With the growing popularity of the tokenization of sovereign debt on public blockchain platforms, the discussion around the XRP debt case is getting more and more popular. The data available now, however, separates practical activity on blockchain platforms and speculations related to the possible usage of XRP by governments.

According to the measurements provided by RWA.xyz and conducted on August 20, 2026, the amount of tokenized non-U.S. sovereign debt on the Stellar platform is about $490 million. Stellar emphasizes that it has become a leader in this particular type of activity and outperformed even Ethereum in this area.

The point is that Stellar leads in terms of non-U.S. government debt, while Ethereum remains a leader in the market of tokenized Treasuries. In addition, Stellar reports the development of its entire RWA ecosystem.

According to Stellar, in June 2026, tokenized RWA reached $3 billion. They included sovereign bonds, Treasury products, investment funds, credit instruments, and gold.

XRP Is Being Accused in Relation to the U.S. National Debt

The debate about XRP revolves around another possible application of the asset. XRP advocates have argued that this token can eventually be applied within the U.S. financial infrastructure in areas such as payments, liquidity, or settlements.

Some online debates have gone even further and proposed that XRP could be involved in strategies linked to the U.S. national debt. However, there is no policy evidence showing that any such program exists.

The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, has talked about economic growth and the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund while speaking about the economy of the United States. This discussion did not reveal any XRP-based strategy to manage or repay the national debt.

This distinction is important because the presence of a big national debt does not prove that some specific cryptocurrency will be used to address this problem. Tokenization of the national debt involves presenting an already existing financial instrument on blockchain technology.

XRP and Tokenization Tell Two Separate Tales

The market is continuing to keep an eye on XRP regarding institutional adoption of blockchain technologies. The price of XRP is currently around $1.40, and the recent market data is showing support at around $1.32 and resistance at around $1.46.

But price levels alone cannot confirm adoption by the government or any particular use case associated with debt obligations. A better example would be something that shows actual use and adoption by institutions.

For example, Stellar is giving us a glimpse of how assets, like Mexican CETES or Brazilian government bonds, among others, are being utilized on blockchain networks to give access to selected sovereign assets.

But the case of institutional adoption for XRP would remain somewhat prospective. Possible applications of XRP would include cross-border payments, liquidity, settlement, and other infrastructure applications. Any confirmation from a government or another institution of a debt-based strategy for using XRP will confirm or refute such assumptions.

Therefore, the tokenization trend is demonstrating blockchain adoption by traditional finance, but this alone cannot prove XRP usage in relation to U.S. national debt.

Liquid Network has resumed block production without processing transactions after a $320 million Bitcoin withdrawal forced the sidechain to halt operations.

Liquid Network said in a Thursday update that its functionary nodes were again producing blocks as intended, but the network would operate “without transactions” while developers monitored its condition.

The limited restart allows Liquid to test its updated infrastructure without reopening transfers or exposing the peg system to new activity. According to the network, keeping transactions disabled will help operators “confirm full stabilization” before they restore other services.

Functionary and bridge nodes have received the required software changes, Liquid added. Its functionaries can now sign and validate blocks, though users cannot yet send regular transactions or move funds between Bitcoin and Liquid.

Peg operations also remain suspended, including withdrawals approved through Peg-out Authorization Keys, or PAKs. Liquid said the restrictions would stay in place while it works to restore the reserve that supports Bitcoin issued on the sidechain as L-BTC.

Liquid Network has restarted with transactions disabled

Block production represents only one part of Liquid’s return to service because its transaction and bridge systems remain unavailable. The network has not provided a date for reopening either function.

Under normal conditions, users deposit BTC into the federation-controlled peg and receive an equal amount of L-BTC for use on Liquid. Holders can later burn L-BTC through an approved peg-out service to release the corresponding Bitcoin on the base layer.

Operators stopped that process after an actor created unbacked L-BTC by exploiting a proof-verification flaw in Elements, the open-source software behind Liquid. The actor then submitted the tokens through SideSwap’s authorized peg-out service, prompting the federation to release real Bitcoin.

As crypto.news previously reported, the transaction removed about 3,996 BTC and reduced the federation wallet from approximately 4,205 BTC to about 202 BTC. The withdrawal represented roughly 95% of the Bitcoin held in the wallet at the time.

Liquid described the actors as “purported white-hat hackers” after they identified themselves as white hats through messages attached to Bitcoin transactions. Their claim did not establish that they had permission to create the L-BTC or withdraw the underlying Bitcoin.

SideSwap said a customer had sent 4,000 L-BTC to its peg-out service, which processed the request under its normal system. Liquid and SideSwap said the key used to authorize the transaction had not been compromised.

Elements update changes proof-verification cache

One day before restarting block production, Liquid released an emergency Elements update designed to address the flaw connected to the withdrawal.

Elements v23.3.4 changes the cache keys used when validating range proofs, according to Liquid. Range proofs allow the network to confirm that a hidden transaction amount is valid without publicly revealing the amount, forming part of Liquid’s confidential transaction system.

