
Franklin Templeton's XRP ETF recorded roughly $3.55 million in net inflows during recent crypto market volatility, purchasing about 2.71 million XRP while other XRP ETFs saw zero flows that day. Although demand for XRP ETFs has slowed noticeably, steady small inflows suggest investors remain interested in XRP exposure. The article notes that XRP's price is still weighed down by broader bearish sentiment and may not rebound immediately, though analysts believe sustained ETF demand could fuel bullish momentum down the line.
6 hours ago

Ripple's Swell 2026 conference in New York drew representatives from BlackRock and the IMF, fueling expectations that the XRP Ledger could become an institutional capital standard. Franklin Templeton clients recently bought $3.55 million in XRP ETF shares, helping XRP break out of a long consolidation. It now holds steady around $1.32–1.33, closing in on the psychological $1.40 resistance. Ripple will also showcase AI-driven payments, expanded RLUSD use in On-Demand Liquidity, and a cross-border settlement partnership with Swiss fintech Arf.
9 hours ago

Payments giant Visa is reportedly in late-stage negotiations to acquire crypto custody and stablecoin infrastructure provider Fireblocks for roughly $2.5 billion—about 69% below Fireblocks' $8 billion valuation from its January 2022 Series E round. Fireblocks offers institutional custody, stablecoin settlement, and tokenization infrastructure to banks and payment firms, and both companies have backed the Open Standard initiative for stablecoin infrastructure. No final agreement has been announced, and talks are ongoing.
2026-10-22

Spot XRP ETFs have drawn $1.8 billion in cumulative net inflows since launching, even as institutional demand has cooled and a broader market downturn has weighed on the ETF ecosystem. Still, the funds pulled in modest inflows over the past week, including about $708,500 on October 22 alone. Analysts say the $2 billion milestone could be within reach if momentum picks up, a sign that investors are steadily gaining XRP exposure through issuers like Bitwise—a trend that bodes well for broader adoption.
2026-10-22

Ripple has launched 24/7 stock trading for institutional clients on its prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, while allowing its native stablecoin RLUSD to be used as loan collateral. The move expands RLUSD beyond payments and treasury management into institutional trading and financing, potentially improving capital efficiency. However, market observers note that liquidity in emerging 24/7 equity markets remains limited, and large institutional orders could face price impact, posing a potential challenge to adoption.
2026-10-21

Standard Chartered has signed a definitive agreement to take full ownership of digital asset custodian Zodia Custody. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, will see Zodia's regulated custody business folded into Standard Chartered's securities services division, while its software and professional services operations will be spun off into Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures. The move extends the bank's recent push to expand institutional crypto services in Singapore and the UAE.
2026-10-21

Ripple Prime has rolled out 24/7 perpetual swap trading across more than 100 reference markets, including equities, commodities, and FX. Institutional clients can post RLUSD as collateral and gain weekend exposure through Trade.xyz perpetual futures on Hyperliquid. HSBC warns that limited liquidity could constrain participation by large institutions, calling it an incremental rather than revolutionary step. Trading firm Virtu is already using the service.
2026-10-21

OpenAI has acquired San Francisco startup Orchestra Bio, which uses AI agents to help pharma companies track drug development progress, for an undisclosed sum. The Orchestra team and platform will be folded into Rosalind, OpenAI's product line for biologists and chemists. Bringing a new drug from discovery to approval can take up to 15 years and cost over $2.6 billion, with fewer than 10% of candidates clearing human trials. The deal follows Anthropic's roughly $400 million acquisition of Coefficient Bio in April, underscoring how AI labs are racing to stake a claim in drug development workflows.
2026-10-20

Uphold has listed XRPN, the XRP treasury-backed stock from Evernorth Holdings, giving users the ability to buy fractional shares through its app. XRPN debuted on Nasdaq on October 12, with Evernorth holding roughly 473 million XRP and about $300 million in cash. The company plans to work with Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase, and BitGo to deploy its reserves into institutional lending and DeFi strategies starting in Q4 2026. The stock offers indirect exposure to XRP but is not the same as holding the token directly, and investors take on company operating and treasury strategy risks.
2026-10-20

Anthropic announced it will place 5% of its shares into a newly created public benefit fund, with plans for an IPO as early as November at a valuation of about $2 trillion—making that stake worth roughly $100 billion on paper. The fund is structured as a wholly owned LLC rather than a nonprofit, allows the board to add 2% more shares each time the company's valuation rises 50%, and bars the money from lobbying or political donations. Musk quickly responded on X, pledging to give one SpaceX share to every American child next year—worth over $10 billion at current prices—and calling it the first of many similar moves.
2026-10-19