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Blockchain interoperability project LayerZero has lost a dozen partners this year as its ZRO token shed a third of its value. The latest departure, Ethereum node service provider Nethermind, ran one of the verifiers that LayerZero advertised to enterprise users. It migrated to one of LayerZero’s competitors and terminated its role as verifier on Wednesday. It joins a long list. Kelp DAO exited LayerZero in May after it lost $292 million through a bridge that a single LayerZero verifier secured. Solv Protocol deprecated its LayerZero bridges two days later, with Re.xyz making the same move.  The following week, Kraken shifted its kBTC BTC-linked token off LayerZero, while Lombard pulled over $1 billion of BTC-backed assets one day later. Virtuals Protocol left LayerZero in June. Yuzu Money completed its exit in early July, and Mantle swapped out its Super Portal days later. BitGo took $7.7 billion of wrapped BTC out of LayerZero’s ecosystem in August....

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has increased its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings by 230% to $90 million, the bank announced Thursday. UBS Group AG has tripled its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, bringing its total position to roughly $90 million across 2.5 million shares. UBS first started its Bitcoin ETF journey with 3,600 shares worth less than $150,000 in early 2024. “We recognize the importance of distributed ledger technology like blockchain, which underpins digital assets,” a spokesperson said. JUST IN: Switzerland's largest bank UBS increases spot Bitcoin ETF holdings by 230% to $90 million. pic.twitter.com/ySF5UFIvIB — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) August 13, 2026 UBS has also been opening access to IBIT and comparable products for its wealth management clients, meaning the bank’s own balance sheet position and its client facilitation business are growing in tandem. The bank is evaluating cryptocurrency trading for private banking clients in Switze...

Blockchain firm Ripple has unlocked its scheduled XRP from escrow, a move likely to impact the token’s price. According to data from on-chain tracking platform Whale Alert , the company unlocked 1 billion XRP, valued at approximately $2.5 billion, as part of its long-standing monthly escrow routine on November 1. Shortly after the unlock, Ripple relocked 700 million XRP, worth about $1.75 billion, back into escrow through two separate transactions, one of 500 million XRP and another of 200 million XRP. XRP unlocks by Ripple. Source: Whale Alert Additionally, 500 million XRP was moved to unknown wallets, a step that typically precedes market-related operations such as institutional transfers or liquidity management. Notably, the XRP escrow system ensures transparency and predictability in supply, with Ripple releasing about 1 billion XRP each month for operations, partnerships, or liquidity purposes. Attention now shifts to whether XRP’s price will react to ...

ASTER, the native token of DEX Aster, plunged 16.8%, sliding from $1.03 to as low as $0.8566, amid the spread of misinformation.  At the time of publication, ASTER traded at $0.9853, recovering the majority of its losses. Its daily trading volume surged around 16% to $674.7 million, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token’s circulating supply is currently over 2.01 billion. ASTER now ranks as the 46th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) backed by YZi Labs, the crypto investment arm of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. The DEX natively operates on four chains — BNB Chain, Solana, Ethereum, and Arbitrum — enabling perpetual futures and spot trading. ASTER 24H price chart. Source: Finbold The crypto market recorded over $884 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours, as per CoinGlass data. ASTER accounted for about $7.11 million, while rival DEX token Hyperliquid (HYPE) took a hard hit with a si...

The non-fungible token marketplace competition continues to intensify in 2025 as the market transitions from its initial speculative hype to a more mature one driven by utility, multi-chain support, and fierce rivalry for users. Unlike in past years, the major trading platforms are competing for dominance by expanding to multiple blockchains, enhancing tools for professional traders, and integrating with broader cryptocurrency ecosystems. The rivalry among non-fungible token marketplaces has captured attention again in October after the long-standing dominant marketplace, “OpenSea,” often called the “Amazon of digital assets,” held a significant NFT market share by user engagement and trading sales volume. In the past 30 days, the OpenSea NFT market platform has achieved a trading sales volume of over $300 million, representing a 60% increase from September. Below, we have listed the most traded NFT marketplaces in October 2025: 1. OpenSea Leads The NFT Market ...