The affected software stored successful proof-verification results so nodes could reuse them instead of repeating the full calculation. Previous reporting found that the cache did not include enough transaction context, allowing a valid proof result to be reused where it should have failed.

By exploiting that weakness, the actor created L-BTC without first locking an equal amount of Bitcoin in the federation wallet. Functionary nodes running the affected code accepted the tokens, while SideSwap’s peg-out process treated them as valid L-BTC and processed the withdrawal.

Liquid said version 23.3.4 hardens the cache keys associated with range proofs. Functionary and bridge nodes received the update before block signing restarted, although the network is still withholding transactions while operators check the deployment.

Liquid’s federation uses functionary nodes to confirm sidechain blocks and control the Bitcoin held behind L-BTC. The system relies on 15 rotating functionaries and requires 11 signatures to move funds from its multisignature wallet, according to an earlier technical account of the incident.

No federation signing key was reported stolen during the withdrawal. The failure instead involved the software used to decide whether the L-BTC submitted for redemption was valid.

Hackers returned 3,400 BTC after nodes were patched

Communication between Blockstream and the actors took place through messages embedded in Bitcoin transactions. In one message, the actors said they would return the assets after the vulnerable nodes had been repaired.

“Please fix the bug first,” the message said. “Make sure every node is patched. Then we will transfer the money back safely after confirming the fix.”

Blockstream later sent a signed message stating that its bridge nodes had been patched and that the Bitcoin was “safe to return.” Following that confirmation, the actors transferred 3,400 BTC back to the federation wallet.

The 3,400 BTC repayment restored about 85% of the withdrawn funds. At the time of the transfer, the returned Bitcoin was worth approximately $270 million.

About 598.5 BTC remained in the withdrawal-linked address after the repayment. The outstanding balance was worth roughly $46 million based on the Bitcoin price cited in the supplied report, though its dollar value changes with the market.

No public agreement has identified the remaining Bitcoin as an approved security bounty. The actors have not publicly stated whether they plan to return another portion, while Blockstream has not announced terms allowing them to keep the balance.

Ledger Chief Technology Officer Charles Guillemet questioned the white-hat label after the partial repayment. In an X post, he argued that retaining about 600 BTC without publicly disclosed terms looked more like extortion than a standard security reward.

L-BTC holders await restoration of peg services

Liquid operates as a federated Bitcoin sidechain that allows exchanges, trading firms and other users to transfer BTC-linked assets with shorter settlement times than Bitcoin’s base layer. Blockstream launched the production network in 2018 using Elements software.

L-BTC depends on Bitcoin held in the federation wallet to maintain its one-to-one backing. Until Liquid restores peg operations, holders cannot use the normal bridge process to redeem L-BTC for native Bitcoin.

A previous bridge security explainer described how systems that lock assets on one chain and issue linked tokens on another depend on their custody, validation, and message-processing controls. A failure in any part of that process can suspend redemptions even when the underlying blockchain continues to operate.

For U.S. users, the current effect is limited to access and operations rather than a stated change in federal policy. American L-BTC holders face the same transaction and peg restrictions as users elsewhere, while BTC held directly on Bitcoin’s base layer remains separate from the Liquid system.

No U.S. regulator or law enforcement agency has announced an action connected to the withdrawal. Liquid also has not given a timetable for restoring transactions, PAK-authorized peg-outs, or other bridge operations.

Bitcoin’s near-term sell pressure has eased sharply, with onchain data pointing to a “low sell-side risk” environment as August profit-taking fades into September. Glassnode’s latest weekly onchain report shows Bitcoin’s sell-side risk ratio has fallen to 7—down from 16 in September—an improvement that can matter for traders who watch realized profits as a trigger for faster, more emotional selling.

The same Glassnode update also highlights how long-term holders are realizing profits more selectively, while US spot Bitcoin ETF investors remain deeply underwater on an aggregate basis relative to their breakeven level near $86,000.

Key takeaways

• Glassnode reports Bitcoin’s sell-side risk ratio reset lower, dropping to 7—among the lowest readings recorded.
• Lower selling pressure coincides with Bitcoin holding most of its roughly 25% August gains.
• Long-term holders’ share of realized profit fell to 47% from 88% at the August peak.
• US spot Bitcoin ETF investors have spent 229 sessions below the aggregate breakeven point near $86,000, with paper losses around $3.9 billion.

Why the sell-side risk ratio matters

Glassnode frames its sell-side risk ratio (SSRR) as a measure of “realized” pressure rather than just price movement. The metric takes the total value of onchain realized profits and losses and divides it by Bitcoin’s realized market capitalization. In other words, it aims to capture how much US-dollar value has actually changed hands versus the size of the realized coin base for the period in question.

