ethereum network.
This system includes a vault-style smart contract designed to manage staked ETH, rsETH, and liquid staking token (LST) assets.
The platform’s native KERNEL token serves multiple purposes, including governance, restaking, and slashing insurance within the ecosystem.
KernelDAO bulls target $0.50 next
KERNEL price reached an all-time high of $0.46 in April 2025, and while it dropped to lows of $0.09 in June, it has recovered by more than 115% since.
Current prices around $0.19 means bulls are about 57% off the all-time peak.
As the broader cryptocurrency market rebounds amid various catalysts, including renewed institutional interest, regulatory clarity in key regions, and macroeconomic shifts favoring risk assets, KernelDAO looks set to benefit.
DeFiLlama shows the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) has pumped to over $1.7 billion.
As such, gains across the restaking sector could add further fuel to KernelDAO’s ecosystem.
Targets on the upside include the ATH and a breakout above $0.50.
On the downside, buyers need robust activity around $0.18 and $0.16.
181M tokens unlocked, raising dilution and sell-off fears.
Technical analysis shows weak momentum but hints at a possible rebound.
The GRASS price is under heavy pressure as the market braces for a massive GRASS token unlock event.
With 181 million new tokens — worth more than $80 million — set to flood the market today at 1:30 PM UTC, investors are watching closely to see whether this move signals a deeper downturn or a short-lived shakeout before recovery.
Built on Solana, the Grass network powers a decentralised data infrastructure where users share idle bandwidth to support AI and web-scraping applications.
But despite its strong fundamentals, the latest unlock threatens to overshadow its long-term potential with short-term volatility.
GRASS price struggles under selling pressure
Over the past 24 hours, the GRASS price has fallen by 2.9% to trade near $0.41, underperforming the broader crypto market, which slipped only 0.56%.
The token is now down more than 50% in the past 30 days, reflecting rising investor anxiety ahead of the unlock.
Notably, the upcoming token release will increase the circulating supply by nearly 58%, from 243 million to roughly 424 million tokens.
This surge in available coins raises significant dilution concerns, particularly in a market already grappling with low liquidity.
Unfortunately, data shows that trading volume has dropped by more than 25% over the past week, suggesting thin demand to absorb the incoming supply.
Historically, token unlocks of this magnitude have triggered immediate price declines of 10–30% or more, as early investors and contributors take profits.
GRASS’s decline of nearly 50% over the last month fits that trend, reinforcing the perception that the market has been pricing in the unlock for weeks.
The token unlock has overshadowed Grass’s funding optimism
Earlier this month, Grass secured a $10 million funding round led by Polychain Capital and Tribe Capital to expand its decentralised AI data network.
The investment validated the project’s DePIN model and its 8.5 million active users, but market reaction was subdued.
Instead of fueling a rally, the news coincided with a 6% drop in GRASS’s value as investors focused on the looming unlock.
Part of the concern stems from the nature of the funding, which included token allocations that may add to near-term selling pressure.
As a result, even fundamentally positive developments are being viewed through a bearish lens, with traders preferring to stay on the sidelines until the post-unlock price action stabilises.
Technical outlook hints at fragile stability
Technically, GRASS remains in a pronounced downtrend.
The token trades below all major moving averages, with its 7-day SMA near $0.4266 and 30-day SMA at $0.6243.
Momentum indicators confirm weakness — RSI sits around 35, signalling oversold conditions, while MACD is attempting a modest bullish crossover.
Chart patterns point to a large descending triangle formation, with GRASS hovering close to its lower boundary.
The next major support lies at $0.3126, marking the 2024 low, while resistance is seen near $0.4694 and more prominently at $0.9 — the key point of control (POC) on the Volume Profile indicator.
A breakout above this zone could mark the beginning of a recovery phase, but until volume returns, upside potential remains limited.
However, follow-through buying has been muted, suggesting that traders are still cautious ahead of the unlock.
What to expect after the GRASS token unlock?
The immediate aftermath of the GRASS token unlock will determine whether this event deepens the sell-off or serves as a reset for future growth.
If selling pressure spikes, GRASS could test new lows below $0.31.
However, if buyers absorb the new supply and RSI begins to recover, a short-term rebound toward resistance near $0.47 may follow.
While GRASS’ fundamentals, anchored in decentralised AI data infrastructure, remain solid, the market’s focus is squarely on supply dynamics and investor sentiment for now.
As the flood of tokens hits exchanges, GRASS will need a compelling proof of demand to convince traders that the worst is behind it.