Bitcoin ETF outflows reached $396 million as BlackRock , Fidelity , and ARK 21Shares led institutional selling in a dramatic drawdown that highlights the changing sentiment in the cryptocurrency markets. The Bitcoin ETF outflows were seen across major funds such as BlackRock’s IBIT , Fidelity’s FBTC , and ARK 21Shares ‘ ARKB , representing a major institutional selling event that has brought up questions of near-term confidence in digital assets. Bitcoin ETF Outflows Spike as BlackRock, Fidelity, ARK Exit Positions Source – Crypto News The synchronized selling activity of Bitcoin ETF outflows increased through October 2025, as institutional players moved away from positions. BlackRock Bitcoin strategy changes were reflected by the fund’s IBIT drawing down with an equivalent amount of redemptions along with similar actions from peers. Major Funds Lead the Exodus In the Fidelity ETF dump, FBTC was experiencing heavy redemptions and so was ARKB , the ARK 21...

Western Union plans to launch a Solana-based dollar stablecoin in 2026 through Anchorage Digital, extending its move into digital payments. The new token, called the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), will be part of a network that bridges digital and traditional money, the company said in an announcement . It said the network will enable customers to move value more easily between crypto wallets and cash, a step toward faster, cheaper cross-border transfers. “Western Union’s USDPT will allow us to own the economics linked to stablecoins,” CEO Devin McGranahan said, calling it a key milestone in the company’s digital shift. USDPT is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.  It's official:@WesternUnion, the world's largest money transfer business, is building exclusively on Solana. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dJMnKN5EY4 — Solana (@solana) October 28, 2025 Western Union also said it will launch a “Digital Asset Framework,” which wil...

US Japan rare earths negotiations concluded with a $550 billion trade agreement on October 27, 2025, as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi finalized the deal. The trade pact secures critical minerals supply chains and also reduces dependence on Chinese rare earth processing, which currently dominates over 70% of global capacity right now. US-Japan Trade Pact Reshapes Critical Minerals Supply Chain Outlook Trump and Takaichi before signing ceremony – Source: Yahoo Finance The agreement actually addresses US Japan rare earths sourcing concerns through coordinated permitting, along with financing and mapping initiatives. Both nations signed documents formalizing the critical minerals partnership, with Japan pledging $550 billion for US projects through investments, loans, and even loan guarantees. Trump stated: “I want to just let you know anytime you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we ...

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The Bitcoin price is currently undergoing various transformative changes. For instance, BTC is trading at $113K, triggered heavily by the escalating US-China narrative. At the same time, markets are also gearing up for possible rate cut speculation, which again could be a boon for the Bitcoin price. Will November help Bitcoin witness its peak cycle performance? Also Read: Eric Trump: UAE, Other Countries are “Actively Buying” Bitcoin Bitcoin Future Predictions Source: MARCA According to Javon Marks, a leading cryptocurrency analyst, Bitcoin is looking forward to hitting a new ATH in the future. The cryptocurrency is now aiming for a high of $126K, as BTC confirms a hidden bullish divergence hinting at a $126K price high. “Bitcoin confirms a hidden bullish divergence, suggesting an over 17% move to and above the current all-time high at $126,296, continuing an already existing uptrend.” Bitcoin confirms a Hidden Bullish Divergence suggesting an over 17% move to and above the current All...

Tom Lee, the CIO of Fundstrat Capital and the Chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, says that Ethereum “remains in a super cycle” as stablecoin demand and on-chain activity continue to rise. In the past 24 hours, the largest altcoin by market cap soared more than 4% to trade at $4,168.35 as of 5:38 a.m. EST, data from CoinMarketCap shows . This recent gain was enough to flip the crypto’s weekly performance into the green as well. However, the altcoin is still down over 16% from the all-time high (ATH) of $4,953.73 that it reached on Aug. 24.  Ethereum Price Has Not Caught Up To Strong Fundamentals In a recent X post , Lee said that most of the time, a crypto’s price “leads” fundamentals. He added that there are some instances where the fundamentals lead the price.  In the post, the Fundstrat CIO also shared an interview he had with CNBC.  During the interview, he said that Ethereum is seeing “so much growth” in it...