In the report, Glassnode says lower SSRR values typically align with conditions such as “macro market bottoms, accumulation phases and relatively low sell-side risk environments.” That interpretation is particularly relevant for markets that have recently rallied, because periods of heavy realized profit can increase the likelihood that holders decide to lock gains if price momentum stalls.

September cooling after August’s rebound

Glassnode ties the SSRR decline to a post-rebound shift in realized behavior. The company noted that SSRR reached 16 when Bitcoin surged to multimonth highs above $80,000 in late August. As of this week, the ratio has more than halved to 7, which Glassnode characterizes as one of the lowest readings on record.

The onchain analytics platform argues that the August price rebound “drawn little supply,” referring to an absence of meaningful supply emergence in onchain activity. Glassnode also contextualizes how unusual this is versus other periods: it pointed out that similar “supply draw” conditions were not observed in the same way at later points in the year, and that only a small share of days across the past year have posted readings lower than today.

That matters because a low SSRR environment can reduce the probability that even a relatively modest pullback immediately triggers aggressive selling. It doesn’t eliminate downside risk—price can still move on macro factors or liquidity—but it can change the balance between who is likely to sell and how much profit exists to be realized.

Profit-taking shifts: long-term holders selling less

Beyond aggregate sell pressure, Glassnode also focused on who is realizing profits onchain. The report defines long-term holders as wallet entities that hold a UTXO without spending it for at least six months. According to Glassnode, these holders are realizing profits at a lower rate this month.

Specifically, Glassnode says long-term holders’ share of realized profit has fallen to 47% from 88% at the August peak. It also notes that September’s realized profit spike on September 3, 2026 was under half the size of August’s. The combined message is that the “profit who sells” dynamic appears to be shifting away from the most patient holders.

“The sellers this month are recent buyers, and even they are selling less.”

For investors, that distinction can be meaningful: recent entrants are often more sensitive to near-term price changes, while long-term holders typically respond differently. If the selling impulse is increasingly concentrated among newer holders—and even they are moderating—it can help explain why SSRR is trending down even after a strong month.

ETF breakevens remain a key reference point

Even with improving sell-side risk, the report underscores that ETF positioning is still a notable overhang. Glassnode says US spot Bitcoin ETF investors would return to aggregate profit at roughly $86,000. According to the report, Bitcoin has closed below that level for the past 229 sessions, and ETF investors’ paper losses are currently around $3.9 billion.

This doesn’t necessarily mean ETF holders are selling aggressively—paper losses can persist through drawdowns when investors maintain exposure through continued inflows or hold through volatility. But from a behavioral perspective, breakeven levels often become a psychological and institutional reference point. If prices revisit $86,000, ETF investors may face pressure to reassess risk, while the opposite scenario (further declines) could intensify the temptation to reduce exposure.

The SSRR decline may therefore help temper fears that a correction automatically forces a cascade of realized selling. At the same time, ETF breakeven dynamics serve as a reminder that a large cohort is still sitting on losses, and that sentiment could change quickly if price action approaches or moves away from that threshold.

Readers should watch whether SSRR stays near these low levels as Bitcoin’s price continues to trade relative to the $80,000 area and whether ETF performance moves ETF investors closer to—or further from—aggregate breakeven near $86,000. The key question is whether September’s “lower sell-side risk” environment persists as realized profit levels evolve.

As artificial intelligence and digital asset technologies continue to converge, automated systems are emerging as a key focus in the digital asset services sector.

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Crypto exchange Hyperliquid is paying traders 500% a year to hold long oil derivatives. Payouts are hourly as an additional reward atop the price appreciation of oil itself which has regained $100 per barrel.

Of course, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are no free lunches on Wall Street.

First of all, Hyperliquid offers extreme leverage — up to 20x on Brent oil, for example — so unremarkable, intraday price fluctuations can easily wipe out a portfolio.

Moreover, even unlevered trades on Hyperliquid inherit innumerable financial risks from bugs, hackers, market manipulators, vulnerable technologies, and offshore counterparties.

Still, Brent and WTI oil perpetuals on the crypto exchange printed deeply negative hourly funding rates today, meaning that the short side of the trade is overcrowded and must pay fees to borrow margin exposure from less popular longs.

Traders on the venue are so one-sided that shorts must pay 500% annualized fees to anyone willing to go long.

Of course, many Hyperliquid short-sellers are day traders who incur minimal funding fees during a quick trade of a few minutes or hours. Still, the funding rate mismatch between shorts and longs is incredible.

Although Brent oil is trading below its $126 peak on April 30 as a reward for long-term shorts since that date, longs have been winning recently.

As shorts stare in disbelief at rapidly rising prices, longs not only benefit from leveraged gains but also receive hourly funding payouts.

Oil has rallied 6% today alone, and the world’s most actively traded commodity is 24% more expensive than 30 days ago amid escalating tensions in the tanker straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.

Year to date, oil is up 75%.

The Iran war that began in February has kept squeezing seaborne supply and global logistics for millions of barrels that the world burns daily.